Says Mr. Simpson, in Plea for Religion: "We Protestants, too, read the declaration of the third angel against the worshipers of the beast and his image, and make ourselves easy under the awful denunciation by applying it exclusively to the church of Rome; never dreaming that they are equally applicable not only to the English, but to every church establishment in Christendom, which retains any of the marks of the beast. For though the Pope and the church of Rome is at the head of the grand twelve hundred and sixty years' delusion, yet all other churches, of whatever denomination, whether established or tolerated, which partake of the same spirit, or have instituted doctrines and ceremonies inimical to the pure and unadulterated gospel of Christ, shall sooner or later share in the fate of that immense fabric of human ordinances."

Says Mr. Hopkins: "There is no reason to consider the antichristian spirit and practices confined to that which is now called the church of Rome. The Protestant churches have much of Antichrist in them, and are far from being wholly reformed from the corruptions and wickedness, in doctrine and practice, in it. Some churches may be more pure and may have proceeded farther in a reformation than others; but where can the church be found which is thoroughly purged from her abominations? None are wholly clear from an antichristian spirit and the fruits of it.... And as the church of Rome will have a large share in the cup of indignation and wrath which will be poured out, so all the Christian world will have a distinguished portion of it: as the inhabitants of it are much more guilty than others. There is great reason to conclude that the world, particularly that part of it called Christian and Protestant, will yet make greater and more rapid advances in all kinds of moral corruption and open wickedness, till it will come to that state in which it will be fully ripe and prepared to be cut down by the sickle of divine justice and wrath."

Mr. O. Scott (Wesleyan Methodist) says: "The church is as deeply infected with a desire for worldly gain as the world. Most of the denominations of the present day might be called churches of the world, with more propriety than churches of Christ. The churches have so far gone from primitive Christianity that they need a fresh regeneration—a new kind of religion."

Said T. DeWitt Talmage: "I simply state a fact when I say that in many places the church is surrendering, and the world is conquering.... There is a mighty host in the Christian church, positively professing Christianity, who do not believe the Bible, out and out and in and in.... Oh! we have magnificient church machinery in this country; we have sixty thousand American ministers; we have costly music; we have great Sunday-schools; and yet I give you the appalling statistics that in the last twenty-five years, laying aside last year, the statistics of which I have not yet seen,—within the last twenty-five years the churches of God in this country have averaged less than two conversions a year each! There has been an average of four or five deaths in the churches. How soon, at that rate, will this world be brought to God? We gain two; we lose four. Eternal God! what will this come to?"

Bishop Roberts said: "The popular religion of this country is not the religion of the New Testament. It has some of its features but not all. It is lacking in grand fundamental elements. It answers many good purposes—restrains, refines, elevates, and gives to society a high grade of civilization; but fails to secure the great end which Christianity is designed to accomplish—the salvation of the soul. It dazzles but to blind, it promises but to deceive; it allures by worldly considerations to a heaven of purity, which no worldling can enter; it gives to its votaries, who long to eat of forbidden fruit, the assurance of impunity from the threatened evils, and leads them on by siren strains from the Paradise of purity into the broad road which ends at last in the blackness of the darkness of an eternal night of despair!"

Says the Golden Rule: "The Protestants are outdoing the Popes in splendid, extravagant folly in church building. Thousands on thousands are expended in gay and costly ornaments to gratify pride and a wicked ambition, that might and should go to redeem the perishing millions! Does the evil, the folly, and the madness of these proud, formal, fashionable worshiper, stop here? These splendid monuments of Popish pride, upon which millions are squandered in our cities, virtually exclude the poor for whom Christ died, and for whom he came especially to preach."

The report of the Michigan Yearly Conference, even as long ago as 1851, published in the True Wesleyan of Nov. 15, says: "The world, commercial, political, and ecclesiastical are alike, and are together going in the broad way that leads to death. Politics, commerce, and nominal religion, all connive at sin, reciprocally aid each other, and unite to crush the poor. Falsehood is unblushingly uttered in the forum and in the pulpit; and sins that would shock the moral sensibilities of the heathen, go unrebuked in all the great denominations of our land. These churches are like the Jewish church when the Savior exclaimed, 'Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.'"

Robert Atkins, in a sermon preached in London, says: "The truly righteous are diminished from the earth, and no man layeth it to heart. The professors of religion of the present day, in every church, are lovers of the world, conformers to the world. Lovers of creature-comfort, and aspirers after respectability. They are called to suffer with Christ, but they shrink even from reproach. Apostasy, apostasy, APOSTASY, is engraven on the very front of every church; and did they know it, and did they feel it, there might be hope; but alas! they cry 'We are rich, and increased in goods, and stand in need of nothing.'"

I have by no means exhausted the supply of similar testimonies of Protestants now before me, but for lack of space I must conclude. In the face of these amazing facts can any one deny that Protestantism is a part of great Babylon and is in a fallen condition?

"The merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies." A certain writer on this text has said: "Who take the lead in all the extravagancies of the age? Church-members. Who load their tables with the richest and choicest viands? Church-members. Who are foremost in extravagance in dress, and all costly attire? Church-members. Who are the very personification of pride and arrogance? Church-members. Where shall we look for the very highest exhibition of the luxury, even show, and pride of life, resulting from the vanity and sin of the race? Answer, To a modern church-assembly on a pleasant Sunday." Though this writer interpreted the text literally, yet he spoke a vast amount of truth, as every one knows.

Consider, too, the wickedness carried on everywhere in sect Babylon unrebuked, with the preachers ofttimes in the lead. Shows, festivals, frolics, grab-bag parties, cake-walk lotteries, kissing-bees, etc., etc. If the apostle were here to-day and we should inform him of a modern church entertainment where a bared female foot, projecting from beneath a curtain, was sold to the highest gentleman bidder, who had the privilege of kissing its owner and taking her to supper, he would probably answer, "Have I not told you, 'Babylon is fallen'?" If his attention was called to the fact that the members of a prominent church, in a novel entertainment, displayed the likeness of a donkey, minus the tail, while the members one by one were blindfolded, and, amid the uproarous laughter of the crowd assembled, were given the detached part to see who could place it the nearest where it belonged, he would say with double emphasis, "Have I not told you, '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'?" The "abominations" are by no means confined to the mother in the Revelation, but are also to be found in abundance in connection with her harlot daughters.

Here we have a number of important truths brought before us—first, that God had a people in Babylon who up to this time were free from her contaminations; second, that they received a positive call from heaven to "come out"; third, that all who refused to obey the heavenly command would become partakers of her sins and receive of her plagues; fourth, that those who came out were to pour the strongest judgments upon Babylon—"reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double." It is evident that the "torment and sorrow" which God's people give Babylon after their departure is not a temporal retaliation—for they never indulge in such, and the Word of God forbids it—but is altogether of a spiritual nature; hence the fierce judgment they inflict is executing the Word of truth, which brings to light all the wickedness and abominations contained therein. "Death, and mourning, and famine" only remain. This symbolizes that all spiritual life has departed, while famine and mourning are left. That such is the actual fact is shown by the following lamentation of the late Bishop R.S. Foster concerning his own sect, the Methodist Episcopal:

"The ball, the theatre, nude and lewd art, social luxuries, with all their loose moralities, are making inroads into the sacred enclosure of the church; and as a satisfaction for all this worldliness, Christians are making a great deal of Lent and Easter and Good Friday, and church ornamentations. It is the old trick of Satan. The Jewish church struck on that rock; the Romish church was wrecked on the same; and the Protestant church is fast reaching the same doom.

"Our great dangers as we see them, are assimilation to the world, neglect of the poor, substitution of the form for the fact of godliness, abandonment of discipline, a hireling ministry, an impure gospel, which summed up is a fashionable church. That Methodists should be liable to such an outcome, and that there should be signs of it in a hundred years from the 'sail-loft,' seems almost the miracle of history; but who that looks about him to-day can fail to see the fact?

"Do not Methodists, in violation of God's Word and their own discipline, dress as extravagantly and as fashionably as any other class? Do not the ladies, and even the wives and daughters of the ministry, put on 'gold and pearls and costly array'? Would not the plain dress insisted upon by John Wesley and Bishop Asbury, and worn by Hester Ann Rodgers, Lady Huntington, and many others equally distinguished, be now regarded in Methodist circles as fanaticism? Can any one going into the Methodist church in any of our chief cities distinguish the attire of the communicants from that of the theater and ball-goers? Is not worldliness seen in the music? Elaborately dressed and ornamented choirs, who in many cases make no profession of religion and are often sneering skeptics, go through a cold artistic or operatic performance, which is as much in harmony with spiritual worship as an opera or theater. Under such worldly performances spirituality is frozen to death.

"Formerly every Methodist attended class and gave testimony of experimental religion. Now the class-meeting is attended by very few, and in many churches abandoned. Seldom the stewards, trustees and elders of the church attend class. Formerly nearly every Methodist prayed, testified or exhorted in prayer-meeting. Now but very few are heard. Formerly shouts and praises were heard; now such demostrations of holy enthusiasm and joy are regarded as fanaticism.

"Worldly socials, and fairs, festivals, concerts and such like have taken the place of religious gatherings, revival meetings, class and prayer meetings of earlier days. How true that the Methodist discipline is a dead letter! Its rules forbid the wearing of gold or pearls or costly array; yet no one ever thinks of disciplining its members for violating them. They forbid the reading of such books and the taking of such diversions as do not minister to godliness, yet the church itself goes to frolics and festivals and fairs, which destroy the spiritual life of the young, as well as the old. The extent to which this is now carried on is appalling. The spiritual death it carries in its train will only be known when the millions it has swept into hell shall stand before the judgment.

"The early Methodist ministers went forth to sacrifice and to suffer for Christ. They sought not places of ease and affluence, but of privation and suffering. They gloried not in their big salaries, fine parsonages, and refined congregations, but in the souls that had been won for Jesus. Oh, how changed! A hireling ministry will be a feeble, a timid, a truckling, a timeserving ministry, without faith, endurance, and holy power. Methodism formerly dealt in the great central truth. Now the pulpits deal largely in the generalities and in popular lectures. The glorious doctrine of entire sanctification is rarely heard and seldom witnessed in the pulpits."

This lengthy quotation shows clearly the spiritual condition of Methodism, and certainly she is no worse than the rest. God is calling his people out of "all the places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." Ezek. 34:12. Those who refuse to walk in the light will go into darkness. God help people to "flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul."

9. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

10. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

11. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

12. The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

13. And cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

14. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

15. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

16. And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

17. For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

18. And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

19. And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

In this description we have a continuation of the judgments of Babylon already introduced. It must be borne in mind, however, that this is the spiritual judgments following her moral fall, and not her final and everlasting literal destruction. The latter is described under another symbol a little further on in this series of prophecy.

The symbol here is that of a great city, the grand metropolis of the world, the mart of earth's commerce; a superb city, their [sic] being no end to its luxuries and magnificence. In it everything that can minister to the appetite, gratify the taste, and feed the pride of the human soul is to be found in profusion, being described at length. This great city is suddenly afire, and her merchants and the great men of the world who sustain her are overwhelmed with sorrow at the sight of all their wealth disappearing. Thus is great sect Babylon represented. She is a mighty city extending not only over the Apocalyptic earth, but, as symbolized by the ship-masters, sailors, and foreign traders, over the whole world. Suddenly she is set on fire by heaven's truth and her spiritual magnificence destroyed. The apostle Paul describes the great apostasy as a system that the "Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." 2 Thes. 2:8. That spiritual consumption is now taking place in accordance with the symbols of this chapter, but the entire literal destruction of old Babylon will take place coincident "with the brightness of his coming," as described in the following chapter.

That sectarians are greatly alarmed over the sad condition of their fallen churches is clearly shown by the many quotations already given from Protestant writers. They may not be aware that it is a judgment from heaven upon man-made organizations; but such we know it to be in the light of eternal truth. Not only are they bewailing the loss of spiritual life and the desolating famine in sectdom, as was Bishop Foster and others, but they are beginning to tremble for their own safety and to wonder what the final outcome of it all will be. Wherever the gospel truth has been preached in all its purity, the sectarian denominations have been left destitute of spiritual life; for the children of God have heard his call, "Come out of her, my people," and have made their escape to Zion. Hence the ministers of Babylon cry out continually, "Stop! you are tearing our churches down," "You are taking our best members away from us," etc. But we can not withhold the truth; for the time has come when God is gathering his people together out of all the "places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day" (Ezek. 34:12) into the one church that Jesus built. "Babylon is fallen, is fallen."

20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

This verse is so clear that it requires no special explanation. God's people are delivered from sect Babylon; and while the judgments of eternal truth are being poured out upon her, all heaven and earth is called upon to rejoice and to give glory to God.

21. 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.

22. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;

23. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

24. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Following the moral fall of Babylon and the call of God's people out of her, a mighty angel predicts her eternal doom. "With violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." This doubtless has reference to the entire city of Babylon in all her divisions brought to view in this series of prophecy and shows her final destruction at the coming of Christ, when she shall suddenly be thrown with terrific force, like a great millstone descending into the sea, and "shall be found no more at all." According to the symbols here given she will be like a city completely destroyed, not one inhabitant or living creature remaining. Thus her eternal doom is pictured and remains to be yet fulfilled.

"And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth." We have already shown that Protestantism, as well as her mother Romanism, has been guilty of shedding innocent blood; and as the term Babylon includes both these divisions, when the great city is thrown down with violence, Romanism and Protestantism will sink together, and then this awful treasure—the blood of prophets and of saints—shall be brought to light in that last great day of God Almighty.

And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God:

2. For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

3. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

4. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

5. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

6. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

7. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

9. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

10. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The scene of this vision is laid in heaven. John heard a great voice of much people saying, "Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God." This great song of praise doubtless came from the lips of the angelic throng; for immediately the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders reechoed the same shout of praise, saying, "Amen; Alleluia." Then came a voice from the throne calling upon the servants of God, both small and great, to unite on this occasion in one grand and sacred song of praise; and this sublime chorus fell upon the ear of the enraptured apostle "as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife [or bride] hath made herself ready." Was not here a hearty response to that call, "Rejoice over her thou heaven"? While this scene shows the interest all heaven takes in these wondrous scenes of earth, it is doubtless intended especially to represent the joy and thanksgiving of God's people who have "gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name."

The marriage of the Lamb which was about to take place was a special theme of joy on this occasion. In the Scripture the term marriage is frequently used to represent a special union between Christ and his people. Thus, the early church was represented as being free because of the death of the law, that they "should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead." Rom. 7:4. So, also, the eternal union of Christ with his people is here described under the figure of marriage. In one sense they have been married to Christ all through this dispensation; in another sense they have not. The church has had the promise of this eternal union, hence she has been betrothed to Christ; but left in the world, she has been driven into the wilderness, while a corrupt and drunken prostitute and her harlot daughters have been in the public view. Now, however, the judgments of God have descended upon Babylon, and the bride of Christ appears in all her beauty again, "arrayed in fine linen, clean and white"; and the next great event is her public marriage to Christ when he comes to claim her as his own.

The marriage scene is one of the most joyful that we witness on earth, and among Eastern nations especially was celebrated with great pomp and magnificence, the joy and splendor of the occasion being enhanced according to the rank and wealth of the parties. But earth has never witnessed such an event as this special marriage of the Lamb. Well may the inhabitants of heaven and earth, in view of this sublime spectacle, swell the song of praise—"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." The special preparations that the bride is making represents the glorious holiness reformation that is now sweeping over the world, gathering God's people together for the splendid event. "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."

"These are the true sayings of God." They are almost too glorious to be believed; still, they are no idle dreams of fancy: they are true, yea "the true sayings of God." In the contemplation of such a wonderful event, the beloved apostle was carried away, as it were, with holy enthusiasm, and he fell at the feet of the angel to worship. We do not know just what the motives or impressions were that caused him to do this. But his soul was full, full to overflowing, and he could not but adore and worship. The angel, however, refused the homage thus offered, by the declaration that he himself, also, was the servant of Christ and one of the brethren that had the testimony of Jesus; "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The idea is: "I am a fellowservant with you, and we both have his testimony. You bear witness to him now in this present generation; I bear witness to those who are to come. You witness now of his death and resurrection; I tell of his future glory and triumphs. We are both, therefore, engaged in the same good work. The testimony of Jesus and the spirit of prophecy are the same. To God, therefore, we must both bow." See remarks on chap. 1:1.

11. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

13. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

14. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

15. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

That the person described in this vision is Christ is questioned by no one. He is the same one who appeared to John in the beginning. Then he stood in the midst of the seven golden candle-sticks, the sure defense of the churches, holding the seven stars in his right hand. Now, however, he appears from the opened heavens on a white horse, his mission "to judge and make war." The description of his person, his names, and his attributes, unmistakably proclaim him the Son of God. He is the "faithful and true," the name by which he made himself known to the churches of Philadelphia and Laodicea. "His eyes as a flame of fire" denotes omniscience; and as a searcher of all hearts he made himself known to the church of Thyatira. "Many crowns" are a symbol of supreme sovereignty and doubtless signify his many victories. "And he had a name written which no man knew but he himself." He had names by which he might be known to mortals; but he had one name that no created intelligence could understand: it was known only to him. What that name was, of course, is not given; it could not be. If the human mind could not conceive it, human language could not convey it. We can know him as the Faithful and true Witness, as the Word of God, and as King of kings and Lord of lords; but there is one name that we can not know. His "vesture dipped in blood" refers, not to the blood of atonement, but to the blood of his enemies sprinkled upon his raiment in treading the winepress of God's wrath, and denotes that he was going forth to the dread work of vengeance. To this I shall refer more fully hereafter. His name is also called "the Word of God," which, when used as a personal appellation in the Scriptures, always signifies Jesus Christ.

Before considering his mission further and the armies that accompanied him, I wish to call special attention to the nature and the chronology of this event. If the present series of prophetic symbols (which begin with chap. 17) is a narrative of continuous events reaching to the end, then the vision before us is a description of the second coming of Christ, the event which was just previously announced and for which the bride had made herself ready. The usual interpretation given it is, that it is a sublime description of the servants of Christ going forth under his direction to spread the truth everywhere among the nations—in short, that it is the triumph of gospel truth over error under the providential government of Christ. That such a meaning can be derived from the vision by taking it in a figurative sense there can be no doubt, and this is what commentators generally do. They make the whole a figurative description of the triumph of the gospel, Christ being present only by his superintending providence. It is made simply a highly poetic description of the victory of truth and righteousness. In this case, however, the principles of symbolic language are clearly abandoned and a mere ordinary figurative meaning given. If we follow strictly the laws of symbolic language, as we manifestly ought, we shall be compelled to take another view of it.

In the first place, if this does not describe the actual coming of Christ, then his second coming is nowhere described in the Revelation. That so great an event should merely be alluded to in a few places and nowhere symbolically described seems incredible. At the judgment scene brought to view in the following chapter the presence of Christ is assumed, but it is not stated. Again, there are no victories of love and mercy described at all in the vision before us; but, on the contrary, it is a scene of fearful judgment—a terrible treading of "the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God," the complete overthrow of every opposing power; while the beast and the false prophet are represented as taken and cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Surely, this is not the work of the church of God. But let it be remembered especially that this last event takes place under the seventh plague, which is the "filling up" of the wrath of God, and that Christ previously announced under the sixth vial, "Behold, I come as a thief." Christ comes in reality when this seventh plague occurs. To represent the glorious triumphs of Christianity by the mission of the church, the gospel and the Holy Spirit, under the symbol of Christ, going forth to judge, to make war, and to tread the winepress of God's wrath, is at war with every principle of symbolic language.

But can this vision of Christ upon a white horse denote a mere providential superintendence, such as Christ constantly exercises over the church and its spiritual affairs on earth? Certainly not by any principle of symbolic language. Throughout the whole prophecy thus far we have seen that whenever any symbolic agent is brought upon the panorama, whether horseman, or beasts, or locusts, or harlot, or whatever else, it always denotes some corresponding agents appearing on earth and beginning their appropriate work. The symbolic agent is real. But here is a symbolic appearance of Christ. By what law could such a symbolic appearance represent merely a providential superintendence? And if his appearance was necessary in this case, why was it not necessary in every event, to show that it was done under his direction? Again, if this symbolic appearance of Christ is not his real appearance, how can we tell that there is any reality in the appearance of the horsemen of the first four seals, the ten-horned beast, or the harlot woman? What right have we to remove one agent from the panorama as an actual agent there any more than another? And if this is not his real appearance, upon what principle of interpretation can we ever establish the fact of his second coming? It is evident to all that, if we can turn this agent into a mere providential one, we can do the same with another, and thus set aside his second coming altogether. Then, what shall we say in the next chapter when some one steals our weapons and declares that the great white throne before which all the dead, small and great, stand is nothing but that providential government of God under which all sinners pass condemnation upon themselves and their sins find them out? If we can deal thus with symbols, we can do anything with them and can make out any meaning we please.

The laws of symbolic language require us to take the appearance of Christ in this vision just as we do the appearance of any other agent, as a real event. We can not consistently give it any other meaning. His symbolic appearance must represent his real appearance; otherwise, it can never be represented by anything. Jesus appears in his own name and person because there is no other that can represent his infinite dignity and majesty. And the symbols connected with him denote the object of his mission and the work which he performs. His white horse shows him now a glorious conqueror; his crowns denote his supreme dominion; the sword of his mouth and his vesture dipped in blood denote the dread work of vengeance upon his enemies; while the army following him doubtless denotes the "ten thousands of his saints" that accompany him when he comes. Jude 14. The bride has already prepared herself for his coming, and now the eternal union takes place. "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."

17. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

18. That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses; and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

19. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

20. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

21. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

The foregoing explanation so nearly covers this ground that little remains to be said. The symbol is that of vast slaughter on a battle-field, which gathers all the birds of heaven and the beasts of the forest to the prey. The enemies gathered for this battle were "the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies," together with the false prophet. This is the grand confederacy of wickedness formed under the mission of the three unclean spirits that went forth, not only unto the kings of the earth, but also into the whole world. This is not a literal collecting of armies, hence not a literal slaughter upon a battlefield, nor a literal assembling of carrion birds; but it is a symbolic representation of the final and eternal destruction of the allied powers of sin. As will be further described in the following chapter, they were gathered together for the purpose of overthrowing the church of God and anticipated a complete victory in the battle of Armageddon; but the sudden appearance of Jesus Christ to rescue his bride results in their complete overthrow. The special theme of this series of prophecy has been the history of apostate Christendom; hence the beast and the false prophet are represented as being taken and thrown into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. "The remnant" that were slain refers to the other powers of wickedness not embraced in Catholicism and Protestantism This series being now traced to its close, the narrative returns to take up another important theme of prophetic truth.

It is commonly supposed that the events here described are to occur at the second advent; but by considering carefully the different things enumerated in this chapter—the binding of the dragon; then a thousand years; after that the Armageddon battle; and last of all the judgment scene, in which all the dead, both small and great, are rewarded, and all the powers of wickedness cast into the lake of fire—it will be seen at once that this is not a continuation of the series of prophecy immediately preceding, but an entirely new theme, running partly parallel with that series, and both ending at the same point—the second coming of Christ and the general judgment, in which the lake of fire is the final doom of the combined powers of wickedness. In that series the beast and the false prophet—Romanism and Protestantism—were the chief powers of evil under consideration; in this series the dragon feature predominates. If this be not true, then there will be two judgment scenes and the wicked cast into the lake of fire twice. Positive proof of the position here taken will be given as we proceed.

The power here referred to as "the Devil and Satan" is also denominated "the dragon." This use of the definite article shows clearly that a particular character is designated—the dragon—and implies that the object has already been introduced. In his first appearance upon the symbolic panorama (chap. 12:3) he is simply styled a dragon, but in every subsequent instance he is called the dragon, which proves that the same character is meant. In addition to the former remarks on chapter 12:9 relative to the terms applied to this antichristian power, the following quotation from the People's Cyclopædia will throw some light on the subject: "In the mythical history and legendary poetry of almost every nation, the dragon appears as the emblem of the destructive and anarchistic principle.... Like the serpent, the dragon is always a minister of evil ... the object of which is to fight order, harmony, and progress. In Christian art, the dragon is the emblem of sin.... It is often represented as crushed under the feet of saints and martyrs.... Sometimes its prostrate attitude signifies the triumph of Christianity over Paganism." Art. Dragon. Considering this usage of these terms for ages, it is not strange that they were applied also to that great antichristian, persecuting system of Paganism, which stood before Christianity as its greatest barrier to "order, harmony, and progress."

The angel that overthrew this public system of Pagan infidelity symbolizes the primitive host of Christians, the ministers in particular. Some have supposed that he represented Christ; but, as already shown conclusively, Christ can not be symbolized by an inferior intelligence, hence always appears upon the scene in his own character, proclaiming his own eternal name. The fact that this angel possessed the key of the bottomless pit is no proof that he is Christ, even though in chapter 1:18 Jesus is said to have certain keys; for in chapter 9:1 we find that a fallen star—the symbol of Mohammed—is said to have "the key of the bottomless pit" also. At the most, this expression is only a symbol of power and authority, be it good or bad. In the gospel the same figure is applied to God's ministers, where they are given authority to bind the powers of wickedness on earth. Mat. 16:19; 18:18. The chain is a symbol of the power to bind.

When Christianity first commenced its warfare with this huge system of error, almost the entire then-known world was under its deceptive influence; but by a long conflict, in which thousands of the noble followers of the Lamb were slaughtered, this antichristian public system of Pagan infidelity was at last completely overthrown, and the final result was, that the civilized world became as completely Christian (nominally at least) as it ever had been Pagan. This great transformation could never have been effected without the undying heroism and whole-hearted consecration of the first disciples of Christ. From this time the dragon as such—as a public deceiver of the nations throughout the Apocalyptic earth—was overthrown. This marks the beginning of the thousand years mentioned.

Since many of the principles of heathenism were copied by the church of Rome, it may be difficult for some to understand at first why it is said that the dragon no longer deceived the nations after being cast down by primitive Christianity; but this becomes clear when we consider what the dragon really was and what the church of Rome was understood to be. A time came when the entire civilized world knew that heathenism as such was wrong and rejected the very idea of a plurality of gods; but they were led to believe that they could adapt many of their former rites and ceremonies to the worship of the one true God in whom they believed and thereby render acceptable service to him, and were sure that the Romish church was the one true apostolic church. It was not the dragon, or heathenism, that then deceived them; it was Christianity—a false Christianity. The manner in which the people were deceived during the time following the casting down of heathenism in the beginning has already been considered in chapters XII, XIII, XVII, XVIII, etc., covering the same period of time included in the one thousand years in the vision before us.

We can not apply this period specified as literally one thousand years without varying from every principle of time prophecy in the Revelation, for they are all symbolic; neither can we apply it according to the usual year-day method, which, signifying three hundred and sixty thousand years, would throw this series of events out of harmony with the time-periods allotted to the other themes of truth running over the same ground and terminating at the same point—the general judgment. Therefore, to be consistent, we shall have to apply it as (so far as human knowledge of the exact dates is concerned) an indefinite length of time, on the same principle that "the hour of temptation" in chapter 3:10, the three and one-half days in chapter 11:9, and the "hour" in which the ten kingdoms receive power with the beast (chap. 17:12), etc., are applied.