PART VI. THE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY

Handwriting On The Wall. "In that night was Belshazzar ... slain, and Darius the Median took the kingdom." Dan. 5:30, 31.

Prophecy, Why Given

Daniel In Babylon. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets." Amos 3:7.

1. Why were the Sacred Writings given?

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written _for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope_.” Rom. 15:4.

2. By what means is all scripture given?

“All scripture is given _by inspiration of God_.” 2 Tim 3:16, first part.

3. For what is it profitable?

“And is profitable for _doctrine_, for _reproof_, for _correction_, for _instruction in righteousness_.” Same verse, last part.

4. How was the prophecy given?

“For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but _holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost_.” 2 Peter 1:21.

5. What is the Lord able to do regarding the future?

“Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: _before they spring forth I tell you of them_.” Isa. 42:9.

6. How far-reaching is God’s ability to reveal the future?

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, ... and there is none like Me, _declaring the end from the beginning_, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done.” Isa. 46:9, 10.

NOTES.—In contrast with this, note the following confession of a noted modern historian as to man’s inability to reveal the future:—

“History has yet made so slight progress toward the scientific basis that she is able to foretell nothing that is to be hereafter. As to the future, she is stone-blind. There is not a philosopher in the world who can forecast the historical evolution to the extent of a single day. The historian is as completely dumb before the problems of 1895 as a charlatan weather-prophet ought to be with respect to the meteorological conditions of the next season. The year will come and go. It will fulfil its purpose in the great calendar of man-life. Its events and issues will be evolved with scientific exactitude out of antecedent conditions. But no man living can predict what the aspect and event will be. The tallest son of the morning can neither foretell nor foresee the nature of what is to come in the year that already stands knocking at the door.”—_John Clark Ridpath, in Christian at Work, Dec. 27, 1894._

Knowing all things, the future is present with God. More, perhaps, than any other one thing, the prophecies of the Bible and their fulfilment bear witness to its divine inspiration.

7. To whom does God reveal the secrets of the future?

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants _the prophets_.” Amos 3:7.

8. To whom do the things which have been revealed belong?

“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong _unto us and to our children forever_.” Deut. 29:29.

9. What testimony did the apostle Peter bear concerning his experience on the mount of transfiguration?

“_For we have not followed cunningly devised fables_, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, _but were eye-witnesses of His majesty_.” 2 Peter 1:16.

10. When did he say he saw the majesty of Christ, and heard the voice from heaven?

“And this voice which came from heaven we heard, _when we were with Him in the holy mount_.” Verse 18.

11. How does he emphasize the reliability of prophecy?

“And we have the word of prophecy _made more sure_.” Verse 19, R. V. “Now _more confirmed_.” Boothroyd’s translation.

NOTE.—Every fulfilment of prophecy is a confirmation of the truthfulness and reliability of prophecy.

12. What admonition is therefore given?

“Whereunto ye do well that ye _take heed_, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts.” Verse 19, last part, R. V.

13. What has ever been the theme of God’s prophets?

“Receiving the end of your faith, even _the salvation of your souls_. Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.” 1 Peter 1:9, 10.

14. Whose spirit inspired their utterances?

“Searching what, or what manner of time _the Spirit of Christ which was in them_ did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” Verse 11.

15. In what prophecy did Christ recognize Daniel as a prophet?

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by _Daniel the prophet_, stand in the holy place, (_whoso readeth, let him understand_).” Matt. 24:15.

16. To what time were the prophecies of Daniel, as a whole, to be sealed?

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to _the time of the end_: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Dan. 12:4.

17. What assurance was given by the angel that these prophecies would be understood in the last days?

“And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; _but the wise shall understand_.” Verses 9, 10.

18. What is the last book of the Bible called?

“_The Revelation of Jesus Christ_, which God gave unto Him.” Rev. 1:1.

19. What is said of those who read, hear, and keep the things contained in this book?

“_Blessed_ is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.” Verse 3.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

Daniel Interpreting The Dream. "There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets." Dan. 2:28.

1. What statement did Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, make to his wise men whom he had assembled?

“And the king said unto them, _I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream_.” Dan. 2:3.

2. After being threatened with death if they did not make known the dream and the interpretation, what did the wise men say to the king?

“The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, _There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter_: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and _there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh_.” Verses 10, 11.

3. After the wise men had thus confessed their inability to do what the king required, who offered to interpret the dream?

“Then _Daniel_ went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation.” Verse 16.

4. After Daniel and his fellows had sought God earnestly, how were the dream and its interpretation revealed to Daniel?

“Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel _in a night-vision_. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” Verse 19.

5. When brought before the king, what did Daniel say?

“Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; but _there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets_, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these.” Verses 27, 28.

6. What did Daniel say the king had seen in his dream?

“Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; ... Thou, O king, sawest, and behold _a great image_. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.” Verses 28-31.

7. Of what were the different parts of the image composed?

“This image’s head was of fine _gold_, his breast and his arms of _silver_, his belly and his thighs of _brass_, his legs of _iron_, his feet _part of iron and part of clay_.” Verses 32, 33.

8. By what means was the image broken to pieces?

“Thou sawest till that _a stone_ was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.” Verse 34.

9. What became of the various parts of the image?

“Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and _became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away_, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” Verse 35.

10. With what words did Daniel begin the interpretation of the dream?

“Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. _Thou art this head of gold._” Verses 37, 38.

NOTE.—The character of the Babylonian Empire is fittingly indicated by the nature of the material composing that portion of the image by which it was symbolized—the head of gold. It was “the golden kingdom of a golden age.” The city of Babylon, its metropolis, according to history towered to a height never equaled by any of its later rivals. “Situated in the garden of the East; laid put in a perfect square sixty miles in circumference, fifteen miles on each side, surrounded by a wall three hundred and fifty feet high and eighty-seven feet thick, with a moat, or ditch, around this, of equal cubic capacity with the wall itself; divided into six hundred and seventy-six squares, laid out in luxuriant pleasure-grounds and gardens, interspersed with magnificent dwellings,—this city, containing in itself many things which were themselves wonders of the world, was itself another and still mightier wonder.... Such was Babylon, with Nebuchadnezzar, youthful, bold, vigorous, and accomplished, seated upon its throne.”

11. What was to be the nature of the next kingdom after Babylon?

“After thee shall arise another kingdom _inferior to thee_.” Verse 39, first part.

12. Who was the last Babylonian king?

“In that night was _Belshazzar_ the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.” Dan. 5:30, 31. See also verses 1, 2.

13. To whom was Belshazzar’s kingdom given?

“Thy kingdom is divided, and given to _the Medes and Persians_.” Verse 28.

14. By what is the Medo-Persian Empire represented in the great image?

“The breast and arms of silver.” Dan. 2:32.

15. By what is Grecia, the kingdom succeeding Medo-Persia, represented in the image?

“His belly and his thighs of _brass_.” Verse 32. “And another _third kingdom of brass_, which shall bear rule over all the earth.” Verse 39.

16. What is said of the fourth kingdom?

“And the fourth kingdom _shall be strong as iron_: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, _shall it break in pieces and bruise_.” Verse 40.

17. What scripture shows that the Roman emperors ruled the world?

“And it came to pass in those days, that _there went out a __ decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed_.” Luke 2:1.

NOTE.—Describing the Roman conquests, Gibbon uses the very imagery employed in the vision of Daniel 2. He says: “The arms of the republic, sometimes vanquished in battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, and the ocean; and the images of _gold_, or _silver_, or _brass_, that might serve to represent the nations and their kings, were successively broken by the _iron_ monarchy of Rome.”—_“__Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,__”__ chap. 38, par. I, under __“__General Observations,__”__ at the close of the chapter._

18. What was indicated by the mixture of clay and iron in the feet and toes of the image?

“And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, _the kingdom shall be divided_.” Dan. 2:41.

19. In what prophetic language was the varying strength of the ten kingdoms of the divided empire indicated?

“And as the toes of the feet were _part of iron, and part of clay_, so the kingdom shall be _partly strong, and partly broken_ [margin, _brittle_].” Verse 42.

20. Were any efforts to be made to reunite the divided empire of Rome?

“And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, _they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men_: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” Verse 43.

NOTES.—Charlemagne, Charles V, Louis XIV, and Napoleon all tried to reunite the broken fragments of the Roman Empire, but failed. By marriage and intermarriage ties have been formed with a view to strengthening and cementing together the shattered kingdom; but none have succeeded. The element of disunion remains. Many political revolutions and territorial changes have occurred in Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D.; but its divided state still remains.

This remarkable dream, as interpreted by Daniel, presents in the briefest form, and yet with unmistakable clearness, the course of world empires from the time of Nebuchadnezzar to the close of earthly history and the setting up of the everlasting kingdom of God. The history confirms the prophecy. The sovereignty of the world was held by Babylon from the time of this dream, B.C. 603, until B.C. 538, when it passed to the Medes and Persians. The victory of the Grecian forces at the battle of Arbela, in B.C. 331, marked the downfall of the Medo-Persian Empire, and the Greeks then became the undisputed rulers of the world. The battle of Pydna, in Macedonia, in B.C. 168, was the last organized effort to withstand a world-wide conquest by the Romans, and at that time therefore the sovereignty passed from the Greeks to the Romans, and the fourth kingdom was fully established. The division of Rome into ten kingdoms is definitely foretold in the vision recorded in the seventh chapter of Daniel, and occurred between the years 351 A.D. and 476 A.D.

21. What is to take place in the days of these kingdoms?

“And in the days of these kings shall _the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed_: ... but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Verse 44.

NOTE.—This verse foretells the establishment of another universal kingdom, the kingdom of God. This kingdom is to overthrow and supplant all existing earthly kingdoms, and is to stand forever. The time for the setting up of this kingdom was to be “in the days of these kings.” This cannot refer to the four preceding empires, or kingdoms; for they were not contemporaneous, but successive; neither can it refer to an establishment of the kingdom at Christ’s first advent, for the ten kingdoms which arose out of the ruins of the Roman Empire were not yet in existence. It must therefore be yet future.

22. In what announcement in the New Testament is the establishment of the kingdom of God made known?

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, _The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ_; and He shall reign forever and ever.” Rev. 11:15.

23. For what have we been taught to pray?

“_Thy kingdom come._ Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Matt. 6:10.

24. What event is closely associated with the establishment of God’s everlasting kingdom?

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at _His appearing_ and His kingdom.” 2 Tim. 4:1.

25. With what prayer do the Scriptures close?

“He that testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. _Even so, come, Lord Jesus._” Rev. 22:20.

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Look for the way-marks as you journey on, Look for the way-marks, passing one by one: Down through the ages, past the kingdoms four,— Where are we standing? Look the way-marks o’er.

First, Babylonia’s kingdom ruled the world, Then Medo-Persia’s banners were unfurled; And after Greece held universal sway, Rome seized the scepter,—where are we today?

Down in the feet of iron and of clay, Weak and divided, soon to pass away; What will the next great, glorious drama be?— Christ and His coming, and eternity.

F. E. BELDEN.

The Gospel Of The Kingdom

Jerusalem And The Mount Of Olives. "In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom." Dan. 2:44.

1. What gospel did Jesus preach?

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching _the gospel of the kingdom_.” Matt. 4:23.

2. How extensively did He say this should be preached?

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached _in all the world_ for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt. 24:14.

3. What shows that it has always been God’s purpose that all the world should hear the gospel?

“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and _in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed_.” Gen. 12:1-3. “And the Scripture, _foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith_, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Gal. 3:8.

4. How did God warn Israel against formalism?

“Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their _mouth_, and with their _lips_ do honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men: therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people: ... for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” Isa. 29:13, 14.

5. What shows that they had substituted the ritual service of the temple for heart service?

“Thus saith the Lord, ... Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. _Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these._” Jer. 7:3, 4.

6. What national disaster did they bring upon themselves by their apostasy from God?

“So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, _who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression_.” 1 Chron. 9:1.

NOTE.—From the earliest times it has been God’s purpose that those who receive the gospel should make it known to others. For this purpose He chose a special people and established them in Palestine, in the highway of the nations; but they shut up the revelation of the truth to themselves, and so lost it. A few, like Daniel and his companions, maintained a personal connection with God, although surrounded by spiritual declension and dry formalism, and so were chosen by God to carry out His plan that the gospel of the kingdom should be preached in Babylon. They were tested and trained in Babylon, as shown in the first chapter of Daniel, and then, being ready to make known the gospel, the way providentially opened for them by the dream of Nebuchadnezzar.

7. In interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, what kingdom did Daniel say would follow the four world empires?

“And in the days of these kings shall _the God of heaven set up a kingdom_, which shall never be destroyed.” Dan. 2:44.

8. What was this kingdom to do to the other kingdoms?

“The kingdom shall not be left to other people, but _it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms_.” Same verse.

9. How long is this kingdom to continue?

“And it shall _stand forever_.” Same verse, last clause.

10. What words of Christ imply the gospel’s final triumph?

“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and _the gates of hell shall not prevail against it_.” Matt. 16:18.

NOTE.—Anciently the gates to cities were places for holding courts, transacting business, and deliberating on public matters. The word gates, therefore, is used for counsels, designs, machinations, and evil purposes. The gates of hell mean the plottings, stratagems, and designs of Satan to overthrow the church. But none of these are to prevail.

11. What promises to David will thus be fulfilled?

“Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever: ... thy throne shall be established forever.” 2 Sam. 7:16.

NOTE.—By uniting His divinity with humanity in becoming the Son of David, Christ laid the foundation upon which He built His church, and thus established the house of David forever. The kingdom of God, the house of David, and the church of Christ are so inseparably connected in this prophecy that the establishment of either involves the establishment of the other two.

12. Through whom are these promises to be fulfilled?

“He shall be great, and shall be called _the Son of the Highest_: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:32, 33.

13. In order to fulfil these promises, whose son did the Son of God become?

“The son of _David_.” Matt. 22:42.

14. What is this union of divinity and humanity called?

“And without controversy great is _the mystery of godliness_: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1 Tim. 3:16.

15. What did Jesus call this same mystery?

“And He said unto them, Unto you it is given to know _the mystery of the kingdom of God_: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables.” Mark 4:11.

16. In what confession did the wise men of Babylon deny any knowledge of this essential doctrine of Christianity?

“And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except _the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh_.” Dan. 2:11.

NOTE.—The union of the divine and human in the person of Christ is “the mystery of godliness,” or “the mystery of the kingdom of God.” In the case of the seed which is sown in the field, this same principle is illustrated by the union of the reproducing power with the material form. As the seed is thus capable of multiplying itself, so Christ reproduces His own character in believers, by making them partakers of the divine nature. At His coming He bestows upon the subjects of the kingdom the gift of immortality (1 Cor. 15:51-53), and so the kingdom will stand forever. It is quite likely that the wise men of Babylon did not understand about the incarnation of God in the flesh in the coming Messiah, but in their statement that the dwelling of the gods was not with flesh they announced the fundamental error of Babylon, both ancient and modern, and really denied the vital principle of Christianity. This was the essential secret, or mystery, of the kingdom of God, which needed to be known in Babylon, and which is still to be proclaimed throughout the world.

17. Concerning what did Daniel and his companions pray?

“Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven _concerning this secret_.” Verses 17, 18.

18. What would have been the result of failure on their part to obtain a knowledge of this mystery?

“That Daniel and his fellows should not _perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon_.” Verse 18, last part.

19. How was the secret concerning the king’s dream revealed, and thus the mystery of the kingdom of God made known in Babylon?

“Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel _in a night-vision_. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” Verse 19.

NOTE.—The most vital truth of the gospel of the kingdom of God was denied in the religion of Babylon. This made it necessary that this very truth should be preached in Babylon. This mystery of the kingdom of God was the real and essential secret which the wise men of Babylon could not make known to the king, and which could be learned only by revelation. This is the mystery which “from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God” (Eph. 3:9); and the “riches of the glory of this mystery” is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27), or “the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19).

20. How did Nebuchadnezzar acknowledge God as the revealer, and thus Daniel’s intimate fellowship with Him?

“The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that _your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret_.” Verse 47.

21. When the gospel of the kingdom has been fully preached, and Christ appears as King, what invitation will be extended to those who have learned “the mystery of the kingdom”?

“When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations.... Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, _Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world_.” Matt. 25:31-34.

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Thy kingdom come. Thus day by day We lift our hands to God, and pray; But who has ever duly weighed The meaning of the words He said?

Four Great Monarchies

Isaiah’s Vision Of The Ruins Of Babylon. "And the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." Dan. 2:45.

1. At what time was Daniel’s second vision given?

“_In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon_ Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.” Dan. 7:1.

NOTE.—That is, in the first year of Belshazzar’s office as associate king with his father Nabonadius, or 540 B.C.

2. What effect did this dream have upon Daniel?

“I Daniel was _grieved in my spirit_ in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head _troubled me_.” Verse 15.

NOTE.—The effect of Daniel’s dream upon him, it will be noticed, was similar to the effect of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams upon him; it troubled him. See Dan. 2:1.

3. What did Daniel ask of one of the heavenly attendants who stood by him in his dream?

“I came near unto one of them that stood by, _and asked him the truth of all this_. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.” Verse 16.

4. What did the prophet see in this vision?

“Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, _the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea_.” Verse 2.

5. What was the result of this strife?

“And _four great beasts came up from the sea_, diverse one from another.” Verse 3.

The Four Beasts Of Daniel 7. "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth." Dan. 7:17.

6. What did these four beasts represent?

“These great beasts, which are four, are _four kings, which shall arise out of the earth_.” Verse 17.

NOTE.—The word kings here, as in Dan. 2:44, denotes kingdoms, as explained in verses 23 and 24 of the seventh chapter, the two words being used interchangeably in this prophecy.

7. In symbolic language, what is represented by winds?

Strife, war, commotion. See Jer. 25:31-33; 49:36, 37.

NOTE.—That winds denote strife and war is evident from the vision itself. As a result of the striving of the winds, kingdoms rise and fall.

8. What, in prophecy, is symbolized by waters?

“And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest ... are _peoples_, and _multitudes_, and _nations_, and _tongues_.” Rev. 17:15.

NOTE.—In the second chapter of Daniel, under the figure of an image of man, the mere political outline of the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms is given, preceding the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom. In the seventh chapter, earthly governments, are represented as viewed in the light of Heaven,—under the symbols of wild and ferocious beasts,—the last, in particular, oppressing and persecuting the saints of the Most High. Hence the change in the symbols used to represent these kingdoms.

9. What was the first beast like?

“_The first was like a lion_, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.” Dan. 7:4.

NOTE.—The lion, the first of these four great beasts, like the golden head of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, represents the Babylonian monarchy; the lion, the king of beasts, standing at the head of his kind, as gold does of metals. The eagle’s wings doubtless denote the rapidity with which Babylon extended its conquests under Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned from B.C. 604 to B.C. 561. This kingdom was overthrown by the Medes and Persians in B.C. 538.

10. By what was the second kingdom symbolized?

“And behold another beast, _a second, like to a bear_, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.” Verse 5.

NOTE.—“This was the _Medo-Persian_ Empire, represented here under the symbol of a _bear_.... The Medes and Persians are compared to a bear on account of their _cruelty and thirst after blood_, a bear being a most voracious and cruel animal.”—_Adam Clarke, on Dan. 7:5._

11. By what was the third universal empire symbolized?

“After this I beheld, and lo another, _like a leopard_, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.” Verse 6.

NOTES.—If the wings of an eagle on the back of a lion denoted rapidity of movement in the Babylonian, or Assyrian, Empire (see Hab. 1:6-8), four wings on the leopard must denote unparalleled celerity of movement in the Grecian Empire. This we find to be historically true.

“The rapidity of Alexander’s conquests in Asia was marvelous: he burst like a torrent on the expiring Persian Empire, and all opposition was useless. The gigantic armies collected to oppose him melted like snow in the sunshine. The battles of Granicus, B.C. 334, Issus in the following year, and Arbela in B.C. 331, settled the fate of the Persian Empire, and established the wide dominion of the Greeks.”—_“__The Divine Program of the World’s History,__”__ by H. Grattan Guinness, page 308._

“The beast had also four heads.” The Grecian Empire maintained its unity but a short time after the death of Alexander, which occurred in B.C. 323. Within twenty-two years after the close of his brilliant career, or by B.C. 301, the empire was divided among his four leading generals. Cassander took Macedonia and Greece in the west; Lysimachus had Thrace and the parts of Asia on the Hellespont and Bosporus in the north; Ptolemy received Egypt, Lydia, Arabia, Palestine, and Cœle-Syria in the south; and Seleucus had all the rest of Alexander’s dominions in the east.

12. How was the fourth kingdom represented?

“After, this I saw in the night-visions, and behold _a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth_: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; _and it had ten horns_.” Verse 7.

13. What was the fourth beast declared to be?

“Thus he said, _The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth_, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” Verse 23.

NOTES.—“This is allowed on all hands to be the Roman Empire. It was _dreadful_, _terrible_, and _exceeding strong_; ... and became, in effect, what the Roman writers delight to call it, the _empire of the whole world_.”—_Adam Clarke, on Dan. 7:7._

The final overthrow of the Greeks, by the Romans, was at the battle of Pydna, in 168 B.C.

14. What was denoted by the ten horns?

“And the ten horns out of this kingdom are _ten kings that shall arise_.” Verse 24.

NOTES.—The Roman Empire was broken up into ten kingdoms between the years 351 A.D. and 476 A.D.

“The historian Machiavelli, without the slightest reference to this prophecy, gives the following list of the nations which occupied the territory of the Western Empire at the time of the fall of Romulus Augustulus (476 A.D.), the last emperor of Rome: The Lombards, the Franks, the Burgundians, the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals, the Heruh, the Suevi, the Huns, and the Saxons: ten in all.

“Amidst unceasing and almost countless fluctuations, the kingdoms of modern Europe have from their birth to the present day _averaged_ ten in number. They have never since the breaking up of old Rome been united into one single empire; they have never formed _one whole_ even like the United States. No scheme of proud ambition seeking to reunite the broken fragments has ever succeeded; when such have arisen, they have been invariably dashed to pieces.

“And the division is as apparent now as ever. Plainly and palpably inscribed on the map of Europe this day, it confronts the skeptic with its silent but conclusive testimony to the fulfilment of this great prophecy. Who can alter or add to this tenfold list of the kingdoms now occupying the sphere of old Rome? _Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France, Germany, England, Holland, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal_—ten, and no more; ten, and no less.”—_“__The Divine Program of the World’s History,__”__ by H. Grattan Guinness, pages 318-321._

15. What change did Daniel see take place in these horns?

“I considered the horns, and, behold, _there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots_: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Verse 8.

16. What inquiry on the part of Daniel shows that the fourth beast, and especially the little horn phase of it, constitutes the leading feature of this vision?

“Then _I would know the truth of the fourth beast_, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; _and of the ten horns_ that were in his head, and _of the other which came up_, and _before whom three fell_; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.” Verses 19, 20.

17. When was the little horn to arise?

“And another shall rise _after them_.” Verse 24.

NOTE.—The ten horns, as already shown, arose when Rome, the fourth kingdom, was divided into ten kingdoms. This division was completed in A.D. 476. The little-horn power was to arise after them.

18. What was to be the character of the little horn?

“And he shall be _diverse_ from the first, and he shall _subdue three kings_.” Same verse, last part.

NOTES.—That power which arose in the Roman Empire after the fall of Rome in A.D. 476, which was entirely different from all the ten kingdoms into which Rome was divided (for it demanded and exercised spiritual power over the other kingdoms), and before whom three of the other kings—the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths—fell, was the Papacy.

Having located the place and the time of the kingdom of the little horn, the study of its character and work will be considered in the readings which follow.

The Kingdom And Work Of Antichrist

The Papal Tiara. "He shall speak great words against the Most High." Dan. 7:25.

1. What is said of the little horn as compared with the ten horns of the fourth beast of Daniel 7?

“He shall be _diverse_ from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.” Dan. 7:24.

NOTE.—The Papacy, which arose on the ruins of the Roman Empire, differed from all previous forms of Roman power, in that it was an ecclesiastical despotism claiming universal dominion over both spiritual and temporal affairs, especially the former. It was a union of church and state, with the church dominant.

2. What attitude of rivalry was the Papacy, represented by the little horn, to assume toward the Most High?

“And he shall _speak great words against the Most High_.” Verse 25, first clause.

3. How does Paul, speaking of the man of sin, describe this same power?

“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thess. 2:4.

NOTES.—The following extracts from authoritative works, most of them by Roman Catholic writers, will indicate to what extent the Papacy has done this:—

“All the names which are attributed to Christ in Scripture, implying His supremacy over the church, are also attributed to the Pope.”—_Bellarmine, __“__On the Authority of Councils__”__ book 2, chap. 17._

“For thou art the shepherd, thou art the physician, thou art the director, thou art the husbandman; finally thou art another God on earth.”—_From Oration of Christopher Marcellus in fourth session of Fifth Lateran Council, Labbe and Cossart’s __“__History of the Councils,__”__ published in 1672, Vol. XIV, col. 109._

“For not man, but God, not by human but rather by divine authority, releases those whom, on account of the need of the churches or what is regarded as a benefit, the Roman pontiff (who is vicegerent on earth, not of mere man, but of the true God) separates [from their churches].”—_“__The Decretals of Gregory IX,__”__ book 1, title 7, chap. 3._

“The Pope is the supreme judge of the law of the land. He is the vicegerent of Christ, who is not only a priest forever, but also King of kings and Lord of lords.”—_From the Civilta Cattolica, March 18, 1871, quoted in __“__Vatican Council,__”__ by Leonard Woolsey Bacon, American Tract Society edition, page 220._

“Christ entrusted His office to the chief pontiff; ... but all power in heaven and in earth has been given to Christ; ... therefore the chief pontiff, who is His vicar, will have this power.”—_Gloss on the __“__Extravagantes Communes,__”__ book 1, __“__On Authority and Obedience,__”__ chap. 1, on words Porro Subesse Romano Pontiff. Canon law, published in 1556, Vol. III, __“__Extravagantes Communes,__”__ col. 29._

“Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven, and earth, and purgatory (_Infernorum_).”—_“__Prompta Bibliotheca,__”__ Ferraris, Vol. VI, page 26, article __“__Papa__”__ (the Pope)._

“The decision of the Pope and the decision of God constitute one decision, just as the opinion of the Pope and his disciple are the same. Since, therefore, an appeal is always taken from an inferior judge to a superior, as no one is greater than himself, so no appeal holds when made from the Pope to God, because there is one consistory of the Pope himself and of God Himself, of which consistory the Pope himself is the key-bearer and the doorkeeper. Therefore no one can appeal from the Pope to God, as no one can enter into the consistory of God without the mediation of the Pope, who is the key-bearer and the doorkeeper of the consistory of eternal life; and as no one can appeal to himself, so no one can appeal from the Pope to God, because there is one decision and one curia [court] of God and of the Pope.”—_Writings of Augustinus de Ancona, printed without title-page or pagination, Ques. VI, __“__On an Appeal From the Decision of the Pope.__”_

“All the faithful of Christ must believe that the Holy Apostolic See and the Roman pontiff possesses the primacy over the whole world, and that the Roman pontiff is the successor of the blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, and is true vicar of Christ, and the head of the whole church, and father and teacher of all Christians, and that full power was given him in blessed Peter to rule, feed, and govern the universal church by Jesus Christ our Lord.”—_“__Petri Privilegium,__”__ in section on __“__The Vatican Council and Its Definitions,__”__ by Henry Edward Manning, archbishop of Westminster (Roman Catholic), London, Longmans, Green & Co., 1871, page 214._

“We teach and define that it is a dogma divinely revealed; that the Roman pontiff, when he speaks _ex cathedra_, that is, when in the discharge of the office of Pastor and Doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme apostolic authority he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal church, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed that His church should be endowed for defining doctrine regarding faith or morals; and that therefore such definitions of the Roman pontiff are irreformable of themselves, and not from the consent of the church.”—_Id., page 218._

“Should Jesus Christ come in person from heaven into a church to administer the sacrament of reconciliation, and should He say to a penitent, ‘I absolve thee,’ and should a priest sitting at His side in the tribunal of penance pronounce over a penitent the selfsame words, ‘I absolve thee,’ there is no question that in the latter case, as in the former, the penitent would be equally loosed from his sin.”—_“__Jesus Living in the Priest,__”__ by the Rev. P. Millet, S. J., English translation by the Rt. Rev. Thomas Sebastian Byrne, D. D., bishop of Nashville; New York, Benziger Brothers, printers to the Holy Apostolic See, 1901, pages 23, 24. Imprimatur, Michael Augustine, archbishop of New York._

Among the twenty-seven propositions known as the “Dictates of Hildebrand,” who, under the name of Gregory VII, was Pope from 1073-87, occur the following:—

“2. That the Roman pontiff alone is justly styled universal.

“6. That no person ... may live under the same roof with one excommunicated by the Pope.

“9. That all princes should kiss his feet only.

“12. That it is lawful for him to depose emperors.

“18. That his sentence is not to be reviewed by any one; while he alone can review the decisions of all others.

“19. That he can be judged by no one.

“22. That the Romish Church never erred, nor will it, according to the Scriptures, ever err.

“26. That no one is to be accounted a Catholic who does not harmonize with the Romish Church.

“27. That he can absolve subjects from their allegiance to unrighteous rulers.”—_Annals of Baronius, 1076, Vol. XI, col. 506. See Gieseler’s __“__Ecclesiastical History,__”__ third period, div. 3, par. 47, note 3; and Mosheim’s __“__Ecclesiastical History,__”__ book 3, cen. 11, part 2, chap. 2, par. 9, note._

“They have assumed infallibility, which belongs only to God. They profess to forgive sins, which belongs only to God. They profess to open and shut heaven, which belongs only to God. They profess to be higher than all the kings of the earth, which belongs only to God. And they go beyond God in pretending to loose whole nations from their oath of allegiance to their kings, when such kings do not please them. And they go _against_ God, when they give _indulgences for sin_. This is the _worst_ of all blasphemies.”—_Adam Clarke, on Dan. 7:25._

4. How was the little horn to treat God’s people?

“And shall _wear out the saints_ of the Most High.” Dan. 7:25.

NOTES.—“Under these bloody maxims [previously mentioned], those persecutions were carried on, from the eleventh and twelfth centuries almost to the present day, which stand out on the page of history. After the signal of open martyrdom had been given in the canons of Orleans, there followed the extirpation of the Albigenses under the form of a crusade, the establishment of the Inquisition, the cruel attempts to extinguish the Waldenses, the martyrdoms of the Lollards, the cruel wars to exterminate the Bohemians, the burning of Huss and Jerome, and multitudes of other confessors, before the Reformation; and afterwards, the ferocious cruelties practised in the Netherlands, the martyrdoms of Queen Mary’s reign, the extinction by fire and sword of the Reformation in Spain and Italy, by fraud and open persecution in Poland, the massacre of Bartholomew, the persecution of the Huguenots by the League, the extirpation of the Vaudois, and all the cruelties and prejudices connected with the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. These are the more open and conspicuous facts which explain the prophecy, besides the slow and secret murders of the holy tribunal of the Inquisition.”—_“__The First Two Visions of Daniel,__”__ Rev. T. R. Birks, M. A., London, 1845, pages 248, 249._

A detailed summary of the number of the victims of the Inquisition in Spain, under each Inquisitor-General, is given in “The History of the Inquisition in Spain,” by Llorente, formerly secretary of the Inquisition, pages 206-208. According to this authority the number who were condemned and perished in the flames is 31,912.

“The church has persecuted. Only a tyro in church history will deny that.... One hundred and fifty years after Constantine the Donatists were persecuted, and sometimes put to death.... Protestants were persecuted in France and Spain with the full approval of the church authorities. We have always defended the persecution of the Huguenots, and the Spanish Inquisition. Wherever and whenever there is honest Catholicity, there will be a clear distinction drawn between truth and error, and Catholicity and all forms of error. When she thinks it good to use physical force, she will use it.”—_The Western Watchman (Roman Catholic), of St. Louis, Dec. 24, 1908._

5. What else does the prophecy say the little horn would do?

“And he shall _think to change the times and the law_.” Dan. 7:25, third clause, R. V.

NOTES.—“The little horn, further, shall think to change times. The description applies, in all its force, to the systematic perversion of God’s words by which all promises of millennial glory are wrested from their true sense, and referred to the dominion and grandeur of the Church of Rome. The orator of the Pope, for instance, in the Lateran Council, declares that in the submission of all nations to Leo the prophecy was fulfilled: ‘All kings shall fall down and worship Him; all nations shall serve and obey Him.’ The same antichristian feature appears in those advocates of the Papacy who would clear it from the guilt of actual idolatry, because ‘it is part of that church from which the idols are utterly abolished.’ Thus are the times changed; but only in the vain ‘thoughts’ of dreamers who see false visions and divine lying divinations; because the visible glory of Christ’s kingdom remains still to be revealed.”—_“__The First Two Visions of Daniel,__”__ Rev. T. R. Birks, M. A., London, 1845, pages 257, 258._

Although the ten commandments, the law of God, are found in the Roman Catholic versions of the Scriptures, as they were originally given, yet the faithful are instructed from the catechisms of the church, and not directly from the Bible. As it appears in these, the law of God has been changed and virtually reenacted by the Papacy. Furthermore, communicants not only receive the law from the church, but they deal with the church concerning any alleged infractions of that law, and when they have satisfied the ecclesiastical authorities, the whole matter is settled.

The second commandment, which forbids the making of, and bowing down to, images, is omitted in Catholic catechisms, and the tenth, which forbids coveting, is divided into two.

As evidence of the change which has been made in the law of God by the papal power, and that it acknowledges the change and claims the authority to make it, note the following from Roman Catholic publications:—

“_Question._—Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?

“_Answer._—Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her,—she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.”—_“__A Doctrinal Catechism,__”__ Rev. Stephen Keenan, page 174. Imprimatur, John Cardinal McCloskey, archbishop of New York._

“_Ques._—How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days?

“_Ans._—By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church.

“_Ques._—How prove you that?

“_Ans._—Because by keeping Sunday they acknowledge the church’s power to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin: and by not keeping the rest by her commanded, they deny again, in fact, the same power.”—_“__An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine,__”__ composed in 1649, by Rev. Henry Tuberville, D. D., of the English College of Douay; New York, John Doyle, 1883, page 58._

“Is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday, to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.”—_“__The Faith of Our Fathers,__”__ by James Cardinal Gibbons, Baltimore, John Murphy & Co., 1893, page 111._

All Roman Catholic writers agree in this teaching. See page 441.

6. Until what time were the saints, times, and laws of the Most High to be given into the hands of the little horn?

“And they shall be given into his hand _until a time and times and the dividing of time_.” Dan. 7:25, last clause.

7. In what other prophecies is this same period mentioned?

“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for _a time, and times, and half a time_, from the face of the serpent.” Rev. 12:14. “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue [margin, to make war] _forty and two months_.” Rev. 13:5. See also Rev. 11:2. “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there _a thousand two hundred and threescore days_.” Rev. 12:6.

8. In symbolic prophecy what length of time is represented by a day?

“After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, _each day for a year_, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years.” Num. 14:34. See Eze. 4:6.

NOTES.—A time in prophecy being the same as a year (see Dan. 11:13, margin, and R. V.), three and one-half times would be three and a half years, or forty-two months, or twelve hundred and sixty days, since the calendar year of 360 days, or twelve months of thirty days each, is used in prophetic chronology. As each day represents a year, the period, the end of which was to mark the limit of the time of the supremacy of the little horn, the Papacy, over the saints, times, and the law, would therefore be twelve hundred and sixty years.

The decree of the emperor Justinian, issued in A.D. 533, recognized the Pope as “head of all the holy churches.” (Justinian’s Code, book 1, title 1. Baronius’s Annals, A.D. 533.) The overwhelming defeat of the Ostrogoths in the siege of Rome, five years later, A.D. 538, was a death-blow to the independence of the Arian power then ruling Italy, and was therefore a notable date in the development of papal supremacy. With the period 533-538, then, commences the twelve hundred and sixty years of this prophecy, which would extend to the period 1793-1798. The year 1793 was the year of the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution, and the year when the Roman Catholic religion was set aside in France and the worship of reason was established in its stead. As a direct result of the revolt against papal authority in the French Revolution, the French army, under Berthier, entered Rome, and the Pope was taken prisoner Feb. 10, 1798, dying in exile at Valence, France, the following year. This period, 1793-1798, during which this death-stroke was inflicted upon the Papacy, fittingly and clearly marks the close of the long prophetic period mentioned in this prophecy. Any standard history of the time may be consulted in substantiation of the facts here stated.

9. What will finally be done with the dominion exercised by the little horn?

“But the judgment shall sit, and they shall _take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end_.” Dan. 7:26.

10. To whom will the dominion finally be given?

“And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given _to the people of the saints of the Most High_, whose kingdom is _an everlasting kingdom_, and _all dominions_ shall serve and obey Him.” Verse 27.

NOTE.—Here, as in the second chapter of Daniel, the announcement of the setting up of the everlasting kingdom of God in the earth includes a brief outline of the history of this world; and the prophecies of Daniel concerning the powers that would oppose the purpose of God, furnish additional features of this outline. The exact fulfilment of this outline in the history of the world since the time of Nebuchadnezzar constitutes an unimpeachable testimony to the inspiration of these prophecies, and furnishes a ground of confidence that the unfulfilled portion of the prophecies will be wrought out in the future with absolute certainty and in every detail.

The Vicar Of Christ

St. Peter’s And The Vatican. "He as God sitteth in the temple of God." 2 Thess. 2:4.

1. What appeared unto Daniel in 538 B.C., the same year in which Babylon fell?

“In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a _vision_ appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.” Dan. 8:1.

2. Where was Daniel at this time?

“And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was _at Shushan_ in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.” Verse 2.

3. What first attracted the prophet’s attention?

“Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river _a ram_ which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.” Verse 3.

4. What power was represented by the ram having two horns?

“The ram which thou sawest having two horns are _the kings of Media and Persia_.” Verse 20.

5. How are the rise and work of this power described?

“I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and _became great_.” Verse 4.

6. What symbol was next introduced in the vision?

“And as I was considering, behold, _an he goat_ came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.” Verse 5.

7. What did the goat with the notable horn represent?

“And the rough goat is _the king of Grecia_: and the great horn that is between his eyes is _the first king_.” Verse 21.

8. How was the conquest of Medo-Persia by Grecia foretold in this symbolic prophecy?

“And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and _smote the ram, and brake his two horns_: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.” Verse 7.

9. When the he goat “was strong,” what occurred?

“Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, _the great horn was broken_; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.” Verse 8.

10. Who was represented by “the great horn,” and what followed when it was broken?

“And the rough goat is the king [kingdom] of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is _the first king_. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, _four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation_, but not in his power.” Verses 21, 22.

NOTES.—From the interpretation given, it is plain that the notable “horn” upon the he goat represented Alexander the Great, who led the Grecian forces in their conquest of Medo-Persia. Upon the death of Alexander at Babylon, B.C. 323, there followed a brief period of confusion in the struggle for the kingdom, but the succession was definitely determined by the battle of Ipsus, B.C. 301. Alexander’s four leading generals—Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus—became his successors.

“The vast empire created by Alexander’s unparalleled conquests was distracted by the wranglings and wars of his successors, and before the close of the fourth century before Christ, had become broken up into many fragments. Besides minor states, four well-defined and important monarchies rose out of the ruins.... Their rulers were Lysimachus, Cassander, Seleucus Nicator, and Ptolemy, who had each assumed the title of king. The great horn was broken; and instead of it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.”—_Myers’s __“__History of Greece,__”__ page 457, edition 1902._

11. What came out of one of the four horns of the goat?

“And out of one of them came forth a _little horn_, which waxed _exceeding great_, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.” Verse 9.

12. What interpretation is given to this little horn?

“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, _a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up_.” Verse 23.

13. What did this little horn do to the people of God?

“And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and _it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them_.” Verse 10.

14. In what literal language is this persecution of the people of God further described?

“And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.” Verse 24.

15. How was this little horn to exalt itself against Christ and His mediatorial work?

“Yea, it magnified itself, even to the Prince of the host, and _it took away from Him the continual burnt offering_, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.” Verse 11, R. V.

16. In the interpretation of the vision, how is this self-exaltation set forth?

“And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and _he shall magnify himself in his heart_, and by peace shall destroy many: _he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes_; but he shall be broken without hand.” Verse 25.

17. What similar language is used by the apostle Paul in describing the “mystery of iniquity,” or “man of sin”?

“That day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; _who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God_.” 2 Thess. 2:3, 4.

NOTE.—The last two scriptures evidently describe one and the same power,—a power which, while religious and professedly Christian, is anti-christian in spirit, and the very “man of sin” himself. Possessed with the selfish ambition of Lucifer (Isa. 14:12-14; Eze. 28:17), he assumes to occupy the very seat and place of Deity in the temple of God. Professing to be Christ’s vicar, or personal representative on earth, he magnifies himself against Christ, and “stands up,” or reigns, in the place of, and “against,” the Prince of princes.

18. What was given into the hands of the power represented by the little horn?

“And _the host_ was given over to it together with _the continual burnt offering_ through transgression.” Dan. 8:12, first clause, R. V.

19. What did this power do to the truth?

“And _it cast down truth to the ground_, and it did its pleasure and prospered.” Same verse, last clause, R. V.

NOTES.—The interpretation already given to this vision shows plainly that the power represented by the little horn is the successor of Medo-Persia and Grecia. In the vision of the seventh chapter of Daniel, which is closely related to this vision, the fourth beast represented the fourth kingdom, or Rome, in its entirety, special attention, however, being given to the “little horn” phase of its history. As shown by the work attributed to it, this little horn, which arose among the ten kingdoms into which Rome was divided, was to be a religio-political power, which was to change the times and law of God, and persecute the people of God. In the vision of the eighth chapter the ecclesiastical features of this fourth world power are especially noticed and emphasized, and hence the only symbol there used to represent it is the “little horn” which waxed “exceeding great.”

The religion of all the four great monarchies mentioned in these prophecies was paganism; but the paganism of ancient Babylon was reproduced in pagan Rome, and then adapted and adopted by papal Rome. The little horn of the eighth chapter represents Rome, both pagan and papal, in its ecclesiastical aspect, with its union of paganism, and later of apostate Christianity, with the secular power; with its antichristian persecutions of the saints of God; with its perversion of the priesthood of Christ; and with its assertion of both temporal and spiritual power over all the world. It is evident that pagan Rome is introduced into this prophecy chiefly as a means of locating the place and work of papal Rome, and the ecclesiastical features of pagan Rome as typical of the same features accentuated in papal Rome, and that the emphasis is to be placed upon the fulfilment of the prophecy in the work of papal Rome. A careful comparison of Dan. 7:21, 25, with Dan. 8:10-12, R. V., and 2 Thess. 2:3, 4, will amply justify this conclusion.

“The Romans could not forget—never did forget—that they had once been masters and rulers of the world. Even after they had become wholly unfit to rule themselves, let alone the ruling of others, they still retained the temper and used the language of masters.... In the absence of an emperor in the West the popes rapidly gained influence and power, and soon built up an ecclesiastical empire that in some respects took the place of the old empire and carried on its civilizing work.”—_Myers’s __“__Rome; Its Rise and Fall,__”__ Boston, 1900, pages 398, 399, 442, 443._

The host and the stars of Dan. 8:10 are the same as the saints of the Most High of Dan. 7:25; and the Prince of the host of Dan. 8:11 is the Prince of princes, or Christ. When the same being appeared to Joshua (Joshua 5:13-15, margin), He applies the same expression to Himself.

In Dan. 8:11-13, in the Revised Version, the words “burnt offering” have been supplied by the translators after the word “continual,” but this rendering seems to place too restricted a meaning upon the word “continual.” The fact that no word is connected with “continual” in the original text, although in the typical service of the sanctuary it is used with “burnt offering” (Ex. 29:42), with “incense” (Ex. 30:8, here rendered perpetual), and with “showbread” (Num. 4:7), indicates that that which is continual represents the _continual service or mediation of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary_, in which all that was continual in the typical service found its antitype and fulfilment. See Heb. 6:19, 20; 7:1-3, 14-16, 23-25. The action which made the Pope the vicar of God and the high priest of the apostasy, really took away from Christ, as far as human intent and power were concerned, his place and work as the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5), and this took away from Him, as far as man could take it away, the continual mediation, according to the prediction in this prophecy.

The prophecies of Daniel are cumulative and widening in their view, each carrying matters farther than the preceding one, and bringing out more explicitly and more in detail important features down the stream of time. In Daniel 2, under the fourth universal kingdom, the Papacy is not represented under any direct symbol or figure at all,—simply Rome in its united and divided state; in Daniel 7 Rome is symbolized by the “little horn” coming up among the ten horns representing the divided state of Rome; while in Daniel 8 the only figure used to represent the fourth world power is the “little horn” which waxed “exceeding great.”

In each of these last two chapters the little horn is introduced to tell especially of the workings of the same terrible power—Rome papal. Both chapters deal with the same great apostasy. In the seventh chapter, the little horn takes away _the law of God_. In the eighth chapter, it takes away _the gospel_. Had it taken away only the law, this would have vitiated the gospel; for, with the law of God gone, even the _true_ gospel could not save, because the law is needed to convict and give a knowledge of sin. And had the Papacy taken away only the gospel, and left the law, salvation through such a system would still have been impossible, for there is no salvation for sinners through even the law of God itself apart from Christ and the gospel. But to make apostasy doubly sure, this power changes, vitiates, and takes away both the _law_ and the _gospel._

In changing the Sabbath, the Papacy struck directly at the very heart and seal of the law of God, just as in substituting its own mediatorial system for that of Christ’s it struck directly at the heavenly sanctuary and its service, which, in his epistle to the Hebrews, Paul shows to be the very heart and essence of the gospel.

20. What question was asked in the hearing of the prophet?

“Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, _How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice_, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot?” Dan. 8:13.

21. What answer was addressed to Daniel?

“And he said unto me, _Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed_.” Verse 14.

NOTE.—In verse 13, R. V., the vision is clearly defined. It is “the vision concerning the continual burnt offering [or continual mediation], and the transgression that maketh desolate,” which results in giving both the sanctuary and the people of God to be trodden underfoot. The time when the vision was to have its special application is stated in verse 17 to be “at the time of the end,” or in the last days. This is additional proof that this prophecy was to find its complete fulfilment in papal Rome only, as pagan Rome passed away many centuries ago. The sanctuary and the twenty-three-hundred-day period here referred to are considered at length in succeeding readings. See pages 230, 238.

22. What prophetic period begins at the time when the continual mediation of Christ was taken away by the Papacy?

“And from the time that the continual burnt offering shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be _a thousand two hundred and ninety days_.” Dan. 12:11, R. V.

NOTES.—Inasmuch as the taking away of the continual mediation of Christ is made the beginning of a prophetic period, there must be some definite act at some definite time which, in form and intent, takes from Christ His priestly work in the heavenly sanctuary. This act was the official decree of an ecclesiastical council held at Rome in 503 A.D., by which it was declared “that the Pope was judge as God’s vicar, and could himself be judged by no one.” See Hardouin’s “Councils,” Vol. II, page 983; Labbe and Cossart’s “Councils,” Vol. IV, col. 1364; and Bower’s “History of the Popes” (three-volume edition), Vol. I, pages 304, 305. The work of Clovis, king of the Franks, who earned for himself the title of “the eldest son of the church” by his campaigns to subdue the kingdoms hostile to the Papacy, contributed much toward putting into practical effect this claim of the Papacy, which finally resulted in establishing the Pope as the head of the Roman priesthood which has usurped the priestly work of Christ, and has established another system of mediation in its place. This work of Clovis came to its climax in the period 503-508, and this period therefore becomes the natural one from which to date the 1290 years of Dan. 12:11, which would accordingly end in the period 1793-98, at the same time as the 1260 years of Dan. 7:25. See notes on page 223.

“With Rome would have fallen her bishop, had he not, as if by anticipation of the crisis, reserved till this hour the master-stroke of his policy. He now boldly cast himself upon an element of much greater strength than that of which the political convulsions of the time had deprived him; namely, that the bishop of Rome is the successor of Peter, the prince of the apostles, and, in virtue of being so, is Christ’s vicar on earth. In making this claim, the Roman pontiffs vaulted at once over the throne of kings to the seat of gods: Rome became once more the mistress of the world, and her popes the rulers of the earth.”—_“__The Papacy__”__ by J. A. Wylie, page 34._

23. What assurance was given to Daniel concerning the period of time mentioned in verse 14?

“And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told _is true_; wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.” Dan. 8:26.

NOTES.—By the expression “the vision of the evening and the morning” reference is made to the vision concerning the twenty-three hundred days, as may be seen by referring to the marginal readings of Dan. 8:14.

The interpretation of the vision of chapter 8 closes without making any explanation of the long period of time which was mentioned to Daniel in the answer to the question, “How long shall be the vision?” This important feature was left to be interpreted later. See next reading.

A Great Prophetic Period. (The 2300 Days of Daniel 8.) Or The Time Of Restoration And Of Judgment

Artaxerxes Restoring The Vessels Of The Temple. "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Dan. 8:14.

1. Immediately after the vision of Daniel 8, what did Daniel learn from his study of the prophecy of Jeremiah?

“In the first year of Darius ... _I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem_.” Dan. 9:1, 2.

NOTE.—The first deportation to Babylon, when Daniel and his companions were carried captive, was in B.C. 606, and the seventy years of Jeremiah’s prophecy would therefore expire in B.C. 536. The first year of Darius was B.C. 538, and the restoration period was therefore only two years distant from that time.

2. What did this nearness of the time of restoration from captivity lead Daniel to do?

“And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.” Verse 3.

3. What urgent petition of the prophet connects this prayer with the vision of the taking away of the continual mediation and the desolation of the sanctuary recorded in Daniel 8?

“Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Thy servant, and his supplications, and _cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is desolate_, for the Lord’s sake.” Dan. 9:17.

4. At the conclusion of Daniel’s prayer, what assurance did Gabriel give him?

“And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, _O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding_.” Verse 22.

5. What previous instruction connected with the vision of Daniel 8 was thus being more fully carried out?

“And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, _Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision_.” Dan. 8:16.

6. Why was further instruction concerning this vision necessary?

“And _I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days_; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and _I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it_.” Verse 27.

7. To what did Gabriel now direct Daniel’s attention?

“At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee: for thou art greatly beloved: therefore _understand the matter_, and _consider the vision_.” Dan. 9:23.

NOTES.—There is abundant evidence that the instruction in the ninth chapter of Daniel supplements and interprets the vision of the eighth chapter. Note the following facts:—

(1) Daniel did not understand the vision concerning the treading down of his people and the sanctuary, and therefore searched the prophecies anew concerning the period of captivity.

(2) He evidently made a connection between the period of seventy years mentioned by Jeremiah and the twenty-three hundred days of the vision, and he at once began to pray earnestly for the restoration of the city and the sanctuary.

(3) The angel Gabriel, who appeared to him at the first, and interpreted all the vision with the exception of the twenty-three hundred days, now appears, and again directs his attention to the vision.

(4) The events of the vision begin with the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, the era of the restoration of the Jews to their own land. In the absence of any instruction to the contrary, this would be the natural time in which to locate the beginning of the period of twenty-three hundred days; and this is the very time given for the beginning of the seventy weeks, which are clearly a part of the twenty-three hundred days, and thus determine the time of their commencement.

(5) The seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, extend from the restoration of literal Jerusalem and the literal temple to the preaching of the gospel to all the world. See Acts 15:14-17. This special preaching of the gospel was completed in one generation, and was followed by the destruction of Jerusalem.

(6) The twenty-three hundred prophetic days, or twenty-three hundred literal years, begin at the same time as the four hundred and ninety years, or seventy weeks, or in B.C. 457, when the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem went forth; and extend from the restoration of literal Jerusalem and the typical temple service after the captivity in ancient Babylon, in the time of the Medes and Persians, to 1844 A.D., the time for the restoration of spiritual Jerusalem and of the knowledge of the mediation of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, taken away by the little horn, after the captivity in modern Babylon. This work of restoration is to be accomplished in one generation by preaching the gospel to all the world (Rev. 14:6-12), and this will be followed by the destruction of the world, or fall of all nations, of which the destruction of Jerusalem was a type.

The 2300 Days

The heavy line represents the full 2300 year-day period, the longest prophetic period in the Bible. Beginning in B.C. 457 when the decree was given to restore and build Jerusalem (Ezra 7:11-26; Dan. 9:25), seven weeks (49 years) are measured off to indicate the time occupied in this work of restoration. These, however, are a part of the sixty-nine weeks (483 years) that were to reach to Messiah, the Anointed One. Christ was anointed in 27 A.D., at His baptism. Matt. 3:13-17; Acts 10:38. In the midst of the seventieth week (31 A.D.), Christ was crucified, or “cut off,” which marked the time when the sacrifices and oblations of the earthly sanctuary were to cease. Dan. 9:26, 27. The remaining three and one-half years of this week reach to 34 A.D., or to the stoning of Stephen, and the great persecution of the church at Jerusalem which followed. Acts 7:59; 8:1. This marked the close of the seventy weeks, or 490 years, allotted to the Jewish people.

But the seventy weeks are a part of the 2300 days; and as they (the seventy weeks) reach to 34 A.D., the remaining 1810 years of the 2300-day period must reach to 1844, when the work of judgment, or cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, was to begin. Rev. 14:6, 7. Then special light began to shine upon the whole sanctuary subject, and Christ’s mediatorial or priestly work in it.

Four great events, therefore, are located by this great prophetic period,—the first advent, the crucifixion, the rejection of the Jewish people as a nation, and the beginning of the work of final judgment.

8. What portion of the 2300 days (years) mentioned in the vision, was allotted to the Jews?

“_Seventy weeks_ are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city.” Verse 24, first clause.

NOTES.—“As both the 2300 years of chapter 8 and the ‘seventy weeks’ of chapter 9 start from the Persian period of Jewish history, in other words, as they both date from the _restoration era_ which followed the Babylonian captivity, their starting-points must be either identical or closely related chronologically.”—_“__Light for the Last Days__”__ by H. Grattan Guinness, London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1893, page 183._

“There is plainly a close correspondence between the two visions of Daniel 8 and Daniel 9. The seventy weeks are said to be _cut off_ for certain distinct objects; and this implies a longer period from which they are separated, either the course of time in general, or some period distinctly revealed. Now the previous date (the 2300 days) includes two events,—the restoration of the sacrifice, and the desolation. The first of these is identical in character with the seventy weeks, which are a period of the restored polity of Jerusalem; and hence the most natural of the cutting off is that which refers it to the whole period of the former vision.”—_“__First Elements of Sacred Prophecy__”__ by T. R. Birks, London, 1843, pages 359, 360._

9. What was to be accomplished at the close of the seventy weeks?

“To finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” Same verse, latter part.

NOTE.—For “the Most Holy,” the Douay version reads, “the Saint of saints.”

10. What portion of this period was to reach to Christ, the Messiah, or Anointed One?

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be _seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks_.” Verse 25, first part.

NOTE.—The word Messiah means anointed, and Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38) at His baptism in 27 A.D. Matt. 3:16.

11. At the end of this time, what was to be done to Messiah?

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be _cut off_.” Verse 26, first part.

Rebuilding Of Jerusalem. "And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel." Ezra 6:14.

12. How was the destruction of Jerusalem and the sanctuary by the Romans then foretold?

“And the people of the prince that shall come shall _destroy the city and the sanctuary_; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” Same verse, last part.

13. What was Messiah to do during the seventieth week?

“And He shall _confirm the covenant_ with many for one week.” Verse 27, first clause. See Matt. 26:26-28.

14. What was He to take away in the midst of this week?

“And in the midst of the week He shall cause the _sacrifice and the oblation to cease_.” Same verse, next clause.

NOTE.—Ancient Babylon took away the typical service by the destruction of the temple at the capture of Jerusalem. This service was restored at the rebuilding of Jerusalem, but was perverted into mere formalism by the Jews, and was taken away by Christ at the first advent, when He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances, and “took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” Col. 2:14. He then became “a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Heb. 8:2. Thus He established the service in the heavenly sanctuary. The little horn, the Papacy, as far as was within its power, took away from the people the mediation of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, and substituted for it the Roman priesthood, with the Pope as Pontifex Maximus, or high priest. Power over this truth of the gospel and over the people of God was allowed to the Papacy because of transgression (Dan. 8:12, R. V.), just as the people of Jerusalem were given into the hand of the king of ancient Babylon for the same reason. 1 Chron. 9:1. Thus has the Papacy “cast down the truth to the ground,” and has trodden underfoot the sanctuary and the people of God.

15. How are the judgments upon Jerusalem again foretold?

“And for the overspreading of abominations He shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” Remainder of verse 27.

NOTE.—Seventy weeks would be four hundred and ninety days; and as a day in prophecy represents a year (Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6), this period would be four hundred and ninety years. The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem was brought to its completion by Artaxerxes Longimanus in the seventh year of his reign (Ezra 6:14; 7:7, 8), which, as already noted, was B.C. 457. From this date the sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years, would extend to the baptism of Christ in 27 A.D., and the whole period to 34 A.D., when the martyrdom of Stephen occurred, and the gospel began to be preached to the Gentiles. Before the end of that generation Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, 70 A.D. The twenty-three hundred years would extend from B.C. 457 to 1844 A.D., when began the great second advent movement, which calls upon all to come out of modern Babylon, and to prepare for the next great event, the coming of Christ and the destruction of the world by fire.

16. What question was asked in the vision of Daniel 8?

“Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one which spake, _How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt offering, and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot_?” Dan. 8:13.

NOTES.—Literal Jerusalem was given into the hands of ancient Babylon, and the typical service in the earthly sanctuary was thus taken away. Dan. 1:1, 2. This was prophetic of the experience of spiritual Jerusalem in modern Babylon, foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and John, and of the taking away of the mediation of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. Dan. 7:25; 8:13. These two visions expose the work of modern Babylon, the Papacy, and determine the limit of its permitted power over the people of God, and of its perversion of the gospel of Christ in substituting another mediatorial system for the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary.

The general theme upon which the book of Daniel treats is Babylon, both ancient and modern. Chapters 1-6, inclusive, present certain historical facts leading up to the fall of ancient Babylon, and an attempt to destroy the prophet Daniel himself and the final attempt to destroy the people of God,—a brief historical outline, which is in itself a prophecy of modern Babylon. Chapters 7-12, inclusive, contain prophecies relating especially to modern Babylon, which supplement the historical prophecy of the previous chapters, and which enable us to draw a very exact and striking parallel between ancient and modern Babylon. A brief outline of this parallel may be stated thus:—

(1) In the religion of ancient Babylon, image-worship found a prominent place. The same is true of modern Babylon.

(2) Ancient Babylon affirmed that the gods (or God) dwelt not in the flesh. By the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary (that is, that she herself was born without the taint of original sin), modern Babylon teaches that God, in the person of His Son, did not take the same flesh with us; that is, sinful flesh.

(3) Ancient Babylon persecuted those who refused to accept her dogmas and worship according to her laws. Modern Babylon has done the same.

(4) The king of ancient Babylon set himself above God, and attempted to make his kingdom an everlasting kingdom. So does modern Babylon.

(5) Ancient Babylon rejected the true gospel as taught to Nebuchadnezzar, and the fall of Babylon came in consequence. Modern Babylon has done the same in her rejection of the true gospel as brought to her in the Reformation, and her fall is inevitable and impending.

(6) The fall of ancient Babylon came just at the time when it was giving expression to its contempt of all its enemies, and its confidence in its own permanence. This experience will be repeated in the history of modern Babylon.

17. What prophetic period, therefore, extends to the deliverance of God’s people from the captivity in modern Babylon, and the restoration to them of the mediation of Christ?

“And he said unto me, _Unto two thousand and three hundred days_; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Verse 14.

NOTE.—The earthly sanctuary was a type of the heavenly sanctuary (Heb. 9:23, 24; Lev. 16:29, 30, 33); the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was typical of the cleansing in the heavenly sanctuary; and this cleansing of the sanctuary accomplished on the great day of atonement is the closing work of Christ in His mediation for sin. And the commencement of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary marks the beginning of a new era in the experience of the people of God on earth; namely, the deliverance from the power of modern Babylon, the restoration to them of the knowledge of the mediation of Christ for them in the heavenly sanctuary, and a cleansing from sin in preparation for the second advent of Christ. The cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary involves the investigative judgment, which will be followed by the plagues, and Christ’s coming. This period, therefore, determines the time of restoration and of judgment.

18. What is said of those who live to see the deliverance from modern Babylon, and the restoration of the true gospel?

“Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” Dan. 12:12.

NOTE.—The 1335 days (years) of Dan. 12:12 are evidently a continuation of the 1290 days (years) of the previous verse, which commence with the taking away of the mediation of Christ, in the period 503-508 A.D. See under question 22 in reading on “The Vicar of Christ,” page 229. The 1335 days, or years, would therefore extend to the period 1838-43, the time of the preaching of the judgment-hour, in preparation for the cleansing of the sanctuary, and the accompanying work at the end of the 2300 days, or years, of Dan. 8:14. At that time special blessings were to come upon those who were delivered from the errors and bondage of Rome, and had their minds directed anew to the mediation of Christ as the great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary.

GENERAL NOTE ON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL.—The second chapter of Daniel presents in brief outline the divine program of history leading up to the establishment of the everlasting kingdom of God. The seventh chapter of Daniel presents somewhat more in detail the history of those earthly kingdoms which were to precede the establishment of the kingdom of God, the objective point of the prophecy being the little horn and its effort to change the laws and ordinances of God, and to destroy the subjects of the heavenly kingdom. The period allotted to the supremacy of this power, the Papacy (the 1260 years), is also indicated. The prophecy of the eighth chapter of Daniel covers the period from the restoration era in the time of the Persian kings and the establishment of the people of God in their own land, to the restoration era just preceding the second advent of Christ and the setting up of His everlasting kingdom. In this chapter the leading theme is the effort of the Papacy to substitute its own mediatorial system for the mediatorial work of Christ, and the announcement of a prophetic period (the 2300 years), at the end of which the counterfeit system introduced by the Papacy was to be fully exposed. The remaining chapters of Daniel supplement the prophecies of the second, seventh, and eighth chapters, and show that at the end of the first portion of the 2300-year period (the 70 weeks, or 490 years) Messiah was to appear and be cut off, following which would come the destruction of Jerusalem. In the closing chapter two new periods are introduced (the 1290 years and the 1335 years), at the end of which, as with the 2300 years, was to come the movement preparatory to the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom in the earth, in harmony with the prophecies of the second and seventh chapters.

The Atonement In Type And Antitype

The Tabernacle In The Wilderness. "Which was a figure for the time then present." Heb. 9:9.

1. What did God, through Moses, command Israel to make?

“And let them make Me _a sanctuary_; that I may dwell among them.” Ex. 25:8.

2. What was offered in this sanctuary?

“In which were offered _both gifts and sacrifices_.” Heb. 9:9.

3. Besides the court, how many parts had this sanctuary?

“And the veil shall divide unto you between the _holy place_ and the _most holy_.” Ex. 26:33.

4. What was in the first apartment, or holy place?

“For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the _candlestick_, and the _table_, and the _showbread_; which is called the sanctuary.” Heb. 9:2. “And he put _the golden altar_ in the tent of the congregation before the veil.” Ex. 40:26. See also Ex. 30:1-6.

5. What was contained in the second apartment?

“And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all; which had _the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant_ overlaid round about with gold, wherein was ... _the tables of the covenant_” Heb. 9:3, 4. See also Ex. 40:20, 21.

6. By what name was the cover of the ark known?

“And thou shalt put _the mercy-seat_ above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.” Ex. 25:21.

7. Where was God to meet with Israel?

“And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee _from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony_.” Verse 22.

8. What was in the ark, under the mercy-seat?

“And He wrote on _the tables_, according to the first writing, _the ten commandments_.... And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and _put the tables in the ark_ which I had made.” Deut. 10:4, 5.

9. When did the priest minister in the first apartment of the sanctuary?

“Now these things having been thus prepared, the priests go in _continually_ into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services.” Heb. 9:6, R. V.

10. Who alone went into the second apartment, how often, and for what purpose?

“But into the second went _the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people_.” Verse 7.

11. What were sinners desiring pardon instructed to do?

“And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord ... then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned. And _he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin-offering, and slay the sin-offering in the place of the burnt offering_.” Lev. 4:27-29.

NOTE.—According to this, if a man sinned in Israel, he violated one of the ten commandments that were in the ark under the mercy-seat. These commandments are the foundation of God’s government. To violate them is to commit sin, and so become subject to death. 1 John 3:4; Rom. 6:23. But there was a mercy-seat reared above these holy and just commandments. In the dispensation of His mercy, God grants the sinner the privilege of confessing his sins, and bringing a substitute to meet the demands of the law, and thus of obtaining mercy.

12. What was done with the blood of the offering?

“And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and _shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar_.” Verse 30.

NOTE.—After a person discovered his sin by the law which demanded the death of the transgressor, he first brought his offering, then he confessed his sin while laying his hands on the head of the victim, thus, in figure, transferring his sin to the victim; the victim was next slain in the court, or outer part of the sanctuary, and its blood put on the horns of the altar and poured at the foot of the altar. In this way sins were pardoned, and, in the typical service, transferred to the sanctuary.

13. After the accumulation of the sins of the year in this way, what service took place on the tenth day of the seventh month of each year?

“And this shall be a statute forever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, ... for _on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord_.” Lev. 16:29, 30.

14. How was the sanctuary itself to be cleansed, and how were the sins of the people to be finally disposed of?

“And he [the high priest] shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering.... And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot _for the Lord_, and the other lot _for the scapegoat_.” Verses 5-8.

NOTE.—The Hebrew word for scapegoat is Azazel. See margin of verse 8. It is used as a proper name, and, according to the opinion of the most ancient Hebrews and Christians, refers to Satan, or the angel who revolted and persisted in rebellion and sin.

15. What was done with the blood of the goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell?

“Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, ... _and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat_, and before the mercy-seat.” Verse 15.

16. Why was it necessary to make this atonement?

“And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, _because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins_: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.” Verse 16.

NOTE.—Sins were conveyed into the sanctuary during the year by the blood of the personal sin-offerings offered daily at the door of the tabernacle. Here they remained until the day of atonement, when the high priest went into the most holy place with the blood of the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell; and, bearing the accumulated sins of the year in before the mercy-seat, he there, in type, atoned for them, and so cleansed the sanctuary.

17. After having made atonement for the people in the most holy place, what did the high priest next do?

“And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: and Aaron shall _lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness_.” Verses 20, 21.

NOTE.—The offering of the Lord’s goat cleansed the sanctuary. By this offering the sins of the people, transferred there during the year, were, in type, atoned for; but they were not by this offering finally disposed of, or destroyed. The scapegoat, symbolizing Satan, the great tempter and originator of sin, was brought to the sanctuary, and upon his head were placed all these sins which Satan had tempted God’s people to commit.

18. What final disposition was made of the sins of the people?

“And _the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited_: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.” Verse 22.

The Scapegoat. "And Aaron shall ... confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel." Lev. 16:21.

19. What was this earthly sanctuary and its round of service?

“Which was _a figure_ for the time then present.” Heb. 9:9.

20. Of what sanctuary, or tabernacle, is Christ the minister?

“A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, _which the Lord pitched, and not man_.” Heb. 8:2.

21. Of what was the blood of all the sacrifices of the former dispensation only a type?

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but _by His own blood_ He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Heb. 9:12. See Eph. 5:2.

NOTE.—Through the sacrifices and offerings brought to the altar of the earthly sanctuary, the penitent believer was to lay hold of the merits of Christ, the Saviour to come. In this way, and in this way only, was there any virtue connected with them.

22. At the death of Christ, what miraculous occurrence signified that the priestly work and services of the earthly sanctuary were finished?

“Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, _the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom_.” Matt. 27:50, 51.

NOTES.—Type had met antitype; the shadow had reached the substance. Christ, the great sacrifice, had been slain, and was about to enter upon His final work as our great high priest in the sanctuary in heaven. The priestly work in the earthly sanctuary was typical of the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. In the earthly, the atonement was performed on the last day of the ceremonial year. All who did not then have their sins atoned for were “cut off,” and the camp was cleansed from sin. The atonement day was virtually a day of judgment for Israel, and the people whose sins had been atoned for were free from sin, and could enter upon the services of the new year clean in the sight of God. This work was kept up year after year. In the heavenly sanctuary, the sacrifice is offered but once; and but one atonement, or cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, can be made, which must take place at the time assigned of God for it. And when the great atonement, or cleansing, of the heavenly sanctuary has been made, God’s people will be forever free from sin, and the fate of all will be forever sealed. See Rev. 22:11. This, as in the type, will be a day of judgment.

The round of service in the earthly sanctuary was God’s service. It had to do with the sins of the people; not that the blood of the sacrifices offered there could in itself take away their sins, for it is expressly said that it could not. Heb. 10:4. It could, however, show their _faith_ in the efficacy of _Christ’s blood_ yet to be spilled, and to which the sanctuary work was intended constantly to direct their minds. The work there was a type, or shadow, of Christ’s atoning work, and, as such, carries with it a significance that cannot be overestimated. Upon a correct understanding of the type depends a correct understanding of the antitype. The entire sanctuary service was an object-lesson of most important and vital gospel truth,—that of man’s salvation and the atonement of sin.

23. What relation does the earthly sanctuary sustain to the heavenly?

“Who serve unto the _example_ and _shadow_ of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the _pattern_ showed to thee in the mount.” Heb. 8:5.

24. By what comparison is it shown that the heavenly sanctuary will be cleansed?

“It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; _but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these_.” Heb. 9:23.

25. When Christ has finished His priestly mediatorial work in the heavenly sanctuary, what decree will go forth?

“He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Rev. 22:11.

26. What event is directly connected with the blotting out of sin and the final refreshing from God’s presence?

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and _He shall send Jesus Christ_, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:19-21.

27. According to the view of the judgment presented to Daniel, what is to be given to Christ while still before the Father?

“I saw ... and, behold, one like the Son of man came ... to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him _dominion_, and _glory_, and _a kingdom_, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him.” Dan. 7:13, 14.

28. What will occur when the Lord descends from heaven?

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and _the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air_: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17.

29. What statement immediately following the announcement mentioned in Rev. 22:11, indicates that a judgment work had been in progress before Christ comes?

“And, behold, I come quickly; and _My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be_.” Rev. 22:12.

NOTE.—The typical sanctuary service is fully met in the work of Christ. As the atonement day of the former dispensation was really a day of judgment, so the atonement work of Christ will include the investigation of the cases of His people prior to His coming the second time to receive them unto Himself.

30. Is there a specified time for the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary?

“And he said unto me, _Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed_.” Dan. 8:14.

31. How may one know that this does not refer to the earthly sanctuary?

“He said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for _at the time of the end shall be the vision_.” Verse 17.

NOTE.—The prophetic period of 2300 days (years) extends to 1844 A.D., while the divinely appointed services of the earthly sanctuary ceased at the cross (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 27:50, 51), and the sanctuary itself was destroyed in 70 A.D., when Titus captured Jerusalem. For explanation of the period here mentioned, see the preceding reading.

The Judgment

The Investigative Judgment. "The books were opened: ... and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books." Rev. 20:12.

1. What assurance have we that there will be a judgment?

“God ... hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world.” Acts 17:30, 31.

2. Was the judgment still future in Paul’s day?

“As he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and _judgment to come_, Felix trembled.” Acts 24:25.

3. How many must meet the test of the judgment?

“I said in mine heart, God shall judge _the righteous and the wicked_.” Eccl. 3:17 “_For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ_; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” 2 Cor. 5:10.

4. What reason did Solomon give for urging all to fear God and keep His commandments?

“_For God shall bring every work into judgment_, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Eccl. 12:14.

5. What view of the judgment scene was given Daniel?

“I beheld till the thrones were cast down [placed, R. V.], and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Dan. 7:9, 10.

6. Out of what will all be judged?

“And _the books were opened_: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and _the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books_, according to their works.” Rev. 20:12.

7. For whom has a book of remembrance been written?

“Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord harkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him _for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name_.” Mal. 3:16. See Rev. 20:12.

8. Who opens the judgment and presides over it?

“I beheld till the thrones were cast down [placed], and _the Ancient of days did sit_.” Dan. 7:9.

9. Who minister to God, and assist in the judgment?

“Thousand thousands [of angels] ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.” Verse 10. See Rev. 5:11.

10. Who is brought before the Father at this time?

“I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, _one like the Son of man_ came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him.” Dan. 7:13.

11. What does Christ as the advocate of His people confess before the Father and His angels?

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but _I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels_.” Rev. 3:5. See Matt. 10:32, 33; Mark 8:38.

NOTE.—During this judgment scene, both the righteous and the wicked dead are still in their graves. The record of each one’s life, however, is in the books of heaven, and by that record their characters and deeds are well known. Christ is there to appear in behalf of those who have chosen Him as their advocate. 1 John 2:1. He presents His blood, as He appeals for their sins to be blotted from the books of record. As the place of judgment is in heaven, where God’s throne is, and as Christ is present in person, it follows that the work of judgment is also in heaven. All are judged by the record of their lives, and thus answer for the deeds done in the body. This work will not only decide forever the cases of the dead, but will also close the probation of all who are living, after which Christ will come to take to Himself those who have been found loyal to Him.

12. After the subjects of the kingdom have been determined by the investigative judgment, what is given to Christ?

“And there was given Him _dominion_, and _glory_, and _a kingdom_, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him.” Dan. 7:14.

13. When He comes the second time, what title will He bear?

“And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, _King of kings_, and _Lord of lords_.” Rev. 19:16.

14. What will He then do for each one?

“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and _then He shall reward every man according to his works_.” Matt. 16:27. See also Rev. 22:12.

15. Where will Christ then take His people?

“_In My Father’s house are many mansions_: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, _I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also_.” John 14:2, 3.

16. How many of the dead will be raised?

“For the hour is coming, in the which _all that are in the graves_ shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28, 29. See also Acts 24:15.

17. What time intervenes between the two resurrections?

“And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. _But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished._” Rev. 20:4, 5.

18. What work did Daniel see finally assigned to the saints?

“I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and _judgment was given to the saints of the Most High_; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” Dan. 7:21, 22.

19. How long will the saints engage in this work of judgment?

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and _judgment was given unto them: ...and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years_.” Rev. 20:4.

Lot Fleeing From Sodom. "Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes." 2 Peter 2:6.

20. Who will thus be judged by the saints?

“Do ye not know that _the saints shall judge the world_? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that _we shall judge angels_? how much more things that pertain to this life?” 1 Cor. 6:2, 3.

21. How will the decisions of the judgment be executed?

“And out of His [Christ’s] mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Rev. 19:15.

22. Why is the _execution_ of the judgment given to Christ?

“For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, _because He is the Son of man_.” John 5:26, 27.

23. How was the opening of the judgment to be made known to the world?

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, _Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come_.” Rev. 14:6, 7.

NOTE.—There are three phases of the judgment mentioned in the Scriptures,—the investigative judgment, preceding the second advent; the judgment of the lost world and wicked angels by Christ and the saints during the one thousand years following the second advent; and the executive judgment, or punishment of the wicked at the close of this period. The investigative judgment takes place in heaven before Christ comes, in order to ascertain who are worthy to be raised in the first resurrection, at His coming, and who among the living are to be changed in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trump. It is necessary for this to take place before the second advent, as there will be no time for such a work between the coming of Christ and the raising of the righteous dead. The executive judgment on the wicked occurs after their cases have been examined by the saints during the thousand years. Rev. 20:4, 5; 1 Cor. 6:1-3. The investigative judgment is that which is announced to the world by the angel’s message of Rev. 14:6, 7.

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Thou Judge of quick and dead, Before whose bar severe, With holy joy or guilty dread, We all shall soon appear,— Our cautioned souls prepare For that tremendous day, And fill us now with watchful care, And stir us up to pray.

CHARLES WESLEY.

The Wise Men Of The East. "We have seen His star in the east." Matt. 2:2.

The Judgment-Hour Message

The First Angel. "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come." Rev. 14:7.

1. What prophetic view of the judgment was given Daniel?

“I beheld till the thrones were cast down [placed], and the Ancient of days did sit: ... thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Dan. 7:9, 10.

2. What assurance has God given of the judgment?

“Because _He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world_ in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, _in that He hath raised Him from the dead_.” Acts 17:31.

3. What message announces the judgment-hour come?

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for _the hour of His judgment is come_: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Rev. 14:6, 7.

4. In view of the judgment-hour, what is proclaimed anew?

“_The everlasting gospel._” Verse 6, first part.

5. How extensively is this message to be proclaimed?

“To _every nation_, and _kindred_, and _tongue_, and _people_.” Verse 6, first part.

6. What is the whole world called upon to do?

“_Fear God, and give glory to Him._” Verse 7.

7. What special reason is given for this?

“For _the hour of His judgment is come_.” Same verse.

8. Whom are all called upon to worship?

“_Him that made heaven, and earth._” Same verse.

NOTE.—There is only one gospel (Rom. 1:16, 17; Gal. 1:8), first announced in Eden (Gen. 3:15), preached to Abraham (Gal. 3:8) and to the children of Israel (Heb. 4:1, 2), and proclaimed anew in every generation. In its development, the gospel meets the needs of every crisis in the world’s history. John the Baptist in his preaching announced the kingdom of heaven at hand (Matt. 3:1, 2), and prepared the way for the first advent. John 1:22, 23. Christ Himself in His preaching of the gospel announced the fulfilment of a definite-time prophecy (the sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years, of Dan. 9:25), and called the people to repentance, in view of the coming of the predicted Messiah. Mark 1:14, 15. So when the time of the judgment comes, and Christ’s second advent is near, a world-wide announcement of these events is to be made in the preaching of the everlasting gospel adapted to meet the need of the hour.

9. What prophetic period extends to the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the investigative judgment?

“And he said unto me, Unto _two thousand and three hundred days_; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:14.

10. When did this long period expire?

In A.D. 1844. See reading on page 230.

NOTE.—Our Lord based His preaching of the gospel upon the fulfilment of the first part of the 2300 days, or years (Mark 1:14, 15), a prophecy which determined the time of the first advent. The whole period extends to the time of the judgment, just preceding the second advent, and at its expiration a special gospel message is sent to all the world proclaiming the judgment-hour at hand, and calling upon all to worship the Creator. The facts of history answer to this interpretation of the prophecy: for at this very time (1844) just such a message was being proclaimed in various parts of the world. This was the beginning of the great second advent message which is now being proclaimed throughout the world.

11. How is the true God distinguished from all false gods?

“Thus shall ye say unto them, _The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth_, even they shall perish from the earth.... _He [the true God] hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion._” Jer. 10:11, 12.

12. For what reason is worship justly due to God?

“For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.... _The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed __ the dry land_. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our _Maker_.” Ps. 95:3-6.

13. Why do the inhabitants of heaven worship God?

“The four and twenty elders fall down before Him, ... saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: _for Thou hast created all things_, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” Rev. 4:10, 11.

14. What memorial did God establish of His creative power?

“Remember _the Sabbath day_, to keep it holy.... _For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is_, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Ex. 20:8-11.

15. What place has the Sabbath in the work of salvation?

“Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be _a sign_ between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that _sanctify_ them.” Eze. 20:12.

16. How many are concerned in the judgment?

“For we must _all_ appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that _every one_ may receive the things done in his body, _according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad_.” 2 Cor. 5:10.

17. What will be the standard in the judgment?

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For He that said, Do not commit adultery; said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged _by the law of liberty_.” James 2:10-12.

18. In view of the judgment, what exhortation is given?

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: _Fear God, and keep His commandments_: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Eccl. 12:13, 14.

NOTE.—A comparison of Rev. 14:7 with Eccl. 12:13, 14, suggests that the way to give glory to God is to keep His commandments, and that in giving the judgment-hour message, the duty of keeping the commandments would be emphasized. This is plainly shown in the description given of the people who are gathered out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people as the result of the preaching of this message, in connection with the other messages which immediately follow and accompany it. Of this people it is said, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12.

The Fall Of Modern Babylon

The Second Angel. "Babylon is fallen, is fallen." Rev. 14:8.

1. What announcement immediately follows the judgment-hour message of Rev. 14:6, 7?

“And there followed another angel, saying, _Babylon is fallen, is fallen_, that great city.” Rev. 14:8, first part.

2. What reason is assigned for the fall of Babylon?

“Because _she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication_.” Same verse, last part.

3. How was the overthrow of ancient Babylon foretold?

“And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be _as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah_.” Isa. 13:19.

4. What call was made to come out of Babylon?

“_Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity_; for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He will render unto her a recompense.” Jer. 51:6.

5. What did ancient Babylon do to all the nations?

“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_.” Verse 7.

6. What was the effect of this apostasy?

“Babylon is _suddenly fallen and destroyed_: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.” Verse 8.

7. Just before the fall of Babylon, what did her king do?

“Belshazzar the king _made a great feast_ to a thousand of his lords, and _drank wine_ before the thousand.” Dan. 5:1.

8. By what command did the king repudiate the religion taught in Babylon by Daniel and others who feared God?

“Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.” Verse 2.

9. What marked the climax of Babylon’s apostasy?

“Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.” Verse 3.

10. While drinking the wine, what gods did they honor?

“They drank wine, and _praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone_.” Verse 4.

11. What immediately followed this complete apostasy?

“In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.” Verses 30, 31.

NOTE.—The gospel of the kingdom was preached in Babylon (see reading on “The Gospel of the Kingdom,” page 209), and Nebuchadnezzar was brought to acknowledge and to worship the true God. But after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon relapsed into idolatry again, and this apostasy was rendered hopeless when Belshazzar used the sacred vessels from the house of God, dedicated to the worship of God, in which to drink the wine of Babylon while worship was offered to the false gods. Then came the handwriting on the wall, and the fall of ancient Babylon.

12. In the visions of John, what interpretation is given to the woman who sat upon many waters?

“And the woman which thou sawest _is that great city_, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Rev. 17:18.

NOTE.—The great city which reigned over the kings of the earth in John’s time was Rome, and that city has given its name to the church which is represented by the woman, the Church of Rome, or the Papacy.

13. In this same prophecy, how is the Church of Rome, the Papacy, designated as the antitype of ancient Babylon?

“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Verse 5.

14. What specific statement emphasizes this identification?

“With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” Verse 2. See verse 4.

NOTES.—The Church of Rome is called Babylon, and its religion is a revival of the religion of ancient Babylon. She claims a priesthood with exceptional powers and privileges, just as did ancient Babylon. Through the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, she denies that God in Christ dwelt in the same flesh as fallen man has, just as ancient Babylon did. See Dan. 2:11. She claims universal spiritual jurisdiction, and demands submission under pains and penalties, just as ancient Babylon did. See Daniel 3. She repudiates the fundamental gospel truth of justification by faith, and boasts of works, just as ancient Babylon did. See Dan. 4:30. A careful comparison of the ritual of ancient and modern Babylon shows that the latter is copied from the former; and it is easy to trace the connection historically through the paganism of political Rome.

On the overthrow of Babylon by the Persians, who nourished a traditional hatred for its idolatry, the Chaldean priesthood fled to Pergamos, in Asia Minor, and made it the headquarters of their religion.... The last pontiff king of Pergamos was Attalus III, who at his death bequeathed his dominions and authority to the Roman people, 133 B.C., and from that time the two lines of Pontifex Maximus were merged in the Roman one.—_“__The False Christ,__”__ J. Garnier, London, George Allen, 1900, Vol. II, pages 94, 95._ Thus did the religion of ancient Babylon become the religion of modern Babylon.

15. What did Jesus say of the sacramental wine?

“This cup is the new covenant in My blood.” Luke 22:20, R. V.

16. What is the essential teaching of the new covenant?

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; _I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts_: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people.” Heb. 8:10.

17. When Christ thus ministers the law in the heart, what does it become?

“For _the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus_ hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Rom. 8:2-4.

18. In what other statement is this same truth expressed?

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63.

19. What kind of teaching have men substituted for the words which are spirit and life?

“Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, _teaching for doctrines the commandments of men_.... And He said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own _tradition_.” Mark 7:7-9.

NOTES.—There are two cups, the cup of the Lord and the cup of Babylon. The wine in the Lord’s cup represents the living truth, “as the truth is in Jesus;” the wine in the cup of Babylon represents her false doctrines, her substitution of human tradition for the living word and law of God, and the illicit connection which she has made between the church and the secular power, depending upon political power to enforce her teachings, rather than upon the power of God. By this very thing, while maintaining a form of godliness, she denies the power thereof. 2 Tim. 3:1-5.

The following quotation states the position of that church in regard to tradition: “Though these two divine streams [the Bible and tradition] are in themselves, on account of their divine origin, of equal sacredness, and are both full of revealed truths, still, of the two, tradition is to us more clear and safe.”—_“__Catholic Belief,__”__ Rev. Joseph Faa Di Bruno, D. D. (Roman Catholic), page 45._

The substitution of the law of the church for the law of God, in fulfilment of the prophecy in Dan. 7:25, testifies to the complete subordination of the Word of God to the authority of the church. The world-wide teaching of these doctrines in place of the pure gospel has led the world astray, and has made all the nations drink of the wine of her fornication. The Reformation of the sixteenth century was an effort to return to the pure truths of God’s Word. In this the Reformers denied the supremacy of tradition over the Bible.

20. What relation does the Church of Rome sustain to other apostate churches?

“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, _THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS_ AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Rev. 17:5.

NOTES.—In the creed of Pope Pius IV, an authoritative statement of Roman Catholic belief, is found this statement: “I acknowledge the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church for _the mother and mistress of all churches_.”—_Article 10._ When the professed Protestant churches repudiate the fundamental principle of Protestantism by setting aside the authority of God’s Word, and accepting tradition and human speculation in its place, they adopt the fundamental principle of modern Babylon, and may be regarded as the daughters of Babylon. Their fall is then included in the fall of Babylon, and calls for a proclamation of the fall of modern Babylon.

Many representatives of modern Protestantism have, in one way or another, rejected many fundamental doctrines of the Bible, such as,—

The fall of man. The Bible doctrine of sin. The infallibility of the Scriptures. The sufficiency of the Scriptures as a rule of faith and practise. The Deity of Christ, and His consequent headship over the church. The miraculous conception and the virgin birth of our Lord. The resurrection of Christ from the grave. The vicarious, expiatory, and propitiatory atonement of Christ. Salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Regeneration by the power of the Holy Ghost. The efficacy of the all-prevailing name of Christ in prayer. The ministration and guardianship of holy angels. Miracles as the direct manifestation and interposition of God’s power.

Although many leaders of modern Protestantism known as higher critics have not formally adopted the creed of the Church of Rome, and have not become an organic part of that body, yet they belong to the same class in rejecting the authority of God’s Word, and accepting in its place the product of their own reasonings. There is just as much apostasy in the one case as in the other, and both must therefore be included in Babylon, and both will go down in the fall of Babylon. The warning message applies with equal force to both classes.

21. To what extent is the apostasy, or fall, of modern Babylon, the mother, and of her daughters, to be carried?

“And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and _is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird_. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” Rev. 18:1-3.

NOTE.—In its largest sense, Babylon includes all false religions—all apostasy. The gospel message announcing her final overthrow should be a cause of rejoicing to every lover of truth and righteousness.

22. What final call to come out of Babylon is to go forth?

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, _Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues_. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” Verses 4, 5.

23. How complete is to be the fall of modern Babylon?

“And _a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all_.... And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” Verses 21-24.

24. What song of triumph follows the overthrow of Babylon?

“Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him.” Rev. 19:6, 7.

The Closing Gospel Message. A Warning Against False Worship

The Third Angel. "If any man worship the beast and his image, ... the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God." Rev. 14:9, 10.

1. What indicates that the messages of the judgment-hour and the fall of Babylon are two parts of a threefold message?

“And _the third angel followed them_, saying with a loud voice.” Rev. 14:9, first clause.

2. What apostasy from the worship of God is named in this message?

“If any man _worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark_ in his forehead, or in his hand.” Same verse, last part.

3. What is to be the fate of those who, instead of worshiping God, engage in this false worship?

“_The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation_; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” Verses 10, 11. See Isa. 33:13-17; 34:1-10; 1 Cor. 3:13; Heb. 12:29.

4. How are those described who heed this warning?

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Verse 12.

5. What description is given of the beast against whose worship this closing warning message is given?

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Rev. 13:1, 2.

NOTE.—In this composite beast from the sea are combined the symbols of the seventh chapter of Daniel, representing Greece, Medo-Persia, and Babylon. The blasphemous words spoken by it, its persecution of the saints, and the time allotted to it (verses 5-7) show that this beast, under one of its seven-headed manifestations, is identical with the little horn of the vision of the seventh chapter of Daniel, modern Babylon, the Papacy. See reading on “The Kingdom and Work of Antichrist,” page 218. The false worship here mentioned, the worship of the beast, is the rendering of that homage to the Papacy which is due to God alone. The system of religion enforced by the Papacy is the paganism of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, indicated by the composite character of the beast (verse 2), disguised under the forms and names of Christianity. The Pontifex Maximus of the ancient pagan religions was continued in the Pope, who is the head of the Roman priesthood, and who, in the exercise of his priestly functions, took away the mediation of Christ, and substituted a system of human mediation in its place, thus fulfilling the prophecy recorded in the eighth chapter of Daniel. See reading on “The Vicar of Christ,” page 224.

6. What challenge is made by those who worship the beast?

“And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, _Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?_” Verse 4.

7. Whose sovereignty is thus challenged?

“Forasmuch as _there is none like unto Thee, O Lord_; Thou art great, and Thy name is great in might.” Jer. 10:6. See also Ps. 71:19; 86:8; 89:6, 8.

8. What specifications of “the man of sin” are thus fully met?

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; _who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God_.” 2 Thess. 2:3, 4. See pages 218-220.

Noah Preaching. "By faith Noah, being warned of God ... prepared an ark." Heb. 11:7.

9. What did Babylon give to the nations to drink?

“She made all nations drink of _the wine of the wrath of her fornication_.” Rev. 14:8, last part. See pages 256, 257.

10. What are those to drink who accept the teachings of Babylon, and thus render homage to the beast?

“The same shall drink of _the wine of the wrath of God_, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.” Verse 10, first part.

NOTE.—The cup of the Lord, which contains the new covenant in the blood of Christ, and the cup of the wine of the wrath of Babylon are both offered to the world. To drink of the former, that is, to accept the teaching of the true gospel, is to receive everlasting life; but to drink of the wine of Babylon, that is, to accept the false gospel taught by the Papacy, will result in drinking of the wine of the wrath of God from the cup of His indignation. The true gospel means everlasting life; the false gospel means everlasting death.

11. Under what threatened penalty is the worship of the image of the beast enforced?

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and _cause [decree] that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed_.” Rev. 13:15.

NOTE.—For an explanation of the image of the beast, see reading on “Making an Image to the Beast,” page 271.

12. What universal boycott is to be employed, in an attempt to compel all to receive the mark of the beast?

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and _that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name_.” Verses 16, 17.

NOTE.—Regarding the mark of the beast, see reading on “The Seal of God and the Mark of Apostasy,” page 416.

13. Who is the real power operating through the beast and his image, and demanding worship?

“The _dragon_ gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Verse 2, last part.

14. Who is this dragon?

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the _Devil_, and _Satan_, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Rev. 12:9.

15. How did the devil seek to induce Jesus to worship him?

“And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto Him, _All this power will I give Thee_, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. _If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine._” Luke 4:5-7.

16. How did Jesus show His loyalty to God?

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, _Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve_.” Verse 8.

NOTE.—The threefold message of Rev. 14:6-12 is proclaimed in connection with the closing scenes of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Lucifer has sought to put himself in the place of God (Isa. 14:12-14), and to secure to himself the worship which is due God alone. The final test comes over the commandments of God. Those who acknowledge the supremacy of the beast by yielding obedience to the law of God as changed and enforced by the Papacy, when the real issue has been clearly defined, will, in so doing, worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark. Such will take the side of Satan in his rebellion against the authority of God.

17. How many will yield to the demand to worship the beast?

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Rev. 13:8.

18. In the judgment-hour message, whom are all called upon to fear, glorify, and worship?

“Saying with a loud voice, _Fear God, and give glory to Him_; for the hour of His judgment is come: and _worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters_.” Rev. 14:7.

19. Who will sing the song of Moses and the Lamb on the sea of glass?

“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and _them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name_, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.” Rev. 15:2-4.

Satan’s Warfare Against The Church

The Death Of Christ. "He [Satan] persecuted the woman [the church] that brought forth the man child." Rev. 12:13.

1. Under what figure was the Christian church represented to the apostle John?

“And there appeared a great wonder [margin, sign] in heaven; _a woman_ clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” Rev. 12:1.

NOTES.—Frequently in the Scriptures a woman is used to represent the church. See Jer. 6:2; 2 Cor. 11:2. The sun represents the light of the gospel with which the church was clothed at the first advent (1 John 2:8); the moon under her feet, the waning light of the former dispensation; and the twelve stars, the twelve apostles.

“Woman in her innocence was attacked by ‘that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.’ ... At the end of that first crafty assault and speedy victory the dragon met with his rebuff, in words like these: ‘The seed of the woman shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.’ ... In the Revelation the scene is changed from Eden to the heavens, and before you stand again the woman and the serpent, in the same position of antagonism as before, the serpent still the assailant, only this time more openly so.... The woman is no longer a simple, childlike personage, but _a wonder_; she walks not among the trees and flowers, but amid the orbs of heaven. She is clothed with the sun, the moon is under her feet, and upon her head is a coronet of twelve stars. In her you see the great cause of truth and righteousness embodied—she is, in fact, the church of God in all ages, the woman whose Seed blesses all the nations of the earth.”—_C. H. Spurgeon, in The Tabernacle Pulpit, March 15, 1896._

2. How is the church at the first advent described?

“And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.” Verse 2.

NOTE.—The church is in labor and pain while she brings forth Christ and her children, in the midst of afflictions and persecutions. See Rom. 8:19, 22; 1 John 3:1, 2; 2 Tim. 3:12.

3. How are the birth, work, and ascension of Christ briefly described?

“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne.” Verse 5.

NOTE.—Specifically this must refer to Christ (see Ps. 2:7-9); but through Him is also prefigured the experience of the people of God, who finally in the judgment are to share with Christ in ruling the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 2:26, 27), and, like Him, when their work on earth is accomplished be “caught up,” at His appearing, to God and to His throne. 1 Thess. 4:15-17.

4. What other sign, or wonder, appeared in heaven?

“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold _a great red dragon_, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as in was born.” Verses 3, 4.

5. Who is this dragon said to be?

“And the great dragon was cast out, _that old serpent_, called the _Devil_, and _Satan_, which deceiveth the whole world.” Verse 9.

NOTE.—Primarily the dragon represents Satan, the great enemy and persecutor of the church in all ages. But Satan works through principalities and powers in his efforts to destroy the people of God. It was through a Roman king, King Herod, that he sought to destroy Christ as soon as He was born. Matt. 2:16. Rome must therefore be symbolized by the dragon. The seven heads of the dragon are interpreted by some to refer to the “seven hills” upon which the city of Rome is built; by others, to the seven forms of government through which Rome passed; and by still others, and more broadly, to the seven great monarchies which have oppressed the people of God; namely, Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, Persia, Greece, pagan Rome, and papal Rome, in either of which Rome is represented and included. See page 269. The ten horns, as in the fourth beast of Daniel 7, evidently refer to the ten kingdoms into which Rome was finally divided, and thus again identify the dragon with the Roman power.

6. How is the conflict between Christ and Satan described?

“And there was war in heaven; Michael and His angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Verses 7-9.

NOTE.—This conflict, begun in heaven, continues on earth. Near the close of Christ’s ministry, He said, “I beheld Satan as lightning _fall from heaven_.” Luke 10:18. “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be _cast out_.” John 12:31. From the councils of the representatives of the various worlds to which Satan, as the prince of this world, was formerly admitted (Job 1:6, 7; 2:1, 2), he was cast out when he crucified Christ, the Son of God.

7. What shout of triumph was heard in heaven following the victory gained by Christ?

“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, _Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ_: for the accuser of our brethren is _cast down_, which accused them before our God day and night.... Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.” Verses 10-12.

8. Why was woe at this same time proclaimed to the world?

“Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! _for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time_.” Verse 12, last part.

NOTE.—This not only shows that, since the crucifixion of Christ, Satan knows that his doom is sealed, and that he has but a limited time in which to work, but that his efforts are largely if not wholly now confined to this world, and concentrated upon its inhabitants. Better than many professed Christians, Satan knows that time is short.

9. What did the dragon do when cast to the earth?

“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, _he persecuted the woman_ which brought forth the man child.” Verse 13.

NOTE.—The persecution of Christians began under pagan Rome, but was carried on far more extensively under papal Rome. Matt. 24:21, 22.

10. What definite period of time was allotted to this great persecution of God’s people under papal Rome?

“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, unto her place, where she is nourished for _a time, and times, and half a time_, from the face of the serpent.” Verse 14.

NOTE.—This is the same period as that mentioned in Dan. 7:25, and, like the ten horns, identifies the dragon with the fourth beast of Daniel 7, and its later work with the work of the little horn of that same beast. In Rev. 13:5 this period is referred to as “forty-two months,” and in Rev. 12:6 as 1260 days, each representing 1260 literal years, the period allotted to the supremacy of papal Rome. Beginning in 538 A.D., it ended in 1798, when the Pope was taken prisoner by the French. See notes on page 223. The woman fleeing into the wilderness fittingly describes the condition of the church during those times of bitter persecution.

11. What was Satan’s design in thus persecuting the church?

“And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, _that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood_.” Verse 15.

12. How was the flood stayed, and Satan’s design defeated?

“_And the earth helped the woman_, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.” Verse 16.

NOTE.—The mountain fastnesses, quiet retreats, and secluded valleys of southwestern Europe for centuries shielded many who refused allegiance to the Papacy. Here, too, may be seen the results of the work of the Reformation of the sixteenth century, when many of the governments of Europe came to the help of the cause of reform, by staying the hand of persecution and protecting the lives of those who dared to take their stand for the right. The discovery of America, and the opening up of this country as an asylum for the oppressed of Europe at this time, may also be included in the “help” here referred to.

13. What did Christ say would be the result if the days of persecution were not shortened?

“Except those days should be shortened, _there should no flesh be saved_: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Matt. 24: 22.

14. Still bent on persecution, how does Satan manifest his enmity against the remnant church?

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and _went to make war with the remnant of her seed_, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 12:17.

NOTE.—To the very end, Satan will persecute and seek to destroy the people of God. Against the remnant, or last portion of the church, he is especially to make war. Their obedience to God’s commandments, and their possession of the testimony of Jesus, or spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10), are especially offensive to him, and excite his intense ire.

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Soldiers of Christ, arise, And put your armor on; Fight, for the battle will be ours; We fight to win a crown.

We fight not against flesh, We wrestle not with blood; But principalities and powers, And for the truth of God.

CHARLES WESLEY.

A Great Persecuting Power (The Ten-Horned Beast of Revelation 13)

Early Christian Martyrs. "He shall ... wear out the saints of the Most High." Dan. 7:25.

1. What is the first symbol of Revelation 13?

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw _a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns_, and upon his horns ten crowns and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” Rev. 13:1.

NOTES.—As already learned from studying the book of Daniel, a beast in prophecy represents some great earthly power or kingdom; a head, a governing power; horns, a number of kingdoms; crowned heads or crowned horns, political rulership; waters, “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” Rev. 17:15.

“The beasts of Daniel and John are empires. The ten-horned beast is the Roman power.... The head is the governing power of the body. The heads of this beast represent successive governments.”—_“__Romanism and the Reformation,__”__ by H. Grattan Guinness, pages 144, 145._

2. How is this beast further described?

“And the beast which I saw was _like unto a leopard_, and his feet were as _the feet of a bear_, and his mouth as _the mouth of a lion_.” Verse 2, first part.

NOTES.—These are the characteristics of the first three symbols of Daniel 7,—the _lion_, _bear_, and _leopard_ there representing the kingdoms of _Babylon_, _Medo-Persia_, and _Grecia_,—and suggest this beast as representing or belonging to the kingdom symbolized by the _fourth beast_ of Daniel 7, or _Rome_. Both have ten horns. Like the dragon of Revelation 12, it also has seven heads; but as the dragon symbolized Rome in its entirety, particularly in its pagan phase, this, like the “little horn” coming up among the ten horns of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, represents Rome in its later or papal form. Both it and the little horn have “a mouth” speaking great things; both make war upon the saints; both continue for the same length of time.

Allowing a very broad meaning to the symbol, the Douay or Catholic Bible, in a note on Rev. 13:1, explains the seven heads of this beast as follows: “The seven heads are seven kings, that is, seven principal kingdoms or empires, which have exercised, or shall exercise, tyrannical power over the people of God: of these, five were then fallen, viz., the Egyptian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Persian, and Grecian monarchies; one was present, viz., the empire of Rome; and the seventh and chiefest was to come, viz., the great Antichrist and his empire.” That the seventh head represents Antichrist there can be little doubt. See page 265.

3. What did the dragon give this beast?

“And the dragon gave him his _power_, and his _seat_, and _great authority_.” Verse 2, latter part.

NOTE.—It is an undisputed fact of history that under the later Roman emperors, beginning with Constantine, the religion of the Roman government was changed from pagan to papal; that when Constantine removed the seat of his empire from Rome to Constantinople in 330 A.D., the city of Rome was given up to the bishop of Rome, who, from Constantine and succeeding emperors, received rich gifts and great authority; that after the fall of Rome, in 476 A.D., the bishop of Rome became the ruling power in Western Rome, and by decree of Justinian, March 15, 533, was declared “head of all the holy churches,” and in a letter of the same year he was designated as “corrector of heretics.” See note on page 223. Thus Rome pagan became Rome papal; the seat of pagan Rome became the seat of papal Rome; church and state were united; and the persecuting power of the dragon was conferred upon the professed head of the church of Christ, or papal Rome. As Dr. H. Grattan Guinness, in his “Romanism and the Reformation,” page 152, says, “The power of the Cæsars lived again in the universal dominion of the popes.”

4. How are the character, work, period of supremacy, and great power of the beast described?

“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” Verses 5-7.

NOTE.—All these specifications have been fully and accurately met in the Papacy, and identify this beast as representing the same power as that represented by the little horn phase of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, and the little horn of Daniel 8, in its chief and essential features and work. See Dan. 7:25; 8:11, 12, 24, 25, and readings on pages 218, 224. For an explanation of the time period mentioned, see pages 223, 229.

5. What was to be inflicted upon one of the heads of this beast?

“And I saw _one of his heads as it were wounded to death_; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” Verse 3.

NOTE.—This wound was inflicted upon the papal head of this beast when the French, in 1798, entered Rome, and took the Pope prisoner, and for a time, it seemed, abolished the Papacy. But in 1800 another Pope was placed upon the papal throne, and the deadly wound began to be healed. Temporal dominion was taken away from the Papacy in 1870, but nevertheless its power and influence among the nations have been increasing since then. “In that year,” says Mr. Guinness in his work “Romanism and the Reformation,” page 156, “the Papacy assumed the highest exaltation to which it could aspire, that of infallibility.” To such a position of influence over the nations is the Papacy finally to attain that just before her complete overthrow and destruction she will say, “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” Rev. 18:7. See Isa. 47:7-15; Rev. 17:18.

6. What is said concerning the captivity and downfall of the Papacy?

“He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.” Verse 10. See Ps. 18:25, 26; 109:17; Jer. 50:29; Rev. 16:4-6.

7. What questions asked by its worshipers indicate the great station to which this beast-power was to attain?

“And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, _Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?_” Rev. 13:4.

8. How universal is the worship of this power to become?

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Verse 8.

9. What did John say was to be the end of this beast?

“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him.... _These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone._” Rev. 19:20. See Isa. 47:7-15; 2 Thess. 2:3-8; Rev. 17:16, 17; 18:4-8.

10. In what similar language is the fate of the fourth beast of Daniel 7 described?

“I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was _slain_, and his body _destroyed_, and _given to the burning flame_.” Dan. 7:11.

Making An Image To The Beast. The Prophecy Of Revelation 13

Landing Of The Pilgrim Fathers. The vanguard of Protestantism, who established "a Church without a pope, and a State without a king."

1. When was the papal head of the first beast of Revelation 13 wounded?

In 1793-98, by the French Revolution, and the temporary overthrow of the Papacy in the latter year.

2. What did the prophet see coming up at this time?

“And I beheld _another beast coming up out of the earth_; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” Rev. 13:11.

NOTES.—Mr. Wesley, in his notes on Revelation 13, written in 1754, says of the two-horned beast: “He is not yet come, though he cannot be far off; for he is to appear at the end of the forty-two months of the first beast.”

The previous beast came up out of the “sea,” which indicates its rise among the peoples and nations of the world then in existence (Rev 17: 15); while this one comes up out of the “earth.” This would indicate that the latter beast would arise where there had not before been “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” In 1798, when the papal power received its deadly wound, the government of the United States, located in the western continent, was the only great and independent nation then coming into prominence in territory not previously occupied by peoples, multitudes, and nations. Only nine years preceding this (1789), the United States adopted its national Constitution.

It is within the territory of the United States, therefore, that we may look, according to the prophecy, for an ecclesiastical movement to arise, and exercise a dominating control, not only in the civil government of this country, but also in the other nations of the whole world as well.

Signing The Declaration Of Independence. "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." Lev. 25:10.

3. What is the character of this new power?

“He had _two horns like a lamb_.” Rev. 13:11.

NOTE.—The Pilgrim Fathers were the vanguard of a great multitude of Protestants, who, when persecuted and outlawed in the lands of their birth, sought refuge in the New World, where they developed rapidly under the protection of a government founded on the great Christian principles of civil and religious freedom. The two horns may well symbolize these two fundamental principles.

4. Notwithstanding the lamblike appearance of this power, what is it ultimately to do?

“And he _spake as a dragon_.” Rev. 13:11.

NOTE.—The voice of the dragon is the voice of intolerance and persecution. This indicates that the ecclesiastical development dealt with in this prophecy, obtaining a foothold for its initial power and influence in the government of the United States, will repudiate the mild and lamblike principles of civil and religious liberty, and become like the beast before it, a world-wide persecuting power. This is why in Rev. 19:20 it is called “the false prophet.” Born of the Reformation, it will repudiate Reformation principles.

5. How much power will this beast exercise?

“And _he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him_, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” Verse 12.

NOTE.—The “first beast before him” (papal Rome) exercised the power of persecuting and putting to death all who differed from it in religious matters. The only way the _earth_ can be made to worship is by causing work to cease on it through voluntary or enforced rest, or sabbath-keeping. “For as long as she [the land] lay desolate she _kept sabbath_.” 2 Chron. 36:21. Enforced Sunday observance is evidently implied here.

6. What means will be employed to lead the people back into this false worship?

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth _by the means of those miracles which he had power to do_ in the sight of the beast.” Verse 14, first part.

7. What will this power propose that the people shall do?

“Saying to them that dwell on the earth, _that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword; and did live_.” Verse 14, latter part.

NOTE.—The beast “which had the wound by a sword, and did live,” is the Papacy. That was a church dominating the civil power. In other words, it was a union of church and state, and enforced its religious dogmas by the civil power, under pain of confiscation of goods, imprisonment, and death. An image to this beast would be another ecclesiastical organization clothed with civil power—another union of church and state—to enforce religious dogmas by law.

8. Is there any evidence that such an image will be made?

Large and influential organizations, such as the National Reform Association, the International Reform Bureau, the Lord’s Day Alliance of the United States, and the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, have been formed, by professed Protestants, and for years have been persistently working to that end. Many Roman Catholic societies recently formed in the United States, such as the Knights of Columbus and the American Federation of Catholic Societies, are looking to a like end—that of making America Catholic.

9. What, according to its constitution, is the avowed object of the National Reform Association?

“To secure such an amendment to the Constitution of the United States as shall ... indicate that this is a Christian nation, and place all the Christian laws, institutions, and usages of the government on an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land.”—_Article II of Constitution._

NOTES.—Upon the question of making this a “Christian nation,” Bishop Earl Cranston, D. D., of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in an address delivered in Foundry Methodist Episcopal Church, Washington, D. C., March 13, 1910, made the following observation:—

“Suppose this were to be declared a Christian nation by a Constitutional interpretation to that effect. What would that mean? Which of the two contending definitions of Christianity would the word Christian indicate?—The Protestant idea, of course, for under our system majorities rule, and the majority of Americans are Protestants. Very well. But suppose that by the addition of certain contiguous territory with twelve or more millions of Roman Catholics, the annexation of a few more islands with half as many more, and the same rate of immigration as now, the majority some years hence should be Roman Catholics,—who doubts for a moment that the reigning Pope would assume control of legislation and government? He would say, with all confidence and consistency, ‘This is a Christian nation. It was so claimed from the beginning and so declared many years ago. A majority defined then what Christianity was, the majority will define now what Christianity now is and is to be.’ That ‘majority’ would be the Pope.”—“_The Church and the Government_,” page 7.

The National Reformers in their attempts to justify the legal establishment of Christianity as the national religion, have erroneously declared that the statement of Justice Brewer of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1892, “This is a Christian nation,” is a decision of the court, whereas it was only a statement in the argument leading up to the decision of the court.

In a sermon at the centenary of the establishment of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the United States, in 1889, Archbishop Ireland said: “Our work is to make America Catholic.... Our cry shall be, ‘God wills it,’ and our hearts shall leap with crusader enthusiasm.”

The theory of the National Reformers is thus expressed: “Every government by equitable laws, is a government of God; a republic thus governed is of Him, and is as truly and really a _theocracy_ as the commonwealth of Israel.”—“_Cincinnati National Reform Convention_,” page 28.

10. How does this association regard the Catholic Church on this point?

“We cordially, gladly, recognize the fact that in South American republics, in France and other European countries the Roman Catholics are the recognized advocates of national Christianity, and stand opposed to all the proposals of secularism.... _Whenever they are willing to cooperate in resisting the progress of political atheism, we will gladly join hands with them_ in a world’s conference for the promotion of national Christianity, which ought to be held at no distant day. Many countries could be represented only by Roman Catholics.”—_Christian Statesman, Dec. 11, 1884, official organ of the National Reform Association._

11. What has the Pope commanded all Catholics to do?

“First and foremost, it is the duty of all Catholics worthy of the name and wishful to be known as most loving children of the church ... to endeavor to bring back all civil society to the pattern and form of Christianity which we have described.”—_Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, __“__Immortale Dei__”__ Nov. 1, 1885, __“__The Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII,__”__ page 132._

NOTE.—The prophecy says that this power will make an image to the Papacy. In the days of Constantine and his successors, the church made use of the civil power to carry out her aims: through this means the Papacy was developed. In our own day the same theory is advocated, and prominent men in the nation, in both church and state, are doing all they can to bring about the same result, which, when their work is completed, cannot fail to fulfil the specifications of the prophecy. The climax will be an image of the Papacy.

12. What is the object of the International Reform Bureau?

“The Reform Bureau is the first ‘Christian lobby’ established at our national capital to speak to government in behalf of all denominations.”—“_History of the International Reform Bureau_,” by its founder and superintendent, Rev. W. F. Crafts, page 2.

NOTE.—The securing of compulsory Sunday legislation is one of the chief objects of this and other like organizations. See pages 61 and 65 of the above-named work.

13. What are the objects of the Lord’s Day Alliance of the United States?

“(1) To preserve the Lord’s day [Sunday] for America; (2) to secure an active Alliance in every State not yet organized; (3) to induce the general government as far as possible to set the example of Sabbath observance; (4) to press the rest-day feature of the fourth commandment, until every toiler in the land has guaranteed unto him fifty-two full rest days a year.”—_From leaflet published by the Alliance._

NOTE.—By all of which is meant the securing, as far as possible, of compulsory State and national Sunday legislation,—the very means by which the church gained control of the state and by which church and state were united in the fourth and fifth centuries of the Christian era.

14. What is the purpose of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America?

“That the great Christian bodies of our country should stand together” in dealing with “questions like those of marriage and divorce, Sabbath desecration, social evils.” etc.—“_Report of Federal Council_” (1908), pages 5, 6.

15. How does it propose that the matter of “Sabbath desecration” shall be dealt with?

“That all encroachments upon the claims and the sanctities of the Lord’s day should be _stoutly resisted_ through the press, the Lord’s day associations and alliances, _and by such legislation as may be secured to protect and preserve this bulwark of our American Christianity_.”—_Id._, page 103.

NOTE.—Thus it will be seen that the securing of laws for the enforcement of Sunday observance is a prominent feature in all these organizations in their efforts to “Christianize” the nation. In doing this many fail to see that they are repudiating the principles of Christianity, of Protestantism, and of the United States government, and playing directly into the hand of that power which originated the Sunday sabbath, and gained control of the civil power through Sunday legislation—the Papacy.

16. What action of the American Federation of Catholic Societies indicates that Catholics will gladly “join hands” with Protestants in enforcing Sunday observance by law?

“Our societies in the various parts of the United States have been urging the abolition of Sunday labor, and have indorsed and assisted the movement of closing the post-office on Sunday.”—_Tenth Annual Convention of American Federation of Catholic Societies, Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 20-24, 1911._

NOTES.—With the active cooperation of the Lord’s Day Alliance of the United States, a Protestant organization, a proviso was attached to the post-office appropriation bill, 1912, requiring that “hereafter post-offices of the first and second classes shall not be opened on Sundays for the purpose of delivering mail to the general public.”

The following resolution was adopted by the Boston Archdiocesan Federation of Catholic Societies:—

“We are unalterably opposed to any relaxation of the Sunday laws. Sunday is a day of rest to be devoted to the praise and service of God. We hold the safest public policy at present is to adhere to the rigid observance of the laws now safeguarding the sanctity of the Lord’s day.”—_Boston Pilot, official organ of Cardinal O’Connell, March 16, 1912._

17. What complaint is made against Sunday trains and Sunday newspapers?

“They get a great many passengers, and so break up a great many congregations.” “The laboring classes are apt to rise late on Sunday morning, read the Sunday papers, and _allow the hour of worship to go by unheeded_.”—_Elgin_ (_Ill._) _Sunday-law Convention, November, 1887_.

NOTES.—In the fourth century, Sunday games and Sunday theaters, it was complained, “hindered” the “devotion” of the “faithful,” because many of the members attended them in preference to the church services. The church, therefore, demanded that the state should interfere, and enforce Sunday observance by law. “In this way,” says Neander, “the church received help from the state for the furtherance of her ends.” In this way church and state were united, and the Papacy was placed in power. The same course pursued now will produce the same results.

It is proper and right for the church to teach Sabbath observance, and to decry Sabbath desecration; but it should not attempt to secure Sabbath observance through compulsory legislation; nor should it seek to fasten upon the people by any means the observance of a day which God has never enjoined, and for which, as is admitted on all hands, there is no Scriptural command. See admissions on pages 441, 442, 455, 456, 560.

18. What does the prophet say the two-horned-beast power will attempt to enforce upon all the people?

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive _a mark_ in their right hand, or in their foreheads.” Rev. 13:16.

NOTES.—This mark is the mark of the beast, or the false sabbath. See Rev. 14:9, 10, and reading on page 446. God’s seal, or mark, is set in the forehead (Rev. 7:3; 14:1), the seat of the mind, the Lord accepting only the worship of conviction and conscience. The mark of the beast, however, is said to be received in the hand or forehead. Some are deceived and give assent to the false teaching with their minds, receiving the mark in the forehead; others, coerced or indifferent, give formal, outward consent, and so receive the mark in the hand.

Let the reader note this twofold aspect of the Sunday sabbath, as expressed by one of the most ardent and active Sunday-law advocates in the United States: “We, the Sabbath Union, W. C. T. U., all the churches, and the Y. M. C. A., are laboring with all our might to carry the _religious_ sabbath with our right arm, and the _civil_ sabbath with our left. Hundreds of thousands will receive it as a religious institution, and all the rest will receive it as a civil institution, and thus we will sweep in the whole nation.”—_Rev. W. F. Crafts, in Sunday Union Convention, Wichita, Kans., Sept. 20, 1889._

19. What means will be employed to compel all to receive this mark?

“And _that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark_, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Verse 17.

NOTE.—That is, all who refuse to receive this mark will be boycotted, or denied the rights and privileges of business and trade, or the ordinary means of gaining a livelihood. Already this spirit has begun to manifest itself in the movement to enforce Sunday observance. In a sermon preached in Burlington, Kans., Sunday, Jan. 31, 1904, Rev. Bascom Robins said:—

“In the Christian decalogue the first day was made the Sabbath by divine appointment. But there is a class of people who will not keep the Christian sabbath unless they are forced to do so. But that can be easily done. We have twenty million of men, besides women and children, in this country, who want this country to keep the Christian sabbath. If we would say we will not sell anything to them, we will not buy anything from them, we will not work for them, or hire them to work for us, the thing could be wiped out, and all the world would keep the Christian sabbath.”

20. By what authority was Sunday sabbath-keeping instituted?

By the authority of the Catholic Church. See page 439.

21. Why were the ancient Sunday laws demanded?

“That the day might be devoted with less interruption to the purposes of devotion.” “That the devotion of the faithful might be free from all disturbance.”—_Neander’s __“__Church History,__”__ Vol. II, pages 297, 301._

NOTE.—In short, it was to secure the enforced observance of the day, and through this means church attendance, and control over the people in religious things.

22. Why are they demanded now?

“Give us good Sunday laws, well enforced by men in local authority, and our churches will be full of worshipers, and our young men and women will be attracted to the divine service. A mighty combination of the churches of the United States could win from Congress, the State legislatures, and municipal councils, all legislation essential to this splendid consummation.”—_Rev. S. V. Leech, D. D., in Homiletic Review, November, 1892._

23. Who is responsible for the present State Sunday laws of the United States?

“During nearly all our American history _the churches_ have influenced the States to make and improve Sabbath laws.”—_Rev. W. F. Crafts, in Christian Statesman, July 3, 1890._

NOTES.—“These Sunday laws are a survival of the complete union of church and state which existed at the founding of the colony.”—_Boston Post, April 14, 1907._

“Such laws [as the Maryland Sunday law of 1723] were the outgrowth of the system of religious intolerance that prevailed in many of the colonies.”—_Decision of Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, Jan. 21, 1908._

The first Sunday law in America, that of Virginia, in 1610, required church attendance, and prescribed the death penalty for the third offense. See “American State Papers,” edition 1911, page 33.

24. Why is a national Sunday law demanded?

“The national law is needed to make the State laws complete and effective.”—_Christian Statesman, April 11, 1889._

25. Since the Sunday sabbath originated with the Roman power (the beast), to whom will men yield homage when, knowing the facts, they choose to observe Sunday, instead of the Bible Sabbath, in deference to compulsory Sunday laws?

“Know ye not, that _to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey_?” Rom. 6:16.

NOTES.—“The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church.”—“_Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today_,” page 213.

The conscientious observance of Sunday as the Sabbath on the part of those who hitherto have supposed it to be the Sabbath, has, without doubt, been accepted of God as Sabbath-keeping. It is only when light comes that sin is imputed. John 9:41; 15:22; Acts 17:30. See page 700.

26. What does Christ say about our duty to the state?

“Render therefore unto _Cæsar_ the things which are _Cæsar’s_; and unto _God_ the things that are _God’s_.” Matt. 22:21.

NOTE.—The Sabbath belongs to God. Its observance, therefore, should be rendered only to Him.

27. What special miracle is finally to be performed to deceive men, and fasten them in deception?

“And he doeth great wonders, so that _he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men_.” Rev. 13:13.

NOTE.—In the time of Elijah, in the controversy over Baal-worship, this was the test as to who was the true God,—the God that answered by fire. 1 Kings 18:24. Now, as a counterfeit test, fire will be made to come down from heaven to confirm men in an idolatrous and false worship.

28. To what length will this effort to enforce the worship of the image of the beast be carried?

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause [decree] that as many as would not worship the image of the beast _should be killed_.” Verse 15.

29. What deliverance will God finally bring to His people in this controversy?

“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and _them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name_, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” Rev. 15:2.

30. What song will they sing?

“And they sing _the song of Moses_ the servant of God, and _the song of the Lamb_.” Verse 3.

31. What was the song of Moses?

A song of deliverance from oppression. See Exodus 15.

The Seven Churches

John On Patmos. "What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches." Rev. 1:11.

1. What title is given the last book of the Bible?

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 1:1.

2. To whom do those things which are revealed belong?

“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but _those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever_.” Deut. 29:29.

3. For what purpose was the Revelation given?

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him _to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass_.” Rev. 1:1.

4. What great event, according to this book, is imminent?

“_Behold, He cometh with clouds_; and every eye shall see Him and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” Verse 7.

NOTE.—This book not only opens and closes with the subject of Christ’s second coming, but its eight lines of prophecy all reach down to this as the great culminating event to the church and the world.

5. What encouragement is given to study this book?

“_Blessed is he that readeth_, and they that _hear_ the words of this prophecy, and _keep_ those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Verse 3.

6. To whom was the book dedicated?

“John _to the seven churches which are in Asia_.” Verse 4.

7. What were the names of these seven churches?

“What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto _Ephesus_, and unto _Smyrna_, and unto _Pergamos_, and unto _Thyatira_, and unto _Sardis_, and unto _Philadelphia_, and unto _Laodicea_.” Verse 11.

NOTE.—These seven churches, and the messages addressed to them, apply to seven periods or states of the church reaching from the first to the second advent of Christ. “Under this emblematical representation of the seven churches of Asia,” says Vitringa, in the “Comprehensive Commentary,” “the Holy Spirit has delineated seven different states of the Christian church, which would appear in succession, extending to the coming of our Lord and the consummation of all things.” Their good qualities and their defects are pointed out, with admonitions, exhortations, and warnings suitable for each, all of which are also applicable to individual Christian experience.

8. By what title is the first state of the church distinguished?

“Unto the angel of the church of _Ephesus_ write.” Rev. 2:1.

NOTE.—The meaning of Ephesus is _desirable_, and fitly describes the character and condition of the church in its first state, when its members received the doctrine of Christ in its purity, and enjoyed the benefits and blessings of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This applies to the first century, or during the lifetime of the apostles. See dates in the accompanying diagram, showing the beginning and close of the seven periods.

The Seven Churches.

9. After commending this church for their good works, what charge did the Lord bring against them?

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because _thou hast left thy first love_. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and _repent, and do the first works_.” Verses 4, 5.

NOTE.—The “first love” is the love of the truth, and the desire of making it known to others. The “first works” are the fruit of this love.

10. What name is given to the second state of the church?

“Unto the angel of the church in _Smyrna_ write.” Verse 8.

NOTE.—The meaning of Smyrna is _myrrh_, or _sweet-smelling savor_, and applies to the period of time when many of the saints of God suffered martyrdom under pagan Rome.

11. How is the closing period of tribulation of the church during this time referred to?

“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, _the devil shall cast some of you into prison_, that ye may be tried; and _ye shall have tribulation ten days_: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Verse 10.

NOTE.—The most severe of what is commonly known as “the ten persecutions” under pagan Rome, began under the emperor Diocletian, and continued from 303 A.D. to 313 A.D., a period of ten prophetic days.

12. What name is given to the third state of the church?

“To the angel of the church in _Pergamos_ write.” Verse 12.

NOTE.—The meaning of Pergamos is _height_, or _elevation_, and fitly represents that period of the Christian church, beginning with the reign of the emperor Constantine in 313 A.D., when the power which had put the Christians to death espoused the cause of the church, and by rewards, edicts, and promised promotions to office in the government, sought to induce the people to become Christians, thus bringing a flood of worldliness and corruption into the church. Many of the heathen rites and ceremonies previously introduced into the Christian religion, including the heathen festival, _Sunday_ (sun’s day), were then established by law, resulting in the first day of the week taking the place of the Sabbath of the Bible.

13. How was the faithfulness of this church commended?

“I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and _thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith_, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.” Verse 13.

NOTE.—_Antipas_ comes from two Latin words, _anti_, opposed to, and _papas_, father, or pope, and denotes a class of people who were opposed to papal rule. Regarding _Pergamos_, see note on page 256.

14. What title was given to the fourth state of the church?

“Unto the angel of the church in _Thyatira_ write.” Verse 18.

NOTE.—Thyatira means _song of labor_, or _sacrifice of contrition_, and points out the condition of God’s people during the long, dark period of 1260 years, beginning with the establishment of papal supremacy in 538 A.D., and closing with the downfall of that power in 1798. See notes on page 223. During that time, millions of the saints of God were put to death in the most cruel manner that wicked men and demons could invent. Christ referred to this time in His wonderful prophecy recorded in Matthew 24, in these words: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” The tribulation of the 1260 years was cut short through the influence of the Reformation.

15. What promise did God leave for these persecuted ones?

“But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth My words 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 be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father.” Verses 25-27.

16. By what name is the fifth state of the church addressed?

“Unto the angel of the church in _Sardis_ write.” Rev. 3:1.

NOTE.—Sardis means _song of joy_, or _that which remains_. A cause for _joy_ at that time was the fact that the great tribulation of the people of God was at an end. It was only as a result of the Reformation that any of God’s people were left _remaining_. See Matt. 24:21, 22, and note under question 14. The Sardis church continued from the close of the papal power, 1798 A.D., until the beginning of the great advent movement in 1833, which was marked by the falling of the stars on November 13 of that year, as foretold by Christ in Matt. 24:29.

17. What endearing title is given the sixth church?

“To the angel of the church in _Philadelphia_ write.” Rev. 3:7.

NOTE.—Philadelphia means _brotherly love_, and applies to the church under the judgment-hour message. See page 251.

18. What words to this church show the second advent near?

“_Behold, I come quickly_: hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Verse 11.

19. What is Christ’s message to the last church?

“Unto the angel of the church of the _Laodiceans_ write; ... I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot.... Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing; ... I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed.... As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Verses 14-19.

NOTE.—Laodicea signifies _the judging of the people_, or, according to Cruden, a _just people_. This church exists in the time of the judgment and the proclamation of the final warning messages preceding Christ’s second coming. See Rev. 14:6-16, and readings on cages 251-263. This is a time of great profession, with but little vital godliness and true piety.

20. What encouragement is given to heed this message?

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” Verse 20.

NOTE.—The pointed, searching messages to the seven churches contain most important lessons of admonition, encouragement, and warning for all Christians in all ages. The seven promises to the overcomer found in this line of prophecy (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 21), with the eighth or universal promise recorded in Rev. 21:7, form a galaxy of promises as precious, as comforting, and as inspiring as any recorded in the Scriptures. See pages 558, 762.

The Seven Seals

The Lisbon Earthquake. "When He had opened the sixth seal, ... there was a great earthquake." Rev. 6:12.

1. What did John the revelator see in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne?

“And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne _a book_ written within, and on the back side _sealed with seven seals_.” Rev. 5:1.

2. What did the Lamb do with this book?

“And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat on the throne.” Verse 7.

3. Why was Christ declared worthy to open these seals?

“Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: _for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood_ out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” Verse 9.

4. What was shown upon the opening of the first seal?

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, ... _a white horse_: and He that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” Rev. 6:1, 2.

NOTE.—The number _seven_ in the Scriptures denotes completion or perfection. The seven seals embrace the whole of a class of events in which is narrated the history of the church from the beginning of the Christian era to the second coming of Christ. The white horse, with his rider going forth to conquer, fitly represents the early Christian church in its purity, going into all the world with the gospel message of salvation.

5. What appeared upon the opening of the second seal?

“And when He had opened the second seal, ... there went out _another horse that was red_: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.” Verses 3, 4.

NOTE.—As whiteness in the first horse denoted the purity of the gospel which its rider propagated, so the color of the second horse would show that corruption had begun to creep in when this symbol applies. It is true that such a state of things did succeed the apostolic church. Speaking of the second century, Wharey, in his “Church History,” page 39, says: “Christianity began already to wear the garb of heathenism. The seeds of most of those errors that afterwards so entirely overran the church, marred its beauty, and tarnished its glory, were already beginning to take root.” Worldliness came in. The church sought alliance with the secular power, and trouble and commotion were the result. This symbol extends from the close of the first century to the time of Constantine, when a complete union of church and state was effected.

6. What was the color of the symbol under the third seal?

“When He had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo _a black horse_; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.” Verse 5.

NOTE.—The “black” horse fitly represents the spiritual darkness that characterized the church from the time of Constantine till the establishment of papal supremacy in 538 A.D. Of the condition of things in the fourth century, Wharey (page 54) says: “Christianity had now become popular, and a large proportion, perhaps a large majority, of those who embraced it, only assumed the name, received the rite of baptism, and conformed to some of the external ceremonies of the church, while at heart and in moral character they were as much heathen as they were before. Error and corruption now came in upon the church like a flood.”

7. What were the color and character of the fourth symbol?

“And when He had opened the fourth seal, ... behold _a pale horse_: and his name that sat on him was _Death_, and _Hell_ [Greek, _Hades_, the _grave_] _followed with him_. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, _to kill with sword_, and with _hunger_, and with _death_, and with the _beasts of the earth_.” Verses 7, 8.

NOTE.—This is an unnatural color for a horse. The original denotes the _pale_ or _yellowish_ color seen in blighted plants. The symbol evidently refers to the work of persecution and death carried on by the Roman Church against the people of God from the time of the beginning of papal supremacy in 538 A.D. to the time when the Reformers commenced their work of exposing the true character of the Papacy, and a check was placed upon this work of death.

8. On opening the fifth seal, what was seen under the altar?

“And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar _the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held_.” Verse 9.

NOTE.—When the Reformers exposed the work of the Papacy, it was then called to mind how many martyrs had been slain for their faith.

9. What were these martyrs represented as doing?

“And _they cried with a loud voice_, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” Verse 10.

NOTE.—The cruel treatment which they had received cried for vengeance, just as Abel’s blood cried to God from the ground. Gen. 4:10. They were not in heaven, but under the altar on which they had been slain. On this point Dr. Adam Clarke says: “The altar is upon earth, not in heaven.” See note under next question.

10. What was given these martyrs?

“And _white robes were given unto every one of them_; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled [have fulfilled their course, R. V.].” Verse 11.

NOTE.—These had been slain during the hundreds of years covered by the preceding seal. Their persecutors, most of them, at least, had died. And if they had at death passed to their punishment, as is by some supposed, why should the martyred ones still importune for their punishment? In this, as in other parts of the Bible, the figure of personification is used, in which inanimate objects are represented as alive and speaking, and things that are not as though they were. See Judges 9:8-15; Heb. 2:11; Rom. 4:17. These martyrs had gone down as heretics under the darkness and superstition of the preceding seal, covered with ignominy and shame. Now, in the light of the Reformation, their true character appears, and they are seen to have been righteous, and hence are given “white robes.” “The fine linen [white robes] is the righteousness of saints.” Rev. 19:8. Righteousness is ascribed to them; and when they have rested a little longer where they are,—under the altar,—till all others who are to fall for their faith have followed them, then together they will be raised to life and immortality.

11. What was first seen on the opening of the sixth seal?

“And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was _a great earthquake_.” Verse 12, first part.

NOTE.—This doubtless refers to the great earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, commonly known as the Lisbon earthquake, the effects of which were felt over an area of 4,000,000 square miles. Lisbon, Portugal, a city containing 150,000 inhabitants, was almost entirely destroyed. The shock of the earthquake, says Mr. Sears, in his “Wonders of the World,” page 200, “was instantly followed by the fall of every church and convent, almost all the large public buildings, and one fourth of the houses. In about two hours afterward, fires broke out in different quarters, and raged with such violence for the space of nearly three days that the city was completely desolated. The earthquake happened on a holy day, when the churches and convents were full of people, very few of whom escaped.... The terror of the people was beyond description. Nobody wept: it was beyond tears. They ran hither and thither, delirious with horror and astonishment, beating their faces and breasts, crying, ‘_Misericordia! the world’s at an end!_’ Mothers forgot their children, and ran about loaded with crucifixed images. Unfortunately, many ran to the churches for protection; but in vain was the sacrament exposed; in vain did the poor creatures embrace the altars; images, priests, and people were buried in one common ruin.... Ninety thousand persons are supposed to have been lost on that fatal day.”

12. What was to follow the great earthquake?

“And _the sun became black_ as sackcloth of hair, and _the moon became as blood_.” Same verse, latter part.

NOTE.—This refers to the dark day and night of May 19, 1780, when the darkness and gloom were such as to give the general impression that the day of judgment was at hand. See readings on pages 311, 319.

13. What other event is mentioned under this seal?

“And _the stars of heaven fell unto the earth_, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” Verse 13.

NOTES.—This was fulfilled in the wonderful meteoric shower of Nov. 13, 1833. Describing the scene in the vicinity of Niagara Falls, one writer says: “No spectacle so terribly grand and sublime was ever before beheld by man as that of the firmament descending in fiery torrents over the dark and roaring cataract.”—_“__Our First Century,__”__ page 330; also The American Cyclopedia, edition 1881, article __“__Meteor.__”_ See readings just referred to.

A contributor, writing for the _Journal of Commerce_ of Nov. 14, 1833, in regard to the falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833, said: “Were I to hunt through nature for a simile, I could not find one so apt to illustrate the appearance of the heavens as that which St. John uses in the prophecy. The falling stars did not come as if from several trees shaken, but as from _one_; those which appeared in the east, fell toward the east; those which appeared in the west, fell toward the west; and those which appeared in the south, fell toward the south. And they fell not as the _ripe_ fruit falls,—far from it,—but they flew, they were _cast_, like the unripe fruit which at first refuses to leave the branch; and when, under a violent pressure, it does break its hold, it flies swiftly, _straight_ off, descending; and in the multitude falling, some cross the track of others, as they are thrown with more or less force; but each one falls on its own side of the tree.” See page 321.

14. What is the next event mentioned in the prophecy?

“And _the heaven departed as a scroll_ when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” Verse 14.

NOTE.—This event is still future, and will take place in connection with Christ’s second coming. We are now standing between the two events,—the last of the signs in the heavens, and the parting of the heavens and removal of earthly things out of their places. The great signs here mentioned which mark the approach of Christ’s second coming and the dissolution of all earthly things, are all in the past, and the world awaits the sound of the last trump as the closing scene in earth’s drama.

15. How will this great event affect the world?

“And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Verses 15-17.

16. After the sealing work brought to view in Revelation 7, which takes place under the sixth seal, how is the seventh seal introduced?

“And when He had opened the seventh seal, _there was silence in heaven_ about the space of half an hour.” Rev. 8:1.

NOTE.—The sixth seal introduced the events connected with the second coming of Christ. The seventh seal most naturally, therefore, would refer to that event, or to some accompanying result of it. When Christ comes, all the holy angels will accompany Him (Matt. 25:31); and it follows that silence will necessarily, therefore, reign in heaven during their absence. A half-hour of prophetic time would be about seven days. The seven seals, therefore, bring us down to the second coming of Christ.

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It may be at morn, when the day is awaking, When sunlight through darkness and shadow is breaking, That Jesus will come in the fulness of glory To receive from the world His own.

It may be at midday, it may be at twilight, It may be, perchance, that the blackness of midnight Will burst into light in the blaze of His glory, When Jesus receives His own.

O joy! O delight! should we go without dying, No sickness, no sadness, no dread, and no crying, Caught up through the clouds with our Lord into glory, When Jesus receives His own.

H. L. TURNER.

The Seven Trumpets

Symbols Of War. "The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged." Rev. 11:18.

1. Following the seven seals, under what symbols was the next series of thrilling events shown the apostle John?

“And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given _seven trumpets_.” Rev. 8:2.

2. With what do these trumpets deal?

With the wars, commotions, and political upheavals which result in the breaking up and downfall of the Roman Empire,—the first four with the downfall of Western Rome, the fifth and sixth with the downfall of Eastern Rome, and the seventh with the final downfall of Rome in its broadest sense, or all the kingdoms of the world. See Revelation 8 and 9 and 11:14-19. A trumpet is a symbol of war. Jer. 4:19, 20; Joel 2:1-11.

3. Under what figures is the first trumpet described?

“The first angel sounded, and there followed _hail_ and _fire_ mingled with _blood_, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.” Rev. 8:7.

NOTES.—“Twice, at least, before the Roman Empire became divided permanently into the two parts, the Eastern and the Western, there was a tripartite division of the empire. The first occurred 311 A.D., when it was divided between Constantine, Licinius, and Maximin; the other, 337 A.D., on the death of Constantine, when it was divided between his three sons, Constantine, Constans, and Constantius.”—_Albert Barnes, on Rev. 12:4._ To Constantius was given Constantinople and the East; to Constans, Italy, Illyricum, and northern Africa; and to Constantine II, Britain, Gaul, and Spain.

This trumpet describes the first great invasion upon Western or ancient Rome, by the Goths, under Alaric, from 395 A.D. to 410 A.D. In 408 he descended upon Italy, the middle “third part,” pillaging and burning cities, and slaughtering their inhabitants. Says Gibbon, in his “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,”