OUR DAY In the Light of Prophecy [Illustration: JESUS WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the thingswhich belong unto thy peace!" Luke 19:42. ] OUR DAY In the Light of Prophecy By W. A. SPICER "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. SOUTHERN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATIONNASHVILLE, TENNESSEEFORT WORTH, TEXAS ATLANTA, GEORGIA Copyrighted, 1917, byREVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION Copyrighted in London, EnglandAll Rights Reserved CONTENTS THE BOOK THAT SPEAKS TO OUR DAY 13 THE WITNESS OF THE CENTURIES 25 PROPHETIC OUTLINE OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY 39 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 51 SIGNS OF THE APPROACHING END 65 THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE OF 1755 79 THE DARK DAY OF 1780 85 THE FALLING STARS OF 1833 93 THE MEANING OF PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS 105 THE HISTORIC PROPHECY OF DANIEL 7 117 THE 1260 YEARS OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY 131 DAWN OF A NEW ERA 139 THE WORK OF THE "LITTLE HORN" POWER 145 THE BIBLE SABBATH 159 GLIMPSES OF SABBATH KEEPING AFTER NEW TESTAMENT TIMES 173 THE LAW OF GOD 183 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH 191 BAPTISM 199 THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 8 205 THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY IN TYPE AND ANTITYPE 213 A GREAT PROPHETIC PERIOD 219 THE PROPHECY FULFILLED 229 A WORLD-WIDE MOVEMENT 239 THE JUDGMENT-HOUR MESSAGE 247 THE ORIGIN OF EVIL 257 SPIRITUALISM: ANCIENT AND MODERN 265 LIFE ONLY IN CHRIST 275 THE END OF THE WICKED 287 ANGELS: THEIR MINISTRY 295 THE TIME OF THE END 303 THE EASTERN QUESTION 321 ARMAGEDDON 337 THE MILLENNIUM 351 THE HOME OF THE SAVED 361 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS JESUS WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM _Frontispiece_ THE GOOD SHEPHERD 12 HEALING THE CENTURION'S SERVANT 16 CHRIST'S WEAPON OF DEFENSE--THE WORD OF GOD 19 ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS 24 THE GREAT IMAGE 38 BABYLON IN HER GLORY 40 THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL 42 THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 50 CHRIST COMING IN GLORY 58 CHRIST ANSWERING HIS DISCIPLES' QUESTIONS 64 THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM BY THE ROMANS UNDER TITUS, A. D. 70 68 THE CATACOMBS NEAR ROME 72 LISBON FROM ACROSS THE BAY 78 MIDDAY AT SEA, MAY 19, 1780 84 THE GREAT METEORIC SHOWER, NOV. 13, 1833 92 THE SIGN OF FIRE 98 SATAN OFFERS GOLD, AND THE WORLD STAMPEDES TO ITSDESTRUCTION 104 A FAITHFUL AND WISE SERVANT 108 THE SUNSET HOUR 114 PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH 116 ROME ON THE TIBER 124 THE INVASION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE BY THE HUNS 128 RAISING THE SIEGE OF ROME, A. D. 538 130 STORMING OF THE BASTILLE PRISON IN PARIS 138 THE TRIPLE CROWN 144 THE LOVE OF POWER--THE POWER OF LOVE 146 CHRISTIANS IN PRISON BENEATH THE COLOSSEUM AWAITINGMARTYRDOM 148 THE SHAME OF RELIGIOUS WARS 152 CHRIST AND THE SCRIBES 158 THE SABBATH FROM EDEN TO EDEN 168 CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES IN THE CORN-FIELDS 172 WALDENSES HUNTED BY THE ARMIES OF ROME 176 THE GIFT OF GOD 190 THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST 198 SYMBOLS OF MEDO-PERSIA AND GRECIA 204 THE CAMP OF ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS 210 OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST 212 ARTAXERXES SENDING THE JEWS TO REBUILDJERUSALEM, B. C. 457 218 REBUILDING JERUSALEM 224 THE ANOINTING OF JESUS AT HIS BAPTISM 228 THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST 232 THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE 238 A CHRISTIAN MOTHER EXHORTING HER DAUGHTER TOMARTYRDOM 246 LUCIFER PLOTTING AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD 256 THE REDEMPTION PRICE 260 SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR 264 THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT 270 "HE IS RISEN" 274 LOT FLEEING FROM SODOM 286 PETER DELIVERED FROM PRISON 294 JACOB'S DREAM IN BETHEL 298 MODERN INVENTIONS FULFILLING PROPHECY 302 THE HOE DOUBLE OCTUPLE PRESS 316 FORTIFICATIONS ON THE BOSPORUS 320 MODERN JERUSALEM 329 THE GREAT BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON 336 UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP "NEVADA" 340 MOSES VIEWING THE PROMISED LAND 360 THE SAINTS' ETERNAL HOME 366 THE MASTER AT THE DOOR 369 [Illustration: "FOUNDED UPON A ROCK" "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. " Ps. 119:105. ] FOREWORD These are eventful times. With history-making changes passing rapidlybefore men's eyes, the questions press upon thoughtful minds in alllands, What do these things mean? What next in the program ofworld-shaping events? Like a great searchlight shining across the centuries, the sure Word ofProphecy focuses its bright beams upon Our Day. In this light we seeclearly the trend of events, and may understand what comes next in theprogram of history fulfilling prophecy. In the Volume of the Book the living God speaks to Our Day of events ofthe past that have a lesson for the present, and of things to come. Divine prophecy fulfilled before men's eyes is God's challenge tounbelief. The Word of Holy Writ has been the guiding light through allthe ages. It is the lamp to our feet today. "Steadfast, serene, unmovable, the same, Year after year, ... Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame; Shines on that inextinguishable light. " [Illustration: THE GOOD SHEPHERD "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. " John 1:14. ] [Illustration: "PEACE BE TO THIS HOUSE" "If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, andwill sup with him, and he with Me. " Rev. 3:20. ] THE BOOK THAT SPEAKS TO OUR DAY Man may write a true book, but only God, the source of life, can write aliving book. "The word of God ... Liveth and abideth forever. " 1 Peter1:23. The Bible is the living word of God. We look at the volume; wehold it in our hands. It is like other books in form and printer's art. But the voice of God speaks from these pages, and the word spoken isalive. It is able to do in the heart that receives it what can be doneonly by divine power. The Book That Talks Far in the heart of Africa a missionary read to the people in their ownlanguage from the translated Word of God. "See!" they cried; "see! thebook talks! The white man has a book that talks!" With that simplicityof speech so common to children of nature, they had exactly describedit. This is a book that talks. What the wise man says of its counselsthrough parents to children, is true of all the book: "When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and whenthou awakest, it shall talk with thee. " Prov. 6:22. Here is companionship, faithful and true, a blessed guide and guardianand friend. "Holy Bible! book divine! Precious treasure, thou art mine!" God Its Author The sixty-six books of Holy Scripture were written by many penmen, overa space of fifteen centuries; yet it is one book, and one voice speaksthrough all its pages. Spurgeon once said of his experience with thisbook: "When I see it, I seem to hear a voice springing up from it, saying, 'I am the book of God; man, read me. I am God's writing; open my leaf, for I was penned by God; read it, for He is my author. '" This book declares of itself: "All scripture is given by inspiration ofGod. " 2 Tim. 3:16. "The prophecy came not in old time by the will ofman: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. " 2Peter 1:21. As the rugged verse of the old hymn puts it: "Let all the heathen writers join To form one perfect book: Great God, if once compared with Thine, How mean their writings look! "Not the most perfect rules they gave Could show one sin forgiven, Nor lead a step beyond the grave; But Thine conducts to heaven. " It is the voice of the Almighty. Very different it is from the sacredbooks of the non-Christian religions. In those writings it is manspeaking about God; in the Holy Scriptures it is God speaking to man. The difference is as great as heaven is higher than earth. Here it isnot man groping in the darkness after God. In this book of God'srevelation we see the divine arm reaching down to save the lost, andhear the voice of the loving Father calling to His children, every oneand everywhere. "Incline your ear, " He calls; "hear, and your soul shalllive. " Isa. 55:3. The Word That Creates We must have something more than instruction; we must have a word ofpower that is able to tell of sins forgiven, and to conduct us beyondthe grave to heaven. One of the greatest of China's sages, Mencius, said, "Instruction can impart information, but not the power toexecute. " That touches the crucial point. We must have instruction thatcan come with power divine to execute. We have it only in God's words. Christ said: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profitethnothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they arelife. " John 6:63. The words of God are living words. When God spoke in the beginning, "Letthere be light, " lo, the light sprang out of the darkness. There waspower in the word spoken to bring forth. "Let the earth bring forthgrass, " was the word of the Lord: and the earth was carpeted with itsfirst rich greensward. So through all the work of creation, the creativepower was in the word spoken. "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of themby the breath of His mouth. " "He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. " Ps. 33:6, 9. Even so, when this word speaks instruction to man, there is creativepower in the word, if received, to work mightily in the soul that isdead in trespasses and sins. Man must be born again, be re-created. Thatwe know; for Christ says, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a manbe born again ["from above, " margin], he cannot see the kingdom of God. "John 3:3. And the word of God--the Bible from heaven--received by faith, is theagency by which this new birth "from above" is wrought. This is thedeclaration of our text: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, butof incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. "1 Peter 1:23. [Illustration: HEALING THE CENTURION'S SERVANT "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. " Matt. 8:8. ] The Word That Works Within Not only does the word of God give the new birth, making the believer anew man, --the past forgiven and a new heart within, --but the word thatre-creates abides in the believing heart that studies it and clings toit, to work in the life with actual power that is not of the manhimself. To the Thessalonians, who had "turned to God from idols toserve the living and true God, " the apostle wrote: "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when yereceived the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as theword of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectuallyworketh also in you that believe. " 1 Thess. 2:13. The word itself works within, and works effectually. There is nothingmechanical about it. The mere letter profits nothing. The Bible on thecenter table, unstudied and unloved, has no magic power. But Godpromises to abide by His Spirit of power in the heart that listens toHis voice and trembles at His word. Jesus Himself tells us the secret ofthis power of the word to work in the believing heart: "If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. " John 14:23. No wonder, then, that believing and receiving the word brings divinepower into the life, making it possible for transformations of characterto be wrought, for victories to be won and obedience rendered to everycommand of God. Simply believing God's word touches the current of everlasting power, even as the trolley arm of the electric car reaches up and touches thecurrent of power flowing through the wire overhead. The faith thattakes the living word brings the power divine into the heart to move allthe spiritual mechanism of life's service. The Word Our Safety and Defense When Christ came to live as our example in the flesh, and to give Hislife a sacrifice for sin, He, the divine Son of God, made Himself likeunto His brethren. "I can of Mine own self do nothing, " He said. John5:30. Tempted and tried, He found His defense in the Holy Scriptures. When Satan came to tempt Him to sin, the Saviour said, "It is written. "He clung to the sure defense. Again the tempter came. He was met withthe word, "It is written again. " The third time it was the same weaponof defense, "It is written. " Matt. 4:1-11. Christ found safety only in the Scriptures of truth. So the Bible is theChristian's shield against the enemy's attacks. As Jesus studied theScriptures and kept the words ever in His heart for a defense againsttemptation, so must every Christian study and meditate upon God's HolyWord if its counsels and precepts are to be his defense in the moment ofsudden temptation to sin. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, " said thepsalmist, "that I might not sin against Thee. " Ps. 119:11. It was theonly way for Christ, our Pattern; it is the only way for us. The Bread of Life The word of God is the daily food for the soul. "It is written, Manshall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out ofthe mouth of God. " Matt. 4:4. Who has not, in hurried times, missed a meal, working on through theday, never thinking of the prolonged fast? But after a time there came asense of weakening force, a lack of physical power. What was thetrouble? At once the reason was evident--one had not taken food, andthe system was calling for a renewal of its forces. Just so thespiritual life must needs be fed by the word of God. [Illustration: CHRIST'S WEAPON OF DEFENSE--THE WORD OF GOD "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lordthy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. " Matt. 4:10. ] Do we at times feel a sense of weakening of the spiritual power, aletting down of the vital forces of the soul? Ah, in the hurry of lifewe have neglected to feed upon the living bread. We can no more sustainspiritual vigor and health without feeding daily upon God's Holy Wordthan we can maintain physical power without eating our daily bread. Eatof the life-giving word. The taste for it grows with the partaking. There is life in "every word. " The psalmist found the Lord's testimonies"sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb, " or, as the marginal readinghas it, than "the dropping of honeycombs. " Ps. 19:10. We get the pictureof the honeycomb inverted, the cell caps broken open, the sweetnessdripping down. Just so every word of the Lord is a cell full ofsweetness and life for the soul that feasts upon the Holy Scriptures. The Source of All Doctrine The Bible is the complete and perfect rule of faith and doctrine. Hereevery doctrine of salvation is found. Inspiration has declared it in thewords of the apostle Paul to Timothy: "From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able tomake thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable fordoctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all goodworks. " 2 Tim. 3:15-17. The divine command is, "Study. " For every generation there has been amessage borne by this living word, making call to reformation of life, or giving warning and comfort. "The Bible is not a collection of truthsformulated in propositions, " said Dr. Samuel Harris, of Yale, "butGod's majestic march through history, redeeming men from sin. " In every age God has been ruling and overruling, witnessing by HisSpirit through the living word. The experiences recorded of past ageshave their special lesson for the present time: "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. "Let vs therfore all with feruent desyre, " as the Old English of 1549spelled the exhortation of Erasmus, "thyrste after these spirituallsprynges.... Let vs kisse these swete wordes of Christ with a pureaffeccion. Let vs be newe transformed into them, for soche are ouremaners as oure studies be. " The Book for All Mankind It speaks in every tongue to the human heart. Its power to transform hasbeen shown through all the centuries in every clime and among everyrace. One of the Gospels was put into the Chiluba tongue of CentralAfrica. After a time a Garenganze chief came to Dan Crawford, themissionary, changed from the spirit of a fierce, wicked barbarian tothat of a teachable child. Explaining his conversion, the chief said: "Iwas startled to find that Christ could speak Chiluba. I heard him speakto me out of the printed page, and what he said was, 'Follow me!'" Of the Bible's universal speech to all mankind, Dr. Henry van Dyke hassaid: "Born in the East, and clothed in Oriental form and imagery, the Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet, and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man. It comes into the palace to tell the monarch that he is the servant of the Most High, and into the cottage to assure the peasant that he is the son of God. Children listen to its stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as parables of life. It has a word of peace for the time of peril, a word of comfort for the day of calamity, a word of light for the hour of darkness. Its oracles are repeated in the assembly of the people, and its counsels whispered in the ear of the lonely. The wise and the proud tremble at its warnings, but to the wounded and penitent it has a mother's voice.... "Its great words grow richer, as pearls do when they are worn near the heart. No man is poor or desolate who has this treasure for his own. When the landscape darkens and the trembling pilgrim comes to the valley named the Shadow, he is not afraid to enter; he takes the rod and staff of Scripture in his hand; he says to friend and comrade, 'Good-by, we shall meet again, ' and comforted by that support, he goes toward the lonely pass as one who climbs through darkness into light. "--_The Century Magazine. _ [Illustration: RAISING JARIUS'S DAUGHTER "In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. " John 1:4. ] In the days of His life on earth, Jesus was a welcome guest in humblehomes in Judea and Galilee. "The common people heard Him gladly. " Hispresence brought peace and comfort to the home. He is no longer with usin bodily presence; but He is the same Saviour still--"Jesus Christ thesame yesterday, and today, and forever. " Heb. 13:8. By His Spirit, through the living word of Holy Scripture, He enters the home wherefaith receives Him, and speaks again the gracious salutation, "Peace beto this house. " Christ the Central Theme All the Bible bears witness of Christ as the Saviour of the world. HeHimself said of the Scriptures, "They are they which testify of Me. "John 5:39. "To Him give all the prophets witness. " Acts 10:43. We seeHim as the coming Messiah in promise and prophecy, in type and shadow. His is the divine, living personality standing out in every book thatmakes up the Sacred Volume. As we read with loving heart, the Authorseems near in every page. "Reading, methinks I bend Before the cross Where died my King, my Friend. The whole world's loss For love of Him is gain. " And having beheld Him giving His life as the divine sacrifice, andrising in triumph over death to be our great High Priest in the heavenlytemple, as we read these Sacred Scriptures yet again, in every book, from Genesis to Revelation, we see Him as the coming King of kings, coming to take His children to the eternal home of the saved. The wholebook is a bright window through which we gaze on coming glory. "And yet again I stand Where the seer stood, Gazing across the strand, Beyond the flood: The gates of pearl afar, The streets of gold, The bright and morning Star Mine eyes behold. " "The Word of God ... Liveth and abideth forever. " 1 Peter 1:23. "Heavenand earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. " Matt. 24:35. [Illustration: ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS "Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in allthe Scriptures the things concerning Himself. " Luke 24:27. ] [Illustration: THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM "I am God, ... Declaring ... From ancient times the things that are notyet done. " Isa. 46:9, 10. ] THE WITNESS OF THE CENTURIES The Sure Word of Prophecy "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that yetake heed. " 2 Peter 1:19. The prophetic scriptures afford infallible evidence that the voice ofthe living God speaks in Holy Writ. One of the distinguishing marks ofdivinity is the power that foretells and records the course of historylong ages before the events come to pass. God's Challenge God's challenge to false religious systems in olden time was this: "Declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to comehereafter, that we may know that ye are gods. " Isa. 41:22, 23. And all the gods of the nations were silent; for they are no gods. TheLord alone, the one who speaks by the Holy Scriptures, is able to tellthe end from the beginning. "I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from thebeginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand. " Isa. 46:9, 10. By this means God has borne witness of Himself through the ages, that itmight be known that the Most High rules above all the kingdoms of men, and that men might recognize His purpose to put an end to sin and bringeternal salvation to His people. "I have spoken it, " He declares, "Iwill also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. " The fulfilment of the word of prophecy in history is a fascinatingstory. To the Lord, the future is an open book, even as the present. Theword is spoken, telling of the event to come; it is written on theparchment scroll by the prophet's pen. Time passes; centuries come andgo. Then, when the hour of the prophecy arrives, lo, there appears thefulfilment. And it is seen in matters pertaining to individuals, as wellas in the affairs of cities and empires. The Word Fulfilled after Long Waiting In the dream divinely given to the lad Joseph, it was plainly foretoldthat his brothers would one day come as suppliants before him. Hisfather rebuked him for telling the dream, saying, "Shall I and thymother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to theearth?" Gen. 37:10. The brothers sold the lad into slavery, to be wellrid of him. Yet twenty years later, all unconscious of his identity, these same brethren presented themselves before the prime minister ofEgypt, and "fell before him on the ground. " Gen. 44:14. Again: the wicked stronghold of Jericho had been utterly destroyed. Joshua declared: "Cursed be the man ... That riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: heshall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, and in his youngestson shall he set up the gates of it. " Joshua 6:26. The hands of angels had thrown down its walls, and its ruin was to standas a memorial. More than five hundred years later, when the apostateAhab was ruling, and Israel and Judah had departed from the Lord, Hielthe Bethelite set out to rebuild Jericho. "He laid the foundationthereof in Abiram his first-born. " But accident and death may come at any time. The work on the walls wenton, no one thinking of the neglected Scriptures with their warning oflong ago. So the full account runs: "He laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his first-born, and set up thegates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of theLord, which He spake by Joshua the son of Nun. " 1 Kings 16:34. The fate of some of the mightiest cities the world ever saw has bornetestimony through the centuries to the fulfilment of the prophetic word. The Witness of Nineveh Nineveh was founded by Nimrod. He built not only his capital here by theTigris, but other towns round about, conceiving first of all the idea ofgrouping the capital and its suburbs into one great city, the "GreaterNineveh, " as we would say in these days of Greater London and GreaterNew York. At the dawn of history Nineveh was "a great city. " Gen. 10:11, 12. In Jonah's day it was an "exceeding great city. "[A] Sennacherib, ofthe Bible story, was its beautifier. Rawlinson says: "The great palace which he raised at Nineveh surpassed in size and splendor all earlier edifices. "--_"Second Monarchy, " chap. 9. _ A description is preserved on the clay cylinder in the king's own words: "For the wonderment of multitudes of men I raised its head--'the palace which has no rival' I called its name. "--_Taylor Cylinder, "Records of the Past. " Vol. XII, part 1_. At the preaching of Jonah the city had repented; but in later yearspride of conquest and luxury and wealth were filling it with blood. Theprophet Nahum warned it of certain doom, appealing to those who had anyfear of God to turn to Him. The message was: [Illustration: THE SITE OF NINEVEH "How is she become a desolation!" Zeph. 2:15. ] "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweththem that trust in Him. " Nahum 1:7. Some, no doubt, heeded the warning and turned to God for refuge. But thecity's life of sin ran on. Then the prophet Zephaniah spoke the word, just as the stroke was to fall: "Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! Sheobeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not inthe Lord; she drew not near to her God. " Zeph. 3:1, 2. Prophecies uttered against the mighty city had declared: "He will make an utter end of the place thereof. " "The palace shall bedissolved ["molten, " margin]. " "She is empty, and void, and waste. "Nahum 1:8; 2:6, 10. "How is she become a desolation, a place for beaststo lie down in!" Zeph. 2:15. The Medes and the Babylonians overthrew Nineveh. The king immolatedhimself in his burning ("molten") palace. Nineveh became a desolation. Describing a battle that took place there in the seventh century of ourera, between the Romans and the Persians, the historian Gibbon bearstestimony to the fact that it has indeed become "empty, and void, andwaste:" "Eastward of the Tigris, at the end of the bridge of Mosul, the great Nineveh had formerly been erected: the city, and even the ruins of the city, had long since disappeared; the vacant place afforded a spacious field for the operations of the two armies. "--_"The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, " chap. 46, par. 24. _ And to this day, the site of Nineveh is pointed out across the riverfrom Mosul, only mounds of ruins, these almost obliterated by thedrifting sands of centuries. The word spoken is fulfilled, though at thetime it was spoken it little seemed to proud and prosperous Nineveh thatsuch a fate could ever be hers. "Before me rise the walls Of the Titanic city, --brazen gates, Towers, temples, palaces enormous piled, -- Imperial Nineveh, the earthly queen! In all her golden pomp I see her now, Her swarming streets, her splendid festivals. * * * * * "Again I look, --and lo!... Her walls are gone, her palaces are dust, -- The desert is around her, and within Like shadows have the mighty passed away. " From Nineveh's mounds we seem to hear a voice that says: "All flesh isas grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grasswithereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lordendureth forever. " 1 Peter 1:24, 25. The Burden of Tyre [Illustration: TYRE BY THE SEA "They shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers. " Eze. 26:4. ] Tyre was the greatest maritime city of antiquity. Its inhabitants, thePhoenicians, traded in the ports of all the known world. Ezekieldescribes the heart of the seas as its borders. "Thy builders haveperfected thy beauty, " he says. He tells how all countries traded in itsmarts and contributed to its wealth. And then, obeying the word of theLord, the prophet bears a message of rebuke and warning, --"the burden ofTyre, "--and pronounces the coming judgment: "Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and willcause many nations to come up against thee.... And they shall destroythe walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape herdust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a placefor the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. " Eze. 26:3-5. The accounts of travelers bear witness that the prophecy has beenfulfilled. As to the site of the island city of Ezekiel's day, Bruce, nearly a century ago, said that he found it a "rock whereon fishers drytheir nets. " (See "Keith on the Prophecies, " p. 329. ) In more recent times, Dr. W. M. Thomson found the whole region of Tyresuggestive only of departed glory: "There is nothing here, certainly, of that which led Joshua to call it 'the strong city' more than three thousand years ago (Joshua 19:29), --nothing of that mighty metropolis which baffled the proud Nebuchadnezzar and all his power for thirteen years, until 'every head' in his army 'was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled, ' in the hard service against Tyrus (Eze. 29:18), --nothing in this wretched roadstead and empty harbor to remind one of the times when merry mariners did sing in her markets--no visible trace of those towering ramparts which so long resisted the utmost efforts of the great Alexander. All have vanished utterly like a troubled dream, and Tyre has sunk under the burden of prophecy.... As she is now, and has long been, Tyre is God's witness; but great, powerful, and populous, she would be the infidel's boast. This, however, she cannot be. Tyre will never rise from her dust to falsify the voice of prophecy. "Dim is her glory, gone her fame, Her boasted wealth has fled; On her proud rock, alas! her shame, The fisher's net is spread. The Tyrian harp has slumbered long, And Tyria's mirth is low; The timbrel, dulcimer, and song Are hushed, or wake to woe. " --_"The Land and the Book, " Vol. II, pp. 626, 627. _ The Desolation of Babylon Yet another city of ancient times there was, the mightiest of them all, whose fate was a subject of prophecy, and whose history bears specialtestimony for us today; for, more than any other, the Lord used thatcity as a symbol of the pride of life and the exaltation of the selfishheart against God. Let us study briefly the desolations pronounced upon Babylon of old. [Illustration: BABYLON IN THE DUST "Babylon shall become heaps, ... Without an inhabitant. " Jer. 51:37. ] While Babylon was still the mightiest city of the world, with the periodof greatest glory yet before it, the Lord revealed its ignoble end. Bythe prophet Isaiah He declared: "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never beinhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation:neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherdsmake their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there;and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shalldwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of theislands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in theirpleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall notbe prolonged. " Isa. 13:19-22. Never could a more doleful future have been pictured for a city full ofsplendor, the metropolis of the world. About one hundred andseventy-five years after this word was written on the parchment scroll, the Medes and Persians were at the gates of Babylon. Her time had come, and Chaldea's rule was ended. "Fallen is the golden city! in the dust, Spoiled of her crown, dismantled of her state. She that hath made the Strength of Towers her trust, Weeps by her dead, supremely desolate! "She that beheld the nations at her gate Thronging in homage, shall be called no more 'Lady of Kingdoms!'--Who shall mourn her fate? Her guilt is full, her march of triumph o'er. " But still, under Medo-Persia, and later under the Greeks, the cityitself was populous and prosperous and beautiful. The skeptic of thetime may have pointed to it as evidence that here, at least, the Hebrewprophet had missed the mark. Apollonius, the sage of Tyana, who lived in the days of Nero and theapostles, has left an account of Babylon as he saw it, as late as thefirst century of our era. Still the Euphrates swept beneath its walls, dividing the city into halves, with great palaces on either side. Hesays: "The palaces are roofed with bronze, and a glitter goes off from them; but the chambers of the women and of the men and the porticoes are adorned partly with silver, and partly with golden tapestries or curtains, and partly with solid gold in the form of pictures. " And of the king's judgment hall he reported: "The roof had been carried up in the form of a dome, to resemble in a manner the heavens, and that it was roofed with sapphire, a stone that is very blue and like heaven to the eye; and there were images of the gods, which they worship, fixed aloft, and looking like golden figures shining out of the ether. "--_Philostratus, "Life of Apollonius, " book 1, chap. 25. _ Evidently Babylon was still "the land of graven images, " and thedesolation foretold by the prophet had not yet befallen its palaces. Butthat prophetic word, written eight hundred years before, was still uponthe scroll of the Book, the sure Word of God, who sees the end from thebeginning. [Illustration: EGYPT'S GLORY DEPARTED "The idols of Egypt shall be moved. " Isa. 19:1. ] The view given us by Apollonius is perhaps the last glimpse we have ofBabylon's passing glory. Even then for centuries the walls had been aquarry from which stones were drawn for Babylon's rival, Seleucia, onthe Tigris. And Strabo, the Greek geographer, who also wrote in thefirst century, had described Babylon as "in great part deserted, "adding, "No one would hesitate to apply to it what one of the comic writers said of Megalopolitę, in Arcadia, 'The great city is a great desert. '"--_"Geography, " book 16, chap. 1. _ Already pagan writers had begun to describe its condition in the termsof the prophecy uttered so long before. And now what is its state? Thedoom foretold has fallen heavy upon the city, upon its palaces, and"upon the graven images of Babylon. " For a century and more, travelers'accounts have frequently borne witness to the exact fulfilment of theprophecy in the remarkable desolations of that city, once mistress ofthe world. "Babylon shall become heaps, " said the prophecy, "and owls shall dwellthere. " This is what Mr. Layard, the English archeologist, found on hisvisit in 1845: "Shapeless heaps of rubbish cover for many an acre the face of the land.... On all sides, fragments of glass, marble, pottery, and inscribed brick are mingled with that peculiar nitrous and blanched soil, which, bred from the remains of ancient habitations, checks or destroys vegetation, and renders the site of Babylon a naked and a hideous waste. Owls [which are of a large gray kind, and often found in flocks of nearly a hundred] start from the scanty thickets, and the foul jackal skulks through the furrows. "--_"Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, " chap. 21, p. 413. _ The prophecy said, "Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there. " Thewords might be construed to mean that the famous site would never becomethe place of a Bedouin village. But it is literally true, say travelers, that the Arabs avoid the place even for the temporary pitching of theirtents. They consider the spot under a curse. They call the ruins_Mudjelibe_, "the Overturned. " (See "Encyclopedia of Islam, " art. "Babil. ") As late as 1913, Missionary W. C. Ising visited the site where ProfessorKoldeway was excavating the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's palace. He wrote: "Involuntarily one is reminded of the prophecy in the thirteenth of Isaiah and many other places, which, in course of time, have been fulfilled to the letter. No one is living on the site of ancient Babylon, and whatever Arabs are employed by the excavators have built their mud huts in the bed of the ancient river, which at the present time is shifted half a mile farther west. "--_European Division Quarterly, Fourth Quarter, 1913. _ Egypt and Edom The massive ruins by the Nile bear witness to prophecy fulfilled. WhenEgypt rivaled Babylon, the word was spoken: "It shall be the basest ofthe kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations. "Eze. 29:15. It was not utterly to pass, as Babylon, but to continue ininferior state. Thus it came to pass. Once populous Edom, famed forwisdom and counsel, now lies desolate, according to the word: "Edomshall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished. "Jer. 49:17. The Testimony of History [Illustration: RUINS OF EDOM "Edom shall be a desolate wilderness. " Joel 3:19. ] Thus the centuries bear testimony to the fulfilment of the propheticword. The panorama of all human history moves before us in thesewritings of the prophets. Flinging their "colossal shadows" across thepages of Holy Writ, as Farrar says, we see-- "The giant forms of empires on their way To ruin. " It is no human book that thus from primitive times forecasts the marchof history through the ages. The Lord not only spoke the word in warning and entreaty for those towhom it first came, but it is written in the Scriptures of truth as atestimony to all time, that the Bible is the word of God, and that allHis purposes revealed therein and all the promises of the blessed Bookare certain and sure. The prophets who bore messages from God toNineveh, and Babylon, and Tyre, spoke messages also for our day. Fulfilled prophecy is the testimony of the centuries to the living God. The evidence of prophecy and its fulfilment is God's challenge andappeal to men to acknowledge Him as the true God and the Holy Scripturesas His word from heaven. "I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they wentforth out of My mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly, and theycame to pass. Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is aniron sinew, and thy brow brass; I have even from the beginning declaredit to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee.... Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it?" Isa. 48:3-6. Surely no one can look at the evidence in history of the fulfilment ofprophecy without seeing that of a truth the One who spoke these wordsknew the end from the beginning; and finding the living God in the sureword of prophecy, one must be prepared to listen to His voice in all theScriptures, when it speaks of sin and the way of salvation through JesusChrist. Further, the prophetic word also has much to say of events yet future, of the course of history in modern times. It behooves us to give heed towhat that word speaks concerning our own times and the events that areto take place upon the earth before the end. The apostle Peter exhortsus to the study in these words: "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that yetake heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the daydawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts. " 2 Peter 1:19. [Illustration: THE GREAT IMAGE "He that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come topass. " Dan. 2:29. ] [Illustration: DANIEL INTERPRETING NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great Image. " Dan. 2:31. ] FOOTNOTES: [A] "In the book of Jonah, " says _Records of the Past_, "Nineveh isstated to have been an exceeding great city of three days' journey; andthat being the case, the explanation that Calah on the south andKhorsabad on the north were included seems very probable. The distancebetween these two extreme points is about thirty miles, which, at tenmiles a day, would take the time required. "--_Vol. XII, part 1, Januaryand February, 1913_. PROPHETIC OUTLINE OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 2 "There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known tothe king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. " In a dream by night the Lord gave to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, aclear historical outline of the course of world empire to the end oftime and the coming of the eternal kingdom. The king was a thoughtful monarch; and having reached the height of hispower, he was one night meditating upon "what should come to passhereafter. " Not for his sake alone, but for the enlightenment andinstruction of men in all time, the Lord answered the wondering questionof the king's meditation by giving him the dream. "He that revealethsecrets, " said Daniel the prophet, "maketh known to thee what shall cometo pass. " [Illustration: BABYLON IN HER GLORY "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees'excellency. " Isa. 13:19. ] And that we may know at the beginning that there is nothing fanciful anduncertain about this great historic outline reaching to the end of theworld, we note first the assurance with which the prophet closed hisinterpretation: "The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereofsure. " The details of the dream had been taken from the king's mind, whileconviction as to the wondrous import of it remained. This was in God'sprovidence, to show the folly of the worldly-wise men of Babylon, and tobring before the king the prophet of the Lord with a divine message. Theprophet Daniel, under the inspiration of God, brought his dream again tothe king's mind: "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whosebrightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof wasterrible. "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 ofiron and part of clay. "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smotethe image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them topieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and thegold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summerthreshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place wasfound for them: and the stone that smote the image became a greatmountain, and filled the whole earth. " The prophet next declared the interpretation. And now follows thehistory of the world in miniature. Babylon "Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath giventhee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever thechildren of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of theheaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over themall. Thou art this head of gold. " [Illustration: THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL "Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. " Dan. 5:28. ] The parts of the image, then, of various metals, from head to feet, represented successive empires, beginning with Babylon; and the kingdomof Babylon, represented by Nebuchadnezzar, was the head of gold. History shows how fitly the golden head symbolizes the Babyloniankingdom. Long before, the prophet Isaiah had described it as "the gloryof kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency. " Isa. 13:19. Andnow, in Nebuchadnezzar's day, it was the golden age of the Babyloniankingdom. No such gorgeous city as its capital ever before stood onearth. And Nebuchadnezzar was the great leader of its conquests, and thebeautifier and builder of its walls and palaces. "For the astonishmentof men I have built this house, " one tablet reads; and hundreds repeatthe story. "Those portals for the astonishment of multitudes of people with beauty I adorned. In order that the battle storm to Imgur-Bel the wall of Babylon might not reach; what no king before me had done. "--_East India House Inscription. _ Thus Nebuchadnezzar's records of stone today repeat the proud boastfaithfully reported in the Scripture, "Is not this great Babylon, that Ihave built?" Dan. 4:30. To the king it seemed that such a city couldnever fall. One inscription reads: "Thus I completely made strong the defenses of Babylon. May it last forever. "--_Rawlinson, "Fourth Monarchy, " Appendix A. _ Medo-Persia But the prophet Daniel, proceeding with the divine interpretation, interrupted all such proud thoughts with the declaration, "After theeshall arise another kingdom inferior to thee. " Now the look was forward into the future. And the word came to pass. Babylon's decline was swift after Nebuchadnezzar's death. Daniel theprophet himself lived to interpret the handwriting on the wall atBelshazzar's feast: "God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.... Thou art weighed inthe balances and art found wanting.... Thy kingdom is divided, and givento the Medes and Persians. " Dan. 5:26-28. The breast and arms of silver, in the great image, represented theMedo-Persian kingdom, which followed the Babylonian, "inferior" to it inbrilliancy and grandeur, as silver is inferior to gold. Medo-Persia, however, enlarged the borders of the world empire; and the names ofCyrus and Darius are written among the mightiest conquerors of history. But the prophet does not stop to dwell upon the grandeur of fleetingearthly kingdoms. The interpretation hastens on to reach the setting upof a kingdom that shall not pass away. Following Medo-Persia, a thirdpower was to rise, Grecia "And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all theearth. " The "third kingdom" after Babylon was Grecia, which overthrew the empireof the Medes and Persians. And Grecia's dominion fulfilled thespecifications of the prophecy, which indicated a yet wider expansion ofempire. Its sway was to be over "all the earth, " said Daniel theprophet, foretelling its history. Arrian, the Greek historian, writingafterward, said that Alexander of Greece seemed truly "lord of all theearth;" and he adds: "I am persuaded there was no nation, city, nor people then in being whither his name did not reach; for which reason, whatever origin he might boast of, or claim to himself, there seems to me to have been some divine hand presiding both over his birth and actions. "--_"History of the Expedition of Alexander the Great, " book 7, chap. 30. _ The sides of brass in the great image represented Grecia, the brazenmetal itself being a fitting symbol of those "brazen-mailed" Greeks, celebrated in ancient poetry and song, "Among the foremost, armed in glittering brass. " A Power Rising in the West While Grecia's supremacy under Alexander was disputed by none, there wasa power rising in the West that was soon to enter the lists for theprize of world dominion. Some of the ancient writers say that at the time of his death Alexanderhad in mind to push westward to strike down the growing power of thecity of Rome, of which he had heard. Plutarch says that this manAlexander, "who shot like a star, with incredible swiftness, from the rising to the setting sun, was meditating to bring the luster of his arms into Italy.... He had heard of the Roman power in Italy. "--_"Morals, " chap. On "Fortune of the Romans, " par. 13. _ Lucan, the ancient Roman poet, repeats the thought: "Driven headlong on by Fate's resistless force, Through Asia's realms he took his dreadful course: His ruthless sword laid human nature waste, And desolation followed where he passed.... "Ev'n to the utmost west he would have gone, Where Tethys' lap receives the setting sun. " --"_Pharsalia. _" But in the prime of his years, Alexander was cut down, and Rome had yetmore time in which to develop its strength preparatory to the decidingcontest for the mastery of all the world. Sure it is that after Grecia, there followed the Roman Empire, the strongest and mightiest and mostcrushing of them all. This fourth universal empire the prophet proceededto describe, as represented by the legs of iron in Nebuchadnezzar'sdream of the great image. Rome "The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breakethin pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. " How appropriately the iron of the image fits the character of the fourthgreat empire! Gibbon, the historian, calls it "the iron monarchy ofRome. " It broke in pieces the kingdoms, subduing all, just as prophecyhad declared so long before. As iron is strongest of the common metals, so according to the prophecy--"as iron that breaketh all these"--thisfourth kingdom was to be more powerful than any before it. Strabo, thegeographer, who lived in the days of Tiberius Cęsar, said, "The Romans have surpassed (in power) all former rulers of whom we have any record. "--_"Geography, " book 17, chap. 3. _ Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, who lived in Rome in the thirdcentury, --under the "iron monarchy, "--wrote thus of this prophecy: "Already the iron rules; already it subdues and breaks all in pieces; already it brings all the unwilling into subjection; already we see these things ourselves. "--_"Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, " sec. 33. _ Hippolytus also saw clearly from the prophecy that the empire of his daywould be divided, and he wrote of the kingdoms that were "yet to rise"out of it. For Daniel's interpretation explained clearly the meaning ofthe mingling of clay with the iron in the feet and toes of the greatimage. The Kingdoms of Modern Europe "Whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and partof iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of thestrength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miryclay. "And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so thekingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. "And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall minglethemselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one toanother, even as iron is not mixed with clay. " "The kingdom shall be divided. " So declared the prophet of God. In theheight of its power, Rome scouted the thought that so mighty a fabriccould ever be broken up. Horace sang in his "Odes, " "How, added to a conquered world, Euphrates 'bates his tide, And Huns, beyond our frontiers hurled, O'er straitened deserts ride. * * * * * "The Goths beyond the sea may plot, The warlike Basques may plan; Friend, never heed them! vex thee not; For this our mortal span Of little wants. " --_Book 2, Marris's Translation. _ But the words were written on the ancient parchment in the days ofBabylon, "The kingdom shall be divided;" and true to the word of theprophet, the Roman Empire fell apart with the mixture of nations andpeoples that swept into it. The elements did not hold together, even asthe mixture of iron and clay in the image did not cleave together. Broken up by the invasions of fresh nations from the north, the WesternEmpire was divided into lesser kingdoms, out of which have grown themodern nations of western Europe. Not one word in the outline of the prophecy thus far has failed offulfilment. These modern kingdoms growing out of divided Rome have neverbeen reunited. "They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, " saidthe prophecy. Nearly all the reigning houses of Europe today are relatedby intermarriage; the prophecy said it would be so; but "they shall notcleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. " So we seeit. No statesman, no master of legions, has been able to join thesenations together again in one great empire. Charles V had the thought inmind, some think. Napoleon dreamed of doing it. But it was not to be. Nevermore was there to be one universal monarchy. We may know that as surely as the course of world empire has followedthe exact outline of the prophecy put on the inspired record in the daysof Babylon of old, just so surely the specifications of the closingportion of the outline will be fulfilled. The fourth great kingdom was to be divided. Rome was the fourth empire:it was divided. The kingdoms of the divided empire are acting their partbefore our eyes today. The Next Great Event And what next? That is the question for us. Now the prophetic outlinethat began with ancient Babylon touches the things of our own day. Theword spoken before Nebuchadnezzar so long ago is now spoken especiallyto us: "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 toother people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all thesekingdoms, and it shall stand forever. "Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountainwithout hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, theclay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to theking what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, andthe interpretation thereof sure. " "In the days of these kings, "--these kingdoms of our own time, --the nextgreat world-changing event is to be the coming of Christ to begin thesetting up of his everlasting kingdom. That is the grand climax towardwhich all the course of history has been tending. At last the end is tocome. "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. " As the stone, cut out of the mountain "without hands, " smote the image, so that all its parts, representative of earthly dominion, were groundto dust and blown away, so Christ's coming kingdom, set up "withouthands, " by no human power, but by the power of the eternal God, will endall earthly dominion and bring the utter destruction of sin and sinnersout of the earth. "The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. " Then may all eyes well be turned toward the next great step foretold inthe prophetic outline--the coming of Christ's glorious everlastingkingdom, which shall not pass away. "Look for the waymarks as you journey on, Look for the waymarks, passing one by one, Down through the ages, past the kingdoms four, -- Where are we standing? Look the waymarks o'er. " [Illustration: PHOTOGRAPH BY MISSIONARY W. C. ISING Ruins of the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar, in which was the hall ofBelshazzar's Feast. ] [Illustration: THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST "This same Jesus ... Shall so come in like manner. " Acts 1:11. COPYRIGHT STANDARD PUB. CO. ] [Illustration: THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM "Behold, thy King cometh, ... Lowly, and riding upon an ass. " Zech. 9:9. ] THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST "Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sinunto salvation. " Heb. 9:28. Too often the second coming of Christ is looked upon simply as adoctrine. It is, however, more than a doctrine merely to be believed; itis an impending event, something that is to take place on earth, and themost stupendous, all-transcendent event for the world since Christ camethe first time to die on Calvary for the sins of men. This second coming of Christ, like His first coming, has been the themeof divine prophecy from the beginning. This was emphasized by theapostle Peter in his second recorded sermon. He pressed upon the peopleof Jerusalem the fact that the things "which God before had showed bythe mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer" (Acts 3:18), had been fulfilled to the letter before their eyes. Not a word hadfailed. Just so, he said, all that the prophets had spoken of His secondcoming would be fulfilled: "He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whomthe heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since theworld began. " Acts 3:20, 21. The Promise of His Coming As iniquity began to abound, God sent a message to the antediluvianworld, declaring that Christ's coming in glory would end the reign ofsin: "Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgmentupon all. " Jude 14, 15. The promise of Christ's coming was the "blessed hope" in the patriarchalage. In Job's dark hour of trial his heart clung to the promise, and hewas kept from despair: "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latterday upon the earth: ... Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shallbehold, and not another. " Job 19:25-27. The psalmist sang of it: "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devourbefore Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. " Ps. 50:3. And the prophets of later times were unceasingly moved upon to talk ofthe glory of that coming, of events preceding it, and of the preparationfor it. "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never holdtheir peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep notsilence. " "Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. " Isa. 62:6, 11. The message of His coming is to be heralded to the ends of the earth;for it is "good tidings of great joy" to every one who will receive it. On that last night with His disciples before the crucifixion, when Hisheart was sorrowful even unto death, as the burden of all ouriniquities was about to be laid upon Him, Christ's love for His own madeprecious to Him the thought of His second coming to gather them home atlast, safe from all sin and trouble; and He said: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would havetold you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare aplace for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; thatwhere I am, there ye may be also. " John 14:1-3. In that assurance the heart finds rest. O the preciousness of thepromise, "I will come again"! "I am coming for you, " is the cheeringmessage. "Yes, Lord, " we reply, "we will wait, and watch, and be ready, by Thy grace. " The Manner of His Coming Christ's second coming is to be visible to all the world. There is to benothing secret or mystical about it. The revelator says: "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him. " Rev. 1:7. Christ Himself described the scene to His disciples as it will appear tothe eyes of all: "As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto thewest; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. " Matt. 24:27. "Thenshall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power andglory. " Mark 13:26. The day of the Lord--the close of probation, the initial outpouring ofthe judgments of God--will come "as a thief in the night, " but Christ'spersonal appearing will be visible to all. The heavens will open, theearth quake, the trump of God resound, and such glory as mortal eye hasnever seen will burst upon the world when He comes as King of kings andLord of lords. "He comes not an infant in Bethlehem born, He comes not to lie in a manger; He comes not again to be treated with scorn, He comes not a shelterless stranger; He comes not to Gethsemane, To weep and sweat blood in the garden; He comes not to die on the tree, To purchase for rebels a pardon. Oh, no; glory, bright glory, Environs Him now. " [Illustration: THE TRANSFIGURATION A TYPE OF HIS COMING "Behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with Him. "Matt. 17:3. ] "This Same Jesus" The Lord would have His children understand that this One who comes inpower and glory is the same Saviour of men who once walked by blueGalilee. As the disciples were watching their Saviour, and ours, ascending bodily into heaven from Olivet, until "a cloud received Himout of their sight, " suddenly two angels stood by them, who said: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner asye have seen Him go into heaven. " Acts 1:9, 11. [Illustration: CHRIST SET AT NAUGHT BY THE ROMANS "Behold your King!" John 19:14. ] "This same Jesus"! It was the loving Friend and Elder Brother, Son ofman as well as Son of God, who was passing from their sight. He willcome back the "same Jesus, " though in glory indescribable, having "allthe holy angels with Him. " The prophet Habakkuk thus described Christ's glorious appearing, as itwas represented to him in vision: "His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light; He had rays coming forth from His hand; And there was the hiding of His power. " Hab. 3:3, 4, A. R. V. Surely it is the "same Jesus, " and the mark of the cruel nails is theshining badge of His power to save. "I shall know Him By the print of the nails in His hands. " As the redeemed see Him who was crucified for them coming in glory, theywill cry, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will saveus: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad andrejoice in His salvation. " Isa. 25:9. But that day will be a day of darkness as well as of light. The unready, the unrepentant, will realize too late that in rejecting Christ's pardonand love and sacrifice, they have rejected the only means by which theymight have been prepared to meet the coming King, before whose face nosin can endure. "Every eye shall see Him, " the apostle says, and hedescribes the terror of that day to the unprepared: "The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and thechief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; andsaid to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the faceof Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: forthe great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"Rev. 6:15-17. The scenes of that great day are so beyond human comprehension that itis difficult to realize that such a time is actually before us. "Then, O my Lord, prepare My soul for that great day. " The Purpose of His Coming The Scriptures make very clear the purpose of Christ's second coming andthe events of that great day. It has been the hope of the children ofGod through all the ages. The apostle Paul calls it the "blessed hope. " "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should livesoberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for thatblessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and ourSaviour Jesus Christ. " Titus 2:11-13. The saints of God have fallen asleep in death with their faith reachingforward to Christ's glorious appearing. So the veteran apostle fell, with eyes upon "that day. " "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept thefaith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and notto me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing. " 2 Tim. 4:6-8. Christ's second coming is the grand climax of the plan of salvation. Nottill then are the children of God ushered into the eternal kingdom. Thenthe crowns of life are bestowed, and the saved all go together throughthe gates into the city--patriarch and prophet, apostle and reformer, and the child of God of this last generation. Of the ancient worthies itis written: "These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received notthe promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that theywithout us should not be made perfect. " Heb. 11:39, 40. What a glorious day it will be when the ransomed of all the ages, marchin together through the gates into the city! It is to take His children to their eternal home that Christ comes thesecond time. This was His promise to the disciples: "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place foryou, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. " John 14:2, 3. Not in detail, but in their general order, let us follow the events ofthat great day. [Illustration: CHRIST COMING IN GLORY "The Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels withHim. " Matt. 25:31. ] The Prelude to His Coming as the revelator saw it and heard it in a vision of the last day: "There came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings;and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were uponthe earth, ... And the cities of the nations fell: and great Babyloncame in remembrance before God. " Rev. 16:17-19. "The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and everymountain and island were moved out of their places. " Rev. 6:14. His Glorious Appearing Then bursts upon the world the glory of our Saviour's coming: "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shallall the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of mancoming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shallsend His angels with a great sound of a trumpet. " Matt. 24:30, 31. "I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat likeunto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His handa sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with aloud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap:for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth isripe. " Rev. 14:14, 15. The Resurrection of the Just, and the Translation of the LivingRighteous The time to reap has come, and the wheat is gathered at last into thegarner of the Lord: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, inthe twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shallsound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall bechanged. " 1 Cor. 15:51, 52. "He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and theyshall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end ofheaven to the other. " Matt. 24:31. "This we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are aliveand remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which areasleep. 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 deadin Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall becaught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one anotherwith these words. " 1 Thess. 4:15-18. [Illustration: THE EMPTY TOMB "Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at Hiscoming. " 1 Cor. 15:23. ] The righteous dead are raised to life as the trump of God sounds and thevoice of the Archangel calls to His sleeping saints, and the livingrighteous are transformed from mortality to immortality. Then alltogether, with the escort of the angels, they follow the Saviour to theheavenly mansions that He has prepared in the city of God. The Destruction of the Wicked Before the glorious majesty of the coming King no sin can endure; fortrue it is that "our God is a consuming fire"--now, in the day of Hismercy, consuming sin out of the heart that by faith approaches thethrone of grace, but in that day consuming the unrepentant sinner withhis sin. "Where will the sinner hide in that day, in that day? Where will the sinner hide in that day? It will be in vain to call, 'Ye mountains on us fall!' For His hand will find out all in that day. " It is the great day long foretold by seer and prophet. Again let us read the description of what it will mean to the unsaved tosee Christ coming in glory; for the terror of that day must warn us nowto keep within the refuge of the Saviour's loving grace: "The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and thechief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; andsaid to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the faceof Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: forthe great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"Rev. 6:15-17. The same glory that transforms the righteous is a consuming fire tothose who have rejected Christ's salvation: "Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume withthe spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of Hiscoming. " 2 Thess. 2:8. "When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mightyangels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, andthat obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punishedwith everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from theglory of His power. " 2 Thess. 1:7-9. The Climax of Human History Thus the second coming of Christ brings the resurrection and translationof the righteous, the death of the wicked, and the end of the world. Theresurrection of the wicked does not then take place, but only that ofthe just; save for some of the wicked dead who had a special part inwarring against Christ, --"they also which pierced Him" (Rev. 1:7). Theseare raised to see His coming, necessarily to fall again before theconsuming glory of His presence. The righteous are taken to reign with Christ in the heavenly city for athousand years, and during the same period the earth lies in desolationand chaos, uninhabited by man, a dark abyss, the dreary prison house ofSatan. Of the two resurrections, first of the just and then of theunjust, we are told: "They [the righteous] lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years werefinished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he thathath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath nopower. " Rev. 20:4-6. It is at the end of the thousand years that the resurrection of thewicked takes place. Then the city of God descends, "the holy city, NewJerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, " and the wicked comeforth to condemnation and the second death, from which there is nowaking. "Now is the Accepted Time" Now is the day of salvation, when by Christ's grace we may prepare forthat great day. To be found among His redeemed ones in that day will beof infinitely greater worth than anything this world can give, ofpleasure, or possessions, or honor. Nothing will count then but theblessed hope. Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, found the personal Saviour in the daysof the Methodist revival in England. All her wealth and all her socialinfluence were devoted to Christ, even though titled friends tookumbrage at her close association with the poor and the humble who gaveheed to the message of the hour, and pressed into the kingdom. She wroteof her joy in being numbered with the children of God: "I love to meet among them now, Before Thy gracious throne to bow, Though weakest of them all; Nor can I bear the piercing thought, To have my worthless name left out, When Thou for them shalt call. "Prevent, prevent it by Thy grace. Be Thou, dear Lord, my hiding place In that expected day. Thy pardoning voice, O let me hear, To still each unbelieving fear, Nor let me fall, I pray. " One night, at a royal ball, the Prince of Wales asked a titled ladywhere the Countess of Huntingdon was. "Oh, I suppose she is praying withsome of her beggars somewhere!" was the flippant answer. "Ah, " said thecrown prince, "in the last day I think I should be glad to hold the hemof Lady Huntingdon's mantle. " True it is that the greatest gift of gracenow, as it will be then, is to be numbered among the obedient childrenof God. "Let me among Thy saints be found, Whene'er the Archangel's trump shall sound, To see Thy smiling face; Then joyfully Thy praise I'll sing, While heaven's resounding mansions ring With shouts of endless grace. " [Illustration: CHRIST ANSWERING HIS DISCIPLES' QUESTIONS "When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Matt. 24:3. ] [Illustration: THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE FORETOLD "There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not bethrown down. " Matt. 24:2. ] SIGNS OF THE APPROACHING END OUR SAVIOUR'S GREAT PROPHECY Part I Christ had spoken of the coming desolation of the sacred temple atJerusalem. The disciples were astonished. "Master, see, " said one, "whatmanner of stones and what buildings are here!" The Saviour replied: "Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stoneupon another, that shall not be thrown down" Mark 13:2. "What Shall be the Sign?" As soon as they were alone on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city, the disciples came to Jesus, saying: "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thycoming, and of the end of the world?" Matt. 24:3. Replying to this question, the Saviour spoke first of the fall ofJerusalem; He foretold in a sentence the experiences of His churchthrough dark ages to follow; then He described the events of the latterdays, the signs showing His second advent near at hand; and, finally, Hepictured the scenes of His own glorious appearing in the clouds ofheaven. The fullest record of the discourse is found in thetwenty-fourth chapter of Matthew. A Striking Parallel The first portion of the prophetic discourse (verses 4-14) deals withgeneral conditions that were to prevail both in the last days of theJewish state, and on a yet larger scale in the course of history leadingto the last days of the world. There was so close a parallel betweenthese times that Christ, in one description, answered both questionsasked, When shall these things come upon Jerusalem? and, What shall bethe signs of the end of the world? The prophetic word foretold the rise of false Christs, the coming ofwars, famines, and earthquakes in "divers places. " The believers sawthese things fulfilled in that generation before Jerusalem fell; but aswe read the prophecy, we see the wider application and yet largerfulfilment through the course of history since that day, thesecalamities increasing in the earth as the end draws near. Before the endof the Jewish state, the believers carried the gospel to all the knownworld of their day. (See Col. 1:23. ) In these latter days we are seeingthe yet wider proclamation of the gospel, as foretold in the fourteenthverse, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the worldfor a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. " The Last Days of Jerusalem We may note briefly some of the events of Jerusalem's last days. Christhad forewarned the believers: "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. " Having rejected the true Christ, the nation was open to deception by thefalse. We catch just a glimpse of the fulfilment in the book of Acts; insecular history the full story is told. Ridpath says: "Never was a people so turbulent, so excited with expectation of a deliverer who should restore the ancient kingdom, so fired with bigotry and fanaticism, as were the wretched Jews of this period. One Christ came after another. Revolt was succeeded by revolt, instigated by some pseudo-prophet or pretended king. "--_"History of the World, " Vol. I, p. 849 (Part III, chap. 19). _ During the Saviour's life and ministry a divine hand had to a greatextent held the elements of violence in check, but as the light wasrejected more and more, the spirit of evil came to hold swayunrestrained. Dr. Mears well describes the changed conditions in thesewords: "The narrative of the evangelists presents a tranquil scene, a succession of attractive pictures, in striking contrast to the bloody and tumultuous events which crowd each other in the pages of Josephus. "--_"From Exile to Overthrow, " pp. 256, 257. _ Thus the events led rapidly on toward the day of Jerusalem's fall, solong foretold by the prophets. The Sign to the Believers The disciples had asked for a sign, and Christ gave them a token bywhich they might know when the time to flee from Jerusalem had come. Here Luke's Gospel gives the fullest record: "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that thedesolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to themountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and letnot them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be thedays of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. "Luke 21:20-22. [Illustration: THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM BY THE ROMANS UNDER TITUS, A. D. 70 "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that thedesolation thereof is nigh. " Luke 21:20. ] The unbelieving in Jerusalem and Judea could not conceive that theircity, so long protected and favored of God, could be destroyed. Not eventhe appearance of the Roman armies could shake their blindself-confidence. But at the first sight of the encircling armies, theChristians knew that the time for flight was at hand. But how to fleewas the question, with the compassing lines drawn close about the city. Moreover, the Zealots, the furious war party in power, would be littlelikely to allow any number to pass out to the Roman forces. Just here God's providence made a way of escape. Cestius, the Romancommander, after having partially undermined one of the temple walls, suddenly decided to defer pushing the attack. "He retired from thecity, " says Josephus, "without any reason in the world. " (See "Wars, "book 2, chap. 19. ) And the Zealots flew out after the retiring Romans, furiously attacking the rear guards. Then those watching Christians knew that the time for quick flight hadcome, according to Christ's prophecy uttered many years before. Theyfled out of the city and out of the country round about. Through all the years, Christ's prophecy had exhorted them, "Pray yethat your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. "Matt. 24:20. The prayer was answered, for it was in the autumn and on aweek day that the flight was made. [B] Watching for the sign, andinstantly obeying, they were delivered. Thus it was that when the Romans returned later to the siege, never togive up till the city fell, none of the Christians were overwhelmed inits destruction. Even so are we to watch the signs of our own times, that we may escape those things that are coming upon the earth, and beready to "stand before the Son of man. " The Prophetic Word Fulfilled Christ had declared that the temple, the pride of the nation, would beutterly destroyed. In the last siege, the Roman commander tried to sparethe magnificent pile. When the Jews made it their chief fortress, because of its massive strength, Titus remonstrated with them, saying: "If you will but change the place whereon you fight, no Roman shall either come near your sanctuary, or offer any affront to it; nay, I will endeavor to preserve you your holy house, whether you will or not. "--_Josephus, "Wars of the Jews, " book 6, chap. 2. _ But the prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. The people seemedpossessed with fury. The hardened Roman pagans were astonished at theirsuicidal rashness. Titus's efforts to save the temple failed, and itwent down in ruin, as Christ had foretold. [Illustration: A PANEL FROM THE ARCH OF TITUS Showing the golden candlestick and other sacred vessels of the templebeing carried in triumph through the streets of Rome. ] The disciples of Christ had called His attention to the immense blocksof stone that composed the temple walls. "See, what manner of stones, "one said. When Titus examined these same stones, after the fall of thecity, he is said to have declared: "We have certainly had God for our assistant in this war, and it was no other than God who ejected the Jews out of these fortifications. "[C]--_Id. , book 6, chap. 9. _ Rather, we would say, in the light of Scripture teaching, thedestruction that came upon the city was but the fruit of its own way. God's guardian care had long protected the city of David. When Hisprotection was finally thrust aside and the people put themselves in thepower of the great destroyer, divine justice could no longer save thecity from the judgments that were bound to fall upon persistenttransgression against light. The lesson is one of those written "for our admonition upon whom theends of the world are come. " Jerusalem, in that generation of greatlight and high privilege, fell because it knew not the time of itsvisitation. Still Christ's sad lament bears its warning to the ears ofmen: "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, thethings which belong unto thy peace!" Luke 19:42. Part II Having foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and given to the believerssigns by which they might find deliverance in the day of its overthrow, Christ yet more fully answered the second part of the disciples'question, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of theworld?" Matt. 24:3. [Illustration: THE CATACOMBS NEAR ROME In these underground passages persecuted Christians found a hidingplace, held their services, and buried their dead. ] The Period of Tribulation Quickly He passed to the events of the latter days. But first Hesketched, in a few words, the tribulations through which His church wasto pass during the intervening centuries. Daniel the prophet had writtenof this experience, foretelling the long period during which the papalpower was to "wear out the saints of the Most High. " Dan. 7:25. Of thesetimes, Christ said in His prophetic discourse: "Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning ofthe world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those daysshould be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect'ssake those days shall be shortened. " Matt. 24:21, 22. It is evident that Christ referred to the time of tribulation foretoldby Daniel, not to the trials attending the flight of the Christians fromJerusalem, for their flight was a deliverance of the elect from trial. However much the weak may have suffered temporarily in fleeing fromtheir homes, the great suffering of that time came upon the unbelieving, who had no shelter. This prophecy given by our Saviour presents the picture of along-continued persecution of His own elect, and foretells theshortening of the allotted time. God was to intervene in some specialway to save His people. And it was even so. The elect did suffer allthrough the centuries of intolerance, until the rise of the Reformationand the spreading abroad of God's Word broke the power ofecclesiasticism, thus shortening the days of bitter tribulation. The End Drawing Near According to Daniel's further prophecy, the period of trial andpersecution was to reach "even to the time of the end. " Dan. 11:35. Naturally, then, we should look for the signs of the latter days tobegin to appear following these days of tribulation. And so we find thenext words of Christ's discourse introducing the topic of His secondcoming. From now on the prophetic outline deals with events leadingdown to the end of the age. First the Saviour utters a warning against false ideas concerning Hissecond coming. That no theories of a secret coming or of a mystic comingmight deceive the unwary, He says in plain words: "If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe itnot. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shallshow great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, theyshall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Whereforeif they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth:behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as thelightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; soshall also the coming of the Son of man be. " Matt. 24:23-27. Today we see the need of this warning. Some of the most subtledeceptions are found in the teaching that Christ has already come, secretly, or that He comes in the chamber of death, or in thespiritualistic séance. Against all these errors we are forewarned, aswell as against any agencies that may come showing marvelous signs andwonders. The close of human probation, the coming of the day of God, will be as a thief in the night; and Christ's coming itself willovertake the unwatchful all unprepared. Nevertheless, when He comes, "every eye shall see Him, " and all the glory of heaven will burst upon aquaking world. Signs in the Heavens and the Earth Now the Saviour's outline of prophecy presents the signs which were toshow when the coming of the Lord was near. Referring again to the daysof tribulation foretold by the prophet Daniel, Christ says: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun bedarkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shallfall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: andthen shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. " Matt. 24:29, 30. In Luke's record of the same prophetic discourse, additional signs aregiven, describing conditions in the earth as Christ's coming draws near. His account reads: "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; andupon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and thewaves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking afterthose things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heavenshall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in acloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come topass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption drawethnigh. " Luke 21:25-28. Yet again, the prophet John, in the Revelation, foretells these signs inthe sun and moon and stars, as they were presented to him in a vision ofthe last days. But his record shows that this series of signs was to bepreceded by a great earthquake. He describes the order of events asfollows: "I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a greatearthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moonbecame as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as afig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mightywind. " Rev. 6:12, 13. In these scriptures four great signs of Christ's approaching advent arelisted for our study, as follows: 1. The great earthquake. 2. The darkening of the sun and moon. 3. The falling of the stars. 4. Distress of nations, and other signs. The Time When the Signs Begin Christ's prophecy points out approximately the time when the first ofthe signs that He gave, the darkening of the sun, shouldappear, --"immediately after the tribulation of those days. " And the"great earthquake" of John's vision was to precede this sign in theheavens. The Reformation of the sixteenth century began to cut short the days oftribulation; but some countries shut out the liberalizing influences ofthe Word of God, and there the persecution continued. Even as late as near the end of the seventeenth century, in 1685, Francerevoked the Edict of Nantes, that had granted toleration, andpersecution raged as of old. The church was driven again to the desert. Speaking of the early decades of the eighteenth century, Kurtz says: "In France the persecution of the Huguenots continued.... The 'pastors of the desert' performed their duties at the risk of their lives. "--_"Church History, " Vol. III, p. 88. _ There was severe persecution of the Moravians in Austria, in thesetimes, many of the persecuted finding refuge in Saxony. It was in 1722that Christian David led the first band of Moravian refugees to settleon the estates of Count Zinzendorf, who organized through them the greatpioneer movement of modern missions. But by the middle of the century, the era of enlightenment and the forceof world opinion, in the good providence of God, had so permeated theCatholic states of Europe that general violent persecution had ceased. One incident will suffice as evidence of this. The scene was in France, where alone, of all the Catholic states, therewere any great numbers of Protestants. In 1762 a Huguenot of Toulouse, unjustly charged with crime, was put to torture and to death, under thepressure of the old persecuting spirit. Many Huguenots thought thepersecutions of former times were reviving, and prepared to flee toSwitzerland. But Voltaire took up the matter, and so wrought upon publicopinion that the Paris parliament reviewed the case, and the king paidthe man's family a large indemnity. This shows that by the middle of that century the days of any generalpersecution had ceased. In the nature of the case, we may not point tothe exact year and say, Here the days of tribulation ended. From these times, then, we are to scan the record of history to learn ifthe appointed signs began to appear. As we look, we find the eventsrecorded, following on in the order predicted: 1. The Lisbon earthquake, cf 1755. 2. The dark day, cf 1780. 3. The falling stars, cf 1833. 4. General conditions and movements betokening the end. "There shall be signs, " the Saviour said. We are to study the record ofevents, watching to catch the signs of the approaching end as earnestlyas the mariner watches the beacon lights when he nears the longed-forhaven on a dark and stormy night. [Illustration: AN ANCIENT FLOUR MILL "Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, andthe other left. " Matt. 24:41. ] FOOTNOTES: [B] It was in the autumn that the army of Cestius closed in uponJerusalem. According to the careful record of Graetz, the Jewishhistorian, it was evidently on a Wednesday that the Roman army retired, pursued by all the forces of the city. This was the instant for theflight of the Christians. Next day "the Zealots, shouting exultant warsongs, returned to Jerusalem (8th October). "--_"History of the Jews, "Vol. II, p. 268. _ The day before was the time for unhindered flight. [C] Apollonius, the friend and counselor of Titus, left a similartestimony to the latter's conviction that there was somethingsupernatural about the forces of destruction let loose upon Jerusalem:"After Titus had taken Jerusalem, and when the country all round wasfilled with corpses, the neighboring races offered him a crown: but hedisclaimed any such honor to himself, saying that it was not he himselfthat had accomplished this exploit, but that he had merely lent his armsto God, who had so manifested His wrath. "--_Philostratus, "Life ofApollonius, " book 6, chap. 29. _ [Illustration: LISBON FROM ACROSS THE BAY The scene of the great earthquake and tidal wave, Nov. 1, 1755, when insix minutes sixty thousand people perished. ] THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE OF 1755 "Lo, There Was a Great Earthquake" The first of a series of signs of the approaching end is thus describedby the revelator: "I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a greatearthquake. " Rev. 6:12. [Illustration: THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE "There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diversplaces. " Matt. 24:7. ] The verses immediately preceding this scripture plainly describe thedays of persecution of the saints of God, and the era of protest andreform that cut short that time of tribulation. Then this first signappears. This is in harmony with Christ's statement that the signs ofHis second coming should begin to appear following the tribulation ofthose days. Just about the close of the days of tribulation occurred the Lisbonearthquake, as it is called, though its effects reached far beyondPortugal. Prof. W. H. Hobbs, geologist, says of it: "Among the earth movements which in historic times have affected the kingdom of Portugal, that of Nov. 1, 1755, takes first rank, as it does, also, in some respects, among all recorded earthquakes.... In six minutes sixty thousand people perished. "--_"Earthquakes, " pp. 142, 143. _ "Lo, there was a great earthquake, " the revelator said. It was indeed "agreat earthquake, " and great was its influence. In all the world, men'shearts were mightily stirred. James Parton, an English author, says ofit: "The Lisbon earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, appears to have put both the theologians and philosophers on the defensive.... At twenty minutes to ten that morning, Lisbon was firm and magnificent, on one of the most picturesque and commanding sites in the world, --a city of superb approach, placed precisely where every circumstance had concurred to say to the founders, Build here! In six minutes the city was in ruins.... Half the world felt the convulsion.... For many weeks, as we see in the letters and memoirs of that time, people in distant parts of Europe went to bed in alarm, relieved in the morning to find that they had escaped the fate of Lisbon one night more. "--_"Life of Voltaire, " Vol. II, pp. 208, 209. _ The World Set to Thinking This earthquake set men to thinking of the great day of God. Voltaire, the French philosopher, was "profoundly moved" by it, we are told. "Itwas the last judgment for that region, " he wrote; "nothing was wantingto it except the trumpet. " More than a month afterward, while still theperturbations of the earth were continuing, this skeptic wrote a poemupon the problem presented, voicing the sentiment: "My heart oppress'd demands Aid of the God who formed me with his hands. Sons of the God supreme to suffer all Fated alike, we on our Father call.... Sad is the present if no future state, No blissful retribution mortals wait, If fate's decrees the thinking being doom To lose existence in the silent tomb. _All may be well_; that hope can man sustain. _All now is well_; 'tis an illusion vain. The sages held me forth delusive light, Divine instructions only can be right. Humbly I sigh, submissive suffer pain, Nor more the ways of Providence arraign. " --"_Poem on the Destruction of Lisbon, _" _Smollet's translation; Works, Vol. XXXIII, ed. 1761. _ Just at the time, plans were under way for the opening of a theater atLausanne for the special performance of some of Voltaire's rationalisticdramas. But the enterprise was deferred. One writer says: "The earthquake had made all men thoughtful. They mistrusted their love of the drama, and filled the churches instead. "--_Tallentyre, "Life of Voltaire, " p. 319. _ So, in an age of rationalism and unbelief, men's thoughts were turnedtoward God, and human helplessness and earth's instability wererecognized. Extent of the Lisbon Earthquake As to the extent of the earthquake, a writer of the period shows that itwas felt in Sweden and in Africa and in the West Indies, adding: "The effects were distributed over very nearly four millions of square English miles of the earth's surface, and greatly surpassed anything of the kind ever recorded in history. "--_"History and Philosophy of Earthquakes" (London, 1757), p. 333. _ The commander of an English ship, lying off Lisbon at the time, thusdescribed the scene in a letter to the ship's owners: "Almost all the palaces and large churches were rent down, or part fallen, and scarce one house of this vast city is left habitable. Everybody that was not crushed to death ran out into the large places, and those near the river ran down to save themselves by boats, or any other floating convenience, running, crying, and calling to the ships for assistance; but whilst the multitude were gathered near the riverside, the water rose to such a height that it overflowed the lower part of the city, which so terrified the miserable and already dismayed inhabitants, who ran to and fro with dreadful cries, which we heard plainly on board, that it made them believe the dissolution of the world was at hand; every one falling on his knees and entreating the Almighty for His assistance.... By two o'clock the ships' boats began to ply, and took multitudes on board.... The fear, the sorrow, the cries and lamentations of the poor inhabitants are unexpressible; every one begging pardon, and embracing each other, crying, Forgive me, friend, brother, sister! Oh! what will become of us! neither water nor land will protect us, and the third element, fire, seems now to threaten our total destruction! as in effect it happened. The conflagration lasted a whole week. "--_Thomas Hunter, "Historical Account of Earthquakes" (Liverpool, 1756), pp. 72-74. _ Recognized as a Sign Looking down through the ages, the prophet of the Revelation saw thecoming of the latter days, when signs of the approaching end were tobegin to appear. Just there he beheld "a great earthquake. " The terribleevent was noted by inspiration as a sign of the coming of the finaljudgment. Earthquakes there had been before, and increasing earthquakeswere to follow after, --"earthquakes in divers places, "--as Christforetold, speaking of the signs of His second coming. But as befittedthis first of the series of signs of the approaching end, a convictionfrom God seemed to come into the hearts of men in that generation, thatthis was indeed a token to remind the world of a coming day of doom. In the year of the disaster, an English poet, John Biddolf, published abook of verse, pointing some of the lessons of the hour, from which wequote a few descriptive stanzas: "Calm was the sky; the sun serenely bright Shot o'er the sea long dazzling streams of light. Through orange groves soft breathing breezes play'd And gathered sweets like bees where'er they stray'd. In fair relievo stood the lofty town, Set off by radiant lights and shadows brown. "Ill-fated city! there were revels kept; Devoid of fear, they ate, they drank, they slept. No friendly voice like that of ancient Rome Was sent to give them warning of their doom: No airy warriors to each other clung, Such as 'tis said o'er destin'd Sion hung, But like a nightly thief their dreadful fate Unlooked for came and undermined their state.... "Lo, what a sudden change! On ruin's brink The proud turn humble, and the thoughtless think. Dark, gloomy sadness overclouds the gay, And hypocrites for once sincerely pray.... But let it not be thought their horrid deeds Had pulled this dreadful judgment on their heads, Or that for crimes too horrible to tell, Like guilty Sodom, thunderstruck they fell.... "Who can with curious eyes this globe survey, And not behold it tottering with decay? All things created, God's designs fulfil, And natural causes work His destined will. And that eternal Word, which cannot lie, To mortals hath revealed in prophecy That in these latter days such signs should come, Preludes and prologues to the general doom. But not the Son of man can tell that day; Then, lest it find you sleeping, watch and pray. " Thus this first of the predicted latter-day signs bore its message tomen. Its immediate scene was set in the Old World, but its warning wasworld-wide. The next sign foretold was to appear in the New World, butlike the Lisbon earthquake, its message of warning was for all men. [Illustration: THE FLOOD "So shall also the coming of the Son of man be. " Matt. 24:39. ] [Illustration: MIDDAY AT SEA MAY 19, 1780 "Between one and two he was obliged to light a large candle to steerby. " See p. 89. ] [Illustration: SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS "Can ye not discern the signs of the times?" Matt. 16:3. ] THE DARK DAY OF 1780 "The Sun Shall be Darkened" We recall that in the vision of latter-day signs given to the prophetJohn, he saw the "great earthquake" followed by a sign in the heavens: "The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became asblood. " Rev. 6:12. Of this event our Saviour spoke, in giving the signs of His secondcoming which were to begin to appear following the cutting short of thedays of persecution. We repeat His words: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun bedarkened, and the moon shall not give her light. " Matt. 24:29. The Prophecy Fulfilled True to the order of the prophecy, following the great earthquake of1755 in Europe, there came, in America, the second sign of theapproaching end, the wonderful darkening of the sun, known in history as"The Dark Day. " This sign appeared at the time indicated in the prophecy, "immediatelyafter the tribulation of those days;" or as Mark has it, "in those days, after that tribulation. " On May 19, 1780, the sun was darkened, and thefollowing night the moon did not give her light. Whatever explanationmen may have to offer as to the cause of the phenomenon, the factremains that when the time of the prophecy came, the sign appeared. The first volume of the "Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts andSciences, " published in Boston in 1785, contains a paper entitled, "AnAccount of a Very Uncommon Darkness in the States of New England, May19, 1780. By Samuel Williams, A. M. , Hollis Professor of Mathematics andPhilosophy in the University at Cambridge [Massachusetts]. " Of the extent, duration, and degree of darkness on that occasion, thisscientific observer said: "The extent of this darkness was very remarkable.... From the accounts that have been received, it seems to have extended all over the New England States. It was observed as far east as Falmouth [Portland, Maine]. To the westward, we hear of its reaching to the furthest parts of Connecticut, and Albany. To the southward, it was observed all along the seacoasts. And to the north as far as our settlements extend.... "With regard to its duration, it continued in this place at least fourteen hours: but it is probable this was not exactly the same in different parts of the country. The appearance and effects were such as tended to make the prospect extremely dull and gloomy. Candles were lighted up in the houses; the birds having sung their evening songs, disappeared, and became silent; the fowls retired to roost; the cocks were crowing all around as at break of day; objects could not be distinguished but at a very little distance; and everything bore the appearance and gloom of night. " (See pages 234-246. ) Whittier has commemorated it in the poem, "Abraham Davenport:" "'Twas on a May day of the far old year Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell Over the bloom and sweet life of the spring, Over the fresh earth and the heaven of noon, A horror of great darkness.... "Birds ceased to sing, and all the barnyard fowls Roosted; the cattle at the pasture bars Lowed, and looked homeward; bats on leathern wings Flitted abroad; the sounds of labor died; Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp To hear the doom blast of the trumpet shatter The black sky. " The words of the poet are substantiated by the plain prose of thedictionary maker. In the department explanatory of "Noted Names, "Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (edition 1883) says: "_The Dark Day_, May 19, 1780--so called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day extending over all New England.... The obscuration began about ten o'clock in the morning, and continued till the middle of the next night, but with difference of degree and duration in different places.... The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known. " Cause Unknown At the time, some explained the darkness as being due to smoke fromforest fires, others to the exceptional rise of vapors and atmosphericdust in the warm spring following the melting of unusually heavy wintersnows. But forest fires were not of extraordinary occurrence in theseregions, and many a springtime since has seen the melting of heavywinter snows and the rise of vapors; yet May 19, 1780, still standsunique in the annals of modern times as "the dark day. " Howeverobservers and writers disagreed as to the nature of the mantle ofdarkness that was drawn over New England that day, they were _one_ inrecognizing the extraordinary character of the event. The facts are fully covered by the statement in the dictionary, "Thetrue cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known. " What we do know is that the Saviour's prophecy declared, "Immediatelyafter the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and themoon shall not give her light. " And when the time for it came, the signappeared. Contemporary Records Though the comparatively small-sized newspapers of the day were crowdedwith news of the progress of the Revolutionary War, then raging, nolittle space was given to reports and discussions of this remarkabledarkening of the sun. A correspondent of the Boston _Gazette and Country Journal_ (of May 29, 1780) reported observations made at Ipswich Hamlet, Mass. , "by severalgentlemen of liberal education:" "About eleven o'clock the darkness was such as to demand our attention, and put us upon making observations. At half past eleven, in a room with three windows, twenty-four panes each, all open toward the southeast and south, large print could not be read by persons of good eyes. "About twelve o'clock, the windows being still open, a candle cast a shade so well defined on the wall, as that profiles were taken with as much ease as they could have been in the night. "About one o'clock a glint of light which had continued to this time in the east, shut in, and the darkness was greater than it had been for any time before.... We dined about two, the windows all open, and two candles burning on the table. "In the time of the greatest darkness some of the ... Fowls went to their roost. Cocks crowed in answer to one another as they commonly do in the night. Woodcocks, which are night birds, whistled as they do _only_ in the dark. Frogs peeped. In short, there was the appearance of midnight at noonday. "About three o'clock the light in the west increased, the motion of the clouds [became] more quick, their color higher and more brassy than at any time before. There appeared to be quick flashes or coruscations, not unlike the aurora borealis.... About half past four our company, which had passed an unexpected night very cheerfully together, broke up. " Of the night following, this gentleman (then at Salem) wrote: "Perhaps it never was darker since the children of Israel left the house of bondage. This gross darkness held till about one o'clock, although the moon had fulled but the day before. " The Boston _Independent Chronicle_ of June 8 quoted from Thomas's_Massachusetts Spy_: "During the whole time a sickly, melancholy gloom overcast the face of nature. Nor was the darkness of the night less uncommon and terrifying than that of the day; notwithstanding there was almost a full moon, no object was discernible, but by the help of some artificial light, which when seen from the neighboring houses and other places at a distance, appeared through a kind of Egyptian darkness, which seemed almost impervious to the rays. "This unusual phenomenon excited the fears and apprehensions of many people. Some considered it as a portentous omen of the wrath of Heaven in vengeance denounced against the land, others as the immediate harbinger of the last day, when 'the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light. '" Not only over the land, but out at sea also, the unnatural darkness ofthe day and night of May 19, 1780, was observed. In the _IndependentChronicle_ of June 15, 1780, a correspondent, telling of interviews withvarious observers, said: "I have also seen a very sensible captain of a vessel, who was that morning about forty leagues southeast of Boston. He says the cloud which appeared at the west was the blackest he ever saw. About eleven o'clock there was a little rain, and it grew dark. Between one and two he was obliged to light a large candle to steer by.... Between nine and ten at night, he ordered his men to take in some of the sails, but it was so dark that they could not find the way from one mast to the other. " Thoughts Turned to the Judgment This writer commented as follows concerning the feelings awakened by theevent: "Various have been the sentiments of people concerning the designs of Providence in spreading the unusual darkness over us. Some suppose it portentous of the last scene. I wish it may have some good effect on the minds of the wicked, and that they may be excited to prepare for that solemn day. " The _Independent Chronicle_ of June 22, 1780, printed a letter from Dr. Samuel Stearns, who had been appealed to because of his knowledge "inphilosophy and astronomy. " First, he disposed of one suggestion that hadbeen made: "That the darkness was not caused by an eclipse is manifest by the various positions of the planets of our system at that time; for the moon was more than one hundred and fifty degrees from the sun all that day. " Then, in the rather heavy language of the science of that period, thiswriter told how the action of the sun's heat was continually projectinginto the atmosphere particles of earthy matter; and in his opinion itwas some "vast collection of such particles that caused the lateuncommon darkness. " But as to the real accounting for the phenomenon hewrote: "The primary cause must be imputed to Him that walketh through the circuit of heaven, who stretcheth out the heaven like a curtain, who maketh the clouds His chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the wind. It was He, at whose voice the stormy winds are obedient, that commanded these exhalations to be collected and condensed together, that with them He might darken both the day and the night; which darkness was, perhaps, not only a token of His indignation against the crying iniquities and abominations of the people, but an omen of some future destruction. " Thus men's minds were exercised by this sign "in the sun, and in themoon. " The early records of New York City tell of the interest excited there, though evidently the darkness was not so marked as it was farther north. In the Connecticut Legislature President Timothy Dwight, of Yale College, a contemporary, left thefollowing account of one of the historic incidents of the day: "The legislature of Connecticut was then in session at Hartford. A very general opinion prevailed that the day of judgment was at hand. The house of representatives, being unable to transact their business, adjourned. A proposal to adjourn the council [a second legislative body called the Governor's Council] was under consideration. When the opinion of Colonel Davenport was asked, he answered, 'I am against an adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought. '"--_Barber, "Connecticut Historical Collections, " p. 403. _ It was this striking incident that Whittier described with the poet'spen: "Meanwhile in the old Statehouse, dim as ghosts, Sat the lawgivers of Connecticut, Trembling beneath their legislative robes. 'It is the Lord's great day! Let us adjourn, ' Some said; and then, as with one accord, All eyes were turned to Abraham Davenport. He rose, slow cleaving with his steady voice The intolerable hush. 'This well may be The day of judgment which the world awaits; But be it so or not, I only know My present duty, and my Lord's command To occupy till He come. So at the post Where He hath set me in His providence I choose, for one, to meet Him face to face, -- No faithless servant, frightened from my task, But ready when the Lord of the harvest calls; And therefore, with all reverence, I would say, Let God do His work, we will see to ours. Bring in the candles. '" Thus, in a manner that arrested the attention of men and put awe andsolemnity into their hearts, with thoughts of the coming of the greatday of God, the first of the predicted signs in the heavens wasrevealed. At a later time, when students of the Bible seemed moved uponsimultaneously, in both Europe and America, to give attention to thedoctrine of Christ's second coming, it was more generally understoodthat these signs had come in fulfilment of prophecy. As we look to the past, we see how truly the tokens of the coming Kingbegan to appear as the church of Christ emerged fully from the long, dark period of tribulation. A new era was dawning, in which the Lord wasto fill the earth with light before His second appearing, according toHis word to Daniel the prophet: "Thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the timeof the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall beincreased. " Dan. 12:4. At last the time of the end was at hand, and the signs of the latterdays had begun to appear in the earth and in the heavens. The Lord waspreparing to send to all the world the closing gospel message ofChrist's soon coming in glory. [Illustration: THE GREAT METEORIC SHOWER NOVEMBER 13, 1833 "The stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth heruntimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. " Rev. 6:13. ] [Illustration: A STAR HERALDS HIS FIRST ADVENT "We have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him. " Matt. 2:2. ] THE FALLING STARS OF 1833 "The Stars Shall Fall from Heaven" A great impetus was given to the study of divine prophecy by the eventsof the closing years of the eighteenth century. Observers had seen thepapal power receive a "deadly wound" in the events and effects of theFrench Revolution; and it was understood that the world was entering anew era of enlightenment and liberty. Bible students began to see more clearly the lesson of the greatoutlines of historic prophecy, and hearts were stirred with theevidences that the coming of the Lord was drawing near. In Europe andAmerica, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, there was thebeginning of a revival of the study and preaching of the advent idea. Another Sign in the Heavens Just here appeared another great sign in the heavens, foretold by theword of prophecy. Of the sign that was to follow the darkening of thesun and moon, Christ's prophecy says: "The stars shall fall from heaven. " Matt. 24:29. The prophet John beheld the spectacle in a vision of the last days, anddescribed it in these words: "The stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth heruntimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. " Rev. 6:13. On Nov. 13, 1833, came the wondrous celestial exhibition of fallingstars, which is listed as one of the most remarkable phenomena of theastronomical story. Meteoric displays, swarms of shooting stars, have been observed atvarious times all through the ages; but this phenomenon, coming in theorder given by the prophecy, that is, following the darkening of thesun, constituted the sublime display answering to the pen-picture of theApocalypse, --as if all the stars of heaven were falling to the earth. The essential thing about a sign is that it shall be seen, that thecircumstances of its appearance shall fasten attention. Not in Americaalone, but equally in all the civilized world, as a topic of study, thissign in the heavens commanded the attention of men. An English scientist, Rev. Thomas Milner, F. R. G. S. , wrote: "The attention of astronomers in Europe, and all over the world, was, as may be imagined, strongly roused by intelligence of this celestial display on the Western continent. "--_"The Gallery of Nature" (London, 1852), p. 141. _ This writer called it "by far the most splendid display onrecord. "--_Id. , p. 139. _ Another English astronomical writer of more recent date says: "Once for all, then, as the result of the star fall of 1833, the study of luminous meteors became an integral part of astronomy. "--_Clerke, "History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century, " p. 329. _ This same work describes the extent of the display as follows: "On the night of Nov. 12-13, 1833, a tempest of falling stars broke over the earth. North America bore the brunt of its pelting. From the Gulf of Mexico to Halifax, until daylight with some difficulty put an end to the display, the sky was scored in every direction with shining tracks and illuminated with majestic fireballs. "--_Page 328. _ The Spectacle Described The closest scientific observations were made by Prof. Denison Olmsted, professor of astronomy at Yale, who wrote in the _American Journal ofScience_: "The morning of Nov. 13, 1833, was rendered memorable by an exhibition of the phenomenon called shooting stars, which was probably more extensive and magnificent than any similar one hitherto recorded.... Probably no celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this country, since its first settlement, which was viewed with so much admiration and delight by one class of spectators, or with so much astonishment and fear by another class. For some time after the occurrence, the 'meteoric phenomenon' was the principal topic of conversation in every circle. "--_Volume XXV (1834), pp. 363, 364. _ Prof. Simon Newcomb, the astronomer, declares this phenomenal exhibitionof falling stars "the most remarkable one ever observed. " (See"Astronomy for Everybody, " p. 280. ) This was not merely a display of an unusual number of falling stars, such as Humboldt observed in South America in 1799, or such as we findrecorded of other times before and since. It was a "shower" of fallingstars, just such a spectacle as one must picture from the words of theprophecy, "And the stars of heaven fell. " The French astronomer Flammarion says of the density of the shower: "The Boston observer, Olmsted, compared them, at the moment of maximum, to half the number of flakes which we perceive in the air during an ordinary shower of snow. "--_"Popular Astronomy, " p. 536. _ This affords us a better idea of the scene than the estimate of 34, 640stars an hour, which was made by Professor Olmsted after the rain of thestars had greatly abated, so that he was able to make an attempt atcounting. Dr. Humphreys, president of St. John's College, Annapolis, said of theappearance at the Maryland capital: "In the words of most, they fell _like flakes of snow_. "--_American Journal of Science, Vol. XXV (1834), p. 372. _ Nothing less than this could have presented the counterpart of theprophetic picture. Thoughtful hearts were solemnized by the unwonted spectacle. Prof. Alexander Twining, civil engineer, "late tutor in Yale College, " givinghis views as to the nature of the flaming visitants from space, wrote: "Had they held on their course unabated for three seconds longer, half a continent must, to all appearance, have been involved in unheard-of calamity. But that almighty Being who made the world, and knew its dangers, gave it also its armature--endowing the atmospheric medium around it with protecting, no less than with life-sustaining, properties.... "Considered as one of the rare and wonderful displays of the Creator's preserving care, as well as the terrible magnitude and power of His agencies, it is not meet that such occurrences as those of November 13 should leave no more solid and permanent effect upon the human mind than the impression of a splendid scene. "--_American Journal of Science, Vol. XXVI (1834), p. 351. _ Multitudes felt that the great Creator had spoken to men in this notablewonder of His heavens. Again and again in the records and reminiscencesof that time, testimony is borne to the fact that observers wereimpressed with the likeness of the scene to that described in the divineprophecy as one of the signs of the end of the world. The Prophetic Picture Reproduced The New York _Journal of Commerce_ emphasized the exactness of detailwith which the prophecy described the scene as it appeared in 1833. Thisis the apocalyptic picture, as the ancient prophet saw it in vision: "The stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth heruntimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. " Rev. 6:13. A correspondent of the _Journal of Commerce_ draws the picture as it wasseen nearly eighteen centuries later, the likeness to the propheticdescription being emphasized in every line: "No philosopher or scholar has told or recorded an event like that of yesterday morning. A prophet eighteen hundred years ago foretold it exactly, if we will be at the trouble of understanding stars falling to mean falling stars. "--_New York Journal of Commerce, Nov. 14, 1833. _ In this connection was noted by the same writer the specialappropriateness of the prophet's figure of the fig tree casting thegreen figs in a mighty wind: "Here is the exactness of the prophet. The falling stars did not come as if from _several_ trees shaken, but from _one_. Those which appeared in the east fell toward the east: those which appeared in the north fell toward the north; those which appeared in the west fell toward the west; and those which appeared in the south (for I went out of my residence into the park) fell toward the south; and they fell not as ripe fruit falls; far from it; but they _flew_, they were _cast_, like the unripe fig, which at first refuses to leave the branch; and when it does break its hold, 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. " Professor Olmsted's long and carefully elaborated account in the_American Journal of Science_, gave a report from a correspondent inBowling Green, Mo. , as follows: "Though there was no moon, when we first observed them; their brilliancy was so great that we could, at times, read common-sized print without much difficulty, and the light which they afforded was much whiter than that of the moon, in the clearest and coldest night, when the ground is covered with snow. The air itself, the face of the earth as far as we could behold it, all the surrounding objects, and the very countenances of men, wore the aspect and hue of death, occasioned by the continued, pallid glare of these countless meteors, which in all their grandeur flamed 'lawless through the sky. ' "There was a grand and indescribable gloom on all around, an awe-inspiring sublimity on all above; while-- "'The sanguine flood Rolled a broad slaughter o'er the plains of heaven, And nature's self did seem to totter on the brink of time!' "... There was scarcely a space in the firmament which was not filled at every instant with these falling stars, nor on it could you in general perceive any particular difference in appearance; still at times they seemed to shower down in groups--calling to mind the fig tree, casting her untimely figs when shaken by a mighty wind. "--_Volume XXV (1834), p. 382. _ [Illustration: THE SIGN OF FIRE "As this sign of fire in the watchtower was a signal to God's peopleanciently to flee from the coming danger (see Jer. 6:1), so the signsappearing now in the heavens and in the earth are God's signals ofwarning to the people of our day. "] A Sign to All the World It was not in North America alone, but in all the civilized world, thatthe attention of men was called to the prophetic word by the discussionsof this event. Thus the English scientific writer, Thomas Milner, writing for the British public, spoke as follows of the profoundimpression made: "In many districts, the mass of the population were terror-struck, and the more enlightened were awed at contemplating so vivid a picture of the apocalyptic image--that of the stars of heaven falling to the earth, even as a fig tree casting her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. "--_"The Gallery of Nature" (London, 1852), p. 140. _ So the sign in the heavens made its solemn appeal to all the world. Itbrought to the multitudes who saw it, thoughts of God and the last greatday. An observer living at the time in Georgia, wrote, "Everybody feltthat it was the judgment, and that the end of the world had come. "Another, in Kentucky, wrote, "In every direction I could hear men, women, and children screaming, 'The judgment day is come!'" Rather, it was a signal that the hour of God's judgment was drawingnear. The signs so long foretold were appearing, one by one, to registertheir enduring mark on the record of fulfilling prophecy. Immediately following these times, there began an awakening concerningthe vital Bible doctrine of the second coming of Christ, which has growninto the definite advent movement that is carrying the gospel message ofpreparation for the coming of the Lord to every nation and tongue andpeople. The Sign of 1833 Emphasized by Other Displays We have mentioned the fact that Humboldt had observed an extraordinaryfall of meteorites in South America, thirty-three years, before, in1799. And he reported at the time that the oldest inhabitants there hada recollection of a similar display in 1766. From these reports, scientists deduced the theory that these showerswere to be expected every thirty-three years. Hence in 1866 they werewatching for a repetition of the 1833 display. That there was a measure of truth in the deduction was made evident byan unusual fall of meteorites Nov. 14, 1866. This time Europe was thescene of the display. But the event was not to be compared with that of1833. This appears plain from the account of observations made by SirRobert Ball and Lord Rosse, the British astronomers. Sir Robert Ball says that when the meteorites began to fall, he and LordRosse went out upon the wall of the observatory housing Lord Rosse'sgreat reflecting telescope: "There, for the next two or three hours, we witnessed a spectacle which can never fade from my memory. The shooting stars gradually increased in number until sometimes several were seen at once. "--_"Story of the Heavens, " p. 380. _ Grand as the spectacle was, it was but a reminder, apparently, of thestar shower of 1833, when not "several" meteorites fell at a time, normany, merely, but, as it appeared, "the stars of heaven fell unto theearth. " However, the spectacle of 1866, which was observed over a great part ofthe Old World, [D] served to direct renewed attention to the incomparableevent of 1833, as well as to the prophetic descriptions of the "wondersin the heavens" (Joel 2:30) which were to appear as the end drew near. [Illustration: CHRIST'S PROMISE TO RETURN "I will come again, and receive you unto Myself. " John 14:3. ] Textbooks and astronomical works thereupon began to count it as fullyestablished that every thirty-three years the displays would berepeated. It was confidently predicted that 1899 would witness arepetition, possibly on the scale of 1833. Professor Langley's "New Astronomy" (published in 1888) said: "The great November shower, which is coming once more in this century, and which every reader may hope to see toward 1899, is of particular interest to us as the first whose movements were subject to analysis. " Chambers's Astronomy, published in 1889, said: "The meteors of November 13 may be expected to reappear with great brilliancy in 1899. "---_Volume I, p. 635. _ But the November date passed in 1899, and the years have passed; and thewondrous scene of 1833 has not been repeated. Clerke's "History ofAstronomy in the Nineteenth Century" says: "We can no longer count upon the Leonids [as the meteorites of 1833 were called, because they seemed to fall from a point in the constellation of Leo]. Their glory, for scenic purposes, is departed. "--_Page 338. _ The Lord's Signal to Watch Thus the wisest astronomical predictions made shortly before 1899, basedupon the apparently recurrent regularity of the phenomenon, failed; butthe predictions of the sure word of prophecy, set down on the sacredrecord eighteen centuries before, were fulfilled to the letter. At the close of the days of the predicted tribulation of the church, thesigns began to appear--the sun was darkened, the moon withheld itslight, and the stars of heaven fell. The series began at the time specified, the signs came in the ordergiven in Christ's prophecy. The record of history bears witness that theprophecy was fulfilled. It may be that on a yet more awful and universal scale these phenomenawill be seen again in that last shaking of the powers of heaven which isto attend the rolling back of the heavens as a scroll, the immediateprelude to Christ's glorious appearing. But Christ's prophecy, at thispoint, was not giving a description of events at the very end of theworld, but signs by which it might be known when the end was drawingnear. As the signs should be recognized, the Saviour intended that those wholoved His appearing should be quickened with hope, and inspired tohasten to the world with the gospel message preparing the way of theLord. The Lord's word for His children was, "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up yourheads; for your redemption draweth nigh. " Luke 21:28. Long ago these signs began to come to pass. Now may the Lord's believingchildren well look up and rejoice, knowing that the day of eternalredemption is indeed nigh at hand. He Will Come for His Own In the glad time of the harvest, In the grand millennial year, When the King shall take His scepter, And to judge the world appear, Earth and sea shall yield their treasure, All shall stand before the throne; Just awards will then be given, When the King shall claim His own. O the rapture of His people! Long they've dwelt on earth's low sod, With their hearts e'er turning homeward, Rich in faith and love to God. They will share the life immortal, They will know as they are known, They will pass the pearly portal, When the King shall claim His own. Long they've toiled within the harvest, Sown the precious seed with tears; Soon they'll drop their heavy burdens In the glad millennial years; They will share the bliss of heaven, Nevermore to sigh or moan; Starry crowns will then be given, When the King shall claim His own. We shall greet the loved and loving, Who have left us lonely here; Every heartache will be banished When the Saviour shall appear; Never grieved with sin or sorrow, Never weary or alone; O, we long for that glad morrow When the King shall claim His own! --_L. D. Santee. _ [Illustration: SATAN OFFERS GOLD, AND THE WORLD STAMPEDES TO ITSDESTRUCTION "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall comeupon you. " James 5:1. ] FOOTNOTES: [D] The display was most brilliant, apparently, in Western Asia. Theveteran missionary, Dr. H. H. Jessup, of the Presbyterian MissionaryCollege, of Beirut, describes the scene in his "Fifty-Three Years inSyria:" "On the morning of the fourteenth [November], at three o'clock, I was roused from a deep sleep by the voice of one of the young mencalling, 'The stars are all coming down. ' ... The meteors poured downlike a rain of fire. Many of them were large and varicolored, and leftbehind them a long train of fire. One immense green meteor came downover Lebanon, seeming as large as the moon, and exploded with a largenoise, leaving a green pillar of light in its train. It was vain toattempt to count them, and the display continued until dawn, when theirlight was obscured by the king of day.... The Mohammedans gave the callto prayer from the minarets, and the common people were interror. "--_Volume I, pp. 316, 317. _ [Illustration: THE MISER "Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. " James 5:3. ] THE MEANING OF PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS "THERE SHALL BE SIGNS ... UPON THE EARTH" From the specific signs in the heavens, which were to herald the comingof the latter days and awaken the church to look for its coming Lord, our Saviour's prophecy passed on to designate certain general conditionsin the world which were to continue until the great day of God comes: "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; andupon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and thewaves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking afterthose things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heavenshall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in acloud with power and great glory. " Luke 21:25-27. Among the developments here foretold, and which contribute to the"distress of nations, with perplexity, " we may list the following: [Illustration: THE ARMING OF THE NATIONS "Prepare war, ... Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears. " Joel 3: 9, 10. ] 1. Political Unrest--the Arming of the Nations Following on closely with the signs in the heavens, there appears alsothe awakening to national aspirations and rivalries in Europe, out ofwhich has grown the arming of the nations. The beginning of the modernrace of armaments may be dated from those stirring and eventful years of1830 to 1848. We have seen the resources of the soil and the inventivegenius of man devoted to preparations for war on a scale never beforethought of. The prophet Joel foretold these conditions in the last days: "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles ["the nations, " R. V. ]: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them comeup: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks intospears: let the weak say, I am strong.... Let the heathen bewakened.... Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision [or"cutting off"]: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley ofdecision. " Joel 3: 9-14. [Illustration: READY FOR THE CONFLICT "For the day of the Lord is near. " Joel 3: 14. PHOTO FROM UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N. Y. ] Another prophecy forewarns of the "peace and safety" cry that is to beheard as the end draws near. We are told that many people in the lastdays will be saying that swords are to be beaten into plowshares, andthat the nations will cease from war (Isa. 2:3, 4); but the actualconditions are repeatedly described in prophecy as warlike and perilous. Thus the revelator saw the closing days: "The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of thedead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldst give rewardunto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fearThy name, small and great; and shouldst destroy them which destroy theearth. " Rev. 11: 18. [Illustration: A FAITHFUL AND WISE SERVANT "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. " Matt. 24: 42. ] What we see then among the nations proclaims the approaching end. 2. Signs in the Social World A New Testament prophecy of the latter days says: "In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers oftheir own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient toparents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers ofGod. " 2 Tim. 3: 1-4. The "perilous times" have come, when, as never before, the world ispleasure mad. "Unrestrained passion for pleasure, " said M. Comte, editor of the French_Relčvement Social_, writing just before the European war, is bringing aterrible train of evils into modern society. Along with it he put "thehunt for money without regard for means, " adding: "This is the theme which manufacturers, business men, men in the public administration, continually harp on with ever the same conviction and ever the same wealth of proof. "The note is ever the same, and the conclusion identical: _Nous sommes perdus!_ [We are lost!]"--_Quoted in Record of Christian Work, July, 1914. _ Many agencies for social and temperance reform are rendering thegreatest human service; but for lost humanity the only hope is Christ, the divine Saviour. With an urgency born of the last call, His gospel issounding to a world on the verge of eternity. Yet with divine lovelonging to save, the world sweeps on, less and less mindful of eternalinterests. Christ's prophecy foretold it as it is: "As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating anddrinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noeentered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took themall away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. " Matt. 24:37-39. Who can look out upon mankind today without the conviction that thisscripture is being fulfilled? The drift is strong toward the world andaway from God; but we are bidden to watch and pray, lest the coming dayfind us unprepared. 3. Signs in the Industrial World Industrial conditions today add their contribution to the "distress ofnations, with perplexity. " Through the word of prophecy the Lord longago foretold these conditions, with a warning to the careless rich, anda warning to the laborer and the poor, not to be drawn into contentionover the things of this world, for the Judge is at the door. Theprophecy, it will be seen, refers specifically to latter-day conditions. [Illustration: "AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?" A night scene on the Thames embankment, London. ] "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall comeupon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be awitness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye haveheaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of thelaborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back byfraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered intothe ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day ofslaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resistyou. [Illustration: THE RICH YOUNG MAN "Sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasurein heaven. " Matt. 19: 21. ] "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hathlong patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be yealso patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord drawethnigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned:behold, the Judge standeth before the door. " James 5: 1-9. There is no need to argue that the issues with which the prophecy dealsare pressing upon the world with ever-increasing perplexity. We quotebut two statements, by men not engaged in agitation, but calmly andthoughtfully setting down the signs of the times. The late Lord Avebury (Sir John Lubbock) wrote a few years ago in the_Review of Internationalism_: "The religion of Europe is not Christianity, but the worship of the god of war.... Unless something is done, the condition of the poor in Europe will grow worse and worse. It is no use shutting our eyes. Revolution may not come soon, not probably in our time, but come it will, and as sure as fate there will be an explosion such as the world has never seen. " Of the rapid growth of discontent and its propaganda, Mr. FrederickTownsend Martin, of New York, wrote: "Fifty years ago there was scarcely a voice of protest; indeed, there was hardly anything to protest against. Twenty-five years ago the protest was clear and distinct, and we understood it. Ten years ago the protest found expression in a dozen weekly publications, but today the protest is circulated not by hundreds or thousands of printed copies of books, pamphlets, magazines, and newspapers, but actually by the million. "This propaganda of protest has its daily papers that are distinctive and published for that purpose, and that purpose only. It has its magazines and tens of thousands of weekly papers. Only a fool sneers at such a volume of publicity as that.... "The warnings that hundreds of us are uttering may be ignored. The squandering may go on, the vulgar bacchanalia may be prolonged, the poor may have to writhe under the iron heel of the iron lord--the dance of death may go on until society's E string snaps, and then the Vesuvius of the underworld will belch forth its lava of death and destruction. "--_Hearst's Magazine, September, 1913. _ Thus hearts grow faint "for looking after those things which are comingon the earth. " But while the increasing "distress of nations, withperplexity, " abounds, the Lord sends the steadying, assuring messagethat soon Christ will come to end the reign of sin and strife. He wouldhave His children keep the gospel light glowing, and wait patiently forHim. 4. The Great Missionary Movement The Saviour's prophecy of the signs of His second coming places the workof world evangelization as the culminating sign. This in itself is ajoyful token of the approaching end, a bright signal of hope in asuffering world. He said: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for awitness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. " Matt. 24: 14. Before the end, the light of the gospel was to shine into every darkcorner of the earth. True to the sure word of prophecy, when the latterdays began, --"the time of the end, "--there sprang up the great movementof modern missions which has been one of the leading characteristics ofthe last century. Here are a few facts showing the missionarydevelopments of a single century: "In 1800 the foreign missionary societies numbered seven. In 1900 they numbered over 500. "In 1800 the income of seven societies amounted to about $50, 000. In 1900 the income was over $15, 000, 000. "In 1800 the number of native communicants enrolled in Protestant mission churches was 7, 000. In 1900 there were 1, 500, 000 native communicants. "In 1800 the adherents of Protestant churches in heathen lands were estimated at 15, 000. In 1900 they numbered 3, 500, 000. "In 1800 only one fifth of the human family had the Bible in languages they could read. In 1900 nine tenths of the people of the world had the Word of God in languages and dialects known to them. " Since 1900 the missionary movement has remarkably increased in extentand activity. It is estimated that now there are about 22, 000 foreignmissionaries in the fields, with many thousands of trained nativeevangelists and helpers. The prophecy is fulfilling before our eyes. It is not the conversion ofthe world that Christ's words foretold, but the evangelization of theworld; and when all the world has heard the gospel of the kingdom, "thenshall the end come. " Another prophecy--that of Rev. 14: 6-14--shows that the closing phase ofthis world-wide missionary movement is to be the proclamation of thespecial gospel message of preparation for the coming of the Lord, calling all men to worship God and keep His commandments, and warningthem against following the traditions of men that make void the Word ofGod. [Illustration: THE SUNSET HOUR "The work that centuries might have done Must crowd the hour of settingsun. "] With the coming of this generation there has come just such a message, in the rise and progress of the advent movement, the burden of themessage being expressed in the very language of the prophecy--"Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come. " Rev. 14:7. And the movement is spreading rapidly "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. " Thus in vision the prophet on Patmes heard themessage given; and when its warning cry had reached all nations, he sawChrist coming in the clouds of heaven to reap the harvest of the earth. "Even at the Doors" Of the beginning of the special signs of the last days, Christ said: "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up yourheads; for your redemption draweth nigh. " Luke 21: 28. But of the time when these signs should all be seen fulfilled or inprocess of fulfilment, the Saviour said: "Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender, andputteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, whenye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all thesethings be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My wordsshall not pass away. " Matt. 24: 32-35. In this generation we see these things. All about us the signs haveappeared. We know, then, by the word that shall not pass away, that thegeneration has at last appeared that is to see the Saviour coming inpower and great glory. "Of that day and hour knoweth no man, " but we mayknow "that it is near, even at the doors"--the day for which the saintsof God have hoped through all the ages. [Illustration: PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH "Understandest thou what thou readest?" Acts 8:30. ] [Illustration: THE ROYAL PALACE OF BABYLON "The God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, andglory. " Dan. 2:37] THE HISTORIC PROPHECY OF DANIEL 7 FOUR GREAT UNIVERSAL EMPIRES Part I So important is it that we understand the events leading on to the end, that repeatedly the "sure word of prophecy" outlines the course of thisworld's history, and sets up waymarks along the highway to theeverlasting kingdom. In the light of prophecy we see the hand of God guiding and overrulingthrough all history, shaping events for the carrying out of His purposeto end the reign of sin and to bring in the reign of eternalrighteousness. His prophetic word foretells events of history, that wemay know that He is the living God over all, and that we may understandthat the divine purpose will surely be fulfilled. Above a wicked worldthere is a God in heaven, waiting only the appointed time for theaccomplishment of His purposes. "I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from thebeginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.... I havespoken it, I also will bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will alsodo it.... My salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation inZion. " Isa. 46:9-13. In the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, recorded in the second chapter ofDaniel, the Lord revealed in brief but graphic outline the course ofhistory from the days of Babylon to the end of the world. The four greatuniversal monarchies, --Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome--wererepresented by the various parts of the metallic image. That prophecydescribed particularly the division of the Roman Empire into thekingdoms of western Europe. "In the days of these kings, " declared theword of the Lord, the God of heaven was to set up His kingdom, bringingan end to all earthly powers. In the seventh chapter we are taken over the same course of history, inDaniel's vision of the four beasts. Here also chief attention is devotedto the fourth great kingdom; and especially to its divided state; forthe events taking place at this time are of the deepest eternal interestto all men. In this vision Daniel saw four universal empires represented by greatbeasts. One after another the symbolic beasts arose, did their work, andgave place to the next scenes in the history. The angel clearlyexplained to Daniel the meaning of the vision: "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall ariseout of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall take thekingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. " Of necessity, then, it is a repetition of the story of the fouruniversal monarchies dealt with in the second chapter, and ending withthe setting up of the everlasting kingdom. Let us place the view given the prophet in vision alongside the recordof history. First, however, a word as to the manner in which the great beastsappeared to the prophet: "I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heavenstrove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. " Again and again, in the figurative language of Scripture, winds are usedas the symbol for wars; and the sea, or waters, for nations or peoples. (See Jer. 25:31-33; Rev. 17:15. ) The prophet saw the clashing of thenations in war, and out of these conflicts arose the kingdoms describedin the prophecy. [Illustration: THE FIRST BEAST "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. " Dan. 7:4. ] Babylon Note the prophetic picture of the prophecy and the correspondingrepresentation in history. _Prophecy. _--"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheldtill the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from theearth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart wasgiven to it. " _History. _--As the lion is king of beasts, it was a fitting symbol ofBabylon, "the glory of kingdoms. " Isa. 13:19. The eagle's wings suggestrapidity of movement and far-reaching conquest. The prophet Habakkuksaid of it, "Their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as theeagle. " This was the characteristic of Babylon under the earlier kings, but especially under Nebuchadnezzar. Berosus, the ancient Chaldeanhistorian, wrote of him: "This Babylonian king conquered Egypt, and Syria, and Phenicia, and Arabia; and exceeded in his exploits all that had reigned before him in Babylon. " (See Flavius Josephus "Against Apion, " book 1, par. 19. ) [Illustration: THE SECOND BEAST "And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear. " Dan. 7:5. ] But now, at the time of Daniel's vision, degeneracy had come; the empirewas tottering. The lion heart was gone, the eagle's wings were plucked, and within three years from the time the vision was given, Babylon wasoverthrown. Medo-Persia As the dominion passed from Babylon to the next great power, the prophetsays: _Prophecy. _--"Behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and itraised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of itbetween the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour muchflesh. " _History. _--The Medes and Persians overthrew Babylon. Medo-Persia was adual kingdom, lifting itself up on one side, first the Median branch thestronger, then the Persian, under Cyrus and his successors, risinghigher. This two-sided characteristic, noted as a distinguishing mark inthe prophecy, was emphasized by the ancient writers also. Ęschylus, theGreek poet, who lived in the time of Persia, wrote: "Asia's brave host, A Mede first led. The virtues of his son Fixed firm the empire.... ... Cyrus third, by fortune graced, Adorned the throne. " --"_Persoe. _" The word spoken in the vision, "Arise, devour much flesh, " describes thehistory from the time when the Persian side rose uppermost. Rawlinsonsays, "Cyrus proceeded with scarcely a pause on a long career ofconquest. " An alliance against Persia was formed by Lydia, Egypt, and Babylon(Herodotus 1:77); and as these three great provinces were subdued, theymay well be represented by the three ribs in the mouth of theMedo-Persian bear. Grecia Yet another kingdom was to follow, and strikingly the symbol picturesthe characteristics of the Greek conquest. _Prophecy. _--"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, whichhad upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; and the beast had alsofour heads; and dominion was given to it. " _History. _--The third kingdom was Grecia. Under Alexander the Great, theGreeks swept into Asia with the quickness of the leopard's spring. Andthe four wings on the leopard must represent astonishing fleetness. Plutarch speaks of the "incredible swiftness" of Alexander's conquests. Appian wrote: "The empire of Alexander was splendid in its magnitude, in its armies, in the success and rapidity of its conquests, and it wanted little of being boundless and unexampled, yet in its shortness of duration it was like a brilliant flash of lightning. Although broken into several satrapies, even the parts were splendid. "--_"History of Rome, " preface, par. 10. _ [Illustration: THE THIRD BEAST "After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard. " Dan. 7:6. ] Thus the ancient Roman writer pictured the career of Grecia just asrepresented by the prophetic symbol--the fleetness, the great dominiongiven it, the division of the empire into satrapies, as suggested by thefour heads of the leopard. Out of the conflicts following Alexander'sdeath, there came the fourfold headship of the empire. Rawlinson says, "A quadripartite division of Alexander's domain was recognized. " (See"Sixth Monarchy, " chap. 3. ) The real situation is best represented, asDr. Albert Barnes says, by "one animal with four heads, " just as theprophetic symbol described it centuries before. Thus the course of empire followed the outline of the "sure word ofprophecy" from age to age. "Armies were ranged in battle's dread array: They fought--their glory withered in its bud; They perished--with them ceased their tyrants' sway; New wars, new heroes came--their story passed away. " There was to be no abiding kingdom till the time came for God's gloriouskingdom to be set up. [Illustration: THE FOURTH BEAST "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly. " Dan. 7:7. ] Rome As the prophet watched the moving panorama of history, foretold insymbols, he said: _Prophecy. _--"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourthbeast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had greatiron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residuewith the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that werebefore it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there werethree of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in thishorn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking greatthings. " [Illustration: ROME ON THE TIBER The palace of the Cęsars appears high on the hill at the left. ] _History. _--As the iron of the image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream fitlyrepresented the "iron monarchy of Rome, " so here the dreadful beast, with its iron teeth, can be none other than Rome, which followed Greciain world dominion. It was the most powerful, the most dominating, of allthe beasts in the prophetic series. A Roman Catholic writer, CardinalManning, compresses into a paragraph the correspondence of history tothe likeness of the prophecy: [Illustration: BATTLE OF ZAMA, B. C. 202 By which Rome broke the power of Carthage, its rival, and "began theconquest of the world. "] "The legions of Rome occupied the circumference of the world. The military roads which sprang from Rome traversed all the earth; the whole world was, as it were, held in peace and in tranquillity by the universal presence of this mighty heathen empire. It was 'exceedingly terrible, ' according to the prophecies of Daniel; it was as it were of iron, beating down and subduing the nations. "--_"The Temporal Power of the Pope" (London, 1862), p. 122. _ Thus far every symbol of the prophet's vision finds its exact and clearcounterpart in history. A writer living in the third century, in thedays of imperial Rome, rejoiced to see how exactly the prophecy wasbeing fulfilled. Hippolytus (counted a saint by the Catholic Church)wrote: "Rejoice, blessed Daniel! thou hast not been in error! All these things have come to pass. After this again thou hast told us of the beast, dreadful and terrible. It has iron teeth and claws of brass; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it. Already the iron rules; already it subdues and breaks all in pieces; already it brings all the unwilling into subjection; already we see these things ourselves. Now we glorify God, being instructed by thee. "--_"Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, " sec. 33. _ Now the prophetic outline comes to the time of the division of the RomanEmpire, introducing events of deepest personal interest to us today. Part II The Fourth Kingdom and the "Little Horn" It was the fourth great monarchy, Imperial Rome, and the events tofollow it, that engaged the anxious inquiry of the prophet. He says: "Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse fromall the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and hisnails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residuewith his feet; and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of theother which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn thathad eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was morestout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with thesaints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, andjudgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time camethat the saints possessed the kingdom. " The prophet wanted to know the truth about it; and the angel told himthe truth. First, the angel said: "The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall bediverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shalltread it down, and break it in pieces. " The fourth kingdom, as we have seen, was Rome. As Cardinal Manning saidof the empire, "It was 'exceeding terrible, ' according to the propheciesof Daniel; it was as it were of iron, breaking down and subduing thenations. " Of the ten horns that arose out of this fourth great empire, the angelsaid: "The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: andanother shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. " We look to the history of the Roman Empire, and what do we see?--Justthe picture of the prophecy. We see the original Roman Empire of theWest divided into lesser kingdoms. We see the barbarian peoples of theNorth sweeping down upon the empire, breaking it up, and establishingwithin its boundaries the various kingdoms that are to this dayrepresented by the kingdoms of western Europe. And as we watch the history at this point, we surely see "another littlehorn, " another land of power, rising among the horns representing thekingdoms of divided Rome--a kingdom, yet a kingdom "diverse" from theothers. The work of this power riveted the attention of the prophet; andit is of the greatest importance that we also should watch closely tocatch the lesson of the divine prophecy. Prophetic and Historic Pictures of the "Little Horn" This is plainly the picture presented by the prophet, as we look again, observing details more closely. The prophet beheld the division of the Roman Empire into lesserkingdoms. Then, springing up among these kingdoms, he saw thelittle-horn power subduing three of the ten kingdoms, speaking greatwords, and making war with the saints of God. It was to be a religiouspower, then, ruling among the kings of the earth, and assertingreligious dominion over the faith and consciences of men. "The same hornmade war with the saints, and prevailed against them. " [Illustration: THE INVASION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE BY THE HUNS "We see the barbarian peoples of the North sweeping down upon theempire, breaking it up, and establishing within its boundaries thevarious kingdoms that are to this day represented by the kingdoms ofWestern Europe. "--_Page 127. _] We look to history, and this is what plainly appears: We see, as described in the prophecy, a time when ten contemporaneouskingdoms filled the territory of the original Western Empire. Just therewe see an ecclesiastical kingly power rise to religious supremacy--theRoman Papacy. We see, through its influence, three of the ten kingdomsoverthrown, "plucked up by the roots"--three Arian or hereticalkingdoms. And as we watch the history, we find this power making "warwith the saints" and prevailing against them through long ages. A Roman Catholic writer describes it in a paragraph: "Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western emperors was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked him to rule them; and thus, in this simple manner, the best title of all to kingly right, commenced the temporal sovereignty of the popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of Cęsar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages. "--_Rev. James P. Conroy, in American Catholic Quarterly Review, April, 1911. _ Yet again we look at the picture presented in prophecy. Then we turn tohistory; and precisely where and when the prophet saw the "little horn"coming up, we see the Roman Papacy rising to supremacy. We see thisecclesiastical power wielding a kingly scepter among the kingdoms ofdivided Rome, exalting itself above them, with a look "more stout thanhis fellows. " We hear it speaking great words, and we see it carrying onwarfare against the saints. Clearly, there was no other power in history, rising at that time and inthat place, which suggests the slightest correspondence to the prophecy. In every detail the Roman Papacy does correspond to it. The prophetic outline has brought us to the rise of the great apostasy, so fully dealt with in the New Testament prophecy; but there are furtherspecifications in this prophecy of the seventh of Daniel which demandbrief study. [Illustration: RAISING THE SIEGE OF ROME, A. D. 538 The crushing defeat of the Goths by the armies of Justinian, who placedVigilius in the papal chair under the military protection of his famousgeneral, Belisarius. ] [Illustration: ST. PETER'S AND THE VATICAN The magnificent headquarters of the papal system. ] THE 1260 YEARS OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY Compressed into forty-four words, the age-long story of the workings ofthe Roman Papacy is thus told by the angel who interpreted Daniel'svision of the little horn: "He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear outthe saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: andthey shall be given into his hand until a time and times and thedividing of time. " Dan. 7:25. The spirit of this apostasy was abroad in apostolic days. "The mysteryof iniquity doth already work, " said the apostle Paul. 2 Thess. 2:7. Andthis power is to continue to work until the end, when it will bedestroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. Verse 8. A Prophetic Period But according to the word of the angel to Daniel, there was to be aperiod during which, in a special sense, the Papacy was to holdsupremacy over the saints and the times and the laws of the Most High. "They shall be given into his hand until a time and times and thedividing of time. " In the Scriptures the word "time, " used in thismanner, means a year: "at the end of times, even years. " Dan. 11:13, margin. Therefore a time (one year) and times (two years) and thedividing of time (half a year) means three years and a half. The sameperiod is mentioned twice in the twelfth chapter of Revelation, once(verse 14) as "a time, and times, and half a time, " and again (verse 6)as "a thousand two hundred and threescore days. " [Illustration] But in the symbolic representations of time in prophecy, a day standsfor a year (see Eze. 4:5, 6, and other scriptures). Thus the prophecyforetold a long period of 1260 years during which papal supremacy wouldcontinue. Now we may ask, When was this supremacy to begin? what would mark therise of the Papacy to acknowledged supremacy? and what events mark theending of the 1260 years? A Pivotal Point in History The answer of history to the voice of prophecy is clear. The sixth century was a pivotal period in the history of the world. Thebishops of Rome had been asserting the claims of that seat (or "see")above all others. Justinian was emperor of the East. Of Justinian andhis time Bury says: "He may be likened to a colossal Janus bestriding the way of passage between the ancient and medieval worlds.... His military achievements decided the course of the history of Italy, and affected the development of Western Europe;... And his ecclesiastical authority influenced the distant future of Christendom. "--_"History of the Later Roman Empire, " Vol. I, pp. 351-353. _ Of this turning point in the world's history, Finlay says: "The changes of centuries passed in rapid succession before the eyes of one generation. "--_"Greece under the Romans, " p. 231. _ Just here we find the Papacy lifted definitely into acknowledgedsupremacy. Imperial Rome had already left its ancient seat to thePapacy, the imperial throne being no longer maintained at Rome. TheBishop of Rome was left the chief figure in the ancient seat of theCęsars. The prophecy of Rev. 13:2 had said of the relation of the oldimperial power to the Papacy, "The dragon gave him his power, and hisseat, and great authority. " The seat was given, and now imperial Romewas to give to papal Rome the definite recognition of its supreme powerand "great authority. " Papal Supremacy Officially Recognized In A. D. 533 the emperor Justinian promulgated a letter, havingthe force of an imperial decree, recognizing the absolute headship ofthe Bishop of Rome over the churches. It declared: "We have been sedulous to subject and unite all the priests of the Orient throughout its whole extent to the see of Your Holiness.... For we do not suffer that anything which is mooted, however clear and unquestionable, pertaining to the state of the churches, should fail to be made known to Your Holiness, as being the head of all the churches. For, as we have said before, we are zealous for the increase of the honor and authority of your see in all respects. "--_Cod. Justin. , lib. 1, title 1, Baronii "Annales Ecclesiastici, " Tom. VII, an. 533, sec. 12 (Translation as given in "The Petrine Claims, " by R. F. Littledale, p. 293). _ From this decree (for such it really was) the Roman authorities date theofficial recognition of the supremacy of the Papacy. Some have taken alater decree by Emperor Phocas (A. D. 606) as a starting point. But Dr. Croly says: "The highest authorities among the civilians and annalists of Rome spurn the idea that Phocas was the founder of the supremacy of Rome; they ascend to Justinian as the only legitimate source, and rightly date the title from the memorable year 533. "--_"The Apocalypse of St. John, " pp. 172, 173. _ The Sword of Empire Cleaves the Way The "great authority" had been recognized. But at this time hereticalArian powers compassed the papal seat about. The Arian Vandals werepersecuting Catholics in Africa, Corsica, and Sardinia, and an ArianGothic king ruled Italy from Ravenna, his capital. The imperial arms, however, were at the service of orthodoxy. In 533-534 Justinian'sfamous general, Belisarius, uprooted the Vandals. The war for the faithand the empire was carried into Italy also, against the Arian Goths. In536 Belisarius, unopposed, entered Rome at the invitation of the Pope. But the next year the Goths rallied all their forces to retake the city. It was a crisis in the struggle for Italy. "If a single post had givenway, " says Gibbon, "the Romans, and Rome itself, were irrecoverablylost. " The Goths withdrew, defeated, in 538; and this defeat, saysHodgkin, dug "the grave of the Gothic monarchy in Italy. " [Illustration: THE POPE ENTERING ST. PETER'S FROM THE VATICAN The famous statue of St. Peter may be seen on the right. ] Though the conflict went on for years before the Goths were rooted up, this defeat of 538 was a crucial hour in their history. Finlay says: "With the conquest of Rome by Belisarius, the history of the ancient city may be considered as terminating; and with his defense against Witiges [538] commences the history of the Middle Ages. "--_"Greece under the Romans, " p 295. _ Roughly speaking, the Middle Ages and the age of papal supremacy andpower were the same. A New Order of Popes [Illustration: THE VATICAN A bird's-eye view from the dome of St. Peter's. COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD &UNDERWOOD, N. Y. ] Not only was there this telling stroke by the imperial sword in 538, helping to clear the way before the Papacy, but at this same time thefirst of a new order of popes was placed upon the papal throne by theimperial arms. Pope Silverius, accused of sympathy with the Goths, wasdeposed by Belisarius in 537. The emperor intervened, and the questionof the validity of his deposition was held up by the emperor until 538. In that year, as Schaff says: "Vigilius, a pliant creature of Theodora, ascended the papal chair under the military protection of Belisarius (538-554). "--_"History of the Christian Church, " Vol. III, p. 327. _ [Illustration: THE FAMOUS SACRED STAIRWAY IN ROME Here Luther, climbing the stairway on his knees, heard the message, "Thejust shall live by faith. "] With him begins a new order. Though personally he was humiliated by theemperor's demands, and the Papacy itself was brought into a state ofsubjection that it had not known even under heretical Gothic kings, yetthis very arbitrary use of the papal prerogative by Justinian, strengthened the idea that the Pope of Rome was the supreme authorityin religion, to speak for the universal church. In Bemont and Monod'stextbook on "Medieval Europe, " page 120, we read: "Down to the sixth century all popes are declared saints in the martyrologies. Vigilius (537[E]-555) is the first of a series of popes who no longer bear this title, which is henceforth sparingly conferred. From this time on the popes, more and more involved in worldly events, no longer belong solely to the church; they are men of the state, and then rulers of the state. " A Persecuting Power Following Vigilius came Pelagius I (556-560), who ascended the throne by"the military aid of Narses, " then the imperial general in Italy. AndPelagius, who had been set in the papal see by imperial power, began todemand that the sword of the empire should be used against bishops ormembers in the church who did not give way to the authority of the Pope. His letters on this subject "are an unqualified defense of theprinciples of persecution. " (See "Dictionary of Christian Biography, " bySmith and Wace, art. "Pope Pelagius. ") The prophecy declared that the Papacy would be given special supremacyduring a period of 1260 years. In A. D. 533 came the memorable imperial declaration recognizingthat supremacy, and in A. D. 538 came the stroke with the swordof Rome, cleaving the way; and there began the new order of popes--"menof the state, and then rulers of the state. " Thus decisive events clearly mark the beginning of the prophetic periodof the 1260 years. And just 1260 years from the decree of 533, inrecognition of the papal supremacy, came a decree, in 1793, aimedagainst that supremacy; and just 1260 years from that stroke with thesword at Rome in behalf of the Papacy, came a stroke with the sword atRome against the Papacy. [Illustration: STORMING OF THE BASTILLE PRISON IN PARIS An event in the French Revolution which marked the ending of the oldautocratic order. ] FOOTNOTES: [E] The exact date should be 538, as given in the quotation fromSchaff's history. "From the death of Silverius [June, 538] the RomanCatholic writers date the episcopacy of Vigilius. "--_Bower, "History ofthe Popes, " under year 538. _ [Illustration: TAKING THE POPE PRISONER This was accomplished by Berthier, the French general, in 1798. ] THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA THE END OF THE 1260 YEARS As the generation in which the papal power rose to supremacy was aturning-point in the history of the world, so, too, was the generationin which the 1260 years of its supremacy came to an end. This measuring line of prophecy does more than run from date to date. Itconnects two great crises in human history, the events of the firsttending to establish the papal rule over men, the events of the secondsignalizing a breaking of those bands. A Crisis in History Papal supremacy came at that time of which Finlay says, "The changes ofcenturies passed in rapid succession before the eyes of one generation. "The measuring line of 1260 years runs on through the centuries till, lo, its end touches another time of crisis, --Europe in the convulsions ofthe French Revolution, when again changes, ordinarily requiringcenturies, were wrought out before the eyes of men within the space of afew years. Lamartine wrote of that time: "These five years are five centuries for France. "--_"History of the Girondists, " book 61, sec. 16 (Vol. III), p. 544. _ And the events of these times proclaimed the prophetic period of papalsupremacy ended at last. Thus, in A. D. 533 came the notable decree of the Papacy'spowerful supporter, recognizing its supremacy; and then the decisivestroke by the sword at Rome in A. D. 538, cleaving the way forthe new order of popes--the rulers of state. Exactly 1260 years later, in 1793, came the notable decree of thePapacy's once powerful supporter, France, --"the eldest son of thechurch, "--aiming to abolish church and religion, followed by a decisivestroke with the sword at Rome against the Papacy, in 1798. Significant Events of the French Revolution Of the decree of 1793, W. H. Hutton says:-- "On Nov. 26, 1793, the Convention, of which seventeen bishops and some clergy were members, decreed the abolition of all religion. "--_"Age of Revolution, " p. 156. _ The frenzy of the days of the Terror presented the spectacle of outragedhumanity, goaded to desperation by centuries of oppression in the nameof religion and divine right, rising up and madly breaking everyrestraint. Because in the minds of the people the Papacy stood forreligion, they blindly struck at religion itself, and at God, in whosename the papal church had done its cruel work through the centuries. In the prophecy of Rev. 11:3-13 these events of the wild days of theFrench Revolution are specifically referred to as coming at the close ofthe prophetic period of the 1260 years. The prophetic picture was soclear that over a hundred years before the time, Jurieu, an eminentFrench student of prophecy, wrote that he could "not doubt that 'tisFrance, " the chief supporter of the Papacy, that would give the shockas of an earthquake to the great spiritual Babylonian city. He wrote ofFrance, one of the ten parts of divided Rome: "This tenth part of the city shall fall, with respect to the Papacy; it shall break with Rome, and the Roman religion. "--_"The Accomplishment of the Prophecies" (London, 1687), part 2, p. 265. _ And so it came to pass. Far beyond France the movement reached. CanonTrevor says of the wave of revolt against absolutism that passed overEurope: "It is worthy of observation that only those nations which eschewed popery were able to resist the tide. Every throne and every church, without exception, that owned the supremacy of Rome, was prostrated in the dust. "--_"Rome and Its Papal Rulers, " p. 436. _ The decree of the French Convention in 1793 was followed by the strokewith the sword at Rome in 1798. The full history is told in fewest wordsby a Roman Catholic writer, Rev. Joseph Rickaby, of the Jesuit Society: "When, in 1797, Pope Pius VI fell grievously ill, Napoleon gave orders that in the event of his death no successor should be elected to his office, and that the Papacy should be discontinued. "But the Pope recovered. The peace was soon broken; Berthier entered Rome on the tenth of February, 1798, and proclaimed a republic. The aged pontiff refused to violate his oath by recognizing it, and was hurried from prison to prison in France. Broken with fatigue and sorrows, he died on the nineteenth of August, 1799, in the French fortress of Valence, aged eighty-two years. No wonder that half Europe thought Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with the Pope the Papacy was dead. "--_"The Modern Papacy, " p. 1 (Catholic Truth Society, London). _ These events of the French Revolution marked the ending of the propheticperiod of papal supremacy. A "deadly wound" had been given the Papacy. And the blow with the sword at Rome was struck in 1798, just 1260 yearsfrom the year 538, when the sword of empire struck that decisive blowagainst the Goths at Rome, and prepared the way for the new order ofpopes, the kingly rulers of church and state. Of the condition of the Papacy at this time Canon Trevor says: "The Papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence remained; and among all the Roman Catholic powers not a finger was stirred in its defense. The Eternal City had no longer prince or pontiff; its bishop was a dying captive in foreign lands; and the decree was already announced that no successor would be allowed in his place. "--_"Rome and Its Papal Rulers, " p. 440. _ "No wonder that half Europe, " the Jesuit writer says, "thoughtNapoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with the Pope the Papacy wasdead. " But he adds that "since then the Papacy has been lifted to apinnacle of spiritual power" unreached before. The stroke dealt the Papacy by the French Revolution was not to be theending of it, by any means, according to the prophecy. These eventsproclaimed the ending of the prophetic period of special supremacy. Another prophecy distinctly indicates that following the deadly blowthere would come a revival of the Papacy's influence, just as theCatholic writer describes it. The prophet John, speaking of this samepower, says: "I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadlywound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.... Andthey worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who isable to make war with him?" Rev. 13:3, 4. We see the healing process still going on, with evidences multiplyingthat the world is more and more wondering after the papal power. A New Era of Liberty and Enlightenment With the ending of the 1260 years of papal supremacy, a new order wasushered in. The Papacy had stood for absolutism in state as well aschurch. Now the power of absolutism was broken. "Absolute monarchy, "Edmund Burke said at the time, "breathed its last without a struggle. "There came the dawn of an era of greater religious liberty andenlightenment, that has spread blessings over all lands. The prophecy had said of the Papacy, that the saints and the times andlaws of the Most High were to be "given into his hand" for 1260 years. As foretold in Christ's prophecy (Matt. 24:22), these days of thetribulation of God's saints were "shortened. " The power of theReformation weakened the oppressing hand, even before the propheticperiod ran out. And when the full 1260 years closed, the world saw thegrip of that papal hand yet further loosened, and God's providence atwork preparing the way for a world-wide proclamation of His gospel, bearing witness against the perversions of the papal apostasy, andrestoring to men the Word and laws of the Most High. The record of history witnesses that this time prophecy of the 1260years of papal supremacy was exactly fulfilled. The Lord speaks inprophecy that men may know that He is the living God. In these timeprophecies of His Word, He gives assurance not only that this troubledworld has not escaped from the hand of its Maker, but that its times arein His hand also; and that when the time of His divine purpose fullycomes, He will surely cut His work short in righteousness, and end thereign of sin on earth. As the prophetic period of Dan. 7:25 meets its fulfilment in the historyof the Papacy, even so, we shall see, the work of the Roman Churchanswers to the further specifications regarding the doings of this"little horn" of Daniel's prophecy. [Illustration: THE TRIPLE CROWN The Pope's Tiara, from a photograph taken in the Vatican at Rome. ] [Illustration: HUGUENOTS IN PRISON FOR THEIR FAITH "Others had trial ... Of bonds and imprisonment. " Heb. 11:36. ] THE WORK OF THE "LITTLE HORN" POWER The prophetic picture of the rise and work of the "little horn" findsits exact counterpart in the history of the Roman Papacy: _The Place. _--The little horn was seen by the prophet rising in thefield of the Roman Empire. That was the very place where the greatkingdom of the Papacy appeared, taking the name of Roman. _The Time. _--The rise of the ecclesiastical kingdom of the little-hornpower in the prophecy followed the breaking up of the Roman Empire intothe ten kingdoms. Just so the ecclesiastical kingdom of the Roman Papacyrises to view in history immediately following the division of theempire. _The Period of Supremacy. _--The prophecy allotted 1260 years to the fullsupremacy of this power. History responds that from the beginning of thepapal supremacy, in the days of Justinian, a period of 1260 years bringsus into the stirring events of the last decade of the eighteenthcentury, that gave to the Papacy a deadly wound. [Illustration: THE LOVE OF POWER "He shall speak great words against the Most High. " Dan. 7:25. THE POWER OF LOVE] One further set of specifications remains for study: _The Work. _--Of the nature and work of the power represented by thelittle horn, the prophecy declares: "He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear outthe saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: andthey shall be given into his hand until a time and times and thedividing of time. " Dan. 7:25. Do we find in the record that the Church of Rome has fulfilled thesespecifications also? The Scripture prophecy is absolutely aword-photograph of the workings of the papal church. Look at the mainfeatures: 1. Speaking great words against the Most High. 2. Wearing out the saints of the Most High. 3. Thinking to change the times and the laws of the Most High. Every count in the indictment may be clearly proved, and that bytestimony from Roman Catholic sources "He Shall Speak Great Words Against the Most High" As Daniel observed the little-horn power, he heard it speaking "verygreat things. " The angel declared that these great swelling words werereally against the Most High. And what could be more against the honorof the Most High than that to mortal man should be ascribed the titlesand attributes of divinity? Here are some of the "great words:" "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. _ This ruling has been actually applied through the ages. Says Elliott: "Look at the Sicilian ambassadors prostrated before him [Pope Martin IV] with the cry, 'Lamb of God! that takest away the sins of the world!'"--_"Horę Apocalypticę, " part 4, chap. 5, sec. 2. _ [Illustration: CHRISTIANS IN PRISON BENEATH THE COLOSSEUM AWAITINGMARTYRDOM "And shall wear out the saints of the Most High. " Dan. 7:25. ] "The Pope is of so great dignity and excellence, that he is not merely man, but as if God, and the vicar of God (_non sit simplex homo, sed quasi Deus, et Dei vicarius_). The Pope alone is called most holy, ... Divine monarch, and supreme emperor, and king of kings.... The Pope is of so great dignity and power that he constitutes one and the same tribunal with Christ (_faciat unum et idem tribunal cum Christo_), so that whatsoever the Pope does seems to proceed from the mouth of God (_abore Dei_). "--_"Prompta Bibliotheca" (Ferraris), art. "Papa;" Ferraris's Ecclesiastical Dictionary (Roman Catholic), art. "The Pope. " Quoted in Guinness's "Romanism and the Reformation, " p. 16. _ These are no merely extravagant adulations of the Dark Ages, to berepudiated by the moderns; these terms express the unchanging doctrinalclaims of the Roman Church, that put man in the place of God. The modernPope Leo XIII, in an encyclical letter dated June 20, 1894, repeated theclaim: "We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty. "--_"The Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII" (New York, Benziger Brothers), p. 304. _ Thus does the Papacy "speak great words against the Most High. " "And Shall Wear Out the Saints of the Most High" All through the Dark Ages we catch glimpses of the ruthless hand of Romelaid upon simple believers in God's Holy Word; but plans for wholesalewearing out of the saints of God were devised as the Waldenses andothers rose to a widespread work of witnessing, heralds of the dawn ofthe coming Reformation, -- "These who gave earliest notice, As the lark Springs from the ground the morn to gratulate; Who, rather, rose the day to antedate, By striking out a solitary spark, When all the world with midnight gloom was dark-- The harbingers of good whom bitter hate In vain endeavored to exterminate. " --_Wordsworth. _ Pope Innocent III gave orders concerning them as follows: "Therefore by this present apostolical writing, we give you a strict command that, by whatever means you can, you destroy all these heresies and expel from your diocese all who are polluted with them. You shall exercise the rigor of ecclesiastical power against them and all those who have made themselves suspected by associating with them. They may not appeal from your judgments, and, if necessary, you may cause the princes and people to suppress them with the sword. "--_Quoted from Migne, 214, col. 71, in Thatcher and McNeal's "Source Book for Medieval History, " p. 210. _ As the truth spread, so also the papal church redoubled its efforts bysword and flame. The historian Lecky says: "That the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history. The memorials, indeed, of many of her persecutions are now so scanty that it is impossible to form a complete conception of the multitude of her victims, and it is quite certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize their sufferings. "--_"History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, " Vol. II, p. 32. _ Motley, in his "Rise of the Dutch Republic" (part 3, chap. 2), tells howPhilip II of Spain--who declared that he would "never consent to be thesovereign of heretics"--sent the Duke of Alva to take over theNetherlands: "Early in the year the most sublime sentence of death was promulgated which has ever been pronounced since the creation of the world. The Roman tyrant [Nero] wished that his enemies' heads were all upon a single neck, that he might strike them off at a blow; the Inquisition assisted Philip to place the heads of all his Netherlands subjects upon a single neck for the same fell purpose. Upon February 16, 1568, a sentence of the Holy Office condemned all the inhabitants of the Netherlands to death as heretics. From this universal doom only a few persons, especially named, were excepted. A proclamation of the king, dated ten days later, confirmed this decree of the Inquisition, and ordered it to be carried into instant execution, without regard to age, sex, or condition. This is probably the most concise death warrant that was ever framed. Three millions of people, men, women, and children, were sentenced to the scaffold in three lines. " Roman Catholic writers admit that the papal church has sought toexterminate what it calls heresy, by the power of the sword. The _Western Watchman_ (St. Louis), Dec. 24, 1908, says: "The church has persecuted.... 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. " Prof. Alfred Baudrillart, rector of the Catholic Institute of Paris, says: "The Catholic Church is a respecter of conscience and of liberty.... She has, and she loudly proclaims that she has, a 'horror of blood. ' Nevertheless, when confronted by heresy, she does not content herself with persuasion; arguments of an intellectual and moral order appear to her insufficient, and she has recourse to force, to corporal punishment, to torture. She creates tribunals like those of the Inquisition, she calls the laws of the state to her aid, if necessary she encourages a crusade, or a religious war, and all her 'horror of blood' practically culminates into urging the secular power to shed it, which proceeding is almost more odious--for it is less frank--than shedding it herself. Especially did she act thus in the sixteenth century with regard to Protestants. Not content to reform morally, to preach by example, to convert people by eloquent and holy missionaries, she lit in Italy, in the Low Countries, and above all in Spain, the funeral piles of the Inquisition. In France under Francis I and Henry II, in England under Mary Tudor, she tortured the heretics, whilst both in France and Germany during the second half of the sixteenth and the first half of the seventeenth century if she did not actually begin, at any rate she encouraged and actively aided, the religious wars. "--_"The Catholic Church, the Renaissance and Protestantism" (London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. , Ltd. , 1908), pp. 182, 183. _ She has done it--the Church of Rome has worn out the saints of the MostHigh. The prophet in vision saw an ecclesiastical kingly power riseamong the kingdoms of the divided Roman Empire. Its look was more stoutthan its fellows, and the prophet heard it speaking "very great things, "and saw it wearing out the saints of the Most High through the longcenturies. [Illustration: THE SHAME OF RELIGIOUS WARS Christ viewing the battle fields of history, where millions of Hisfollowers have been slain in His name. ] "Guilty!" is the clear verdict of history, against the Church of Rome onthese two counts of the prophetic indictment. "And Think to Change Times and Laws" The power that was to speak great words against the Most High, and towear out the saints of the Most High, was further--in its self-exaltingopposition to God--to assume to lay hands upon times and laws, evidentlythe times and the laws of the Most High; for to say that such a powerwould lay hands on the laws of men, changing or setting aside humanlegislation, would signify less than the preceding counts. This thirdspecification states a climax in the indictment--the self-exalting, persecuting power was to lay hands upon the very law of the Most High. It is clearly the same power that the apostle Paul said would rise todominion after his time: "Then shall be revealed the lawless one. " 2Thess. 2:8, A. R. V. God's Law Unchangeable Just as the laws of a government express its character, so the law ofGod is a reflection of the divine character. "The law of the Lord isperfect. " Ps. 19:7. "Wherefore the law is holy, " said the apostle, "andthe commandment holy, and just, and good. " Rom. 7:12. Jesus declared, "I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law iswithin My heart. " Ps. 40:8. And He maintained the unchangeable, enduringintegrity of that law: "Verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earthpass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till allbe fulfilled. " Matt. 5:18. But in Daniel's prophecy is foretold the rise of this power that was to_think_ to change the times and the laws of the Most High. Here, again, the evidence points straight to the Church of Rome; for itis a fact that the Papacy has laid violent hands on the law of God--uponthe precept, too, that deals with sacred time--and has _thought_ tochange it. In a volume to be seen in the British Museum, dated 1545, the followingcomment on Dan. 7:25 is attributed to Philipp Melanchthon, the Reformer, associate of Luther (reproduced with the old English spelling): "He changeth the tymes and lawes that any of the sixe worke dayes commanded of God will make them unholy and idle dayes when he lyste, or of their owne holy dayes abolished make worke dayes agen, or when they changed ye Saterday into Sondaye.... They have changed God's lawes and turned them into their owne tradicions to be kept above God's precepts. "--_"Exposition of Daniel the Prophete, " Gathered out of Philipp Melanchthon, Johan Ecolampadius, etc. , by George Joye, 1545, p. 119. _ This is exactly what the power represented by the little horn was toassume to do. The commandment of God is plain: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thyGod: in it thou shalt not do any work.... For in six days the Lord madeheaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested theseventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowedit. " Ex. 20:8-11. A Change in Practice But in general practice there has been a change--the first day iscommonly observed instead of the seventh day, which the Lord declares heblessed and made holy. The Roman Catholic Church points exultingly tothe fact that this change, so universally allowed today, has come aboutsolely through church tradition without Scriptural authority. Forinstance, one Catholic writer says: "You will tell me that Saturday was the _Jewish_ Sabbath, but that the _Christian_ Sabbath has been changed to Sunday. Changed! but by whom? Who has authority to change an express commandment of Almighty God? When God has spoken and said, Thou shalt keep holy the seventh day, who shall dare to say, Nay, thou mayest work and do all manner of worldly business on the seventh day; but thou shalt keep holy the first day in its stead? This is a most important question, which I know not how you can answer. "You are a Protestant, and you profess to go by the Bible and the Bible only; and yet in so important a matter as the observance of one day in seven as a holy day, you go against the plain letter of the Bible, and put another day in the place of that day which the Bible has commanded. The command to keep holy the seventh day is one of the ten commandments; you believe that the other nine are still binding; who gave you authority to tamper with the fourth? If you are consistent with your own principles, if you really follow the Bible and the Bible only, you ought to be able to produce some portion of the New Testament in which this fourth commandment is expressly altered. "--_"Library of Christian Doctrine: Why Don't You Keep the Holy Sabbath Day?" (Burns and Oates London), p. 3. _ Every one who studies the question must recognize the fact that there isno change authorized in Scripture. As Canon Eyton, of the Church ofEngland, says: "There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday.... Into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters. "--_"The Ten Commandments" (Trübner & Co. ), London. _ Dr. Heylyn, of the Church of England, wrote: "Take which you will, either the Fathers or the moderns, and we shall find no Lord's day instituted by any apostolical mandate; no Sabbath set on foot by them upon the first day of the week. "--_"History of the Sabbath, " part 2, chap. 1. _ Authorities, both Protestant and Catholic, freely acknowledge that thereis no divine authority for Sunday keeping. There has been a change inpractice and teaching, but with no Scriptural authority. What the Papacy Claims The prophecy of Daniel 7 forewarned all that the ecclesiastical powerthat was to rise upon the division of the Roman Empire would _think_ tochange the times and the laws of the Most High. The Papacy steps forwardand claims boldly that the church has power to set aside Scripture, toinstitute holy times, and even to change the day made holy andcommanded by the Almighty as the day of rest for His people. In a Catholic work, "An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine, " by Dr. Henry Turberville, page 61, we read: "_Question. _--By whom was the change [of the Sabbath] made? "_Answer. _--By the rulers of the church, the apostles who kept the Lord's day.... "_Ques. _--How do you prove that the church hath power to establish feasts and holy days? "_Ans. _--By the very fact of changing the Sabbath to Sunday; this change Protestants allow; and therefore they 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 commanded by her, they deny that she has power. " It is the doctrine taught in the standard catechisms of the RomanChurch: "_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. "--_Keenan's "Doctrinal Catechism, " p. 174. _ Thus the Papacy proclaims itself the power that has _thought_ to changethe precepts of the Most High. On every count, the Roman Church is the counterpart of the little hornof Daniel 7. Before our eyes--in the common practice of Christendom--thecommandment of God regarding sacred time is made void by the traditionsof men. The prophecy indicated that there would come a call for a reformation inthis matter. Speaking of the warfare against the saints and the timesand laws of the Most High, to be waged by the little-horn power, theangel said: "They shall be given into his hand until a time and times and thedividing of time. " Dan. 7:25. In other words, when the 1260 years should expire, we should expect, according to the prophecy, to see a breaking of the Papacy's persecutingpower over believers, a spreading abroad of the Holy Scriptures, and awork of reformation that would lift up the truths of God's Word, andcall believers to keep once again the holy time and the holy law of theMost High. The prophecy of Daniel 7 is one of God's special messages for all men inthese last days, picturing the rise and history of the Papacy, andwarning all against accepting its perversions of God's truth orrecognizing its attempted change in the law of the Most High. Thank Godfor the "sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place. " We are to follow the Lordand obey him, not this power that has risen up in opposition to him. The angel's interpretation in this chapter does not leave the apostasytriumphant: "The judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, toconsume and to destroy it unto the end. " Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of the MostHigh, "and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. " "O, how shall we stand that moment of searching, When all our sins those books reveal? When from that court, each case decided, Shall be granted no appeal?" [Illustration: CHRIST AND THE SCRIBES "In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments ofmen. " Matt. 15:9. ] [Illustration: CREATION "In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, ... And rested the seventhday. " Ex. 20:11. ] THE BIBLE SABBATH "He answered and said, Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath notplanted, shall be rooted up. " Matt. 15:13. The scribes had come to Jesus with the complaint, "Why do Thy disciplestransgress the tradition of the elders?" Jesus answered them withanother question, "Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God byyour tradition?" They had thought that Christ was introducing novelties, preaching newthings, contrary to established church custom and practice. He showedthem that He really stood for the old and established things of God'sWord, and that their own religious customs, however old, were really thenovelties, without divine authority. He said, "In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments ofmen. " And finally He added the words quoted above, "Every plant, whichMy heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. " Let the principles be applied to the question of Sabbath observance. Sometimes in our day those who preach the word of God regarding theabiding holiness of the seventh-day Sabbath are accused of preaching newdoctrines, contrary to the traditions and customs of the church. Butreally, the observance of Sunday, the first day, is the innovation; theseventh-day Sabbath is of ancient foundation. Is the Seventh-day Sabbath a Plant of Our Heavenly Father's Planting? Which of these two institutions has our heavenly Father planted? It ispossible to ascertain to a surety; for every plant of His planting, every doctrine of His truth, will be found rooted in the HolyScriptures. 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. The Old Testament Record _From the Beginning. _--When the Creator made the earth and man upon it, He made the seventh day of the weekly cycle His holy Sabbath. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host ofthem.... And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: becausethat in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made. "Gen. 2:1-3. To sanctify is "to set apart, " and so the day made holy and blessed byGod was set apart for man. Then it was, as Jesus said, that "the Sabbathwas made for man. " Mark 2:27. Here the Sabbath institution was plantedat the beginning of the world. _At the Exodus. _--The people of Israel, in their bondage in Egypt, hadfallen away from the knowledge of God and become corrupted by theidolatrous worship of Egypt, Hence, as the Lord called them out to beHis people, He tested their loyalty to His law by observing how theyregarded His holy Sabbath: "Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heavenfor you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate everyday, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no. "Ex. 16:4. So through the forty years the Lord sent the manna for them to gather onthe six working days, withholding it on the Sabbath. (This scriptureshows also that the Sabbath was a part of God's law before He spoke itfrom Sinai. ) [Illustration: HOREB, THE SACRED MOUNT A modern view of the summit of Mt. Sinai. ] _At Sinai. _--When the time came that the Lord would speak His holy lawfrom heaven, the eternal foundation of His moral government, the Sabbathprecept was enshrined in the heart of it: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thyGod: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thydaughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thystranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heavenand 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. _Through Israel's History. _--Sabbath keeping was the great mark ofloyalty to God. When Israel fell into idolatry, they "observed times"(see 2 Kings 21:6), --doubtless such heathen festivals to the sun god andother deities as were common among the idolatrous nations. Theseobservances of other days meant Sabbath breaking. "Neither shall ye ... Observe times.... Ye shall keep My Sabbaths. " Lev. 19:26-30. The Lordhad promised concerning Jerusalem: "If ye diligently hearken unto Me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burdenthrough the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow theSabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into thegates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, ... And this city shall remain forever. " Jer. 17:24, 25. The divine pleading was slighted, and Jerusalem's fall and theBabylonian captivity came as the result of the Israelites' disregard ofGod's holy day. Thus throughout the inspired record of the Old Testament the seventh-daySabbath appears as a plant of the heavenly Father's own planting. The New Testament Record _The Example and Teaching of Jesus. _--It was Christ's "custom" toworship on the seventh day. Luke 4:16. Jesus, who Himself made the Sabbath at creation (John 1:3), taught thatit was "made for man, "--for the human race, --and declared, "The Son ofman is Lord also of the Sabbath. " Mark 2:27, 28. It is, therefore, "theLord's day. " Rev. 1:10. He did on the Sabbath only that which was "lawful, " or according to thelaw of God's holy day. Matt. 12:12. He kept His Father's commandments throughout His earthly life. John15:10. And giving instruction regarding events to take place many years afterHis ascension, He showed that He recognized the continued existence ofthe Sabbath in the command, "Pray ye that your flight be not in thewinter, neither on the Sabbath day. " Matt. 24:20. [Illustration: CHRIST HEALING THE MAN WITH A WITHERED HAND "It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days. " Matt. 12:12. ] _Among New Testament Disciples. _--The women, after the crucifixion, "rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. " Luke 23:56. Inspiration says that the apostle Paul's custom was to preach the gospelpublicly Sabbath after Sabbath. Acts 13:14; 16:13; 17:1, 2; 18:4. Whenthe Gentiles of Antioch heard the gospel preached by the apostle oneSabbath, they "besought that these words might be preached to them thenext Sabbath. " Acts 13:42. Throughout the New Testament, written years after Christ's ascension, the Holy Spirit, speaking of the seventh day, calls it "the Sabbath"upwards of fifty times. "Sabbath" means rest; therefore when the HolySpirit, in the Christian age, calls the seventh day the rest day, itmust infallibly be the day of rest for Christians, the ChristianSabbath. In the Levitical or sacrificial ordinances of the sanctuary servicesthere were annual sabbaths and feasts, associated with meats and drinksand ceremonial observances. But in appointing these the Lordspecifically distinguished between them and the one and only weeklySabbath, which was from the beginning. "These are the feasts of theLord, " He said, "beside the Sabbaths of the Lord. " Lev. 23:37, 38. The annual festivals and sabbaths, like all the ordinances of theLevitical service, were shadows of things to come, and found theirfulfilment in the great sacrifice of Calvary. Col. 2:16, 17. But the Sabbath of the Lord was made blessed and holy by God at thecreation, before sin had entered the world, before any sacrificial orshadowy service was instituted to point to a coming Redeemer. It is afundamental and primary institution, a part of the moral order of God'sgovernment for man, the same as the obligations set forth in each of theother commandments. And Inspiration declares the eternal perpetuity of the blessed Sabbathday in the future home of the saved, when the prophet describes thefelicity of the redeemed, as from month to month, and "from one Sabbathto another, " all flesh shall come to worship before the Lord. Isa. 66:23. Thus we find the seventh-day Sabbath a plant of the heavenly Father'splanting, rooted deep in all Holy Scripture, and abiding eternally inthe world to come. Is the First-day Rest an Institution of God's Planting? In the beginning, the first day was employed by God in the work ofcreation. Gen. 1:1-5. Throughout all the Old Testament history it was one of "the six workingdays. " Eze. 46:1. It was the day of Christ's resurrection; but Inspiration saysspecifically that "the Sabbath was past" when that "first day of theweek" came. Mark 16:1, 2. Inspiration called this first day merely bythe ordinary secular name in common business use, with never asuggestion of attaching any sacredness to the day. For some of thedisciples it was a day of journeying, in which the risen Christ joinedthem. Luke 24:13-29. Later He appeared to the other disciples inJerusalem, gathered not in meeting, but at supper in their commondwelling house. Mark 16:14. The only religious meeting recorded as occurring on the first day of theweek was that held at Troas. (See Acts 20:6-13. ) The context shows thatit was an evening meeting, after the Sabbath, --Saturday night, as wewould call it, for the Bible reckoning is from evening to evening. Itwas the last time the believers were ever to see the apostle's face, andas they lingered after the close of the Sabbath, he held an all-nightfarewell meeting, breaking bread with the believers, and leaving atdaybreak Sunday morning for the eighteen- or twenty-mile journey afoot, across country to Assos. And while he spent the first day travelingafoot, his companions were journeying by boat. Conybeare and Howson (of the Church of England), in that standard work, "Life and Epistles of St. Paul, " tell the plain fact of the inspiredrecord, save that manifestly they should not have applied the title"Jewish" to God's Sabbath; for it was not the Sabbath of the Jews, but"the Sabbath of the Lord thy God:" "It was the evening which succeeded the Jewish Sabbath. On the Sunday morning the vessel was about to sail. "--_Chapter 20, p. 520. _ Describing the road between Troas and Assos, they add: "Strength and peace were surely sought and obtained by the apostle from the Redeemer as he pursued his lonely road that Sunday afternoon in spring among the oak woods and the streams of Ida. "--_Id. , p. 522. _ Once again the "first day of the week" is mentioned, in 1 Cor. 16:2. Butthat scripture says no word of any sacredness of the day or of anyreligious observance of it. The apostle was gathering a fund for thepoor at Jerusalem, and asked every believer to "lay by" something everyfirst day of the week, so that the money would be ready when he came. AsDean Stanley (Church of England) comments: "There is nothing to prove public assemblies, inasmuch as the phrase [Greek: par heautō] ('by himself, at his own house') implies that the collection was to be made individually and in private. " And Neander's Church History says: "All mentioned here is easily explained, if one simply thinks of the ordinary beginning of the week in secular life. "--_Vol. I, p. 339 (German ed. ). _ To meet the emergency of need in Judea, these believers were asked tolook over their business affairs at the beginning of each week, untilPaul should come, laying aside a gift as God had prospered them. No Sunday Sacredness in the New Testament This is the record--not one suggestion in all the New Testament ofSunday sacredness, to say nothing of precept or commandment of the Lord. The late R. W. Dale, D. D. , a leading Congregationalist of England, wrote: "It is quite clear that, however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath.... The Sabbath was founded on a specific, divine command. We can plead no such command for the observance of Sunday.... There is not a single line in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday. "--_"The Ten Commandments, " pp. 106, 107. _ That religious classic, Smith and Cheetham's "Dictionary of ChristianAntiquities, " says that the "notion of a formal substitution" of thefirst day for the seventh, "and the transference to it, perhaps in a spiritualized form, of the Sabbatical obligation established by the promulgation of the fourth commandment, has no basis whatever, either in Holy Scripture or in Christian antiquity. "--_Article "Sabbath. "_ Dr. E. F. Hiscox, author of "The Baptist Manual, " says: "There was and is a commandment to 'keep holy the Sabbath day, ' but that Sabbath was not Sunday. It will, however, be readily said, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week.... Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament--absolutely not. "--_The New York Examiner, Nov. 16, 1893. _ Such declarations by well-known scholars might be multiplied, but it isnot necessary. The record is open--any one may see it. There is not aword in the Holy Scripture of any first-day sacredness. The Sundayinstitution is not a plant of our heavenly Father's planting. How the Change Came About There has been no change of the Sabbath by divine authority. Men maychoose to rest on any other day, but that cannot make such a day God'srest day, His holy Sabbath. One cannot change one's birthday bycelebrating another day as such. It is a fact of history that on acertain day of the month one was born. That fact cannot be changed bychoosing to celebrate another day as the birthday. Just so it is a factof divine history that God rested on a given day of the week, and on noother. That made the seventh day His rest day. It is different from other days in character also, for He blessed it andmade it holy. To deny the difference between common days and the holyday is to say that when the great Creator blesses and makes holy, it isa vain performance. That cannot be. It would take away all hope ofholiness or salvation for men. The blessing is upon the day, as everysoul finds who keeps it by faith. When men choose to set apart another day than that blessed andsanctified of God, it is plainly a setting up of the humanly appointedtime against the divinely appointed time. It is exalting man's sabbathagainst God's Sabbath. It is man exalting himself "above all that iscalled God. " 2 Thess. 2:4. This was what made the Roman Papacy. The apostle Paul wrote that in hisday the spirit of lawlessness was already working. He said it would leadto a "falling away" from the truth of God, and the full exaltation ofthe man of sin. 2 Thessalonians 2. The falling away came. As Dr. Killen(Presbyterian), of Ireland, says in the preface to his "AncientChurch:" [Illustration: THE SABBATH FROM EDEN TO EDEN Blessed and sanctified in Eden. Gen. 2:3. Christ the Lord of theSabbath. Mark 2:28. Written by God in His law. Ex. 20:8-11. To be observed in the new earth. Isa. 66:23. ] "In the interval between the days of the apostles and the conversion of Constantine, the Christian commonwealth changed its aspect.... Rites and ceremonies, of which neither Paul nor Peter ever heard, crept into use, and then claimed the rank of divine institutions. " In his "Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, " Cardinal Newman(Roman Catholic) tells how rites and ceremonies were borrowed frompaganism: "Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the infection of evil, and to transmute the very instruments and appendages of demon worship to an evangelical use, ... The rulers of the church from early times were prepared, should the occasion arise, to adopt, or imitate, or sanction the existing rites and customs of the populace, as well as the philosophy of the educated class. "--_Pages 371, 372. _ Thus along with other adaptations came "the venerable day of the sun"(Sunday). It was by gradual process that it supplanted the Sabbath. SirWilliam Domville wrote: "Centuries of the Christian era passed away before Sunday was observed by the Christian church as a Sabbath. History does not furnish us with a single proof or indication that it was at any time so observed previous to the Sabbatical edict of Constantine in A. D. 321. "--_"Examination of Six Texts, " p. 291. _ This law of Constantine's was as follows: "On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain sowing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations, the bounty of heaven should be lost. (Given the 7th day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them for the second time. )"--_Schaff, "History of the Christian Church, " Vol. III, chap. 5, sec. 75. _ Commenting on this law, Prof. Hutton Webster, of the University ofNebraska, says: "This legislation by Constantine probably bore no relation to Christianity; it appears, on the contrary, that the emperor, in his capacity of Pontifex Maximus, was only adding the day of the sun, the worship of which was then firmly established in the Roman Empire, to the other ferial days of the sacred calendar. " "What began, however, as a pagan ordinance, ended as a Christian regulation; and a long series of imperial decrees, during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries, enjoined with increasing stringency abstinence from labor on Sunday. "--_"Rest Days, " pp. 122, 270. _ Dean Stanley (Church of England) writes: "The retention of the old pagan name _Dies Solis_, or Sunday, for the weekly Christian festival, is, in a great measure, owing to the union of pagan and Christian sentiment with which the first day of the week was recommended by Constantine to his subjects, pagan and Christian alike, as the 'venerable day of the sun. '"--_"History of the Eastern Church, " lecture 6, par. 15. _ Thus the Sunday institution comes in, marked by its pagan origin, andadapted to ecclesiastical purposes by the church of the "falling away"that grew into the Roman Papacy. To quote again from the Baptist author, Dr. Hiscox: "Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history as a religious day, as we learn from the Christian Fathers and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, when adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism. "--_New York Examiner, Nov. 16, 1893. _ No wonder that with the coming of the latter days, and the proclamationof the message of preparation for Christ's second coming, there shouldcome a call to Christians to follow Christ and Holy Scripture in keepingGod's holy Sabbath. Again the voice of Jesus is heard in protest against traditions thatmake void the commandment of God. "Every plant, " He says, "which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. " Matt. 15:13. Made for Man The God that made the earth, And all the worlds on high, Who gave all creatures birth, In earth, and sea, and sky, After six days in work employed, Upon the seventh a rest enjoyed. The Sabbath day was blessed, Hallowed, and sanctified; It was Jehovah's rest, And so it must abide; 'Twas set apart before the fall, 'Twas made for man, 'twas made for all. And when from Sinai's mount, Amidst the fire and smoke, Jehovah did recount, And all His precepts spoke, He claimed the rest day as His own, And wrote it with His law on stone. The Son of God appeared With tidings of great joy; God's precepts He revered, He came not to destroy; None of the law was set aside, But every tittle ratified. Our Saviour did not die To render null and void The law of the Most High, Which cannot be destroyed; But, bruised for us, our stripes He bore, -- We'll go in peace and sin no more. --_R. F. Cottrell. _ [Illustration: CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES IN THE CORN-FIELDS "The Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day. " Matt. 12:8. ] [Illustration: RETURNING FROM THE SAVIOUR'S TOMB "They returned, ... And rested the Sabbath day according to thecommandment. " Luke 23:56. ] GLIMPSES OF SABBATH KEEPING AFTER NEW TESTAMENT TIMES Not at once did the innovation of Sunday observance set aside theSabbath of the Lord in the practice of even the general church. Andthrough history, when the general church had fallen away, we catchglimpses here and there of faithful witnesses to God's holy Sabbathtruth. First Centuries An old English writer, Professor Brerewood, of Gresham College, London, put in shortest phrase what many writers say: "They know little who do not know that the ancient Sabbath did remain and was observed by the Eastern churches three hundred years after our Saviour's passion. "--_"Treatise on the Sabbath, " p. 77. _ Fourth Century Canon 29, of the Council of Laodicea (A. D. 364), shows that theecclesiastical system was laboring to put an end to Sabbath keeping: "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [the Sabbath], but shall work on that day; but the Lord's day [as they called Sunday] they shall especially honor, and, as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they be found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ. "--_Hefele, "History of the Councils of the Church, " Vol. II, book 6, sec. 93, canon 29. _ Fifth Century Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History shows Rome evidently leading in theeffort to abolish any recognition whatever of the Sabbath: "The people of Constantinople, and of several other cities, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the next day; which custom is never observed at Rome, or at Alexandria. "--_Book 7, chap. 19. _ Seventh Century There were true Sabbath keepers in Rome itself, teaching the truth ofGod among the people, and bringing upon themselves the denunciation ofPope Gregory the Great, who wrote "to his most beloved sons the Romancitizens:" "It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse spirit have sown among you some things that are wrong and opposed to the holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the Sabbath day. What else can I call these but preachers of Antichrist?"--_"History of the Councils" (Labbe and Cossart), Vol. V, col. 1511; see also "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, " Vol. XIII, book 13, epistle 1. _ Eleventh Century The Pope's legates at Constantinople (A. D. 1054) were called todiscuss with Nicetas, "one of the most learned men at that time in theEast, " says Bower, whose position was "that the Sabbath ought to be keptholy, and that priests should be allowed to marry. "--_"History of thePopes, " Vol. II, p. 358. _ The people of north Scotland, the ancient Culdee church founded byColumba and his followers, far removed from direct papal influence, wasstill keeping the seventh-day Sabbath in the eleventh century. Of thischurch Andrew Lang says in his "History of Scotland:" "They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a Sabbatical manner. "--_Volume I, p. 96. _ Skene, in his classic work, "Celtic Scotland, " says of these Sabbathkeepers: "They seemed to have followed a custom of which we find traces in the early monastic church of Ireland, by which they held Saturday to be the Sabbath, on which they rested from all their labors. "--_Book 2, chap. 8. _ Margaret, of England, married Malcolm the Great, the Scottish king, in1069. An ardent Catholic, Queen Margaret at once set about Romanizingthe Celtic church. She called in the church leaders, and held longdiscussions with them. At last, with the help and authority of her royalhusband, and quoting the instructions of "the blessed Pope Gregory, " shesucceeded in turning the ancient Culdee church in Scotland away from theSabbath. (See "Life of St. Margaret, " by Turgot, her confessor. ) Twelfth to Fourteenth Century Among the numerous sects of southern Europe and the Alpine valleys, thatwere pursued and persecuted by Rome, were at least some who saw andobeyed the Sabbath truth. Thus, of one of these bodies, the historianGoldastus says: "They were called Insabbatati, not because they were circumcised, but because they kept the Sabbath according to the Jewish law. "--_"Deutsche Biographie, " Vol. IX, art. "Goldast. , " p. 327. _ Fifteenth Century Sabbath keepers in Norway drew the condemnation of a church council heldin 1435: "The archbishop and the clergy assembled in this provincial council at Bergen do decide that the keeping of Saturday must never be permitted to exist, except as granted in the church law. "--_Keyser's "Norske Kirkes Historie, " Vol. II, p. 488. _ Sixteenth Century With the setting free of the Word of God by the Reformation, and theprotest against the doctrine of papal tradition, multitudes saw that theSunday institution was not of divine origin; while not a few wentfarther, recognizing the claims of God's Sabbath. Moravia was a refuge, in those early Reformation days, for many believers in the Reformeddoctrines, and among these were Sabbath-keeping Christians: [Illustration: WALDENSES HUNTED BY THE ARMIES OF ROME "Destitute, afflicted, tormented;... They wandered in deserts, and inmountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. " Heb. 11:37, 38. ] "Even most prominent men, as the princes of Lichtenstein, held to the observance of the true Sabbath. When persecution finally scattered them, the seeds of truth must have been sown by them in the different portions of the Continent which they visited.... We have found them [Sabbath keepers] in Bohemia. They were also known in Silesia and Poland. Likewise they were in Holland and northern Germany.... There were at this time Sabbath keepers in France, ... 'among whom were M. De la Roque, who wrote in defense of the Sabbath against Bossuet, Catholic bishop of Meaux. ' That Sabbatarians again appeared in England by the time of the Reformation, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth (A. D. 1533-1603), Dr. Chambers testifies in his Cyclopedia [art. 'Sabbath']. "--_Andrews and Conradi, "History of the Sabbath, " pp. 649, 650. _ In this century also, Sabbath keepers appeared in Norway, Sweden, andFinland. In 1554 King Gustavus Vasa, of Sweden, addressed a letter ofremonstrance "to the common people in Finland, " because so many wereturning to keep the seventh day. Seventeenth Century There was much discussion in England over the authority for Sundayobservance. When other church festivals were ignored, as Easter, KingCharles I wanted to know why Sunday should be kept. He wrote: "It will not be found in Scripture where Saturday is discharged to be kept, or turned into the Sunday; wherefore it must be the church's authority that changed the one and instituted the other; therefore my opinion is that those who will not keep this feast [Easter] may as well return to the observation of Saturday, and refuse the weekly Sunday. "--_Cox, "Sabbath Laws, " p. 333. _ It was during this time that the idea first obtained of enforcing Sundayobligation by the fourth commandment and calling it the Sabbath. It wasargued that any "one day in seven" was what the commandment meant. Ofthis argument, John Milton, the statesman-poet, wrote: "It is impossible to extort such a sense from the words of the commandment; seeing that the reason for which the command itself was originally given, namely, as a memorial of God's having rested from the creation of the world, cannot be transferred from the seventh day to the first; nor can any new motive be substituted in its place, whether the resurrection of our Lord or any other, without the sanction of a divine commandment. "--_"Prose Works" (Bohn), pp. 70, 71. _ Again Milton wrote, in a manuscript which his publishers at the timefeared to print: "If we under the gospel are to regulate the time of our public worship by the prescriptions of the decalogue, it will surely be far safer to observe the seventh day, according to the express commandment of God, than on the authority of mere human conjecture to adopt the first. "--_Cox, "Sabbath Literature, " Vol. II, p. 54. _ While kings and poets and ecclesiastics discussed, here and therebelievers began to follow the plain Word of God and Christ's example inSabbath keeping. "Loved Not Their Lives unto the Death" In 1618 John Traske and his wife, of London, were condemned for keepingthe Sabbath of the Lord, the man being whipped from Westminster to theold Fleet Prison, near Ludgate Circus. Both were imprisoned. Mr. Traskerecanted under the pressure, after a year, but Mrs. Traske, a giftedschool-teacher, was given grace to hold out for sixteen years, --for atime in Maiden Lane prison, and then in the Gate House, byWestminster, --dying in prison for the word of the Lord. An estimablewoman she was, says one old chronicler, save for this "whimsy" of hers, that she would keep the seventh day. All that she asked of men, on herprison deathbed, was that she might be buried "in the fields. " By 1661 Sabbath keepers in London had further increased. In that yearJohn James was minister to a considerable congregation, meeting in EastLondon, off the Whitechapel Road. As part of the stern proceedingsagainst dissenting sects after the restoration of the monarchy, he wasarrested and condemned to death on "Tyburn Tree. " His wife knelt at thefeet of King Charles II as he came out of St. James's Palace one day, and pleaded for her husband's life; but the king scornfully rejected herplea, and said that the man should hang. Bogue says: "For once the king remembered his promise, and Mr. James was sent to join the noble army of martyrs. "--_"History of Dissenters, " Vol. I, p. 155. _ Nothing daunted, the number of Sabbath keepers increased. In a letter byEdward Stennet (between 1668 and 1670), it is stated. "Here in England are about nine or ten churches that keep the Sabbath, besides many scattered disciples, who have been eminently preserved in this tottering day, when many once eminent churches have been shattered in pieces. "--_Cox, "Sabbath Literature, " Vol. I, p. 268. _ Francis Bampfield was formerly an influential minister of the Church ofEngland, and prebendary of Exeter Cathedral, but later pastor of aSabbath-keeping congregation meeting in the Pinners Hall, off BroadStreet, near the Bank of England. Calamy said of him: "He was one of the most celebrated preachers in the west of England, and extremely admired by his hearers, till he fell into the Sabbatarian notion, of which he was a zealous asserter. "--_"Non-Conformist Memorial, " Vol. II, p. 152. _ He was arrested while in the pulpit preaching, and in 1683 died ofhardships in Newgate prison, for the Sabbath of the Lord. An old writersays that his body was followed to burial by "a very great company offactious and schismatical people;" in other words, dissenters from thestate church. Thomas Bampfield, his brother, Speaker of the House of Parliament at onetime, under Cromwell, published a book in defense of the Sabbath of theLord. In fact, many published the truth in this manner, and doctors ofdivinity and even bishops wrote replies. "Sabbatarian Baptists, " these English witnesses to God's Sabbath werefirst called in those times, and then "Seventh Day Baptists. " In 1664Stephen Mumford, from one of these London congregations, was sent overto New England. He settled in Rhode Island, where the Baptist pioneer ofreligious liberty, Roger Williams, had founded his colony. In 1671 thefirst Sabbatarian church in America was formed in Rhode Island. Evidently this movement created a stir; for the report went over toEngland that the Rhode Island colony did not keep the "Sabbath"--meaningSunday. Roger Williams wrote to his friends in England denying thereport, but calling attention to the fact that there was no Scripturefor "abolishing the seventh day, " and adding: "You know yourselves do not keep the Sabbath, that is the seventh day. "--_"Letters of Roger Williams, " Vol. VI, p. 346 (Narragansett Club Publications). _ Through the following century numbers of Seventh Day Baptist churcheswere founded in America. [F] Sabbath keepers were springing up also on the continent of Europe, inBohemia, Moravia, Transylvania, and Russia, where here and there Biblebelievers saw that tradition had made void one of the commandments ofGod. Then, as the events at the end of the long period of papalsupremacy had moved Bible students to the earnest study of theprophecies, and as the predicted signs of the near approach of Christ'scoming began to appear, there arose the great advent awakening in theearlier decades of the nineteenth century. The prophecies regarding the work of the Papacy in seeking to change thelaw of God began to be understood, and it was seen that the last messageof the everlasting gospel was a call to turn from human traditions tothe New Testament standard--"the commandments of God, and the faith ofJesus. " Rev. 14:12. Then began the great movement for Sabbath reform andthe proclamation of Christ's second coming, which has given rise to theSeventh-day Adventist people, with a work spreading through all lands, leading thousands every year to keep the Lord's blessed Sabbath day. Soon Christ is to be revealed in righteousness and judgment. One burdenof God's message for the last days is: "Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvationis near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the manthat doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeththe Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing anyevil. " Isa. 56:1, 2. Through all the dark centuries, the Lord had somewhere a little remnantkeeping the light of the Sabbath truth glowing. They, too, overcame bythe blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, loving not theirlives unto the death. Now, with the clear light shining from the openBook, it is for Christians everywhere to turn from tradition to the wayof God's commandments and the example of Jesus Christ. [Illustration: "Closing Sabbath! Ah, how soon Have thy sacred moments passed!"] FOOTNOTES: [F] In connection with this topic of Sabbath observance in colonialAmerica, it is of interest to note that Count Zinzendorf, the leader ofthe Moravian missionary movement, was a believer in the sanctity of theSabbath of God's appointment. In his life, by Bishop Spangenberg, it isstated that the Sabbath question was discussed by Zinzendorf with theMoravians, on his visit to Pennsylvania in 1741. The record states:-- "As a special circumstance it is to be remarked that he determined, withthe church in Bethlehem, to celebrate the seventh day as a rest day. Thematter was previously fully gone over in the church council, withconsideration of all the reasons for and against it, when the unanimousagreement was reached to observe the day Sabbatically.... The Count hadalready long held the seventh day of the week in specialhonor. "--_Zinzendorfs "Leben, " band 5, pp. 1421, 1422. _ The Bethlehem congregation evidently did not follow the practice long. "But as for himself, " says Spangenberg, "with his house, he adheredfirmly to this aforementioned practice until his end. "--_Id. , p. 1437. _ THE LAW OF GOD I Thou shalt have no other gods before me. II Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness ofanything: that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, orthat is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself tothem, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visitingthe iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourthgeneration of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands ofthem that love me, and keep my commandments. III Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lordwill not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. IV Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thyGod: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thydaughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thystranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heavenand earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. V Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the landwhich the Lord thy God giveth thee. VI Thou shalt not kill. VII Thou shalt not commit adultery. VIII Thou shalt not steal. IX Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. X Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thyneighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's. [Illustration: CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT "Whosoever shall do and teach them ... Shall be called great in thekingdom of heaven. " Matt. 5:19. ] THE LAW OF GOD It is a common saying, "The majesty of the law. " It means that thecharacter and genius of a government are embodied and expressed in itslaws. The words of Inspiration declare to us the majesty of the law ofthe Most High. The Character of God's Law The infinite perfection of the divine character is reflected in it. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. " Ps. 19:7. As God is holiness and justice and goodness, so also is His law. "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, andgood. " Rom. 7:12. Its Office The law of God gives knowledge of the righteousness of its greatAuthor. "Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heartis My law. " Isa. 51:7. It marks every departure from righteousness as sin. "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is thetransgression of the law. " 1 John 3:4. It is not a code merely for the regulation of outward conduct. It is themoral law--the primal standard of righteousness established by theCreator for His creatures. There is not an impulse of the inmost soulthat is not reached by it. It is the word which, living and powerful, is"sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunderof soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner ofthe thoughts and intents of the heart. " Heb. 4:12. Face to face with this holy law, we hear in it the voice of God saying, "Be ye holy; for I am holy. " Every soul must confess its guilt beforethe searching power of God's law. All things are naked and open to theeyes of Him with whom we have to do. "Guilty!" we confess. Left alonewith our guilt, there could be no ray of hope. "The threatenings of the broken law Impress the soul with dread; If God His sword of vengeance draw, It strikes the spirit dead. " Thank God, we are not left alone; help is laid upon One mighty to save. "But Thine illustrious sacrifice Hath answered these demands, And peace and pardon from the skies Are offered by Thy hands. " God's Law from the Beginning The law of God existed from the beginning. When Adam sinned, hetransgressed this holy law; for "sin is the transgression of the law. "God's law was not committed to writing until the days of Moses, when theLord began to make His written revelations to the children of men. Butfrom Adam to Moses the precepts of the law of God were teachingrighteousness and convicting of sin. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (for untilthe law [the giving of it at Sinai] sin was in the world: but sin is notimputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam toMoses. )" Rom. 5:12-14. The declaration of this scripture is: Without the law there can be nosin. But sin and death were from Adam to Moses, in whose day the law wasspoken on Sinai; therefore the law of God was in force from thebeginning. Its precepts were witnessed to by every preacher ofrighteousness raised up by God in the days before the deluge and in thepatriarchal age following. Of Abraham the Lord says, "Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, Mystatutes, and My laws. " Gen. 26:5. The Lord called His people out of Egypt, that they might keep his law. His message to Pharaoh was, "Let my people go, that they may serve Me. "Ex. 9:1. He delivered them from bondage by His mighty arm, and cleft theRed Sea to lead them forth to obedience, as the psalmist said, "He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosen with gladness:... That they might observe His statutes, and keep His laws. " Ps. 105:43-45. In Egyptian bondage the children of Abraham must have lost much of thepurity of God's truth; yet the Lord held them under obligation to knowHis law--the Sabbath precept particularly--before they came to Sinai, orever He had proclaimed the law in their hearing. He tested them in thematter by the giving of the manna, as He said, "That I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no. " Ex. 16:4. From the beginning, God's holy law demanded the loyal obedience of everyhuman being. Proclaimed Anew at Sinai The Lord had delivered the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage thatthey might serve Him and make His ways known to the nations. This wasaccording to the promise made to Abraham. To them was committed thewritten revelation of God, and through them was to come in the fulnessof time the promised Messiah. [Illustration: MOSES BREAKING THE TABLES OF THE LAW "He wrote them upon two tables of stone. " Deut. 4:13. ] While the Lord at this time "made known His ways unto Moses, " and therewas begun the written revelation which grew into "the volume of thebook, " the Holy Scriptures, one portion of revelation was not left forthe prophet of God to speak or for the inspired pen to write. The Lordproclaimed His holy law with His own voice, and gave to men a copy"written with the finger of God. " Moses said of this: "The Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard thevoice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And Hedeclared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, eventen commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone. " Deut. 4:12, 13. This display of majesty and glory indescribable was designed to teachhow sacred and holy is the law, and to cause men to fear to transgressits precepts. Ex. 20:20. It was not for themselves alone that the law was committed to Israel. They were to teach the truth to others. As the New Testament says, itwas greatly to their advantage that "unto them were committed theoracles of God. " Rom. 3:2. But they "received the lively oracles to giveunto us. " Through obedience to the divine law, they were to be a lightto the nations. "Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and yourunderstanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all thesestatutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understandingpeople. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh untothem?" Deut. 4:6, 7. An interesting comment upon these words is supplied by a speech ofPhalerius, librarian to Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt. Urging theking by all means to secure copies of the sacred books of the Jews forhis great library in Alexandria, Phalerius said: "Now it is necessary that thou shouldst have accurate copies of them. And indeed this legislation is full of hidden wisdom, and entirely blameless, as being the legislation of God; for which cause it is, as Hecateus of Abdera says, that the poets and historians make no mention of it, nor of those men who lead their lives according to it, since it is a holy law, and ought not to be published by profane mouths. "--_Josephus, "Antiquities, " book 12, chap. 2, sec. 4. _ Unfaithful as the Jewish people oftentimes were, yet through theirtestimony and the dealings of God with them, the fame of the livingoracles was spread abroad among the ancient nations. One God--One Moral Standard "There is one Lawgiver. " James 4:12. He is ever the same, and His law isthe standard of righteousness for all mankind. There was not one moralstandard before Christ and another after. Christ's death upon the crossbecause man had broken the law, is the divine testimony to all theuniverse that God's law can never be set aside nor its force suspended. Jesus opened His public teaching with the declaration: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am notcome to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heavenand earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from thelaw, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of theseleast commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the leastin the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, thesame shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. " Matt. 5:17-19. The moral law of ten commandments is one code, every precept equallysacred and equally binding: "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he isguilty of all. For He that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Donot kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou artbecome a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they thatshall be judged by the law of liberty. " James 2:10-12. The law of God still speaks with all the force of that voice from Sinai, and it speaks to every soul on earth: "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them whoare under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the worldmay become guilty before God. " Rom. 3:19. Thus the law of God convicts all men of sin, and would drive every oneto Christ for pardon and for the divine gift of the grace and power ofobedience. The ceremonial law--the precepts and ordinances commanded for thesacrificial system--ceased with the sacrifice of Calvary, as all theseceremonial observances pointed forward to the cross. There can be noconfounding of the moral law and the ceremonial law. The ceremonial lawof types and shadows showed in itself that a primary or higher law--themoral law--had been violated, making necessary a divine sacrifice iftransgressors were to be saved from death and restored to obedience. The Standard in the Judgment The law of God's moral government, which is the rule of life for everycreature, must necessarily be the standard in the great judgment day. The Scripture states the sum of all human obligation and responsibilityin the words: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep Hiscommandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bringevery work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. " Eccl. 12:13, 14. Every son and daughter of Adam's lost race is judgment bound, to answerbefore the bar of God the demands of the perfect law. Divine justicecannot abate one jot or tittle of the requirements of the holy law, norby any means clear the guilty. But divine mercy has provided the way bywhich God can "be just, and the justifier of him which believeth inJesus. " [Illustration: THE GIFT OF GOD "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. " John3:16. ] [Illustration: CHILDLIKE FAITH "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall notenter into the kingdom of heaven. " Matt. 18:3. ] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH "How should man be just [righteous] with God?" asked the patriarch Job. It has been the vital question ever since Adam sinned, and lost hisrighteousness and forfeited his life. The answer of Scripture is:-- "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through ourLord Jesus Christ. " Rom 5:1 "By grace are ye saved through faith; andthat not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest anyman should boast. " Eph. 2:8, 9. In the beginning, life and righteousness were the gift of God to man. Only the Creator could bestow the gift at the first; when lost, onlycreative power can restore it. Man Cannot Justify Himself The law of God declares all men sinners. Not only did Adam's posterityinherit of necessity a sinful nature, but every soul of man has wroughtsin as the fruit of that nature. "As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and sodeath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. " Rom. 5:12. "There is no difference, " Jew or Gentile, bond or free, they are in thesame lost condition; "for all have sinned, and come short of the gloryof God. " Rom. 10:12; 3:23. The sinner finds himself a transgressor, condemned to death by a holylaw. He turns to it with the thought, "I will do what it says, andbecome righteous and win life. " But he cannot undo the fact that he hassinned. A holy law can only cry, "Guilty! guilty!" to one who hastransgressed it. The law declares righteousness; it cannot give it. Asthe Scripture says: "We know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who areunder the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world maybecome guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shallno flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge ofsin. " Rom. 3:19, 20. The guilt exists. No deeds that man can do can undo it or cover it froma righteous law. Not only that, but as soon as the law declares whatrighteousness is, the sinner finds that its demands are altogetherbeyond the power of his flesh to meet. It calls for a kind of work thatfallen human nature cannot so much as approach. Paul cried out, whenstruggling under conviction, "We know that the law is spiritual: but Iam carnal, sold under sin. " Rom. 7:14. The carnal cannot bring forth the spiritual. But the law demands aspiritual work of righteousness. It is impossible for the carnal mind toundertake it. The Scripture says: "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the lawof God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannotplease God. " Rom. 8:7, 8. But the awakened sinner is yet in the flesh. He finds the law thunderinghis guilt and condemning him to death. He cannot wash away the past, norhide it; he cannot obey God's law with a carnal mind, and that is allthe mind he has. He is lost, and helpless of himself, but longs for away of escape. Paul's cry in the same position is the cry of thedespairing heart that has not found the Saviour, "O wretched man that Iam! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Rom. 7:24. ThankGod, there is an answer to that cry, for every sinner. "Plunged in a gulf of dark despair, We wretched sinners lay, Without one cheering beam of hope, Or spark of glimmering day. "With pitying eyes the Prince of grace Beheld our helpless grief: He saw, and, O amazing love! He came to our relief. " The Free Gift of Christ Following that despairing cry of human helplessness, "Who shall deliverme?" there came the believer's shout of praise, "I thank God throughJesus Christ our Lord. " He is the deliverer; for He "gave Himself forour sins, that He might deliver us. " Rom. 7:25; Gal. 1:4. The way of escape and salvation is the gift of God's love. "God so lovedthe world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believethin Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. " John 3:16. No sinner has need to plead that God may be willing to forgive him; theLord's infinite love that gave His Son to die, is pleading with thesinner to believe and accept salvation. In order to be the sinner's Saviour, the divine Son of God must takeman's place before the broken law. He came in human flesh, with all itsweakness. "I can of Mine own self, " He said, "do nothing. " He trustedthe Father, and lived a life of perfect righteousness in human flesh. Hewho knew no sin, bore man's sin in His body on the cross. "The Lord hathlaid on Him the iniquity of us all. " For man's sin He died, "that He bythe grace of God should taste death for every man. " In Him was met thepenalty of the law. But it was a sinless sacrifice. He "through theeternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God. " Heb. 9:14. Therefore death could not hold Him. He rose in the power of an endlesslife to be man's advocate and priest and savior, ministering His graceand righteousness and life to every one who will receive them. The righteousness that He wrought out for man in human flesh He longs toput into every human heart. As in His own flesh in Judea He walked andlived the life of righteousness, so now, by the Holy Spirit, He walks inhuman lives today. That means forgiveness, and deliverance from thepower of the flesh, and a new life of power, and righteousness andjustification wrought within by the divine indwelling Saviour. How maywe receive Him with all this great salvation?--By faith; by believingHis promises; "that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. " Eph. 3:17. Christ in all His fulness abiding within, --this is the wonder andmystery of the gospel, "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. " Itmeans an ever-present, ever-living Saviour, able to save to theuttermost. What abundance of grace is received with His indwelling presence! _Forgiveness. _--"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just toforgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " 1 John1:9. _Deliverance from the Flesh. _--The cleansing by Christ's indwellingpower means that the old life of self is subdued. "Our old man iscrucified with Him. " Rom. 6:6. "Ye are not in the flesh, but in theSpirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.... And if Christbe in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is lifebecause of righteousness. " Rom. 8:9, 10. _A New Heart. _--"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit willI put within you. " Eze. 36:26. _A New Life. _--"Be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye puton the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and trueholiness. " Eph. 4:23, 24. It is in blessed fact Christ Jesus living thelife in the believer by faith, as the apostle Paul says: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christliveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by thefaith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. " Gal. 2:20. _Righteousness and Justification. _--"This is His name whereby He shallbe called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. " Jer. 23:6. Well does the KingJames Version print the blessed name in capital letters. It is the greatname of salvation to every believer. By faith we receive Him, and byfaith His righteousness is imputed unto us. His life of obedience coversall the believer's surrendered life, past and continuous, and in God'ssight the life of the believer in Jesus is justified from all sin. It isthe triumph of Him who was not only "delivered for our offenses, " butwas also "raised again for our justification:" "Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men tocondemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift cameupon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man'sdisobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shallmany be made righteous. " Rom. 5:18, 19. Christ died and rose again to bring this experience to sinners who havestruggled helplessly under condemnation. As Christ Jesus with all Hisrighteousness is received by faith, "there is therefore now nocondemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after theflesh, but after the Spirit. " Rom. 8:1. Praise the Lord! It is all of Christ, and not of any works that we havedone. Therefore it is as sure as the oath and promise of God. We canlose the experience only as we let Christ go out of the life byunbelief. God forbid that we should do this; and help us to be quick torepent and again lay hold of Him by faith if ever we find we have letHim go and have lost the covering of His righteousness. "Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress; 'Mid hosts of sin, in these arrayed, My soul shall never be afraid. " [Illustration: THE LAST PRAYER "That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlastinglife. " John 3:16. ] Christ's righteousness is, of necessity, the righteousness demanded bythe law of God. He lives that law in the believer. This is whatjustification is. "Not the hearers of the law are just before God, butthe doers of the law shall be justified. " Rom. 2:13. Justification byfaith makes the man a doer of the law by faith, Christ living every oneof its sacred precepts in the believer's life. This is what He died toaccomplish, to bring the righteousness of the law to the sinner whocould never attain to it himself. "What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, Godsending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might befulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. "Rom. 8:3, 4. Christ writes God's law in the new heart: "I will put My laws into theirmind, and write them in their hearts. " Heb. 8:10. It is the rule of Hisown righteousness. For before He came into the world to work out perfectrighteousness for us in human flesh, He said, through the psalmist, "Idelight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart. " Ps. 40:8. It is a perfect righteousness and a full salvation that Christ bringsinto every believer's heart. In Him all fulness dwells, "and ye arecomplete in Him. " The wondrous plan of salvation is so deep that only "in the ages tocome" will God be able to "show the exceeding riches of His grace in Hiskindness toward us through Christ Jesus. " Eph. 2:7. But thank God, evenhere below sinners saved by grace may "know the love of Christ, whichpasseth knowledge. " "The wonders of redeeming love Our highest thoughts exceed; The Son of God comes from above, For sinful man to bleed. "He knows the frailties of our frame, For He has borne our grief; Our great High Priest once felt the same, And He can send relief. "His love will not be satisfied Till He in glory see The faithful ones for whom He died From sin forever free. " --_R. F. Cottrell. _ [Illustration: THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST "Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. " Matt. 3:15. ] [Illustration: THE FORD OF JORDAN "John also was baptizing in Ęnon near to Salim, because there was muchwater there. " John 3:23. ] BAPTISM THE MEMORIAL OF THE RESURRECTION Baptism is the divinely appointed memorial of the resurrection ofChrist. The great fact of the gospel is that "Christ died for our sinsaccording to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He roseagain the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3, 4), to beour great High Priest and Saviour. Baptism is a profession of faith in the Saviour, who went into the gravefor us, and rose again to life. It is the great object-lesson to teachthe truth that the sinner must die to sin and the world, and have aresurrection by the power of divine grace to a new life of obedience. The ordinance is the sign of an actual experience, the means by whichthe believer confesses the work of grace in the soul. The Scriptures teach the essential conditions necessary to baptism: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Hethat believeth and is baptized shall be saved. " Mark 16:15, 16. "What doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believestwith all thine heart, thou mayest. " Acts 8:36, 37. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you inthe name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. " Acts 2:38. Thus it is seen that instruction in the gospel, belief in Christ, andrepentance are conditions to precede baptism. Baptism for Believers The experience of which baptism is the sign is thus stated: "We are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ wasraised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we alsoshould walk in newness of life. " Rom. 6:4. "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. "Gal. 3:27. "Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him throughthe faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. "Col. 2:12. In this ordinance, commanded of God, the believer is following theexample of Christ, who, when baptized by John in Jordan, said, "Thus itbecometh us to fulfil all righteousness. " "Thus through the emblematic grave The glorious suffering Saviour trod; Thou art our Pattern, through the wave We follow Thee, blest Son of God. " The Form of Baptism The Scriptural form of baptism is shown in these texts: "Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water. "Matt. 3:16. "They went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and hebaptized him. " Acts 8:38. "Buried with Him by baptism.... For if we have been planted together inthe likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of Hisresurrection. " Rom. 6:4, 5. While the outward form of a religious service, without the spirit andthe experience which the form professes, must ever be unacceptable toGod, yet when the Lord prescribes a form, it is imperative that Hisinstruction should be followed. The form of the ordinance as commandedby God emphasizes the divine meaning of the service. Scriptural baptism is a burial "in the likeness" of Christ's burial, asthe lifting up of the believer from the watery grave is a likeness ofthe resurrection of Christ. Of the meaning of the word "baptism, " Lutherwrote: "Baptism is a Greek word; in Latin it can be translated immersion, as when we plunge something into water that it may be completely covered with water. "--_Opera Lutheri, De Sac. Bap. 1, p. 319 (Baptist Encyclopedia, art. "Baptism"). _ Calvin, after arguing that the form is an indifferent matter, says: "The very word 'baptize, ' however, signifies to immerse; and it is certain that immersion was observed by the ancient church. "--_"Institutes, " lib. 4, cap. 15 (Baptist Encyclopedia, art. "Baptism"). _ Of the practice in primitive times, Neander, the church historian, says: "In respect to the manner of baptizing, in conformity with the original institution and the original import of the symbol, it was generally administered by immersion. "--_"History of the Christian Church, " Torrey's translation (London edition), Vol. I, p. 429. _ The perversion of the ordinance into sprinkling, and that in infancy, takes away the divinely ordained object-lesson; and in the case of theinfant must of necessity substitute mere ceremonialism for experience, for the child of unaccountable years can have had no experience ofbelieving and repenting, which are the necessary conditions to fulfilthe meaning of baptism. The change in the ordinance, like most of thechanges that came about in the days of the "falling away" from theprimitive faith and practice, was by gradual process. Dean Stanley, in his "Christian Institutions, " page 24, says that it isnot till the third century that "we find one case of the baptism ofinfants. " Of the change from immersion to sprinkling, he says: "What is the justification of this almost universal departure from the primitive usage? There may have been many reasons, some bad, some good. One, no doubt, was the superstitious feeling already mentioned which regarded baptism as a charm, indispensable to salvation, and which insisted on imparting it to every human being who could be touched with water, however unconscious. " The common practice as late as the twelfth century is thus described bya Roman Catholic cardinal of that time, named Pullus: "Whilst the candidate for baptism in water is immersed, the death of Christ is suggested; whilst immersed and covered with water, the burial of Christ is shown forth; whilst he is raised from the waters, the resurrection of Christ is proclaimed. "--_Patrol. Lat. , Vol. CXXX, p. 315 (Baptist Encyclopedia, art. "Baptism"). _ Dean Stanley, of Westminster, one of the first scholars of the Church ofEngland, wrote: "For the first thirteen centuries the almost universal practice of baptism was that of which we read in the New Testament, and which is the very meaning of the word 'baptize, '--that those who were baptized were plunged, submerged, immersed into the water. That practice is still, as we have seen, continued in Eastern churches. In the Western church it still lingers among Roman Catholics in the solitary instance of the Cathedral of Milan; among Protestants in the numerous sects of the Baptists. It lasted long into the Middle Ages.... But since the beginning of the seventeenth century, the practice has become exceedingly rare. With the few exceptions just mentioned, the whole of the Western churches have now substituted for the ancient bath the ceremony of letting fall a few drops of water on the face. The reason of the change is obvious. The practice of immersion, though peculiarly suitable to the Southern and Eastern countries for which it was designed, was not found seasonable in the countries of the North and West. Not by any decree of council or parliament, but by the general sentiment of Christian liberty, this remarkable change was effected. Beginning in the thirteenth century, it has gradually driven the ancient catholic usage out of the whole of Europe. "--_"Christian Institutions, " pp. 21, 22. _ The facts are undeniable, and emphasize the importance of reformationand return in practice to the plain instructions of the Word of God. Asthe record shows, it was not the spirit of the New Testament church thatmade this change in the divine ordinance; rather it is the spirit of thechurch of the "falling away, " against which the Lord warns allbelievers, "because they have transgressed the laws, changed theordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. " The Path He Trod Our Saviour bowed beneath the wave, And meekly sought a watery grave; Come, see the sacred path He trod-- A path well pleasing to our God. His voice we hear, His footsteps trace. And hither come to seek His face, To do His will, to feel His love, And join our songs with those above. --_Adoniram Judson. _ [Illustration: SYMBOLS OF MEDO-PERSIA AND GRECIA "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media andPersia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia. " Dan. 8:20, 21. ] [Illustration: COINS OF THE MEDO-PERSIAN AND GRECIAN EMPIRES The ram, symbol of Persia; and the goat, symbol of Grecia. ] THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 8 A HISTORIC OUTLINE AND A VITAL QUESTION Another view of the history of empires and kingdoms was brought beforethe prophet Daniel in the vision of the eighth chapter. In this vision agreat prophetic period is given, the end of which reaches to the latterdays, touching events of our own times that are of direct interest andimportance to every one today. The vision was given in the third year of Belshazzar, the last king ofBabylon. Again, as in moving panorama, there passed before the prophet'svision the scenes of history. Earthly kingdoms were represented underthe symbols of beasts. We shall find the prophecy and the history corresponding in everydetail, revealing the overruling hand of God, who knows the end from thebeginning, and whose living Word of truth bears its witness through allthe ages. "Truth never dies. The ages come and go; The mountains wear away; the seas retire; Destruction lays earth's mighty cities low, And empires, states, and dynasties expire; But caught and handed onward by the wise, Truth never dies. " The opening scene of this vision, given by the river Ulai, in Persia, isthus described: _Prophecy. _--"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, therestood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns werehigh; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. Isaw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that nobeast might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliverout of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. "Verses 3, 4. In the angel's interpretation of the vision Daniel was told: "The ramwhich thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. "Verse 20. "The higher came up last. " The two horns represented the dual character of the empire: first theMedes in ascendancy, then the Persians rising to yet greater power. "Sothat no beast might stand before him, " says the prophecy. _History. _--Xenophon says of Cyrus the Persian: "He was able to extend the fear of himself over so great a part of the world that he astonished all, and no one attempted anything against him. "--_"The Cyropędia, " book 1, chap. 1. _ The line of Medo-Persian conquest was "westward, and northward, andsouthward, " just as the prophet saw the ram pushing its way. As one penwrote in the days of Persia's supremacy: "He [Darius] showed the world arms glory-crowned. " "Towns untold before him fell. " "Burgs over sea ... Heard from his lips their fate. " --_"The Persians, " by Ęschylus. _ But the ram pushing westward stirred up an antagonist that waseventually to overcome him. The prophet continues: _Prophecy. _--"As I was considering, behold, a he goat came from the weston the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goathad a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had twohorns, ... And ran unto him in the fury of his power.... And there wasno power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to theground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver theram out of his hand. " Verses 5-7. The angel's interpretation continued: "The rough goat is the king ofGrecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. "Verse 21. _History. _--This "first king" of united Grecia was Alexander the Great. "With Alexander the New Greece begins. "--_Harrison, "Story of Greece, " p. 499. _ "And it happened, after that Alexander ... Had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece. " 1 Maccabees 1:1. Under Alexander, the Grecian goat ran upon the Persian ram "in the furyof his power. " At Arbela, wrote Arrian, the Macedonians charged "withgreat fury. " None was able to deliver the Persian ram. "Wherever youfly, " wrote Alexander to the retreating Darius, "thither I will surelypursue you. " (See "Anabasis of Alexander the Great, " by Arrian, book 2, chap. 14. ) Medo-Persia fell before Grecia, as this sure word of prophecyhad foretold two hundred years before Alexander's day. Grecia's expansion and its later history were next unfolded before theprophet's vision: _Prophecy. _--"Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he wasstrong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable onestoward the four winds of heaven. " Verse 8. Of the ram (Persia) it was said it became "great;" of the goat (Grecia);that it became "very great. " _History. _--Justin, the Roman, wrote of Alexander: "So much was the whole world awed by the terror of his name, that all nations came to pay their obedience to him. "--_"History of the World, " book 12, chap. 13. _ "Vain in his hopes, the youth had grasped at all, And his vast thought took in the vanquished ball. " --_Lucan's "Pharsalia" (Nicholas Rowe's translation), book 3. _ But the unerring prophecy had said that "when he was strong, the greathorn was broken. " Suddenly the youthful conqueror was cut down by death, just as he was preparing to celebrate at Babylon a "convention of thewhole universe, " "being thus taken off in the flower of his age, and in the height of his victories. "--_Justin, "History of the World, " book 13, chap. 1. _ The ancient pagan writers, in telling the story, make use of languagevery similar to that used by divine prophecy in foretelling it. Following Alexander's death the empire was divided "toward the fourwinds of heaven. " Myers says: "Four well-defined and important monarchies arose out of the ruins.... The great horn was broken; and instead of it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. "--_"History of Greece" (edition 1902), p. 457. _ As the prophet watched these four kingdoms of divided Greece, he beheldanother power coming into the field of his vision through one of thefour kingdoms, and extending its authority more than any before it: _Prophecy. _--"Out of one of them [one of the four kingdoms] came forth alittle horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and towardthe east, and toward the pleasant land. " Verse 9. _History. _--Medo-Persia was "great, " Grecia was "very great, " but thispower was to be "exceeding great. " Rome followed Grecia. Polybius, theRoman, says: "Almost the whole inhabited world was conquered, and brought under the dominion of the single city of Rome. "--_"Histories of Polybius" (Evelyn Shuckburgh's translation), book 1, chap. 1. _ One of the odes of Horace tells how the name of Rome grew to might: "Till her superb dominion spread East, where the sun comes forth in light, And west to where he lays his head. " --_Ode 15, "To Augustus, " book 4. _ Lucan's lines measured its exceeding greatness from the other points ofthe compass: "Though from the frozen pole our empire run, Far as the journeys of the southern sun. " --_"Pharsalia, " book 10. _ "The empire of the Romans filled the world, " says Gibbon. It was"exceeding great, " according to the prophecy. In the vision the littlehorn that grew so great came into the prophet's view as proceeding outof one of the four horns that he had been watching. Rome rose tounquestioned supremacy out of its conquest of Macedonia, one of the fournotable kingdoms into which Grecia was divided. It spread forth towardthe south, and toward the east, and "toward the pleasant land, "Palestine becoming a province of the empire in the century beforeChrist. And it was a Roman force that destroyed Jerusalem and devastatedthe pleasant land. Thus the "sure word of prophecy, " with exactness in detail, carries thehistory through the centuries to the last great universal monarchy, Rome. But this prophecy does not deal so much with the earlier history of Romeas with the developments of later times. It was the same in theprophetic outline of Daniel 7. After briefly identifying Rome as thelast universal monarchy, the vision of the seventh chapter dealt withthe rise of papal Rome, described its exaltation of itself against God, and its warfare against the truth and the saints of God. And here again, in the eighth chapter, the same persecuting power is seen developing, exalting itself, and persecuting the saints of God. The prophecy saysthat "it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, andprospered. " Dan. 8:12. The papal history, as given in the study onDaniel 7, need not be repeated here. [Illustration: THE CAMP OF ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary becleansed. " Dan. 8:14. ] As the prophet watched the work of this lawless power, his heart musthave cried out to know how long it was to be allowed to prosper in itsevil way; for next he heard the voice of a holy one asking the questionfor him, "How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and thetransgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host tobe trodden underfoot?" Dan. 8:13. The answer was, "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary becleansed. " Verse 14. In symbolic prophecy a day stands for a year. Eze. 4:6. This is a longperiod, therefore, of 2300 years. It reaches to the latter days; for theangel said of it, "At the time of the end shall be the vision. " Dan. 8:17. The question was, "How long?" or literally, "Until when?" and the answerwas, "Until two thousand and three hundred days. " Then what was to cometo deal with the great apostasy?--"Then shall the sanctuary becleansed. " The cleansing of the sanctuary, therefore, must havesomething to do with meeting the great apostasy, lifting up God's truththat has been trampled underfoot, and cutting short the reign of evil. The cleansing of the sanctuary, with all that is involved in it, must beGod's answer to this lawless power. Error may prosper for a time; but the just balances of the sanctuarywill at last pronounce righteous judgment, and the prosperity of evilwill be cut short. "I was envious ... When I saw the prosperity of thewicked, " said the psalmist, "until I went into the sanctuary of God;then understood I their end. " Ps. 73:3, 17. What, then, is involved in the cleansing of the sanctuary, the time ofwhich is marked by the long prophetic period? It is for us tounderstand; for it is a work pertaining to the latter days. [Illustration: OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST "We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throneof the Majesty in the heavens. " Heb. 8:1. ] [Illustration: THE INTERIOR OF THE SANCTUARY "A figure for time then present, in which were offered both gifts andsacrifices. " Heb. 9:9. ] THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY IN TYPE AND ANTITYPE The Bible teaching concerning the sanctuary of the Levitical serviceshows clearly that the cleansing of the sanctuary is God's answer toerror and apostasy. The priestly service of the earthly sanctuary, or temple, in the days ofIsrael, was typical of the work of Christ, our High Priest, in theheavenly temple. The earthly priests served after "the example andshadow of heavenly things. " Heb. 8:5. And of Christ's ministry in theheavenly temple we are told: "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such ahigh priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majestyin the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. " Heb. 8:1, 2. In the earthly service, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the closingwork of the high priest, marking the end of the yearly round ofmediatory ministry. The cleansing of the sanctuary in the time of theend must, therefore, according to the sure teaching of the type, be theclosing ministry of our great High Priest in the heavenly temple, beforeHe lays aside His priestly work to come in glory. The Service of the Earthly Tabernacle There were two distinct phases in the priestly ministry of thetabernacle in Israel. The sanctuary was built with two apartments, theholy place and the most holy. In the holy place were the candlestick with its seven lights, the tablewith its ever-renewed "bread of the presence, " and the altar of incense, on which sweet incense, symbol of Christ's continual intercession, wasburned morning and night. Within the inner veil was the most holy place, where was the arkcontaining the tables of the law, written with the finger of God. Thecover of the ark was the golden mercy-seat, above which, at either end, stood two cherubim of gold, their wings meeting on high, their faceslooking ever toward the mercy-seat. It was a type of the throne ofGod--the angels about the throne, the law the foundation of Hisgovernment, the mercy-seat typifying the interposition of mercy andpardon for the sinner; and above it the visible glory of the Lord, theShekinah. "There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from abovethe mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark ofthe testimony. " Ex. 25:22. Of the service in the first apartment it is stated: "When these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into thefirst tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. " Heb. 9:6. "Day by day the sacrificial victims were slain at the altar before theouter veil, and the blood was 'brought into the sanctuary' by thepriest. " This was an acknowledgment of transgression of God's law, meriting death, and a confession of faith in the Lamb of God who was tosuffer death in the sinner's stead, and whose atoning blood would pleadfor him before the righteous law. Thus day by day, either by the sprinkling of the blood "before the Lord"or by eating a portion of the flesh of the burnt offering in the holyplace, the ministry of the priests transferred the sin in type to thesanctuary, and the sinner was pardoned. For a full year, lacking one day, the ministry was in the firstapartment, or holy place only. But on that last day of the yearly roundof service--"the tenth day of the seventh month"--the high priestentered the second apartment, or most holy place. "Into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not withoutblood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people. "Heb. 9:7. In this service the high priest sprinkled the blood upon the mercy-seatand in the holy place, "because of the uncleanness of the children ofIsrael. " The sanctuary was to be reconciled or cleansed from all thesins registered there in type through the blood of the offerings broughtday by day during the year. As the high priest came out, bearing the sins, he transferred them allto the head of the scapegoat, which was sent away into the wilderness;and thus "all their iniquities" were borne away from the camp into thewilderness, and the sanctuary was cleansed. See Leviticus 16. This was a solemn time of judgment in Israel. Every man's life came inreview that day. Was every sin confessed? Whosoever was not found rightwith God, when that service was performed, was cut off from having apart with God's people. "It is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lordyour God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in thatsame day, he shall be cut off from among his people. " Lev. 23:28, 29. It was indeed an annual day of judgment in Israel. And all this was an"example and shadow of heavenly things. " Heb. 8:5. Christ's Closing Work in Heaven Therefore the last phase of Christ's ministry as our high priest in thesanctuary of God above, must be a work of judgment, a review of theheavenly record, corresponding to the final ministry in the secondapartment of the earthly tabernacle, when that sanctuary was cleansed. [Illustration: THE MEMORIAL OF HIS SACRIFICE "As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show theLord's death till He come. " 1 Cor. 11:26. ] Daniel the prophet was shown in vision this change in the ministry ofour High Priest, namely, from the first to the second apartment of theheavenly temple. He describes the wondrous scene, as God's livingthrone, with its wheels flaming with glory, moved into the most holyplace of the heavenly sanctuary, for the closing work of Christ'sministry: "I beheld till the thrones were cast down ["placed, " R. V. ], and theAncient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hairof His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, andHis wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth frombefore Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousandtimes ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the bookswere opened. " Dan. 7:9, 10. This scene, as the next verse shows, opens while still on earth theapostasy is exalting itself. But during this same time a solemn judgmentwork is going forward in heaven above, the finishing of which will giveGod's answer to the apostasy, and bring the second coming of Christ inglory to end the reign of sin. It is the cleansing of thesanctuary, --the time when in reality and not in type every caseregistered in the sanctuary comes in final review before God. When thatwork closes, according to the type, whosoever is not found right withGod will be cut off from having any part with His redeemed people. Then the priestly ministry of Christ will close, and the destiny ofevery soul will be fixed for all eternity. To that time must apply thewords spoken by Jesus: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: ... And he that isrighteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him beholy still. And, behold, I come quickly. " Rev. 22:11, 12. But now the Saviour, from His place of ministry on high, speaks to allthe encouraging exhortation and assurance: "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and Iwill not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confesshis name before My Father, and before His angels. " Rev. 3:5. To let men on earth know when this judgment work, the cleansing of thesanctuary, began in heaven, the prophetic period of 2300 years wasgiven. It is of most solemn importance that we know when that periodbegins and ends. [Illustration: ARTAXERXES SENDING THE JEWS TO REBUILD JERUSALEM, B. C. 457 "From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to buildJerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, andthreescore and two weeks. " Dan. 9:25. ] [Illustration: NEHEMIAH, THE KING'S CUPBEARER "Send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I maybuild it. " Neh. 2:5. ] A GREAT PROPHETIC PERIOD THE 2300 YEARS OF DANIEL 8:14 The commission to the angel Gabriel was, "Make this man to understandthe vision" (Dan. 8:16); therefore in the angel's explanation of thevision of Daniel 8, we must assuredly find the interpretation of theprophetic period of 2300 years, the close of which marks the opening ofthe judgment work in heaven, or the cleansing of the sanctuary. The eighth chapter closes, however, with no reference to the beginningof this period of time, a most important measuring line of prophecy. Theangel had explained the symbols representing Medo-Persia, Grecia, andRome, and had dwelt upon the antichristian work of the apostasy that wasto develop; but he left the time of the prophetic period unexplained, save to say that it was "true, " and that it would be "for manydays"--far in the future. Here the angel stopped, for Daniel fainted. Inspirit the prophet had been gazing upon the warfare of the greatapostasy against God's truth through the ages, and evidently it took allstrength from him. Daniel closes the account of this vision with thewords, "I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. " Verse27. [Illustration: THE 2300 DAYS The heavy line represents the full 2300 year-day period, the longestprophetic period in the Bible. Beginning in B. C. 457 when thedecree was given to restore and build Jerusalem (Ezra 7:11-26; Dan. 9:25), seven weeks (49 years) are measured off to indicate the timeoccupied in this work of restoration. These, however, are a part of thesixty-nine weeks (483 years) that were to reach to Messiah, the AnointedOne. Christ was anointed in 27 A. D. , at His baptism. Matt. 3:13-17; Acts 10:38. In the midst of the seventieth week (31A. D. ), Christ was crucified or "cut off, " which marked the timewhen the sacrifices and oblations of the earthly sanctuary were tocease. Dan. 9:25, 27. The remaining three and one-half years of thisweek reach to 34 A. D. , or to the stoning of Stephen, and thegreat persecution of the church at Jerusalem which followed. Acts 7:59;8:1. This marked the close of the seventy weeks, or 490 years, allottedto the Jewish people. But the seventy weeks are a part of the 2300 days; and as they (theseventy weeks) reach to 34 A. D. , the remaining 1810 years ofthe 2300-day period must reach to 1844, when the work of judgment, orcleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, was to begin. Rev. 14:6, 7. Thenspecial light began to shine upon the whole sanctuary subject, andChrist's mediatorial or priestly work in it. Four great events, therefore, are located by this great propheticperiod, --the first advent, the crucifixion, the rejection of the Jewishpeople as a nation, and the beginning of the work of final judgment. ] But the angel had been commanded, "Make this man to understand thevision;" and soon after, as recorded in the next chapter, --possiblywithin a year, [G]--Gabriel appeared to the prophet with the words: "O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.... Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. " Dan. 9:22, 23. Thereupon the angel began to deal with the matter of time in theprophecy, the very feature of the vision of the eighth chapter that hehad not yet made Daniel understand. Therefore the vision of the 2300years must be the topic. The Starting-Point First of all, the angel said that a short period was to be cut off fromthe long period, and allotted to the Jewish people; this short periodwas to reach to the coming of the promised Messiah and the filling up ofthe measure of Jerusalem's transgressions. The angel's own words are: "Seventy weeks [490 days, prophetic time, or 490 literal years] aredetermined [cut off, as the word means] upon thy people and upon thyholy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, andto make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlastingrighteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anointthe Most Holy. " Verse 24. This 490-year period "cut off" was to cover the history of the people ofJerusalem until that city had filled out the measure of itstransgression. The only prophetic period from which this 490 years canproperly be said to be "cut off" is, assuredly, the longer period of2300 years, which stretches far onward to "the time of the end. " The 490years and the 2300 years, then, must begin at the same time. It was the time period that the angel Gabriel was yet to explain; and hebegins the explanation by showing that the first 490 years of it wouldreach to the days of the Messiah. Then he gives the event that marks thebeginning of the 490 years, which event must necessarily mark thebeginning of the 2300 years as well. This is what he was commissioned to make Daniel "understand" when firstthe vision of the 2300 years was given. Now he tells him to "understand"it: "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of thecommandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah thePrince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the streetshall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And afterthreescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself:and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city andthe sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto theend of the war desolations are determined. " Dan. 9:25, 26. The date of the going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuildJerusalem is the date, therefore, from which the great propheticmeasuring line runs; the first 490 years of it to reach to the time andwork of the Messiah, at the first advent, the full 2300 years running onto mark the time when the judgment hour in heaven opens. Once thestarting-point is fixed, all the events of the long period must followexactly as scheduled in the time-table of divine prophecy. Date of the Commencement to Restore Jerusalem There were several commands issued concerning the restoration ofJerusalem after the Babylonish captivity. Cyrus, and Darius, andArtaxerxes Longimanus each issued such a decree. Which one answers tothe language of the prophecy as "the commandment to restore and to buildJerusalem"? [Illustration: THE JEWS MOURNING OVER THE RUINS OF JERUSALEM "I went out by night, ... And viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which werebroken down. " Neh. 2:13. ] The decree of Artaxerxes was most comprehensive (Ezra 7), authorizingthe full restoration of the civil and religious administration ofJerusalem and Judea. And Inspiration specifically sums up all thedecrees as completed only in that of Artaxerxes, which thus constituted"the commandment:" "They builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the Godof Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, andArtaxerxes king of Persia. " Ezra 6:14. [Illustration: REBUILDING JERUSALEM "They builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the Godof Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, andArtaxerxes king of Persia. " Ezra 6:14. ] According to this scripture, the full "going forth of the commandment torestore and to build, " dates from this decree of Artaxerxes. And thisdecree went forth "in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. " Ezra7:7. What year was this seventh year of Artaxerxes--a date so important tofix to a certainty? The great chronological standard for the kings of the ancient empires isthe canon, or historical rule, of Ptolemy. Ptolemy was a Greekhistorian, geographer, and astronomer, who lived in the temple ofSerapis, near Alexandria, Egypt. From ancient records he prepared achronological table of the kings of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome(carrying the Roman list to his own time, which was the second centuryafter Christ). Along with his list of kings and the years of theirsuccession, Ptolemy compiled a record of ancient observations ofeclipses. In such and such a year of a king, for instance, on a givenday of the month, an eclipse of the sun or moon would be recorded. Astronomers have worked out these observations, and verified them. Thelearned Dr. William Hales said: "To the authenticity of these copies of Ptolemy's canon, the strongest testimony is given by their exact agreement throughout, with above twenty dates and computations of eclipses in Ptolemy's Almagest. "--_"Chronology, " Vol. I, p. 166. _ Thus, says James B. Lindsay, an English chronologist, "a foundation islaid for chronology sure as the stars. " So the sun and the stars, thedivinely appointed timekeepers, bear their witness to the accuracy ofthe historical record. We thank God for this, as we desire to know if we may depend uponPtolemy's canon to help us fix to a certainty the seventh year ofArtaxerxes. According to Ptolemy, Artaxerxes succeeded to the throne in the twohundred and eighty-fourth year of the canon. In modern reckoning, thistwo hundred and eighty-fourth year runs from Dec. 17, 465 B. C. , to Dec. 17, 464 B. C. The canon does not tell at what part of the year a kingsucceeded to the throne; it only deals with whole years. The questionis, to be exact, Did Artaxerxes come to the throne in December, 465B. C. , or at some time in the year 464 B. C. ? At what season of the yeardid the king take the throne? Some historians, dealing with the matterroughly, date the succession from the year 465. But in dealing withdivine prophecy, we require certainty upon which to base the reckoningof the seventh year of Artaxerxes, from which date the prophetic periodruns. And in God's providence we do have certainty. Of all the kings ofAssyria, Babylon, and Medo-Persia, in Ptolemy's long list, there is butone concerning whose succession the Scriptures give us the very time ofthe year--and that one is Artaxerxes. The one case in which we need toknow to a certainty the season of the year, in order to fix an importantdate in prophecy, is the one case in which Inspiration gives exactly theparticulars. Who cannot see the hand of God in this? The combined record of Neh. 1:1; 2:1 and Ezra 7:7-9, [H] shows thatArtaxerxes came to the throne between the fifth month of the Jewish yearand the ninth month, --roughly, between August and December, --or in theautumn. The Bible gives one part of the record, and Ptolemy's canongives another part; and by the combined record we know that Artaxerxescame to the throne late in the year 464 B. C. , and thus the seventh yearof his reign would be 457 B. C. This is the date fixed by other sourcesof reliable chronology also, Sir Isaac Newton having worked out severallines of evidence from ancient authorities, in each case reaching theyear 464 B. C. As the first of Artaxerxes, which makes the seventh to be457 B. C. In the seventh year of Artaxerxes the commandment went forth to restoreand to build Jerusalem, and this event fixes the beginning of the 2300years, as also of the 490 years cut off from it upon the Jewish people. That year, 457 B. C. , therefore, is a date of profoundimportance. It stands like the golden milestone in the ancient Forum atRome, from which ran out all the measurements of distance to the ends ofthe empire. From this date, 457 B. C. , run out the goldenthreads of time prophecy that touch events in the earthly life and theheavenly ministry of Jesus that are of deepest eternal interest to allmankind today. The Ransom Paid Lord, I believe Thy precious blood, Which, at the mercy-seat of God, Forever doth for sinners plead, Can cleanse my guilty soul indeed. Lord, I believe were sinners more Than sands upon the ocean shore, Thou hast for all a ransom paid, For all a full provision made. --_Nikolaus Zinzendorf. _ [Illustration: THE ANOINTING OF JESUS AT HIS BAPTISM "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. "Acts 10:38. (See Matt. 3:16. )] FOOTNOTES: [G] The dates placed in the margin of the King James Version indicate aperiod of fifteen years between the eighth and ninth chapters of Daniel. This was because in former days it was thought that Belshazzar was theBible name of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, who reigned seventeenyears. In that case, from "the third year" of his reign, when theprophecy of Daniel 8 was given, to the "first year of Darius, " whosucceeded him, when the angel appeared again to Daniel, would be fifteenyears. But the unearthing of the buried records of Babylonia during thelast half century, reveals the fact that Belshazzar was the son ofNabonidus, associated with him on the throne as king for a few yearsbefore the fall of Babylon. The third year of his reign may very likelyhave been the last year; and Darius immediately followed Belshazzar. Theexplanation of the ninth chapter might have been within a few weeks ormonths following the vision of chapter 8, and probably was. [H] These texts show that the king came to the throne in the autumn, sothat the actual years of his reign would run from autumn to autumn. Neh. 1:1 begins the record: "In the month Chisleu, in the _twentieth year_. "Neh. 2:1 continues: "It came to pass in the month Nisan, in the_twentieth year_ of Artaxerxes. " Thus it is plain that in the monthlycalendar of the king's actual reign the month Chisleu came first inorder, and then Nisan. Chisleu was the ninth month of the Jewish sacredyear, roughly, December. Nisan is the first month, April. And thesemonths, December, April, --in that order, --came in the first year of theking, of course, the same as in his twentieth year. And in the same yearalso came the fifth month, August; for Ezra 7:7-9 shows that the firstand fifth months--in that order--also fell in the same year of hisreign. Then we know of a certainty that his reign began somewherebetween August and December, that is, in the autumn. The first year ofArtaxerxes was from the latter part of 464 B. C. To the latter part of463, and the seventh year, as readily counted off, would be from nearthe end of 458 to near the end of 457. Under the commission to Ezra, thepeople began to go up to Jerusalem in the spring of that year, 457 B. C. (in the first month, or April), and they "came to Jerusalem in the fifthmonth" (August). Ezra 7:8, 9. Ezra and his associates soon thereafter"delivered the kings commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to thegovernors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and thehouse of God. " Ezra 8:36. With this delivery of the commissions to theking's officers, the commandment to restore and to build had, mostcertainly, fully gone forth. And from this date, 457 B. C. , extends thegreat prophetic period. [Illustration: DANIEL'S PRAYER ANSWERED "I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. " Dan. 9:22. ] THE PROPHECY FULFILLED EVENTS OF THE "SEVENTY WEEKS" AND END OF THE 2300 YEARS The angel explained to Daniel the events of the seventy weeks allottedto Jerusalem and its people "to finish the transgression. " Seven weeksand threescore and two weeks (69 weeks) of the seventy were to reach tothe Messiah. The angel's words were: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, tofinish the transgression.... Know therefore and understand, that fromthe going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalemunto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and twoweeks [69 weeks, or 483 days]. " Dan. 9:24, 25. The sixty-nine weeks, symbolic time, are 483 years, which were to reachfrom the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem to Messiah thePrince. The Time of the Messiah's Coming The commandment of Artaxerxes to restore and build Jerusalem, as we haveseen, went forth in 457 B. C. Reckoning from that date, 483 fullyears bring us to A. D. 27, when, according to the prophecy, theMessiah should appear. Messiah means "anointed. " The anointing of Jesus, and His manifestationas the Anointed One, was at His baptism: "Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of Goddescending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo a voice fromheaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. "Matt. 3:16, 17. Thus Jesus was anointed as the Messiah (see Acts 10:38), and Johnproclaimed: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of theworld. " John 1:29. When did this baptism and anointing take place? The Gospel of Lukesupplies the historical facts for fixing the year: "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cęsar, Pontius Pilatebeing governor of Judea, " etc. Luke 3:1-3. Tiberius followed Augustus, who died in A. D. 14. But before thelatter's death, Tiberius was associated with him on the throne. Somemodern historians date this appointment of Tiberius as Cęsar fromA. D. 13; but the "History of Rome, " by Dion Cassius, a Romansenator, born in the second century, shows, under events ofA. D. 12, that Augustus recognized Tiberius as holding theimperial dignity at that time. (Book 56, chap. 26. ) Again, Dr. PhilipSchaff says: "There are coins from Antioch in Syria of the date A. U. 765 [A. D. 12], with the head of Tiberius and the inscription, _Kaisar, Sebastos (Augustus). "_--_"History of the Christian Church, " Vol. I, p. 120, footnote. _ These coins from Syria bear certain witness that the first year ofTiberius should be counted from A. D. 12. Therefore "thefifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cęsar" would be A. D. 27, just 483 years from the going forth of the commandment to restoreJerusalem. The prophecy of the sixty-nine weeks was fulfilled--theMessiah had come. Confirming the Covenant But "one week" of the seventy remained--seven years. Of the Messiah'swork during this time the angel said: "He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midstof the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. "Dan. 9:27. Christ's death upon the cross made "the sacrifice and the oblation tocease, " so far as their appointed force was concerned. After three yearsand a half of ministry, "in the midst" of this seven-year period, theprophetic week, the Messiah was lifted up on Calvary. For centuries thesure word of prophecy had pointed to this supreme hour in the workingout of the plan of salvation. When the time was fulfilled, the promiseof God was fulfilled also, and the divine Sacrifice was offered. "Paschal Lamb, by God appointed, All our sins on Thee were laid; By Almighty Love anointed, Thou redemption's price hast paid. All Thy people are forgiven Through the virtue of Thy blood; Opened is the gate of heaven, Peace is made 'twixt man and God. " With the offering of the great Sacrifice, all the typical offeringsceased to have significance. The veil of the temple was rent when theLamb of God expired upon the cross, --sign to all that He had caused "thesacrifice and the oblation to cease. " [Illustration: THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST "In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblationto cease. " Dan. 9:27. ] [Illustration: THE RENT VEIL "The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. "Mark 15:38. ] The Messiah was to "confirm the covenant with many for one week, "filling out the seventy weeks allotted in God's merciful patienceespecially to the people of the Jews. Three and a half years of Christ'spersonal ministry on earth had been devoted to the chosen people. Now, after His ascension, He was still, in the persons of His disciples, topress the gospel of the new covenant especially upon the Jewishpeople--"to the Jew first, " and "beginning at Jerusalem. " [Illustration: PETER PREACHING IN THE HOUSE OF CORNELIUS "They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. "Acts 8:4. ] This last seven-year period, beginning in A. D. 27, ended inA. D. 34. By that time the opposition of the Jews was becomingexceedingly bitter. As a people they were rejecting again the divineinvitation extended by the risen Christ through His witnesses. AboutA. D. 34 Stephen was martyred. The same council that, againstall evidence, had rejected the Messiah, again rejected the appeal of theHoly Ghost shining visibly on Stephen's countenance. The believers in Jerusalem were driven out by persecution; and "theythat were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. " Acts8:4. The Gentiles gave heed in Samaria, and the Ethiopian received thegospel on the road to Gaza. The gospel message had fairly passed theboundaries of Jerusalem and was on its way to the "uttermost parts ofthe earth. " Though the seventy weeks cut off upon the Jewish people and upon theholy city had ended, to the world's end the gospel of Christ's salvationis for that people as well as for all other nations. The Ending of the 2300 Years It must not be forgotten that the angel was explaining to Daniel thevision and prophecy of the long prophetic period that was to reach tothe cleansing of the sanctuary at the time of the end. These events of the first seventy weeks of that period were "to seal upthe vision and prophecy. " Dan. 9:24. The shedding of the blood of thedivine Sacrifice "to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring ineverlasting righteousness, " set Heaven's seal to the vision. As surelyas the great Offering had been made, so surely the cleansing of thesanctuary would be accomplished by the ministry of our High Priest inheaven. And the exact fulfilment of the time schedule for this first portion ofthe prophetic period, set seal to the declaration that when the full2300 years should run out, the closing ministry of Christ would surelybegin in the heavenly sanctuary. From 457 B. C. , when the commandment of Artaxerxes to restoreJerusalem went forth, the measuring line of the 2300 years reaches tothe year A. D. 1844. In that year the time of the prophecy came. Then the cleansing of the sanctuary was to begin. The prophet John, in the Revelation, beheld the opening of this lastphase of the ministry of Christ in the most holy place of the temple ofGod. "The temple of God was opened in heaven, " he says, "and there wasseen in His temple the ark of His testament. " Rev. 11:19. The prophetheard voices saying, "The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, andthe time of the dead, that they should be judged. " Verse 18. Again we must quote Daniel's description of the opening of this ministryin the most holy place of the heavenly temple. He saw thrones ofjudgment set up. He saw the moving throne of the Almighty, with itswheels of naming glory, take its position for the final work of our HighPriest in the holy of holies above: "I beheld till the thrones were cast down [placed], and the Ancient ofdays did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His headlike the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheelsas burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him:thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times tenthousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books wereopened. " Dan. 7:9, 10. This was the scene enacted in the heavenly temple when the year 1844brought the judgment hour. Then began in heaven the work of theinvestigative judgment, or the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, during which the case of every individual will come in review beforeGod. When that work of investigation is finished, the ministry of Christ forsin will end, human probation will close, and our Lord will quickly comeas King of kings and Lord of lords, to gather His redeemed, while allsinners will be destroyed by "the brightness of His coming. " 2 Thess. 2:8. In the vision of Daniel 8, as the great apostasy was seen warringagainst God's truth, the question was asked, "How long shall be thevision, ... To give both the sanctuary and the host to be troddenunderfoot?" The answer was, in effect, In 1844 the cleansing of thesanctuary will begin in heaven, --the hour of God's judgment, that willgive God's answer to sin and apostasy. We are living in the great antitypical day of atonement, for which allheaven has been waiting. The end is at hand. And while that work isproceeding in heaven above, the Lord proclaims a special message onearth, lifting up again truths long trodden underfoot, and calling mento prepare for the coming of the Lord. _How Shall We Stand? "For the hour of His judgment is come. "_ "The judgment is set, the books have been opened; How shall we stand in that great day When every thought, and word, and action, God, the righteous Judge, shall weigh? "The work is begun with those who are sleeping, Soon will the living here be tried, Out of the books of God's remembrance, His decision to abide. "O, how shall we stand that moment of searching, When all our sins those books reveal? When from that court, each case decided, Shall be granted no appeal?" [Illustration: THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep thecommandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. " Rev. 14:12. ] [Illustration: THE GOSPEL COMMISSION "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. "Mark 16:15. ] A WORLD-WIDE MOVEMENT FORETOLD IN THE PROPHECY OF REVELATION 14 While the work of the judgment hour, or period, --the cleansing of thesanctuary, --is proceeding in the heavenly temple above, the Lord sendsto the world a special message of preparation for the coming of theLord. It would not be the divine way to let this solemn judgment in heavencome unheralded to men. Daniel's prophecy had fixed the time of itsbeginning; and the question asked in the prophet's hearing, "How longshall be the vision ... To give both the sanctuary and the host to betrodden underfoot?" suggested that when the time came, the truths of Godthat had been trodden underfoot through the ages would be lifted up andproclaimed anew to all the world. With the coming of the judgment hour, in the year 1844, there arose justsuch a work, a definite gospel movement, that has ever since beencarrying the message for the hour to the ends of the earth. The Way Prepared for the Rise of the Movement But there was a preliminary work to be done, to prepare the way for thedefinite advent movement and message. In the days of Israel of old, as the time for the cleansing of thesanctuary drew near, the people were forewarned of the approach of thesolemn hour. The day of atonement--"the tenth day of the seventhmonth"--was a typical hour of judgment. All the people were to preparetheir hearts for that great day. To this end, the Lord appointed the first day of the seventh month a dayof sounding of the trumpets. Lev. 23:24. The silver trumpets, pealingforth on that day, proclaimed to all that the day of atonement was nearat hand, when every case would be brought in review before themercy-seat by the ministry of the high priest in the most holy place ofthe earthly sanctuary. True to the type, as the year 1844 drew near, when the great antitypicalday of atonement was to open and the closing work of Christ to begin inthe most holy place of the heavenly temple, the trumpet call of theapproaching judgment hour was set pealing through all Christendom. Events of the closing years of the eighteenth century and the earlydecades of the nineteenth, had stirred up Bible students to give greaterattention to the study of the prophetic scriptures. It was seen thatsigns of the latter days were appearing, and that every line of historicprophecy pointed to the near approach of Christ's second coming. Here and there students of the Word saw that the 2300-year period ofDan. 8:14, as explained in the ninth chapter, would end soon; and somearrived at the correct date, and looked to the year 1844 as the timewhen the judgment hour would come. Witnesses were raised up in Europe--in Holland, Germany, Russia, and theScandinavian countries. Joseph Wolff, the missionary to the Levant, preached in Greece, Palestine, Turkey, Afghanistan, and other regionsthe coming of the judgment hour. William Miller and many associatespreached the message throughout America. Writing in the days just before 1844, Mourant Brock, a clergyman of theChurch of England, said: "It is not merely in Great Britain that the expectation of the near return of the Redeemer is entertained, and the voice of warning raised, but also in America, India, and on the continent of Europe. In America, about three hundred ministers of the word are thus preaching 'this gospel of the kingdom;' whilst in this country, about seven hundred of the Church of England are raising the same cry. "--_"Advent Tracts_, " _Vol. II, p. 135 (1844). _ Not all who joined in the awakening cry at this time explained theprophecies alike, or emphasized the definite year 1844 as the beginningof the hour of God's judgment; though in America, Europe, and Asia theclear message of the ending of the prophetic time in 1844 was proclaimedwith power by many voices. And as the time came, the world was ringingwith the call to prepare to meet the judgment hour, even as the hosts ofIsrael were called by trumpet peals to prepare for the typical day ofatonement. The nature of the event to come at the end of the 2300 years was notunderstood by these early heralds of the advent hope. The generalexpectation was that the judgment hour meant the end of the world andthe coming of the Lord. Though the word of prophecy indicated clearlythat there was a special work to be done on earth while the judgmenthour was proceeding in heaven, this was not clear to Bible students atthe time. So when the prophetic period ended and the Lord did not come, believers in the prophetic truths were disappointed and unbelieversscoffed. But the call to prepare for the judgment hour was the messagedue to the world at that time, and the awakening cry was raised on everycontinent. In the days of the Saviour's first advent, the disciples and thepopulace had proclaimed the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. They were at once disappointed; instead of enthroning Him as king, theywitnessed His crucifixion. But in proclaiming the coming of Zion's Kingto Jerusalem, they were fulfilling the prophecy that had been uttered, and were giving the message for that day, notwithstanding their mistakenview as to the events that would follow. Just so the trumpet call of the coming judgment hour was the message forthe days of 1844; and the message was given, attended by the power ofGod. When the hour was at hand, the providence of God raised up faithfulwitnesses to proclaim it. All this was preparatory to the rise of the definite advent movement ofthe prophecy, when the hour of God's judgment should begin. The Closing Work In vision, on the Isle of Patmos, the prophet John was given a view ofthe closing work of the gospel on earth, while the closing ministry ofChrist was proceeding in heaven above. The prophet wrote: "I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlastinggospel 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 worshipHim that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains ofwaters. " Rev. 14:6, 7. The message further warned against following the ways of the greatapostasy; and in the vision the prophet was shown people in all landstaking their stand at the call of the message. The angel described themin these words: "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep thecommandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. " Verse 12. Much as pictures appear to us when thrown in succession upon a screen, these scenes must have passed before the vision of the prophet. He sawthe coming of the hour, the rise of the movement, and its extension intoall lands; he heard the message sounding, and saw the kind of peopledoing the work--a people keeping "the commandments of God, and the faithof Jesus. " [Illustration: PAUL WRITING TO TIMOTHY FROM ROME "There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord ... Shall give me at that day: and ... Unto all them also that love Hisappearing. " 2 Tim. 4:8. ] Centuries had passed, after this word was written in the Book, when theflight of time at last brought the hour of the prophecy--the year 1844. That very year witnessed the rise of the definite advent movement whichis still proclaiming the very message of the prophecy to the world. It was in the year 1844, in New England, that a little group ofbelievers in the blessed hope of Christ's soon coming, saw clearly, fromtheir study of the Bible, that the New Testament platform of "thecommandments of God, and the faith of Jesus, " emphasized in thisprophecy of the judgment hour, meant the keeping of the fourthcommandment as well as the other nine. Thereupon they began to keep andto teach the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day of the week, made holyand blessed and commanded by God. One member of this group of commandment-keeping Adventists was FrederickWheeler, from whose dictation the following statement was prepared, fixing exactly the facts as to the time: "As a Methodist minister he was convinced of the advent truth by reading William Miller's works in 1842, and joined in preaching the first message [that of the judgment hour]. In March, 1844, he began to keep the true Sabbath, in Washington, N. H. "--_Review and Herald (Washington, D. C. ), Oct. 4, 1906. _ They were but a little band, those believers in New Hampshire, but thetime of the prophecy had come, and with the coming of the hour there wasthe nucleus of the movement forming, believers in the near coming of theLord, preaching the message of the prophecy, "The hour of His judgmentis come, " and keeping "the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. " From that small beginning has grown the movement that Seventh-dayAdventists stand for, spreading through all the world today. It was in the year following 1844 that Joseph Bates, of Massachusetts, aretired sea captain, and a preacher of the advent hope, began to keepthe Sabbath. Captain Bates wrote and published, and soon others, following his example, embraced the Bible Sabbath. As the Scripture teaching concerning the sanctuary was studied, lightcame flooding in. It was seen that the great prophetic period of Daniel8, which ended in 1844, marked the opening of Christ's ministry in themost holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, the work of the judgment hourin heaven; and there, plainly revealed in Revelation 14, was a specialgospel message to be carried to all the world while the judgment hourstill continued. The little company that began to keep the commandments of God asAdventist believers in 1844, did not understand that they were beginningthe definite movement foretold by the prophecy. They only determined toturn from traditions that had made void God's law, and to obey the lawof the Most High, whose servants they were. But in the light of the Scripture prophecy and of events, we can seeclearly the hand of God leading that little baud into the right pathwaywhen the year of 1844 came; and the work there begun has grown into theworld-wide movement of today. Nearly two thousand years before, it had been written in the "sure wordof prophecy" that when the hour of God's judgment came, a people keepingGod's commandments would arise and spread forth into all the world withthe last gospel message. The long prophetic period of Daniel 8 had fixedthe year 1844 as the time when the judgment hour would begin and whenthe people of the prophecy must appear. When the year came, that people appeared, keeping "the commandments ofGod, and the faith of Jesus. " When the hour struck, the work began. Thisadvent movement was born of God in fulfilment of prophecy. And themission of the movement is to lift up again the standard of truthsobscured by tradition and trodden underfoot, and to call all men to theNew Testament platform of the "commandments of God, and the faith ofJesus, " where every believing soul may find safe refuge in these closingmoments of the judgment hour in the courts above. [Illustration: A CHRISTIAN MOTHER EXHORTING HER DAUGHTER TO MARTYRDOM "Choose you this day whom ye will serve;... As for me and my house, wewill serve the Lord. " Joshua 24:15. ] THE JUDGMENT-HOUR MESSAGE THE GOSPEL FOR OUR DAY The gospel message for this time of the judgment hour is set forth inthe vision of Revelation 14: [Illustration: THE TWO BEASTS OF REVELATION 13 "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come. "Rev. 14:7. ] "I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlastinggospel 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 worshipHim that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains ofwaters. "And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of thewrath of her fornication. "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any manworship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 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 theholy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of theirtorment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nornight, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth themark of his name. "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep thecommandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. " Rev. 14:6-12. When this message has been heralded to all nations, according toprophecy the end will come, for the next scene brought before theprophet's vision was the coming of Christ to reap the harvest of theearth: "I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat likeunto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His handa sharp sickle. " Verse 14. The outline of the message given here reveals certain main features: 1. A Gospel Message It is not a new or another gospel. There is but one gospel. This messageis "the everlasting gospel" in terms that meet the situation in the timeof the judgment hour. The advent movement carries the blessed message offull salvation from sin by faith in Jesus Christ. 2. A Solemn Warning The message is God's final answer to the age-long perversions of Histruth. Even the warnings uttered vibrate with the saving grace andwinning power of God's love in Christ Jesus our Lord. In the vision of Daniel 8, the prophet was shown the working of apostasyin the latter times, as it "cast down the truth to the ground" and"practiced and prospered. " But in answer to the question, "How long?"the great prophetic period of the 2300 years was given, at the end ofwhich (in 1844) the judgment work in heaven was to begin. When thatwork is finished, Christ's glorious appearing will end the reign of sinand error. And while the closing judgment work is proceeding in heaven, thismessage of the judgment hour lifts up on earth the standard of truthstrodden underfoot, and the Lord utters His last warning against sin andapostasy. It is a terrible word that He speaks. Bengelius described itas-- "that threatening pronounced which is the greatest in all the Scriptures, and which shall resound powerfully from the mouth of the third angel. "--_"Introduction to Apocalypse, " Preface xxix (London, 1757). _ The Lord is in earnest with men in this hour when the judgment, nowpassing on the dead, must also soon seal the eternal destiny of all theliving. Hence the message challenges every soul to a decision. Looking forward to the time when this message should be due, John Wesleywrote:-- "Happy are they who make the right use of these divine messages. "--_"Notes on New Testament, " on Revelation 14. _ These warnings are part of the "everlasting gospel. " Whosoever, therefore, preaches the full gospel of Christ in these last days mustsound this solemn call. 3. A Call to Loyalty to God "Fear God, " is the call, "Worship Him. " In the preceding vision of thethirteenth chapter, the Lord had shown the prophet the work of anecclesiastical power, symbolized by a leopardlike beast, that was tospeak great things, and that was to persecute believers through longcenturies, warring against God's truth and His sanctuary. "All the worldwondered after the beast. " The prophet said, "All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are notwritten in the book of life of the Lamb. " Rev. 13:8. While worldly influence and the voice of popular religion exalt thisecclesiastical power and give glory to it, the gospel message calls allmen to worship God. "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come:and worship Him.... If any man worship the beast and his image, andreceive his mark, [I] ... The same shall drink of the wine of the wrathof God. " The issue, it is clear, involves the question of authority. Shall God berecognized as supreme? or shall this ecclesiastical power, whose riseand work were foretold in the prophecy, be recognized as the greatauthority? The Work of the Papal Power Any comparison between this leopard beast of Revelation 13 and the"little horn" of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, shows plainly that thesame power is represented in each. The same voice is heard "speakinggreat things, " the same persecuting spirit is shown, the same warfareagainst God's truth. It is the Roman Papacy, in its exaltation of humanauthority above the divine, that "lawless one" of Paul's prophecy, setting itself forth as God in the temple of God, treading underfoot theword and the law of the Most High, as foretold by Daniel: "He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear outthe saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws. " Dan. 7:25. Against the recognition of the assumed authority of this power, thegospel message of Revelation 14 sounds its solemn warning: "If any manworship the beast and his image, and receive his mark. " The Image to the Papacy What is this image? Plainly an image to the Papacy must be somereligious authority or federation not organically of the Papacy itself, but adopting papal principles and seeking to enforce these principles bycivil power, just as the Papacy has ever done, where possible. Thisdevelopment in likeness of the Papacy was shown the prophet in thelatter part of the vision of Revelation 13. He saw the image formed, andin vision witnessed its determined efforts to enforce upon men the mark, or sign, of the Papacy: "He exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeththe earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whosedeadly wound was healed.... And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, orin their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that hadthe mark, or the name of the beast. " Rev. 13:12-17. The Mark, or Sign, of Papal Authority The Roman Papacy sets forth the Sunday institution as the mark of theauthority of the church to substitute ecclesiastical tradition andcustom for the Word of God. Thus, Monsignor Ségur, in "Plain Talks aboutthe Protestantism of Today, " says: "The observance of Sunday by Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the church. "--_Page 213. _ It was to this change in the Sabbath by tradition, contrary to the plaincommand of God to keep holy the seventh day, that the famous Council ofTrent appealed when it gave Rome's answer to the Reformation cry of "TheBible and the Bible only. " The council had long debated the ground ofits answer. The historian says: "Finally, at the last opening on the eighteenth of January, 1562, their last scruple was set aside; the archbishop of Rheggio made a speech in which he openly declared that tradition stood above Scripture. The authority of the church could therefore not be bound to the authority of the Scriptures, because the church had changed Sabbath into Sunday, not by the command of Christ, but by its own authority. With this, to be sure, the last illusion was destroyed, and it was declared that tradition does not signify antiquity, but continual inspiration. "--_Dr. J. H. Holtzman, "Canon and Tradition, " p. 263. _ Ever since this memorable council, the Sunday institution has been heldforth as the mark of the power of the church to command religiousobservances. Thus, again, Keenan's "Doctrinal Catechism" says: "_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. "--_Page 174. _ The prophecy of Daniel declared that this power would "think" to changethe times and laws of the Most High; and the change of the Sabbathcommandment is set forth as the mark of the church's authority above thewritten law of the Most High. Most remarkable of all, Protestant organizations are defending theunscriptural observance of the humanly established first-day sabbath incontradiction to the law of God, which declares that "the seventh day isthe Sabbath of the Lord thy God. " And these organizations, in denial ofthe Protestant principle of religious liberty, are seeking power toenforce Sunday observance by civil law. But this is to make a very imageto the Roman Papacy--a church using the power of the state to enforcereligious observance. It was all foretold in the prophetic word. The prophet was shown (Rev. 13:11-17) this likeness or image to the Papacy--ecclesiasticalorganizations not of the Papacy itself, but following papal principlesin this matter--seeking to compel men to receive the mark of the papalapostasy. Against the workings of both the Papacy and this image to the Papacy, the last message of the "everlasting gospel" lifts its warning cry: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in hisforehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrathof God. " It is the time of the judgment hour, when God was to lift up thestandard of truths long trodden underfoot. In the heavenly sanctuaryChrist's closing judgment work is going forward, preparatory to Hiscoming in consuming glory to end the reign of sin. On earth the Lord issending the last gospel message to men, warning against sin and error, and calling all men to worship God, and to keep "the commandments ofGod, and the faith of Jesus. " The Sign of Jehovah's Authority God also has His sign, or mark, of authority. He bases His claims tosupreme authority upon the fact of His creative power. As Creator, Hisis the authority and the power. "The Lord is the true God.... He hath made the earth by His power. " Jer. 10:10-12. And the divinely established memorial of this creative power is the holySabbath. The Sabbath is the mark, or sign, of the true God: "Hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, thatye may know that I am the Lord your God. " Eze. 20:20. On one side is the mark, or sign, of apostasy from God; on the other themark, or sign, of loyalty to God. Which mark will men receive, as theissue is pressed upon every soul for decision? On which side shall westand? Under whose banner shall we be found when the judgment hourcloses? [Illustration: PILATE'S FATAL DECISION IN THE HOUR OF TRIAL "Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is calledChrist?" Matt. 27:22. ] The test that came to Pilate comes anew to men as Christ's messagepresses for acceptance. "What shall I do then with Jesus?" asked theRoman governor--and yielded to popular clamor. His fatal decision in thetime of testing warns us to decide for Christ and for the word of hissalvation now, in this hour of God's judgment. The message of Rev. 14:6-14 is going to all the world now. Every yearthousands of new voices join in telling it. Printing presses areprinting it in many languages. Schools and colleges in every continentare educating thousands of Seventh-day Adventist youth, keeping beforethem, as the highest aim of life, the hastening of the advent message tothe world. Sanitariums in many lands, while training medical missionaryevangelists, are at the same time ministering to the sick, and teachingthe principles of Bible health and temperance. The movement necessarilyemphasizes every principle of "the everlasting gospel, " while pressingupon all the solemn issue that loyalty to Christ now means to turn fromunscriptural tradition and custom to the commandments of God and thefaith of Jesus. However ancient the custom of observing Sunday, it isbut an innovation, setting aside the Word of God and the example ofJesus Christ. As St. Cyprian said: "Usage without truth is only anantiquated error. " The clear light of Holy Scripture now calls thebeliever away from the path of error to the way of light. "The older error is, it is the worse, Continuation may provoke a curse; If the Dark Age obscured our fathers' sight, Must their sons shut their eyes against the light?" --_Bishop Ken. _ In times past Christian believers have been unwittingly following thelead of the Papacy in this matter. The Lord holds no man accountable forlight that he did not have. Reformation is a progressive work. Of thepast we may say with Paul: "The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all meneverywhere to repent: because He hath appointed a day, in the which Hewill judge the world in righteousness. " Acts 17:30, 31. Now, with this "hour of God's judgment" already come, the entirecovering of papal tradition is to be torn aside, and when Jesus comes inglory, in every land will be found believers having the faith andkeeping the commandments of God. All this was shown to John on the Isle of Patmos, --the coming of thejudgment hour, the rise of the advent movement, and the heralding of thelast message to the nations. What John saw in vision nearly two thousand years ago, we see fulfillingbefore our eyes today. But it is not enough to see it; we must have apart in it, be a part of it. [Illustration: LUCIFER PLOTTING AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;... I will be like theMost High. " Isa. 14:13, 14] FOOTNOTES: [I] The use of a mark, or sign, to designate the divinity worshiped, iscommon in non-Christian religions. One may see the Hindu returning fromthe temple with the mark of Vishnu or other deity freshly painted uponthe forehead. Of the ancient usage, from which this Bible symbol of the"mark" is taken, Dr. John Potter says, in his "Antiquities of Greece:" "Slaves were not only branded with stigmata for a punishment of theiroffenses, but (which was the common end of these marks) to distinguishthem, in case they should desert their masters; for which purpose it wascommon to brand their soldiers; only with this difference, that whereasslaves were commonly stigmatized in their forehead, and with the name orsome peculiar character belonging to their masters, soldiers werebranded in the hand, and with the name or character of their general. After the same manner, it was likewise customary to stigmatize theworshipers and votaries of some of the gods: whence Lucian, speaking ofthe votaries of the Syrian goddess, affirms, 'They were all branded withcertain marks, some in the palms of their hands, and others in theirnecks: whence it became customary for all the Assyrians thus tostigmatize themselves. ' And Theodoret is of opinion that the Jews wereforbidden to brand themselves with stigmata [Lev. 19:28], because theidolaters by that ceremony used to consecrate themselves to their falsedeities. "The marks used on these occasions were various. Sometimes theycontained the name of the god, sometimes his particular ensign; suchwere the thunderbolt of Jupiter, the trident of Neptune, the ivy ofBacchus: whence Ptolemy Philopater was by some nicknamed Gallus, becausehis body was marked with the figures of ivy leaves. Or, lastly, theymarked themselves with some mystical number, whereby the god's name wasdescribed. Thus the sun, which was signified by the number DCVIII, issaid to have been represented by these two numeral letters XH (Conf. Martianus Capello). These three ways of stigmatizing are all expressedby St. John in the book of Revelation: 'And he causeth all, both smalland great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in theirright 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 ofhis name. '"--_Vol. I, pp. 65, 66 (London, 1728). _ [Illustration: SATAN ENTERS THE GARDEN OF EDEN "The wages of sin is death. " Rom. 6:23. ] THE ORIGIN OF EVIL The Beginning of the Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan The great controversy between good and evil, that has been waged onearth ever since man's fall, had its origin in heaven. Certain angelsrebelled against God and His government. "There was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against thedragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neitherwas their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was castout, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth thewhole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were castout with him. " Rev. 12:7-9. Thus came the forces of evil into this world, which have been workingthrough all the ages to draw men from allegiance to God, and to infuseinto human hearts the same spirit of disobedience which wrought the ruinof Satan and his angels. The Cause of the Downfall Christ stated the principle: "If therefore the light that is in thee bedarkness, how great is that darkness!" Matt. 6:23. The principle finds its utmost application in the great reversal, bywhich Lucifer, the light bearer in heaven, became Satan, the adversary, the prince of darkness. [Illustration: CHRIST AND NICODEMUS "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. " John3:3. ] In the pride and self-exaltation of Tyre, of old, the Lord sawmanifested the spirit of the god of this world; so, in declaring Hismessage of rebuke to the prince of Tyre, the Lord describes the causeand history of Satan's fall: "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God.... Thou art the anointedcherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holymountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stonesof fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wastcreated, till iniquity was found in thee.... Thine heart was lifted upbecause of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thybrightness. " Eze. 28:13-17. Likewise, in the swelling pride of Babylon the Lord recognized thespirit of the leader of the rebellious angels. In one of the messages toBabylon is this reference to the vaulting ambition of Lucifer in heaven: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer ["day-star, " margin], son ofthe morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken thenations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, Iwill exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon themount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascendabove the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. " Isa. 14:12-14. Lucifer, his powers now perverted to evil, deceived many of the angels, persuading them to join him in rebellion against the government of God;with the result that Satan and all his host were cast out. Christ said, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. " Luke 10:18. "Him the Almighty Power Hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky. " The Earth as the Battle Ground Then the great controversy which began in heaven was transferred to thisearth, and now centers around man. For "that old serpent, " the leader ofthe fallen angels, deceived man, and persuaded him to distrust God andto choose his own way in preference to God's way. Thus came sin anddeath into the world. And Satan, who had overcome man at the forbiddentree, became by his own usurpation and by man's perfidy, "the prince ofthis world. " But Christ gave himself to save man, to deliver him from the bondage ofsin, and to restore him to the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Thesame mighty power that overcame Satan and his angels in heaven is ableto overcome his power in human hearts and lives. The controversy isstill between Christ and Satan, and man's salvation or destruction isthe aim of the contending forces. [Illustration: THE REDEMPTION PRICE "That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. " Heb. 2:14. ] There is no neutral ground. Every soul must choose as to which side hewill yield allegiance. In this choice lies his eternal destiny. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, hisservants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or ofobedience unto righteousness?" Rom. 6:16. Therefore the Lord pleads with men, "Choose life. " Every soul thatchooses life has the promise of it, for Christ "is able ... To save themto the uttermost that come unto God by Him. " Heb. 7:25. The Judgment upon Satan From the time of Satan's rebellion it was assured, by the veryomnipotence of God, that there would come a last judgment when evilwould be destroyed from the universe. This execution of judgment uponthe fallen angels is thus referred to by Jude: "The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their ownhabitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness untothe judgment of the great day. " Verse 6. The evil spirits themselves know that this day is coming. When Christwas about to cast certain of them out of one who was possessed, theycried out, "Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?" Matt. 8:29. Though the judgment of that last day was originally set for Satan andhis angels, unrepentant men will have a part in it, because they havejoined Satan in his lawless rebellion. To the wicked it will be said: "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for thedevil and his angels. " Matt. 25:41. Satan sees that the day is hastening; and the shorter the time in whichto work, the greater his fury in seeking to draw souls to perdition. The warning comes to us in these last days: "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil iscome down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hathbut a short time. " Rev. 12:12. Christ's second coming ends the reign of Satan in this world. The wickedare slain by the consuming glory of Christ's coming (2 Thess. 2:8); andthe righteous are taken to heaven, beyond the reach of Satan's arts (1Thess. 4:16, 17). The archenemy and his angels are thus left upon anearth devoid of human beings. Here he is chained for a thousand years, in this pit of desolation (Rev. 20:2, 5), his only companions the angelswho fell with him, his only occupation the contemplation of the ruin hehas wrought and the destruction that still awaits him. By the second resurrection--that of the wicked dead, after the thousandyears--Satan is again set free to ply his arts upon his subjects. As theholy city comes down out of heaven from God, with all the saints, Satangathers his angels and all the forces of the lost of all the ages, tomake an assault upon the city. The result was shown to the prophet invision: "They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of thesaints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out ofheaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceiveth them was castinto the lake of fire. " Rev. 20:9, 10. That is the fate awaiting the author of sin. In the account of Satan'spride and self-exaltation, uttered by the prophet in the message toTyre, there occurs also this prophecy of the utter destruction thatawaits him, when he shall bring his forces against the city of God inthat last conflict: "I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them thatbehold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall beastonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be anymore. " Eze. 28:18, 19. This is the final victory of Christ over evil, in the great controversythat began in heaven. Satan exalted himself--and lost. Christ humbledHimself, even unto the death--and won the eternal triumph. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, Healso Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He mightdestroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. " Heb. 2:14. [Illustration: JESUS BY THE SEA "O Galilee, sweet Galilee, What mem'ries rise at thought of thee!"] [Illustration: SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR "When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiarspirits, ... Should not a people seek unto their God?" Isa. 8:19. ] [Illustration: SATAN'S FIRST LIE "Ye shall not surely die. " Gen. 3:4. ] SPIRITUALISM: ANCIENT AND MODERN The essential claim of Spiritualism is its assertion of power to holdcommunication with the spirits of the dead; or rather, it claims to havedemonstrated that really there is no death. "There is no death; What seems so is transition. " The late Prof. Alfred Russel Wallace, the English scientist, said ofSpiritualism:-- "It demonstrates, as completely as the fact can be demonstrated, that the so-called dead are still alive. "--_"On Miracles and Modern Spiritualism" (London, 1875), p. 212. _ First Declaration of the Doctrine In the very first book of the Bible is a similar claim: "Ye shall notsurely die. " Gen. 3:4. But this declaration, while recorded in the Scriptures, is not the wordof God. The Lord had declared to man that disobedience would bringdeath. But Satan, as the tempter in Eden, caused the woman to doubt theword of God: "The serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surelydie. " And the woman believed the tempter rather than God, and so sinnedagainst the Creator. Having tempted man to disobedience, so bringing death into the world, what more natural, in the course of deception, than to endeavor topersuade the human family that, after all, there is no death; that whatappears so is only an introduction to fuller life and activity? "Yeshall not surely die. " [Illustration: PHARAOH'S SORCERERS COUNTERFEITING THE WORK OF GOD "Now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with theirenchantments. " Ex. 7:11. ] As mankind departed from right and lost the knowledge of God, deadheroes were deified as gods, and much of the pagan worship consisted insacrifices to the spirits of the dead, supposed to be living still andconcerned with affairs in the land of the living. When Israel fell awayfrom God and joined the Moabites in the worship of Baal-peor, the recordsays of the nature of the service: "They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices ofthe dead. " "Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters untodevils. " Ps. 106:28, 37. Instead of dealing with the spirits of the dead, the idolatrousworshipers were really putting themselves in direct touch with theagencies of Satan, the fallen angels. Divine Warnings This explains the severity of the divine warnings against the ancientpractice of necromancy, or mediumship. The Lord said: "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God. " Lev. 19:31. [Illustration: DEMONISM IN THE DAYS OF CHRIST "He said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. " Mark 5:8. ] "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or hisdaughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or anobserver of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or aconsulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For allthat do these things are an abomination unto the Lord. " Deut. 18:9-12. The ancient séance, where the living sought unto the dead for knowledge, was denounced by the prophet Isaiah: "When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spiritsand unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a peopleseek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto thedead?" Isa. 8:19, A. R. V. "To the law and to the testimony!" the prophet cries. To seek unto thedead for knowledge is to turn from the law and the testimony, and totake the counsel of the direct agencies of Satan, the great deceiver. Modern Spiritualism What Spiritualism is may best be understood by the prophetic warningsconcerning the revival of this great deception in the last days. Theapostle spoke of these days as a time when seducing spirits would leadmany away from the faith: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shalldepart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines ofdevils. " 1 Tim. 4:1. This deceptive working is an indication of the nearness of Christ'ssecond coming: "Whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power andsigns and lying wonders. " 2 Thess. 2:9, A. R. V. True to the sure word, now that the last days have come, there hasarisen the movement of modern Spiritualism, with its signs and wonders, purporting to be wrought by the spirits of the dead. Professor Wallacesays: "Modern Spiritualism dates from March, 1848; it being then that, for the first time, intelligent communications were held with the unknown cause of the mysterious knockings and other sounds similar to those which had disturbed the Mompesson and Wesley families in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. "--_"On Miracles and Modern Spiritualism" (London, 1875), p. 146. _ It was in Hydeville, N. Y. , in the family of Mr. Fox, that the moderncult originated, it being found that by mysterious but clear sounds ofknocking, unseen intelligences were able to communicate answers toquestions asked. The rapidity of the spread of the great deception wasremarkable. One of the Fox sisters, Mrs. A. Leah Underhill, wrote: "Since that day, starting from a small country village of western New York, Spiritualism has made its way--against tremendous obstacles and resistance, but under an impulse and a guidance from higher spheres--round the civilized globe. Starting from three sisters, two of them children, and the eldest a little beyond that age, ... Its ranks of believers, privately or publicly avowed, have grown within thirty-six years to millions. "--_"The Missing Link in Modern Spiritualism, " Introduction. _ Many at the time thought, as have many since, that the "rappings" withwhich the manifestations began were caused by some trickery on the partof the Fox sisters, but men of unimpeachable standing and intelligencecertified to the contrary. Horace Greeley, famous editor of the New York_Tribune_, wrote in his paper that the sisters had visited him in hishome and courted the fullest investigation as to "the allegedmanifestations from the spirit world. " As the result of hisobservations, he wrote: "Whatever may be the origin or the cause of the 'rappings, ' the ladies in whose presence they occur do not make them. We tested this thoroughly and to our entire satisfaction. "--_Id. , pp. 160, 161. _ It was no mere sleight of hand that launched this cult upon the world asthe last days came. Beyond all the physical manifestations, thereligious idea in Spiritualism has leavened the religious thought ofmillions. No one can deny that the basic idea is the one that theserpent promulgated in Eden, "Ye shall not surely die. " Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten, another of the Fox sisters, says of thediscovery of 1848: "On the night of the thirty-first of March, 1848, we found beyond a shadow of a doubt or peradventure, that death had no power over the spirit.... In a word, we found our so-called dead were all living. "--_"Nineteenth Century Miracles" (Manchester, England), p. 554. _ [Illustration: THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT One of the historical settings of Spiritualism. A poor woman accused byher neighbors of practicing witchcraft. ] Now the Scriptures teach plainly what these agencies in Spiritualism arenot, and what they are. What They Are Not They are not the spirits of the dead communicating messages to theliving. In one of the earliest written portions of Holy Scripture, the Lorddeclared plainly that the dead have no knowledge of the living: "He passeth: Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. Hissons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, buthe perceiveth it not of them. " Job 14:20, 21. The dead have no part in any communications with the living on earth: "Neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is doneunder the sun. " Eccl. 9:6 What They Are Already we have told what they are in quoting the warnings of prophecyconcerning the special deceptions of Satan in the last days. "The working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. " 2Thess. 2:9. "Seducing spirits. " 1 Tim. 4:1. And as they were shown to the prophet John in a vision of the very end, he declared: "They are the spirits of devils, working miracles. " Rev. 16:14. These are the agencies through which come the supernaturalmanifestations of Spiritualism. It is a terrible deception that leadsmen and women to seek to satanic agencies, supposing that they arecommunicating with the spirits of their dead friends. Satan and hisangels can readily simulate the personality of the dead, and so deceivethose who disobey God in seeking to the dead for knowledge. The Climax of Deception That the marvels of Spiritualism would increase as the end nears, wasplainly taught by our Saviour in describing the workings of Satan justbefore the second advent. He left us the warning: "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there;believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it werepossible, they shall deceive the very elect. " Matt. 24:23, 24. Evidently, then, by the miracle-working power that he possesses, Satanwill work mighty deceptions through both human and supernaturalagencies. And the crowning deception will be his own manifestation asthe Promised One, simulating Christ's second coming. But the power andglory that will fill all earth and the heavens at Christ's coming, cannot be copied by Satan, with all his miracle-working skill. That iswhy it is so important that we understand the Bible teaching as to thenature and manner of Christ's second advent. The doctrine of the silent, secret, mystical coming is all abroad in the world, the teaching exactlycalculated to prepare the way for Satan's purposes of deception. Therefore Christ forewarns us: "Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secretchambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son ofman be. " Matt. 24:25-27. The teachings of ancient theosophy and spiritualism--the mysticism ofthe East--have been permeating Christendom in recent years. Mme. JeanDelaire, writing in a London review, said some years ago: "India has apparently still a mission to fulfil, for her thought is slowly beginning to mold the thought of Europe and of America; our keenest minds are today studying her philosophy; our New Theology is founded upon the old, old Vedanta. "--_National Review, September, 1908, p. 131. _ This flood of ancient spiritualism from the East has come aboutaccording to Isaiah's prophecy of things that were to "come to pass inthe latter days:" "Thou hast forsaken Thy people the house of Jacob, because they arefilled with customs from the East, and are soothsayers like thePhilistines. " Isa. 2:6, A. R. V. In 1909 one of the leading representatives of theosophical thought, Mrs. Annie Besant, of India, toured America with the message of a comingmessiah. She announced: "My message is very simple: 'Prepare for the coming Christ. ' We stand at the cradle of a new subrace, and each race or subrace has its own messiah. Hermes is followed by Zoroaster; Zoroaster by Orpheus; Orpheus by Buddha; Buddha by Christ. We now await with confidence a manifestation of the Supreme Teacher of the world, who was last manifested in Palestine. Everywhere in the West, not less than in the East, the heart of man is throbbing with the glad expectation of the new avatar. " The leaven of the spiritualistic philosophy has been working its waythrough Christendom during this generation. We see clearly that the evilone is preparing the way for his final work of deception. [Illustration: HOME OF THE FOX FAMILY, HYDESVILLE, N. Y. Spiritualism originated in this house March 31, 1848. ] [Illustration: "HE IS RISEN" "Because I live, ye shall live also. " John 14:19. COPYRIGHT, STANDARD PUB. CO. ] [Illustration: MARY MEETS HER RISEN LORD "He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. " John11:25. ] LIFE ONLY IN CHRIST MAN'S NATURE AND STATE IN DEATH A wide-open door for Spiritualism is afforded by the teaching that manhas life in himself--immortality by nature; and that death is not reallydeath, but another form of life. The Scriptures close this door of false hope, teaching us that man ismortal, that death is really death, and that immortality is the gift ofGod through Christ by the resurrection from the dead. Clearly and definitely the Bible teaches that God only has immortality, styling Him "the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lordof lords; who only hath immortality. " 1 Tim. 6:15, 16. This scripture disposes of every idea that man is immortal by nature, and opens the way for a consideration of the Scripture teachingconcerning man's nature, his state in death, and the promise of life andimmortality in Christ. Man by Nature Mortal The word "mortal, " as used in that ancient question by Eliphaz, describes man's nature: "Shall mortal man be more just than God?" Job 4:17. In the creation, life was conditional upon the creature's relation toChrist the Creator, in whom all things consist: "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made thatwas made. In Him was life. " John 1:3, 4. He was, and is, as the psalmist says, "the fountain of life. " Cut offfrom vital connection with Him, there could be no continuance of life. The Lord warned Adam that his life was conditional upon obedience. "Inthe day that thou eatest thereof, " He said of the forbidden tree, "thoushalt surely die. " Gen. 2:17. It was a declaration that man was notimmortal, but was dependent upon God for life. When by unbelief and sin man rejected God, the sentence--deatheternal--must have been executed had not the plan of salvationintervened. But as the stroke of divine justice was falling upon thesinner, the Son of God interposed Himself and received the blow. "He wasbruised for our iniquities. " In the divine plan, the great sacrifice forman was as sure then as when, later, it was actually made on Calvary. Christ was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. " And there Adam, the sinner, now with a fallen human nature, which wouldbe perpetuated in his descendants in all subsequent time, was granted anextension of life, every moment of which, whether for him or for hisposterity, was the purchase of Christ by His own death, in order that inthis time of probation man might find forgiveness of sin and assuranceof life to come. Adam was not created immortal, but was placed onprobation, and had he continued faithful, the gift of immortality musthave been given him at some later time, after he had passed the test. Asthe original plan is carried out through Christ, "the second Adam, " thegift of immortality is bestowed finally upon all who pass the test ofthe judgment and are found in Christ, in whom alone is life. Having fallen, Adam, now possessed of a sinful nature, must die. "Thewages of sin is death. " Rom. 6:23. It was impossible that sin or sinnersshould be immortalized in God's universe. So, inasmuch as the tree oflife in Eden had been made the channel of continuance of life to man, the Lord said: "Now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, andeat, and live forever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from thegarden of Eden. " Gen. 3:22, 23. This negatives the idea that there could ever be an immortal sinner, whoshould mar God's creation forever. Sin works out nothing but death. "Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. " James 1:15. Fallenhimself, Adam could bequeath to his posterity only a fallen, mortalnature. So began the sad history summed up in the text: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. " Rom. 5:12. Mortality Universal Mortality is written upon all creation. Ages ago the wise man wrote, "There is one event unto all: ... They go to the dead. " Eccl. 9:3. Humanhearts everywhere and in all time have cried out against theremorselessness of the great enemy. "Do people die with you?" was thequestion met by Livingstone in the untraveled wilds of Africa. "Have youno charm against death?" The Greek as well as the barbarian confessed tothe helplessness of man before the great enemy. Centuries before Christ, Sophocles the Athenian wrote: "Wonders are many! and none is there greater than man, who Steers his ship over the sea, driven on by the south wind, Cleaving the threatening swell of the waters around him. "He captures the gay-hearted birds; he entangles adroitly Creatures that live on the land and the brood of the ocean, Spreading his well-woven nets. Man full of devices! "Speech and swift thought free as wind, the building of cities; Shelters to ward off the arrows of rain, and to temper Sharp-biting frost--all these hath he taught himself. Surely Stratagem hath he for all that comes! Never the future Finds him resourceless! Deftly he combats grievous diseases, Oft from their grip doth he free himself. Death alone vainly-- Vainly he seeks to escape; 'gainst death he is helpless. " --_Chorus from Antigone. _ What unspeakable pathos in the cry of humanity's helplessness beforedeath, the great enemy! But when Adam went out of Eden, it was with theassurance of life from the dead through the promised Seed, if faithful. It is the message of the one gospel for all time--everlasting life inChrist. [Illustration: JESUS RAISING THE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAIN "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. " Rom. 6:23. ] "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, thatwhosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlastinglife. " John 3:16. As there is none other name under heaven by which men can be saved, sothere is no other way of everlasting life or immortality, save in ChristJesus our Lord. When Immortality is Bestowed Christ said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth inMe, though he were dead, yet shall he live. " John 11:25. He has turned death, that would have been eternal, into a little time ofsleep, from which he will awaken the believer. In the resurrection ofthe last day immortality is bestowed, "in a moment, in the twinkling ofan eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the deadshall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For thiscorruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put onimmortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought topass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. " 1Cor. 15:52-54. "There is a blessed hope, More precious and more bright Than all the joyless mockery The world esteems delight. "There is a lovely star That lights the darkest gloom, And sheds a peaceful radiance o'er The prospects of the tomb. " Not until the resurrection, "at the last trump, " is immortalityconferred upon the redeemed. Note that it is not something immortalputting on immortality; but this "mortal" puts on immortality. Markthis: there is no life after death, save by the resurrection. "If therebe no resurrection of the dead, ... Then they also which are fallenasleep in Christ are perished. " 1 Cor. 15:13-18. This resurrection, as stated by the apostle Paul, is not at death, butin the last day, when Christ shall come, and all His children that arein their graves shall hear His voice. Jesus says: "This is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth theSon, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raisehim up at the last day. " John 6:40. That is why the coming of Christ has been the "blessed hope" of all theages. Man's State in Death Between death and the resurrection, the dead sleep. Jesus declares thatdeath is a sleep. Lazarus was dead, but Jesus said, "Our friend Lazarussleepeth. " John 11:11. It is the language of Inspiration throughout. Thepatriarch Job said: "Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where ishe? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and driethup: so man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more [theheavens will be rolled back as a scroll at Christ's coming], they shallnot awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. " Job 14:10-12. This hope of the resurrection at the last day was no indistinct hope tothe believer in God's promises. The patriarch continued: "If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed timewill I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answerthee: Thou wilt have a desire to the work of Thine hands. " Verses 14, 15. Job tells us of the place of his waiting for the Life-giver's call: "IfI wait, the grave is mine house. " Job 17:13. It is thence that Christwill call His own when He comes. "The hour is coming, in the which allthat are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth. " John5:28, 29. Death is an unconscious sleep. It must of necessity be so; for death isthe opposite of life. Therefore there is no consciousness of the passingof time to those who sleep in the grave. It is as if the eyes closed indeath one instant, and the next instant, to the believer'sconsciousness, he awakens to hear the animating voice of Jesus callinghim to glad immortality, and to see the angels catching up his lovedones to meet Jesus in the air. These scriptures, out of many, will suffice to show that man is notconscious in death: "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day histhoughts perish. " Ps. 146:4. "The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything.... Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished;neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is doneunder the sun. " Eccl. 9:5, 6. Death is a sleep, which will continue until the resurrection. Then theLord will bring forth from the dust the same person who was laid away indeath. Some have said that this Bible doctrine of the sleep of the dead untilthe resurrection is a gloomy one. Popular tradition thinks of theblessed dead as going at once to heaven, which, say some, is a beautifulthought. But they forget that the same teaching consigns theirunbelieving friends to immediate torment--and that, too, while awaitingthe judgment of the last day. No; the Bible teaching is the cheering doctrine, the "blessed hope. " Allthe faithful of all the ages are going into the kingdom together. Thisblessed truth appeals to the spirit that loves to wait and share joysand good things with loved ones. Of the faithful of past ages theapostle says: "These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received notthe promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that theywithout us should not be made perfect. " Heb. 11:39, 40. They are waiting, that all together the saved may enter in. And the timeof waiting is but an instant to those who "sleep in Jesus. " David was a man of God, but the apostle Peter, speaking by the Spirit onthe day of Pentecost, declared to the people of the city of David: "Heis both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.... For David is not ascended into the heavens. " Acts 2:29-34. They withoutus have not been made perfect. They are all awaiting that glad daytoward which the apostle Paul turned the last look of his mortal vision: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept thefaith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and notto me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. " 2 Tim. 4:7, 8. What joy in that day to march in through the gates into the eternalcity, with Adam, and Abel, and Noah, and Abraham, and Paul, and all thefaithful, and the loved ones of our own home circles, and dear comradesin service, every one clothed with immortality, the gift of God inChrist Jesus our Redeemer! Horatius Bonar's hymn sings the joyful hopeas the loved are laid away to "sleep in Jesus:" "Softly within that peaceful resting place We lay their wearied limbs, and bid the clay Press lightly on them till the night be past, And the far east give note of coming day. "The shout is heard, the Archangel's voice goes forth; The trumpet sounds, the dead awake and sing; The living put on glory; one glad band, They hasten up to meet their coming King. " In a word, the Scripture teaches that God alone has immortality, thatman is mortal, that death is a sleep, that life after death comes onlyby the resurrection of the last day, that the righteous are then givenimmortality. Further, the Scripture teaches that later there will be aresurrection of the unjust, not unto life, but unto death, the seconddeath, from which there is no release. Every doctrine of Scripture and of the gospel is in accord with thisBible teaching as to man's nature and his state in death. But thetraditional view of the natural immortality of the soul and of life indeath, nullifies the Bible doctrines of life only in Christ, and theresurrection, and the judgment, and the giving of rewards at Christ'scoming, and the final judgment upon the wicked and its execution. A Few Questions Briefly Considered _1. The "Living Soul"_ Says one, "Did not the Lord put into man an immortal soul?" No; the Scripture says: "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed intohis nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. " Gen. 2:7. The soul was not put into the man, but when the life-giving breath wasbreathed into his nostrils, the man himself became a living soul, aliving being. The ordinary version (King James) gives "a living soul" inthe margin of Gen. 1:30, showing that the same expression is used of allthe animal creation in the Hebrew text. The famous Methodistcommentator, Dr. Adam Clarke, says on this phrase, "living soul:" "A general term to express all creatures endued with animal life, in any of its infinitely varied gradations. " _2. Are "Soul" and "Spirit" Deathless?_ "Are not the soul and spirit said to be deathless?" questions another. No. One writer says of the Scriptural use of the words "soul" and"spirit:" "The Hebrew and Greek words from which they are translated, occur in the Bible, as we have seen, seventeen hundred times. Surely, once at least in that long list we shall be told that the soul is immortal, if this is its high prerogative. Seventeen hundred times we inquire if the soul is once said to be immortal, or the spirit deathless. And the invariable and overwhelming response we meet is, _Not once!"_--_"Here and Hereafter" by U. Smith, p. 65. _ On the contrary, the Lord declares, "The soul that sinneth, it shalldie. " Eze. 18:20. It means that the person who sins shall die; for thewords "soul, " "mind, " "heart, " and "spirit" are used to express life orthe seat of the affections or of the intellect. One may commend his soulto God, or his spirit to God (really his life into the keeping of God), until the great day of the resurrection. The word "soul" is used of allanimal life in New Testament usage, as well as in the Old; as, "Everyliving soul died in the sea. " Rev. 16:3. _3. The Thief on the Cross_ "Did not Christ promise the thief on the cross that he would be with Himthat day in Paradise?" No; for Paradise is where God's throne is, and the tree of life, and thecity of God, the capital of Christ's kingdom; and three days laterChrist had not yet ascended to the Father. "Touch Me not, " He said toMary after His resurrection; "for I am not yet ascended to My Father. "John 20:17. The dying thief, therefore, was not with Him in Paradisethree days before. Nor did the thief's question suggest such a thought. His faith graspedChrist's resurrection, the resurrection of His children, and the comingkingdom; and that day on the cross, in the moment of the deepesthumiliation of the Son of God, the repentant sinner cried, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. " And the Saviour replied, "Verily I say unto thee today"--this day, when the world scoffs and thedarkness presses upon Me, this day I say it--"shalt thou be with Me inParadise. " Luke 23:42, 43. The punctuation that makes it read, "Today shalt thou be with Me inParadise, " is not a part of the sacred text, and puts the Saviour'spromise in contradiction with the facts of the whole narrative and theteaching of Scripture. _4. The Rich Man and Lazarus_ "Then there is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, " one says, "where Lazarus and Dives are talking, though dead--Lazarus in Abraham'sbosom and the rich man in torment. " But that is a parable; and no one can set the figures of a parableagainst the facts of positive Scripture. In parables, lessons are oftentaught by figurative language and imaginary scenes which could never bereal, though the lesson is emphasized the more forcefully. In the parable of Judges 9, the trees are represented as holding acouncil and talking with one another. No one mistakes the lesson of theparable, or supposes that the trees actually talked. So in the parableof the rich man and Lazarus, the lesson is taught that uprightness inthis life, even though under deepest poverty, will be rewarded in thefuture life; while uncharitable selfishness will surely bring one toruin and destruction. In the face of the Bible teaching, no one can turn this parable intoactual narrative, representing that the saved in glory are now lookingover the battlements of heaven and talking with the lost writhing beforetheir eyes in agony amid the flames of unending torment. This is not thepicture that the Scriptures give us of heaven, nor of the state of thedead, nor of the time and circumstances of the final rewards orpunishments. [Illustration: From an inscription on an Egyptian monument, representingthe weighing of a soul after death. ] [Illustration: LOT FLEEING FROM SODOM "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them ... Are set forthfor an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. " Jude 7. ] [Illustration: SATAN'S FINAL ASSAULT UPON THE KINGDOM OF GOD "They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of thesaints about. " Rev. 20:9] THE END OF THE WICKED So soon as ever Lucifer introduced sin into heaven, it was certain, inthe righteousness and omnipotence of God, that the day would come whensin would be blotted out of the perfect creation. Inspiration tells usthat a time of final reckoning with sin was assured when Satan and ahost of the angels with him lifted up the standard of mysteriousrebellion against the law and harmony of heaven: "The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their ownhabitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness untothe judgment of the great day. " Jude 6. Punishment for sin is assured. By listening to Satan's temptation, manbecame involved in sin. Then a divine Saviour was provided, through whomevery soul might escape from the kingdom of darkness, and find salvationand life. But it is inevitable that those who refuse the way of lifeand reject the salvation of God, must finally be involved with Satan andsin in the day when sin is visited. By Adam's sin, all his posterity inherited a sinful, dying nature. "InAdam all die, " the Scripture says. But not a soul in the last day canplead Adam's sin and the inheritance of a fallen nature as an excuse forhis own transgressions. By Christ's gift of His life for us, the sinner, with all his weaknesses, may become a partaker of the divine nature, andescape the power of the fleshly nature. By virtue of Christ's death forall, all recover from the death they die in Adam--the first death. Allhave a resurrection, the unjust as well as the just; and then every onegives account of himself to God, according to his own life and the usehe has made of the light given him of God. The Two Resurrections The Scriptures emphasize the fact that there are to be tworesurrections. Paul, before Felix, declared his belief the same as thatof all the prophets, --"that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. " Acts 24:15. Jesus declared it in these words: "The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hearHis voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto theresurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto theresurrection of damnation. " John 5:28, 29. The first resurrection is that of the just, at Christ's second coming. It is written of this: "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: onsuch the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of Godand of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. " Rev. 20:6. After this, the righteous return with Christ to heaven, and remain thereduring the thousand years. The wicked living at the time of His comingare slain by the consuming glory of His presence; and they, with all theunjust of all the ages, await in the grave the second resurrection, atthe end of the thousand years. "The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years werefinished. " Rev. 20:5. At the end of the thousand years the city of God, with the saved, comesdown out of heaven and settles upon the earth. Then the wicked are raised--the second resurrection. Under Satan'sleadership they march up to attack the city of God. How naturally, weinfer, may Satan persuade the lost that, after all, he was right when hedeclared to Adam, "Ye shall not surely die. " Here are all his servantsof all the ages--living. Why may they not be immortal, beyond the powerof God to destroy? The old battle that began in heaven is on again. Satan, the archrebel, marshals his hosts of fallen angels and themyriads of fallen men, his legions stretching wide over the earth. "They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of thesaints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out ofheaven, and devoured them. " Rev. 20:9. "This is the second death, " the Scripture says. Verse 14. The great dayhas come when the sinner receives his wages--death--and sin isdestroyed. The Punishment Everlasting "The wages of sin is death. " And the second death is everlasting. Thereis no resurrection from this death. The Scriptures describe it in termsthat affirm utter destruction, resulting in nonexistence. "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence ofthe Lord, and from the glory of his power. " 2 Thess. 1:9. "Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comethshall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave themneither root nor branch. " Mal. 4:1. "They shall be ashes, " the third verse of this chapter says. Everyexpression possible to language is employed to denote utter destruction, everlasting death. That means nonexistence. Sin and sinners are blottedout. The prophet Obadiah, speaking of the visitation upon theheathen--the unbelieving--in "the day of the Lord, " says: "They shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be asthough they had not been. " Verse 16. This is the utter end of sin and all sinners, and of the author of sin. Root and branch they are gone, "as though they had not been. " All thisis in the description of the last judgment, so fully set forth in thetwentieth chapter of Revelation. "Death and hell [_hades_, the grave] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. " Rev. 20:14. Death and the prison house ofdeath are gone forever. Sin is wiped out of a perfect universe, and noteven a trace will remain of the place of the fiery judgment. "Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shaltdiligently consider his place, and it shall not be. " Ps. 37:10. The fires of the last day purify the earth, which comes forth inEden-like beauty. In the whole creation of God there is no sin, nosinner, but all is harmonious again, as before sin entered the universe. The prophet was given a view of this glorious consummation, and thetriumph of the Son of God over sin. "Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under theearth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard Isaying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him thatsitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. " Rev. 5:13. Some Opinions Briefly Considered The doctrine of the immortality, the indestructibility, of the soul isresponsible for the traditional view that the wicked are kept alive inunending misery through all eternity. How different this picture fromthat which Holy Scripture gives of the second death! Terrible and awfulit is, but it results in the utter destruction of sin and sinners, leaving a clean universe. The doctrine of the immortality of the soulcame in from pagan philosophy. Herodotus, "the father of history, " said: "The Egyptians ... Were also the first to broach the opinion, that the soul of man is immortal. "--_Book 2, par. 123. _ Evidently, they passed the doctrine on to the Greeks. Its origin was inthe words of Satan in Eden, "Ye shall not surely die. " The pagans hadtheir nether world of spirits, or their transmigration of souls with itsceaseless round from body to body, and the Roman Catholics theirpurgatory with its purifying fires. From these sources and not from theWord of God, the traditional view has come into modern Christendom, representing the Lord as unable or unwilling to end sin, but keeping thesinner alive throughout eternity, to suffer torture that can bring noremedy. The Scripture teaching is far otherwise. However, there arecertain Scripture phrases that emphasize the severity of the punishmentof sin, which are often taken as supporting the doctrine of never-endingconscious torment. _1. "Forever and Ever. "_--In Rev. 20:10 it is said that the devil andhis chief agencies "shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. "The phrase emphasizes the surety of their utter destruction. "Forever" means age-lasting, or life-lasting--so long as a thing existsby its nature. Thus in Ex. 21:6 the servant who loved his master and didnot wish to leave his service was to have his ear pierced, "and he shallserve him forever, " that is, without release as long as he lives. So thefiery judgment of that last day holds the wicked until life ends; thereis no release until life is consumed. _2. "Everlasting Punishment. "_--"These shall go away into everlastingpunishment. " Matt. 25:46. It is everlasting punishment, not everlastingpunishing. The punishment is everlasting death--"who shall be punishedwith everlasting destruction. " 2 Thess. 1:9. The truth of the utter destruction of sinners is awful enough, but itcommends itself to every thought of justice and mercy; for sin must becleansed from a perfect universe. But the unscriptural view ofeverlasting conscious torment that never reaches the point of fullpunishment, is unthinkable. Yet it is urged as a doctrine, and contendedfor as vital to Christianity. The following description is taken from a book written for children, entitled "The Sight of Hell. " It is printed in Dublin--for children. "Little child, if you go to hell, there will be a devil at your side to strike you. He will go on striking you every day, forever and ever, without ever stopping. The first stroke will make your body as bad as Job's, covered from head to foot with sores and ulcers. The second stroke will make your body twice as bad as the body of Job.... How then will your body be after the devil has been striking it every moment for a hundred million years without stopping?"--_Quoted in the London Present Truth, April 30, 1914. _ What a relief to turn from this to the Bible doctrine of the"everlasting destruction" of the second death, terrible though it be! _3. "Everlasting Fire, " "Eternal Fire, " "Unquenchable Fire. "_--All theseexpressions are used in describing the fiery judgment upon sin andsinners. The effect of the fire is everlasting and eternal, and by acommon usage in language the adjective that describes the effect isapplied to the agent by which the effect is wrought. A specific example of everlasting fire in the punishment of evil isgiven in Scripture. Sodom and Gomorrah, those wicked "cities of theplain, " were destroyed by a rain of fire from heaven. These cities, Inspiration says, "are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeanceof eternal fire. " Jude 7. The fire was everlasting, eternal, in itseffects. The cities of the plain were everlastingly consumed. But thefire went out when the destruction was complete. Unquenchable fire isfire that cannot be quenched. It consumes utterly, until nothing isleft; then it goes out of its own accord. _4. "Where Their Worm Dieth Not. "_--Jesus warned of the certaindestruction of sin and sinners in the fire of Gehenna; for this is theword translated "hell" in Mark 9:43. Hades, which is often translated "hell, " is the grave, not the place ofpunishment. Gehenna, here used of the place of punishment, was the nameof the valley where the refuse of Jerusalem was cast for burning. Themap of Jerusalem, in any ordinary Bible with maps, shows just outsidethe southern wall a gorge marked "Valley of Hinnom" (Gehenna). It washere that the people, in the olden times, had sacrificed their childrento Moloch. "In order to put an end to these abominations, Josiah polluted it with human bones and other corruptions. 2 Kings 23:10, 13, 14. "--_Hastings's "Dictionary of the Bible. "_ Here the fires consumed the refuse, and the fire and worms utterlydestroyed the carcasses of beasts flung into the place of destruction. It was regarded as a place accursed, and the smoldering fires becamesymbolical of the fires of the judgment. The use of this illustration, instead of arguing that the wicked arenever destroyed but always live, conveys the opposite idea. What wentinto the fires of Gehenna was utterly consumed, nothing being left. Thiswas used by Christ as a figure illustrative of the utter destruction ofthe unrepentant sinner in the day of visitation. This must suffice. The positive teaching of Holy Scripture is that sinand sinners will be blotted out of existence. There will be a cleanuniverse again when the great controversy between Christ and Satan isended. [Illustration: PETER DELIVERED FROM PRISON "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, anddelivereth them. " Ps. 34:7. ] [Illustration: DANIEL IN THE DEN OF LIONS "My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that theyhave not hurt me. " Dan. 6:22. ] ANGELS: THEIR MINISTRY The one verse of Scripture which, perhaps, most comprehensively sums upthe ministry of the angels of God, is this: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for themwho shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14. This scripture shows us how truly all heaven is engaged in working forthe salvation of this poor world, which has wandered from the fold ofGod. It will surely be a time of rejoicing among all the angelic hostwhen Christ, the Good Shepherd, brings back this lost world, cleansedfrom sin, once more to the fold of God's perfect creation. The angels rejoiced when this world was created. The Lord said to Job: "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?... When themorning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"Job 38:4-7. Before ever this world was created, or man upon it, the angels had beencreated by the eternal Son, in whom all things consist. For angels arenot redeemed men, neither will the redeemed in the world to come everbecome angels. Angels are a different order of beings from men, a higherorder in creation. We read: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thouvisitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thoucrownedst him with glory and honor. " Heb. 2:6, 7. In the life to come, by the wondrous power of Christ's transforminggrace, redeemed men are to be made equal to the angels, as Christstated: "Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; andare the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. " Luke20:36. This lifting of sinful man to an equality with the angels, at least inthe possession of life and immortality, is an illustration of the gospelprinciple, "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. " Rom. 5:20. But the declaration of equality with angels is a denial of identity withangels. Angels existed before man, and redeemed man will still be man, distinct from the angelic order, though the associate of angels in theservice of God. Attendants at the Throne of God When the prophet Isaiah was given a view of the heavenly temple, he sawdifferent orders of angels attending the throne of God: "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and Histrain filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had sixwings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered hisfeet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts. " Isa. 6:1-3. Ezekiel beheld them in glory, attending the moving throne of theAlmighty. "The living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of aflash of lightning. " Eze. 1:14. Daniel beheld the angelic host gathered in the most holy place of thetemple above, as the time came for the opening of the work of theinvestigative judgment, the cleansing of the sanctuary. Seeing thethrone of God set for this final work of Christ's ministry, the prophetsays: "Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times tenthousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books wereopened. " Dan. 7:10. God's Messengers The word "angel" means messenger. To and fro these angelic messengershave gone in the service of their Creator. A view of their ever-watchfulservice is given in the words of the psalmist: "Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do Hiscommandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word. " Ps. 103:20. Bearers of Tidings They visited Abraham's tent with warning of Sodom's overthrow. Genesis18. They visited Lot in the city, and urged him to get his family out. Genesis 19. As Jacob, in fear but repentance, was about to meet Esau, whom he haddeceived, "the angels of God met him. " Genesis 32. "This is God's host, "he said, and he knew that the God of Abraham and Isaac, and his God, also, had not forsaken him. At a discouraging time in the history of Israel, an angel appeared toGideon, bringing the message, "The Lord is with thee, " and calling himto the work of delivering his people. Judges 6. [Illustration: JACOB'S DREAM IN BETHEL "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for themwho shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14. ] As Daniel's prayer reached heaven, even while he still prayed, the angelGabriel "being caused to fly swiftly, " touched him, and said: "O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. Atthe beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I amcome to show thee. " Dan. 9:21-23. So close is the communication between heaven and earth. The gladdest tidings ever brought from heaven to earth since the promiseof the Deliverer to Adam in Eden, were brought by angels to theshepherds of Bethlehem. First, one angel appeared, saying: "I bring you good tidings of great joy.... For unto you is born this dayin the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. " Such tidings to earth could never be the mission of one lone angel, whenall heaven longed to cry the news to a lost world. "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hostpraising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earthpeace, good will toward men. " Luke 2:13, 14. Unseen in Halls of Government One incident related in the book of Daniel draws aside the curtain, andshows how angels doubtless often have worked unseen in kingly courts orhalls of legislation. Daniel had prayed for three weeks for light incertain matters that the angel Gabriel had begun to unfold to him. Whenat last the angel came, overpowering the prophet with the glory of hispresence, it was with a statement, first, of the reason for the delay inresponding to his prayer. The angel said: "From the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, andto chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am comefor thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me oneand twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came tohelp me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come tomake thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days. "Dan. 10:12-14. Messengers of Deliverance The story of deliverance wrought by angels is too long to tell. One needonly think of the angels' taking slow-moving Lot by the arms and settinghim out of Sodom (Genesis 19); of the angel finding Elijah under a bushin the desert, and first baking a cake for the hungry man beforespeaking the word to his discouraged heart (1 Kings 19); of Elishapraying that the young man's eyes might be opened to see that there weremore angels with them round about than all the Syrians encamped againstthem: "The Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, themountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. " 2Kings 6:17. An angel shut the mouths of the lions when Daniel was cast into theirden. Daniel 6. An angel smote off Peter's irons in the prison atJerusalem, opened the doors, and led him forth. Acts 12. Amid the angrywaves sweeping over the foundering ship in the Adriatic, Paul theapostle bade the despairing crew be of good courage, "for there stood byme this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not. " Acts 27:23, 24. All through the ages, the angels of God have been standing by. Daniel, and Peter, and Paul are dead; but the angels still live. "Are they notall ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall beheirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14. Guardian Angels That means that every child of God is under the guardianship of theangels. "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them. " Ps. 34:7. Thank God, we are never left alone. Every child of God has a guardianangel commissioned by the loving Father to watch over him. Christ said: "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say untoyou, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Fatherwhich is in heaven. " Matt. 18:10. This does not mean that trials never will come, or troubles. In themidst of the trial, the angel of the Lord will stand by to strengthenand to bring help from the God of all comfort. It was in the midst ofthe fiery furnace that the "form of the Fourth" appeared, walking withthe three Hebrew children--Jesus Himself treading the fiery way withthem. And when Jesus, in the days of His flesh, was sinking under thecrushing burden in Gethsemane, "there appeared an angel unto Him fromheaven, strengthening Him. " Luke 22:43. Our Saviour, who knows the comforting power of angel ministry, is theCaptain of the heavenly host, and has commissioned them all asministering spirits to the heirs of salvation. When He comes in glory for His people, Christ will have "all the holyangels with Him. " As the voice of Jesus awakens His sleeping saints andthey rise immortal from the opened graves, "He shall send His angels, ... And they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, fromone end of heaven to the other. " Matt. 24:31. The angels who have watched over the heirs of salvation through all theages, know where they are, and they know how to gather them, with theirloved ones, to meet the Lord. The angels who rejoiced when the Lord laid the foundations of the earth, who mourned when man fell, who have all along been working with Christ, their leader, to rescue the lost, will yet rejoice when the Lord bringshome His own. What a day will that be in heaven! [Illustration: MODERN INVENTIONS FULFILLING PROPHECY "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. " Dan. 12:4. ] [Illustration: CAREY IN INDIA TRANSLATING THE BIBLE "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. " Acts 19:20. ] THE TIME OF THE END "Thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the timeof the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall beincreased. " Dan. 12:4. Thus the words of the angel, spoken nearly twenty-five hundred yearsago, announced the opening of a new era of enlightenment when the latterdays should come. The Time At the end of the long period of predicted tribulation of thechurch--the twelve hundred and sixty years of Daniel's prophecy--theworld entered upon this era of "the time of the end. " "They shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.... And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end:because it is yet for a time appointed. " Dan. 11:33-35. In practically every outline of prophecy touching this time, the eventsof the last days are represented as following the end of the propheticperiod of tribulation. Christ's prophecy of Matthew 24 so declares. OurSaviour showed that this period of tribulation, would be shortened, "forthe elect's sake, " and that "immediately after the tribulation of thosedays" the signs of the end would begin to appear. Thus, while the full period of the twelve hundred and sixty years endedamid the scenes of the French Revolution, which gave the papal power adeadly wound in the last decade of the eighteenth century, theshortening of the days of tribulation had begun even earlier to spreadincreasing knowledge and enlightenment over the earth. The Prophecy Unsealed The angel's words to Daniel were, "Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: manyshall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. " Dan. 12:4. "The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. " Verse 9. This means that as the time of the end came, men would be impelled tosearch diligently for light in the prophetic word. Events taking placein fulfilment of the prophecy would be recognized, and with the comingof the time there would come the opening up, or unsealing, of theprophetic scriptures, with their message for men in the last days. As the time drew near, Bible students were led more and more to searchthe word of prophecy. Sir Isaac Newton, called "the greatest ofphilosophers, " wrote of prophetic study: "The giving ear to the prophets is a fundamental character of the true church. For God has so ordered the prophecies, that in the latter days 'the wise may understand, but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand. ' Dan. 12:9, 10. "--_"Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel" (London, 1733), part 1, chap. 1. _ Again, this man who had delved so deeply into the laws of nature, butwho bowed his heart in childlike faith to listen to the voice ofInspiration, declared his hope that the time of the end was near at handin his day (he died in 1727). Of this prophecy of the unsealing of thebook he wrote: "'Tis therefore a part of this prophecy, that it should not be understood before the last age of the world; and therefore it makes for the credit of the prophecy that it is not yet understood. But if the last age, the age of opening these things, be now approaching, as by the great successes of late interpreters it seems to be, we have more encouragement than ever to look into these things. If the general preaching of the gospel be approaching, it is to us and to our posterity that those words mainly belong: In the time of the end the wise shall understand, but none of the wicked shall understand.... 'Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein. '"--_"Observations on the Apocalypse" (London, 1733), chap. 1. _ True to the word of the angel, the events of the ending of the twelvehundred and sixty years of papal supremacy, amid the scenes of theFrench Revolution, drew the attention of Bible students everywhere. Itwas seen that prophecy was being fulfilled before men's eyes. It gavegreat impetus to the study of the prophetic scriptures. The greathistoric prophecies began to be opened up--unsealed--to theunderstanding. An English historian of that period, John Adolphus, though writing a secular history, remarks upon this awakening interestin prophetic study: "The downfall of the papal government [in 1798], by whatever means effected, excited perhaps less sympathy than that of any other in Europe: the errors, the oppressions, the tyranny of Rome over the whole Christian world, were remembered with bitterness; many rejoiced, through religious antipathy, in the overthrow of a church which they considered as idolatrous, though attended with the immediate triumph of infidelity; and many saw in these events the accomplishment of prophecies, and the exhibition of signs promised in the most mystical parts of the Holy Scriptures. "--_"History of France from 1790 to 1802" (London, 1803), Vol. II, p. 379. _ From those tunes of fulfilling prophecy, there arose a distinctmovement, reviving the teaching of the doctrine of Christ's secondcoming, and directly preparing the way for the advent movement that wasto come with the days of 1844, when yet fuller light was to break forthfrom the unsealed prophecies of the book of Daniel. Of the angel thatsymbolizes the special gospel work for these last days, it is written, "He had in his hand a little book open. " Rev. 10:2. The "time of theend" came, and with it has come the opening of the sealed book. The"sure word of prophecy" speaks its message full and clear to the ears ofall mankind today. Increase of Knowledge "Many shall run to and fro, " the prophecy said, "and knowledge shall beincreased. " It is knowledge of the prophecy and of the things of Godthat is primarily the topic; but the era that we are discussing has beenone of general enlightenment and extension of knowledge. [J] "Theentrance of Thy words giveth light, " says the psalmist: and when theReformation of the sixteenth century broke the bands of age-longsuperstition and error, and set free the Word of God, the way waspreparing for the coming of this wonderful era of the diffusion ofgeneral knowledge. The era of reform movement was an era of world exploration anddiscovery. Diaz had founded the south African cape, and Columbus hadgiven to future generations the New World. The result was voyage aftervoyage of discovery, and then awakening, colonization, and expansion. The famous and learned Francis Bacon, who died in 1626, felt in his daythat the time spoken of by Daniel's prophecy was drawing near. Hewrote: "Nor should the prophecy of Daniel be forgotten, touching the last ages of the world: 'Many shall go to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased;' clearly intimating that the thorough passage of the world (which now by so many distant voyages seems to be accomplished, or in course of accomplishment), and the advancement of the sciences, are destined by fate, that is, by divine Providence, to meet in the same age. "--_"Novum Organum, " book 1, xciii. (Bacon's Works, Spedding and Ellis, Vol. IV, p. 92. )_ When the time indicated in the prophecy fully came, with the last decadeof the eighteenth century, there was witnessed the upspringing ofmovements that have wrought mightily for the enlightenment andevangelization of the world. As the events of the French Revolutionannounced the closing of the long era of papal supremacy, so alsoanother series of events at the same time announced the opening of theera of increasing knowledge. Speaking of these developments, Lorimer, aScottish writer, said: "At the very time when Satan is hoping for, and the timid are fearing, an utter overturn of true religion, there is a revival, and the gospel expands its wings and prepares for a new flight. It is worthy of remembrance that the year 1792, the very year of the French Revolution, was also the year when the Baptist Missionary Society was formed, a society which was followed during the succeeding, and they the worst, years of the Revolution, with new societies of unwonted energy and union, all aiming, and aiming successfully, at the propagation of the gospel of Christ, both at home and abroad. What withering contempt did the great Head of the church thus pour upon the schemes of infidels! And how did He arouse the careless and instruct His own people, by alarming providences, at a season when they greatly needed such a stimulus. "--_"Historical Sketches of the Protestant Church in France, " p. 522. _ Another writer, Dr. D. L. Leonard, historian of the century of missions, says: "The closing years of the eighteenth century constitute in the history of Protestant missions an epoch indeed, since they witnessed nothing less than a revolution, a renaissance, an effectual and manifold ending of the old, a substantial inauguration of the new. It was then that for the first time since the apostolic period, occurred an outburst of general missionary zeal and activity. Beginning in Great Britain, it soon spread to the Continent and across the Atlantic. It was no mere push of fervor, but a mighty tide set in, which from that day to this has been steadily rising and spreading. "--_"A Hundred Years of Missions, " p. 69. _ The time of the prophecy had come, and the hand of providence wasbringing into being agencies that have spread light and knowledge overall lands. "Look where the missionary's feet have trod-- Flowers in the desert bloom; and fields, for God, Are white to harvest. Skeptics may ignore; Yet on the conquering Word, from shore to shore, Like flaming chariot, rolls. Ask ocean isles, And plains of Ind, where ceaseless summer smiles; Speak to far frozen wastes, where winter's blight Remains;--they tell the love, attest the might Of Him whose messengers across the wave To them salvation bore, hope, freedom gave. " --_Horace D. Woolley. _ The organization of foreign missionary enterprise was quicklyaccompanied by the establishment of Bible societies for a systematicwork of translating and world-wide distribution of the Scriptures. In1804 the British and Foreign Bible Society was organized. Students ofthe prophetic word felt at the time that these agencies were coming infulfilment of the prophecy. One writer of those times said: "The stupendous endeavors of one gigantic community to convey the Scriptures in every language to every part of the globe may well deserve to be considered as an eminent sign even of these eventful times. Unless I be much mistaken, such endeavors are preparatory to the final grand diffusion of Christianity, which is the theme of so many inspired prophets, and which cannot be very far distant in the present day. "--_G. S. Faber, D. D. , "Dissertation on the Prophecies, " Vol. II, p. 406 (1844). _ Now the Word of God, in whole or in part, is speaking in more than fivehundred languages, and it is estimated that these tongues, at least intheir spoken form, can make the divine message comprehensible toninety-five per cent of the inhabitants of the earth. The work of modern missions, that had its birth as the time of the endcame, is one of the great world factors today. Nearly thirty milliondollars a year are given for Protestant missions, and a force of morethan twenty thousand foreign missionaries is in the field, not countingthe many thousands of native missionaries and helpers. Truly the time ofthe end is proving to be an era of increasing light and knowledge. The Opening of All Lands As the time came for knowledge to be increased, it was necessary thatall lands should be open to receive the enlightening agencies. Thus, asthe time of the end came, we see distinctly the hand of Providenceswinging open the doors into all countries. It has been an era of worldsurvey and development. Particularly is this true of the last sixty orseventy years. It was in 1844 that the time referred to in the prophecycame for the special advent movement, bearing the judgment-hour messageto the world. The range of the movement is thus described in theprophecy: "I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlastinggospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. " Rev. 14:6. This was a declaration that as the time came for the closing gospel workto be done, the doors of access to every nation and tongue and peoplewould be thrown open. In 1844, or but a few years before, much of theworld was closed to missionary endeavor; but as the prophecy indicates, the years following have witnessed the swift and systematic opening ofall lands to the gospel message. It was in 1842 that five treaty ports in China were opened to commerceand to missions, --advance steps in the opening of all China to thegospel. In 1844 Turkey was prevailed upon to recognize the right ofMoslems to become Christians, reversing all Moslem tradition. In 1844Allen Gardiner established the South American Mission. In 1845Livingstone's determination was formed to open up the African interior. Dr. A. T. Pierson, speaking of the wonderful way in which Providenceopened the doors of access in those times, wrote as follows: "Most countries shut out Christian missions by organized opposition, so that to attempt to bear the good tidings was simply to dare death for Christ's sake; the only welcome awaiting God's messengers was that of cannibal ovens, merciless prisons, or martyr graves. But, as the little band advanced, on every hand the walls of Jericho fell, and the iron gates opened of their own accord. India, Siam, Burma, China, Japan, Turkey, Africa, Mexico, South America, the Papal States, and Korea were successively and successfully entered. Within five years, from 1853 to 1858, new facilities were given to the entrance and occupation of seven different countries, together embracing half the world's population. "--_"Modern Mission Century, " p. 25. _ [Illustration: INTO THE HEART OF AFRICA The Victoria Falls railroad bridge over the Zambezi. ] God's providence has laid under tribute every force and every resourcefor the opening of all lands--missionary endeavor, love of adventure, commercial enterprise, and scientific interest. Railways have been builtthrough regions that were undiscovered seventy years ago, and among thepassengers traveling now over the iron trail are men and women of tribesunknown fifty years ago. But the gospel message was to go to everytribe and tongue before the end; and wonderfully Providence has beenopening the doors throughout all this "time of the end, " andparticularly in our generation. Material Agencies for the Work The prophecy represents not only a world-wide work, but a quick work inproclaiming the gospel message in the last days. The movement issymbolized in the Revelation by an angel flying in the midst of heaven, from land to land. And as to the closing work, when the end is near athand, the Scripture says: "He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because ashort work will the Lord make upon the earth. " Rom. 9:28. "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. "This is the hope for a quickly finished work in all the earth in ourtime. Yet the Lord lays hold of material things for service; andwonderfully the hand of Providence has wrought in bringing intoexistence material agencies for a quick work in carrying the gospel tothe world--such agencies as no generation before ours ever had. Consider the marvelous facilities for world-travel. They are the productof this time of the end. "Many shall run to and fro, " said the prophecy. Some interpreters have restricted the Hebrew phrase to a "searching" toand fro for knowledge. Even this would include a literal running to andfro; for the light of increasing knowledge was to be diffused over allthe earth. But the best authority on the Hebrew declares for the plainmeaning of our English translation: "Many shall run to and fro. " In tworecent works, Dr. C. H. H. Wright, the English scholar, says of this text: "The natural meaning must be upheld, i. E. , wandering to and fro. "--_"Critical Commentary on Daniel, " p. 209. _ "Why should not that expression be used in the sense in which it is employed in Jeremiah 5:1, namely, of rapid movement hither and thither?"--_"Daniel and His Prophecies, " p. 321. _ At the time when the first foreign missionary movement was beinglaunched in America, Robert Fulton's steamship, the "Clermont, " wasmaking its first trip on the Hudson. [Illustration: HIEROGLYPHICS The "Ox Song" of the Egyptian threshing-floor. ] In 1838 the first ships to cross the Atlantic under steam poweralone--the "Sirius" and the "Great Western"--came into New York fromLiverpool, a few hours apart, forerunners of the fleets that furrow allthe seas today, making quick pathways for the gospel messengers to alllands. Verily, they are a gift of God's providence to this generation, when all the world is to hear the gospel message. [Illustration: CUNEIFORM WRITING An account of the capture of Babylon, B. C. 538. From thecylinder of Cyrus. ] "He hath made the deep as dry, He hath smote for us a pathway to the ends of all the earth. " In 1825 Stephenson built his first railway passenger locomotive, whichmay still be seen in the Darlington railway station, in England. It wasthe beginning of the great revolution in land travel. The late Prof. Alfred Russel Wallace, scientist, wrote: "From the earliest historic and even prehistoric times till the construction of our great railways in the second quarter of the present century [the nineteenth], there had been absolutely no change in the methods of human locomotion. "--_"The Wonderful Century, " p. 7. _ [Illustration: MANUSCRIPT WRITING The process by which the books of the great library of Alexandria, Egypt, were made. ] For nearly six thousand years men had traveled in the old way. Whyshould these revolutionary changes in travel by sea and land comeabruptly just at this time?--Because the time foretold in the prophecywas at hand, when the last gospel message was to be carried quickly toall the world--"to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. "We see the hand of the living God opening the doors into all lands, andHis wonderful providence laying at the feet of this generation agenciesfor quickly covering the whole earth. [Illustration: GUTENBERG'S FIRST TYPES Reproduced from the first edition of the famous forty-two-line LatinBible, printed by Gutenberg. ] Later came the electric telegraph, for the quick transmission of news. It was in 1837 that Cooke and Wheatstone in England, and Morse in theUnited States, made their application for patents on the electrictelegraph. It was in 1844 that the first long-distance system wassuccessfully demonstrated--when the historic message was sent fromBaltimore to Washington, "What hath God wrought!" Now news of eventsfulfilling prophecy, and news of progress and conditions in all lands, are daily spread before the world by this agency of our wonderful time. [Illustration: THE GUTENBERG PRINTING PRESS On which was produced the first printed Bible, in 1456 A. D. ] [Illustration: THE FRANKLIN PRESS Operated by two men, it has a maximum speed of 250 impressions perhour. ] As the closing events take place, the Lord has in His providence soordered it that no one need be ignorant of the signs of the timesfulfilling before the eyes of men. "Speak the word and think the thought, Quick 'tis as with lightning caught-- Over, under, lands or seas To the far antipodes. " Here is an incident illustrating the way in which the electric telegraphmay multiply and spread abroad the witness borne to the truth of God insome obscure corner of the earth: [Illustration: THE HOE DOUBLE OCTUPLE PRESS The largest printing press in the world. Length, 48 feet; height, 19-1/2feet; weight, 175 tons; number of parts, 65, 000; revolutions, 300 perminute; paper used per hour, 18 tons, or 216 miles of paper three feetwide; production per hour, 300, 000 eight-page folded newspapers. ] The Mighty Press "When old Gutenberg, inventor Of the printing press, and mentor Of the clumsy-fingered typos In a sleepy German town, Used to spread the sheets of vellum On the form, and plainly tell them That the art was then perfected, As he pressed the platen down, He had not the faintest notion Of the rhythmical commotion, Of the brabble and the clamor And the unremitting roar Of the mighty triple decker, While the steel rods flicker, And the papers, ready folded, Fall in thousands to the floor. " Some years ago a young man in Europe--a Seventh-day Adventist--wasgiving answer for his faith. His conscience would not allow him to doordinary labor on God's holy Sabbath. He had declared to the court thatthe oath of loyalty which had been required of him forbade his breakingthe Sabbath. "How is that?" asked the judge. The young man replied: "I was sworn in with a Christian oath, and therefore cannot be under an obligation to violate the commandments of God and work on the Sabbath. One must regard God as the highest authority, and obey Him in the first place. " This witness was borne in a little courtroom, before a small group ofmen; but the press dispatches took it up, and the description of thescene and report of the words spoken were carried by electric telegraphto the press of at least four continents, and millions read thetestimony of the young man to the faith that was in him. In the days to come, with great events taking place and solemn issuescalling upon men to make decision for God and His truth, how quickly, insome great crisis, all the world may be warned, and the last individualdecisions be made for eternity! Modern Printing The invention of the printer's art had come just in time to give wingsto Reformation truth. Luther said of it: "Printing is the latest and greatest gift by which God enables us to advance the things of the gospel. It is the last bright flame, manifesting itself just previous to the extinction of the world. Thanks be to God, it came before the last day came. "--_Michelet's "Life of Luther, " p. 291. _ While improvements in the art were made through the centuries, it was aslow process, even up to the opening of our generation. During our day, however, inventions have revolutionized the printing process. In this, as in other things, the methods have been speeded up to meetthe necessities of this time of rapid accomplishment. The printing pressis one of the chief of the marvelous enlightening agencies of this timeof the end. By it the printed pages of truth are set falling over theearth "like the leaves of autumn. " Time fails us to speak of all the wonderful material developments of ourday, when knowledge has been increased, and when men are not onlysearching to and fro, but literally running to and fro. The whole earthis brought within the range of human knowledge, and the light of savingtruth is streaming out toward every dark place where the children of mendwell. Nearly twenty-five hundred years ago it was written upon the propheticpage, "Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: manyshall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. " There the word stood on the scroll of prophecy through more than twomillenniums. Then, as the time of the end came, lo, the book of prophecywas unsealed, and the new era of increasing knowledge began to spread inwondrous blessing over the earth. So surely, also, the prophecies of the last events will be accomplished. In the occurrences taking place before our eyes, we see that God isindeed finishing His work in the earth, and cutting it short inrighteousness. [Illustration: FORTIFICATIONS ON THE BOSPORUS The strategic waterway involved in the Eastern Question. ] FOOTNOTES: [J] It is not designed to give the reader the idea that this running "toand fro" refers wholly to turning to and fro through the pages of abook. The times in which we live have been characterized by a greatincrease in Bible study, and consequently in knowledge of theScriptures; but it is equally true that this has been due in largemeasure to the fact that there are no longer any "hermit" kingdoms. Travel, a real physical running "to and fro" through the earth, hascontributed mightily to the modern increase of knowledge, and in noother field of investigation has this been more true than in the studyof the Bible. By increased facilities for travel, all nations have beenbrought close together physically. Different races and nationalitieshave become acquainted, missionary zeal has been quickened, and peoplesformerly beyond the reach of missionary operations have become easilyaccessible. In this sense, as well as by private searching of theScriptures, knowledge has increased. [Illustration: THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA IN CONSTANTINOPLE The most famous of all Mohammedan temples. COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N. Y. ] THE EASTERN QUESTION MODERN HISTORY IN THE LIGHT OF ANCIENT PROPHECY Not alone of the history of ancient nations does the "sure word ofprophecy" bear witness. Political events of our own and coming days aredescribed. The nations of the latter day are pictured as preparing war, gatheringtheir forces for the great Armageddon, the battle of the day of God. As a signal of the last great struggle, the fall, or "drying up, " of thepower ruling the territory watered by the river Euphrates is foretold. Rev. 16:12. The Euphrates in all modern history has been suggestive ofthe dominions of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire. And Armageddon, designated as the meeting place of armies in the last clash of nations, is in Palestine, which, through all modern times, has been in possessionof the Turkish power. The index finger of prophecy points, therefore, to this region of theeastern Mediterranean as the pivotal point in the closing history ofnations; and with Turkey's fate is wrapped up the fate of all thenations of the world. All this adds deepest and most solemn import to the study of what isknown as the Eastern Question, a question that has been to the fore ininternational politics much of the time throughout this generation. Warshave been fought over it, cabinets have wrestled with it, and still itholds its place in the first rank of living issues of today. As every one knows, the Eastern Question involves the dominion orsupremacy in the Near East. This region was a pivotal point in thestruggles of the nations in ancient times--the meeting place of East andWest. Maspero, historian of ancient empires, says of it: "Some countries seem destined from their origin to become the battle fields of the contending nations.... The nations around are eager for the possession of a country thus situated.... From remote antiquity Syria was in the condition just described. By its position it formed a kind of meeting place, where most of the military nations of the ancient world were bound sooner or later to come violently into collision. "--_"Struggle of the Nations, " chap. 1. _ It is not strange, therefore, that one of the great outlines of historicprophecy should deal with events centering around this pivotal region. The prophecy of Daniel 11 does so, outlining the course of history fromancient times to the final solution of the Eastern Question amid thescenes of the end. Rise and Fall of Ancient Empires The prophetic outline of Daniel 11 begins with Persia, in the third yearof Cyrus, the conqueror of Babylon. (See Dan. 10:1. ) The angel of Godappeared to Daniel, and in the longest and most detailed single prophecyin all the Bible, told the story of events connected with this region ofthe Near East for the centuries to come, until the end. Putting the wordof prophecy and the record of history side by side, we see how exactlyhistory has fulfilled prophecy; and we may know certainly that the briefportion of the prophecy yet unfulfilled will surely come to pass. Persia _Prophecy. _--"Now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall standup yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer thanthey all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up allagainst the realm of Grecia. " Dan. 11:2 _History. _--The three kings following Cyrus were (1) Cambyses, (2)Smerdis, (3) Darius; the fourth, Xerxes, was "far richer than they all. "He had the treasures of his father, Darius, who was called the"merchant" or "hoarder" by his own people, and Xerxes gathered stores ofwealth in addition. When Xerxes was on his way to invade Grecia, aLydian named Pythius entertained the whole Persian army with feasts, andoffered to aid in bearing the expense of the campaign. Xerxes asked whothis man of such wealth was. He was answered: "This is the man, O king! who gave thy father Darius the golden plane tree, and likewise the golden vine; and he is still the wealthiest man we know of in all the world, excepting thee. "--_Herodotus, book 7, par. 27. _ "Richer than they all, " Xerxes, "through his riches, " was able, as theprophecy had foretold, to "stir up all against the realm of Grecia. "Forty-nine nations marched under his banners to the attack. The Greekpoet, Ęschylus, who himself fought against the Persians, wrote ofXerxes' mighty host, "And myriad-peopled Asia's king, a battle-eager lord, From utmost east to utmost west sped on his countless horde, In unnumbered squadrons marching, in fleets of keels untold, Knowing none dared disobey, For stern overseers were they Of the godlike king begotten of the ancient race of Gold. " --_"Persę, " Way's translation. _ Xerxes boasted that he was leading "the whole race of mankind to thedestruction of Greece. " But his invasion ended in the total rout of hisforces by land and by sea. It was an advertisement to the world thatPersia's might was broken. The prophecy treats it so, and deals nofurther with Persian history. Ęschylus at the time celebrated the passing of Persia's prestige in thelines, -- "With sacred awe The Persian law No more shall Asia's realms revere; To their lord's hand At his command, No more the exacted tribute bear. * * * * * Before the Ionian squadrons Persia flies, Or sinks engulfed beneath the main; Fallen! fallen! is her imperial power, And conquest on her banners waits no more. " --_"Persę, " Potter's translation. _ The next great world change was to be the rise of Grecia to dominion. So, although a number of kings followed Xerxes in Persia, the prophecypasses from his disastrous invasion directly to the coming of Greciaunder its "mighty king, " Alexander the Great. Grecia _Prophecy. _--"A mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with greatdominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, hiskingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds ofheaven; and not to his posterity. " Dan. 11:3, 4. _History. _--Alexander the Great stood up and ruled with great dominion, over a kingdom stretching from India to Grecia, with kings yet fartherwest sending embassies to Babylon to make submission. But in the heightof his power, as the prophecy suggests, he was suddenly cut down bydeath. All his posterity perished, and out of the struggles of hisgenerals for supremacy came (301 B. C. ) the division of theempire toward "the four winds, " as the prophecy had declared so longbefore. Rawlinson, the historian, says: "A quadripartite division of Alexander's dominion was recognized: Macedonia [west], Egypt [south], Asia Minor [north], and Syria [stretching eastward beyond the Euphrates]. "--_"Sixth Monarchy, " chap. 3. _ The Kings of the North and South Next, a rearrangement of these powers is noted; and it is this thatgives us the key to the study of the closing portion of the longprophetic outline dealing with events of our own day. The narrativecontinues: _Prophecy. _--"The king of the south shall be strong, and one of hisprinces ... Shall be strong above him;... His dominion shall be a greatdominion. " Verse 5. _History. _--The history testifies that the king of the south (Egypt, under Ptolemy) was strong; but one of the four princes was "strong abovehim. " Seleucus, of Syria and the east, pushed his dominion northward, subduing most of Asia Minor, and extending his boundary into Thrace, onthe European side, beyond the Dardanelles. Henceforward, as Mahaffysays, "there were three great kingdoms--Macedonia, Egypt, Syria--which lasted, each under its own dynasty, till Rome swallowed them up. "--_"Alexander's Empire, " p. 89. _ Thus Seleucus took the territory of the north, and the Syrian powerbecame king of the north, its empire extending from Thrace, in Europe, through Asia Minor to Syria and the Euphrates. The seat of empire wasremoved from the east, and Antioch, in northern Syria, "once the thirdcity of the world, " became the famous capital. The prophecy next foretold in remarkable detail the contests betweenthese two strong powers, the king of the north (Syria and Asia Minor)and the king of the south (Egypt). The conflict raged back and forthtill the coming of the Romans. The Holy Land was the frequent meetingplace of the contending armies. The Encyclopedia Britannica describesit: "Palestine was as of old the battle field for the king of the north and the king of the south.... The history of these times is lost in its details. "--_Ninth edition, Vol. XV, art. "Macedonian Empire, " p. 144. _ We shall not follow the details of this contest as foretold in theprophecy, nor yet the outline of events after the coming of the Romanpower ended the rivalry between Syria and Egypt. It is necessary onlythat we fix the events and geographic terms of this early portion of theprophecy. Then we shall have the key to the closing portion, dealingwith events of the last days, when the king of the north again appears. The Modern King of the North In the last verses of the chapter we find the king of the north a chiefactor in this same region, "at the time of the end. " Verse 40. And weare told that when this power comes to its end, it is the signal thatthe great day of God is at hand. (See Dan. 12:1. ) It becomes a vital question, therefore, what power in these last days isthe king of the north, whose end is the signal of the swift ending ofthe world. Inspiration gives the basis for the answer. The king of thenorth in the early portion of the prophecy was the power that ruled inSyria and Asia Minor, from the Euphrates to the shores of theDardanelles. The king of the north, then, of the later portion of theprophecy, must be the power that has been ruling in this same regionduring the time of the end. What power has held dominion over this territory in modern times?--TheTurkish or Ottoman Empire. At this time Turkey holds almost theidentical dominion of the ancient king of the north--from the Euphratesto the sea, and northward over Asia Minor and the shores of theDardanelles. Then today Turkey is certainly the king of the north, according to theprophecy of Daniel 11. Of the later history of the king of the north and his end and the eventsfollowing it, the prophecy says: "Tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him:therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly tomake away many. "And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas inthe glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shallhelp him. "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince whichstandeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time oftrouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that sametime: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one thatshall be found written in the book. " Dan. 11:44, 45; 12:1. [Illustration: CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE The capital of the Turkish government. COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N, Y. ] The opening verse of this scripture describes exactly the history ofTurkey in modern times. Turkey's disquietude has come because of tidingsout of the east and out of the north. In both these directions there hasbeen a pushing back of the Turkish frontier, particularly in the north. Again and again, during this time of the end, Turkey has gone forthwith fury to resist these encroachments and prevent the loss ofterritory. The prophecy indicates that in some of these struggles the king of thenorth will yet transfer his capital: "He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in theglorious holy mountain. " Removal to Jerusalem This prophecy can mean nothing else than that the king of the north willeventually set up his headquarters in Jerusalem; for Jerusalem is "theholy mountain" of the Scriptures. Zech. 8:3. It is a wise counsel that says, "Tread lightly in the details ofunfulfilled prophecy. " Just how events are to turn, by what route orprocesses the steps are to be taken, it is useless to conjecture. Butthere the prophecy stands. Every word of the early portion of theprophetic outline has been fulfilled to the letter in the history of theancient empires battling century after century over this region. Everyword spoken of the final scenes will as certainly be fulfilled. In view of this prophecy, --that Jerusalem is yet to be made theheadquarters of the king of the north, --it becomes highly significantthat the Mohammedans regard Jerusalem as a sacred city. According toMohammedan tradition, Jerusalem is to play a leading part in the closinghistory of that people. Hughes, in his "Dictionary of Islam, " article"Jerusalem, " summarizes the teaching: "In the last days there will be a general flight to Jerusalem. " Speaking of Jerusalem, an old Arab commentator on the Koran, Mukaddasi(A. D. 985), said: "As to the excellence of the city. Why, is not this to be the place of marshaling on the day of judgment, where the gathering together and the appointment will take place? Verily Makkah [Mecca] and Al Madina have their superiority by reason of the Ka'abah and the prophet, --the blessing of Allah be upon him and his family!--but, in truth, on the day of judgment both cities will come to Jerusalem, and the excellencies of them all will then be united. "--_Le Strange, "Palestine under the Moslems, " p. 85. _ [Illustration: MODERN JERUSALEM "He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in theglorious holy mountain. " Dan. 11:45. ] Thus Moslem doctrinal teaching and tradition both point out Jerusalem asthe rallying place of Moslems before the end. Again and again in recentyears, as the pressure has threatened the Turkish hold onConstantinople, the thoughts of Moslems have turned toward Jerusalem asa possible capital. A few years ago a Seventh-day Adventist missionaryin Constantinople wrote to his home board: [Illustration: THE MOSQUE OF OMAR Situated in Jerusalem, on Mt. Moriah, the site of Solomon's Temple. ] "Within the past few months quite a company of people from the Transcaucasus district have come to Ismid, --old Nicodemia, --bringing all they possess with them. Some of them possess considerable wealth. When asked if they were going to settle in Ismid, they replied that they would settle nowhere permanently at present. They stated that they had come to be prepared to go with their leader when he left Constantinople to go to Jerusalem. " Wherever the capital may first be set up following the forsaking ofConstantinople, --and Turkish authorities, we are told, have discussed anumber of possible locations in Asia Minor, --there stands the ancientprophecy as to the eventual seat of the king of the north, "He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in theglorious holy mountain. " Following that, what comes? The prophecy declares, "Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. " What Comes When Turkey Falls The fury of his goings forth "utterly to make away many, " the moving ofhis capital from one place to another, avail nothing in the end. "Heshall come to his end, and none shall help him. " The suggestion of the prophecy is that this power has hitherto beenhelped to stand. Here again every suggestion of the prophetic languagefinds its response in history. Through these later years of the time ofthe end the Ottoman Empire has been helped to stand, by either one poweror another, or by some combination of powers. The late Lord Salisbury, while premier of Britain, thus stated the reasons for this policy ofhelping Turkey: "Turkey is in that remarkable condition in which it has now stood for half a century, mainly because the great powers of the world have resolved that for the peace of Christendom it is necessary that the Ottoman Empire should stand. They came to that conclusion nearly half a century ago. I do not think they have altered it now. The danger, if the Ottoman Empire should fall, would not merely be the danger that would threaten the territories of which that empire consists; it would be the danger that the fire there lit should spread to other nations, and should involve all that is most powerful and civilized in Europe in a dangerous and calamitous contest. That was the danger that was present to the minds of our fathers when they resolved to make the integrity and independence of the Ottoman Empire a matter of European treaty, and that is a danger which has not passed away. "--_Mansion House speech, Nov. 9, 1895. _ The veteran premier stated the fear of modern statesmen that Turkey'sfall would involve all civilization in a calamitous conflict. Theprophecy pictures just such a catastrophe, in these words: "He shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And at that timeshall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the childrenof thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never wassince there was a nation even to that same time. " What modern statesmen have seen impending and have sought to ward off, the ancient prophecy says will surely come to pass when the king of thenorth comes to his end, --a time of trouble for the nations such as neverwas. In the New Testament In the prophecy of Revelation 16, the last great clash of the nations isrepresented as following the fall of the power that rules the territorydrained by the Euphrates. Describing the last events in human history, under the pouring out of the vials of judgment upon the world, theprophet says: "The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; andthe water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the eastmight be prepared. " Rev. 16:12. The water of the Euphrates represents the people or power ruling by it. When anciently the Assyrians dwelt by that river and were about toinvade Israel, the prophet said, "The Lord bringeth up upon them thewaters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria. " Isa. 8:7. The waters of the Euphrates meant the Assyrian power. Just so in this prophecy, the river stands for the people. As the Nilestood for Egypt, and the Tiber for Rome, so in all modern times theEuphrates has stood for Turkey. The "drying up" of the Euphrates mustmean the ending of the Turkish power. And in the verses immediatelyfollowing, Revelation pictures the gathering of the nations of the wholeworld to Armageddon--"the battle of that great day of God Almighty. "Following Turkey's end comes the final clash of nations. The earthquakes, the cities of the nations fall, and the last judgments of Godcome upon a warring world. Here, as in Daniel 12, is pictured a time of trouble for the nationssuch as never was, and the end of the world, when the power ruling inSyria, by the Euphrates, comes to its end. The Approaching End For years statesmen and observers have discussed the approachingdissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Travelers in Turkey have reportedthat thoughtful Turkish people held the conviction that the crisis oftheir nation was near at hand. Years ago Mr. Charles MacFarlane wrote: "The Turks themselves seem generally to be convinced that their final hour is approaching. 'We are no longer Mussulmans, --the Mussulman saber is broken, --the Osmanlis will be driven out of Europe by the _gaiours_, and driven through Asia to the regions from which they first sprang. It is Kismet! We cannot resist destiny!' I heard words to this effect from many Turks, as well in Asia as in Europe. "--_"Kismet; or the Doom of Turkey" (London, 1853), p. 409. _ A later Turkish traveler, Mr. Wilfred Scawen Blunt, says: "Ancient prophecy and modern superstition alike point to the return of the Crescent into Asia as an event at hand, and to the doom of the Turks.... A well-known prediction to this effect, which has for ages exercised its influence on the vulgar and even on the learned Mohammedan mind, ... Places the scene of the last struggle in northern Syria, at Homs, on the Orontes. Islam is then finally to retire from the north, and the Turkish rule to cease. Such prophecies often work their own fulfilment. "--_"Future of Islam, " p. 95. _ Thus native tradition and human forebodings have contemplated thebreak-up of the Turkish power, as the course of the years has witnessedthe shrinkage of its territory and the ever-increasing difficulty of itsposition. Now and then there has been a renewal of Turkey's vigor and prestige;then again its situation has been rendered yet more precarious. It hasbeen a buffer between the clashing interests of the great powers. Speaking of Turkey's difficult position in this respect, the London_Fortnightly Review_, May, 1915, expressed a common view thus: "When once the nations of Europe set foot in Asia Minor, the pace of Turkey's further downfall will be set not so much by Turkey's strength or weakness as by the mutual jealousies of the occupying powers. " The storm clouds hang ever low over the Near East; while above all thedin of wars and rumors of wars, the voice of divine prophecy declaresthat when this power comes to its end, the closing events in humanhistory will quickly follow. [Illustration: CONSTANTINOPLE THE KEY CITY OF THE WORLD The cross on which the peace of the world has been crucified. ] The solemn truth rings in our ears like a trumpet peal; the age-longEastern Question is hastening on to its final solution, and its solutionbrings the end of the world. In the light of the "sure word of prophecy" the developments of our dayin the East become more than matters of grave political concern tostatesmen and observers of affairs generally; they are matters ofdeepest personal, eternal interest to every soul. In watching the trendof international affairs, we are watching the doing of the last thingsamong the nations. As these things are seen coming to pass exactly as the prophecyforetold, we recognize them as God's call to men in the last generationto turn to Him and prepare their hearts to meet the coming Lord. Let noone think to wait until he sees Turkey come to its end before making hispeace with God. The end of this power, as described in Revelation 16, comes during the falling of the seven last plagues. And the last verseof the preceding chapter shows that Christ's ministry for sinners in theheavenly temple has ended before the plagues begin to fall. Humanprobation will already have closed. The solemn decree will then havebeen issued in heaven: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, lethim be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteousstill: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I comequickly. " Rev. 22:11, 12. "Now is the accepted time, " calls the Spirit; "now is the day ofsalvation. " 2 Cor. 6:2. We have not to make ourselves ready. "If weconfess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and tocleanse us from all unrighteousness. " 1 John 1:9. Our part is to believeand confess; His part is to forgive and cleanse and make us ready forthe coming kingdom. The Sinner's Plea With broken heart and contrite sigh, A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry; Thy pardoning grace is rich and free: O God, be merciful to me! Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done, Can for a single sin atone; To Calvary alone I flee: O God, be merciful to me! And when, redeemed from sin and hell, With all the ransomed throng I dwell, My raptured song shall ever be, "God has been merciful to me!" --_Cornelius Elven. _ [Illustration: THE GREAT BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON The whole world involved in the last great clash of nations. "Thenations were angry, and Thy wrath is come. " Rev. 11:18. ] [Illustration: THE PLAIN OF ESDRAELON AND MT. MEGIDDO "He gathered them together into a place called ... Armageddon. " Rev. 16:16. ] ARMAGEDDON THE FINAL CLASH OF EARTHLY EMPIRES "We are living, we are dwelling, In a grand and awful time, In an age on ages telling, To be living is sublime. Hark! the waking up of nations, Gog and Magog to the fray; Hark! what soundeth? Is creation Groaning for her latter day?" The sure word of prophecy that foretold the rise and fall of ancientempires, and outlined the general course of world history through theages, describes also the last great struggle of the nations. The proverb says, "Peace is the dream of the wise, but war is thehistory of man. " And divine prophecy assures us that the history of thispresent world will end amid scenes of conflict. Many in our time have come to think that civilization must reach abetter way of composing the rivalries of the nations. The prophecyforewarns us otherwise. In fact, the prophetic word points to the talkof peace and safety amid preparations for war, as a distinct sign of thelatter days. "In the last days, " Isaiah says, "many people shall go and say:" "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears intopruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neithershall they learn war any more. " Isa. 2:2-4. This is what "many people" were to be saying. But the real conditions inthe last days are described as exactly the opposite. The prophet Joeldescribes the real spirit of the world in these times: "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles [the nations]: Prepare war, wake upthe mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beatyour plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let theweak say, I am strong. " Joel 3:9, 10. The context shows that the prophet is speaking of the last times, when"the day of the Lord is near. " Verse 14. The Prophecy Fulfilling This is what we have seen in our time, as never before in the history ofman, --the product of the plowshare and the pruning hook being turnedinto instruments of war. About twenty-five years ago the late Marquis of Salisbury, speaking as aman grown gray in the service of the state, asked a London audience thequestion, "What is the great change that marks this time as differentfrom the times when most of us were young men?" The aged statesmananswered his own question, saying that it was the arming of the nations, the swift race upon which the powers had then recently entered, toincrease their naval and military armaments. It is a sign of our times, answering to the prophetic forecast. Throughout the present generation the thoughtful have watched with graveforebodings the preparations of the nations for war. Queen Alexandra, ofBritain, once said of it: "I was educated in the school of a king who was, before all things, just; and I have tried, like him, always to preach love and charity, I have always mistrusted warlike preparations, of which nations seem never to tire. Some day this accumulated material of soldiers and guns will burst into flames in a frightful war that will throw humanity into mourning on earth and grieve our universal Father in heaven. " As the race of armaments went forward on a scale never before thoughtof, statesmen and writers began to make use of the word "Armageddon" todescribe the conflict that they saw was inevitable. Years ago the London_Contemporary Review_ said: "Odd things are happening everywhere.... Russia, Germany, England--these are great names; they palpitate with great ideas; they have vast destinies before them, and millions of armed men in their pay, all awaiting Armageddon. " In June, 1909, Lord Rosebery, in a speech before a press convention inLondon, commented gravely upon the significance of the feverish hastewith which the nations were arming themselves, "as if for some greatArmageddon, and that in a time of the profoundest peace. " To quote from a popular American magazine, of the same year: "Today all Europe is divided into two armed camps, waiting breathlessly for the morrow with its Armageddon. "--_Everybody's Magazine, November, 1909. _ Thus, everywhere, observers saw that the rivalry of interests among thenations was leading to a conflict so overwhelmingly vast that only theScriptural word "Armageddon, " with its appeal to the imagination, seemedadequately suggestive of its proportions. Every passing year added to the intensity of feeling and the antagonismof interests. In 1911 the London _Nineteenth Century and After_ said: [Illustration: UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP "NEVADA" Photograph taken from the Manhattan Bridge. New York. COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD. N. Y. ] "Never was national and racial feeling stronger upon earth than it is now. Never was preparation for war so tremendous and so sustained. Never was striking power so swift and so terribly formidable.... The shadow of conflict and of displacement greater than any which mankind has known since Attila and his Huns were stayed at Chālons, is visibly impending over the world. Almost can the ear of imagination hear the gathering of the legions for the fiery trial of peoples, a sound vast as the trumpet of the Lord of hosts. "--_Quoted in the Literary Digest, May 6, 1911. _ [Illustration: COMRADES AFTER THE BATTLE Soldiers bringing in two wounded captives. PHOTO BY CENTRAL PHOTO SERVICE. N. Y. ] What the ancient prophecy foretold--the preparing of war in the lastdays, the waking up and arming of the nations--we have seen fulfillingbefore our eyes in this generation. Satanic Agencies at Work In prophecies of the gathering of the nations for the last greatstruggle, Inspiration draws aside the veil, and allows us to see theagencies that have been stirring up the world for the war. As theprophet John was shown in vision the scenes of the last days, he saw theinvisible powers of Satan, "the spirits of devils, " going forth "untothe kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to thebattle of that great day of God Almighty. " Rev. 16:14. Earnest-minded statesmen have lamented their helplessness to combat theforces and influences pressing the world on toward conflict. In one ofhis last speeches as premier of Great Britain, the late Marquis ofSalisbury was defending yet further calls for army and navyappropriations. He said: "For years public opinion was in favor of a pacific policy, but now that state of opinion has passed away. The tide has turned, and who am I, and who are we, that we should attempt to stem the tide? If the tide has turned, we shall have to go with it. We are in the presence of forces far larger than we can wield. " What those forces were, the aged statesman did not recognize, but theprophecy tells us. The prophet was shown the evil spirits from Satangoing forth everywhere as the end nears, to stir up the whole world tothe last great conflict. Sir Edward Grey, British foreign secretary, described these agenciesvery accurately. Speaking in the House of Commons, Nov. 27, 1911, hesaid: "It is really as if in the atmosphere of the world there were some mischievous influence at work, which troubles and excites every part of it. " It is all coming to pass exactly as the sure word of prophecy foretold. The conviction that great and decisive events are at hand has takenpossession of many hearts in all the world. When the European war brokeout in 1914, on a scale unprecedented in human history, it was no wonderthat the question sprang to many lips, "Is it Armageddon?" The question was not lightly asked. The committee of the ChurchMissionary Society (Church of England), one of the greatest missionaryorganizations in the world, sent a message to its missionaries in alllands at the outbreak of the war. In this message was a call to preparefor the coming of the Lord: "It may be that these events will quickly usher in the return of Christ to gather His saints together from the four quarters of the earth.... Many see in the events preceding and accompanying this terrible cataclysm of war the signs of our Lord's near return. If so, blessed will that servant be whom his Lord when He cometh shall find giving 'their food in due season' to those fellow servants who have been put in his charge. "--_Church Missionary Review, November, 1914. _ Timely as this call was, it was evident, from the prophetic scriptures, that the conflict then opening could not be the Armageddon of theApocalypse, for the prelude to that final clash of nations is an eventyet in the future--the downfall of a nation whose part in the closingscenes is clearly described in the prophecy of the coming Armageddon. The end of the power which rules over the territory through which theriver Euphrates flows, is the prelude to Armageddon. The prophecy says: "The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; andthe water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the Eastmight be prepared. " Rev. 16:12. Next follows the gathering of "the whole world" to "the battle of thatgreat day of God Almighty. " Verse 14. Through all modern times Turkey has been identified with the Euphrates. The region of Syria and Asia Minor, long held by Turkey, has been thehistoric meeting place of the East and the West. In the London_Fortnightly Review_, May, 1915, Mr. J. B. Firth wrote: "When, with the fall of Ottoman sovereignty at Constantinople, the Turk is driven out of Europe, there will arise once more the eternal question of the possession of Asia Minor. That land is the corridor between Europe and Asia, along which have passed most of the European conquerors--the Russians alone excepted--who have invaded Asia, and most of the Asiatic conquerors who have invaded Europe. " The fall of the Turkish power in this Euphrates region will, in somemanner, prepare the way for "the kings of the East" to come up to thefinal conflict. The Awakening of the East The same spirit that has been stirring up the West in preparation forthe contest has been working in the East also. Year after year observershave pointed out the great changes taking place in Asia. September, 1909, the London _Contemporary Review_ said: "The whole of Asia is in the throes of rebirth. At last we may see these three--the yellow race, the Indian race, and the Arab-Persian Mohammedan race. And all that is making for the Armageddon. " A writer in the May, 1913, issue of the London _Nineteenth Century andAfter_, reviewing the situation at the close of the Balkan War, said: "A new spirit is abroad in the East. It arose on the shores of the Pacific when Japan proved that the great powers of Europe are not invulnerable. North and south and west it has spread, rousing China out of centuries of slumber, stirring India into ominous questioning, reviving memories of past glory in Persia, breeding discontent in Egypt, and luring Turkey onto the rocks. " With all the nations stirred up by the spirit agencies of the god ofthis world, the prophet next saw the armies of earth gathering to thelast great battle. The prophecy continues: "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongueArmageddon. " Rev. 16:16. Armageddon means the hill, or mount, of Megiddo, which overlooks theplain of Esdraelon, the historic battle ground of northern Palestine. Carmack says of it: "Megiddo was the military key of Syria; it commanded at once the highway northward to Phoenicia and Coele-Syria and the road across Galilee to Damascus and the valley of the Euphrates. It was moreover the chief town in a district of great fertility, the contested possession of many races. The vale of Kishon and the region of Megiddo were inevitable battle fields. Through all history they retained that qualification; there many of the great contests of southwestern Asia have been decided. In the history of Israel it was the scene of frequent battles. From such association the district achieved a dark nobility; it was regarded as a pre-destined place of blood and strife; the poet of the Apocalypse has clothed it with awe as the ground of the final conflict between the powers of light and darkness. "--_"Pre-Biblical Syria and Palestine, " p. 82. _ Thus Armageddon, as the "military key of Syria, " marks Palestine and theNear East as the great international storm center in the final conflict. The Political Storm Center In vision, nearly two thousand years ago, the prophet saw the forces ofthe last days gathering around this pivotal region. Today observersrecognize the eastern Mediterranean as indeed the pivotal point aroundwhich international interests involving East and West naturally revolve. Some years ago, in discussing railway development in Asia and Africa, and the great highways of sea transportation, the London _FortnightlyReview_ said: "Palestine is the great center, the meeting of the roads. Whoever holds Palestine, commands the great lines of communication, not only by land, but also by sea. " Again, the Manchester _Guardian_, emphasizing the importance attachingto this strategic center, said during the great war: "Egypt, as things are, --and the fact cannot be too often emphasized, --is the weak spot in our system of imperial defense by sea power. Not until Palestine is in our possession can Egypt be regarded as safe. "--_Quoted in Literary Digest, Feb. 12, 1916, p. 369. _ Other nations have recognized the strategic value of a territory sosituated. Thus political considerations make this region pointed out bythe prophecy a center of conflicting interests. Hogarth, in his book, "The Near East, " calls it "the time-honored storm center of the easternMediterranean. " The Religious Storm Center To the conflict of political interests is added the rivalry of religioussentiment. Commenting on the religious associations of Palestine inrelation to the international political situation, the London_Spectator_ some years ago stated the matter thus: "People often ask how it is that the future of Palestine presents such difficulties. The reason is simply that Jerusalem--you cannot separate Jerusalem from Palestine--is the sacred city of so many creeds and warring faiths. Not only is it the holy place of all the Christian churches, --and two of them quarrel bitterly over it, the Greeks and the Latins, --but it is also one of the most sacred places in the Mohammedan world. Mecca and Medina are hardly more sacred than the Mosque of Omar. That is a fact which is often ignored by Europeans, who forget that to turn the Mohammedans out of the temple inclosure would disturb the whole Moslem world, from the Straits Settlements to Albania. We must never forget that Mohammedan pilgrims from India visit Jerusalem, just as Christian pilgrims visit it from Europe. Lastly, Jerusalem is profoundly sacred to the Jews, and the Jews are beginning to be locally numerous and important. Most certainly there are no elements of difficulty wanting in the problem of the future of Palestine. " History records the fact that rivalry over the care of the traditionalholy places helped to precipitate one European war--that of the Crimea. In the study of the Eastern Question, we have seen that the prophecy ofDaniel 11 marks Jerusalem as still a storm center in the closing scenes. A British consul in Jerusalem, in the days following the Crimean War, set forth suggestively his view of one of the factors in the EasternQuestion. He wrote: "The very heart and kernel of the Eastern Question can only be reached in the Holy City, Jerusalem, where the Eastern and Western churches are still wrestling as of old for the mastery.... Now as heretofore, disguise the object as they may, they are striving for a prize which has not been destined by divine Providence for either; and this prize is no less than a virtual dominion over the Christian world, from a throne of government within the sanctuaries of the Holy City; and the possession of that throne would involve possession of the key to universal dominion. "--_"Stirring Times: Records from Jerusalem Consulate Chronicles, " by James Finn, introductory note by editor, p. Xxiii. _ Foretold in Prophecy By every consideration--political, racial, and religious--the Near Eastsupplies all the elements for involving the whole world when once thesweeping displacements begin which the prophecy foretold, and for whichstatesmen in our day have sought to prepare. Long ages ago the prophet of God, in vision on the Isle of Patmos, wasshown the clash of interests and the gathering of the nations aroundthis historic center. Before our eyes today we see events tending togive to this region the very character assigned to it by the prophecy. It was written in the sure word of prophecy in order that, as the eventsforetold are seen approaching, men may believe and turn to God, and findsalvation from the things coming upon the earth. Into the prophecy of this sixteenth chapter of Revelation, describingthe gathering of forces to Armageddon, our Saviour interjects thewarning and the appeal: "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth hisgarments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. " Verse 15. The last earthly events that the prophecy is dealing with--the pouringout of the seven last plagues, and the clash of Armageddon--come afterprobation closes. The close of probation, the passing of the ministry ofChrist in the heavenly temple, will come as a thief, unannounced. Ouronly safety is in yielding heart and life to him now for cleansing, andaccepting from his hand the garments of his own righteousness, freelyoffered to every one. What Comes with Armageddon Whatever ambitions or aims may be the impelling motives when thegathering to the great conflict comes, one thing is certain: Armageddonis to bring triumph and world dominion to no earthly power. As thenations gather, the Lord intervenes from heaven, and the history of thekingdoms of this world is closed at last. The prophet tells the sequelto Armageddon: "He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongueArmageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; andthere came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings;and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were uponthe earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city wasdivided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and greatBabylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of thewine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and themountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out ofheaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed Godbecause of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceedinggreat. " Rev. 16:16-21. The fall of the Turkish power is the prelude to the gathering of thenations to the battle of Armageddon. And Armageddon is the prelude tothe end of the world and Christ's glorious coming as King of kings andLord of lords. The armies gathered to battle for supremacy findthemselves suddenly arrayed against the armies of heaven. Anotherprophecy describes the scene when Christ is revealed: "The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and thechief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; andsaid to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the faceof Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: forthe great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"Rev. 6:15-17. Again, as the great searchlight of divine prophecy lights up the waybefore us, we see by the course of present-day events that the end isdrawing very near. By what sudden turn of affairs the last things to bedone in history may be set in motion, none can foresee. The Saviouradmonishes every soul, "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an houras ye think not the Son of man cometh. " Matt. 24:44. It is for this time of waiting, especially, that Christ spoke theparable of the ten virgins who waited for the bridegroom. All sincerelywanted to meet him; all expected to be ready. But when the cry wasraised, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him!" onlyfive were ready. The others lacked the oil that was to give them light. We know what the oil represents--the genuine heart experience of thegrace and love of Christ. [Illustration: THE TEN VIRGINS "They that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door wasshut. " Matt. 25:10. ] Those overtaken unready, hastened away to get oil. "And while they wentto buy, the bridegroom came; and _they that were ready_ went in with himto the marriage: and the door was shut. " Matt. 25:10. Those that wereready went in; those that were getting ready were too late. How camesome to be ready?--They were ready all the time; they kept ready. Thislesson is for us now. Our only safety is in being ready every day, keeping sins forgiven, the life surrendered to God. [Illustration: THE MILLENNIUM The millennium is the closing period of God's great week of time--agreat sabbath of rest to the earth and to the people of God. It follows the close of the gospel age, and precedes the setting up ofthe everlasting kingdom of God on earth. It comprehends what in the Scriptures is frequently spoken of as "theday of the Lord. " It is bounded at each end by a resurrection. Its beginning is marked by the pouring out of the seven last plagues, the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the righteous dead, thebinding of Satan, and the translation of the saints to heaven; and itsclose, by the descent of the New Jerusalem, with Christ and the saints, from heaven, the resurrection of the wicked dead, the loosing of Satan, and the final destruction of the wicked. During the one thousand years the earth lies desolate; Satan and hisangels are confined here; and the saints, with Christ, sit in judgmenton the wicked, preparatory to their final punishment. The wicked dead are then raised; Satan is loosed for a little season, and he and the host of the wicked encompass the camp of the saints andthe holy city, when fire comes down from God out of heaven and devoursthem. The earth is cleansed by the same fire that destroys the wicked, and, renewed, becomes the eternal abode of the saints. The millennium is one of "the ages to come. " Its close will mark thebeginning of the new earth state. ] [Illustration: CHRIST COMING FOR HIS OWN "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years, " Rev. 20:4. ] THE MILLENNIUM The word "millennium" means "a thousand years. " This definite period isreferred to specifically in but one chapter of the Bible, the twentiethof Revelation; and in that chapter it is spoken of repeatedly. We findit to be: The period during which the saints reign with Christ in judgment. The period during which Satan is bound. The measure of time between the two resurrections, that of the just andthat of the unjust. An examination of the scriptures bearing upon the millennium will show: 1. The events that mark its beginning. 2. The events that occur during the thousand years. 3. The events that come at the end of the period. We shall find it clearly taught in these scriptures: That the millennium begins at the second coming of Christ. That the reign of the saints with Him in judgment is not on this earth, but in heaven. That this earth, void of human inhabitants, is Satan's prison houseduring the thousand years. That at the end of the thousand years the judgment determined isexecuted upon Satan and all the wicked. That this earth, purified by the fires of the last judgment, andrenewed, becomes the eternal home of the saved. 1. Events at the Beginning of the Thousand Years The key to the time is furnished by the declaration that the millenniumbegins with-- The Resurrection of the Just Speaking of the risen saints, the Scripture says: "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest ofthe dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years werefinished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he thathath part in the first resurrection. " Rev. 20:4-6. There are to be two resurrections. The apostle Paul said that this wasthe teaching of all Scripture: "There shall be a resurrection of thedead, both of the just and unjust. " Acts 24:15. The first resurrection, that of the just, marks the beginning of the thousand years. Christ's Second Coming When is this first resurrection, in the order of events in this "day ofthe Lord"? It is at the second advent of Christ. One scripture, out ofmany, will suffice to state it: "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voiceof the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christshall rise first. " 1 Thess. 4:16. As the Saviour comes in glory, with all the holy angels, the graves areopened, and His voice awakens His children who sleep in the dust. "He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and theyshall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end ofheaven to the other. " Matt. 24:31. The time of Christ's second coming, therefore, is the beginning of themillennium. The Righteous Taken to Heaven The living righteous are translated, and, together with the risensaints, are taken to heaven, as the apostle says: "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together withthem in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever bewith the Lord. " 1 Thess. 4:17. This was the Saviour's promise: "In My Father's house are many mansions.... I go to prepare a place foryou. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, andreceive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. " John14:2, 3. The Destruction of the Wicked At Christ's second coming the wicked are slain. The unbelieving leftwithout shelter in that day, cannot endure the presence of such glory aswill burst upon the world: "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, inflaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obeynot the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. " 2 Thess. 1:7, 8. The Binding of Satan With the saints in heaven, beyond the reach of Satan's wiles, and withthe wicked dead, not to live again till the thousand years are finished, Satan is "bound"--confined by divine power to this earth, which becomeshis prison house, there being neither saint nor sinner upon whom to plyhis arts of deception. No prisoner was ever more effectually chained. The symbolical language of the prophet pictures the scene: "I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomlesspit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, thatold serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousandyears, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set aseal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till thethousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed alittle season. " Rev. 20:1-3. These are the events that mark the beginning of the thousand years:Christ's second coming, the resurrection of the just, the ascent of allthe redeemed to the city of God, the death of the wicked, and, inconsequence, the binding of Satan. 2. Events During the Thousand Years In Heaven Scene after scene of glory is spread before us in the visions theprophets were given of the redeemed in the city of God. The prophet Johnsays: "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man couldnumber, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stoodbefore the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, andpalms in their hands.... Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. " Rev. 7:9-15. They "serve" in the temple of the Lord, the prophet says; while the poetsings: "Whence came the armies of the sky, John saw in vision bright? Whence came their crowns, their robes, their palms, Too pure for mortal sight? "From desert waste, and cities full, From dungeons dark, they've come, And now they claim their mansion fair, They've found their long-sought home. " One service in which the saved have part during the thousand years isthe work of judgment that still remains, preparatory to the finalvisitation of sin and the destruction of Satan and all his works. Theprophet saw this work going forward in the heavenly courts, theredeemed associated with Christ in the service: "I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given untothem: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness ofJesus, 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 thousandyears. " Rev. 20:4. It was to this work of judging the wicked and the evil angels, that theapostle Paul referred in the counsel to the Corinthians: "Do ye not knowthat the saints shall judge the world?... Know ye not that we shalljudge angels?" 1 Cor. 6:2, 3. On Earth While in heaven above the saved are with Christ and the holy angelsbefore the throne, and follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, it is tobe remembered that on earth all is desolation and emptiness. The wickedhave been slain by the glory of Christ's coming. By the quaking of theearth the cities of the nations have fallen in ruin, islands have beenremoved, and mountains cast into the depths of the sea. The condition ofthe earth during this time of desolation is thus described by theprophet: "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and theheavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, theytrembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there wasno man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof werebroken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger. " Jer. 4:23-26. "Without form, and void, " said the prophet. This is the same phrase thatis used in the opening verses of Genesis to describe the chaotic stateof the earth in the beginning. At the beginning of creation week theearth was in a state of emptiness and chaos--an "abyss, " as it iscalled in the Greek translation of Genesis. Again, during thisthousand-year period, the earth is an "abyss, " or a desolate waste. "Abyss" is the meaning of the word translated "bottomless pit" in thetext telling of the binding of Satan by the mighty angel of God: "He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, andSatan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomlesspit. " Rev. 20:2, 3. The Revised Version says, "And cast him into theabyss. " Confined to this pit or abyss of desolation, as a prisoner in a prisonhouse, with none to tempt, the author of sin has a thousand years inwhich to view the ruin that sin has wrought in the earth that once leftits Maker's hand beautiful and perfect, unmarred by any curse. 3. Events at the End of the Thousand Years At the end of the millennium, this earth becomes the scene of eventsthat close the great controversy between Christ and Satan. The Descent of the Holy City The judgment work in heaven having been accomplished, the hour has comefor the execution of the judgment upon sin and sinners. The holy citycomes down out of heaven. The prophet saw its descent in vision: "I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out ofheaven. " Rev. 21:2. The Loosing of Satan "When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of hisprison, and shall go out to deceive the nations. " Rev. 20:7, 8. With all the wicked destroyed by the glory of Christ's second coming, Satan had been effectually bound; but now, as the city descends, thevoice of Christ calls forth the wicked dead, and Satan is thus loosed, and assumes control again of those who have chosen him as their master. It is the time of which the Scripture speaks: "The rest of the deadlived not again until the thousand years were finished. " Verse 5. Theprophet saw the hosts of the lost called forth. "The sea gave up thedead which were in it; and death and hell [the "grave, " margin]delivered up the dead which were in them. " Verse 13. Thus Satan's subjects come forth to the last judgment. The resurrectionof the wicked of all the ages is the loosing of Satan. Here again is hiskingdom, and again he plies his deceptions and takes up anew his fightagainst God. How very natural that Satan should persuade the wicked thathe has raised them to life, that his word in the beginning was true, "Yeshall not surely die"! If they are immortal, why may they not yetprevail against God? Satan rallies his angels and the hosts of thewicked, in numbers "as the sand of the sea, " to make an attack upon thecity of God. "How vast the concourse! not in number more The waves that break on the resounding shore, The leaves that tremble in the shady grove, The lamps that gild the spangled vaults above; Those overwhelming armies, whose command Said to one empire, Fall; another, Stand; Whose rear lay wrap't in night, while breaking dawn Rous'd the broad front, and called the battle on; Great Xerxes' world in arms, proud Cannę's field, Where Carthage taught victorious Rome to yield, Immortal Blenheim, fam'd Ramillia's host;-- They all are here, and here they all are lost; Their millions swell, to be discerned in vain, Lost as a billow in th' unbounded main. " --_Edward Young's "Last Day. "_ "They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of thesaints about, and the beloved city. " Verse 9. The Wicked Before the Bar of God But as the hosts of evil compass the city, they are halted by the gloryand majesty of the Redeemer's presence, enthroned as eternal victor oversin. Just here must apply the prophet's words: "I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face theearth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the bookswere opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: andthe dead were judged out of those things which were written in thebooks, according to their works. " Rev. 20:11, 12. [Illustration: THE HOLY CITY DESCENDS "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. " Rev 21:3. ] During the thousand years the records in heaven have been reviewed, andthe degrees of guilt established. Now the judgment is to be pronouncedand executed. But first the record of the books and the eternalrighteousness of God's holy law are flashed by divine power upon theconsciences of all the lost--"their conscience also bearing witness"(Rom. 2:15) that they are without excuse. The Destruction of Sin Sin is now to be blotted from the universe of God; and those who havechosen to be identified with sin perish with it. All that Infinite Lovecan do has been done in the gift of Christ to save men from thetransgression of the holy law of God. That salvation rejected, there isnothing remaining that heaven can offer. There is no further sacrificethat can be made. "There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. " Heb. 10:26. Then follows the last scene in the conflict with evil: "They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of thesaints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out ofheaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was castinto the lake of fire.... And death and hell [the grave] were cast intothe lake of fire. This is the second death. " Rev. 20:9-14. The second death ends sin and the author of sin, and death itself. Thecontroversy is ended. Christ's death has purged sin from the universe ofGod. The Earth Purified and Made New The fires that consume the wicked melt the earth and purify it from alltrace of the curse. It is the day of which Peter wrote: "Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elementsshall melt with fervent heat. " But after this cleansing of every elementof this sin-cursed earth, the promise of God will be fulfilled in theearth made new, as the eternal home of the saved. As Peter says, aftertelling of the day of burning, "Nevertheless we, according to Hispromise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwellethrighteousness. " 2 Peter 3:12, 13. "O sweet and blessed country, The home of God's elect! O sweet and blessed country, That eager hearts expect! Jesus, in mercy bring us To that dear land of rest; Who art, with God the Father, And Spirit, ever blest. " [Illustration: MOSES VIEWING THE PROMISED LAND "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. " Matt. 5:5. ] [Illustration: THE SPIES' RETURN "The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding goodland. " Num. 14:7. ] THE HOME OF THE SAVED The Land of Peace The Bible opens with a new heaven and a new earth, perfect from theCreator's hand; with man sinless and having access to the tree of lifein the midst of the Eden paradise, out of which flowed a river thatspread its life-giving waters through the earth. The Bible closes with a new heaven and a new earth; with man upright andsinless, having right to the tree of life growing in the midst of Eden;with the river of life flowing out from the garden of God, clear ascrystal. Between the two scenes spreads out the panorama of six thousand years ofconflict with sin. It is a story of the fall of man, of the loss of hisEden home, of the curse that marred the earth, of sin and sorrow anddeath overspreading all. The Restorer But from the hour when the shadow of sin fell upon the earth, there hasbeen a light shining in the darkness. Amid the ruin that sin hadwrought, there appeared the great Restorer. The inspired record gives a word-picture of Jesus taking man's place towin back the lost dominion: "Unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What isman, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitesthim? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst himwith glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of Thy hands:Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that Heput all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put underHim. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus. "Heb. 2:5-9. Just where Adam fell and lost his dominion over the earth, we see Jesus, the second Adam, taking man's place and winning back the lostinheritance. That is why the picture of the new earth and man's sinlessstate depicted in the first two chapters of the Bible is repeated in thelast two chapters with even greater fulness of glory. God's originalplan and purpose will be carried out, and this earth, renewed, will bethe eternal home of sinless men and women, redeemed by grace. Sin will be found not to have frustrated, but only to have delayed, thepurpose of God. And what is six thousand years in working out the divineplan? In our brief span we may divide human history into ancient, medieval, and modern; but in heaven's life a thousand years are but as"a watch in the night;" and these six watches are to heaven but as onenight of grief and of loving ministry in rescuing the lost. It has cost all that heaven had to give. But the infinite Gift was made, and all heaven has wrought at the work. Of the angels it is written, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for themwho shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14. Bringing Back the Lost Dominion Of all the worlds that shine in the heavens, declaring the glory of God, this earth is the one that was lost. Its light went out in darkness. Itwandered from the fold of God's perfect creation. Then the divine Shepherd came to find it and bring it back. And theangels that rejoiced when they saw this earth created, --"when themorning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted forjoy, "--will again rejoice as the Lord brings back His own, --this earth, redeemed from the curse, shining in the bright universe again with theperfection of the glory of God. Christ not only redeems lost men, but He is to redeem this lost earth. "The Son of man, " He said, "is come to seek and to save that which waslost. " Luke 19:10. By sinning, man lost not only his righteousness and his life, but hisdominion as well. Originally man had dominion "over all the earth. " Gen. 1:26. As the psalmist says, "Thou madest him to have dominion over theworks of Thy hands. " Ps. 8:6. He was prince and ruler of the earth. Butwhen he yielded to Satan's temptation, he yielded up that dominion tothe enemy, thus placing himself in the power of his foe. Satan thusbecame the "prince of this world, " exercising the dominion wrested fromman. But through Christ, this dominion is to be restored. The prophet of oldsaid: "Thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall cometo the daughter of Jerusalem. " Micah 4:8. The Hope of the Promise The promise of the gospel of salvation is the promise not only of lifeeternal through faith, but of an eternal inheritance in the earth madenew, the fulfilment of the Creator's plan when He made this world to bethe home of man. This was the star of hope that shone before Adam andEve as they stepped forth from Eden into a dying world. It was thepromise to Abraham, "the promise, that he should be the heir of theworld. " Rom. 4:13. It was not the promise of the world in its present state. For the Lordgave Abraham "none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his footon. " Acts 7:5. Abraham himself did not look for the promise to befulfilled in this sinful earth, but in the earth made new, redeemed fromsin. The Scripture says of his hope: "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country:... For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder andmaker is God. " Heb. 11:9, 10. It was in the new earth and the New Jerusalem that Abraham, the fatherof the faithful, expected to receive the eternal inheritance promised tohim and to his seed. And there all the faithful will find theirinheritance. "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according tothe promise. " Gal. 3:29. The psalmist said, "The meek shall inherit the earth. " Ps. 37:11. Christrepeated it: "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. "Matt. 5:5. The New Earth and the New Jerusalem Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord described the re-creation of thisearth to be the home of the saved: "Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth: and the former shallnot be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoiceforever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem arejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, andjoy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard inher, nor the voice of crying. " Isa. 65:17-19. It is not of old Jerusalem that the prophet is speaking, but of the NewJerusalem, which John saw coming down, with the saints, from God out ofheaven. He saw it descending upon the earth at the end of the thousandyears, and saw the wicked come forth from their graves to judgment. Thenhe saw the fires of the last day falling upon the lost, consuming sinand sinners, and purifying the earth itself from every trace of thecurse. It is the day of which Peter wrote, "Wherein the heavens being onfire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. "But he adds, "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for newheavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. " 2 Peter 3:12, 13. Out from the dissolved elements of the earth and the atmospheric heavensthe Creator's power again calls forth new heavens and a new earth, theold creation cleansed and renewed in the perfection of the original Edenparadise. It is coming; for John saw it in vision. "I saw, " he says, "anew heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earthwere passed away. " Rev. 21:1. He saw the city which had come down from heaven--those mansions thatChrist is now gone to prepare--the New Jerusalem, the holy capital ofthe eternal kingdom of the saints, where Christ's own throne is set. "I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle ofGod is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be Hispeople, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And Godshall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no moredeath, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the thronesaid, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: forthese words are true and faithful. " Rev. 21:3-5. It passes comprehension; but it is true. And the life of the saved intheir eternal inheritance will be just as real as is life upon thispresent earth. [Illustration: THE SAINTS' ETERNAL HOME "I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the firstearth were passed away. " Rev. 21:1. ] "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plantvineyards, and eat the fruit of them. " "The wolf and the lamb shall feedtogether, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shallbe the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holymountain, saith the Lord. " Isa. 65:21, 25. The whole earth will be as the Eden paradise planted by God in thebeginning. And from week to week and from month to month the saved willgather to worship before the glorious throne in the holy city. "As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remainbefore Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. Andit shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from oneSabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith theLord. " Isa. 66:22, 23. The Glories of the Saints' Eternal Home As the first two chapters of the Bible tell of earth's originalperfection, so the last two chapters constitute one psalm of ecstasyover the indescribable glories of the earth made new, with its city oflight, the walls of jasper, the gates of pearl, the river of lifeflowing from the throne of the Lamb, clear as crystal, with thewidespreading tree of life on either side of the river. And supremeabove all, Jesus Himself, "the King in His beauty, " without whom therewould be no glory even in that city foursquare; "for the glory of Goddid lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. " "Oh, heaven without my Saviour Would be no heaven to me; Dim were the walls of jasper, Rayless the crystal sea! "He gilds earth's darkest valleys With light and joy and peace; Then what must be the radiance Where sin and death shall cease?" Next to the loveliness and grace of Christ our Saviour, the glories ofthis world to come have inspired the sweetest hymns of hope for longinghearts. How often has the spirit been lifted above earth's trials as wehave sung, "O that home of the soul! in my visions and dreams Its bright, jasper walls I can see Till I fancy but thinly the veil intervenes Between the fair city and me. "That unchangeable home is for you and for me, Where Jesus of Nazareth stands; The King of all kingdoms forever is He, And He holdeth our crowns in His hands. "O how sweet it will be in that beautiful land, So free from all sorrow and pain, With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands, To meet one another again!" "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither haveentered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared forthem that love Him. " Through the ages, the children of the promise have been journeyingtoward the city which hath foundations, whose builder and makeris God, and they have confessed themselves pilgrims andstrangers in this present world. As they have followed the way ofrighteousness, --oftentimes a thorny path, --it has been with the shiningcity ever before their vision. As they have fallen in death, it has beenwith closing eyes fixed upon "that day" when Christ shall come to takeHis people to the New Jerusalem preparing above "The Lamb there in His beauty Without a veil is seen. It were a well-spent journey Though seven deaths lay between. " Now earth's course is nearly run. It is but a little way to the holycity, where the water of life flows clear as crystal from the midst ofthe throne. The water of life is really there; for the Lord showed it tothe prophet John in vision, that he might tell us that he saw it. "IJohn saw the holy city, " he says, "and he showed me a pure river ofwater of life, clear as crystal. " Rev. 21:2; 22:1. [Illustration: THE MASTER AT THE DOOR "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, andopen the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he withMe. " Rev 3:20. ] Christ invites every one to share the eternal inheritance, givingassurance of His power to save to the uttermost all that come unto Godby Him. He is knocking at the door of every heart, asking admittance, inorder that He may take away all sin, and prepare the soul for theheavenly home. And the glories of the holy city invite us to come: "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take thewater of life freely. " Rev. 22:17. "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. " [Illustration: EVENTIDE Home to the fold. ] INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND AUTHORITIES Abraham, parable of rich man and Lazarus, 284 "Abridgment of Christian Doctrine, " on change of Sabbath, 156 Adolphus, on study of prophecy, 305 Advent message, Bates as advocate of, 244 Advent movement, extent of, Brock on, 241 Advent movement of 1844, 240 Ęschylus, on Medo-Persia, 121 Ęschylus, on Xerxes' host, 323 Alexander, conquests of, Plutarch on, 121, 122 Alexander, dominion of, Rawlinson on, 324, 325 Alexander, empire of, Appian on, 122 Alexander, first king of Greece, 207 Alexander, greatness of, Arrian on, 44 Alexander, Justin on, 207 Alexander, Lucan on, 45 Alexandra, Queen, on preparations for war, 339 Alexandria, library at, sacred books of Jews in, 187 Angels attending throne of God, 296 Angels, God's messengers, 297 Angels, guardian, 300 Angels in kingly courts, 299 Angels, messengers of deliverance, 300 Angels, their ministry, 295-301 Antitypical day of atonement, 237, 240, 241 Apollonius, description of Babylon by, 33 Apostasy in last days, Daniel 8, 248 Appearing of Christ, 59 Appian, on Alexander's empire, 122 Arian kingdoms plucked up, 129 Arian powers uprooted by Belisarius, 134 Armageddon, "Contemporary Review" on, 339 Armageddon, "Everybody's Magazine" on, 339 Armageddon, final clash of empires, 337-349 Armageddon, foretold in prophecy, 346, 347 Armageddon, Lord Rosebery on, 339 Armageddon, or Mt. Megiddo, Carmack, on 344 Armageddon, prelude to, 343 Armageddon, sequel of, 347, 348 Arming of the nations, 106, 107 Arrian, on Alexander's greatness, 44 Artaxerxes, date of decree to rebuild Jerusalem, 223 Artaxerxes, date of reign of, 225-227 "Astronomy, " Chambers, on falling stars, 101 Atonement, antitypical day of, 237, 240, 241 Avebury, Lord, on war, 112 Babylon, description of, by Apollonius, 33, 34 Babylon, desolation of, 31-35 Babylon, desolation of, Layard on, 35 Babylon, "Encyclopedia of Islam" on, 35 Babylon in prophecy and history, 119, 120 Babylon, prophecy concerning, 39-41 Babylon, prophecy of, confirmed by history, 41-43 Babylon, Strabo on, 34 Bacon, Francis, on increase of knowledge, 306, 307 Ball, Sir Robert, on falling stars, 100 Bampfield, died in prison for Sabbath keeping, 179 Baptism, conditions necessary to, 199, 200 Baptism for believers, 200 Baptism, form of, 200-203 Baptism, manner of, Dean Stanley on, 202 Baptism, manner of, Neander on, 201 Baptism, manner of, Pullus on, 202 "Baptism, " meaning of word, Calvin on, 201 "Baptism, " meaning of word, Luther on, 201 Baptism, memorial of resurrection, 199-203 Baptism of infants, Dean Stanley on, 202 Baptism of Jesus, time of, 230, 231 Baptists, Sabbatarian, 179 Baptists, Seventh Day, in America, 179, 180 Barnes, Dr. Albert, on division of Grecia, 122 Bates, as a Sabbath keeper, 244 Baudrillart, on papal persecution, 151 Beast, the fourth, of Daniel 7, 126-129 Beasts, empires represented by, 118 Belisarius, Arian powers uprooted by, 134 Bellarmine, on great words of little horn, 147 Bemont and Monod, "Medieval Europe", 137 Bengelius, on judgment-hour warning, 249 Berosus, on exploits of Nebuchadnezzar, 120 Berthier enters Rome, Rickaby on, 141 Besant, Mrs. Annie, on spiritualism of the East, 273 Bible, agency in the new birth, 15, 17 Bible and tradition, 251, 252 Bible, Christ the central theme of, 23 Bible, Dr. Harris on, 20, 21 Bible, Erasmus on, 21 Bible for all mankind, 21 Bible, given to the world, Faber on, 308 Bible, God its author, 14 Bible, language of, Van Dyke on, 21, 22 Bible, our safety and defense, 18 Bible societies, organization of, 308 Bible, source of all doctrine, 20 Bible, speaks to our day, 13 Bible, Spurgeon on authorship of, 14 Bible, Spurgeon's experience with, 14 Bible, the book that talks, 13 Bible, the bread of life, 18 Bible, the Christian's shield, 18 Bible, the living word, 15 Bible, the word that creates, 15 Bible, the word that works within, 17 Biddolf, on lessons from Lisbon earthquake, 82 Bishop of Rome as head of church, Justinian on, 133 Blunt, on doom of Turks, 333 Bogue, on persecution for Sabbath keeping, 178, 179 Bonar's hymn, on state of dead, 282 Bower, on Sabbath observance, 174 Bread of life, Bible as the, 18 Brerewood, on Sabbath in first centuries, 173 Britten, Mrs. Emma, on Spiritualism, 269 Brock, on extent of the advent movement, 241 Bruce, on desolation of Tyre, 31 Bury, on achievements of Justinian, 132 Calamy, on Bampfield as a Sabbatarian, 179 Calvin, on meaning of word "baptism", 201 Canon, Ptolemy's, Lindsay on, 225 Carmack, on Armageddon, or Mt. Megiddo, 344 Chambers, Dr. , on Sabbath in England, 177 Chambers, on falling stars, 101 Change of Sabbath, 153-167 Charles I, on Sabbath observance, 177 China open to the gospel, 309 Christ and Satan, controversy between, 257-263 Christ, central theme of Bible, 23 Christ, closing work of, in heaven, 216 Christ, death of, 231 Christ, glorious appearing of, 59 Christ, lost dominion redeemed by, 363 Christ, second coming of, 51-63, 352 Christ, the restorer, 362 Christian work of Countess of Huntingdon, 63 Christs, false, 74 "Church Missionary Review, " on war a sign of end, 343 Clarke, Dr. Adam, on "living soul", 283 Cleansing of the sanctuary, 211, 213-217 Clerke, on glory of falling stars, 101, 102 Clerke, on star shower of 1833, 94, 95 Coming of Christ at the door, 115 Coming of Christ, beginning of signs of, 75-77 Coming of Christ, love of pleasure a sign of, 109 Coming of Christ, manner of, 53-55 Coming of Christ, political unrest a sign of, 106 Coming of Christ, prelude to, 59 Coming of Christ, promise of, 52 Coming of Christ, purpose of, 56, 57 Coming of Christ, signs of, 74, 75 Coming of Christ, signs of, in industrial world, 110 Coming of Christ, signs of, in Matthew 24, 65, 66, 112, 113 Coming of Christ, signs of, in the social world, 109 Coming of Christ, signs of, upon the earth, 105 Coming of Christ, the Saviour's prophecy of, 65-77 Coming of Christ, to be as in days of Noah, 109 Coming of Christ, world evangelization a sign of, 112 Commandments, the ten, 182 Comte, M. , on passion for pleasure, 10 Connecticut Legislature, Dark Day in, 90 Conroy, on temporal sovereignty of popes, 129 Constantine, Sunday law of, 16 "Contemporary Review, " on Armageddon, 339 "Contemporary Review, " on awakening of East, 344 Controversy between Christ and Satan, 257 Controversy, earth the battle-ground of, 259 Conybeare and Howson, on the Sabbath, 165 Cottrell, R. F. , poem by, 171 Countess of Huntingdon, Christian work of, 63 Covenant, confirming of the, 231 Creative power of the Word, 15 Croly, on Justinian as founder of papal supremacy, 133 Cuneiform writing, 312 Cyrus, conquests of, Rawlinson on, 121 Cyrus, Xenophon on, 206 Dale, on non-sacredness of Sunday, 166 Daniel, book of, unsealed, 304 Daniel 2, prophecy of, 39-49 Daniel 7, prophecy of, 117-129 Daniel 8, prophecy of, 205-211 Daniel, prophecy of 1260 years, 131, 132 Daniel, vision of great beasts, 118 Dark Day, Boston "Gazette" on, 88 Dark Day, cause of unknown, 87 Dark Day, contemporary records of, 88, 89 Dark Day, Dr. Samuel Stearns on, 89, 90 Dark Day, effect on Connecticut Legislature, 90 Dark Day, "Independent Chronicle" on, 88, 89 Dark Day in New England, Williams on, 86 Dark Day, prophecy of, fulfilled, 85 Dark Day, Timothy Dwight on, 90 Dark Day, Webster on, 87 Dark Day, Whittier on, 86, 87, 90, 91 Darkening of the sun, 85 Dead, not agencies of Spiritualism, 271 Dead, sleep of, 280-282 Dead, righteous, raised to life, 60 Death, man's state in, 275, 280-282 Delaire, Mme. Jean, on Theosophy and Spiritualism, 272, 273 Desolation of Babylon, 31 Destruction of the wicked, 61, 353 "Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, " on Change of Sabbath, 166 Discontent, F. T. Martin on growth of, 112 Doctrinal Catechism, on change of Sabbath, 156 Doctrinal Catechism, on power of church, 252 Doctrine, Bible the source of, 20 Dominion, bring back the lost, 363 Dream of Nebuchadnezzar, 39, 40 Dwight, on Dark Day, 90 Earth, cleansed and renewed, 364-367 Earth, purified, 359 East, awakening of, 344 East, "Nineteenth Century and After, " on new spirit in, 344 Eastern Question, Jerusalem heart of, Finn on, 346 Eastern Question, Maspero on, 322 Eastern Question, relation to end of world, 334 Eastern Question, the, 321-335 Eighteen forty-four, Advent movement in, 240-244 Elliott, on great words of little horn, 147 Elven, Cornelius, poem by, 335 Empires, four great universal, 117-129 Encyclopedia Britannica, on Palestine as battle field, 325, 326 Encyclopedia of Islam, on Babylon, 35 End of the wicked, 287-293 End, time of the, 303-317 Erasmus, on the Bible, 21 Eternal fire, 292, 293 Euphrates dried up, 332 Europe, kingdoms of modern, 46-48 Everlasting fire, 292 Everlasting punishment, 289-293 "Everybody's Magazine, " on Armageddon, 339 Evil, origin of, 257-263 Executive judgment, 261-263 Faber, G. S. , on Bible given to the world, 308 Faith, justification by, 191-197 Falling stars, 93 Falling stars, sign to world, 99 False Christs, 74 Farrar, on prophecy fulfilled, 35, 36 Ferraris, on titles assumed by Pope, 149 Fig tree, parable of, 115 Finlay, on beginning of history of Middle Ages, 134, 135 Finlay, on rapid changes in sixth century, 132 Fire, everlasting, 292, 293 Fire, lake of, 290 Fire, unquenchable, 292, 293 First angel's message, 239 First day rest, 164-166 Firth, on fall of Ottoman power, 343 Flammarion, on density of star shower, 95 "Forever and ever, " meaning of, 291, 292 "Fortnightly Review, " on Turkey's position, 333, 334 Fox family, origin of modern Spiritualism, 269 France, decree of, to abolish religion, 140 French Revolution, Lamartine on, 140 French Revolution, significant events of, 140 "Gazette and Country Journal" on dark day, 88 Gehenna, a valley near Jerusalem, 293 Gentiles, gospel carried to, 234, 235 Gibbon, on power of Rome, 46 Gibbon, on Roman Empire, 209 Gibbon, on site of Nineveh, 29 Gibbon, on struggle for Italy, 134 God's challenge to false religious systems, 25 Goldastus, on Sabbath keepers in Alpine valleys, 175 Gospel, agencies for work of, 311 Gospel, China, opened to the, 309 Gospel, doors open to, in all world, 309 Gospel for our day, the, 247, 248 Gospel message, solemn warning in, 248, 249 Gospel, open doors for, Dr. Pierson on, 310 Gospel, printing press an agency of, 318 Gospel, telegraph used in carrying, 318 Gospel, the everlasting, 248 Gospel to the Gentiles, 234, 235 Goths, defeat of, 134 Great controversy, earth the battle ground of, 259 Grecia, Alexander first king of, 207 Grecia, conquests of, under Alexander, 121, 122 Grecia, division of, Dr. Albert Barnes on, 122 Grecia, prophecy and history of, 206, 207, 121, 324 Grecia, prophecy concerning, in Daniel, 244 Greece, division of, 208 Greeley, Spiritualism tested by, 269 Grey, Sir Edward, on Satanic agencies, 342 Guardian angels, 300 Gutenberg's first types, 314 Hales, on authenticity of Ptolemy's canon, 225 Harris, on the Bible, 20-21 Hastings, on Valley of Hinnom, 293 "Hearst's Magazine, " on growth of discontent, 112 Heresies, papal order against, 150 Herodotus, on doctrine of immortality, 291 Herodotus, on Pythius, the Lydian, 323 Hieroglyphics, the "Ox Song", 312 Hinnom, Valley of, 293 Hippolytus, on power of Rome, 46 Hippolytus, on prophecy of Rome fulfilled, 126 Hiscox, on change of Sabbath, 166, 167 Hiscox, on Sunday mark of paganism, 170 History, prophecy confirmed by, 35-37 Hobbs, Professor, on Lisbon earthquake, 79 Holtzman, on Bible and tradition, 252 Home of the saved, 361-370 Horace, ode on Rome, 47 Horace, on might of Rome, 208 Hughes, on Jerusalem's part in closing history, 328 Huguenots, persecution of, Kurtz on, 76 Humboldt, on other displays of falling stars, 99 Humphreys, on appearance of falling stars, 96 Hutton, on abolition of religion in France, 140 Hymn on state of dead, by Horatius Bonar, 282 Image of Daniel 2, 118 Image to the Papacy, 251 Immortality, doctrine of, 291 Immortality, doctrine of, Herodotus on, 291 Immortality, God only has, 282 Immortality of the soul, 275-285 Immortality, the gift of God, 275, 282 Immortality, when bestowed, 279 Increase of knowledge, 306-317 "Independent Chronicle, " on Dark Day, 88, 89 Infant baptism, Dean Stanley on, 202 Ising, visit of, to site of Nebuchadnezzar's palace, 35 Italy, struggle for, Gibbon on, 134 Jerusalem, Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild, 223-225 Jerusalem, date of decree to restore, 223 Jerusalem, destruction of temple at, 70 Jerusalem, headquarters of king of the North, 328 Jerusalem, heart of Eastern Question, Finn on, 346 Jerusalem, last days of, 66 Jerusalem, last gathering place, Mukaddasi on, 328 Jerusalem, Moslems turn toward, 330 Jerusalem, part of, in closing history, Hughes on, 328 Jerusalem, signs of approaching doom of, 67-69 Jessup on falling stars, 100 Jesus, the restorer, 362 Jesus, time of baptism of, 230 Jews, fanaticism of, Ridpath on, 67 Joseph, prophecy fulfilled to, 26 Josephus, on destruction of temple, 70 Judgment, Christ's work in sanctuary, 216, 217 Judgment hour, many witnesses proclaim, 240, 241 Judgment-hour message, 247-255 Judgment-hour message, a call to loyalty, 249 Judgment-hour message, John Wesley on, 249 Judgment-hour warning, Bengelius on, 249 Judgment, law of God the standard in, 189 Judgment, message of, in 1844, 239 Judgment, the hour of God's, 237 Judgment, time of the investigative, 235-237 Judgment upon Satan, 261-263 Jurieu, on fall of the Papacy, 140, 141 Justification and righteousness, 195 Justification by faith, 191 Justification not by works, 192 Justification, what it is, 196, 197 Justinian, achievements of, Bury on, 132 Justinian as source of papal power, Croly on, 133 Justinian, decree of, in A. D. 533, 133 Justin, on Alexander, 207 Keyser, on Sabbath keeping in Norway, 175 Killen, on change of Sabbath, 169 Kingdom of God, when to be set up, 48 Kingdoms of modern Europe, 46 King of the North, the modern, 326 King of the North, removal of, to Jerusalem, 328 Kings of the North and South, 325 Knowledge, increase of, 306 Knowledge, increase of, Francis Bacon on, 306, 307 Knowledge, increase of, Lorimer on, 307 Kurtz, on persecution of Huguenots, 76 Lake of fire, the, 290 Lamartine, on French Revolution, 140 Langley, on falling stars, 101 Lang, on Sabbath in Scotland, 174 Laodicea, Council of, on Sabbath keeping, 173, 174 Lawgiver, only one, 188 Law of God changed by Papacy, Melanchthon on, 154 Law of God, character of, 183 Law of God, existed from the beginning, 184, 185 Law of God, given anew at Sinai, 186 Law of God, given with his own voice, 187 Law of God, office of, 183, 184 Law of God, relation of, to justification, 191, 193 Law of God, standard in the judgment, 189 Law of God, standard of righteousness, 188 Law of God, the, 182-189 Law of God unchangeable, 153 Layard, on the desolation of Babylon, 35 Lazarus, parable of rich man and, 284, 285 Lecky, on papal persecution, 150 Leo XIII, encyclical letter of, 149 Leonard, Dr. , on missionary activity, 307 "Library of Christian Doctrine, " on change of Sabbath, 154, 155 Life only in Christ, 275-285 Lindsay, on Ptolemy's Canon, 225 Lisbon earthquake, extent of, 81 Lisbon earthquake, James Parton on, 80 Lisbon earthquake, lessons from, John Biddolf on, 82 Lisbon earthquake, Professor Hobbs on, 79 Lisbon earthquake recognized as a sign, 82 Lisbon earthquake, Voltaire on, 80 Lisbon earthquake, world set to thinking by, 80 Little horn, 208 Little horn and fourth kingdom, 126, 127 Little horn, great words of, Bellarmine on, 147 Little horn, great words of, Elliott on, 147 Little horn in prophecy and history, 127 Little horn, period of supremacy of, 145 Little horn, time of rise of, 145 Little horn, work of, 145-147 Lorimer, on increase of knowledge, 307 Lucan, on Alexander, 45 Lucan, on greatness of Rome, 209 Lucifer, the light-bearer, 258 Luther, on meaning of word "baptism", 201 Luther, on use of printing art, 318 MacFarlane, on approaching end of Turks, 333 Mahaffy, on kingdoms of north and south, 325 Man, nature of, and state in death, 275-285 Manner of Christ's coming, 53 Manning, Cardinal, on power of Rome, 125 Mark, or sign, of papal authority, 251-253 Mark, or sign, use of, Potter on, 250 Martin, on growth of discontent, 112 Maspero, on Eastern Question, 322 Matthew 24, prophecy of, 65-77 Mears, Dr. , on conditions after Christ, 67 "Medieval Europe, " Bemont and Monod, 137 Medo-Persia, Ęschylus on, 121 Medo-Persia in prophecy and history, 120, 121, 206 Medo-Persia, prophecy of, Daniel 2, 43, 44 Megiddo, or Armageddon, Carmack on, 344 Melanchthon, on change of law by Papacy, 154 Message of the judgment hour, 247-255 Messengers of deliverance, angels as, 300 Messiah, covenant confirmed by, 231-235 Messiah, time of baptism of, 230 Michael, standing up of, 327 Middle Ages, beginning of history of, Finlay on, 134, 135 Millennium, beginning of, 351, 352 Millennium, diagram of, 350 Millennium, events at beginning of, 352 Millennium, events at end of, 356 Millennium, events in heaven during, 354 Millennium, events on earth during, 355 Millennium, the, 351-359 Milner, on falling stars, 94 Milton, on Sabbath observance, 177, 178 Missionary activity, Dr. Leonard on, 307 Missionary developments of century, 113 Missionary movement, a sign of Christ's coming, 112 Missionary movement, increased activity of, 113 Missions, open doors for, 309 Missions, Pierson on open doors for, 310 Monarchies, the four universal, 118 Monod, Bemont and, "Medieval Europe", 137 Mortal, the natural state of man, 276 Mortality, universal, 277 Moslems, Jerusalem as capital for, 330 Motley, on persecution in Netherlands, 150 Mukaddasi, on Jerusalem as last gathering place of nations, 328 Myers, on history of Greece, 208 Nations, anger of, 107 Neander, on first-day collections, 166 Neander, on manner of baptism, 201 Nebuchadnezzar, dream of, 39-41 Nebuchadnezzar, exploits of, Berosus on, 120 Nebuchadnezzar, palace of, Ising on, 35 Nebuchadnezzar, stone records of, 43 Necromancy, divine warnings against, 267 Netherlands, persecution in, Motley on, 150 New birth, Bible an agency of, 15 Newcomb, on falling stars, 95 New earth, the, 364-370 New Jerusalem, descent of, 356 New Jerusalem, the, 364-367 Newman, Cardinal, on rites borrowed from paganism, 169 Newton, Sir Isaac, on prophetic study, 304, 305 "Nineteenth Century and After, " on new spirit in East, 344 "Nineteenth Century and After, " on preparation for war, 339, 341 Nineveh, Rawlinson on, 27 Nineveh, site of, Gibbon on, 29 Nineveh, the witness of, 27 Olmsted, on brilliancy of falling stars, 97 Olmsted, on shooting stars, 95 Origin of evil, 257-263 Ottoman empire, 326 Ottoman power, fall of, Firth on, 343 Our day, gospel for, 247 Paganism, rites borrowed from, Cardinal Newman on 169 Palestine as battle field, Encyclopedia Britannica on, 325, 326 Palestine as great center, "Fortnightly Review" on, 345 Palestine, as political storm center, 345 Palestine, as religious storm center, "Spectator" on, 345 Papacy, a persecuting power, 137 Papacy, change of times and laws by, 153 Papacy, claims of, 155, 156 Papacy, counterpart of little horn, 145, 147 Papacy, end of supremacy of, 139 Papacy, extinction of, Canon Trevor on, 141, 142 Papacy, fall of, Jurieu on, 140, 141 Papacy, France strikes against, 140 Papacy, great words of, Elliott on, 147 Papacy, image to the, 251 Papacy, law changed by, Melanchthon on, 154 Papacy, orders of, to destroy heresy, 150 Papacy, persecution by, Lecky on, 150 Papacy plucked up Arian kingdoms, 129 Papacy, power of, Leo XIII on, 149 Papacy shall wear out saints, 149 Papacy, sign of authority of, 156 Papacy, supremacy of, 129 Papacy, supremacy of acknowledged, 132, 133 Papacy, time of its supremacy, 131, 132 Papal authority, mark of, 251 Papal claims in encyclical letter of Leo XIII, 149 Papal persecution, Baudrillart on, 151 Papal persecution, Lecky on, 150 Papal persecutions, "Western Watchman" on, 151 Papal power, Sunday the mark of, 252 Papal power, work of the, 250 Papal supremacy, beginning of, 132 Papal supremacy, end of, 139 Papal supremacy officially recognized, 133 Parable of the fig tree, 115 Parable of the rich man and Lazarus, 284, 285 Parable of the ten virgins, 348, 349 Parton, on Lisbon earthquake, 80 Peace and safety, 107 Peace prophecies, 338 Persecution after Christ's death, 235 Persecution for Sabbath observance, 178 Persecution in Netherlands, Motley on, 150 Persecution in time of the end 73 Persecution, papal, Baudrillart, on 151 Persecution, papal, Lecky on 150 Persecution, signs of end follow, 73-75 Persecution under Papacy, 149-153 Persecutions, papal, "Western Watchman" on, 151 Persia, rise and fall of, 322-324 Phalerius, king urged by, to secure Jewish sacred books, 187, 188 Pierson, Dr. , on open doors for gospel, 310 "Plain Talks, " on Sunday observance, 251 Pleasure, passion for, M. Comte on, 109 Pleasure, passion for, sign of Christ's coming, 109 Plutarch, on Alexander, 45 Plutarch, on Alexander's conquests, 121, 122 Political unrest, 106, 107 Polybius, on dominion of Rome, 208 Pope Gregory, on Sabbath observance, 174 Pope Innocent II, orders of, to destroy heresies, 150 Pope Leo XIII, encyclical letter of, 149 Pope Leo XIII, on power of Papacy, 149 Pope taken prisoner, Joseph Rickaby on, 141 Pope, titles assumed by, Ferraris on, 149 Pope Vigilius, date of reign of, Schaff on, 137 Popes, a new order of, 135 Popes declared saints, 137 Popes no longer declared saints, 137 Popes, temporal power of, Conroy on, 129 Potter, on use of a mark, or sign, 250 Present-day conditions, meaning of, 105-115 Press, the Mighty (poem), 317 Pride, cause of Satan's fall, 258 Prince of Tyre, 258 Printing, Gutenberg's first types, 314 Printing, Luther on art of, 318 Printing press, a gospel agency, 318 Printing press, illustrations of, 315, 316 Printing press, the mighty, 317 Prophecies of Christ's coming, 52 Prophecy, Armageddon foretold in, 346, 347 Prophecy concerning Babylon, 31-33, 40 Prophecy fulfilled, Farrar on, 36 Prophecy fulfilled to Joseph, 26 Prophecy fulfilling, Marquis of Salisbury on, 338 Prophecy of Daniel 7, 117-129 Prophecy of Daniel 8, 205-211 Prophecy of Daniel unsealed, 304 Prophecy, of increase of knowledge, 306 Prophecy of Matthew 24, 65-77 Prophecy of the judgment, Revelation 14, 239 Prophecy of Tyre, 30, 31 Prophecy of 2300 years fulfilled, 229-237 Prophecy, study of, John Adolphus on, 305 Prophecy, the sure word of, 25 Prophecy, witness of the centuries to, 25-37 Prophetic outline of world's history, 39-49 Prophetic period, a great, 219-227 Prophetic study, Sir Isaac Newton on, 304, 305 Prophetic word, testimony of history to, 35-37 Protestants, persecution of, the "Western Watchman" on, 151 Ptolemy's canon, authenticity of, Hales on, 225 Ptolemy's canon, Lindsay on, 225 Pullus, on manner of baptism, 202 Punishment, everlasting, 289, 292 Purification of the earth, 359 Pythius, the Lydian, Herodotus on, 323 Railroads, construction of, Wallace on, 313 Rawlinson, on Alexander's dominion, 324, 325 Rawlinson, on Cyrus's conquests, 121 Rawlinson, on division of Alexander's kingdom, 122 Rawlinson, on Nineveh, 27 Reformation a progressive work, 255 Religion, abolition of, by French, Hutton on, 140 Resurrection, baptism the memorial of, 199 Resurrection of the just, 59, 61, 352 Resurrection of the wicked, 62 Resurrection, the second, Satan freed at, 262 Resurrections, the two, 288, 289 Rich man and Lazarus, parable of, 284, 285 Rickaby, on Berthier entering Rome, 141 Ridpath, on fanaticism of Jews, 67 Righteousness and justification, 195-197 Righteousness, God's law the standard of, 188 Righteousness, the gift of Christ, 193, 194 Righteous taken to heaven, 353 Righteous, translation of living, 59-61 Righteous, with Christ a thousand years, 62 Roman Empire divided, 47, 127 Roman Empire, Gibbon on, 209 Roman Papacy, rise of, to supremacy, 129 Romans, power of, Strabo on, 46 Rome, Alexander's plans for conquest of, Plutarch on, 44 Rome, Bishop of, head of church, 133 Rome divided, 48 Rome, dominion of, Polybius on, 208 Rome, greatness of, Lucan on, 209 Rome, in prophecy and history, 123-125, 208 Rome, might of, Horace on, 208 Rome, ode of Horace on, 47 Rome, power of, Cardinal Manning on, 125 Rome, power of, Gibbon on, 46 Rome, power of, Hippolytus on, 46 Rome, prophecy of, in Daniel 2, 45, 46 Rome, prophecy of, fulfilled, 125 Rome, prophecy of, fulfilled, Hippolytus on, 126 Rome, rise of, in West, 44 Rosebery, Lord, on Armageddon, 339 Rosse, astronomical observations by, 100 "Run to and fro, " Wright on meaning of, 311 Sabbatarian Baptists, 179 Sabbath, and the first day, 164-166 Sabbath, at time of exodus, 160 Sabbath, change of, "Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine" on, 156 Sabbath, change of, "Dictionary of Christian Antiquities" on, 166 Sabbath, change of, Hiscox on, 166, 167 Sabbath, change of, "Library of Christian Doctrine" on, 154, 155 Sabbath, Conybeare and Howson on, 165 Sabbath, example and teaching of Jesus regarding, 162 Sabbath, given at Sinai, 161 Sabbath, how changed, 167 Sabbath in Alpine valleys, Goldastus on, 175 Sabbath in England, Stennet on, 179 Sabbath in Europe, Dr. Chambers on, 177 Sabbath, in time of disciples, 163 Sabbath keepers in Norway, Keyser on, 175 Sabbath keepers in Scotland, Lang on, 174 Sabbath keepers in Scotland, Skene on, 175 Sabbath keeping, action of Council of Laodicea on, 173, 174 Sabbath keeping after New Testament times, 173-181 Sabbath keeping among Moravians, 180 Sabbath keeping, Bampfield died for, 179 Sabbath keeping, persecution for, Bogue on, 178, 179 Sabbath keeping, Roger Williams on, 180 Sabbath, Killen on change of, 169 Sabbath observance, Bower on, 174 Sabbath observance, Brerewood on, 173 Sabbath observance, Charles I on, 177 Sabbath observance, John Milton on, 177, 178 Sabbath observance, Pope Gregory on, 174 Sabbath observance, Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History on, 174 Sabbath, persecution for keeping, 178 Sabbath, seventh-day, record of, 160-164 Sabbath, the sign of God's authority, 253 Sabbath, the Bible, 159-170 Sabbath, through Israel's history, 162 Saints, eternal home of, 361, 367 Saints, Papacy to wear out, 149 Saints, time of resurrection of, 352 Salisbury, Lord, on policy of helping Turkey, 331 Salisbury, Marquis of, on preparation for war, 342 Salisbury, Marquis of, on prophecy fulfilling, 338 Sanctuary, Christ's ministry in, 216 Sanctuary, cleansing of, 211, 213-217 Santee, L. D. , poem by, 103 Satan, binding of, 353 Satan, cause of fall of, 258 Satan, end of reign of, 262 Satan, judgment upon, 261-263 Satan, the loosing of, 356 Satanic agencies at work, 341-343 Satanic agencies, Sir Edward Grey on, 342 Saved, home of the, 361-370 Schaff, on date of Tiberius's reign, 230 Schaff, on Vigilius made Pope, 135 Second coming of Christ, 51-63 Second coming of Christ, see Coming of Christ. Ségur, on observance of Sunday by Protestants, 251 Seventh-day Adventists, origin of, 243, 244 Seventh-day Baptists in America, 179, 180 Seventh-day Sabbath, Bible record of, 160-164 Seventy weeks, events of, 229 Seventy weeks, starting point of, 221, 222 Signs in the heavens, 74 Signs of Christ's coming, 74-77 Signs of Christ's coming, given in Matthew 24, 65, 66 Signs of Christ's coming, in industrial world, 110 Signs of Christ's coming, in social world, 109 Signs of the end, 65 Signs of the end, signal to watch, 102 Signs of the last days, 73, 74 Signs upon the earth, 74, 105 Sinai, law of God given anew at, 186 Sinai, Sabbath given at, 161 Sin, the end of, 358 Sin, the origin of, 257 Sin, the wages of, 289 Skene, on Sabbath in Scotland, 175 Sleep of the dead, 280-282 Sophocles, on universal mortality, 277, 278 "Soul" and "spirit, " Scriptural use of, 283 Soul, immortality of, 275 Soul, living, Dr. Clarke on, 283 Soul, the "living, " comments on, 283 Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History, on Sabbath observance, 174 Spangenberg, on Sabbath-keeping Moravians, 180 "Spirit" and "soul, " Scriptural use of, 283 Spirit, death declared to have no power over, 269 Spirits, angels as ministering, 295 Spiritualism, ancient and modern, 265-273 Spiritualism and theosophy, Mme. Jean Delaire on, 272, 273 Spiritualism, first declaration of, 265-267 Spiritualism, modern, originated in Fox family, 269 Spiritualism, modern, Prof. Wallace on, 265, 268 Spiritualism of East, taught by Mrs. Besant, 273 Spiritualism, progress of, Mrs. Underhill on, 269 Spiritualism, satanic agencies of, 271 Spiritualism tested by Greeley, 269 Spiritualism, the climax of deception, 272 Spiritualism, the dead not agencies of, 271 Spiritualism, warnings against, 267 Spurgeon, on authorship of Bible, 14 Spurgeon's experience with Bible, 14 Stanley, Dean, on baptism of infants, 202 Stanley, Dean, on collection on first day, 166 Stanley, Dean, on manner of baptism, 202 Stanley, Dean, on Sunday, day of the sun, 170 Star shower, density of, Flammarion on, 95 Stars, falling, a sign to the world, 99 Stars, falling, brilliancy of, Olmsted on, 97 Stars, falling, Chambers's Astronomy on, 101 Stars, falling, described by Jessup, 100 Stars, falling, glory of, Clerke on, 101, 102 Stars, falling, Humphreys on, 96 Stars, falling, impression made by, Milner on, 99 Stars, falling, "Journal of Commerce" on, 97 Stars, falling, nature of, Twining on, 96 Stars, falling, other displays of, Humboldt on, 99, 100 Stars, falling, Professor Langley on, 101 Stars, falling, Sir Robert Ball on, 100 Stars, falling, Thomas Milner on, 94 Stars, shooting, Olmsted on, 95 Stars, the falling, 93-102 Stearns, Dr. Samuel, on dark day, 89, 90 Stennet, on Sabbath in England, 179 Stephen, stoning of, 234 Stoning of Stephen, 234 Strabo, on desolation of Babylon, 34 Strabo, on power of Romans, 46 Sun, darkening of, 85 Sunday, day of the sun, Dean Stanley on, 170 Sunday, Dean Stanley on collection on, 166 Sunday law, Constantine's, 169 Sunday law, Constantine's, Webster on, 169, 170 Sunday, mark of paganism, Hiscox on, 170 Sunday, mark of papal power, 252 Sunday, Neander on collection on, 166 Sunday, not sacred, Dale on, 166 Sunday observance by Protestants, Ségur on, 251 Sunday observance, "Doctrinal Catechism" on, 252 Sunday previous to Constantine, 169 Sunday rest, not of God, 165 Sunday, sign of papal authority, 156 Tabernacle, service of earthly, 214 Telegraph, first demonstrated, 314 Telegraph, used in carrying gospel, 318 Temple at Jerusalem, destruction of, as predicted, 70 Ten horns of beast, Daniel 7, 127 Ten kingdoms, Daniel 2, 46-48 Ten virgins, parable of, 348, 349 Testimony of history to fulfilment of prophecy, 36 Theosophy and Spiritualism, Mme. Delaire on, 272 Thief on the cross, the, 284 This Same Jesus, 54-56 Thomson, on Tyre's departed glory, 31 Thousand years, diagram of, 350 Thousand years, end of, 289 Thousand years, righteous with Christ, 62 Thwaites, Clara, "The Last Hour, " poem, 114 Tiberius Cęsar, time of reign of, 230, 231 Time of the end, 303-317 Times and laws, Papacy to think to change, 153 Tradition and the Bible, Council of Trent on, 252 Translation of the righteous, 59-61 Travel, revolution in, 313 Trent, Council of, on tradition and the Bible, 252 Trevor, Canon, on revolt against absolutism, 141 Tribulation, the period of, 73 Turkey, Lord Salisbury on helping of, 331 Turkey, position of, "Fortnightly Review" on, 333, 334 Turkish power, fall of, prelude to Armageddon, 348 Turks, doom of, Blunt on, 333 Turks, end of, near, MacFarlane on, 333 Twelve hundred and sixty years, 131-137 Twelve hundred and sixty years, end of, 139 Twenty-three hundred days, diagram of, 220 Twenty-three hundred years, ending of, 235 Twenty-three hundred years of Daniel 8, 219 Twenty-three hundred years, prophecy fulfilled, 229-237 Twining, on nature of falling stars, 96 Two resurrections, the, 288, 289 Tyre, desolation of, Bruce on, 31 Tyre, glory departed, Thomson on, 31 Tyre, prophecy concerning, 30, 31 Underhill, Mrs. A. L. , on progress of Spiritualism, 269 Universal empires, four great, 117 Unquenchable fire, 292, 293 Valley of Hinnom, Hastings on, 293 Van Dyke, Dr. Henry, on language of Bible, 21, 22 Veil, rending of, 231 Vigilius, Pope, date of reign, Schaff on, 135, 137 Voltaire, on Lisbon earthquake, 80 Wages of sin, 289 Wallace, Alfred Russel, on revolution in travel, 313 Wallace, Alfred Russel, on Spiritualism, 265, 268 War, god of, Lord Avebury on, 112 War, preparation for, Marquis of Salisbury on, 342 War, preparation for, "Nineteenth Century and After", 339-341 War, preparation for, Queen Alexandra on, 339 War, sign of end, "Church Missionary Review" on, 343 Webster, Noah, on dark day, 87 Webster, Prof. Hutton, on Constantine's Sunday law, 169, 170 Weeks, the seventy, starting point of, 221, 222 Wesley, John, on judgment-hour message, 249 "Western Watchman, " on persecution of Protestants, 151 Whittier, on dark day, 86, 90 Wicked, before bar of God, 357 Wicked, destruction of, 61, 353 Wicked, end of, 287-293 Wicked, final destruction of, 356-359 Wicked, resurrection of, 62 Williams, on dark day in New England, 86 Williams, Roger, on Sabbath keeping, 180 Word, see Bible. Word that creates, the, 15 Wordsworth, on dawn of Reformation, 149 World-wide movement, a, 239-245 Wright, on meaning of "run to and fro", 311 Xenophon, on Cyrus, 206 Xerxes' host, Ęschylus on, 323 Years, the 1260, of Daniel's prophecy, 131-137 Zinzendorf, a Sabbath keeper, 180 Zinzendorf, Nikolaus, poem by, 227