Part 15

The great city, as shown in connection with Rev. 16:19, p. 290, is the Roman hierarchy:—symbolized by Babylon, and “spiritually called Sodom and Egypt.” By being thus “spiritually called Sodom,” some understand that it is a “spiritual Sodom,” &c., which would be a contradiction of terms; others understand that it is called figuratively by those names, and deduce from it an argument for spiritualizing the Scriptures; but the use of the word “spiritually,” it is believed, will not sanction any such meaning. It occurs only in two other passages:—in Rom. 8:7, to be “spiritually minded,” is to have a mind in accordance with the will of the Spirit; and in 1 Cor. 2:14, things “spiritually discerned,” signifies that they are discerned by the aid of the Spirit. The great city, then, is called by the Spirit, “Sodom and Egypt;” and is so called because of her licentiousness and idolatries, and her subjecting the saints to bondage. To crucify the Lord afresh, is to apostatize from his teachings, Heb. 6:6.

In 1793, twelve hundred and sixty years from the date of the Papal supremacy, the Bible was abolished in France, by the solemn decree of the government, which declared that the nation acknowledged no God. A copy of the Bible could not be found in a single bookstore in Paris. Inquiry also was made for it in Rome, in all the book establishments of that city, and the invariable reply was, that it was prohibited. All the churches of Paris were shut, and the church plate was declared the property of the nation. Professors of religion, at the same time, in large numbers openly apostatized and embraced infidelity. Says Dr. Croley:—

“On the 1st of November, 1793, Gobet, with the republican priests of Paris, had thrown off the gown and abjured religion. On the 11th, a ‘grand festival,’ dedicated to ‘Reason and Truth,’ was celebrated instead of divine service in the ancient cathedral of Notre Dame, which had been desecrated, and been named, ‘the Temple of Reason;’ a pyramid was erected in the centre of the church, surmounted by a temple, inscribed, ‘To Philosophy.’ The torch of ‘Truth’ was on the altar of ‘Reason,’ spreading light, &c. The National Convention, and all the authorities, attended at this burlesque and insulting ceremony. In February, 1794, a grand fête was ordered by the convention, in which hymns to Liberty were chanted, and a pageant in honor of the abolition of slavery in the colonies, was displayed in the ‘Temple of Reason.’ In June another festival was ordered—to the Supreme Being: the God of Philosophy. But the most superb exhibition was the ‘general festival,’ in honor of the republic. It was distinguished by a more audacious spirit of scoffing and profanation than the former. Robespierre acted the ‘high-priest of Reason’ on the day, and made himself conspicuous in blasphemy. He was then at the summit of power,—actual sovereign of France.”

The dead bodies of the witnesses, would be their existence in that prohibited condition, when, in France, neither the Scriptures, nor the church showed any symptoms of life. In the street, would be the conspicuous and public manner in which indignities should be heaped on them. France had been one of the principal states yielding homage to the Roman church. Surrounding nations beheld, but would not permit the extermination of the Bible and Christianity.

The French made merry over their blasphemous work. Says Dr. Croley:—

“A very remarkable and prophetic distinction of this period, was the spirit of frenzied festivity which seized upon France. The capital, and all the republican towns, were the scene of civic feasts, processions, and shows of the most extravagant kind. The most festive times of peace under the most expensive kings were thrown into the shade by the frequency, variety, and extent of the republican exhibitions. Yet this was a time of perpetual miseries throughout France. The guillotine was bloody from morn till night. In the single month of July, 1794, nearly eight hundred persons, the majority, principal individuals of the state, and all possessing some respectability of situation, were guillotined in Paris alone. In the midst of this horror, there were twenty-six theatres open, filled with the most profane and profligate displays in honor of the ‘triumph of reason.’ ”

In Lyons a Bible was tied to the tail of an ass and dragged in a procession through the streets of that city. Thus they rejoiced over the supposed end of religion in France; and congratulated themselves that the terrors of God’s word, and the church would no more torment them.

“After three days and a half,” would be that number of years from the suppression of Christianity in November, 1793. On the 17th day of June, 1797, three and a half years from the abolition of the Bible and religious worship, CAMILLE JOURDAN, in the Council of Five Hundred, brought up the memorable report on the Revision of the Laws Relative to Religious Worship, by which France gave permission to all citizens to buy or hire edifices for the free exercise of it; repealing all opposing laws, and subjecting those to a heavy fine who should in any way impede or interrupt any religious service. The Bible and the church again stood erect, to the dismay of all who had rejoiced over their overthrow. Those two witnesses were again in a position to resume their testimony.

They were not only to be thus restored, but were to be elevated far above their former position. Since that epoch, have been made all those great efforts to evangelize the world, by means of missionary, tract, Bible, and other benevolent societies, which have caused the Scriptures to be translated into nearly all known languages, and carried by the living preacher to the ends of the earth. The very room in which Voltaire uttered his famous prediction—that “the time would arrive when the Bible would be regarded only in the light of an old curiosity,”—is now used for a Bible depository, and is “piled to the ceiling with that rare old book.” Copies of the Bible have been multiplied a million fold, and scattered broadcast over the earth. The other witness,—the church, has since then, also, been greatly magnified. In this age of missions and Bibles, the number of believers has been greatly multiplied; and missionaries have penetrated all lands. The last half-century has been distinguished for its wonderful revivals; and the servants of the cross have “prophesied [or testified] again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings,” 10:11.

The same hour, is the time of the slaughter of the witnesses. Its epoch was to be marked by a great political revolution, which, in the Apocalypse, is symbolized by an earthquake. In the year in which Christianity was suppressed by France, they beheaded their king, abolished the monarchy, and entirely revolutionized the government. In the reign of terror following, the best blood of the nation was shed like water, and no man of influence could consider his life secure. Men, women and children were dragged before the revolutionary tribunals, had their accusations read to them, and were immediately condemned, and hurried off in crowds without a trial, to be shot, drowned or beheaded. At Lyons thirty-one thousand persons were thus slain; at Nantes thirty-two thousand,—and throughout France in proportion. The number thus slain, has been estimated at over one million,—a number hardly credible, and which might well be symbolized by seven thousand—a perfect number. Well might the remnant be affrighted, and hasten to give glory to the GOD of heaven, by the restoration of that book, the setting aside of which had involved them in such dire calamities.

The tenth of the city which fell, must be the tenth of the Roman hierarchy, which is symbolized by the city. With the suppression of religion, the Catholic church was prohibited, with all others. France was one of the ten kingdoms, and the overthrow of the church in France, would be the fall of one-tenth of that city.

Thus passed the second woe—the prelude to the third woe, which cometh quickly.

The Seventh Trumpet.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world hath become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Anointed; and he will reign for ever and ever. And the twenty-four elders, who sat before God on their thrones, fell on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We thank thee, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and who wast, because thou hast taken to thyself thy great power, and reigned. And the nations were enraged, and thy wrath is come, and the season of the dead, when they should be judged, and a reward should be given to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear thy name, small and great; and when thou shouldest destroy those, who destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of his covenant in his temple appeared, and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.”—Rev. 11:15-19.

The seventh, like the preceding trumpets, marks an epoch from which an era dates. “The days of the voice of the seventh angel” (10:7), are indicative of a period of time to follow its sounding, in which will be fulfilled the events predicted of that era.

The voices in heaven, which immediately follow its sounding, are prophetic utterances of events then to transpire; and are distinct from the response of the elders. When Christ “shall be revealed from heaven,” he will be accompanied “with his mighty angels,” 2 Thess. 1:7. He will descend “with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God,” (1 Thess. 4:16); and the shout is evidently that of the attending angels, symbolized by those voices, which will announce the revolution which is to be made in the empire of the earth, and of the substitution of the kingdom of God in the place of human governments.

The kingdom here established, is the long promised consummation, foretold by prophets, and anticipated by saints of every age. It is that predicted by Daniel, when he says: “In the days of these kings shall the GOD of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Dan. 2:44. He also “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. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.... 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.” Ib. 7:13, 14, 27. It is that referred to in the simple petition, “Thy kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10), which was to be the great object of our prayer till the final consummation; which the disciples thought was to appear immediately, when they journeyed towards, and were nigh to, Jerusalem, and which misapprehension the Saviour corrected by the parable of a nobleman going into a far country to receive for himself kingly authority, and to return, Luke 20:12. It is that respecting which they inquired, as the SAVIOUR was about to be taken from them, if he would at that time restore it to Israel, (Acts 1:6); and to which the apostle refers, when he declares to TIMOTHY that the Lord JESUS CHRIST will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and kingdom, 2 Tim. 4:1.

“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?”

This kingdom is to be an eternal kingdom: “He will reign for ever and ever.” This is in accordance with the declaration in Daniel, that “the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever,” Dan. 7:18. To its eternity Nathan testifies when he says to David, “Thy house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever,” 2 Sam. 7:16. Though this was spoken to David, it was to be fulfilled in Christ; for we read in Luke (1:32, 33), “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.” It is predicted in Isaiah, that “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end; upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth, even forever,” Isa. 9:6, 7. To the Son the Father saith, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever,” (Heb. 1:8); and the blood-washed throng ascribe to him “glory and dominion for ever and ever,” 1:5, 6.

“Thy kingdom come! O day of joy, When praise shall every tongue employ; When hate and strife and war shall cease, And man with man shall be at peace. Jesus shall reign on Zion’s hill, And all the earth with glory fill; His word shall Paradise restore, And sin and death afflict no more. God’s holy will shall then be done By all who live beneath the sun; For saints shall then as angels be, All changed to immortality.”

The four-and-twenty elders,—symbolizing those who are redeemed “out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation,” 5:8, 9,—at the establishment of the kingdom, are to be made “kings and priests,” and are to “reign on the earth,” 5:10. They are “saints of the Most High,” who are to “take the kingdom,” and possess it “forever.” With the announcement of its establishment, they immediately respond with glad hosannas, which spontaneously and unitedly burst forth from the enraptured hosts of the ransomed ones, as they find themselves clothed upon with immortality, and in the joyful presence of their Lord. They are raised from the dead at this epoch; or are among the living who will then be translated, as says the apostle:

“Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,”—the last of the seven;—“for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

The nations who are angry, will be the nations out from whom the righteous are taken, and who are left to the recompense of their reward;—“when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe,” 2 Thess. 1:7-10.

The heathen had raged, and the people imagined a vain thing. The kings of the earth had set themselves, and the rulers taken counsel against the Lord, and against his anointed. Now the time of their anger is to end: the time for the exercise of the wrath of Jehovah upon them, has arrived, and they are filled with fear, consternation, and shame. The time has come when the dead are to be avenged,—when those who had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held, whose souls under the altar during the fifth seal, 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?” (6:10) find their expectations answered, and the destroyers, or perverters of the earth, in like manner perverted and destroyed. This winds up the kingdom of Satan on earth; his reign terminates, and his subjects are banished. The absence of all the wicked, with the transfiguration of all the righteous living and resurrection of the just, leave for subjects only those who have passed the period of their probation, and are introduced into the everlasting kingdom of God.

The opening of the temple in heaven, and the presentation of the Ark of the Covenant, symbolize the unfolding of the mystery, in which the administration of God may have been shrouded, making apparent all which may have been inexplicable in his dealings with men; and rendering evident the verity of his promises to his chosen ones.

The voices, lightnings, thunders, earthquake, and hail, are appropriate symbols of the plagues which will fall upon the wicked. These are fearfully depicted in the Scriptures. God says to Job, “Hast thou seen the treasures of hail which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war,” 38:22, 23. Judgment then will be laid “to the line, and righteousness to the plummet, and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies. The Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones,” Isa. 28:17.

This prepares the way for the purification of the earth as foretold by Peter (2 Pet. 3:12, 13), the restitution of all things (3:21), the new heavens and new earth (21:1), the descent of the saints (21:2), and the kingdom of God on the earth, 21:3. Assuming the correctness of the view here given, how near to the time now present does it seem to fix the consummation!