Revelation 4—The Author Of The Plan…

Revelation 4—The Author Of The Plan

4:1. After this.—After this first panorama of the seven stages of the Church had passed.

I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in Heaven.—It is only as the Lord, who holds the key, opens the door to the understanding of Heavenly things, that we are able to comprehend them.—Matt. 3:16; Ezek. 1:1; Rev. 19:11.

And BEHOLD the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me.—See comments on Rev. 1:1; 7:2.

Which said, Come up hither.—Not that St. John went to Heaven at that time; he was merely given a vision of Heavenly things. (Rev. 11:12.) “The seer now obtains a higher spiritual standpoint.”—Cook.

And I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.—The Divine Plan for the permission of evil.

4:2. [And] immediately I was in the spirit.—In a trance condition.—Acts 10:10; Rev. 1:10.

And, behold, a Throne.—The Throne of the Heavenly Father.—Isa. 6:1; Ezek. 1:26‐28.

Was set.—Permanently established. The same word as in, “This Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel.” (Luke 2:34.) “I am set for the defence of the Gospel.”—Phil. 1:17.

In Heaven.—“Whither the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus.”—Heb. 6:20.

And One.—Jehovah, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:3), the Author of the Divine Plan for the permission of evil, in the recreation of a perfect human race, and in the creation of a race of gods, sons of Himself. “God designed to permit evil, because, having the remedy provided for man’s release from its consequences, He saw that the result would be to lead him the more to love and honor his Creator, who is the source and fountain of all goodness, and forever to shun that which brought so much woe and misery.” (A. 124.) “Not only are men benefited to all eternity by the experience gained, and angels by their observation of man’s experiences, but all are further advantaged by a fuller acquaintance with God’s Character as manifested in His Plan. Had sin not been permitted, the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus and of His Church, the reward of which is the Divine nature, would have been impossible.”—A. 135.

Sat on the Throne.—Of the Universe. “All can see the propriety of the Almighty’s decision that He shall be recognized as the Center of authority, wisdom, justice, love and power; for this is the truth, and anything else would be untruth and to that extent evil, injurious.”—E. 57, 52; Rev. 7:10; Dan. 7:9.

4:3. And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper.—“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.” (Rev. 21:18, 19.) “A precious stone, variegated with divers colors, and of a very hard quality; some have been found of a sea‐green color.” (Diaglott note.) “The ancient jasper thus appears to have been frequently translucent, but the modern is opaque.” (McC.) The jasper, therefore, is supposed to refer to the modern rare and beautiful green‐tinted diamond. The diamond is the hardest substance known, excelling in brilliancy and beautiful play of prismatic colors. The crystals of which it is composed are bounded by eight equal equilateral triangles; twenty‐four angles in all, constituting a perfect double pyramid, set base to base. How adorable, how sublime, how perfect is our God! How impossible to describe Him! To know Him aright will require eternity. The jasper seems especially to illustrate His glory, perfection and prescience. (He uses twenty‐four elders—prophecies.)

And a sardine stone.—“The sard, which is a superior variety of agate, has long been a favorite stone for the engraver’s art. On this stone all the finest works of the most celebrated artists are to be found; and this not without good cause, such is its toughness, facility of working, beauty of color, and the high polish of which it is susceptible, and which it retains longer than any other gem. The sardius is the stone now called the carnelian, from its color, which resembles that of raw flesh. It is supposed to stop hemorrhage when laid on a fresh wound.” (McC.) The sardius seems especially to illustrate God’s love, His memory of His creatures, and His purpose of a resurrection for all smitten in Adam and redeemed in Christ. Will God forget to raise any of His blood‐bought? “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.”—Isa. 49:15, 16.

And there was a rainbow.—“The rainbow has always been an emblem of peace. It appears on the cloud as the storm passes away. It contrasts beautifully with the tempest that has just been raging. It is seen as the rays of the sun again appear clothing all things with beauty—the more beautiful from the fact that the storm has come. It is a pledge that the war of the elements has ceased, and that God smiles again upon the earth. The appearance of the rainbow around the Throne was a beautiful emblem of the mercy of God, and of the peace that was to pervade the world as the result of the events that were to be disclosed to the vision of John.” (Barnes.) The rainbow is characterized by seven colors—perfection. (Ezek. 1:28.) It represents not only the bow of promise for mankind, but the peace of God. It is His Plan. “From His own vast inherent resources of power and wisdom, springs the peace of God. But not from this source alone is the Divine peace; for peace is the certain concomitant of inherent goodness. God is the impersonation of every virtue and every grace; consequently He has the blessed satisfaction and peace of conscious moral perfection as well as inherent wisdom and power.” (Z. ’95‐153.) “During the seventh millennium, according to the Divine purpose, it will be the joyful privilege of our Lord Jesus to fully manifest to all creatures in Heaven and in earth the Father’s glorious character. Then will the Father rejoice in the grandeur of His finished work and in the everlasting peace and happiness of His family in Heaven and in earth, ‘reunited under one head.’ (Eph. 1:10, Diaglott.)”—Z. ’95‐155.

Round about the Throne.—Justice is “the habitation of Thy Throne.” (Psa. 89:14.) “God’s law is stern Justice, with no allowances, ready to consume as a fire everything blemished. Who cannot see that if God could deal with sinners, and condoning their sins, accept their best endeavors, though imperfect, there would have been no necessity for a Redeemer? And thus, to all eternity, there might be danger of sin on the part of those who had not already dabbled in it. Seeing this, it does not surprise us that God, in the interest of all His holy creatures, as well as for His own pleasure, decides that He will recognize nothing short of perfection in any creature, and makes Justice the foundation of His Throne.”—E. 481, 472.

In sight like unto an emerald.—“The same with the ancient smaragdus; one of the most beautiful of gems, of a bright green color, without any mixture.”—Diaglott. “The emerald, of bright green color, ‘was the most precious gem in the Roman jeweller’s list.... The Romans were plentifully supplied with the true emerald. The smaragdus of Nero’s age must be restricted to the true emerald, perhaps including the green ruby.’ (King.)”—Nat. Hist. of Precious Stones. The color of the emerald, green, signifies everlastingness. “From everlasting to everlasting thou art God.”—Psa. 90:2; Ezek. 1:28.

4:4. And round about the Throne.—Encompassing it on all sides—always in mind—never out of sight.

[Were] SAW I four and twenty seats.—Thronoi, thrones, places of highest exaltation—the twenty‐four angles (viewpoints) of the diamond.—Rev. 4:3,10.

And upon the seats [I saw four and twenty] elders sitting.—Personifications of the testimonies of twenty‐four Prophets (Heb. 11:2), who foretold things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Not the Prophets themselves are here referred to. They are not in Heaven. “David is not ascended into the Heavens.” (Acts 2:34.) Daniel still “sleeps in the dust of the earth.” (Dan. 12:2, 13.) None of the Prophets are in Heaven: “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” (Heb. 11:40.) But from the time that “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21), the utterances of Enoch, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Job, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi and John the Baptist, have been witnesses before God that there shall be “Times of Refreshing”—“Times of Restitution.”—Acts 3:19‐21.

Clothed in white raiment.—All of these men considered themselves unworthy to be God’s mouthpieces. Jacob said, “I am not worthy of the least of all Thy mercies, and of all the truth which Thou hast shewed unto Thy servant.” (Gen. 32:10.) Moses said, “Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exod. 3:11.) David said, “Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me hitherto?” (2 Sam. 7:18.) Solomon said, “I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.” (1 Kings 3:7.) Isaiah said, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” (Isa. 6:5.) Jeremiah said, “Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak: for I am a child.” (Jer. 1:6.) Daniel said, “This secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have.” (Dan. 2:30.) And John the Baptist said, “I have need to be baptised of Thee, and comest Thou to me?” (Matt. 3:14.) But the Lord knoweth them that are His (2 Tim. 2:19); and whatever they may think of themselves, if they are God’s mouthpieces, they are clean. Isaiah’s utterances are spotless in the sight of God—clothed in white raiment.—Isa. 6:6, 7.

And [they] had on their heads crowns of gold.—The glory of God—Love, God’s highest attribute. If there are any prophets that do not have something to say about God’s loving arrangement for Times of Restitution, then they are not holy. Judged by this standard, how many of the clergy of our day are holy?—Acts 3:19‐21.

4:5. And out of the Throne proceeded lightnings.—“How apt is this figure! Truly like lightning flashes in the midst of the gloom and perplexity of this cloudy day, come to men remarkable glimpses of the great principles of Truth and Righteousness. A flash of lightning from the obscured Throne discloses here one error, and there another, and another. It is remarkable that these lightning flashes are continually calling attention to the Word of God, to the Golden Rule. It seems remarkable, too, how often in these days of war and stress worldly men are drawing attention to the prophecies of the Scriptures.”—Z. ’16‐339; Rev. 8:5; 16:18.

AND VOICES.—“As a result of God’s lightning flashes which are enlightening the world, there are ominous mutterings of dissatisfaction, unrest. The lightning flashes are revealing the corruption in the world, the dishonesty in high places; with conflicting ideas, voices, theories and threats, ‘the nations are angry,’ ‘the heathen [Gentiles, peoples] rage,’ and the whole earth trembles from the din of a wordy conflict and from the blows which even now are beginning to arouse the world.”—Z. ’16‐340.

And thunderings [and voices.]—“We hear the thunder tones of judgment that ‘call the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof’ (Psa. 50:1); we see the whole earth now in the shaking process which will eventuate in the complete overthrow of all existing institutions, systems and governments. Present events indeed speak in trumpet tones.”—Z. ’16‐340; Ex. 19:16; Rev. 8:5; 11:19; 16:18.

And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the Throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.—Perfect knowledge.—Rev. 1:4; 3:1.

4:6. And before the Throne.—In the earth, and everywhere throughout the Universe.—Rev. 5:6.

There was AS a sea of glass.—“The troubled surface which Daniel and Isaiah beheld (Dan. 7:2, 3; Isa. 57:20) became when seen before the Throne of God, calm and clear; reflecting as from a mirror, every fulfilment of the Divine purposes.” (Cook.) (Rev. 21:18, 21; Ex. 24:10.) The sea (godless conditions about them) has been a means of purifying earth’s future priests.—1 Ki. 7:23‐26, 38, 39.

Like unto crystal.—Indicating that nothing escapes God’s notice; all is transparent. “For centuries skeptics have been disposed to smile incredulously at the words of our Lord, ‘Enter into thy closet; and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.’ (Matt. 6:6.) Now that an electric ray can be passed through opaque substances, such as paper, wood, cloth, leather, aluminium, animal flesh, etc., can these scientists any longer mock at Christians for ‘credulity,’ because we believe that ‘All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do’? (Heb. 4:13.) ‘He that formed the ear shall He not hear? He that formed the eye shall He not see?’ Now we begin to see how it is that ‘There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.’ ”—Z. ’96‐27; Ezek. 1:22.

And in the midst of the Throne.—Woven into its very fabric.

And round about the Throne.—Completely encircling and enveloping it.

Were four beasts.—“Living ones” (Diaglott.); the four immortal attributes of Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.—Ezek. 1:5, 6.

Full of eyes before and behind.—Seeing clearly everything that will ever occur in the future, and everything that has ever transpired in the past.—Ezek. 10:4, 12.

4:7. And the first beast.—Justice was the attribute first manifested toward our sinful race. “God has found it necessary to perform the unpleasant duties of discipline; and though all the while His fatherly love was preparing to bless the deceived and fallen ones when the purposes of redemption should restore the repentant to His favor, Love must be veiled while only stern, relentless Justice could be manifested. This has been no happifying duty.”—Z. ’95‐154.

Was like a lion.—The characteristics of the lion illustrate this attribute: The teeth are of the highest carnivorous type, adapted to seizing and holding firmly. Although occasionally seen abroad during the day, especially in wild and desolate regions, the night (Psa. 30:5) is the period of its greatest activity. The usual pace of a lion is a walk; and, though apparently rather slow, yet he is able to get over a good deal of ground in a short time. As a rule, he kills only when hungry or attacked, and not for the mere pleasure of killing.—Ezek. 1:10; 10:14.

And the second beast.—Power, exhibited in the Flood, was the second of God’s attributes manifested to man. “God, the Creator of all things, is also the competent Sustainer of all things. In silent grandeur, from age to age, the whole physical Universe fulfils His will, without a suspicion of disorder or mishap; and the same Power is pledged for its sustenance throughout the eternal future.”—Z. ’95‐153; Ezek. 1:10.

Like a calf.—With the Hebrews the calf (young ox) was the emblem of Power, the attribute of God with which they were principally acquainted. As an agricultural people, they were brought in frequent contact with it, the strongest of all the domestic animals. They were brought out of Egypt by a “mighty power and a stretched out arm” (Deut. 9:29); and when they sought to make a representation of it, the form selected was a golden calf.—Deut. 9:16‐21.

And the third beast.—Love, exhibited in the Father sending His Only‐ Begotten Son to die that we might live, was the third of God’s attributes manifested to man. “Our recovery cost the sacrifice of the dearest treasure of His heart, and the subjection of this Beloved One to the most abject humiliation, ignominy, suffering and death. Ah, did the Father let Him go on that errand of mercy without the slightest sensation of sorrowful emotion? had He no appreciation of the pangs of a father’s love when the arrows of death pierced the heart of His beloved Son? When our dear Lord said, ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death,’ and again, ‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt,’ did it touch no sympathetic chord in the heart of the Eternal? Yea, verily.”—Z. ’95‐154.

Had a face [as] LIKE a man.—The embodiment of love. (A. 174.) “Close your eyes for a moment to the scenes of misery and woe, degradation and sorrow that yet prevail on account of sin, and picture before your mental vision the glory of the perfect earth. Not a stain of sin mars the harmony and peace of a perfect society; not a bitter thought, not an unkind look or word; love, welling up from every heart, meets a kindred response in every other heart, and benevolence marks every act. Think of all the pictures of comparative health and beauty of human form and feature that you have ever seen, and know that perfect humanity will be of still surpassing loveliness. The inward purity and mental and moral perfection will stamp and glorify every radiant countenance.”—A. 191; Ezek. 1:5.

And the fourth beast.—Wisdom, as exhibited in the Father’s Plan, now unfolded before our delighted gaze, is the fourth, and complete, manifestation of God to man. “He is never confused, bewildered, perplexed, anxious or careworn, or in the least fearful that His plans will miscarry or His purposes fail; because all power and wisdom inhere in Him. The scope of His mighty intellect reaches to the utmost bounds of possibility, comprehends all causes and discerns with precision all effects; consequently He knows the end from the beginning, and that, not only upon philosophical principles, but also by intuition. As the Creator of all things and the Originator of all law, He is thoroughly acquainted with all the intricate subtleties of physical, moral and intellectual law, so that no problem could arise, the results of which are not manifest to His mind. ‘God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.’ (1 John 1:5.)”—Z. ’95‐153.

Was like a flying eagle.—Of all known birds, the eagle flies the highest and with the greatest rapidity. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa. 55:9.) The ones attracted to Present Truth are the eagles, the far‐ sighted ones that “behold the land that is very far off.” (Matt. 24:28; 2 Pet. 1:9; Isa. 33:16, 17; Psa. 103:5.) In the training of its young the eagle manifests wisdom of high order: “ ‘As an eagle stirreth up her nest’ (she mixes the thorny outside with the downy inside, so that the eaglets will leave it and learn to fly), so God, by His testing providences makes the place of rest one of unrest to us, and thus lures us out to trust ourselves to His care and guidance over untried ways.”—Z. ’04‐116.

4:8. And the four beasts.—Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.

Had each of them six wings about him.—“Above it stood the seraphims (Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom): each one had six wings, and with twain he did fly. And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa. 6:2, 3.) “The vision of Isaiah is a prophecy of the future, when the ‘glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together’ in the establishment of the Kingdom of God during the Millennium. (Isa. 40:5.) Only from this prophetic standpoint would the words of the seraphim be true; for the whole earth has never yet been filled with the Lord’s glory; but on the contrary, the earth is full of sin and violence, and every evil work.” (Z. ’98‐305.) Six is a symbol of imperfection, and in the light of the foregoing seems to refer to the six thousand years of the permission of evil, the theme of the entire Book of Revelation. For the first two thousand years, from the fall to the covenant with Abraham, God’s face was almost entirely hidden from man. For the next two thousand years, until the death of Christ, it was not apparent how the place of God’s feet, His footstool, should ever be made glorious. (Isa. 60:13; 66:1.) But since then, for two thousand years, God’s Love has been manifest to all, and “the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19), to set up the Kingdom, the Golden Age, for which we all so long have prayed. (Matt. 6:10.) The wings operate in pairs.

And they were full of eyes within.—Nothing has transpired, or will ever transpire, without God’s knowledge. In the past six thousand years, whether hidden or partially revealed, God’s Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom, have been in touch with all of earth’s affairs.—Ezek. 10:12.

And they HAVE NO rest [not] day and night.—Not eternal idleness, but eternal work in the interest of others will be our reward. “My Father worketh until now, and I work.” (John 5:17.) “I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work.” (John 9:4.) “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” (Eph. 2:10.) “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do.” (Phil. 2:13.) “We are laborers together with God.” (1 Cor. 3:9.) “Workers together with Him.” (2 Cor. 6:1.) “Who shall change the Body of our humiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious Body, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.”—Phil. 3:21.

Saying, Holy, holy, holy, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY.—The Sinaitic MS. repeats the word “holy” eight times. (See Rev. 4:3.) In the seventh thousand‐year Day God will bring all things to perfection through The Christ, yet it is the eighth Day that marks the complete separation from the old order of things. The Jewish child was circumcised on the eighth day (Luke 1:59; Phil. 3:5); seven days a sheep was to be with its dam, and on the eighth given to the Lord (Exod. 22:30); the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles was to be a holy convocation unto the Lord. (Lev. 23:36, 39.) In the eighth thousand‐year Day of mankind’s history on the earth, circumcision of the heart will be complete in all, all the sheep will have been turned over to the Father, and the holy convocation of eternity will have begun, “the grand epoch when there shall be no more sighing, no more crying, no more pain and no more dying, because God’s work of creation shall then have been completed so far as this earth is concerned.”—F. 51.

Lord God Almighty.—Jehovah. This scene is located in Heaven, where even the Son Himself is subject unto the Father.—1 Cor. 15:28.

Which was.—The great First Cause.

And is.—The great “I AM.”

And is to come.—And evermore shall be.

4:9. And when those beasts.—Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.

Give.—Shall eternally continue to give, so the Greek indicates.

Glory and honor and thanks to Him that sat on the Throne.—Their united testimony to the perfection of His character in all its attributes, as they are now doing, since His Wisdom has been unveiled.

Who liveth for ever and ever, AMEN.—And will forever use those attributes in the blessing of all the willing and obedient throughout the Universe.

4:10. The four and twenty elders.—The personifications of the messages of the twenty‐four Prophets who foretold the coming Kingdom of God.

Fall down before Him that sat on the Throne.—Unitedly bear witness to His perfect ability to foretell the future.

And worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, AMEN.—Magnify His perfect Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.

And cast.—Shall eternally continue to cast, so the Greek indicates.

Their crowns before the Throne, saying.—(1) Enoch was the first of the holy Prophets; and according to the Apostle Jude he prophesied of the coming reign of Christ and His glorious Bride, to judge the world, saying: “The Lord cometh with a myriad of His saints, to execute judgment.” (Jude 14, 15.) That there shall be such a glorious and blessed Judgment Day, full of hope and joy for all the world, the Apostle Paul says is definitely decreed in the counsels of God, “whereof He hath given assurance,” grounds for confident, joyful anticipation, “unto all men.” (Acts 17:31.) When that happy time comes, “the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:9), and “the poor of the people will be lifted up” (Psa. 72:2‐4, 12‐14.) It will be the long‐promised poor man’s chance.

(2) Jacob was one of the holy Prophets; and in Gen. 49:10 he says, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.” The sceptre means the right to rule, the title to power; and Shiloh means peacemaker. So this prophecy is merely another way of saying that Judah would be the ancestor of the great Lawgiver, the great “Prince of Peace” into whose hands God, in due time, will “give the heathen for an inheritance,” “that they may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve Him with one consent.”—Psa. 2:8; Zeph. 3:9.

(3) Moses, as a historian, recorded God’s original purpose to give man dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28); His declaration to the serpent that the Seed of the woman should bruise its head (Gen. 3:15); the promise to Abraham that in him all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Gen. 12:3); that Abraham’s inheritance should be an earthly one (Gen. 13:15); and an everlasting one (Gen. 17:8); that all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him (Gen. 18:18); that in his Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Gen. 22:18); to Isaac, that in his Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Gen. 26:4); to Jacob, that in his Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Gen. 28:14); to Jacob again, that he should be a joint‐heir with Abraham and Isaac of the land of Canaan (Gen. 35:12); by the sacrifices after the day of atonement was typically shown the perfection of mankind in the Millennium (Lev. 1:5); by the glory appearing unto all the people was foretold their future release from sin and death (Lev. 9:23); by the acceptance of a goat as a sin‐offering for the people we see blessings of life for the world after the Church’s career is finished (Lev. 16:15); and by the sounding of the jubilee trumpet, the proclamation of liberty to the captives and the return of every man to his possession, we see the world’s restoration to the image and likeness of God. (Lev. 25:10.) As a Prophet, his declarations show that throughout the Gospel Age God would raise up a great Prophet and Deliverer like unto himself (The Christ), to whom shall all the people give heed in the Millennial Age (Deut. 18:15, 19); and that this great Deliverer then would set before them life, if obedient, and death, if disobedient.—Deut. 30:15.

(4) Samuel, as a historian, recorded Hannah’s prophecy, “The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth down to hell and bringeth up.” (1 Sam. 2:6.) This is one of the first places in the Bible where we are shown that what goes into hell does not necessarily stay there. Another instance, in which Samuel foretold pictorially the coming of the better King, was in the case of the coronation of King Saul. Saul had been selected king, but had an attack of bashfulness; and when they had searched, they found him behind the baggage. The record is, “They ran, and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. And Samuel said, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among the people? And all the people shouted and said, God save the king.” (1 Sam. 10:17‐24.) Saul was God’s choice for king; his name means “desired,” and in this he typified Christ, the “desire of all nations.” This incident looks forward to the time when all the people of the world will say of Christ, “Oh! who is like unto our God? Lo! This is our God; this is our King; this is the One we have waited for; He is head and shoulders, as a ruler, above all kings and rulers we have had.”

(5) Job, after the Sabeans had made off with his oxen and asses, after a bolt of lightning had burned up his sheep, after the Chaldeans had stolen his camels and murdered his servants, after a whirlwind had blown down his house and killed all his children, after he was covered with boils from head to foot, after his wife had gone back on him, and after his three remaining friends tried to prove to him that he was a hypocrite, prayed that he might go to hell and stay there until God’s wrath should be past, and that then God would remember him in resurrection. (Job 14:13‐15.) Job records Elihu’s prophetic statement that when the Messenger of the Covenant has returned, death will cease and men not need to go into the tomb. (Job 33:19‐30.) Job also describes the steam engine—stationary, railway and marine.

The following is a corrected translation of Job 40:15 to 41:34, with comments thereon from the pen of one of Pastor Russell’s followers: “Behold now one with great heat [the stationary steam engine], which I have made to be with thee; he will consume fodder [peat, wood, coal] as do cattle. Behold now his strength is in his loins [boiler plates], and his power is within the parts bent in a circle [boiler shell] of his belly. His tail [smoke stack—opposite the feeding end] will set upright like a cedar; the couplings of his leaping parts [connecting rods, pitmans] will be clamped together. His bones are tubes of copper; his solid bones [grate bars] are as hammered‐out bars of iron. He is the greatest of the ways of power. He that made him [the Lord] can make His sword [Word] to approach unto [reveal] him. [Isa. 27:1, 2.] He shall rest under thin shelter [steam jackets] within a covering of fibrous reeds [jute] and clay [mortar]. The willows of the valley [the trees overhead] will enclose him around about Behold [as a pumping engine] he will drink up an overflowing river without much exertion; he will cause the people to trust [that their cellars will keep dry], though a Jordan should rush forth over its border. He will gather it up in his fountains by means of traps and with a perforated nozzle.

“Thou wilt lengthen out leviathan [the locomotive] with a hook [automatic coupler] or with a snare [coupling‐pin] which thou wilt cause his tongue [coupling‐link] to drop down. Wilt thou not place a ring [piston] in his nostrils [cylinders] or pierce through his cheeks [piston‐ends] with a staff [piston‐rod]? Will he make repeated supplication unto thee [to get off the track]? Or will he utter soft tones unto thee [when he screeches with the whistle]? Will he make a covenant with thee, that thou mayest take him for a servant forever [without repairs]? Wilt thou play with him as with a bird [make him whistle at will]? Or wilt thou bind [enslave] him for thy maidens [so that you can take them to a picnic or convention]? Companies [of stockholders] will feast upon him [his earnings]; they will share him among speculators. [Psa. 74:14.] Thou wilt fill his skin with pointed irons [bolts], and his head with a cabin of fishermen [a cab similar to the cabins on fishing vessels]. Place thy hand upon him, be mindful of the conflict [raging within the boiler] and thou wilt add no further questions. Behold, his confidence [boiler] being deceived [not properly supplied with water], shall not at once his mighty form be spread asunder [by an explosion]? There is none so bold that he will stir him up [to run at his very highest possible speed], and none who will then place himself before him [to be run over]. Who will compete with this one and endure [pass him on the track]? Under the whole heaven, none, unless [one like] himself.

“I will not pass in silence his members, nor the cause of his mighty forces, nor the beauty of his equipment. Who can strip off the facings of his jacket? Who can penetrate between the double lap of his shield [the overlapping sections of the boiler plates]? Who can force open the doors of his shield [the boiler ends]? The circuits of his teeth [rows of rivets] are formidable. His strength depends on courses of shields [sections of plates] closed up tightly with a seal [calked]. They shall join one upon another so that a hiss of air [steam] shall not escape from between them. One to the other shall adhere. They will be welded together that they cannot be sundered. In his sneezing [when he puffs from the cylinders] light will shine, a flood of light pervading the mass of vapors: and his eyes [headlights] will be as the eyelashes of the morning [as rays of light from the rising sun]. Out of his mouth [fire‐door] will leap forth flaming torches, and [from the smoke stack] glowing sparks will slip themselves away. From his nostrils [cylinders] will issue forth vapor as from a boiling pot or caldron. His inhaling [forced draft] will vivify burning coals, and a flame will leap forth from his mouth. Within his neck abideth strength, and a desolation will dance with joy [become a prosperous community] at his presence. The separable parts of his body are connected together; all will be made fast upon him; nothing will be shaky. His heart will be indurated similar to a stone, and will be firm as a piece of the lower [rocks]. When at his full speed the most courageous will fear [lest], from accidents, they lose themselves. When dryness exalteth him [or renders him furious], he will not have power to withhold; the curved vault [fire box] being caused to tear away, and also the armor. He will esteem iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. The archer cannot make him flee; missiles [of war] will be turned unto him as chaff. The [strokes of a] hammer will be esteemed as chaff; he will rejoice at the poking of the fireman. Hewed [or notched] timbers of the craftsman [ties] are under him; he will spread an embankment [or trench] upon the mire. He will [as a marine engine] cause deep [places] to become as a boiling pot [about his propellers]; he will make the sea to appear like boiling ointment. He will make a path to shine after him; one will think the deep to be growing gray. [Psa. 104:26; Isa. 27:1.] Upon the earth there is not his like—he that is [so] constructed that he can fear nothing. He can oversee [control by his work] all that which is great; he is indeed king over all conceptions of power.”

(6) David foresaw a time when all the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord; and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Him (Psa. 22:27); that after this dark night of weeping will come a morning of joy (Psa. 30:5); that the meek shall inherit the earth (Psa. 37:11); that those who are now the King’s enemies shall be converted and praise Him for ever and ever (Psa. 45:5, 17); that wars shall cease to the ends of the earth and the Lord alone be exalted (Psa. 46:10); that the ignominious shall come forth from the grave and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning (Psa. 49:14); that the Lord will be the confidence of all the ends of the earth (Psa. 65:5); that His saving health will be made known among all nations, that all the nations shall praise Him, and that He will judge and govern them righteously at the time the earth shall yield her increase (Psa. 67:1‐7); that the people shall be scattered that delight in war (Psa. 68:30); that peace shall come to the people, that the poor shall be delivered from the oppressor, that the flesh, which, as dried grass is ready to die, shall be given new life and that the fruits of the earth shall shake like a forest (Psa. 72:3, 4, 6, 16); that the poor and needy will be delivered out of the hand of the wicked (Psa. 82:4); that mercy and truth will meet, righteousness and peace kiss each other and truth spring out of the earth when righteousness looks down from Heaven (Psa. 85:10, 11); that all nations the Lord has made shall come and worship before Him and glorify His name (Psa. 86:9); that He will say, Return, to the men He has turned into destruction (Psa. 90:3); that the world shall be established so that it shall not be moved (Psa. 93:1); that the heavens, earth, seas, fields and trees of the wood shall rejoice because the Lord is coming to judge the earth with righteousness and the people with His truth (Psa. 96:11‐13); that all the earth shall join in a joyful noise to the Lord, songs of praise, harps, psalms, trumpets and cornets, while the seas, floods and hills clap their hands because He comes to judge the earth (Psa. 98:4‐9); and that the foundations of the earth have been laid so that it shall not be removed, but be forever the home of a perfect, happy human race.—Psa. 104:5.

(7) Solomon declared that the upright shall dwell in the land and the perfect shall remain in it (Prov. 2:21); that the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth (Prov. 11:31); and that the earth abideth forever.—Ecclesiastes 1:4.

(8) Isaiah prophesied that in the last days the Lord’s Kingdom will be established on the ruins of all earthly kingdoms, and all nations will flow into it to learn His ways, at which time they will beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruninghooks and learn war no more (Isa. 2:2‐4); that of the increase of that new Government and of peace there shall be no end (Isa. 9:7); that nothing in the Kingdom will be permitted to hurt or destroy, all evil dispositions of men and animals being done away with, the poor and meek being lifted up and the earth being filled as full with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:4‐9); that Christ will become the standard‐bearer of the people, that His rest will be glorious and a highway there provided for the remnant of the people (Isa. 11:10‐16); that the whole earth shall be at rest and quiet and break forth into singing (Isa. 14:7); that at the time the pillar to the Lord Is recognized in the world, the world will return to the Lord and He will be entreated of them and heal them (Isa. 19:22); that the Lord will make to all people a feast of fat things, doctrines of joy, well refined, will destroy ignorance and superstition, swallow up death in victory and wipe away tears from off all faces; it will cease to be a rebuke to a person to admit that he belongs to the Lord, and all the people will say, Lo, this Is our God; we have waited for Him and He will save us, and all the high fortresses will crumble into dust (Isa. 25:6‐12); that when the Lord’s judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness; that then the trusts shall perish utterly and the dead shall live (Isa. 26:9, 13, 14, 19); that judgment will be laid to the line, the truth sweep away the refuge of lies and the agreement of the preachers on the hell question will be disannulled (Isa. 28:17, 18); that the spiritually deaf shall get their ears open to understand the harmonies of God’s Word and the eyes of the blind see out of obscurity and out of darkness, and the crops in the field be so large they will look like a forest (Isa. 29:17, 18); that the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, the ears of them that hear shall hearken and the tongue of the stammerers be ready to speak plainly; that the skyscrapers will be turned over to wild asses, along with the forts; that the people shall dwell in righteousness, quietness and assurance forever (Isa. 32:3, 4, 14, 17, 18); that the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick, because the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.—Isa. 33:24.

Furthermore, he declared that the wilderness and solitary place shall blossom as the rose, the weak hands and feeble knees be strengthened, the fearful be encouraged, the blind have their eyes opened, the deaf have their ears unstopped, the lame made to leap as an hart, the tongue of the dumb made to sing; in the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the desert; an highway shall be there by which the unclean may be cleansed of all their sins amid joy and gladness everlasting (Isa. 35:1‐10); that all the crooked and rough places will be straightened out (Isa. 40:4); that rivers will open in unexpected places and the deserts become a forest of useful trees (Isa. 41:18, 19); that all the prisoners in the great prison‐house of death shall be brought forth (Isa. 42:7); that the new spiritual powers shall pour down righteousness and the world of mankind eagerly take it in, to their salvation and everlasting joy of heart (Isa. 45:8); that God created the earth not in vain but formed it to be inhabited (Isa. 45:18); that the Lord will establish the earth and cause the people to inherit the once desolate heritages, with the result that they shall be joyful and break forth into singing (Isa. 49:8, 13); that the redeemed of the Lord (all mankind) shall return from the tomb and gain salvation with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads and sorrow and mourning shall flee away (Isa. 51:11); that the feet are beautiful which proclaim good tidings of good and publish salvation because the King has come to reign (Isa. 52:7); that the mountains, hills and trees shall rejoice with verdure, and instead of thorns and briers shall come up fir and myrtles (Isa. 55:12, 13); that the Lord will make this earth (His footstool) glorious; violence, wasting and destruction shall cease, and the people shall all be righteous and dwell in the land forever (Isa. 60:13, 18, 21); that the stumbling stones shall be gathered out of the way, and the standard of Truth be lifted up for the people (Isa. 62:10); that one who dies at a hundred years shall be considered but an infant; that the people who build houses shall build them for themselves and live in them forever among their own vineyards and other works of their hands (Isa. 65:20‐22); and that all nations and tongues shall be gathered to see God’s glorious character in its true light.—Isa. 66:18.

(9) Jeremiah foretold that in the good times coming mankind should no more walk after the imagination of an evil heart (Jer. 3:17); that the nations of all the earth shall come to the new order of things and cheerfully admit that the teachings of the clergy were chiefly lies and vanity (Jer. 16:19); that the new Shepherds will really feed the Lord’s sheep, and they shall no more be dismayed or lacking (Jer. 23:4); that the Lord will give the people a heart to know Him, and they shall return to Him with their whole heart (Jer. 24:7); that the children shall come again from the land of the enemy; that the children shall no longer suffer for the sins of the parents, and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know Him from the least even unto the greatest (Jer. 31:16, 29, 34); that the Lord will give the people one heart and one way and make an everlasting covenant with them, and not turn away from them to do them good; and they shall not depart from Him (Jer. 32:39, 40); that mankind will fear and tremble at all the goodness and prosperity Jehovah shall bring to them when He has pardoned all their Iniquities and transgressions (Jer. 33:8, 9); that they shall be at rest and at ease with none to make them afraid (Jer. 46:27); that the Moabites and Elamites shall return to their former estate (Jer. 48:47; 49:39); and that in those days the penitent, together, going and weeping, shall seek the Lord their God and ask the way to Zion, saying, Let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall never be forgotten.—Jer. 50:4, 5.

(10) Ezekiel foretold a coming time when the Lord will take away the stony heart out of the people and give them hearts that are warm and tender (Ezek. 11:19); that the Sodomites, the Samaritans and the Jews—who were twice as bad as either of the others—shall all return to their former estate, and the Lord will establish His covenant with them and be pacified towards them (Ezek. 16:55, 61‐63); that it will no more be true that the children suffer for the sins of their parents (Ezek. 18:2); that it will not be necessary then for anybody to die (Ezek. 18:31, 32); that the people shall dwell safely and build houses and plant vineyards with confidence (Ezek. 28:26); that the Lord will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land; and that the people shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods, the shower will come down in its season, there shall be showers of blessing, the trees shall yield their fruit and the earth shall yield its increase and the people shall dwell safely and none shall make them afraid (Ezek. 34:25‐28); that the Lord will put His Spirit into the people and cause them to walk in His ways, will increase the corn, multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, and the land that was desolate shall become like the garden of Eden (Ezek. 36:26, 27, 29, 30, 35); that the people shall have one Shepherd and walk in His statutes and do them (Ezek. 37:24); and the Lord will not hide His face from them any more when He has poured out His Spirit upon them.—Ezek. 39:29.

(11) Daniel foretold that the God of Heaven shall set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed, but which shall break in pieces and consume all other kingdoms, and which shall stand forever (Dan. 2:44); and the Kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the saints of the Most High as an everlasting dominion.—Dan. 7:27.

(12) Hosea prophesied food in abundance for the beasts of the field and the fowls of heaven with the creeping things of the ground; and that the Lord will break the bow and sword and the battle out of the earth, and make all to lie down safely; and that it shall come to pass in that Day that Jehovah will hear the new powers of spiritual control and they shall hear the cries of men (Hos. 2:18, 21); that the people shall fear the goodness of the Lord in the latter days (Hos. 3:5); that after the fifth and sixth thousand‐year Days are past the people will be raised up and live in the Lord’s sight (Hos. 6:2); and He will ransom them from hell and redeem them from death, and destroy hell altogether.—Hos. 13:14.

(13) Joel prophesied that the Lord will cause the pastures to spring, the tree to bear her fruit and the fig tree and the vine to yield their strength, and whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.—Joel 2:22, 32.

(14) Amos was the next one of the holy Prophets; and we have an inspired comment on one of his prophecies by the Apostle James in Acts 15:14‐18. James says, “Simeon [St Peter] hath declared how God at the first [in the conversion of Cornelius] did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name [the Bride of Christ]. And to this agree the words of the Prophets [Amos 9:11, 12]; as it is written, After this [after the Bride of Christ has been selected], I will return and will build again the tabernacle [the house, royalty or dominion] of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up [re‐ establish the Kingdom of God on earth]; that the residue of men [all the rest of the world of mankind] might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom My name is called, saith the Lord who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.”

(15) Obadiah was the next one of the holy Prophets; and in the last verse of his short prophecy he says, “And saviors [it is in the plural and refers not only to Jesus the Head, but to the Church, the members of His Body] shall come up on Mount Zion [come up into the Heavenly phase of the Kingdom], and shall judge the mount of Esau” [judge the world]. “Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?”

(16) Jonah was the next one of the holy Prophets; and in the fourth chapter we have an interesting picture of events now transpiring before our eyes. Jonah walked into the city of Nineveh and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” The prophecy was fulfilled in forty literal years. But when Jonah saw that things were not coming out as he expected, he was very angry and said to the Lord, “That is just what I might have expected; for I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and I said so before I left my own country.” Jonah went out, sat in the hot sun on the outside of the city, and began to sulk. The Lord took pity on him and caused a gourd to grow up over him, to shelter him from the hot rays of the sun. And Jonah was exceeding glad because of the gourd. Then the Lord prepared a worm to smite the gourd; and a strong east wind blew up and the gourd withered. Jonah’s shade was gone, and he was angrier than ever. The Lord said, “Doest thou well to be angry?” and he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, even unto death.” Then the Lord said, “Jonah, thou hast had pity on the gourd that sprung up in a night and perished in a night; and should not I spare Nineveh, that great city wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand?”

We live in a day when a class have been preaching that the world is to be destroyed; and, like Jonah, they have not properly understood their message. The kind of world that is to be destroyed is Satan’s world, Satan’s empire, arrangement, or order of things—not our literal earth. The word world does not always refer to our literal earth. For instance, when the Apostle James says, “The tongue is a world of iniquity,” he does not mean that we have inside our jaws a little planet that turns over every twenty‐four hours, that has spring, summer, fall, winter, snowstorms, rainstorms, and a moon revolving about it, with once in a while a comet and a shower of meteors thrown in for good measure. When they think about the Panama Canal, and the wonderful works of irrigation which are causing the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose, and all the other wonderful achievements of our day, these people are beginning to see that they have made a mistake and are now about where Jonah was when he said, “That is what I might have expected, for I know that Thou art a just God, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” They are now outside the city, and the scorching light of Present Truth is pretty hot. Meantime the church trust is growing up to keep off the heat. We are not to have anything to do with this church federation. “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy.” “Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word and it shall not stand; for God is with us.” (Isa. 8:10, 12.) Pretty soon something will happen to the church trust, and their shade will be gone. Then the Lord will say to them, “Oh, you need not feel so badly! You are not the first people that ever made a mistake. You have made lots of them, to be sure. You have had pity on the church trust which grew up in one year and blew up in another year; and should not I spare the poor world, that as far as their knowledge of right and wrong is concerned do not know the difference between their right hand and their left hand?”

(17) Micah has written of the coming of the Kingdom of God in the earth, accompanied by the rebuking of strong nations afar off; that then they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; that nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree [not the landlord’s]; and none [be they doctors, landlords, employers, sheriffs, or undertakers] shall make them afraid; that all people will walk in the name of our God, and that the first dominion [lost by Adam in Eden] will be restored to Christ, the Tower of the Flock.—Micah 4:1‐5, 8.

(18) Nahum was the next one of the holy Prophets; and after prophesying in the last verse of the preceding chapter about the coming of the King with His good tidings of peace to the sin‐burdened earth, he next tells (Nahum 2:3‐6) of an interesting thing that will be a matter of common everyday experience at the time the Kingdom is established. He describes a railway train in motion [not an automobile, as some think], and if we will be at the trouble to put ourselves in the Prophet’s place we can see just what he saw in his vision and what he has so interestingly described. First, the Prophet stands looking at the engine coming toward him, and then says, “The shield [the thing ahead of this great warrior—the headlight] is made red [shines brilliantly], the valiant men [the engineer and the fireman] are dyed scarlet [when the flames from the firebox illuminate the interior of the cab at night, as the fireman opens the firedoor to throw in the coal]. The chariots [the railway coaches] shall be with [shall be preceded by locomotives that, at night, have the appearance of] flaming torches, in the Day of Preparation.”

Next the Prophet takes his place in the train and looks out of the window, and, seemingly, “The fir trees shall be terribly shaken [the telegraph poles alongside the track seem to be fairly dancing]. The chariots shall rage in the streets [a railway is merely an elaborate, scientifically constructed street, or highway], they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways [the clanking and bumping of the cars together is one of the significant items of railway travel]. They shall seem like torches [a railway train at night, rushing through a distant field, looks like nothing so much as a vast torch, going at flying speed], they shall run like the lightnings.” Next the Prophet sees the conductor coming for his ticket and says, “He shall recount his worthies [the conductor spends his entire time, almost, counting and recounting his passengers, keeping them checked up, etc.]; they shall stumble in their walk [try walking on a rapidly moving train]; they shall make haste to the wall thereof [to the next city or town] and the coverer [the train shed, the station] shall be prepared [the baggageman, expressman, mail wagon, hotel bus, intending passengers, and friends to meet incoming passengers, will all be there waiting for the train to come]. The gates of the rivers shall be opened [the doors of the cars will be opened and the people will flow out] and the palace [car] shall be dissolved [emptied].”

(19) Habakkuk was the next one of the holy Prophets, and in Hab. 2:14 he says, “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” In places, the water in the Pacific Ocean is seven miles deep. Imagine a condition in which the knowledge of the glory of God is like that in the earth! It will be as impossible for a man not to know about God as it would be for one to be down at the bottom of the ocean without getting wet.

(20) Zephaniah foretold that the Lord will starve all the false gods to death; for all men will worship the one only and true God, even including the heathen we have worried so much about (Zeph. 2:11); that after the present inequitable condition of society has passed away—been devoured, not with literal fire but with the fire of the Lord’s jealousy—there will be no more sectarianism, but all the people will be taught the pure Truth and worship the Lord with one consent; the liar and deceiver will no longer be abroad in the land and the people will eat and rest without fear of disaster, dispossession or death.—Zeph. 3:9, 13.

(21) Haggai was the next one of the holy Prophets, and he says in Hag. 2:7, “The desire of all nations shall come.” In Rom. 8:19‐22, the Apostle tells us what is the desire of all nations. He says, “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain, waiting for the manifestation [showing forth] of the sons of God.” It is in the plural, and means not Jesus only, but all of the Little Flock. The groaning will not be in vain; for in the same passage the Apostle says the outcome will be that the groaning creation shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into a glorious liberty from sin and every evil thing.

(22) Zechariah prophesied that many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that Day and be His people and He will dwell in the midst of them (Zech. 2:11); that when every man dwells under his own vine and fig tree every man will love his neighbor and his brother (Zech. 3:10); that the coming Kingdom will be a Kingdom of Truth, the people will be God’s people and He will be their God in truth and righteousness; the ground shall give its increase and the heaven its dews and the Lord will do well to the people and remove their fears (Zech. 8:3, 8, 12, 15); that the inhabitants of one city will go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts; I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts and to pray before the Lord (Zech. 8:21; 22); that the battle bow shall be cut off, that the Lord shall speak peace to the people; corn shall make the young men speak, and new wine (better doctrines) the maids (Zech. 9:10, 17); that the Lord shall be King over all the earth and men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction, but all shall be holiness unto the Lord.—Zech. 14:9, 11, 20.

(23) Malachi foretold that from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name shall be great among all peoples; and in every place heart adoration shall be offered to His name (Mal. 1:11); that the devourer will be rebuked and not be permitted longer to destroy the fruits of the ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field; injurious parasites, germs and microbes will be a thing of the past. Crops will be abundant everywhere (Mal. 3:11); and The Christ, Head and Body, will arise with healing in their beams, nourishing and bringing the willing to perfection with the same care as is given to stall‐fed cattle—now receiving more attention than human beings.—Mal. 4:2.

(24) John the Baptist was the next and last of the holy Prophets, for Jesus said, “The Law and the Prophets were until John.” And John, we are told, turned and looked at Jesus, and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.”—John 1:29; Matt. 11:9, 11.

4:11. Thou art worthy, O Lord OUR LORD AND GOD.—“The proper view of the matter shows us the Heavenly Father perfect in all the attributes of nobility of character; perfect in Justice, so that the just sentence of His righteous Law cannot be infracted, even by Himself; perfect in wisdom, so that His plan and arrangement, not only with respect to man’s creation, but also with respect to man’s salvation, the Atonement, etc., were all so complete that no contingency or failure could arise, nor any necessity for change of the Divine Plan; as it is written, ‘I am the same, I change not, saith the Lord,’ and ‘Known unto the Lord are all His works, from the foundation of the world’; perfect also in His Love, than which there could be no greater love possible, and yet that Love is in full balance and accord with the other Divine attributes, so that it could spare the sinner only in harmony with the just program marked out by Divine Wisdom; perfect also in Power, so that all His good purposes, good intentions, just program and loving designs, fully co‐ordinated, shall be executed, and bring the originally designed result; as it is written, ‘My Word that goeth forth out of My mouth shall not return to Me void; it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.’ (Isa. 55:11; Mal. 3:6; Acts 15:18.)”—E. 37, 34.

To receive glory.—All the glory, Greek.

And honor and power.—“Could this Scripture ever be fulfilled, could the Divine character ever be appreciated by intelligent, honest, just and loving hearts, if in any corner of the Universe there were such orgies and tortures of His creatures as the creeds of the Darker Ages have set forth? Surely not!”—B. S. M.

For Thou has created all things.—The all things, the Universe, Greek. “Across the vista of ages He saw in His purpose the glory of an intelligent creation in His own likeness, established in righteousness and worthy of His gift of eternal life. He therein foresaw the mutual pleasure of the Creator and the creature, and with a peaceful patience He resolved to wait for the glorious consummation.”—Z. ’95‐154.

And for Thy pleasure they [are and] were created.—“He desired that love should respond to love, admiration to admiration, virtue to virtue, and grace to grace, in the Creator and the creature, as face answers to face in a glass. In this natural attitude of the Creator and the creature generous benevolence and filial gratitude combine in mutual happiness. God is happy in the realization and in the exercise of all the noble traits of His glorious character, which happiness is enhanced by appreciation of the same on the part of His creatures, and by manifestation in them of the same qualities and dispositions of mind and heart. And likewise man must both realize and exercise the noble endowments of his nature and form a character modeled after that of his Heavenly Father and meeting His approval, if he would find that true happiness which consists in the approval of his own conscience and of his Creator and Judge, in whose favor is life, and at whose right hand there are pleasures forevermore.’—Psa. 16:11.”—Z. ’95‐167.

“Sun of my soul, my Father dear, I know no night when Thou are near. O! may no earth‐born cloud arise To hide Thee from thy servant’s eyes.

Shield of my soul, though tempests rage, And ’gainst me hosts of foes engage, My refuge and my fortress Thou, Before Thee every foe must bow.

Thy grace and glory Thou dost give To those who near Thee ever live; And no good thing dost Thou withhold From sheep which stray not from Thy fold.”

Hindrances To Christian Progress

The Thinking Public Declines To Endorse The Modern Political Preaching

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Revelation 5—The Executor Of The Plan

5:1. And I saw in the right hand.—“The Divine Plan, known only to the Father, Jehovah Himself, was kept in His own power—in His own hand—until some one should be proved worthy to know it, and become its executor as Jehovah’s honored Agent and Representative.”—E. 39, 36.

Of Him that sat on the Throne.—“He that sits upon the Throne is Jehovah. The scroll in His right hand is His Plan for human redemption, sealed from all until One should be found and proved ‘worthy.’ ”—Z. ’97‐150.

A book.—“Not the Bible, but the Divine Plan, with its times and seasons.” (Z. ’16‐252.) “This was the Mystery, the Secret of the Lord, unknown to any one but Himself—His plan for the salvation of the world.”—Z. ’97‐256.

Written [within] IN FRONT.—The writing in front is the fulfilment of everything prophesied on the outside. Every word of every prophecy of God’s Word is sure of fulfilment. “Seek ye out the book of the Lord, and read; no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate; for My mouth it hath commanded, and His Spirit it hath gathered them.” (Isa. 34:16.) “That scroll contains a record of everything that is happening now, and all that will occur throughout the Millennial Age, down to its very close—down to the time when every creature in Heaven and in earth and those in the sea, shall ascribe praise, honor, glory and dominion to Him that sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lamb forever.—Rev. 5:13.” (Z. ’09‐243.) “Among the Orientals the lines began from the right hand and ran to the left hand; with the Northern and Western nations, from the left to the right hand; but the Greeks sometimes followed both directions alternately.” (McC.)

The Word is plainly written on the outside, where all may read the words, but cannot understand their significance without Divine aid. Meantime, from age to age, the events foretold occur in the manner predicted. The manner of the writing, some of it from left to right and some from right to left, enables the fulfilments to follow the prophecies exactly, item by item, to the last jot and tittle. Write a word on a sheet of paper and then turn the paper over and look at it, holding it in front of a good light. Thus it is with the Word of God. The prophecies look strange until the due time has come for holding them up to the light, and then they become clear. What could be only imperfectly deciphered until the hindering seal is broken is no mystery after the seal is broken, because the book or scroll or chart can be turned about and held to the light. The fulfilments are seen to fit the prophecies. If the lines are not clear, then for some reason we are looking upon that much of the record from the outside and not from the inside.

And on the backside.—“Excepting the bare promise (written on the outside of the scroll) of salvation through the Seed of the woman, nothing could be known of the wonderful scheme for human restitution until the Son of God, having left the glory of the spiritual nature, took our nature and by the sacrifice of Himself redeemed us from death. Then, having His righteousness imputed to us by faith, we are counted worthy to look upon the scroll as He opens the seals one after another.”—Z. ’02‐332; Ezek. 2:9, 10.

Sealed with seven seals.—“The things that were sealed were not proper to be understood by our Redeemer until He had received the all‐power, after His resurrection. The execution of God’s Plan was then given into His hands.”—Z. ’16‐253.

5:2. And I saw a strong angel.—Personification of the Law.

Proclaiming.—In types and shadows, pictures, figures and symbols.

With a loud voice.—From the fall of Adam onward.

Who is worthy.—“The inquiry compassed the period from before Jesus came into the world up to His resurrection from the grave. God had given the most honorable One of all the host of Heaven the first opportunity to prove His worthiness to loose the Scroll of God’s great Plan, and to fulfill its provisions. And He did not allow the privilege to go by. He accepted it.”—Z. ’16‐252.

To open the book.—“The inquiry, ‘Who is worthy to open the book [scroll] and to loose the seals thereof?’ had long been made: for four thousand years, from the giving of the promise that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head, it had been the query—Who shall be esteemed, by Jehovah God, to be worthy to perform His gracious purposes, and thus be honored above all others as Servant (Messenger) of the Covenant of Grace?”—Z. ’97‐150.

And to loose the seals thereof.—“John in the symbol hears the proclamation, ‘Who is worthy to open the Book and to loose the seals?’—who is worthy to have committed to his care the execution of the great Divine Plan, wonderful for its wisdom and love, and its lengths and breadths and depths and heights past human comprehension—that he may open it and execute it?”—Z. ’97‐256.

5:3. And no man in Heaven.—No angel had been proven worthy. “Which things the angels desire to look into.”—1 Pet. 1:12.

Nor in earth, [neither under the earth].—No man on earth was worthy. “There is none righteous; no, not one; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”—Rom. 3:10, 23.

Was able to open the book.—“In the picture John looked to see who the worthy one might be, but none was found worthy.”—Z. ’09‐243.

Neither to look thereon.—In the light of this Scripture, who can dare, in his own strength, wisdom or righteousness to interpret the Word of God or take any part in the execution of the Plan?—Heb. 12:18‐29.

5:4. And I wept much.—“It seemed to John too bad that God should have some great, wonderful purposes which might come to naught because no one was worthy to be the Divine executor.”—Z. ’09‐243.

Because no man.—No being in the Universe.

Was found worthy to open and to read the book.—“When silence prevailed, and none was found worthy either in Heaven or on earth (representing the condition of things prior to the First Advent), John began saying to himself: Alas! we may never know God’s gracious and wise plans for the welfare of His creatures, because none is found worthy to know or execute them.”—Z. ’97‐150; John 1:27; Matt. 8:8.

Neither to look thereon.—“So it was that, even our Lord Jesus, prior to the finishing of His sacrifice, as He then declared, did not know all about the Father’s plans, times and seasons (Mark 13:32.)”—Z. ’97‐150.

5:5. And one of the elders.—The deathbed prophecy of Jacob. It is the identification of this elder that enables us to recognize the other twenty‐three.—Rev. 4:10.

Saith unto me.—“Judah is a lion’s whelp. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.”—Gen. 49:9, 10.

Weep not: behold, the Lion.—“The Holy One, and the Just.”—Acts 3:14; 22:14.

Of the tribe of Juda.—“The great prize, for which Israel had been longing for centuries, was won by the Lion of the tribe of Judah. (Heb. 7:14.)”—B. 85.

“For an illustration of latter time assumptions, note the fact that a late pope, upon ascending the throne, took the title of Leo XIII, and shortly after subscribed himself ‘Leo de tribus Juda,’ i. e., ‘The Lion of the tribe of Judah.’ ”—B. 316.

The Root of David.—“It was not the pre‐human Logos, nor yet the man Jesus, that was David’s Lord and David’s Root; but the resurrected Messiah.”—E. 151, 136; Isa. 11:1; Rom. 15:12; Rev. 22:16.

Hath prevailed to open the book.—“When our Lord Jesus had proven His loyalty to the Heavenly Father by His obedience, ‘even unto the [ignominious] death of the cross,’ then and thereby He did prove Himself worthy of every confidence and trust.”—E. 39, 37.

And to loose the seven seals thereof.—“Great was the favor bestowed upon the Just One of the tribe of Judah, in being permitted to open the seals; and great is the privilege of those who are permitted to look thereon as the seals are opened.”—Z. ’02‐332; Rev. 5:2; 6:1.

5:6. And I beheld, [and lo,] in the midst of the Throne.—“In the bosom of the Father.”—John 1:18.

And of the four beasts.—“The express image of His person.”—Heb. 1:3.

And in the midst of the elders.—The central theme of all their prophesies.—Rev. 4:10.

Stood a Lamb as it had been slain.—“It was not possible for Him to know the completeness of the Divine Plan until after He had demonstrated His worthiness by His obedience unto death, even the death of the cross.”—Z. ’06‐39; Isa. 53:7; John 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32; 1 Pet. 1:19.

Having seven horns.—Perfect power. “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth.”—Matt. 28:18; 1 Sam. 2:1, 10; Deut. 33:17; 1 Ki. 22:11.

And seven eyes.—Perfect wisdom. “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”—Col. 2:3; Zech. 3:9; 4:10; Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 2 Chron. 16:9.

Which are the seven Spirits of God.—Or lamps of fire.—Rev. 4:5.

Sent forth into all the earth.—See Rev. 1:4.

5:7. And He came and took the book.—“To Him was the scroll or book entrusted, that in due time all the wonderful provisions of the Divine Plan might be fully executed in the glorification of the Church and the blessing of all the families of the earth.”—Z. ’06‐39.

Out of the right hand.—See Rev. 5:1.

Of Him that sat upon the Throne.—Jehovah. If Jesus and His Father are a Trinity, “One in person, equal in glory and power,” how is it that one has to come to the other for something, or how can He come to Himself and take something He already has and give it to Himself?

5:8. And when He had taken the book.—His worthiness to do so having been proven by His resurrection to the Divine nature.

The four beasts.—Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.—Rev. 4:6, 7.

And four and twenty elders.—Messages of the four and twenty Prophets.—Rev. 4:10.

Fell down before the Lamb.—Gave their joint homage and adoration to the Conqueror of sin and death.

Each having [every one of them harps] A HARP.—Yielding the most exquisite harmony that ever fell on mortal ears.—Rev. 15:1‐4; 4:10.

And golden vials.—Incense cups, “spoons,” similar to those used at the Golden Altar.—Ex. 25:29; 30:1‐9.

Full of odors.—The sweet fragrance of patient hearts, precious in the Father’s memory, pleading for love and wisdom Divine.—Psa. 141:2; Ex. 30:34‐38; Lev. 16:12, 13; Lu. 1:9, 10; Acts 10:4.

Which are the prayers of saints.—Every one of which, by the Father’s arrangement, has been made in the name of the One here honored.—John 16:23; Eph. 2:19.

5:9. And they sung a new song.—“This means that the Divine Plan as a whole was here made known to Him—for He already had knowledge of much of this—but all things were now given Him.”—Z. ’16‐253; Psa. 40:3; Rev. 14:3.

Saying, Thou art worthy to take the book.—Worthy of “a name which is above every name.”—Phil. 2:9.

And to open the seals thereof.—Disclose the wonderful method by which the Father will develop the saviors of the world.—Obad. 21.

For thou wast slain.—He had sacrificed His will, but this was not sufficient. “God wished Him to sacrifice not only His will, but actually to lay down His human life. When all His testings were completed at His death on the Cross, God gave Him a name to which all should bow, both in Heaven and in earth.”—Z. ’16‐252.

And hast redeemed.—“Agorazo. This word signifies to purchase in the open market.”—E. 443, 429; 1 Cor. 6:20; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19.

[Us].—Oldest MS., with evident propriety, omits us, since the Divine attributes and prophecies were not redeemed.—Z. ’97‐151.

To God.—“What say the Scriptures respecting the sacrifice of Christ, the offering which He made? Do they say that it was made to Satan or to Jehovah God? We answer that in all the types of the Jewish dispensation, which foreshadowed this better sacrifice, which does take away the sins of the world, the offerings were presented to God, at the hands of the priest, who typified our Lord Jesus.”—E. 461, 449.

By Thy blood.—“If the blood of bulls and of goats ... sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal spirit, offered Himself without spot to God.”—Heb. 9:13‐15.

Out of every kindred.—“In thy Seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.”—Acts 3:25.

And tongue.—“Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”—Isa. 45:23.

And people.—“The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory.”—Psa. 97:6.

And nation.—“And in thy Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.”—Gen. 26:4, 22:18; Rev. 14:6.

5:10. And hast made [us] THEM unto our God [Kings] A KINGDOM.—“It will be the Kingdom of the saints, in that they shall reign and judge and bless the world in conjunction with their Lord, Jesus. (Rom. 8:17, 18.) The Kingdom class proper will consist only of our Lord and His ‘elect’ Little Flock.”—D. 618.

And [priests] PRIESTHOOD.—“The Divine provision for a ‘Royal Priesthood’ implies weakness, imperfection, on the part of some whom the priests are to help, and instruct, and from whom they are to accept sacrifice and offerings for sin, and to whom they are to extend mercy and forgiveness.”—E. 486, 476; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 20:6.

And [we] THEY shall reign.—“But before the Royal Priesthood begin their reign, they must ‘suffer with Him,’ sharing in the antitypical sacrifices. (2 Tim. 2:12.)”—T. 26.

On.—Epi, over.—Rev. 6:16.

The earth.—“The Kingdom and dominion, even the majesty of the Kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all rulers shall serve and obey Him. (Dan 7:27.)”—D. 618.

5:11. And I beheld.—John beheld this in vision and will behold it in reality.

And I heard.—John heard in the vision, and will hear in the reality.

As it were the voice of many angels.—Besides the angels, the Great Company are in this happy throng. The events to the end of the chapter have their fulfilment in the future.

Round about the Throne.—“In the circuit of Heaven” (Job 22:14), the circle of the Universe.

And the beasts.—Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.—Rev. 4:6, 7.

And the elders.—The prophecies.—Rev. 4:10.

And the number of them.—“Whose number no man knoweth.”—Rev. 7:9.

Was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.—The number of the Great Company will apparently exceed one hundred millions. Num. 4:46‐48 and Ex. 28:1 indicate but one priest to each 2,860 Levites, which would make the number of the Great Company approximate 411,840,000.—T. 118, 119; Dan. 7:10.

5:12. Saying with a loud voice.—The Great Company will be very enthusiastic workers on the other side of the veil, for they really love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30), and need only to be liberated to give full expression to that love.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.—“Our Lord Jesus demonstrated before the Father, before angels, and before His ‘brethren,’ His fidelity to the Father and to the Father’s Law, demonstrating that it was not beyond the ability of a perfect being, even under the most adverse conditions.”—E. 134, 120.

To receive power.—The Great Company class humbly realize that their faithfulness and zeal was not sufficient to warrant their own exaltation to power.

And riches.—They realize they did not lay up all the Heavenly treasures they might have done, but hid their talents in earthly pursuits.

And wisdom.—They realize their own unwisdom in seeking the praise of men and that the Christ Company, though apparently fools for Christ’s sake, were really the wisest of the wise.

And strength.—They know that they used their own strength for the support and maintenance of institutions which really hindered rather than helped the Bride to make herself ready.

And honor.—They know that, as a class, they sought and obtained the honor that cometh from men, but failed to properly seek the honor that cometh from God only.

And glory.—They know that they failed to meet the high conditions of self‐ sacrifice, and were therefore unworthy of the high reward.

And blessing.—They feel that the blessings which the Lord gave to them were thoughtlessly appropriated to themselves and their families, with hardly a serious thought about the needs of the Lord’s dear family; and that appropriately, the chiefest of all blessings, the privilege of extending God’s blessings to the needy world, should go to those who most earnestly “by patient perseverance in well doing (did) seek for glory, honor and immortality.” (Rom. 2:7.) Thus they reverence the Lamb, and His Bride, for they are one.—Rev. 19:7.

5:13. And every creature.—After the destruction of the incorrigible at the end of the Millennial Age (and this, in itself, is a blessing to those who refuse to make a right use of life).

Which is in Heaven.—“Let all the angels of God worship Him.” (Heb. 1:6.) “Worship Him, all ye gods.”—Psa. 97:7.

And on the earth, [and under the earth,].—All mankind.—1 Cor. 15:25.

And such [as are] in the sea.—The class that continues to be “in the sea,” i. e., not under religious restraint, will cease to exist. They no longer are, but even their terminated existence will be to the praise of the One who died for them on Calvary; for they will have had a perfect chance.

And all that are in them.—“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth.”—Phil. 2:10; Eph. 1:10; Col. 1:20.

[Heard I] AND I HEARD THEM saying, THE Blessing.—The myriads of happy beings, on all created planes of intelligence, from the highest to the lowest, in Heaven and earth, acknowledge with joy the source of all their blessings.—Rom. 9:5.

And honor.—By that time all will have come to see what a great honor has been conferred on any creature to receive the unspeakable boon of life on any plane, and will gladly own its fountain.—1 Tim. 6:16.

And glory [and power] OF THE ALMIGHTY.—Each will have come to know the glory of life on his own plane. “There are celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”—1 Cor. 15:40, 41; Rom. 16:27; 1 Pet. 4:11; 5:11.

Be.—Be ascribed to.

Him that sitteth upon the Throne.—Our Father and Friend.—1 Chron. 29:11.

And unto the Lamb.—Our Redeemer and Brother.

For ever and ever.—“For the Ages of the Ages,” Greek.

5:14. And the four beasts said Amen.—Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom unitedly declare this to be the happy outcome.

And the [four and twenty] elders fell down and worshipped [Him that liveth for ever and ever].—The prophecies plainly declare that neither men nor devils can in any wise thwart this perfect ending of the Plan which began so strangely and still progresses—the perfection, through suffering, of the Little Flock, the Great Company and, indeed, the world of mankind itself.—Rev. 4:10.

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Revelation 6—Six Seals And The Papacy

6:1. And I saw.—“God does not display His plans to satisfy mere idle curiosity. If we would comprehend what is revealed within the scroll we must be sincerely desirous of knowing the details of God’s Plan in order to an earnest co‐operation with it. Such, and such only, are worthy to know, and such only ever come to see, in the sense of understanding and appreciating, the deep things of God written within the scroll. Such are the righteous for whom the light (Truth) is sown. This worthiness is inquired for not only at the beginning, but all along the path of light. If we are not found worthy by the various tests applied from time to time, we cannot proceed in the path of light; and unless the unfaithful ones arouse themselves to greater diligence and watchfulness, the light that already is in them will become darkness. And how great, how intense must be the darkness of one cast out of light! (Matt. 6:23.)”—Z. ’02‐332.

When the Lamb opened.—“The opening of the seals has progressed during all the Gospel Age. It has required all of the present Age and will require all of the next Age to complete the Plan. We may suppose that the Lord Jesus was made aware of all its features after His ascension to the presence of Jehovah. The Master declared that as the Father revealed them unto Him, so would He reveal them unto us.”—Z. ’16‐253; Rev. 5:5‐9.

One of the SEVEN seals.—“Each seal as it was loosed permitted the scroll as a whole to open a little wider, and a little wider, thus permitting ‘the mystery of God’ to be a little more clearly discerned.”—Z. ’97‐257.

And I heard [as it were the noise of thunder].—The roar of a Lion.

One of the four beasts.—Justice, typified by the Lion.—Rev. 4:7.

Saying, AS IT WERE THE NOISE OF THUNDER, Come and see.—Come and see Infinite Justice permitting one of the greatest acts of injustice ever perpetrated.

6:2. And I saw.—John beheld in vision the first strange and wonderful feature of the Divine Plan for the permission of evil as it related to epochs of the Church beyond his own epoch—that of Smyrna.

And behold a white horse.—The doctrines, teachings of the Lord and the Apostles recognized as the one and only rule of faith and practice of God’s Church.

And he that sat on him.—The Bishop of Rome, the embryo Pope, the personal representative of Satan.

Had a bow.—“They bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not Me, saith the Lord.”—Jer. 9:3.

And a crown.—Great honor and authority in the Church.

Was given unto him.—“Under the reign of Constantine (who murdered his own son in the same year in which he convened the Council of Nice) the opposition of the empire to Christianity gave way to favor, and the Imperial Pontifex Maximus became the patron of the professed but really apostate Church of Christ; and, taking her by the hand, he assisted her to a place of popularity and splendor from which she was able afterward, as the imperial power grew weak, to put her own representatives upon the religious throne of the world as Chief Religious Ruler—Pontifex Maximus.”—B. 290.

And he went forth conquering, [and to conquer] AND HE CONQUERED.—Thus we see the apparent defeat of Infinite Justice in this first epoch. Apparently, God forsook His Church, having jeopardized all its interests by placing the power in the hands of a self‐seeking ecclesiastical system. But worse things are coming!

6:3. And when He had opened the second seal.—Revealing the second period of the history of the Antichrist.

I heard the second beast.—Infinite Power. See Rev. 4:7.

Say, Come and see.—Come and see Infinite Power consenting to a thing apparently in victorious opposition to it.

6:4. And I beheld and lo there went out another horse.—A creed‐horse, quite different from the Scriptures which it misrepresented.

That was red.—The color of sin—imperfection. “Though your sins be as scarlet.”—Isa. 1:18.

And power was given to him that sat thereon.—The same rider, the Antichrist.

To take peace from the earth.—To embroil in controversy those who were under religious restraint—in other words, the entire professed church of God.

And that they should kill one another.—Depose and destroy one another as teachers, by inveighing the Roman power against all offenders.

And there was given unto him a great sword.—As the Lord has a great and powerful sword, the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17), and as it is represented as coming out of His mouth, so the Papacy has a great and powerful sword, in opposition to the Sword of the Spirit, and it, too, comes out of Papacy’s mouth. [The word here is different from Rev. 1:16 and refers to the butcher knife—Gen. 22:6, 10.] “The pope (each pope in his turn) is the head of the false church, which is his body, even as Christ Jesus is the Head of the true Church, which is His Body. Since the head is the representative of the body, and its mouth speaks for the body, we find, as we should expect, this feature of Antichrist prominently referred to in the Scriptures. In Daniel 7:8, 11, 25, and Rev. 13:5, 6, the mouth of Antichrist is brought specially to our notice as a leading characteristic.”—B. 304.

This period, beginning with the year 325 A. D. and extending to the year 539, was the period of formation of creeds. “Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings.” (Josh. 10:24.) Once they were very powerful, but they are quite harmless now. The Lord (Joshua‐Savior) has humbled them all by His own Sword of the Spirit in the hands of Pastor Russell.

“Neither Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, nor any ecclesiastical writer before the fifth century, makes mention of an assembly of the Apostles for the purpose of forming a creed. Had the Apostles composed it, it would have been the same in all churches and ages. But it is quite otherwise.” (McC.) So much for the well‐known “Apostle’s Creed,” which, it is alleged, “comprehends the leading articles of the faith in the triune God.”

But this was not triune enough, so the Nicene Creed improved the matter, A. D. 325:

“We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, Only‐begotten, that is of the substance of the Father; God of God; Light of Light; very God of very God; begotten, not made; of the same substance with the Father; by whom all things were made, both things in Heaven and things in earth; who for us men and our salvation became flesh, was made man, suffered, and rose again the third day. He ascended into Heaven; He cometh to judge the quick and dead. And in the Holy Ghost. But those that say there was a time when He was not; or that He was not before He was begotten; or that He was made from that which had no being; or who affirm the Son of God to be of any other substance or essence, or created, or variable, or mutable, such persons doth the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematize.”

Fifty‐six years later, at the second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, A. D. 381, the Nicaeno‐Constantinopolitan Creed was put on the market:

“I believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only‐begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose Kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spake by the Prophets. And I believe in the one catholic and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.”

This did very well until the fourth Ecumenical Council, A. D. 451, when the Chalcedon Creed was worked up. But very little is said about this creed nowadays; for “the two parties in the council were roused to the highest pitch of passion, the proceedings, especially during the early sessions, were very tumultuous, until the lay commissioners and the senators had to urge the bishops to keep order, saying that such vulgar outcries were disgraceful.” However, we give it for what it is worth:

“We confess and with one accord teach one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect in the divinity, perfect in the humanity, truly God and truly man, consisting of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the manhood; in all things like unto us, sin only excepted; who was begotten of the Father before all ages, according to the Godhead; and in the last days the same was born, according to the manhood, of Mary the Virgin, Mother of God, for us and for our salvation; who is to be acknowledged one and the same Christ, the Son, the Lord, the Only Begotten in two natures, without mixture, change, division or separation; the difference of natures not being removed by their union, but rather the propriety of each nature being preserved and concurring in one person and in one hypostasis, so that He is not divided into two persons, but the only Son, the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, and one and the same person.”

A merciful oblivion has hidden the name and the date of authorship of the next creed, the Athanasian, the cream of all the creeds; but it was probably manufactured by Satan for use about 539 A. D. By 570 A. D. it had become very famous. “The creed is received in the Greek, Roman and English churches, but is left out of the service of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America.” The nature of this creed may be judged by the following extract from an 1855 issue of the Church of England Quarterly:

“The Athanasian Creed finds few real lovers as a portion of a public service. No one supposes that it was the work of Athanasius. [Athanasius originated the monastery‐convent system. He was the Bishop of Alexandria and friend of the Emperor Constantine who caused the banishment of Arius.] No one is now, at least among us, in any danger from the errors it denounces; for no one believes that all the members of the Greek Church are necessarily consigned to everlasting damnation; and thus, every time the creed is read, the officiating minister has solemnly to enunciate what neither he nor any of his hearers believes. It is true that by distinguishing between the creed itself and the damnatory clauses he may save himself, mentally, from declaring a falsehood; but surely this is reason enough for the removal of the creed from our Liturgy. We have had too much in our Church of mental reservations. So far as the doctrine of the Trinity is concerned, it is abundantly insisted on in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.”

It seems almost incredible that any one seriously believed the following amazing statements:

“Whoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic faith, which faith, except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all one; the glory equal, the majesty co‐eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty. And yet there are not three almighties, but one almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every person by Himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there be three Gods and three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is afore or after other; none is greater or less than another. But the whole three persons are co‐eternal together, and co‐equal. So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.

“He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity. Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of the substance of His mother, born in the world. Perfect God and perfect man, or a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood. Who, although He be God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ. One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the manhood into God. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into Heaven; He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty. From whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again in their bodies, and shall account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and they that have done evil into everlasting fire. This is the Catholic faith which, except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”

This put an end to the business of creed making, Satan’s powers of concocting gibberish to take the place of the Bible having been temporarily quite exhausted. But a thousand years later the “Creed of Pope Pius IV” was issued in the form of a bull in December, 1564. “All bishops, ecclesiastics, and teachers in the Romish church, as well as all converts from Protestantism, publicly profess assent to it.” It follows:

“I, A. B., believe and profess with a firm faith all and every one of the things which are contained in the symbol of faith which is used in the Holy Roman Church; namely, I believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only‐ begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose kingdom there will be no end; and in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Life‐giver, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who, together with the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified, who spake by the holy prophets; and one holy catholic and apostolic church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins; and I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. I most firmly admit and embrace apostolical and ecclesiastical traditions, and all other constitutions and observances of the same church. I also admit the sacred Scriptures according to the sense which the holy mother church has held and does hold, to whom it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures; nor will I ever take or interpret them otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the fathers.

“I profess, also, that there are truly and properly seven sacraments of the new law, instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and for the salvation of mankind, though all are not necessary for every one—namely, baptism, confirmation, eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders, and matrimony, and that they confer grace; and of these, baptism, confirmation, and order cannot be reiterated without sacrilege. I do also receive and admit the ceremonies of the Catholic Church, received and approved in the solemn administration of all the above‐said sacraments. I receive and embrace all and every one of the things which have been defined and declared in the holy Council of Trent concerning sin and justification. I profess likewise that in the mass is offered to God a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead; and that in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist there is truly, really and substantially the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that there is made a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood, which conversion the Catholic Church calls Transubstantiation. I confess, also, that under either kind alone, whole and entire, Christ and a true sacrament is received. I constantly hold that there is a purgatory, and that the souls detained therein are helped by the suffrages of the faithful. Likewise that the saints reigning together with Christ are to be honored and invocated, that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be venerated.

“I most firmly assert that the images of Christ, and of the Mother of God, ever Virgin, and also of the other saints, are to be had and retained, and that due honor and veneration are to be given to them. I also affirm that the power of indulgences was left by Christ in the Church, and that the use of them is most wholesome to Christian people. I acknowledge the holy catholic and apostolic Roman Church, the mother and mistress of all churches; and I promise and swear true obedience to the Roman bishop, the successor of St. Peter, prince of the apostles and vicar of Jesus Christ. I also profess and undoubtedly receive all other things delivered, defined, and declared by the sacred canons and general councils, and particularly by the holy Council of Trent; and likewise I also condemn, reject, and anathematize all things contrary thereto, and all heresies whatsoever condemned, rejected, and anathematized by the Church. This true catholic faith, out of which none can be saved, which I now freely profess and truly hold, I, A. B., promise, vow, and swear most constantly to hold, and profess the same whole and entire, with God’s assistance to the end of my life; and to procure, as far as lies in my power, that the same shall be held, taught, and preached by all who are under me, or are intrusted to my care, by virtue of my office. So help me God, and these holy Gospels of God. Amen.”

The less Bible, the more Creed, and the thicker and blacker the darkness! Bible students will not fail to notice the progressive darkness of these creeds. Incarnation is first mentioned in the third creed, mariolatry in the fourth, and trinity and purgatory in the fifth.

In the Millennial Age the creed‐formers will feel like adding a postscript to their work, reading about as follows:

“P. S.—We have had our eyes opened and now see that Jesus was the Alpha, the Beginning of the creation of God, and the Omega, the Last of the Father’s direct creation (Rev. 22:13; 1:8); that as the Logos, or Representative of the Father, He was a God (mighty one) but not the God, Jehovah (John 1:1); that all things were made by Him (John 1:3); that Jehovah sent His Son to save mankind (1 John 4:10); that the Logos was made flesh (John 1:14) and in the days of His flesh (Heb. 5:7) became poor (2 Cor. 8:9), lower than the angels (Heb. 2:9), a servant (Phil. 2:7), a man (Phil. 2:8); that while a man He did not have all wisdom (Luke 2:52) but admitted the Father’s greater power (John 14:28) and knowledge (Matt. 24:36); that as the Father had previously said that He would give His own personal glory to no one (Isa. 42:8), so Jesus admitted He and the Father were two separate persons (John 8:17, 18); that He admitted He had not the glory of the Father (John 17:5) and expected the same unity between the Church and the Father as existed between Himself and the Father (John 17:21‐23); that when He died He was really, truly, completely dead, as dead as though He had never previously existed (1 Cor. 15:3; Rev. 1:18); that God raised Him from the dead (Acts 2:24; Gal. 1:1); highly exalted Him (Phil. 2:9) to Divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4); making Him the express image of Himself (Heb. 1:3); but that even since His resurrection our Father is still Jesus’ Father and our God is still His God (John 20:17); that a thousand years hence Jesus will still be subject to the Father (1 Cor. 15:28); that to us there is but one God (1 Cor. 8:6) and that every doctrine that confesseth that Jesus Christ when He came in the flesh came as anything more or less than a fleshly being is the spirit of Antichrist which dictated every one of the creeds aforementioned (1 John 4:3).”

6:5. And when He had opened the third seal.—Disclosing the third epoch in the history of Antichrist.

I heard the third beast.—Infinite Love.

Say, Come and see.—Come and see the apparently complete triumph of the powers of darkness and the apparent inaction of Infinite Love in permitting it.

And I beheld, and lo, a black horse.—Complete disregard of the Scriptures by clergy and people alike, and in their place the ugly creeds and bulls of popes and councils.

And he that sat on him.—The same rider, the Antichrist.

Had a pair of balances in his hand.—“Balance joined with symbols denoting the sale of corn and fruits by weight, becomes the symbol of scarcity; bread by weight being a curse in Lev. 26:26 and in Ezek. 4:16, 17.” (McC.) During this period the common people could have in their own tongue only a few words or verses of the Scriptures; and for these they were obliged to pay large sums to the clergy, who alone had the ability to translate from the dead languages, or even to read at all. As the services were in Latin the people were starved spiritually.

6:6. And I heard AS IT WERE a voice.—The voice of the Lord Jesus, the Guardian and Caretaker of the true Church.—Matt. 28:20.

In the midst of the four beasts.—“In the midst of the Throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb.”—Rev. 5:6.

Say, A measure.—“The word chenix denotes a measure containing one wine quart and a twelfth part of a quart.”—Diaglott.

Of wheat.—The true children of the Kingdom.—C. 137.

For a penny.—“A denarius was the day‐wages of a laborer in Palestine (Matt. 20:2, 9).” (Diaglott.) These wages, a little more than a quart of wheat for a day’s work, show how great was the effort, in those dark and terrible days, to find some “grains of wheat.”—Amos 8:11.

And three measures.—Three chenices, three quarts.

Of barley.—Spiritual adulterers and adulteresses, courting the friendship of the world. (Jas. 4:4.) Barley is the symbol of the adulteress as wheat is the symbol of the virgin.—Num. 5:15; Hos. 3:1, 2.

For a penny.—For a denarius. It was three times as easy to find the faithless as the faithful.

And see thou hurt not the oil.—The supply of the oil, the Holy Spirit of full submission to the will of God was low; the light of the true Church was feeble indeed.

And the wine.—Wine is a symbol of doctrine, true or false, and its accompanying joys. In this case it refers to the true doctrines of the Kingdom. But little knowledge of the coming Kingdom was prevalent then, and the joys of the Church were proportionately small. (See comments on Rev. 2:12‐17, synchronous with events of second and third seals.)

Lest it be supposed that the Roman Catholic church is now different from what it once was, and that at present it is holding to the Scriptures, we quote the following from Strength of Will by E. Boyd Barrett, of the Society of the Jesuits, approved by the Roman Catholic censor, Remy Lafort, and approved by John, Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York, November 24th, 1915:

“Catholic ascetics teach us, in this matter, first of all to have a clear and definite view of the object we propose to ourselves—let us suppose that it is to overcome the passion of anger. Now the resolution, ‘not to give way to anger’ would be far too broad and too great. Applying the principle, ‘divide et impera,’ we content ourselves with resolving ‘not to give way to external manifestations of anger.’ But here again, our resolution is too broad and too great. We again apply the principle, ‘divide et impera,’ and resolve ‘not to give way to angry retorts.’ This resolution is pointed, definite and intelligible—it means that cross and peevish remarks must not occur. A time limit may now be added in order to make the resolution still more well‐defined: ’Until the last day of this month I will not make an angry retort.’ Possibly, it might be advisable to limit this resolution still more, by conditions of place or circumstance, adding ‘in such a place or to such a person, or during such a ceremony.’ ” Simple! All you have to do is to keep dividing.

6:7. And when He had opened the fourth seal.—Disclosing the history of the Papacy in its fourth stage, the period synchronizing with the Thyatira and Sardis epochs. See Rev. 2:18‐29; 3:1‐6.

I heard the voice of the fourth beast.—Infinite Wisdom.

Say, Come and see.—Come and see what would seem to be the most unwise thing the Lord could possibly permit to happen to His Church.

6:8. And I looked, and behold a pale horse.—The ghastly and horrible teachings that God’s true people must be “exterminated.” “The ghastly green of terror and of death. The word is used of grass in Rev. 8:7; 9:4; Mark 6:39.”—Cook.

And his name that sat on him was Death.—Still the same rider, the Papacy; and an apt description of its chief claim to recognition during the pre‐ Reformation period.

“Pope Innocent III. first sent missionaries to the districts in which the doctrines had gained foothold, to preach Romanism, work miracles, etc.; but, finding these efforts unavailing, he proclaimed a crusade against them and offered to all who would engage in it the pardon of all sins and an immediate passport to Heaven without passing through purgatory. With full faith in the pope’s power to bestow the promised rewards, half a million men—French, German and Italian—rallied around the standard of the cross, for the defence of Catholicism and the extinction of heresy. Then followed a series of battles and sieges covering a space of twenty years. The city of Beziers was stormed and taken in 1209, and the citizens, without regard for age or sex, perished by the sword to the number of sixty thousand, as reported by several historians. The blood of those who fled to churches, and were murdered there by the holy crusaders, drenched the altars and flowed through the streets. It is estimated that one hundred thousand Albigenses fell in one day; and their bodies were heaped together and burned. The clergy thanked God for the work of destruction, and a hymn of praise to God for the glorious victory was composed and sung.”—B. 335.

And Hell followed with him.—All the people killed by the pope went to hell, and he himself went there also; but none of them went to the kind of hell to which the pope thought he was sending them. They went to the Bible hell, which is a place quite different from what is supposed. The average man believes in hell, but thinks few people go there and that nobody knows much about it. The Bible is the only authority on the subject, and no one can know anything about it, aside from the Bible. When we consider Christ’s statement that unless a man loves Him more than “father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26), and reflect that probably not one professed Christian in a hundred has reached either this standard or the other one which He set in the same chapter, that “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33), it should make us willing to consider carefully what is to become of the 9,999 out of every 10,000 of earth’s population that do not meet these conditions.

We all know that “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psa. 9:17); but how many of us know that they will be re‐turned there; that the passage, correctly translated, reads, “The wicked shall be returned into hell, all the nations that forget God”—showing that there are nations which go into hell once, come out of hell, learn of God, forget Him and are returned there? We may all know (Jude 11) that Korah, or Core, went to hell; but how many of us know that he was accompanied to this place by his house, with all his household goods, and two other establishments similarly equipped? (Num. 16:32, 33.) We may all know that the Sodomites went to hell (Gen. 19), but how many know that they were accompanied by the city in which they lived and that there are other cities there? (Matt. 11:23.) We may all suppose that many heathen warriors of long ago went to hell, but how many of us know that they took with them their weapons of war, and that their swords are there now, under their heads, with what is left of their bones? (Ezek. 32:27.) We may understand that the wealthy go to hell, but how many know that in the same place are sheep, gray hairs, worms, dust, trees and water?—Psa. 49:14; Gen. 44:31; Job 17:13‐16; Ezek. 31:16.

We may all know that bad men go to hell, but how many of us know that the Ancient Worthies, Jacob and Hezekiah, fully expected to go there, and that faithful Job prayed to go there? (Gen. 37:35; Job 14:13.) We may all wish to keep out of hell, but how many of us know that David said there is not a man that liveth that shall deliver his soul from its power, and that Solomon says, thou goest there, whosoever thou art? (Psa. 89:48; Eccl. 9:10.) We may think that those who go to hell go there to stay forever, but how many of us know that Samuel said, “The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth down to hell and bringeth up” out of hell, and that David said, God has the same power to aid those in hell that He has to bless those in Heaven? (1 Sam. 2:6; Psa. 139:8.) We may think that those who go into hell never come out, and that there is no record that any have come out, yet there are at least two persons in history who have been in hell and come out of hell. One is Jonah, who prayed in hell and was delivered from hell (Jonah 2:2), and the other is Christ, whose soul went to hell, but “His soul was not left in hell,” for God raised Him up out of it. (Acts 2:31.) And when Christ came out of hell He brought with Him “The keys of hell” and now has the power and the right to set all its captives free. (Rev. 1:18.) We may suppose that hell is to last forever, but the Prophet speaks of its coming destruction, and John the Revelator says that it is to be made to “deliver up the dead” which are in it, and it, itself, is to be destroyed. (Hosea 13:14; Rev. 20:13.) The last passage cited affords the explanation of the whole subject, for in the margin opposite Rev. 20:13 the translators have explained that the word “hell” means “grave.” Reversely, in the margin opposite 1 Cor. 15:55, the translators have explained that “grave” means “hell.” The terms are interchangeable and the meaning is the same. In every place foregoing in which the citations appear in italic type, the translators have rendered Sheol or Hades by “grave” or “pit” instead of “hell.” In the margins of the old family Bibles, printed before Pastor Russell was born, we are told in seven places, and in both ways, in both the Old Testament and the New, that hell means the grave, and the grave means hell.—Psa. 49:15; 55:15; 86:13; Isa. 14:9; Jonah 2:2; 1 Cor. 15:55; Rev. 20:13.

And power was given unto them.—To his Holiness, the Pope, and all the cardinals, bishops, archbishops, priests, inquisitors, kings and rulers.

Over the fourth part of the earth.—Over Europe, but not over Asia, Africa or America.

To kill with sword, and [with hunger] FAMINE and [with] death.—The destruction of New Creatures by wresting of the Scriptures and their spiritual starvation are here in evidence; but there was also a literal fulfilment. “Human and Satanic ingenuity were taxed to their utmost to invent new and horrible tortures, for both the political and religious opponents of Antichrist; the latter—heretics—being pursued with tenfold fury. Besides the common forms of persecution and death, such as racking, burning, drowning, stabbing, starving and shooting with arrows and guns, fiendish hearts meditated how the most delicate and sensitive parts of the body, capable of the most excruciating pain, could be affected; molten lead was poured into the ears; tongues were cut out and lead poured into the mouths; wheels were arranged with knife blades attached so that the victim could be slowly chopped to pieces; claws and pincers were made red hot and used upon sensitive parts of the body; eyes were gouged out; finger nails were pulled off with red hot irons; holes, by which the victim was tied up, were bored through the heels; some were forced to jump from eminences onto long spikes fixed below, where, quivering with pain, they slowly died. The mouths of some were filled with gunpowder, which, when fired, blew their heads to pieces; others were hammered to pieces on anvils; others, attached to bellows, had air pumped into them until they burst; others were choked to death with mangled pieces of their own bodies; others with urine, excrement, etc., etc.”—B. 346.

And with the beasts of the earth.—The evil governments. “Kings and princes who trembled for the security of their crowns, if they to any extent incurred the pope’s displeasure, were sworn to exterminate heresy, and those barons who neglected to aid in the work of persecution forfeited their estates. Kings and princes, therefore, were prompt to comply with the mandates of the Papacy, and the barons and their retainers were at their service, to aid in the work of destruction.”—B. 333.

6:9. And when He had opened the fifth seal.—Disclosing the Reformation in the days of Luther. See Rev. 3:7‐13.

I saw under the altar.—Altars were originally made of earth. (Ex. 20:24.) To see under the altar is to see underground, in the tomb, the grave. At the bottom of the brazen altar all the blood of the victim was poured.—Lev. 4:7; 8:15; Heb. 8:5; 13:10; Phil. 2:17; 2 Tim. 4:6.

The souls.—The beings of those who had died. These souls were not in Heaven.

Of [them] MEN that were slain.—Spiritually beheaded (some of them literally, also).—Rev. 20:4.

For.—Dia, “through” or “by means of.”

The Word of God.—“Of His own will begat He us with the Word of Truth.” (James 1:18.) It is this Sword of the Spirit that cuts us off from the world.—Heb. 4:12.

And for the testimony.—“And through the testimony”; through the Word of God. The word dia is here used again. It is the Word that does the beheading.

Which they held.—As witnesses in their hearts (Rom. 8:16) and to which they adhered at any cost.

6:10. And they cried with a loud voice.—Not actually, but in the same way that the voice of Abel’s blood cried from the ground.—Gen. 4:10.

Saying, How long, O Lord.—How long will it be from this particular time, the Spring of 1518?—Rev. 3:7.

Holy and true.—See Rev. 3:7; 1 John 5:20; Mark 1:24.

[Dost] WILT Thou not judge.—Deliver us from the tomb. The judges of old were deliverers.—Judges 3:9‐11.

And avenge our blood.—Cast off from all favor a system of nominal Christianity which is not Christianity at all.

On them that dwell on the earth.—On these that are “Of the earth, earthy.”—Rev. 17:5; 3:10; 8:13; 13:8, 14. “The answer is given by the angel of the waters. See Rev. 16:4‐7.” (Cook.) Quite true. The answer is in Vol. III of SCRIPTURE STUDIES.

6:11. And [white robes were] THERE WAS given unto [every one] EACH of them a white robe.—“God’s grace cannot admit to heavenly perfection those who have not robes of spotless righteousness. How gracious is the provision of our God in thus presenting us with the Robe which covers all the repented‐ of blemishes of the past as well as the unintentional and unwitting imperfections of the present!”—Z. ’11‐342; Rev. 3:4, 5; 19:8.

And it was said unto them.—Not actually, but by the teachings of the parallel dispensations, which show that as Christ was raised from the dead in A. D. 33, the sleeping saints would be raised 1845 years later, in the Spring of 1878. See Rev. 3:14, 20.

That they should rest yet for a little season.—Greek Chronos, 360 years. See Rev. 2:21. This is the item which Pastor Russell had in mind in the following footnote: “When, in a succeeding volume, we examine the wonderful visions of the Revelator, it will be clearly seen that the time here pointed out by the word ‘henceforth,’ as marked by events, synchronizes closely with 1878, as indicated by the prophecies herein noted.” (C. 241.) Luther nailed the proclamation on the church door at Wittenberg Oct 31, 1517, which was already one month into the year 1518, Jewish reckoning. But it took some time for the news to travel to all parts of Europe. Three hundred and sixty years from the Spring of 1518 brings us to the Spring of 1878, when we understand that God’s promise made to the sleeping saints was fulfilled. They were raised from the dead, and Babylon was cast off.

Until their fellowservants also.—The other members of the Little Flock, all bond‐slaves of Jesus.—Gal. 6:17, Diaglott, footnote.

And their brethren.—Fellow‐believers, the Great Company.

That should be killed BY THEM as they were.—Similarly make covenants of consecration to the Lord.—Rev. 6:9.

Should be fulfilled.—Should be filled full, completed in number. “The Gospel age is for the very purpose of calling those who shall participate in the marriage feast. If, therefore, it be true that we are in the end of this Gospel age, it implies that a sufficient number of worthy guests have been found, or, to reverse the proposition, if a sufficient number of worthy guests have now been found, it proves that we are in the close of this age. It was after the wedding had been furnished with a proper number of guests, that ‘the King came in’ and began the inspection of the guests. This, we have elsewhere shown, marks the date April, 1878.”—Z. ’98‐137.

6:12. And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal.—Disclosing the events leading up to and associated with the Lord’s Parousia, presence.

And, [lo,] there was a great earthquake.—Literally, the great Lisbon earthquake, Nov. 1, 1755, which extended over 4,000,000 square miles; shocked all Africa and Western Europe, including Scandinavia and Greenland; slew 90,000 persons in Lisbon and many thousands elsewhere; destroyed every church and convent in the city; caused a tidal wave 60 feet high; split mountains from top to bottom; sunk an immense area to a depth of 600 feet and threw sailors to the decks hundreds of miles at sea. It is believed to be the most severe earthquake shock ever felt on the earth. Symbolically, the American Revolution, 21 years later (the underlying cause of the French Revolution); the most successful and most extraordinary movement upward of the lower strata of human society that had ever been seen in the world up to that time. God has so written Revelation that those who will not accept the symbolical significance of what is expressly declared to be a symbolical book (Rev. 1:1) may find literal fulfillments, and thus lose the light they would otherwise get.

And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair.—Literally in the dark day of May 19, 1780, which extended over 320,000 square miles. (D. 587.) Symbolically, the light of the papal heavens (the pope) became darkened when Napoleon fined the Pope ten million dollars, organized the Papal territory into a republic and took the Pope a prisoner to France. (C. 41, 55.) Symbolically, too, the light of the true heavens, the Gospel light, the Truth, and thus Christ Jesus, has become hidden from view of many by the denial of the clergy of our day that we were bought with the precious blood and by the teaching of the theory of Evolution.—D. 590; Joel 2:10, 31.

And the WHOLE moon became as blood.—Literally on May 19, 1780. Symbolically, the creeds (the moon of the papal heavens) have become repugnant, though still hypocritically professed. Symbolically, also the light of the Mosaic Law (the moon of the true heavens) has been made to appear evil by the claims of the clergy that the typical sacrifices were bloody and barbaric.—D. 590, 592.

6:13. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth.—Literally, the meteoric shower of Nov. 13, 1833, covering 11,000,000 square miles. (D. 588.) Symbolically, the bishops and the priestly stars of the papacy fell from their positions of power and influence over the minds and consciences of the people. Symbolically, also, the Protestant pulpit stars make a great display in coming down from spiritual things to the Christian‐citizenship‐politics level.—D. 595.

Even as a fig tree.—“The fig tree in this prophecy may be understood to signify the Jewish nation. (Matt. 24:32.) If so, it is being signally fulfilled; for not only are thousands of Israelites returning to Palestine, but the Zionist movement, started recently, has assumed such proportions as to justify a Convention of representatives from all parts of the world to meet in Switzerland to put in practical shape the proposal for the reorganization of a Jewish state in Palestine. These buds will thrive, but will bear no perfect fruit before October, 1914—the full end of ‘Gentile Times.’ ”—D. 604.

[Casteth] CASTING her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.—The immature fruits of the Zionist movement were dashed to the ground by the great war. Thousands of the Jews already in Palestine were deported to Egypt at the breaking out of the war. At this writing the British are besieging Jerusalem and the Turks are driving the Jews into the desert to perish rather than permit them to remain and come under British control. Out of this turmoil Zionism will soon start afresh and the Jews become the actual rulers of their native land.

6:14. And the heaven departed as a scroll.—“The ‘sure word of prophecy’ indicates very clearly that the various Protestant sects will form a coöperative union or federacy, and that Catholicism and Protestantism will affiliate, neither losing its identity. These are the two ends of the ecclesiastical heavens which, as their confusion increases, shall roll together as a scroll (Isaiah 34:4) for their self‐protection—as distinct and separate rolls, yet in close proximity to each other.”—D. 258; Psa. 102:26.

When it is rolled together.—“It will be impossible to re‐establish the present order, (1) because it has evidently outlived its usefulness, and is inequitable under present conditions; (2) because of the general diffusion of secular knowledge; (3) because the discovery that priestcraft has long blinded and fettered the masses with error and fear will lead to a general disrespect for all religious claims and teachings as of a piece with the discovered frauds; (4) because religious people in general, not discerning that God’s time has come for a change of dispensation, will ignore reason, logic, justice and Scripture in defending the present order of things. It will be of little consequence then that the ecclesiastical heavens (the religious powers, Papal and Protestant) will have rolled together as a scroll. (See Isaiah 34:4.) The combined religious power of Christendom will be utterly futile against the rising tide of anarchy when the dread crisis is reached. Before that great army ‘all the host of heaven [the church nominal] shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll.’ ”—D. 551.

And every mountain.—Kingdom.

And [island] HILL.—“Little hills” refer to governments less autocratic than monarchies; but “hills” sometimes refer to the sharpest, highest, most jagged mountain peaks, and then mean the most autocratic of all governments. This is evidently what is meant here.

Were moved out of [their] THE places.—Did not occupy the same position as before with reference to the people. The places were never “theirs,” but belong “to Him whose right it is.” (Z. ’05‐253.) In recent years Turkey and Persia have been granted parliaments; China, Russia and Portugal have become republics; and other countries have become vast socialist communities.—Rev. 16:20.

6:15. And the kings of the earth.—The aristocracy.

And the great men.—The clergy. (Rev. 18:23, comment.) Rendered “lords” in Mark 6:21. See Job 12:2.

[And the rich men,] and the chief captains, AND THE RICH MEN.—The high military officers. Rendered “high captains” in Mark 6:21. The magnates and financiers.

And the mighty men.—The labor organizers.

And every bondman.—Member of a labor organization.

And every free man.—Other worker (if not a bond‐slave of Christ).

Hid themselves in the dens.—See Isa. 2:19‐21.

And in the rocks of the mountains.—“As the trouble increases, men will seek, but in vain, for protection in the great rocks and fortresses of society (Free Masonry, Odd Fellowship, and Trades Unions, Guilds, Trusts, and all societies secular and ecclesiastical), and in the mountains (governments) of earth.”—B. 139; Jer. 3:23; Hos. 10:8.

6:16. And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us.—“The Greek word epi, here used, is generally translated on, but has also the significance of over (Rev. 5:10) and about, and is so translated many times in the common version. The thought is that of protection, not of destruction. The common view of this passage, that it teaches that wicked men will get faith enough to pray for literal mountains to fall, is absurd. The real fulfilment is already beginning: the great, the rich, and no less the poor, are seeking to the mountains and rocks and caves for shelter from the darkening storm of trouble which all see is gathering.”—B. 139; Hos. 10:8.

And hide us from the face.—Of Justice, now about to demand an accounting for our stewardship.

Of Him that sitteth on the Throne.—Jehovah.

And from the wrath of the Lamb.—Whose followers we have falsely professed to be.

6:17. For the great day of [His] THEIR wrath is come.—The wrath of the Father, the Son, and the glorified saints.—Rev. 2:26, 27; Isa. 13:6‐19; Zeph. 1:14‐18.

And who shall be able to stand.—“The answer through the Prophet is, ’He that hath clean hands [an honest life] and a pure heart [a conscience void of offence toward God and man]: he shall ascend into the mountain [Kingdom] of the Lord and stand in the holy place.’” (Psa. 24:3, 4; D. 582.) “Oh, what sorrow it gives us at times to behold some not standing well the testing of this hour, some who are developing tendencies of weakness, disloyalty to the cause, ambition for name and fame or position, desire to be greatest, tendencies to lord it over God’s heritage, and who, unless recovered, will be surely cut off from membership in the Body, even though, as the Apostle declares, they may be saved so as by fire, as members of the ‘great company.’—1 Cor. 3:15.” (Z. ’06‐309; Psa. 76:7.) The only ones who will stand are the twelve tribes named in the next chapter.

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Revelation 7—Seventh Seal And Great Company

7:1. And after [these things] THIS.—After the events disclosed by the opening of the sixth seal had already been amply fulfilled, but not signifying that further, more elaborate and final fulfilments on an immense scale will not take place later.

I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth.—The Little Flock, commissioned to carry the message of Present Truth to the remotest outposts of civilization. “They shall gather together His Elect from the four winds.”—Matt. 24:31.

Holding the four winds of the earth.—“The winds of the earth referred to here are, of course, symbolic. The thought is that the winds from the four quarters—North, East, South and West—are being held back, and that when the restraint is withdrawn they will rush together, and the result will be a whirlwind. Certain Scriptures tell of a whirlwind that will be raised up from the coasts of the earth. See Jer. 23:19; 25:32, 33; 30:23, 24. We do not understand that this will be a physical whirlwind, but this symbolic expression is used to convey the thought of a severe strife of the powers of the air. These ‘powers of the air,’ or ‘winds,’ are not powers of natural air, but are the powers referred to by St. Paul when he speaks of Satan as ‘the Prince of the power of the air,’ (Eph. 2:2.) Those spirits who have been under the control of Satan—the fallen angels—were to be restrained until the Judgment of the Great Day. (Jude 6.) The letting loose of these winds, or air powers, would seem to show that God will let go His hand of restraint; that He will have to do with the permission of the terrible trouble that will come. This outside influence will exercise a baneful effect upon men, when finally granted the liberty. These fallen spirits have been under restraint for these many centuries, but they have exercised their influence to whatever extent they have had permission. If they had had unlimited power they would have wrecked the world long ago; but they have been restrained. Apparently God will soon cease to restrain the fallen angels, and they will then proceed to vent their fury upon humanity, so that the whole earth will be full of violence, the same as in the days of Noah. The power manifested by the demons when loosed, will, we believe, be with a view to the injury of mankind. We do not know but that many of our readers will have a share in that injury. We have every reason to suppose that, if these fallen angels shall get loose, they will vent their first anger upon the Lord’s people.”—Z. ’14‐166.

That the wind should not blow.—“As soon as the power that is now controlling them shall be removed, we shall have a reign of evil all over the earth. The evil spirits will do all the evil that is in their power, and this will constitute the trial of all the fallen angels—the lifting of the restraints to see whether they will go contrary to the Divine will. All who thus manifest their alliance with evil in any way will become subjects of the Second Death; while others who show their loyalty to God will mark themselves as worthy, presumably, of everlasting life. It may be something in connection with the saints that will constitute the test of these angels. This will be the key, the secret connected with the awful Time of Trouble which the Bible tells us will mark the conclusion of this Age and which will constitute the forerunner or beginning of the New Dispensation.” (Z. ’11‐359.) THE TEST IS ON.

On the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.—“Symbolically, the earth represents organized society; the sea represents the disorganized masses (Dan. 7:2; Lu. 21:25; Rev. 10:2, 8), and the trees represent the Household of Faith. The letting loose suddenly of the fallen angels will account well for the suddenness of the coming trouble, which everywhere in the Scriptures is one of its particular features—‘in one hour’; ‘suddenly as travail upon a woman’; ‘as it was in the days of Noah,’ and ‘as it was in the days of Lot’ ”—Z. ’11‐157.

“There is only one way, so far as we can see, in which these fallen angels can have a trial, their trial consisting in having a fuller opportunity to sin, if they so desire, or an opportunity to show, if they wish, that they are sick of sin and desire to return to harmony with God. We cannot think that God will allow this trial of the angels during the Millennial Reign, for then, nothing shall hurt; nothing shall destroy; Satan will be bound and all evil influences will be restrained. No; it cannot be then. And in order to be tried at all, these fallen angels must have certain liberties granted, to prove them. Otherwise, where would be their trial? Consequently, reasoning along this basis (2 Peter 2:4), we reach the conclusion that the trial of these fallen angels is in the near future—perhaps to some extent already begun. In what way?” (Z. ’11‐358.) He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!—1 Cor. 6:2.

7:2. And I saw another angel.—The Messenger of the Covenant; our Lord Jesus at His Second Advent.—Mal. 3:1.

Ascending from the east.—“This speaks symbolically of the Sun of Righteousness and its full light of Divine truth and blessing scattering the shadows of sin, ignorance, superstition and death, and healing and restoring the willing and obedient of humanity.”—D. 653; Luke 1:78; Mal. 4:2.

Having the seal of the living God.—The seventh seal.

And He cried with a loud voice.—Pastor Russell was the voice used. Beautiful voice of the Lord: strong, humble, wise, loving, gentle, just, merciful, faithful, self‐sacrificing; one of the noblest, grandest characters of all history “I lift my pen, not in defense of any doctrine, creed or dogma, but in defense of a man, in defense of fairness, justice and righteousness. Pastor C. T. Russell, of Brooklyn, N. Y., stands out prominently as a target for the pulpits and religious press of the country today. I believe there is no one more bitterly persecuted, harshly condemned, woefully misrepresented and misunderstood than this fearless, conscientious man of God. No infidel writer, such as Hume, Voltaire or Ingersoll, ever suffered such ruthless attacks as have been made upon Mr. Russell. Whether this persecution and misrepresentation is due to prejudice or ignorance of this man’s real character and writing, is not for me to say, but I believe both are elements that play a part in the widespread criticism uttered both from the pulpit and the press. Naturally, men will resent any attack made upon the creed of their persuasion, for they hold to their religious creed and affiliations with more tenacity than they realize, until some strong mind, backed by Scripture proof, begins to uproot their doctrine by showing their inconsistencies and errors. This is what Mr. Russell proceeds to do. As a logician and theologian he is doubtless without a peer today. In his research for Biblical Truth and harmony he is without a parallel in this Age. Without a blemish in his character, with the loftiest ideals of God, and the possibilities of man, he towers like a giant, unmatched. His defects fade into insignificance. He has been too busy spreading Divine Truth, as he honestly sees it, to waste time in frivolous speculation in matters not in some way connected with man’s future state, as outlined in ‘The Plan of the Ages.’ Unselfish, liberal and courteous to Christians of all denominations, but fearlessly condemning, in unmeasured terms, the errors and inconsistencies in their creeds, as he sees them, he ranks with immortal benefactors, and is stamping his opinion on the world as no other man has done since the days of the Reformation. Efforts to throttle the press to prevent the publication of his sermons have repeatedly been made. Why this opposition? Why would any one oppose investigation or revelation and searching the Scriptures? Why? What right has any one to prevent free thought, free speech, or the freedom of the press? What manner of men are we? Let men, preachers or what not, beware of blocking the way of such a man. Jesus said, ‘And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in Me, it is better that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.’ Mark 9:42. Better be like Gamaliel in the days of the Apostles, when St. Peter and others were on trial. Gamaliel rose up and said, ‘Refrain from these men, and let them alone, for if this work be of men it will come to naught; but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, for ye fight against God.’ ”—Prof. S. A. Ellis.

To the four angels.—The church in the flesh, the Harvest workers.—Matt. 24:31.

To whom it was given.—By completing the Harvest work and thus releasing the restraints on the evil spirits.

To hurt the earth.—Throw order‐loving peoples into desperation.

And the sea.—So enrage the masses, not under religious restraint, as to make it impossible to control them.

7:3. Saying, Hurt not the earth.—Do not complete the Harvest work too soon, and thus allow the demons to invade the minds of men until the appointed time. (Many writers claim that this has already happened to the ex‐Czar of Russia, to Kaiser Wilhelm and to the chief of modern “evangelists.”)

Neither the sea.—I will see to it that the work of Harvest shall hold in check those not under religious restraint until the work of Harvest is finished and the demons are released, when, maddened by the obsession of the evil spirits, there are no lengths to which the godless will not presume to go. All Bible Students, followers of Pastor Russell, know how urgently he has warned for forty years that this deluge of evil spirits is sure to come.

Nor the trees.—See Rev. 8:7. Have you enjoyed this work thus far? Are you convinced it is of the Lord—prepared under His guidance? Have you carefully and prayerfully read the comments on Rev. 7:1? Then brace yourself for the truth that it is evidently God’s purpose soon to allow the minds of many of His little ones to become an open battle ground, upon which the fallen angels shall be judged, and the manner in which we meet the tests will prove our worthiness of crowns at the same time that it proves these disobedient spirits unworthy of life on any plane. This is something with which some but not many are yet familiar. Truly, we know the Apostle in writing of this evil day says, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wicked ones in heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Truly, we know the Lord Jesus, at the First Advent began His ministry with forty days of conflict with the Adversary, who all that time sought to sway His mind (Matt. 4:1‐11). Truly, we have reason to believe He must have had other terrible battles when He spent all night in prayer, and especially when He was so depressed in the garden of Gethsemane. But without actual experience it is quite impossible to conceive of the intensity of such struggles as Eph. 6:12 suggests. The base of the brain is seized as in a vise. Interpretations of Scripture, ingenious, but misleading beyond description, are projected into the mind as water might be projected through a hose. Visions may be tried, wonderful illuminations of the mind as by a soft but glorious greenish or yellowish haze. Seductive suggestions may be made, based on circumstances of the environment. Offers of inspiration may be made. The privilege of sleep may be taken away for days at a stretch. All this is with the object of forcing the unfortunate into at least temporary insanity so as to destroy his influence and, if possible, his faith in God. Failing in all other attempts, the mind may be flooded with thoughts that are vile beyond description. THEN REMEMBER THE VOW.

The fact that Jehovah intends some unique experiences for the antitypical Isaac may be judged from the fact that between Isaac’s conception (Gen. 17:19 and 18:10) and his birth (Gen. 21:1) occurred the destruction of Sodom (Gen. 18:16 to end of 19th Chap.) and Abraham’s denial of Sarah (Gen. 20). But reading the latter account, the child of God is comforted with God’s care of His little ones (Gen. 20:3) with the assurance that none of Satan’s plans can mature (Gen. 20:18) without the Lord’s permission. Isaac was a type of the complete Christ; and if now The Christ is complete, as we believe, and ready to be born into the Kingdom, we should not be surprised at anything that might look like our repudiation at the Father’s hands. If He pours the cup, it will only be because He knows that we can drink it, and because He wishes to prove to angels and to men that we are worthy of the honors He is to give us.—Lu. 22:42, 43; 1 Tim. 1:16.

Till we.—You “four angels,” Harvest workers in the flesh, and Myself, the Lord of the Harvest.

Have sealed the servants of our God.—See Rev. 19:20; 14:1. Satan is a diligent student of time prophecy (Luke 12:39); but not having the Holy Spirit he is unable to reach accurate conclusions. Seeing a definite Plan, and a definite time for every important feature of that Plan, his aim has ever been to thwart the purposes of the Almighty. This attempt to destroy the Seed began with the death of Abel and still continues. No doubt Satan believed the Millennial Kingdom was due to be set up in 1915; and no doubt, also, he knew that seven years prior to the time of the setting up of that kingdom the restraints upon the evil spirits would be lifted. Be that as it may, there is evidence that the establishment of the Kingdom in Palestine will probably be in 1925, ten years later than we once calculated. The 70 jubilees, reckoned as 50 years each, expire October, 1925. (B. 186.) Gen. 15:1‐16:3, read connectedly, indicates that Abraham’s vision as to when he would receive the Kingdom was not granted until ten years after the Covenant was made, or 2035 B. C. The ages of the animals offered aggregated eleven years, which, applied prophetically, on the scale of a year for a day, equal 3960 years, the length of time from the date of the visions to A. D. 1925 (Z. ’07‐79). It seems conclusive that the hour of Nominal Zion’s travail is fixed for the Passover of 1918. (See Rev. 3:14.) That will be 7 years prior to 1925. At that time there is every reason to believe the fallen angels will invade the minds of many of the Nominal Church people, driving them to exceedingly unwise conduct and leading to their destruction at the hands of the enraged masses, who will later be dragged to the same fate. The great war now raging is most certainly the work of evil spirits, and the Kaiser is not the only clever ruler who has been deceived by evil spirits, as history will sometime show.—Lu. 12:56.

If our reasoning is correct, we inquire whether there was any indication of a move on Satan’s part 7 years prior to 1915, showing that he expected the restraints to be removed from the evil spirits at that time; and we answer that there was something very definite indicated at that time. In the Vow, advised by Pastor Russell in that year, and in the experiences of many, for and against it, it is plain that the Enemy then attempted to come in like a flood, but was held back—restrained until the sealing work is done. (Matt. 10:25; Luke 22:42‐44; Heb. 12:4; Isa. 63:3.) After the demons have been turned loose on the swine class, we shall see what happens. (Matt. 7:6; 8:31‐34.) Those now fearful that they might learn something will be terror‐stricken then for a different reason.

In their foreheads.—“The storm is held in check until the faithful servants of God are ‘sealed in their foreheads’ (Exod. 13:9; 28:36, 38. Deut. 6:8; Ezek. 9:4‐6; Rev. 14:1), i. e., until such are given an intellectual appreciation which will not only comfort them, and shield them, but also be a mark, seal or evidence of their sonship, as indicated by our Lord when He promised that the Holy Spirit should show to the faithful ‘things to come.’ (John 16:13.)” (B. 169.) When the demon test comes, those who have the mark of sonship (Ezek. 9:2‐4) will know it and will stand the test, while all others will surely fail. A letter from one of the Bethel workers, written shortly after Pastor Russell’s death, says: “About three months ago I asked several questions at the table, the last one being as follows, ‘Since I now see that the Jewish Time of Trouble did not end until the year 73 A. D., as I fully proved to myself by consulting the historians, what then are we to expect in the parallel year 1918?’ Brother Russell put the question to three prominent brethren, all of whom replied that they did not know, but were willing to wait and see. When he called upon me I said, ‘Since the year 73 A. D. saw the complete overthrow of nominal Natural Israel in Palestine, so in the parallel year 1918, I infer we should look for the complete overthrow of nominal Spiritual Israel; i. e., the fall of Babylon. (Rev. 18.)’ Brother Russell replied: ‘Exactly. That is exactly the inference to draw.’ ” The conclusion of the Church’s career comes first. (Rev. 3:14.)

“If you see the ‘door’ of opportunity for sacrifice and service open before you, enter in. But enter quickly; for the night of darkness and of intense opposition to the truth will ere long be upon us and will hinder you from engaging in the service. ‘The morning cometh, and also the night.’ ‘The night cometh in which no man can work.’ When that is true, you may know that ‘the door is shut.’ that all the wise virgins have entered in, that all have been proved, and that all vacancies have been acceptably filled. All the special ‘servants of God’ having by that time been ‘sealed in their foreheads’ (given an intellectual appreciation of God’s Plan), the four winds will be loosed and will produce the great ‘whirlwind’ of trouble in the midst of which the remnant of the Elijah class will be ‘changed,’ and exalted to Kingdom glory.”—C. 225.

7:4. And I heard the number of them which were sealed.—“We have every reason to believe that the definite, fixed number of the Elect is that several times stated in Revelation, namely, 144,000 ‘redeemed from amongst men.’ ” (F. 179; Rev. 14:1.) This is the equivalent of one saint fully developed for each five days of the Age.

And there were sealed 144,000.—On this point one of Pastor Russell’s coworkers has well said: “That this is not a symbolical, but an exact number, seems certain from the fact that, in the same chapter reference is made to another company, also spirit‐begotten. In the 9th verse we read: ‘I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could number.’ It is not probable that this multitude is so great that no one could actually count them, but rather that none can state their number, God having left it indefinite.”

Of all the tribes of the children of Israel.—“As a name, Israel signified ‘The people blessed of the Lord,’ ‘The people of God,’ ‘The Lord’s people.’—2 Chron. 7:14.” (D. 654; Gal. 6:16; Rom. 9:6‐8.) Each of the saints is reckoned as belonging to one of the twelve tribes of “Israelites indeed,” which tribes bear the names of the twelve patriarchs of natural Israel. In every family each child is beloved for some characteristic peculiarly its own; and in the meaning of the names of the children of Israel we may recognize certain of the qualities which make each overcomer precious in the Father’s sight.

7:5. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand.—Juda signifies Celebrated, lauded, praised. Nothing is more praiseworthy than justice, noble‐mindedness, the doing to everybody as one would wish to be done by. Our Lord was the Just One of the tribe of Juda. All who knew Pastor Russell intimately, recognized that justice was the foundation principle of his character. The mention of the Lord’s tribe first shows that there is a Divine order in the arrangement of the names, inasmuch as that order is different from the order of the birth of Jacob’s sons. Doubtless the brightest crowns will be worn by those that are wholly without self‐love, either in heart or in life.—Gen. 38:12‐26; 43:3‐10; 44:14, 34; 46:28.

Of the tribe of Reuben [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Reuben’s name signifying “See ye, a son, provided in my affliction” or The Pity of God, seems to refer to the five‐talented brethren who make their calling and election sure. To be possessed of ability and means to get the fullest enjoyment out of life, and to sacrifice it all gladly, requires a standard of character so high that the Lord expressly states that not many attain it. (1 Cor. 1:26; Gen. 37:21, 22, 29, 30; 42:22, 37.) A taint of love of the world (spiritual uncleanness) is all that prevents from attaining the very highest place.—Gen. 35:22; 49:3, 4; 2 Cor. 7:1.

Of the tribe of Gad [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Gad’s name, signifying A troop of children cometh, seems to give the third highest honor to those faithful men and women who have been blessed of God in bringing many of their own descendants into the Divine family. Instances are on record where as many as twelve children in one family have all come into the light of Present Truth and consecrated, as a result of the life and teachings of a noble father and mother. There is a family interest on the part of the Heavenly Father in every family that rightly seeks His face. Not a crown is available for others, so long as even one child of one of the consecrated is ready to run for that crown. “The promise is unto you [first], and to your children [next], and [after that] to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord your God shall call.” (Acts 2:39; 1 Cor. 7:14.) “Of the childhood and life of the patriarch Gad nothing is preserved. At the time of the descent into Egypt, seven sons are ascribed to him, remarkable from the fact that a majority of their names have plural terminations, as if those of families rather than persons.” (McC.)—Gen. 46:16; Num. 26:15‐18.

7:6. Of the tribe of Aser [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Aser’s name signifies Happy. “And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.” (Gen. 30:13.) Apparently the fourth highest place of honor goes to the happy Christians. Wherever else the long‐faced saints go they do not get into the Asher tribe. “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say rejoice. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.”—Phil. 4:4; 3:1; 2 Chron. 20:22.

Of the tribe of Nephtalim [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Naphtali’s name signifies Great wrestlings, and suggests that the fifth highest place will go to those who have especially sought the face of the Father in prayer. By his birth Naphtali was allied to Dan, the class that goes into the Second Death. (Gen. 35:25; 49:17.) The suggestion is not strained, then, that here is a class that has overcome largely because they have so much appreciated, and have used to such good purpose, the privilege of seeking the Father’s face in prayer.—Luke 11:5‐13; James 1:5; 3:17.

Of the tribe of Manasses [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Manasseh’s name signifies Forgetting, “For God hath made me forget all my toil and all my father’s House.” (Gen. 41:51.) The sixth honor apparently refers to a class having naturally very strong human attachments, for the dear ones of their earthly families, and yet love the Lord still more. Great is the love, great the faithfulness of those that hear and heed the Divine proposal: “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s House.”—Psa. 45:10.

7:7. Of the tribe of Simeon [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Simeon signifies Hearing. “Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, He hath therefore given me this son also.” (Gen. 29:33.) This suggests that the seventh place of honor is reserved for those who have been hated in their home circles because of faithfulness to the Word of the Lord. The Lord saw that the beauties of their characters would only shine forth to the best advantage if they were made ready in just such environment. How sweet, how beautiful, is the patient heart developed under such conditions!—Rom. 5:3; Col. 1:11, 12; 1 Pet. 1:7; 4:12; 5:10; Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12; James 1:12.

Of the tribe of Levi [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Levi’s name signifies A joining. “This time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have borne him three sons.” The next honor is apparently reserved for those who have literally sacrificed all their possessions in this world in order that they might be more closely joined to the Lord and His service. Levi had no inheritance in the land, as a tribe, and as an individual the only event recorded in the life of the patriarch is one of destruction of the unfaithful.—Gen. 34:25‐29.

Of the tribe of Issachar [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Issachar signifies There is reward, or He brings reward. “God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband.” “Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear.” (Gen. 30:18; 49:14, 15.) This seems to signify that the next honor goes to the zealous, those who joyfully undertake, in the Lord’s name and cause, to work hard for the glory of His name.—1 Cor. 15:58.

7:8. Of the tribe of Zabulon [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Zebulun signifies Habitation or Dwelling. It signifies the blessed satisfaction that comes to those who, like the Master, during their earthly pilgrimages have not known where to lay their heads; but, although they have wrestled with poverty throughout life’s little day, have nevertheless held faithfully to the Lord, serving Him, with limited education, strength, talents and opportunities, in hope of finally reaching “The Home where changes never come, nor pain, nor sorrow, toil nor care.” What a homecoming they will have! In the Father’s House of many mansions theirs will be the happiest home.

Of the tribe of [Joseph were sealed] BENJAMIN twelve thousand.—Benjamin signified Son of my Sorrow originally, but the name was changed to signify Son of the right hand. The youngest of Jacob’s children, he seems in some aspects to typify the Great Company class (Z. ’81‐1‐7), but succeeds in gaining the higher reward, probably because of being the companions of those that occupy more advanced positions in the Body. Thus the humble‐minded and faithful servants and companions may and do fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ, even though their personal sufferings be slight.—Heb. 10:33.

Of the tribe of [Benjamin were sealed] JOSEPH twelve thousand.—The Sinaitic MS. mentions Joseph last, with peculiar fitness. Joseph was one of the most beautiful characters of the Bible. His name signifies Whom may God increase. He had so many virtues that it is inadvisable to attempt their enumeration, but the story is told at length in Gen. 37‐50. He is one of the very few characters named in the Bible about whom nothing uncomplimentary is expressed. He well represents all the other members of the Divine family, all of whom have attained the Divine likeness in their hearts and given expression to that likeness as well as the frailties and weaknesses of the flesh would permit.

It will be noticed that the tribes of Dan and Ephraim are omitted from the foregoing list. Dan evidently represents the class that goes into the Second Death. The name signifies “God hath judged me.” (Gen. 30:6.) We know that all God’s judgments are just and look for the reason for Dan’s rejection. Jacob prophesied that it would be Dan “that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.” (Gen. 49:17.) Horses are symbols of doctrines. Dan evidently represents a class tampering with doctrines, resulting in the overthrow of the New Creature. A study of the history of the tribe of Dan confirms this. Originally Dan was given one of the choicest parts of Palestine, one of the most fertile and the most secure. It was completely embraced by its two brother tribes Ephraim and Benjamin, while on the south‐east and south it joined Judah, and was thus surrounded by the three most powerful states of the whole confederacy. The Danites however failed to conquer the land originally assigned to them (representing the failure of the New Creature to gain the victory over the mind of the flesh) and chose another inheritance to the far north (Judges 18:1‐31). This selection of the farthest north resembles Satan’s similar choice (Isa. 14:13) and suggests that the Danite New Creatures were led away from their original inheritance by ambition. The context shows an unreasonably high valuation of their own judgment and a wilful interference with the priestly office, and this we may judge has been a frequent offense of those who commit the great sin that lies just beyond the sin of presumption. (Psa. 19:13; 2 Sam. 6:6, 7.) THE TEST IS ON; take heed! take heed!

The half tribe of Ephraim represents the Great Company, mainly to be found in the Nominal Church. They are more or less intoxicated with error (Isa. 28:1, 7), they fear to let go of their idols of creeds and catechisms (Hos. 4:17), they are, in a way, half‐baked Christians, not wholly devoted to the Lord—“Ephraim is a cake not turned.” (Hos. 7:8.) From first to last the prophecy of Hosea is eloquent with Jehovah’s pleadings to the Great Company class not to miss the great prize of Immortality.

7:9. After this, I beheld, and lo, a great multitude.—When the Apostle tells us in 2 John 8, “Look to yourselves that ye lose not those things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward,” he is teaching that a Heavenly reward may be gained that is not as full as if a course more pleasing to the Heavenly Father is pursued.

Instead of teaching that the saved of our race will all be saved to the same thing, the Scriptures show two degrees or kinds of Heavenly salvation, and two degrees or kinds of earthly salvation. In the second chapter of Genesis the stream which went forth from the Garden of Eden was divided into four parts. This is a Scriptural recognition of the fact that from Adam, the original fountain of life, will flow four streams: The Little Flock, who are to sit down with Christ in His Throne; the Great Company, who are to stand before the Throne, having the palms of martyrdom but without the crowns of glory; the Ancient Worthies, the Jewish fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, etc., who are to be made princes in all the earth; and the world of mankind, who will constitute the subjects of the Kingdom over which the Ancient Worthies will rule. The same lesson is taught in the division of the Levites into four camps, each located on a different side of the Tabernacle. (Num. 3:15; F. 128, 129.) It is also taught in the Apostle’s statement in 2 Tim. 2:20, that in God’s great House there will ultimately be found four classes of vessels to His praise.

The question for the saints is not as to which of the earthly classes may ultimately include them, for they have given up their earthly hopes in exchange for Heavenly hopes. The question is whether they shall be wise virgins, faithful students of the Word, building with the gold, silver and precious stones of Divine Truth instead of foolish virgins (pure of heart) (Matt. 25:2; C. 91; F. 75) who build faith structures with the wood, hay and stubble of human tradition. The Apostle says the fiery trials of life will try every man’s work so as by fire, and intimates that those who do not build wisely shall suffer loss—not go into eternal torment, but fail to gain the great reward which otherwise might be theirs. (1 Cor. 3:15; T. 69.) The question is whether as branches in Christ the Vine, to go onward to fruit‐bearing, or as other branches, to be principally devoted to leaves (professions), or tendrils (feelers after earthly honors and emoluments). (John 15:2; F. 78, 170.) Christ said of a similar class in His day, “How can ye believe [effectively] which receive honor one of another, and seek not the praise which cometh from God only!” The question is whether we are to be termed children of disobedience (Col. 3:6; Z. ’99‐140) because, though God’s children, we have failed to mortify, or put to death, our earthly and sinful tendencies; whether we are sinners against the covenant we have made with God to lay down our lives in His service (Psa. 1:1; Z. ’00‐281), whether, like Lot’s wife, we look back to the earthly good things we have given up (Gen. 19:26; C. 194), or whether we retain the singleness of heart and purpose, without which the prize of the High Calling cannot be gained.

The question is whether, as babes in Christ, we shall wink at the unscriptural divisions of God’s people, into followers of Paul or Apollos, Cephas or Luther, Calvin or Wesley (1 Cor. 3:4; D. 17); whether, like Rahab, we shall be in the citadel of error when it falls, or like Joshua who caused it to fall (Josh. 6:25; Z. ’07‐267); whether, like the fitches and cummin, we shall easily divest ourselves of the entangling associations of life, represented by the pods from which the fitches and cummin are so easily shaken, or whether we shall be like the “bread‐corn” which requires a vast amount of threshing before it will let go of the close‐clinging chaff. (Isa. 28:27; Z. ’84‐1‐4.) The question is whether, like the rejected members of Gideon’s army, we shall forget our mission, and bury our heads in the waters of truth; or whether, with equal appreciation of its message, we shall remember why the Lord gave it to us, and shall drink of it, with our eyes out over the horizon, seeking to serve, to spend and be spent in the Master’s service. (Judg. 7:6; Z. ’07‐331.) The question is whether, like Caleb and Joshua, we shall retain our confidence in Him who has called us, and bring back true reports of the land we hope ere long to possess, or, whether we shall be of the larger company that through fear and faint‐heartedness never enter in. (Num. 13:31; Z. ’07‐251.) Shall we rejoice to lay down our lives for the Lord’s brethren, or shall we, through fear of this sacrificial death, be all our lifetime subject to bondage? (Heb. 2:15; T. 70, 71.) The question is whether we shall be like the servant who hid his Lord’s talent in the earth (in earthly enjoyments and pursuits) (Matt. 25:24; Z. ’01‐61; Z. ’06‐318), whether we shall be double minded, having some idea of attaining heavenly things and some idea of getting all we can of earthly things (Jas. 1:8; Z. ’07‐316), whether, like Obadiah, we are merely friendly toward the Truth and those who stand for the Truth, but conceal our interest for fear of the consequences to ourselves and our families.—1 Ki. 18:3; Z. ’04‐221.

If, in these tests of faith and character, we come off victorious in the Lord’s sight, we shall not need to be of those who wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb, in the great tribulation with which this Age will close, but shall keep our robes unspotted so that they will not need such a general cleansing. If we have fled to the Lord before the winter time of His disfavor has come upon the man‐made systems of our day, we shall be spared the rigors of the flight, of which He said, “Pray that your flight be not in the winter [of 1917‐1918 (?)]” (Matt. 20:10; D. 578), and we shall be spared, too, the bitter disappointment of saying at that time, “The Harvest [the time of special favor] is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved” [not saved with the chiefest salvation, with the salvation to which we aspired]. (Jer. 8:20; D. 578.) In the time of Zion’s travail these children of God will all be delivered. (Isa. 66:8; Z. ’94‐135.) Let us be glad of our hope that we shall be of the Man‐child delivered before that travail comes. Let us hope we may not be of the lambs (Isa. 34:6; D. 17) or the goats found together in the nominal sheepfolds when the time has come to wind up present ecclesiastical systems. All down the Age, some of God’s children have been “turned over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Cor. 5:5; T. 69, 71), because they have not lived up to their covenants. The sufferings of the scapegoat class, turned into the wilderness, dying of thirst, hunger, snake‐bites, thorns, briars, burrs, fleas or attacks of wild animals, were far greater than those of the Lord’s goat, killed sacrificially. (Lev. 16:7‐10; T. 60.) Those who withhold from the Lord what they have promised Him suffer far more than those who fight manfully the good fight of faith and lay hold with both hands on the hope set before us.

The Great Company class will say “Alleluia” as soon as they perceive that the Church is complete. (Rev. 19:1; A. 240; F. 128.) But like Rebecca’s damsels of old, they must go the same long journey as the Bride class, only to be received as servants in the end. (Gen. 24:61; Psa. 45:14; F. 121, 171.) Shall we enter fully into our inheritance now, while the door is still open to do and dare in the Master’s Cause; or shall we be like the class mentioned in Ezekiel 44 that finds the door shut because the start is made too late, and must know that forever the Heavenly Priesthood, the prize of the High Calling, is closed, and that the most that can be then attained is the place as keepers or servants in the Temple? (Ezek. 44:1‐14; Z. ’05‐269.) Let us rejoice if we are heirs of salvation at all; but let us resolve, by God’s grace, that we shall, in the words of our text, “Look to ourselves, that we lose not those things that we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward”—all that the Father is pleased to give to those who love Him supremely.

“What we see going on about us seems natural to our minds. The way in which other people spend time and money is a temptation to the Lord’s people which must be steadfastly resisted. For us to do what others do, and to devote to the Lord’s service only what the world considers a reasonable day’s work, would not be fulfilling our Covenant of Sacrifice at all. Those who seek merely to do right, and to put in eight hours or so a day faithfully, after the manner of the world, will be judged from this standpoint; and they will merely obtain a place in the Great Company. They are not fulfilling the conditions of the Covenant of Sacrifice.”—Z. ’14‐71.

“We do not think we should understand the Scriptures to teach that the Great Company will attain to the same degree of spiritual development as the Little Flock. They fail to display that love and zeal which the Lord has set as the mark for participation in the Royal Priesthood.” (Z. ’14‐68.) “In determining to sacrifice themselves piecemeal when and how they and their friends might please, is the primary mistake.” (Z. ’96‐191.) “While the living members of the Bride are being separated from others by the Truth, the ears of this class are dull of hearing and they are slow to believe and slow to act.” (A. 240.) “In one parable the Lord styles this class a wicked and slothful servant. He does not deny him the honor of being a servant, He does not charge him with becoming an enemy. He is counted wicked and slothful because, having undertaken certain responsibilities as a servant, he has failed to manifest the proper spirit of earnest devotion.”—Z. ’07‐315.

Which no man could number.—“Whose number no man is able to tell (i. e., it is not a foreordained or fixed number—none were called to be of this company.)”—Rev. 5:11.

Of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.—“As the number of the Bride of Christ is to be 144,000, it would be reasonable to think that each number of this class may have 144,000 to look after, as 144,000 x 144,000 equals 20,736,000,000 (twenty billions seven hundred and thirty‐ six millions), evidently just about the right number to be cared for—144,000 would be quite a host for each individual of the Bride class to look after. So we can see the necessity for the work of the Great Company.”—Question Meeting.

Stood before the Throne.—Not in the Throne, as in the case of the Bride. (A. 214.) “The Scriptures inform us that as that which is begotten of the flesh is flesh, so that which is begotten of the Spirit is spirit. That is to say, that whoever has been begotten of the Holy Spirit has experienced a change of nature so radical that it would be impossible for him to share a resurrection with the world on the human plane.”—Z. ’07‐316.

And before the Lamb.—“Since their hearts are loyal to the Redeemer, and since they maintain their faith in the precious blood and hold fast and do not deny the same, therefore the Lord Jesus, the Advocate, the Captain of our Salvation, who leads the Very Elect to glory through the steps of willing sacrifice, will lead these to a spiritual blessing—to perfection on a lower plane of spirit‐being—because they have trusted in Him and have not denied His name or His work.”—F. 169.

Clothed with white robes.—“They let slip their opportunity for becoming members of the Bride; but they are, nevertheless, virgins, pure in their heart‐intentions.”—F. 127; Rev. 7:14.

And palms in their hands.—“The palm is especially the symbol of martyrdom. The palm of martyrdom has become in the language of the Church, a classical and sacramental expression. In the diptychs, the acts of the martyrs, and the martyrologies, we read, ‘He has received the palm of martyrdom’—he has been crowned with the palm of the martyrs.” (McC.) Many of the martyrs of the Dark Ages were undoubtedly of the Great Company.

7:10. And [cried] THEY CRY with a loud voice.—In grand and happy chorus of exultant praise and thanksgiving over their final deliverance.—Rev. 19:1‐3.

Saying, Salvation.—Our glorious and unmerited boon of life on so high a plane.

To our God.—Be ascribed to Him as the Author.—Psa. 3:8.

[Which sitteth] upon the Throne.—Jehovah.—Rev. 4:2; 5:13.

And unto the Lamb.—The Tower of the Flock, Christ as the instrument of salvation.—Micah 4:8.

7:11. And all the angels.—The beautiful sons of the morning who shouted for joy in the dawn of earth’s creative week 48,000 years ago.—Job 38:7; Lu. 2:9‐14; Matt. 4:11; 28:2; F. 51.

Stood round about the Throne.—With eager joy welcoming this new addition to the family of God.

And about the elders.—The prophecies, many of which have pointed out this second and greater company. But notice the exquisite nicety of the Word of God and the Wisdom of our Father! Not all the elders do mention the Great Company, and therefore the designation “four and twenty,” in this instance, is omitted.

And the four beasts.—Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.

And fell before the Throne on their faces.—No wonder such humble characters “always behold the face of the Father.”—Matt. 18:10.

And worshipped God.—There is no self‐seeking among the angels. When an angel appeared to Manoah and his wife, and Manoah sought to know his name, he left an everlasting lesson in his reply, “Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?”—Judges 13:2‐23.

7:12. Saying, Amen.—So be it! We are not at all jealous. We are delighted to have these new helpers in the Heavenly realm.

Blessing.—The praises and blessings of all who owe their existence to His goodness.

And wisdom.—To continually and forever unfold some new and wonderful features of goodness and grace towards the work of His hands.

And thanksgiving.—From “every creature which is in Heaven and on earth.”—Rev. 5:13.

And honor.—To the Name so long and so unjustly and foully dishonored, by the eternal torment theory.

And power.—Restrained for thousands of years, but now about to be exercised in man’s behalf.—Psa. 76:10.

And might.—The ability to accomplish fully all His purposes.—Isa. 55:11.

Be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.—Be ascribed to Jehovah for eternity.—Rev. 5:13,14.

7:13. And one of the elders.—The prophecy of Isaiah 1:10‐20.

Answered, saying unto me.—Under symbolism of Sodom because of their identification with spiritual Sodom’s work and hopes.—Rev. 11:8.

What are these which are arrayed in white robes.—Who are these of whom it is said, “Your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings before mine eyes,” etc.?—Isa. 1:15, 16; Rev. 7:9.

And whence came they.—Why are they figuratively represented as stained with blood?

7:14. And I said unto him, [Sir,] MY LORD, thou knowest.—It is doubtless contained in your prophecy.

And he said unto me.—In Isa. 34:5, 6, “My sword shall be bathed in Heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of My curse, to judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs.”—D. 17.

These are they which came out of great tribulation.—“ ‘The tribulation, the great one’—the twofold article being specially emphatic. See Rev. 3:10; 6:17; Matt. 24:21.” (Cook.) “They are those,” he said, “who have just passed through the great distress.” (Weym.) “The slaughter of this day of vengeance is said to be of the ‘lambs and goats.’ (Isa. 34:6.) The lambs would represent the tribulation saints.” (D. 17.) “The Great Company will pass through a great tribulation, with a view to effecting in them a proper penitence for sin and a proper appreciation of the Divine standard of truth and righteousness. This class, particularly large in the present day, will be delivered over to the Adversary—to suffer in a Time of Trouble such as was not since there was a nation—the great time of trouble with which this Age shall end. Such of them as fail to respond to those tribulations and to seek the Lord will die the Second Death, but such as respond faithfully will be counted as overcomers.” (Z. ’07‐232.)

“Many such are now being closely bound in with the various bundles of tares for the burning; and not until the fiery trouble of the latter end of the Harvest period shall burn the binding cords of Babylon’s bondage shall these be able to make their escape—‘saved so as by fire.’ They must see the utter wreck of Great Babylon and receive some measure of her plagues.” (C. 364.) “Sad disappointments attach to the experiences of this company: it is because they fear the reproaches of Christ that they shirk present privileges and opportunities for walking with Him in white in the ‘sufferings of this present time:’ behold, they not only miss the present joy and rejoicing of those who are faithful, but eventually they must come through still greater sufferings, if they would attain even to a lower place. Although loving the Lord and His people, they are somewhat ashamed of them and hide, as it were, their faces from them, in the presence of the worldly: and behold the Master at His Coming for His ‘Bride’ cannot confess their names in the presence of the Father and the holy angels.” (Z. ’97‐162.) “These will be helped out of Babylon when she is falling, and will flee in the winter‐time, saying in the words of the Prophet, ‘The Harvest is past, the Summer is ended [Winter has come], and we are not saved.’ (Jer. 8:20.)” (D. 578.) “These, surely, we cannot expect to see shielded from the very trouble which the Lord declares they need; and which in special mercy He will inflict for their perfecting.”—Z. ’96‐191.

And have washed their robes.—Spotted and soiled by contact with the world.—Z. ’97‐161.

And made them white in the blood of the Lamb.—“Not that their sufferings will wash their robes, but that in their sufferings they will learn to appreciate as never before their relationship to the Lamb of God and to His atoning merit, and by faith will be permitted to apply the same to their own cleansing.”—Z. ’07‐233; 1 John 1:7.

7:15. Therefore.—Because, in the final test, they suffered martyrdom and cleansed their robes rather than deny the Lord.

Are they before the Throne of God.—“With the world in the next Age, the Lord’s power will be represented through the Great Company class, under the Bride. They will be a great police force, looking out for the whole people. They will have enough to do; for God has guaranteed that ‘nothing shall hurt or offend in all His holy Mountain’—Kingdom (Isa. 11:9). That will mean a careful supervision. Yes, indeed! How will they hinder wrong‐ doing? If a person were about to speak blasphemy or slander, the tongue might be instantly paralyzed. Very easy! A policeman right on the spot!—not waiting until the offender had done the mischief and then punishing him, but fixing him so that he will not get the chance to do it, and punishing him for trying to do so.”—Question Meeting.

And serve Him day and night in His Temple.—“Although they can never be the living Temple of which Christ is the Head (Rev. 3:12; 11:1), we are told they shall be servants in that Temple; and although they shall never sit in the Throne, they are highly privileged to serve ‘before the Throne.’ Grand and glorious privileges will be theirs.”—Z. ’97‐162; Rev. 22:3.

And He that sitteth on the Throne.—Jehovah.

[Shall dwell among] KNOWETH them.—To be known of the Lord is to be the sure recipient of blessings. Not to be known or recognized of Him is the greatest of all calamities. God keeps a record of His friends (Mal. 3:16) but no record of His enemies; and therein lies their ruin. “I never knew you; depart from Me.”—Matt. 7:23.

7:16. They shall NOT hunger [no more].—Poor things, how hungry they have been! How the light has shone in their poor, hunted, starved faces, as they have listened to Pastor Russell, by the tens of thousands; and yet, when the lecture was over, they have wearily gone back to the “husks,” from a sense of duty to the memory of some man, dead for hundreds of years, who would, if alive today, be a follower of the Reformer, Charles T. Russell, because he followed Christ.

Neither thirst any more.—“The waters of Truth shall no longer be brackish with error, being healed at the very spring by a clearer understanding of the Word of God.”—B. 266.

Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.—During the Harvest time the Lord’s people, illuminated with the light of Present Truth, have been shining forth, not with any brilliancy of their own, but with much of the coming splendor of the “Sun of Righteousness.” Coming in contact with them, it has been inevitable that the Great Company class should frequently be singed, unable to answer the Truth, and should feel considerable heat. Their condition has been aptly described by the Prophet, “It shall be a vexation only to understand the report.” (Isa. 28:19.) “As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.”—Amos 5:19.

7:17. For the Lamb.—Jesus Christ, their eternal Friend—“The same yesterday, today, and forever.”—Heb. 13:8.

Which is in the midst of the Throne.—Authority, rulership.—A. 92; Rev. 5:6.

Shall feed them.—Be their shepherd. (John 10:1‐28; 21:16.) They will not have immortality. Their lives will always require to be sustained, as in the case of the angels.

And shall lead them unto [living] fountains of waters OF LIFE.—They will not have within them the “well of water springing up unto everlasting life,” as will the Bride class, but may freely take of the “Water of life” which flows forth from the united well‐springs of the Fountain and its 144,000 associates.—John 4:14; Rev. 22:1, 17; Ezekiel 47:1‐5.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.—There will be tears at first that will require wiping away, when they see all they have missed. Nevertheless, “With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought into the King’s Palace.” (Psa. 45:15.) And it is a good place; there we leave them, to bask in the sunlight of His presence forevermore. We shall know them all, then, even as we shall be known by them.—1 Cor. 13:12.

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Revelation 8—Four Preliminary Reformations

8:1. And when He.—The Lord Jesus, whose privilege it is to open them all.—Rev. 6:1.

Had opened the seventh seal.—“The seal of the living God.” (Rev. 7:2.) The opening of the seventh seal is progressive. The opening and unfolding of the Truth goes on as the saints are sealed. By the time the saints are all sealed in their hearts and minds with the Present Truth, the deepest features of the Truth itself will have been disclosed. “The time will undoubtedly come in the near future when the number of the Elect will be complete. Then only such vacancies as might still occur by some falling out would remain.” (Z. ’14‐68.) “God’s people down through this Gospel age have been privileged to know something of the ‘Secret of the Lord’—the Divine Plan. But not until the last seal is broken, does the scroll fly wide open, permitting the ‘Mystery of God’ to be fully disclosed; as it is written: ‘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.’ (Rev. 5:1; 10:7.)”—Z. ’97‐257.

There was silence.—“Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the Lord our God hath put us to silence.” (Jer. 8:14.) “They (the clergy) somehow realize that neither reason nor Scripture supports their false doctrines, and that the wisest method is to keep silent, in the shadow of old superstitions and under the protection of so‐called Christian governments.”—C. 158.

In heaven.—In the nominal ecclesiastical heavens.

About the space of half an hour.—On the scale of a year for a day this would mean but a week, and indicates that, as soon as the full number to complete the Body of Christ have been sealed with the Present Truth, persecution in a public way, and on an unprecedented scale, may be expected to begin almost immediately. (This verse should properly be included in Chapter 7.)

8:2. And I saw.—As the next vision of the grand series. Something never seen until the seventh seal is broken and the Mystery of God finished.

The seven angels.—Instrumentalities suitable for the work to be performed.

Which stood before God.—Featuring the Reformation.

And to them were given seven trumpets.—Bugles with which to blow bugle‐ blasts of liberty from the oppressions of the papacy, leading up to and including the final blast of “Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”—Lev. 25:10.

8:3. And another angel.—Not the “voice of the Lord,” mentioned in the preceding chapter, but the corporate body—the WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, which Pastor Russell formed to finish his work. This verse shows that, though Pastor Russell has passed beyond the veil, he is still managing every feature of the Harvest work. “THE WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY is the greatest corporation in the world, because from the time of its organization until now the Lord has used it as His channel through which to make known the Glad Tidings.”‐Z. ’17‐22; Rev. 14:18; 19:17.

Came and stood.—Waited before the Lord, after the Pastor’s death, ready to do the Master’s will.

At the altar.—The Brazen Altar, the place of sacrifice. (Ex. 38:1‐7; Lev. 16:12, 13.) The fire for the sacrifice at the Golden Altar was obtained here and then carried to the Golden Altar where the incense was crumbled in it.

Having a golden censer.—Censers, or fire‐pans, were of two forms, with handles and without. In this case the kind with the handle, used only on the Day of Atonement, is the one referred to. The incense was burnt while the high priest held the censer in his hand. Thus, in this prophecy, the great antitypical High Priest identifies Himself with the work of the Society, and places in its care—holds in His hand—the fire‐pans, the things that lead us to the place where we sacrifice ourselves. Thus seen, the censer represents teachings, understandings of the Word; for it is our understanding of the Word which leads us to offer up all we have in the Lord’s service.—Num. 16:6, 7.

And there was given unto him much incense.—The heart’s best endeavors of the faithful fellow‐members of the Body.

That he should offer it.—To Jehovah, through the Son.—Rev. 5:8.

With the prayers of all saints.—The Society is the only entity in the world answering to this description. It alone has offered on its behalf the prayers of all the saints, in harmony with the clause of the Vow which reads, “Daily will I remember at the Throne of heavenly grace the general interests of the Harvest work—the dear co‐laborers at the Brooklyn Tabernacle and Bethel, and everywhere.”

Upon the golden altar [which was] before the Throne.—The offerings take place “before the Throne,” on this side the veil.—Rev. 1:4; 5:6; Ex. 30:1‐10.

8:4. And the smoke.—The fragrant, sweet perfume.

Of the incense.—Life’s dearest ties, sacrificed in the Master’s cause.

Which came with the prayers of the saints.—In harmony with the Vow of faithfulness.—Psa. 141:2; Luke 1:10; Acts 10:4.

Ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.—“An odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.”—Phil. 4:18.

8:5. And the angel.—THE WATCH TOWER SOCIETY through its proper representatives.

Took the censer.—The Seventh Volume of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, Divinely provided.

And filled it with fire of the altar.—Coals from the altar signify burning truths; and such the Lord’s prophecies always are, when rightly understood.—Isa. 6:5‐8. This is a plain intimation of God’s purpose to use the SOCIETY in further unfoldings of His Truth as it becomes due. “We believe that the Lord will not scatter, but will ‘turn His hand [power] upon the little ones,’ in this dark hour of trial (Zech. 13:7).”—Z. ’17‐30.

And cast it.—Greek, “Deliberately hurled it.”

Into the earth.—Among order‐loving people.—Ezek. 10:2; Luke 12:49.

And there were [voices and] thunderings.—Seven Volumes of “SCRIPTURE STUDIES,” this one being the last of the series. (Rev. 10:3, 4.) Thunders are symbolical of controversy, and this volume may cause some. Particularly is it to be expected that the clergy will thunder against whatever Truth it contains. Thunder is caused by the flashing of lightning through the heavens, opening them up, as it were. Immediately after the flash they come together with an angry roar. Thunder, of itself, never does anybody any harm.—Rev. 16:18.

And voices.—“These voices have been circulated here and there throughout the whole civilized world, not by worldly agents, not through book‐ sellers, but by those who have themselves been blessed by the light, and who desire to render a service to the Lord and to the Truth, and to lay down their lives for the brethren by taking to them the glorious and encouraging message now due to the Lord’s people.” (Z. ’02‐118.) Voices also symbolize discussion, contention.

And lightnings.—See Rev. 4:5; 11:19; 16:18.

And an earthquake.—“The term earthquake is used to symbolically represent revolution—it is in this sense of the word that it is used throughout the Book of Revelation. What we are to look for then will be a great revolution, the great symbolic earthquake, the great shaking of the present institutions which will overthrow everything that is not of the Lord’s establishment and approval. Perhaps the symbolical earthquake will be accompanied by a literal one.”—B. S. M.

8:6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets.—“We, in common with almost all expositors, recognize that the seven trumpets of Revelation are symbolical and not literal.”—Z. ’02‐116; Josh. 6:4.

Prepared themselves to sound.—“Christian people in general understand that five of these trumpets have already ‘sounded’ and are in the past—we would say six. It is admitted that those that have already ‘sounded’ have not been literal blasts of a bugle on the air. But literal things are so much more easily received by the natural man that many advanced Christians, Bible students and ministers, are really expecting some day to hear what is sometimes denominated ‘Gabriel’s horn,’ shrill enough and loud enough to awaken the dead.” (Z. ’02‐116.) As thoughtful Christians we should expect that, as this period is that in which the great sects have risen, its history should pay particular attention to them, and thus we find. The Reformation particularly affected “three parts” of the papal dominion, Germany, England and France.—Rev. 8:7‐10.

8:7. And the first [angel] sounded.—The movement began, which later developed into the Lutheran General Synod, Lutheran United Synod South, Lutheran General Council, Lutheran Synodical Conference, United Norwegian Lutheran Synod, Ohio Independent Lutheran Synod, Buffalo Lutheran Synod, Hauge’s Lutheran Synod, Eleisen’s Lutheran Synod, Norwegian Lutheran Synod, Danish in America Lutheran Synod, Icelandic Lutheran Synod, Immanuel Lutheran Synod, Suomai Finnish Lutheran Synod, Finnish National Synod, Finnish Apostolic Synod, Norwegian Free Lutheran Synod, Danish United Lutheran Synod, Church of the Lutheran Brethren and Independent Lutheran Congregations.—1 Cor. 3:3.

And there followed hail.—Sharp, cutting, hard truth, contained in Luther’s 95 theses nailed on the church door at Wittenberg.

And fire.—Destructive judgments upon the papacy. Luther sized up the Papal system of “Heads, I win; and tails, you lose” in a few words when he said, “The Romanists have with great dexterity built themselves about with three walls, which have hitherto protected them against reform. In the first place, when the temporal power has pressed them hard, they have affirmed and maintained that the temporal power has no jurisdiction over them—that on the contrary, the spiritual is above the temporal. Secondly, when it is proposed to admonish them from the Holy Scriptures they said, ‘It beseems no one but the pope to interpret the Scriptures,’ and thirdly, when they were threatened with a council, they invented the idea that no one but the pope can call a council.”

Mingled with blood.—Blood is a symbol of death‐dealing doctrine, and this teaches that Luther did not get entirely free from error. The following illustrates this point: “There gradually developed a group of radicals who were convinced that Luther had not the courage of his convictions. They proposed to abolish the idolatry of the Mass and all other outward signs of what they deemed the old superstitions. Luther’s colleague at Wittenberg, Carlstadt, began denouncing the monastic life, the celibacy of the clergy, the veneration of images; and before the end of 1521 we find the first characteristic outward symptoms of Protestantism. In January 1522, Carlstadt induced the authorities of Wittenberg to publish the first evangelical church ordinance. The service of the Mass was modified, and the laity were to receive the elements in both kinds. Reminders of the old religious usages were to be done away with, and the fast‐days were to be no longer observed. These measures led Luther to return to Wittenberg in March, 1522, where he preached a series of sermons attacking the impatience of the radical party. In 1525 the conservative party, which had from the first feared that Luther’s teaching would result in sedition, received a new and terrible proof, as it seemed to them, of the noxious influence of the evangelical preachers.

“The peasant movements which had caused so much anxiety at the diet of Augsburg in 1518, culminated in the Peasant Revolt in which the common man, both in country and town, rose in the name of God’s justice to avenge long‐standing wrongs and establish his rights. Luther was by no means directly responsible for the civil war which followed, but he had certainly contributed to stir up the ancient discontent. He had asserted that, owing to the habit of foreclosing small mortgages, ‘Any one with a hundred gulden could gobble up a peasant a year.’ The German feudal lords he pronounced hangmen, who knew only how to swindle the poor man. Yet in spite of this harsh talk about princes, Luther relied upon them to forward the reforms in which he was interested. The peasants demanded that the gospel should be taught them as a guide in life, and that each community should be permitted to choose its pastor and depose him if he conducted himself improperly. More radical demands came from the working classes in the towns. The articles of Heilbronn demanded that the property of the Church should be confiscated and used for the community; clergy and nobility alike were to be deprived of all their privileges, so that they could no longer oppress the poor man. The more violent leaders renewed the old cry that the parsons must be slain. Hundreds of castles and monasteries were destroyed by the frantic peasantry, and some of the nobles were murdered with shocking cruelty. Luther, who believed that the peasants were trying to cloak their dreadful sins with excuses from the gospel, exhorted the government to put down the insurrection. ‘Have no pity on the poor folk; stab, smite, throttle, who can.’ The German rulers took Luther’s advice with terrible literalness, and avenged themselves upon the peasants, whose lot was apparently worse afterwards than before.”—Brit.

And they were cast upon the earth AND THE THIRD PART OF THE EARTH WAS BURNED UP.—Luther’s teaching had the effect of transforming the order‐ loving German people into anarchists.

And the third part.—The German part.

Of trees.—Trees are symbols of saints. “St. Paul gives us the picture of a tree, the roots of which push down deep into the knowledge of the Divine Plan, while the tree of character grows higher and higher, developing and maturing the rich fruits of the Holy Spirit of God; for instruction is a form of construction.”—Z. ’14‐312; Isa. 61:3.

Was burnt up.—Hindered from standing alone, and absorbed into the Lutheran system.

And all green grass.—Natural men of independent thought.—Isa. 40:6, 7.

Was burnt up.—Similarly absorbed into the Lutheran system, a welcome substitute for papacy’s intolerable yoke.

8:8. And the second [angel] sounded.—The Anglican church movement began.

And as it were a great mountain.—England in the time of Henry VIII. Mountains symbolize kingdoms.—Dan. 2:35; Jer. 51:25.

Burning with fire.—Aflame with another great movement destructive to the papacy.

Was cast into the sea.—Was suddenly thrown into a condition of isolation from the papacy—no longer placed under religious restraint to it.

And the third part of the sea.—The English part.

Became blood.—The much‐married Henry VIII., founder of the Anglican Church, and the second great sect‐founder, has some slight blemishes on his escutcheon also. “Henry VIII. himself stoutly maintained the headship of the pope, and as is well known, after examining the arguments of Luther, published his defence of the Seven Sacraments in 1521, which won for him from the pope the glorious title of ‘Defender of the faith.’ By 1527 the king had become hopeless of having a male heir by Catherine. He was tired of her, and in love with the black‐eyed Anne Boleyn, who refused to be his mistress. The king’s agents secured the opinion of a number of prominent universities that his marriage was void, and an assembly of notables, which he summoned in June 1530, warned the pope of the dangers involved in leaving the royal succession in uncertainty. Henry’s next move was to bring a charge against the clergy, accusing them of having violated the ancient laws of praemunire in submitting to the authority of papal legates (although he himself had ratified the appointment of Wolsey as legate a latere). The clergy of the province of Canterbury were fined 100,000 pounds and compelled to declare the king their singular protector and only supreme lord, and, as far as that is permitted by the law of Christ, the supreme head of the Church and of the clergy.

“The following year, 1532, an obedient parliament presented a petition to the king (which had been most carefully elaborated by the king’s own advisers) containing twelve charges against the bishops. For the remedy of these abuses parliament turned to the king ‘in whom and by whom the only and sole redress, reformation and remedy herein absolutely rests and remains.’ [These charges were answered by the clergy, but the answer did not suit the king so on the 15th of May, 1532.] The king’s most humble subjects, daily orators and bedesmen of the clergy of England, in view of his goodness and fervent Christian zeal and his learning far exceeding that of all other kings that they have read of, agree never to assemble in convocation except at the king’s summons, and to enact and promulgate no constitution or ordinances except they receive the royal assent and authority. [Then Henry divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn and the English Reformation was officially launched.] The king had now clarified the ancient laws of the realm to his satisfaction, and could proceed to seize such portions of the Church’s possessions as he deemed superfluous for the maintenance of religion. [On the 30th of July, 1540, three Lutheran clergymen were burned and three Roman Catholics beheaded, the latter for denying the king’s spiritual supremacy. The king’s ardent desires that diversities of minds and opinions should be done away with and unity be ‘charitably established’ was further promoted by publishing in 1543 A Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any Christian Man, set forth by the King’s Majesty of England, in which the tenets of mediaeval theology, except for denial of the supremacy of the bishop of Rome and the unmistakable assertion of the supremacy of the king, were once more restated. The First Prayer Book of Edward VI was issued in 1549 and was followed in 1552 by the Second Prayer Book and] ‘The foundations of the Anglican church were laid.’—Brit.

8:9. And the third part.—The English part.

Of the creatures.—The clergy “apostolically” of the Church of Rome, but actually doing business under Henry VIII. Be it noted that they were not counted worthy of being called “men.”

Which were in the sea.—No longer under religious restraint to the papacy.

And had life.—The apostolic succession, from the line of popes, etc., described in Rev. 2:13 comments.

Died.—Were excommunicated by the pope, lost their “apostolic (?) succession.”

And the third part.—The English part.

Of the ships.—Independent bodies of Christian worshippers called Lollards, followers of Wycliffe.—Mark 4:36; 6:48‐51; John 6:21.

Were destroyed.—Compelled to acknowledge Henry VIII as head of the Church or lose their lives. “Thus, when the English Reformation of the 16th century commenced, it derived a new impulse from the earlier Lollard movement which it was destined to absorb into itself.”—McC.

8:10. And the third angel sounded.—The Calvinistic movement began, which later developed into the Northern Presbyterian Church, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Welsh Calvinistic Church, United Presbyterian Church, Southern Presbyterian Church, Associate Presbyterian Church, Associate Reformed Southern Presbyterian Church, Reformed Synod Presbyterian Church, Reformed General Synod Presbyterian Church, Reformed Covenanted Presbyterian Church, Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States and Canada, Dutch Reformed Church, German Reformed Church, Christian Reformed Church, Hungarian Reformed Church, and Congregational Church.—1 Cor. 3:3.

And there fell a great star from heaven.—John Calvin tore a large‐sized hole in the Catholic firmament when he started the manufacture of a firmament of his own.

Burning as it were a lamp.—The precipitation of the Calvinistic movement in France and Switzerland was as sudden as the Anglican movement had been in England or the Lutheran movement in Germany. In 1533 Francis I, King of France, “anxious to conciliate both German Protestants and anti‐papal England, invited some of the reformers to preach in the Louvre,” as an offset to a fierce attack that had but lately been made upon them, caused by the mutilation of a statue of the Virgin. On the festival of All Saints, Cop, the rector of the University of Paris, was to deliver the address, but Jean Cauvin (Calvin) persuaded the rector to read an address which he had written. It was a defence of the new evangelical views and so aroused the Sorbonne that Calvin and Cop were both obliged to flee from Paris. Calvin went to Basle, Switzerland, and in 1536 wrote and published the first great textbook of Protestant theology, Institutes of the Christian Religion. He did his best, but his best was not very good.

And it fell upon the third part.—The French part.

Of the rivers.—Channels of religious instruction.

And upon the fountains of waters.—The Word of God. Although Calvin misunderstood and misapplied them, yet he constantly appealed to the Scriptures as the support for his theories.

8:11. And the name of the star.—Calvin is entitled to the honor of having at one time been a papal star. “He was from the first educated for the Church, and before he was twelve years old was presented to a benefice in the Cathedral of Noyon. Six years after this he was appointed to a cure of souls at Montville, and thus, although not yet twenty, and not even in the minor orders, he was enjoying the titles and revenues of a cure.”—McC.

Is called Wormwood.—What an ideal name for the doctrine which has caused more bitterness against God than any other doctrine ever taught, and for the man who roasted Servetus at the stake.

And the third part of the waters.—Many portions of the Scriptures, misunderstood, misconstrued and misapplied.

Became.—Were made to appear in the eyes of many.

Wormwood.—Bitter as gall. “None now would justify Calvin’s course in sentencing Servetus to be burned. Others burned at the stake usually had the fuel piled at their feet. The flames were inhaled with the smoke, and the victim was speedily unconscious to suffering. For Servetus Satanic ingenuity arranged the burning fagots at a distance. He literally roasted alive, in horrible torture, nearly five hours—in the name of God, of Jesus, of Righteousness, Truth, Justice, Love, Christianity and Civilization.” (P. D.)—Jer. 9:15; 23:15; 9‐40; Deut. 29:18.

And many men died of the waters.—Lost their manhood, reason and common sense by becoming Calvinists.

Because they were made bitter.—Because the Scriptures were made to appear to teach what actually they do not. “It seems remarkable that only now are we realizing that a man so deficient in the spirit of his Master as to murder his brother, should not be an accepted teacher of the Word of God and its spirit. Only now are Bible students realizing that Brother Calvin was not the inventor of the doctrine of election, but merely of the doctrine that all the non‐elect would suffer everlastingly. Now we see that the terms, ‘the elect,’ ‘the very elect,’ are Bible terms! and that those who make their calling and election sure, will be glorified in the First Resurrection. Now we see that the Elect will be associated with Jesus in His Kingdom, which will bless the non‐elect—‘all the families of the Earth.’ ”—P. D.

8:12. And the fourth angel sounded.—The Baptist sectarian movement began, resulting in Baptist Churches North, Baptist Churches South, Baptist Churches Colored, Seventh‐Day Baptists, General Baptists, Separate Baptists, United Baptists, Baptist Church of Christ, Primitive Baptist Church, Primitive Colored Baptist Church, Old Two Seed in the Spirit Predestinarian Baptist Church, Church of God and Saints of Christ, Mennonites, Six Principle Baptist Church, Free Baptist Church, Freewill Baptist Church—not forgetting the Selfwill Baptist Church, which also has a large membership, but is not listed.—1 Cor. 3:3.

From an examination of history “It does not appear that the Baptists were formed into any stability (as a sect) until the time of Menno, about the year 1536. About 1644 they began to make a considerable figure in England, and spread themselves into several separate congregations. They separated from the Independents about the year 1638, and set up for themselves under the pastoral care of Mr. Jesse; and, having renounced their former baptism, they sent over one of their number to be immersed by one of the Dutch Anabaptists of Amsterdam, that he might be qualified to baptize his friends in England after the same manner.” (Buck.) “Menno Simons, born in 1492 at Witmarsum in Friesland, at the age of 24 entered the priesthood. Doubts about transubstantiation made him uneasy; some of Luther’s tracts fell in his way, and he was comforted by Luther’s dictum that salvation does not depend on human dogmata. Hence he began to study the New Testament. The question as to the right age for baptism came up; he found this an open matter in the early church. Then the execution, in March, 1531, at Leeuwarden, of the tailor Sicke Freerks, who had been rebaptized in the previous December at Emden, introduced further questions. Menno was not satisfied with the inconsistent answers which he got from Luther, Bucer and Bullinger; he resolved to rely on Scripture alone, and from this time describes his preaching as evangelical, not sacramental. Anabaptism of the Munster type repelled him. A brother of Menno joined the insurgent followers of Matthyzoon and was killed at Bolsward, April 1535. Blaming the leaders by whom these poor people had been misled, Menno blamed himself for not having shown them a straight course. Accordingly on the 12th of January 1536 he left the Roman communion.

“Among the so‐called Anabaptists were four parties, the favorers of the Munster faction, the Batenburgers, extremists, the Melchiorites and the Obbenites. For a time Menno remained aloof from both Melchior Hofman and Obbe Philipsz. Before the year was out, yielding to the prayer of six or eight persons who had freed themselves from the Munster spell, he agreed to become their minister and was set apart January 1537 to the eldership at Groningen, with imposition of hands by Obbe Philipsz. Menno repudiated the formation of a sect; those who had experienced the ‘new birth’ were to him the true Christian church. His Christology was in the main orthodox though he rejected terms such as Trinity which he could not find in Scripture. Of the introduction of Anabaptist views into England we have no certain knowledge. Fox relates that ‘the registers of London make mention of certain Dutchmen counted for Anabaptists, of whom ten were put to death in sundry places in the realm, anno 1535; other ten repented and were saved’. In 1536 King Henry VIII issued a proclamation concerning faith agreed upon by Convocation, in which the clergy are told to instruct the people that they ought to repute and take ‘The Anabaptists’ opinions for detestable heresies and to be utterly condemned.’ Thomas Fuller tells us from Stow’s Chronicles that in the year 1538 four Anabaptists, three men and one woman, all Dutch, bare faggots at Paul’s Cross, and three days after a man and woman of their sect were burnt in Smithfield. The early English Baptists, while they utterly rejected the baptism of infants, were as yet unpledged to immersion and rarely practiced it.”—Brit.

And the third part of the sun was smitten.—Though not apparently so stated in any confession of faith, it is a prevalent view among Baptists that the Old Testament has been entirely fulfilled. Believing thus they lose the force of a large part of the Gospel Message, typified by the sun.

And the third part of the moon.—Similarly, they do not see the force of the teachings of the Law Dispensation, as in the Tabernacle arrangements, etc., in their application to the Church.

And the third part of the stars.—The teachings of the true light‐bearers, the Apostles, cannot be fully appreciated except in connection with the prophecies of the Old Testament.

So as the third part of them was darkened.—If pressed to estimate the relative worth to us as New Creatures of the writings of the Old and New Testaments, we would admit that the writings of the New Testament are worth perhaps twice as much to us as those of the Old Testament because they contain the message addressed to the New Creation, but we want all three thirds of the Word.

And the day.—The Scripture teaching of the coming Millennial Day.

Shone not for a third part of it.—At least a third of the light we get on the subject of the Lord’s Millennial Reign is from the Old Testament.

And the night likewise.—The same is true of the world’s dark night of sin and death, and the darkest feature of that night—the Time of Trouble such as was not since there was a nation. The Old Testament has much of light and instruction on this subject.

8:13. And I beheld, and heard an [angel] EAGLE.—One of Pastor Russell’s humble followers (Matt. 24:28) apprehending correctly the significance of the three woes.

Flying through the midst of heaven.—Beginning with the papal heavens and then in their order of development, the Lutheran heavens, Anglican heavens, Calvinistic heavens and Baptist heavens (and others shortly.)

Saying with a loud voice.—With considerable plainness of speech.

Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth.—Great distress and perplexity of mind to all supporters of Satan’s Empire.

By reason of the other voices.—Later movements in the ecclesiastical heavens described in Chapters 9 and 10.

Of the three angels, which are yet to sound.—The four great denominations—Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian and Baptist—were formed in swift succession within twenty years from the time Luther nailed the theses on the Wittenberg door. But the work of forming new movements away from papal bondage did not stop there.

“Ye curious minds, who roam abroad, And trace creation’s wonders o’er, Confess the footsteps of your God, And bow before Him, and adore.”

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