3:1. And [unto] BY the angel.—The next important messenger to the Church was John Wycliffe. “It was in 1378 A. D., the year of the ‘Great Schism of the West,’ when two popes were elected, one in Rome and the other in Avignon, that Wycliffe came out as the great Doctrinal Reformer. Workman, in Dawn of the Reformation, writes: ‘Wycliffe's spiritual earnestness was shocked, his theory destroyed by the spectacle of two popes, each claiming to be the sole head of the Church, each labeling the other as Antichrist. To Wycliffe, the year of the Schism, 1378, was the crucial year of his life. He first urged that both popes should be set aside as having little in common with the Church of the Holy God. From this position of neutrality he quickly passed into one of antagonism to the Papacy itself.’ In his Mediaeval Church History, Archbishop Trench says: ‘The year 1378 marked the turning-point in Wycliffe's career. Hitherto he had concerned himself with matters of mixed ecclesiastical and political import, but henceforth he devoted himself exclusively to doctrinal matters and came out as the Reformer. He began in earnest the translation of the Bible into English, and took the next decisive step by an open attack, forced upon him by his studies of the Bible, against Transubstantiation.’ Wycliffe thus attacked the very bulwark of Antichrist's stronghold, for the doctrine of Transubstantiation, or the sacrifice of the Mass, annulled the true sacrifice of Christ. Because of this, the Papal system became in God's sight the ‘desolating abomination.’ (Dan. 11:31.)”—Edgar.

Of the church in Sardis.—“Sardis is said to mean that which remains, as if it signified something out of which life or virtue had gone. The nominal church during this period had a form of godliness without its power. Sardis was the remains of the true Church, which had been driven into the wilderness; but when the persecution began to subside, her zeal also abated.”—Z. '16-347.

Write.—Wycliffe wrote the first translation of the Bible into English.

These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God.—The seven lamps of fire (Rev. 4:5), or seven eyes [pg 046] sent forth into all the earth (Rev. 5:6); i. e., perfect knowledge.—Rev. 1:4.

And the seven stars.—How each of the Lord's messengers was kept! St. Paul had (supposedly) eight years of liberty after his first imprisonment, planted the Gospel in Spain and revisited the scenes of earlier labors; St. John is said to have been thrown into a caldron of boiling oil, but escaped unharmed and died of old age; Arius died a natural death; as did Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and Charles T. Russell, although all had reason to expect martyrdom at the hands of ecclesiasticism. The year that Peter Waldo died, his tenets were condemned by an ecumenical council. “Wycliffe preached unmolested; but the Council of Constance (May 5, 1415) condemned his doctrines, and in 1428 his remains were dug up and burned; the ashes were cast into the adjoining Swift, which, as Wordsworth poetically remarked, conveyed them through the Avon and the Severn into the sea, and thus disseminated them over the world. His doctrines, carried into Bohemia, originated the Hussite movement. The New Testament was published about 1378, and the entire Old Testament was completed shortly before his death.”—McC.

I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest.—Many who admired Wycliffe were not real Christians. A man not willing to go to the stake for his religion has none.

And art dead.—Spiritually.—Luke 9:60.

3:2. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that [are] WERE ready to die.—Many among Wycliffe's admirers lost faith and love, and to that degree died, while others had some spiritual life. These the Lord desired to awaken, to strengthen, to encourage.—Eph. 5:14.

For I have not found thy works perfect before MY God.—Revised Version reads, “For I have found no works of thine fulfilled before My God.”

3:3. Remember [therefore] how thou hast received.—Received the entire Word in the English tongue.

And heard.—Wycliffe was the author of more than 200 works, chiefly tracts, on the Ransom.

And hold fast, and reform.—(Diaglott.) Had Wycliffe's labors been properly appreciated, the Reformation would have been set forward 150 years.

If therefore thou shalt not [watch] REPENT.—Change your course of conduct.

I will come on thee as a thief.—“Many today have the Sardis characteristics. To such this is a warning. Seven [pg 047] times our Lord's Second Coming is described as being thief-like, stealthy. Those who are asleep will be awakened only after His work of destruction has progressed. His presence will be recognized by the sleepers only as the noise of spoiling the Strong Man's House gradually increases.” (Z. '16-347; 1 Thes. 5:2; Matt. 24:43; 2 Pet. 3:10.) “The stealthiness of the thief, not the violence of the robber, is implied in the original.”—Cook.

And thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.—“Failing to realize the fact that spiritual bodies cannot be seen by human eyes without a miracle, some cannot understand how He can be present while ‘all things continue as they were since the beginning of creation.’ (2 Pet. 3:3, 4.) Thus they are unable to understand the signs of the times' revealing His return.”—Z. '16-347.

3:4. BUT thou hast a few names [even] in Sardis which have not defiled their garments.—But have given due heed to the Message of the hour, the Ransom.

And they shall walk with Me In white.—Fully covered by the robe of Christ's righteousness.

For they are worthy.—None who trust in sacrifices of the Mass or in other sacrifices than that of Calvary, can ever be worthy in God's sight.—Matt. 10:37.

3:5. He that overcometh, [the same] THUS.—The test, apparently, was on the question of transubstantiation.

Shall be clothed in white raiment.—“The pictures given of the Heavenly Father represent Him as clothed (Psa. 104:2); and the pictures of our Lord represent Him as clothed. The angels who appeared at the time of our Lord's resurrection are represented as clothed in white. Our Lord said: ‘Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.’ (Rev. 16:15.) The glorified Church is represented, not as taking off the robe of righteousness, but continuing to walk in white raiment, not as now, in a robe of reckoned righteousness, but in a robe of actual righteousness.”—Z. '14-11; Rev. 19:8.

And I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life.—“In the book are written the names of all those who have made with the Lord ‘a Covenant by Sacrifice.’ The name of each of these is entered in the Lamb's Book of Life, when he starts to live the new life. If they are faithful, their names will not be blotted out; and they will attain all those glorious things which are promised to those who love Him supremely. (Rev. 3:21.)”—Z. '15-119; Rev. 13:8; Psa. 69:28; Dan. 12:1; Phil. 4:3; Lu. 10:20.

But I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.—“In the end, the overcomers will each [pg 048] be so grandly developed that the Lord will not be ashamed to confess any of them and to say, ‘Here is one of My followers. Here is another. They have walked in My footsteps and have overcome.’ But He will be ashamed of any who are ashamed of Him or of His words. (Luke 9:26.)”—Z. '15-119; Luke 12:8, 9.

3:6. He that hath an ear.—A spiritual ear. “My sheep hear My voice.”—John 10:27.

Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.—“Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound.”—Psa. 89:15.

3:7. And [to] BY the angel.—The next messenger to the Church was Martin Luther. “There is considerable similarity between the work begun on Pentecost and that of Luther. The Reformation was, in a sense, the beginning of a new era, a dawning of light where all had been darkness, a new start in the way of Truth.”—Z. '16-347.

Of the church in Philadelphia.—“Philadelphia means brotherly love. This stage of the Church's history began at the Reformation; and there are many still living who possess the characteristics described.” (Z. '16-347.) The exact point of time at which the Philadelphia epoch of the Church began was at midday, October 31, 1517. It was at that hour that Luther nailed his ninety-five theses on the church door at Wittenberg. “Nailing up that paper was the beginning of a great division in the Church; of thrones tumbled into the dust and kings with them; of empires rent asunder; of lands desolated by war; of massacres and horrible outrages against the lives and liberties of men; of thirty years continuous war in Germany; of Paris and the vine-clad valleys of Italy drenched in blood; of fires kindled all over England for the burning of men, women and children; of men hurled headlong from precipices, roasted over slow fires, starving in dungeons, subjected to every form of cruelty—but with all this, the advance of justice, truth and liberty, the beginning of a new era in human affairs.” (Coffin.) “The theses ran through all Germany in fourteen days, for all the world was complaining about the indulgences; and Luther became renowned, because at last somebody had come who took hold of the thing.”—McC.

Write.—Luther wrote the first translation of the Bible into German.

These things saith He that is [holy] TRUE.—The direct reference is to Christ (1 John 5:20); but characteristic of Luther was his great love of truth. When the Papal legate came demanding that he recant, he replied, “I stand by the truth. I will not take it back.”

He that it [true] HOLY.—See Mark 1:24. Luther's special message was “Justification by faith”—real holiness. One of the theses on the door was, “Those who truly repent of their sins have a full remission of guilt and penalty.”

He that hath the key of David.—“All power in Heaven and earth.” (Matt. 28:18; Luke 1:32.) Luther's theses were antagonistic to the system actually ruling all over the world. When a representative came warning that his death would surely follow failure to recant, and asking him where he could go when all had orders not to harbor him, he replied, “I will abide under the cope of heaven.”

[He] AND that openeth.—See Luke 24:32.

And no man [shutteth] SHALL SHUT.—“No doubt all the powers of Satan were exerted to close the door then opened; but ‘He that is true’ had said, ‘which no man can shut.’ ”—Z. '16-347; Isa. 22:22.

And shutteth and no man [openeth] SHALL OPEN.—The door of opportunity for the Roman Catholic Church to repent swung shut the day Luther was excommunicated. (Rev. 2:21.) “Luther was not in the least disconcerted by this sentence, which he had for some time expected. He renewed his appeal to the general council; declared the pope to be that Antichrist or Man of Sin whose appearance is foretold in the New Testament; declaimed against his tyranny with greater vehemence than ever; and at last having assembled the University he cast the canon law, together with the bull of excommunication, into the flames.”—Buck.

3:8. I know thy works.—A striking feature of Luther's character was his promptness to do whatever he saw to be the Lord's will. When the great test came, Luther said to Erasmus: “You desire to walk upon eggs without crushing them.” Erasmus replied: “I will not be unfaithful to the cause of Christ at least so far as the Age will permit me.” “I will go to Worms,” shouted Luther, “though the devils were combined against me as thick as tiles upon the housetops!”

Behold I have set before thee an open door.—See 1 Cor. 16:9; Acts 14:27.

[And] WHICH no man can shut [it].—“While the Roman pontiff thought everything safe and settled, and all pious and good men were nearly in despair of the religious reformation, so earnestly desired, a certain obscure and inconsiderable monk in Saxony, a province of Germany, suddenly opposed himself single-handed with incredible resolution to the power of Rome. This was Martin Luther.”—Mosheim.

For thou hast a little strength.—“Compared with the mighty hosts of their enemies, the little band of Reformers had but ‘a little strength;’ but they knew that they had the Truth, and they fully trusted the Giver.”—Z. '16-347.

And hast kept My Word.—“Whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.”—1 John 2:5.

And hast not denied My name.—“If we deny Him, He also will deny us.”—2 Tim. 2:12.

3:9. Behold I [will make] HAVE MADE them of the synagogue of Satan.—The opponents of the reformers were already of the synagogue of Satan.—Rev. 2:13.

Which say they are Jews.—Claim to be Israelites indeed, saints.—Rev. 2:9.

And are not, but do lie.—Papacy is one of the two systems of rulership (imperial power being the other) congenitally “spotted like a leopard,” as far as the Truth is concerned.—Dan. 11:27; Rev. 13:2.

Behold I will make them to come.—“All nations whom Thou hast made shall come.”—Psa. 86:9.

And worship before thy feet.—“The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet.”—Isa. 60:14; 49:23.

And [to] THOU SHALT know that I have loved thee.—See Eph. 2:7.

3:10. Because thou hast kept the word of My patience.—My patience-enjoining word.—Matt. 10:22; Lu. 8:15.

I also will keep thee.—“As to the Philadelphia stage of the Church, and their being saved from the hour of temptation, we think possibly the Lord meant that some of the Church of that epoch would live over into the present period, and that they would not be subjected to the special trials of this hour. For instance, we think of a very fine old gentleman, who was about ninety years of age at the time we are about to mention. He was pastor of a church. He seemed to receive Present Truth with a great deal of joy and spoke it forth with much zeal. But he was surrounded with so much opposition at home, and in the church to which he was attached as a minister, that he could not seem to trust to his mental judgment. This Scripture which we are considering has rather comforted our mind with respect to him and others like him.”—Z. '15-200.

From the hour of temptation.—“ ‘The hour of temptation’ has been the Harvest time. The majority of professing Christians of the world—probably more than three-fourths—have lost all faith in the Bible, and fallen into [pg 051] Evolution, Higher Criticism, Christian Science, Theosophy, Spiritism, New Thought, etc. They are not able to stand in this ‘evil day.’ ” (Z'15-199.) Additionally, “so far as we are able to judge, the same conditions prevail today amongst Bible students which the Apostle pointed out to the Elders of the Church of Ephesus. (Acts 20:28-32.)”—Z. '16-328.

Which shall come upon all the world.—“We believe that this temptation to headiness and strife is spreading gradually in every direction; and the Master assured us that unless these days would be cut short by the establishment of His Kingdom in the hands of the Elect, no flesh would survive.”—Z. '16-327; Rev. 7:1-3; 16:14; Matt. 24:21.

To try them that dwell upon the earth.—“We understand that the spirit of selfishness and ambition, which is driving the nations insanely to war for commercial supremacy, will increase more and more, and will involve everybody.”—Z. '16-327; Rev. 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8, 14.

3:11. [Behold,] I come quickly.—To Smyrna (73-325 A. D.) and Pergamos (325-1160 A. D.) nothing was said about Christ's Second Advent; to Thyatira (1160-1378) the Message was, “Hold fast till I come”; to Sardis (1378-1518) it was, “If therefore thou shalt not reform, I will come on thee as a thief”; to Philadelphia (1518-1874) it was, “Behold, I come quickly.” How evident that these messages to the Churches are epochs drawing nearer and nearer to the climax of history, the Fifth Universal Empire, now come at last!

Hold that fast which thou hast.—“The Miller movement was a separation, as between those who kept the Word of God with patience and those who lost their faith in His Word. The Philadelphia Church, which patiently passed through so severe a trial of their faith, would not be subjected to the later test.”—Z. '15-199.

That no man take thy crown.—“Unfaithfulness may lead to the blotting out of some names and the giving of their crowns to others.” (F. 165.) “It is our expectation that this work of going out and coming in will continue until the last member of the New Creation shall have been found worthy, and all the crowns everlastingly apportioned.”—F. 95; 1 Sam. 16:1; Rev. 2:10.

3:12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar [in] TO the Temple of my God.—“During the Philadelphia period the faithful have either been obliged to come out of the nominal temple or have been cast out. The reward promised such is that each will be a pillar in the eternal Temple—a part which cannot be removed while [pg 052] the structure exists.”—Z. '16-347; Gal. 2:9; 1 Kings 7:21, 22; Jer. 1:18; 1 Cor. 3:17; Eph. 2:19-22.

And he shall [go no more] NOT GO out.—“During their trial state their names were cast out as evil; they were not recognized as Christians. All this is to be reversed. ‘The Lord knoweth them that are His.’ ”—Z. '16-347.

And I will write upon him the name of My God.—“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads [intellects].”—Rev. 14:1; 22:4.

And the name of the city of My God.—“And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.”—Isa. 62:12; Ezek. 48:35; Jer. 23:6; 33:16.

Which is New Jerusalem.—“Glorious City of Peace! whose foundations, laid in justice, can never be moved, and whose builder and designer is God! It is in the light which will shine from this glorious City (Kingdom) of God that the nations (people) will walk on the Highway of Holiness, up to perfection and to full harmony with God.”—Rev. 21:2, 10, 24; A 295.

Which cometh down out of Heaven from My God.—“A city is a symbol of a kingdom or dominion, and so God's Kingdom is symbolized by the New Jerusalem, the new dominion coming from Heaven to earth. At first it will consist of only the Bride of Christ.”—A. 295; Heb. 12:18-22.

And I will write upon him My new name.—“ ‘Our Righteousness of Jehovah.’ How appropriate is this name to the work and office of our Lord Jesus! Did He not stand as the Representative of God's righteousness and suffer the penalty of Justice as man's Ransom—that God might be just, and yet be the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus? Surely no name could be more appropriate. (Jer. 33:16; 23:6; T. 102.) And that this name will be appropriate to the glorified Church all can readily see: she not only shares her Lord's sufferings for righteousness, ‘filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ’ (Col. 1:24; 1 Pet. 5:9), but is also promised a share in all the glories of her Lord, as a wife shares her husband's honors and name.”—E. 45, 42; Isa. 9:6; Rev. 2:17; 19:12.

3:13. He that hath an ear.—“Having eyes, see ye not? And having ears, hear ye not?”—Mark 8:18.

Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.—“Let these sayings sink down into your ears.”—Luke 9:44.

3:14. And [unto] BY the angel.—The special messenger to the last Age of the Church was Charles T. Russell, born February 16, 1852. He has privately admitted his belief that he was chosen for his great work from before his birth. His mother died when he was nine years old; and at the age of eleven Charles formed a business partnership with his father, himself writing the articles of agreement under which they transacted business. When he was but twelve years of age, his father found him in the store one time at 2 a. m., poring over a concordance, unconscious of the lapse of time. We give some extracts from his autobiography:

“We begin the narrative at the year 1868, when the Editor, having been a consecrated child of God for some years, and a member of the Congregational Church and of the Y. M. C. A., began to be shaken in faith regarding many long accepted doctrines. Brought up a Presbyterian, indoctrinated from the catechism, and being naturally of an inquiring mind, I fell a ready prey to the logic of infidelity, as soon as I began to think for myself. But that which at first threatened to be the utter shipwreck of faith in God and the Bible, was, under God's providence, overruled for good, and merely wrecked my confidence in human creeds and systems of Bible interpretations. I was led gradually to see that though each of the creeds contained some elements of Truth, they were, on the whole, misleading and contradictory of God's Word. Among other theories, I stumbled upon Adventism. Seemingly by accident, one evening I dropped into a dusty, dingy hall in Allegheny, Pa., where I had heard that religious services were held, to see if the handful who met there had anything more sensible to offer than the creeds of the great churches. There, for the first time, I heard something of the views of Second Adventism, by Jonas Wendell, long since deceased. Thus I confess indebtedness to Adventists as well as to other Bible students. Though his Scripture exposition was not entirely clear, and though it was very far from what we now rejoice in, it was sufficient, under God, to reestablish my wavering faith in the Divine inspiration of the Bible, and to show that the records of the Apostles and the Prophets are indissolubly linked.

“When in 1872 I came to examine the subject of Restitution from the standpoint of the Ransom-price given by our Lord Jesus for Adam, and consequently for all lost in Adam, it settled the matter of Restitution completely, and gave me the fullest assurance that ALL must come forth from their graves and be brought to a clear knowledge [pg 054] of the Truth and to a full opportunity to gain everlasting life through Christ. The years following, to 1876, were years of continued growth in grace and in knowledge on the part of the handful of Bible students with whom I met in Allegheny. We progressed from our first crude and indefinite ideas of Restitution to clearer understanding of the details; but God's due time for clear light had not yet come. During this time, too, we came to recognize the difference between our Lord as ‘the Man who gave Himself,’ and as the One who would come again, a Spirit Being. We saw that spirit beings can be present and yet invisible to men.... It seems that not long after their 1874 disappointment, a reader of The Herald of the Morning, who had a copy of the Emphatic Diaglott, noticed something in it which he thought peculiar—that in Matthew 24:27, 37, 39, the Greek word parousia, which in our Common Version is rendered ‘coming,’ is in the Diaglott translated ‘presence’—evidently the correct translation of the Greek. This was the clue; and following it, they had been led through prophetic time toward proper views regarding the object and manner of our Lord's Return, and then to the examination of the time when the things indicated in God's Word as related to Christ's parousia should take place. Thus God leads His children often from different starting points of Truth. But where the heart is earnest and trustful, the results must be to draw all together.

“There were no books or other publications setting forth the time prophecies as then understood. So I paid Mr. Barbour's expenses to come to see me at Philadelphia (where I had business engagements during the summer of 1876), to show me fully and Scripturally, if he could, that the prophecies indicated 1874 as the date at which the Lord's presence and the Harvest began. He came, and the evidence satisfied me. Being a person of positive convictions, and fully consecrated to the Lord, I at once saw that the special times in which we live have an important bearing upon our duty and work as Christ's disciples; that since we are living in the time of the Harvest, the Harvest work should be done; and that Present Truth is the sickle by which the Lord would have us do a reaping work everywhere among His children. I inquired of Mr. Barbour as to what was being done by him and The Herald. He replied that nothing was being done.”—Z. '16-170, 171.

Pastor Russell took the place of Mr. Barbour who became unfaithful and upon whom was fulfilled the prophecies of Matt. 24:48-51 and Zech. 11:15-17.

“In 1877 Pastor Russell called a meeting of all the ministers of Allegheny and Pittsburgh, showed them the Scriptures which indicated our Lord's presence and urged them to investigate and proclaim the message. All of the ministers of the two cities were present; all of the ministers of the two cities refused to believe. In the same year he determined to give up secular work and devote his entire time and fortune to the work indicated in the Scriptures as incident to the close of the Gospel Age and change of dispensation impending. As a means of determining whether his course was in harmony with the Scriptures, and also as a means of demonstrating his own sincerity, he decided to test the Lord's approval as follows: (1) Devote his life to the cause; (2) Invest his fortune in the promulgation of the work; (3) Prohibit collections at all meetings; (4) Depend on unsolicited contributions (wholly voluntary) to continue the work after his fortune was exhausted. In 1881, 1,400,000 copies of Food for Thinking Christians were distributed free at the doors of the Protestant churches in the United States, Canada and Great Britain on three consecutive Sundays, by A. D. T. messenger boys.”—Obituary.

As to his education we quote his own words: “As respects my education in Greek and Hebrew: Not only do I not claim very special knowledge of either language, but I claim that not one minister in a thousand is either a Hebrew or a Greek scholar. To be able to spell out a few Greek words is of no earthly value. Nor is it necessary longer to study these languages in order to have knowledge of the Bible. Our Presbyterian friends have gotten out at great cost Young's Analytical Hebrew, Chaldaic, Greek and English Lexicon Concordance, which any one may procure. And our Methodist friends have issued a similar work—Strong's Analytical Concordance and Lexicon. And there is a still older one entitled Englishman's Hebrew, Chaldaic, Greek and English Lexicon and Concordance. Additionally, Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon is a standard authority. The prices of these are not beyond the reach of the average man. By these works scholarly information respecting the original text of the Bible is obtainable. I have all four of these works and have used them faithfully. Very few college professors, even, would risk to give a critical translation of any text of Scripture without consulting these very works of reference, which are standard. Additionally I remind you of the many translations of the Bible now extant—all of them very good. I have all of these and find them useful in comparison and study of any text—one [pg 056] sometimes giving a thought which another may not. The other day, for curiosity's sake, I counted Bibles in different translations, etc., in my study, and found that I have thirty-two.”—Z. '14-286.

As to his ordination we quote him again: “There are two ordinations proper. One is of God; one of men. The ordination of God is the begetting of the Holy Spirit. If any are preaching without this ordination, they are doing something that they are not authorized to do. There comes, however, another special ordination of those who are called ministers of the Gospel, in which class I count myself. This is ordination by the Church, and is recognized by all denominations everywhere. By some it is considered a mere form, by some it is performed with great ceremony, by others with less ceremony. But to our understanding, each congregation should have those whom it has chosen ordained in a Scriptural way—by the stretching forth of hands—by a vote. Whoever has not been ordained in these two ways is not an ordained minister of the Gospel in the Scriptural sense. First, the Divine ordination is necessary; second, the earthly ordination is necessary. By the grace of God I have both of these.”—Z. '15-358.

As to his doctrines we quote him the third time: “To us the Scriptures clearly teach that the Church is the ‘Temple of the living God’—peculiarly ‘His workmanship’; its construction has been in progress throughout the Gospel Age—ever since Christ became the world's Redeemer and Chief Corner Stone of His Temple, through which, when finished, God's blessing shall come ‘to all people,’ and they find access to Him. (1 Cor. 3:16, 17; Eph. 2:20; Gen. 28:14; Gal. 3:29.) That meantime the chiseling, shaping and polishing of consecrated believers in Christ's Atonement for sin progresses; and when the last of these ‘living stones,’ ‘elect and precious,’ shall have been made ready, the great Master Workman will bring all together in the First Resurrection; and the Temple shall be filled with His glory, and be the meeting place between God and men throughout the Millennium. (Rev. 15:6-8; 21:3.) We affirm the pre-existence of Jesus as the mighty Word (Logos)—Spokesman—‘the beginning of the creation of God,’ ‘the First-Born of every creature,’ the active Agent of the Heavenly Father, Jehovah, in all the work of creation. ‘Without Him was not anything made that was made.’ (Rev. 3:14; Col. 1:15; John 1:3.) We affirm that the Word (Logos) was made flesh—became the Babe of Bethlehem—thus becoming the Man Jesus, ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.’ As we affirm the [pg 057] humanity of Jesus, we equally affirm the Divinity of Christ—‘God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name above every name.’ (Heb. 7:26; Phil. 2:9.)

“We acknowledge that the personality of the Holy Spirit is the Father and the Son; that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both, and is manifested in all who receive the begetting of the Holy Spirit and thereby become sons of God. (John 1:12; 1 Pet. 1:3.) We affirm the resurrection of Christ—that He was put to death in flesh but quickened in Spirit. We deny that He was raised in the flesh, and challenge any statement to that effect as being unscriptural. (1 Pet. 3:18; 2 Cor. 3:17; 1 Cor. 15:8; Acts 26:13-15.) That the basis of Hope, for the Church and the World, lies in the fact that ‘Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man,’ ‘a Ransom for all,’ and will be ‘the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,’ ‘in due time.’ (Heb. 2:9; John 1:9; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6.) That the Hope of the Church is that she may be like her Lord, ‘see Him as He is,’ be ‘partaker of the Divine nature,’ and share His glory as His joint-heir. (1 John 3:2; John 17:24; Rom. 8:17; 2 Pet. 1:4.) That the present mission of the Church is the perfecting of the saints for the future work of service; to develop in herself every grace; to be God's witness to the world; and to prepare to be kings and priests in the next Age. (Eph. 4:12; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 1:6; 20:6.) That the Hope for the World lies in the blessings of knowledge and opportunity to be brought to all by Christ's Millennial Kingdom—the Restitution of all that was lost in Adam, to all the willing and obedient, at the hands of their Redeemer and His glorified Church—when all the wilfully wicked shall be destroyed. (Acts 3:19-23; Isa. 35.)”—B. S. M.

The amount of work that Pastor Russell performed is incredible, and it is doubtful whether it was ever equalled by any other human being. When he was in his twenties he was refused the lease of a property because the owner thought he would surely die before the lease had expired. For fifty years he suffered constantly with sick headaches, due to a fall in his youth, and for twenty-five years had such distressing hemorrhoids that it was impossible for him to rest in the easiest chair; yet in the past forty years he traveled a million miles, delivered 30,000 sermons and table talks—many of them 2-½ hours long—wrote over 50,000 pages (of this size) of advanced Biblical exposition, often dictated 1,000 letters per month, managed every department of a world-wide evangelistic campaign employing 700 speakers, personally [pg 058] compiled the most wonderful Biblical drama ever shown; and with all that, he found time in the course of each year to personally aid thousands with his fatherly counsel. At one time his writings were subjected to an analysis of 20,511 Scripture expositions. These were assembled in Biblical order and disclosed but six points of inquiry, all easily harmonized. No writer, not even excepting the writers of the Bible, have ever had such critical readers. His works have been published in 35 languages. During the last eight days of his life he had appointments in California, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and New York; and though for several days manifestly dying, with cystitis (caused by excessive travel and speaking), he declined to cancel any engagements, and went out of this life October 31, 1916, on a railroad train en route to his Kansas appointment. At the age of 30 he had accumulated a fortune of over $300,000, but died penniless, his own fortune, as well as all the large sums contributed to the cause, having been used up in the Master's service. He was beloved everywhere by those who “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.”—Rev. 14:4. For further particulars of Pastor Russell's service of God's people see Memorial Number of Zions Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence.

Of the church [of the Laodiceans] IN LAODICEA.—It is significant that in the first epoch of the Church there were Nicolaitanes (nikon ton laon), “vanquishers of the people,” a clergy class who succeeded in pulling the wool over the eyes of the common people; but that the last age of the Church is Laodicean (laos dike), “justice for the people.” We find we get along much better without the clergy than we did with them. The Laodicean period of the Church extends from the fall of 1874 to the spring of 1918, three and one-half years of preparation, and forty years of Harvest. “The parallels affected merely the nominal Jewish House there and the nominal Christian House here. Both were rejected because of failure to be in the right condition of heart for the truths that were due to them—both rejected for destruction. The Jewish System was a Church-State affair, paralleled here by the great Church-State systems of Europe, whose destruction began in 1914. Let us remember, however, that the three and a half years of Jesus' ministry were more a time of preparation of the Apostles to be the instruments for the harvesting and a sharpening preparation of the Sickle of Truth for the later work, which began at Pentecost. Prior to Pentecost, there was no ‘garner’ into which to gather the wheat.”

“Jewish And Christian Parallels

The foregoing is Pastor Russell's last expression on the subject of chronology; and we believe that it was designed to be of great value to the Lord's people at this hour. “The Apostles, the Prophets and the angels all desired and sought earnestly to know what time the Spirit of God indicated through the Prophets. And this interest on the part of His children is ever pleasing to God. He called the inquiring Daniel greatly beloved, and answered his inquiry so far as was consistent with His Plan. Such inquiry should not be regarded as an improper prying into the secrets of God. God would have us quickly discern the Truth as it becomes due.” (B. 17.) “Let none, then, of the truly consecrated under-value these prophetic time-evidences, which were designed to guide our words and deeds in the early dawn of the Millennial Day. These prophetic time-proofs were largely God's means of drawing the attention of the writer more carefully to other features of the Divine Plan.”—B. 31.

Daniel “understood by books” (Jeremiah's prophecy) the length of the great captivity of the children of Israel. (Dan. 9:2.) At Christ's First Advent there was but one time-prophecy calling attention to that event (Dan. 9:24-27), yet all the people “were in expectation” of it (Luke 3:15.) In the year 1190 the good monk Joachim declared that the Papal system was Antichrist, that the history of mankind is divided into three ages, and that in the year 1260 the Papacy would give way to a new system in which the whole world would be “one vast monastery.” “In 1260 the Council of Arles pronounced all followers of [pg 060] Joachim heretics.” His application of the correct principle, “a year for a day,” made in the very depths of the Dark Ages, is one of the most pathetic incidents in the history of mankind; but his study of time-prophecy brought him peace and joy of heart. He was an opponent of the prevailing “doctrine of the Trinity.” William Miller, in the year 1829, was privileged to see (approximately) the correct date for the setting up of the abomination of desolation (539 A. D.), and for the beginning of the Time of the End (1799 A. D.) Morton Edgar, author of Pyramid Passages, has found foreshown in the Great Pyramid of Egypt abundant evidence of the accuracy of the Bible chronology of Pastor Russell and the supplements thereto supplied by Dr. John Edgar, deceased. These findings are set forth in his work, Pyramid Passages, Vol. II, of which we recommend sections numbered in the following table. For convenience we give the citations to Pastor Russell's works in which the same items are discussed. The Pyramid is still there, and the measurements can be made by anybody. Pastor Russell's chronology was written before he ever saw the Pyramid.

The chronology as it appears in the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES is accurate. The year 1914 brought the end of the Times of the Gentiles, but not the end of the Harvest work. Have the teachings of the Parallels lost their value? Not at all. The point not previously noticed is that the Jewish polity was not to be destroyed in Jerusalem only, but throughout all Judea. Nor does Judea mean all of Palestine. The actual depopulation of the whole of Palestine did not occur until the year 135 A. D. (corresponding to our year 1980), on the ninth day of the month of Ab, the anniversary of the burning of the Temple under Titus. On that day came to an end the insurrection of Bar-Cocheba, the false Messiah, who wrought his own destruction and that of 580,000 of his followers, when he attempted to regain control of Judea and Jerusalem. The struggle was of five years' duration having begun in 130 A. D. “It was the effort, under the leadership of Bar-Cocheba, to regain their independence, that brought about a repetition of scenes enacted under Titus, and resulted actually in the depopulation of Palestine. The whole of Judea was turned into a desert; about 985 towns and villages were laid in ashes; fifty of their fortresses were razed to the ground; even the name of their capital was changed to Ælia Capitolina, and they were forbidden to approach it on pain of death; thousands of those who had escaped death were reduced to slavery, and such as could not be thus disposed of were transported into Egypt.”—McC.

When the Lord gave His wonderful prophecy in which the destinies of nominal Fleshly Israel, nominal Spiritual Israel, and the Israel of God, are set forth, it was in answer to three definite questions: “When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy Parousia, and of the end of the Age?” (Matt. 24:3.) The Lord did not ignore their question. He answered it with a reply that sweeps the history of twenty centuries. He showed that the end of Fleshly Israel foreshadowed the end of Spiritual Israel. Fleshly Israel had three ends; the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70, the complete subjugation of Judea in A. D. 73, and the actual depopulation of the whole of Palestine in A. D. 135. Which did He mean should be the end that would be a guide to His followers? Not the end in A. D. 70, foreshadowing 1915; for the Harvest of the Gospel Age is still in progress. Not the end in A. D. 135, foreshadowing 1980; for the Harvest is the end. He must have meant the end in Judea, even as He said, “Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.” (Matt. 24:16.) See also Matt. 2:22; 3:5; [pg 062] Mark 1:5; Luke 1:5, 65; 3:1; 7:17; Acts 11:29; Rom. 15:31, and especially John 7:1-3 and 1 Thes. 2:14-16.

The data presented in comments on Rev. 2:1 prove that the conquest of Judea was not completed until the day of the Passover, A. D. 73, and in the light of the foregoing Scriptures, prove that the Spring of 1918 will bring upon Christendom a spasm of anguish greater even than that experienced in the Fall of 1914. Reexamine the table of the Parallel Dispensations in STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, Vol. 2, pages 246 and 247; change the 37 to 40, 70 to 73 and 1914 to 1918, and we believe it is correct and will be fulfilled “with great power and glory,” (Mark 13:26.) It was entirely impossible to foresee whether our Lord meant that A. D. 70 or A. D. 73 should serve as our guide to the time when the Jewish polity came to an end, until after October, 1915, had passed. Moreover, we have seen the promised signs, “upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth,” and we have the Lord's words for it that having seen those things “the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand,” “even at the doors,” and our “redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:25-36; Mark 13:27-30.) It is possible that A. D. 1980 marks the regathering of all of Fleshly Israel from their captivity in death. It is just 70 years beyond 1910, the date when Pastor Russell gave his great witness to the Jewish people in the New York Hippodrome. See page 551 (1).

But if the time of nominal Zion's travail (Isa. 66:8) is due to occur in the Spring of 1918, and if we are now but the “one day” (one year) distant from that event which the Prophet mentions, what should be our expectation regarding the experience of the “little flock” meantime? “The symbolic travail, in the above prophecy, is a reference to the great Time of Trouble—the travail that is to come upon the nominal Gospel church, Great ‘Babylon,’ from which some are to be counted worthy to escape. (Luke 21:36.) This is indicated by the preceding verse, which locates the time of this prophecy as synchronous with that wherein is heard ‘a voice of noise [confusion] from the city’ [Babylon], and ‘a voice [of truth and warning] from the Temple’ [the elect Little Flock of consecrated and faithful ones], and ‘a voice of Jehovah that rendereth recompense to His enemies’—in the great Time of Trouble. The travail that is coming is to be upon nominal Zion—‘Christendom,’ ‘Babylon’; and it will be a great and sore affliction—‘a Time of Trouble such as was not since there was a nation.’

“But the marvelous thing the Prophet here has to record is that a Man-child is to be born out of Zion before this travail comes. This is a striking reference to the fact, elsewhere clearly taught, that the ripe wheat of the Gospel Church is to be separated from the tares, that they are to be exalted and glorified before the burning, the consuming trouble, shall come upon the latter. This Man-child is, therefore, the Little Flock—the true Zion in God's estimation, the Body of Christ; as it is written. ‘There shall come out of Zion [the nominal Gospel Church] the Deliverer [The Christ, Head and Body], and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob [the Fleshly Israel, or Zion].’ (Rom. 11:26.) This is the Man-child that is to bless all the families of the earth. (Gen. 28:14; Gal. 3:16, 29.) The birth of the Man-child is the First Resurrection. Blessed and holy are all they that have part in the First Resurrection. Such are now begotten of God by the Word of Truth, and quickened by the Holy Spirit (Jas. 1:18; Eph. 2:1; Rom. 8:11), and in due time—before the travail—they will be born in the glorious likeness of Christ. The birth of this Man-child began over eighteen hundred years ago with the resurrection of Christ Jesus. There the Head of this Body of Christ came forth; and as surely as the Head has been born, so surely shall the Body come forth. ‘Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth and shut the womb? saith thy God.’ (Isa. 66:9.) Ah, no! ‘the Man-child, The Christ complete, the Great Deliverer, shall come forth.’ ”—Z. '94-135.

“But,” says one, “where is the fiery chariot that is to accomplish a cleavage between the Elijah and Elisha classes?” We offer the suggestion that the fiery horses are lurid prophecies; the horsemen are Ezekiel and John, and the chariot is the vehicle in which their Message is brought to the Elijah class. And do the Elijah class take to that vehicle? They do. And why? Because “the sheep follow Him; for they know His voice.” (John 10:4.) The separation between the Elijah and Elisha classes will be brought about in a perfectly natural way, by some using the chariot which the Lord provides, and others recognizing it, but not attempting to use it to mount to the skies. And what should we expect such a fiery chariot would do when caught up into the heavens? The answer is prophetic, “The heavens being on fire shall be dissolved;” “The heavens shall pass away with a great noise;” “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf [pg 064] falleth from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig-tree.” (2 Pet. 3:12, 10; Isa. 34:4.) Evidently the circulation of the penny will have something to do with the burning of the tares!—Matt. 13:40-43; Isa. 21:9.

Forty days after Christ's resurrection His ascension occurred. This confirms the hope of the Church's glorification forty years (a year for a day) after the awakening of the sleeping saints in the Spring of 1878. The seven days before the Deluge may represent seven years, from 1914 to 1921, in the midst of which “week of years” the last members of the Messiah pass beyond the veil. The Great Company class shall be cut off at its end—the fact that we see the first half of this week so distinctly marked would lead us to expect three and one-half years more of witnessing by the Great Company class; for it seems to be the Heavenly Father's way to accomplish His work by weeks and half weeks, from the very beginning of creation until now. The covenant with Abraham, 2045 B. C., was half way (2081 years each way) between the fall of Adam, 4127 B. C., and the conversion of Cornelius, A. D. 36. The last observance of a typical jubilee by Israel, 626 B. C., was half way (2500 years each way) from the end of Adam's Day, 3127 B. C., and the beginning of the Times of Restitution, A. D. 1874. The captivity, 606 B. C., marks the beginning of the Times of the Gentiles, half way (2520 years each way) between the end of Adam's 1000-year day, 3127 B. C., and the end of Gentile Times, A. D. 1914. The captivity, 606 B. C., marks a point half way (3520 years each way) between the fall of man, 4127 B. C., and his full restoration to Divine favor, A. D. 2914. Christ's death, A. D. 33, marks a point half way (1845 years each way) between the death of Jacob, 1813 B. C., and the restoration of favor to Israel in 1878 A. D. The death of Christ, A. D. 33, was half way (three and one-half years each way) between His baptism, A. D. 29, and the conversion of Cornelius, A. D. 36.

The awakening of the sleeping saints, A. D. 1878, was just half way (three and one-half years each way) between the beginning of the Times of Restitution in 1874 and the close of the High Calling in 1881. Our proposition is that the glorification of the little Flock in the Spring of 1918 A. D. will be half way (three and one-half years each way) between the close of the Gentile Times and the close of the Heavenly Way, A. D. 1921. The three days' (three years—1918-1921) fruitless search for Elijah (2 Kings 2:17-18) is a confirmation of this view. We shall wait to see; but we shall not be indifferent while we wait, lest peradventure another, more zealous, take the [pg 065] crown we have. The time is not long: but if we have to go on for fifty years, why should we care? We are the Lord's. Let Him do as He will with His own.

Write.—Pastor Russell was the most prolific writer of Biblical truth that ever lived.—Ezek. 9:2, 3.

These things saith the Amen.—The same word translated “verily” in the Gospels and so often used by our Lord as a solemn prefix to some important announcement.

AND the faithful and true Witness.—Trinitarians witness that Christ and the Father are one in person. Christ Himself witnesses, “It is also written in your Law that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of Me.” (John 8:17, 18.) Christ was one, and the Father was one; and one plus one are two. (This lesson in mathematics is for Doctors of Divinity; school children will not need it.)—Rev. 1:5; 19:11.

AND the Beginning of the [creation] CHURCH of God.—Either reading is correct. Our Lord was the Beginning of the New Creation, but, more than that, He was the Beginning of all creation. “He is the Image of the invisible God—First-born of all creation; because by Him were all things created, those in the heavens and those on the earth, visible and invisible—whether thrones, or lordships, or governments, or authorities: all things were created by Him and for Him, and He precedes all things, and in Him all things have been permanently placed. (Col. 1:15-18.) Hear also the word of prophecy concerning the Only-Begotten, not only declaring His coming exaltation as King of earthly kings, but describing Him as already being Jehovah's First-born, saying, ‘I will make Him, My First-born, higher than the kings of the earth.’ (Psa. 89:27.)”—E. 95, 86.

3:15. I know thy works.—“The Laodicean Church has much zeal, but not according to knowledge. She claims that her principal object is to convert sinners, to bring forth spiritual children. The Prophet puts these words into the mouth of nominal Christians when they awake to a knowledge of the situation: ‘We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the earth fallen (become converted).’ (Isa. 26:16-18.)” (Z. '16-347.) The literal city of Laodicea was distinguished for the raven blackness of the fleeces (black sheep) there to be had.

That thou are neither cold.—Making no pretense whatever to be exponents of God's Truth.—Luke 7:36-50.

Nor hot.—Full of warm, loving devotion to Christ.—2 Tim. 3:5; Ezek. 5:6.

I would thou wert cold or hot.—“Ephraim is a cake not turned.”—Hos. 7:8.

3:16. So then.—“The Spring of 1878, corresponding to the date at which our Lord assumed the office of King, rode on the ass, cleansed the Temple of its money-changers, and wept over and gave up to desolation that nominal church or kingdom, marks the date from which the nominal church systems are not the mouth-pieces of God, nor in any degree recognized by Him.”—B. 235.

Because thou art THUS lukewarm and ART neither [cold nor hot] HOT NOR COLD.—“Retaining the forms of worship and faith in a Creator and in a future life, but viewing these chiefly through their own or other men's philosophies and theories, and ignoring the Bible as an infallible teacher of the Divine purposes. These, while retaining the Bible, disbelieve its narratives, especially that of Eden and the fall. Retaining the name of Jesus, and calling Him the Christ and the Savior, they regard Him merely as an excellent though not infallible Exemplar, and reject entirely His Ransom-sacrifice—His cross. Claiming the Fatherhood of God to extend to sinners, they repudiate both the curse and the Mediator.”—C. 167.

[I will spue thee out of My] REFRAIN THY mouth.—She is bidden to hold her peace. She needs to study, not to teach; and so the following verses indicate.—Hos. 5:6; 9:12.

3:17. Because thou sayest I am rich.—I have all the spiritual light that exists in the world. “I have much goods laid up for many years.” (Luke 12:19.) “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.”—Rev. 18:7; Hos. 12:8; 1 Cor. 4:8.

And Increased with goods.—“Laodiceans count their numbers and their donations by millions, and say, ‘We are rich as never before.’ Alas, that they do not realize that these are earthly riches of the kind which our Lord declares are no evidence of His favor during this Gospel Age, but rather to the contrary! And they see not the true riches which the Lord admires, and which are the foretaste of His favor and the coming Kingdom wealth.”—Z. '01-56.

And have need of nothing.—“They will not own that they have departed from the right ways of the Lord: in their own estimation they are rich and increased with goods, spiritual as well as temporal, and have need of nothing.”—Mal. 3:7; Z. '92-261.

And knowest not that thou.—Of all others, so the Greek indicates.

Art wretched.—“To our eternal disgrace, the United States leads all civilized countries in homicides—over 8,000 yearly. There are twelve murders in New England to one in London; in California seventy-five to one; in Nevada 245 to one.” (Z. '08-83.) “Each nation feels that theirs is the greatest talent, theirs are the finest guns, theirs the best everything; and it is this feeling of self-sufficiency that led the nations into the present conflict. They think that they are so good and so great that God could not help giving them the victory.”—Z. '15-174.

And miserable.—“How blind we all have been not to have noticed: (1) That the numbers of the heathen in proportion even to the nominally Christian doubled last century; (2) That if we could bring all the heathen up to the standard of our most civilized nation it would mean that God's will would be less done the world over than it is now.”—Z. '08-83.

And poor.—“The Laodicean Church is poor in that she has so little of the Master's Spirit, so little of the Truth and of the Spirit of the Truth.”—Z. '01-56.

And blind.—“She cannot see afar off, cannot see either the High Calling of the Church or the blessed provisions of Restitution for the world in general.”—Z. '98-128.

And naked.—“The clergy, under the name of Higher Criticism and Evolution, are rapidly denuding her, making her naked, taking from her the robe of Christ's righteousness, and leading her to trust, not in the precious blood of the Redeemer, but in an evolutionary process which needs no Savior, which denies that there is, or has been, any sin to make atonement for.”—Z. '01-56.

3:18. I counsel thee.—“Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel and afterward receive me into glory.”—Psa. 73:24.

To buy of Me.—“Not until we lay hold by faith upon the exceeding great and precious promises is there any of the ‘gold’ of the ‘Divine nature’ in us. This treasure can be purchased only at the cost of entire consecration, or sacrifice of all that we have, to Christ”—Z. '96-44; Prov. 23:23; Matt. 13:44.

Gold tried in the fire.—“If we would purchase the ‘gold tried in the fire,’ it must be at the cost of faithful and constant submission to the discipline of the Lord in fiery trials. How otherwise can the dross be eliminated? There is no other way. Wherefore, think it not strange; let the fire burn; let the dross be consumed; and see to it, beloved, that in the heat of the flame you remove not the ‘living sacrifice.’ ”—Z. '96-44; 1 Pet. 4:12.

That thou mayest be rich.—“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.”—2 Cor. 8:9; Prov. 10:22; Lu. 12:21; 1 Tim. 6:18; Jas. 2:5; Rev. 2:9.

And white raiment.—“The robe of Christ's imputed righteousness, which so many are now discarding, to appear before God in their own unrighteousness.”—D. 42; Rev. 19:8.

That thou mayest be clothed.—“A glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.”—Eph. 5:27.

And that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.—“Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”—Rev. 16:15; Matt. 22:11-13; Isa. 47:3.

And anoint thine eyes with eyesalve.—From the Great Physician. (Mark 2:17.) “Complete consecration and submission to the Divine will as expressed in the Scriptures.”—D. 42.

That thou mayest see.—“The ‘master of the house’ or ‘householder’ of the present dispensation is not our Lord, but our Adversary, the Devil—‘the god of this world,’ ‘the prince of the power of the air,’ ‘the prince of this world,’ who now ruleth in the children of disobedience, blinding the minds of all that believe not.”—D. 611; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; Psa. 13:3; 19:8; John 9:6, 41.

3:19. As many as I love.—“As many as are honest and at heart loyal to God.”—Z. '92-59.

I rebuke and chasten.—“ ‘My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him; for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth.’—Prov. 3:11, 12; Heb. 12:5-8.”—Z. '96-44; Job 5:17; Jas. 1:12.

Be zealous, therefore, and repent.—“The lawyer who makes legality his test instead of justice; the merchant who is satisfied simply to conform to the code of his trade, whose excuse for any dishonesty is, ‘They all do it’; the ‘gentleman’ or ‘lady’ who puts good form and manners in the place of sincerity and kindliness of heart, and politeness in place of courtesy—all are alike animated by the ecclesiastical conscience. It was this ecclesiastical mind and this ecclesiastical conscience which crucified Jesus Christ (Rt. Rev. Chas. D. Williams, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Michigan.)”—Z. '15-339.

3:20. Behold, I stand at the door.—Some of the Scriptures, which, when understood in their connections and significance, prove that the Lord's Second Advent occurred in the fall of 1874 are as follows: “Speak ye comfortably [pg 069] to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.” (Isa. 40:2; B. 227.) “And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double.” (Jer. 16:18; B. 218.) “Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee.” (Zech. 9:12; B. 224.) “The fourteenth day of the second month, at even, they shall keep it.” (Num. 9:11; Z. '98-68.) “And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins.” (Gen. 25:24; Z. '94-63.) “And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren. And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai an angel of the Lord.” “Wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the Wilderness forty years.”—Acts 7:23, 30, 36; Z. '11-215.

“Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” (Dan. 12:12; C. 83.) “Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement.” (Lev. 25:9; B. 187.) “As long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.” (2 Chron. 36:21; B. 195.) “In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt.” (Isa. 19:19, 20; C. 315.) “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us.” (1 Pet. 3:21; Z. '05-181, Diagram.) “In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, he made a proclamation.” (Ezra 1:1; Z. '05-185.) “This house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.” (Ezra 6:15; Z. '05-185.) “This Ezra went up from Babylon.... And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.” (Ezra 7:6-8; Z. '05-185.) “In the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king.”—Neh. 2:1; Z. '05-185.

Besides the above Scriptures, time-proofs of the Lord's Return, are the fulfilments of the promised signs: The Gospel has been preached in all the world for a witness: (Matt. 24:14; A. 91); the abomination has been seen in the holy place (Matt. 24:15; D. 572); the flight of the saints from the antitypical “Judea” has occurred (Matt. 24:16; D. 573); the great tribulation has commenced (Matt. 24:21; D. 540); the false Christs are with us (Matt. 24:23; D. 580); the eagles have gathered to the carcase [pg 070] (Matt. 24:28; D. 610); the sun and moon have been darkened (Matt. 24:29; D. 590); the Man of Sin has been revealed (2 Thes. 2:8; T. 86; B. 271); the Elias has come (Mal. 4:5; B. 251); the regathering of the Jews has begun (Jer. 31:8; Z. '06-84); the refining of the sons of Levi progresses (Mal. 3:1-3; Z. '05-378); the true faith was nearly extinct in the earth (Luke 18:8; Z. '06-265); the doctrines of devils are rampant (1 Tim. 4:1; F. 621); the perilous times and all associated evils are here (2 Tim. 3:1-7; Z. '99-99); the Lord God has given the sinners water of gall to drink (Jer. 8:14; C. 158); the mighty angel has roared, “Come out of her” (Rev. 18:4; C. 155); the running to and fro is in evidence (Dan. 12:4; C. 63); the antitypical Josiah has kept the great Passover (2 Chron. 35:19; Z. '05-180); the land shadowed with wings has played its part (Isa. 18:1; Z. '04-230); the watchman has stood upon his tower (Hab. 2:1; C. 89); the wheels within wheels are made clear (Ezek. 1:15); the Prophet has come to the rebellious house (Ezek. 2:3); he has eaten the book of her fate (Ezek. 2:9); the seven years of astonishment are finished (Ezek. 3:15); the sieges of 390 years and 40 years are at an end (Ezek. 4:5, 6); the image of jealousy has been disclosed (Ezek. 8:3); the man with the writer's inkhorn has performed his task (Ezek. 9:2); the removing is at an end (Ezek. 14:21); the sword has been doubled the third time (Ezek. 21:15); the point of the sword has been made bright (Ezek. 21:15); ecclesiasticism has been delivered unto brutish persons (Ezek. 21:31); the desire of the faithful servant's eyes has failed (Ezek. 24:16); the stilled voice is speaking again.—Ezek. 33:22.

The seven thunders have uttered their voices (Rev. 10:3); the seven last plagues have been poured out (Rev. 15:6); the voices of the three signs have been uttered (Exod. 4:3-9; Z. '07-276); the ribband of blue (the Vow) has done its work (Num. 15:38); the tares and wheat have been separated (Matt. 13:30; C. 139); the net has been drawn to the shore and the fish sorted (Matt. 13:48; C. 214); the ambassadors of peace have wept bitterly (Isa. 33:7); the foolish virgins have had their sound sleep (Matt. 25:5; C. 92); the seven seals have been opened (Rev. 8:1); the seven angels have sounded (Rev. 10:7; B. 149); the nations are angry (Rev. 11:18); the winepress of God's wrath has been trodden (Rev. 14:20); the horses and chariot of fire have come for Elijah (2 Kings 2:11); the chariots are running like lightning (Nah. 2:4; C. 272); the mighty angel has flown in the midst of heaven (Rev. 14:6); the false worshippers have been tormented [pg 071] with fire and brimstone (Rev. 14:10); Behemoth and Leviathan have been beheld doing their work (Job 40:15-23; 41:1-34); the secret of the Lord has been shown (Psa. 25:14; Z. '97-255); the Lord is judging His people and gathering His saints (Psa. 50:4, 5; D. 75; B. 164); the lightnings have enlightened the world (Psa. 97:4; A. 171); the hills have melted like wax (Psa. 97:5; D. 551); the banner has been lifted on the high mount (Isa. 13:2; D. 40); the tables are full of vomit (Isa. 28:8; Z. '07-91); the dumb dogs have failed to bark (Isa. 56:10; F. 287); the silver has been cast into the streets (Ezek. 7:19); the nations have all been shaken (Hag. 2:7; D. 528); the rain, floods and winds have come on Christendom (Matt. 7:27; Z. '06-95); the King has come in to see the guests (Matt. 22:11; C. 197); the speechless one has been bound hand and foot and cast out (Matt. 22:13; C. 201); the Master is reckoning with His servants (Matt. 25:19; F. 419); the seas and the waves are roaring (Luke 21:25; D. 551); the 144,000 are standing on the sea of glass singing (Rev. 15:3; C. 237); the Devil has risen up against himself (Mark 3:26; F. 641); the blood, fire and vapor of smoke are here (Acts 2:19; D. 592); the brethren are not in darkness and all others are (1 Thes. 5:4; B. 121); the teachers having itching ears have turned unto fables (2 Tim. 4:3; 4; F. 287; Z. '07-308); the twenty-four elders have cast their crowns before the throne (Rev. 4:10); the predicted scoffing has taken place (2 Pet. 3:3; B. 167); the laborers have received their penny (Matt. 20:8); and these are but 88 of the proofs hastily collected.

And knock.—“The knock, or proclamation of the Lord's Presence, as indicated by the Old Testament prophecies, has been given since 1875 and is still being given.”—Z. '04-124; Lu. 12:36; Cant. 5:2-6.

If any man hear My voice.—“The knock is to be the evidence of the Presence; and the servants are not to know in advance, but are to know at the time of the arrival and that without seeing.”—Z. '04-123.

[And] I WILL BOTH open the door.—When once we give the Lord a welcome to our hearts, how He does open the doors to joys we ne'er before knew!

[I will] AND come in to him.—“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 will sup.—Take the evening meal.—Lu. 12:37.

With him.—The Master Himself is feasting on the same joys of the Father's Plan that delight our own hearts.

And he with Me.—“This serving of the servants by the Master should be understood to be an individual work, and not merely a collective service and feast.”—Z. '04-124.

3:21. To him that overcometh.—“Let us not avoid the Gethsemane moment if it come to us in the Lord's providence, but let us also with strong cryings and tears look up to Him who is able to save us out of death by the glorious First Resurrection; and let us remember that if we abide in His love, He is able and willing to bring us off conquerors, yea, more than conquerors through His own merit.”—Z. '06-348.

Will I grant.—If they prove faithful unto death.

To sit with Me.—“With the early Church, the promises of Kingdom honor and joint-heirship with the Master were strong incentives to faithfulness under present trials and persecutions, which they had been forewarned to expect.”—A. 285.

In My Throne.—“God's appointed means of blessing the world and causing the knowledge of the Lord to come to every creature.”—A. 91; 1 Cor. 6:2; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 2:26, 27; 22:1.

Even as I also overcame.—“God sent an angel to comfort and minister unto Him; to assure Him still of the Divine favor, and thus to give Him fresh courage, strength of mind and steadiness of nerve to endure all that was before Him, even unto death. The bitterness of the mental conflict was now over, and the light of Heaven shining into His soul chased away the deep gloom that had hung over Him like a funeral pall.”—Z. '06-348.

And am set down with My Father in His Throne.—“The thousand years of the Millennial Reign will constitute but a beginning of the exercise of the glory, honor and immortality of these New Creatures. At its close when the Kingdom shall be delivered up to ‘God, even the Father,’ and to mankind as the glorified agents of the Father to rule the earth, a still larger sphere for the exercise of their glory, honor and immortality will open before the New Creation.”—F. 69; 1 Cor. 15:24-28.

3:22. He that hath an ear.—“Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.”—Matt. 13:16.

Let him hear.—“For verily I say unto you, That many Prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”—Matt. 13:17.

What the Spirit saith unto the churches.—Unto the seven epochs, ending, respectively, in A. D. 73, 325, 1160, 1378, 1518, 1874 and 1918.

4:1. After this.—After this first panorama of the seven stages of the Church had passed.

I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in Heaven.—It is only as the Lord, who holds the key, opens the door to the understanding of Heavenly things, that we are able to comprehend them.—Matt. 3:16; Ezek. 1:1; Rev. 19:11.

And BEHOLD the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me.—See comments on Rev. 1:1; 7:2.

Which said, Come up hither.—Not that St. John went to Heaven at that time; he was merely given a vision of Heavenly things. (Rev. 11:12.) “The seer now obtains a higher spiritual standpoint.”—Cook.

And I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.—The Divine Plan for the permission of evil.

4:2. [And] immediately I was in the spirit.—In a trance condition.—Acts 10:10; Rev. 1:10.

And, behold, a Throne.—The Throne of the Heavenly Father.—Isa. 6:1; Ezek. 1:26-28.

Was set.—Permanently established. The same word as in, “This Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel.” (Luke 2:34.) “I am set for the defence of the Gospel.”—Phil. 1:17.

In Heaven.—“Whither the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus.”—Heb. 6:20.

And One.—Jehovah, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:3), the Author of the Divine Plan for the permission of evil, in the recreation of a perfect human race, and in the creation of a race of gods, sons of Himself. “God designed to permit evil, because, having the remedy provided for man's release from its consequences, He saw that the result would be to lead him the more to love and honor his Creator, who is the source and fountain of all goodness, and forever to shun that which brought so much woe and misery.” (A. 124.) “Not only are men benefited to all eternity by the experience gained, and angels by their observation of man's experiences, but all are further advantaged by a fuller acquaintance with God's Character as manifested in His Plan. Had sin not been permitted, the sacrifice of our Lord [pg 074] Jesus and of His Church, the reward of which is the Divine nature, would have been impossible.”—A. 135.

Sat on the Throne.—Of the Universe. “All can see the propriety of the Almighty's decision that He shall be recognized as the Center of authority, wisdom, justice, love and power; for this is the truth, and anything else would be untruth and to that extent evil, injurious.”—E. 57, 52; Rev. 7:10; Dan. 7:9.

4:3. And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper.—“And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper.” (Rev. 21:18, 19.) “A precious stone, variegated with divers colors, and of a very hard quality; some have been found of a sea-green color.” (Diaglott note.) “The ancient jasper thus appears to have been frequently translucent, but the modern is opaque.” (McC.) The jasper, therefore, is supposed to refer to the modern rare and beautiful green-tinted diamond. The diamond is the hardest substance known, excelling in brilliancy and beautiful play of prismatic colors. The crystals of which it is composed are bounded by eight equal equilateral triangles; twenty-four angles in all, constituting a perfect double pyramid, set base to base. How adorable, how sublime, how perfect is our God! How impossible to describe Him! To know Him aright will require eternity. The jasper seems especially to illustrate His glory, perfection and prescience. (He uses twenty-four elders—prophecies.)

And a sardine stone.—“The sard, which is a superior variety of agate, has long been a favorite stone for the engraver's art. On this stone all the finest works of the most celebrated artists are to be found; and this not without good cause, such is its toughness, facility of working, beauty of color, and the high polish of which it is susceptible, and which it retains longer than any other gem. The sardius is the stone now called the carnelian, from its color, which resembles that of raw flesh. It is supposed to stop hemorrhage when laid on a fresh wound.” (McC.) The sardius seems especially to illustrate God's love, His memory of His creatures, and His purpose of a resurrection for all smitten in Adam and redeemed in Christ. Will God forget to raise any of His blood-bought? “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.”—Isa. 49:15, 16.

And there was a rainbow.—“The rainbow has always been an emblem of peace. It appears on the cloud as the storm passes away. It contrasts beautifully with the tempest that has just been raging. It is seen as the rays of the sun again appear clothing all things with beauty—the more beautiful from the fact that the storm has come. It is a pledge that the war of the elements has ceased, and that God smiles again upon the earth. The appearance of the rainbow around the Throne was a beautiful emblem of the mercy of God, and of the peace that was to pervade the world as the result of the events that were to be disclosed to the vision of John.” (Barnes.) The rainbow is characterized by seven colors—perfection. (Ezek. 1:28.) It represents not only the bow of promise for mankind, but the peace of God. It is His Plan. “From His own vast inherent resources of power and wisdom, springs the peace of God. But not from this source alone is the Divine peace; for peace is the certain concomitant of inherent goodness. God is the impersonation of every virtue and every grace; consequently He has the blessed satisfaction and peace of conscious moral perfection as well as inherent wisdom and power.” (Z. '95-153.) “During the seventh millennium, according to the Divine purpose, it will be the joyful privilege of our Lord Jesus to fully manifest to all creatures in Heaven and in earth the Father's glorious character. Then will the Father rejoice in the grandeur of His finished work and in the everlasting peace and happiness of His family in Heaven and in earth, ‘reunited under one head.’ (Eph. 1:10, Diaglott.)”—Z. '95-155.

Round about the Throne.—Justice is “the habitation of Thy Throne.” (Psa. 89:14.) “God's law is stern Justice, with no allowances, ready to consume as a fire everything blemished. Who cannot see that if God could deal with sinners, and condoning their sins, accept their best endeavors, though imperfect, there would have been no necessity for a Redeemer? And thus, to all eternity, there might be danger of sin on the part of those who had not already dabbled in it. Seeing this, it does not surprise us that God, in the interest of all His holy creatures, as well as for His own pleasure, decides that He will recognize nothing short of perfection in any creature, and makes Justice the foundation of His Throne.”—E. 481, 472.

In sight like unto an emerald.—“The same with the ancient smaragdus; one of the most beautiful of gems, of a bright green color, without any mixture.”—Diaglott. “The emerald, of bright green color, ‘was the most precious gem in the Roman jeweller's list.... The Romans were plentifully supplied with the true emerald. The smaragdus [pg 076] of Nero's age must be restricted to the true emerald, perhaps including the green ruby.’ (King.)”—Nat. Hist. of Precious Stones. The color of the emerald, green, signifies everlastingness. “From everlasting to everlasting thou art God.”—Psa. 90:2; Ezek. 1:28.

4:4. And round about the Throne.—Encompassing it on all sides—always in mind—never out of sight.

[Were] SAW I four and twenty seats.—Thronoi, thrones, places of highest exaltation—the twenty-four angles (viewpoints) of the diamond.—Rev. 4:3,10.

And upon the seats [I saw four and twenty] elders sitting.—Personifications of the testimonies of twenty-four Prophets (Heb. 11:2), who foretold things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Not the Prophets themselves are here referred to. They are not in Heaven. “David is not ascended into the Heavens.” (Acts 2:34.) Daniel still “sleeps in the dust of the earth.” (Dan. 12:2, 13.) None of the Prophets are in Heaven: “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” (Heb. 11:40.) But from the time that “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21), the utterances of Enoch, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Job, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi and John the Baptist, have been witnesses before God that there shall be “Times of Refreshing”—“Times of Restitution.”—Acts 3:19-21.

Clothed in white raiment.—All of these men considered themselves unworthy to be God's mouthpieces. Jacob said, “I am not worthy of the least of all Thy mercies, and of all the truth which Thou hast shewed unto Thy servant.” (Gen. 32:10.) Moses said, “Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exod. 3:11.) David said, “Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me hitherto?” (2 Sam. 7:18.) Solomon said, “I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.” (1 Kings 3:7.) Isaiah said, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” (Isa. 6:5.) Jeremiah said, “Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak: for I am a child.” (Jer. 1:6.) Daniel said, “This secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have.” (Dan. 2:30.) And John the Baptist said, “I have need to be baptised of Thee, and comest Thou to me?” (Matt. 3:14.) But the Lord knoweth them that are His (2 Tim. 2:19); and whatever they may think of themselves, if they are [pg 077] God's mouthpieces, they are clean. Isaiah's utterances are spotless in the sight of God—clothed in white raiment.—Isa. 6:6, 7.

And [they] had on their heads crowns of gold.—The glory of God—Love, God's highest attribute. If there are any prophets that do not have something to say about God's loving arrangement for Times of Restitution, then they are not holy. Judged by this standard, how many of the clergy of our day are holy?—Acts 3:19-21.

4:5. And out of the Throne proceeded lightnings.—“How apt is this figure! Truly like lightning flashes in the midst of the gloom and perplexity of this cloudy day, come to men remarkable glimpses of the great principles of Truth and Righteousness. A flash of lightning from the obscured Throne discloses here one error, and there another, and another. It is remarkable that these lightning flashes are continually calling attention to the Word of God, to the Golden Rule. It seems remarkable, too, how often in these days of war and stress worldly men are drawing attention to the prophecies of the Scriptures.”—Z. '16-339; Rev. 8:5; 16:18.

AND VOICES.—“As a result of God's lightning flashes which are enlightening the world, there are ominous mutterings of dissatisfaction, unrest. The lightning flashes are revealing the corruption in the world, the dishonesty in high places; with conflicting ideas, voices, theories and threats, ‘the nations are angry,’ ‘the heathen [Gentiles, peoples] rage,’ and the whole earth trembles from the din of a wordy conflict and from the blows which even now are beginning to arouse the world.”—Z. '16-340.

And thunderings [and voices.]—“We hear the thunder tones of judgment that ‘call the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof’ (Psa. 50:1); we see the whole earth now in the shaking process which will eventuate in the complete overthrow of all existing institutions, systems and governments. Present events indeed speak in trumpet tones.”—Z. '16-340; Ex. 19:16; Rev. 8:5; 11:19; 16:18.

And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the Throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.—Perfect knowledge.—Rev. 1:4; 3:1.

4:6. And before the Throne.—In the earth, and everywhere throughout the Universe.—Rev. 5:6.

There was AS a sea of glass.—“The troubled surface which Daniel and Isaiah beheld (Dan. 7:2, 3; Isa. 57:20) became when seen before the Throne of God, calm and clear; reflecting as from a mirror, every fulfilment of the Divine purposes.” (Cook.) (Rev. 21:18, 21; Ex. 24:10.) [pg 078] The sea (godless conditions about them) has been a means of purifying earth's future priests.—1 Ki. 7:23-26, 38, 39.

Like unto crystal.—Indicating that nothing escapes God's notice; all is transparent. “For centuries skeptics have been disposed to smile incredulously at the words of our Lord, ‘Enter into thy closet; and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.’ (Matt. 6:6.) Now that an electric ray can be passed through opaque substances, such as paper, wood, cloth, leather, aluminium, animal flesh, etc., can these scientists any longer mock at Christians for ‘credulity,’ because we believe that ‘All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do’? (Heb. 4:13.) ‘He that formed the ear shall He not hear? He that formed the eye shall He not see?’ Now we begin to see how it is that ‘There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.’ ”—Z. '96-27; Ezek. 1:22.

And in the midst of the Throne.—Woven into its very fabric.

And round about the Throne.—Completely encircling and enveloping it.

Were four beasts.—“Living ones” (Diaglott.); the four immortal attributes of Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.—Ezek. 1:5, 6.

Full of eyes before and behind.—Seeing clearly everything that will ever occur in the future, and everything that has ever transpired in the past.—Ezek. 10:4, 12.

4:7. And the first beast.—Justice was the attribute first manifested toward our sinful race. “God has found it necessary to perform the unpleasant duties of discipline; and though all the while His fatherly love was preparing to bless the deceived and fallen ones when the purposes of redemption should restore the repentant to His favor, Love must be veiled while only stern, relentless Justice could be manifested. This has been no happifying duty.”—Z. '95-154.

Was like a lion.—The characteristics of the lion illustrate this attribute: The teeth are of the highest carnivorous type, adapted to seizing and holding firmly. Although occasionally seen abroad during the day, especially in wild and desolate regions, the night (Psa. 30:5) is the period of its greatest activity. The usual pace of a lion is a walk; and, though apparently rather slow, yet he is able to get over a good deal of ground in a short time. As a rule, he kills only when hungry or attacked, and not for the mere pleasure of killing.—Ezek. 1:10; 10:14.

And the second beast.—Power, exhibited in the Flood, was the second of God's attributes manifested to man. “God, the Creator of all things, is also the competent Sustainer of all things. In silent grandeur, from age to age, the whole physical Universe fulfils His will, without a suspicion of disorder or mishap; and the same Power is pledged for its sustenance throughout the eternal future.”—Z. '95-153; Ezek. 1:10.

Like a calf.—With the Hebrews the calf (young ox) was the emblem of Power, the attribute of God with which they were principally acquainted. As an agricultural people, they were brought in frequent contact with it, the strongest of all the domestic animals. They were brought out of Egypt by a “mighty power and a stretched out arm” (Deut. 9:29); and when they sought to make a representation of it, the form selected was a golden calf.—Deut. 9:16-21.

And the third beast.—Love, exhibited in the Father sending His Only-Begotten Son to die that we might live, was the third of God's attributes manifested to man. “Our recovery cost the sacrifice of the dearest treasure of His heart, and the subjection of this Beloved One to the most abject humiliation, ignominy, suffering and death. Ah, did the Father let Him go on that errand of mercy without the slightest sensation of sorrowful emotion? had He no appreciation of the pangs of a father's love when the arrows of death pierced the heart of His beloved Son? When our dear Lord said, ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death,’ and again, ‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt,’ did it touch no sympathetic chord in the heart of the Eternal? Yea, verily.”—Z. '95-154.

Had a face [as] LIKE a man.—The embodiment of love. (A. 174.) “Close your eyes for a moment to the scenes of misery and woe, degradation and sorrow that yet prevail on account of sin, and picture before your mental vision the glory of the perfect earth. Not a stain of sin mars the harmony and peace of a perfect society; not a bitter thought, not an unkind look or word; love, welling up from every heart, meets a kindred response in every other heart, and benevolence marks every act. Think of all the pictures of comparative health and beauty of human form and feature that you have ever seen, and know that perfect humanity will be of still surpassing loveliness. The inward purity and mental and moral perfection will stamp and glorify every radiant countenance.”—A. 191; Ezek. 1:5.

And the fourth beast.—Wisdom, as exhibited in the Father's Plan, now unfolded before our delighted gaze, is [pg 080] the fourth, and complete, manifestation of God to man. “He is never confused, bewildered, perplexed, anxious or careworn, or in the least fearful that His plans will miscarry or His purposes fail; because all power and wisdom inhere in Him. The scope of His mighty intellect reaches to the utmost bounds of possibility, comprehends all causes and discerns with precision all effects; consequently He knows the end from the beginning, and that, not only upon philosophical principles, but also by intuition. As the Creator of all things and the Originator of all law, He is thoroughly acquainted with all the intricate subtleties of physical, moral and intellectual law, so that no problem could arise, the results of which are not manifest to His mind. ‘God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.’ (1 John 1:5.)”—Z. '95-153.

Was like a flying eagle.—Of all known birds, the eagle flies the highest and with the greatest rapidity. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa. 55:9.) The ones attracted to Present Truth are the eagles, the far-sighted ones that “behold the land that is very far off.” (Matt. 24:28; 2 Pet. 1:9; Isa. 33:16, 17; Psa. 103:5.) In the training of its young the eagle manifests wisdom of high order: “ ‘As an eagle stirreth up her nest’ (she mixes the thorny outside with the downy inside, so that the eaglets will leave it and learn to fly), so God, by His testing providences makes the place of rest one of unrest to us, and thus lures us out to trust ourselves to His care and guidance over untried ways.”—Z. '04-116.

4:8. And the four beasts.—Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.

Had each of them six wings about him.—“Above it stood the seraphims (Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom): each one had six wings, and with twain he did fly. And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa. 6:2, 3.) “The vision of Isaiah is a prophecy of the future, when the ‘glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together’ in the establishment of the Kingdom of God during the Millennium. (Isa. 40:5.) Only from this prophetic standpoint would the words of the seraphim be true; for the whole earth has never yet been filled with the Lord's glory; but on the contrary, the earth is full of sin and violence, and every evil work.” (Z. '98-305.) Six is a symbol of imperfection, and in the light of the foregoing seems to refer to the six thousand years of the permission of evil, the theme of the entire Book of Revelation. For the first two thousand years, from the fall to [pg 081] the covenant with Abraham, God's face was almost entirely hidden from man. For the next two thousand years, until the death of Christ, it was not apparent how the place of God's feet, His footstool, should ever be made glorious. (Isa. 60:13; 66:1.) But since then, for two thousand years, God's Love has been manifest to all, and “the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19), to set up the Kingdom, the Golden Age, for which we all so long have prayed. (Matt. 6:10.) The wings operate in pairs.

And they were full of eyes within.—Nothing has transpired, or will ever transpire, without God's knowledge. In the past six thousand years, whether hidden or partially revealed, God's Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom, have been in touch with all of earth's affairs.—Ezek. 10:12.

And they HAVE NO rest [not] day and night.—Not eternal idleness, but eternal work in the interest of others will be our reward. “My Father worketh until now, and I work.” (John 5:17.) “I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work.” (John 9:4.) “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” (Eph. 2:10.) “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do.” (Phil. 2:13.) “We are laborers together with God.” (1 Cor. 3:9.) “Workers together with Him.” (2 Cor. 6:1.) “Who shall change the Body of our humiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious Body, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.”—Phil. 3:21.

Saying, Holy, holy, holy, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY.—The Sinaitic MS. repeats the word “holy” eight times. (See Rev. 4:3.) In the seventh thousand-year Day God will bring all things to perfection through The Christ, yet it is the eighth Day that marks the complete separation from the old order of things. The Jewish child was circumcised on the eighth day (Luke 1:59; Phil. 3:5); seven days a sheep was to be with its dam, and on the eighth given to the Lord (Exod. 22:30); the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles was to be a holy convocation unto the Lord. (Lev. 23:36, 39.) In the eighth thousand-year Day of mankind's history on the earth, circumcision of the heart will be complete in all, all the sheep will have been turned over to the Father, and the holy convocation of eternity will have begun, “the grand epoch when there shall be no more sighing, no more crying, no more pain and no more dying, because God's work of creation shall then have been completed so far as this earth is concerned.”—F. 51.

Lord God Almighty.—Jehovah. This scene is located in Heaven, where even the Son Himself is subject unto the Father.—1 Cor. 15:28.

Which was.—The great First Cause.

And is.—The great “I AM.”

And is to come.—And evermore shall be.

4:9. And when those beasts.—Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.

Give.—Shall eternally continue to give, so the Greek indicates.

Glory and honor and thanks to Him that sat on the Throne.—Their united testimony to the perfection of His character in all its attributes, as they are now doing, since His Wisdom has been unveiled.

Who liveth for ever and ever, AMEN.—And will forever use those attributes in the blessing of all the willing and obedient throughout the Universe.

4:10. The four and twenty elders.—The personifications of the messages of the twenty-four Prophets who foretold the coming Kingdom of God.

Fall down before Him that sat on the Throne.—Unitedly bear witness to His perfect ability to foretell the future.

And worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, AMEN.—Magnify His perfect Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.

And cast.—Shall eternally continue to cast, so the Greek indicates.

Their crowns before the Throne, saying.—(1) Enoch was the first of the holy Prophets; and according to the Apostle Jude he prophesied of the coming reign of Christ and His glorious Bride, to judge the world, saying: “The Lord cometh with a myriad of His saints, to execute judgment.” (Jude 14, 15.) That there shall be such a glorious and blessed Judgment Day, full of hope and joy for all the world, the Apostle Paul says is definitely decreed in the counsels of God, “whereof He hath given assurance,” grounds for confident, joyful anticipation, “unto all men.” (Acts 17:31.) When that happy time comes, “the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:9), and “the poor of the people will be lifted up” (Psa. 72:2-4, 12-14.) It will be the long-promised poor man's chance.

(2) Jacob was one of the holy Prophets; and in Gen. 49:10 he says, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.” The sceptre means the right to rule, the title to power; and Shiloh means peacemaker. So this prophecy is merely another way of saying that Judah would be the ancestor of the great Lawgiver, the great “Prince of Peace” into [pg 083] whose hands God, in due time, will “give the heathen for an inheritance,” “that they may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve Him with one consent.”—Psa. 2:8; Zeph. 3:9.

(3) Moses, as a historian, recorded God's original purpose to give man dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28); His declaration to the serpent that the Seed of the woman should bruise its head (Gen. 3:15); the promise to Abraham that in him all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Gen. 12:3); that Abraham's inheritance should be an earthly one (Gen. 13:15); and an everlasting one (Gen. 17:8); that all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him (Gen. 18:18); that in his Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Gen. 22:18); to Isaac, that in his Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Gen. 26:4); to Jacob, that in his Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Gen. 28:14); to Jacob again, that he should be a joint-heir with Abraham and Isaac of the land of Canaan (Gen. 35:12); by the sacrifices after the day of atonement was typically shown the perfection of mankind in the Millennium (Lev. 1:5); by the glory appearing unto all the people was foretold their future release from sin and death (Lev. 9:23); by the acceptance of a goat as a sin-offering for the people we see blessings of life for the world after the Church's career is finished (Lev. 16:15); and by the sounding of the jubilee trumpet, the proclamation of liberty to the captives and the return of every man to his possession, we see the world's restoration to the image and likeness of God. (Lev. 25:10.) As a Prophet, his declarations show that throughout the Gospel Age God would raise up a great Prophet and Deliverer like unto himself (The Christ), to whom shall all the people give heed in the Millennial Age (Deut. 18:15, 19); and that this great Deliverer then would set before them life, if obedient, and death, if disobedient.—Deut. 30:15.

(4) Samuel, as a historian, recorded Hannah's prophecy, “The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth down to hell and bringeth up.” (1 Sam. 2:6.) This is one of the first places in the Bible where we are shown that what goes into hell does not necessarily stay there. Another instance, in which Samuel foretold pictorially the coming of the better King, was in the case of the coronation of King Saul. Saul had been selected king, but had an attack of bashfulness; and when they had searched, they found him behind the baggage. The record is, “They ran, and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. And Samuel said, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him [pg 084] among the people? And all the people shouted and said, God save the king.” (1 Sam. 10:17-24.) Saul was God's choice for king; his name means “desired,” and in this he typified Christ, the “desire of all nations.” This incident looks forward to the time when all the people of the world will say of Christ, “Oh! who is like unto our God? Lo! This is our God; this is our King; this is the One we have waited for; He is head and shoulders, as a ruler, above all kings and rulers we have had.”

(5) Job, after the Sabeans had made off with his oxen and asses, after a bolt of lightning had burned up his sheep, after the Chaldeans had stolen his camels and murdered his servants, after a whirlwind had blown down his house and killed all his children, after he was covered with boils from head to foot, after his wife had gone back on him, and after his three remaining friends tried to prove to him that he was a hypocrite, prayed that he might go to hell and stay there until God's wrath should be past, and that then God would remember him in resurrection. (Job 14:13-15.) Job records Elihu's prophetic statement that when the Messenger of the Covenant has returned, death will cease and men not need to go into the tomb. (Job 33:19-30.) Job also describes the steam engine—stationary, railway and marine.

The following is a corrected translation of Job 40:15 to 41:34, with comments thereon from the pen of one of Pastor Russell's followers: “Behold now one with great heat [the stationary steam engine], which I have made to be with thee; he will consume fodder [peat, wood, coal] as do cattle. Behold now his strength is in his loins [boiler plates], and his power is within the parts bent in a circle [boiler shell] of his belly. His tail [smoke stack—opposite the feeding end] will set upright like a cedar; the couplings of his leaping parts [connecting rods, pitmans] will be clamped together. His bones are tubes of copper; his solid bones [grate bars] are as hammered-out bars of iron. He is the greatest of the ways of power. He that made him [the Lord] can make His sword [Word] to approach unto [reveal] him. [Isa. 27:1, 2.] He shall rest under thin shelter [steam jackets] within a covering of fibrous reeds [jute] and clay [mortar]. The willows of the valley [the trees overhead] will enclose him around about Behold [as a pumping engine] he will drink up an overflowing river without much exertion; he will cause the people to trust [that their cellars will keep dry], though a Jordan should rush forth over its border. He will gather it up in his fountains by means of traps and with a perforated nozzle.

“Thou wilt lengthen out leviathan [the locomotive] with a hook [automatic coupler] or with a snare [coupling-pin] which thou wilt cause his tongue [coupling-link] to drop down. Wilt thou not place a ring [piston] in his nostrils [cylinders] or pierce through his cheeks [piston-ends] with a staff [piston-rod]? Will he make repeated supplication unto thee [to get off the track]? Or will he utter soft tones unto thee [when he screeches with the whistle]? Will he make a covenant with thee, that thou mayest take him for a servant forever [without repairs]? Wilt thou play with him as with a bird [make him whistle at will]? Or wilt thou bind [enslave] him for thy maidens [so that you can take them to a picnic or convention]? Companies [of stockholders] will feast upon him [his earnings]; they will share him among speculators. [Psa. 74:14.] Thou wilt fill his skin with pointed irons [bolts], and his head with a cabin of fishermen [a cab similar to the cabins on fishing vessels]. Place thy hand upon him, be mindful of the conflict [raging within the boiler] and thou wilt add no further questions. Behold, his confidence [boiler] being deceived [not properly supplied with water], shall not at once his mighty form be spread asunder [by an explosion]? There is none so bold that he will stir him up [to run at his very highest possible speed], and none who will then place himself before him [to be run over]. Who will compete with this one and endure [pass him on the track]? Under the whole heaven, none, unless [one like] himself.

“I will not pass in silence his members, nor the cause of his mighty forces, nor the beauty of his equipment. Who can strip off the facings of his jacket? Who can penetrate between the double lap of his shield [the overlapping sections of the boiler plates]? Who can force open the doors of his shield [the boiler ends]? The circuits of his teeth [rows of rivets] are formidable. His strength depends on courses of shields [sections of plates] closed up tightly with a seal [calked]. They shall join one upon another so that a hiss of air [steam] shall not escape from between them. One to the other shall adhere. They will be welded together that they cannot be sundered. In his sneezing [when he puffs from the cylinders] light will shine, a flood of light pervading the mass of vapors: and his eyes [headlights] will be as the eyelashes of the morning [as rays of light from the rising sun]. Out of his mouth [fire-door] will leap forth flaming torches, and [from the smoke stack] glowing sparks will slip themselves away. From his nostrils [cylinders] will issue forth vapor as from a boiling pot or caldron. His inhaling [pg 086] [forced draft] will vivify burning coals, and a flame will leap forth from his mouth. Within his neck abideth strength, and a desolation will dance with joy [become a prosperous community] at his presence. The separable parts of his body are connected together; all will be made fast upon him; nothing will be shaky. His heart will be indurated similar to a stone, and will be firm as a piece of the lower [rocks]. When at his full speed the most courageous will fear [lest], from accidents, they lose themselves. When dryness exalteth him [or renders him furious], he will not have power to withhold; the curved vault [fire box] being caused to tear away, and also the armor. He will esteem iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. The archer cannot make him flee; missiles [of war] will be turned unto him as chaff. The [strokes of a] hammer will be esteemed as chaff; he will rejoice at the poking of the fireman. Hewed [or notched] timbers of the craftsman [ties] are under him; he will spread an embankment [or trench] upon the mire. He will [as a marine engine] cause deep [places] to become as a boiling pot [about his propellers]; he will make the sea to appear like boiling ointment. He will make a path to shine after him; one will think the deep to be growing gray. [Psa. 104:26; Isa. 27:1.] Upon the earth there is not his like—he that is [so] constructed that he can fear nothing. He can oversee [control by his work] all that which is great; he is indeed king over all conceptions of power.”

(6) David foresaw a time when all the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord; and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Him (Psa. 22:27); that after this dark night of weeping will come a morning of joy (Psa. 30:5); that the meek shall inherit the earth (Psa. 37:11); that those who are now the King's enemies shall be converted and praise Him for ever and ever (Psa. 45:5, 17); that wars shall cease to the ends of the earth and the Lord alone be exalted (Psa. 46:10); that the ignominious shall come forth from the grave and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning (Psa. 49:14); that the Lord will be the confidence of all the ends of the earth (Psa. 65:5); that His saving health will be made known among all nations, that all the nations shall praise Him, and that He will judge and govern them righteously at the time the earth shall yield her increase (Psa. 67:1-7); that the people shall be scattered that delight in war (Psa. 68:30); that peace shall come to the people, that the poor shall be delivered from the oppressor, that the flesh, which, as dried grass is ready to die, shall be given new life and that the fruits of the earth shall [pg 087] shake like a forest (Psa. 72:3, 4, 6, 16); that the poor and needy will be delivered out of the hand of the wicked (Psa. 82:4); that mercy and truth will meet, righteousness and peace kiss each other and truth spring out of the earth when righteousness looks down from Heaven (Psa. 85:10, 11); that all nations the Lord has made shall come and worship before Him and glorify His name (Psa. 86:9); that He will say, Return, to the men He has turned into destruction (Psa. 90:3); that the world shall be established so that it shall not be moved (Psa. 93:1); that the heavens, earth, seas, fields and trees of the wood shall rejoice because the Lord is coming to judge the earth with righteousness and the people with His truth (Psa. 96:11-13); that all the earth shall join in a joyful noise to the Lord, songs of praise, harps, psalms, trumpets and cornets, while the seas, floods and hills clap their hands because He comes to judge the earth (Psa. 98:4-9); and that the foundations of the earth have been laid so that it shall not be removed, but be forever the home of a perfect, happy human race.—Psa. 104:5.

(7) Solomon declared that the upright shall dwell in the land and the perfect shall remain in it (Prov. 2:21); that the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth (Prov. 11:31); and that the earth abideth forever.—Ecclesiastes 1:4.

(8) Isaiah prophesied that in the last days the Lord's Kingdom will be established on the ruins of all earthly kingdoms, and all nations will flow into it to learn His ways, at which time they will beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruninghooks and learn war no more (Isa. 2:2-4); that of the increase of that new Government and of peace there shall be no end (Isa. 9:7); that nothing in the Kingdom will be permitted to hurt or destroy, all evil dispositions of men and animals being done away with, the poor and meek being lifted up and the earth being filled as full with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:4-9); that Christ will become the standard-bearer of the people, that His rest will be glorious and a highway there provided for the remnant of the people (Isa. 11:10-16); that the whole earth shall be at rest and quiet and break forth into singing (Isa. 14:7); that at the time the pillar to the Lord Is recognized in the world, the world will return to the Lord and He will be entreated of them and heal them (Isa. 19:22); that the Lord will make to all people a feast of fat things, doctrines of joy, well refined, will destroy ignorance and superstition, swallow up death in victory and wipe away tears from off all faces; it will cease to be a rebuke to a [pg 088] person to admit that he belongs to the Lord, and all the people will say, Lo, this Is our God; we have waited for Him and He will save us, and all the high fortresses will crumble into dust (Isa. 25:6-12); that when the Lord's judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness; that then the trusts shall perish utterly and the dead shall live (Isa. 26:9, 13, 14, 19); that judgment will be laid to the line, the truth sweep away the refuge of lies and the agreement of the preachers on the hell question will be disannulled (Isa. 28:17, 18); that the spiritually deaf shall get their ears open to understand the harmonies of God's Word and the eyes of the blind see out of obscurity and out of darkness, and the crops in the field be so large they will look like a forest (Isa. 29:17, 18); that the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, the ears of them that hear shall hearken and the tongue of the stammerers be ready to speak plainly; that the skyscrapers will be turned over to wild asses, along with the forts; that the people shall dwell in righteousness, quietness and assurance forever (Isa. 32:3, 4, 14, 17, 18); that the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick, because the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.—Isa. 33:24.

Furthermore, he declared that the wilderness and solitary place shall blossom as the rose, the weak hands and feeble knees be strengthened, the fearful be encouraged, the blind have their eyes opened, the deaf have their ears unstopped, the lame made to leap as an hart, the tongue of the dumb made to sing; in the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the desert; an highway shall be there by which the unclean may be cleansed of all their sins amid joy and gladness everlasting (Isa. 35:1-10); that all the crooked and rough places will be straightened out (Isa. 40:4); that rivers will open in unexpected places and the deserts become a forest of useful trees (Isa. 41:18, 19); that all the prisoners in the great prison-house of death shall be brought forth (Isa. 42:7); that the new spiritual powers shall pour down righteousness and the world of mankind eagerly take it in, to their salvation and everlasting joy of heart (Isa. 45:8); that God created the earth not in vain but formed it to be inhabited (Isa. 45:18); that the Lord will establish the earth and cause the people to inherit the once desolate heritages, with the result that they shall be joyful and break forth into singing (Isa. 49:8, 13); that the redeemed of the Lord (all mankind) shall return from the tomb and gain salvation with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads and sorrow and mourning shall flee away (Isa. 51:11); that the feet are beautiful which proclaim good tidings of good and publish salvation because [pg 089] the King has come to reign (Isa. 52:7); that the mountains, hills and trees shall rejoice with verdure, and instead of thorns and briers shall come up fir and myrtles (Isa. 55:12, 13); that the Lord will make this earth (His footstool) glorious; violence, wasting and destruction shall cease, and the people shall all be righteous and dwell in the land forever (Isa. 60:13, 18, 21); that the stumbling stones shall be gathered out of the way, and the standard of Truth be lifted up for the people (Isa. 62:10); that one who dies at a hundred years shall be considered but an infant; that the people who build houses shall build them for themselves and live in them forever among their own vineyards and other works of their hands (Isa. 65:20-22); and that all nations and tongues shall be gathered to see God's glorious character in its true light.—Isa. 66:18.

(9) Jeremiah foretold that in the good times coming mankind should no more walk after the imagination of an evil heart (Jer. 3:17); that the nations of all the earth shall come to the new order of things and cheerfully admit that the teachings of the clergy were chiefly lies and vanity (Jer. 16:19); that the new Shepherds will really feed the Lord's sheep, and they shall no more be dismayed or lacking (Jer. 23:4); that the Lord will give the people a heart to know Him, and they shall return to Him with their whole heart (Jer. 24:7); that the children shall come again from the land of the enemy; that the children shall no longer suffer for the sins of the parents, and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know Him from the least even unto the greatest (Jer. 31:16, 29, 34); that the Lord will give the people one heart and one way and make an everlasting covenant with them, and not turn away from them to do them good; and they shall not depart from Him (Jer. 32:39, 40); that mankind will fear and tremble at all the goodness and prosperity Jehovah shall bring to them when He has pardoned all their Iniquities and transgressions (Jer. 33:8, 9); that they shall be at rest and at ease with none to make them afraid (Jer. 46:27); that the Moabites and Elamites shall return to their former estate (Jer. 48:47; 49:39); and that in those days the penitent, together, going and weeping, shall seek the Lord their God and ask the way to Zion, saying, Let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall never be forgotten.—Jer. 50:4, 5.

(10) Ezekiel foretold a coming time when the Lord will take away the stony heart out of the people and give them hearts that are warm and tender (Ezek. 11:19); that the Sodomites, the Samaritans and the Jews—who were twice [pg 090] as bad as either of the others—shall all return to their former estate, and the Lord will establish His covenant with them and be pacified towards them (Ezek. 16:55, 61-63); that it will no more be true that the children suffer for the sins of their parents (Ezek. 18:2); that it will not be necessary then for anybody to die (Ezek. 18:31, 32); that the people shall dwell safely and build houses and plant vineyards with confidence (Ezek. 28:26); that the Lord will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land; and that the people shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods, the shower will come down in its season, there shall be showers of blessing, the trees shall yield their fruit and the earth shall yield its increase and the people shall dwell safely and none shall make them afraid (Ezek. 34:25-28); that the Lord will put His Spirit into the people and cause them to walk in His ways, will increase the corn, multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, and the land that was desolate shall become like the garden of Eden (Ezek. 36:26, 27, 29, 30, 35); that the people shall have one Shepherd and walk in His statutes and do them (Ezek. 37:24); and the Lord will not hide His face from them any more when He has poured out His Spirit upon them.—Ezek. 39:29.

(11) Daniel foretold that the God of Heaven shall set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed, but which shall break in pieces and consume all other kingdoms, and which shall stand forever (Dan. 2:44); and the Kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the saints of the Most High as an everlasting dominion.—Dan. 7:27.

(12) Hosea prophesied food in abundance for the beasts of the field and the fowls of heaven with the creeping things of the ground; and that the Lord will break the bow and sword and the battle out of the earth, and make all to lie down safely; and that it shall come to pass in that Day that Jehovah will hear the new powers of spiritual control and they shall hear the cries of men (Hos. 2:18, 21); that the people shall fear the goodness of the Lord in the latter days (Hos. 3:5); that after the fifth and sixth thousand-year Days are past the people will be raised up and live in the Lord's sight (Hos. 6:2); and He will ransom them from hell and redeem them from death, and destroy hell altogether.—Hos. 13:14.

(13) Joel prophesied that the Lord will cause the pastures to spring, the tree to bear her fruit and the fig tree and the vine to yield their strength, and whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.—Joel 2:22, 32.

(14) Amos was the next one of the holy Prophets; and we have an inspired comment on one of his prophecies by the Apostle James in Acts 15:14-18. James says, “Simeon [St Peter] hath declared how God at the first [in the conversion of Cornelius] did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name [the Bride of Christ]. And to this agree the words of the Prophets [Amos 9:11, 12]; as it is written, After this [after the Bride of Christ has been selected], I will return and will build again the tabernacle [the house, royalty or dominion] of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up [re-establish the Kingdom of God on earth]; that the residue of men [all the rest of the world of mankind] might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom My name is called, saith the Lord who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.”

(15) Obadiah was the next one of the holy Prophets; and in the last verse of his short prophecy he says, “And saviors [it is in the plural and refers not only to Jesus the Head, but to the Church, the members of His Body] shall come up on Mount Zion [come up into the Heavenly phase of the Kingdom], and shall judge the mount of Esau” [judge the world]. “Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?”

(16) Jonah was the next one of the holy Prophets; and in the fourth chapter we have an interesting picture of events now transpiring before our eyes. Jonah walked into the city of Nineveh and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” The prophecy was fulfilled in forty literal years. But when Jonah saw that things were not coming out as he expected, he was very angry and said to the Lord, “That is just what I might have expected; for I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and I said so before I left my own country.” Jonah went out, sat in the hot sun on the outside of the city, and began to sulk. The Lord took pity on him and caused a gourd to grow up over him, to shelter him from the hot rays of the sun. And Jonah was exceeding glad because of the gourd. Then the Lord prepared a worm to smite the gourd; and a strong east wind blew up and the gourd withered. Jonah's shade was gone, and he was angrier than ever. The Lord said, “Doest thou well to be angry?” and he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, even unto death.” Then the Lord said, “Jonah, thou hast had pity on the gourd that sprung up in a night and perished in a night; and should not I spare Nineveh, that great city wherein are more than six score thousand [pg 092] persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand?”

We live in a day when a class have been preaching that the world is to be destroyed; and, like Jonah, they have not properly understood their message. The kind of world that is to be destroyed is Satan's world, Satan's empire, arrangement, or order of things—not our literal earth. The word world does not always refer to our literal earth. For instance, when the Apostle James says, “The tongue is a world of iniquity,” he does not mean that we have inside our jaws a little planet that turns over every twenty-four hours, that has spring, summer, fall, winter, snowstorms, rainstorms, and a moon revolving about it, with once in a while a comet and a shower of meteors thrown in for good measure. When they think about the Panama Canal, and the wonderful works of irrigation which are causing the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose, and all the other wonderful achievements of our day, these people are beginning to see that they have made a mistake and are now about where Jonah was when he said, “That is what I might have expected, for I know that Thou art a just God, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” They are now outside the city, and the scorching light of Present Truth is pretty hot. Meantime the church trust is growing up to keep off the heat. We are not to have anything to do with this church federation. “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy.” “Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word and it shall not stand; for God is with us.” (Isa. 8:10, 12.) Pretty soon something will happen to the church trust, and their shade will be gone. Then the Lord will say to them, “Oh, you need not feel so badly! You are not the first people that ever made a mistake. You have made lots of them, to be sure. You have had pity on the church trust which grew up in one year and blew up in another year; and should not I spare the poor world, that as far as their knowledge of right and wrong is concerned do not know the difference between their right hand and their left hand?”

(17) Micah has written of the coming of the Kingdom of God in the earth, accompanied by the rebuking of strong nations afar off; that then they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; that nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree [not the landlord's]; and none [be they doctors, landlords, employers, sheriffs, or undertakers] shall make them afraid; that all people [pg 093] will walk in the name of our God, and that the first dominion [lost by Adam in Eden] will be restored to Christ, the Tower of the Flock.—Micah 4:1-5, 8.

(18) Nahum was the next one of the holy Prophets; and after prophesying in the last verse of the preceding chapter about the coming of the King with His good tidings of peace to the sin-burdened earth, he next tells (Nahum 2:3-6) of an interesting thing that will be a matter of common everyday experience at the time the Kingdom is established. He describes a railway train in motion [not an automobile, as some think], and if we will be at the trouble to put ourselves in the Prophet's place we can see just what he saw in his vision and what he has so interestingly described. First, the Prophet stands looking at the engine coming toward him, and then says, “The shield [the thing ahead of this great warrior—the headlight] is made red [shines brilliantly], the valiant men [the engineer and the fireman] are dyed scarlet [when the flames from the firebox illuminate the interior of the cab at night, as the fireman opens the firedoor to throw in the coal]. The chariots [the railway coaches] shall be with [shall be preceded by locomotives that, at night, have the appearance of] flaming torches, in the Day of Preparation.”

Next the Prophet takes his place in the train and looks out of the window, and, seemingly, “The fir trees shall be terribly shaken [the telegraph poles alongside the track seem to be fairly dancing]. The chariots shall rage in the streets [a railway is merely an elaborate, scientifically constructed street, or highway], they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways [the clanking and bumping of the cars together is one of the significant items of railway travel]. They shall seem like torches [a railway train at night, rushing through a distant field, looks like nothing so much as a vast torch, going at flying speed], they shall run like the lightnings.” Next the Prophet sees the conductor coming for his ticket and says, “He shall recount his worthies [the conductor spends his entire time, almost, counting and recounting his passengers, keeping them checked up, etc.]; they shall stumble in their walk [try walking on a rapidly moving train]; they shall make haste to the wall thereof [to the next city or town] and the coverer [the train shed, the station] shall be prepared [the baggageman, expressman, mail wagon, hotel bus, intending passengers, and friends to meet incoming passengers, will all be there waiting for the train to come]. The gates of the rivers shall be opened [the doors of the cars will be opened and the people will flow out] and the palace [car] shall be dissolved [emptied].”

(19) Habakkuk was the next one of the holy Prophets, and in Hab. 2:14 he says, “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” In places, the water in the Pacific Ocean is seven miles deep. Imagine a condition in which the knowledge of the glory of God is like that in the earth! It will be as impossible for a man not to know about God as it would be for one to be down at the bottom of the ocean without getting wet.

(20) Zephaniah foretold that the Lord will starve all the false gods to death; for all men will worship the one only and true God, even including the heathen we have worried so much about (Zeph. 2:11); that after the present inequitable condition of society has passed away—been devoured, not with literal fire but with the fire of the Lord's jealousy—there will be no more sectarianism, but all the people will be taught the pure Truth and worship the Lord with one consent; the liar and deceiver will no longer be abroad in the land and the people will eat and rest without fear of disaster, dispossession or death.—Zeph. 3:9, 13.

(21) Haggai was the next one of the holy Prophets, and he says in Hag. 2:7, “The desire of all nations shall come.” In Rom. 8:19-22, the Apostle tells us what is the desire of all nations. He says, “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain, waiting for the manifestation [showing forth] of the sons of God.” It is in the plural, and means not Jesus only, but all of the Little Flock. The groaning will not be in vain; for in the same passage the Apostle says the outcome will be that the groaning creation shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into a glorious liberty from sin and every evil thing.

(22) Zechariah prophesied that many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that Day and be His people and He will dwell in the midst of them (Zech. 2:11); that when every man dwells under his own vine and fig tree every man will love his neighbor and his brother (Zech. 3:10); that the coming Kingdom will be a Kingdom of Truth, the people will be God's people and He will be their God in truth and righteousness; the ground shall give its increase and the heaven its dews and the Lord will do well to the people and remove their fears (Zech. 8:3, 8, 12, 15); that the inhabitants of one city will go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts; I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts and to pray before the Lord (Zech. 8:21; 22); that the battle bow [pg 095] shall be cut off, that the Lord shall speak peace to the people; corn shall make the young men speak, and new wine (better doctrines) the maids (Zech. 9:10, 17); that the Lord shall be King over all the earth and men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction, but all shall be holiness unto the Lord.—Zech. 14:9, 11, 20.

(23) Malachi foretold that from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same the Lord's name shall be great among all peoples; and in every place heart adoration shall be offered to His name (Mal. 1:11); that the devourer will be rebuked and not be permitted longer to destroy the fruits of the ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field; injurious parasites, germs and microbes will be a thing of the past. Crops will be abundant everywhere (Mal. 3:11); and The Christ, Head and Body, will arise with healing in their beams, nourishing and bringing the willing to perfection with the same care as is given to stall-fed cattle—now receiving more attention than human beings.—Mal. 4:2.

(24) John the Baptist was the next and last of the holy Prophets, for Jesus said, “The Law and the Prophets were until John.” And John, we are told, turned and looked at Jesus, and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.”—John 1:29; Matt. 11:9, 11.

4:11. Thou art worthy, O Lord OUR LORD AND GOD.—“The proper view of the matter shows us the Heavenly Father perfect in all the attributes of nobility of character; perfect in Justice, so that the just sentence of His righteous Law cannot be infracted, even by Himself; perfect in wisdom, so that His plan and arrangement, not only with respect to man's creation, but also with respect to man's salvation, the Atonement, etc., were all so complete that no contingency or failure could arise, nor any necessity for change of the Divine Plan; as it is written, ‘I am the same, I change not, saith the Lord,’ and ‘Known unto the Lord are all His works, from the foundation of the world’; perfect also in His Love, than which there could be no greater love possible, and yet that Love is in full balance and accord with the other Divine attributes, so that it could spare the sinner only in harmony with the just program marked out by Divine Wisdom; perfect also in Power, so that all His good purposes, good intentions, just program and loving designs, fully co-ordinated, shall be executed, and bring the originally designed result; as it is written, ‘My Word that goeth forth out of My mouth shall not return to Me void; it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.’ (Isa. 55:11; Mal. 3:6; Acts 15:18.)”—E. 37, 34.

To receive glory.—All the glory, Greek.

And honor and power.—“Could this Scripture ever be fulfilled, could the Divine character ever be appreciated by intelligent, honest, just and loving hearts, if in any corner of the Universe there were such orgies and tortures of His creatures as the creeds of the Darker Ages have set forth? Surely not!”—B. S. M.

For Thou has created all things.—The all things, the Universe, Greek. “Across the vista of ages He saw in His purpose the glory of an intelligent creation in His own likeness, established in righteousness and worthy of His gift of eternal life. He therein foresaw the mutual pleasure of the Creator and the creature, and with a peaceful patience He resolved to wait for the glorious consummation.”—Z. '95-154.

And for Thy pleasure they [are and] were created.—“He desired that love should respond to love, admiration to admiration, virtue to virtue, and grace to grace, in the Creator and the creature, as face answers to face in a glass. In this natural attitude of the Creator and the creature generous benevolence and filial gratitude combine in mutual happiness. God is happy in the realization and in the exercise of all the noble traits of His glorious character, which happiness is enhanced by appreciation of the same on the part of His creatures, and by manifestation in them of the same qualities and dispositions of mind and heart. And likewise man must both realize and exercise the noble endowments of his nature and form a character modeled after that of his Heavenly Father and meeting His approval, if he would find that true happiness which consists in the approval of his own conscience and of his Creator and Judge, in whose favor is life, and at whose right hand there are pleasures forevermore.'—Psa. 16:11.”—Z. '95-167.

5:1. And I saw in the right hand.—“The Divine Plan, known only to the Father, Jehovah Himself, was kept in His own power—in His own hand—until some one should be proved worthy to know it, and become its executor as Jehovah's honored Agent and Representative.”—E. 39, 36.

Of Him that sat on the Throne.—“He that sits upon the Throne is Jehovah. The scroll in His right hand is His Plan for human redemption, sealed from all until One should be found and proved ‘worthy.’ ”—Z. '97-150.

A book.—“Not the Bible, but the Divine Plan, with its times and seasons.” (Z. '16-252.) “This was the Mystery, the Secret of the Lord, unknown to any one but Himself—His plan for the salvation of the world.”—Z. '97-256.

Written [within] IN FRONT.—The writing in front is the fulfilment of everything prophesied on the outside. Every word of every prophecy of God's Word is sure of fulfilment. “Seek ye out the book of the Lord, and read; no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate; for My mouth it hath commanded, and His Spirit it hath gathered them.” (Isa. 34:16.) “That scroll contains a record of everything that is happening now, and all that will occur throughout the Millennial Age, down to its very close—down to the time when every creature in Heaven and in earth and those in the sea, shall ascribe praise, honor, glory and dominion to Him that sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lamb forever.—Rev. 5:13.” (Z. '09-243.) “Among the Orientals the lines began from the right hand and ran to the left hand; with the Northern and Western nations, from the left to the right hand; but the Greeks sometimes followed both directions alternately.” (McC.)

The Word is plainly written on the outside, where all may read the words, but cannot understand their significance without Divine aid. Meantime, from age to age, the events foretold occur in the manner predicted. The manner of the writing, some of it from left to right and some from right to left, enables the fulfilments to follow the prophecies exactly, item by item, to the last jot and tittle. Write a word on a sheet of paper and then turn the paper over and look at it, holding it in front of a good light. Thus it is with the Word of God. The prophecies [pg 098] look strange until the due time has come for holding them up to the light, and then they become clear. What could be only imperfectly deciphered until the hindering seal is broken is no mystery after the seal is broken, because the book or scroll or chart can be turned about and held to the light. The fulfilments are seen to fit the prophecies. If the lines are not clear, then for some reason we are looking upon that much of the record from the outside and not from the inside.

And on the backside.—“Excepting the bare promise (written on the outside of the scroll) of salvation through the Seed of the woman, nothing could be known of the wonderful scheme for human restitution until the Son of God, having left the glory of the spiritual nature, took our nature and by the sacrifice of Himself redeemed us from death. Then, having His righteousness imputed to us by faith, we are counted worthy to look upon the scroll as He opens the seals one after another.”—Z. '02-332; Ezek. 2:9, 10.

Sealed with seven seals.—“The things that were sealed were not proper to be understood by our Redeemer until He had received the all-power, after His resurrection. The execution of God's Plan was then given into His hands.”—Z. '16-253.

5:2. And I saw a strong angel.—Personification of the Law.

Proclaiming.—In types and shadows, pictures, figures and symbols.

With a loud voice.—From the fall of Adam onward.

Who is worthy.—“The inquiry compassed the period from before Jesus came into the world up to His resurrection from the grave. God had given the most honorable One of all the host of Heaven the first opportunity to prove His worthiness to loose the Scroll of God's great Plan, and to fulfill its provisions. And He did not allow the privilege to go by. He accepted it.”—Z. '16-252.

To open the book.—“The inquiry, ‘Who is worthy to open the book [scroll] and to loose the seals thereof?’ had long been made: for four thousand years, from the giving of the promise that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head, it had been the query—Who shall be esteemed, by Jehovah God, to be worthy to perform His gracious purposes, and thus be honored above all others as Servant (Messenger) of the Covenant of Grace?”—Z. '97-150.

And to loose the seals thereof.—“John in the symbol hears the proclamation, ‘Who is worthy to open the Book and to loose the seals?’—who is worthy to have committed to his care the execution of the great Divine Plan, wonderful for its wisdom and love, and its lengths and [pg 099] breadths and depths and heights past human comprehension—that he may open it and execute it?”—Z. '97-256.

5:3. And no man in Heaven.—No angel had been proven worthy. “Which things the angels desire to look into.”—1 Pet. 1:12.

Nor in earth, [neither under the earth].—No man on earth was worthy. “There is none righteous; no, not one; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”—Rom. 3:10, 23.

Was able to open the book.—“In the picture John looked to see who the worthy one might be, but none was found worthy.”—Z. '09-243.

Neither to look thereon.—In the light of this Scripture, who can dare, in his own strength, wisdom or righteousness to interpret the Word of God or take any part in the execution of the Plan?—Heb. 12:18-29.

5:4. And I wept much.—“It seemed to John too bad that God should have some great, wonderful purposes which might come to naught because no one was worthy to be the Divine executor.”—Z. '09-243.

Because no man.—No being in the Universe.

Was found worthy to open and to read the book.—“When silence prevailed, and none was found worthy either in Heaven or on earth (representing the condition of things prior to the First Advent), John began saying to himself: Alas! we may never know God's gracious and wise plans for the welfare of His creatures, because none is found worthy to know or execute them.”—Z. '97-150; John 1:27; Matt. 8:8.

Neither to look thereon.—“So it was that, even our Lord Jesus, prior to the finishing of His sacrifice, as He then declared, did not know all about the Father's plans, times and seasons (Mark 13:32.)”—Z. '97-150.

5:5. And one of the elders.—The deathbed prophecy of Jacob. It is the identification of this elder that enables us to recognize the other twenty-three.—Rev. 4:10.

Saith unto me.—“Judah is a lion's whelp. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.”—Gen. 49:9, 10.

Weep not: behold, the Lion.—“The Holy One, and the Just.”—Acts 3:14; 22:14.

Of the tribe of Juda.—“The great prize, for which Israel had been longing for centuries, was won by the Lion of the tribe of Judah. (Heb. 7:14.)”—B. 85.

“For an illustration of latter time assumptions, note the fact that a late pope, upon ascending the throne, took the title of Leo XIII, and shortly after subscribed himself ‘Leo de tribus Juda,’ i. e., ‘The Lion of the tribe of Judah.’ ”—B. 316.

The Root of David.—“It was not the pre-human Logos, nor yet the man Jesus, that was David's Lord and David's Root; but the resurrected Messiah.”—E. 151, 136; Isa. 11:1; Rom. 15:12; Rev. 22:16.

Hath prevailed to open the book.—“When our Lord Jesus had proven His loyalty to the Heavenly Father by His obedience, ‘even unto the [ignominious] death of the cross,’ then and thereby He did prove Himself worthy of every confidence and trust.”—E. 39, 37.

And to loose the seven seals thereof.—“Great was the favor bestowed upon the Just One of the tribe of Judah, in being permitted to open the seals; and great is the privilege of those who are permitted to look thereon as the seals are opened.”—Z. '02-332; Rev. 5:2; 6:1.

5:6. And I beheld, [and lo,] in the midst of the Throne.—“In the bosom of the Father.”—John 1:18.

And of the four beasts.—“The express image of His person.”—Heb. 1:3.

And in the midst of the elders.—The central theme of all their prophesies.—Rev. 4:10.

Stood a Lamb as it had been slain.—“It was not possible for Him to know the completeness of the Divine Plan until after He had demonstrated His worthiness by His obedience unto death, even the death of the cross.”—Z. '06-39; Isa. 53:7; John 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32; 1 Pet. 1:19.

Having seven horns.—Perfect power. “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth.”—Matt. 28:18; 1 Sam. 2:1, 10; Deut. 33:17; 1 Ki. 22:11.

And seven eyes.—Perfect wisdom. “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”—Col. 2:3; Zech. 3:9; 4:10; Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 2 Chron. 16:9.

Which are the seven Spirits of God.—Or lamps of fire.—Rev. 4:5.

Sent forth into all the earth.—See Rev. 1:4.

5:7. And He came and took the book.—“To Him was the scroll or book entrusted, that in due time all the wonderful provisions of the Divine Plan might be fully executed in the glorification of the Church and the blessing of all the families of the earth.”—Z. '06-39.

Out of the right hand.—See Rev. 5:1.

Of Him that sat upon the Throne.—Jehovah. If Jesus and His Father are a Trinity, “One in person, equal in glory and power,” how is it that one has to come to the other for something, or how can He come to Himself and take something He already has and give it to Himself?

5:8. And when He had taken the book.—His worthiness to do so having been proven by His resurrection to the Divine nature.

The four beasts.—Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.—Rev. 4:6, 7.

And four and twenty elders.—Messages of the four and twenty Prophets.—Rev. 4:10.

Fell down before the Lamb.—Gave their joint homage and adoration to the Conqueror of sin and death.

Each having [every one of them harps] A HARP.—Yielding the most exquisite harmony that ever fell on mortal ears.—Rev. 15:1-4; 4:10.

And golden vials.—Incense cups, “spoons,” similar to those used at the Golden Altar.—Ex. 25:29; 30:1-9.

Full of odors.—The sweet fragrance of patient hearts, precious in the Father's memory, pleading for love and wisdom Divine.—Psa. 141:2; Ex. 30:34-38; Lev. 16:12, 13; Lu. 1:9, 10; Acts 10:4.

Which are the prayers of saints.—Every one of which, by the Father's arrangement, has been made in the name of the One here honored.—John 16:23; Eph. 2:19.

5:9. And they sung a new song.—“This means that the Divine Plan as a whole was here made known to Him—for He already had knowledge of much of this—but all things were now given Him.”—Z. '16-253; Psa. 40:3; Rev. 14:3.

Saying, Thou art worthy to take the book.—Worthy of “a name which is above every name.”—Phil. 2:9.

And to open the seals thereof.—Disclose the wonderful method by which the Father will develop the saviors of the world.—Obad. 21.

For thou wast slain.—He had sacrificed His will, but this was not sufficient. “God wished Him to sacrifice not only His will, but actually to lay down His human life. When all His testings were completed at His death on the Cross, God gave Him a name to which all should bow, both in Heaven and in earth.”—Z. '16-252.

And hast redeemed.—“Agorazo. This word signifies to purchase in the open market.”—E. 443, 429; 1 Cor. 6:20; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19.

[Us].—Oldest MS., with evident propriety, omits us, since the Divine attributes and prophecies were not redeemed.—Z. '97-151.

To God.—“What say the Scriptures respecting the sacrifice of Christ, the offering which He made? Do they say that it was made to Satan or to Jehovah God? We answer that in all the types of the Jewish dispensation, which foreshadowed this better sacrifice, which does take away the sins of the world, the offerings were presented to God, at the hands of the priest, who typified our Lord Jesus.”—E. 461, 449.

By Thy blood.—“If the blood of bulls and of goats ... sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal spirit, offered Himself without spot to God.”—Heb. 9:13-15.

Out of every kindred.—“In thy Seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.”—Acts 3:25.

And tongue.—“Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”—Isa. 45:23.

And people.—“The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory.”—Psa. 97:6.

And nation.—“And in thy Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.”—Gen. 26:4, 22:18; Rev. 14:6.

5:10. And hast made [us] THEM unto our God [Kings] A KINGDOM.—“It will be the Kingdom of the saints, in that they shall reign and judge and bless the world in conjunction with their Lord, Jesus. (Rom. 8:17, 18.) The Kingdom class proper will consist only of our Lord and His ‘elect’ Little Flock.”—D. 618.

And [priests] PRIESTHOOD.—“The Divine provision for a ‘Royal Priesthood’ implies weakness, imperfection, on the part of some whom the priests are to help, and instruct, and from whom they are to accept sacrifice and offerings for sin, and to whom they are to extend mercy and forgiveness.”—E. 486, 476; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 20:6.

And [we] THEY shall reign.—“But before the Royal Priesthood begin their reign, they must ‘suffer with Him,’ sharing in the antitypical sacrifices. (2 Tim. 2:12.)”—T. 26.

On.—Epi, over.—Rev. 6:16.

The earth.—“The Kingdom and dominion, even the majesty of the Kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all rulers shall serve and obey Him. (Dan 7:27.)”—D. 618.

5:11. And I beheld.—John beheld this in vision and will behold it in reality.

And I heard.—John heard in the vision, and will hear in the reality.

As it were the voice of many angels.—Besides the angels, the Great Company are in this happy throng. The events to the end of the chapter have their fulfilment in the future.

Round about the Throne.—“In the circuit of Heaven” (Job 22:14), the circle of the Universe.

And the beasts.—Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.—Rev. 4:6, 7.

And the elders.—The prophecies.—Rev. 4:10.

And the number of them.—“Whose number no man knoweth.”—Rev. 7:9.

Was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.—The number of the Great Company will apparently exceed one hundred millions. Num. 4:46-48 and Ex. 28:1 indicate but one priest to each 2,860 Levites, which would make the number of the Great Company approximate 411,840,000.—T. 118, 119; Dan. 7:10.

5:12. Saying with a loud voice.—The Great Company will be very enthusiastic workers on the other side of the veil, for they really love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30), and need only to be liberated to give full expression to that love.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.—“Our Lord Jesus demonstrated before the Father, before angels, and before His ‘brethren,’ His fidelity to the Father and to the Father's Law, demonstrating that it was not beyond the ability of a perfect being, even under the most adverse conditions.”—E. 134, 120.

To receive power.—The Great Company class humbly realize that their faithfulness and zeal was not sufficient to warrant their own exaltation to power.

And riches.—They realize they did not lay up all the Heavenly treasures they might have done, but hid their talents in earthly pursuits.

And wisdom.—They realize their own unwisdom in seeking the praise of men and that the Christ Company, though apparently fools for Christ's sake, were really the wisest of the wise.

And strength.—They know that they used their own strength for the support and maintenance of institutions which really hindered rather than helped the Bride to make herself ready.

And honor.—They know that, as a class, they sought and obtained the honor that cometh from men, but failed to properly seek the honor that cometh from God only.

And glory.—They know that they failed to meet the high conditions of self-sacrifice, and were therefore unworthy of the high reward.

And blessing.—They feel that the blessings which the Lord gave to them were thoughtlessly appropriated to themselves and their families, with hardly a serious thought about the needs of the Lord's dear family; and that appropriately, the chiefest of all blessings, the privilege of extending God's blessings to the needy world, should go to those who most earnestly “by patient perseverance in well doing (did) seek for glory, honor and immortality.” (Rom. 2:7.) Thus they reverence the Lamb, and His Bride, for they are one.—Rev. 19:7.

5:13. And every creature.—After the destruction of the [pg 104] incorrigible at the end of the Millennial Age (and this, in itself, is a blessing to those who refuse to make a right use of life).

Which is in Heaven.—“Let all the angels of God worship Him.” (Heb. 1:6.) “Worship Him, all ye gods.”—Psa. 97:7.

And on the earth, [and under the earth,].—All mankind.—1 Cor. 15:25.

And such [as are] in the sea.—The class that continues to be “in the sea,” i. e., not under religious restraint, will cease to exist. They no longer are, but even their terminated existence will be to the praise of the One who died for them on Calvary; for they will have had a perfect chance.

And all that are in them.—“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth.”—Phil. 2:10; Eph. 1:10; Col. 1:20.

[Heard I] AND I HEARD THEM saying, THE Blessing.—The myriads of happy beings, on all created planes of intelligence, from the highest to the lowest, in Heaven and earth, acknowledge with joy the source of all their blessings.—Rom. 9:5.

And honor.—By that time all will have come to see what a great honor has been conferred on any creature to receive the unspeakable boon of life on any plane, and will gladly own its fountain.—1 Tim. 6:16.

And glory [and power] OF THE ALMIGHTY.—Each will have come to know the glory of life on his own plane. “There are celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”—1 Cor. 15:40, 41; Rom. 16:27; 1 Pet. 4:11; 5:11.

Be.—Be ascribed to.

Him that sitteth upon the Throne.—Our Father and Friend.—1 Chron. 29:11.

And unto the Lamb.—Our Redeemer and Brother.

For ever and ever.—“For the Ages of the Ages,” Greek.

5:14. And the four beasts said Amen.—Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom unitedly declare this to be the happy outcome.

And the [four and twenty] elders fell down and worshipped [Him that liveth for ever and ever].—The prophecies plainly declare that neither men nor devils can in any wise thwart this perfect ending of the Plan which began so strangely and still progresses—the perfection, through suffering, of the Little Flock, the Great Company and, indeed, the world of mankind itself.—Rev. 4:10.

6:1. And I saw.—“God does not display His plans to satisfy mere idle curiosity. If we would comprehend what is revealed within the scroll we must be sincerely desirous of knowing the details of God's Plan in order to an earnest co-operation with it. Such, and such only, are worthy to know, and such only ever come to see, in the sense of understanding and appreciating, the deep things of God written within the scroll. Such are the righteous for whom the light (Truth) is sown. This worthiness is inquired for not only at the beginning, but all along the path of light. If we are not found worthy by the various tests applied from time to time, we cannot proceed in the path of light; and unless the unfaithful ones arouse themselves to greater diligence and watchfulness, the light that already is in them will become darkness. And how great, how intense must be the darkness of one cast out of light! (Matt. 6:23.)”—Z. '02-332.

When the Lamb opened.—“The opening of the seals has progressed during all the Gospel Age. It has required all of the present Age and will require all of the next Age to complete the Plan. We may suppose that the Lord Jesus was made aware of all its features after His ascension to the presence of Jehovah. The Master declared that as the Father revealed them unto Him, so would He reveal them unto us.”—Z. '16-253; Rev. 5:5-9.

One of the SEVEN seals.—“Each seal as it was loosed permitted the scroll as a whole to open a little wider, and a little wider, thus permitting ‘the mystery of God’ to be a little more clearly discerned.”—Z. '97-257.

And I heard [as it were the noise of thunder].—The roar of a Lion.

One of the four beasts.—Justice, typified by the Lion.—Rev. 4:7.

Saying, AS IT WERE THE NOISE OF THUNDER, Come and see.—Come and see Infinite Justice permitting one of the greatest acts of injustice ever perpetrated.

6:2. And I saw.—John beheld in vision the first strange and wonderful feature of the Divine Plan for the permission of evil as it related to epochs of the Church beyond his own epoch—that of Smyrna.

And behold a white horse.—The doctrines, teachings of the Lord and the Apostles recognized as the one and only rule of faith and practice of God's Church.

And he that sat on him.—The Bishop of Rome, the embryo Pope, the personal representative of Satan.

Had a bow.—“They bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not Me, saith the Lord.”—Jer. 9:3.

And a crown.—Great honor and authority in the Church.

Was given unto him.—“Under the reign of Constantine (who murdered his own son in the same year in which he convened the Council of Nice) the opposition of the empire to Christianity gave way to favor, and the Imperial Pontifex Maximus became the patron of the professed but really apostate Church of Christ; and, taking her by the hand, he assisted her to a place of popularity and splendor from which she was able afterward, as the imperial power grew weak, to put her own representatives upon the religious throne of the world as Chief Religious Ruler—Pontifex Maximus.”—B. 290.

And he went forth conquering, [and to conquer] AND HE CONQUERED.—Thus we see the apparent defeat of Infinite Justice in this first epoch. Apparently, God forsook His Church, having jeopardized all its interests by placing the power in the hands of a self-seeking ecclesiastical system. But worse things are coming!

6:3. And when He had opened the second seal.—Revealing the second period of the history of the Antichrist.

I heard the second beast.—Infinite Power. See Rev. 4:7.

Say, Come and see.—Come and see Infinite Power consenting to a thing apparently in victorious opposition to it.

6:4. And I beheld and lo there went out another horse.—A creed-horse, quite different from the Scriptures which it misrepresented.

That was red.—The color of sin—imperfection. “Though your sins be as scarlet.”—Isa. 1:18.

And power was given to him that sat thereon.—The same rider, the Antichrist.

To take peace from the earth.—To embroil in controversy those who were under religious restraint—in other words, the entire professed church of God.

And that they should kill one another.—Depose and destroy one another as teachers, by inveighing the Roman power against all offenders.

And there was given unto him a great sword.—As the Lord has a great and powerful sword, the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17), and as it [pg 107] is represented as coming out of His mouth, so the Papacy has a great and powerful sword, in opposition to the Sword of the Spirit, and it, too, comes out of Papacy's mouth. [The word here is different from Rev. 1:16 and refers to the butcher knife—Gen. 22:6, 10.] “The pope (each pope in his turn) is the head of the false church, which is his body, even as Christ Jesus is the Head of the true Church, which is His Body. Since the head is the representative of the body, and its mouth speaks for the body, we find, as we should expect, this feature of Antichrist prominently referred to in the Scriptures. In Daniel 7:8, 11, 25, and Rev. 13:5, 6, the mouth of Antichrist is brought specially to our notice as a leading characteristic.”—B. 304.

This period, beginning with the year 325 A. D. and extending to the year 539, was the period of formation of creeds. “Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings.” (Josh. 10:24.) Once they were very powerful, but they are quite harmless now. The Lord (Joshua-Savior) has humbled them all by His own Sword of the Spirit in the hands of Pastor Russell.

“Neither Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, nor any ecclesiastical writer before the fifth century, makes mention of an assembly of the Apostles for the purpose of forming a creed. Had the Apostles composed it, it would have been the same in all churches and ages. But it is quite otherwise.” (McC.) So much for the well-known “Apostle's Creed,” which, it is alleged, “comprehends the leading articles of the faith in the triune God.”

But this was not triune enough, so the Nicene Creed improved the matter, A. D. 325:

Fifty-six years later, at the second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, A. D. 381, the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan Creed was put on the market:

This did very well until the fourth Ecumenical Council, A. D. 451, when the Chalcedon Creed was worked up. But very little is said about this creed nowadays; for “the two parties in the council were roused to the highest pitch of passion, the proceedings, especially during the early sessions, were very tumultuous, until the lay commissioners and the senators had to urge the bishops to keep order, saying that such vulgar outcries were disgraceful.” However, we give it for what it is worth: