Table of Contents

The Great Nations of To-day

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

MAPS

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER II. MORAL CONDITION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

CHAPTER III. THE FIRST TRUMPET

CHAPTER IV. THE SECOND TRUMPET

CHAPTER V. THE THIRD TRUMPET

CHAPTER VI. THE FOURTH TRUMPET

CHAPTER VII. THE MODERN NATIONS OF WESTERN EUROPE

CHAPTER VIII. THE FIFTH TRUMPET -- THE FIRST WOE

CHAPTER IX. THE SIXTH TRUMPET -- THE SECOND WOE

CHAPTER X. THE EASTERN QUESTION -- THE SOUNDING OF THE SEVENTH TRUMPET -- THE THIRD WOE

CHAPTER XI. THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE

CHAPTER XII. THE TIME OF THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE

CHAPTER XIII. THE THREEFOLD MESSAGE: WHAT IS IT AS TO BABYLON?

CHAPTER XIV. THE THREEFOLD MESSAGE: WHAT IS IT AS TO BABYLON THE DAUGHTERS?

CHAPTER XV. THE BEAST AND HIS IMAGE

CHAPTER XVI. THE WORK OF THE BEAST

CHAPTER XVII. THE WORK OF THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST

CHAPTER XVIII. THE EXALTATION OF LAWLESSNESS

CHAPTER XIX. THE GREAT NECESSITY FOR THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE

CHAPTER XX. THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

CHAPTER XXI. THE FAITH OF JESUS

CHAPTER XXII. THE KEEPING OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND THE FAITH OF JESUS

CHAPTER XXIII. "THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT IS COME."

Footnotes

The Great Nations of To-day

ALONZO TREVIER JONES

REVIEW AND HERALD PUB. CO.

BATTLE CREEK, MICH.

COPYRIGHT, 1901

ALONZO TREVIER JONES

_______

All rights reserved

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS 5

MAPS 6

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 7

CHAPTER II. MORAL CONDITION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 13

CHAPTER III. THE FIRST TRUMPET 21

CHAPTER IV. THE SECOND TRUMPET 28

CHAPTER V. THE THIRD TRUMPET 36

CHAPTER VI. THE FOURTH TRUMPET 47

CHAPTER VII. THE MODERN NATIONS OF WESTERN EUROPE 56

CHAPTER VIII. THE FIFTH TRUMPET -- THE FIRST WOE 60

CHAPTER IX. THE SIXTH TRUMPET -- THE SECOND WOE 72

CHAPTER X. THE EASTERN QUESTION -- THE SOUNDING OF THE SEVENTH TRUMPET -- THE THIRD WOE 85

CHAPTER XI. THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE 105

CHAPTER XII. THE TIME OF THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE 115

CHAPTER XIII. THE THREEFOLD MESSAGE: WHAT IS IT AS TO BABYLON? 136

CHAPTER XIV. THE THREEFOLD MESSAGE: WHAT IS IT AS TO BABYLON THE DAUGHTERS? 146

CHAPTER XV. THE BEAST AND HIS IMAGE 160

CHAPTER XVI. THE WORK OF THE BEAST 169

CHAPTER XVII. THE WORK OF THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST 184

CHAPTER XVIII. THE EXALTATION OF LAWLESSNESS 193

CHAPTER XIX. THE GREAT NECESSITY FOR THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE 205

CHAPTER XX. THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD 219

CHAPTER XXI. THE FAITH OF JESUS 225

CHAPTER XXII. THE KEEPING OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND THE FAITH OF JESUS 235

CHAPTER XXIII. "THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT IS COME." 242

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE.

ALARIC INVADING WESTERN ROME   .      .      .       23

GENSERIC DESTROYING A ROMAN FLEET  .      .     .    32

ATTILA'S CAMPAIGN    .      .      .      .      .   40

SARACEN RAID   .       .      .      .      .     .  65

TURKISH CAVALRY CHARGE   .      .      .      .      73

THE GREAT NATIONS IN CHINA   .      .      .      . 102

TABERNACLE AND CAMP OF ISRAEL   .      .      .     120

THE WOMAN ON THE SCARLET-COLORED BEAST      .       144

JESUS AND THE RICH YOUNG MAN     .      .      .    235

MAPS

PAGE.

THE WESTERN EMPIRE OF ROME   .      .      .         20

THE TEN KINGDOMS   .      .     .      .     .       57

THE REMAINING SEVEN KINGDOMS   .      .      .       58

MOHAMMEDAN EMPIRE OF FIFTH TRUMPET   .      .        67

MOHAMMEDAN EMPIRE OF SIXTH TRUMPET   .      .        75

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

THE great nations of to-day: whence came they? what is their destiny? Of the great nations of ancient times these things were told; and so were known by those who would understand. Has nothing been told, so that none of this can be known, of the great nations of to-day?

Of the great nations of ancient times, the rise, the course, and the destiny were told by the Lord, through His prophets. Has He said nothing of this concerning the great nations of to-day? This could not be, since He changeth not. He is "the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever:" therefore His care for men and nations is always the same.

It is forever true that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us: for in Him we live, and move, and have our being; . . . for we are also His offspring.

"Forasmuch, then as we are the offspring of God, we ought to think" that God is neglectful of His

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offspring in one age more than in another, or that He is at all neglectful in any age.

The book of Daniel is the book of the Bible which particularly treats of the great nations of ancient time. It tells of the rise, the course, the character, and the destiny of the empire of Babylon; of the empire of the Medes and Persians; of the Macedonian Empire -- Alexander and his successors; and of the Roman Empire. It tells also, though not so fully, of the nations which rose upon the fall of Rome.

There is another book in the Bible which occupies the same position with respect to modern time that the book of Daniel does with respect to ancient time. It treats of modern nations as really as the book of Daniel treats of the ancient. It is, in fact, the complement of the book of Daniel. That book is the Revelation.

The book of Daniel and the book of Revelation are, therefore, companion books with respect to the history of the nations, ancient and modern: with this difference, however, that, whereas in the book of Daniel National History is the principal subject, with Church History incidental: in the book of Revelation the great subject is Church History, with National History incidental.

The key to modern history, to the great nations of to-day -- their origin, course, and destiny -- as contemplated in the book of Revelation, is found in the line of prophecy of the Seven Trumpets. Yet the Seven Trumpets themselves have a basis. The line of

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prophecy of the Seven Trumpets is a consequence. The events foretold therein occur because of certain things that have been done. These certain things are shown in the first three steps in each of the two preceding lines of prophecy in the book of Revelation: the Seven Churches and the Seven Seals. Therefore, to find the basis of the Seven Trumpets, we must glance at these things which are their cause.

The line of prophecy of the Seven Churches is composed of seven letters addressed by the Lord to His Church in the seven phases of her experience, from the first advent of Christ unto His second. In each of these seven letters, not only is counsel given in the way of right, but there are pointed out the dangers and evils that beset the Church, against which she must be especially guarded, and which, in order to remain pure, she must escape.

To the Church in her first state -- "the Church of Ephesus" -- He says: "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works." Rev. 2:4, 5. This points definitely to the "falling away" that is mentioned by Paul to the elders of the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:30), and that is dwelt upon especially in 2 Thessalonians 2; which falling away, when continued, developed "that man of sin," "the son of perdition," "who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is

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worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 2 Thess. 2:3, 4.

The letter to the Church in her second phase is wholly commendatory. This shows that, while individuals had continued in the apostasy mentioned in the first letter, the Church herself had heeded the counsel given by the Head of the Church, and had repented, and returned to "the first works." The time of this phase of the Church's experience is definitely suggested in the word that she should "have tribulation ten days." Rev. 2:10. This refers to the ten years of persecution in the reign of Diocletian, from A. D. 303-313; which was ended by the Edict of Milan, issued by the two emperors Constantine and Licinius, March. A. D. 313.

Then comes the third phase of the Church, in which the counsel from Christ mentions with commendation the fact that she had held fast His name, and had not denied His faith, "even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr." Rev. 2:13. This word "Antipas" is not a person's name, but is a term characteristic of the times. It is composed of two Greek words, -- (anti) and (pappas). Anti signifies against, and pappas is our English, and also the universal, word for "papa." The word "papa" is simply the repetition of the original root word, "pa." And this word "papa" is the original of the word "pope."

Therefore this word "Antipas" -- "against 'pas' or

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'papas'" -- shows the growth of the papa-cy in the period immediately following A. D. 313. This was the period of Constantine, and onward, in which the papa-cy itself was distinctly made, and began openly to assert its authority. And in that time the history records that while the other principal bishops of the Church bore the title of "patriarch," the bishop of Rome studiously avoided the title of "patriarch," "as placing him on a level with other 'patriarchs.'" He always preferred the title of "papa," or "pope;" and this, because "patriarch" bespeaks an oligarchical church government, that is, government by a few: whereas "pope" bespeaks a monarchical church government, that is, government by one -- Schaff, "History of the Christian Church," Vol. III, sec. 55, par 1, note. Thus the history and the word of the counsel of Christ unite in marking, as the characteristic of that phase of the Church, the formation of the papa-cy, and the assertion of the authority of the pope.

This definitely brings us to the time of the making of the Papacy; and corresponds exactly, in point of time, to the facts of history following the Edict of Milan, which put an end of the "tribulation" mentioned in the previous letter to the Church. Thus the "falling away," the leaving of the "first love," mentioned in the first letter, had, in this time of the third letter, culminated in the papa-cy.

Now this same course is traced in the first three steps

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of the line of prophecy of the Seven Seals. There, under the first seal, was seen going forth a white horse (Rev. 6:2), corresponding to the Church in her first phase, in her purity. But the counsel of Christ in His first letter said that there was a falling away from her first love; and this is signified in the second seal, under which "there went out another horse that was red." And under the third seal "I beheld, and to a black horse." Rev. 6:5. Thus the symbols in the seals, passing from white to black, show the course of the apostasy, as signified in the letters to the Seven Churches, from the first love, in which Christ was all in all in the first stage, to the third stage, in which, "where Satan's seat" was, and where Satan dwelt, a man was put in the place of God, in the temple -- the Church -- of God. (Eph. 2:21), showing himself that he is God. Verses 20-22.

Now, the effect of this apostasy, which developed the Papacy in the Roman Empire, was the complete ruin of the Roman Empire. And this consequence of the apostasy traced in these first three steps in the two lines of prophecy of the Seven Churches and the Seven Seals, is portrayed in the line of prophecy of the Seven Trumpets.

CHAPTER II. MORAL CONDITION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

THE trumpet is the symbol of war; as it is written: "Thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war." Jer. 4:19. "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" 1 Cor. 14:8. "They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle." Eze. 7:14. "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion. and sound an alarm in my holy mountain." Joel 2:1.

We have found that the Seven Trumpets prophesy the consequences of the making of the Papacy, which grew out of the great apostasy from Christianity. The Papacy was made in the Roman Empire by the union of the apostate Church with that republic which had degenerated into an imperial despotism; and the result to the Roman Empire. of the making of the Papacy, was the utter ruin of that empire. This ruin was accomplished by the mighty armies of the peoples of the north, which, in a succession of mighty tides, overflowed the western empire of Rome, in the time covered by the first four of the Seven Trumpets.

At that time, and for five hundred years before, the Roman Empire, as a whole, had "filled the world." "Coming last among what are called the great monarchies

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of prophecy, it was the only one which realized in perfection the idea of a monarchia, being (except for Parthia and the great fable of India beyond it) strictly coincident with the civilized world. Civilization and this empire were commensurate; they were interchangeable ideas and coextensive." -- De Quincey. And when that empire perished, to those unenlightened by the word of God it really seemed, in the violence of the times, that the world was at its end.

No man can imagine the terror of that time. Of the fall of that empire it has been said that "never had the existence of a nation been more completely overthrown; never had individuals had more evils to endure and more dangers to apprehend. Whence came it that the population were dumb and dead? How is it that so many sacked towns, so many ruined positions, so many blasted careers, so many ejected proprietors, have left so few traces, I do not say of their active existence, but only of their sufferings?" -- Guizot.

Although it was not the end of the world, yet like the fall of Babylon of old, the fall of Rome is full of lessons that indicate exactly the things that will be at the end of the world. For that, with all its terrors, was the consequence of the evils heaped upon society by the making and the working of the Papacy. And when the world shall really end, that, with the terrors that accompany it, will be but the consequence of the evil that is heaped upon the society of the world at this time by the making

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and the working of the Image of the Papacy. Rev. 13: 1-8, 11-17; 14:9-19; 19:11-21. And as the Beast itself is the standard of comparison in all things respecting the making and the working of the Image of the Beast so the state of society and the affairs of the empire and nations of that time of the Beast are a faithful standard of comparison by which to read correctly the course and condition of the nations in these times of the Image of the Beast.

A brief sketch of the condition of society at that time will therefore be of double value just here: The same corruptions that had characterized the former Rome were reproduced in the Rome of the fifth century. "The primitive rigor of discipline and manners was utterly neglected and forgotten by the ecclesiastics of Rome. The most exorbitant luxury, with all the vices attending it, was introduced among them, and the most scandalous and unchristian arts of acquiring wealth universally practiced. They seemed to have rivaled in riotous living the greatest epicures of pagan Rome when luxury was there at the highest pitch. For Jerome, who was an eyewitness of what he writ, reproaches the Roman clergy with the same excesses which the poet Juvenal so severely censured in the Roman nobility under the reign of Domitian." -- Bower.

"Everything was determined by auguries and auspices; the wild orgies of the Bacchanalians, with all their obscene songs and revelry, were not wanting." --

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Merivale. "And now the criminal and frivolous pleasures of a decrepit civilization left no thought for the absorbing duties of the day nor the fearful trials of the morrow. Unbridled lust and unblushing indecency admitted no sanctity in the marriage tie. The rich and powerful established harems, in the recesses of which their wives lingered, forgotten, neglected, and despised. The banquet, theater, and the circus exhausted what little strength and energy were left by domestic excesses. The poor aped the vices of the rich, and hideous depravity reigned supreme, and invited the vengeance of heaven." -- Lea.

The pagan superstitions, the pagan delusions, and the pagan vices, which had been brought into the Church by the apostasy, and clothed with a form of godliness, had wrought such corruption that the society of which it was a part could no longer exist. From it no more good could possibly come, and it must be swept away. "The uncontrollable progress of avarice, prodigality, voluptuousness, theater-going, intemperance, lewdness; in short, of all the heathen vices, which Christianity had come to eradicate, still carried the Roman Empire and people with rapid strides toward dissolution, and gave it at last into the hands of the rude, but simple and morally vigorous, barbarians." -- Schaff.

It was impossible that it should be otherwise. By apostasy that gospel had lost its purity and its power in the multitudes who professed it. It was now used only

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as a cloak to cover the same old pagan wickedness. This form of godliness, practiced not only without the power but in defiance of it, permeated the great masses of the people, and the empire had thereby become a festering mass of corruption. When thus the only means which it was possible for the Lord himself to employ to purify the people, had been taken and made only the cloak under which to increase unto more ungodliness, there was no other remedy; destruction must come. And it did come, by a host, wild and savage, it is true, but whose social habits were so far above those of the people which they destroyed, that, savage as they were, they were caused fairly to blush at the shameful corruptions which they found in this so-called Christian society of Rome.

A writer who lived at the time of the barbarian invasions, and who wrote as a Christian, exclaims: "The Church, which ought everywhere to propitiate God, what does she but provoke Him to anger? How many may one meet, even in the Church, who are not still drunkards, or debauchees, or adulterers, or fornicators, or robbers, or murderers, or the like, or all these at once, without end? It is even a sort of holiness among Christian people to be less vicious. From the public worship of God, and almost during it, they pass to deeds of shame. Scarce a rich man but would commit murder and fornication. We have lost the whole power of Christianity, and offend God the more, that we sin as

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Christians. We are worse than the barbarians and heathen. If the Saxon is wild, the Frank faithless, the Goth inhuman, the Alanian drunken, the Hun licentious, they are, by reason of their ignorance, far less punishable than we, who, knowing the commandments of God, commit all these crimes.

"You, Romans, Christians, and Catholics, are defrauding your brethren, are grinding the faces of the poor, are frittering away your lives over the impure and heathenish spectacles of the amphitheater, you are wallowing in licentiousness and inebriety. The barbarians, meanwhile, heathen or heretics though they may be, and however fierce toward us, are just and fair in their dealings with one another. The men of the same clan, and following the same king, love one another with true affection. The impurities of the theater are unknown among them. Many of their tribes are free from the taint of drunkenness, and among all, except the Alans and the Huns, chastity is the rule.

"Not one of these tribes is altogether vicious. If they have their vices, they have also their virtues, clear, sharp, and well defined. Whereas you, my beloved fellow provincials, I regret to say, with the exception of a few holy men among you, are altogether bad. Your lives from the cradle to the grave are a tissue of rottenness and corruption, and all this notwithstanding that you have the sacred Scriptures in your hands.

"In what other race of men would you find such evils

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as these which are practiced among the Romans? Where else is there such injustice as ours? The Franks know nothing of this villainy. The Huns are clear of crimes like these. None of these exactions are practiced among the Vandals, none among the Goths. So far are the barbarian Goths from tolerating frauds like these, that not even the Romans who live under the Gothic rule are called upon to endure them, and hence the one wish of all the Romans in those parts is that it may never be necessary for them to pass under the Roman jurisdiction. With one consenting voice the lower orders of Romans put up the prayer that they may be permitted to spend their life, such as it is, alongside of the barbarians. And then we marvel that our arms should not triumph over the arms of the Goths, when our own countrymen would rather be with them than with us." -- Salvian.

These events of the Seven Trumpets are important in another sense also: that is, that the peoples by whom was wrought "the divine judgment of destruction upon this nominally Christian, but essentially heathen, world," of Western Rome especially, are, in their descent, the great nations of to-day; and are to-day the living subjects of the prophecies relating to our times.

It is the first four of the Seven Trumpets which relate to the fall of Western Rome. Yet these four trumpets are not themselves an account of the planting of the peoples who have become the great nations of to-day:

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they are of themselves prophetic descriptions of the most terrible of the mighty invasions and notable events by which the utter ruin of Western Rome was wrought; and by which the way was opened for the planting of the new peoples which have grown into the great nations of to-day. Indeed, these four Trumpets relate to Alaric, Genseric, Attila, and Odoacer, as the leaders that they were, as Daniel 8:5-8, 21 relates to Alexander the Great, rather than to nations as such; even as the standard history of those times and those events has singled out the names of Alaric, and Genseric, and Attila, as deserving of "equal rank in the destruction of the Roman Empire." -- "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," Chap. XXXIII, par.5.

CHAPTER III. THE FIRST TRUMPET

OF the prophecies of these Trumpets it has been well said that "none could elucidate the texts more clearly, or expound them more fully, than the task has been performed by Gibbon:" that the chapters of Gibbon "that treat directly of the matter, need but a text prefixed . . . to form a series of expository lectures on the eighth and ninth chapters of Revelation." History is the only true commentary on the prophecies; and the only true exposition of the prophecies is to set down together the history and the prophecy; because history as it really is, is but the complement of prophecy as it is written. In this pamphlet the full history can not be set down; but enough will be given to make plain the events contemplated in the prophecy, with reference indicating exactly where the complete history can be found.

"The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up." Rev. 8:7.

The time covered by this prophecy is from 395 to 419 A. D., and relates to the invasions of the Visigoths, especially under Alaric; and the great horde of barbarians

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under Radagaisus. "The birth of Alaric, the glory of his past exploits, and the confidence in his future designs, insensibly united the body of the nation under his victorious standard; and, with the unanimous consent of the barbarian chieftains, the master general of Illyricum was elevated, according to the ancient custom, on a shield, and solemnly proclaimed king of the Visigoths. Armed with this double power, seated on the verge of the two empires, he alternately sold his deceitful promises to the courts of Arcadius and Honorius; till he declared and executed his resolution of invading the kingdoms of the West.

"The provinces of Europe which belonged to the Eastern Emperor were already exhausted; those of Asia were inaccessible; and the strength of Constantinople had resisted his attack. But he was tempted by the fame, the beauty, the wealth of Italy, which he had twice visited; and he secretly aspired to plant the Gothic standard on the walls of Rome, and to enrich his army with the accumulated spoils of three hundred triumphs. . . . The old man, who had passed his simple and innocent life in the neighborhood of Verona, was a stranger to the quarrels both of kings and of bishops; his pleasures, his desires, his knowledge, were confined in the little circle of his paternal farm; and a staff supported his aged steps, on the same ground where he had sported in his infancy. Yet even this humble and rustic felicity was still exposed to the undistinguishing rage

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of war. His trees, his old contemporary trees, must blaze in the conflagration of the whole country [note the words of the prophecy, "the third part of the trees was burnt up"]; a detachment of Gothic cavalry might sweep away his cottage and his family; and the power of Alaric could destroy this happiness, which he was not able either to taste or bestow.

"'Fame,' says the poet, 'enriching with terror her gloomy wings, proclaimed the march of the barbarian army, and filled Italy with consternation:' the apprehensions of each individual were increased in just proportion to the measure of his fortune: and the most timid, who had also embarked their valuable effects, meditated their escape to the island of Sicily, or the African coast." -- "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," Chap. XXX, par. 4, 5. When he had ravaged northern Italy, almost to the city of Turin, Alaric suffered defeat by the armies of Rome under the command of Stilicho. His course was thus checked for a season; but only for a season. Yet, the space of time between Alaric's first invasion and his final one, was abundantly filled by the tide that was started by Radagaisus.

In the year A. D. 405 "the haughty Rhodogast, or Radagaisus, marched from the northern extremities of Germany almost to the gates of Rome, and left the remains of his army to achieve the destruction of the West. The Vandals, the Suevi, and the Burgundians formed the strength of this mighty host. . . . Twelve thousand

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warriors, distinguished above the vulgar by their noble birth or their valiant deeds, glittered in the van; and the whole multitude, which was not less than two hundred thousand fighting men, might be increased, by the accession of women, of children, and of slaves, to the amount of four hundred thousand persons. This formidable emigration issued from the same coast of the Baltic which had poured forth the myriads of the Cimbri and the Teutons, to assault Rome and Italy in the vigor of the republic."

When this great host had swept all before it as far as to the city of Florence, in Italy, it likewise suffered a check, and finally defeat. Finding their way barred to further progress in that direction, more than a hundred thousand of them turned back upon their march, and "acquired, from the junction of some Pannonian deserters, the knowledge of the country and of the roads; and the invasion of Gaul which Alaric had designed, was executed [A. D. 406, Dec. 31] by the remains of the great army of Radagaisus."

"The victorious confederates pursued their march, and on the last day of the year [406], in a season when the waters of the Rhine were most probably frozen, they entered, without opposition, the defenseless provinces of Gaul. This memorable passage of the Suevi, the Vandals, the Alani, and the Burgundians, who never afterward retreated, may be considered as the fall of the Roman Empire in the countries beyond the Alps;

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and the barriers which had so long separated the savage and the civilized nations of the earth, were from that fatal moment leveled with the ground."

"While the peace of Germany was secured by the attachment of the Franks and the neutrality of the Alemanni, the subjects of Rome, unconscious of their approaching calamities, enjoyed the state of quiet and prosperity, which had seldom blessed the frontiers of Gaul. Their flocks and herds were permitted to graze in the pastures of the barbarians; their huntsmen penetrated without fear or danger into the darkest recesses of the Hercynian wood. The banks of the Rhine were crowned, like those of the Tiber, with elegant houses and well-cultivated farms; and if a poet descended the river, he might express his doubt on which side was situated the territory of the Romans.

"This scene of peace and plenty was suddenly changed into a desert; and the prospect of the smoking ruins could alone distinguish the solitude of nature from the desolation of man. The flourishing city of Mentz was surprised and destroyed; and many thousand Christians were inhumanly massacred in the church. Worms perished after a long and obstinate siege; Strasburg, Spires, Rheims, Tournay, Arras, Amiens, experienced the cruel oppression of the German yoke; and the consuming flames of war spread [A. D. 407] from the banks of the Rhine over the greatest part of the seventeen provinces of Gaul. That rich and extensive country, as

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far as the ocean, the Alps, and the Pyrenees, was delivered to the barbarians, who drove before them, in a promiscuous crowd, the bishop, the senator, and the virgin, laden with the spoils of their houses and altars." -- "Decline and Fall of the Roman Expire," Chap. XXX, par. 14-19.

In 408 Alaric with his Visigoths again poured into Italy, and passed victoriously to the walls of Rome. As he marched on his way, "An Italian hermit, whose zeal and sanctity were respected by the barbarians themselves, encountered the victorious monarch, and boldly denounced the indignation of Heaven against the oppressors of the earth. But the saint himself was confounded by the solemn asseveration of Alaric, that he felt a secret and preternatural impulse, which directed, and even compelled, his march to the gates of Rome."

Three times in the three successive years, 408, 409, and 410, the city of Rome was besieged by Alaric, and was afflicted with famine, pestilence, and all the horrors that accompany a determined siege and stubborn defense. At last, however, in 410, the final siege was ended, and "eleven hundred and sixty-three years after the foundation of Rome, the imperial city, which had subdued and civilized so considerable a portion of mankind, was delivered to the licentious fury of the tribes of Germany and Scythia." For six days the city was given up to pillage, to flame, to rapine, to captivity, and to slaughter. "It is not easy to compute the multitudes

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who from an honorable station and a prosperous fortune, were suddenly reduced to the miserable condition of captives and exiles. . . . This awful catastrophe of Rome filled the astonished empire with grief and terror" to such an extent that they were fairly "tempted to confound the destruction of the capital and the dissolution of the globe."

After six days, "at the head of an army encumbered with rich and weighty spoils, their intrepid leader advanced along the Appian way into the southern provinces of Italy, destroying whatever dared to oppose his passage, and contenting himself with the plunder of the unresisting country." This he continued to the southern extremity of Italy, and designed even to carry it into the island of Sicily. But, in the midst of his preparations to carry his army across the straits, Alaric died, A. D. 410. In two years his brother-in-law Adolphus had traversed again, with the Gothic host, the whole length of Italy, from south to north, and passed finally into southwestern Gaul, where the nation settled and remained. -- Id., Chap. XXXI, pars. 2, 14-28.

"The union of the Roman Empire was dissolved; its genius was humbled in the dust; and armies of unknown barbarians, issuing from the frozen regions of the North, had established their victorious reign over the fairest provinces of Europe and Africa." -- Id., Chap. XXXIII, last sentence.

CHAPTER IV. THE SECOND TRUMPET

THAT last word, "Africa," indicates the scenes of the Second Trumpet. The center of motion now "changes from the shores of the Baltic Sea to the southern coast of the Mediterranean: from the frozen regions of the north to the borders of burning Africa." Under this Trumpet, instead of a storm of hail falling upon the earth, a great burning mountain was cast into the sea.

"And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed." Rev. 8:8, 9.

The period covered by this Trumpet is from 428 to 476; and the prophecy was fulfilled in the terrible Genseric, King of the Vandals, and "Monarch of the Sea;" whose ravages fixed forever in human language the term expressive of wilful, wanton, and ignorant destruction -- "Vandalism;" and who "spread his negotiations round the world." -- Gibbon, Chap. XXXXII, par. 10 from end; Chap. XXXIV, par. 4.

After the Vandals, with the Alani, the Suevi, and the Burgundians, had devastated Gaul, they with the

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Alani and the Suevi overran the whole Spanish peninsula. There the Alani lost their king, and instead of electing another king they chose to unite with the nation of the Vandals. In 429 the whole nation of the Vandals removed from Spain into Africa. In ten years they subdued the whole Mediterranean coast to Carthage, which they entered and made their capital, Oct. 9, 439. "As soon as he touched the coast, or at least as soon as the docks and harbors of Hippo and Carthage were in his power, he, a leader of a tribe of inland barbarians, who had been indebted to the friendly offices of Bonifacius for the transport of his vessels across the Straits of Gibraltar, turned all his energies to shipbuilding; and soon possessed incomparably the most formidable naval power in the Mediterranean." -- "Italy and Her Invaders," Book III, Chap. II, par. 49.

From his African capital "the discovery and conquest of the black nations that might dwell beneath the torrid zone, could not tempt the rational ambition of Genseric; but he cast his eyes toward the sea; he resolved to create a naval power, and his bold resolution was executed with steady and active perseverance. The woods of Mt. Atlas afforded an inexhaustible supply of timber; his new subjects were skilled in the arts of navigation and shipbuilding; he animated his daring Vandals to embrace a mode of warfare which would render every maritime country accessible to their arms; the Moors and Africans were allured by the hopes of plunder; and, after an interval

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of six centuries, the fleets that issued from the port of Carthage again claimed the empire of the Mediterranean."

From 439 to 445 Genseric's enterprise was crowned with success in "the conquest of Sicily, the sack of Palermo, and the frequent descents on the coast of Lucania." These successes awakened and alarmed the weak rulers of failing Rome. But all "the designs of the Roman government were repeatedly baffled by his artful delays, ambitious promises, and apparent concessions." Genseric had a formidable confederate on the Danube, whose motions could disconcert any attempt of the Roman authorities to attack Carthage; and, in 455, Genseric, with his fleet, "cast anchor at the mouth of the Tiber." Just at this time there was a crisis in the imperial family in Rome, and the Emperor Maximus was attacked by the people in the streets, and was stoned to death, and cast into the Tiber. "On the third day after the tumult, Genseric boldly advanced from the port of Ostia to the gates of the defenseless city."

There was no army to defend the city; and Pope Leo the Great, at the head of his clergy, met him outside of the gates, and pleaded that he spare the city. However, all that Genseric would even promise was that the people should not be slaughtered, the buildings should not be burned, and the captives should not be tortured. But the whole city and its people "were delivered to the licentiousness of the Vandals and Moors, whose

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blind passions revenged the injuries of Carthage. The pillage lasted fourteen days and nights; and all that yet remained of public or private wealth, of sacred or profane treasure, was diligently transported to the vessels of Genseric. . . . The holy instruments of the Jewish worship, the gold table, and the gold candlestick with seven branches, originally framed according to the particular instructions of God himself, and which were placed in the sanctuary of His temple, had been ostentatiously displayed to the Roman people in the triumph of Titus. They were afterwards deposited in the Temple of Peace; and at the end of four hundred years, the spoils of Jerusalem were transferred from Rome to Carthage, by a barbarian who derived his origin from the shores of the Baltic. . . .

"In the forty-five years that had elapsed since the Gothic invasion, the pomp and luxury of Rome were in some measure restored; and it was difficult either to escape, or to satisfy, the avarice of a conqueror who possessed leisure to collect, and ships to transport the wealth of the capital. The imperial ornaments of the palace, the magnificent furniture and wardrobe, the sideboards of massive plate, were accumulated with disorderly rapine; the gold and silver amounted to several thousand talents; yet even the brass and copper were laboriously removed. . . . Many thousand Romans of both sexes, chosen for some useful or agreeable qualifications, reluctantly embarked on board the fleet of Genseric;

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and their distress was aggravated by the unfeeling barbarians, who, in the division of the booty, separated the wives from their husbands, and the children from their parents."

Two years afterward the Emperor Majorian determined to invade Africa, and break the power of Genseric. Three years were spent in building a fleet. "The woods of the Apennines were felled; the arsenals and manufactures of Ravenna and Misenum were restored; Italy and Gaul vied with each other in liberal contributions to the public service; and the Imperial navy of three hundred galleys, with an adequate proportion of transports and smaller vessels, was collected in the secure and capacious harbor of Carthagena in Spain." But Genseric "surprised the unguarded fleet in the Bay of Carthagena: many of the ships were sunk, or taken, or burnt; and the preparations of three years were destroyed in a single day."

After this experience Rome was weaker, and Genseric was even more terrible than ever before. "In the spring of each year they equipped a formidable navy in the port of Carthage, and Genseric himself, though in a very advanced age, still commanded in person the most important expeditions. His designs were concealed with impenetrable secrecy till the moment that he hoisted sail. When he was asked by his pilot what course he should steer, 'Leave the determination to the winds,' replied the barbarian, with pious arrogance;

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'they will transport us to the guilty coast whose inhabitants have provoked the divine justice.' But if Genseric himself deigned to issue more precise orders, he judged the most wealthy to be the most criminal. The Vandals repeatedly visited the coasts of Spain, Liguria, Tuscany, Campania, Lucania, Brutium, Apulia, Calabria, Venetia, Dalmatia, Epirus, Greece, and Sicily; they were tempted to subdue the island of Sardinia, so advantageously placed in the center of the Mediterranean, and their arms spread desolation or terror from the columns of Hercules to the mouth of the Nile. As they were more ambitious of spoil than of glory, they seldom attacked any fortified cities, or engaged any regular troops in the open field. But the celerity of their motions enabled them, almost at the same time, to threaten and to attack the most distant objects which attracted their desires; and as they always embarked a sufficient number of horses, they had no sooner landed than they swept the dismayed country with a body of light cavalry."

Their resources being now utterly exhausted, the rulers of the remains of the Western Empire appealed to the Eastern Empire for aid against the Vandals. This was finally gained. A great fleet was gathered, and manned at a cost of five million eight hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling -- nearly thirty millions of dollars. "The powers of the Eastern Empire were strenuously exerted to deliver Italy and the Mediterranean

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from the Vandals; and Genseric, who had so long oppressed both the land and sea, was threatened from every side with a formidable invasion."

"The fleet that sailed [A. D. 468] from Constantinople to Carthage, consisted of eleven hundred and thirteen ships, and the number of soldiers and mariners exceeded one hundred thousand men." A separate force from Egypt and Libya landed in Tripoli and marched to the attack of Carthage by land. The two forces met at Cape Bona, forty miles from Carthage; and if the Commander-in-chief "had seized the moment of consternation, and boldly advanced to the capital, Carthage must have surrendered, and the kingdom of the Vandals was extinguished.

"Genseric beheld the danger with firmness, and eluded it with veteran dexterity." He represented that he was ready to yield himself and his dominions to the Emperor; but desired a five-days' truce to arrange the terms. The Roman Commander "consented to the fatal truce."

"During this short interval the wind became favorable to the designs of Genseric. He manned his largest ships of war with the bravest of the Moors and Vandals; and they towed after them many large barks filled with combustible materials. In the obscurity of the night these destructive vessels were impelled against the Romans, who were awakened by a sense of their instant danger. Their close and crowded order assisted the

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progress of the fire, which was communicated with rapid and irresistible violence, and the noise of the winds, the crackling of the flames, the dissonant cries of the soldiers and mariners, who could neither command nor obey, increased the horror of the nocturnal tumult. Whilst they labored to extricate themselves from the fireships, and to save at least a part of the navy, the galleys of Genseric assaulted them with temperate and disciplined valor; and many of the Romans who escaped the fury of the flames, were destroyed or taken by the victorious Vandals. . . .

"After the failure of this great expedition, Genseric again became the tyrant of the sea; the coasts of Italy, Greece, and Asia, were again exposed to his revenge and avarice. Tripoli and Sardinia returned to his obedience; he added Sicily to the number of his provinces; and before he died, in the fullness of years and of glory, he beheld the FINAL EXTINCTION of the empire of the west." -- Gibbon, Chap. XXXVI, pars. 1-4, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21, 22.

CHAPTER V. THE THIRD TRUMPET

By this prophecy we are directed to that other dreadful scourge, the haughty Attila with his frightful Huns, who, during his reign, became the "terror of the world." Attila actually called himself the "Scourge of God;" "Grandson of Nimrod, nurtured in Engedi, by the grace of God, King of the Huns, Goths, Danes, and Medes, the terror of the world." And "It is a saying worthy of the ferocious pride of Attila that the grass never grew on the spot where his horse had trod." He "alternately insulted and invaded the East and the West, and urged the rapid downfall of the Roman Empire." -- Gibbon, Chap. XXXIV, pars, 1, 8; XXXV, 12; Hodgkin, "Italy and Her Invaders," Book II, Chap. IV, par. 7 from end.

"If a line of separation were drawn between the civilized and the savage climates of the globe; between the inhabitants of cities, who cultivated the earth, and the hunters and shepherds, who dwelt in tents; Attila might aspire to the title of supreme and sole monarch of the barbarians. He alone, among the conquerors of ancient and modern times, united the two mighty kingdoms of Germany and Scythia; and those vague appellations, when they are applied to his reign, may

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be understood with an ample latitude. Thuringia, which stretched beyond its actual limits as far as the Danube, was in the number of his provinces; he interposed, with the weight of a powerful neighbor, in the domestic affairs of the Franks; and one of his lieutenants chastised, and almost exterminated, the Burgundians of the Rhine. He subdued the islands of the ocean, the kingdoms of Scandinavia, encompassed and divided by the waters of the Baltic; and the Huns might derive a tribute of furs from that northern region, which has been protected from all other conquerors by the severity of the climate, and the courage of the natives. Toward the East, it is difficult to circumscribe the dominion of Attila over the Scythian deserts; yet we may be assured that he reigned on the banks of the Volga; that the king of the Huns was dreaded, not only as a warrior, but as a magician; that he insulted and vanquished the khan of the formidable Geougen; and that he sent ambassadors to negotiate an equal alliance with the empire of China." -- Gibbon, Id., par. 5.

The Capital of this vast "Empire which did not contain in the space of several thousand miles, a single city," was "an accidental camp which, by the long and frequent residence of Attila, had insensibly swelled into a huge village;" and seems to have been near, if not exactly at the place, where now Tokay is situated, a little east of the River Teyss in Hungary. "The whole breadth of Europe, as it extends above five hundred

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miles from the Euxine to the Adriatic, was at once invaded, and occupied, and desolated, by the myriads of barbarians whom Attila led into the field." -- Id., pars. 13, 7.

It was at this point in Attila's career that the Third Trumpet sounded, and his desolating hordes were poured upon the Western Empire: and it was through the scheming of "the subtle Genseric, who spread his negotiations around the world," that this was brought about. The eldest son of Genseric had married a daughter of Theodoric, king of the Visigoths, who ruled in Spain. By some means, Genseric entertained a suspicion that this daughter-in-law had formed a conspiracy to poison him. With Genseric, his own suspicion was always sufficient proof of guilt; and, upon the hapless daughter of Theodoric, there was inflicted the horrible penalty of the cutting off of her nose and ears. Thus mutilated, she was sent back to the house of her father. By this outrage Theodoric was stirred up to make war upon the king of the Vandals,in which he was widely supported by the sympathy of his neighbors. To protect himself and his dominions from this dangerous invasion, -- doubly dangerous just at the time when Rome was so determined to break his power, -- Genseric, by "rich gifts and pressing solicitations, inflamed the ambition of Attila," who, thus persuaded, marched, A. D. 451, with an army of seven hundred thousand men in his memorable invasion of Gaul.

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Thus and then it was that --

"The third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven. burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter." Rev. 8:10, 11.

The period covered by this trumpet was brief, as "a burning star," 451-453. Of this prophecy Albert Barnes well says that in fulfillment of it "there would be some chieftain, or warrior, who might be compared to a blazing meteor whose course would be singularly brilliant; who would appear suddenly, LIKE a blazing star, and then disappear like a star whose light was quenched in the waters: that the desolating course of that meteor would be mainly on those portions of the world that abounded with springs of water and running streams: that an effect would be produced as if those streams and fountains were made bitter; that is, that many persons would perish, and that wild desolations would be caused in the vicinity of those rivers and streams, as if a baleful star should fall into the waters, and death should spread over lands adjacent to them and watered by them."

And further: "It is said particularly that the effect would be on 'the rivers' and on the 'fountains of waters.' If this has a literal application, or if, as was supposed in the case of the Second Trumpet, the

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language was such as had reference to the portion of the empire that would be particularly affected by the hostile invasion, then we may suppose that this refers to those portions of the empire that abounded in rivers and streams, and more particularly those in which the rivers and streams had their origin -- for the effect was permanently in the 'fountains of the waters.'" And as a matter of fact the principal operations of Attila as relates to the Western Empire, were in the regions of the Alps, and on the portions of the empire whence the rivers flow to the greater part of Europe in all directions. It was emphatically the region of the "fountains of waters."

The Trumpet sounded; and "the kings and nations of Germany and Scythia, from the Volga perhaps to the Danube, obeyed the warlike summons of Attila. From the royal village in the plains of Hungary, his standard moved toward the west; and, after a march of seven or eight hundred miles, he reached the conflux of the Rhine and the Necker. . . . The hostile myriads were poured with resistless violence into the Belgic provinces. The consternation of Gaul was universal. . . . From the Rhine and the Moselle Attila advanced into the heart of Gaul; crossed the Seine at Auxerre; and, after a long and laborious march, fixed his camp under the walls of Orleans."

AEtius, the Roman commander, gathered of all the peoples of the West, a great army "to give battle to

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the innumerable host of Attila." The two great forces met on the plain of Chalons, where they engaged in "one of the most gigantic as well as most important contests recorded in history." -- Encyclopedia Britannica, "Attila."

"The nations from the Volga to the Atlantic were assembled on the plain of Chalons. . . . The number of the slain amounted to one hundred and sixty-two thousand, or, according to another account, three hundred thousand persons; and these incredible exaggerations suppose a real or effective loss, sufficient to justify the historian's remark that whole generations may be swept away, by the madness of kings, in the space of a single hour."

Although neither side gained an overwhelming victory, "the Huns were undoubtedly vanquished, since Attila was compelled to retreat." "Yet neither the spirit, nor the forces, nor the reputation of Attila were impaired by the failure of the Gallic expedition." "The course of the fiery meteor was changed, not stayed; and, touching Italy for the first time, the great star, after having burned as it were a lamp, fell upon a 'third part of the rivers,' and upon the fountains of waters.

"In the ensuing spring [452] . . . he took the field, passed the Alps, invaded Italy, and besieged Aquileia with an innumerable host of barbarians. . . . The walls of Aquileia were assaulted by a formidable train of battering-rams,

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movable turrets, and engines, that threw stones, darts, and fire; . . . the Huns mounted to the assault with irresistible fury; and the succeeding generation could scarcely discover the ruins of Aquileia. After this dreadful chastisement, Attila pursued his march; and as he passed, the cities of Altinum, Concordia, and Padua were reduced into heaps of stones and ashes. The inland towns, Vicenza, Verona, and Bergamo, were exposed to the rapacious cruelty of the Huns. Milan and Pavia submitted, without resistance, to the loss of their wealth; and applauded the unusual clemency which preserved from flames the public as well as private buildings, and spared the lives of the captive multitudes. . . . [And] Attila spread his ravages over the rich plains of modern Lombardy, which are divided by the Po, and bounded by the Alps and the Apennines." -- Gibbon, Id., XXXV, pars. 7-12.

"The valley of the Po was now wasted to the hearts' content of the invaders. Should they cross the Apennines and blot out Rome as they had blotted out Aquileia from among the cities of the world? This was the great question that was now being debated in the Hunnish camp; and, strange to say, the voices were not all for war. . . . While this discussion was going forward in the barbarian camp, all voices were hushed, and the attention of all was aroused by the news of the arrival of an embassy from Rome." -- Hodgkin, "Italy and Her Invaders," Book II, Chap. IV, par. 11.

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Before Attila's raid into Gaul, he had demanded the hand of the princess Honoria, sister to the emperor Valentinian III; but his offer was rejected. The next year after the battle of Chalons he renewed his demand; and it being again rejected, he revenged himself by this raid into Italy. On Attila's approach, the emperor Valentinian III had fled to Rome from his capital at Ravenna, and at Rome it was decided by the emperor, the senate, and the people to send a "solemn and suppliant embassy," headed by Pope Leo the Great, to deprecate the wrath of Attila. "The barbarian monarch listened with favorable, and even respectful, attention; and the deliverance of Italy was purchased by the immense ransom, or dowry, of the princess Honoria.

"Before the king of the Huns evacuated Italy, he threatened to return more dreadful and more implacable, if his bride, the princess Honoria, were not delivered to his ambassadors within the term stipulated by the treaty. Yet, in the meanwhile, Attila relieved his tender anxiety by adding a beautiful maid, whose name was Ildico, to the list of his innumerable wives. Their marriage was celebrated with barbaric pomp and festivity at his wooden palace beyond the Danube; and the monarch, oppressed with wine and sleep, retired at a late hour from the banquet to the nuptial bed. His attendants continued to respect his pleasures, or his repose, the greatest part of the ensuing day, till the unusual silence alarmed their fears and suspicions;

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and after attempting to awaken Attila by loud and repeated cries, they at length broke into the royal apartment. They found the trembling bride sitting by the bedside, hiding her face with her veil, and lamenting her own danger as well as the death [A. D. 453] of the king, who had expired during the night. An artery had suddenly burst; and as Attila lay in a supine posture, he was suffocated by a torrent of blood, which, instead of finding a passage through the nostrils, regurgitated into the lung sand stomach." -- Gibbon "Decline and Fall," Chap. XXXV, par. 15.

"The sounding of the trumpets manifestly denotes the order of the commencement, not the period of the duration, of the wars, or events which they represent. When the second angel sounded, there was seen, as it were, a great mountain burning with fire. When the third angel sounded, there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp. The symbol, in each instance, is expressly a similitude; and the one is to the other, in comparative and individual resemblance, as a burning mountain to a falling star; each of them was 'great.' The former was cast into the sea, the latter was first seen as falling, and it fell upon the fountains and rivers of waters. There is a discrimination in the similitude, in the description, and locality, which obviously implies a corresponding difference in the object represented." -- Keith. Accordingly the Second Trumpet -- Genseric's career on the sea, 439-477 -- began

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first and continued longer than did the Third Trumpet -- Attila's career at the place of rivers and fountains of waters, 451-453: as a burning mountain would naturally continue longer than would a falling star; and a mountain burning with fire would naturally blaze longer than would a falling star burning only as a lamp.

Also a burning lamp falling into the water, would expire more quickly than would a burning mountain even cast into the sea. At the beginning of this chapter it was noted from Barnes that the Third Trumpet denoted a career that "would be singularly brilliant" "like a blazing star, and then disappear like a star whose light was quenched in the waters." Even so the history declares: "With dramatic suddenness the stage after the death of Attila is cleared of all the chief actors." It is the unanimous voice of history that "the death of Attila was followed by a dissolution of his empire, as complete, and more ruinous than that which befell the Macedonian monarchy on the death of Alexander." -- Hodgkin, "Italy and Her Invaders," Book III, Chap. I, pars. 1, 2. Paragraph twelve of Chap. XXXV of the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," is entitled, "Invasions of Italy by Attila, A. D. 452;" paragraph fourteen, "Attila Gives Peace to the Romans;" paragraph fifteen, "The Death of Attila, A. D. 453;" and paragraph sixteen, "Destruction of His Empire."

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This destruction of Attila's Empire was wrought in the battle of the River Netad or Nedao, in Pannonia, a few months after his death. "Thirty thousand of the Huns and their confederates lay dead upon the field, among them Ellak, Attila's firstborn. . . . The rest of his nation fled away across the Dacian plains and over the Carpathian mountains to those wide steppes of Southern Russia. . . . Ernak, Attila's darling, ruled tranquilly under Roman protection in the district between the Lower Danube and the Black Sea, which we now call Dobrudscha, and which was then 'the lesser Scythia.' . . There is nothing in the after history of these fragments of the nation with which anyone need concern himself. The Hunnish Empire is from this time forward mere driftwood on its way to inevitable oblivion." -- Hodgkin, Id., par 3. "The immense empire which was founded by King Attila, was destined to be of but short duration after the death of its founder. His sons Aladar and Csaba, in their contention for the inheritance, resorted to arms. The war ended with the utter destruction of the nation." -- Arminius Vambery, "The Story of Hungary," iii, par. 5. For additional authorities, see "Great Empires of Prophecy," pp. 686-693.

CHAPTER VI. THE FOURTH TRUMPET

THE events of the First, Second, and Third Trumpets had brought the Western Empire to the brink of annihilation; and the Fourth Trumpet accomplishes its utter extinction.

"And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise." Verse 12.

This trumpet illustrates the blotting out of the Roman government. Sun, moon, and stars are evidently symbols that denote the ruling powers in the government -- its emperors, consuls, and senators.

The last paragraph (nineteen) of the chapter of the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," that gives the history of Attila's invasions, and thus of the Third Trumpet, is entitled, "Symptoms of Decay and Ruin" of the Western Empire; and of the history of Genseric, "the Monarch of the Sea," the history of the great burning mountain cast into the sea, which continued longer than did the falling star burning as a lamp, -- of this history the very last words are that Genseric "beheld the final extinction of the Empire of the West."

Thus by the very words of the standard history itself.

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we are introduced to the great thought of the Fourth Trumpet; and by this to that other name -- Odoacer -- which in the destruction of the Roman Empire must forever stand conspicuous with those of Alaric, Genseric, and Attila.

"In the space of twenty years since the death of Valentinian [March 16, A. D. 455], 'nine emperors had successively disappeared; and the son of Orestes [Odoacer], a youth recommended only by his beauty, would be the least entitled to the notice of posterity, if his reign, which was marked by the EXTINCTION of the Roman Empire in the West, did not leave a memorable era in the history of mankind."

"The sun was smitten." "Extinction of the Western Empire A. D. 476 or 479," is the title of paragraph thirty-one of Chap. XXXVI, of the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." And the record is: "Royalty was familiar to the barbarians, and the submissive people of Italy were prepared to obey without a murmur the authority which he [Odoacer] should condescend to exercise as the vicegerent of the emperor of the West. But Odoacer resolved to abolish that useless and expensive office; and such is the weight of antique prejudice that it required some boldness and penetration to discover the extreme facility of the enterprise. The unfortunate Augustulus was made the instrument of his own disgrace; and he signified his resignation to the senate; and that assembly, in their last act of obedience

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to a Roman prince, still affected the spirit of freedom and the forms of the constitution.

"An epistle was addressed, by their unanimous decree, to the Emperor Zeno, the son-in-law and successor of Leo, who had lately been restored, after a short rebellion, to the Byzantine throne. They solemnly disclaim the necessity or even the wish of continuing any longer the imperial succession in Italy; since in their opinion the majesty of a sole monarch is sufficient to pervade and to protect, at the same time, both the East and the West. In their own name, and in the name of the people, they consent that the seat of universal empire shall be transferred from Rome to Constantinople; and they basely renounce the right of choosing their master, the only vestige that yet remained of the authority which had given laws to the world. . . ."

Zeno's "vanity was gratified by the title of sole Emperor, and by the statues erected to his honor in the several quarters of Rome; he entertained a friendly, though ambiguous, correspondence with the patrician Odoacer; and he gratefully accepted the Imperial ensigns, the sacred ornaments of the throne and palace, which the barbarian was not unwilling to remove from the sight of the people."

"The power and the glory of Rome, as bearing rule over any nation, became extinct. The name alone remained to the queen of nations. Every token of royalty disappeared from the imperial city. She who had ruled

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over the nations sat in the dust, like a second Babylon, and there was no throne where the Caesars had reigned. The last act of obedience to a Roman prince which that once august assembly performed, was the acceptance of the resignation of the last emperor of the West, and the abolition of the imperial succession in Italy. The sun of Rome was smitten.

"Long had that name been a terror to the nations, and identified with supreme authority in the world. Long had the emperor of Rome shone and ruled in the earth, like the sun in the firmament. His was a kingdom and dominion, great and terrible, and strong exceedingly, to which all others were subjected or subordinate. His supreme or imperial authority, had, in the decline of the empire, been greatly obscured, but till then it had never been extinguished. It had been darkened and disfigured by a great storm; eclipsed, as it were, by a mountain that burned with fire; and outshone, as it were, by a falling star, like a fiery meteor. It had survived the assaults of Goths and Vandals and Huns. Though clouded and obscured, it had never been smitten; and though its light reached but a little way, where previously it had shone over all, it had never been extinguished.

"Neither, at last, was the whole sun smitten, but 'the third part.' The throne of the Caesars had for ages been the sun of the world, while other kings were designated as stars. But the imperial power had first

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been transferred to Constantinople by Constantine; and it was afterward divided between the East and the West. And the Eastern Empire was not yet doomed to destruction. Even the Western Empire was afterward revived; and a more modern dynasty arose to claim and maintain the title of emperor of the Romans. But, for the first time, after sudden, and violent, and distinctly marked and connected convulsions, the imperial power IN ROME, where for so long a period it had reigned triumphant, was cut off forever; and the third part of the sun was smitten.

"But though Rome itself, as an imperial city, ceased to exercise a sovereignty over any nation, yet the imperial ensigns, with the sacred ornaments of the throne and palace, were transferred to Constantinople, where Zeno reigned under the title of sole emperor. The military acclamations of the confederates of Italy saluted Odoacer with the title of king.

"A new conqueror of Italy, Theodoric, the Ostrogoth, speedily arose, who assumed the purple, and reigned by the right of conquest. 'The royalty of Theodoric was proclaimed by the Goths (March 5, A. D. 493), with the tardy, reluctant, ambiguous consent of the emperor of the East.' The imperial Roman power, of which either Rome or Constantinople had been jointly or singly the seat, whether in the West or the East, was no longer recognized in Italy, and the third part of the sun was smitten, till it emitted no longer the faintest rays. The

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power of the Caesars was unknown in Italy, and a Gothic king reigned over Rome.

"But though the third part of the sun was smitten, and the Roman imperial power was at an end in the city of the Caesars, yet the moon and the stars still shone, or glimmered, for a little longer in the western hemisphere, even in the midst of Gothic darkness. The consulship and the senate ['the moon and the stars'] were not abolished by Theodoric. 'A Gothic historian applauds the consulship of Theodoric as the height of all temporal power and greatness:' -- as the moon reigns by night, after the setting of the sun. And, instead of abolishing that office, Theodoric himself 'congratulates those annual favorites of fortune, who, without the cares, enjoyed the splendor of the throne.'

"But in their prophetic order, the consulship and the senate of Rome met their fate, though they fell not by the hands of Vandals or of Goths. The next revolution in Italy was its subjection to Belisarius, the general of Justinian, emperor of the East. He did not spare what barbarians had hallowed. 'The Roman Consulship Extinguished by Justinian, A. D. 541,' is the title of the last paragraph of the fortieth chapter of Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of Rome. 'The succession of consuls finally ceased in the thirteenth year of Justinian, whose despotic temper might be gratified by the silent extinction of a title which admonished the Romans of their ancient freedom."

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"The sun was smitten." Odoacer caused the title of emperor to cease. But one-third part only is affected -- the jurisdiction of Rome then extended over only the middle division of the empire, as ceded by Constantine to his three sons. One-third part of the moon was smitten; the effect of this political calamity had the same extent as the former. When the consulship was taken away, Rome had ceded all her territory beyond the Alps.

"The third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars. In the political firmament of the ancient world, while under the reign of imperial Rome, the emperorship, the consulate, and the senate, shone like the sun, the moon, and the stars. The history of their decline and fall is brought down till the two former were 'extinguished,' in reference to Rome and Italy, which so long had ranked as the first of cities and of countries; and finally, as the Fourth Trumpet closes, we see the 'extinction of that illustrious assembly,' the Roman senate. The city that had ruled the world, as if in mockery of human greatness, was conquered by the eunuch Narses, the successor of Belisarius. He defeated the Goths (A. D. 552), achieved the 'conquest of Rome,' and the fate of the senate was sealed.

"The calamities of imperial Rome, in its downfall, were told to the very last of them, till Rome was without an emperor, a consul, or a senate. 'Under the

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Exarchs of Ravenna, Rome was degraded to the second rank.' The third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars. The race of the Caesars was not extinct with the emperors of the West. Rome, before its fall, possessed but a portion of the imperial power. Constantinople divided with it the empire of the world. And neither Goths nor Vandals lorded over that still imperial city, the emperor of which, after the first transference of the seat of empire by Constantine, often held the emperor of Rome as his nominee and vicegerent. And the fate of Constantinople was reserved till other ages, and was announced by other trumpets. Of the sun, the moon, and the stars, as yet but the third part was smitten.

"The concluding words of the Fourth Trumpet imply the future restoration of the Western Empire: 'The day shone not for the third part of it, and the night likewise.' In respect to civil authority, Rome became subject to Ravenna, and Italy was a conquered province of the Eastern Empire. But, as more appropriately pertaining to other prophecies, the defense of the worship of images first brought the spiritual and temporal powers of the pope and of the emperor into violent collision; and, by conferring on the pope all authority over the churches, Justinian laid his helping hand to the promotion of the papal supremacy, which afterward assumed the power of creating monarchs. In

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the year of our Lord 800, the pope conferred on Charlemagne the title of Emperor of the Romans." -- Keith. That title was again transferred from the king of France to the king of Germany. And by the Emperor Francis the Second even this fiction was finally and forever renounced, Aug. 6, 1806.

CHAPTER VII. THE MODERN NATIONS OF WESTERN EUROPE

THERE were no fewer than eighteen distinct tribes of the barbarians who, by their active presence, were instrumental in the ruin of Western Rome. [1]1 Of these, some, after their work of destruction was done, left the territories of the West, and established themselves elsewhere, or were lost among the other wild peoples of northern and eastern Europe or Asia. Others coalesced and the names of lesser tribes were lost under that of the predominating one. And so, when the last vestige of the Western Empire of Rome had vanished, the territory was found partitioned into exactly ten parts, occupied by exactly ten independent nations; no more, no less.

Named in order from the northern to the southern limits of the Western Empire, these ten, as they stood in 476 at the extinction of the Empire, were as follows: --

1. The Angles and Saxons in Britain.

2. The Franks in all Gaul north and west of the River Moselle.

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3. The Alemanni in North Switzerland, Swabia, Alsace, and Lorraine.

4. The Burgundians in west Switzerland and the valleys of the Rhone and Saone in southeast Gaul.

5. The Visigoths in southwest Gaul and Spain.

6. The Suevi in that part of Spain which is now Portugal.

7. The Ostrogoths in Pannonia -- what is now Austria.

8. The Lombards in Noricum, between the Ostrogoths and the Alemanni.

9. The Heruli in Italy.

10. The Vandals in North Africa, with capital at Carthage.

The details of this anyone can trace out, any day, on any map that he will but hold before him, and mark as he reads the history of the fall of the Roman Empire.

These ten kingdoms were first mentioned in the prophecy of Daniel, especially in that "the fourth beast, which represented Rome, was seen to have ten horns:" and these ten horns, "out of this [fourth] kingdom," are distinctly said by the angel to be "ten kings [kingdoms] that shall arise." Dan. 7:7, 24. They are referred to later, in the book of Revelation, in the description of the dragon, and also of the Beast having "seven heads and ten horns."

Also, in the prophecy of Daniel, it is related that

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there would come up among these ten another one; and that by it three of the ten would be "plucked up by the roots." Dan. 7:8, 20, 24. The three which were plucked up, were the Heruli, who occupied Italy, in 493; the Vandals, who occupied North Africa, in 534; and the Ostrogoths, who had been instrumental in rooting up the Heruli, and who occupied Italy in their place, in 538. That "other one," before whom these three were rooted up, is described as having "eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things;" and it was, and is, the papacy.

Three taken from ten leaves seven. And these seven of the original ten kingdoms that divided Western Rome are in that territory to-day, and are the Powers of Western Europe to-day. The Saxons, the Franks, the Alemanni, the Burgundians, the Visigoths, the Suevi, and the Lombards are the powers respectively of the Britain, France, Germany (in the French language, and with the French people of to-day, the Germans are only Allemands, and Germany is only Allemagne), Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, and Italy of to-day. For after the plucking up of the third of the three kingdoms, the Lombards removed from their place on the Danube, and established their kingdom in Italy; and to a considerable portion of that country "communicated the perpetual appellation of Lombardy." In the middle ages, Lombardy "was, indeed, for a time, the name for Italy itself.' Thus the Powers of Western Europe

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to-day are as definitely pointed out by the prophecy as they could be without specifically naming them.

Of these seven, some are very powerful, such as Britain, France, and Germany; while others are weak, such as Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal; while Italy stands, as it were, between strong and weak. So these seven of the original ten stand just where Daniel, from the dream that was given to Nebuchadnezzar, said they would stand. Dan. 2:40-43. They stand there in precisely the condition in which that prophecy said they would stand -- "partly strong, and partly broken," or weak. Britain, France, and Germany have spread their power over the whole world; and have so intertwined themselves in the affairs of the whole world that what touches the world touches them, and what touches them touches the world.

Thus the first effect of the first four of the Seven Trumpets was the blotting out of the Western Empire of Rome; and the second effect was the planting of the modern nations of Western Europe, and among them the great nations of to-day.

Next we must study the Fifth and Sixth Trumpets: and at the end of the Sixth, we shall again come face to face with these and others of the great nations of to-day.

CHAPTER VIII. THE FIFTH TRUMPET -- THE FIRST WOE

AFTER the Fourth Trumpet had ended its sounding, and before the Fifth Trumpet began to sound, the prophet "beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound." Rev. 8:13. Each of the last three of the Seven Trumpets is a woe, even as compared with the dreadful times of the first four of them. The reasons of this can be seen in the course of these last three trumpets.

As the first four of the Seven Trumpets mark the ruin of the Western Empire of Rome, and the planting, in its place, of the peoples that form the nations of Western Europe to-day; so the Fifth and Sixth Trumpets mark the ruin of the Eastern Empire of Rome, and introduce the peoples by whom that ruin was accomplished; and who are the modern nations of Eastern Europe and of Asia.

"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were

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darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails; and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon ["that is to say, a destroyer," margin]." Rev. 9:1-11.

This trumpet covers a period of eight hundred and seventeen years, -- A. D. 632-1449, -- and shows the rise and work of the Mohammedans in the destruction of Eastern Rome -- first the Arabian Mohammedans and later the Turkish Mohammedans. Of this Albert Barnes remarks that, "with surprising unanimity, commentators have agreed in regarding this as referring to the empire of the Saracens, or to the rise and progress

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of the religion and the empire set up by Mohammed." We can not see how anyone who will read the prophecy, and Gibbon's history of Mohammed and his successors in the light of it, can disagree with the application of the prophecy to the Mohammedans.

The term "bottomless pit," which denotes the place of their rise, is from the Greek word abussos, and signifies a waste, desolate region. And a brief sketch of Arabia makes plain the significance and aptness of the term as applied to that country.

Arabia is about fifteen hundred miles in extreme length; is about half this distance in width at the middle; but its extreme width on the Indian Ocean is a thousand miles. "The entire surface of the peninsula exceeds in a fourfold proportion that of Germany or France; but the far greater part has been justly stigmatized with the epithets of the stony and the sandy. Even the wilds of Tartary are decked, by the hand of nature, with lofty trees and luxuriant herbage; and the lonely traveler derives a sort of comfort and society from the presence of vegetable life. But in the dreary waste of Arabia, a boundless level of sand is intersected by sharp and naked mountains; and the face of the desert, without shade or shelter, is scorched by the direct and intense rays of the tropical sun. Instead of refreshing breezes, the winds, particularly from the southwest, diffuse a noxious vapor; the hillocks of sand which they alternately raise and scatter, are compared to the billows

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of the ocean, and whole caravans, whole armies, have been lost and buried in the whirlwind. The common benefits of water are an object of desire and contest; and such is the scarcity of wood, that some art is requisite to preserve and propagate the element of fire.

"Arabia is destitute of navigable rivers, which fertilize the soil, and convey its produce to the adjacent regions; the torrents that fall from the hills are imbibed by the thirsty earth; the rare and hardy plants, the tamarind or the acacia, that strike their roots into the clefts of the rocks, are nourished by the dews of the night; a scanty supply of rain is collected in cisterns and aqueducts; the wells and springs are the secret treasure of the desert; and the pilgrim of Mecca, after many a dry and sultry march, is disgusted by the taste of the waters, which have rolled over a bed of sulphur or salt. Such is the general and genuine picture of the climate of Arabia." -- Gibbon, Chap. L, par. 2. Along the coast there is a narrow region of fertile land, which is distinguished from the great body of the country by the term of "the happy."

"While the State was exhausted by the Persian war, and the Church was distracted by the Nestorian and Monophysite sects, Mahomet, with the sword in one hand and the Koran in the other, erected his throne on the ruins of Christianity and of Rome. The genius of the Arabian prophet, the manners of his nation, and

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the spirit of his religion, involve the causes of the decline and fall of the Eastern Empire; and our eyes are curiously intent on one of the most memorable revolutions which have impressed a new and most lasting character on the nations of the globe." -- Id., par. 1.

The vast hordes of the Mohammedans are signified by the symbol of a cloud of locusts; and in verses 7-9 the meaning of the symbol is made plain: "The shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; . . . and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle."

"Arabia, in the opinion of the naturalist, is the genuine and original country of the horse; the climate most propitious, not indeed to the size, but to the spirit and swiftness of that generous animal. The merit of the Barb, the Spanish, and the English breed, is derived from a mixture of the Arabian blood; and the Bedoweens preserve with superstitious care the honors and the memory of the purest race. These horses are educated in the tents, among the children of the Arabs, with a tender familiarity, which trains them in the habits of gentleness and attachment. They are accustomed only to walk and to gallop; their sensations are not blunted by the incessant use of the spur and whip; their powers are reserved for the moment of flight and pursuit; but no sooner do they feel the touch of the hand or the stirrup, than they dart away with the swiftness of the wind."

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"And on their heads were, as it were, crowns like gold." When Mahomet entered Medina (A. D. 622), and was first received as its prince, "a turban was unfurled before him to supply the deficiency of a standard." The turbans of the Saracens, like unto a coronet, were their ornament and their boast. The rich booty abundantly supplied and frequently renewed them. To assume the turban, is proverbially to turn Mussulman. And the Arabs were distinguished by the miters which they wore, in which yellow was the most prominent color.

The Mohammedan era began July 16, A. D. 622. In the ten years that passed between that date and the day of his death, June 7, A. D. 632, Mahomet made the conquest, and secured the allegiance, of Arabia. He was immediately succeeded by Abubeker as Khalif, Caliph, or Commander of the Faithful; and with his accession the real conquests and spread of Mohammedanism began. And as to that which "was commanded them," it is found in the speech of Abubeker to the first army of Mohammedans that he sent forth. For "no sooner had Abubeker restored the unity of faith and government than he dispatched a circular letter to the Arabian tribes" as follows: --

"This is to acquaint you that I intend to send the true believers into Syria to take it out of the hands of the infidels, and I would have you know that the fighting for religion is an act of obedience to God."

"His messengers returned with the tidings of pious and martial ardor, which they had kindled in every

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province; the camp of Medina was successively filled with the intrepid bands of the Saracens, who panted for action, complained of the heat of the season and the scarcity of provisions, and accused, with impatient murmurs, the delays of the caliph. As soon as their numbers were complete, Abubeker ascended the hill, reviewed the men, the horses, and the arms, and poured forth a fervent prayer for the success of their undertaking. His instructions to the chiefs of the Syrians were inspired by the warlike fanaticism which advances to seize, and affects to despise, the objects of earthly ambition."

To the assembled hosts, Abubeker said: --

"Remember that you are always in the presence of God, on the verge of death, in the assurance of judgment, and the hope of paradise. Avoid injustice and oppression, consult with your brethren, and study to preserve the love and confidence of your troops. When you fight the battle of the Lord, acquit yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained with the blood of women and children. Destroy no palm trees nor burn any fields of corn. Cut down no fruit trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat. When you make any covenant or article, stand to it, and be as good as your word. As you go on, you will find some religious persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God that way: let them alone, and neither kill them nor burn their monasteries. And you will find another sort of people, that belong to the synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter till they either turn Mohammedan or pay tribute." -- "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," Chap. LI, par. 10.

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Abubeker died, July 24, A. D. 634, and was succeeded by Omar; and in the ten years of his administration, "the Saracens reduced to his obedience thirty-six thousand cities or castles, destroyed four thousand churches or temples of the unbelievers, and erected fourteen hundred mosques, for the exercise of the religion of Mahomet. One hundred years after his flight from Mecca, the arms and the reign of his successors extended from India to the Atlantic Ocean, over the various and distant provinces which may be comprised under the names of, I. Persia; II. Syria; III. Egypt; IV. Africa; and V. Spain." -- Id., Chap. LI, par. 3. The consequence was that "at the end of the first century of the Hegira, the Caliphs were the most potent and absolute monarchs of the globe . . . .

"Under the last of the Ommiades [A. D. 750], the Arabic Empire extended two hundred days' journey from east to west, from the confines of Tartary and India to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. And if we retrench the sleeve of the robe, as it is styled by their writers, the long and narrow province of Africa, the solid and compact dominion from Fargana to Aden. from Tarsus to Surat, will spread on every side to the measure of four or five months of the march of a caravan. We should vainly seek the indissoluble union and easy obedience of Augustus and the Autonines; but the progress of the Mahometan religion diffused over this ample space a general resemblance of manners and

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opinions. The language and laws of the Koran were studied with equal devotion at Samarcand and Seville; the Moor and the Indian embraced as countrymen and brothers in the pilgrimage of Mecca; and the Arabian language was adopted as the popular idiom in all the provinces to the westward of the Tigris." -- Id., Chap. LI, last paragraph.

And, says the Scripture, "Their power was to hurt men five months." Five months are one hundred and fifty days; this, being prophetic time, -- a day for a year (Eze. 4:3-6), -- equals one hundred and fifty years, during which they were to hurt men.

This one hundred and fifty years is to be counted from the time when they first had a king over them, as verse 11: "They had a king over them, . . . whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon ["a destroyer," margin]." For more than six hundred years the Mohammedans had no regularly organized government, and recognized no such dignitary as that which answers to the title of king. "The authority of the companions of Mahomet expired with their lives; and the chiefs or emirs of the Arabian tribes left behind, in the desert, the spirit of equality and independence." -- Gibbon, Id. Each tribe, under its own chief, was independent of all the others, and came and went as it pleased. While this was the case, it is evident, as it is the truth, that their character as "a destroyer" was not, and could

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not be, such as it was after they were solidly united in one government under the sway of a ruler recognized by all.

This is made more apparent when it is seen what was to be destroyed by this "destroyer." The first four trumpets show the ruin of the Western Empire of Rome; and the fifth relates to the destruction of the Eastern Empire. And it is in the character of the destroyer of the last remains of the Roman Empire that this power acts. It was not as a destroyer of men as such, for of them it is said "that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months," "and their power was to hurt men five months." It is evident, then, that this character and work as "a destroyer," relates to the final destruction of the Roman Empire, which was then represented in the Eastern Empire, with the capital at New Rome -- Constantinople.

Othman was the caliph who established the organized government of the Mohammedans; and thus it is from him that there has descended the name and title of the Ottoman Empire. It was under the organized power of Othman that the work of the destroyer began. In closing his account of the devastating rage of the Moguls and Tartars under Zingis Khan and his generals, Gibbon says: "In this shipwreck of nations [A. D. 1240-1304], some surprise may be excited by the escape of the Roman Empire, whose relics, at the time of the

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Mogul invasion, were dismembered by the Greeks and Latins." -- Id., Chap. LXIV, par. 31.

But when the decline of the Moguls gave free scope to the rise of the Moslems, under Othman, of this he says: "He was situate on the verge of the Greek Empire; the Koran sanctified his gazi, or holy war, against the infidels; and their political errors unlocked the passes of Mount Olympus, and invited him to descend into the plains of Bithynia . . . .It was on July 27, A. D. 1299, that Othman first invaded the territory of Nicomedia; and the singular accuracy of the date seems to disclose some foresight of the rapid and destructive growth of the monster." -- Id., par. 14.

Several points in this quotation must be noticed: --

1. Othman was the man who succeeded in bringing the disjointed elements of the Mohammedan power into a compact and distinctly organized governmental shape. From him dates the time when, as never before, "they had a king over them."

2. Note the expression of the historian -- "the destructive growth of the monster." Thus he distinguishes the very characteristic of "destroyer," which is predicted of it in the Scriptures.

3. The historian emphasizes "the singular accuracy of the date." In the original documents from which he drew his material, he found this date made so specific that he himself is forced to remark its "singular accuracy." Yet to those who recognize God's dealings

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with the nations and kingdoms, and who consider that from the time when these had a king over them, a period of a hundred and fifty years is given in which to do a certain work, it is not surprising that the date should be indicated with such singular accuracy.

The work of destruction, then, which was to subvert the last remains of the Roman Empire, began July 27, 1299, and was to continue one hundred and fifty years, which would reach to July 27, A. D. 1449. November, 1448, the Greek Emperor John Paleolagus died. There were rival claimants to the succession -- Demetrius and Constantine. Demetrius was present to seize the throne; Constantine was absent. "The Empress-mother, the Senate, and soldiers, the clergy, and people were unanimous in the cause of the lawful successor," Constantine. Yet with all this power in his favor there was at that moment another power that must be consulted -- the Turkish Sultan, Amurath II. Accordingly in 1449, an ambassador was sent to the Court of Amurath at Adrianople. "Amurath received him with honor, and dismissed him with gifts; but the gracious approbation of the Turkish Sultan announced his SUPREMACY, and the approaching downfall of the Eastern Empire." -- Id., Chap. LVII, par. 14.

And "one woe is passed; and, behold there come two woes more hereafter."

CHAPTER IX. THE SIXTH TRUMPET -- THE SECOND WOE

"AND the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents,and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." Rev. 9:13-21.

The four angels here mentioned, that were bound in the great river Euphrates and that were at this time to be loosed, refer to the four great sultanies -- Bagdad, Damascus, Iconium, and Aleppo -- of which at that

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time the Mohammedan power was composed. The command to loose these signifies, in short, the letting loose of all the elements of Mohammedanism for the final sweeping away of the last element of the Empire of Rome.

The breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and of brimstone; and the fire, smoke, and brimstone as issuing out of the horses' mouths; are explained by the fact of the large use of powder in the firearms employed, which was at that time only a late discovery in the West. "The incessant volleys of lances and arrows were accompanied with the smoke, the sound, and the fire of their musketry and cannon. Their small arms discharged at the same time either five, or even ten, balls of lead, of the size of a walnut; and, according to the closeness of the ranks and the force of the powder, several breastplates and bodies were transpierced with the same shot." -- "Decline and Fall," Chap. LXVIII, par.11.

With ranks of men firing with gunpowder, and from horseback, their arms would be aimed directly in line with the horses' mouths; and so in the vision the appearance would be exactly as though the breastplates of the warriors were of fire, jacinth, and brimstone, and as though out of the mouths of the horses there issued fire, smoke, and brimstone.

Thus was it in the use of small arms; but "his artillery surpassed whatever had yet appeared in the world. The founder of a cannon, a Dane or Hungarian who had

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been almost starved in the Greek service, deserted to the Moslems, and was liberally entertained by the Turkish Sultan. Mahomet was satisfied with the answer to his first question, which he eagerly pressed upon the artist. 'Am I able to cast a cannon capable of throwing a ball or stone of sufficient size to batter the walls of Constantinople? I am not ignorant of their strength, but were they more solid than those of Babylon, I could oppose an engine of superior power: the position and management of that engine must be left to your engineers.'

"On this assurance, a foundry was established at Adrianople: the metal was prepared; and at the end of three months, Urban produced a piece of brass ordnance of stupendous, and almost incredible, magnitude; a measure of twelve palms is assigned to the bore; and the stone bullet weighed about six hundred pounds. A vacant place before the new palace was chosen for the first experiment; but, to prevent the sudden and mischievous effects of astonishment and fear, a proclamation was issued that the cannon would be discharged the ensuing day. The explosion was felt or heard in a circuit of an hundred furlongs: the ball, by the force of gunpowder, was driven above a mile; and on the spot where it fell it buried itself a fathom deep in the ground . . . . That enormous engine was flanked by two fellows almost of equal magnitude: the long order of the Turkish artillery was pointed against the wall; fourteen batteries thundered at once on the most accessible

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places; and of one of these it is ambiguously expressed, that it was mounted with one hundred and thirty guns, or that it discharged one hundred and thirty bullets." -- Id.,pars. 6, 11.

These items are sufficient to designate the point of the true application of the prophecy.

In the year 1449, at the death of the emperor of the Eastern Empire of Rome, that empire had dwindled almost to the very walls of the capital itself. And so certain did it seem that the capital itself must shortly fall, that the successor to the throne would not accept the place without the knowledge and permission of Amurath, the sultan of the Turks. And thus that empire at that time really passed under the control of the Turkish power; and all that remained to complete the blotting out of the empire in every respect, was the actual taking of the capital, which was accomplished by Mahomet II, May 29, 1453.

The time of the Sixth Trumpet began immediately upon the expiration of the Fifth, July 27, 1449; and was to continue "an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year." Counting 30 days to the month, according to the Scriptural mode of computing time, a year is 360 days; and taking "each day for a year" (Eze. 4:4-6), we have 360 years. A month -- 30 days -- is 30 years. A day is 1 year. These, added together, give 391 years. From July 27, 1449, the 391 years reach to July 27, 1840. But there is "an hour" more. An hour is the

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twenty-fourth part of a day; and (a day for a year) this would be the twenty-fourth part of a year, or fifteen days. Fifteen days from July 27, extend to August 11. Therefore Aug. 11, 1840, this period of an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, would expire. For this length of time, and to this date, the power of the Ottoman Empire was to continue.

And as that power, in the place of Eastern Rome, was made complete in its sovereignty by the voluntary surrender to it of the authority of Eastern Rome; so, when the end of the time had come which was marked for its continuance, that power itself, as an independency, should be expected to cease -- and in the same way. And on that very day the actual power of the Turkish government passed into the hands of the great Powers of Europe; and from that day to this, the very existence of the Ottoman Empire has been solely dependent on the support of these great Powers.

Before the expiration of that time, the light of this prophecy was seen; and in 1838, two years before the time, it was announced to the world that Aug. 11, 1840, the independence of the Turkish power would cease. For several years there had been discontent on the part of Egypt and her pasha, which were subject to the Turkish power. In 1839 actual hostilities were begun, and the forces of the pasha of Egypt were victorious, the sultan's army was destroyed, and his fleet was captured and taken into Egypt.

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According to all regular order of human events, this matter should have ended in the breaking away of Egypt from the Turkish power, and the establishment of her independence of that power. But instead of this, the four Powers -- Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia -- entered upon the scene, interposed their united authority, and determined, themselves, to settle the controversy. And the way in which it was settled was that the pasha of Egypt must again yield himself in subjection to the defeated sultan, whose standing and authority these Powers assured, and for which they became responsible. And this arrangement, by which the authority of the Turkish Empire passed into the hands of the Powers of Europe, was completed Aug. 11, 1840, the very day to which the time marked in the prophecy continued; and the very day which, in the light of that prophecy, had, two years before, been named for this very result.

The following extract from an official document, which appeared in the Moniteur Ottoman, Aug. 22, 1840, will give an idea of the course of affairs at this juncture. The conference spoken of was composed of the four Powers above named, and was held in London, July 15, 1840: --

"Subsequent to the occurrence of the disputes alluded to, and after the reverses experienced, as known at all the world, the ambassadors of the great Powers at Constantinople, in a collective official note, declared that their governments were unanimously agreed upon taking

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measures to arrange the said differences. The Sublime Porte with a view of putting a stop to the effusion of Mussulman blood, and to the various evils which would arise from a renewal of hostilities, accepted the intervention of the great Powers."

Here was certainly a voluntary surrender of the question into the hands of the great Powers. But this document further says: --

"His Excellency, Sheik Effendi, the Bey Likgis, was therefore dispatched as plenipotentiary to represent the Sublime Porte at the conference which took place in London, for the purpose in question. It having been felt that all the zealous labors of the conferences of London in the settlement of the pasha's pretensions were useless; and that the only public way was to have recourse to coercive measures to reduce him to obedience in case he persisted in not listening to pacific overtures; the Powers have, together with the Ottoman plenipotentiary, drawn up and signed a treaty, whereby the sultan offers the pasha the hereditary government of Egypt, and all that part of Syria extending from the Gulf of Suez to the lake of Tiberias, together with the province of Acre, for life; the pasha, on his part, evacuating all other parts of the sultan's dominions now occupied by him, and returning the Ottoman fleet. A certain space of time has been granted him to accede to these terms; and, as the proposals of the sultan and his allies, the four Powers, do not admit of any change or qualifications: if the pasha refuses to accede to them, it is evident that the evil consequences to fall upon him will be attributable solely to his own fault.

"His Excellency, Rifat Bey, Musleshar for foreign affairs, has been dispatched in a government steamer to Alexandria, to communicate the ultimatum to the pasha."

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1. That the sultan, conscious of his own weakness, did voluntarily accept the intervention of the great Powers of Europe to settle his difficulties, which he could not settle himself.

2. That they (the great Powers) were agreed on taking measures to settle the difficulties.

3. That the ultimatum of the London conference left it with the sultan to arrange the affair with Mehemet, if he could. The sultan was to offer to him the terms of settlement. So that, if Mehemet accepted the terms, there would still be no actual intervention of the Powers between the sultan and pasha.

4. That if Mehemet rejected the sultan's offer, the ultimatum admitted of "no change or qualification;" the great Powers stood pledge to coerce him into submission. So long, therefore, as the sultan held the ultimatum in his own hands, he still maintained the independence of his throne. But that document once submitted to Mehemet, it would be forever beyond his reach to control the question. It would be for Mehemet to say whether the Powers should interpose or not.

5. The sultan did dispatch Rifat Bey in a government steamer (which left Constantinople August 5) to Alexandria, to communicate to Mehemet the ultimatum.

This was a voluntary act on the part of the sultan.

A proper question then is: When was that document put officially under the control of Mehemet Ali?

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The following extract from a letter of a correspondent of the London Morning Chronicle of Sept. 18, 1840, dated Constantinople, Aug. 27, 1840, will answer the question: --

"By the French steamer of the 24th, we have advices from Egypt to the 16th. They show no alteration in the resolution of the pasha. Confiding in the valor of his Arab army, and in the strength of the fortifications which defend his capital, he seems determined to abide by the last alternative; and as recourse to this, therefore, is now inevitable, all hope may be considered as at an end, of a termination of the affair without blood-shed. Immediately on the arrival of the Cyclops steamer with the news of the convention of the four Powers, Mehemet Ali, it is stated, had quitted Alexandria, to make a short tour through Lower Egypt; the object of absenting himself at such a moment being partly to avoid conferences with the European consuls, but principally to endeavor, by his own presence, to arouse the fanaticism of the Bedouin tribes, and facilitate the raising of his new levies. During the interval of his absence, the Turkish government steamer, which had reached Alexandria on the 11th, with the envoy Rifat Bey on board, had been by his orders placed in quarantine, and she was not released from it till the 16th. Previous, however, to the pasha's leaving, and on the very day on which he had been admitted to pratique, the above-named functionary had had an audience of the pasha, and had communicated to him the command of the sultan, with respect to the evacuation of the Syrian provinces, appointing another audience for the next day, when, in the presence of the consuls of the European Powers, he would receive from him his definite answer, and inform him of the alternative of his refusing to obey; giving him the ten days which had been allotted him by the convention to decide on the course he should think fit to adopt."

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According to this statement, the ultimatum was officially put into the hands of Mehemet Ali on the ELEVENTH DAY OF AUGUST, 1840.

But there is further evidence, besides the fact of the arrival of Rifat Bey at Alexandria with the ultimatum on the 11th of August, that Ottoman supremacy died, or was dead, that day.

Read the following letter from the same writer, dated Constantinople, Aug. 12, 1840: --

"I can add but little to my last letter, on the subject of the plans of the four Powers; and I believe the details I then gave you comprise everything that is yet decided on. The portion of the pasha, as I then stated, is not to extend beyond the line of Acre, and does not include either Arabia or Candia. Egypt alone is to be hereditary in his family, and the province of Acre to be considered as a pashalic, to be governed by his son during his lifetime, but afterward to depend on the will of the Porte; and even this latter is only to be granted him on the condition of his accepting these terms, and delivering up the Ottoman fleet within ten days. In the event of his not doing so, his pashalic is to be cut off. Egypt is then to be offered him, with another ten days to deliberate on it, before actual force is employed against him.

"The manner, however, of applying the force, should he refuse to comply with these terms -- whether a simple blockade is to be established on the coast, or whether his capital is to be bombarded, and his armies attacked in the Syrian provinces -- is the point which still remains to be learned; nor does a note delivered YESTERDAY by the four ambassadors, in answer to a question put to them by the Porte, as to the plan to be adopted in such an event, throw the least light on this subject. It simply states that provision has been made,

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and there is no necessity for the Divan alarming itself about any contingency that might afterward arise."

Let us now analyze this testimony.

1. The letter is dated "Constantinople, August 12."

2. "Yesterday." the 11th of August, the sultan applied in his own capital to the ambassadors of the four Powers, to know the measures which were to be taken in reference to a circumstance vitally affecting his empire; and was only told that "provision had been made," but he could not know what it was; and that he need give himself no alarm "about any contingency that might afterward arise!" From that time, then, they, not he, would manage that.

Where, then, was Turkish supremacy Aug. 11, 1840? -- It was gone. Who now held the power? -- The four great Powers of Europe. Therefore, according to the calculation made and published in 1838, on the basis of the times given in the Fifth and Sixth Trumpets -- that on Aug. 11, 1840, the Turkish supremacy would cease -- on that very day the Turkish supremacy did cease. Exactly as that supremacy of the East had passed from the last remnant of the Roman Empire into the hands of the Turkish sultan, Amurath II, it now passed from the Turkish sultan, Abdul-Medjid, into the hands of the four great Powers of Europe, where it has remained unto this hour.

Several times since 1840 the Turkish government would have ceased to be, had it not been upheld by these

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Powers. In a little pamphlet on the Turkish-Armenian question, published in 1895 by the Armenian society in London, concerning England's connection with this matter, it is said: "We [Britain] are responsible for Turkey. We saved the Turk twice at least from the doom which he richly merited. The Duke of Wellington sixty years ago lamented that the Russians had not entered Constantinople in 1825 and brought the Ottoman Empire to an end. We have much more reason to lament that it was not destroyed in 1853, and again in 1878. On both these occasions we interfered to save it. But for us there would be no sultan on the Bosporus."

On the same page is a quotation from an article by the Duke of Argyle, in the Times, in which the duke says: "It is not too much to say that England has twice saved Turkey from complete subjection since 1853. It is largely -- mainly -- due to our action that she now exists at all as an independent Power. On both these occasions we dragged the Powers of Europe along with us in maintaining the Ottoman government."

We do not reproduce these statements for the purpose of attaching blame to England, or to any other Power, for so maintaining the Ottoman government; but solely for the purpose of making clear the fact that the Ottoman Empire, since 1840, has not existed by its own power, but wholly by the action of other Powers. In accordance with this fact, the pamphlet truly says: "It

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is impossible to talk of the Ottoman Empire as if it were a nation, like the United States, or like Holland. It is an artificial . . . creation of treaties, that is kept in existence by the Powers for their own convenience."

And those Powers which in 1840 took upon themselves the responsibility for Turkey, are among the great nations of to-day; and from that eleventh day of August unto the present hour these great nations of to-day have been perpetually burdened, and entangled, and perplexed, with The Eastern Question.

Aug. 11, 1840, the time set by the Scripture for the existence and work of the Ottoman Empire as such, expired: on that day the Sixth Trumpet ceased to sound, and the second woe ended; and of the Seventh Trumpet -- the Third Woe -- we read: "The Second Woe is past; and, behold, the Third Woe cometh quickly."

CHAPTER X. THE EASTERN QUESTION -- THE SOUNDING OF THE SEVENTH TRUMPET -- THE THIRD WOE

THE Seventh Trumpet was to sound, the Third Woe was to come "quickly" after the close of the sounding of the Sixth Trumpet; and the Sixth Trumpet closed Aug. 11, 1840.

Note especially that expression as to the coming of the Third Woe -- it "cometh quickly" after the end of the sounding of the Sixth Trumpet. It did not come immediately upon the expiration of the Sixth, as the Sixth came immediately on the expiration of the Fifth: there was a little space between the expiration of the Sixth Trumpet and the beginning of the Seventh; which space is announced, and its shortness signified, by that word "quickly." And, in this short space between the Sixth and Seventh Trumpets, that mighty angel of Revelation 10 came in with his message, which was to sound over sea and land.

That this is the place of that angel, is made certain by the fact that he refers to the beginning of the Trumpet of the Seventh Angel, as future. For that angel which stood "upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things

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that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: but in the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." Rev. 10:5-7.

And when that Seventh Angel sounds, and the mystery of God shall be finished, the kingdoms of this world "become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ." For it is written: --

"And the Seventh Angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." Rev. 11:15-19.

Note that first of all, at the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, the prophet's attention is turned first to heaven, and next to the earth: and note that first of all

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in heaven he hears "great voices" announcing the coming kingdom and reign of the Lord in His great power; and that when his attention is turned to the earth the first of all the things mentioned is: "The nations were angry." And it is the sober truth of modern history that from a little time -- "quickly" -- after 1840 until the present hour, the temper and attitude of the nations have been such that they exactly correspond to the expression, "The nations were angry." During all the time that has passed since that date, it has been true that the rulers of the great nations have had to be constantly on the alert to avoid a general war. And the Turkish power -- that power which is the last, remains in its descent, of what was at first the Eastern Empire of Rome: that government for which, Aug. 11, 1840, the great Powers of Europe became responsible -- that is the pivot upon which, during all these years, has turned the peace of the world. In the preceding chapter we gave the authoritative statements that, except for the great Powers of Europe, the Turkish power would have vanished long ago.

But the main importance of this important truth lies not simply in the fact that Turkey has all this time been kept in existence by these great Powers; but in that this has been done for a definite purpose. As acknowledged by those Powers themselves, the Turkish government has been thus maintained by the Powers, expressly to avoid a universal war. This was stated by

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the British Premier, Lord Salisbury, Nov. 5, 1895, in a speech to the world that was listening to know what would be said on the then burning Turkish-Armenian question. Speaking for the great Powers, he said: --

"Turkey is in that remarkable condition that 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 a 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."

But what must be the real spirit of these great Powers, when, for more than half a century, they can thus agree in holding in existence the Turkish power, to keep themselves from fighting, when they can not agree not to fight? Why can they not agree not to fight among themselves, as easily as they can agree to keep this Power there as a preventive against their fighting among themselves? What could possibly more aptly express the true condition of things among these Powers than that sentence, "The nations were angry?"

This situation clearly reveals that these Powers are

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subject to a spirit which, when once loosed, will carry them utterly beyond themselves; and that they themselves recognize that this is so. And recognizing that this is the truth of the situation, all that they pretend to be able to do, is, by maintaining the Turkish power as long as possible, to restrain as long as possible this unruly spirit, which, when once let loose, must sweep them all away from themselves, into that dreaded and terrible vortex, involving "all that is most powerful and civilized in Europe in a dangerous and calamitous contest."

And who are these "great Powers of the world" that are thus inextricably involved, and that have thus "resolved?" -- They are the great Powers of Europe, the principal ones of which were brought upon the scene by the expiration of the sounding of the Sixth Trumpet, Aug. 11, 1840: the Powers that then became responsible for Turkey, and thus became vitally connected with the original Eastern Question. They were at first Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Britain.

Before that time, Russia had more than once appeared in the history of the Eastern Empire of Rome. Beginning in A. D. 865, "In a period of one hundred and ninety years, the Russians made four attempts to plunder the treasures of Constantinople." These expeditions were all naval: A. D. 865, A. D. 904, A. D. 941, and A. D. 1043. "The memory of these Arctic fleets that seemed to descend from the polar circle, left a deep

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impression of terror on the Imperial city. By the vulgar of every rank it was asserted and believed that an equestrian statue in the square of Taurus was secretly inscribed with a prophecy how the Russians, in the last days, should become masters of Constantinople. [2]1 Perhaps the present generation may yet behold the accomplishment of the prediction, of a rare prediction, of which the style is unambiguous and the date unquestionable." -- "Decline and Fall," Chap. LV, par. 12, 13.

But it is not only in that prophecy that Russia has a place respecting the last days: she has a place also in the prophecies of the Word of God. In Ezekiel, chapters thirty-eight and thirty-nine, there is described a great power which "in the latter days" would be predominant in "the north quarters" of Asia. The first verses of each chapter speak of "Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal." For instance, "Son of man, set thy face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophecy against him" Eze. 38:2. R. V.

Meshech was one of the grandsons of Noah, who passed from the country of the Euphrates up through Mesopotamia into what is now Russia, and became the progenitor of the people who settled in the place and built the city which is now called Moscow -- the Muscovites -- "and who still give name to Russia throughout the East."

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Magog was another of the grandsons of Noah who peopled all of the north of Asia -- the land anciently called Scythia, but now Siberia.

Tubal is another of the grandsons of Noah, who settled in that region of northern Asia which still bears from him the name Tobolsk.

Now, by the word in Ezekiel, the chief of all these is the "prince of Rosh;" and the word "Rosh" is the root-word of the word Russians -- Roshians -- and thus of Russia, the country of the Russians. The further account of this power, in Ezekiel, speaks definitely of it and of its place "in the latter years," and in "the latter days." Eze. 38:8, 16. In the same connection there is mentioned (Eze. 39:17, 18) the great feast of the fowls of heaven described in Rev. 19:17, 18, which occurs at the coming of the Lord and the end of the world. The Six Plagues of Revelation 16 are referred to in Eze. 39:2, margin; and the Seventh Plague of Rev. 16:18-21 is referred to in connection with the prince of Rosh, in Eze. 38:19, 22.

Throughout Ezekiel 38 and 39 this power of Rosh, Magog, Meshech, and Tubal, is spoken of as dwelling in "the north parts," and this prince of Rosh is spoken of as coming from his "place out of the north parts." And, merely by looking at a map, it is easy for anyone to see that Russia does occupy the north parts of the greater portion of the whole Eastern world. Thus, whether or not there were any inscription upon that

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equestrian statue in Constantinople, suggesting that in the last days the Russians should become masters of Constantinople, it was perfectly easy for all to know by these scriptures the place that would be occupied in the world by Russia in the last days; and, from that, to gather even then the suggestion of that which is now expected by the whole world -- that "the Russians in the last days should become masters of Constantinople."

Since 1840 Austria has fallen to the grade of a second-or third-rate power; but France stands fully in her place as one of the great Powers controlling in the affairs of Turkey, though Austria is still involved in the question. France indeed became connected with that Eastern Question in 1798, when Napoleon made his ambitious expedition to Egypt and the East, to take Constantinople, and "change the face of the world;" so that she must be counted with the others. Since 1840 Prussia has formed a combination that includes all Germany, with herself as the head, and her king as the German Emperor; and so still stands as one of the first Powers of the world. Thus, with the exception of Austria, the Powers involved in the original Eastern Question are the chief of the great nations of today -- Russia, Britain, Germany, France. And, three of these -- Britain, Germany, France -- involved in the Eastern Question which is the resultant of the fall of Eastern Rome, are the three strongest Powers of the nations of the West, that

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were the resultant of the fall of Western Rome. Stated in another way, these three great Powers -- Britain, Germany, France -- involved in the Eastern Question which is the resultant of the Fifth and Sixth of the Seven Trumpets, are the three greatest Powers among those that were planted in the territory of Western Rome, which was ruined by the events of the first four of the Seven Trumpets.

Here there comes in another important thought: Why is it that these Powers are so certain that, if the Turkish Power should be left fall, they will fight amongst themselves? why is it that they will spend all their united time day and night, for more than half a century, to keep that Power from falling? -- Here is the answer: When the Turkish Power shall fall, there will be most valuable territory to be possessed by some Power. The London Economist has lately said that that territory "might and ought to be one of the most flourishing regions on the face of the earth." And since each one of these Powers is determined to have all that it can grasp of these territories, it is simply impossible for them to agree upon a division. And, therefore, they know that there must inevitably be a war among them all, as surely as the Turkish Power shall be allowed to fall.

This is the universally recognized condition of things. And these Powers dread the inevitable war that must come, over the division of the territory involved.

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Therefore, they hold the Turkish government in life, to ward off this time of division, which must bring war; and, at the same time, each power works every possible scheme, to the very verge of war, to increase its power and its holdings in the East, so that, when the inevitable moment, which must come, shall have come, itself shall have the largest possible basis upon which to urge its claims, in the actual and final division of the spoil.

This, in its turn, has caused each of these great Powers to spread its power over as much as possible of the whole East, until now, in this present hour of our own day, these Powers, in their grasping of power and influence in the East, have so far absorbed the whole that they all meet face to fact in the extreme East, at the capital of China. Thus it is strictly true that the China tangle, as it is to-day, is the direct resultant of the original Eastern Question that began Aug. 11, 1840. And this greater Eastern Question as it is to-day, is but the enlarged outcome of the original Eastern Question as it has centered in Constantinople since Aug. 11, 1840. And, in the nature of the case, there can be no solution of the greater Eastern Question as it centers in China, which shall not involve the original Eastern Question as it centers in Turkey. This, because the greater Eastern Question as it centers in Peking, is the direct resultant of the original Eastern Question as it centers in Constantinople; and also because all the Powers now concerned in the greater Eastern

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Question as it centers in Peking (except only the United States and Japan) are the identical Powers of the original Eastern Question as it centers in Constantinople.

And though these Powers, with the exception of Russia and Austria, were originally, and are still, the chief Powers of the West; yet, as the Eastern Question, with which they become connected in 1840, has continued to grow until it has absorbed the whole East, these Powers of the West have, in the natural course of things, become also the Powers of the East.

There must now be considered two Powers which are reckoned among the principal ones of the greater Eastern Question, which were not connected with that question originally, but have become parties to it only lately. These are Japan and the United States.

In 1895 war broke out between China and Japan. Japan was everywhere and speedily victorious. When peace was established, considerable Chinese territory was ceded to Japan; and also an immense cash indemnity was agreed upon. But Russia, France, and Germany united in a protest against the cession of the agreed territory. Since the threatening protest of these three Powers was supported by the "advice" of Great Britain to the Japanese government to yield to it, Japan, to avoid a new war, did yield to the demand of the three Powers -- and the territory in question fell immediately under Russian "influence."

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Further: to enable the Chinese government to pay the first installment of the cash indemnity, bankers of Paris and St. Petersburg loaned about eighty million dollars to China, upon the guaranty of the Russian government. Later, China secured another loan, from English and German bankers, secured by the customs revenue of China; and, through this, Britain secured a hold upon the fortress and naval station of Wei-Hai-Wei.

These transactions took from Japan all the territory that had been ceded to her by China, except the Island of Formosa, and the Pescadores group, and planted in the hearts of the Japanese a determination to be revenged upon Russia at the earliest possible moment. And thus Japan became, and stands, an integral part of the Eastern Question as it is to-day.

In 1898, the United States became involved in a war with Spain. The American fleet, in far Eastern waters, found and destroyed, at Manila, the Spanish fleet; and, through this transaction, the United States became possessed of the Philippine Islands, and so became an Eastern Power. Being thus an Eastern Power, the United States demanded and secured in China the "open door" for herself and all the nations, to Chinese trade.

In the month of June, 1900, the legations of the powers in China were attacked -- that of the United States equally with the others. To rescue their ministers, each of these Powers was obliged to send an army --

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the United States equally with the others. This brought the United States as a Power into China, and associated her there in alliance with the other great Powers, who, from the beginning, have been the material part of the Eastern Question. And in a circular note to all the Powers concerned, July 3, 1900, the United States announced to the world that "the policy of the government of the United States is to seek a solution which may bring about permanent safety and peace in China, preserve Chinese territorial and administrative ENTITY, protect all rights guaranteed to friendly Powers by treaty and international law, and safeguard for the world the principle of equal and impartial trade with all parts of the Chinese Empire." This shows that the United States has not only become, but that she intends to remain, one of the Powers of the East, and one of the very chiefest of those concerned in the Eastern Question. And up to the hour that this pamphlet went to press, the influence of the United States has proved to be predominant in whatever progress has been made toward a real agreement among the Powers in China.

It has been made plain that this Eastern Question as it centers in Peking, is but the extension and enlargement of the original Eastern Question as it centers in Constantinople. And the crisis of 1900, which brought all these Powers fact to face in china, is but the logical outcome of the steps that were taken in 1840, in the

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crisis which brought the originals of these Powers into the position of supporters of the government of Turkey. Thus the question as it relates to Turkey, is the key of the same question in its enlarged form, as just now it relates to China. Consequently, the prophecies that relate to the Turkish Power in this time, are the key to the understanding of the question that involves China and the world-powers: the Great Nations of to-day.

What, then, are the scriptures that relate to Turkey in this time? -- The last verses of Daniel 11 relate to Turkey, which, as "the king of the north," with its center at Constantinople, occupies, in direct decent, the place of the original "king of the north" in the division of the empire of Alexander the Great, as in verses 4-15 of Daniel 11. And of this Power it is written: "He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him." Dan. 11:45.

In this study we have seen that a number of times in the last sixty years the Turkish government would have come to an end had it not been distinctly "helped." Indeed, we have seen that for these more than sixty years, the Turkish government could not have existed at all, if it had not been distinctly "helped" by the Powers whose relations are the sum and substance of the whole Eastern Question. By all it is expected that the Turkish government must finally leave Constantinople.

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Many a time in these years it has been expected that the Turkish government must certainly leave Constantinople Immediately. By all it is expected that when the Turkish government does leave Constantinople, it must speedily fall. Yet it is expected that after that government shall leave Constantinople, and before it falls, the tabernacles of his palace will be planted in Jerusalem, "between the seas in the glorious holy mountain." And when that time comes, which must inevitably come soon, it stands written: "At that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time." Dan. 12:1.

This final event in the Eastern Question, with its accompaniments, is further described in Rev. 16:12: "The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared."

As to the literal river Euphrates, from the beginning of history it has been crossed and recrossed, even at the flood, without any particular difficulty, by kings and their armies. It can not be, then, the literal river that is here spoken of. But since waters signify "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Rev. 17:15), the "water" here signifies the Power which dominates the peoples that inhabit the territory of the

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Euphrates; and that is the Turkish power, which is to come to his end when none helps him.

And this occurs "that the way of the kings of THE EAST might be prepared." But, with the exception of the United States and Japan, these "kings of the East" are the identical kings that have been the principal cause and substance of the Eastern Question, from its origin, Aug. 11. 1840, unto the present hour.

How, then, can the Turkish government come to its end? How can thus this "water" of "the great river Euphrates" be "dried up," Except by the action of these very Powers? These "kings of the East," whose "way" is to be "prepared" by the fall of Turkey, are the very Powers who are altogether responsible for Turkey.

How, then, can Turkey possibly come to her end, except by the direct action of these Powers which now are "the kings of the East"? -- Plainly, this is the only way in which Turkey can come to her end -- the only way in which the water of the river Euphrates can be dried up.

It is plain, therefore, that these Powers which are now "the kings of the East," and which are in a vortex, whose immediate swirl is China, but whose original and ultimate center is Turkey, will reach the point where they will remove the Turkish government from Constantinople, and allow it to be planted in Jerusalem. And shortly after that, they will let the Turkish power "come to his end."

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And when that is done, whatever the Powers may intend in it, the end of it all is that they shall be gathered at Armageddon, to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. For it is written: "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, wording miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. . . . And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." Rev. 16:13-16.

Notice here the striking statement in the association of the two expressions in these verses of Revelation 16: The Turkish power comes to its end, -- the water of the Euphrates is dried up, -- "that the way of the kings of of the East might be prepared;" and these "kings of the East" are said to be "the kings of the earth and of the world."

Now, it is the truth that three of these Powers that created the Eastern Question in 1840, with Germany and the United States, do actually control practically the whole world. And with these five Powers -- Britain, Russia, Germany, France, and the United States -- all the lesser Powers are, in some way, allied or closely associated. So it is altogether true that the kings of the West are "the kings of the East," and that the kings of the East are indeed "the kings of the earth and of the whole world."

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And these Powers, in centering their interests in the East, and planting their armies in the East, are but arraying themselves and marshaling their forces, in readiness to march to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. And that will be when, in their distress with perplexity, the Turkish government shall by these Powers be let fall, and so "the way" be prepared for them as "the kings of the East" to be "gathered" into that place "called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."

Thus we have found the origin, the place, the present situation, the work, and the destiny of the great nations of to-day, which indeed include all the nations of to-day, for the great nations of to-day are "the kings of the earth and the whole world." Their origin is found through the knowledge of the first five of the Seven Trumpets; their place is the whole world; their present situation is the interminable entanglement of the Eastern Question, as it now embraces China; and, with China as their immediate center, and with Turkey as their original and ultimate center, their work is the arraying of themselves, and the mustering of their forces, in preparation for "the battle of that great day of God Almighty;" and their destiny is ARMAGEDDON.

The first Four Trumpets mark the downfall of the Western Empire of Rome; the Fifth and Sixth Trumpets mark the destruction of the Eastern Empire of

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Rome; and the Seventh Trumpet marks the downfall of all empires, all kingdoms, and all nations; for when the God of heaven sets up His kingdom, "it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms." Dan. 2:44.

The Woe of the Fifth Trumpet was called by Gibbon the "shipwreck of nations;" but the Woe of the Seventh Trumpet will be not only the shipwreck of nations, but of the great globe itself. For, in Rev. 11:19, among the events of the Seventh Trumpet -- the Third Woe -- are that earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great, by which every mountain and island are moved out of their places; and that great hail: both of which come in the time of the seventh plague, when God "ariseth to shake terribly the earth;" when the great voice is heard out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done;" and when the heavens depart as a scroll when it is rolled together, "and the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond man and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Rev. 16:17-21; 6: 14-17.

And since such is the situation, the work, and the

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destiny, of the great nations of to-day; and since the complications in which they are involved culminate only in that time of trouble "such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time," when there shall be delivered only those "that shall be found written in the book;" this urges upon every mind, that anxious question which before at the crisis of a nation was asked: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

And to this question on the answer is full and complete: and from the same source -- the Word of God, the Bible -- from which comes the true knowledge of the great nations of to-day.

CHAPTER XI. THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE

THE answer to that important question for to-day, "What shall we do?" can be given with certainty upon the basis of the Seven Trumpets and the place of the great nations of to-day; because the answer is given by the word of God, upon this very basis.

We have seen that inseparably connected with the last three of the Seven Trumpets, are the Three Woes. In the very midst of the Seven Trumpets -- after the ending of the Fourth Trumpet, and before the beginning of the Fifth Trumpet -- it is written: "And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet to sound." Rev. 8:13.

That the Three Woes are inseparably connected with the last three of the Seven Trumpets, one with each, is put beyond all question by the fact that, when the Fifth Angel's sounding is ended, it is written: "One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter." Rev. 9:12. And when the Sixth trumpet is ended, it is written: "The second woe is past; and,

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behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded." Rev. 11:15.

Now, inseparably connected with this angel which proclaims the coming of the Three Woes, which are inseparably connected with the last three of the Seven Trumpets, is the "Third Angel" of Revelation 14.

That this may be seen as also certain beyond all question, let us begin with the Third Angel's Message of Revelation 14, and trace backward its direct connections to their beginning.

The first words in the record concerning "the Third Angel" are: "And the third angel followed them." Rev. 14:9. This shows that some have gone before, whom the Third Angel "followed."

Take, then, the preceding verse: "And there followed another angel." This shows that an angel has also preceded this one, which, when this one follows, makes it "another."

Go back now to the sixth verse: "And I saw another angel." This also certifies that an angel has gone before, which causes this one, as he flies in the midst of heaven, to be "another."

Following back further in the book of Revelation, we find no angel, except the Seventh Trumpet angel, until we come to the first verse of chapter ten; and there we read: "And I saw another mighty angel." This expression, as before, certifies that, before this one,

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there is an angel, which, when this one comes forth, causes him to be spoken of as "another."

Following yet further back, we find no angels, except the Sixth and the Fifth Trumpet angels, until we reach the last verse of chapter eight; and there we reach the primal, for we read: "And I beheld, and heard an angel" -- not "another angel," but, primarily, "an angel."

Thus, beginning with Rev. 8:13, there is an unbroken series of angels connected by the word "another," straight through to the Third Angel of Revelation 14, with his message. Thus: --

"I beheld, and heard an angel." Rev. 8:13.

"And I saw another mighty angel." Rev. 10:1.

"And I saw another angel." Rev. 14:6.

"And there followed another angel." Verse 8.

"And the third angel followed them." Verse 9.

Perhaps the following simple diagram will aid in making plain the connection between the angel that announces the Three Woes of the last three of the Seven Trumpets, and the Third Angel's Message of Revelation 14: --

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1st Trumpet Rev. 8:7

2nd Trumpet Rev. 8:8

3rd Trumpet Rev. 8:10

4th Trumpet Rev. 8:12 "An angel" - Woe, woe, woe. Rev. 8:13.

5th Trumpet Rev. 9:1-11/ First Woe

6th Trumpet Rev. 9:13 to 11:13 Second Woe "Another mighty angel." Rev. 10:1

7th Trumpet Rev. 11:13-19 Third Woe "Another angel." 14:6

"There followed another." 14:6

"The third angel followed them." 14:9.

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The bearing of all this may now be more fully seen through a consideration of what the Third Angel's Message really is in itself: On its face the expression "the Third Angel," clearly has reference to the third in a series of three angels. As already signified, this series of three angels, each one bearing a message, is found in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, verses 6-12. The messages of these three angels blend and culminate in the third, which does not cease to sound until the harvest of the earth is ripe, and made ready for the coming of the Lord to reap it.

The Third Angel's Message itself, as it is announced in the words of the Third Angel, is as follows: "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship 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 the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

This is the Third Angel's Message as it stands, separated from the other two. But, in fact, it can not

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be regarded as separate; and can not be made to stand apart as if it alone were a single, separate massage to the world; for the very first words concerning it are: "The Third Angel followed THEM." Thus, by the very first words of the message itself we are referred not only to the one, but to the two, which preceded it. And the Greek word translated "followed" signifies not following apart, nor only following, but "following with," as soldiers follow their captain, or servants their master; therefore, "to follow one in a thing; to let one's self be led." When spoken of things, it signifies to follow as a result; to follow "as a consequence of something which had gone before." Thus, as to persons, the Third Angel follows with the two which have preceded; and his message, as a thing, follows as a result, or consequence, of the which have gone before.

But of the Second one also it is written: "And there followed another angel." As with the Third Angel following the Second, so it is with the Second Angel following the First. And of the First one it is written: "And I saw another angel fly," etc. This is the first in this series of three. There follows with him another; and the Third Angel follows with them. There is a succession in the order of their rise; but, when the three have in succession risen, then they go on together as one. The First one sounds forth his message; the Second one follows and joins with the First; the Third

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follows them, and joins with them; so that, when the three are joined, and go on together in their united power, they form a mighty, threefold, loud-voiced message. It takes all to make the Third Angel's Message complete; and the Third Angel's Message can not be truly given without the giving of all.

What, then, is the threefold message in its respective parts? -- Here is the First: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

Here is the Second: "And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because the made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."

And here is the Third: "And the Third Angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship 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 the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up

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forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the Beast and his Image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

A glance at the wording of each of these messages will discover that thought in the Greek work "followed," which signifies "following as a consequence." The First bears the everlasting gospel, to preach to every creature, calling upon all to fear God and give glory to Him, and to worship Him; because the hour of His judgment is come. the rejection of this message produces a condition of things which, as the consequence of such rejection, is described in the words of the Second Angel, which follows. And because of the rejection of the First Message; and because of the consequences of that rejection, as announced in the Second; a condition of things is produced, as a further consequence, which requires that the Third Angel shall follow them, proclaiming with a loud voice his dreadful warning against the terrible evils that have been produced as the double consequence of the rejection of the First Message.

And that the voice and work of the Third Angel blend with that of the First, is plain from his closing words: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus;" because this is ever the object of the preaching of the everlasting gospel.

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It is the substance of fearing God and giving glory to him, and of worshiping "him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." The keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus is the only thing that will enable any soul to stand in the hour of his judgment, which the first angel declares "is come."

Immediately following the closing words of the Third Angel is "heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth" -- from this time forward. Rev. 14:13. And immediately following this are the words, "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud 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 earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." Rev. 14:14-16. And "the harvest is the end of the world." Matt. 13:39.

Again: the Third Angel particularly warns all people against the worship of the beast and his image, whatever these may be; and, from Rev. 19:11-21, we find that the beast and his image are "alive" when the Lord comes in the clouds of heaven, and are "both" destroyed with the brightness of his coming.

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These facts show that the Third Angel's Message is a mighty, threefold, loud-voiced message, which goes forth to every nation and kindred and tongue and people, just before the second coming of the Lord; and which ripens the harvest of the earth, and makes ready a people prepared for the Lord, just as the message of John the Baptist prepared the way for the first coming of the Lord. And so it is the last, the closing, message of God to the world.

And now, having thus an understanding of what the Third Angel's Message is in itself, the relation of that message to the great nations of to-day can be better discerned by a consideration of The Time of the Third Angel's Message.

CHAPTER XII. THE TIME OF THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE

We have seen that the Sixth of the Seven Trumpet angels ceased to sound Aug. 11, 1840; and that then, as says the Scripture, "The Second Woe is past; and, behold, the Third Woe Cometh quickly." Rev. 11:14. The Third Woe and the Seventh Trumpet are identical in time.

When "the seventh angel sounded," said the prophet, "there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever."

The prophet also said, "The nations were angry." This we have seen fulfilled in the nations since 1844, even to the present hour -- the nations that are now in the China entanglement: the greater Eastern Question.

The events of the Seventh Trumpet, the Third Woe, are further given by the prophet thus: "Thy wrath is come; and the time of the dead, that they should be judged; and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy ["corrupt," margin] the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there

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was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thundering, and an earthquake, and great hail." Rev. 11:18, 19.

Now we wish it to be clearly seen, and it may be, that the events here named are identical with those of Rev. 14:6-20 -- the threefold message -- and 16:1-21 -- the consequences of rejecting that threefold message. The events of Rev. 14:6-20 and 16:1-21 are but an explanation in full of those mentioned in Rev. 11:18, 19, as the events of the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet unto its ending. To make this plain, we shall here bring together the statements of Rev. 11:18, 19, -- the further events of the Seventh Trumpet -- and the corresponding statements of chapters 14 and 16.

1. "And thy wrath is come." Rev. 11:18. The Third Angel says, "If any man worship the Beast and his Image, . . . the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God." 14:9, 10. In the seven last plagues is filled up the wrath of God; with the last of these come the lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, the earthquake, and the great hail, which come under the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet. 15:1, 6-8; 16:17-21.

2. "The time of the dead, that they should be judged." Rev. 11:18. This time of the dead, that they should be judged, is the same time referred to in Rev. 14:6, 7, in which the threefold message carries still the everlasting gospel to them that dwell on the earth, and

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to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, yet saying with a loud voice to all, "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come."

Paul preached this same gospel, but not that the hour of His judgment was come, but simply a judgment to come. Acts 24:25; 17:31. But when the time comes when the Seventh Angel shall begin to sound, then it is declared, in accordance with the same gospel, the hour of His judgment is come.

That this "hour" of judgment is not the great day of Judgment, which comes at the end of the world, but is a time that precedes the end of the world, is shown by the fact that two other messages follow this one before the coming of the Lord and the end of the world. But these two do follow this one, and the third of these is the Third Angel's Message, which warns all men against the worship of the Beast and his Image, and against receiving his mark, under the dreadful penalty of having to drink the wine of the wrath of God; and which at the same time calls all to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. "I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, . . . saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment IS come." Rev. 14:6, 7

3. "That thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great." Rev. 11:18. This time

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of reward is at the coming of Christ; for He says: "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." 22:12. Again He said: "Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." Luke 14:14. But His coming follows immediately the Third Angel's Message, for, says the prophet, "I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle." "And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." Rev. 14:14, 16. This "harvest is the end of the world." Matt. 13:39.

4 "And shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." Rev. 11:18. "Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God." Rev. 14: 17-19.

Here are shown two reapings. One is by the Son of God, reaping the harvest of the earth, gathering the wheat into the garner of God. The other is to gather together those who are to be case into the wine-press

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of the wrath of God. The former are the fruits of the true Vine, Christ Jesus. For He says: "I am the true Vine." "I am the Vine, ye are the branches." This is the Vine of heaven; for Christ, the true Vine, came down from heaven to do His Father's will; and of this Vine the "Father is the Husbandman." All who abide in Christ, the true Vine, will be gathered by the angels into the kingdom of God, when He comes on the white cloud to reap the harvest of the earth. The others are called "the clusters of the vine of the earth." Those have no connection with the heavenly Vine, but are of the earth, earthy. And when the clusters of this vine are gathered, it is only that they shall be cast into the wine-press of the wrath of God.

This same result is shown by John the Baptist under another figure: "He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt 3:11, 12

5. "And the temple of God was opened in heaven."

The sanctuary, the temple, of the Levitical law was a figure of the sanctuary, the temple, of the gospel. Heb. 9:9, 11,23. That was on earth, this is in heaven. That was made with hands, and was pitched by man; this was made without hands, and was pitched by the

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Lord. Heb. 9:9, 23, 24; 8:2; 9:11. That on earth had two apartments, or holy places, -- the holy place, and the most holy place -- this in heaven likewise has two apartments or holy places. Heb. 9:2-7, 24. And the ark of the Testament was in the most holy place. The service of that sanctuary was by the men of the Levitical priesthood, and with the blood of beasts; the service of this sanctuary is by Christ the Lord, of the Melchisedec priesthood, and with the blood of Christ himself. Heb. 7;9, 6, 9, 12-14, 22-26; 8:1. The service of that sanctuary was completed once a year, by the high priest's ministry in the most holy place; the service of this, when completed, is once for all. Heb. 9:7, 25, 26; 10:3, 10.

The last work of the annual service in that sanctuary was upon what was called the day of atonement; and the service, principally performed in the most holy place, was called the cleansing of the sanctuary -- the taking away of all the sins that had been conveyed into the sanctuary by the service of the priests at the confessions and sacrifices of the people during the year that then ended. Lev. 23:27-32; 16:2-34. The last work of the once-for-all service of the heavenly sanctuary will be the great day of everlasting atonement; and the service will be to take away forever all the sins that have been borne by our High Priest, at the confession of believers, and the offering of Him by faith as our sacrifice: as He offers himself in fact in our behalf.

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This is also called the cleansing of, not the earthly, but the heavenly, sanctuary. As the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was the last work for that year in behalf of that people, so the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary will be the last work forever in behalf of any people. As the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was the very last day of that annual round of service, so, whenever the world shall have reached the time of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, the world will then have entered upon the very last days of the work of the gospel. And when the sanctuary shall have been cleansed, the gospel -- the mystery of God -- will have been "finished as He hath declared to His servants the prophets."

Now, when, according to the Scriptures, should the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary begin? In Dan. 8:14, from a certain time, it is said, "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." This also being prophetic time, each day stands for a year, and is, therefore, two thousand three hundred years.

From what time? -- "From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem." Dan. 9:25. Seventy weeks -- four hundred and ninety years -- were cut off from the two thousand three hundred, and appropriated to Daniel's people, the Jews; and the beginning of the four hundred and ninety years is the beginning of the two thousand three hundred. This beginning,

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as quoted above, was at the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, which was in the year 457 B. C. Ezra 7.

Although Ezra, with the decree, started from Babylon in the first month, it was not till the fifth month that he reached Jerusalem. And as the decree was to the treasurers "beyond the river" Euphrates, and in Palestine, it was of no force till he reached that country; so about half the year was gone before the decree could be said to go forth to restore and build the city, which would make it about the middle of the year 457, or four hundred and fifty-six and one-half years before Christ.

Two thousand three hundred years from 456 1/2 B. C. bring us to 2300-456 1/2 = 1844 1/2 after Christ. Eighteen hundred forty-three and one-half years after Christ carries us into the year 1844 A. D. Then it was, the angel said to Daniel, that the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary should be: "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."

That this can not be applied to the earthly sanctuary is made certain by the statement, in Dan. 9:26, that after the cutting off of the Messiah, the people of the prince that should come (the Romans) "should destroy the city and the sanctuary." And Christ said that when these should be destroyed, Jerusalem should be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles

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be fulfilled. Luke 21:24. As that city and that sanctuary were to be destroyed, and were destroyed but a few years after the expiration of the four hundred and ninety years, it is impossible that that should be the sanctuary that was to be cleansed at the expiration of the two thousand three hundred years. Consequently, the sanctuary that was to be cleansed at the end of the two thousand three hundred years was the heavenly sanctuary; because it is the only one that was then in existence. Therefore, it is certain that the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began in A. D. 1844. [3]1

The cleansing of the sanctuary, the work of the atonement under the Levitical law, was a work of judgment. For, said the Scripture, "Whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people." Lev. 23:29. Whoever did not make confession of sin that day, could have no part in the atonement that was made that day; and when the sanctuary had been cleansed, and atonement made, he was to be cut off without mercy -- he had no other chance, his probation was gone. Under the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet it is written that there is come "the time of the dead that they should be judged;" and the First Angel of the threefold message says, "The hour of His judgment is come."

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Therefore, in the time of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, which is now, in the atonement made once for all, whosoever shall not confess his sins,and be partaker of the intercession of Christ, can have no part in the atonement of Christ; and when that sanctuary shall have been cleansed, and that atonement made, he will have to be cut off without mercy -- he can have no other opportunity, his probation will be ended. Of such it will be said, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still." No longer will the precious, cleansing blood be applied. These are they who shall wring out and drink the dregs of the cup that is in the hand of the Lord (Ps. 75:8); these are they who "shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation." Rev. 14:10.

The heavenly temple, the most holy place, was opened in A. D. 1844. At that time the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began; and, in the very nature of the case, must soon close. We are now living in the great day of atonement. Now is the time when it is urgent upon everyone to confess his sins, to put away all his transgressions, to be a partaker of the intercession of Christ, to wash his robes, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. For since 1844 the Seventh Angel has been sounding; soon the mystery of God will be finished, the work of the gospel will be closed, and

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the unmixed wrath of God and the Lamb will be poured upon all the wicked of the earth.

6. "And there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament." Rev. 11:19. Why is this called the ark of His testament? -- Because within it is His testimony, as there was in the earthly temple, which was a pattern of the heavenly. "In the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee." Ex. 25:21.

But what was the testimony, or testament, that was put in the ark? "He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." Ex. 31:18. "And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables." Chap. 32:16.

These tables Moses broke when he came down from the mount and found the people given up to idolatry. Then said the Lord to Moses: "Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou breakfast, and thou shalt put them in the ark." Then said Moses: "I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. And He wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of

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the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me." Deut. 10:1-5.

This ark was called the ark of the testimony, or testament, because in it were the tables of the testimony which God gave to Moses, and that testimony was the ten commandments. It is this alone that gave it the title of the ark of the testimony.

We have seen that this sanctuary, or temple, on the earth was only a pattern, or figure, of the sanctuary, or temple, in heaven. Therefore, that testimony, which gave to the ark of the earthly sanctuary the title of the ark of the testament, must be identical with the testimony that gives to the ark in heaven the title of the ark of His testament; that is, the ten commandments. Now this temple of God in heaven is opened at the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet; then is shown the heavenly ark of His testament, in which are the ten commandments -- the tables of His holy law; and connected directly with this stands Rev. 14:12, -- the Third Angel's Message, -- saying, "Here are they that keep the commandments of God."

7. "And there were lightnings, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." Rev. 11:19. This is identical with the record of the events of the Seventh Plague. For, says the Scripture, "The

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Seventh Angel poured out his vial into the air; and 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 upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. . . . And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great." Rev. 16:17-21

But the seven last plagues comprise the wrath of God. This wrath is poured upon those who worship the Beast and his Image; upon those who refuse to keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And the Third Angel's Message is to warn men against that worship, that they may escape this wrath; and it calls upon them especially to "keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

These things show that these three messages of Revelation 14, and the wrath which is foretold by the Third of these, and the coming of the Lord which follows the Third, represent events referred to as occurrent when the Seventh Angel shall be sounding. It is therefore certain that in the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound, the Third Angel's Message of Revelation 14 is due to the world.

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Here we must refer again to Rev. 10:7, where the angel declares with an oath that "in the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished." These being prophetic days, -- each day for a year, -- the expression says: In the years of the voice of the Seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound. The Seventh Trumpet, the Third Woe, covers all the woe that will ever be on this earth from the time when this Trumpet begins to sound. But the mystery of God is to be finished in the years when it begins -- not at the latter part, nor at the end, but in the beginning. Whenever, therefore, the Seventh Angel begins to sound, the finishing of the mystery of God is close at hand.

But what is the mystery of God? -- The mystery of God is the gospel. Proof: in Eph. 3:3 Paul says, "By revelation he made known unto me the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel . . . . Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the

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intent that now . . . might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. . . . That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Eph. 3:3-11, 17-19: Col. 2:9.

From these texts it is evident that the eternal purpose of God, which He purposed in Christ for us; that the unsearchable riches of Christ, which are brought to the children of men; that the immeasurable love of Christ and of God, for man; that the love of Christ and of God, which passeth knowledge; is the mystery of God. But this is nothing else than the gospel. The preaching of the gospel is only the effort of God to reveal this mystery, and to bring its depths to the comprehension of men.

Again: in Eph. 6:19 Paul calls his preaching, the making known of the mystery of the gospel, saying: "Praying . . . for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly,to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds." To the Colossians likewise he said: "Withal praying also for us, that God would

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open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds." Col. 4:3. And to the Romans: "Now unto Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith." Rom. 16:25, 26.

There can be no question that the mystery of God is the gospel of God, that the mystery of Christ is the gospel of Christ; for it is called the "gospel of God," as well as the "gospel of Christ" (1 Peter 4:17;1 Thess. 2:2: 9; 1 Tim. 1:11): and properly enough so, for Christ is "God with us" (Matt. 1:23), and "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself." 2 Cor. 5:19.

The mystery of God being the gospel, when the angel said that the mystery of God should be finished, he was but saying, according to these scriptures, that the gospel should be finished. The gospel "is the power of God unto salvation." Therefore to say that the mystery of God -- the gospel -- should be finished, is but to say that the power of God for the salvation of men will cease to be exercised.

Again, the mystery of God is God manifest in the flesh, "Christ in you the hope of glory." The finishing

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of that mystery will be God alone manifest: Christ in His completeness revealed: in the flesh in those who believe in Him. Accordingly, the grace of Christ and the gifts of His Spirit are given "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come, in the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Eph. 4:7-13.

So then, according to the explanation given in these scriptures, the angel of Rev. 10:7 says, In the days -- the years -- of the voice of the Seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound, the gospel should be finished, the power of God for the salvation of men shall cease to be exercised; and the work of God in Christ in those who truly believe in Him, will be completed unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, "as He hath declared to His servants the prophets."

Upon all these counts it is certain that it was in A. D. 1844, that the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began; it is certain that it was in 1844 that the Temple of God was opened in heaven; it is certain that it was in 1844 that there began the time of the dead that they should be judged, and when it could be truly said, The hour of His judgment is come; and by all these certainties it is increasingly certain that it was in A. D. 1844 that the Seventh Trumpet angel began to sound.

All these things are but the events that occur in

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the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel when he begins to sound. And as we have found that this Seventh Angel began to sound in 1844, then it was, and onward, that the Third Angel's Message is due to the world. When this message is finished, the mystery of God will have been finished. When this message closes, the work of the gospel will be closed. And when the seven last plagues, which are pronounced by this message against those who worship the Beast and his Image, shall be poured out upon them who have the Mark of the Beast, and upon them who worship his Image, -- with the pouring out of the last of these comes the end of the world.

Therefore, now is the time when there is danger of being drawn into the worship of the Beast and his Image. The people now living in the great nations of to-day are the ones who are concerned in this. People now living are they who will be called upon to make an Image to the Beast. The great nations of to-day are they who will be summoned, and will summon, to the worship of the Beast and his Image. And the people of the great nations of to-day are the people who will be warned by the message of God against all those things, and will be called to the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, because "the hour of His judgment is come."

When at the culmination of the anger of the great nations of to-day, there comes that "time of trouble

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such as never was since there was a nation," only those can be delivered who "shall be found written in the book." Dan. 12:1. On God's part, the Third Angel's Message is the culmination of the events of the Seventh Trumpet. Therefore it is perfectly plain that the Third Angel's Message is the gracious call of God to all men, and supplying the means to all, to enter their names in the Book of Life, that so they may be delivered in this time of trouble, such as never was. And this is doubly emphasized by the fact that the Third Angel's Message warns all men against the worship of the Beast and his Image; and "all they that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the Beast] whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world." Rev. 13:8.

Is your name in the Book of Life? Do you believe in Jesus?

Having shown that now is the time -- from A. D. 1844, and onward -- when the Third Angel's Message, the great threefold message, is due to the world, it remains to study the import of that message.

It is a world-wide message; for --

1. The First of the three angels of the great Threefold Message (Rev. 14:6,7) spoke with a loud voice "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people;" the Second Angel followed this one; and the Third Angel followed them. As, therefore, the First

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one was to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people; and as the Third one follows; the Third likewise must go to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.

2. The Third Angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If any man worship the Beast and his Image," etc. This phrase, "If any man," shows that this word is spoken to all men; that it is a universal message.

3. Of the Beast it is said: "All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Rev. 13:8. And the work of the Image of the Beast is but to cause the worship of the Beast. True, he compels men to worship himself -- the Image of the Beast; but, as he derives his authority, and draws his inspiration, from the Beast, the worship of the Image is but indirectly the worship of the Beast. Now, as the worship of the Beast is to be by "all that dwell upon the earth;" as the Third Angel's Message is the warning against the worship of the Beast and his Image; and as obedience to this warning is the only means of escaping that worship and the wrath of God, -- therefore the Third Angel's Message must go to "all that dwell upon the earth:" the warning must be as extensive as is the worship. It is therefore evident that this thing will not be done in a corner.

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These considerations make it most certain that the Third Angel's Message -- the threefold message -- of Revelation 14, whatever that message in its fullness may be, not only vitally concerns the great nations of to-day, but is addressed directly to all the people -- "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" -- of the great nations of to-day. It is God's message to the great nations of to-day.

And now, just now, because of the times and the manners, and because of the manners of the times, there is forced upon our consideration the questions, What is Babylon? What is the Beast? What is the Image of the Beast?

CHAPTER XIII. THE THREEFOLD MESSAGE: WHAT IS IT AS TO BABYLON?

"AND there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." Rev. 14:8.

As we have before remarked, this word "followed" signifies not to follow alone one who has gone on before, but to arise and accompany one who is already on his way, and thus really, "to follow with," or "to go with." A good illustration of the thought is found in 1 Corinthians 10, where, speaking concerning Israel in the wilderness, it says: "They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them ["went with them," margin]: and that Rock was Christ."

Thus, in view of the all-important fact that in these days of the Seventh Trumpet Angel, when he has begun to sound, the work of the gospel is to be finished, the angel of the everlasting gospel goes forth proclaiming that gospel to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. Afterward the angel with the announcement concerning Babylon joins the First Angel, and goes with him.

The word "Babylon," with the idea conveyed by it,

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is from "Babel." And the word "Babel" comes to us from the tower described in Genesis 11. And from the confusion of tongues created there, on account of the tower, the word now signifies "confusion."

But "confusion" was not the original meaning of the word "Babel." This was the name of the city and the tower when the people began to build it, before their language was confused, and therefore before the word signified "confusion."

It is written that the people said one to another:

"Let us build us a city and a tower." And the name which they then gave to the city was "Babel." At that time the meaning of the word "Babel" -- its original meaning -- was "Gate of God." Accordingly, they said: "Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven."

But, because of their pride and self-exaltation, their whole enterprise was turned so utterly into confusion that the word "Babel" lost its original meaning of "Gate of God," and bore only the meaning of "confusion." And thus, that which originally meant the "Gate of God" became only the symbol of "confusion."

And this original meaning of "Babel" -- "Gate of God" -- with its new meaning of "confusion," carries a lesson all the way through the whole subject of Babylon. It has its lessons now, in the phase of the threefold message which speaks of Babylon and her fall.

The Church of Christ is "the body of Christ" in the

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world; and He says: "I am the way," "I am the door." The Church of Christ is the Lord's appointed means of calling men unto himself, that they may find in Him deliverance from this present evil world. The Church of Christ is therefore indeed and in truth the "Gate of God" to mankind; and the faith of Jesus is that which gives access through this gate, to all the fullness of God.

If, then, the Church, or any part of it, should become proud and self-exalted, and thus there come a confusion of principles and relationships, it would follow that that which at first was "Gate of God" would become confusion. What, then, says the Scripture? -- It tells that there would come "a falling away" from truth of the gospel; that there would come a self-exaltation in the Church, through men arising from the very midst of her trusted ones -- the bishops -- who would speak "perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." 2 Thess. 2:3:4; Acts 20:28, 30.

Now the Church in Rome was, in the beginning, preeminently a church of Christ. So entirely was this so that she was an example to the whole world; for Inspiration has declared, with thanksgiving, of her faith, that it was "spoken of throughout the whole world." Rom. 1:8.

By this great and exemplary faith that Church was clothed with the beautiful garments of salvation and the robe of the Lord's righteousness; she was endued

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with the power of God and of godliness, before the eyes of all the nations. The beauty of the Lord God was upon her, and she prospered, and her renown went forth to all the world for her beauty, for it was perfect, through His comeliness, which He had put upon her. But not satisfied with the exaltation that the Lord gave, which could remain only through her own humility and purity of faith, that Church grew haughty, and exalted herself. Not content with the beauty of the Lord, which He had put upon her, she prided herself upon her own beauty. Instead of trusting in Him for her beauty, she trusted in herself. Not content that God alone should be glorified in her, she "glorified herself, and lived deliciously."

Trusting in herself, priding herself upon her own beauty, magnifying her own merit, and satisfied with her own sufficiency, -- this was in itself to put herself in the place of God. Then it was natural enough that she should seek to draw disciples to herself, rather than to the Lord. And having so exalted herself and magnified herself, and trusting in herself, it was impossible for her to draw disciples to anybody but herself. Thus came the apostasy. And thus, instead of remaining the Church of Christ in truth, manifesting to the world the mystery of God and of godliness, she became, though still professedly the Church of Christ, only the manifestation to the world of the mystery of self and of selfishness, which is the very mystery of iniquity.

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Pre-eminent in both phases of this career was the Church at Rome. She was pre-eminent in faith insomuch that her faith was "spoken of throughout the whole world." She was also pre-eminent in apostasy, insomuch that this likewise has been spoken of throughout the whole world, and for nearly eighteen hundred years.

There is another thought in the Scriptures, which illustrates this apostasy: In the fifth chapter of Ephesians, the apostle speaks "concerning Christ and the Church," under the figure of the marriage relation, with Christ in the place of the husband, and the Church in the place of the wife. And the Word says, "The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the Head of the Church: and He is the Saviour of the body. Therefore as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. . . . This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church." Verses 23-32. The relationship of the Church to Christ is thus plainly shown to be the same as that of the wife to her own husband. As the husband himself, and not another man, is "the head of the wife:" so Christ himself, and not another, is "the Head of the Church."

Now suppose another man should propose to put himself in between a husband and his wife, to speak to her the sentiments of her husband in faith and morals, what would the loyal wife do? -- Everybody knows that she

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would resent such an intrusion, and would promptly repudiate all such proffers. But suppose another man should not only propose to put himself in the place of the husband to the wife, but that the wife should agree to the proposal, and should actually accept this other man in the place of her husband, to speak to her the sentiments of her husband in faith and morals: then what would that be but treason to her own husband, apostasy from her marriage vows, and adultery with this other man? And what kind of faith and morals have you in that case? -- Everybody knows that that would be nothing but unfaithfulness and immorality.

Now the bishop of Rome claims to be, and the Church of Rome claims that he is, the head of that Church. The following quotation from Cardinal Gibbons will be sufficient evidence on this: --

"Says the Council of Florence (1439), at which also were present the bishops of the Greek and Latin Church, 'We define that the Roman pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, and the true vicar of Christ, the head of the whole Church, the father and doctor of all Christians; and we declare that to him, in the person of blessed Peter, was given by Jesus Christ our Saviour, full power to feed, rule, and govern the universal Church.'

"The pope is here called the true vicar, or representative, of Christ in this lower kingdom of the Church militant; that is, the pope is the organ of our Saviour, and speaks His sentiments in faith and morals." -- The Faith of Our Fathers," pages 154, 155.

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It was the Council of Chalcedon, 451 A. D., that first addressed the bishop of Rome as "the head, of whom we are the members."

Thus the Church of Rome claims to be "the bride of Christ." She claims that she is "the spouse of Christ." And yet she has accepted another man as the "representative" of her husband, as the "substitute" -- vicar -- for her husband, to occupy the place of her husband in His absence, to speak to her "His sentiments in faith and morals." She not only has accepted another in the place of her husband, but she openly boasts of it, and actually proclaims it as the chiefest evidence of her faithfulness, her morality, and her purity. How could the unfaithfulness, the apostasy, the immorality, and the impurity of a Church be more plainly shown than in this which is her boast?

How could the complete abandon, the essential wantonness, the utter confusion of moral principles of a wife, be more clearly demonstrated than in citing the confirmed fact of another man's occupying the place of her husband to her, as evidence of her faithfulness and purity? Would not such a boast, and for such a purpose, be the strongest possible evidence that that woman's native modesty and moral sense had become utterly confused?

Yet by her own words this is precisely the case of the Church of Rome. She has accepted another to occupy the place of her Husband to her. She constantly

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boasts before the world that this fact is evidence of her faithfulness, her morality, and her purity; and she insists that all the world shall fall in with her in this course, in order that they may all be faithful and moral and pure! How could she more clearly demonstrate that all true sense of faithfulness, of morality, and of purity has become completely confused in her consciousness? That a confirmed adulteress and harlot should boast of her iniquity as being the only way to righteousness, is certainly nothing else than the very mystery of iniquity itself. And such, even according to her own showing, is the Church of Rome.

Yet she did not stop even there: she went on and took to herself yet other men: "she committed fornication" with "the kings of the earth." Having lost the heavenly power, she now sought for earthly power. Having forsaken the arm of the Lord, she sought the arm of man. Having disconnected herself from the kingdom of heaven, she would now connect herself with the kingdoms of earth.

Still trusting in her own beauty, and her own bedecking of herself with silk and gold and precious stones and pearls; and holding in her hand the proffer or rich gifts to any lover that would receive her immodest advances; she finally succeeded, through Constantine, in gaining imperial favor: the now unholy Church formed an unholy connection with the unholy State.

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Thus did she who had been espoused as a chaste virgin to Christ; she who had been joined in the bonds of pure and holy marriage to Him who is perfect in power, in love, and purity; she who had known the blissful delights of His love, -- thus did she violate her virgin vows, break her marriage ties, and become a bold and vicious harlot, and the very symbol of confusion. Accordingly the next view that is given of her is this: "I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: and upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." Rev. 17:3-6.

And that all may have the best authority outside of the Bible, that this Babylon does refer to Rome, we set down here the statements of two standard works of the Church of Rome. One of these is by Cardinal Gibbons, and says: --

"'Babylon,' from which Peter addressed his first epistle, is understood by learned annotators, Protestant and Catholic, to refer to Rome." -- "The Faith of Our Fathers," page 131.

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The other is by Very Rev. Joseph Faa di Bruno, D. D., Rector-General of the Pious Society of Missions, and says: --

"No one mistook what St. John in the Apocalypse designated under the figure of Babylon. In the end of the first general epistle of St. Peter we have these words: 'The church that is in Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you: and so doth my son Mark;' in which passage the word 'Babylon' must be taken to mean Rome; in fact, it is not recorded, either in Holy Scripture or elsewhere, that St. Peter or St. Mark had ever been to ancient Babylon in Asia; and no ancient writer has ever said that this letter was dated really from ancient Babylon, or that it was so understood by anyone: on the contrary, it is recorded positively in the history of Eusebius (Book II, Chap. XV) as having been stated by Papias, the disciple of St. John the evangelist and friend of St. Polycarp, that St. Peter, in his first epistle, which he wrote from Rome, called Rome figuratively Babylon. The same thing is asserted by St. Jerome in his book of 'Illustrious Men,' when he speaks of St. Mark." -- "Catholic belief," pages 323, 324.

Now since this Babylon signifies Rome, and since it is a church -- a woman -- that is thus called Babylon, it follows with absolute certainty that it is the Church of Rome that is this "Babylon the mother."

CHAPTER XIV. THE THREEFOLD MESSAGE: WHAT IS IT AS TO BABYLON THE DAUGHTERS?

GOD would have healed Babylon, but she would not be healed. In the Reformation He sent a balm for her, if so be that she might be healed; but she would not receive it, and, therefore, the Lord was obliged to leave her to her own ways.

In the Reformation the Lord sent His gospel anew, and with power, to all people. At that time all the people, except the scattered few of the "Church in the wilderness," were in Babylon, because all nations were under the dominion of Rome. Multitudes received the gospel, and walked in the light as it was then revealed. But as that was the first step out of darkness, there were other steps to be taken, to reach the fullness of the gospel: there was advance light in which to walk.

And here again history began to repeat itself: Many of those who had come out of darkness, and had taken the first steps into the light of the gospel, stopped there, being satisfied with that: they counted themselves sufficiently rich, and increased with goods, and therefore in need of nothing. And, as the consequence, they grew proud of what they had, exalted themselves upon

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what they had, and became exclusive. Then, as the gospel must go on, as the light must increase more and more unto the perfect day, it followed that all those who would walk in the advancing light, all who would receive more truth, -- the fuller gospel, -- were excluded from the company of those who were self-satisfied, and were obliged to go forward as had the others at the first.

Then, in turn, these became satisfied with what they had, grew proud of it, exalted themselves upon it, and became exclusive. But as the gospel must still advance; as the light must shine yet more fully; and as those who would walk in the advancing light, and would receive more truth, could not do so and be recognized as of the company of those who had taken the former steps, they must, in turn, inevitably go on in a separate company.

On this subject Mosheim says: --

"The doctrine of the Lutheran Church remained entire during this [seventeenth] century; its fundamental principles received no alteration, nor could any doctor of that Church, who should have presumed to renounce or invalidate any of those theological points which are contained in the symbolical books of the Lutherans, have met with toleration and indulgence."

And again: --

"The method . . . observed by Calvin . . . was followed, out of respect for his example, by almost all the divines of his communion, who looked upon him as their model and their guide."

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Instead of continuing to be reformers, they became respectively Lutherans, Calvinists, etc.

Thus each phase of advancing truth developed a separate denomination. And this is the whole philosophy of the principal divisions manifest in the different denominations of Protestantism. Primarily, of course, it should not have been so; yet, under the circumstances as they developed, secondarily it became essential that it should be so. If those who started in the Reformation had continued to walk in the light as it shone more fully, if they had received advanced truth as they grew in the knowledge of the gospel, it is plain enough that there never could have been any new denomination; they would all have been reformers in one continuous and progressive reformation.

And that is as it should have been. But when, instead of that, those who had received light and truth refused to receive more, when they held that they had all the light and all the truth; and grew proud, self-exalted, and exclusive because of it; and when they excluded from their company those who would receive increased light and advanced truth, -- then, in the nature of things, there was nothing else for these to do but to associate together in the fellowship of the light and truth that they had received, and in the spirit of the gospel to spread it to all people.

Then, history further repeated itself. These successive denominations, each in turn refusing to go further,

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and so rejecting truth, were turned from originally the "Gate of God" to "confusion." Each one, in turn, as the mother at the first, joined herself to another man: they accepted kings of the earth as their head, in place of Christ, the true Head, and thus entered into illicit connection with the kings of the earth.

The Emperor of Germany to-day, as king of Prussia, is the head, the supreme pontiff, of the Lutheran Church in Prussia. In the Scandinavian countries also the Lutheran is the State Church, and there the head of the State is the head of that Church. In England the sovereign is head of the Church of England; and in Scotland the same sovereign is head of the Church (Presbyterian) of Scotland. And so, because the same person is sovereign of both countries, the same person is head of one Church in England and of another in Scotland: is an Episcopalian when in England, and a Presbyterian when in Scotland. The Independents, or Congregationalists, who had not joined themselves to the State in Europe, did so in the New England colonies; while the Church of England was the established church in all the Southern colonies. Thus it came to pass that in the "New World," Church and State were united in every colony, except only Rhode Island, and the whole influence of these churches and of the colonial governments was enlisted in sustaining the illicit union of professed Protestantism and the State, after the very example of "Babylon the Great, the mother."

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But in Virginia, immediately after the Declaration of Independence, the Presbyterians, the Baptists, and the Quakers took the lead in a movement that became universal and even national on this side of sea. That movement was the total separation of religion and the State, bringing the churches back to the original "principles on which the gospel was first propagated and the Reformation from popery carried on." After a contest of nearly ten years, this splendid task was accomplished for the State of Virginia, "with the hope that it would endure forever."

The long and universal discussion of this great subject in the State of Virginia had drawn the attention of all the other colonies to this great principle; and when, immediately upon the triumph of the principle in Virginia, the convention was called to form the Constitution, and frame a government, for the whole nation, this principle of the total separation of Church and State was established in the National Charter, and was recognized as a fundamental principle of the nation. And from this the influence spread, and caused that "in every other American State oppressive statutes concerning religion fell into disuse, and were gradually repealed."

Thus, in the great nation of the United States, Protestantism was placed in its original attitude, as in the beginning of the Reformation,and as the first principles of the Reformation required; and also in the original

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attitude of Christianity as it was preached by Christ and the apostles, and as the fundamental principles of Christianity require. Thus Protestantism -- the Church, even in its different denominations -- turning once more to her own true Lord, became clothed with a power that made her once more, and rightly, the "Gate of God." And the benign influence of this excellent example acted upon all the nations of the Old World, and led them forward in the path of light and liberty, which is the path of true Protestantism, which is the path of true Christianity, which is the path of the total separation of the Church from the State: the path in which the Church walks only with her true Husband, her dependence solely upon God.

Then, in 1840-44 there came the time when, "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people," God would send the message of "the everlasting gospel," proclaiming to all men: "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Rev. 14:6, 7. The Church in this great nation, standing in an attitude the purest and the closest to God of any in the world, -- in the nature of things, this Church would be the chosen instrument by which God would spread that message of blessing and of warning to "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Also, in the nature of things, this nation would be the place where that Message

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would rise in its power, and from which it would spread to all nations.

Here was a wonderful blessing that God had for His Church at that time, -- a blessing by which she would have been indeed the "Gate of God" to "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" on the earth. Here was a Message from God that opened up to the Church the length and breadth and depth and height of the glory of the everlasting gospel as it had never been seen since the days when the apostles preached it in the fullness of its living power. In this Message was "the mystery of God" revealed in all its fullness, -- God manifest in the flesh, -- Christ in men "the hope of glory." And all this blessing and glory was to be proclaimed to all the world in view of the fact that "the hour of His judgment is come;" and in order that men might be fitted to stand holy and without blame before God, ready in all respects to be translated without seeing death, at the coming of the glorious Lord.

But lo! instead of receiving this wonderful blessing; instead of rejoicing and being glad that God had sent to her a message that would clothe her with such power as would make her the instrument of God's greatest work for the salvation of the nations; she refused the blessing, rejected the message of God, and would not walk in the light that had come to her and to the world.

Then history again repeated itself. By thus rejecting

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the message of God, there was a "falling away" again. from the truth, and she that had been the "Gate of God" became "confusion," and of her it had to be said, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen."

Faith is the strength and salvation of the Church, as of the individual. Faith is the breath of life of the Church, as of the individual; and, like the breath of life, it must be constantly and momentarily used, in order to live by it; because "the just shall live by faith;" and faith comes by hearing the word of God.

Since, then, faith comes by hearing the word of God, whenever any word of God, any message of the word of God, is rejected, faith itself is rejected; because it is impossible to retain faith while rejecting that by which alone faith comes. Further: when any advance light or additional truth is rejected, in that there is not only a rejection of this advance light and truth, there is also the rejection of whatever light and truth was formerly possessed. A person refusing to breathe, rejects not only renewed life, but loses the life that he already has.

This is strongly illustrated in the words of Jesus concerning the people of His day on earth, who rejected Him: "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin." John 15:22. Before Jesus came, these people were walking in the light of faith as they then had it, and Jesus testifies that they were accepted in it. If those persons had died before Jesus came, they would

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have been saved, because "they had not had sin." But when He came with such light and truth and glory; when He spoke to them such words as had never been spoken to them; when He did among them such works as none ever had done; and when they rejected it all and refused Him; in so doing they rejected all true faith; not only the present faith in Him and His message, but also the faith which they had before He came, and which made them accepted before God in their day before He came. Accordingly, Jesus further said: "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father." Verse 24.

Men can not reject the truth of God, and still retain the truth of God: they can not refuse to walk in the light, and still walk in the light: they can not hate Christ and God, and still be the brethren of Christ and the children of God.

Consequently, when in 1840-44 God's wonderful message of the everlasting gospel of light and blessing and of truth, to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, came bringing to them the presence, the power, the righteousness, of God, which would prepare them to stand in the judgment, -- when this was rejected, and when God's messengers whom He sent to give it were hated and persecuted, then she which had been the "Gate of God" in her day, ceased to be the "Gate of God," and became only "confusion."

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As long as a person walks in the light of God, loves and accepts the truth of God, however that truth may come to him; so long the presence and the power of God will accompany him, and he will have influence with men. When Jacob knew that he had no strength against Esau, who was coming with four hundred armed men, he earnestly sought God all night, until the break of day; and when the angel exclaimed, "Let me go, for the day breaketh," Jacob said, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." "And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." Gen. 32:26-28.

Thus the abiding presence and power of God is the only true source of legitimate power and influence with men. And continuing to walk in advancing light, the receiving of additional truth, is the only true means of having this abiding presence and power of God; because this is the only way of faith: and faith is the only means of God's dwelling with us, or we with Him. Therefore, in the nature of things, whenever advance light or additional truth is rejected, the power and presence of God are lost; and, in this, the true source of legitimate power and influence with men is lost. And whenever this is so, whether in the case of an individual or of a church, this loss is discerned by that individual or that church: and then resort is invariably

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had to inventions of their own, to external and worldly means, to secure power and influence with men.

In all the instances in all this course of history, from the apostles' days until now, whenever a church has refused to walk in the advancing light, has refused to receive additional truth, she has separated from the presence and power of God, and then has invariably resorted to inventions of her own, and to external and worldly means of securing power and influence with men. And ever since 1840-44 it has been so with this collective Church of Protestantism in the United States. She rejected the message of God; and so separated herself from the presence and power of God, and thus lost power and influence with men.

But power belongs to the Church of God. That is settled. And power she will have: power she must have, or perish. But it is only the power of God that can keep her alive. By any other power, however great it may be, she will surely perish. The power of God, as manifested in the true gospel of Christ, draws men; for it is written: "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." And, in the nature of things, when the Church has rejected the drawing power of the everlasting gospel of the crucified Christ, she is compelled to resort to other means of drawing men. And when she resorts to other means to draw men, again, in the nature of things, she draws them not unto Christ, but unto herself: there is a "falling

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away;" she exalts herself, in the place of God, and draws disciples to herself.

Everybody knows that the Protestant churches in the United States have followed this very course. Beginning with strawberry festivals in summer, and oyster suppers in winter, they have passed through the successive stages of "grab-bags," "fish-ponds," "kissing bees," "auction sales," "ring-cakes," "crazy suppers," lotteries, raffles, etc., etc., etc. All this is too notorious to need any sort of proof.

And this bad gradation, from the milder to the more intense sort, is all perfectly logical: because when the churches had resorted to such means of drawing the crowd and "influencing the masses," the milder forms of entertainment soon grew stale. And these having lost their drawing power, other and more novel devices had to be invented. As these, in turn, grew stale and lost their power to draw, still others had to be invented. And at last they were brought to their wits' end for any such sources.

But there was one source of power and influence with men that still had not been touched: that was -- the State. And true to the logic of the case, and true to the whole course of history, this power of the State was at last not simply invoked, but under threats of political perdition to legislators, and "bull-dozing their congressional representatives," they actually seized the power of the United States government, and since have

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boasted that they hold the government of the United States in their hands. And by their own statements and the acknowledgment of the leading statesmen of the nation, the power of the State and the influence of the law are the only power and influence depended upon by the Church to control the masses, even of her own membership.

And thus these churches have run the whole course, after the example of "Babylon the great, the mother:" and, by rejecting truth, separating from their Lord, and joining themselves to Powers of the earth, they have made themselves true daughters of "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth."

Thus the rejection of the message of the everlasting gospel proclaimed by the first of the three angels of Revelation 14, resulting in the "falling away" from the truth, and the formation of Babylon the daughters. And, therefore, the second message became due to the world, and must be given: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."

And as the first "falling away," which resulted in Babylon the mother, ended in the formation of "the Beast," so this latter falling away, which results in Babylon the daughters, ends in the formation of "the Image of the Beast." And this necessitates the third of the three angels' messages, -- the great and mighty

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Third Angel's Message, -- which follows the first two, "saying with a loud voice, If any man worship 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." Rev. 14:9, 10.

Such is the philosophy, and such the course, of the things that are the cause of the Third Angel's Message being given to the world. And thus we are brought to the time of the Third Angel's Message, and to the condition of things which demands that that message shall be given. And, therefore, we are brought to the consideration of the Third Angel's Message itself, as it has to do with "the Beast and his Image."

CHAPTER XV. THE BEAST AND HIS IMAGE

WHAT is the Beast? What is the Image of the Beast? These two powers are described in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation. But since the thirteenth chapter is but the complement of the twelfth, the twelfth must be considered in connection with the thirteenth, in order to obtain the best view of what is the Beast and what his Image.

At the opening of the twelfth chapter there is seen a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars, who brings forth "a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne." That "man child" is Jesus Christ. Ps. 2:9; Rev. 19:15, 16; Luke 24:50, 51; Mark 16:9; Acts 7:55; Heb. 8:1.

This woman is nothing else than the Church of God, in her beauty "fair as the moon," and "clear as the sun." And there stood before the woman a great red dragon "to devour her child as soon as it was born." This dragon, in his own proper person, is declared to be "that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan." But Satan in this world works through instrumentalities. His instrumentalities are men, and, chiefly, combinations

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of men in world-powers. What power was it, then, which was Satan's instrument in his endeavors to destroy Christ as soon as he was born? -- Herod. But who was Herod? -- He was more than simply a person: he was king of the Jews and of Judea. And yet he was more than that; for he became king only by a decree of the Roman Senate, upon the special advocacy of Octavius Caesar and Mark Antony. And he could not have been king for a day in Judea, unless he had been supported by the mighty power of Rome. Thus Herod, in his place of power, was only the creature, the representative, of the Roman power. Therefore the Roman power in the world was the instrumentality that Satan used in his endeavors to destroy Christ as soon as He was born.

However, that attempt failed. Yet Satan never rested until he had, so far as possible, and so far as himself and this world were concerned, destroyed the Lord Jesus -- until he had crucified him upon the cross, and had buried him out of the world, in a tomb sealed with the Roman seal. And it was by the Roman power that he did all this -- through Pilate, the Roman governor. But even in this he failed; because from death and the sealed Roman tomb, the man child "was caught up unto God, and to his throne."

Then Satan turned all his endeavors, through his world-instrumentality -- the Roman Empire -- against the woman, which is the Church, and "persecuted the

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woman which brought forth the man child." This he did while that Roman power continued. And all the while that that power did continue, it was so identified with Satan, who is pre-eminently the dragon, and so entirely imbued with his spirit, that this power itself is called the dragon. Rev. 12:3, 4. But Rome in that phase, pagan Rome, fell: that power in that form passed away, and it was succeeded by that which, in the book of Revelation, is called "the Beast."

Accordingly, it is written: "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his head the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto

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him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Rev. 13:1-8.

Notice that the dragon gave to this beast, which is "the Beast," his power and his seat, and great authority. Now it is true that the power of pagan Rome, and the seat of pagan Rome, which was the city of Rome, and the authority of pagan Rome, passed over to this power, which succeeded pagan Rome. And more than this is true: it is true that the dragon pre-eminently is Satan; and in this it is true that Satan gave to the Beast his power, and his seat, and great authority. Another passage in the book of Revelation, referring to Rome, speaks of it as "where Satan's seat is." Rev. 2:13.

And thus the power, the seat, and the authority of the Beast, are all received from Satan; even as the Beast received the power, and the seat, and the authority that had belonged to the phase of Rome that had passed away.

And this new phase of Rome, in its world-wide power, Satan still used in his persecution of the woman. "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half

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a time, from the face of the serpent." Rev. 12:14. And the Beast, the great world instrument of that old serpent that is the devil and Satan, made "war with the saints," and overcame them, and "power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." And this power was given him to continue forty and two months -- " a time, and times, and half a time," "a thousand two hundred and threescore days." Rev. 13:7; 12:6, 14. This period of time began in A. D. 538, and, continuing twelve hundred and sixty years, reached to A. D. 1798. It began in A. D. 538, because in that year was rooted out the last of the three powers that were plucked up by the roots, before the establishment of the papacy, not simply as a Church, but as a world-power; and ended in 1798, when the papacy was led into captivity, by the capture and imprisonment of Pope Pius VI, under order of the French directory.

Then comes in the rise and the description of the Image of the Beast, as it is written: "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first Beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first Beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth

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by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the Beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an Image to the Beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the Image of the Beast, that the Image of the Beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the Image of the Beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the Beast, or the number of his name." Rev. 13:11-17.

And this power which is here called "the Image of the Beast," speaking as a dragon, and using all the power of the first beast, is, in its turn and place, used by Satan, "the great dragon," still in persecuting the Church; as it is written: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. 12:17.

And this brings us definitely to the Third Angel's Message; because the Image of the Beast compels all to worship the Beast, and to receive his mark. And the Third Angel's Message warns all against worshiping the Beast and his Image, and against receiving his mark. Satan uses these powers in his wrath against

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the remnant of the Church, which particularly stirs his wrath by her keeping the commandments of God, and having the testimony of Jesus Christ. And the Third Angel's Message, in saving men from the worship of the Beast and his Image, calls them all to the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This is all done in the time of the remnant of the Church, which is the last of the Church. And the Third Angel's Message closes with the coming of the Lord, and the victory over the Beast and his Image by those who have received the Third Angel's Message.

Now, from the description given in the Word, anyone can see that the Beast is the Papacy; and, in the nature of things, the Image of the Beast, is the Image of the Papacy. What, then, in a word, is the Papacy? -- It is a union of the Church and the State, with the Church supreme, and using the power of the State for her despotic and persecuting purposes. And the Beast was formed by the union of the fallen Church with the mighty world-power of Rome. In the nature of things, therefore, the Image of the Beast must be another great and notable instance of the fallen Church uniting with a mighty world-power, and using that power of the State, in the likeness of the Papacy.

Where, then, in the world must the Image of the Beast be found? Notice that the Image of the Beast must be "made;" for it was said "to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the

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Beast." And the only place where such a thing could be made, would have to be in a nation where, at first, there was no such thing. And since the Beast is the union of Church and State, and the Image of the Beast must be "made" in a nation where, to begin with, there was no such thing; it is perfectly plain that the Image to the Beast must arise -- must be "made" -- in a nation where, to begin with, there was no union of Church and State. And this order of things out of which comes the Image of the Beast, was seen "coming up" at the end of the twelve hundred and sixty years, at the time when the Beast was led into "captivity."

Where, then, in 1798, could there be found on the earth any nation "coming up," in which there was no union of Church and State? Indeed, where at any time in the history of the world in the Christian era has there been a nation planted, in which there was no union of Church and State? -- In the United States, and in this alone, of all places on the earth. In 1798 this nation was fully formed and established, in order, under its Constitution. On March 4, 1797, ended the second administration of the nation's first president, and occurred the inauguration of its second president. Thus, in 1798, this nation could be seen "coming up" to its place among the powers of the earth; since, by that time, it had become formally established, and was moving quietly, safely, and steadily forward, in a national career.

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And it was without a union of Church and State. The total separation of religion and the State was one of the fundamental principles in the establishment of the nation; and was the just pride of the nation before the world. And this was the only nation on the earth at that time, or in all history since the book of Revelation was written, that did so begin, and that had no union of Church and State.

Accordingly, this nation is the place, and the only one in the world, where it could properly be said "to them that dwell on the earth" that they should"make" a union of Church and State -- "an Image to the Beast." Consequently, in the United States, in connection with this power as a nation, is the place where the Image of the Beast must be found. This is so certain that in no other nation are the specifications of this scripture met at all, while in this nation they are fully met.

Thus, the twelfth chapter of Revelation is a sketch of the powers used by Satan against the Church of God, from the first advent of Christ unto His second. These powers are three: the Dragon, the Beast, and the Image of the Beast. And these three are pagan Rome, papal Rome, and American Rome.

CHAPTER XVI. THE WORK OF THE BEAST

In finding the cause of the Seven Trumpets -- Chapter I -- we traced the history of the Church and of the apostasy through the first three phases. This brought us to the making of the Papacy. In the counsel of Christ to His Church in her next phase, He is compelled to speak of "a few things" that He had against her; and the reason that these few things were found against her is, "because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess." Rev. 2:20.

In the history of ancient Israel, Jezebel is that heathen woman whom king Ahab married; and who brought with her her heathen worship and practices: and above all, sun-worship. However, it was not enough for her to bring along her heathen worship and her god: she would supplant all the worship of God, and even God himself, by compelling all the people to worship the sun in the Baalim that she introduced. This she did so thoroughly by her persecuting power, that in all Israel there were but "seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to the image of Baal." And even these were so scattered and concealed that the prophet Elijah thought that he alone was left, as they sought his life to take it away.

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Exactly corresponding to this fourth phase of the Church, in the course of the Seven Churches, is the Fourth Seal in the series of the Seven Seals. For it is written: "And when he had opened the Fourth Seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast [living creature, cherub, R. V., and Eze. 10:20] say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." And that this was the slaughter of the saints of God is made plain by the very next verse: "And when he had opened the Fifth Seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held." Rev. 6:7-9.

This fixes upon the Papacy the application, in the Christian dispensation, of the phrase "that woman Jezebel."

In the reign of the original Jezebel, when the king charged Elijah with being "he that troubleth Israel," the prophet replied, "I have not troubled Israel, but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim." 1 Kings 18:17, 18.

The ancient Jezebel caused the people not only to forsake the commandments of God, but to do honor to idols. And she not only caused them to forsake the

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commandments of God, and to do honor to idols, but to do honor also to the sun.

So it was with the modern Jezebel: In the making of the Papacy, idolatry -- image-worship -- was introduced, and grew until it became universal in the Church. And when in the seventh century an effort was made to abandon it, the Church of Rome, under Pope Gregory II and his successors, defended the images and their worship, and maintained their cause until the seventh general Council, September 24 to October 23, 787, the Second Council of Nice, by a decree confirmed image-worship, and established it as a legitimate part of Catholic worship. "The scene was decorated by the legates of Pope Adrian and the eastern patriarchs; the decrees were framed by the president Tarasius, and ratified by the acclamations of three hundred and fifty bishops. They unanimously pronounced that the worship of images is agreeable to Scripture and reason, to the fathers and the councils of the Church." -- "Decline and Fall," Chap. XLIX, par. 17.

Also with the modern Jezebel it was not enough that she would cause the people to forsake the commandments of God and do honor to idols; but she must also cause them to do honor to the sun. In the making of the Papacy the honoring of the sun was established, and that to the exclusion of the honor of God. And in this transaction, more than in any other one thing, there was indeed revealed "that man of sin, the son

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of perdition who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple [the place of worship] of God, showing himself that he is God. 2 Thess. 2:3, 4.

In Paul's discourse to the elders of the Church at Ephesus, he said that from the bishopric there would arise men "speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them." Acts 20:30. This is but expressing another feature of the "falling away," the leaving of the first love, that is described in the Seven Churches, and the Seven Seals, and 2 Thessalonians 2, as the development of the Papacy. In Dan. 8:12 it is described as being developed through "an host" being "given him . . . by reason of transgression."

The perverse-minded teachers not only spoke perverse things to draw disciples to themselves rather than to Christ, but they did it also to "draw away" disciples even from Christ to themselves. They wanted disciples drawn to themselves, that they might gain power; and whatever means would draw the multitude was readily adopted by them. For this purpose they adopted the pagan philosophy, they imitated the pagan mysteries, they adopted the pagan forms, and the day of sun-worship. By this means, "by reason of transgression," the apostasy succeeded in gathering "an host," even before the union of Church and State was formed in the Roman Empire; and when that union was formed, that host was infinitely increased.

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"By taking in the whole population of the Roman Empire, the Church became, indeed, a Church of the masses, a Church of the people, but at the same time more or less a Church of the world. Christianity became a matter of fashion. The number of hypocrites and formal professors rapidly increased: strict discipline, zeal, self-sacrifice, and brotherly love proportionately ebbed away; and many heathen customs and usages, under altered names, crept into the worship of God and the life of the Christian people. The Roman State had grown up under the influence of idolatry, and was not to be magically transformed at a stroke. With the secularizing process, therefore, a paganizing tendency went hand in hand." -- Schaff, "History of the Christian Church."

The lust for power was the secret of all this course, from the beginning; for no man can ever want disciples to himself, except it be to obtain power. And, when this host had thus been gathered, in this was found the incentive to ambition, among these bad leaders and teachers themselves, each one to obtain for himself the position of supreme power. And Eusebius tells that "some that appeared to be our pastors, deserting the law of piety, were inflamed against each other with mutual strifes, only accumulating quarrels and threats, rivalship, hostility, and hatred to each other, only anxious to assert the government as a kind of sovereignty for themselves."

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Nor was it only government in the Church and over this host that had been gathered by reason of transgression that they were anxious to assert: it was government of all kinds -- civil as well as ecclesiastical; State as well as Church. And when the Union of Church and State was formed, the way was fully opened for the ambitious Church managers to get control of the civil power, and thus assert the civil government as a kind of sovereignty for themselves, and to use it the further to enlarge, and more firmly to fix, their ecclesiastical power.

Just here, too, the Church encountered a difficulty, upon which, in her blind ambition, she had not reckoned; and by which, in order to maintain the power that she had gained, she was compelled to secure control of the civil power. She found that her discipline was impotent to restrain the evil "host," which she had by transgression gathered to herself; and if Church discipline were to be maintained with this "host," it could be maintained only by the power of the State. This power, however, the Church was not only willing, but glad, to employ; because it was a step which would only increase her power: and power was the sole aim in every stage of this procedure, from the first steps taken, and the first words spoken in speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

The principal thing which had characterized the Church of Rome, from the beginning of the apostasy

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-- and, indeed, the chief thing in the apostasy -- was the exaltation of Sunday. This was her sign of authority; this was the key of her ambition and of her power. And now the power of the State was gladly seized upon by the Church, to accomplish the further, and even the supreme, exaltation of Sunday; and, by this, to enforce Church discipline, not only upon those who were adherents of the Church, but also upon all who were not. By this means, she could enforce the authority of the Church, and a submission to the authority of the Church, upon those who were in no wise connected with the Church.

This, at once, gave to her power over all; and this power was held by her, and was confirmed by the State, as the power of God; because "there had in fact arisen in the Church a false theocratical theory," which aimed at "the formation of a sacerdotal State, subordinating the secular to itself in a false and outward way." This theocratical theory was already the prevailing one in the time of Constantine; and . . . the bishops voluntarily made themselves dependent on him by their disputes, and by their determination to make use of the power of the State for the furtherance of their aims."

This false theocratical theory, and the formation of a sacerdotal State -- a false theocracy -- is the foundation and the explanation of the whole course of things in the making of the Beast, and of the place of Sunday legislation in the making of the Beast.

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A true theocracy is the government of God. A false theocracy is a government of men in the place of God. True theocracy is the kingdom of God itself; false theocracy is a government of men in the place of God, passed off upon men as the kingdom of God.

In that Church and State intrigue the Church in Rome claimed to be Israel oppressed by the new "Pharaoh," Maxentius. Constantine was the new "Moses," "called by God" to deliver "Israel" from "Egypt" and the oppressions of "Pharaoh." And when that deliverance had been wrought, the bishops of the Church claimed, and insisted, that the kingdom of God as prophesied by Daniel was come.

In the system that was thus being formed, the State was not only to be subordinate to the Church, but was to be the servant of the Church to assist in bringing all the world into the new "kingdom of God." The bishops were the channel through which the will of God was to be made known to the State. Therefore the views of the bishops were to be to the government the expression of the will of God; and whatever laws the bishopric might deem necessary to make the principles of their theocracy effective, it was their purpose to secure.

Accordingly, no sooner had the Catholic Church made herself sure of the recognition and support of the State, than she secured from the emperor an edict setting apart Sunday especially to the purposes of devotion.

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March 7, A. D. 321, Constantine, playing into the hands of the new and false theocracy, issued his famous Sunday edict, which, both in matter and in intent, is the original and the model of all the Sunday laws that have ever been made. It reads as follows: --

"Constantine, Emperor Augustus, to Helpidius: On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people residing in the 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's translation from the Latin, "History of the Christian Church," Vol. II, sec. 75, par. 5, note 1.

All know that, when the original Israel had been delivered indeed from Egypt by the Lord, the Sabbath was given to them, and by a law, to be observed in that government of God, that true theocracy. And the establishment of Sunday observance by law, in the new, false theocracy of the fourth century, was simply another step taken by the creators of this new theocracy, in imitation of the original. This setting apart of Sunday in the new theocracy, and its observance being established and enforced by law, was in imitation of the act of God in the original theocracy in establishing the observance of the Sabbath. This view is confirmed by the testimony of one of the leading

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bishops of his day, as well as one of the principal bishops engaged in the making of the Beast. These are the words: --

"All things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord's day." -- Eusebius, "Commentary on the Psalms," 92.

Thus the change of the Sabbath -- the rejection of the Sabbath of the Lord, and the substitution of Sunday -- is the essential feature, the chief instrumentality, in the making of the Beast. This is confirmed by further facts from the proceedings in that baneful transaction. In an oration which this same Eusebius delivered, "in praise of Constantine," and in his presence, on the thirtieth anniversary of the emperor's reign, he declared that God gave to Constantine the greater proof of His beneficence in proportion to the emperor's holy services to Him, and, accordingly, had permitted him to celebrate already three decades, -- thirty years, -- and that now he was entering upon the fourth one. He related how the emperor at the end of each decennial period had advanced one of his sons to a share of the imperial power; and now in the absence of other sons, he would extend the like favor to other of his kindred. He gave the meaning of all this as follows: --

"The eldest, who bears his father's name, he received as his partner in the empire about the close of the first decade of his reign; the second, next in point of age, at the second; and the third in like manner at the third decennial period, the occasion of this our

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present festival. And now that the fourth period has commenced, and the time of his reign is still further prolonged, he desires to extend his imperial authority by calling still more of his kindred to partake his powers; and, by the appointment of the Caesars, fulfills the predictions of the holy prophets, according to what they uttered ages before: 'And the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom.'" -- Eusebius, "Oration in Praise of Constantine," Chap. III.

Then as the sun was the chief deity in this new kingdom of God, the bishop drew for the edification of the Apollo-loving emperor, a picture of him as the sun in his chariot traversing the world; and positively defined the new system of government as a "monarchy of God" patterned after the "divine original," as follows: --

"Lastly, invested as he is with a semblance of heavenly sovereignty, he directs his gaze above, and FRAMES HIS EARTHLY GOVERNMENT ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN OF THAT DIVINE ORIGINAL, feeling strength in its CONFORMITY TO THE MONARCHY OF GOD." -- Id.

The system of government there established being considered as in very fact the kingdom of God itself, the laws enacted in promoting the interests of that kingdom would, necessarily, be religious. And even so Eusebius plainly declares, in the following words: --

"Again, that Preserver of the universe orders these heavens and earth, and the celestial kingdom, consistently with His Father's will. Even so, our emperor, whom He loves, by bringing those whom he rules on earth to the only begotten Word and Saviour, renders them fit subjects of His kingdom." -- Id., Chap. II.

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And the Sunday laws were the very chief of all the laws that were ever enacted in the interests of this "kingdom of God." For, by it, the authority of the Church was extended over those who did not belong to the Church, equally with those who did; and this is not true of any other law. Consequently, the Sunday law was the chief means by which men were brought "to the only begotten Word and Saviour," and rendered "fit subjects of His kingdom."

At every step in the course of the apostasy, at every step taken in adopting the forms of sun-worship, as well as in the adoption and the observance of Sunday itself, against it there had been constant protest by all real Christians. Those who remained faithful to Christ and to the truth of the pure word of God, observed the Sabbath of the Lord according to the commandment, and according to the word of God which sets forth the Sabbath as the sign by which the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is distinguished from all other gods. These accordingly protested against every phase and form of sun-worship. Others compromised, especially in the East, by observing both Sabbath and Sunday. But in the West, under Roman influences and under the leadership of the Church and the bishopric of Rome, Sunday alone was adopted and observed.

Against this Church-and-State intrigue throughout, there had been also, as against every other step in the

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course of the apostasy, earnest protest by all real Christians. But when it came to the point where the Church would enforce by the power of the State the observance of Sunday, this protest became stronger than ever. And additional strength was given to the protest at this point by the fact that it was urged in the words of the very arguments which the Catholic Church had used when she was antagonized, rather than courted, by the imperial authority. This, with the strength of the argument upon the merit of the question as to the day which should be observed, greatly weakened the force of the Sunday law. But when, in addition to these considerations, the exemption was so broad as to allow all who dwelt "in the country, freely and at full liberty" to pursue their regular avocations on Sunday, and when those who observed the Sabbath disregarded the Sunday law, its effect was largely nullified.

Since any disrespect to Sunday, or any weakening of its standing would, in the nature of things, hinder people from attaining to the place of "fit subjects" of this "kingdom of God," it became necessary for the Church to secure legislation extinguishing all exemption, and prohibiting the observance of the Sabbath, so as to quench that powerful protest of the Sabbath-keepers. And now, coupled with the necessity of the situation, the "truly divine command" of Constantine and the Council of Nice, that "nothing" should be held "in common with the Jews," was made the

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basis and the authority for legislation utterly to crush out the observance of the Sabbath of the Lord, and to establish the observance of Sunday only, in its stead. Accordingly, the Council of Laodicea enacted the following canon: --

"CANON 29. -- Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday ['Sabbath,' in both Greek and Latin], but shall work on that day; but the Lord's day they shall especially honor, and, as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out ['accursed,' Greek and Latin] from Christ." -- Hefele, "History of the Church Councils," Laodicea.

The report of the proceedings of the Council of Laodicea is not dated. A variety of dates has been suggested, of which A. D. 364 seems to have been the most favored. Hefele allows that it may have been as late as 380. But whatever the date, before A. D. 380, in the political condition of the empire this could not be made effective by imperial law. In 378 Theodosius, a Spanish soldier, became emperor of the East. In 380 he was baptized into the Catholic Church; and immediately an edict was issued in the name of the three emperors, commanding all subjects of the empire, of whatever party or name, to adopt the faith of the Catholic Church, and assume the name of "Catholic Christians."

As now "the State itself recognized the Church as such, and endeavored to uphold her in the prosecution

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of her principles and the attainment of her ends" (Neander); and as Theodosius had already ordered that all his subjects "should steadfastly adhere to the religion which was taught by St. Peter to the Romans, which faithful tradition" had preserved, and which was then "professed by the pontiff Damasus," of Rome; and had now ordered that they should all "assume the title of Catholic Christians," it was easy to bring the imperial power to the support of the decrees of the Church, and make the Laodicean Canon effective.

Now was given the opportunity for which the Church had waited so long, and she made use of it. At the earliest possible moment she secured the desired law; for, "by a law of the year 386, those older changes effected by the emperor Constantine were more rigorously enforced; and, in general, civil transactions of every kind on Sunday were strictly forbidden. Whoever transgressed was to be considered, in fact, as guilty of sacrilege." -- Neander.

And in this transaction of substituting the observance of Sunday for the keeping of the Sabbath of the Lord, the Papacy fulfilled the prophecy of the word of God that she should "think to change times and the law" of the Most High. Dan. 7:25.

CHAPTER XVII. THE WORK OF THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST

THE Beast was made in the Roman Empire. It was made in the union of an apostate Church with the Roman State.

In Chapter XVI we have seen that the only place where the Image of the Beast could be made, is in the United States; and the Image of the Beast, when made, must be a union of an apostate Church with this American State.

In the preceding chapter it was made plain that in that apostate Church in the Roman Empire, there had "arisen in the Church a false theocratical theory," which aimed at "the formation of a sacerdotal State, subordinating the secular to itself in a false and outward way," and that the bishops who held this false theocratical theory were determined "to make use of the power of the State for the furtherance of their aims."

Ever since 1863 there has been, in the United States, an organization of Church leaders holding precisely this same "false theocratical theory;" and, precisely as those of old, determined "to make use of the power of the State for the furtherance of their aims."

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This organization, from its beginning, has been known as the National Reform Association. They hold that --

"Every government, by equitable laws, is a government of God; a republic thus governed is of Him, through the people, and is as truly and really a theocracy as the commonwealth of Israel. The refusal to acknowledge this fact is as much a piece of foolish impiety as that of the man who persists in refusing to acknowledge that God is the author of his existence."

The qualifying phrase "equitable laws" in that statement signifies only laws that conform to the will of these National Reformers. They declare that "a true theocracy is yet to come, . . . and humanity's weal depends upon the enthronement of Christ in law and lawmakers;" and that "Christ shall be this world's king, -- yea, verily, THIS WORLD'S KING in its realm of cause and effect, -- king of its courts, its camps, its commerce, -- king of its colleges and cloisters, -- king of its customs and its constitutions. . . The kingdom of Christ must enter the law through the gateway of politics."

We have also seen that, in the making of the Beast, when the bishops had succeeded in getting the power of the State fully under their control for the furtherance of their aims, they held that the kingdom of God had come. The Church leaders in this nation to-day, who hold this same "false theocratical theory," hold, likewise, that when they succeed in getting the power of the State under their control, to be used at their

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will, for the furtherance of their own aims, the kingdom of God will be come. For, they hold that --

"When we reach the summit, . . . the train will move out into the mild yet glorious light of millennial days, and the cry will be raised, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ.'"

These leaders in the false theocratical movement of to-day, also, like those in the fourth century, are determined "to make use of the power of the State for the furtherance of their aims." Consequently from the inception of their movement, they have called for, and worked for, an amendment to the United States Constitution that would place all of what they call "Christian laws, institutions, and usages, upon an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land;" and then, having "inscribed this character on our Constitution," by the national power "enforce upon all who come among us the laws of Christian morality."

And while calling for a Constitutional amendment, by which to make their purposes effective, they have been ready at all times to secure the recognition and the power of the government, by whatever means, Constitutional or unconstitutional, it could be accomplished.

Accordingly, when, in 1892, the Supreme Court of the United States specially declared in a decision that "this is a Christian nation," the National Reform combination instantly and gladly seized upon it, and made use of it in every possible way, for the furtherance of

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their aims. They declared, with glee, " 'This is a Christian nation.' That means Christian government, Christian laws, Christian institutions, Christian practices, Christian citizenship."

As in that original apostasy and false theocracy that made the Beast, the chief thing ever held in view was the exaltation of Sunday; so in this modern apostasy and false theocracy, the exaltation of Sunday has ever been the one chief aim. And as in the making of the Beast, Sunday legislation was the means by which the Church secured the power of the State by which to enforce upon all, even those that were not of the Church, submission to the doctrine and discipline of the Church; so, in this making of the Image of the Beast, Sunday legislation is employed for precisely the same purpose, and in precisely the same way.

Accordingly, when, by the Supreme Court declaration, February 29, 1892, that "this is a Christian nation," the national government was brought so entirely into accord with their will, they exclaimed at once: --

"This decision is vital to the Sunday question in all its aspects. . . . And this important decision rests upon the fundamental principle that religion is imbedded in the organic structure of the American government -- a religion that recognizes, and is bound to maintain, Sunday as a day for rest and worship."

In the preceding chapter we saw that, in the original false theocracy, no sooner was there made sure to the Catholic Church the recognition and support of the

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State, than she pushed herself upon the State with her demands for the establishment and enforcement of Sunday by law, and all in opposition to the Sabbath of the Lord; so, in this modern false theocracy, no sooner was published the declaration of the Supreme Court that "this is a Christian nation," than these pushed themselves upon the national government, and, under threats of political perdition upon all who refused, this false theocracy secured here the recognition and establishment of Sunday, and all in opposition to the Sabbath of the Lord.

FOR, July 10, 1892, in the regular proceedings of the United States Senate, the Fourth Commandment was read from the Bible, as giving "the reasons" for the legislation under consideration, with respect to the Chicago World's Fair: "for the closing of the Exposition on the Sabbath day." The proposed legislation was that day adopted. But, for fear that the Exposition would be really closed on the Sabbath, instead of on Sunday; two days afterward that which had been adopted was amended, so that the words, "Exposition on the Sabbath day," were stricken out; and, in their place, were inserted the words, "the mechanical portion of the Exposition on the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday."

And this was done expressly, in the words of the legislation, that in the application of the fourth commandment to the closing of the Exposition on the Sabbath,

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this amendment was to explain and decide that the management of the Exposition should not close it "on the last day of the week, in conformity with that observance which is made by the Israelites and the Seventh-day Baptists;" but "should close it on the first day of the week generally known as the Christian Sabbath." This legislation passed into law by the approval of the House of Representatives and the executive of the nation.

Thus, as in the work and establishment of that false theocracy of the fourth century, Sunday was by legislation, and by law, substituted for the Sabbath of the Lord; so in the work and establishment of this false theocracy of the nineteenth century, there has been by legislation and by law, the substitution of Sunday for the Sabbath of the Lord. That, in the fourth century, and in the Roman State, was the making of the Beast. This, in the nineteenth century, and in this American State, is, step by step, and point by point, precisely like that of the fourth century: the very repetition of it: and, therefore, nothing else than the making of the Image of the Beast.

At the beginning of this chapter we stated that "the Image of the Beast, when made, will be a union of an apostate Church with the American State." And now that all may see for themselves how certainly it is apostasy for Protestants to be engaged in this which we have related, we quote the following authoritative

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statement as to what Protestantism truly is in "the very essence:" --

"The principles contained in the celebrated Protest of the 19th of April, 1529, constitute the very essence of Protestantism. Now this Protest opposes two abuses of man in matters of faith; the first is the intrusion of the civil magistrate; and the second, the arbitrary authority of the Church. Instead of these abuses Protestantism sets the power of conscience above the magistrate, and the authority of the word of God above the visible Church. In the first place, it rejects the civil power in divine things, and says with the apostles and prophets, 'We must obey God rather than man.' In the presence of Charles the Fifth it uplifts the crown of Jesus Christ." -- D' Aubigne', "History of the Reformation," Book XIII, Chap. VI, par. 18.

As is well known by all, in the Sunday legislation throughout the United States to-day the claim is made that it is only in behalf of the "civil" Sabbath.

No more baseless claim was ever presented for anything than this in behalf of Sunday as a civil Sabbath. Sunday, as a rest day, has not anywhere about it any suggestion of anything civil. Its present standing, its whole genealogy, its origin -- all demonstrate the truth that Sunday legislation can not possibly be anything else than religious.

The Sunday movement of to-day is but a revival, or a continuation, of that which has been. All the Sunday legislation of the newer States has been in imitation of that of the original thirteen States which at first were the thirteen Colonies. And the Colonies had Sunday

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legislation because they all (except Rhode Island, which, too, did not have Sunday legislation) had a union of religion and the State.

In such legislation the Colonies only continued the same thing from their original homes in Europe. Their original homes in Europe inherited it from the time when the Papacy ruled Europe. And the Sunday legislation at the time when the Papacy ruled Europe, was but the continuation of the Sunday legislation that was originated in the making of the Papacy, in the fourth century.

Since, then, the Sunday legislation of to-day connects, by its undisputed and unbroken genealogy, with the Sunday legislation of the making of the Papacy in the fourth century, it is perfectly plain that the nature of that original legislation marks the character of Sunday legislation forever. Accordingly, the study of that question in the days of the making of the Beast, is also, and in itself, a study of the Sunday legislation of the present time, and of the making of the Image of the Beast.

In a previous study we saw how that, in the false theocratical scheme of the bishops of the fourth century, when the Church had been exalted to imperial favor, and had become one with the State, this was held to be the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth. And, because of this, Sunday was set up in this false kingdom of God, in imitation of the establishment

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of the Sabbath among the people of Israel, after their deliverance from Egypt and the establishment of that true theocracy. And, "all things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we," said the bishops, "have transferred" to the Sunday.

All this shows that Sunday legislation was, in its very essence, and in its every idea and purpose, religious, and only religious. And what it was originally it remains forever. Framing into a statute a religious rite or institution, can never make the religious thing civil: it makes the statute religious. Such legislation is religious legislation only, and is in itself a union of Church and State in the likeness of the Papacy.

CHAPTER XVIII. THE EXALTATION OF LAWLESSNESS

OF the Papacy, the Beast, as one of the three items which mark his exaltation against God, it is written that he should "think to change the times and the law" of the Most High. This the Papacy did, as far as it lies in any power to do it, when it set aside the Sabbath of the Lord, and, under a papal curse, condemned its observance, and exalted Sunday in its stead.

We have given quite fully the evidence that demonstrates the fulfillment of that prophecy which said that he would "think to change the times and the law" of the Most High. It is this attempted change of the Sabbath which, more than anything else, reveals that feature of the Papacy by which the Word of God distinguishes it as "the man of sin," -- "transgression of the law," -- and "the mystery of lawlessness." Greek and R. V.

This, because it is a principle in governmental procedure, recognized as such in law, and so regarded in history, that for a subordinate government to re-enact, especially with changes, a law made by the supreme authority for the government of the subordinate State, is "tantamount to a declaration of independence" on

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the part of the subordinate government. An illustration from history may help to discern the principle: --

In 1698, as now, Ireland was a possession of Britain. The English colonists in Ireland were the ruling power there, and had a parliament -- Lords and Commons -- of their own: a sort of home rule. "The Irish Lords and Commons had presumed, not only to reenact an English Act passed expressly for the purpose of binding them, but to re-enact it with alterations. The alterations were indeed small; but the alteration even of a letter was tantamount to a declaration of independence." Yet "the colony in Ireland was emphatically a dependency; a dependency, not merely by the common law of the realm, but by the nature of things. It was absurd to claim independence for a community which could not cease to be dependent without ceasing to exist." -- Macaulay's "History of England," Chap. XXIII, par. 62. It was in view of this very principle that Matt. 5: 17-19, and Dan 7:25 were spoken and written.

Therefore any power, whatever it might be, however it might be organized, and wherever it might be on the earth, that would presume to take the law of God, and incorporate it in legislation, with changes, would, in that, declare itself independent of God. The Papacy did this when, by its working, the Sabbath was incorporated in legislation, and yet all that pertained to it was transferred to another day, thus incorporating the

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law of God in the legislation, with changes. That was the assertion of independence of the power and government of God. And that could be nothing less than the very pinnacle of the arrogance of lawlessness.

Now, as has already been pointed out, the government of the United States has exactly repeated that action of the Papacy. When the United States government incorporated the fourth commandment of the law of God in its legislation, and then in its legislation deliberately changed the Sabbath of that commandment to Sunday -- in that thing the government of the United States in the very likeness of the Papacy asserted its independence of the power and government of God. It would be impossible for any power more certainly to change the Sabbath, so far as any power can change it, than the United States government has done in the exact likeness of the Papacy before it.

There are just two powers that have ever been in the world, that have thought to do such a thing: Catholicism and the Roman Empire; and Protestantism and the United States. The first was the Beast, the last is the Image of the Beast.

For this action of the United States was performed at the bidding of an apostate Church, just as the change was originally made in the Roman Empire. From 1888 until 1892, the whole National Reform combination tried its best to get Congress and the whole government of the United States to do what the leaders of that

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combination knew to be an unconstitutional thing; that is, for the government of the United States to decide the Sabbath question by law, and fix it to Sunday as the American sabbath.

While the National Reform combination was making this endeavor, as Congress did not respond readily enough to suit them, they added threats to their "petitions" and their other efforts. These threats of the combined religious elements of the country were to the effect that they pledged themselves and one another that they would never again vote for, nor support for any office or position of trust, any member of Congress, either senator or representative, who should refuse to do their bidding to pass the church-instituted provision closing the Columbian Exposition on Sunday -- the "Christian sabbath," the "Lord's day," etc. And everybody knows, or at least has had an opportunity to know, that Congress surrendered to these threats, and publicly advertised that it did not "dare" to do otherwise.

And when an effort, based upon the Constitution, was made to have Congress undo its unconstitutional action, and place itself and the government once more in harmony with the Constitution, and with the sound fundamental principles of the nation, this same religious combination renewed its former threats, and added to these such others as best suited its purpose. The result was that the Congressional committee that had the matter

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in charge, and that thus acted for the whole Congress, definitely excluded the Constitution from its consideration, and deferred exclusively to the demands of that religious combination. And this, as declared by representatives in Congress, because not to do so only resulted "in stirring up animosity toward the fair, and in creating antagonism on the part of the church people."

As declared by a United States Circuit Court even in 1891, the situation is as follows: --

"By a sort of factitious advantage, the observers of Sunday have secured the aid of the civil law, and adhere to that advantage with great tenacity, in spite of the clamor for religious freedom, and the progress that has been made in the absolute separation of Church and State. . . . And the efforts to extirpate the advantage above mentioned, by judicial decision in favor of a civil right to disregard the change, seem to me quite useless. . . ."

And by the same judge the thought is extended thus: --

"Christians would become alarmed, and they might substitute for the stars and other symbols of civil freedom upon the banners of their armed hosts, the symbol of the cross of Christ, and fight for their religion at the expense of their civil government. They have done this in times that are passed, and they could do it again. And he is not a wise statesman who overlooks a possibility like this, and endangers the public peace. . . .

"The civilian, as contradistinguished from the churchman, though united in the same person, may find in the principle of preserving the public order a satisfactory warrant for yielding to religious prejudice and fanaticism the support of those laws, when the demand for

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such a support may become a force that would disturb the public order. It may be a constantly diminishing force, but if it be yet strong enough to create disturbance, statesmanship takes account of it as a factor in the problem."

Thus, by the confirmed lawlessness of the National Reform combination -- the apostate Protestantism of the United States -- the government of the United States was driven into the course of declaring independence of the power and government of God -- the course of lawlessness marked out originally by "the mystery of lawlessness" itself. And by that example, from that day to this, lawlessness has risen and spread like a mighty tide in this nation, and now is being further followed by the nation itself, as such, in its repudiation of the Declaration of Independence, and its abandonment of the Constitution of the nation in its present practice of "governing without the Constitution."

And these things we expected and mentioned at the time. Aug. 9, 1894, we wrote and published the following words: "Multitudes of people in the United States are wondering and perplexed in beholding how widespread and how persistent is the spirit of violence and lawlessness throughout the land. To those, however, who have been carefully considering public movements in the last two or three years, there is nothing to wonder at nor to be perplexed about in all this, or even more than this, that has appeared. Indeed, to those who have been carefully studying the public movements

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of the last two or three years, this widespread spirit of violence and lawlessness has been expected; and now, instead of expecting it to end at the limits that it has reached, widespread though it be, it is expected to become universal."

We then recounted the facts, as to the change of the Sabbath by this nation, and further said that in all this "the Church leaders have demonstrated that they have no respect for any law but such as their own arbitrary will approves. For without the slightest hesitation, yea, rather, with open persistence, they have knowingly disregarded and overridden the supreme law -- the Constitution -- of the United States. They have set the example, and established the principle, of absolute lawlessness.

"These facts demonstrate that instead of their being truly the law-abiding portion of the people, these men are among the chiefest law-breakers in the land -- the most lawless of all the nation. Nor is this at all to be wondered at. For, in order to accomplish this their bad purpose, they 'gladly joined hands' and hearts with the papacy -- that power which the Lord designates as the 'lawless one' and as the very 'mystery of lawlessness' itself. 2 Thess. 2:3, 7, R. V. In view of such an example as this, should it be thought surprising that lawlessness should be manifested by others throughout the whole country as never before, and that violence should cover the land from ocean to ocean?

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"It was because of this lawless example of 'the best people of the land,' this principle of violence and lawlessness, forced upon the government by the combined churches of the country, -- it was because of this that we have expected nothing else than that violence and lawlessness would spread through the land, and that we still expect it to become universal.

"This is not to say that the particular phases of lawlessness that have of late been manifested in so many parts of the country, have been carried on by the human actors in conscious and intentional pursuance of the example of lawlessness set by the churches; but it is to say that there is a spirit of things that must ever be taken into account. There is the Spirit of order, and there is the spirit of disorder. And when the Spirit of order has been so outraged, and the spirit of disorder chosen and persistently followed instead, as it has been in this case -- and that, too, by the very ones who profess to be the representatives of the Spirit of order in the earth, -- then things are given over to the spirit of disorder and lawlessness, and nothing remains but that this spirit shall prevail and increase until it becomes universal."

It is the truth that, in the change of the Sabbath, this tearing down of God's memorial and exalting in its place the papal counterfeit by the government of the United States, in 1892-93, under the threats of the apostate Protestantism led by the National Reform

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combination, the government of the United States was delivered over to the spirit of disorder and lawlessness, as really as was the Roman Empire in the fourth century. And that lawlessness, individual and national, will here increase, as certainly as it did in the Roman Empire of the fourth century, until it shall swallow up in ruin this nation, as it swallowed up in ruin the Roman Empire.

And because of this, to save men from this lawlessness and this ruin, just now it is that the loud-voiced warning of the Third Angel sounds to this nation and to all the world, "If any man worship 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."

The Seven Trumpets which bring to view the great nations of to-day as they are to-day, have their basis in the apostasy noted in the first and third of the Seven Churches, and the first three of the Seven Seals. And through the Seven Trumpets, the Third Angel's Message, which is God's special message to the great nations, and even to all the nations, of to-day, finds its basis in the apostasy noted in the first and third of the Seven Churches and the first three of the Seven Seals. This, because that apostasy made the Beast; and the Third Angel's Message rises in the time of the making of the Image of the Beast, and utters its warning against the

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worship of the Beast and his Image. And, in the nature of things, the Image of the Beast finds his original in the Beast.

The result, to the Roman Empire, of the making of the Beast in the Roman Empire, and by the Roman Empire, was the utter ruin of that empire. This ruin was accomplished by the mighty armies of the peoples of the north marching forth under the first four of the Seven Trumpets. And the result, to the world, of the making of the Image of the Beast, and the worship of the Beast and his Image, in the world and by the world, will be the utter ruin of the world, by the mighty armies of another people marching forth under the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, accompanied by the mighty notes of "the last trump."

And concerning this, it is written: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them: and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the

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appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: and the Lord shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong that executeth His word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" Joel 2:1-11.

"And I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called

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The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that had worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Rev. 19:11-21.

CHAPTER XIX. THE GREAT NECESSITY FOR THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE

THE Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day, which He Himself has named and appointed; which He declared with His own voice from heaven; which is His own, upon which He placed His blessing, which He made holy, and which He sanctified; -- this, the Sabbath of the Lord, is the sign of what Jesus Christ is to those who believe in Him. The observance of it by faith -- the true observance of it -- brings into the life of the believer in Jesus, as nothing else can, the living presence and power of Jesus Christ. This is true, and every man may know it by faith in Jesus.

Let us candidly study this important thought. It is written: "Hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may KNOW that I am the Lord YOUR God." There is, therefore, that about the Sabbath by which he who hallows it may know not only that the Lord is God, but that the Lord is his God. But to know God is to know not only that He is, but also what He is; for His name is not simply "I AM," but "I AM THAT I AM," -- I am what I am, I am that which I am, -- so that "he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder

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of them that diligently seek Him," -- must believe not only that He is, but also what He is. Therefore as the Sabbath is a sign which God has set, by which those who hallow it may know that He is the Lord their God; it follows with perfect certainty that there is in the Sabbath, that by which those who hallow it may find the knowledge of God. There is in it that by which he who hallows it may know that God is to the person who believes in Him. In other words, the Sabbath is a means of the revelation of God.

This is yet more fully seen in the truth that "no man knoweth . . . the Father, save the Son, and He to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." Matt. 11: 27. Thus God is known only as He is revealed in Jesus Christ. What God is, is revealed only through Christ, and can be known only in Christ. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself." Christ is therefore and forever, "God with us." 2 Cor. 5:19 Matt. 1:23.

Now as the Sabbath is God's sign by which men may know that He is the Lord, and as He is known only as He is revealed in Christ, it is the very certainty of truth that the Sabbath is God's sign by which those who hallow it may know God as He is revealed in Jesus Christ, -- the sign by which men may know what God is to the believer in Jesus.

Again: the Sabbath is God's sign by which those who hallow it may know that the Lord sanctifies them.

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Eze. 20:12. But no man can be sanctified except by faith that is in Jesus Christ. Acts 26:18. Therefore as the Sabbath is the Lord's sign that He sanctifies men, and as men can be sanctified only by faith in Jesus, it is the plain truth that the Sabbath is God's sign by which men may know the sanctifying power and purity of God, through faith in Jesus Christ.

This is why it is that only the believer can enter into God's rest in the Sabbath, as it is written, "We which have believed do enter into rest." And this is why it was that Israel, who did not believe, could not enter into God's rest; as it is written, "So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest." But "to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." Thus faith in Jesus Christ is and always was the object of the Sabbath; and the whole life of Sabbath-keeping.

The Sabbath, then, being the sign of what God in Christ is to the believer, it follows that there must be found in the Sabbath that which is also found in Christ. In other words, the Sabbath being the sign by which men may know that God is the Lord; and as God is known only in Jesus Christ: it follows that in the Sabbath there is the very reflection of Jesus in what He is to the believer otherwise it could not be such a sign.

Let us, therefore, look at the Sabbath as God made

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it: and at what the Lord did in the making of it by which it became the Sabbath of the Lord. First, He created all things; then He ceased from his works and rested the seventh day; He then blessed the seventh day; He made it holy, and sanctified it. The Sabbath, therefore, is --

1. The reminder of God as Creator: it is the reminder of His creative power manifested; for it is a sign between Him and His people forever, because that "in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." Ex. 31:17.

2. In the Sabbath is God's rest; "for He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again [he spoke of the seventh day on this wise], They shall not enter into my rest." Heb. 4:4, 5.

3. In the Sabbath is God's blessing; for He "blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." Gen. 2:3.

4. In the Sabbath is God's holiness; for "He hallowed [made holy] the Sabbath day." But it is only the presence of God which makes anything holy. When Moses, attracted by the curious sight of the bush burning with fire yet not consumed, turned aside and approached to behold, "God called unto him out of the

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midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Ex. 3:4, 5. That place was made holy ground solely by the presence of "Him who dwelt in the bush." Again, when Joshua, near Jericho, beheld "a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand," and Joshua asked him, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" "he said, Nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. . . . And the Captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy." Joshua 5:13-15. That which made holy the place whereon Joshua stood, was the presence of the "Captain of the Lord's host," who was there. And as it is the presence of the Lord which makes holy; that which made holy the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord, was the presence of Him who rested the seventh day from all His works.

5. The Sabbath has in it God's sanctification; because He not only blessed the seventh day, but sanctified it, -- set it apart unto the holy use and service of the Lord, -- that His presence might dwell therein; for it is not merely the transient presence, but the abiding presence, the special dwelling of God in a place, which sanctifies; for it is written: "Israel shall be sanctified by my glory;" for "I will dwell among the children

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of Israel, and will be their God." Ex. 29:43 (margin), 45.

Thus connected with the Sabbath there is the creative power of God; the rest of God; the blessing of God; the presence of God which makes holy; and the continuing, dwelling, presence of God which sanctifies.

And all this is precisely, and in order, what is found in Christ by the believer in Jesus; for --

1. First of all, the believer finds in Jesus the creative power of God manifested in making him a new creature; for, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Eph. 2:10.

2. The believer finds in Jesus, God's rest; for, having found in Christ creative power to make him new, he ceases from his own works, as God did from His, and enters into God's rest in Christ. Heb. 4:10. Therefore it is written: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Matt. 11:29.

3. The believer finds in Christ, God's blessing; for "God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." Acts 3:26. And "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, . . . hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ."

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4. The believer finds in Christ, the presence of God to make him holy; for it is written: "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. . . . At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. . . . If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him." John 14:18-23. And "God would make known ["to his saints"] what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Col. 1:27.

5. The believer finds in Christ, God's abiding, dwelling presence to sanctify him; for it is written: "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); and, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God." (1 John 4:15); "For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2 Cor. 6:16.

Thus it is plainly seen that in the Sabbath is the very reflection of all that the believer finds in Jesus; and thus it is that the Sabbath is a sign to everyone who hallows it, by which he knows that the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is his God. And as no one can know God except as He is revealed in Jesus Christ; and as the Sabbath has connected with

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it the suggestion, the reflection, of all that the believer finds in Jesus; it is plainly God's sign, by which he who hallows it may find the knowledge of God as He is revealed in Christ.

In all this it also be borne in mind that it was in Christ and by Him that God created all things; for, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made." John 1:1-3. "By Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him." Col. 1:16 Thus it was Christ who created all things; it was Christ who rested on the seventh day from all His work; it was Christ who blessed the seventh day because that in it He had rested; it was Christ whose presence made the day holy; and it is the continuing, dwelling presence of Christ which sanctified, and sanctifies, the seventh day. It was Christ himself, therefore, who connected with the Sabbath of the seventh day that which is the reflection of Himself, that which is the expression of what He is to the believer in Him, so that whosoever would hallow the Sabbath might know that the Lord, who is known only in Christ, is his God.

God's rest is in the seventh day; and God's rest is in Christ. It is impossible for God's rest to be in

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antagonistic places; for as with God "there is no variableness neither shadow of turning," God's rest is the same wherever it may be. Therefore, God's rest being ever the same, God's rest in the seventh day, and God's rest in Christ, is precisely the same rest. And this, being impossible to be in antagonism, is in perfect unity, and therefore demonstrates that the Sabbath is in Christ and CHRIST IS IN THE SABBATH.

A beautiful lesson that shows Christ in the Sabbath and the Sabbath in Christ, is found in the ancient sanctuary. There was the table of showbread, upon which were placed, at the beginning of every Sabbath, twelve fresh-baked cakes. Those cakes remained there until the beginning of the next Sabbath, when they were replaced by the fresh bread. Thus at the beginning of every Sabbath the bread was renewed.

The term "showbread" is literally "bread of the presence;" and signifies Christ the "true bread which came down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." This bread of the presence therefore signified the presence of Christ with the whole people -- the twelve tribes -- of Israel. The bread's being always there, signified the presence of Christ always with His people. But this bread of the presence was always there only by being renewed, and it was renewed every Sabbath. And thus God would teach the people then, and now, and forevermore, that his presence in Christ is renewed to the believer every Sabbath. When the

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Sabbath is past, however, his presence still abides through all the days of the week until the next Sabbath, when it is renewed; and thus is fulfilled the scripture, "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." Ex. 33:14.

Thus the true believer in Jesus, the true observer of the true Sabbath, is ever growing in the knowledge of God as He is revealed in Christ; and thus the Sabbath is a sign by which he knows that the Lord is his God, and that by His abiding presence He sanctifies him.

It is so also with the blessing of God in the Sabbath. When on the sixth day God made the man, "God blessed them." Gen. 1:28. Then came the seventh day, in which God rested, and "God blessed the seventh day." Gen. 2:3. Thus both the man and the seventh day were blessed. The man was blessed before the day was blessed. Then when that blessed man came to that blessed day, he found additional blessing; and each succeeding Sabbath he found yet additional blessing. And had he remained faithful, it would ever have been the blessed man coming each Sabbath to the blessed day; and so he would ever have grown in the knowledge of God. And so it is to-day with every soul whom God has blessed in turning him away from his iniquities, and who hallows God's blessed Sabbath day: every time this blessed man comes to that blessed day, he receives additional blessing, and so is ever growing in the knowledge of God.

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And thus, whether before man sinned, or since he sinned, the Sabbath has ever been, and is still, and will ever be, God's sign, by which he who hallows it may know that the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is his God; and may know what God is, as He is revealed in Jesus Christ whether in creation or in redemption.

And what shall we more say? The Sabbath, truly understood, means all of Christ; and Christ, truly understood, means all of the Sabbath. And neither can be truly understood without the other. The Sabbath is God's sign, and Christ is God's sign. Christ is God's sign spoken against, and the Sabbath is God's sign spoken against: and all, "that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Luke 2:34, 35. Yet ever He is indeed "the glorious Lord" (Isa. 33:21)" and ever "His rest," His Sabbath, is indeed "glorious." Isa. 11:10.

"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. . . . For we which have believed do enter into rest." "And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD THY GOD."

"Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my

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righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil." Isa. 56:1, 2.

"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob they father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Isa. 58:13, 14.

"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord." Isa. 66: 22, 23.

Since, then, the Sabbath of the Lord -- the seventh day -- is the key to the fullness of the knowledge of God as He is revealed in Christ, these evidences demonstrate that the Sabbath is the key to the true knowledge of the whole law of God -- the Ten Commandments. And even this thought, in just this way, is revealed in the Scriptures: When God had brought out of Egypt His people of old time, to bring them into His own

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promised land, He said He would prove them whether they would walk in His law or no. And it was distinctly and alone by the Sabbath that He proved them as to whether they would in His law or no. Ex. 16:4, 5, 22-30. And now, when He has set His hand the second time to bring His people into His own promised land, again, to-day, He will prove all the people whether they will walk in His law or no. And the test by which to-day He will prove the people whether they will walk in His law or no, is the same as ever -- the Sabbath -- the Sabbath as it is in Christ; for there is no other law, there is no other key, and He, whose is the law and its key, is "the same yesterday and to-day and forever." With Him "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

Accordingly in all these years of the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, -- ever since the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament; ever since 1844, -- preachers and people have been told in the words of God that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord." But instead of believing it, or allowing the people to believe it, the religious leaders and teachers have disregarded it and declared that it is not so. They have taught the people that it is not so. They have put no difference between the holy and the profane (Eze. 23:36), by telling the people that it makes no difference what day they keep. Thus they disregard the law of the living God, and

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teach the people to disregard it. Then after teaching the people to disregard the plain word of the law of God as to the observance of the day which He has commanded; and also telling them that there is no command of God for the observance of Sunday -- which indeed is the truth; they join heart and hand with the Mystery of Lawlessness, to force upon all, the Sunday which the Papacy has established instead of the Sabbath of the Lord. They set the sign of the Mystery of Lawlessness above the sign of the living God, and would compel all to receive it.

And since the Sabbath of the Lord is the key to the knowledge of the whole of God, and of the fullness of Christ, just now when the Beast and his Image unite all their power and influence, through the crushing out of the Sabbath of the Lord, to deprive mankind of this key of divine knowledge -- just now God sets against all the work of the Beast and his Image, His unquenchable protest in the Third Angel's Message to every nation and kindred and tongue and people, "saying with a loud voice: If any man worship 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. . . . Here is the patience of the saints: here are they THAT KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD and THE FAITH OF JESUS. "

CHAPTER XX. THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

THIS message says: "If any man worship 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." We have before cited the scriptures which show this wrath to be the seven last plagues, and which show that with the seventh of these plagues comes the end of the world.

But all do not worship the Beast and his Image. There are some who get "the victory over the Beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name;" and these are seen standing "on the sea of glass," before the throne of God, having the harps of God, and they sing a song which none can learn but they, and it is the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. Rev. 4:6; 15:2, 3.

How do these get the victory? Notice; the message not only warns all men against the worship of the Beast and his Image, but it tells how to avoid that worship; it not only tells men what they shall not do, but it tells them what to do; it not only calls men to the conflict with the Beast and his Image, but it tells them how to get the victory; and this is contained in the words,

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"Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12.

Here, then, is a message which is now due, which is to go "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people," calling upon all to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The purpose of this message is to gather out from "all that dwell upon the earth" a people of whom it can truly be said, "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus;" and that so, such may escape the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, and then upon them that receive the mark of the Beast, and upon them that worship his image.

This makes it incumbent upon all now to study the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus as they have never studied these before, asking themselves the question, Am I one of whom this scripture speaks? Am I one who truly keeps "the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus"? And, as this message is world-wide, these considerations plainly show that under the power of the Third Angel's Message there must be, and there will be, such a world-wide study of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus as there has not been since holy John stood on the Isle of Patmos.

What, then, is meant by "the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus?"

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First, as to the commandments of God. In a certain sense, there is no doubt that every injunction of the Bible is a commandment of God; for the Bible is the word of God. Yet, besides this, there is a certain part of the Bible that must be admitted to be the commandments of God above every other part. That certain part is the TEN COMMANDMENTS.

Whereas, in giving all other parts of the Bible, "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21), in giving the ten commandments "God spake all these words." The whole nation of Israel was assembled at the base of Sinai, and "Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire;" "and all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet," "and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake." And there, amid those awful scenes, God personally spoke the ten commandments, with a voice that shook the earth.

But not only did God speak the ten commandments: He also wrote them twice upon tables of stone. Although holy men of God, when moved by the Holy Ghost, could speak the message of God, none could be found holy enough to speak the words of the ten commandments in their deliverance to the children of men. Although the Spirit could say to the holy prophets, "Write," no such word could be given to any man when the ten commandments were to be given in tangible

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form to the children of men. But, instead, God said, "I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written." And again the second time, when these tables were broken, "I will write . . . the words that were in the first tables."

Nor was this all. God did not come down upon Mount Sinai alone; but thousands upon thousands of the holy angels were with Him there. "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; from His right hand went a fiery law for them." Deut. 33:2. "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place." Ps. 68:17. This array of angels is that to which Stephen referred when he said to his persecutors that they had "received the law by the disposition of angels." Acts 7:53. The Greek word here rendered "disposition" signifies "to set in order; draw up an army; posted in battle order." -- Liddell and Scott.

When, therefore, God came down upon Mount Sinai to deliver the ten commandments, He was surrounded with the heavenly host of angels, drawn up in orderly array. Four-faced and four-winged cherubim,six-winged seraphim, and glorious angels with glittering, golden chariots, -- all these, by the tens of thousands, accompanied the Majesty of heaven as in love He gave to sinful men His great law of love. Deut. 33:3.

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Than at the giving of the law of ten commandments, there certainly has been no more majestic scene since the creation of the world. Well indeed might Paul name "the giving of the law" among the great things that pertain to Israel. Rom. 9:4.

In view of all these things, it is assuredly the truth that the ten commandments are very properly distinguished as the commandments of God, above every other part of the Bible, although all the Bible is the word of God. This is according to that word itself: "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of they life: but teach them thy sons, and thy son's sons; specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. . . . And He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone." Deut. 4:9-13.

In impressing upon the people the things they should diligently remember, "specially" to be remembered were the day that God came down upon Sinai, and the words that were then heard. And those words were the ten commandments.

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This is of equal importance to the world to-day; for all is summed up by Solomon when he says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter [margin, "the end of the matter, even all that hath been heard, is"]: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:13, 14.

Men are to be judged by the law of God; that law is the ten commandments; and the words of Solomon are emphasized in the First and Third Angel's Messages of Revelation 14. The first angel says: "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come;" and the third angel follows, saying: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God."

CHAPTER XXI. THE FAITH OF JESUS

CHRIST kept the commandments of God: "I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love." John 15:10. By His obedience it is that many must be made righteous. "For as by one man's [Adam's] disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one [Christ] shall many be made righteous." Rom. 5:19. But these are made righteous only by faith in Him, thus having "the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:22, 23.

All have sinned; and "sin is the transgression of the law." As all have thus transgressed the law, none can attain to righteousness by the law. There is righteousness in the law of God; in fact, the Word says, "All thy commandments are righteousness;" but there is no righteousness there for the transgressor. If righteousness ever comes to one who has transgressed the law, it must come from some source besides the law. And as all, in all the world, have transgressed the law, to whomsoever, in all the world, righteousness shall

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come, it must be from another source than from the law, and that source is Christ Jesus the Lord.

This is the great argument of Rom. 3:19-31: "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. . . . Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

Then the question comes in, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." Notice, he has already said that although this righteousness of God is "without the law," and by faith of Christ, yet it is "witnessed by the law and the prophets." It is a righteousness that accords with the law; it is a righteousness to which the law can bear witness; it is a righteousness with which the law in its perfect righteousness can find no fault: it is indeed the very righteousness of the law itself; for it is the righteousness of God, and the law is only the law of God. It is the righteousness of God, which in Christ is wrought out for us by His perfect obedience to the commandments of God, and of which we become partakers

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by faith in Him; for "by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous." Thus we become the children of God by faith in Christ. By faith in Him the righteousness of the law is met in us. And we do not make void, but we establish, the law of God, by faith in Christ. In other words, in Christ is found the keeping of the law of God.

This is shown again in Gal. 2:17: "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid." To be found sinners, is to be found transgressors of the law; for "sin is the transgression of the law." Then since the Lord has set His everlasting "God forbid" against any suggestion that Christ is the minister of the transgression of the law, it follows as certainly that Christ ministers the keeping of the law. The believer in Jesus finds in Christ the keeping of the commandments of God -- the law of God. Whosoever therefore professes to be justified by faith in Christ, and yet claims the "liberty" to disregard the law of God in a single point, is deceived. He is only claiming that Christ is the minister of sin, against which the Lord has set His everlasting "God forbid." Thus faith, justification by faith, establishes the law of God; because faith, the of Jesus Christ, is the only means there is by which the keeping of the commandments of God can ever be manifested in the life of anybody in the world.

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This is yet further shown in Rom. 8:3-10: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit."

What was it that the law could not do?

1. The law was ordained to life (Rom. 7:10), but it could not minister life, because "all had sinned," -- transgressed the law, -- and "the wages of sin is death." And this being so, all that the law can possibly minister is death.

2. The law was ordained to justification (Rom. 2: 13), but it will justify only the doers of the law: but of all the children of Adam there have been no doers of the law: "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

3. The law was ordained to righteousness (Rom. 10:5), but it can count as righteous only the obedient: and all the world is guilty of disobedience before God.

Therefore, because of man's failure, because of his wrong doings, the law could not minister to him life, it could not justify him, it could not accept him as righteous. So far as man was concerned, the purpose of the law was entirely frustrated.

But mark, "What the law could not do, in that it was weak' through the sinful flesh, God sent His Son to do, in the likeness of sinful flesh. What the law could not

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do, Christ does. The law could not minister life, because by transgression all had incurred its penalty of death; the law could not give justification, because by failure to do it, all had brought themselves under its condemnation; the law could not give righteousness, because all had sinned. But instead of this death, Christ gives life; instead of this condemnation, Christ gives justification; instead of this sin, Christ gives righteousness.

And for what? -- That henceforth the law might be despised by us? -- Nay, verily! But "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill," said the holy Son of God. And so "Christ is the end [the object, the aim, the purpose] of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." Rom. 10:4. For of God, Christ Jesus "is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. 1:30, 31.

"The law is spiritual." But "the carnal mind [the natural mind, the minding of the flesh] is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh can not please God." Rom. 7:14; 8:7, 8.

How then shall we please God? How shall we become

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come subject to the law of God? The Saviour says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh," and we have just read in Romans that "they that are in the flesh can not please God." But the Saviour says, further, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

Therefore it is certain that except we are born of the Spirit, we can not please God; we can not be subject to the law of God, which is spiritual, and demands spiritual service. This, too, is precisely what the Saviour says: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God."

We know that some will say that the kingdom of God here referred to is the kingdom of glory, and that the new birth, the birth of the Spirit, is not until the resurrection, and that then we enter the kingdom of God. But such a view is altogether wrong. Except a man be born of the Spirit, he must still remain in the flesh. But the Scripture says, "They that are in the flesh can not please God." And the man who does not please God will never see the kingdom of God, whether it be the kingdom of grace or of glory.

"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God." The kingdom of God, whether of grace or of glory, is "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Rom. 14:17. Except a man be born again,

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he can not see, nor enter into, the righteousness of God; he can not see, nor enter into, the peace of God, which passes all understanding; and except he be born of the Spirit of God, how can he see, or enter into, that "joy in the Holy Ghost"?

Except a man be born again -- born of the Spirit -- before he dies, he will never see the resurrection unto life. This is shown in Rom. 8:11: "If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you."

It is certain, therefore, that except the Spirit of Christ dwells in us, we can not be raised from the dead to life. But except His Spirit dwells in us, we are yet in the flesh. And if we are in the flesh, we can not please God. And if we do not please God, we can never see the kingdom of God, either here or hereafter.

Again: it is by birth that we are children of the first Adam; and if we shall ever be children of the last Adam, it must be by a new birth. The first Adam was natural, and we are his children by natural birth; the last Adam is spiritual, and if we become His children, it must be by spiritual birth. The first Adam was of the earth, earthy, and we are his children by an earthly birth; the last Adam is the Lord from heaven, from above; and if we are to be His children, it must be by a heavenly birth, a birth from above.

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"As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy." The earthy is "natural" -- of the flesh. And "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God;" "because they are spiritually discerned," and "they that are in the flesh can not please God." Such is the birthright, and all the birthright, that we receive from the first Adam.

But, thank the Lord, "as is the heavenly such are they also that are heavenly." The heavenly is spiritual; He is "a life-giving Spirit;" and the spiritual man receives the things of the Spirit of God, because they are spiritually discerned. He can please God because he is not in the flesh, but in the Spirit; for the Spirit of God dwells in him. He is, and can be, subject to the law of God, because the carnal mind is destroyed, and he has the mind of Christ, the heavenly.

Such is the birthright of the last Adam, the one from above. And all the privileges, the blessings, and the joys of this birthright are ours when we are born from above. "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born from above." Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born from above, he can not see the kingdom of God." With the argument of this paragraph, please study 1 Cor. 15:45-48; John 3:3-8; 1 Cor. 3:11-16; Rom. 8:5-10.

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." 2 Cor. 5:17. As a new creature he lives a new life, a life of faith. "The life which I now live in the flesh

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I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." But it is a faith that works; for without works faith is dead.

In Christ nothing avails but a new creation; he lives by faith; it is a faith that works, and the work is the keeping of the commandments of God. Thus saith the Scripture: --

1. "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." Gal. 6:15.

2. "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." Gal. 5:6.

3. "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God." 1 Cor. 7:19.

Again: it is "faith which worketh by love," that avails; and "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." 1 John 5:3. And "love is the fulfilling of the law." Rom. 13:10. Therefore, in Christ Jesus the faith that avails is the faith that keeps the commandments of God, the faith that fulfills the law of God.

Once more: "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Eph. 2:10. "Created in Christ Jesus," is to be made a "new creature" in Christ Jesus. But we are created in Him

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"unto good works," and these good works are those which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

That is to say, God before ordained good works in which we should walk. But we have not walked in them. Now He creates us anew in Christ, so that we may walk in these good works in which before we failed to walk. These good works are the commandments, the law, of God. These commandments express the whole duty of man, but man has failed to do his duty; "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." But now Christ is manifested to take away our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, "that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor. 5:21.

We are made new creatures in Him, that in Him and by Him we may perform acceptable service, and do the duty (keep the commandments of God), which before we failed to do, and which, out of Christ, all must ever fail to do. For He Himself said, "Without me ye can do nothing." This is according to that which we have before shown: "What the law could not do," "God sending His own Son" did, "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:3, 4.

CHAPTER XXII. THE KEEPING OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND THE FAITH OF JESUS

IN the matter of the duty of keeping the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus, it is not to be understood that the two can for a moment be separated. The commandments can not be kept acceptably to God except by faith in Jesus Christ; and faith in Christ amounts to nothing -- is dead -- unless it is manifested, made perfect, in good works: and these good works consist in the keeping of the commandments of God.

When the young man came to Jesus, asking, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" Jesus answered, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments," and cited the second table of the ten commandments. The young man replied: "All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me."

As the record says that Jesus "looking upon him loved him," and as Jesus asked him to follow Him, it is evident that the young man was a person of good intentions

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and honesty of purpose, and he undoubtedly supposed that he had really kept the commandments. But it is not our own estimate that is the standard of what constitutes obedience to the law; it is God's estimate that is the standard. We might conform so strictly to the law that, according to our own estimate, we could see no point of failure; yet when our actions should be measured by God's estimate, weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, we should be found utterly wanting.

It is not according as we see, but according as God sees, that the question of our keeping the commandments of God is to be decided. And as God sees it, it has been recorded: "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." No doubt the young man, when measured by his own standard, stood at the full stature of moral character. But God's standard declares that he had "come short."

Even granting all the righteousness that the young man might claim by the keeping of the commandments alone, -- and there are yet many like him, -- yet to him and to all who, like him, expect righteousness by the law, the word of Christ is, "One thing thou lackest yet." All such lack the justifying blood: they lack the sanctifying power of the perfect obedience of the Son of God. In short, they lack "the faith of Jesus;" and so must ever come short until, by accepting Christ, they attain to the righteousness of God which is by faith.

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It is in Christ alone that man can reach the full stature of moral character in the sight of God. "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Eph. 4:13. However hard a man may strive for righteousness by keeping the law, yet, until he accepts Christ and finds in Him the righteousness which is of God by faith, against him the word will ever stand, Thou hast "come short of the glory of God," "one thing thou lackest yet."

We see then that Jesus taught that those who would be His disciples must keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Again: in His sermon on the mount, Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5: 19, 20.

Happily we have the record of the best Pharisee that ever lived, and in his experience we have the inspired illustration of these words of Jesus: Paul says of himself, "As touching the law, a Pharisee; . . . touching

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the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." Yet this was not enough; for as he says in another place, "I know nothing against myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but He that judgeth me is the Lord." 1 Cor. 4:4. So even though he might, so far as he could see, be blameless, yet that was not proof that he was justified; for it is God who judges: it is God's standard of righteousness, and not our own, that we must meet, to be justified; and that standard is the righteousness of Christ, to which we can attain only by faith.

Therefore it is written: "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: . . . and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Phil. 3: 7-9. This is a righteousness which he had not when he was a Pharisee. This, then, is the righteousness which exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. And this righteousness of faith we must have while doing and teaching the commandments. In His sermon on the mount, therefore, Christ positively taught the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

James says, "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons . . . . If ye fulfill the royal law according to

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the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well; but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For He that said ["that law which said," margin], Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now, if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty . . . . What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? . . . Even so faith, if IT hath not works, is dead, being alone."

Thus James shows that the faith of Jesus is manifested in works, and that these works are the keeping of the law of God. He excludes the very idea that anyone can have the faith of Jesus with respect of persons; and respect of person he declares to be sin, the transgression of the law. Therefore the faith of Jesus can not be held with the conscious breaking of the commandments of God, even in a single point. In other words, James teaches as strongly as it is possible to teach, that those who have the faith of Jesus keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

John says, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and everyone that loveth Him that begat loveth Him also that is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we

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love God, and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" 1 John 5: 1-5. The beloved disciple therefore also teaches that Christianity, the love of God, is the keeping of the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

The Lord Jesus Himself, referring to God, said: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do HIS [God's] commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. 22:13, 14. He also said, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Christ said, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments;" He also said, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life."

The Third Angel's Message, the last message from God that the world will ever hear, embodies in a single sentence all these sayings of Christ: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

Therefore, when the Third Angel's Message calls, as it now does call, upon all men to "keep the commandments

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of God, and the faith of Jesus," it simply calls all men to the performance of the whole duty of man -- as he now exists. And when, under this message, we urge men to keep the commandments of God strictly according to the letter, we mean that they must keep these commandments strictly according to the Spirit, too. When we press upon all the obligation of keeping the commandments of God, it is always the obligation of keeping them the only way in which they can be kept, that is, by faith of Jesus Christ; it is always the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus; it is that all must be made perfect by His perfect righteousness; and that all our righteousness must be the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, and that righteousness witnessed by the law and the prophets.

CHAPTER XXIII. "THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT IS COME."

ALL that is proposed to be accomplished by this great threefold message is in view of the fact that "the hour" of God's "judgment is come." Therefore the one great object of the Third Angel's Message is to prepare the world for the judgment: to prepare to stand in the judgment all who receive the message; and to ripen the world for the judgment in all who, by refusing the message which will prepare them to stand in the judgment, subject themselves to the judgment itself in all its terror.

The word of this Message itself is that "the hour of His judgment is come," not that it will come, but that it "IS come." To everyone, therefore, who receives this message, the judgment of God becomes an ever-present reality. All these stand always before the judgment seat, and put themselves voluntarily under all the tests of the judgment. This is so in the very nature of belief of the message; for when a message of God declares that "the hour of His judgment is come," what can such a message amount to in the belief of a person to whom it is not a present reality that "the hour of His judgment is come"? And when it is held by the professed believer that it is the truth that "the hour of

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His judgment is come," what can such a belief amount to if that person does not place himself in the very judgment itself, as a present thing, and does not willingly subject himself to all the searching realities of that judgment?

This is emphasized by the further fact that this message is to make ready a people prepared to meet the Lord when He comes in the clouds of heaven, -- a people who will be alive on the earth when the Lord comes, and who will be translated without seeing death. Rev. 14:4; 15:2, 3;1 Thess. 4: 15-17. And all those who will be ready must be "accounted worthy to escape" all the evils that come upon the earth, and "to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:36. They must be accounted worthy before that coming occurs, or else they will not be worthy at His coming, and, therefore, can not be saved by Him at His coming. And in this counting of each person worthy, or otherwise, the decisive word is, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev. 22:11.

Thus, by the very nature of the decision of the judgment in the cases of these living ones, in the time of the message that "the hour of His judgment is come," it is evident that there is no long process of examination and of balancing of accounts one against another; but that it is simply the recognition of the condition of

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each person, according as that condition is by his own choice. Just what he is at the moment when the crisis of the decision in his case is reached, that he forever remains. If he is righteous, the judgment recognizes it, and pronounces the word, "Let him be righteous still." And this word is so pronounced at that moment simply because he already is what this says that he shall be "still." If he is unjust, then the word of the judgment is, "Let him be unjust still." And this is so said simply because that is what he is at the moment, whether the judgment were pronounced or not; and the crisis of the judgment, coming to his case just at that moment, finds it so, recognizes it, and says, "Let him be unjust still."

And why should it not be thus? Here is a message of God, proclaimed to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying to all, "Fear God, and give glory to Him," especially because "the hour of His judgment is come." On one hand, here are the people who have received the message. That message has in it all the divine power of the everlasting gospel, fully to fit them for the judgment; and their very acceptance of the message is a confession that they recognize the fact that "the hour of His judgment is come," and that they are in this "hour." And if, in spite of this, any of them lives as if he were not in "the hour of God's judgment" and so shall be unprepared for the blessed word to be pronounced, "Let him be righteous still,"

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and is prepared for the awful word, "Let him be unjust still," surely, none but himself can be in any wise to blame for that. The decision is as it is because of his disregard of the very thing that he professed to hold, and the very thing that had called him to the profession which he holds.

On the other hand, here is a message, proclaimed to all the world, -- 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 here are vast multitudes of people who refuse to believe and there is any truth in the statement that "the hour of His judgment is come." They, therefore, go on in their way, utterly regardless of the truth that they are in the presence of the judgment. Then, when the case of any individual among these is reached, and the word must be, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still," this also is simply because of his own decision; the judgment pronounced is simply a recognition of the condition in which he is, and which he himself has fixed by his disregard of the message that would have altogether changed his condition, and fitted him for that other word, "He that is righteous, let him be righteous still."

Often, people ask, Shall we know when the time of the judgment shall have come? Shall we be able to know when the judgment shall have come to the living? The great threefold message -- the Third Angel's Message

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-- gives the answer. Does not that very message itself say plainly, as plainly as the Lord can speak, "The hour of His judgment is come"? Has not this message said the same thing to every man who has ever heard it? and has not that message continued to say this to him from the day that he first heard it?

This being so, is it possible that anyone who has heard that message, and above all anyone who professes to believe that message, has not yet learned that "the hour of his judgment is come ," when that very word is what he heard, and what he has professed to believe, from the day he heard it? And if any professed believer of the Third Angel's Message does not believe this word of God, which, all this time, he has professed to believe, when it tells him that the hour of God's judgment is come, then would he believe it if the Lord should tell him again? Is it possible that anyone has lived under a profession of belief of this message, even for a day, and yet has not placed himself in the presence of the judgment, and has not subjected himself to all the searching tests of the judgment? Is it possible that any one of these professing to believe the word that "the hour of His judgment is come," has not believed it at all, and has been acting all the time as he would not act if he did believe in reality that "the hour of His judgment is come"?

So far as concerns every believer of the Third Angel's Message, each individual has fixed it that, with himself,

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the judgment has begun upon the living; for he is alive, and has accepted a message from God which declares to him that the hour of God's judgment is come. Being alive, and having accepted such a message from God, by the very force of his profession, simply by the virtue of his belief, he enters alive, hourly into the judgment. He lives in presence of the judgment. He opens his life to all the searching tests of the judgment. And this being so with him, to him the question is answered, Shall we be able to know when the judgment has begun upon the living?

The third Angel's Message -- this great threefold message -- is in every feature present truth. And when in its own words it is shown that this message is given in view of the fact that the hour of God's judgment "is come," and knowing that now is the time of that message, it is only present truth thoroughly to believe that in very truth "the hour of His judgment is come."

Indeed, that this message were ever given at all would be evidence in itself that the hour of His judgment is come; for no message of God can ever be given before the time. Therefore whenever this message shall be found sounding to the world, it will be then true that the hour of God's judgment is come. And the word of the message that says so will be only the announcement of the fact that the hour of His judgment is come. And everyone believing the message will believe that this is the fact: he will have to believe it, to be a believer

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of the message; because the very word of the message that he professes to believe says that this is so. And as certainly as he believes this, he will enter hourly into God's judgment, and will constantly hold himself subject to all the tests of that judgment.

That message is now due in the world. It is being given to the world. For years this has been so. Therefore for years it has been, and it now is, present truth that the hour of God's judgment is come. Thousands upon thousands of persons profess to believe that message. Therefore the principle is that this whole people of that message are entered hourly into God's judgment, and, as constantly as they live, do subject themselves to all the searching tests of that judgment. All these, therefore, know that as for themselves, each individually, the judgment has begun upon the living; for they are living. To them the message of God has come that "the hour of His judgment is come;" they have accepted that message, and accordingly have entered into that judgment, and so they live constantly in the presence of that awful fact. Consequently we say again that with these there is no room for any such question as to "whether the judgment has begun upon the living."

And if there be any who profess to believe this message, and yet are living as they would not live if they knew that the judgment had come; and would make a revolution in their lives if only they knew that the judgment

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had come upon the living, but would not make this revolution if they could be certain that the judgment had not come; then to what purpose to them could be a message, even if it were sent directly from heaven to them personally, that the judgment had begun upon the living? In such case, any change that would be sought or made, would have no virtue whatever; and these persons would be no more prepared for the decision of the judgment than if they had heard nothing about it. The only change that would be made in such a life would be altogether out of fear of the consequences, and not out of any love of righteousness. Therefore, in the nature of things, in such a case the word could not be, He is righteous, "let him be righteous still;" because he is not righteous: he has not in his heart any love of righteousness. This is demonstrated by the fact that, under the very profession of this judgment-message, he lived without regard to the judgment: he indulged evil things in his life, -- things which he knew could not pass the judgment, -- and he continued to indulge them until the startling word came to him personally that the judgment was come to him. Then, all at once, and only that he may pass the judgment, and escape the consequences of the evil things that, in spite of righteousness, he has indulged, he sets forth to make a grand revolution in his life!

But no such thing as that will ever work in the judgment of God. Whoever will pass in righteousness the

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judgment of God, will do so only because he has "loved righteousness, and hated iniquity," whether the judgment was begun upon him or not. He loves righteousness because it is righteousness, and he hates iniquity because it is iniquity; and he will no more indulge iniquity in his life with the judgment a thousand years away than with the judgment only a minute away.

There is, therefore, no room whatever for any professed believer of the Third Angel's Message, ever to ask whether the judgment has begun upon the living. Every true believer of the Third Angel's Message KNOWS, because the Word of God says it, and has said it for years, that "the hour of His judgment is come."

And to whomsoever in all the world this message shall come, even though he believe it not, to him it will be true, and he may know it, that the time of judgment has come to him. Whether he will recognize it or ignore it, is for him alone to say; but to him it will be the truth that the hour of God's judgment "is come."

"The hour of His judgment is come." It is here: it is a present thing as certainly as the world is here. And, knowing this, every true believer of this message lives accordingly: he puts himself alive into the judgment; he reins himself up hourly before the judgment seat; because "the hour of His judgment is come." To the true believer of the Third Angel's Message this is a fact; it is living truth.

And how shall he ever give this message to the world

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otherwise? can he, with any force of truth at all, preach to another man that the hour of God's judgment "is come," when he himself does not believe at all that it "is come," but only that it will come? Who is there in the world that does not believe that God's judgment will come? But the Third Angel's Message is not that the judgment will come; but that the very time, the "hour, of his judgment IS COME."

Since this judgment, in its decision when pronounced, is but a recognition and declaration of a condition that already exists, and is, therefore, practically instantaneous, it follows that the means of preparation for this awful decision shall be such that it shall be able to effect that preparation also instantaneously. And precisely this provision is that which is offered by the Lord in this great, glorious Third Angel's Message; for it carries the "everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." And this everlasting gospel is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith."

Those who are thus made righteous live righteously; because they "live by faith." This power of God is creative, and is, therefore, instantaneous in its action. For "He spake, and it was." Ps. 33:9. When the leper said, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." He answered, "I will; be thou clean. And

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as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed." Mark 1:40-42. And any soul loving and longing for righteousness, and hating and desiring to escape iniquity, who hears this message of the everlasting gospel, announcing that the hour of God's judgment is come, and enters into the judgment in this hour, can in this very minute -- "immediately" -- be by that everlasting gospel prepared for the judgment. And while he holds himself in the presence of the judgment, subject to all its searching tests, and holds fast this everlasting gospel, -- its power to save, and the right-eousness that it reveals, -- he is ready for the crisis of that judgment at any moment in the "hour;" because, when comes the critical moment in which his name is reached, he is righteous by the "power of God" and the righteousness of God which that gospel has given to him; and most gladly will the Judge speak the joyous words, "Let him be righteous still."

"God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:14. And because God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, all people are exhorted to "fear God, and keep His commandments." Verse 13.

This word in Ecclesiastes is complemented and emphasized in the word of this great threefold message, in which the everlasting gospel is preached to them that

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dwell on the earth, -- 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. . . . Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

They that have sinned in the law, that is, with a knowledge of the law of God, "shall be judged by the law, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." And since now the "hour of His judgment is come," and since all to whom this message comes will be judged by the law of God, it is certain that all who accept the message will set their whole lives in the light of that law, that every secret thing that is out of harmony with that holy law may be searched out and put away.

For that law does reach the most secret things, the very thoughts and intents of the heart. "Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca [vain fellow], shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." "Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already

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in his heart." "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." Matt. 5:21, 22, 27, 28; James 2:12.

Therefore with all who accept this message in sincerity, the prayer will constantly be, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Ps. 139: 23, 24. Everyone who prays thus, everyone who thus opens the life to God, and invites Him in to search and see if there be any wicked way there, -- every such one will be prepared for the crisis of the judgment whenever it may come. For then God will search the heart and purify the life, and will make it all that it must be to be holy before God. And all such will be led by the Lord in the way everlasting.

And why should it ever be otherwise? And of all times, now, in the hour of His judgment, why should it ever be otherwise? For does not God see all the life anyhow? Are not all things "naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do"? Can anything be hidden from Him? Are not our secret sins set in the light of His countenance? Ps. 90:8. Has He not searched us and known us? Does He not know our very thought "afer off," long before we think it?

Since all this is true every moment of every life anyhow, what kind of person must he who will pass along day after day and year year as if it were not

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so at all? And since it is all true every moment of every life; and since we are now in the time when it is especially true in the fact that the hour of His judgment is come; what kind of person would he be who would professedly accept this message that the hour of His judgment is come, and then would pass along a single day as if it were not so?

No, no; no such thing as that can ever be, with the people of this judgment message. It comes to them as the judgment message; they accept it as the judgment message; and accordingly they enter hourly into the judgment. Since He has set our secret sins in the light of His countenance, we ourselves will set our secret sins in the light of His countenance. Since He has searched us and known us, we will hourly say unto Him, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there by any wicked way in me," Since all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do, we ourselves will constantly hold all things naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Then God will occupy all the life, and will cleanse and purify it by His own presence, making it a fit habitation for Himself to dwell in. Then He will clothe us with the garments of His own salvation, and will put upon us the robe of His own righteousness. Isa. 61:10. And then, when to each individual the crisis in the judgment comes, with Christ thus presenting us faultless

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before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24), the glad word will thrill each soul, He "is righteous, let him be righteous still." He "is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be."

Thank the Lord for such a precious message of faithful warning. Praise God for such a glorious message of justification, sanctification, and redemption.

The Third Angel's Message embraces Zion and Calvary; the law of God and the gospel of Christ; God the Father and God the Son.

The Third Angel's Message is the embodiment of the very gospel of Christ, wherein "is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." Rom. 1: 16, 17.

In Christ, by faith of Christ, the believer in Jesus finds the keeping of the commandments of God, which is the righteousness of God. Thus the keeping of the commandments of God is the gift of God: it is the "free gift" of the righteousness of God "which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." And this is the Third Angel's Message: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

When the Third Angel's Message shall be finished, then the mystery of God -- the gospel -- shall be finished;

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and this in the days of the voice of the Seventh Trumpet angel, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets.

Those who truly obey the Third Angel's Message will get the victory over the Beast and over his Image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name; they will, at the last, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God; and they will be without fault before the throne of God. And it will all be through "Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood." Unto Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.

We thank God for the message which calls upon all men to "keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus;" that, in this time when "all that dwell upon the earth shall worship the Beast whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb," they may have the victory over the Beast and over his Image and over his mark and over the number of his name.

We thank God for the Third Angel's Message, which to-day calls all men to the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, that they may be delivered in the "time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation" that is impending

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THE GREAT NATIONS OF TO-DAY.

The Two Republics

BY ALONZO T. JONES.

A Comparative History of the Two Greatest Republics,

Rome and the United States.

Of Great Importance to Every American Citizen.

The study and research of years and the elaboration of many volumes presented in a pleasing and concise manner, make this a history of inestimable value to every person. In reviewing the history of the Roman Republic, the rocks upon which she stranded have been clearly pointed out. It contrasts the principles underlying enforced religious observances, with the true principles of RELIGIOUS FREEDOM TO EVERY MAN, which are guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. Hon. WM. T. TOLLEY, Ex-Senator of Tennessee, says: -- "If I had ten thousand dollars to donate to the cause of popular intelligence and sound, wholesome reading, I would freely give it in aid of the circulation of this masterly work."

PRESS NOTICES.

The New York SUN. -- "It seems to us as though it has left nothing unsaid which needed to be said upon the subject." PUBLIC OPINION, Washington, D. C. -- "'The Two Republics.' This work is an argument against all phases of union between Church and State. The author is a thorough believer in the American doctrine that the civil government has no jurisdiction whatever over matters of conscience. He enforces this thesis with a logic that seems to us entirely irresistible. The array of facts which he presents bearing upon the question cannot fail to interest thoughtful readers. . . . The story of those days [of Rome from the time of Caius Gracchus on until the establishment of Christianity as the State religion] is always entertaining, and Mr. Jones tells it in a pleasant manner. His discussion of the main question is vigorous, clear, and conclusive. He treats the problem of Sunday legislation with marked ability. The work is profusely illustrated."

[1] [Page 56] In alphabetical order the eighteen principal ones of these tribes are as follows: Alemanni, Alani, Angles, Burgundians, Franks, Gepidae, Heruli, Huns, Jutes, Lombards, Ostrogoths, Rugians, Saxons, Scyrri, Suevi, Thuringians, Vandals, Visigoths.

[2] [Page 90] The statue was melted by the Latins of Crusading times.

[3] [Page123] For an extended and thorough treatment of the subject of the sanctuary and connected dates, see "Looking Unto Jesus," for sale by Review and Herald, publishers, Battle Creek, Mich.