Revelation 16—Ecclesiasticism’s Seven Plagues…

Revelation 16—Ecclesiasticism’s Seven Plagues

16:1. And I heard a great voice out of the Temple.—Pastor Russell was the voice of the Lord thus used. (Rev. 7:2; 10:3.) He was of the true Temple, and “out of” the nominal temple at the time these plagues were poured out.

Saying to the seven angels.—The seven volumes of Scripture Studies. See Rev. 8:2‐5 and 14:17‐20. “The plagues upon Egypt were intended in some measure to foreshadow, to illustrate, the plagues with which this Gospel Age will end.” (F. 175.) Pastor Russell walked in the light. When the plagues actually appeared, he no longer held to the explanation published in 1883, before they appeared, and so stated on many occasions.

Go your ways, and pour out the SEVEN vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.—In the prefaces to the several volumes of Scripture Studies such expressions abound as “I send forth this volume with prayers,” “and now it is sent forth in the faith,” etc., etc.

16:2. And the first went, and poured out his vial [upon] INTO the earth.—Volume I was distributed among those already under religious restraint.

And there fell a [noisome and] grievous AND NOISOME sore.—The book seemed to ecclesiastics like an evil and malignant ulcer, a painful, running sore, which eats, corrupts and destroys.

Upon the men which had the mark of the beast.—Roman Catholics.

And upon them which worshipped his image.—Protestants affiliated with the Federal Council of Churches. Rev. 13:11; 13, 14, 15; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:13; 19:20; 20:10; Matt. 24:24. Another view of the book, from the standpoint of the clergy, is afforded by the plague of flies (Ex. 8:20‐32.) It seemed to them like an old‐time Egyptian curse, with which they were quite familiar, namely, one more of the Evangelistic firms already cursing society, and interfering with the regular clergy business. “The Scriptural details are as follows: The arab filled the houses of the Egyptians, they covered the ground, they lighted on the people, the land was laid waste on their account. A biting, insidious creature, which comes like a dart, with great noise, and, rushing with great impetuosity on the skin, sticks to it most tenaciously. They boldly beset cattle, and not only obtain ichor, as other flies, but also suck out blood from beneath, and occasion great pain.

“They have no proboscis, but, instead, have double sets of teeth, like wasps, which they infix deeply in the skin; they greatly infest the ears of dogs. This genus is most impudently pertinacious in its assaults, spares neither man nor beast, gorges itself to bursting with blood, infusing an irritating venom at the same time. No idea can be formed of their obstinate rapacity. It is in vain to drive them away; they return again in the self‐same moment, and their perseverance wearies out the most patient spirit.” (McC.) These flies, flying a short distance into the heavens, do their work around the dunghill of human tradition, but the collections of one of them recently amounted to $400,000 in eight American cities, so the business can be made a money maker by those willing to cater to the demand for sensationalism, and who have no hesitancy in repeating ancient blasphemies against God’s holy name.

These flies are called dog‐flies, because they infest the ears of dogs; and when it is remembered that the Scriptures refer to the clergy as “dumb dogs” (Isa. 56:10, 11; Phil. 3:2) we can readily see the application. The clergy of an entire city will sit on a platform, facing virtually the whole population, and hear themselves called liars, hypocrites, false‐ alarms and other villainous names. But because they hope to get a few “converts,” and therefore a few shekels for the “sanctuary,” they will take it all meekly, and prefer to take it rather than humbly admit one item of truth in all Pastor Russell’s beautiful writings. After the firm has left town, they frequently bemoan the treatment received and think longingly of the wherewithal taken by the fly that was not satisfied with mere ichor, but wanted the real blood.

At this point it may be well to explain the plagues of frogs and lice. The former seems to represent the Old Theology Quarterly which Pharaoh found everywhere contaminating his kingdom, but which, at the hand of the Lord, suddenly died out completely. The latter seems to represent The Bible Students Monthly. There is no record that the plague of lice was discontinued, and even yet the Egyptians (people of the world) and Pharaoh (the Devil) and his magicians (the clergy) scratch their heads many a time, wondering how to deal with a plague which they cannot duplicate.

16:3. And the second [angel] poured out his vial upon the sea.—Volume II, Scripture Studies seemed to the beast and his image to reach and affect only the discontented, those who never were very subservient to the ruler of this present evil world, or any of his systems.

And it became as the blood of a dead man.—After death the blood separates into a watery liquid, called serum, and a solid substance termed clot. As soon as this separation takes place the clot begins to putrefy or corrupt. Thus it seemed to worshipers of the beast and his image that anybody that would accept the teachings of Volume II would be in a hopeless condition.

And every living soul died in the sea.—To the worshipers of the beast and his image it seemed as though such would be lost and would surely go to hell to be tormented forever. An “evangelist” who held these views called at the home of a lady in Scranton. Entering the hall he saw an elegant picture of Pastor Russell. Instantly he lost control of what mind he had and vehemently said, “I called here as a Christian minister, but I see you have old Russell’s picture here. Are you a follower of his?” The lady replied that she was. He then said, “He is in hell, and you will be there too, if you follow him.” Quick as thought the lady reopened the door through which he had just entered, invited him to the porch overlooking the valley; and as he stood there gazing into space she said, “Tell it to the atmosphere,” and left him while she attended to more important duties.

Another picture of the effect of Volume II on the anti‐typical Egyptians may be seen from the plague of the murrain (Ex. 9:1‐7.) “This consisted in some distemper that resulted in a sudden and dreadful mortality among the cattle in the field, including horses, asses, camels, oxen and sheep. It was, however, confined to the Egyptian cattle, and to those that were in the field; for though the cattle of the Hebrews breathed the same air, drank the same water, and fed in the same pastures, not a creature of theirs died. The Egyptian cattle that survived in the sheds, and were afterwards sent into the fields, were destroyed by the succeeding storm of fire and hail.” (McC.) These creatures were valuable to the Egyptians. They used them for bearing their burdens, for sacrifices and for food. They represent the classes that go to make up the nominal church and support it. Thus it seemed to the worshippers of the Beast and his Image that the only way to prevent the loss of all their live stock would be to keep them securely impounded, allowing them no liberty whatever.

16:4. And the third [angel] poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters.—It seemed to the worshippers of the beast and his image that the teachings of Volume III of the Scripture Studies had contaminated the Scriptures, the Waters of Life, at their very source, by extending the call to people to come out of Babylon while they were busy trying to get people in.

And they became blood.—Seemed repulsive, undesirable, bloody.—Z. ’07‐279; Ex. 7:20; Rev. 14:20.

Another view of how Volume III appears to the worshipers of the beast and his image is shown by the plague of boils described in Ex. 9:8‐12. “The boil was a scab or pustule, which might or might not break out into an ulcerous sore (Lev. 13:18). With this, in one of its worst forms, Job was afflicted (2:7), and by this Hezekiah was brought to the verge of the grave. (2 Kings 20:7; Isa. 38:21.) It was an eruption of a very painful kind accompanied with a burning itch, tending to produce a permanent state of foul and wasteful disease. One form of this disease which seized upon the legs and knees, and was regarded as incurable, was peculiar to Egypt, and was hence called ‘the botch of Egypt.’ (Deut. 28:27, 35.) In the case before us, this eruption had a tendency to break out into larger swellings and became probably the disease called elephantiasis, a disease said to be peculiar to Egypt, or the black leprosy, a disease which also affects cattle.” (McC.) It was “ashes of the furnace,” loyalty to the memory of the bullock, the one perfect Sacrifice for all, Christ Jesus, that caused the boils; and it is particularly noted that the magicians (clergy) could not withstand this plague, the message, “Come out of her, My People.”

16:5. And I heard the angel of the waters.—Volume III, Scripture Studies.

Say, thou art righteous, [O Lord] which art, and wast.—See Rev. 1:4; 15:3; 19:2.

[And shalt be], THE HOLY.—The Lord, the Holy One, was present, at the time Volume III was written.

Because Thou hast judged thus.—Made the beautiful Harvest truths appear “bloody” to those not consecrated.

16:6. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets.—Literally and figuratively.—Matt. 23:34, 35; Rev. 13:15; 18:24.

And thou hast given them blood to drink; [for] THAT WHEREOF they are worthy.—See Rev. 14:20; Isa. 49:26.

16:7. And I heard [another out of] the altar.—The “Altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt” (Isa. 19:19) at the time these plagues are being poured out upon the antitypical Egyptians, is the Great Pyramid, discussed in a separate section of Volume III.

[Say] Saying Even so, Lord God Almighty.—The Lord Jesus.—Rev. 1:8; John 5:22; Matt. 28:18.

True and righteous are Thy judgments.—The teaching of the Great Pyramid is in full accord with the rest of the book. See Rev. 14:15. “It is by no means an addition to the written revelation: that revelation is complete and perfect, and needs no addition. But it is a strong corroborative witness to God’s Plan. Isaiah testifies of an altar and pillar in the land of Egypt, which ‘shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt.’ And the context shows that it shall be a witness in the day when the great Savior and Deliverer shall come to set at liberty Sin’s captives.”—C. 315.

16:8. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun.—Volume IV of Scripture Studies, as soon as published, was sent free to all clergy whose names could be obtained. They are taught, and teach others, that they are important luminaries in the heavens, suns, rivalling in brilliancy and wisdom the Lord Himself, whose place they take in the minds of the people, by setting forth their own views on every subject, rather than the Lord’s Word. Volume IV, then, sent to this class, and calling attention to Babylon’s fall, seemed to them as the height of all presumption in wickedness.

And power was given unto him to scorch men.—Greek “The Men,” i. e., the worshipers of the beast and his image.

With fire.—Perhaps some of the clergy became a trifle warm as they read Volume IV, as their later conduct seems to suggest. Why they should have disliked Pastor Russell when he told the truth, and proved it, is remarkable.

And men.—Greek “The Men;” the clergy. In Rev. 8:9 the clergy are not so honored.

Were scorched with great heat.—Became warm, indignant at the Pastor’s kindly explanation of the whore and the harlots, and the plainly evident application to the Papacy and the Protestant sects.

And blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues.—Misrepresented the name and character of the mighty one, Pastor Russell, to whom the Lord committed the task of presenting to His Church this meat in due season. This misrepresentation burst like a storm after the publication of Volume IV, Studies, and continued until the Pastor’s death, yea, and shame to say it, even afterwards, in the columns of such sheets as the New York World and the Brooklyn Eagle. What monuments of infamy these people have reared for themselves! They richly deserve all they will get when the tide turns.

And they repented not to give Him glory.—“One great obstacle to many is the contracted idea generally entertained of the meaning of the word god. They fail to note that the Greek theos (god) does not invariably refer to Jehovah, but signifies a mighty one. In the following texts the word god (theos) is used to refer to others than the one supreme being, Jehovah—viz.:—John 10:34, 35; Acts 7:40, 43; 17:23; 1 Cor. 8:5.”—B. 274.

Another view of how the publication of Volume IV looks to the worshipers of the beast and his image is shown in the plague of hail, described in Ex. 9:13‐26. “The character of this and the following plagues must be carefully examined, as the warning seems to indicate an important turning‐ point. The ruin caused by the hail was evidently far greater than that effected by any of the earlier plagues; for it destroyed men, which those others seem not to have done, and not only men, but beasts and the produce of the earth. In this case Moses, while addressing Pharaoh, openly warns his servants how to save something from the calamity. Pharaoh for the first time acknowledges his wickedness.” (McC.) The appropriateness of these comments to the subject matter of “The Day of Vengeance,” or “The Battle of Armageddon”, (as it is now called) as the latter would appear to the mind of the clergy, is self‐evident. Your true clergyman has the greatest abhorrence for any truth that would tend to lessen men’s reverence for himself or the systems which he aims to perpetuate.

16:10. And the fifth [angel].—Volume V, of Studies.

Poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast.—Thoroughly and scripturally analyzing the subjects of trinity, human immortality and eternal torment, the foundation of all Papal doctrine, as well as constituting a large part of the stock in trade of the Protestant aggregation.

And his kingdom was full of darkness.—Complete ignorance of the truths on these subjects as taught in the Bible.

And they gnawed their tongues for pain.—“Note the expression of Rev. Samuel T. Carter in a Presbyterian journal—The Evangelist. He says: ‘It must be admitted that if a Church is honest, that which stands in its Confession to its faith. It must be acknowledged that what is contained in its Confession is the faith of any honest church. The Westminster Confession of Faith is still the unquestioned Confession of the Presbyterian Church. Is the Presbyterian Church honest in its zeal for purity first and peace afterward? Be it known, then, to all the world that the Presbyterian Church by its Confession declares that all the heathen perish, that many men are hopelessly lost from all eternity by the decree of God, and that there are infants in hell.... In reality the church does not believe these dreadful doctrines. Then it stands before God and man with a lie in its right hand.’ ”—Z. ’00‐148.

16:11 And blasphemed the God of Heaven.—“In token of entire allegiance to the beast.”—Cook.

Because of their pains [and their sores], and repented not [of their deeds].—“The commotion amongst Presbyterians continues—some standing firm for their church creed, others repudiating it and begging to be released from it. Many thus indirectly confess that they have despised it for years, and have realized it to be a lie and a blasphemy against God, and after confessing to this acting and confessing a lie for years they beg to be released without cost or loss either of human or Divine favor, and especially without loss of bread and butter.” (Z. ’00‐148.) The way in which Volume V, Scripture Studies, appeared to the worshipers of the beast and his image is further illustrated in the plague of locusts, described in Ex. 10:1‐11. “This plague has not the unusual nature of the one that preceded it; but it even exceeds it in severity, and so occupies its place in the gradation of the more terrible judgments that form the latter part of the series. Its severity can be well understood by those who have been in Egypt in a part of the country where a plague of locusts has alighted. In this case the plague was greater than any ordinary visitation, since it extended over a far wider space, rather than because it was more intense; for it is impossible to imagine any more complete destruction than that always caused by locusts.” (McC.) With what dismay must the clergy have read the kind words for volume V, which appeared in the columns of the secular press.

16:12. And the sixth [angel].—Volume VI of Studies in the Scriptures.

Poured out his vial upon the great River Euphrates.—Seemed to the worshipers of the beast and his image to be instituting a new and horrible thing, a people’s church, in which there is no place for clergy, collections, church edifices, reverence for one day above another, or in fact any of the customs cherished in the nominal church.

And the water thereof was dried up.—“Literal Babylon was built upon the literal river Euphrates, while in the Gospel age mystic or figurative Babylon, which carried away captive Spiritual Israel, is portrayed as sitting upon the mystic Euphrates. In the type, the golden vessels of the Temple were carried away and profaned by literal Babylon: in the antitype, the precious, Divine (golden) truths, pertaining to the service of the true Temple, the Church (1 Cor. 3:16, 17; Rev. 3:12), were far removed from their proper places, perverted and misapplied by mystic Babylon. Literal Babylon being built upon the river Euphrates, which materially contributed to its wealth and resources, its overthrow was accomplished by the turning aside of those waters. So mystic Babylon sits upon, is supported by, many waters (peoples, nations), and its fall is predicted, through the turning aside of its supporters and sustainers, the people.” (B. 209; Jer. 50:38, 51:36.) “Ecclesiastical circles in Germany are much exercised at the rapidly increasing desertions from the State Church. Although the process of official separation from the Church is one of the greatest difficulty, delay and expense, it is computed that in Berlin alone considerably over 10,000 persons have severed their connection with the Church during the past year. So great is the number of those who are notifying their intention to terminate their membership that special offices have been opened in Berlin to receive their applications, which now number between 300 and 400 daily. Among the working classes, especially those attached to the Social Democratic party, there exists a bitter hostility to the clergy.”—Z. ’09‐83.

“A program for a general strike against the Church is the latest plan of action. The ‘No‐Creeders’ (Monists) in league with the Socialists, convened mass meetings in Berlin, Brunswick and Saxony, in which every means of incitation was employed in an appeal toward a secession from the State Church. At these meetings over 1,300 persons signed a declaration announcing their intention to secede from the Church. Four thousand more followed, and according to judicial court‐records received towards the end of December, 17,000 secessions took place in December up to the 23d, and the day after Christmas 8,000 more announced their intention. The following press reports may serve as a typical illustration of the mode of procedure in such meetings. ‘Without exception, every one who even by vague allusion, ventured to take a stand for his Church was howled down, hissed from the rostrum and subjected to filthy invectives. To illustrate: When a minister ascended the platform, the following was heard, “He looks it!” “Old Sky‐pilot!” And from another part of the hall the same evening we heard the following words aimed at the ministers: “Damned Rags!” “Pig‐ priests!” A gentleman who interrupted was yelled at, “Rous mit the Parson‐ face!” ’ ”—Z. ’14‐133.

“Reports in Great Britain show that Baptists, Congregationalists and the various Methodist denominations there are declining in numbers and prestige. The cause of this is not far to see. Christianity has become merely another name for decency and civilization. All doctrines are abandoned as merely speculations. Churches are becoming merely social clubs in which form and ceremony mark the quality. This accounts for the growing unpopularity of those sects which once stood for the highest standards of earnestness and Christian zeal and liberty, non‐conformity and simplicity.” (Z. ’10‐324.) “The pastor of the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, New York City, Rev. Dr. Charles F. Aked, who came to its direction from a London pulpit, in his sermon Sunday said: ‘When I interview my parishioners, and they are among the most representative in the city, I find the spirit of religious depression very unlike the spirit of abounding enterprise in business, in manufacturing, in engineering and construction. There are about 16,000,000 Catholics in continental United States. Now, in our immigration for ninety years back, no less than 15,000,000 were Catholics. If all remained loyal to its tenets they would number 45,000,000 now instead of 16,000,000. The Protestants have lost ground, too, when the filling up of the country is counted. Our own denomination, the Baptists, reflects the general trend. The increase among the Baptists of America has been equal to only one‐fourth of the birth rate among us, proving that three out of four of our Baptist population have fallen away from us. The decline of Christianity is universal.’

“In England, in France, in Spain, Italy and Germany we hear the same cry. Only lately I was talking to an English clergyman. He told me that not merely is there a great falling off in church‐goers in England, but that the class of people who frequent churches is becoming inferior.

“The church is out of touch with the masses. Everything has progressed except Christianity. The pulpit has too many bigots, too many bores, too many hell‐fire screechers for the enlightened thought of the day. The church is obliged to accept any applicant for the ministry who is respectable. Even with this latitude, Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist vocations show a remarkable falling off in twenty‐five years.” (Z. ’08‐324.) “Rev. Charles A. Eaton at the Euclid Avenue Baptist Church, Cleveland, spoke as follows: ‘In Italy one‐third of the people at the very outside, are more or less nominal followers of the Church of Rome; another third, possibly, are more or less sympathetic toward the Church; while another third are out and out continually and completely antagonistic, apparently, not only to the Church of Rome, but to all forms of Christianity. You enter France—the same story is true, only aggravated and multiplied a thousand fold. You enter Great Britain, which I consider to be the last citadel of Christianity in the world, with a people more robust and sane in their religious interests and sympathies than any other people. And what is the condition there? The non‐conformist churches of Great Britain last year not only made no progress, but met, according to their statistics, with an absolute loss of 18,000; the Baptist Church of Great Britain last year lost 5,000 people. In the year 1905 there were nearly 7,000 Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Methodist churches that had not one single member unite with them in twelve months. In a recent year in New York city, according to the statement of Dr. Aked, of the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, 335 Protestant churches reported a net gain that year of 386 members. That is to say 335 churches gained one member apiece and fifty of them gained two in twelve months. Brethren, I say to you this morning, that the American Church is dying—it is dying! It is dying! Don’t forget it.’ ” (Z. ’08‐211.)

“A declaration by the Rev. Dr. Charles E. McClellan, pastor of the Fairhill Baptist Church, that ‘Protestantism in the United States is fast decaying and will soon be a thing of the past,’ aroused a storm at the fifty‐third session of the North Philadelphia Baptist Association. Doctor McClellan spoke on what he called the decline of Protestantism while making his report as chairman of the missionary committee. ‘The spirit of Protestantism is dying in the United States, and it will soon be a thing of the past,’ he said. ‘Philadelphia, both denominationally and religiously, is going to perdition at a rapid rate. Recently I attended the services in one of our churches, at which I had been invited to speak. I found in attendance nineteen adults and one child. The same condition exists all over the city. We have large, magnificent churches, but small congregations, showing that it is easy to get money, but hard to get men.’ ”—Z. ’10‐373.

That the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.—“He must be comparatively blind who cannot see that the wonderful prophecies which speak of the fall of Babylon (Isa. 14:22; Jer. 50 and 51) were not wholly fulfilled by Cyrus the Persian. Much of the prophecy still waits for fulfillment in mystic or symbolic Babylon today. The Kings of the East, or kings from the sunrising, are, we understand, the kings of Christ’s Kingdom, who are also priests—the Body of Christ, the Royal Priesthood. ‘Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.’ From this standpoint, Cyrus, who with his army overthrew literal Babylon, was a figure or illustration of Messiah, King of kings and Lord of lords. (Isa. 41:25; 44:28; 45:1‐14.)”—Z. ’99‐174; Rev. 7:2.

16:13. And I saw three unclean spirits.—Denoting demoniacal origin. (Matt. 10:1; Mark 1:26; Luke 4:33.) “The Lord’s people must discriminate between doctrines presented to them as truth—they must ‘try the spirits,’ whether they be holy or evil, of God or of the Evil One—the Spirit of Truth or the spirit of error. These both are introduced by prophets, or teachers.”—E. 320, 295.

[Like] AS IT WERE frogs.—Frogs are garrulous, have a very wise look, large mouths, are much puffed up and utter only croakings. In the “distress of nations with perplexity” which has come upon Christendom as a result of her sins, the croakings of the wise now fill the air everywhere. Actually all knees are “weak as water.”—Ezek. 7:17; 21:7. See especially D. i‐xvi.

Come out of the mouth of the dragon.—The three fundamental truths of history are man’s Fall, Redemption and Restoration. Stated in other language these three truths are the mortal nature of man, the Christ of God and His Millennial Kingdom. Standing opposite to these Satan has placed three great untruths, human immortality, the Antichrist and a certain delusion which is best described as race hatred—in reality murder, the spirit of the very Devil. (1 John 3:15.) It is this last and crowning feature of Satan’s work that is mentioned first. The other two errors are the direct cause of this one. The wars of the Old Testament were all intended to illustrate the battlings of the New Creature against the weaknesses of the flesh, and are not in any sense of the word justification for the human butchery practiced during the Christian era in the name of religion, exemplified by the events of St. Bartholomew’s Day and by the wicked Inquisition. Nowhere in the New Testament is hatred of other peoples encouraged. Everywhere and always it is forbidden; and yet, under one guise or another it has been encouraged for centuries by the clergy class who should have been teaching the people the message given them by the Prince of Peace.

And out of the mouth of the beast.—The Antichrist doctrine of the Divine right of the clergy was the direct cause of the great war. This frog has been coming out of the mouth of the Papal beast for sixteen centuries. “These false doctrines of the Dark Ages are bearing a terrible fruitage at the present time. Similarly the teaching of eternal torment, misrepresenting and blaspheming God’s character, is bearing an evil fruitage. Millions of people are being turned away from faith in a God of Love and from faith in the Bible as His Message by the most monstrous blasphemies of the Dark Ages. I charge the responsibility of all this against the sects and creeds of Christendom. I charge that the ministers, whose eyes are now open to a saner comprehension, have neglected the Bible, have neglected the people, and, instead of helping them out of the darkness, are now leading them into darkness in an opposite direction—into Evolution and Higher Criticism and everything contrary to the Word of God. God is still misrepresented in the world. The creeds of the Dark Ages are still hugged to the bosom in outward pretense, while inwardly they are loathed. A great fraud, a great hypocrisy, you say? I answer, Yes; the most astounding the world has ever known. Two hundred thousand professed ministers of God and of Christ are standing before the world today telling the legends of the Dark Ages and seeking to hinder the people from coming to a knowledge of the Truth, meanwhile receiving the people’s money and reverence. Does not such hypocrisy, such blasphemy against God, such deception of the people, such keeping of them in darkness, deserve a great punishment, and is it not nigh?”—B. S. M.

“Pollute Ye My Holy Name No More”

And out of the mouth of the false prophet.—The one cardinal error upon which all protestant (false prophet) sects agree is the doctrine of human immortality, the original lie told in Eden (Gen. 2:17, 3:4). In speaking of it our Lord says, “When he speaketh the lie, he speaketh of his own.” (John 8:44, Diaglott.) Speaking of it again, the Apostle Paul says, of the worshipers of the beast and his image, “They admitted not the love of the Truth that they might be saved. And on this account God will send to them an energy of delusion, to their believing the falsehood.” (2 Thes. 2:10, 11.) In each case the Greek gives the definite article. The frog issuing from the false prophet (the image of the beast) is the doctrine of human immortality. These deluded souls actually believe this error, and will be able to prove it to the satisfaction of the dragon, without a doubt. This error lies at the bottom of the doctrines of eternal torment and of the trinity. There is a hint in 1 John 4:1‐3 that the cardinal error on which the false prophet will insist is that when Jesus came from the Father He was more than flesh, i. e., had at least an immortal soul.—Rev. 13:11, 13, 14, 15; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:10; Matt. 24:24.

“All Christian people credit the book of Revelation to our Lord, as St. John does. (Rev. 1:1.) Therefore we are not responsible for the symbolism used in that book. There are so many ways in which one might be misunderstood, even by good Christian people, that we naturally feel a delicacy about expressing our views. As we proceed to set forth our understanding of the symbols of the Revelation, we wish to state most emphatically that we are saying nothing whatever against godly Christians anywhere, at any time, whether in any church or out of any church. We have nothing to say respecting people. We discuss PRINCIPLES, DOCTRINES, ALWAYS; individuals, NEVER! God has not commissioned us to discuss people; it is ours to discuss His Word.

“Throughout the Bible, a Beast is the symbol used to represent a government. In Daniel’s prophecy the great universal empires of the earth are thus symbolized. Babylon was the Lion, Medo‐Persia the Bear, Greece the Leopard, and Rome the Dragon. (Dan. 7:1‐8.) The Roman Empire still persists. The Dragon, then, symbolizes the Roman power, represented by the civil power in the world. The Beast is the Papal system of government. The third symbol, the False Prophet, remains to be interpreted. This, we believe, is another name for the system elsewhere called ‘the Image of the Beast.’ (Rev. 13:14.) According to the Scriptures, this Image is a very exact representation of the Beast. The False Prophet, or Image of the Beast, we understand to mean the Protestant Federation of Churches.

“ ‘Three unclean spirits like frogs came out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet.’ In this passage, the spirit is a doctrine—an unclean doctrine—a false doctrine. Each of these systems will utter the same things, and these utterances will have the effect of gathering the kingdoms of earth together to the Battle of Armageddon.

“The symbolism of Scripture, rightly understood, is very forceful, and there is always a close resemblance between the symbol itself and the thing symbolized. When the Holy Spirit uses a frog to represent certain doctrines or teachings, we may be sure that the application will fit well. While a frog is a small creature, yet it puffs itself up until it almost bursts with the effort to be somebody. A frog has a very wise look, even though it does not know very much. Then a frog croaks whenever it utters a sound.

“The three most prominent characteristics of a frog, then, are pomposity, an air of superior wisdom and knowledge, and a continual croaking. Applying these characteristics to the picture given in the Divine Word, we learn that from kingly power, from the Catholic Church and from the Federation of Protestant Churches, will go forth the same teachings. The spirit of all will be boastful; an air of superior knowledge and wisdom will be assumed; all will foretell dire results to follow any failure to obey their counsels. However conflicting the creeds, the differences will be ignored in the general proposition that nothing ancient must be disturbed, or investigated, or repudiated.

“The boasted Divine authority of the Church, and the Divine right of kings aside from the Church, will not be allowed to conflict; for both will be indorsed. Any persons or teachings in conflict with these boastful, unscriptural claims will be branded as everything vile, at the mouths of the frogs, croaking from pulpits and platforms, and through the religious and secular press. The nobler sentiments of some will be strangled by the philosophy of the same evil spirit which spoke through Caiaphas, the high priest, respecting our Lord Jesus. As Caiaphas declared it expedient to commit a crime in violation of justice, both human and Divine, to be rid of Jesus and His teachings, so this frog‐like spirit will approve of any and every violation of principle necessary to self‐protection.

“Every true Christian is ashamed to look back upon the pages of history and see what terrible deeds were done in the name of God and justice, and in the name of our Lord Jesus. We are not to think for a moment that these frog spirits, or doctrines, are all bad, but rather that they are doctrines of bombast and pomposity, representing themselves to be very wise and great, and having the backing of centuries. Out of the mouth of the Dragon comes the doctrine of the Divine right of Kings: ‘Do not look back of the curtain of history to see where the kings got that right. Accept the doctrine; for if you do not, and if men look into the matter, there will be a terrible revolution and everything will go down!’

“The Beast and the False Prophet have similar croakings. The Catholic Church says, ‘Do not look behind! Do not question anything about the Church!’ Protestantism says, also, ‘We are great, we are wise, we know a great deal. Keep quiet! No one will then know that you know nothing.’ All say (croaking), ‘We tell you that if you say anything against present arrangements, terrible things will come to pass.’

“Political parties are figuring in this. All declare, ‘If any change should come, it will mean terrible disaster!’ Some have the backbone and some have the civil power behind them, but unitedly they croak to the people that if any change is made, it will mean ruin to the present order. In the language of our day, ‘Stand pat!’ is the order in Church and in State; but the people are being moved by fear. It is this croaking of the Beast, the Dragon and the False Prophet that will arouse the kings of earth and gather them together to the Armageddon Battle.

“The ecclesiastical kings and princes, with their retinue of clergy and faithful adherents, will be gathered in solid phalanx—Protestant and Catholic. The political kings and kaisers, princes, and all in high places, with their henchmen and retainers, will follow in line on the same side. The financial kings and merchant princes, and all whom they can influence by the most gigantic power ever yet exercised in the world, will join the same side, according to this prophecy. They do not realize, however, that they are coming to Armageddon; yet strange to say, this is a part of their very cry, ‘Come together to Armageddon!’

“Speaking of our day, our Lord declared, ‘Men’s hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.’ (Luke 21:26.) The kings of Europe know not what to do. All sectarianism is being shaken.

“The croaking of the frog spirits, or doctrines, will gather the kings and princes, financial, political, religious and industrial, into one great army. The spirit of fear, inspired by the croaking, will scourge the passions of otherwise good and reasonable men to fury—desperation. In their blind following of these evil spirits, evil doctrines, they will be ready to sacrifice life and everything on what they mistakenly suppose is the altar of Justice, Truth and Righteousness under a Divine arrangement.

“Many noble people in this great army will assume an attitude quite contrary to their preference. For a time the wheels of liberty and progress will be turned backward, and mediæval restraints will be considered necessary for self‐preservation—for the maintenance of the present order of things and for the prevention of the new order which God has decreed, the due time for which is at hand. Even those who may be God’s people do not stop to consider whether it is His will that things should continue as they have been for the past six thousand years. The Bible says that such is not God’s will, but that there is to be a great overturning, that a new order is coming in.

“For a brief time, as we understand the Scriptures, these combined forces of Armageddon will triumph. Free speech, free mails, and other liberties which have come to be the very breath of the masses in our day, will be ruthlessly shut off on the plea of necessity, the glory of God, the commands of the Church, etc. The safety‐valve will be sat upon, and thus will cease to annoy earth’s kings with the sound of escaping steam; and all will seem to be serene—until the great social explosion described in the Revelation as an earthquake will take place. In symbolic language an earthquake signifies social revolution, and the Scriptural declaration is that none like it ever before occurred. (Rev. 16:18, 19.) Our Lord refers to it in Matt. 24:21.

“At this juncture, the Scriptures show, Divine Power will step forward, and God will gather the marshaled hosts to Armageddon—to the Mount of Destruction. (Rev. 16:16.) The very thing which they sought to avert by their union, federation, etc., will be the very thing that they will hasten. Other Scriptures tell us that God will be represented by Messiah, and that He will be on the side of the masses. ‘At that time shall Michael [the Godlike One—Messiah] stand up.’ (Dan. 12:1.) He will assume authority. He will take possession of His Kingdom in a manner little looked for by many of those who erroneously have been claiming to be His Kingdom, and authorized by Him to reign in His name and in His stead.

“Our Lord Jesus declared, ‘His servants ye are unto whom ye render service.’ Some may be rendering service to Satan and to error, who claim to be rendering service to God and to righteousness; and some may serve ignorantly, as did Saul of Tarsus, who ‘verily thought that he did God service,’ in persecuting the Church. The same principle holds true reversely. As an earthly king does not hold himself responsible for the moral character of each soldier who fights his battles, so the Lord does not vouch for the moral character of all who enlist and fight on His side of any question. His servants they are to whom they render service, whatever the motive prompting them.

“The same principle will apply in the coming Battle of Armageddon. God’s side of that battle will be the people’s side; and that very nondescript host, the people, will be pitted at the beginning of the battle. Anarchists, Socialists, and hot‐headed radicals of every school of reason and unreason, will be in the forefront of that battle. He who has any knowledge of army life knows that a great army is composed of all classes.

“The masses will be restless under their restraints, but will be conscious of their weakness as compared with the kings and princes, financial, social, religious and political, who will then hold sway. The masses have no sympathy with anarchy. They realize truly that the worst form of government is better than none. The masses will seek relief through the ballot and the peaceful readjustment of earth’s affairs for the elimination of evil, for the placing of monopolies and utilities and the supplies of nature in the hands of people for the public good. The crisis will be reached when the hitherto upholders of the law shall become violators of the law and resisters of the will of the majority as expressed by the ballot. Fear for the future will goad the well‐meaning masses to desperation, and anarchy will result when Socialism fails.

“The Lord’s saints are not to be in this battle at all. God’s consecrated people, longing at heart for Messiah’s Kingdom and the glorious Year of Jubilee and Restitution which it will inaugurate, will patiently abide the Lord’s time, and wait unmurmuringly for it. Their lamps trimmed and burning, they will not be in darkness respecting the momentous events of the impending battle; but they will be of good courage, knowing the outcome portrayed in the ‘more sure word of prophecy,’ to which they have done well to ‘take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the Day dawn.’—2 Pet. 1:19.

“The question now arises, Why did not God send His Kingdom sooner? Why is Armageddon necessary? We answer that God has His own times and seasons, and that He has appointed the Great Seventh Thousand‐Year Day for the reign of Christ. Divine Wisdom has withheld until our day the great knowledge and skill which is breeding at the same time millionaires and discontents. Had God lifted the veil of ignorance a thousand years sooner, the world would have lined up for Armageddon a thousand years sooner. God did not bring these things before the present time because His Plan has various parts, all of which are converging at the same time. In kindness God veiled the eyes of mankind until the gathering to Armageddon would immediately precede Messiah’s taking to Himself His great power and beginning His reign.” (Rev. 11:17, 18.)—D. v‐xvi.

16:14. For they are the spirits of devils.—See Eph. 6:12. “We are naturally led by the analogy of the influence of evil spirits as described in the Gospels to compare the effect produced by the demons referred to in this verse, with the instances of possession of which we read elsewhere in the New Testament.”—Cook.

Working miracles.—It is very possible that the strongest “proof” of the immortality of man will yet be obtained by the false prophet through materializations of evil spirits, perhaps first at preachers’ meetings, and afterwards in public. We will wait and see. Meantime: the mental invasions indicated in Rev. 7:3 and 2 Thes. 2:11 will surely come, whether the physical materializations come or not.—Rev. 13:13, 14.

“The newspapers far and near are publishing the following item: ‘Fred E. Foskett, a young machinist of Orange, Mass., has attracted the attention of Prof. James, of Harvard, and other leading members of the Boston branch of the American Society of Psychical Research, who gave him tests recently. Foskett poured a quart of alcohol into the basin, lighted it and then washed his hands, bathing them for nearly ten minutes in the burning fluid, washing it up over his arms and to his face—literally bathing himself in blazing alcohol. As soon as they were finished the physicians present examined Foskett, and they could not find the slightest trace of a burn or blister. Foskett then told them that the flames did not give him the slightest sensation of burning, that he felt comfortably warm and pleasant, and nothing more. The second tests were made at the home of Prof. James in Cambridge. A scientist who was there said that Foskett performed all of his experiments of the day before, and then “absolutely and positively dematerialized”. He seemed to dissolve into thin air as we watched, was gone forty‐one seconds and then materialized.’ ”—Z. ’09‐83; Matt. 24:24; 2 Thes. 2:9.

Which go forth unto the kings of the [earth and of the] whole world, to gather them to the battle of [that] THE great Day of God Almighty.—Of which the present horrible European war is only the preliminary skirmish.—Rev. 17:14; 19:19.

“This battle, which will end with the complete overthrow of earth’s present rulership, is already commenced. The gathering of the armies is plainly visible from the standpoint of God’s Word. The Sword of Truth, already sharpened, is to smite every evil system and custom—civil, social and ecclesiastical. The internal conflict is already fomenting. It will ere long break forth as a consuming fire; and human systems, and errors, which for centuries have fettered truth and oppressed the groaning creation, must melt before it. Yes, truth—and widespread and increasing knowledge of it—is the Sword which is perplexing and wounding the heads over many countries.” (Psa. 110:6; B. 101.) “Not until great Babylon is utterly overthrown and her influence over the world broken—will the great mass of mankind come to realize the true state of the case. Then they will see that the great trouble through which they will have passed was that symbolically termed ‘The battle of the great Day of God Almighty;’ that in proportion as they have aided error and wrong, they have been battling against the law and forces of the new Empire and the new Ruler of earth; and that in proportion as their tongues, and pens, and hands, and influence, and means, were used to support the right and the truth on any subject, they had been to that extent fighting on the Lord’s side. And during all the trouble there will be in the world those who will bear witness to its cause, declaring the Lord’s presence and the setting up of His Kingdom which is in opposition to the powers of darkness to be the real cause of the trouble and shaking and overturning of society.”—B. 141.

16:15. Behold, I come as a thief.—A thief comes unexpectedly, for the purpose of securing jewels only.—Mal. 3:17; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 3:3; Matt. 24:42‐44; 1 Thes. 5:2.

Blessed is he that watcheth.—“Because not heedless, careless, indifferent servants of the King, but faithful and earnest ones, the Watchers discern that there are three words of distinctly different signification, used in respect to the Lord’s Second Advent; namely, parousia and epiphania and apokalupsis. Parousia is used in respect to the earliest stage of the Second Advent, while apokalupsis relates to the same Advent later.” (Z. ’02‐86.) “The Greek words apokalupsis and apokalupto signify revealment, uncovering, unveiling (as of a thing previously present but hidden). The name of the last book of the Bible is from the same root—Apocalypse or Revelation.”—Z. ’02‐92; 1 Cor. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:7; Lu. 17:29, 30.

And keepeth his garments.—Holds fast to his pledge of consecration even unto death.

Lest he walk naked.—As the nominal churches are doing even since the war council at Washington, May 6, 1917.

And they see his shame.—During the apokalupsis epoch now at hand. (Rev. 3:18.) “The exposure to the world that they lack what constitutes the Christian state.”—Cook.—Matt. 5:43, 44.

16:16. And [he] THEY gathered them together.—The three unclean spirits do the gathering.—Rev. 19:19.

Unto a place called in the Hebrew tongue [Armageddon] ARMAGEDON.—“The fact that St. John has employed a word (Har‐Magedon), ‘The destruction of their troop,’ not found in connection with any locality or historical event of itself points to a figurative interpretation. (Zech. 12:11.) Nor indeed are we to think of literal warfare.” (Cook.) “The word ‘mountain’ in the term Armageddon—‘Mountain of Megiddo’—seems to have been used because Megiddo was in a mountainous region, though the battles were fought in a valley adjacent. The meaning here is, that there would be, as it were, a decisive battle which would determine the question of the prevalence of true religion on the earth. What we are to expect as the fulfillment of this would seem to be, that there will be some mustering of strength—some rallying of forces—some opposition made to the Kingdom of God in the gospel by the powers here referred to which would be decisive in its character.” (Barnes.) Another view of Volume VI, Scripture Studies, as it appeared to the worshipers of the beast and his image, may be had in the plague of darkness upon the Egyptians described in Ex. 10:21‐29. The 3‐½ days of terrible darkness over the land of Egypt represent the 3‐½ years of the great war and indicate its close shortly after the publication of this final witness of the church. While this plague was still in progress, Moses said to Pharaoh, “I will see thy face again no more.” It is even so; Pastor Russell passed forever out of reach of the antitypical Pharaoh, Satan, in the fall of 1916. But in steadfast belief that “his works do follow him,” we hold that he supervises, by the Lord’s arrangement, the work yet to be done. See Rev. 16:1.

16:17. And the seventh [angel].—Volume VII, Scripture Studies.

Poured out his vial [into] UPON the air.—Seemed to the clergy to be directed against the ruling powers. “The terrors of the revelation of Christ will thus appear spread out over the Universe.”—Cook.

And there came a great voice.—An earnest and vigorous setting forth of this prophecy and that of Ezekiel.

Out of the Temple of [Heaven, from the Throne,] GOD.—The true Church.

Saying, it is done.—See title of this book.—Ezek. 9:11.

16:18. And there were [voices, and] thunders.—Seven of them—indicating wide‐spread interest in the Scripture Studies. There will probably also be some thundering by the esteemed clergy. If in the past they had thundered less and lightened more, the world would not be in its present predicament.—Rev. 8:5.

And lightnings.—A good lighting up of the dark places of the ecclesiastical firmament.

AND VOICES.—The “voices” of the Great Company, who, after the Little Flock have gone beyond, will display unparalleled energy and faithfulness amid unparalleled difficulty.—Rev. 11:15; 8:5.

And there was a great earthquake.—Social revolution. The same mentioned in Rev. 8:5; 11:19 and 1 Kings 19:11, 12, following the War.

Such as was not since men were upon the earth.—World‐wide socialism, an unprecedented and sure‐to‐fail experiment in government.

So mighty an earthquake, and so great.—The following is from an address given to the Chicago Bankers Club in December, 1916, by Frank A. Vanderlip, president of the National City Bank of New York. “State socialism in Europe may develop problems, the like of which never concerned our minds. We may have to meet collective buying, State aided industries, forms of governmental control of ocean borne commerce and novel factors in international finance. There may come out of the war changes in forms of government that will have profound and world‐wide influence.”

16:19. And the great city was divided into three parts.—Christendom is now divided into three parts: Socialistic Russia, Imperial Teutonia, and the Representative Governments of the West; but we think a religious division is coming: The Greek church, the Papacy and the False Prophet Protestant aggregation, all under papal control. Or the city of Rev. 14:20, may be meant.—2 Ki. 2:10, 12, 15.

And the [cities] CITY of the nations fell.—The reference is to Rome, the “city” mentioned in Rev. 17:18. By Rome is meant the Papacy. All other kings have already drunk deeply of the wrath of God and Sheshach’s turn has come.—Jer. 25:26; Rev. 14:8.

And great Babylon came in remembrance before God.—“The fall of Babylon will astonish the entire world, so complete is the illusion that Christendom represents the Throne and Government of Messiah among men. And, be it remembered, the vast majority in all the various sects and denominations of Christendom are worldly people who have no conception whatever of the true Church and her cause. Their ambition is to approximate righteousness and a form of godliness, but no more than this seems to them necessary, since they have not been begotten of the Holy Spirit and therefore cannot appreciate things from the divine standpoint.”—Pastor Russell. See Rev. 18:5.

To give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of [His] THE wrath.—The wine of the vine of the earth.—Rev. 14:17‐20; Jer. 8:14; Isa. 51:17‐20; Jer. 25:26‐28; Rev. 18:6.

16:20. And every island fled away.—Even the republics will disappear in the fall of 1920.

And the mountains were not found.—Every kingdom of earth will pass away, be swallowed up in anarchy.

16:21. And there fell upon men.—Greek “The Men,” the worshipers of the beast and his image, i. e., the clergy.

A great hail out of heaven.—Truth, compacted, coming with crushing force. A concluding statement of how the seventh volume of Scripture Studies appears to the worshipers of the beast and his image.—Rev. 11:19; Isa. 28:17; 30:30; Ezek. 13:11; Joshua 10:11.

Every stone about the weight of a talent.—113 lbs. (Mal. 3:10.) Another view of the seventh volume of Scripture Studies, as it appears to the worshipers of the beast and his image, is found in the last of the Egyptian plagues, the death of the first‐born, Exodus 11th. and 12th. chapters. As soon as this plague came the Egyptians, from Pharaoh down, were anxious to speed the parting guest, and willing to give up all the jewels of silver (the Great Company) and the jewels of gold (the Little Flock). In connection with the statement that “there was not a house where there was not one dead,” it is admitted that if any sects were overlooked in the lists cited in comments on Rev. 8th and 9th chapters the omission was unintentional and will be corrected in later editions. The three days in which Pharaoh’s host pursued the Israelites into the wilderness represent the three years from 1917 to 1920 at which time all of Pharaoh’s messengers will be swallowed up in the sea of anarchy. The wheels will come off their chariots—organizations.

And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail.—Apparently, the book will be unpopular for a time. “As soon as Divine restraints upon Satan were released, he moved the Sabeans to steal Job’s cattle and to kill his servants; he caused fire to come down from heaven, which not only killed but burned up Job’s flocks of sheep; he sent the Chaldeans who stole Job’s camels, and finally produced a cyclone which smote the house in which Job’s children were feasting together, and destroyed the house and killed its occupants; and he attacked Job’s person with disease as soon as granted permission. (Job. 1:9‐2:7.)”—S. 80.

For the plague thereof was exceeding great.—Quite a shower.

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Revelation 17—The Papacy’s Last Stand

17:1. And there came one of the seven angels.—Volume VII, Studies in the Scriptures.

Which had the seven vials.—An explanation of the plagues upon symbolic Babylon.

And talked with me.—The John class, the Church in the flesh.

Saying [unto me] Come hither; I will shew unto thee.—In the 8th, 9th, 16th and 18th chapters of Revelation, and throughout the Book of Ezekiel.—Nahum 3:3, 4.

The judgment of the great whore.—Papacy, the “beast.”—Rev. 19:2.

That sitteth upon many waters.—The peoples of the earth.—Jer. 51:13; Rev. 17:15.

17:2. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication.—“The kingdoms of Europe today claim to be Christian kingdoms, and announce that their sovereigns reign ‘by the grace of God,’ i. e., through appointment of either Papacy or some of the Protestant sects.”—A. 268; Rev. 18:3; Isa. 1:21; Jer. 2:20‐24; 3:6; Ezek. 16:15.

And the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk.—“So great an institution as made all nations drunk with her false doctrine must be very prominent, indeed, to those who were made so under the influence of the stupefying draft from her cup.”—Pastor Russell.

With the wine of her fornication.—The mixed doctrines, part truth and part error, that originally led to the union of church and state,—the spiritual harlotry.—Jer. 51:7; Rev. 2:20; 17:5; 18:3; 19:2.

17:3. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness.—“All who would get a true view of Babylon must, in spirit, take their position with the true people of God ’in the wilderness’—in the condition of separation from the world and worldly ideas and mere forms of godliness, and in the condition of entire consecration and faithfulness to and dependence upon God alone.”—D. 27.

And I saw a woman.—The Roman Catholic Church.

Sit upon a scarlet colored beast.—Pagan Rome, and its successors.

Full of names of blasphemy.—“From Ferraris’ Ecclesiastical Dictionary, a standard Roman Catholic authority, we quote the following condensed outline of papal power as given under the word papa, article 2nd: ‘The pope is of such dignity and highness that he is not simply a man but, as it were, God, and the vicar [representative] of God.... Hence the pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven, of earth and of hell. Nay, the pope’s excellence and power are not only about heavenly, terrestrial and infernal things, but he is also above angels, and is their superior; so that if it were possible that angels could err from the faith, or entertain sentiments contrary thereto, they could be judged and excommunicated by the pope.... He is of such great dignity and power that he occupies one and the same tribunal with Christ; so that whatsoever the pope does seem to proceed from the mouth of God.... The pope is, as it were, God on earth, the only prince of the faithful of Christ, the greatest king of all kings, possessing the plenitude of power; to whom the government of the earthly and heavenly kingdom is entrusted.’ He further adds: ‘The pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, declare or interpret the Divine Law.’ ‘The pope can sometimes counteract the Divine Law by limiting, explaining, etc.’ ”—B. 310.

Having seven heads and ten horns.—See Rev. 12:3; 13:1: 17:9‐12; Dan. 7:7, 20; Rev. 5:6; 1 Sam. 2:10; Deut. 33:17; 1 Ki. 22:11.

17:4. And the woman was arrayed in purple.—Symbolizing the apostate church’s claim to royalty. “I sit a queen and am no widow.”—Rev. 18:7, 12, 16.

And scarlet color.—Symbolizing her claims to share in Christ’s work of sacrifice, in the doctrine of the mass.

And decked with gold.—Symbolizing her claim that she includes in her membership all the true Church of God, those who shall ultimately attain the Divine nature.

And precious stones.—Symbolizing her claim that she is the sole custodian of the Lord’s precious jewels of truth and character.—1 Cor. 3:12; Mal. 3:17.

And pearls.—Symbolizing her claim that she has sole power over all that the Lord bought by His death.—Matt. 13:45, 46.

Having a golden cup in her hand.—Symbolizing her claim that she is the repository of all Truth Divine.—Jer. 51:7.

Full of abominations and [filthiness] FILTHINESSES of [her] THE fornication OF HER AND OF THE EARTH.—“Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken; the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad [intoxicated with her errors]. (Jer. 51:7‐9.)”—C. 156; Rev. 18:6; Isa. 65:4.

17:5. And upon her forehead [was a name written].—In plain sight of all the spiritually minded. (And how strange it is that everybody does not see it!)

Mystery.—“We have already called attention to the fact that the Church of Christ is called in the Scriptures the ‘Mystery of God,’ because, contrary to expectation, the Church was to be the Messianic Body which, under its Anointed Head, Jesus, shall rule and bless the world. We have also drawn attention to the fact that the Scriptures refer to Babylon as a counterfeit system (mother and daughters—some more and some less corrupt, some better and some poorer counterfeits), and there designated the ‘Mystery of Iniquity.’ We are to remember that it is Satan who in the Scriptures is credited with having ‘deceived the whole world’ on this subject; putting evil for good and good for evil; light for darkness and darkness for light. Satan ‘now worketh in the children of disobedience’ (Isa. 5:20; Eph. 2:2) even as he proffered his cooperation to our Lord Jesus.”—F. 199; 2 Thes. 2:7; Prov. 5:6.

Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.—“Since Papacy, the mother, is not a single individual, but a great religious system, in keeping with the symbol we should expect to see other religious systems answering to the illustration of daughters of similar character. To this description the various Protestant organizations fully correspond. The daughter systems parted from the mother under circumstances of travail, and were born virgins.” (D. 29.) “But some sincere Christians may still be anxiously inquiring,—‘If all Christendom is to be involved in the doom of Babylon, what will become of Protestantism, the result of the Great Reformation?’ This is an important question; but let the reader consider that Protestantism, as it exists today, is not the result of the Great Reformation, but of its decline.”—D. 28; Ezek. 16:44; Hos. 2:2‐5; Isa. 1:21; Rev. 18:9; 19:2.

“The claims of apostolic succession and clerical authority are almost as presumptuously set forth by some of the Protestant clergy as by the Papal priesthood. And the right of individual private judgment,—the very fundamental principle of the protest against Papacy, which led to the Great Reformation,—is now almost as strenuously opposed by Protestants as by Papists. Protestants seem to have forgotten,—for they truly ignore,—the very grounds of the original protest, and, as systems, they are fast drifting back toward the open arms of the ‘Holy (?) Mother Church.’ ‘Let us hold out to you our hand affectionately’ (says Pope Leo to Protestants in his famous Encyclical addressed ‘To the Princes and Peoples of the Earth’), ‘and invite you to the unity which never failed the Catholic church, and which never can fail. Long has our common mother called you to her breast.’ The doctrine of ‘the Divine right of kings,’ taught or supported by almost every sect, is the foundation of the old civil system, and has long given authority, dignity and stability to the kingdoms of Europe; and the doctrine of the Divine appointment and authority of the clergy has hindered God’s children from progressing in Divine things and bound them by the chains of superstition and ignorance to the veneration and adoration of fallible fellow‐beings, and to their doctrines, traditions and interpretations of God’s Word. It is this entire order of things that is to fall and pass away in the battle of this great day—the order of things which for centuries has held the people docile under the ruling powers, civil, social and religious. All this has been by God’s permission (not by his appointment and approval, as they claim). But though an evil in itself, it has served a good, temporary purpose in preventing anarchy, which is immeasurably worse, because men were not prepared to do better for themselves, and because the time for Christ’s Millennial Kingdom had not yet come. Hence God permitted the various delusions to gain credence in order to hold men in check until ‘The Time of the End’—the end of ‘The Times of the Gentiles’ (which expired October 1, 1914).”—D. 33.

17:6. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints.—“ ‘But the blood of Protestants is not called the blood of saints, no more than the blood of thieves, man‐killers, and other malefactors, for the shedding of which, by the order of justice, no commonwealth shall answer.’—Rhemish (Catholic) translation, footnote.” (B. 320.) “ ‘She wore out the saints of the most high God.’ and ‘was drunken with the blood of the saints.’—Rev. 18:24.”—Z. ’04‐236; Rev. 16:6.

And with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.—Most of these martyrs will doubtless be honored by a place in the Great Company. (See Rev. 7:9.) This Scripture was fulfilled in the Dark Ages, but we are still in the Dark Ages, and will be until this system is destroyed. It takes more than a mere profession of faith to make a Christian. “Jezebel today has daughters—systems termed Protestant—which, nevertheless, copy largely the mother’s spirit. It is through the influence of the daughters that the anti‐typical Elijah may expect future persecutions, instigated by the mother, accomplished through the daughters, as typically represented in the case of John the Baptist, beheaded by Herod at the instance of Salome, but at the instigation of Herodias—Jezebel.”—Z. ’04‐237.

And when I saw her.—Discerned her true character.

I wondered with great admiration.—“With great wonder” (Diaglott), that the Lord would permit such an institution to exist.

17:7. And the angel.—Volume VII, Scripture Studies.

Said unto me.—See Revelation, Chapters 4, 5 and 6.

Wherefore dost thou marvel.—This is all quite right and necessary. The Papacy was foreseen and permitted as a part of God’s wonderful plan for developing and testing His Church, proving who are worthy to be of the First Resurrection, joint‐heirs with Christ.

I will tell thee the mystery of the woman.—The apostate Church of Rome.

And of the beast that carrieth her.—Pagan Rome, now represented in earth’s warring governments.

Which hath seven heads and ten horns.—See Rev. 12:3; 13:1. The exposition of the remainder of this chapter was greatly assisted by the following letter: “Your request for my version of what I understood Bro. Russell’s expectations to be respecting the fulfillment of the 17th Chapter of Revelation received and after considerable meditation upon the matter I have decided to submit the following: Brother Russell stated that there were three possible fulfillments of this Chapter, and that he did not or would not go on record as to which would be the correct interpretation, for the reason that this Chapter could not be interpreted in a positive way until after its fulfillment. He stated that this Chapter was the key to all of the pictures, or prophecies, of Revelation, which are as yet wrapped in mystery. On various occasions I requested Bro. Russell to give me his idea respecting the three possible fulfillments; but he remained absolutely mum respecting two of the ways, but freely expressed his opinion respecting the third way, which he believed would be the way in which the prophecy would be fulfilled. ‘The beast that thou sawest was, and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition,’ we understand to be the Holy Roman Empire—Church and State, united in power from 799 to 1799. The term ‘Thou sawest’ refers to the thousand‐year reign of the Pope, and the term ‘And is not’ refers to the present non‐existence of the Empire in power, and the term ‘And shall ascend from the bottomless pit and again go into perdition’ refers to the re‐establishment of the Holy Roman Empire in power and its subsequent destruction. The statement ‘When he cometh, he must continue a short space,’ was understood by Bro. Russell to mean that the beast would rule only for a very short time. In answer to a direct question on this point Bro. Russell stated that he did not believe this short space could be interpreted in days, months, or years, but that it simply meant a short time. In the 12th verse, we read that ‘The ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet, but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.’ This seems to set forth the Papal view respecting the various kings of Europe which at the present time have not received the official anointing by the Pope, and consequently have not as yet received their kingdom. If this is correct, it would then also mean that if the Pope should anoint these kings and declare them to be ruling by Divine right, they thereby would officially receive power as kings, and would rule with the Pope and together with the Pope would constitute the beast again in power.

“Bro. Russell was anxiously awaiting the settlement of the present world war for the reason that it seemed very probable that the Pope would be the leading figure in bringing about its settlement, and possibly the very basis of the settlement will be the recognition of the Pope as the Holy See. If the Pope receives such recognition, he could in return immediately grant an official anointing of the rulers of the various governments included in the settlement, and they then as stated in Verse 13, will be ‘Of one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.’ If this is to be the fulfillment of this picture, then it will only be a question of time until these same governments will turn upon the Roman Church and ‘Shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire.’ (Rev. 17:16.) The foregoing briefly outlines what Bro. Russell seemed to think would be the outcome of the present war. He had certain articles in prospect which, if backed up by fulfilled prophecies, were to be the absolute and irrevocable proof to the world of all of the leading pictures given in the entire book of Revelation. Personally, I think everything seems to be shaping itself towards the fulfillment of the Chapter on the line above specified. If you are making any use of this letter, kindly specify or emphasize the fact that Bro. Russell considered the matter largely as a speculation, and that he positively stated that he would not go on record in the matter for the reason that when he treated the matter he would do so in the light of fulfilled prophecy as the last word and as the unsealing of the entire book, and that he would not attempt to do this until such a time as the interpretation could not be refuted.” That time has evidently now come.

17:8. The beast that thou sawest.—The Antichrist.

Was.—Exercised actual dominion until 1799 A. D.

And is not.—Has not had even a vestige of temporal power since 1870. Since then it has been in oblivion, the “bottomless pit.”

And shall ascend out of the [bottomless pit], ABYSS.—“Private letters from the Vatican, received by Dr. A. Palmieri of the Library of Congress, a recognized writer on ecclesiastical subjects, announce that Pope Benedict XV is about to appoint a commission of four cardinals to renew a movement begun by Pope Leo XIII, and abandoned by Pope Pius X, looking to a reunion of Christianity and the cultivation of friendly relations with the Anglican Church. A public announcement on the subject from Rome is expected soon. Dr. Palmieri said that the new movement, as outlined in his advices, will be directed particularly toward an establishment of the reunion of the Russian church and the Papacy and to a thorough re‐ examination into the validity of Anglican or Episcopal ordinations, which was settled in the negative in a papal bull ‘Apostolica Sedis,’ by Pope Leo X. The interest of the Pope in the problem of Christian unity is said to have been intensified by the recent progress of the world congress, initiated by the American Episcopal Church.

“ ‘The new Pope,’ said Dr. Palmieri, summarizing the information received from Rome, ‘has taken a considerable part in the efforts of neutral nations to establish peace among nations. The Vatican’s efforts have been suggested not only by a humanitarian spirit, but by a longing for Christian unity and to end the conflict which long since has divided Christian churches. Efforts of Leo XIII for carrying out the reunion of Christianity were abruptly stopped by Piux X, who aimed at an inner reform of the Catholic clergy and turned all his energies to the crushing of modernism [Higher Criticism and Evolution]. Benedict XV thinks it is time to renew the policy of Leo XIII, also that a re‐establishment of a political peace would be the first step toward renewed attempts to stop the splitting of Christianity into a greater number of sects. It seems to the Vatican that the Orthodox Slavs will be very soon called to take a more active part in the life of western nations, either Protestant or Catholic, and that it is necessary to come to an understanding with them to avoid evils produced by religious intolerance. The newly planned commission of cardinals will pay attention to yearnings for unity, which from time to time manifest themselves in the Orthodox church, and to cultivate friendly relations with the Anglican church. One of the most important tasks of the new commission will be a thorough re‐examination of the arguments pro and con on the validity of Anglican ordinations. The bull Apostolica Sedis by Leo X has settled in the negative the problem of that validity, but generally theological schools assume a more favorable attitude toward acknowledgment the validity of Anglican orders, and the new commission of cardinals will carefully ponder the reasons set forth by Russian and Anglican divines against the decision of Pope Leo X. The friendship of the Anglican church is appreciated by Rome, for she may be as a link of union between Roman Catholicism and Russian Orthodoxy.’ ” (Z. ’17‐52.) We assume that the foregoing plan of the pope will succeed. “This is the supreme chance for Christianity ‘to assert her authority and guide the world out of the darkness enshrouding it,’ observes The Northwestern Christian Advocate (Methodist, Chicago), and it wonders whether the organized Christianity that ‘failed—ingloriously failed’—in 1914 will again ‘miss her golden opportunity.’ ” (Literary Digest.) “An old writer has observed that the Beast reappears from the Abyss (see on ch. 11, 7) without his diadems, as though, in this last stage, he would symbolize rather the violence of popular rage than the prescriptive sanctity of monarchical supremacy.”—Cook.

And go into perdition.—Be utterly destroyed at the hands of the masses it has so persistently and outrageously deceived.—Rev. 17:11.

And they that dwell on the earth.—All independent Christians, not entangled in the systems of either the beast or the image. See Rev. 13:13, 14.

Shall wonder.—Be astounded, perplexed and dismayed, “At the reappearance of the beast.”—Cook.

Whose names.—As a class, not as individuals.

Were not written in the Book of Life.—But not necessarily in so‐called Church books, kept here on earth, for collection purposes.

From the foundation of the world.—“The book or scroll covenanting life to an elect number was prepared from the foundation of the world. The names in it have been written as the individuals have made consecration of themselves, coming under the terms of the Divine call. In this view of the matter the book or scroll would represent the original Divine purpose—God’s intention to have a Church, of which our Lord Jesus would be the Head.—(Rev. 3:5.)”—Z. ’99‐265.

When they behold the beast that was, and is not, and [yet is] SHALL AGAIN BE PRESENT.—The Papal Empire restored.

17:9. And here is the mind which hath wisdom.—A problem requiring the aid of the Lord.—Rev. 13:18.

The seven heads are seven mountains.—The kingdoms enumerated in Rev. 12:3.

On which the woman sitteth.—Over which she once reigned in plentitude of power. Much of Revelation is written in such a way that both a literal and a symbolical explanation can be made, designed by the Lord to make the understanding of the book impossible to any except the fully consecrated. The following shows the physical explanation of this text which would most appeal to the unconsecrated. But it shows that the Mother of Harlots has her headquarters at Rome. And when we know who the mother is, it is impossible not to recognize the daughters. Rome is called in history the “seven‐hilled city.” “The original settlement of Romulus is said to have been limited to the Palatine mount. With this were united before the end of his reign the Capitoline and the Quirinal; Tullus Hostilius added the Caelian, Ancus Martius the Aventine; and finally Servius Tullius included the Esquiline and Viminal, and enclosed the whole seven hills with a stone wall. The growth of the state closely followed that of the city.” (Brit.) It would not be possible to limit this explanation to seven forms of government which have exercised sway over the city of Rome. There have been many such governments. There were seven of them during the nineteenth century alone—the Roman Republic of 1798, the Kingdom of 1805, the Annexation of 1810, the restoration of the temporal power in 1814, the Revolution of 1848, the restoration of the temporal power in 1849, and the Italian occupation in 1870.

17:10. And there are seven kings.—Seven forms of government of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, the devil’s own particular pattern of government.

Five are fallen.—(1) The Regal period, from 753 B. C. to 510 B. C. The “Kings” of this period were “not simply either the hereditary and patriarchal chief of a clan, the priestly head of a community bound together by a common sacra, or the elected magistrate of a state, but a mixture of all three.”—Brit.

(2) The Republic, from 509 to 451 B. C. and from 448 to 60 B. C. “It is characteristic of Rome that the change from monarchy to republic should have been made with the least possible disturbance of existing forms. The title of king was retained, though only as that of a priestly officer (rex sacrorum) to whom some of the religious functions of the former kings were transferred. The two annually elected consuls or prætores were regarded as joint heirs of the full kingly authority, and as holding the imperium and the correlative right of taking the auspices, by direct transmission from the founder of the city.” (Brit.) (3) The Decemvirate, a rule of ten men, from 451 to 449 B. C. (4) The Triumvirate, a rule of three men, from 59 to 49 B. C. and from 43 to 28 B. C. (5) The Dictatorship of Cæsar, 48 to 44 B. C. All of these forms of the old Holy Roman Empire have completely passed away.

[And] one is.—The Dragon, still represented in the powers of Europe. (See comments on Rev. 12:3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17; 13:2, 4, 11; 16:13.) The rulership of Papacy during the Dark Ages, both directly in its temporal power, and through the governments which it controlled or influenced, and still influences, was—as has been shown—merely another aspect of the government of Pagan Rome, generally styled the Empire, but in Revelation called the Dragon, and the Devil, and Satan.

And the other.—The final form, of Arbitrator (whatever be the official title).

Is not yet come.—But is due to make its appearance with the close of the war, probably early in the year 1938. (See comments on Rev. 16:17‐21; Ex. 10:23.) Pastor Russell foretold the darkness would commence in 1914, and it did!! Egypt’s plague of darkness lasted three days (years).

And when he cometh, he must continue a short space.—Probably from the fall of 1917 to the spring or summer of 1918. “The language is indefinite, the words ‘must continue’ alone being emphatic. It is a duration such that by means of it the Church should be exercised in patience.”—Cook.

17:11. And the beast that was.—That once exercised temporal dominion and, through influence of the European governments, once actually ruled the world.

And is not.—Does not now have any temporal dominion.

[Even] he is the eighth.—The eighth horn which took the place of the three plucked up (Rev. 12:3); also the final form of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE.

And is of the seven.—“Cometh of the seven,” Greek.—Grew up by the plucking of the three. The Papacy is either the seventh or the eighth form, depending upon how the matter is viewed. If it be viewed as having reigned separately from the Dragon during the Dark Ages (as it did, when it exercised temporal power), in its new guise it will be the eighth form, its separate rulership during the Dark Ages being counted as the seventh. But if it be viewed as having been a co‐partner of the Dragon during the Dark Ages, then its forthcoming manifestation will be the seventh form. In any event the eighth form is one of the seven forms; and the regaining of the temporal power this time will be the cause of the Papacy’s destruction. See Z. ’03‐325 for a hint that Benedict XV will never have a successor. (He is personally the eighth pope reigning since 1799. Five of these popes had died prior to 1878. Here is a good secondary fulfilment.)

And goeth into perdition.—“Daniel, representing the saints, says (Dan. 7:11), ‘I watched it then [after its dominion was gone and it was powerless longer to crush the Truth, the power of the holy people], because of the voice of the great words which that horn spoke, and I saw that [it obtained no power over the holy saints and the Truth, but it did have another effect] the beast was slain, the body thereof destroyed and given to the burning flame’—general anarchy. The destruction of the remnant of governments in the old Roman Empire, caused by the misleading influence of Papacy’s continued bombastic utterances, even after its dominion is gone, is thus shown.”—C. 68; 2 Thes. 2:3.

17:12. And the ten horns which thou sawest.—Three of which were originally plucked up to make room for the growth of the Papacy. See Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3; Dan. 7:7, 8, 20; Rev. 5:6; 1 Sam. 2:10; Deut. 33:17; 1 Ki. 22:11.

Are ten kings.—The rulers, whether kings, kaisers, presidents or others who have dragged into the slaughter house the descendants of the ten powers originally composing the Roman Empire.

Which have received no kingdom [as yet].—No official sanction as rulers from the counterfeit “king of kings and lord of lords”—the Pope.

But receive power as kings.—“The absence of the diadem indicates that their kingdom is not full, regal power, but as being transient, is represented as if it were royal power.”—Cook.

One hour with the beast.—The “one hour” in this verse (17:12) may signify one year, or thereabouts. The word in the Greek is hora. This is the same word which our Lord used when, in speaking of John the Baptist He said, “He was a burning and a shining light; and you were willing, for a time (hora—one year—the length of John’s ministry before his imprisonment) to rejoice in his light.” (John 5:35; Z. ’04‐60.) In matters that are still future we can only use our best judgment as to the significance to be attached to expressions like this. “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”—Rom. 14:5.

17:13. These have one mind.—All are desperately anxious to stop the terrible waste of human life, now that they see what their father, the Devil, has accomplished through their worship and service of himself and his institutions.

And [shall] give their power and strength unto the beast.—Support it in its apparently laudable but actually selfish efforts in trying to stop the European war. “Deposit in his hands all the available means which they possess.”—Cook.

17:14. These shall make war with the Lamb.—Endeavor to suppress the message of Present Truth.—Rev. 16:14; 19:19.

And the Lamb shall overcome them.—Zion need not fear; for God is in the midst of her, and will help her. Her consecration is unto death, and her privilege is to prove her faithfulness: “The disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord.”—Matt. 10:24, 25.

“It will probably be in an effort at self‐preservation on the part of ‘Great Babylon’—‘Christendom’—when she sees her power in politics, priestcraft and superstition waning, that the work of truth‐spreading will be stopped as detrimental to her system. And probably at this juncture the Elijah class, persisting in declaring the Truth to the last, will suffer violence, pass into glory and escape from the severest features of the great Time of Trouble coming—just in the crisis of affairs when men begin to feel that desperate measures must be resorted to, to sustain the tottering structure of Christendom. Although the exact time of the deliverance or ‘change’ of the last members of the Body of Christ is not stated, the approximate time is nevertheless clearly manifest, as shortly after the ‘door’ is shut (Matt. 25:10).”—C. 231.

For He is Lord of lords, and King of kings.—Has the entire situation under perfect control—is the real Pope.—1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 19:16.

And they that are with Him are called.—When they hear, understand and heed the message of complete consecration even unto death (Rev. 19:9). This clause, in the Greek, indicates that these also, as well as the Lamb, shall overcome them.

And chosen.—Elected as soon as they comply with the conditions, provided there are any vacancies.

And faithful.—“The door of opportunity to engage, with Christ our Lord, in the work of the Gospel Age, will be closed when ‘the night cometh wherein no man can work.’ And all who have not previously, by faithful service, developed the necessary character and proved their sympathy, devotion, love and zeal for the Lord and His Truth (Matt. 10:37; Mark 8:38), will then be too late to do so. The closing in of this night will evidently put a stop to any farther labor to disseminate the Truth, which, misunderstood by the public generally, will probably be accused of being the cause of much of the anarchy and confusion then prevailing, instead of being seen in its true light as a foreshadowing of the Divine mind and revelation concerning coming troubles on the world and their true causes.”—C. 210; Rev. 2:10.

17:15. And he saith unto me, [The] THESE waters which thou sawest where the whore sitteth.—See Rev. 17:1, 9.

Are BOTH peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.—And not, therefore, literal water or literal hills, or forms of government which have ruled the city of Rome.—Isa. 8:7.

17:16. And the ten horns which thou sawest.—The rulers of Europe and America, and their subjects, descendants of the ten powers which originally composed the old Roman Empire.

[Upon] AND the beast.—The re‐established temporal dominion of the pope in Rome and elsewhere. “Of her boastings and threats the following from a Catholic journal of recent date is a fair sample: ‘The Papacy will regain its temporal sovereignty, because it is useful and convenient to the Church. It gives the head executive of the church a fuller liberty and a fuller sway. The Pope can be no king’s subject long. It is not in keeping with the divine office to be so. It cramps him and narrows his influence for good. Europe has acknowledged this influence, and will be forced to bow to it in greater times of need than this. Social upheavals, and the red hand of anarchy, will yet crown Leo or his successor with the reality of power which the third circle symbolizes, and which was once recognized universally.’ Yes, as the day of trouble draws on, ecclesiasticism will endeavor to use its power and influence more and more to secure its own political welfare, by its control of the turbulent elements of society; but in the crisis of the near future the lawless element will spurn all conservative influence and break over all restraints, the red hand of Anarchy will do its dreadful work, and Babylon, political and ecclesiastical, shall fall.”—D. 38.

These shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked.—People and governments will have a common hatred for their mutual enemy when the motives which actuate her are clearly revealed.—Ezek. 16:35‐44; 23:22, 29; Zech. 1:19.

And shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire.—Unite to complete her utter destruction.—Rev. 18:8, 18; Dan. 7:11; C. 68; Gen. 38:24; Ezek. 16:41; Lev. 20:14; 21:9.

17:17. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will.—As expressed in His Word.

And to agree.—The European war would stop tomorrow if it were not for the officers holding the men to the task of butchery.

And to give their kingdom unto the beast.—Put their liberties into the hands of the Papacy, as Arbitrator.

Until the words of God shall be fulfilled.—And the travail of nominal Zion shall disclose her true character.

17:18. And the woman which thou sawest.—The Apostate Church, the antitypical Jezebel.

Is that great city.—The “HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE.”

Which reigneth over the [kings] KINGDOMS of the earth.—“Expositors of every school generally agree that Rome Pagan, or Rome Papal, or Rome under both aspects, is intended here. In order to repel the application to the Papacy, many Roman expositors also apply what is said of the destruction of Rome, to the future—to Rome again become Pagan: This is the hypothesis, observes Bishop Wordsworth, of Suarez, Viegas, Ribera, Lessius, Menochius, C. à Lapide, and others, particularly Dr. Manning in our own day. Thus Stern writes:—Babylon is really the City of Rome, not only, however, according to the old‐heathenish, but also according to the new‐heathenish signification of the World’s history.”—Cook.

Could there ever come a time when men, the world over, could be more heathenish at heart than now; and does not, therefore, even Papal comment show that this Scripture is ready to be fulfilled?

“Whene’er the storms come down on thee, And days of peace all seem to flee; This thought thy peace again shall bring, Why should I fear?—the Lord is King.

E’en when the tempest rages high, And darkest clouds are drawing nigh, With hands of faith to this, O! cling,— Why should I fear?—the Lord is King;

Amid the stormy waves of life, Above the tumult and the strife, The chimes of hope still sweetly ring,— Be not afraid—the Lord is King.”

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Revelation 18—The Fall Of Ecclesiasticism

18:1. [And] after these things.—As another view of the Harvest epoch.

I saw another angel.—Messenger, the Messenger of the Covenant, the Lord Jesus.—Mal. 3:1; Rev. 10:1; 14:1.

Come down from Heaven.—In 1874. See Rev. 3:14.

Having great power.—“All power in Heaven and in earth.”—Matt. 28:18.

And the earth was lightened.—See Mal. 4:2; Rev. 7:2.

With His glory.—Some of the glories of the New Day, all discovered since 1874, are adding machines, aeroplanes, aluminum, antiseptic surgery, artificial dyes, automatic couplers, automobiles, barbed wire, bicycles, carborundum, cash registers, celluloid, correspondence schools, cream separators, Darkest Africa, disk ploughs, Divine Plan of the Ages, dynamite, electric railways, electric welding, escalators, fireless cookers, gas engines, harvesting machines, illuminating gas, induction motors, linotypes, match machines, monotypes, motion pictures, North Pole, Panama Canal, Pasteurization, railway signals, Roentgen rays, shoe sewing machines, smokeless powder, South Pole, submarines, radium, sky scrapers, subways, talking machines, telephones, typewriters, vacuum cleaners and wireless telegraphy.—Ezek. 43:2; John 1:9; Matt. 25:31; Titus 2:13.

18:2. And he cried [mightily] with a [strong] MIGHTY voice.—How apt are these Scriptures that refer to Pastor Russell as a “voice”! (Rev. 7:2; 10:3; 16:1.) So modestly are his works written that the author is nowhere manifest, but attention is always and everywhere drawn to the Lord.

Saying, [Babylon the great is] fallen, is BABYLON THE GREAT [fallen].—“The expression, ‘Babylon is fallen,’ indicates that at some time a sudden and utter rejection is to come upon Babylon, when all favor will forever cease, and when judgments will follow—just such a rejection as we have shown was due in 1878.”—C. 155; Isa. 13:19‐22; 21:9; Jer. 51:8‐13; Rev. 14:8; 16:19.

“In spite of all our wealth, the blight of poverty, with its accompanying sickness, suffering, crime, insanity and vice, continues. The social disease manifested in ‘atrophy and hypertrophy,’ in ‘extremities bleeding at the bottom, bloating at the top, decay in both,’ is a portent of the modern world. The net result of our wonderful civilization is that men have less time now than they have ever had since the world began.”—Current Literature; Z. ’11‐420.

“Alienists the country over are sounding a solemn note of warning to the American people over the alarming rush in which we live. According to Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, federal pure food and drugs expert, nearly every man and woman at some time in their lives border on insanity. That view is also indorsed by the famous Dr. William A. White, head of the United States government hospital for the insane, who backs up the stand taken recently by Dr. Owen Copp, new head of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane. Because of the terrible ravages of drink and drugs, particularly in the United States, thousands of people are rendered so extremely nervous that they are always on the verge of going crazy. The rush and worry of modern life he gives as the causes.”—Z. ’11‐228.

And is become the habitation of devils.—“The New York World publishes an interview with Bishop Fallows, of the Reformed Episcopal Church, as follows: ‘Telepathy is an established fact. In recent years great strides have been made in the explanation of psychic phenomena and in the years to come the science of communication with the dead will be made a part of the curriculum of great educational institutions. I have called the new science “Immortalism” because it depends for its existence upon the immortality of the soul, in which we all believe, and the preservation of identity beyond the grave.’ Bishop Fallows will be recognized by many as one of the ministers who have recently been taking a great interest in Faith Healing clinics. We have already pointed out that to our understanding these cures are effected by hypnotic influences and that hypnotism is but another form of Spiritism. We believe that through this channel the fallen angels (‘wicked spirits,’ Eph. 6:12) are seeking to break down the human will; and that the results, shortly, will be direful in the extreme, leading to spirit control and every evil work.”—Z. ’09‐355; Ecc. 9:5; 1 Pet. 3:19; Jude 6; Jer. 51:37‐41; Rev. 16:14; Isa. 13:19‐22; 34:14.

And the hold of every foul spirit.—Rev. Wm. Sunday has exceptional opportunity for learning, and in his public discourses repeatedly “scores the ministers because they have no faith. He condemns their neglect of Bible study. He says the theological seminaries are turning out infidels. He refers to the large amount of saloon property that belongs to church members. He enumerates all kinds of worldly doings which go on in these denominations. He would have us believe that the moral standard of thousands high in the churches is so low as to almost stagger reason. Now if what Mr. Sunday says about the denominations is true they are not fit places for good, respectable people, to say nothing of true Christians. In fact, if they are only half as bad as he says, then every faithful child of God ought to get out of them as quickly as he can. If they are but one‐ quarter as bad as Mr. Sunday tells, then the only safety on the part of one who wishes to retain his faith is to get out of such spiritual pest‐ holes.”—Z. ’15‐207.

And a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.—“How true it is, that the most execrable of society seek and wear the garb of Christian profession and ceremonialism, in some of the various quarters (sects) of Babylon. Of all the defaulters, and deceivers of men and of women, how many are professedly members of Christ’s Church! and how many even use their profession as a cloak under which to forward evil schemes! It is well known that a majority of even the most brutal criminals executed die in the Roman Catholic communion. Babylon has contained both the best and the worst, both the cream and the dregs, of the population of the civilized world.” (C. 162.) A parliamentary report of the status of society in England and Wales in 1873 showed that there were then no Jewish criminals, 1 of every 20,000 infidels was a criminal, 1 of every 666 Dissenters was a criminal, 1 of every 72 Church of England, and 1 of every 40 Roman Catholics. (C. 163.) “The great system in which the ‘fowl of heaven’ delight to roost, and which they have grievously befouled (Luke 13:18, 19), and which has in fact become ‘a cage of every unclean and hateful bird,’ is to be hewn down, and shall deceive the world no longer.”—C. 187; Isa. 34:11; Jer. 50:39; Zeph. 2:14.

18:3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.—“The stimulating power is not the spirit of a sound mind, but the delusion of a false doctrine; as the Prophet declares, they are ‘drunken,’ but not with wine. (Isa. 29:9‐13.) The people in general have lost their taste and appreciation for the water of life, the Truth; and false teachers warn them against it as poison. The wine of false doctrines now being manufactured at all the Theological Seminaries is the wine of evolution and higher criticism, which does not satisfy the thirst, but increases the confusion of mind. Even Babylon’s notables are dissatisfied, famished.—See Amos 8:11.”—Z. ’01‐349.

And the kings of the earth.—The governments of Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, England, Russia, Spain, Portugal, etc.

Have committed fornication with her.—Joined themselves to the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Greek Catholic Churches.

And the merchants of the earth.—Popes, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Presiding Elders, Reverends, etc.—Rev. 18:11, 15; Isa. 47:15; 23:8; Ezek. 27:36.

Are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.—Supplied partly in cash and partly in left‐overs from church fairs, suppers, etc.

18:4. And I heard another voice from heaven.—The WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, the corporate body which Pastor Russell personally organized to conduct the Harvest work (Rev. 8:3; 14:18). This voice has been exerted continuously since 1884. “Our thought is that it is the Lord who calls His people out of Babylon; the call to to be recognized especially as a Voice from Heaven. Apparently, the Voice is Present Truth.”—Z. ’14‐180.

Saying, Come out of her.—“This call applies not only to those in Babylon the Great, but to those in other denominations—mother and daughters. Be not of those who cannot see the errors of Babylon and who, consequently, are not of the called ones. The object of the call to come out is not for people merely to withdraw from a nominal church. No one is called out of Babylon until he sees her true condition. This call to associate with Christ, with Messiah, is given by the Lord through the Prophet when He says, ‘Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a Covenant with Me by sacrifice.’ (Psa. 50:5.) They were to be gathered, not to the Roman or other systems, but to the Lord, to become one with Him.” (Z. ’12‐277.) “The Lord’s call out of Babylon is not in audible one—He merely calls us by the principles of righteousness. He lifts the curtain before the eyes of understanding of His consecrated ones and thus lets them see some of the errors, some of the falsities in which they and others of Babylon are involved—dishonoring the holy name—blaspheming the holy name by misrepresentation of the Divine character and Plan. This is and should be call enough for those who are of the Lord’s Spirit, for those who love the Lord and the honor of His name more than they love houses or lands or parents or children or any other creature or thing—yea, more than they love their own lives. Such are sure to respond and to come out of Babylon; others who remain, in spite of seeing the light, fail to be overcomers of the highest class—fail therefore to be in the elect Bride class, and must be counted in with the Great Company, which will come through great tribulation, and will get out of Babylon only when she has been cast as a great millstone into the midst of the sea—in the time of anarchous trouble with which this Age will close.” (Z. ’06‐343.)

“Baptists think their preachers have no authority. But the Baptists cannot do anything without the consent of the preachers. The preachers hold a power that God did not repose there. God never authorized any men to go and ordain another man to preach the Gospel. God does the ordaining; and it is for the church to decide, according to its best judgment, whom the Lord ordains or calls as a pastor. The people in the Methodist church have almost no liberty, except the privilege of giving money. The bishops control the presiding elders, and under them the presiding elders control the preachers; and so it is all the way down to the class leaders. They have their head or chief amongst them. They have a human head. The General Conference is the highest authority. So the Presbyterian church has a head in the way of a General Assembly which has the deciding of matters.

“On one occasion I was called upon by a minister of the Reformed church. He wanted to know how I managed my church. I said to him, ‘Brother ——, I have no church.’ He said, ‘You know what I mean.’ I answered, ‘I want you to know what I mean, too. We claim that there is only one Church. If you belong to that Church, you belong to our Church.’ He looked at me in surprise. Then he said, ‘You have an organization; how many members are there?’ I replied, ‘I cannot tell; we do not keep any membership rolls.’ ‘You do not keep any list of the membership?’ ‘No. We do not keep any list; their names are written in Heaven.’ He asked, ‘How do you have your election?’ I said, ‘We announce an election; and any or all of God’s people, who are consecrated and are accustomed to meet with this company, or congregation, may have the privilege of expressing their judgment of who would be the Lord’s preference for elders and deacons of the congregation.’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘that is simplicity itself.’ I then added, ‘We pay no salaries; there is nothing to make people quarrel. We never take up a collection.’ ‘How do you get the money?’ he asked. I replied, ‘Now, Dr. ——, if I tell you what is the simplest truth you will hardly be able to believe it. When people get interested in this way, they find no basket placed under their nose. But they see there are expenses. They say to themselves, “This hall costs something, and I see that free lunch is served between meetings, for those living at some distance. How can I get a little money into this thing?” ’ He looked at me as if he thought, ‘What do you take me for—a greenhorn?’ I said, ‘Now, Dr. ——, I am telling you the plain truth. They do ask me this very question, “How can I get a little money into this cause?” ’ ” (Pastor Russell Question Meeting. Gen. 19:15, 22; Isa. 48:20; 52:11; Jer. 50:8; 51:6, 45; Matt. 24:16.)

“The present work of gathering the Lord’s saints out of Babylon is represented under various symbolic descriptions,—it is the gathering of the wheat from the tares into the barn (Matt. 13:30): it is the gathering of the good fish into baskets and the casting of the unsuitable fish caught in the Gospel net back into the sea (Matt. 13:47‐49); it is the gathering of His jewels (Mal. 3:17); it is the midnight cry to the virgins, which separates the wise from the foolish (Matt. 25:6); and it is the gathering of the ‘Elect’ from all the non‐elect of Christendom, from the four winds—from every quarter.” (Matt. 24:31.) (D. 600.) “Lot’s wife, after starting to flee as directed, ‘looked back;’ coveting the things behind: and so with some now fleeing from Babylon to the mountain (Kingdom) of the Lord; they are more in sympathy with the things behind than with the things before. Only those will run the race to the finish who set their affections on the things above, and not on the things beneath.” (D. 608.)

“Those who thus flee to the Lord will neither be consumed by fear and dread, nor swallowed up by the projects and false theories—science falsely so called—with which this day abounds. And, withal, they may be in the devouring fire [trouble], witnesses for God and His Plan, and teachers of the people—pointers to the glorious outcome of Jehovah’s Plan, lifting up a standard for the people.—Isa. 62:10.” (B. 31.) “The tables of the various sects of Christendom were started as tables of the Lord, and adorned to some extent with food from His storehouse, the Word. But the great Adversary placed upon these tables errors, delusions, doctrines of devils, which have blemished them as a whole; wherefore it is appropriate now to apply to them the words of the Scriptures, ‘Come out from amongst them and be ye separate; touch not the unclean thing.’ ” (Z. ’07‐91.) “Our friends, like Abraham’s friends, would persuade us of the folly of leaving Babylon, its comforts and associations: they assure us that our opportunities for greatness, etc., will be distinctly lessened by the course of obedience which we take. Nevertheless we, like Abram, go forth taking all of our possessions with us, great or small—nothing must be left behind to be a treasure in Babylon and to attract our hearts thither again. All things must be brought with us so that not our own lives and talents only, but our influence upon others, must all be made to count.” (Z. ’01‐231) “As to missionary activities (Matt. 23:15), what advantage can accrue to the heathen from giving them the false doctrines of the Adversary? The few who may be reached will have the more to unlearn when the Times of Restitution begin.”—F. 641.

My people.—“We would not be understood as including all Christians as ‘Babylonians.’ Quite to the contrary. As the Lord recognizes some in Babylon as true to Him and addresses them now, saying, ‘Come out of her, My people’ (Rev. 18:4), so do we; and we rejoice to believe that there are today thousands who have not bowed the knee to the Baal of our day—Mammon, Pride and Ambition. Those who will not come out until Babylon falls and they come through the ‘great tribulation’ (Rev. 7:9‐14) shall not be accounted worthy to share the Kingdom. Compare Rev. 2:26; 3:21; Matt. 10:37; Mark 8:34, 35; Luke 14:26, 27.” (See Micah 2:10; Jer. 12:7‐11; 23:33‐40; Jer. 11:14, 15; Prov. 19:27; Matt. 14:28, 29; Hos. 4:6; Isa. 27:12.) “The begetting of spiritual children of God, through the Word of His grace, and their being to some extent cherished, nourished and brought forward by these human sectarian tare systems, is well illustrated by certain insects, the young of which are injected into the backs of their enemies, and there warmed, nourished and developed, up to the time of their complete birth and deliverance, which means, usually, the death of the insect which temporarily carried them about.” (F. 656.) Now the point of deliverance has been reached.

That ye be not partakers of her sins.—“If you fail to obey the Lord through fear of earthly loss, it will prove that these things are more precious to you than His favor, and He will treat you as He treats the hypocrites; you will have a share in their experiences.” (Z. ’14‐180.) “We do not know but that they may go to the extreme in our day—to kill socially, to kill ecclesiastically, perhaps to kill physically. Nearly all the persecutions that have come to God’s people have come from professed Christians, fellow‐believers. ‘Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My Name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified; but He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.’ (Isaiah 66:5.)”—Z. ’14‐181; Num. 16:26.

And that ye receive not of her plagues.—See Rev. 16:1‐21.

18:5. For her sins [have reached] CLEAVED TOGETHER unto Heaven.—Ezekiel has touched on this!—Jer. 51:9; Gen. 11:3, 4; Luke 10:11.

And God hath remembered her iniquities.—By seven plagues; the seven volumes of Studies in the Scriptures.—Rev. 16:1‐21. See also bottom of this page.

18:6. Reward her even as she rewarded [you].—A diligent attempt has been made in this direction. Anything overlooked will be inserted in the next edition.—Psa. 137:8; Jer. 50:15, 29; 51:24.

[And] double unto her double according to her works.—Make a double exposition (explaining Revelation and Ezekiel) that will show her up just as she is.

In [the] HER cup which she hath filled.—The Scriptures which she has twisted, distorted and misapplied. “The cup which she has used as a means of seduction shall now be changed into the instrument of her punishment.”—Cook.

Fill to her double.—Greek, “the double.” (Isa. 61:7.) Give her enough light on Ezekiel and Revelation to show her the exit.—Isa. 21:7‐10.

18:7. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously.—And to what lengths has not Papacy gone in this direction, with the Protestant sects doing their best to keep the pace!

So much torment and sorrow.—Mourning for the dead, Greek.—Amos. 8:10.

Give her.—“I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware; thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord. The Lord hath opened His armoury [Ezekiel and Revelation] and hath brought forth the weapons of His indignation: for this is the work of the Lord God of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans ... the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of His Temple.... Recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her.”—Jer. 50:24‐29.

For she saith in her heart.—Babylon really believes her prosperity will continue forever. They “shall believe the lie.”—2 Thes. 2:11.

I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.—See Isa. 47:8, 9; D. 43; Zeph. 2:15.

18:8. Therefore.—“Because she will violently struggle for life and power.”—D. 39.

Shall her plagues.—Death, mourning, famine and fire.

Come in one day.—The year of 1918. See Rev. 3:14; 11:11.

Death.—“By the hand of her enemies.”

And mourning.—For the loss of her people.—Rev. 18:7.

And famine.—Literal and symbolic. (Amos. 8:11). “As we call to mind the long train of evils by which Babylon has oppressed and worn out the saints of the most High (the true Zion), and how it is written that God will avenge His own Elect, and that speedily; that, according to their deeds, He will repay recompense to His enemies; that He will render unto Babylon a recompense (Luke 18:7, 8; Isa. 59:18; Jer. 51:6), we begin to realize that some fearful calamity awaits her. The horrible decrees of Papacy,—the reproach and reward of which Protestantism also is incurring by her present compromising association with her,—for the burning, butchering, banishing, imprisoning and torturing of the saints in every conceivable way, executed with such fiendish cruelty in the days of her power by the arm of the State, whose power she demanded and received, await full measure of just retribution.”—D. 39.

And she shall be utterly burned with fire.—Completely destroyed in the anarchy to follow.—Rev. 17:16; Gen. 38:24; Ezek. 16:41; Lev. 20:14; 21:9.

For strong is GOD the Lord [God] who [judgeth] JUDGED her.—“Compare Rev. 17:17, where the event is expressly declared to have been overruled by God.” (Cook.) “And I will punish Bel in Babylon [the God of Babylon,—the Pope]; and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up [he shall repudiate in his extremity the ‘great swelling words’ and blasphemous titles which he has long appropriated to himself—that he is the ‘infallible vicar,’ ‘vice‐gerent of Christ,’ ‘another God on earth,’ etc.], and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him. Yea, the wall of Babylon [the civil power that once defended it, and that in a measure does so still] shall fall.... Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: the broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire [shall be destroyed]; and the people shall labor in vain, and the folk in the fire [to prop and save the walls of Babylon], and they shall be weary.—Jer. 51:44, 58.”—D. 40. The people are already getting weary of supporting murderous governments.

18:9. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication [and lived deliciously] with her.—In the illicit unions of Church and State the advantage, from a worldly viewpoint, has been on the side of the Church. She has compelled the State to cleanse her filthy linen while she proceeded to pollute another lot. Far from living deliciously, the horns have really hated the harlot for her impudent, shameless conduct.

Shall [bewail her], WAIL and lament for her.—Not because they loved her, but because she was useful to them in keeping the people in ignorance and subjection.—Jer. 50:46; Ezek. 26:15 to 27:36.

When they shall see the smoke of her burning.—When they witness her confusion and signs of imminent destruction as portrayed in the seventh plague—“the handwriting on the wall.”—Dan. 5:1‐9; Rev. 18:18; 19:3.

18:10. Standing afar off for fear of her torment.—Realizing that this is a question of interpretation of the Scriptures and not wishing to get entangled in it any more than absolutely necessary.—Jer. 51:30‐33.

Saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city.—Alas, that great religious system that was always eager to affiliate with us and give a religious coloring to even wholesale murder by enticing its young men to enlist under our banners!

For in one hour is thy judgment come.—In the one year 1917‐1918.—Rev. 17:12.

18:11. And the merchants of the earth.—Salesmen of religious goods—Popes, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops and smaller fry.—Ezek. 27:36; Isa. 23:8; 47:15; Rev. 18:3, 15, 23.

Shall weep and mourn over her.—Saying, in substance, “What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.”—Luke 16:3.

For no man buyeth their merchandise any more.—“And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols [all sectarian denominations] out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets [the clergy] and the unclean spirit [their false doctrines] to pass out of the land. And it shall come to pass that when any [former clergyman] shall yet prophesy [try to still further mislead the people into giving him reverence and coin], then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth [so enraged will they be when they realize how they have been deceived respecting fears of hell or assurances of Heaven for themselves and other descendants of monkeys, which the preachers have taught them they are]. And it shall come to pass in that day that the prophets [clergy] shall be ashamed every one of his vision [of the creeds], when he hath prophesied [preached]; neither shall they wear a rough garment [distinctive clothing—collars fastened on backwards, in harmony with their conceptions of religious things, and ties and clothing in mourning to suit] to deceive: But he shall say I am no prophet [no preacher of the gospel at all], I am an husbandman [a farmer]; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. [Ezekiel 34:1‐31 shows how poorly they kept the cattle]. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds [marks of rough usage] in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends [by my parishioners].”—Zech. 13:2‐6.

18:12. The merchandise of gold.—Truths respecting the Divine nature. There was a time when the nominal church had the custody of these truths, but that privilege passed in 1878.

And of silver.—Truths respecting the Great Company.

And precious stones.—Truths respecting the Lord’s jewels.—Mal. 3:17.

And of pearls.—Truths respecting the things purchased by the Lord’s death.—Matt. 13:45, 46.

And fine linen.—Truths respecting the righteousness of the Lord’s saints.—Rev. 19:8; Rom. 8:4; 2 Pet. 1:9.

And purple.—Truths respecting the Church’s expectation of coming royalty.—Rev. 5:10; 20:4; Luke 12:32; 22:29, 30; James 2:5; Mark 10:23; 1 Cor. 4:8; Rev. 3:21; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 2:26, 27; Psa. 2:8‐12; 49:14; Rom. 8:19; 16:20.

And silk.—Truths respecting the most beautiful of all the fabrics of the loom—grand, beautiful characters made so by the wisdom and mercy of God out of men and women that to start with were only poor worms of earth.

And scarlet.—Truths respecting the Ransom‐sacrifice of our Lord. (1 Tim. 2:6; Rom. 14:9; Rom. 5:18, 19; John 1:29; 1 John 2:2.) All these truths have passed away from Babylon, but the errors must go, too.

And all thyine wood.—Errors respecting man’s inherent immortality. Thyine wood is a sweet‐smelling wood; wood is a symbol of human traditions. The sweetest of all human theories is the declaration that when a man dies he is not dead at all. (1 Cor. 3:12.) Very shortly men will begin to come back from the dead, “the last first” (Matt. 19:30; 20:16); and stories that they have been in some fabulous hell or in Heaven will be at a considerable discount.

And all manner vessels of ivory.—Stories of death‐bed repentance and dreams, used to decorate unscriptural doctrines. Ivory was and is used in the harness of horses. It was also used to decorate beds. (Amos 6:4.) Horses symbolize teachings, and beds symbolize creed‐beds. The application fits, whichever way the symbol is applied.—Jer. 23:28.

And all manner vessels of most precious wood.—Errors that appeal to the heart of the natural man.—1 Cor. 3:12.

And of brass.—Copper; errors respecting the nature of man, created perfect and to be re‐created in the same likeness.—Gen. 1:31; Rev. 21:5.

And Iron, [And marble].—Errors respecting the “iron rule” and when it is to be exercised.—Dan. 2:40; Rev. 2:27.

18:13. And cinnamon, and spice, and odours, and ointments.—Errors respecting the nature and work of the Holy Spirit. These principal spices represent things which go to make up the anointing which we receive to become priests and kings with Christ.

EXODUS 30:23 EXODUS 31:3 ISAIAH 11:2 Holy Anointing Oil Bezaleel Christ Olive oil, an hin Filled with the Spirit of Lord Spirit of God. resting upon Him. Myrrh, 500 Wisdom Wisdom Cinnamon, 250 Understanding Understanding Calamus, 250 Knowledge Knowledge Cassia, 500 Workmanship Counsel and might

“In the above parallel we find knowledge parallel with calamus and understanding with cinnamon, and of each a like quantity is prescribed. We have the understanding of all the knowledge received of God.”—Z. ’07‐349.

And frankincense.—Errors respecting the kind of praise proper to offer. Much of the hymn‐book theology is bad.

And wine.—Errors respecting our privilege of draining the Lord’s cup of sorrow now, that we may drink the cup of joy with Him hereafter.—Matt. 20:22; 26:27.

And oil.—Errors with reference to the anointing of the Royal Priesthood.—Psa. 133:1‐3; 1 Pet. 2:5.

And fine flour.—Errors as to why the true wheat are so repeatedly crushed, broken and sifted—until “nothing of earth is seen.”

And wheat.—Errors as to who are the true wheat. A sister on her first service of Truth literature at a church door was asked by the pastor, “What are you doing around here?” Startled, the Sister replied, “I am looking for the wheat.” The pastor replied, with some anger, “Go away! There is no wheat here.”

And beasts.—Cattle; errors as to the nature of sacrifices with which the Lord is pleased.—Psa. 66:15.

And sheep.—Errors as to how to care for the true sheep.

And horses.—Errors as to the kind of doctrines to employ.—Rev. 9:17‐19.

And chariots.—Errors in multiplying organizations not authorized in the Scriptures and not in harmony therewith.

And slaves.—Errors respecting what it means to be a servant of the Lord.—Luke 16:13; 2 Tim. 2:24; Matt. 10:24, 25; 23:11.

And souls of men.—Errors respecting what is the soul.—Ezek. 18:4; Isa. 53:12.

18:14. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after.—Love of ease, money and praise of men.

Are departed from thee.—Replaced by the conditions affecting the common people. “Every valley [lowly and depressed one] shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill [highly exalted one] shall be made low: and the crooked [doctrines] shall be made straight, and the rough places [where the iron heel of oppression has made a hard path for the weary multitudes to follow] shall be made plain.”—Isa. 40:4.

And all things which were dainty and goodly.—Stained glass windows, soft carpets and upholstery, church suppers, etc.

[Are departed] PERISHED from thee, and [thou shalt] THEY SHALL find them no more at all.—The future of the clergy is that in the Millennial Age they will have to work for a living, like everybody else! Isn’t it awful to contemplate? It means an expense of 65c for an alarm clock in every preacher’s house in Christendom!

18:15. The merchants of these things.—The salesmen of these goods, the clergy.—Rev. 18:3, 11; Ezek. 27:36; Isa. 23:8; 47:15.

Which were made rich by her.—Who have hitherto made a good living in the profession of the ministry.

Shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing.—Over their lost jobs.

18:16. [And] saying, Alas, alas, that great city.—Babylon, mother and daughters.

That was clothed in fine linen.—Seemed to the worshipers of the beast and his image very righteous.

And purple.—Seemed to be already reigning on the earth.

And scarlet.—Seemed to have been faithful to the blood shed on Calvary.

And decked with gold.—Seemed to have been the repository of Truth Divine.

And precious stones.—Seemed to have included in her membership all the Lord’s jewels.

And pearls.—Seemed to be the sure heir of all that the Lord purchased by His death.

18:17. For in one hour so great riches is come to nought.—In one short year, 1917‐1918, the vast and complicated system of sectarianism reaches its zenith of power, only to be suddenly dashed into oblivion.—Rev. 18:10.

And every shipmaster.—Pilot (sky pilot), Greek.—Ezek. 27:27.

And [all the company in ships] EVERY ONE WHO SAILETH BY THE PLACE.—All the passengers.—Ezek. 27:29.

And sailors.—Mission workers.

And as many as trade by sea.—As many as work the sea, Greek. Salvation Army, Volunteers of America, and others who work solely among the masses not under religious restraint.

Stood afar off.—Realized that the old doctrines and the schemes for raising money would never work again.

18:18. And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning.—Her confusion and destruction by the Lord.

Saying, What city is like unto this great city.—With its millions of adherents, all professedly interested in mission work.

18:19. And they cast dust on their [heads] HEAD.—Did a certain amount of mud‐slinging.—Ezek. 27:30; Lam. 2:10.

And cried, weeping and wailing.—And gnashing their teeth, too, no doubt.

Saying, Alas, [alas] that great city.—That wonderful religio‐political combination.

Wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea.—All preachers who were strong enough and clever enough to manage people’s churches, independent of the sects. Many such “independent” churches have large memberships.

By reason of her costliness.—By reason of the amount of money that can be raised in and for such institutions.

For in one hour is she made desolate.—“To them the fall of Babylon at first is astounding, a perplexity, but will work no real injury, because the reign of Babylon over the earth will be superseded by the reign of the New Jerusalem—the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.”—Pastor Russell; Rev. 18:8; 3:14; 11:11.

18:20. Rejoice over her, thou Heaven.—New powers of spiritual control, Christ and His Bride, appointed to take her place.—Jer. 51:48; Phil. 3:20; Rev. 11:19.

And ye [holy] SAINTS AND Apostles.—You who have suffered at her hands.—Matt. 23:34, 35; Rev. 13:15; 18:24.

And Prophets.—The faithful teachers of the Christian church, and also the Prophets of old, who foresaw Mystic Babylon’s rise and fall, and knew that it stood between them and the fulfilment of their hopes. “Daniel, who was thinking specially of Israel, and of the fulfilment of God’s promises to the fathers, perceived that all that he had heard could not occur in 2300 literal days, especially when Gabriel said to him, ‘But shut thou up the vision, for it will be fulfilled after many days.’ And though he knew not how long each symbolic day would be, he was made sick at heart by the thought of so many evils as were coming upon God’s people—though he saw not the change of that name from fleshly to spiritual Israel. We read, ‘And I, Daniel, languished and was sick for some days.’ ”—C. 105.

For God hath avenged you on her.—This vengeance of God for the wrongs done to His saints in all ages began in 1878 (Rev. 6:10, 11), and closes with the full end of the Harvest. When the last member of the Great Company class is delivered the system will utterly perish.

18:21. And a mighty angel.—The common people.

Took up a stone like a great millstone.—Temporarily lifted ecclesiasticism to great heights.

And.—Experiencing a sudden conviction of their error in so doing, and of the truly devilish character of the system.

Cast it into the sea.—Overwhelmed it in a flood of anarchy. When this occurs there will be a “great hissing noise” (2 Pet. 3:10, Diaglott), indicating that the millstone will be warm, wrathy, at the moment of disappearance. The effect of throwing a hot stone into water is to disintegrate it completely.—Jer. 51:61‐64; Ex. 15:5; Neh. 9:11.

Saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, [And shall be found no more at all.]—“The masses of the people, no longer ignorantly stupid as during the Dark Ages, will awaken to the true situation, and will execute upon Babylon the Great—already repudiated by the Lord—the judgment foretold. She shall be cast like a great millstone into the sea, never to rise again. The sea represents the masses of the people, especially a restless opposition class.” (Z. ’13‐343.) “The fact is the world has outgrown the redhot and peppery dishes that suited the last generation, and it is quite beyond the power of a very few solemn gentlemen to produce a reaction.”—D. 110; Jer. 51:64.

18:22. And there shall be no more found in her the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters.—Those able to make melody and harmony out of the Scriptures.—Isa. 24:8; Ezek. 26:13.

IT shall be heard no more at all in thee.—Even now Ecclesiasticism is entirely unable to supply any explanation of either Ezekiel or Revelation, or to understand the one that is supplied.

And no craftsman, [of whatsoever craft he be,] shall be found any more in thee; [And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee].—God is the great craftsman. “We are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master‐builder, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.”—1 Cor. 3:9, 10.

18:23. [And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee;] And the voice of the Bridegroom and of the Bride.—Christ and His true Church.—Jer. 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; 33:11.

Shall be heard no more at all in thee.—Neither Christ nor His saintly ones have had anything to say in the affairs of the nominal church since 1878; nor have they wished to have. “The rejection of Babylon (‘Christendom’), in 1878, was the rejection of the mass of professors—the ‘host,’ as it is termed by Daniel, to distinguish it from the Sanctuary or Temple class.”—C. 180.

For thy merchants were the great men of the earth.—They said so, themselves. They have attempted to direct everything from prize fights up. Rev. Rainsford even tried to run a beer saloon, but was not able to make it a coin‐producer for the church and gave it up.—Isa. 23:8; 47:15; Rev. 18:3, 11, 15; Ezek. 27:21, 36.

For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.—“Consider, again, why Babylon is so named. Evidently, because of her many errors of doctrine, which, mixed with a few elements of Divine Truth, make great confusion, and because of the mixed company brought together by the mixed truths and errors. This sin of holding and teaching error at the sacrifice of truth is one of which every sect of the church nominal is guilty, without exception. Where is the sect in which you can obey the Master’s words and let your light shine? We know of none.”—C. 181; Rev. 17:2; 2 Ki. 9:22.

18:24. And in her was found the blood of Prophets.—They are accounted as having slain the Prophets because they refuse to heed them, and to that extent caused them to lay down their lives needlessly!—Rev. 16:6; 17:6.

And of saints.—They are accounted as having slain the saints because they have given no heed to their warnings, and to that extent caused them to die in vain.—Jer. 51:49.

And of all that were slain upon the earth.—The great European war, and other wars, are justly laid at the door of the system that has perpetuated the doctrines of Divine right of clergy and kings; and it is for this reason that God has decreed her sins must be wiped out first with symbolical blood (Rev. 14:20), and afterwards with literal blood in the red sea of anarchy.—Ex. 14:21‐28; Isa. 63:1‐6.

The Traveler Inquires The Way To Heaven

Whom Should We Believe—God Or The Clergy?

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Revelation 19—The Overthrow Of Satan’s Empire

19:1. [And] after these things.—After the saints are glorified and present ecclesiastical systems are destroyed.

I heard AS IT WERE a great voice of much people.—The Great Company.—Rev. 7:10.

In heaven.—The only heavenly‐minded ones remaining on earth.

Saying, Alleluia; Salvation.—Deliverance from the Papacy and other sects has come at last.

[And glory, and honor,] and power [unto the Lord] OF our God.—It has been accomplished not by human power, but by the Wisdom and Power of God.—Rev. 7:12.

19:2. For true and righteous are Thy judgments.—“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”—1 John 1:5; Rev. 15:3; 16:7.

For He hath judged the great whore.—Has executed the judgments long foretold.

Which did corrupt the earth with her fornication.—Her illicit union with worldly governments.

And hath avenged the blood of [His] HER servants at her hand.—The millions who have perished in the Great War have been the servants of Babylon. The direct cause of their slaughter is the doctrine of the Divine right of the clergy. These have maintained the kings of Europe on their thrones, falsely telling them they are ruling as part of Christ’s Kingdom. This position has led to the death of all these millions, and their blood will be required at Babylon’s hand.

19:3. And again they said, Alleluia.—The more they think it over, the happier they will become.

And her smoke.—The evidences of her destruction; the remembrance.—Isa. 34:10; Rev. 14:11; 18:9, 18.

Rose up for ever and ever.—Will be recorded in secular history, even as it is recorded in “the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”—1 Pet. 1:23.

19:4. And the [four and] twenty FOUR elders.—The prophecies.—Rev. 4:4, 10.

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

Fell down and worshipped God that sat on the Throne, saying Amen; Alleluia.—The God, the mighty One, here referred to is the Lord Jesus.—Rev. 5:3.

19:5. And [a voice] VOICES.—The Little Flock, beyond the veil.

Came out of the Throne.—They will be in the Throne at that time.—Rev. 3:21.

Saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants.—Of the Great Company class.—Rev. 7:15; Psa. 134:1‐3.

[And] ye that fear Him, [both] small and great.—Your deliverance was wholly due to the Lord. We did what we could to help you, but it was as nothing. To the Lord belongs all the glory for your deliverance and ours.—Rev. 11:18.

19:6. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude.—“In the Age to come, when God shall ‘pour out His Spirit upon all flesh,’ as during the present Age He pours it upon His ‘servants and handmaids,’ then indeed all will understand and appreciate the promises now being grasped by the ‘little flock’; and they will rejoice in the obedience and exaltation of the Church, saying, ‘Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to God, for the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and His Wife hath made herself ready.’ They will rejoice in the glorification of the Church, through which blessings will then be flowing to them; and while they will realize that the ‘exceeding great and precious promises’ inherited by the Anointed (Head and Body) are not for them, but have been fulfilled upon us, they will be blessed by the lesson illustrated in the Church; and while they run for the blessings then held out to them, they will profit by the example of the Church and glorify God on her behalf. But this knowledge will not bring covetousness; for under the new order of things their calling to perfect human nature will fully satisfy them, and will seem more desirable to them than a change of nature.”—A. 86.

And as the voice of many waters.—All mankind.—Rev. 17:15.

And as the voice of mighty thunderings.—An overwhelming and complete reaction in favor of the Truth. The “seven thunders” will then be thundering as never before.—Rev. 10:4; 8:5.

Saying, Alleluia: for [the Lord] God OUR LORD THE Omnipotent reigneth.—“Shows Himself to be king by subduing His enemies.” (Cook.) Thoroughly convinced of the greatness of the Lord’s power, as all men will be by the end of the Time of Trouble, they will be glad to entrust all their interests to His care.

19:7. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him.—“Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power.”—Psa. 110:3.

For the Marriage of the Lamb is come.—The marriage of men and women is declared in the Scriptures to be a type of the marriage of Christ and His Church. (Eph. 5:22‐23.) It is a recognized principle that the antitype is greater than the sum of all the types. The death of Christ was greater than all the sacrifices throughout the Jewish Age. Now call to mind that the wedding day is the happiest of every human being. Think of all the happiness caused by all the weddings that have ever occurred, and know that the sum total is as nothing compared to the joy that will pervade the Universe when the festal day of eternity takes place, and Christ and His Bride are made one.

And His Wife.—“The Bride represents ‘all who have believed up to the commencement of the Millennium. These alone are the mystical Body of Christ. But after they are completed, at the Second Advent the earth will be peopled by the “nations of the saved” in flesh and blood,—a totally different party from the then glorified Bride.’ ”—Cook.

Hath made herself ready.—The witnessing to the world during the present Age is quite secondary and incidental to the Church’s more important work of making herself ready.—F. 608; T. 115; Matt. 22:1‐14; 25:1; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:27; Rev. 21:2, 9; John 3:29; Cant., all; Psa. 45:10‐14; Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19; Lu. 12:36.

19:8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, BRIGHT AND clean and white.—“ ‘She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needle work’ (Psa. 45:14)—in the simple white robe of her Lord’s own furnishing, the robe of His righteousness, upon which she will have wrought, with much carefulness, the beautiful adornments of the Christian graces. And great will be the rejoicing in Heaven and in earth at her abundant entrance into the King’s palace.—2 Pet. 1:5‐8, 11.”—C. 193.

For the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.—Here and there throughout the Scriptures are keys which unlock its mysteries. (Rev. 3:18; Psa. 132:9.) This is the key to several otherwise obscure passages.

19:9. And he.—The faithful and wise Servant to whom the custody of all the things in His Storehouse was especially promised by the Lord of the Harvest.—Luke 12:42‐44; Rev. 3:14; 1:1.

Saith unto me, write.—To representatives of the John class, commissioned to write something of encouragement to the Church after he himself had ceased to write.

Blessed are they which are called unto the [marriage] supper of the Lamb.—The Marriage Supper (Lu. 14:15) will be like all the other feasts the Church has had, not of physical food, but of truths Divine. That will be the time when the Lord, the Head of the family, will explain to us every part of every verse in all His Holy Word. We shall have perfect memories then, in which to treasure every word He utters, and perfect bodies, too, in which to perform to the full all God’s holy will. We have the will to do it now. We have tried to understand His Word, and tried to help others to understand it; but the best we could do was far from perfect. The Lord, in His love and mercy, has accepted our best endeavors here as evidence of our worthiness for the perfect opportunities that await us. “Ultimately the full number purposed by the great Householder will have been called, accepted, and found worthy through Christ to have a place at that table—to share in that great Feast. (Matt. 22:1‐10.) At that feast, we are assured, will be a secondary company, not worthy to be of the Bride class. These may be figuratively styled the bridesmaids, the Great Company class; for after the account of the gathering of the Bride we have the Lord’s message to these subsequently delivered from Babylon, saying, ‘Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ You can imagine the honors and joys of that great banquet!”—Z. ’14‐74.

And he saith unto me, These MY TRUE SAYINGS, are the [true] sayings of God.—

“Ascend, beloved, to His joy; Thy festal day has come; To‐night the Lamb doth feast His own, To‐night He with His Bride sits down, To‐night puts on the spousal crown, In the great Upper Room.”

19:10. And I fell at his feet to worship him.—“If there come to any of us a thought of doing homage to the Lord’s messengers or servants it would be our duty to fully recognize that God alone, however much He may use human instrumentalities in conveying His blessings, is to be honored and reverenced and appreciated as the Author and Giver of every good and perfect gift.—James 1:17.”—Z. ’07‐105; Rev. 22:8.

And he said unto me, See thou do it not.—But Satan said to the Lord, “All these things will I give thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.” (Matt. 4:9.) When Papacy did this, Satan was true to his promise. By resorting to worldly forms, customs and entertainments all the daughters have followed the example of the mother.

I am thy fellowservant.—“St. John in his humility forgets his own share in imparting the revelation; and the Angel in his humility brings this to light (Acts 10:25, 26).”—Cook; Acts 14:14, 15; Rev. 22:9; Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Tit. 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:1.

And of [thy] THE brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God.—“Whose servants we both are; of Whose prophetic Spirit we alike partake in this our common ministry; and therefore one of us may not worship the other.”—Cook.

For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.—“All Christians, in every age, who can receive and understand prophecy, have this spirit.” (Cook; 1 Cor. 12:13.) However, “The design of prophecy is to bear testimony to Jesus. This is its great and ultimate end. The word prophecy here seems to be used in the large sense in which it is often employed in the New Testament—meaning to make known the divine will, and the primary reference here would seem to be to the preachers and teachers of the New Testament. The sense is, that their grand business is to bear testimony to the Saviour. They are all appointed for this, and therefore should regard themselves as ‘fellow‐servants.’ Thus understood, this passage has no direct reference to the prophecies of the Old Testament, and teaches nothing in regard to their design, though it is in fact undoubtedly true that their grand and leading object was to bear testimony to the future Messiah.”—Barnes; Rev. 12:17.

19:11. And I saw heaven opened.—The hidden things of God as recorded in the Seventh Volume of Studies In The Scriptures.—Rev. 11:19.

And behold a white horse.—Teachings which, however unpalatable to Churchianity, are nevertheless the truth.

And He that sat upon him was called Faithful.—“The faithful and true Witness.”—Rev. 3:14.

And True.—“He that is holy, He that is true.”—Rev. 3:7.

And in righteousness He doth judge and make war.—“While the Lord forbids His people to fight with carnal weapons, and while He declares Himself to be a God of peace, a God of order and of love, He also declares Himself to be a God of justice, and shows that sin shall not forever triumph in the world, but that it shall be punished. ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.’ (Rom. 12:19; Deut. 32:35.) And when He rises up to judgment against the nations, taking vengeance upon all the wicked, He declares Himself ‘a man of war’ and ‘mighty in battle,’ and having a ‘great army’ at His command.—Exod. 15:3; Psa. 24:8; 45:3; Isa. 11:4; Joel 2:11.”—D. 549.

19:12. His eyes were [as] a flame of fire.—The Lord’s Wisdom sees that the time has come for the destruction of present iniquitous systems.—Rev. 1:14.

And on His head were many crowns.—The right to rule all the kingdoms of the earth.—Ezek. 21:27.

And He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.—This new name is to be also the name of the Church, His Bride. Possibly it has not yet been revealed.—Rev. 2:17; 3:12.

19:13. And He was clothed with a vesture [dipped in] SPRINKLED WITH blood.—A reference to His faithfulness even unto death, and a hint to His Body what to expect shortly.

And His name [is] HATH BEEN called the Word of God.—In this picture He is represented as coming, not as the Messenger of the Covenant, but in apokalupsis, revealment as earth’s rightful King.—John 1:1; Rev. 1:2.

19:14. And the armies which were in heaven.—All the armies of Rev. 7:5‐8, the Little Flock, whether on this side of the veil or on the other.—Rev. 17:14.

Followed Him.—“The sheep follow Him: for they know His voice. And a stranger will they not follow.”—John 10:4, 5.

Upon white horses.—Teachings clean and pure.

Clothed in fine linen, white and clean.—“The righteousness of saints.”—Rev. 19:8.

19:15. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword.—“Our examination, in a preceding volume, of the great difference in character between the Kingdom of God and the beastly kingdoms of earth, prepares us to see also a difference in modes of warfare. The methods of conquest and breaking will be widely different from any which have ever before overthrown nations. He who now takes His great power to reign is shown in symbol as the One whose sword went forth out of His mouth, ‘that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron.’ That sword is the Truth (Eph. 6:17).”—B. 100; Isa. 11:4; 49:2; 2 Thes. 2:8; Rev. 1:16; 2:12, 16; 19:21; Hos. 6:5; Heb. 4:12.

That with it He should smite the nations.—“ ‘He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips [the force and spirit of His Truth] shall He slay the wicked.’ (Isa. 11:4; Psa. 98:1.) To no human generalship can the honors of the coming victory for truth and righteousness be ascribed. Wild will be the conflict of the angry nations, and world‐wide will be the battlefield and the distress of nations; and no human Alexander, Cæsar or Napoleon will be found to bring order out of the dreadful confusion. But in the end it will be known that the grand victory of justice and truth, and the punishment of iniquity with its just deserts, was brought about by the power of the King of kings and Lord of lords.”—D. 19.

And He shall rule them with a rod of iron.—“In this ‘Day of Jehovah,’ the ‘Day of Trouble,’ our Lord takes His great power (hitherto dormant) and reigns, and this it is that will cause the trouble, though the world will not so recognize it for some time. That the saints shall share in this work of breaking to pieces present kingdoms, there can be no doubt. It is written, ‘This honor have all His saints—to execute the judgments written, to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron’—of strength. (Psa. 149:8, 9.) ‘He that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they [the empires] be broken to shivers.’ ”—Rev. 2:26, 27; Psa. 2:8, 9; B. 100.

And He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of THE ANGER OF Almighty God.—The Lord assumes an interest in and responsibility for the complete series of Studies In The Scriptures, the last one of which especially represents the winepress feature (Rev. 14:18‐20), but it would be unreasonable to expect that the Lord would miraculously use imperfect tools to do an absolutely perfect work and each must use his judgment as to the value of the interpretations in this book. Additionally, it should be remarked that the language here is more intense than in Rev. 14, indicating the extension of the winepress feature to other than ecclesiastical matters.

19:16. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written.—“The thigh is introduced as the place where the sword (which is not mentioned here, see ver. 15) is usually found, in accordance with Psa. 45:3: ‘Gird Thee with Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O Most Mighty.’ ”—Cook.

King of kings and Lord of lords.—Before the controversy aroused by this book is finished, every person in the world will be convinced that it marks a distinct step by the Lord in His seizure of Satan’s Empire.—1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; Dan. 8:25.

19:17. And I saw [an] ANOTHER angel.—The Elijah class after the publication of Volume Seven, Studies in the Scriptures. See Rev. 8:3‐5; 14:18.

Standing in the sun.—Resplendent in the light of the Gospel.—Rev. 12:1; Matt. 13:43.

And he cried with a loud voice.—Fearlessly and plainly declaring the Truth.

Saying to all the fowls.—Birds, Greek.—Matt. 24:28.

That fly in the midst of heaven.—First to the “eagles,” the far‐sighted ones, the Little Flock, and then, by extension, to all who live, mentally, on any plane above the grossly material.

Come [and gather yourselves] BE GATHERED together unto the GREAT supper of [the great] God.—We should look for applications appropriate to the symbolical book we are studying, even though it develop later, as it will, that these passages will have a literal and terrible fulfilment in a deluge of actual bloodshed, of which the European War is but a preliminary.

19:18. That ye may eat the flesh of kings.—Five of these kings or rulers are enumerated in Rev. 6:4. Doubtless the reader has eaten them, in the symbolical sense. They are there to be eaten.

And the flesh of captains.—Lesser commanders, enumerated in Rev. 8:7‐12. No doubt the reader has eaten these also.

And the flesh of mighty men.—Warriors. These warriors are referred to in Rev. 9:7, 9, although there mentioned under the name of locusts. If the reader has not eaten (appropriated, absorbed, digested) the account, the task should be undertaken at once, or something will be missed.

That the Lord made no mistake in selecting the Locust as a symbol of the Methodist system of blindly following leaders is clear from the following extract from the works of a traveller: “While sojourning in Syria I was told that the whole country round Mt. Lebanon was dismayed one year by the news that a vast army of marching locusts was coming from the eastern desert. The governor of the district ordered a regiment of soldiers to aid the people to construct a great rampart of heath bushes to be set on fire as the locusts came up to it, hoping thus to save the gardens of Beyrout. These locusts always hopped straight ahead, deviating neither to the right nor left, and on coming to a house went up its stone walls, over it and down it, as if it were a level place, and in such inconceivable numbers that an American resident described the noise of the great host passing over the roof as like to that of a tremendous hailstorm. At every green leaf on the way each took a bite, and then went on for the next one to take his bite, until in an incredibly short time not a green thing could be seen. When they reached the prepared heaps of heath, and these were set on fire, the locusts marched on without pausing, until in a brief time they put the bonfires completely out. As the sea was not far off everybody hoped that they would take to surf bathing. And so they did. Just as certain injurious political crowds among us can always be always depended upon to march up to the polls and vote the straight ticket, when the vanguard reached the waves, like all good true locusts, in they hopped, followed by all the rest, till the billows seemed to roll only grasshoppers; nor did the scene end until the last of the rear guard had skipped over the heaps of his dead comrades to make his last jump into the blue waters of the Mediterranean.”—Jer. 51:64.

And the flesh of horses.—Did you not see the horses in Rev. 9:17, 18, and did you not eat them, fire, jacinth, brimstone and all?

And of them that sit on them.—Did we not find two hundred millions of these horsemen, and did you not eat them?—See Rev. 9:16.

And the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.—And did we not find all the rest of the men included in Rev. 9:20, 21, and did we not eat them in the same manner? We did, indeed. We ate or appropriated the truth concerning them. It is our eating of these truths that lead to the events next narrated.

19:19. And I saw the beast.—The Papacy restored to power. Weymouth’s New Testament in Modern Speech translates this verse as follows, and adds a footnote that the “once for all,” though not expressed in the Greek, is implied in the aorist tense of the verb: “And I saw the Wild Beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, all assembled to make war, once for all, against the Rider upon the horse and against His army.”

And the kings of the earth.—Called to the war by demons. (Rev. 16:13‐16.) “The kings of the earth set themselves [in opposition], and the rulers [not knowing that they are fighting against the establishment of the Lord’s Kingdom], take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, [but] He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision.”—Psa. 2:2, 4; D. 52.

And their armies.—Their following, Civil, Social, Ecclesiastical and Financial.

Gathered together to make war.—“The war,” Greek.

Against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army.—Although composed of the twelve symbolical tribes (Rev. 19:14; 7:4‐8) they are, after all, but one army, all “One in Christ Jesus.” “Let it be seen that the best and the worst of earth’s nations are but ‘kingdoms of this world,’ whose lease of power from God is now expired, that they may give place to their ordained successor, the Kingdom of Messiah, the Fifth Universal Empire of earth (Dan. 2:44; 7:14, 17, 27)—and it will do much to establish truth and to overthrow error. But as it is, the actions of Papacy in this regard, sanctioned by the Protestant Reformers, go unquestioned among Christian people. And since they should uphold the Kingdom of Christ, they feel themselves called to the aid of the present falling kingdoms of so‐called Christendom—to the side of the kingdoms of this world, and the prince of this world, rather than to the side of the coming true Kingdom of Christ.”—A. 270; Rev. 16:16; 17:13, 14.

19:20. And the beast was taken.—The Papacy was caught. (Jer. 50:43‐46.) No doubt the publication of this book has come at a time unfavorable to the schemes of Papacy and will interfere greatly with its efforts at re‐ establishment—Rev. 17:14.

And with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him.—The Image of the Beast.—Rev. 13:11, 13, 14 15; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2, 13; 19:20; 20:10; Matt. 24:24.

With which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast.—Catholics.

And them that worshipped his image.—Protestants.

These both.—Both of these systems, not the people.

Were cast alive.—While they are still organized and operative.—H. 59.

Into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.—Into the complete and everlasting destruction, of the anarchy (symbolized by fire) of the Time of Trouble. This utter destruction of these systems is the beginning of the annihilation of everything out of harmony with God’s righteous arrangements. It was typified by the valley of Gehenna, just outside of Jerusalem. By the aid of brimstone the bodies of specially detestable criminals were there burned with the other refuse of Jerusalem. Standing upon the edge of this valley at night it had the appearance of a lake burning with fire and brimstone. Burning brimstone is the most deadly agent known, and symbolizes utter destructiveness.—Dan. 7:11.

19:21. And the remnant.—The people who are left after their systems are destroyed.

Were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse.—Will, in due time, come into loving and cheerful submission to the truth.—Rev. 19:15; 2 Cor. 10:4.

Which sword proceeded out of His mouth.—All should be able to see that it is not a literal sword that is here referred to.

And all the fowls were filled with their flesh.—See Rev. 19:18.

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Revelation 20—The Thousand Years’ Reign

20:1. And I saw an Angel come down [from Heaven].—The Messenger of the Covenant at His Second Advent.—Mal. 3:1.

Having the key of the [bottomless pit] ABYSS.—Only Infinite Wisdom could provide the key to the solution of present difficulties in the earth. Here is a system of superstition and crime two thousand years old, and the praise and service of it ingrained into nearly every human being. All literature is poisoned with it. Public opinion is for it. The educated, the refined, the wealthy, the powerful are all for it and all against any change that would give the lower strata of society a fair chance. To overcome conditions like this is a task for Divinity itself.

And a great chain in His hand.—The TRUTH, as contained in the Seven Volumes of Scripture Studies. This chain of Truth has been forged, link by link, over a period of forty years. Each volume has made it more certain that old systems can never hope to stand against it.

20:2. And He laid hold on the dragon.—The iniquitous system of civil government which has associated with it the principle of holding the masses in subjection by preying upon their fears beyond this life. The subject of special condemnation in this regard, the masterpiece of Satan, is the old Roman Empire, still living in the Papacy and the Church‐State governments of Europe. This system is about contemporaneous with the (seven) Times of the Gentiles (2520 years ending in Oct., 1914), which began in the Fall of 607 B. C., or, as we would say, at the beginning of 606, Jewish Time. Rome was already well started on its upward path at that time. “Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, fifth legendary king of Rome, 616‐578 B. C., appointed guardian to the sons of Ancus Marcius, he succeeded in supplanting them on the throne on their father’s death. He laid out the Circus Maximus, instituted the great games, built the great sewers, and began the construction of the temple of Jupiter on the Capitol. He removed from Tarquinii in Etruria to Rome by the advice of his wife, the prophetess Tanaquil. Tanaquil was famous for her shrewdness and prophetic gifts, which enabled her to foretell the future greatness of her husband.” (Brit.)

That old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan.—“While the name Old Serpent includes Satan, ‘the prince of devils,’ it is here evidently used as a synonym for all the sinful agencies and powers which had their rise in him.” (S. 32.) “Our Lord’s declaration that Satan is the great Adversary, not only of God, but of humanity, is by no means a fancy sketch, but the plain truth. Satan alone is the wilful, intelligent plotter and schemer who uses a superhuman intelligence and, so far as permitted, superhuman powers, in opposing righteousness and truth and those who are of the Truth. The inspired record asserts, persistently and consistently, that Satan began the rebellion against the divine law, and seduced our first parents into disobedience, through his own ambition for power; and that since man’s fall this same Adversary has been the implacable opponent of God, of righteousness and of truth; and not only the ensnarer of mankind, but the opposer of the great Plan of Atonement which God devised and is prosecuting through Christ. From the Scriptural account it does not appear that Satan had any sympathizers or associate conspirators amongst the angels at the time of his secession and attempt to establish a lordship or dominion of his own in the earth.”—F. 611.

And bound him.—“ ‘The god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.’ (2 Cor. 4:4.) God wills that all should be so saved from all the train of evils following Adam’s sin and curse, that they may come to a knowledge of the Truth. Why does He will this? To the intent that having a clear knowledge of the Truth they may make the very best possible use of the new trial for life secured for them by their Redeemer’s Ransom‐sacrifice. It is for the carrying out of this, God’s will, that the Redeemer will inaugurate His Millennial Kingdom, which will first bind Satan (restrain all outside evil influences) and then release man from his blindness;—as it is written, ‘the eyes of the blind shall be opened.’ (Isa. 35:5.) For the same reason, viz., that the new trial shall be most favorable for man, it is the Divine arrangement that its work shall be done gradually and require a thousand years.” (E. 480, 470.) “The Millennial Day is dawning, with its change of earth’s rulership from the control of the ‘prince of this world’ and his faithful, to the control of Him ‘whose right it is’ (by purchase) and His faithful saints. We have seen that though the result of this change will be a great blessing; yet the time of the transfer, while the present prince, the ‘strong man,’ is being bound and his household driven out of power (Matt. 12:29), will be a time of intense trouble.” (C. 341.) “In reference to it Jesus said, ‘No man can enter into a strong man’s house and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house.’ (Mark 3:22‐27; Luke 11:22.) This effective binding of Satan is accordingly shown to be the first work of the New Dispensation.” (A. 68.) “The Adversary’s every deceptive and misleading influence will be restrained—so that evil shall no longer appear to men to be good, nor good appear undesirable, evil. Truth shall no longer appear to men untrue, nor falsehoods be caused to appear true.” (D. 519.) “The words of inspiration give us to understand that Satan’s struggles to retain control of mankind will be especially desperate at its close.”—S. 78.

A thousand years.—The Millennial Day, the Day of the Lord’s rest, following the six thousand years of evil which ended in 1874. “One Day is with the Lord as a thousand years.” (2 Pet. 3:8; Psa. 90:4.) “It was the claim of the Papacy that the thousand years of Christ’s Reign, the Millennium, promised in Scripture to follow Christ’s Second Advent, began in the year 800 A. D., under Pope Leo III., who claimed to be the representative of Christ, His vice‐gerent, to begin Christ’s Reign in His stead. In that year the ‘Papal states’ were ceded to the Church by Emperor Charlemagne. Their ‘Millennium’ ended, it was claimed, in the year 1799, when Napoleon confiscated the territories granted to the Church and took the Pope, Pius VI., a captive to France, where he died. The succeeding freedom from Papal persecution, and the widespread circulation of the Bible in the languages of the people, was declared by the Papal leaders to be the ‘little season’ (Rev. 20:3) to follow the thousand‐year Reign of Christ on earth; and they are hoping that soon they will regain their former power and prestige and once more reign supreme, and that their rule will be permanent. This Papal Millennium is known in history as the ‘Dark Ages.’ During those dark centuries millions were tortured, exiled and murdered for refusing to bow to the mandates of the apostate Church, under the leadership of Popes, Bishops and priests. Agents and spies were employed to apprehend and bring to punishment any who were found to express sentiments contrary to the Papal hierarchy, or who failed to bow in abject submission to their authority. Thus were the nations of Europe paganized, and steeped in error and superstition and in reverence for men who falsely claimed to be the special and authorized representatives of God on earth. They presumed to have authority to alter the Laws of God when it seemed advisable to them to do so, and thought to change the time for the Reign of Christ as we have shown.” (Dan. 7:25; Z. ’16‐181; B. 354.) “ ‘Those who lived next to the Apostles, and the whole Church for 300 years, understood them [the “Thousand Years”] in the plain literal sense.’ According to Jewish theology, as collected from the Talmud, Messiah is to gather in from the Dispersion all the scattered descendants of the Tribes, to discomfit their foreign oppressors, and from Jerusalem as a centre to rule over the whole earth which is to be a scene of temporal enjoyment and prosperity. Thus R. Salomon writes: ‘It is fixed that the world shall stand for 6000 years, according to the number of the days of the week; but on the seventh Day is the Sabbath, and during the seventh Millennium the world has rest.’ ”—Cook.

20:3. And cast him into the [bottomless pit] ABYSS.—Oblivion. In this instance it signifies Satan’s enforced idleness, which will surely be oblivion for him after the busy time he has had during the past six thousand years. How small he will feel when he sees the Lord Jesus undo in one thousand years all that he accomplished in six thousand!

And shut him up, and set a seal upon him.—The Spirit of Truth in the hearts of men; the desire to win the favor of earth’s new King, will deprive Satan of all his subjects. All his evil companions, human and angelic, will be destroyed in the Time of Trouble. Alone, idle and humiliated constantly for a thousand years, is a punishment he richly deserves.

That he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled.—“Some have become so deluded by the sophistries of Satan, by which he has deceived all nations, that they do not believe that there is a God; others believe in Him as a great and powerful adversary, without love or sympathy, ready and anxious to torment them to all eternity; others are confused by the Babel of conflicting reports that have reached them, concerning the Divine character, and know not what to believe; and, seeking to draw near unto God, are hindered by their fears and by their ignorance.” (E. 19, 18.) “The trial, or judgment, of the overcomers of the Christian Dispensation and of the Dispensation that preceded it, has been much more severe than the trial of the world will be in its judgment day; for these have had to withstand Satan, the prince of this world, with all his wiles and ensnarements, while in the world’s judgment day Christ will be reigning, and Satan will be bound, that he may not deceive the nations. These have suffered persecution for righteousness’ sake, while then men will be rewarded for righteousness, and punished only for unrighteousness. These have had great stumbling blocks and snares in the way, which will be removed when the world is placed on trial. But though the trial of these two special companies has been much more severe than the trial of the world will be, the rewards are correspondingly greater.”—A. 146.

[And] after that he must be loosed a little season.—To see who are in heart harmony with the Lord’s will, and who are governed by other motives. As evil will be bound by the prompt infliction of punishment upon the would‐be evil‐doer, so we may presume it will be loosed by allowing evil deeds to go temporarily unpunished.—Rev. 20:8.

20:4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them.—The thrones of present earthly kingdoms.—Z. ’82‐3‐6.

And judgment was given unto them.—Judicial sentence was passed upon them as unfit to longer continue. (Z. ’82‐3‐6.) This word is rendered condemnation in Luke 23:40; Jas. 3:1; Jude 4.

And I saw the souls.—Persons, beings.—Z. ’82‐3‐6.

Of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus.—“All constituting the Kingdom class are here referred to as beheaded. The Apostle gives us the key, saying. ‘The Head of every man is Christ; the head of the woman is the man; and the Head of Christ is God.’ (1 Cor. 11:3.) As a woman who becomes a wife accepts her husband as the head of the family (loses her name, her individuality, to become his bride), so the Church accepts Christ as her Head, and each member of the Church thus comes into relationship with the Lord as a member of His Body. It is required of every one who would be counted in as a member of the true Church, that he should be not only beheaded (lose his self‐will), but that he shall be united to the true Head of the Church and recognize himself as a member of the true Body of Christ—‘the Church of the living God, whose names are written in Heaven.’ ”—Z. ’01‐227; Rev. 1:9; 19:10.

And for the word of God.—On account of the Word of God and by means of it. We are “Begotten by the Word of Truth,” and to live in fullest harmony with its every precept, at any cost to the flesh, is the distinguishing peculiarity of the overcoming Church of God. “Only now are Bible students beginning to emerge from under the great cloud of false doctrine which for fifteen hundred years has misrepresented God and the Bible, putting darkness for light. Only now can Bible study be prosecuted in its true spirit, without the fear of man, which brings a snare. Only now is there general education, which permits of Bible study in this true sense. Only now have we the convenient Bible, cheap and in every home. Only now have we more leisure and opportunity for Bible study. Only now have we good light by which to study.”—Z. ’13‐366.

[And which] IF ANY THEREFORE had not worshipped the beast, neither his image.—See Rev. 13:13‐18.

Neither had received his mark upon their [foreheads, or in their hands] FOREHEAD AND ON THEIR HAND.—In years to come millions will be surprised to know that they had these marks of assent and service to Satan’s empire. “The gospel of Satan is not a system of revolutionary principles, nor yet a programme of anarchy. It does not inspire wars and strife, but peace and security. It does not set the mother against her daughter and the father against his son, but promotes the fraternal spirit whereby the race is regarded as one great Brotherhood. It does not seek to drag down and degrade the natural man, but to improve and uplift him. To use a popular phrase, it appeals to ‘the best, all that is good within us.’ It aims to make this world such a comfortable and congenial habitat that the absence of Christ will not be felt and God will not be needed. It endeavors to make men so satisfied with this life that they shall be totally indifferent to the life hereafter. It propagates the principles of self‐ sacrifice, mercy, charity and benevolence, teaching men to live for the good of others and to be kind to all. For those who observe its conditions and obey its commands, it promises the development of certain inherent occult powers, the solution of the more recondite problems of man’s constitution and the accumulation of esoteric knowledge which is withheld from the multitude. In short, it declares that all who will eat of the forbidden fruit shall ‘be as gods.’ The gospel of Satan is one of works. The Devil’s Delusion is that we can be saved by our own works, and justified by our own deeds. Whereas God tells us, ‘By grace are ye saved through faith, ... not of works, lest any man should boast.’ And again, ‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.’—Eph. 2:8, 9; Tit. 3:5.”—Z. ’16‐42.

[And] they BOTH lived and reigned with Christ.—See Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10.

A thousand years.—“The loss of this hope by our forefathers led on to all the grievous errors from which we are now seeking to escape. Do we not still pray, ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is done in Heaven?’ The Messiah’s coming Kingdom is the key to the world’s blessing by Restitution back to human perfection in a world‐wide Eden.”—Pastor Russell. Observe how many times this period is mentioned in Rev. 20:2‐7.

20:5. [But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.]—“These words are not found in the oldest and most reliable Greek MSS., the Sinaitic, Vatican Nos. 1209 and 1160, nor the Syriac MS. However, the repudiation of this clause is not essential to the ‘Plan’ as herein set forth; for the rest of the dead—the world at large—will not live again in the full sense, in the perfect sense that Adam lived before he sinned and came under the sentence ‘dying thou shalt die.’ Perfect life without weakness or dying is the only sense in which God recognizes the word life. From His standpoint all the world has already lost life, is dying, and might now be more properly described as dead than as alive.”—2 Cor. 5:14; Matt. 8:22.

“The word resurrection (Greek, anastasis) signifies raising up. As related to man, it signifies raising up man to that condition from which he fell, to full perfection of manhood—the thing lost through Adam. The process of resurrection will be a gradual one, requiring the entire Age for its full accomplishment; though the mere awakening to a measure of life and consciousness, as at present enjoyed, will of course be a momentary work. And since anything short of perfect life is a condition of partial death, it follows that, although the above words are no part of the inspired record, it would be strictly true to say that the rest of the dead will not live again (will not regain the fulness of life lost) until the thousand years of restitution and blessing are complete.”—A. 288.

This is the First Resurrection.—“It is impossible for the tongue to describe this great honor and dignity.”—1 Cor. 2:9; Pastor Russell.

20:6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the First Resurrection.—“ ‘We shall be like Him [the glorified “changed” Jesus], for we shall see Him as He is.’ He is a Spirit Being, ‘the express image of the Father’s person,’ ‘far above angels, principalities and powers, and every name that is named,’ and hence, far above perfect manhood. If we shall be like Him and share His glory and His nature, it means that we too shall be images of the Father’s person, ‘whom no man hath seen nor can see, dwelling in light which no man can approach unto;’ but to whom we can approach and whom we can see as He is, because we have been ‘changed.’ (1 John 3:2; 1 Tim. 6:16, 1:17; Exod. 33:20.) Lest any should misunderstand him, the Apostle guards the above language by adding, ‘As we [the Church] have borne the image of the earthly [one], we shall also bear the image of the Heavenly [One].’ It is not the Apostle’s thought that all shall bear the image of the Heavenly One, in this sense, ever. Such was not the design of our Creator. When He made man He designed to have a fleshly, human earthly being, in His own likeness [mentally, morally], to be the lord and ruler of the earth, as the representative of His Heavenly Creator.” (Gen. 1:26‐28; Psa. 8:4‐7; F. 722.) “If we know how to reproduce the human voice, it gives us a little illustration of how God, with His unlimited Power, can preserve everything recorded by the convolutions of our brain, and of how these could be preserved in the future absolutely—everything by which we could know ourselves in the future.”—Z. ’14‐315.

On such the Second Death hath no power.—Aside from the Father and the Son, these are the only ones in the Universe that will forever be beyond the possibility of death.—Rev. 2:11; Rom. 2:7; 1 Tim. 6:16.

But they shall be priests.—“The antitypical consecrating of the antitypical priests is confined to the present Gospel Age. It has progressed steadily since our Lord and Forerunner ‘offered up Himself’—and will be complete before this Age has fully ended. And if we fail to be among the priests now, during the time of consecration, we cannot be of them when they begin their service for the people in the Kingdom, when these same priests (now despised of men, but a ‘sweet savor to God’) will have the title of King added, and will, with their Head, Jesus, rule and bless all nations.”—T. 47; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10.

Of God and of Christ.—“No mention is made here of being priests of the Holy Ghost as it would undoubtedly have been mentioned if it had been the third person of the ‘trinity.’ ”

And shall reign with Him a thousand years.—“The ‘kingdoms of this world,’ even while being crushed by the Kingdom of God, will be quite ignorant of the real cause of their downfall,—until, in the close of this ‘day of wrath,’ the eyes of their understanding shall open, so that they will see that a New Dispensation has dawned, and learn that Immanuel has taken to Himself His great power, and has begun His glorious and righteous Reign.”—C. 129; Rev. 20:4.

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.—“It will be for only a little season; for, his heart remaining unchanged, he will soon see a new avenue to the success of his long‐ cherished ambition. He will see not merely a perfect human pair with power to produce a mighty race destined to live forever, but a race restored to life and vigor. His thought will be, ‘If I can win this mighty race to my standard, my triumph and exaltation will be speedily accomplished.’ Again, therefore, he will figure as a leader, though, as now, unrecognized by men. Doubtless the temptation will again rest upon his old doctrine—that they shall not surely die, even if they do disregard the will of God.”—Z. ’94‐251.

20:8. And shall go out to deceive all the nations.—“At the close of the Millennial Age there will be a ’harvest’ time, for sifting and separating amongst the billions of human beings then living, each of whom will have enjoyed a full opportunity of attaining perfection. The Harvest of the Millennial Age will witness the complete separation of the ‘goats’ from the ‘sheep.’ ” (D. 644.) “While the blessing of the Lord will provide an abundance for all, nevertheless we may safely assume that the provision will be in the hands of their fellows. It will be the ’sheep’ that will be especially interested in, praying for and preparing for, those who are in the great prison‐house of death. And by so engaging their time and energy these ‘sheep’ will be manifesting a purpose, a will, in harmony with that of the Creator. (John 5:28, 29.) Any one not interested in that work will be lacking in God’s Spirit; and this is what is charged against the goat‐ class.”—Z. ’14‐268.

[Which are] in the four [quarters of the earth] CORNERS, Gog.—Proud (Gog means high), Natural Israelites. (1 Chr. 5:3, 4.) “ ‘Ye [proud and unfaithful Jews] shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God [the earthly phase], and ye yourselves thrust out,’ (Luke 13:28).”—Z. ’07‐302.

And Magog.—Those who, during the Gospel Age, were nominal Spiritual Israelites, but at heart were never anything but “tares” and always remain such. Magog was the descendant of Japheth. (Gen. 10:2.) Europe was peopled by his descendants, and it was to them that the Gospel call of the Age now ending was by Divine appointment sent. (Acts 16:6, 9.) The Gospel was sent into Europe that it might be demonstrated that God could call and make into Christlike characters representatives of even the most cruel, bloodthirsty, quarrelsome, rapacious people on earth. Such they are. Japan is proof that contact with Europeans will in a generation transform a contented, peace‐loving people into a people of unbounded ambition, imbued with the spirit of the very Devil.—Ezek. 38:2; 39:1.

AND to gather them together to battle.—“When at the close of the Millennial Age all the obedient of mankind shall have attained all that was lost in Adam and redeemed by Christ—then all, armed with complete knowledge and experience, and hence fully able to stand the test, will be tested severely (as was Adam), but individually, and only those found in fullest heart‐sympathy, as well as in outward harmony, with God and His righteous arrangements, will be permitted to go beyond the Millennium into the everlasting future or ‘world [age] without end.’ All others will be destroyed in the Second Death.” (E. 418, 402.) “We read, regarding that testing, that Satan will endeavor to lead astray all mankind, whose numbers will then be as the sand of the sea for multitude; but that many of them will choose evil and disobedience, with past experience before them, and unhampered by present weaknesses and blinding influences, we do not suppose.”—H. 62.

20:9. And they went up on the breadth of the earth.—“Building upon a supposed weakness in the Divine character, these may be led to try to take advantage of the grace (favor) of God, and to use it as a license for wilful sin.”—H. 62.

And compassed the camp of the saints about.—“Just as in Great Britain, the people have gone to Parliament to protest, so the rebellious faction of mankind will protest against their faithful princes. The separation of the Ancient Worthies from the rest of the world seems to imply that God has some special purpose in respect to them. The term camp itself implies that theirs is only a temporary condition or arrangement, and that God has some better thing in store for them.” (Z. ’13‐53.) “The noble work of elevating the race by sure and steady steps (under the direction of the unseen spiritual members of the Kingdom) is the high honor to which the Ancient Worthies are appointed, and for which they will come forth prepared soon after the final wreck of the kingdoms of this world.” (A. 291.) “Israel as a nation will be the first among the nations to come into harmony with the new order of things; the earthly Jerusalem will be rebuilt upon her old heaps; and their polity will be restored as in the beginning under princes or judges. (Isa. 1:26; Psa. 45:16; Jer. 30:18.)” (A. 294.) “Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets” and Ancient Worthies referred to by our Lord and by the Apostles (Matt. 8:11; Heb. 11:4‐40), having passed their trial, will be awakened from death perfect.

“Just as Adam, while perfect, before transgression, could commune direct with the Heavenly powers, so will these Worthies commune, when restored to the same state of perfection.” (D. 619.) “The veil which Moses wore before the people, but laid off when with the Lord in the Mount would seem to typify the earthly phase of his Kingdom, the ‘princes in all the earth,’ ” (D. 630.) “The friendship of David and Jonathan seems to be suggestive of that beautiful accord which shall exist between the glorified Church and the earthly princes who shall be next to them in the Kingdom of God. Each will be delighted to fill his honored place in the wonderful Plan of God, and will love the other as his own soul.” (Z. ’95‐291.) “As we consider the heavens, the work of God’s hands, and the innumerable worlds therein under preparation for inhabitants, we may reasonably suppose that these Ancient Worthies, who were faithful during the reign of evil, even unto death, will have some further honorable service, not only during the Millennial Age, but subsequently. For various reasons, therefore, we rank them higher in honor than the Great Company.” (Z. ’04‐313.) “These Ancient Worthies will be unlike the remainder of mankind, not alone in the fact that their trial is past while the trial of the world in general will just be beginning; but they will be unlike them also in the fact that they will have attained the reward of their faithfulness—they will be perfect men. When Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the Ancient Worthies have been resurrected, and shall appear amongst the regathered Israelites, their perfect minds will quickly grasp present‐day knowledge and inventions. (John 7:15.) And as Jesus taught the people positively, definitely, clearly, and not doubtfully and in a confused way, as did the scribes, so it will be with the perfected Ancient Worthies, when they appear amongst men.”—D. 625.

“Isa. 11:10 points us to the Millennial Day, and another root of Jesse, as connected with the blessing of the Gentiles. This latter seed seems to be referred to also in Heb. 11:39, 40. The Ancient Worthies shall not only be the princes, the representatives of the spiritual, invisible Kingdom, but also grand ensigns or standards set up before mankind, as illustrations of what all mankind may attain unto.” (Z. ’98‐312.) “The painful experiences of the Ancient Worthies during the Jewish age will be a store of blessings, instruction and help, by which they, when made subordinate ‘princes’ in the Kingdom, will assist in the restitution work.” (T. 111.) “While the Worthies are not in any sense part of the Sin‐Offering, they are nevertheless connected with the cleansing from sin: their ashes (the knowledge and remembrance of their faithfulness unto death), mingled with the water of Truth, and applied with the purgative, cleansing hyssop, is valuable, purifying, sanctifying.” (T. 108.) “The service which the Ancient Worthies will be given will be more than God would ordinarily entrust to a perfect human being. It will be a part of this service to deal with the imperfect, fallen creatures and to help them up out of sin and imperfection. While in one sense of the word this work is desirable, yet it is not what a perfect human being would prefer. These Ancient Worthies will come forth from the tomb perfect; but during the entire Millennium they will be amidst imperfect surroundings.

“A part of the evidence that the Ancient Worthies will be made sharers of the spirit nature and become members of the Great Company class is built upon the fact that they seem to be represented typically by the tribe of Levi. The fact that this tribe had no inheritance in the land seems to imply that the Ancient Worthies will have no earthly inheritance. Since the Heavenly Father has been pleased to arrange for the Great Company a place on the spirit plane, and since He is operating according to some general principles of righteousness, we are inclined to think that He may have something more for the Ancient Worthies than will come to the remainder of mankind. When Abraham was called upon to offer up his son Isaac, he exhibited a degree of loyalty greater than the Great Company will be called upon to manifest. Furthermore, in Gen. 17:8, God said unto Abraham, ‘And I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.’ Two thousand years later, St. Stephen said that God never gave Abraham so much as a foot of the promised land (Acts 7:6); but he implied that Abraham will yet receive that land and afterward leave it to his posterity. If the land is to be given to Abraham and his coadjutors, and then to be left to his seed and mankind in general, the thought would seem to be implied that the Ancient Worthies will pass to the spirit nature.”—Z. ’13‐52.

“ ‘O Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength! [After the Church, the Bride, has been glorified with the Lord, the faithful ones of the fleshly seed of Abraham will begin to come into prominence before the world by reason of the leaders whom God will then raise up for them.] Lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah [all who shall then be in covenant relationship with God], Behold! Your God is here!’ [Thus the message now given by ‘the feet’ of Christ—that the Millennial Kingdom is already beginning its rule (Isa. 52:7)—will be taken up by the earthly class when the ‘feet of Him’ have passed beyond the veil.]—Isa. 40:9.”—Z. ’92‐78.

And the beloved city.—“The ‘beloved city’ is the New Jerusalem, the Church in glory, not the Church in the flesh. The rebellion incited by Satan will be not only against the earthly princes, but also against The Christ.”—Z. ’13‐53.

And fire came down from God out of Heaven, and devoured them.—They will be instantaneously and mercifully electrocuted, not tormented.

20:10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.—“He is to be destroyed, together with all his angels—his messengers, all who follow his leading and his course.—Matt. 25:41; Heb. 2:14.”—F. 619.

Where the beast and WHERE the false prophet are.—Papacy and the Protestant Church Federation will have been in destruction a thousand years at the time this Scripture is fulfilled.—Rev. 13:11, 13, 14, 15; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2, 13; 19:20; 20:10; Matt. 24:24.

And shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.—The Seven Volumes of Scripture Studies are the instruments the Lord is using to bring these iniquitous systems to their end; and so long as these books remain, the torment of these systems will be in evidence. The systems will cease, but the “Seven Plagues” will continue forever.—Rev. 14:11; 19:3.

20:11. And I saw a great white Throne.—“The whiteness of the Throne indicates the purity of the justice and judgment which will be meted out.”—B. S. M.

And Him that sat on it.—“The Throne is Messiah’s; it represents His Mediatorial Dominion of earth for a thousand years.”—B. S. M.

From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them.—“The heavens and earth which will flee from the presence of the great Immanuel will not be the Heavens of God’s Throne, nor the earth which he has given to the children of men. The heavens and earth which will flee away, and for which no place will be found, are, of course, the symbolical ones. The symbolic heavens represent spiritual influences—Ecclesiasticism, Churchianity. Thus interpreted, our text declares that when Messiah assumes control of the world, the result will be that the social system of to‐day, as well as present‐day ecclesiasticism, will pass out of existence—no place will be found for them.” (B. S. M.) “ ‘Heaven and earth’: To our Lord’s contemporaries the religious and social system under which they lived seemed almost as fixed and as eternal as the earth and sky. Indeed, ‘heaven and earth’ appears to have been a name which they gave to the then‐existing order of things in recognition of what they deemed its permanence and fixity.”—Weym.; Rev. 21:1; Dan. 2:35.

20:12. And I saw the dead, [small and] BOTH great AND SMALL stand before [God] THE THRONE.—What a grand privilege is that which awaits “Him whom man despiseth, Him whom the nation abhorreth, a servant of rulers,” “That thou mayest say to the prisoners [the twenty billions in the prison‐house of death], Go forth; to them that are in [the] darkness [of the tomb], Show yourselves.” (Isa. 49:7, 9; Rev. 11:18; 19:5). (The dead are standing while they are dead. See Rev. 20:5 comments.)

And the books were opened.—“The books of the Bible will then all be opened—understood. All will then see that the Golden Rules laid down by inspiration through Moses and the Prophets, Jesus and His Apostles, are the very ones which God will require of men in the future and which Messiah will then enable the willing and obedient to comply with by assisting them up out of their sin and degradation.” (B. S. M.) The entire Word of God will not be opened until after the Church is beyond the veil. Much of it (perhaps nearly all) will be opened by the Great Company class during the Time of Trouble, but some of it may wait for the Prophets themselves. Meantime, all that is necessary for salvation and service has been provided.—Dan. 7:10.

And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.—“In the great Day of the world’s trial or Judgment another Book of Life will be opened. A record will be made of all who, by obedience, show themselves worthy of everlasting life on the human plane.” (B. S. M.) “The First Book of life is called the Lamb’s Book of Life, containing the names of the elect Church, His Bride. This other Book of Life will be the book, or record, of those who shall pass the restitutional trial or judgment satisfactorily.”—Z. ’00‐239.

And the dead were judged.—“This judgment, or rulership, cannot begin until Christ, whom Jehovah hath appointed to be the Judge or Ruler of the world, has come again—not again in humiliation, but in power and great glory: not again to redeem the world, but to judge [rule] the world in righteousness. A trial can in no case proceed until the judge is on the bench and the court in session at the appointed time.—Matt. 25:31.”—A. 345.

Out of those things which were written in the books.—“It is by the Word of the Lord that men are judged (John 12:48‐50); and not by the opinions or precedents of fellow‐men in any capacity. Therefore all should imitate the noble Bereans who ‘searched the Scriptures daily’ to see if the things taught them were true. (Acts 17:11.) ‘To the Law and to the Testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.’—See 1 Thes. 5:21; Isa. 8:20.”—D. 66.

According to their works.—“The judgment of that time, the test, will not be of faith; for knowledge will be universal, and all the darkness and obscurity created by ignorance and superstition will have passed away. The test at that time will be of works, whereas the tests of the Church at the present time are of faith.”—B. S. M.

20:13. And the sea.—The masses of mankind, not under religious restraint—the condition of the whole world in the time of anarchy due in its full severity in the fall of 1920. See page 178.

Gave up the dead which were in it.—Earth’s new Ruler will deal first with those who survive the Time of Trouble, reckoned dead, even though actually having a small measure of life. When the Lord said, “Let the dead bury their dead” (Matt. 8:22), He used the same word to describe both classes. Those under the death sentence are counted by the Lord in the same class with those upon whom the sentence has been already executed. None but God’s people have “passed from death unto life.” (1 John 3:14.) All the rest of the world, in God’s sight, are dead.

And death.—“From the first, or Adamic death, a resurrection has been provided. All that are in their graves shall come forth. It was in view of God’s plan for redeeming the race from that first death that in both the Old and New Testaments it is called a ‘sleep.’ ”—H. 58.

And hell.—“The dark, secret condition, the grave, which in the present time speaks to us of a hope of future life by God’s resurrection power in Christ.”—Z. ’10‐41.

Delivered up the dead which were in them.—“Thus God tells us through the Prophet, ‘I will ransom them from the power of the grave [Sheol]. I will redeem them from death.... O grave [Sheol] I will be thy destruction.’ (Hos. 13:14.) The first or Adamic death shall no longer have liberty or power over men, as it has had for the past six thousand years; no longer shall any die for Adam’s sin. (Rom. 5:12; Jer. 31:29, 30; Ezek. 18:2.)”—Z. ’10‐41.

And they were judged every man according to their works.—“Since all mankind will not be raised at once, but gradually, during the thousand years, each new group will find an army of helpers in those who will have preceded it. The love and benevolence which men will then show to each other (the brethren of Christ) the King will count as shown to Him. (Rom. 13:10.)”—Z. ’10‐39.

20:14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.—“The destruction of the first death and Hades commences with the beginning of the Millennial Reign and continues to its close. Hades (the grave) will be destroyed when all the dead in it have heard the Lord’s voice and come forth. (John 5:25.) But ‘death’ will still have hold upon these, since every ache and pain and every mental and moral imperfection is a part of the inherited Adamic penalty. The millions awakened will be still under condemnation, still in death; but in proportion as they render obedience to the terms of the New Covenant, progress will be made toward health, perfection and life. On the other hand, those who, after full knowledge, refuse to accept and personally apply the merit of the sacrifice of Christ, will remain under condemnation; because their wills consent to evil, they will progress toward the Second Death. In the case of the obedient, death will be swallowed up of life. In the case of the disobedient, death will be swallowed up of the Second Death. (1 Cor. 15:26, 54, 55; Isa. 25:6‐8.)”—H. 66.

AND this is the Second Death; THE LAKE OF FIRE.—“This destruction or death is called the Second Death in contradistinction to the First or Adamic death, and not to signify that everything which goes into it dies a second time. For instance, death (the first or Adamic death), and Hades, the grave, are to be cast into it, which work will require the entire Millennium to accomplish it; and in no sense will they ever have been destroyed before. So also the devil, the beast, and the false prophet, will never have been destroyed before.”—H. 58; Rev. 21:8.

20:15. And whosoever [was] SHALL not BE found written in the Book of Life.—The writing, the judging, is still future.

Was cast into the Lake of Fire.—“The Second Death, during the Millennial Age, is a part of the utter destruction which will include every improper, injurious and useless thing. (Isa. 11:9; Psa. 101:5‐8.) But the Second Death, the sentence of that individual trial, will be final: it will never be destroyed. We rejoice that there is no danger of this, but that Divine Justice unites with Divine Wisdom, Love and Power, to bring in everlasting righteousness on a permanent basis.”—H. 67; Rev. 19:20; Psa. 50:22.

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“A thousand years, earth’s coming glory, ’Tis the glad Day so long foretold; ’Tis the bright Morn of Zion’s glory Prophets foresaw in times of old.

“What if the clouds do for a moment Hide the blue sky where Morn appears? Soon the glad Sun of Promise given Rises to shine a thousand years!”

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