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A Study of the Book of Revelation
By W.G. Finlay D.D.
THE FEDERATION OF THE COVENANT PEOPLE
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
Identity of the Churches in Asia
CHAPTER 2
The Crystalising of the Revelation
CHAPTER 3
The Secular Tapestry of the Apocalypse
CHAPTER 4
The Fifth Seal and Change
CHAPTER 5
The Little Book
CHAPTER 6
Israel to the fore
CHAPTER 7
The Beast
CHAPTER 8
Setting the end of the age Scene
CHAPTER 9
The Other 'woman'
CHAPTER 10
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
CHAPTER 11
The Resurrection of the Dead
CHAPTER 12
The Books Opened
CHAPTER 13
The End
INTRODUCTION
The Book of 'the Revelation of
Jesus Christ', after an incredibly chequered history for almost two hundred
years, was through ecclesi�astical sanction, finally admitted to what Jerome
called 'the holy library' and which the church calls 'The Canon of Scripture'. It
is patently obvious that ecclesiastics, both ancient and modern, have remained
sceptical about the authenticity of the last Book of the Bible and have treated
it, together with the Epistle to the Hebrews, James and II Peter, with a
suspicion which borders on complete rejection. The bias against these Books � and
indeed against the Old Testament nar�rative � is, whether men know it or not,
an extension of the first at�tempt to form
a Canon of Scripture in 140 A.D. The 'Canon of Marcion' contained one
Gospel which was a mutilated revision of that by Luke and ten epistles by Paul �
all of which was the sum total of the early writings considered 'profitable for
doctrine'. The reason for this pecu�liar 'censorship' was that Marcion, who,
notwithstanding his Roman name was a 'converted Jew', declared that all the
Apostles, with the exception of Paul, were corrupters of the Truth who should
be expung�ed from ecclesiastical memory.
In essence, Marcion's contention
has been projected into modern theology which relegates the writings of bona
fide Apostles to the position of inferiority and utterly rejects any other
portion of Holy Scripture which appears to be in conflict with what Paul has
written. What has been forgotten in this modern day and age is that when the
Apostles did write � their main objective was the oral preaching of 'the faith
once delivered' � they never considered their literary efforts as 'the rule of
truth' not- was it their intention of legislating for the future organisation
of the Christian church. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that these
Apostles regarded their writings � which were peculiarly local in context and
content � as the sole vehicle which contained the sum total of God's Truth � no
such claim is made by them nor would they
be so presumptuous as to censor the Old Testament Scriptures which the
Lord had declared to be 'the word of Truth' (John 17:17).
At a time when men wrote what they thought the
Apostles were thinking when they wrote about the things of God, one
finds an even distribution of emphasis which took in the fact of Calvary and
what men interpreted as the effect of this on the world. Toward the end of the
First Century, the writings of men began to take precedence over the historical
event of Calvary and religious philosophy about the Christ of God was a
developing trend which threatened to superimpose itself over the facts. The
Book of the Revelation was written against this background � a background which
refused to acknowledge that it was drifting into troubled waters. Marcion's
rejection of the Revelation given to John, just forty-four years after it had
been written, was typi�cal of the resistance to the corrective urging of the
Holy Spirit � a resistance which was to continue for a further one hundred
years.
In the Third Century of the
Christian dispensation, three separate and fully autonomous centres of
Christianity emerged � that in Asia Minor which sanctioned its own Canon of
Scripture and in which the Apocalypse, Hebrews, James and II Peter were
omitted; that in Alex�andria which omitted
Hebrews, James and II Peter; and that in Carthage which taught only the
Pauline epistles. Strangely enough, the Alexan�drian church which upheld the
authenticity of the Revelation was governed by Dionysius who, in ecclesiastical
circles was considered one of the ablest .bishops of the time and who followed
Marcion's re�pudiation of John's authorship of the Apocalypse. However, notwith�standing
this rejection by the Bishop of Alexandria, it was due to this church that the
Book of the Revelation was finally sanctioned as an integral part of Holy
Scripture at the third Council of Carthage in A.D.
397.
This did not mean that the
church now accepted the Revelation � far from
it. Martin Luther (A.D. 1517) had his own ideas about the canonicity of the
scriptures and while he placed the Gospel and First Epistle of John, the
Epistles of Paul and the first of Peter as 'the kernel of Christianity', he
treated the remainder of the Books with varying degrees of disrespect and at
times, outright denial. Erasmus of Rotterdam, while leaving the Canon
unaltered, denied Apostolic origin to II Peter, the Epistle to the Hebrews and
the Apocalypse. The doubts expressed at the beginning of the Christian
dispensation con�tinue to this day and theology, instead of attempting to
elucidate the Message of the Book, continues to occupy itself with the
questions of authorship and Canonicity and apparently content to explain:
"All that can be affirmed, however, is that Revelation certainly arose
within a Jewish Christian setting, its author using apocalyptic symbolism and
language familial in Jewish Christendom and perhaps incorporating fragments of apocalyptic literature current in
his day."
Turning
from this general background to the Book of the Revela�tion � which background may be seen as ecclesiastical
opposition within a very feeble ecclesiastical sanction � one opens the Book
itself to consider what it has to say in answer to the scepticism, re�jection
and other charges made against it. It is stated in the first verse of the first chapter: "The Revelation
of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants
things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his
angel unto his ser�vant John." John was
thus the writer and the Lord, the Imparter. In the light of this evidence, the question of
authorship (apart from the Lord Himself) revolves around which John for
there were several of this name within the
Christian community at that time. It is absolutely true � as many critics
through the ages have noted � that John himself provides no addition to his name but this may be seen as the intrusion of a note of anonymity within an era which was
marked by an emphasis on the
writings of man to the detriment of the Message conveyed. How�ever, John
does unobtrusively identify himself by claiming to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and one who had been an eye-witness to the momentous happenings in Judaea. He used
phraseology which identifies him with
the writer of the verses recorded in John 19:35 and I John 1:2. He was a
prisoner on the isle of Patmos because of his testimony of the Living Christ
and a fellow sufferer with those who were
being persecuted by both the Roman and Jewish authorities.
Ussher's dating suggests that the
Revelation was written in A.D. 96 and indicative of the challenge presented by
the Book, even this date has become an arena of great controversy with
theologians contending that it had its
beginning no later than A.D. 60. The point at issue here is not an
interminable argument as to when the Book was written
but the fact that it was written by John during his imprisonment on the isle of
Patmos. However, in order to corroborate Ussher's dating and merely as an intellectual exercise, it should
be noted that Irenaeus (A.D. 180) who
lived very much nearer the time than the theologians of today, stated:
"It (i.e., the Revelation) was seen not a very long time ago, but almost
certain in our own generation, at the close of Domitian's reign." Eusebius,
the 'father of church history' too confirms this in that he recorded that under the persecution of Domitian, the apostle John was banished to the isle of Patmos for his
testimony concerning the Word of God. It is historical fact that the
reference to Domitian makes the date of the writing of the Revelation certainly
no earlier than A.D. 96.
As has been stated previously, by A.D. 96 the general state
of Christianity had degenerated from its initial zeal and was governed by a
primitive form of theology which revolved around what man said in
contrast to what had actually transpired. John, it will be noted: ". . . was
in the isle called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testi�mony
of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 1:9) � a phraseology almost identical to that which
Eusebius used in describing the Apostle. Why the emphasis on John's ministry concerning the Word of God? May
it not be that even then the gulf separating theology and the Truth had
become very noticeable?
Having been introduced to John
and his particular circumstances in A.D. 96, nothing more is recorded of him
and one is thus dependent on secular sources for further information. Eusebius
records a history which many today will find
hard to believe and yet when other scriptur�al facts are correlated with
this, the story by Eusebius concerning John will be found as one which bore the
marks of the Hand of God in its affairs. John, according to the historian, came
directly under the attention of Domitian who had him arrested, tried and
condemned to death. This policy would be a natural one under the circumstances
for at a time when humanitarian considerations were simply non-existent, it is
inconceivable that a trouble-maker such as John would have been summarily
banished to an island and left there to rot. The usual proce�dure was to
eliminate opposition and at the same time to afford the rebellious population
the opportunity of witnessing the futility of their cause. John, according to
Eusebius, was condemned to death � not in the customary manner of crucifixion
or burning at the stake, but to be thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil. To
many, the suggestion that John could have escaped this fate would be asking too
much. If a man were to be thrown into burning oil, in the ordinary course of
events, his life would be terminated immediately.
However, it should be remembered that in the
Old Testament there is a similar happening recorded when Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego were condemned to death in the 'burning
fiery furnace' which had been heated 'seven times more than it was wont
to be heated' (Dan. 3:19-28). That trio escaped because of the Providence of
God � could not the same be the experience of John? John, it will be recalled
was, by this time, a very old man whose frail body would be over-taxed in the
normal routines of the mission enterprise. It must be obvious that he lived
under the Providential Care of the Lord � a Care which had been intimated by
the Lord in His closing Message to Peter.
Having received the Commission to 'feed my sheep', Peter
questioned the Lord concerning the 'apostle
whom Jesus loved'(John 21:20). The Lord answered Peter: "If I will
that he tarry till I come, what is it to thee? follow thou me" (John 21:22).
This, of course, gave rise to the tradition
that John would not die and this tradition among the bre�thren whom, one would
have thought, would have been impervious to speculations and dedicated
to fact. However, one may see in this statement by the Lord that it was within
His Foreknowledge of the events which would
arise subsequent to His Ascension, that He deter�mined that John would
tarry for the express purpose of recording the Revelation as a counter to the
speculations and theories which men would
superimpose over the Truth.
Leaving the testimony of
historians, attention is focused on the Revelation itself. As has been stated,
it is the purpose of the Book to reveal the
things � events and situations � which would shortly develop � the
acceptance of revelation would result in blessing. "Blessed is he that
readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things
which are written therein: for the time is at hand"
(Rev. 1:3). Here is a statement which cuts right across the theo�logy of
so many who aver that the Revelation is an undecipherable collection of symbols which should never be a part
of Christian teach�ing. "Blessed is he that readeth ..." � this immediately establishes
the Book, not as a massive work of unintelligible mysticism � this would defeat the very name of the Book � but as a
source of blessing, 'blessing through knowledge'.
At the outset, it should be clearly understood
that the Lord intended that His Revelation be in free circulation � 'Blessed is
he that readeth ..." �
which is perhaps why the 'mystery of iniquity' has been so active down the centuries in preventing
the essential informa�tion in this
Book from reaching those who would benefit most from it. It is quite common today � indeed as it was in
the days of the 'church fathers' �to hear
it contended that the metaphorical language mitigates against a clear understanding of the Book of the
Revelation � 'a book too sublime and deep for human reasoning' as
Dionysius declared. However, it should be noted that the Lord positively stated
that He 'signified' the events which were -to
come to pass �the word translated from the Greek semaino which
literally means 'to show by signs and symbols'. To suggest that the Lord would
use unrelated and unquali�fied signs and
symbols 'too sublime and deep' for human understanding would be an
exercise in futility for blessing could not result unless these signs or
symbols were clarified by the Lord Himself. It will be found that these
identical symbols are all used in the Old Testament and in such a manner as to make identification unmistakable.
In order to illustrate the point, an example may be taken
from Revelation 4:6-8. "In the midst of the throne, and round about the
throne, were four beasts (Greek - zoon: literally, living creatures) full
of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the
second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and
the fourth beast was like a flying eagle." If one ignores the Old
Testa�ment � as so many do � private speculation (it cannot be called 'inter�pretation')
tends to force the scene into a universal context by claiming that all creation
is represented in the gathering around the 'throne'. This immediately falls
down for if 'all creation' was representatively gathered, marine life which is
usually symbolised by the fish (which incidently was the symbol of the early
Christians) was missing.
On turning to the Old Testament, one finds the
same four sym�bols used by Ezekiel the prophet (Ezek. 1:10) who equates the
symbols in relationship to the Glory in almost the identical manner as is found
in the Revelation. While this does not add much by way of identifica�tion, it
will be noted that Ezekiel was drawing on symbolism which had been provided at
an even earlier stage and established by God Himself.
In Exodus 25:8 it is written:
"And let them (Israel) make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them."
This, of course, had to do with .the construction of the Tabernacle � the
'dwelling place for the Lord' � which was to be surrounded by the Israel people
in a God-ordered array (Num. 2). On the eastern side of the Tabernacle and
under the leadership of the tribe of Judah, Issachar and Zebulon formed the
first side of the square. The ensign of the tribe of Judah was a lion. On
the west, headed by Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin formed the other side of the
square. Ephraim's ensign was the calf or the ox. On the northern side
with Reuben's ensign of a man, were the tribes of Simeon and Gad, while
the southern flank was given to Dan with the tribes of Asher and Napthali. The ensign
of Dan was a flying eagle.
In the light of this, it will be seen that, far
from having to specu�late as to the meaning of the symbolism employed in the
Revelation, one has but to reconsider the Old Testament which provides the key
to understanding. Against this, one may be tempted to ask why the Lord resorted
to this means of communication of the events which were shortly to come to
pass? The answer is once again obvious. In His Foreknowledge, the Lord knew
what men would do with the revealed scriptures - in A.D. 96 they had already
placed all emphasis on man and this just half a century away from the
tremendous events on Cal�vary. What would they do with the events which were
even further back in time? With the passage of time in the Christian
dispensation, the Old Testament was pushed
into the background until men decided that it no longer formed an
essential part of Scripture and consequently proceeded
to issue copies of the New Testament alone. The Lord was thus forcing, if men
were to understand His Revelation, a return to the old Scriptures for it
is only there that the key to understanding may be found.
Returning to the first
chapter of the Book of the Revelation, John records
the situation which resulted in his commission to write the Work which today,
and despite the scepticism of man, still forms the last Book of the Bible. The now aged Apostle was 'in the Spirit on the Lord's
day' � a phraseology which is clarified in the last chapter of the Book, when
he was startled by a real and living voice which was by no means the by-product of ecstatic spiritual elation occasioned by his
solitude on the island. He heard a voice behind him saying: "I am Alpha
and Omega, the first and the last . . . And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw
seven golden candle�sticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks
one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a
garment down, to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle"
(Rev. 1:11-13). That this was the Lord Jesus Christ cannot be doubted for John
continues: "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid
his hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am
he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold,
I am alive for evermore" (Rev. 1:17-18).
The full significance of
what one may call John's re-introduction to the Risen, Triumphant Christ of God,
may be seen in the phrase 'the Alpha and the
Omega' and the setting in which 'one like unto the Son of man' appeared. The setting was, of course, associated with the Holy of
Holies or the Tabernacle in Israel. The 'Alpha and Omega' or in Hebrew, the
'Aleph and Tau' had a very real significance in the days of the Levitical
priesthood. The 'Aleph and Tau', the first and the last letters in the Hebrew
alphabet, were inscribed on two stones which formed an integral part of the
'breastplate of the High Priest'. "Thou shalt put in the breastplate of
judgment, the Urim and the Thummin: and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when
he goeth in unto the holy place" (Ex. 28:30). Further instances of mention
insofar as these stones are concerned, is
found in Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deut�eronomy 33:8; I Samuel 28:6; Ezra* 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65-
The priestly usage of these stones had to do
with questions which arose in terms of
God's Direct Revelation given to Israel primar�ily in the context of the
Law. They were called the yea stone and the nay stone and when the priest stood
before the altar with some ques�tion, the
Glory shone on one or other of these stones signifying either yes or no �
with no arbitration in terms of indeterminate answers. It was a case of either
a positive or negative answer � the response being
always in the context of what God had said. The significance of the Lord to John on the isle of Patmos as 'Alpha
and Omega' confirms again that which has been stated earlier, namely, that men
were super�imposing what they
thought over what God had declared and in conse�quence, the Alpha and Omega, by reason of that
which followed, was saying a very
definite NO to the trends which were developing.
Having thus
seen the identity of the Author of that which was to follow, one is in a position to consider the dispensation
in which the events which were about to be unveiled, would occur. Once
again, if one disallows the Old Testament, the symbolism of the 'seven golden
candlesticks' can mean anything or nothing at all. It is only as one considers the Book of Exodus where an accurate and
detailed descrip�tion of the seven
candlesticks is given, that one can begin to approach the reason for the
symbolism employed in the Revelation. In this, one may see the position
of the candlesticks in the Tabernacle which was on the left side directly opposite the Table of Shewbread. The light of
the candlesticks illuminated the Holy of Holies, the source of which was
the oil which was continually supplied by the High Priest. The picture thus recorded by John threw the High
Priest into focus and his attendance on the matters pertaining to the 'dwelling
place of God'.
While this may not serve as an
indication of the dispensation involved in the matters about to be revealed,
the fact of John's de�scription of the garments worn by 'the Son of man' will
provide the missing clue. In Exodus 28:2-3 and on the consecration of the High
Priest, it is stated: "Thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother
for honour and glory. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted
whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's garment to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in
the priest's office." It should thus be noted that God specifically
commanded that 'holy garments' made for 'honour and glory' be the symbol of the
priest's office. In passing through the Old Testament, it will be noted that in
Psalm 8:5, the 'son of man' is associated with 'honour and glory' while in the New, Peter records that he saw the 'Son
of man' clothed with the garments
of� 'honour and glory' (II Peter 1:17). This
was, of course, the experience which he shared with James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-5).
In the Epistle to the Hebrews, the same phraseology is
again used and without doubt in respect of the Lord Jesus Christ, the High Priest. "No man taketh this HONOUR unto
himself, but he that is cal�led of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ
glorified not himself to be made an high
priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I
begotten thee" (Heb. 5:4-5). The words 'honour and glory' are once again used as the garments of the High
Priest � garments which were not
earned, but given according to the calling of God. The whole picture is
that of Christ Jesus, High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek consecrated in Eternity.
It is most significant that John did not see
what Zechariah the prophet saw for this
would have added confusion to the identification of the dispensation
involved. The Old Testament prophet saw 'the priest
on the throne' (Zech. 6:13) whereas John saw the Priest tending the
candlesticks. The essential difference between the two is dispensational � the one during which the High Priest is
the Mediator while the other that in which He becomes King. The
dispensation thus in�volved in the vision
which John saw was that period in which the High Priest remains, in the
heavens 'until his enemies be made His foot�stool' (Heb. 1:13) - a dispensation
which today is known as 'the Christian
Dispensation'.
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CHAPTER�� 1
THE IDENTITY OF THE CHURCHES IN
ASIA
With the subject of Source and
Dispensation fully seen in the symbolism of
the 'Alpha and Omega' clothed in High Priestly Garments tending the
seven golden candlesticks, one is equipped to pass on to a consideration of the
first events which were annunciated by the Lord Jesus Christ. "What thou
seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven_
churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto
Pergamos, and unto Thyatira,. and unto Sardis, and unto Phila�delphia and unto
Laodicea" (Rev. 1:11).
At the very outset of the messages to the seven
churches, one is able to see that discrimination, a very 'dirty word' in the
modern context, is the order of the day. The time of the giving of the Revela�tion,
as has been seen, was, according to Irenaeus, '. . . at the close of Domitian's reign." Notwithstanding the
many arguments which theo�logians present against Ussher's dating of A.D.
96, historians, much closer to the time and event, leave one in no doubt that
the period around the turn of the first century is correct.
At this time, there were many 'churches' in
existence. In Pales�tine, Greece, Asia, the British Isles, in Spain and regions
of Gaul. Tertullian (A.D. 155�222), considered to be the church's first great
genius after the Apostles, wrote: "The extremities of Spain, the various
parts of Gaul, the regions of Britain which have never been penetrated by Roman
armies have received the religion of Christ." Eusebius (A.D. 260�340) the
great church historian, pinpoints the Apostles as having taken Christianity to
Britain. "The apostles pas�sed beyond the ocean to the isles called the
Britannic isles." Gildas, the British
historian (A.D. 425�512), establishes the fact that a Chris�tian church
was begun in Britain as early as A.D. 37, only four years after the Crucifixion
of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Christ, the True Sun afforded His light, the
knowledge of His precepts, to our island in the last year, as we know, of
Tiberius Caesar."
Thus, on historical evidence, one is able to see that at
the time of the Revelation the message of
Christianity had been spread far and wide
and that Christian communities existed in regions other than Asia Minor. However, these other communities did not
come within the com�pass of the seven messages which were specifically
directed to the 'seven churches which are in
Asia'. As there was obviously something very pertinent to the
churches in this region, it behoves students of the Revelation to consider all
relevant information which provides light on the subject.
In the
first instance, it will be noted that men from Asia, indeed from the whole territory known today
as Turkey, were present in Jeru�salem on the
day of Pentecost. This poses the question as to why, at this particular time,
there should have been such unusual activity and so great an influx of people
into Jerusalem. Another question also arises when one considers Peter's
exhortation to those assembled in that he said: ". . . let all the
house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye
have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). Why limit the imparting
of this news to all the house of Israel and why commit this task to an apparently mixed
multi�tude when he later refused to
consort with Cornelius on apparent racial grounds (Acts 10:1-28)?
At first
glance the narrative appears to engender confusion in the mind of the student
but if one delves more deeply into the subject, one is able to see that, far from presenting contradiction and
confusion, the original Greek wording of the
text provides a glorious, God-honour�ing
continuity of the Plan and Purpose of Almighty God. It will be seen that Peter's exhortation concerning all Israel in
the context which pre�supposes Israel in existence outside of the bounds
of Palestine was in conformity with what
was accepted by the ruling hierarchy in Judaea at that time. It was a
known fact that Israel was in dispersion (John 7:35) and, notwithstanding the
Jew's claim to Israel's inheritance, it is of singular interest to note that
James, some thirty years later and ten years prior to the destruction of
Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews, wrote ". . . to the twelve
tribes which are scattered abroad . . ." (James 1:1). In the light of
this, Peter's exhortation is seen to be in
conformity with the then known facts, namely, that Israel was not in Judaea at
that time but in regions far removed from Jerusalem.
Having thus established that Israel was the
target of Peter's exhortation, one passes on to consider the people entrusted
with this commitment. It will be recalled
that at the commencement of the Minis�try of the Lord Jesus Christ, He
directed His newly chosen disciples in the context of His publicly declared
Mission, namely, to the 'lost sheep of the house of Israel' (Matt. 15:24). He
sent them: ". . .not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of
the Samaritans enter ye not: But go
rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10:5-6). That the disciples were obedient to
their mission is confirmed in Luke 22:35
and also confirmed is the fact that at that time no re�action to this was forthcoming from the Jews in
Judaea which indicates that the
disciples did not fulfil this mission among the Jews there.
Against this background
together with the news of tremendous unrest in Judaea plus the story of the Crucifixion of
One Who claimed to be Israel's Messiah and the impending 'Feast of Wave-Loaves'
(Lev. 23:15), those of
Israel in dispersion who were able, would have travelled to Jerusalem if for no other
reason than to satisfy their curiosity. It
should be recalled that the 'feast of wave-loaves' was one of the seven feasts
which were exclusively Israelitish and would have no meaning or significance to people of another race. That others were there is not denied but their presence did not have, for them, the same significance as it did for those of the Israel
nation.
There are, no doubt, those
who would say that the above conten�tion is pure speculation and if there were no other factors involved, this would be freely admitted. However, there is much more
to the story. Peter's dissertation was
limited to quotations from the Scripture � documents which meant little or nothing to those not of Israel � and yet the people were so moved that they said:
"Men and brethren, what shall we
do?" (Acts 2:36). The Greek wording is most illuminating. The word brethren here recorded is adelphoi
and is used extensively in the
New Testament to denote blood relationship as distinct from the fellowship of faith which is derived from the
Greek word philadelphos. Those who were thus moved by Peter's
exposition of the Scripture therefore claimed
blood relationship with the disciples who were Israelites.
In the context of the
exhortation 'let all the house of Israel know' and the bewildered response of 'what shall we do?',
Peter provided the answer: "Repent and
be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:28).
This immediately thrusts to the fore
the fact that these men were guilty of 'sin' � a condition which in the Israel context arose from the
transgression of God's Law which was
given to the nation at Sinai (I John 3:4). Further to this, the word 'repent' has a peculiar significance which
is largely overlooked by many today. In the Biblical context, the word
has a meaning far removed from that which
is usually now implied. It meant to 'think again' in the primary sense with sorrow and contrition being secondary to
it. If the student examined the overall situation as it obtained when this word was used, it would be seen that Israel,
being the only nation in the world
to have known the Commandments of the Lord and the only nation which could transgress these plus being
the only nation to have received the mechanics for reconciliation
arising from violation of God's Laws, had much to think about. They had been
committed to blessing 'all the nations of the earth', they had received 'the
glory and covenants, the giving of the law, and the service of God and the pro�mise^' (Rom. 9:4) and they had thrown all this
away when they rejected God's Directives for them. However, there was
yet more for them to think about.
Incorporated
into the Scriptures were the writings of�
'holy men of God
who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost' (II Peter 1:21) 'and which showed very clearly that God was far from
finished with them. These men recorded the
promises of a Redeemer through Whom the
sins of the nation would be blotted out (Isa. 44:22) and reconcilia�tion
wrought (Isa. 54:5). In the light of this, one is able to appreciate the call,
first made by John and subsequently the Lord Jesus Christ and ultimately the
Apostles for the people to 'think again'. They were enjoined to think again on the matter of national destiny.
What happened to these men after Pentecost?
They obviously returned to their homes and
formed the basis for the Christian communi�ties in the towns where they
resided. Peter., some twenty-five years later,
knew full well the significance of Satan's attention on the people whom God had constituted as His witnesses and
found it necessary to write to them
reminding the people of their national identity and calling. "Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered through�out Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge
of God . . ." (I Peter 1:l). While the subject of 'the elect' has become
one of much controversial speculation, Peter was
under no delusions concerning it for having based the whole of his ministry
on the only Scriptures which were in existence at that time, he would naturally use the phrase in the Old
Testament context which was the Israel nation (Isa. 45:4). In support of
this, it will be noted that these
'strangers' who were the elect of God are further unmistak�ably
identified by Peter who wrote: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you
out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in times past were not
a people, but are now the people, of God: which
had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained
mercy" (I Peter 2:9-10).
The titles given by Peter are both racial and national and
will be found to be those bestowed on Israel by God (Ex. 19:5-6). The peculiar
status of 'not my people' and 'not having received mercy' is the projection by Peter of the events recorded by
Hosea the prophet in respect of the condition of Israel arising from the
national departure from the Directives of
the Lord. Attendant on the pronounced judgment (Hos. 1:6-9) one finds the promised reconciliation for the nation in
the words: "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as
the sand of the sea, which cannot be
measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place
where it was said unto them, ye are not my people,
there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God" (Hos. 1:10).
In the
light of the obviously national character of events thus far considered, many find it difficult to reconcile this with
the word 'church' as it appears in Paul's writings as well as in the Revelation.
However, this 'difficulty.' need not arise if one is prepared to 'rightly
divide the word of truth' and diligently 'search the scriptures'. In so doing,
one finds that the English word 'church' owes its origin to the Greek word Kuriakos which literally means
'pertaining or belonging to the Lord'.
This word was borrowed by the Gothic nations and became the German Kirche, the Anglo-Saxon Cyrise,
the Dutch Kerke, the Scottish
Kirk and eventually the English
Church.
In
searching the Scriptures, one finds that a variation of Kuriakos does exist in the Greek Text but is only found to have been
used on two occasions and most certainly not in the context as visualised to�day.
In the first instance of its usage, Paul uses .the phrase when writing of 'the supper pertaining to the Lord' (ICor.
11:20) while John, recording the events leading up to the giving of the Lord's
Revelation, used the term when
stating that he was 'in the Spirit on the Lord's day ..." (Rev.
1:10). In no other portion of Scripture does this word occur and this
naturally leads one to enquire as to the actual word used which has found its translation into the English
word 'church'.
The simple expediency of
using any reliable Bible concordance will immediately reveal that the Greek word which has
been translated into 'church' is ecclesia a
word which prior to the beginning of the seventeenth
century, was always translated congregation.. William Tyndale used the
word congregation as did Coverdale in 1535 to be followed by Whittingham in 1557. Three years later, in 1560, the word
congregation was dropped and church substituted although versions of the
'Great Bible' continued to use the original word for a further ten years.
An interesting fact is brought to light by comparing the
Greek Septuagint (3rd century B.C.) with
the Hebrew writings of the Old Tes�tament for the Greek word ecclesia
is found to be the equivalent of the Hebrew qahal which is used
extensively in the context of the Israel nation. Two instances of this will
suffice at this stage. On the occa�sion of Isaac's charge to his son Jacob, one
finds the patriarch's blessing embracing the word qahal in an
illuminating way. "And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful,
and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude (qahal) of people."
In the Greek of the Septuagint, this word is ecclesia. The second
instance is found in Genesis 35:11 where to Jacob the promise of a 'nation and
company (qahal) of nations' is found. Here again the Greek word in the
Septua�gint is ecclesia which sets an unmistakable pattern within the national
context of Israel.
In the light of this, one may see the
contentions previously ex�pressed, namely, that the Israel content in the
events of (a) Pentecost and (b) the spreading of the Message of the Lord Jesus
Christ, is fully justified. That satanic inroads were being made into the
Israel com�munity cannot be doubted for the writings of Peter, James and John
were intended as corrective admonitions against the insidious penetra�tions by
the serpent and his minions among God's witness nation Israel. That these went
unheeded is obvious from the fact that in A.D. 96, the Lord Himself commanded
John to write to the 'assemblies' of Israel in Asia Minor warning and exhorting
them to 'think again' and to keep the faith committed to them.
The Contents of the Message to the
Seven Churches
In
considering the contents of the seven messages to the 'assem�blies' in Israel in dispersion, one
should bear in mind that, as in many other instances of prophetic fulfilment, there are two
fulfilments. There is
what may be termed the 'near fulfilment' which has to do with cir�cumstances arising out of the then obtaining situation and
the 'far fulfilment' which is a
comprehensive completion of the prophecy at a time determined by the parallelism of the events. This principle is
very definitely demonstrated by the seven messages to the 'churches' in Asia.
While there have been and still
are those who limit Biblical Revelation to
the age in which it was given, i.e., the Bible has ceased to have a literal relevancy today and has become
the source of allegory from which to draw an infinite variety of spiritual
truths, throughout its pages are God's assertions which contradict this
view. For instance, in the Revelation, the Lord commands John to "Write
the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and
the things which shall be hereafter" (Rev. 1:19). The things which
John had seen were, of course, the mighty events recorded in the Gospel under
his name. The things which currently obtained were well within the compass of
his own knowledge � his incarceration on
the isle of Patmos was the direct result of these. However, of the
things 'which shall be hereafter', these could have very little relevance to
the man John for he was nearing the end of
his life and only future generations could benefit from the know�ledge
about to be imparted.
The terminal date of the things
which shall come 'hereafter' can�not be determined by either theological or
philosophical dogma but by the fulfilment of the events which form the basis of
the Revelation. Here indeed are the quick-sands into which so many have
blundered for, having examined the 'near fulfilment' of the messages to the
seven churches, they conclude that nothing further is to be gleaned from this
and consequently deprive themselves of the wealth of information pro�vided by
the Lord in the subject of prophecy.
The first superficial glance at the seven
messages recorded in the second and third chapters of the Revelation will
establish that there were seven literal assemblies within the cities mentioned
all of which had situations which, while differing in content, had one feature in common. The common denominator was the
mechanism pf destruction which had as its main objective, the negation
of Peter's call to the founding fathers of those assemblies to 'Let all the
house of. Israel know that God hath made that same Jesus both Lord and Christ' (Acts
2:36). One has but to read each of the Epistles to appreciate the satanic
attention which was being paid to developing knowledge of Truth as it was being
spread among God's servant nation Israel in dispersion.
However, as one diligently
'searches the scripture', one finds that there is more than an obvious clue to
be found in the names of the cities in which the 'assemblies' had been formed. Each
of the seven cities bore a name which carried a meaning that was determined by
the context of the message and provides an appreciation of the 'far fulfil�ment'
embodied in the seven messages. These names are revealed as seven stages of
church history. Ephesus, the first of the messages, is associated with
the situation of 'letting go' while Smyrna has as its highlight, 'anointing
oil'. The remaining five are Pergamos, 'married to power'; Thyatira, 'ruled
by woman'; Sardis, 'a precious stone'; Phila�delphia, 'brotherly love'
and Laodicea, 'power of the laity'.
It is more than superficially significant that after almost
two thousand years one is able to look back
and to find that church history, as
such, has followed the course prescribed in the seven messages and that
the current situation, highlighted as it is by the actions of the World Council of Churches, modernism, humanism,
the permissive so�ciety and other
apostasies are a graphic amplification of the last mes�sage to the
church at Laodicea.
However, as this work is intended as a study of
the Book of Revelation and not merely parts of it, the course to be followed
will be that of historical progression and in the case of the seven mes�sages,
each will be considered in chronological order with its parallel secondary fulfilment.
EPHESUS
The first message (Rev. 2:1-7) was directed to
the assembly at Ephesus in which city the
place the goddess Diana held was pre-emi�nent among the many gods worshipped (Acts 19:24-35). Those who returned from Jerusalem after the Pentecostal
experience had much to overcome not the least of which was the paganism
associated with the worship of Diana.
However, they persisted in such a manner as to earn the commendation of the Lord Who said: "I
know thy works and thy labour and thy
patience and how thou canst not bear with them which are evil; and thou hast tried them which say they
are apostles and are not and hast found them liars; And hast borne, and hast
patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured and hast not fainted ..."
'Several features emerge from this message, the
first of which confirms the fact that a
very deliberate attempt was being made, through doctrinal issues, to
subvert the Truth. It will be noted that the Lord drew attention to the fact
that men, claiming to be apostles, had tried to infiltrate the assembly and that they were exposed as imposters by the
application of the yardstick for apostleship which the Lord had provided (John 15:27) and which Peter later
confirmed (Acts 1:21-22). Here one
is brought face to face with the kernel of the Revelation and which, as has been explained previously, provides
the reason why the now Triumphant Risen Christ had to leave His August Position
on the right hand of God (Heb. 1:13)
to provide a Divine counter to the spur�ious claims and doctrines of men. The Lord thus commended the as�sembly
at Ephesus for exposing the 'Liars' and for holding fast to the faith.
Thus,
between the time of the establishment of the assembly at Ephesus and the Message to it from
the Lord from Patmos in A.D. 96, one finds its sixty-three year history very chequered indeed. It will
be
[[IMAGE]]
Scattered ruins and rocks of ancient
Ephesus. 19
recalled that in A.D. 64 (Ussher's
dating) Paul wrote his only letter to the
seven mentioned 'churches' in Asia and at such a time as to co�incide with
Nero's abominable persecution of Christianity generally. Secular sources confirm that this date marked the
breaching of the wall of apostolic faith and the tragic reality of the
situation of 'letting go' as was charged by
the Lord.
While many
students have speculated over the actual mechanism which resulted in the indictment by the Lord, it is
patently obvious that speculation as such need not enter into the picture for
the Lord indicated the inducement which
resulted in the fall of the assembly. It will be noted that He said:
"But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which
I also hate" (Rev. 2:6). From this it would appear that the 'deeds of the
Nicolaitanes' was not unknown in this assembly, i.e., the 'works or effects' of
the Nicolaitanes which, as will be noted later in the third Message of the
Lord, has to do with the inclusion of proselytes within what was primarily an
Israel com�munity. Throughout the Old
Testament history of Israel one finds that the proselytised alien has
ever been the major cause for the nation's departure
from the Directives of God (Isa. 1:7; Hos. 5:7; 7:9)- History repeated
itself in the case of the assembly at Ephesus.
The message to this 'church' closes with the
admonition of the Lord Who said: "... repent
and do the first works: or else I will come unto thee quickly, and .will
remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent ..." That the 'church' at Ephesus did
not repent and continued to depart from the apostolic faith is evidenced by the
complete destruction of the city in 262 A.D. the dust of centuries covering the
story of the church at Ephesus which 'let go' of its first love and courted other lovers.
SMYRNA
In the second message, i.e., to the assembly at
Smyrna, one finds that this is summed up in
four brief verses which highlight three facts. In the first and in
centra-distinction to the message of the first assembly, there is no admonition
to repent and no warning of the re�moval of the candlestick. In the second
feature, it will be observed that mention is
made of trial, persecution, tribulation and poverty last�ing for a
period specified as ten days. The third fact is an exhortation to endure all things and to overcome the
tribulation.
The most
striking of these three features is that proclaiming the ten day tribulation
period (Rev. 2:10) for this had a very real meaning to those involved in this 'church' at
that period. Secular history records ten very
distinct tribulations through which Smyrna passed and their tabulation is a
wonderful vindication of the accuracy of Holy Scripture. These phases were (1) Nero persecuted Smyrna in 67
A.D. (2) Domitian, in 85 A.D., added Smyrna to his general persecutions
and while Nerva, who succeeded Domitian, did not persecute Smyrna, Trajan who
suc�ceeded him, recommenced the persecutions in 108 A.D. and this con�stitutes
the third phase. (4) Adrian, who succeeded Trajan, was apa�thetic on the
subject and during his reign, persecutions waxed and waned with unpredictable,
regularity. However, the real fourth phase was commenced by Adrian's successor,
Marcus Verus, who in 162 A.D. pressed the persecutions at Smyrna almost to
breaking point.
Three rulers followed in quick succession,
Commodius, Pertinax and Julianus, but their persecutions were mediocre compared
with Severus who in 200 A.D. marked the fifth phase of persecutions. In the
next 85 years, five distinct periods are marked by intense persecution and tribulation for Smyrna and were perpetrated by
Maximus (235 A.D.); Decius (249 A.D.); Valerian (257A.D.); Aurela (274A.D.);
and Diocle�tian (285 A.D.).
In the above tabulation, attention has been
drawn to Smyrna and not the other regions where assemblies had been constituted
for it was the unique experience of the church at Smyrna that it underwent the
ten distinct periods of persecution and tribulation. It is from this period
that one is able to see the widening of the gulf between the 'near ful�filment
and that projecting into the future for it was some 18 years later that all
Christianity underwent a ten-year period of persecution.
In 303 A.D., Diocletian had
responded to a request made by Lucinius, the emperor of the eastern Roman
Empire, in which he craved tolerance for Christians. However, Galerius, the
adopted son of Dio�cletian, inveigled his mother who was a bigoted pagan, to
persuade Diocletian to recommence the Christian persecutions and in this he was
successful. By the middle of the year 303 A.D. a full-scale as�sault was being
made against all Christians no matter where they were and lasted exactly ten
years, ending when Constantine succeeded to the throne in Rome. Constantine,
together with Lucinius, issued a joint decree of tolerance toward Christians
which brought the prescrib�ed period of ten prophetic days to an end.
In the midst of this message to the assembly,
now referred to as the 'church' in the English translations, at Smyrna, there
appears the parenthetical portion which deals with 'the blasphemy of them which
say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan' (Rev. 2:9)- As
happens so frequently, many allow themselves to form an opinion of the Scripture based on their acceptance of an approximate English equivalent of the Hebrew or the Greek
words and the phrase�ology here is no
exception. In Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, as well as in other Greek Dictionaries of the New Testament, it will
be noted that the word translated 'Jew' in this text, comes from the Greek loudaios which literally means
'pertaining to Judaea' and is a geographical or religious rather than a racial
term.
This being so, one naturally
asks the question as to the reason behind the reference to the blasphemy or,
literally, vilification in the context of God, by spurious claimants in the
land of Judaea? If this scripture is
literally translated it will read: "I know the blasphemia � the evil speaking of the things of God � of those
who claim Judaea as their own � and this without authority � but who are of the
assembly of Satan." This, without doubt, is an extension of the
scope of the Revelation in its warning against the dangerous trends which were
developing � not only within the context of the written and spoken Message of
Truth � but also in the context of Satan's counterfeit for true Israel.
The subject of the
counterfeit may be seen in the Old Testament � God's Holy Word which in those days and by reason of
ecclesiastical sanctions was ignored
completely in favour of the writings and oral teaching of the church fathers. It
will be noted that the prophet Eze-kiel who
wrote at a time when nationally the Israel presence in Pales�tine was nil, drew
attention to the fact that unnamed people laid claim to the territory
formerly occupied by both Judah and Israel. "Son of man, those that
inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, say�ing: Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land
is given us for inheritance" (Eze. 33:24). Here, in unmistakable terms, are people of unspecified origins claiming
the land as an inheri�tance � the claim being totally false as evidenced
by the fact of it being mentioned at all. This
was the groundwork for Satan's conspiracy who sowed an alien seed in the
land of Judaea which would and did grow into proportions which dictated not
only the political course of events, but also those in the religious sphere as
well. The Lord Jesus Christ branded them as
being of their 'father the devil' and condemned them for doing his works (John 8:44). The reason for the reference to the 'synagogue of Satan', when taken in
conjunction with the warnings against
the doctrinal trends which were developing, may thus be seen as the
corrective exhortation by the Lord to His people to get back to the Word of God.
The overall situation was thus fraught with dangerous
possibilities and as one passes on to consider the remaining five messages, one
is able to see that despite the intervention of the Lord by giving the
incredible Revelation to John on the isle of Patmos, the satanic conspiracy
continued unchecked and, tragically, unhindered by those teachers who professed
to believe God.
PERGAMOS
Pergamos � an assembly or church
which became 'married to power' carried with its name an indictment which most
one-worlders today find convenient to forget. Situated in the north-west
regions of Asia Minor, Pergamos was considered a University city although the
learning dispensed there was the very antithesis of enlightenment. The city
wallowed in a depravity encouraged by paganism and idolatrous practices which
were unrivalled by any other centre in Asia Minor. It was to this city that men
ceturned from Jerusalem after Pentecost and endeavoured to fulfil Peter's
commission to 'Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus . . . both Lord and Christ.' An assembly was established under
the leadership of Antipas and this flourished for a while until the leaven of
Pergamos began to permeate the congregation and the apostolic faith suffered a
tremendous blow from which, from all evidences to hand today, it has never re�covered.
The third message to the seven churches in Asia
begins in the same vein as the two preceding messages. "I know thy works,
and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and-thou holdest fast my
name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my
faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth" (Rev. 2:13).
This commendation was surely well earned particularly when one considers the
social atmosphere which obtained in that city 'where Satan's seat is'. It
required more than the average courage and conviction to go into a city where
the very air was charged with the pollution of Satan's dominion and to begin a
work which, in every respect, was diametrically opposed to the principles which
held the people in its grip.
The specific reference to
Antipas and his martyrdom in Pergamos provides a picture of the fate of those
who sought to expand the know�ledge of the accomplished Mission of the Lord
Jesus Christ in which trial and tribulation was the constant companion of all
involved in the congregation. Antipas vigorously opposed the evils which
dominated the social life of the city and contended with the priests who
dispensed the debauchery associated with the god Aesculapius whose temple was
the fulcrum around which life revolved in the city. It should be noted that the Lord referred to Antipas as 'my faithful
martyr' � a commenda�tion which arose because of his opposition to the
prevailing situation which, in many ways, is identical to that which today
obtains within many cities of modern Israel �
Anglo-Saxondom. Antipas was taken by the priests of licentiousness and
burned to death in a brazen bull in the temple of Aesculapius during the reign of Domitian
in circa A.D. 100.
The martyrdom of Antipas,
occasioned by his opposition to the then prevailing evils, draws the subject of
integration and miscegena�tion very much to the fore. Although one has no means
of ascertaining the racial composition of the inhabitants of Pergamos, from the
en�suing indictment of the Lord it becomes
more than apparent that incom�patible elements were present in the city
and that these were being fused into a oneness which was detrimental. The
Lord's charge against the Israel assembly in Pergamos highlights this feature.
"I have a few things against thee, because thou hast them there that hold
the doc�trine of Balaam who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the
children of Israel." This charge is perfectly lucid and the only excuse � if
excuse it could be called � for ignorance of its complications, is the lack of
knowledge of the Old Testament history.
Balaam is referred to on a number of occasions
in the New Tes�tament and unless his history is studied and accepted, much of
the essential truth embodied in the New Testament references becomes obscure. Balaam
was a prophet who sought to make capital out of his gift, marketing this and
characterising false teachers of whom the word picture provided in the end of
the age scene, indicates there would be a plentiful supply (II Peter 2:15). This
situation is recorded as 'the way of Balaam' while in Jude 11, the 'error of
Balaam' refutes utterly the contention held by so many that God, finding
Himself in a situation created by Israel's disobedience to His Laws, had to
reject the nation and begin again. It is reasoned by those who lack the
conviction that God said what He meant and meant what He said, that
notwithstanding His unconditional, Oath-bound
promises, God discontinued His national Plan and began with an individual one. A Holy God � so they reason � must
curse, by rejecting a people such as Israel had become, ignorant of the higher
morality of vicarious atonement by which God could be just and a justifier of
His people. This, is the 'error of Balaam' � an error into which so many fall
today.
The third aspect of the subject
of Balaam is that referred to by the Lord in His. condemnation of those at
Pergamos, namely, the 'doc�trine of Balaam'. It should be noted that the Lord
did not speak of the 'way of Balaam' nor
the 'error of Balaam' but rather that in the church at Pergamos, there
were those who held, i.e., kept the 'doctrine of Balaam'. The record of this doctrine (Num. 25) leaves one in no doubt as
to the reason for the Lord's condemnation for it involved the viola�tion of God's command to Israel to remain
separate from all other peo�ple. Balaam, who was frustrated at every
turn and unable to earn his fee as a
hireling prophet, propounded his doctrine of physical integra�tion with the children of Israel in which twenty-four
thousand Israelites became involved
in a situation which is described as a 'plague' (Num. 25:9). God's
reaction to this was one of wrath and judgment and the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ was consistent in His condemnation of those
in Pergamos is surely a warning to those who, in the modern context, hold the 'doctrine of Balaam'.
Another
feature to be observed in addition to the Lord's condem�nation concerning the trend in the church at Pergamos, is
that, as in the case of the first message to the church at Ephesus, the
'Nicolaitanes are again mentioned. Whereas
the 'deeds' or the practices of the Nicolaitanes
were recorded in the first message, the permeation of the 'doctrine' of
these people within the church had become such as to warrant the warning of the Lord. It will be noted that the Lord averred that He 'hated' this subject �an attitude which
should stimulate further enquiry and
alignment with Him Whose Name Christianity bears.
The general voice of
antiquity accuses the Nicolaitanes of legal�ising
that which God prescribed as illegal, i.e., the eating of things offered to idols and of mixing in and encouraging
idolatrous worship. The morality of these people was the very antithesis
of that to be found in the Law of the Lord �
a Law which, to them, was totally un�acceptable
because of its prohibitions and restrictions. It is significant to note
that this group of people derived their name from Nicolaus whose name literally means 'conqueror of the
people'.
It will be noted that
Pergamos had been induced to depart from the
Directives of God and were using the instruction of the Nicolai�tanes for the
literal translation of the Greek text is: "So hast thou also in addition
those that use (Greek: krateo) the instruction (Greek: didache) of
the Nicolaitanes which thing I hate." The 'teaching or instruction' of the Nicolaitanes centred on the
complete breakdown of any form of separation depending for its existence on
integration in all forms. Nicolaus,
after whom the group was named, will be found to have been elected as
one of the first seven deacons of the church (Acts 6:5) and it was the accommodation of this proselyte from Antjoch which resulted in the Law of the Lord being phased out
and 'grace' taught in its place. The fact that the 'doctrine of the
Nicolaitanes' was roundly condemned by the
Lord is thus in keeping with His avowed statement that the Law of the
Lord was valid and should remain so till 'heaven and earth pass' (Matt. 5:17-18). It is small wonder that the Lord point�ed
an accusing finger at this assembly at Pergamos for Satan had indeed engulfed this church with his evil and anti-Christ
machinations and very few indeed escaped these.
As has been mentioned
previously, the seven messages to the churches in Asia carry both the immediate
and local message as well as that which
extends into the future, with that to the church at Smyrna extending to the time of the ten-year persecution
of Christianity under Diocletian. It is not without significance that
the next stage of church history as recorded
by secular historians follows the pattern as reveal�ed in the message to the
church at Pergamos. The intense persecutions of Diocletian came to an end in A.D.
313 when Constantine succeeded to the throne in Rome and within twenty-four
years, half the Roman population professed
a conversion to Christianity as a religion. How�ever, it is quite
apparent that this was political expediency motivated by a desire to curry favour with the Emperor who was said to be con�verted
to Christ. An outward show of Christianity began to appear but subsequent developments indicated a complete lack
of inward convic�tion. A combination of pagan idolatry and Christian
ceremonies soon indicated the meaning of
the prophetic message to the church at Perga�mos for this integration of
paganism and Christianity and vice versa establishes an unholy marriage with the power of Satan himself.
History
tears aside the facade of Roman conversion and reveals itself for what it was,
namely, an expediency by which a pseudo-faith could contaminate and utterly pervert the truth. It
cannot be denied that Romanism
dominated the dissemination of Christianity and even though this was brought to an end in the Reformation, the
superstitions with which Rome endowed the
Christian faith continue, to a lesser or larger degree, today.
Julian, the nephew of Constantine, succeeded to
the throne in Rome in A.D. 361 and,
according to secular sources, was instructed in matters pertaining to
Christianity by no less a person than Eusebius who enjoys the title of 'father
of church history'. While receiving in�struction
from this illustrious person, Julian was under the persuasion of Maximus, a magician steeped in the lore of
ancient paganism and it was not long before he renounced Christianity
and returned to the worship of the ancient Roman gods. Julian did not forbid
Christian ceremonies but made it very clear that his sponsorship of paganism was a directive for the Roman populace. Julian's
death two years after his succession
was attended by the most obscene oaths � a testimony to his reversion to the kingdom of Satan in Roman
paganism.
Jovian next
succeeded to the throne in Rome and the assimilation of Christianity within pagan Rome continued. The order of
official Popes was inaugurated and the
foundations of Roman Christianity were were
laid. In the history thus far considered one may see the amazing clarity
of the prophetic message to the church at Pergamos for the 'doctrine of Balaam', the God-condemned alliance
of integration, be�came a tragic reality when Christianity was wedded to
paganism in Rome. However, the 'doctrine of the Nicolaitanes', too, has its
part for 'ecclesiastical hierarchy' based on pagan priestly prerogatives, began to emerge in the Roman version of
Christianity. Priestly tradi�tions
began to be superimposed over the Truth and any non-acceptance of the priestly directives was held to be
blasphemy against God Him�self punishable by death. In A.D. 697, Pope
Agathon issued an edict in which all reactionaries to the new order of
Christianity were to be persecuted and those who, in spite of all political
pressures, still held on to the apostolic faith, found themselves in a similar
situation to that which obtained when
Diocletian embarked on his ten-year persecu�tion of Christians.
THYAT1RA
Ecclesiastical dogmas emanating from fertile
brains and pro�pounded as God-given Truth
is, in a manner, the personification of the 'doctrine of the
Nicolaitanes' which, with the passage of time, has characterised the mesalliance of Christianity with Romanism. This is forcibly driven home when one considers the
period of A.D. 820 when Theodora, the wife of Theophilus, the eastern Roman
Emperor, caused the revival of image
worship which characterised that of paganism. It is not without significance
that the fourth message to the churches in Asia brings this subject to the fore.
The assembly or church at Thyatira � a
region very close to Pergamos � would naturally be contamin�ated with the same problems as obtained in the
larger University city. That the 'doctrine of Balaam' was practised in
this region is clearly evident from the words of the twentieth verse of the
second chapter. "Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because
thou sufferest that woman Jezebel which
calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and
seduce my servants to commit fornication and to eat things sacri�ficed unto idols.
The ramifications of
Jezebel and the havoc caused by this Phoe�nician woman in the northern kingdom
of Israel is recorded in the First Book of
Kings. In her history, one is able to see that in her rampage in Israel, she
was supported by 450 prophets of Baal and 400 of Astarte the so-called 'Queen
of heaven'. Opposition was brushed aside with the, 'prophets of the Lord' put
to death on her orders (I Kings 16: 31-32; 18:19)
and the whole of the northern kingdom introduced to idol worship with
particular emphasis on Astarte.
In the message to the church at Thyatira there
is no suggestion that the Lord supported the theory of the reincarnation of the
woman Jezebel � far from it. He used the illustration of Jezebel to indicate
the dangerous trend in the church in that they suffered the leaders to guide
them into a spiritual fornication by the propagators of false pagan worship of Venus � the Roman queen of heaven.
The compromise which characterised the church at Pergamos was also in
evidence at Thyatira and the apostolic faith was being diluted by the
integration with pagan ideals and customs. The church was warned against a con�tinuation
of this in the words: "Behold I will cast her into a bed, and them that
commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their
deeds" (Rev. 2:22).
There was no repentance and as one looks on the
splendour of ancient Thyatira with its dyeing industry and generally vigorous
econ�omy, its current position in Asia Minor is indeed a grim warning to those
who treat the admonitions of the Lord lightly.
Theodora, the wife of
Theophilus the eastern Roman Emperor, as has
been mentioned previously, acted in a typical Jezebel-like vein. Christianity,
having been wedded to the power of pagan Rome, was induced by this woman to commit further spiritual fornication by eleva�ting
a woman to the position of 'Queen of heaven'. Statues were erected to the
virgin Mary who was endowed with the title borne by Astarte of the Phoenicians
and by Papal edict, homage and worship was to be accorded her. She became the
central figure in the Papal religion and the fact that she bore the same title
as Astarte is borne out by a painting in the Tate Gallery where the virgin Mary
was given the in�famous title of 'Queen of heaven'.
That the Roman elevation of Mary to deity
created an era identi�cal with undiluted paganism cannot be doubted for across
all history books is blazoned the words 'the dark ages' �a period when the
'queen of heaven' took pre-eminence over 'the Word made flesh' (John 1:14). The
period of darkness in which Christianity was dominated by the act of the woman Theodora, covered the years 820 to 1553
when the author�ity of the 'queen of heaven* was broken in the
Reformation of the Christian faith. Thyatira
� ruled by a woman � is a message which, in keeping with all others, is
proven wondrously accurate and true by the cold and unbiased facts of history.
Before leaving this fourth
message there is one point which re�quires attention and which in the previous
three is lacking. Each of the first three end with an exhortation to 'overcome*
the evils, i.e., to re�main uncontaminated by the machinations of Satan which
were directed against the spread of the knowledge of the accomplished Mission
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, and for the first time in the seven messages,
there appears the promise of the Second Coming of the Lord. "But unto you,
I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and
which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon
you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come ..." Note how the Lord refers to the
Jezebel act as the 'depths of Satan' � the delusion of substituting Mary for
Christ. The subtlety of superstition injected within the Christian Message when
both the Pergamos and Thyatira eras dominated would never truly be eradicated
for in each of the three succeeding messages, one finds hope in the fact that
the Lord has promised to come again. This Pro�mise has been the hope of many
and today takes on a very real meaning when Satan, knowing 'that he hath but a
short time', is throwing every mechanism which he has used in the past and many
new ones invented for this time, into the battle of the age.
As one looks back on the four
messages considered thus far, it is more than a little evident that Satan has
been determined to either contain or pollute the good news of the accomplished
Mission of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 15:24). He has used perversion of the
Truth and unadulterated paganism; he has used the 'doctrine of Balaam'; he has
used the "doctrine of the Nicolaitanes' and he has used the forni�cation
of Jezebel to accomplish his ends but though he may claim suc�cess with the
majority, there has always been the 'little flock', the 'seven thousand in
Israel who have not bowed the knee to Baal' who have, under God, carried the
Truth inviolate. It stands today as the hope which is centred in the Promise of
the Lord: "... hold fast till I
come."
SARD1S
The name of Sardis, the city in which was established the fifth of the seven Israelite
churches in Asia, was derived from the predis�position of the inhabitants
towards amassing great fortunes in precious gems. While being an undoubted
centre of the textile industry and a city
where coins were minted under the opulent Croesus, its main claim to fame arose
because of the exquisite jewellery which was fashioned by the craftsmen of Sardis and distributed throughout the then known world.
The name of Sardis thus became synonymous with 'precious stone' � an expression which is most illuminating
in the context of the prophetic message to be found in the messages to
the seven churches in Asia.
The directive of the Lord concerning the church
in Sardis as it obtained in A.D. 96 is summed up in six verses, the main
features of which are: "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou
livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and
strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God . .
. Thou hast a few names even in
Sardis which have not defiled their, gar�ments; and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy."
In this
great city of precious gems which boasted a mighty temple to Cybele, historic records indicate
a state of society which was satu�rated with
the bacchanalian lusts which characterised this worship. The apostolic faith brought to this city from the
pentecostal experience by those who
were present in Jerusalem for the 'feast of wave-loaves', was initially
vigorous and virile but, after half a century this had be�gun to crumble with the little community of
believers striving to hold off the erosion of worldliness. At the time
when John received the Revelation, the church at Sardis, while retaining the
name Christian and performing Christian
ceremonies, became spiritually dead merely having a 'form of godliness but
denying the power thereof.
The warning of the Lord was: "Remember
therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If
therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come
on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." There was nothing silent or
secre�tive about the judgment which
fell on Sardis and likewise there will be nothing silent or secretive about the Coming of the Lord at the end of
the age. History records a sudden, swift, unexpected and noisy fulfil�ment of the judgment on Sardis for in one day, the
whole city was de�stroyed in an
earthquake which changed the whole topography of the countryside. From
that day to this, the region has been a wilderness of ruin.
The prophetic era indicated by
the message to the church at Thyatira, as has been indicated, focused attention
on the period in which Christianity was
dominated by 'the rule of the woman', i.e., the era of the elevation of Mary to the position of deity and worshipped as Queen of Heaven. Following the events within church
history from this Thyatira era, the
most important event was the Reformation which has been likened to 'a
shining light", a 'precious jewel', phrases which recall to mind the meaning of the name 'Sardis'.
The Reformation, however, saw
tremendous happenings on the earth which went further than is normally accepted.
One is familiar with the work of such men as
John Wycliffe who, in the fourteenth cen�tury, endeavoured to present the Bible to the people in their own lan�guage
that they might have the light of Scripture in such a manner as to rediscover
the God of Revelation. Others, too, who strove in the same context and who gave
their lives for this cause are even today remembered
in the history of that period. In 1552 when Papal dominion was finally broken
in Britain and the Bible became available to all, it was indeed an occasion for rejoicing. However, other events were tak�ing
place which were not acknowledged and passed unnoticed by the people of
Christendom. Two prophecies were in the process of being fulfilled and
Christianity had been so dazzled by the brilliance of the 'precious stone' of God's Word, that no comment
was made of them. In the Book of Hosea which deals with the indictment
against Israel and the effect of the nation's spiritual adultery, one finds the
assurance of the Lord's release from the
consequences of sin.
"Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for
he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After
two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall
live in his sight" (Hos. 6:1-2). As nothing of the nature is recorded within the literal three days nor in the
prophetic period of days of 360 years
duration, some other time scale was obviously intended to which Peter makes allusion in his second epistle (II
Peter 3:8) and which in�dicates that with the Lord 'one day is as
a thousand years and a thou�sand years as one day.' This is obviously the time
scale intended in Hosea.
If one calculates the
period of two thousand years during which Israel was 'torn and smitten' as commencing when the
kingdom of Is�rael was destroyed in the Holy
Land under the Assyrian invasions, this
would end in 1324 A.D. It will be noted that the prophecy indicates a
process thereafter for 'after two days will he revive us; in the third
day he will raise us up and we shall live in his sight.' The 'revival' began
from that period for this was the era of the Reformers whose efforts culminated in the presentation of the
shining jewel of the open Word of
God.
Another prophecy was that of Ezekiel in which
the national re�surrection of Israel was assured. This event is pictured in the
vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezek. 37)
and of which the Lord said: "Son of man, these bones are the whole
house of Israel . . ." At the outset, one is given to understand that the
resurrection here implied had noth�ing to do with the return of the remnant
from the Babylonian captivity for as is made amply clear by Ezra, this return
comprised 42 360 of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin with a sprinkling of
Levi.
In the resurrection of 'the whole house of
Israel' one may see it as a process for ". . . behold a shaking, and the
bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and
the flesh came up upon them, and skin covered them above: but there was no
breath in them" (Ezek. 37:7^8). This is the precise picture of events as
they are depicted in the 'Sardis' picture. They came alive but there was no
breath in them � 'thou livest and thou art dead'. Under the impetus of the
'Sardis' revelation, the People of the Book stood up but there was no
understanding of the national events which comprise almost five-sixths of the
Book.
Before leaving this message to the church at
Sardis, it will be recalled that the Lord said: "Remember therefore how
thou hast re�ceived and heard, and hold fast, and repent." The 'holding
fast' has a very definite meaning when one considers the attempts made by the
Papal authorities co recover what had been lost to them through the Reformation. While there were many very definitely
in favour of a return to Rome there were those who did not 'defile their
garments' and legis�lation was introduced to make any contact with the See of
Rome illegal in Britain. This legislation involved the Royal Family, the
Parliament�arians and the Clergy and as one looks on these matters today, it
has become the modern tragedy that those who have not 'defiled their gar�ments'
are very few indeed.
PHILADELPHIA
The sixth message, that is, that
to the church at Philadelphia, is one of
commendation and encouragement. "I know thy works: behold I have
set before thee an open door and no man can shut it; for thou hast a little
strength and hast kept my word and hast not denied my name ..." When considering the proximity of
this church to those which came under the condemnation of the Lord, it is all
the more re�markable that no word of remonstrance is found associated with it. It
stood aloof from the contamination which
eroded the foundations of the other churches and the community retained
the zeal which marked its beginning. The city of Philadelphia was never
destroyed although it changed its name and
is today known as Allah-shehr �the 'city of God'.
The essential difference between the 'Sardis'
and the 'Philadel�phia' eras in prophecy is very clearly marked in that the
former is characterised by a 'deadness' and .the latter by the reverse. As has
been shown above, the 'raising up' which highlights the Sardis era, was
manifest in the Anglo-Celto-Saxon and kindred people and the Philadelphia period, too, has a particular
meaning among these people. Having
emerged from the ritualistic cloisters of the Roman religion arid while
making every provision against a return to the dominion of the Pope, they
failed to take note of the essential requirements of Scrip�ture, namely, that
the priesthood as such was abolished for "We have such an high priest, who
is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (Heb.
8:1) � "... even Jesus, made an
high priest for ever after the order of
Melchizedek" (Heb. 6:20).
Within the church, while
the yoke of Rome had been overthrown, the authority of the priesthood had not been
relinquished for the priest�ly prerogatives
still covered the same fields as did those of Rome. Among other facets of priestly authority was the right of withholding or
the granting of Communion to the laity, the exercise of which was rife
in the Sardis era as it had been under the periods of Roman dominion. While
this doctrine obtained, there could be no 'brotherly love' - the English
equivalent of the Greek "Philadelphia".
However, as the Lord reveals
that an era of 'brotherly love' would follow the period of the opening of the
Word of God, history faithfully records this happening. During the seventeenth
and the be�ginning of the eighteenth centuries, the exercise of priestly
preroga�tives verged on the fanatical until checked by what is today known as non-conformism initiated by John Wesley. In 1736,
John Wesley was in America but his
'high church' attitude offended many people who were further incensed when he
refused to give Communion to a certain Mrs. Williamson. This refusal led
to his arrest on a charge of defamation and in a subsequent indictment he was
charged with improper eccles�iastical usages. Wesley left America in 1737
without standing trial.
On May 24th, 1738, Wesley attended a
Moravian meeting in Lon�don and to quote his
own words: "I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in
Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had
taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."
This was the beginning of a new understanding
� the commencement of a new era and its effect, within the context of
the word 'Philadelphia', became felt by all. This became an era of not only consolidation but expansion
for it was from this time that the promises of God made to Israel, began
to take effect.
True modern Israel in Anglo-Saxondom became "a
great and mighty nation" (Gen. 18:18) spreading abroad "to the west,
and to the east, and to the north and to the south" (Gen. 28:14). Here a
'nation and a company of nations' (Gen. 35:10) developed which appeared to have
as a preoccupation the Word of God. The Bible, the 'precious stone', was
printed in many languages so that people all over the world might know the Plan
and the Purpose of the God of Israel in His peo�ple. It was indeed an
unparallelled era which lasted for 110 years and only ended when the 'precious
stone', by reason of its free distribution, became the focal point of
destructive criticism.
LAODICEA
This immediately introduces the last of the
seven messages to the churches in Asia which concerned the assembly at Laodicea.
In whatever way one may look at this last message, one incontestable fact
emerges in that at the conclusion of the revelation of events, the Person of
the Lord Jesus Christ stands knocking at the door. If one reconsiders the message to the church at Thyatira,
it will be noted that the Lord said: "...
hold fast till I come" and in that to the church at Philadelphia,
He said: "Behold, I come quickly ..."
whereas in the last message, He said: "Behold, I stand at the door and
knock." The three phrases are indeed most significant in that the first
two are in�dicative of the work of the Holy
Spirit, the parousia or Presence of the Lord while the last is marked by the epipnaneia or His literal appear�ance.
As one looks back on the
many other scriptures which indicate the
literal appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, one is struck by the extreme necessity for His coming again. In the
Olivet Discourse, the gravity of the situation is such that unless the
Lord did come, 'no flesh would be saved' (Matt.
24:22). A further indication of the urgent necessity of His Return is
found in the recurrence of the days and equal in magnitude to those which
necessitated the judgment of the Flood (Matt.
24:37-39). In the light of this, the message to the church at Laodicea takes on an ominous meaning.
At the
outset, one is struck by the contrast in this message when compared with that to the church at Philadelphia. In the
latter mes�sage, there is nothing but
commendation whereas in that to Laodicea, there is nothing but condemnation. This assembly became the centre of
Christian activity in Asia, indeed the meeting place for whatever church
councils were held, and, in this sense, enjoyed the title of the Cathedral city
of Christianity in Asia. Occupying as it did a place of prominence in the Christian world, an air of self-satisfaction
permeated through this assembly and
it became more concerned with position and possessions than with the
task of 'letting all the house of Israel know that God hath made that same
Jesus . . . both Lord and Christ.'
This situation was described by the Lord Who
said: "I know thy works . . . thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with
goods, and have need of nothing", whereas, in reality, He said they were:
". . . wretch�ed, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." It
will be noted that this assembly boasted its possessions and in terms of its
initial function, it had become completely negative, neither hot nor cold, but
'luke-warm' and in which state, the Lord said: "I will spue thee out of my mouth."
The message does not end on this
pathetic note, however, for the Lord made an appeal to this assembly: "I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and
white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see."
That this appeal fell on deaf ears is all too apparent and today, the spade of
the archaeologist reveals the awesome judgment revealed in the words: "I
will spue thee out of my mouth." The epitaph to the church at Laodicea is
found in the work, The Bible, the Scholar and the Spade, from
which the following extract is taken. "Today, abso�lutely deserted and
uninhabited, Laodicea is a pathetic but powerful witness to the fate of a
lukewarm church. It was rich and self-satis�fied. But its gold perished, its
riches vanished away. Once again his�tory has written with unerring finger, its
confirmation of the reality of the Divine judgments and the truth of the Divine
message." Thus, with heavy presentiments, the message to the local church
is left and atten�tion is focused on the prophetic implications.
From the
current behaviour of the World Council of Churches and other denominational groups, it is more than apparent that
this present time is indeed the Laodicean era of church history. "Thou
sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing ..." has a very real meaning today
particularly when one considers the financial grants given to terrorist groups
when there are literally millions of Christians in desperate need. Money is
thus squandered on the lawless element of humanity whose profession of faith is
seen in the mutilated bodies of their victims. Another instance of the
'richness' of the church is the resolve of one denomination to withdraw its
capital investments in South Africa to
force a change of policy into one which is so roundly condemned by the Lord
throughout the message to the churches in Asia.
There are, of course, many clergymen who
realise the signifi�cance of these times and who do not hesitate to present the
picture as it really is. A Doctor of Divinity in England has said: "Traditionalism,
clericalism and ecclesiasticalism have been on the increase in the Church of England during the past three
generations. They have driven multitudes out of the church ..." A South African D.D. has also
said: "Christianity has become a pious
allegory, a dim mythical philosophy, or a mere ethic; instead of the
confident proclamation that in fact and in truth, Almighty God is descended
into this world that He might raise man up to a newness of life."
The charge against the church in the Laodicean
age is threefold. In the first instance it lacks the Lord's 'precious stone',
the eternal treasure of the Word of Life. In the second instance it lacks the
'white raiment', the Lord's righteousness, which is simply the Lord's 'right
ways'. Thirdly, it is blind.
It is no exaggeration to state that there has
been a general ten�dency to drift away from
God's Holy Word which, in essence, is regard�ed by many as allegory in
poetic language designed to communicate some
deep spiritual truth which lies deeply embedded within the human consciousness. Within this concept, the Bible is
relatively unimportant and this
accounts for a statement made to this writer by another clergy�man who
said: "In the interests of Truth, the church is prepared to discard the Bible."
In this, the gentleman concerned was no doubt speaking of his own denomination
for there are still those who hold that the Bible is indeed, the Word of God
written.
God's 'right ways' are similarly subjected to a
mass of interpre�tation. This, of course, involves the Law of the Lord which,
so many proclaim, has been abolished in the Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here indeed is blindness for those of this persuasion fail to see that it was
the 'law that was added', namely, the ritual of sacrifice, which was fulfilled
in the Sacrifice thus providing an ever-present Mediator before the Throne of
Grace when sin, the violation of the Law, in�trudes. In this context, the Lord
Jesus Christ has become 'our right�eousness', and here again one finds an incredible
attitude of unbelief obtaining. This is found when it is decided that 'it
really doesn't matter whether or not Jesus
was born of the virgin'. The assault on His Person and Identity, the
lowering of His Image to conformity with the degraded
state of degenerate humanity � these .and many other facets attest
to the lack of belief in the 'righteousness' of the Lord.
The 'eyesalve' to correct blindness is seen in
the situation as it obtains today. It is generally held that God has no plan in
operation and that His Holy Spirit is
working selectively among individuals who happen to ask for special
favours. It cannot be seen that the great plan for world rehabilitation
announced in the National Charters of the Old Testament are still in force and,
notwithstanding the current world scene, are slowly but surely reaching the
point of Divine intervention when the
Kingdom of God, in all its Majesty, will be established in the earth. The national aspect of this is repudiated
as are all those nation�al matters which constitute five-sixths of the
Bible. Here indeed is blindness which
contributes in no small measure to the calamity of the Laodicean age.
A further indication of
this is to be seen in the fact that, wrench�ing
the statement 'I stand at the door and knock' out of context and placing it within that of the human heart, denies
a hope of the termina�tion of the Laodicean apostasy in the literal and
visible Return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Looking back over the past two thousand years,
one is able to see that in the seven messages to the churches or assemblies of
Israel in Asia is provided, not only c
directive concerning the then establish�ed communities but also a prophetic
preview of seven stages of church history commencing with its inception at
Pentecost and culminating in the Return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout
these seven stages one is given to
understand that while men may exercise the gift of free will and may
align themselves with anti-God forces, the Lord God of Israel was aware of this
and persistently worked His purpose as laid down in His Holy Word. Notwithstanding
the many vicissitudes in church history, it
is of singular importance to note that the Lord formed Israel the nation
to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth and it is within this nucleus
that His Plan has continued and will continue until
finally consummated at the end of the age.
**********
[[IMAGE]]
The arrangement around the Tabernacle in the wilderness.
CHAPTER��
2
THE�
CRYSTALLIZING� OF� THE�
REVELATION
"After this I looked, and,
behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a
trumpet talking with me;
which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter."
As in all
consideration of Holy Scripture, texts should never be removed from the context
and this scripture is no exception although many have quoted it in isolation to support some theory
or other. One should ever
bear in mind that in the original languages, the Scriptures were not marked by
chapters and verses and in many cases great dis�service has been done to the
context by breaking the continuity of the message
with the insertion of a new chapter. This practice has given licence to 'private interpretation' which has no
bearing on the overall subject.
In the first verse of the fourth chapter, the
opening words are usually discarded as irrelevant with all concentration made,
on the speculative assessment of the
'things which must be hereafter'. In the original Greek, the words which have
been translated 'After this', are metta
tasta which literally translated
provides the essential link which denies any private interpretation or
the removal of the text from the context. Metta tasta is literally
'after these things', i.e., after John had been acquainted with the messages to
the Israel assemblies in Asia and their
prophetic significance which ended on the tragic note of the Lord Jesus
Christ standing outside the door of the Church at Laodicea knocking to come in. As a sequel to this certain happenings were
imperative if God's Plan and Purpose were to have meaning in the earth.
"Come up hither, and I will shew thee
things which must be hereafter." There can be no denying the urgency here �
an urgency resulting from the chaos of the
Laodicean era in which the 'riches' of the Word of God are lacking; the
essential righteousness of Christ stripped
away and blindness contributing to a false masquerade. Readers are
invited to read this short chapter and to note that there are five separate
features blended in the one picture of Glory and which may be summed up as follows:
(1)���������� A
Throne (not an altar) on which is seated Glory Personified.
(2)���������� Twenty
four seats occupied by elders clothed in white raiment.
(3)���������� Thunder
and lightning emanating from the Throne.
(4)���������� Four
living creatures in attendance round the Throne.
(5)���������� The worship accorded the Occupant of
the Throne.
At the very outset of the Revelation, the Lord
indicated that this would be given through the use of 'signs and symbols' � a
feature which should be borne in mind throughout any study of this Book. The
fourth chapter is symbolic and is a reflection of the Kingdom of God in the
earth. This contention meets with all the requirements of Holy Scripture in
that, from the time of Satan's disruption of the perfection of Creation, the
whole tenor of Scripture is toward the 'times of the restitution of all things'
(Acts 3:21) which cannot, scripturally, be construed as anything less than the
re-establishment of the earthly Kingdom of God. This is the very purpose of the
resurrection of the dead (John 5:28-29) and the 'great city, the holy
Jerusalem' (Rev. 21: 10) finding tangible expression in the earth.
If one were to indulge in the
simple exercise of drawing a general picture of the scene depicted in the
fourth chapter on a piece of paper, a staggering fact begins to emerge. One has
a central point around which are placed twenty-four entities which, in
turn, are boxed in by four others. This is a picture identical with that which
greets the eye when one considers the displacement of Israel around the
Tabernacle.
It is one of the most tragic
consequences of the apostasy of this time that men and women should be
encouraged to think only in terms of the New Testament as relevant to
the Christian Faith while the Old Testament suffers a patronising toleration
which is divorced, in the main, from Christian concepts. Here is an example of
such irrespons�ible teaching. How, without the Old Testament, is one able to
under�stand this vital picture of the things which must come as the impera�tive
conclusion to the Laodicean apostasy? The picture is surely worthy of closer
study.
One will note that .the first and indeed the
most stupendous feature which greeted John's eyes, was the Throne of Glory. However,
John was not unique in this for there is the record of others who had seen a
similar picture. Moses and the leaders in Israel were given a vision similar to that of John. "Then went
up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of
Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone
and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness . . ." (Ex. 24:9-10). Thus,
at the outset, one has the picture of the leaders in Israel receiving a vision
of God Himself dwelling in His Glory.
It was clearly God's intention to manifest
Himself in Israel for Moses received implicit instruction for the construction
of the Taber�nacle and was told the reason for this in words which deny
ambiguity. "And let them make me a
sanctuary that I may dwell among them" (Ex. 25:8). "I
will meet with you to speak to you there . . . and I will dwell among the
children of Israel" (Ex. 29:42-45). Thus, as one shares with John the
vision of God in His Glory one also sees the earthly reflec�tion of this in the
Tabernacle in the wilderness. Needless to say, the Tabernacle, the symbolism
and ritual associated with it, was the peculiar possession of Israel being
positioned as it was in the very centre of
the assembled nation.
In passing on to the second of the features
enumerated above, it will be recalled that this had to do with the twenty-four
elders who were seated round the Throne. Association with the Old Testament
Tabernacle is not lacking here either. In the first instance, the numeral
twelve, in Scripture, signifies perfect government and organisation. There were twelve patriarchs � there were twelve
tribes in the organi�sation of God's Kingdom at Sinai � there were
twelve apostles dedi�cated to the spreading of the good news concerning the
Lord Jesus Christ. In the new Jerusalem there are twelve gates containing the
twelve names of the tribes of Israel guarded by twelve angels (Rev. 21:12). In
view of all this it is obvious that the numeral twelve is ex�pressive of
perfect earthly organisation and government. Twenty-four is exactly double this
number and has the same significance in its highest form � heavenly. This is
thus no contradiction of the conten�tion relating to the displacement of Israel
round the Tabernacle in the wilderness.
In terms of organisation
and government, there is a most signifi�cant
development when one comes to consider those entrusted with service associated
with the Tabernacle. As is well known, this lot fell to the tribe of Levi
which, because of its peculiar function, was not allotted territory in
Palestine. In the Book of Chronicles is related the twenty-four courses of the Levitical priesthood (I Chron. 24:5-19) whose
function was to preserve the Law of the Lord in all its integrity and
purity and to see that its requirements were met. Theirs was the' task of ensuring that the Constitution of the Kingdom
was observed through�out the nation. That the Levitical priesthood was .abrogated
by the High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek (Heb. 8:1-5) does not alter
the fact that the vision granted to John has a very direct reference to the
organisation of Israel round the Tabernacle in the wilderness and which must have relevance in the things which
must come hereafter.
The third of the five points raised previously
concerns the 'thun�ders and lightnings'
which emanated from the Throne and which requires very little
elucidation. As the same feature attended the giving of the Law of the Lord to
Israel at Sinai, one may understand this as in�dicating the power of God
issuing forth to govern and direct the affairs in His Kingdom. This, of course,
has a particular significance when one considers that behaviour today,
particularly within the true modern development of Israel in Anglo-Saxondom, is
characterised, not by the Directives of God, but the dictates of the human
conscience. This is a recurrence of the situation which led to the institution
of the Judges in Israel for then 'every man did that which was right in his own
eyes' (Jud. 17:6). 'Thunders and lightnings' are indeed indicative of disci�pline
which, when one considers a later chapter in the Revelation, is precisely what
will happen when the Lord returns (Rev. 19:15).
The displacement of the four 'beasts' round the
Throne is further evidence of the association of the picture with Israel in the
wilderness. As has been intimated previously, many have held this
representation to mean the four heads of God's Creation in the earth. However,
as all the features discussed this far are seen to align themselves very de�finitely
with Israel and the Tabernacle, this contention of world repre�sentation is out
of place. There are further points which put it out of court for there are
obvious omissions of certain species which does not support the contention of
generalisation. There is no representation for the insect kingdom just as there
is no allusion to the plant or vege�table kingdom. Reference, too, to the inhabitants
of the sea is missing, all of which leaves one with the feeling that the theory
lacks corrobor�ating evidence. However, if one persists with the association of
John's vision with that of Israel in the wilderness, all difficulties disappear.
In the
second chapter of the Book of Numbers one finds that four tribes, each with two others, are placed in deliberate
arrangement around the Tabernacle. The tribes and standards were positioned as
follows: On the east and in the company of Issachar and Zebulun, Judah set up
the tribal standard of the Lion. On the southern side, Reu�ben raised his standard of a Man with
which both Simeon and Gad were joined. Ephraim with the standard of the Bull
or Ox, together with Manasseh and
Benjamin occupied the western side while Dan, with his standard of the Eagle covering Asher and Napthali,
completed the 'box' around the Tabernacle. Was it then pure coincidence
that these were the 'beasts' or living
creatures which were in attendance on the Throne and which worshipped the King day and night? Was it pure coincidence that this was the purpose for which Israel was
created (Isa. 43:21)?
The fifth
feature noted at .the outset of this consideration of the 'things which must be
hereafter' was the worship or service accorded to
the Throne by these 'beasts'. This can only refer to Israel for in terms of Holy Scripture, this nation was formed
for this purpose and at no time did
God ever relieve His servant nation of their responsibility. It foreshadows the completion of Israel's role
and the significant fea�ture is that the Church, as an organised body,
is not seen in the vision which, in the
light of the messages to the churches and the conditions obtaining at
the Laodicean period, is understandable. This vision is one which is God-honouring in the extreme showing as it does the con�tinuing faithfulness of God to His Word: "This
people, have I formed for myself, they shall shew forth my praise"
(Isa. 43:21).
Having
seen the vision and having considered its symbolism, it now remains to apply this to the
sequence of events which must follow the apostasy of the Laodicean age.
The overall picture as presented to John was
undoubtedly in�tended to bring to
remembrance the scene of Israel's national organisa�tion at Sinai when the
nation functioned in satellite-like fashion around the Alpha and Omega Who
manifested Himself in the Tabernacle. The pattern of this is, as related
in Hebrews 8:5, based on the pattern of 'heavenly things' thus bringing to the
fore the meaning of the Prayer which the Lord left as a guide line to
supplication. ". . . Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." While
the picture is indeed a hea�venly one, this is an expression of God's desire in
the earthly context which is adequately
vindicated when one considers the implications of the symbolism of the
Tabernacle as it centres on the Person of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
The first feature of the Tabernacle was the
Brazen Altar � the Altar of Sacrifice which
foreshadowed the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God in terms of the 'law of
commandments contained in ordinances'. The second feature was the Laver which
in its original usage was for priestly use
in purification prior to entering the Holy place. Here, too, is a shadow of the
metaphorical washing in the precious Blood of the Lamb. Within the Holy of Holies and at the
entrance stood the Candle�stick illuminating the Table of Shewbread. The
Candlestick finds its meaning in the Person of the Lord Who indeed is the
'Light of the world'. The 'Shewbread' also points to the Lord for He is the
life-saving and life-giving 'bread from heaven'. The altar of incense, ano�ther
of the furnishings of the Holy of Holies is indicative of the Lord in His
Priestly office after the Order of Melchizedek. The Ark of the Covenant which
was the very centre of the whole organisation of Is�rael's Service and worship,
too, foreshadows the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It indeed sums up the
whole subject. The tremendous symbolism of the Ark of the Covenant is simply
the centring of the whole Mercy of God in Christ Jesus and the Mighty Calvary
Act.
This very brief consideration of the symbolism
of the Tabernacle as it centres on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ is
indeed comple�mentary to the vision which John saw. Bearing in mind that the
Second Advent of the Lord is depicted in the Scriptures as a very real and
tangible event � indeed the mighty and visible deliverance promised by God (Acts
3:20) � the centring of the symbolism of the Tabernacle in Him clarifies what
otherwise would be obscure promises.
It will be noted that prior to
the end of the age, the Lord has promised a regathering of scattered Israel and
the unification of the sons of Jacob. "They (reunited Israel) shall also
walk in my judg�ments and observe my statutes and do them" (Ezek. 37:24). This,
of course, is the setting which must precede the full realisation of Is�rael's
function in the earth for it will be noted that the Lord God said: "If ye
obey my voice indeed . . . then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above
all people for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of
priests and an holy nation . . ." (Ex. 19:5-6). The priests were
intimately involved with the Tabernacle and that the Lord God intends to regather
all Israel within the bonds of the requirements for the priestly office, i.e.,
bring them under His commands, is indeed a preparation for their priestly role.
When this has been accomplished, the Lord says:
"My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God and they
shall be my people" (Ezek. 37:27). The Tabernacle in the Person of the
returned Lord Jesus Christ will be with Israel and the promised Millennium will
have begun. This is exactly the picture which was given to John on the isle of
Patmos for, in symbolism, he saw the Millennium reign of the Lord, which reign
is the era in human experience when the Will of God is done in the earth as it
is in heaven.
The Old Testament prophets all directed their
writings toward this great experience and while the 'traditions of men' may
have switched off the perception of men to the reality of the Kingdom of God in
the earth, God's Plan did not deviate nor was there any alteration to the
original Plan. While men's attention was focused heavenwards and their ambitions centred on achieving
citizenship within the realms of
God, His plan has continued for the establishment of His Kingdom on the
earth. It is toward this end that the Resurrection of the dead was directed and
to this end, the Lord Jesus Christ directed attention when He said: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the
which all that are in the graves shall hear my voice, And shall come
forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of. life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
damnation" (John 5:28-29).
Thus, then, the whole picture of the 'things
which must come hereafter', i.e., the utter failure of the Laodicean era, is
the estab�lishment of the visible and very
tangible Kingdom of God in the earth. This is the hope extended to an
age which continues to rot under the administration
of the doctrines of men.
[[IMAGE]]
CHAPTER�� 3 THE SECULAR� TAPESTRY�
OF� THE� APOCALYPSE
A fitting, indeed needful climax, to the events
of the Laodicean age are recorded in the
closing verses of the fourth chapter of Revela�tion. Bearing in mind those tragic events in which the Church was de�picted as gravitating toward self-indulgence and
self-sufficiency even going so far as to place the Lord Jesus Christ
outside its doors, the assurance of
acceptable worship is indeed a faith-building mechanism. As one looks at
the picture of the elders and the four living creatures worshipping God, one is
brought to the sad realisation that the situa�tion as it currently obtains, will
continue until the Lord Himself takes a hand by exercising His Sovereignty over
His people Israel thus in�augurating the
Millennial Reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The point to note about the
fourth chapter is that while it has its context arising out of the seventh
stage of Church history, the picture of
Almighty God dominates in centra-distinction to the Laodicean era in which man and his assertions are the
dominating feature. The change is
brought about not, unfortunately, through the change of heart in the Church,
but due to the direct intervention of Almighty God Who has never abrogated His prerogatives within the Israel
people. The worship as seen in the fourth chapter embodies all the implications
found in the Sovereign statement of the Lord when, in the context of
having made the Israel people, He said: "This people have I formed for
myself, they shall shew forth my praise" (Isa. 43:21). In brief then, the
fourth chapter is nothing less than the promised Millennium in which God'^ true Israel people will function in accordance
with His Will.
As the whole tenor of
Scripture is directed toward the functioning of God's Kingdom on the earth � indeed
the terminal in God's Purpose in the earth � the events revealed subsequent to this must be in a time
context other than the Millennium. As one
therefore turns to the fifth chapter, this is confirmed in such a manner as to
be unmistakable in its association with the unfolding of secular history as
it runs parallel with that of Church history.
While the scene described in the fifth chapter appears
essentially the same, there are differences which, without doubt, are intended
to convey a time factor upon which the revealed events would revolve. It will
be noted that in the fourth chapter, attention is focused on the Throne, the
elders and the four living creatures. The worship accorded the Occupant of the
Throne crystallises the whole purpose of the vi�sion. Having thus provided the
assurance, of the Kingdom to be estab�lished, the Lord then provides the
'bridge' in time by drawing attention to other features which are not present
in the vision of Glory.
In the first instance, the Occupant of the
Throne has a book in His right Hand which becomes the subject of the voice of
the angel who asks: "Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals
thereof?" This 'Book' is obviously not the 'book of life' (Rev. 20:12) which
is opened in judgment of the dead for this only takes place at the end of the
Millennium and which, so far as the Scripture is con�cerned, carries no seal. This
'book' was no doubt the book which Daniel was told to seal (Dan. 12:4) � a book
which contained things of a secular and national character.
It is inconceivable that John
would have been ignorant of the sealed book and his weeping because none was
found worthy to open the book might have been because of his disappointment
that the time was not at hand for the unsealing of history. However, in his
lament, John heard the voice of one of the elders saying: "Weep not;
behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David hath prevailed to open
the book and to loose the seals thereof." John then looked and saw another
change for ". . . in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts and in
the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns
and sevejj eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the
earth."
Here indeed is the positive direction toward
the time factor for the symbolism is that pertaining to the Lord Jesus Christ
officiating as High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek of which the
Levitical Order was but a forerunner. This fact is soon established. In John 1:29,
John the Baptist, "... seeth
Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Be�hold the Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world." Not�withstanding the many insidious teachings which
are rife today con�cerning the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ in which it is
intended to make Him an imposter and charlatan, this statement by John estab�lishes
the Truth that He was indeed the Lamb of God.
Further unchallengeable links in the chain of evidence are
to be found in the Epistle to the Hebrews where it is recorded of the Lord
Jesus Christ Who, ". . . endured the cross . . .'is set down at the right
hand ol the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2). All this establishes the signi�ficance
of the vision which greeted John's eyes for he saw, on the right hand of
God, the Lamb Whose Sacrifice had removed sin, taking the Book from the right
hand of God. The essential fact here evident is that the Lamb �the Lord
Jesus Christ �was still seated in His August Position on the right hand of God
officiating as Mediator and had not, as yet, taken 'the throne of his father
David' (Luke Jj32) which would only be at the "times of the restitution of
all things" (Acts 3:21). He was not as yet the 'priest on the throne' (Zech.
6:13) but rather the High Priest seated on the right hand of God making His
intercession on behalf of sin.
That the Lamb had seven 'horns'
and seven 'eyes' is yet another projection of the future. 'Horns', as is
explained in the Book of Daniel, are symbols of kings or dynasties in which
government is centred and with which the Lord Jesus Christ is equated in Isaiah
9:6-7. The seven 'eyes' are the seven attributes with which the Lord, as
described by Isaiah the prophet (Isa. 11:1-9), shall reign in the earth. Thus,
in sum�ming up the vision, one may see the Lord, having fulfilled the 'law of
commandments contained in ordinances' (a peculiar Israel law) and still
carrying the identification of the Lamb of Sacrifice, projecting His future
function as King in Israel in the 'horns' and 'eyes'.
The remainder of the fifth chapter is taken up
with the acclama�tion of the worthiness of the Lamb, Weymouth's translation
being most illuminating: "Thou art worthy to take the scroll and to open
its seals because thou wast killed and didst redeem to God, with thy Blood, out
of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And thou didst make them to
our God, a Royalty and a priesthood and they shall reign on the earth." This glorious anthem of praise
is sung because of the saving grace of God
in Christ Jesus through Whom men may 'overcome' and 'live and reign with
Him' during the thousand years of the Millen�nium.
After this
anthem of praise, the Lamb opened one of the seals and as one stands in the
twentieth century and looks back, the wonder and accuracy is branded into the
consciousness as the mighty Grace of God extended toward those who, with the
faith of Abraham, believe Him. "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the
seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts
saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on
him had a bow; and a crown was given unto
him: and he went forth conquering to
conquer."
In the first four seals it will
be noted that horses are employed as symbolism. Without the Old Testament as a
guide, these 'horses' could be made to mean anything whereas if one uses what
God has given, the story of the 'horses' in the first four seals is found to
have a very real meaning in history. Horses
in their primary symbolism de�pict war or military might, a _fact which
is clearly demonstrated in Deuteronomy 32:13;
Psalm 66:12; Isaiah 58:14 and Zechariah 9:10. To the symbolism of
'horses' is added that of 'colour' for the four horses are described as White,
Red, Black and Pale. While Zechariah 6:2-7 provides
a clue as to the meaning of the last three mentioned colours, White is
left for the nineteenth chapter of the Revelation to indicate its meaning as Triumphant Glory.
As has been noted in the
quotation of the first two verses of the sixth chapter, the White horse had a rider to whom was
given a crown as an
addition, to the bow that he carried and who went forth 'conquer�ing to conquer'. This was a picture
which John could follow with con�summate ease. Imperial Rome, in A.D. 96, was
readily identified with the
White horse. As has been stated above, the White horse is indica�tive of triumph and victory and it is not without
significance that the Roman Emperors and all-conquering generals, invariably
rode white horses in their victory parades. That the rider in the seal had a
bow in his hand is expressive of armed
might, which is significantly demon�strated in Ezekiel 39 where it is
described that the Lord will strike the bow
out of the hands of Gog as he comes up against the 'unfenced villages'
in the land of Israel.
The Crown which was given
to the rider is seen in the then pre�vailing custom of placing laurel wreaths on the heads of
the conquering Roman
heroes. The first seal is therefore a depiction of Imperial Rome in its heyday for at this time, all the lands formerly
possessed by the three preceding Empires of
Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece were now under the control and dominion of Rome.
That Imperial Rome at that time (A.D.
96-180) fulfilled all the requirements of
the first Seal cannot be denied and in order to summar�ize this
situation, a quote from Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Ro�man Empire would not be amiss. In point of fact, if one is to fully ap�preciate the first four Seals of Revelation six,
this rather lengthy work by a self-confessed non-Christian is invaluable. In
respect of Rome in its heyday and in conformity with the first Seal, Gibbon
describes the situation as follows:
"If a man were called to fix in the history of the
world during which the condition of the human race was most happy and
prosperous, he would without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death
of Domitian to the accession of Commodus (A.D.96�180).
The vast extent of the Roman Empire was governed by absolute power,
under the guid�ance of virtue and wisdom. The armies were restrained by the
firm but gentle hands of four successive emperors, whose characters and au�thority
commanded involuntary respect."
It is not intended here to
debate the philosophy of Edward Gibbon for whatever religious persuasion may
have motivated his conclusions, his portrayal of the facts as they obtained are
confirmed by countless historians who did not share his religious opinions. These
facts very definitely support the contention that in the Seals, one has a
progres�sive unfolding of the dominating secular power as history develops from
the time when John received the vision on the isle of Patmos in A.D.96.
However, while the White
horse and its rider finds its interpreta�tion in the triumphant era of Imperial
Roman history, as with the mes�sages to the Churches, there appears to be a parallel set of circum�stances
which, in point of fact, introduces what could be called the primary or secondary meanings attached
to the Revelation. It would appear out of keeping with the tenor of Scripture
if Israel, the people of
the Book, were suddenly lost and had no part, in the Seals. This contention in no way invalidates what
has been written concerning the Roman Empire at that stage but supports the suggestion of primary and
secondary meanings to be found through the Lord's Revelation.
As has been noted above,
in the Old Testament the horse sym�bolises military might and armed conflict. However,
as one proceeds with a study of the horse as it appears in the Old Testament,
one finds that it is used in the context of Israel
when in a state of national blindness. In general, a horse is a
domesticated animal docile, affec�tionate, faithful and true but at all times,
requires to be kept in hand and mastered. In order to lead a horse, a bit is
put into the mouth so as to make the task easier which is precisely how God
represents His people Israel when they had no understanding. It will be noted
that in Isaiah 63:13 the Lord led His people "...
as an horse in the wilder�ness that they should not stumble." Many indeed
are the references to Israel in this context and as one looks forward in time
to the vision which John saw at a later stage, one may see the King of Israel
corning from heaven on a 'white horse' (Rev.
19:11).
One may thus see that the 'White horse' is also indicative
of Israel which, from the time of its Redemption on Calvary, could go
forth 'conquering to conquer'. It should be noted that the Apostles were
Israelites and that Peter instructed those Israelites present at Pente�cost to "... let all the house of Israel know
assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus both Lord and Christ." Thus
the first 'going forth' of the news of the 'White rider' � the Lord Jesus
Christ' � was within the context of Israel.
Israel, having been redeemed to God through the
Calvary Act, was now in a position to fulfil her commission if she accepted her
national redemption. She could go forth
'conquering to conquer'. When Peter told the assembly at Pentecost to
inform Israel concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, he was fulfilling the Lord's
commission to him to "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-17) � the first step
in the regathering of scattered Israel so that they could indeed be
God's "... battle-axe and weapons of war" � the symbol of the
'bow' in the hand of the rider of the White horse. This surely reminds
one of Joseph's bow which "... abode
in strength and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the
mighty God of Jacob" (Gen. 49:24).
The 'crown' which was given to the rider, i.e.,
the symbol of the victory, is surely the victory expressed by the Lord Jesus
Christ when He said: "Fear not little flock (sheep � Israel); for it is
your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom" (Luke 12:32).
Is it pure coincidence one
wonders, that the White Horse figures so prominently in British history? In
Thierry's Norman Conquest, in Miller's History of the Anglo-Saxons, in
Chamber's British Empire and in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, the
figure of the White Horse is portrayed as an integral part of British history
with F.E. Hume, in the Art Journal stating: "The Saxon White horse
is still preserved in the device of Kent, a white horse rampant on a red
ground, and in the various white horses cut in the surface of the chalk downs
in several parts of the south and west of England."
Reverting to the secondary or
perhaps primary meaning of the Seal which depicted the White horse and its
rider, one may see that this indicates a victory over Satan who had succeeded
in bringing Israel under the 'curse of the Law'. "Christ hath redeemed us (Israel)
from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written (in
Israel's law), Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Gal. 3: 13). Israel's
redemption was thus a victory which would project itself down the corridors of time, suffering assault from time to
time but never again creating the same
desperate need for a re-enactment of Calvary. As depicted in the Message to the
Church at Laodicea, this victory would
enter an all-time low with the need for 'eyesalve that ye may see' but none can
thwart God nor diminish what He has wrought through Jesus Christ His Son on Calvary.
The assurance is that He shall
send forth His Son again this time to ride a 'white horse' and to establish His
Kingdom in Israel which, He assures, will have no end (Luke 1:33) thus
confirming the phrase that He shall go forth 'conquering to conquer'. This will
cul�minate in the situation described by
one of the seven angels who said: "The
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and
ever" (Rev. 11:15).
Thus in summing up the first Seal with the
White horse and its rider, one may see that it has a twofold meaning. In the
first instance, it depicts the continuity of Israel through the Christian
dispensation until the Coming again of the
Lord Jesus Christ � the broadest sweep of history into what is today the
future. In the second instance, it has its
near fulfilment in the depiction of the Imperial Roman Empire in its heyday
providing the guide-lines to the passage of time as it is mani�fest in
developing secular history. As will be seen in the unsealing of the book,
history flows from the Revelation in such clear and concise symbolism that none may doubt that the Lord is
providing all the direc.-tion necessary for men to repent for surely the
'Day of the Lord' approaches.
THE�
RED� HORSE
"And when he had opened the second seal .
. . there went out another horse that was
red; and power was given to him that sat there�on to take peace from the
earth and that they should kill one another and
there was given unto him a great sword." No matter in which way one
may look at the story of the Seals of the Revelation, it is an ines�capable
fact that, having been introduced to the White horse and his rider with its
symbolism of triumph and dominion, the second horse, Red in colour, accompanied by words which indicate civil war, surely indicates
a process of disintegration.
As one
stands almost two thousand years in time away from the scene on the isle of Patmos and with the wealth of
historical records readily to hand, it is comparatively easy to follow, not only
the sym�bolism employed, but the actual course of history as it was foretold
and as it was revealed.
The Imperial Roman Empire very
definitely achieved a dominion and general
state of existence summed up by historians as 'The Golden Age of Rome'. Having
achieved extensive frontiers, the Empire entered into an eighty-year period during which Roman civilisation was guarded by
disciplined valour, gentle but nevertheless the powerful influence of laws and
the image of a free constitution. The Roman Senate pos�sessed the sovereign
authority although it fell to the Emperors to be the executive powers of
government. During an eighty-year period, i.e., from A.D. 98 to 180, the status
quo was maintained by the Emperors Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian and the
Antonines all of whom looked upon the matter of civil administration as a
sacred trust. Such was their dili�gence,
that no breath of civil unrest is recorded and until the appear�ance of
Commodus, no hint of internal strife was evident.
In the Second Seal, the phraseology used is
such that one cannot mistake the implication of civil war for the rider was
given power to 'take peace from the earth', i.e., disrupt the prevailing order,
which would have as a consequence, internal strife in which the people would
'kill one another'. In the recorded history of Commodus, the son of Marcus, one
is able to see the precise picture as revealed by the Red horse enacted on the
stage of Roman history.
At the outset, it should be
noted that Marcus, the father of Com�modus, was a man of the most amiable
character who, while maintain�ing the rigid discipline of the Stoics, had one
failing in that in the un�suspecting goodness of his heart, be could not see
wrong in anyone. His wife, Faustina, the daughter of Pius, was as subtle as
Marcus was solid. From the historical record, it would appear that Marcus was
the only man in the whole Roman Empire who
seemed ignorant or insensible to the irregularities of his wife � a
state of bliss which crystallized into folly when Marcus requested the Senate
to declare her a goddess. This was agreed to and Faustina was represented in
her temples with the attributes of Juno, Venus and Ceres.
The family background is given in order that
one may appreciate how it was that a son of such a virtuous father could be
capable of such vices which are historically associated with him. Marcus spared
nothing in the education of his son and the subsequent events in the life of
Commodus reveal that artificial education cannot displace the factors of heredity.
As a youth, Commodus was weak and timid relying heavily on others for direction.
Having been endowed by nature with a weak and wicked disposition, he became the
pawn of his attendants who gradually corrupted his mind. His dependence on
others became a drug and he refused to take any initiative on his own with
others ever encouraging him to acts of cruelty until it became the ruling
passion in his life. At the age of fifteen, Commodus was elevated to full
partici�pation of the Imperial power and history records a long list of
distaste�ful escapades in which he was immersed in blood and luxury.
On succeeding to the throne (A.D. 180), he was
embarrassed with the command of not only a
prodigious army but a mighty Empire. He had no competitor for the throne, he inherited no internal problem � he had
truly inherited the Golden Age of Rome. His boredom was soon evident in
the negligence of the public administration and the general break�down in Roman
discipline. The army began to lose its efficacy with desertions taking place
almost daily and such was the loss of disci�pline that instead of fleeing to
some other country to be lost to recap�ture, the deserters formed themselves
into bands which preyed on the highways and
ultimately formed themselves into an army which plunder�ed with impugnity.
The storm was growing within the Empire and the
general popu�lace was beginning to feel the effects of Commodus on the throne
which made for great insecurity within Rome itself. Discounting quali�fications,
Commodus raised a Phrygian slave to the exalted position of his right-hand man
and henceforth his actions were directed by Clean�der. Lacking the qualities of a Roman, Cleander encouraged Commodus to
divest Rome of the mechanics of its greatness, the position of Con�sul,
Patrician or Senator being offered for sale at a price. Such was Cleander's
influence that Gibbon wrote of the general state of Roman society in these
words: "In the lucrative provincial employments, the minister shared with
the governor the spoils of the people. The execu�tion of the laws was venal and
arbitrary. A wealthy criminal might obtain, not only the reversal of the
sentence by which he was justly condemned; but might likewise inflict whatever
punishment he pleased on the accuser, the witnesses, and the judge."
Such was
the beginning of the decline of Rome which indeed took peace from the earth. To counter the smouldering, embers of
revolt, Cleander urged Commodus to include among the Praetorian guards, people
from the barbarians who could be relied on to execute their duties without any
compunction dictated by loyalty to Rome. In the passage of time, Commodus abandoned the reins of Empire concentrat�ing
his powers on the unbounded licence of indulging his sensual appetite, being
guided in the matters of state by those around him.
History has preserved a long
list of consular senators who were put to death on the least pretext and
Commodus, a dispassionate shedder of the blood of the noblest families in Rome,
ended his life as he had those of others. Marcia, the favourite concubine of
the Emperor, poisoned Commodus but such was the hatred of the people, that one
of the inmates of the household could not wait to see him die and so rushed to
his couch and strangled him. Thus ended thirteen years of tyranny and Commodus,
the son of Marcus, was ignominiously buried in
an unmarked grave.
Those involved in the death of Commodus � it is
clearly evident that it was not a spontaneous action � had already chosen a new
Em�peror, one Pertinax, whose record of fidelity to the Roman Empire was
unquestioned. He strove to reverse the damage done by Commodus but to no avail.
The Empire was declining but worse still, the people of the Empire were
reacting to a decade of degradation and violence knew no bounds. The phrase
recorded in the second Seal "...
that they should kill one another" became a very real experience in Rome
during the years which followed the death of Commodus. The Praetorian guards,
prominent during the reign of Commodus, created more civil strife by brutally
murdering Pertinax and so plunging the Empire into chaos and giving a very real
meaning to the phrase "... and
there was given to him a great sword."
The dual fulfilment of the
symbolism of the Red horse and rider will be discussed at a later stage when
the symbolism of the horse de�parts from the revelation of the Seals. As has
been intimated previous�ly, while in the main one may see the development in
Roman history in the symbolism of the horses, the Israel association with it is
equally real. Thus the Red horse and its application to some portion of Israel
history cannot be ruled out but in order to present clarity in continuity, it
is intended to pursue the one aspect of prophetic fulfilment as it concerns the
Roman world until the symbolism of the horses ceases.
THE�
BLACK� HORSE
"And when he had opened the third seal ... I beheld and lo, a black horse; and he
that sat upon him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice say,
A measure of wheat for a penny and three measures of barley for a penny; and
see thou hurt not the oil and wine . . ." The colour black is, of course,
the opposite to the colour white and it is logical to conclude that the events
depicted in the Black horse symbolism should be the antithesis of those of the
White horse. The Red horse, as has been seen, indicated the internal strife and
civil war occasioned by the despotic rule of an Emperor who aban�doned the
principle of discipline and dissipated the authority of civil administration. Notwithstanding
sincere efforts to correct the effects of maladministration, the situation
gradually worsened until, in the general
economy of Rome, the spectre of depression was seen.
The voice which spoke in the
context of the Black horse drew attention to the need for stability in the cost
structure of essential commodities � a statement which must inevitably lead the
student to consider the financial structure of the Roman Empire. Rome was the
great city in which was centred all the opulence and luxury which was afforded by those far-off times. Through a
thousand channels, merchan�dise of every type flowed into the city and
it is from this that one is able to appreciate in some small measure, the type
of financial struc�ture which characterised
the Roman way of life.
The rate of customs varied
considerably according to the value of the commodity, some authorities claiming
that it ranged from one-eighth to one-fortieth of the saleable value. However,
it has been sug�gested that essential products were treated to a light duty
whereas luxury items became very costly. Preference
was given to articles pro�duced or
manufactured by the labour of Empire subjects while commod�ities imported from
Arabia and India were almost taxed out of existence. The historian Pliny
observed that Indian commodities sold in Rome fetched a price one hundred per
cent higher than the original value and that among imports from Eastern
suppliers from which much revenue was derived was cinnamon, myrrh, pepper,
ginger, the whole range of aromatics, precious stones, leather, cottons, silks,
ebony and ivory.
It was during the period of
attempted reconstruction after the civil wars that the Roman population was hit
by what could be called a capital gains tax although this was limited to all
legacies and inheri�tances and subject to a five per cent taxation. This was
imposed to pay for the 'mercenaries' who were hired to deal with the
deteriorating situation within the Empire. The Emperor Caracalla found himself
in the invidious position of receiving further demands from his army and levied
further taxes, increasing the tax burden of legacies and inheri�tances by a
further five per cent. This was not the only additional burden imposed on Roman citizens for Caracalla finds special mention in the annals of Roman history for his complete
subjugation of the Em�pire to his bills of taxation. He imposed a land-tax,
a capitation, i.e., the levying of tax by the head upon each person, and
extortionate duties on corn, wine, oil and meat. All in all, the history of the
Roman Empire between the period 200 A.D. to 250 A.D. followed, in minute
detail, the provisions of the third Seal with its Black horse and rider.
THE��
PALE� HORSE
"And when he had opened the
fourth seal . . . and behold, a pale horse and his name that sat on him was
death, and hell followed . . . and power was given unto them over the fourth
part of the earth; to kill with the sword and with hunger and with death and
with the beasts of the earth." That the history of the Imperial Roman
Empire followed the symbolism of the first three horses so exactly is
sufficient encourage�ment to look at the next development which took place and,
true to the depiction of the 'pale horse', one finds famine, decay and death. Ed�ward
Gibbon, whose Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire could have been a
commentary on the first four Seals of Revelation had he been predisposed to
accept the Christian faith, sums up the situation in the following words: "During that calamitous
period (250 A.D.�300 A.D.� Ed.), every instant of time was marked, every
province of the Roman world was afflicted by barbarous invaders and military
tyrants, and the ruined empire seemed to approach the last and final moments of
its dissolution. This gloomy period of history has been decorated with
inundations, earthquakes, praetor natural darkness . . . But a long and general
famine was a calamity of a more serious kind. It was the in�evitable
consequence of oppression which extirpated the produce of the present and the
hope of future harvests. Famine is almost always followed by epidemical diseases, the effect of scanty and unwholesome
food. Other causes contributed to the famous plague which raged with�out
interruption in every province, every city and almost every family of the Roman
Empire. During some time, five thousand persons daily died in Rome; and many
towns that had escaped the barbarians, were entirely depopulated."
While this picture is adequate
to establish the veracity of the contention that the 'pale horse' was indeed a
graphic description of the disintegration and decay of Imperial Rome, further
corroborations are found in a general survey of Rome during that period. During
the early years, i.e., A.D. 250 to 300, the Goths began an invasion of the pro�vinces
of the Roman Empire and only retreated after extracting a pro�mised annual
payment of tribute. A second invasion by the Goths further devastated the
eastern portion of the Empire to be followed after a few years by the third
invasion. At this time there were general disorders in Sicily, open rebellion
in Alexandria and revolt in most parts of the Empire. It was at this stage that
the famine occasioned by an acute food shortage added pestilence to the list of
misfortunes now crowding in on the decaying
Empire.
Desperate efforts in Rome to halt the erosion of the Empire
were undermined from within for the
incredible happened. Individuals sought, through the most fantastic of
gymnastics, to seize the throne. Oblivious to the fact that the throne itself
was in jeopardy and that the Empire was crumbling around their ears, the
intrigues, assassinations and blatant corruption practised by the pretenders
makes for an incredible story of imbecility.
However, such was the
extent of the Roman Empire that notwith�standing
all this, it managed to survive although the old constitution presided over by
Nerva, Trajan and Hadrian had come to mean abso�lutely nothing. Government now
developed almost entirely upon the Emperor
who, although maintaining the Senate, did so merely as a form. In the
year 275A.D., Aurelian, who was by no means an Emperor of great stature, was
forced to suppress a sedition at Rome � an ominous sign indicating the
encroaching rot which had set in on the Empire. Subsequent to his death by
assassination, three Emperors ruled in quick succession, the history of which
may be likened to the throes of an animal prior to its death. There was a
stability in government but the rot which had set in assured that Rome would
never again be the Empire it was during the
Golden Age symbolised by the White horse.
Diocletian
was elected Emperor in 285 A.D. and the circumstanc�es of this has a direct bearing on the change to be noted
in the context of the Seals. Significantly, the Horse, the symbolism of
military activi�ty in rulership disappears from the story � a fact which finds
an ex�planation in Diocletian's election to the throne in Rome. Diocletian
was a statesman not a warrior. His predecessors, notwithstanding de�viations
into the sphere of debauchery, were all cast in the mould of national heroes
whose claims to fame were always in the context of military exercise. Diocletian, however, born of a father and mother who
had been slaves to a Roman senator, distinguished himself as a diplo�mat
rather than a soldier. He was promoted to consulship and in his diplomacy in
the context of the wars with Persia showed that he had qualities in diplomatic
leadership which were sorely needed at a time when the Empire was
disintegrating. He was thus elected to the now vacant throne in Rome and he
immediately set about stemming the tide of decay. He divided the Empire into
four sections placing his associ�ates Maximiam, Galerus and Constantius, in the
position of Emperor in the other three and
then proceeded to embark on reforms which, though valiant, could not
avert the symbolism embodied in the 'pale' horse and Imperial Rome passed into
oblivion, a saga written in history and pre�written in the first four Seals of
the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A�
SIGNIFICANT DUAL FULFILMENT
Before
passing on, it should be noted that in the Fifth Seal there is no evidence of the symbolism of the
'horse' and prior to a consider�ation of this
fact, it is necessary to return to a peculiarity which is missed by many when considering the second or Red
horse.
"And
there went forth another horse that was red, and power was given to him ..."
It will be noted that in
connection with the second or Red horse, the Scripture positively states that there went forth another
horse that was Red � it
was not necessarily the same as the White horse but ano�ther one. While this point may, at first glance, appear
irrelevant it is significant that in
respect of the remaining horses the wording merely concentrates on the change
in colour whereas in respect of the second, it very plainly refers to another
horse. This point, minor as it appears, should be sufficient to
encourage a second look at the Red horse to discover if, on the stage of
history, there is a dual fulfilment of the symbolism.
As has been noted previously and in respect of the White horse, there is
a very definite dual fulfilment in this � one jn respect of Imperial Rome and the other in the context of
Israel, God's servant nation. That appertaining to the Red horse, too,
could have a similar implication.
Prior to considering the
events related to the Red horse and its rider
in the dual aspect of fulfilment of the symbolism, it would serve a useful purpose to investigate the many occasions
on which the colour red is used in
Scripture and the context in which this appears. The old notion that the
name 'Adam' was the first Scriptural reference to the colour red because he was
made of the 'dust of the earth' which was supposed to have been red in colour
has, of course, no foundation at all. The
name Adam merely means a description in which the colour of blood is
diffused by the skin thus presenting a fresh and fleshly hue. It is not
associated with the actual colour of red as this is commonly understood.
The first reference to red does not appear in
the Bible until the birth of Esau and of which it is stated: "And the
first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name
Esau" (Gen. 25:25). The actual name was not given because of the redness
but rather because of the rough and wild
appearance of the child. It was at a much later stage that this name was
changed to Edom meaning 'red'
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and was occasioned by the event in
which he bartered the birthright for 'red pottage' (Gen. 25:30). At first glance this, would
be a rather meagre excuse for the changing of the name of Jacob's twin but when
one con�siders the many traditions which
surround the name of Esau which appear in both Arab and Jewish reference books
one may appreciate that the account in Genesis 25 set the seal on Esau's
association with the colour red. In the traditions, Esau showed an early
predisposition toward blood-letting whether
this was in the sphere of hunting animals or preying on passing caravans
and in consequence he was referred to as 'the bloody man'. He is recorded as
being a selfish man, determined to have his
own way in everything even at the expense of running con�trary to his
father's wishes with passion governing his life to a very marked degree.
As one turns to the Scripture,
one finds that, as a rule, red is equated with selfishness, covetousness, a
passionate life and sin (Isa. 1:18). If credence may be given to the traditions
which surround the life of Esau then one may see why his name was changed to
Edom signifying red in all its meaning. However,
there may be some who are tempted to claim that Esau could not be guilty
of sin for this is very definitely defined as being a 'transgression of the
law' (I John 3:4) and Esau and his descendants were not present when the Law
was given at Sinai. This is correct � as far as it goes but it does not take
into ac�count the background story which
starts with Abraham. Abraham, it will be recalled, revealed a particular
predisposition toward obedience and this was the basis on which the Abrahamic
covenant hinged. "Because that Abraham
obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, and my laws"
(Gen. 26:5). It should be noted that these laws were not those conceived by
human society at that time but those given by God at some time thus far
undisclosed. That Abraham would pass these laws down to his progeny is assured,
when one reads the soliloquy of the Lord recorded in Genesis 18:17-19: "... For I know him, that he will
command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way
of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham
that which he hath spoken of him." In the light of this, Esau, being descended
through Abraham's son Isaac, would be well
informed as to what constituted the laws of God and any violation of
these would constitute 'sin' in the accepted meaning of the word.
A point of great interest emerges here in that
while Esau was conversant with the Law, neither he nor his descendants were
given the Ordinances whereby reconciliation could be wrought through the
shedding of the blood of substitutionary sacrifice. This was 'the law that was added' and of which Esau knew nothing and
therefore remain�ed dead in his sins.
As Esau and his descendants
began to develop into nationhood through the assimilation with the pre-Adamite
llorite people. God's Israel people too, were developing into national
proportions and it was at that stage that red in terms of blood introduced the
fact of substitutionary offering and in which the blood of the slain lamb
caused the angel of death to pass over. It is not intended here to enlarge on
this subject � it is surely well known � but merely to emphasise that the
colour red had, as one of its meanings, the fact of substitution.
As one passes on through the Old
Testament record, one finds that the Esau characteristic which wrought the
change of name to Edom, was passed on to his progeny for in the Babylonian
onslaught on Jerusalem the Edomites were particularly vicious, to such an
extent that the captives in Babylon made special mention of it. The prayer of
those captives, while being simplicity itself, provides food for thought in
respect of the Edomite attack on Jerusalem. "Remember, 0 Lord, the
children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to
the foundation thereof" (Psa. 137:7). Even with the demise of the kingdom
of Judah, the Edomites were not at rest for as one considers the history of the
remnant which was given the mandate to rebuild the city and the Temple one
finds the re-emergence of Edom�ites who slowly but surely gained dominance over
true Judah and eventually became the rulers
of the land known as Judaea. After almost two millennia, Esau had
fulfilled the role seen by Isaac who had indi�cated that by his sword, Esau
would live and that eventually he would take
the dominion which had been given to Jacob and would then break the restraining
hand which had been a burden to him (Gen. 27:40-41).
While the
true progeny of Jacob remained in control of Jerusalem the witness to God's Truth would be maintained but this was
not the intention of Esau whom God hated (Mal. 1:3). By this time Esau had
supplanted Jacob and was passing himself off as the people of God's Covenant. It
is small wonder that the Lord denounced them in such terms as to be an
unmistakable indictment against them for their spurious claims (John 8:37-47).
Here, then, one may see the
symbolism of the Red horse coming to the fore for as has been seen, Edom means
'red' and red is also associated with the fact of substitution, a situation
which Edom con�trived to bring about when they displaced true Israel and
presented themselves as the Covenant heirs. It would be labouring the point to
re-emphasise the many occasions on which the Lord charged the Jews with
nullifying the Word of God and so the subject is left with the brief comment
that that which has been written above explains the cryptic remark of the Lord
when He said: "I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews (Judaeans-),
and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan" (Rev. 2:9)-
Here indeed is a charge which vindicates the
contention that the true heirs to the land of promise had been displaced by a
counterfeit known as the 'synagogue of Satan' and which had been substituted
for true Israel. In murdering the Messiah of Israel they cried: "His blood
be on us, and on our children" (Matt. 27:25) in typical Edomite passion
thus staining Esau's progeny with the colour red and marking them as the anti-Christ
adversaries ever seeking to expand their dominion.
The events associated with the Red horse are
mainly warlike in nature and true to that which has been written above, the
Jews wielded the sword and the tongue and killed and were killed. The seditions
which raged in Jerusalem just prior to its destruction in A.D. 70 were indeed a
graphic fulfilment of the Red horse but subsequent history is even more illuminating. To most people, the
slaughter which took place in Jerusalem in A.D. 70 put an end to the
aspirations of the inhabitants of Judaea whereas history records just the
reverse. A few years after the Revelation was given to John and during the
reign of Trajan, Dion. Cassius relates: "The Jews about Cyrene slew
of the Romans and Greeks 220000 men with great cruelty; and again in Egypt and
Cyprus 240000 men." The Roman reaction to this was that Trajan sent Lucius
and other generals against them also "Marcius Turbo with great forces by
sea and by land, who in various battles slew many myriads of Jews." Other
historians writing of that period noted that the Jews went beserk wherever they
were and turned on all and sundry: ". . . . the Jews with incredible
commotion, made wild as it were, by rage, rose at once in different parts of
the earth. Throughout all Libya they raged the fiercest wars against the
inhabitants and the country was almost desolated" (Anc. Hist. Univ., Reign
of Trajan).
While all this was taking place, Palestine
appears to have re�mained in a state of submission to Rome as well it might
after the awful slaughter of A.D. 70. A slow trickle of Jews began to re-enter
Palestine but these had neither the inclination nor the means to bring about an
open confrontation with the Roman authorities. It is not with�out significance
that a 16th century historian wrote of Hadrian's treat�ment of these Jews that he treated them "... as imposters and
mountebanks showing his dislike for them by building a temple to Jupiter
on the spot where Solomon's Temple formerly stood.' The use of the word
'mountebank' in this context is rather significant in that it means "an itinerant quack who from a platform appealed to
his audience by means of stories and tricks."
In the year 132, the 'imposters' found a leader
in the person of Bar-Cochab who claimed to be the Messiah and in the subsequent
re�volt, the full significance of the Red horse is made clear. The statis�tics
are briefly summed up as being 50 strong fortresses demolished, 985 towns
burned and 580000 men killed with uncounted multitudes perishing from famine
and sickness and an equal number captured and sold as slaves (Anc. Univ. Hist., Reign of Hadrian).
Thus, notwithstanding the
accuracy of fulfilment of the second Seal in Roman history, that appertaining
to Esau�Edom is a very graphic indication of the pattern of dual fulfilments in
the Revelation. The association of Esau with the colour red and the history of
his progeny in pursuit of displacing Jacob and substituting themselves in the
role of the Covenant people; the fanaticism of frustration at the Roman
disruption of their plans and the subsequent blood-baths � all these add weight
to the contention that the Red horse symbolism in�corporates the ramifications
of he who is claimed to be the 'end of the world' while Jacob is said to be the
'beginning of it that followeth'.
One could, of course, project
the Red horse into the present day for the
red shadows of Communism originally initiated by the Jew Karl Marx, have
fallen on almost every country in the world. This anti-God system has certainly
taken peace from the world; has initiated civil wars and has fomented national
and international strife resulting in wars in which the metaphorical 'swords'
are the modern armaments of destruction. While
the red flag continues to wave in the winds of Edomite ambition to gain
complete dominion over the whole world, the Word and Purpose of God,
unchanging and eternal, carries its assurance that Esau-Edom shall not achieve
his goal. The ersatz state in Palestine, wrenched in typical Edomite
vein from the hands of Ephraim-Israel in 1948, is hurtling to its rendezvous
with destiny � a rendezvous eluci�dated by the Prophet Ezekiel in dramatic
words: ". . . there, the Lord the Eternal declares, I speak in hot
indignation of the riff-raff of the pagans and especially of Edom, of all Edom,
for taking my land to be their own,
exulting in malicious spite, to pray upon its pastures. There�fore,
prophesy about the land of Israel and tell the mountains, hills, watercourses,
and valleys that the Lord the Eternal declares: I speak in indignation and in
fury, because you have had to bear the taunting of the nations. Therefore, says
the Lord Eternal, I swear that the na�tions
round you shall have to bear taunts when they are ruined. But you shall
put out your branches 0 mountains of Israel, you shall bear fruit for Israel my
people; for soon they will be coming back ..."
(Ezek. 36:5-8, Moffat).
While many are quick to claim
that the Israeli State fulfils the predicted return of Israel to the land, they
forget that while the return of true Israel is foreseen, so, too, is that of
Edom. The last Book of the Old Testament
plainly reveals this in terms which are unmistakable in their
application. "Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will
return and build the desolate places; thus saith the Lord of hosts. They
shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of
wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord
hath indignation for ever" (Mal. 1:4).
Thus, while there is every
justification for projecting the Red horse
and its symbolism into the present day, one should remember that the
second Seal is not an end in itself � it is followed by others and by reason of the continuation of the horse
symbolism, one should seek historical continuity of events. "And I
beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that
sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in
the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny;
and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine" (Rev. 6:5-6). The
lesson of the Old Testament Scriptures in
terms of the meaning of the colour black is most signifi�cant. It is
indicative of self-indulgence in sin and emblematic of luxury. The story of
Ephraim when the birthright tribe had departed from the Laws of God is summed
up by blackness for in essence it is stated: "Ephraim is a cake not turned"
(Hos. 7:8) and consequently turned black. The
many statements recorded by the prophets from this point provide the guidelines to what is implied in
the symbolism of the Black horse and his rider. "He is a merchant, the
balances of deceit are in his hand" (Hos. 12:7); ". . . making
the ephah small, and the shekel great and falsifying the balances by deceit ..." (Amos 8:5). "Shall I count them pure with the wicked
balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?" (Micah
6:11).
The whole theme associated with
the colour black in the Old Testament has
to do with exploitation of merchandise and, in keeping with this, the Black
horse of the third Seal draws attention to the eco�nomics of everyday
life. The voice from the midst of the four beasts called for a return to the principle of 'the labourer is worthy of his
hire' which implies that economic exploitation was taking place. The
'mea�sure' or choenix of corn according to Herodotus was as much as was
needed by a normal healthy person and the 'penny' or denarius was as much money
as a working man could earn in a single day. From the phraseology here employed
it would appear that the merchants �'a trade
characteristic of the Edomites � were indulging in under-paying their employees
and even considering denying them, through exorbitant prices, the everyday
needs of life. Notwithstanding the general migra�tion of the Edomites away from
Palestine thus making them displaced persons wherever they settled, this became
characteristic of their dealings with the people with whom they came in contact.
The Black horse symbolism thus shows this pattern in its dual fulfilment.
The fourth seal which ends the symbolism of the
horse may be seen as a natural sequence to the exploitation of economics as
seen in the Black horse. "And I looked, and behold a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed
with him. And pow�er was given to them over the fourth part of the
earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the
beasts of the earth" (Rev. 6:8). If one is entirely honest it will be
agreed that not�withstanding other aspects of life, economics and financial
gain has been responsible for untold misery in the earth. The symbolism of the
Pale horse could indicate the rise of international finance which grad�ually
developed into a major factor which created wars, depressions, hunger and
strife. That this is still very much prevalent today none will deny and that it
will continue until the Coming of the Lord, is equally obvious.
That the horse symbolism ends with the 'pale
horse' appears to support the contention of international finance for the grip
of Death and Hell can and will only be broken when righteousness, i.e., God's
right ways, are returned to the earth and men desist from manipulating the
destinies of people for their own gain.
Thus in the dual fulfilment of the symbolism of
the horses of different colours, one is able to follow the course of history as
it is exposed by the light of the 'sure word of prophecy'.
**********
[[IMAGE]]
Diocletian
CHAPTER�� 4 THE FIFTH SEAL AND CHANGE
"And
when he had opened the fifth seal, 1 saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and
for the testimony which they held" (Rev. 6:9).
In the primary fulfilments of the first four
seals, it has been noted that the horses depicted four distinct phases in the
Imperial Roman Empire covering the periods
from Domitian in A.D. 96 to Dio�cletian
in 300. The symbolism of the horse disappears in the fifth seal � an event which calls for attention and one
finds this having its mean�ing in
the person and reign of Diocletian. As has been noted previous�ly, this Emperor differed from his predecessors in
that as they were all depicted as national heroes based on their military
prowess, Diocletian was a statesman
indulging in diplomacy at a time when the Empire was disintegrating.
This fifth seal, in terms of time, runs
parallel with the events depicted in the
message to the assembly at Smyrna and in which they were told: "... and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto
death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev. 2:10). As has been
noted in the historical events of the fourth century, this was literally fulfilled in ten literal years in which
Diocletian yielded to the pressure of
his pagan wife and persecuted Christianity in an unprece�dented manner. Those numbers who were killed in
this have no epitaph other than the record now in the fifth seal and who
are depicted as being 'under the altar' and crying: "How long, 0 Lord,
holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on
the earth?"
As has
been emphasised previously, the Book of the Revelation is written in symbolism and metaphor
and the fifth seal is no exception to this. It will be recalled that Abel, whom Cain slew, provides a gra�phic illustration in such a context as to make the vision
which John saw run uniformly with the whole
body of revealed Scripture. In that event it will be noted that 'Abel's blood'
cried out unto the Lord and not Abel who
was literally dead and hidden beneath the earth. In simi�lar vein, the fact
that many had suffered death under the Roman perse�cutions was itself a plea to
Almighty God to bring an end to the blood�shed and tribulation. Thus, in
the same manner as Abel's blood meta�phorically cried out in supplication, in
like manner the blood of those who suffered martyrdom in Diocletian's mad ten-year
spree, cried out to the Lord.
The answer to the supplication
of events was soon forthcoming and is recorded in the next, i.e., the sixth
seal. "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was
a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon
became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig
tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind."
There are, of course, literal
earthquakes recorded in the Bible and one is
reminded of that which occurred at the time when Elijah was on Horeb (I
Kings 19:11) and also when the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary (Matt. 27:51) and
also on the morning of His Resurrection (Matt. 28:2). However, the word
'earthquake' is also used in many places, as indeed are all the words of the
sixth seal, to denote politi�cal upheaval and revolution. For instance, in
Jeremiah 4:23,24 and 28 is the history of
the overthrow of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the language used here
to describe this is almost identical with that in Revelation. Other instances
are: Isaiah 24:23; 34:4; Ezekiel 32:7-8; Hosea 10:7-8. Thus the words of the
sixth seal in describing the dark�ening of
the heavens to the accompaniment of the earthquake is, on the authority of the
Old Testament, synonymous with political change and violent upheaval of the
then prevailing system.
If this contention is to have
any validity it should surely be borne out in history and particularly the
history of events in Rome attendant on the passing of the ten-year period of
the intense persecu�tion of Diocletian. The era was begun in A.D. 303 and
logically it should have ended in 313- In this year Constantine succeeded
Diocle�tian and the persecutions were ended. This in itself became the start�ing
point of the sixth seal for with his conversion to Christianity the whole Roman
civilisation underwent such a change as to constitute a metaphorical earthquake.
For three centuries the Roman Emperor had been
the Pontifex Maximus -the head priest of heathen paganism, the 'sun' around
which the Empire revolved. With the advent of Constantine, the pagan 'sun' was
eclipsed, being replaced by the sign of the Cross which outshone and displaced
the standards of paganism which embodied all the con�stellations. The edict of
tolerance for Christians and his later edicts suppressing heathen sacrifices
became the death-blow to paganism dealt by this new Emperor who calmly went
about the business of dis�mantling the whole
mechanism on which Imperial Rome had been built. Pagans were removed from office and replaced with those who profes�sed
the Christian faith until every responsible office in government was purged of
those with pagan affiliations.
With the passing of Constantine, his legacy to
Rome was the epitaph to Paganism as such, providing historians such as Edward
Gibbon with an opportunity to describe it in words strangely remini�scent of
the words recorded in the sixth seal. Gibbon wrote: "The ruin of paganism,
in the age of Theodosius, is perhaps the only example of the total extirpation
of any ancient and popular superstition and may therefore, deserve to be
considered as a singular event in the history of the human mind. The ruin of
the pagan religion is described by the Sophists as a dreadful and amazing
prodigy, which covered the earth, with
darkness and restored the ancient dominion of chaos and of night." This
latter phraseology may have been copied from the words of the Revelation so
accurately does it depict the overthrow of paganism and the metaphorical earthquake which overtook the old Roman world. The pagan
'heavens' indeed became as 'sackcloth' departing as 'a scroll that is rolled up'.
The words of the people, crying in desperation,
are recorded from the pagan standpoint in which panic-stricken inhabitants of
the pagan empire saw the whole system crumbling with the ejection of one pagan
official after the other. Gibbon again provides a fitting epilogue to this
pagan downfall. "So rapid was the fall of paganism that only 28 years
after the death of Theodosius (A.D. 395) its faint and minute vestiges were no
longer visible to the eye of the legislator."
As one passes from this account of the great
political earthquake which overtook the
ancient Roman Empire, the Revelation draws atten�tion to the next development
which took place and which today may be verified by history. "And
after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth,
holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the
earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree." While the convulsions depicted in
the earthquake and the dark�ening of the
pagan dominion over Rome gave way to a period of tranquil calm, four
entities were ever straining on the borders in the Goths, the Huns, the Vandals
and the Saracens. History records that in 322 the Goths made a tremendous
attempt to reduce the Roman Empire which was then in the grip of the new
reforms instituted by Constan-tine. They were repulsed in this but continued to
make sporadic raids � indeed an ever-present menace on the borders, well
described by Gibbon in the words: "The threatening tempests of the
barbarians which so soon subverted the foundations of Roman greatness, hung
suspended on the frontiers." Following in historical continuity, is this
not precisely the implication found in the holding back of the four winds recorded in the seventh chapter of
Revelation?
The loosing
of these 'winds' will be seen in the era of the Trum�pets but for the present it suffices to note that a calm
descended on the Roman world. The purpose for this is stated as being the 'sealing'
of the 'servants of our God in their foreheads', the number of which was 144000
of 'all the tribes of the children of Israel'. This period is associated with
the 'Pergamos' era of Church history in which, as has been seen, the Gospel of
Christ was 'married to power'. The message to that Church in that era was one
which indicated that it was an ac�cusation of insincerity and expediency. For a
fuller appreciation of this the relevant
portions should be re-read particularly verses 14 and 15 of the second chapter.
There can
be no doubt that expediency played an important part in the events in Rome during the reign of Constantine. All
official posts were given to those
professing the Christian faith and in order to obtain some of these 'plums' many professed a conversion which was an expedient facade. Churches � as buildings � sprang
up by the hun�dred and so-called conversions totalled an incredible
number with public repudiations of the
abominations of paganism becoming common�place. The whole situation was most enticing for the Israel people who
had suffered so much persecution at the hands of the Roman Emperors and who now saw a glimmer of hope in a 'converted'
Roman world. All in all, in this period of quiet, it was the searching
of the Holy Spirit seeking out the truly
converted as against those who merely professed a conversion for the sake of
personal advancement.
It should
be noted that {hose to be sealed at that time, were cal�led 'the servants of our God' and this is an expression
reserved for Israel (Ex. 32:13; Lev. 25:55;
Deut. 32:36,43; Isa.-65:15; Dan. 3:26). The whole subject of the 144000
is simply the sealing of true Israel at that time against the insidious and
certainly spurious form of reli�gion which
had now been taken on by those who were never commis�sioned by the Lord
to be His witnesses. It is, of course, held by some that this number has to do
with the 144000 individuals witnessing to God in the present generation. However,
in the Biblical and chronolog�ical context, this sealing took place during the
period when the four angels held back the
four winds which blew on the Roman earth. Merely making such a statement
is not proof in itself but when it is confirmed by historical events, it takes
on an authority which is infinitely greater than doctrine.
During the life of Theodosius who succeeded
Constantine, a strange and inexplicable peace settled on the Roman world � a
peace which lasted 'about the space of half an hour'. In order to show chrono�logical
continuity it is necessary to pass to the 8th chapter and the loosing of the
winds held by the four angels. "And when he had opened the seventh seal,
there was a silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. I saw seven
angels and to them were given seven trum�pets. And another came and stood at
the altar having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense,
that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden
altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense . . . with the
prayers of the saints, ascended up before God. And the angel took the censer
and filled it with fire of the altar and cast it upon the earth: and there were
voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake."
THE�
TRUMPET
Unlike the opening of the previous seals, the 7th
seal is not followed by a vision foreshadowing some great historical epoch or
crisis. It is merely a prelude to a new series of visions under
the sym�bolism of trumpets. The 'trumpet'
is symbolic of judgment and judgment was about to fall on those who had
not received the mark of God in their forehead, i.e., had not been sealed. Thus
one has firstly the hold�ing back of the winds and the space of time to be
followed by judgment which is certainly evident in the history of events as
they transpired during the reign of Theodosius. During this pause, John saw the
vision of the censer-angel which explains why judgment was about to fall � a
pause which immediately recalls the Pergamos period and the illegal marriage of Christianity to Roman paganism.
The symbolism of the prelude to
the seventh seal is unmistak�able in that it directs one back to the Old
Testament when, under the Old Covenant and in the context of Tabernacle
worship, the high priest stood at the altar of sacrifice and there received
gifts of incense from the children of Israel as part of their worship. The
incense was not received by God unless it had been burned upon the altar and it
was the function of the high priest to offer this on the golden altar before
the Holy of Holies. In John's vision, he saw this ordinance as it mani�fests
itself in the Roman form of Christianity but he saw, too, the heavenly
rejection of a ritual which had no validity and a practice which was as
spurious as was the pretence of conversion.
The Bible makes it amply clear that priests as
such are invalid and that since Calvary, there is only one Mediator between man
and God and that is Christ Jesus the Lord. The seeking of mediation by so-called
saints, martyrs or priests is thus a rejection of Biblical fact and, as such,
is utterly rejected from on High. The elevation of mar�tyrs to saints, the
endowing of relics with supernatural power and the creation of shrines where formerly dwelt martyred Christians, were and are
all forms of pseudo-Christianity and are totally rejected by God. It is
interesting to note an historical comment on the situation as it af�fected
Roman worship, written by Mosheim in his Ecclesiastical History and in
which he observes: "Divine worship was now rising from one degree of pomp
to another and degenerating more and more into a gaudy spectacle, only proper
to attract the stupid admiration of a gazing populace."
Thus, as historical evidence
mounts, one is able to see the un�folding of the Revelation which the Lord gave
to John on the isle of Patmos � a
revelation of history in its uninterrupted flow exposing the depths of
Satan s ramification in presenting a form of godliness with associations which
have their roots in abominable paganism. The 'Pergamos' story exposes this
apostasy, the sixth seal re-emphasises it and the seventh carries the history
on from that time.
As has been stated, the trumpet is symbolic of
judgment and one may quite easily appreciate judgment on the perversion of
Truth and the assumption of the Office of which the Lord Jesus Christ alone is
the High Priest. It will be noted that Divine judgment fell in 'threes' and it
is not without significance that three entities � Goth, Arab and Turk � each in
turn invaded and scourged a 'third' part of the Empire thus covering the whole
of it. From secular history one is able to see that the /and, the sea, and the
rivers of Rome all had their share of the invasions by the three entities
mentioned above and it serves a very useful purpose to follow these as they form
part of the judgments em�bodied ia the Trumpets of Revelation 8.
In Revelation 8:7.it will be
noted that a 'third part of trees was burnt up' and in Gibbon's account of the
Gothic invasion of Rome is a graphic description of the first Trumpet. The
devastations and the massacres occasioned by the Gothic usage of fire in their
onslaught is a grim reminder of the first Trumpet of judgment. On no less than
three distinct occasions did Aiaric the Bold, the Gothic leader, besiege Rome
itself until finally, in 410 he succeeded in sacking the city. The sweep of the
Goths was like a fire devouring the land which was ra�vished in much the same
manner as the modern scorched earth prac�tises.
The second Trumpet of judgment then follows
and, it will be noted, is- applicable to the seas. The Vandals, a branch of the
Goths, were prominent in this and began
their rampage in Gaul and Spain and crossing to Africa, took Carthage in
439. Genseric, their leader, then embarked
on a 30-year period of devastation of the Roman fleets in the Mediterranean
and this destroyed the might of Rome at sea. Thus was fulfilled the second
Trumpet of judgment, the third being directed against the 'rivers and the
fountains of waters'. It will be noted that this judgment is meteoric in
duration and finds the fullest explanation in the Hunnish invasion under Attila
whose name was 'the scourge of God'. The
sub-Alpine provinces in north Italy are the 'rivers and foun�tains of waters'
which were the scenes of the rapid thrusts of the Huns.
In the fourth
Trumpet (Rev. 8:12) one finds again the metaphori�cal language used in the sixth seal in which the heavenly
bodies are darkened indicating the overthrow
of the then existing form of govern�ment. In the fourth Trumpet one may
see the overthrow of the ruling powers in the tottering Roman Empire. The first
three Trumpets fore�shadowed the rapid
declension of the Empire � her territories ravaged, her maritime
possessions destroyed and all that remained to her were empty titles of her
former sovereignty. Under the fourth Trumpet this, too, disappears.
The
political overthrow of the Western Roman Empire was accom�plished by Odoacer, the king of the
Heruli who deposed Romulus Au�gustus, the last of the Western Roman Emperors in 476 A.D. From this
date, the insignia of Roman authority was transferred to Constantinople whence an attempt at resuscitation was made by Justinian
the Byzan�tine king in his invasion of Italy and his overthrow of the
Ostrogoths. However, Imperial Rome was nearing the end of its road and nothing
could prevent its utter demise as prescribed in the judgment of the Trumpets. Papal Rome, on the other hand, was
growing and beginning to exercise considerable influence which was to be
felt by the world in a later stage of history. This, too, was seen by John many
centuries before it transpired and he was enabled to write of it and to expose
it as part of the system which was both
anti-God and anti-Christ.
[[IMAGE]]
a conqueror's coin, this eighth-century silver dirham was minted by the first Umayyad caliph of
Spain. The inscriptions read,
in part, " There is no god but Allah" and state that the piece �roughly equivalent to a shilling in
size and value�was struck in
al-Andalus, as the Arabs called their Spanish domain.
THE� DEATH� THROES�
OF IMPERIAL� ROME The�� First� "Woe"�� -�� the� Saracens
"And there came out of
the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto
them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded
them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green
thing, neither any tree; but only those men which
have not the seal of God in their foreheads" (Rev. 9:3-4).
The first four 'trumpets' of the eighth chapter
of the Revelation provide a graphic picture
of the dying Roman Empire, the seat of which was removed from Rome to Constantinople. However, while Roman officialdom was transferred eastwards, a religio-political
entity which began to rival that at
Constantinople developed in Rome and was foun�ded on a corruption of
Biblical Christianity. At this time, i.e., the commencement of the seventh century, the Christianity in Rome was such that if Diocletian had been resurrected, he
would have found that there had been no appreciable difference in the religious
conviction of the people. Prayers were offered to so-called 'saints';
there was the public use of images;
veneration of relics belonging to pious men was rife; the priests were urging conformity to their religious dictates � the
alternative being Purgatory; the vow of celibacy was being enforced and
the universal use of the Latin tongue in Divine service was, ac�cording to the priesthood, the only procedure
acceptable to God. It was on this situation that the fifth 'trumpet' of
judgment sounded and the first 'woe' fell.
From the general context of the first 'woe' it
would appear that Roman officialdom in
Constantinople was not the main recipient of this for the assault of the
'locusts' was directed against those who had 'not the seal of God in their
foreheads'. From this, it is both logical and historical to infer that the
'woe' was within the context of a religious war.
The 'locusts' identified�
by history
In the Old Testament Scriptures the term
'locust' or 'grasshopper' is used to denote numerous armies or hosts of men (Jer.
46:23; Nah. 3:15-17; Deut. 28:38-42; Psa. 75:46, etc.). Locusts are thus
symbolic of destruction although in the Revelation context this entity was
commanded not to destroy but to 'torment' for 'five months' (Rev. 8:5). While
in the sixth trumpet the avenging host is depicted as the 'rivet Euphrates' (verse
14), the fifth trumpet merely describes it as 'locusts' and one is thus thrown back on secular history in order to ascertain
the identity of the symbolism used.
In 612, Mohammed proclaimed his
mission to wield the Sword of Islam against
the infidels and Saracens by the score rallied to his call and countless
horsemen from the deserts of Arabia (the home of the scorpion and the locust) began
a prolonged attack on Christendom. They
overran the whole of the Roman Empire exercising dominion as far
westward as Spain and North Africa � a dominion which lasted until the decisive battle of Tours in A.D. 732
when Charles Martel the Frank
challenged the Saracens. This battle marked the beginning of the end of the Saracen exploit which culminated in 762
A.D.
This campaign of the Saracens lasted exactly
one hundred and fifty years and one is
confirmed in the belief that they may be identi�fied with the 'locusts'
by this particular period. It will be noted that the Scripture provides the period of 'five months' for their
'tormenting' (verse 5) and as a Biblical month was thirty days, five
times that period would be one hundred and
fifty days. Prophetically, a 'day is a year' (Ezek. 4:6) and one would
be very sceptical indeed if one could find
no correlation between the one hundred and fifty year expedition of the
Saracens and that period mentioned in the first 'woe'.
Should one claim, however,
that the Saracen invasion of the West was very
convenient and that it need not necessarily provide the clue to the identity of
the locusts, other aspects of these Saracens add weight to the contention. Locusts
and scorpions are, of course, in�digenous to Arabia but as one reads the
further description of these invaders, the more the evidence mounts in support
of the identity. "And the shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared
unto battle; and on their heads were as it
were crowns of gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had
hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And
they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their
wings was as the sound of chariots of many
horses running to battle" (verses 7-9).
"Crowns like gold". Pliny
once wrote that the Arabs wore their hair
long and uncut as a sign of their manhood and in the most charac�teristic of
Arab poems � Antar � yellow turbans were considered by the people as individual 'crowns'. It was a
common conviction among the Arabs that God had bestowed four peculiar
things on them: that their yellow turbans should be instead of diadems; their
tents instead of walls and houses; their swords instead of entrenchments and
their poems instead of written law. From
this may be seen that the 'crowns of gold' and 'hair as the hair of women' were
the peculiar characteris�tic of the Arabs who, wielding the Sword of
Islam, behaved as was prescribed of the 'locusts'.
"Breastplates of iron". In the traditional Arabic
poem Antar one finds the following description of the Arabian warrior:
"A warrior im�mersed in steel armour ...
15 000 men armed with cuirasses and well accoutred for war . . . They are
clothed in armour and brilliant cuiras�ses . . . Out of the dust appear
horsemen clad in iron." In the Koran it is stated that among God's gifts "God
hath given you coats of mail to defend you in your wars."
The wealth of evidence is
endless supporting the contention that the first 'woe' in Revelation 9 is
identifiable with the Saracen invasion and it would serve no useful purpose to
labour the point here. It will suffice to recapitulate the highlights as they
support the thesis. The first 'woe' was likened to 'locusts' whose function was
to 'torment' � not kill � those of the Roman
earth. Mohammed proclaimed his mission in 612 and by 713 the Saracenic hordes
had conquered Spain. The Battle of Tours in 732 was the first real
opposition met by these people and this, together with problems in Syria,
became the turning point in the incident. In 755 there appeared a division in the
ranks of Islam with the Western Caliph challenging the authority of the Eastern.
The his�tory of 761 records the withdrawal from Spain and in 762 the Eastern Caliph moved the Mohammedan centre from Syria to
Baghdad. This was exactly one hundred
and fifty years after Mohammed had proclaimed his mission.
"One woe is past; and
behold, there come two woes more here�after." The contrast between the end
of the first 'woe' and the end of the second is very marked in terms of time
for, while the third follows 'quickly', no .mention is made of the time lapse
between the first and second 'woes'. From this one may gather that a period of
respite inter�venes � a fact which is borne out by secular history. Two
centuries elapsed before the Turks � the sixth trumpet � burst forth from the Euphrates and destroyed the last remnant of the
Imperial Roman Empire.
The��
Sixth�� Trumpet
"And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard
a voice . . . Saying to the sixth angel . . . Loose the four an'gels which are
bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were
prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army
of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand... By these were the third part of men
killed, by fire and by smoke and by brimstone which issued forth out of their
mouths ..." Arising out of the
description of events pertaining to the sixth trumpet, one finds that there are
five major points which
[[IMAGE]]
Saracens and Crusaders meet - a painting by Stanley Wood.
are highlighted and may be summed up as (1) the locality of
origin of the force employed; (2) the numbers involved; (3) the function of
this; (4) its duration and (5) the impact of this in Europe.
It will be noted that the
Scripture directs attention to the 'great river Euphrates' from which one may
reasonably expect the main actors in this drama to emerge from this region. In 1062
A.D. history records that hordes of Mongol Turks under the persuasion of the
Islamic faith, poured across the Euphrates river on a very wide front. The
objective of this invasion was obscure for in the north it appeared to be aimed
at Constantinople while in the south it crystallized into a battle for the Holy
Land. This, of course, was the era of the Crusades in which the 'Turkish'
hordes were contained for almost two centuries., However, it was only after the
downfall of the Crusader kingdom in 1291 A.D. that this 'Turkish' force struck
at the tottering remnant of the Imperial Roman
Empire.
While the general statistics of the numbers
involved in this present the picture of 'two hundred thousand thousand', the
literal translation of the Greek Scripture places this number as 'Two myriads
of myriads' � phrases which not only give positive identity to those from the
Euphrates, but also present the numbers in proportions which are more realistic.
According to Gibbon, the Turks were in the habit of reckoning their forces in
'myriads' or tomans which consisted of a force of 10000 men. In his Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gibbon focuses attention on Togrul who
unified four sections, all of the house of Seljuk, and passed 'the Euphrates at
the head of his cav�alry the number of which was two hundred thousand.' While
historians may differ as to the mathematics all agree that the numbers of horse�men
involved in the Turkish invasion was infinitely greater than any of the
contemporary armies of Europe at the close of the eleventh century.
As has been, stated above, these armies
commenced warring in the Holy Land in 1062 and, while being contained by the
Crusaders for almost two centuries, broke through and commenced to destroy the
component parts of the Eastern Roman Empire. In 1389 Bulgaria fell to them; in 1430
Salonika was taken; Serbia was next in 1483 and Greece in 1446. By 1452 the
whole of the Eastern Roman Empire was in the hands of the Turks and on the 29th
May, 1453, Constantinople, the eastern capital of the Roman Empire fell as a
result of the sixth Trumpet.
It is significant that the
duration of this judgment was prescribed as being for 'an hour, and a day, and
a month, and a year' � a period of three hundred and ninety-one literal years. Calculating
this period from the emergence of the Turks
from the Euphrates river in 1062, this sixth Trumpet should have
accomplished its mission in 1453 � the precise date of the fall of
Constantinople. There is, however, another amazing
aspect to the fulfilment of the Scripture in respect of the down�fall of
Constantinople which should satisfy even the most ardent critic and it is found
in weapons used by the forces of the sixth Trumpet. "By these three was
the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the
brimstone, which issued forth out of their mouths" (verse 18).
Gunpowder� used� by� the��
Turks
For over a thousand years
Constantinople had been proof against attack from all quarters � Goths, Huns,
Avars, Persians, Bulgarians and even the Ottoman Turks who on previous occasions
had laid siege to the city. Gibbon, always the unconscious commentator on the
his�torical aspect of the Revelation, presents the picture of Turkish artil�lery
prepared at the foundry at Adrianople. He describes how "the volleys of
lances and arrows were accompanied with the smoke, the sound and the fire of
the musketry and cannon" and to which he added that "the
fortifications which had stood for ages against hostile vio�lence were dismantled on all sides by the Ottoman
canon, many breach�es opened, and near the gate of St. Romanus, four
towers levelled to the ground." One may thus see the remarkable accuracy
of prophecy not only in its chronology but also in its preview given in respect
of the mechanism by which the events resulted.
There is another aspect of the
fall of Constantinople which should be noted prior to passing on and which is
relevant to a large number of Greek
manuscripts of the New Testament which were housed in the city. When it
became evident that the city was the focal point of the Turkish attack, many
Greek scholars left, taking with them these manuscripts into Europe where they
later came into the hands of Desiderius Erasmus who was thus enabled to produce
the first complete Greek New Testament in 1516. This, as is well known, were
the em�bers which were to add fire to the Reformation in which the Bible became an open Book and which is the general theme
of the 10th chap�ter of the Revelation.
Thus, in summarising the sixth
Trumpet, one notes that the Turks, bearing, all the marks of identity with
this, accomplished the task of 'killing' the last of the former Imperial Roman
Empire although leaving Papal Rome to be dealt with at the appropriate time. One
would have thought that with the incredible
events which saw the down�fall of Constantinople in the manner
prescribed in the Scripture, Rome would have taken a new look at the Scriptures
which they guarded so jealously. However, the Scripture reveals that they would
not repent and would indeed pursue their 'works' as beforetime (verses 20 and 21).
**********
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JOHN��� WICKLIFFE 1324 - 1384
CHAPTER�� 5 THE 'LITTLE�
BOOK'� OF REVELATION
After
having provided a picture of the sixth Trumpet in an unmis�takable light, the Revelation does not mention the end of
the Turks at that stage. They were far from
a spent force when they took Constanti�nople
and history of the subsequent centuries reveals that they contin�ued to
harass the Eastern world but certainly not in the same manner as when they
accomplished the task of 'killing' the last vestige of Roman rule. In 1699 and
under the Treaty of Carlowitz their activity was
limited although Turkish power continued to exist until 1924 when the Caliphate was dissolved and Turkey became a
Republic. However, it should be
remembered that they performed a service to Israel although inadvertently. They forced the Greek manuscripts
of the Scripture into the Western European world in preparation for the time
when the Lord said that He would 'raise up' His people and they would
live in His sight (Hos. 6:1-2).
"And I saw another
mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with
a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun,
and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a a little book open: and
he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth" (Rev. 10:1-2). At the commencement of this
chapter, which is considered as 'parenthetical' by many Bible scholars,
one notes that there is no striking
revelation of events as had characterised the previous chapters. It is
an exhortation � a message concerning activity
in respect of the 'Little book' which, in the light of the preced�ing chapter brings the era of the Reformation into
focus.
As has been seen, the sixth. Trumpet
was active for 391 years and covered the period 1062 to 1453. During this
period and in the 'isles of the west', John Wycliffe was moved to break some of
the stranglehold of the Roman Church on the Scriptures. For nigh on a thousand
years Christianity had been Latinised and in this, the Word of God was a closed
Book to those unfamiliar with the Latin tongue. They depended entirely on the
interpretation of the priests for their religious instruction and as must be
evident, whatever the priest taught was held to be God-spoken. Who, for
instance, could contradict Pope Nicolas when he declared: "I am all in
all; above all; so that God Himself and I, the Vicar of God have both one
consistory, and am able to do almost all that God can do. It is said of me that
I have a heavenly arbitrament, and therefore am able to change the nature of
things and of nothing, to make things be ...
Wherefore, if those things which I do be said not to be done of man, but of
God, what can you make me but God?"
Who could
deny this claim and what evidence could be produced to expose this blasphemy as that spawned from hell itself? The Word of
God was a closed Book and such was the inherent reverence for God in the
hearts of true Israel now in the isles and western coastlands of Europe, that they continued to be deluded by the
pretensions of Roman Christianity. Under this, they remained slaves to
the dictates of Rome but the Lord God had
promised 'a raising up' and this is nowhere better illustrated than in
the 10th chapter of the Revelation which shows the 'little Book' open.
THE�
'SEVEN�� THUNDERS'
"And the angel cried with a loud voice as
when a lion roared, and when he cried, seven thunders uttered their voices ... I was about to write and I heard a
voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders
uttered and write them not ..." It
was certainly strange that John was commanded not to write the 'seven thunders'
and one is tempted to ask the reason for this but even before the question is
asked, the answer comes back from history � a history of the time when the Book
of Life became an open Book in which the falsity of traditional Christianity
was exposed. The 'thunders' of the Papal 'bulls' which pronounced dire judgment
upon the heresy of Pro�testantism
reverberated around the then known world attempting, through fear of
eternal punishment, to draw the 'lost sheep' back into the wolves' fold. The
seven-fold character of the Papacy is clearly set out in Revelation 17 where it
is depicted as the Babylonian Harlot sitting
on the seven-hilled city of Rome.
It is small wonder that John was
commanded not to write the things spoken by the 'seven thunders' for, while he
was commanded to 'write for these words
are true and faithful' (Rev. 21:5) no place should be made for the erroneous
mouthings of Rome's pretensions to Divine prerogatives. The Open Book of Truth
certainly exalted the true Israel people of the West for the French historian
D'Aubigne wrote: "Just as the Papacy degraded the Spanish peninsula, so
has the Gospel exalted the British Isles." This came about when, in obedience
to the message of the 10th chapter, the people began to feel the urgency of the
times when,.in the words of the angel of the Lord, 'there should be time no
longer' (verse 6).
With the 'eating of the little book' (verse 9) there
were very few indeed who could not and did not quote the Scriptures and fewer
still who did not believe its message. They saw for themselves the signs of the
times � the sixth Trumpet in the invasion of Constantinople � the opening of
the Book � the fact of time no longer with the sounding of the seventh Trumpet.
It is small wonder that their thoughts were fixed on the Promise of the Return
of the Lord Jesus Christ which became an integral part of the teaching of
Protestant Christianity in the Isles.. Time was indeed running out but the end
was not yet for the 'beast' (Rev. 13) had not been subdued neither had the plan
of Satan come to an end. These still lay in the future � a future which the
subsequent chapters of the Revelation reveal.
THE��
RESISTANCE� OF� ROME
"And there was given me a reed like unto a
rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God and the
altar, and them that worship therein. But the court that is without the temple
leave out, and measure it not: for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and
two months" (Rev. 11: 1-2).
As one passes to what may be
termed the halfway mark in the Revelation, it is of singular interest to note
the specific command of the angel of the Lord as it was given against the
background of almost fifteen centuries of Christian history. While today segregation
and dis�crimination are considered as 'unChristian' � indeed much of the Lord's
action in the Old Testament is similarly branded � it is an un�deniable fact
that the angel of the Lord commanded a discrimination against the Gentiles in
the outer court. It will be noted that a measur�ing 'reed' or 'rod' was
provided for this task and if the same yardstick was provided today, one
wonders what the sum total of the exercise would
be.
As ever in the task of ascertaining the meaning
of phrases and. symbols employed in the Revelation, one .must 'search the
scriptures' and the subject of the 'reed
like unto a rod' in this context, as in most other instances, throws one right back into the Israel theme of the Old Testament. It will be noted that the Lord God
promised His people: ". . .I will cause you to pass under the rod and
I will bring you into the bond of the covenant . . ." (Ezek. 20:37) thus
indicating that the 'rod' and the 'covenant' fall into the category of
'cause and effect' � the 'rod' having its
natural effect in the promised covenant. In a nut�shell, the 'rod' is the Word of God which is
inextricably bound up with the
subject of His covenant and in which one may see that the Lord assures that He will bring Israel under the
influence of His Word thus enabling
Him to fulfil His Covenant promises. It was because of God's assurance
that this would transpire that Micah recorded the prayer: "Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of
thine inheritance" (Micah 7:14).
The word
'reed' is seen by many scholars as indicating the dis�cipline of the Holy Scriptures for,
it is asserted, the Hebrew word from which this has been translated in the Old Testament is kanneh
from which the English canon as applied to
the Bible, derives its origin. This being
so, the overall meaning of the opening .phraseology in the eleventh chapter indicates a contrasting of
Biblical doctrine with that commonly held and taught at that time. In point of
fact it goes some�what deeper in that it gives the lie to the many
modern assertions which contend that 'it
doesn't matter .what one believes � as long as one believes'. The
yardstick, the Word of God, allows for no such flexibility in faith and is uncompromising in its demands and dictates. Rome fell into the error of believing that God
would accept counterfeit substitutes just as many today would project a
'form of godliness' heavenwards in the
arrogant assumption that this would be acceptable in His Sight. However, the Lord has said that His
Word would not re�turn unto Him void
but that it would prosper in the thing whereunto He sent it thus invalidating any interpretation of
Scripture which is not in accord with
the overall whole.
The 'measuring' in the
eleventh chapter of the Revelation is un�doubtedly expressive of the two so-called forms of
Christianity as it obtained
during the tumultuous years of the Reformation era. Rome, with its pseudo-Christian pretensions
could not and still cannot mea�sure up to the yardstick of the open Word of God while there were and still are many Protestants in a like condition who prefer
traditional religion to Biblical exposition.
It is significant that the
'measuring' was to be made within 'the temple of God and the altar and them that worship
therein' and which, on analysis, will .be
found to be a specific dwelling place on the earth. The word 'temple' is
translated from the Greek word naio which literal�ly means to 'dwell'
and as it is inconceivable that the angel of the Lord would command the
measuring of the heavens � this cannot be done (Jer. 31:37) � one is left to
ponder the subject of a dwelling place of their own ..." (II Sam. 7:10). By correlating the evidence of the
prophets, one is able to appreciate that this appointed place was Revelation
symbolism, is to be found associated with the Israel people of God.
At a time when the Israel people
were in the ascendancy under the reign of David, the Lord God informed the king
that He had ap�pointed '. . . a place for my people Israel . . . that they may
dwell in a place appointed by God on the earth. Such a place is very definitely
mentioned in the Scriptures and, as with the ever-recurring pattern of to be
the 'isles of the sea' (Isa. 49:1) in which, through the vicarious Sacrifice of
the Lamb of God, the people would be called the 'sons of the living God' (Hos. 1:10).
Thus then one is able to see that the Lord commanded that His Israel people,
now in the appointed place, be measured in accordance with the requirement of
Scripture in order to ascertain their readiness to receive the covenant
promises from Him. This was the projection of the offer of the Lord spoken
through Moses and incorporated in the Law of the Lord which states: "When
thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the
latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his
voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee,
neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them" (Deut. 4:30-31).
This 'measuring' was the most logical act at
the time for while intensive missionary work had been done in Israel in
dispersion at the instigation of the Lord (Matt. 10:6 and Acts 2:36), no
tangible evidence exists to testify that the nation turned to the Lord. The
inexorable march of the Seven Times
punishment (Lev. 26:28) continued and at the time of the Reformation had
still a further two centuries to run. With the
open Word of God in hand, as a people they could now see that they were
a redeemed nation with all the responsibility of this status before them � indeed
an opportunity to put into operation the blue-print for world blessing as it
was committed to the Patriarchs. The 'measuring', however, showed that while
new light had been injected into the people and while there was evidence of a
dawning knowledge of identity, the dominion of Papal influence over so long a
period was still with them and they were .reluctant to go all the way in the
new liberty. Thus in the 'measuring' the yardstick of the open Word of Truth
revealed that Israel in its modern
development was still not ready and the fulness of the punishment period had to
run its course.
It will be noted that in the
second verse of the eleventh chapter the
stringent command not to measure the court of the Gentiles may be fully understood in the light of the
interpretation provided above. How could
Rome be measured against a yardstick which was only applicable to Israel? The reason is immediately forthcoming
in that the Lord stat�ed that these .same people were responsible for
the treading down of the 'holy city' for a period of forty-two months and in
this activity could not possibly have a part to play in the overall Plan of God
as laid down in His Word. Matthew 7:6 should
be read in this context.
The period of the 'treading
down' is interesting in that it not only identifies the Roman Church with the
'Gentiles' but it serves to corroborate the
historical interpretation of the Book of the Revelation. Forty-two
months is 1260 days calculated on the Biblical month of thirty days and as is made abundantly clear in prophetic chronology, a .day is as a year (Ezek. 4:6). Working backwards
from the date of the Parliamentary
recognition of the Reformation in Britain (1553 A.D.) one is brought to
the 'Pergamos' era in which the Christian" Message was 'married to power' and assimilated into the
general body of Roman pa�ganism. Throughout
the long centuries which followed, the Roman Church projected the image
of Christianity � a task for which this foreign body was ill-equipped and
certainly lacking in mandate from the Lord
God Who had, in His Holy Word, prescribed that this would be the function of
His Israel people (Isa. 43:21).
It was during this same period
of 'treading down' that the Lord stated: "And I will give power unto my
two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score
years, clothed in sackcloth" (verse 3). The subject of identifying these
two witnesses has perplexed Bible students
over many years and has been propounded in many a context with the result of widening the confusion surrounding the
subject. It is not intended here to claim infallibility in interpreta�tion nor is it intended to dogmatise on
conclusions reached but certain facets of the statement by the Lord do
provide much food for thought and one can
but follow the leads given.
In the first instance it should
be noted that the Speaker thrusts His personality into the subject on two
occasions by saying: ". . . and I will give" to be followed by
the subject of the giving: "my two witnesses" which
immediately identifies the Speaker as the Lord Jesus Christ. The witnesses of
the Lord were undoubtedly the Apostles � "And ye shall bear witness,
because ye have been with me from the beginning" (John 15:27); ". . .
and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). However, by
limiting the witnesses to the New Testament
one is denying the pre-existence of the Lord Who claim�ed this by
stating: "Before Abraham was, Lam" (John 8:58). The use of the
Jehovah Name particularly in John 18:5 where the word 'he' is in italics, thus
an interpolation, endorses the Lord's usage of this Title and in the light of
this, one may see Him blazoned across the history of the Old Testament. This
being so, one is brought face to face with yet another aspect in the subject of
the witnesses for, of Israel which was created and formed for the praise of
Almighty God, the Lord states: ". . . ye are my witnesses that I am God"
(Isa. 43:12).
It should thus be relatively easy to identify
'my two witnesses' as the Israel people of the Old Testament and the Apostles
in the New � but Israel was under the punitive measure of the Law of the Lord during the 1260 years of the treading down and
the Apostles were long since dead � this interpretation thus falls to
the ground. In the fourth verse it is stated: "These are the two olive
trees and the two candle�sticks standing before the God of the earth" and
significantly, com�mentators and Greek scholars aver that the literal rendering
of this is.; "These are the two oil trees and two lampstands before the
Lord." While the olive is the symbolism for Israel in both the Old and New
Testaments and the candlesticks indicative of the Tabernacle within the nation,
it should be noted that there was no oil in the lampstands therefore the fusion
of the oil with the lamp had not provided the light by which men may see.
It should be borne in mind that
Israel was measured and found wanting but
the yardstick was the Word of God in both the Old and New Testaments and
this could be the witnesses referred to by the Lord for verily this was trodden down during the period of
Papal Dominion. Fur�ther, the Lord stated: "Search the scriptures;
for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of
me" (John 5:39). These were, of
course, the Old Testament Scriptures alone but with the completion of the Mission of the Lord (Matt. 15:24)
the New became the second witness in conformity with the Law which ever
demands more than one testimony. Thus one is confronted with the two witnesses �
the Old and New Testaments forming the Word
of God which, without doubt, testified to the Person and Mission (both
First and Second Advents) of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"And if any man hurt them,
fire proceedeth out of their mouth (note a
singular mouth denoting one common whole) and devoureth their enemies; and if any man will hurt them, he must
in his manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain
not in the days of their prophecy and have power over waters to turn them to
blood." History records the fulfilment of these symbolic words. Rome,
which prior to Constantine persecuted Christianity, did not change its nature
after it adopted the Christian faith. It thundered its interpretation of the
Scrip�tures which was an admixture of
paganism and superstition with Chris�tian teaching, and persecuted all those
who held opposing views, ignor�ing the many tangible evidences of the
judgment which was falling on the Roman Empire and the Papal advocates. War and
revolutions were ever present in Rome and other Papal countries which were no
strang�ers to the sight of blood flowing and which was indeed as rivers
drenching the land.
Showers of blessing certainly did not fall on
Rome and as one reconsiders the Thyatira era mentioned previously, one is well
able to appreciate the spiritual drought which accompanied the elevation of the
Woman to the position of deity. These conditions obtained with a viciousness
which could only be equated with the satanic instigation which prompted it and
history indeed records its testimony of the 'dark ages' through which the
civilised world then passed.
It will be noted that the
'witnesses' would be 'trodden down' for the
period of 1260 years but within this period � indeed toward the end of it� it is stated that 'the beast ... . shall
make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them' which appears to
give the impres�sion that during the prescribed period the treading down would
follow a course of slow but sure repression of the Truth. However, it is
obvious that something was to happen which would stimulate the 'beast' (Rome) into
aggressive activity with intent to utterly destroy the witnesses. This activity
was stirred up by men such as Wycliffe, Huss and Jerome who, through their
contact with the Word of God, began to see the evils in Romanism and, rightly
or wrongly, began to identify the Pope in Rome with the 'man of sin � the son
of perdition'. This was the com�mencement
of an era of wild persecution for Rome now saw itself being exposed in a
light which gave the lie to its much vaunted claims of being the very seat of
God's Kingdom on the earth.
A campaign of extermination was
commenced and millions of men, women and
children were butchered and towns razed to the ground
[[IMAGE]]
MARTIN� LUTHER 1483 -
1546
by the rampaging beast who began to
feel his dominion slipping from him under a
new spirit which moved over the people. Such was the devastation wrought that Jerome of Bohemia, after the great tidal wave of
destruction had subsided, sent representatives throughout Europe in order to
ascertain if any of the same faith survived and with great sadness, the report
was in the negative. However, a small pocket of the faithful still remained in Bohemia and such was their
determination, that Rome issued an
edict calling on Jerome and his followers to pre�sent themselves at the 9th
Session of the 5th Lateran Council to be held
on 5th May, 1514. This date should be borne in mind for it signi�fies the beginning of a period which was claimed
by the Roman Church as indicating the
death of all heresies in opposition to the Church.
The edict
was a challenge to all opponents of the Roman faith to present their cases and, needless to
say, Jerome and his followers did not avail themselves of the opportunity offered by the Roman hierarchy.
At the next meeting of
the Roman Church Council, a Papal communique was issued by Cardinal Pucci who stated: "There is
an end of resis�tance to Papal rule and
religion; nobody opposes us . . ." Outwardly Truth had been killed for
there was no evidence of resistance to the Roman
doctrines which at this time had become utterly saturated with Babylonian pagan ideals.
"And their dead bodies shall lie in the
street of the great city which spiritually
is called Sodom and Egypt where also the Lord was crucified. And they of the people . . . and
nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half and shall not
suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell in the earth
shall rejoice over them and make merry and
shall send gifts to one another because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." The early Re�formers,
and particularly John Wycliffe, identify the great city with Rome and their reasons, even today, are
particularly valid. Rome was presented as 'Sodom' because of the
impurity of its message and as 'Egypt' because of its idolatry. Because of its
persecution of Chris�tians and the Word of Truth, this church was guilty of re-crucifying
Christ.
With
resistance at an end, Papal Christendom gathered in Rome for a great festival which lasted for several years. During
the course of this, the souls of the
martyrs were continually cursed, excommuni�cation threatened against all who thought to challenge the Papal domi�nion
and the victory of Rome presented in festival fashion as reflecting the
rejoicing in heaven. For three years this 'victory' was kept alive but the
Scripture does not leave the picture there. "And after three days and a
half the spirit entered into them and they stood upon their feet and great fear
fell upon them which saw it." It has been stated above that the 5th Lateran
Council was held on May 5th, 1514 and the non-appearance of Protestants was the
signal for proclaiming that re�sistance, was dead. Exactly three and a half
years later � on October 31st, 1517, Martin
Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the Church in Wittenburg
protesting against the unscriptural practices of the Church of Rome. Here was
the 'coming to life' of the witnesses for from the Scriptures Luther was able
to see and teach that the doctrines of Rome
lacked conformity with the Word of Truth.
The rapidity with which Luther's protest spread
was amazing. In less than a month most of Europe was roused against the Papacy
so much so that the rulers of the countries became gripped by this new spiritual liberty which the Word of God now
offered. The overall com�ment of the Scripture on this is to state:
"And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the
city fell, and in the earth�quake were slain of men seven thousand: and the
remnant were af�frighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe
is past; and behold the third cometh quickly." As has been noted
previously, earthquakes in the Revelation denote political upheaval and this is
graphically demonstrated in the history of Rome at the time of the Re�formation.
The tenth part of the 'great city' (Rome) which fell was Britain which was
indeed the last addition to the Papal dominion. Henry VIII; Edward VI;
Elizabeth I and James I all consolidated the 'falling away' with the Monarch of
Britain becoming the Head of the Church in the land with the 39 Articles of
Faith being ratified by an Act of Parliament severing the links which bound
Britain to Rome.
Here was the prophecy of the
eleventh chapter of the Revelation being fulfilled as were those recorded by
Hosea and Ezekiel. The re-formation of Israel was beginning in precisely the
pattern as pre�scribed by the Lord � an historical testimony showing that God
is faithful in all His dealings with both nation and individual.
**********
[[IMAGE]]
Ezekiel's vision of Israel's Resurrection
CHAPTER�� 6 ISRAEL TO THE FORE
"And
the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of
our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11:15).
In the New Testament based
on the Greek text of Stephens (1550 A.D.), the
following direct translation of the above verse is given as: "And the
seventh angel sounded (his) trumpet and were voices great in the heaven, saying, Are become the kingdom (N.B.
singular) of the world._our Lord's and his Christ's and he shall reign
to the ages of ages." While this translation may appear to be irrelevant,
it will be found to have a direct bearing on the events as they are unfolded in
the succeeding chapters of the Revelation.
As one studies the last four
verses of the eleventh chapter, it is more than apparent that it is the era of
the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ � a
reign which is begun with the resurrection of the dead and Kingship of the Lord for a thousand years (Rev. 20:6).
This is the per�iod during which the Lord will rule until ". . .he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must
reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet" (I Cor. 15:24-25).
This being so, it is pa�tently obvious that
the 'kingdoms' of this world � in a plural sense � are not the universal Kingdom of God at the Second
Advent. It therefore follows that the
'kingdom' in a singular sense, operates during the mil�lennium working
toward the time when ". . . all things shall be sub�dued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be
subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in
all" (I Cor. 15:28). It is of this kingdom and the nucleus of it that
reference is made in the closing verses of
the eleventh chapter.
As has been noted, this chapter
covers the broad sweep of his�tory from the
period A.D. 313 to A.D. 1553 to be followed by the above quoted statement. As must be obvious, the Second
Advent did not take place after that period �.judgment did not take
place nor was Satan bound nor was this accompanied by the circumstance of the
'wolf dwelling with the lamb; the leopard lying down with the kid; the calf and
the young lion and the fatling together and a little child leading them' (Isa. 11:6).
On the contrary, the world entered a period of tre�mendous upheavals which were highlighted by revolution and unprece�dented
tribulation. In seeking an answer to this paradox, one passes on to find that,
as always, the Word of God is complete in its Light and that the twelfth
chapter identifies the entities involved in the course of history as it leads
up to this time of the Second Advent and the many vicissitudes through which
they would pass.
At the outset, identity is
established in the vision given to John. "And there appeared a great
wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:" In the seventeenth chapter
another 'woman' is described in such a manner as to reveal her as the
personification of all evil and who is totally incompatible with the 'woman' of
the twelfth chapter. This latter woman has marks of identity which are
unmistakable in their application to the
Israel 'woman' and is in complete harmony with the whole body of revealed
Scripture.
It is consistent with the Old Testament
Scriptures to claim that the Israel nation is ever referred to in the feminine
gender. "For the Lord hath called thee (Israel) as a woman forsaken
and grieved in spi�rit ..." (Isa.
54:6). In the Book of Hosea, Israel is depicted as the 'adulterous wife' while
Jeremiah records the consequence of adultery in that the Lord gave Israel a
'bill of divorce' (Jer. 3:8).
The association of the sun, moon
and stars with the 'woman' retains the consistency of this contention for it is
found in Joseph's dream (Gen. 37:9) and in its second witness required by
Biblical Law, is found in Jeremiah 31:35. "Thus saith the Lord which
giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the
stars for a light by night . . . If those ordinances depart from before me,
saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation
before me for ever." Is it conceivable that the Lord, having thus es�tablished
an unbiased and unchanging testimony to the national con�tinuity of Israel
should suddenly, and without further advice (Amos 3:7) use these ordinances to
identify someone else? Israel, the coven�anted
nation � the oath-bound people of God's Honour (Heb. 6:13) � is here
thrust into the limelight, playing its part in world events.
It will be noted that for all
the mighty Promises and the Coven�ants which the Lord God made to Israel in the
context of His world Purpose, none of these was forthcoming in the history of
the Old Tes�tament. The nation was formed, schooled and established, but no
bles�sing insofar as the nations of the earth were concerned (Gen. 18:18), was
in evidence. The Old Testament history presents a sorry picture indeed if one
were to leave it at that. The nation Israel is depicted as being scattered
through disobedience, dead to the Purpose of God through transgression of the Law and with only one hope of recovery � redemption.
In this situation, one may see that the nation thus formed to be a blessing and
now languishing in the condition of being 'without God' (Hos. 1:9) could not
produce the fruits of its calling.
"And she being with child, travailing in
birth, and pained to be delivered" (verse 2). The 'she' here cannot, by
any stretch of imagina�tion, be interpreted as indicating the Virgin Mary. The
'she' is the 'woman' who is identified by the 'sun, moon and stars' and while
Mary was undoubtedly of the House of David (Luke 3:23-31), she could not be
indicative of the whole house of Israel, the greater mass of which was in
dispersion (James 1:1). Israel was 'travailing in birth' � a fact which was the
subject of the writing of Isaiah the prophet who com�mented on this
'barrenness' of the Israel nation. "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not
bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with
child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the
married wife, saith the Lord. . . For thou shalt break forth on the right hand
and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate
cities to be inhabited" (Isa. 54: 1-3). There can thus be no doubt that
insofar as Israel is concerned, the 'I will' and 'they shall' of the Lord in
the context of His world Purposes ensures, not only continuity but the
realisation of the claus�es of the Covenant of world blessing.
This being so, one turns again to the momentous
introduction to the twelfth chapter with its announcement of the woman
'travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered'. It is, of course, very
convenient to simply claim that this refers to the Virgin Mary, however one is
con�fronted with several difficulties in this interpretation for the Greek word
here translated 'woman' is gune which is always used to denote a married
wife which immediately destroys the one key mark of identity of the Lord
Jesus Christ Who was to be born of a Virgin (Isa. 7:14 and Matt. 1:23). Other
difficulties also encountered are found in the fifth verse which reads: "And
she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and
her child was caught up unto God and to his throne." Another difficulty,
in this interpretation is found in the fact of the 'great red dragon' which
'stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her
child as soon as it was born."
It would serve a very useful purpose here to
follow the events as they are given together with the identification of the
main characters in order to arrive at an acceptable interpretation of the
twelfth chapter. The second 'wonder in heaven' was "a great red dragon,
having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads" which
immedi�ately makes identification with Herod, who issued his decree for the
murder of all babes under the age of two years, intolerable (Matt. 2:16). The
'great red dragon' is identified as one turns to Daniel 7 where four successive
Gentile empires are depicted as 'beasts'. Of the fourth em�pire, the following
is Daniel's description. "After this I saw a fourth beast and it had ten
horns (just as in Revelation 12). . . and the fourth beast shall be the fourth
kingdom upon the earth" (Dan. 7:35). During John's day this 'beast.' is
established as the Imperial Roman Empire with the 'seven heads' and 'seven
crowns' establishing this without question. Five of the 'heads' had already
fallen: (1) Kings; (2) Con�suls; (3) Dictators; (4) Decimvers; (5) Military
Tribunals and the sixth, Emperors, was now in control. The seventh and final
'head' was the rule of Despotic Military
men which completed the picture of Rome.
As has been stated above, Rome had nothing to
do with standing before Mary to devour her child as soon as it was born and it
would be unsupported speculation to
identify Herod or the Idumeans with the 'red dragon'. There is thus
obviously some other meaning to the overall picture and, on analysis, one finds
that it has to do with resurrection in a national sense. It is singularly
strange that in the seventeen verses of this chapter, only one deals with the
birth of the 'man, child' who was, as a 'child', 'caught up unto God and to his
throne'. Con�versely, the 'woman', which brought forth the 'man child' is found
to be the chief recipient of the satanic attack which forms the basis of the
whole chapter and which could not possibly be Mary.
There can be no doubt that while the Israel
'woman' travailed in birth and pained to be delivered, satanic attention would
not be war�ranted for the nation was 'not my people' (Hos. 1:9) and therefore
rela�tively unimportant. However, when the fulness of the time was come and when the Word was made flesh taking 'on him
the seed of Abraham' (Heb. 2:16) thus
becoming Israel's Kinsman Redeemer through meeting all the requirements
of the Ordinances given exclusively to Israel, the separateness existing
between God and His servant nation was healed (I Peter 2:9) thus once again
making it possible for the 'woman' to function and to accomplish God's .world
Purposes. Through the Vicarious Sacrifice
of the 'Son of David', the Israel nation, formerly dead in trespass and sin, was now once again living in the
Sight of God having been brought 'out of darkness into his marvellous light' (I
Peter 2:9).
It was
immediately after she had been delivered that the woman 'fled into the
wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand
two hundred and threescore days' (Rev. 12:6). Here is the corroborating evidence of that which was re�vealed
in the eleventh chapter for the 'treading down' of the Truth was for this same period (verse 2) as was the area of
measuring, namely, the 'temple of God and the altar'. Strangely enough, one
finds that in the 14th verse similar phraseology is used to denote the movement
of the woman into the 'wilderness' and one is left to ponder the reason for the repetition.
The only time when
repetition is given in the Bible is to form the basis
of conformity to the Law of witness and as this subject of an 'appointed place' has more than enough comment to
establish its verity, one searches
for a further meaning to the repetition in the 12th chapter. In its original
Greek text, the phraseology used conveys the idea of the woman setting
her face towards the wilderness or literally seeking an inhabitable land. This harmonises with the history of those early times for
no mass migration of people is recorded until the Hunnish flood from the east began to drive people before it in
the fourth century. Thus verse 6
presents the people preparing to move to the 'appointed place', whereas
the 14th verse records the actual movement to the land of destiny. However,
between the two events, the Revelation records: "And there was war in
heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought
and his angels, And prevailed not; neither
was their place found any more in heaven." As ever, one should bear in mind that symbolism is the keynote of the
Revelation and that to intrude literal translations only serves to
create confusion. This story of Michael and his fight against the dragon too,
falls into this category. The 'war' so clearly evident here took place in the
political 'heaven' of that time which was the Roman Empire. The fact that this
'war' had been previously revealed in two streams of history, i.e., the church
and Rome, is the reason why no descriptive language is used other than the symbolism of Michael and his
angels.
As has been previously
noted, Imperial pagan Rome fought Chris�tianity
from A.D. 64-313 and this is the 'war' referred to in the 12th chapter. That pagan Rome could not prevail is
clearly depicted in both the sixth and the twelfth chapters, the former
indicating the sixth Seal, the
earthquake or political upheaval in the Roman Empire. When pagan-
[[IMAGE]]
An early engraving depicting Satan in the earth.
ism as such was abolished in Rome, Constantine had coins
struck in commemoration of the event which clearly indicate the events of the
'war in heaven' for on the one side are the features of Constantine, while on
the other side may be seen the serpent pinned to the ground by the Cross.
"Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of
the sea, for the devil is come down unto you
having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." While it is quite common and generally
correct to intimate that this applies to the present time with its vicious
speed�up in disintegration of all things decent, it should be borne in
mind that the knowledge of impending defeat
had to be occasioned by some event
of signal importance in history. The Redemption of the Woman was this
signal for it reinstated Israel with God and opened the-way for world blessing. The overthrow of pagan Rome
was Satan's counter and through this mechanism he was ready to devour
Israel within the toils of utter spiritual
delusion and degradation. Had Rome been con�verted to Christ and the open Word
of Truth, history would have been vastly different but this was indeed the
'woe' pronounced upon the in�habitants of the earth for within the
machinations of satanic subtlety, it was contrived to establish religious
worship along lines which had degraded the earliest civilisations.
The pattern of this is unmistakable. During the
first satanic persecutions of Christianity,
untold numbers of men, women and chil�dren
suffered martyrdom at the hands of pagan Rome.. This martyrdom now became the sphere of satanic operation in
that those martyrs who had been
publicly executed now became publicly honoured for their role in bringing about the downfall of paganism in
Rome. The tribute thus paid grew
completely out of proportion so that the impression was made on the
populace of Rome that their 'deliverance' from paganism was due entirely to the
intercession of the martyrs before God. Thus was begun martyr worship with pilgrimages to the places of execution and worship of relics and bones of the dead � indeed
a religion or worship of the dead. There should be no need to remind any
that this form of Christianity is utterly rejected from on High as is recorded
in the 8th chapter of the Revelation.
Having seen that his
initial victory in crucifying Christ had been turned
into defeat � Israel was now freed from her fetters of sin and reconciliation
with God accomplished through the testimony of the Open Tomb � Satan's reaction
was to resort to the insidious and this was
the time in which ". . . to the woman were given the two wings of a great
eagle that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place where she is
nourished for a" time, and times and half a time from the face of the
serpent." The 'time, times and half a time' is, as related in the 6th
verse, 1260 years which is the time of the 'treading down' of Revelation 11. Significantly,
this is precisely half the prescribed captive period over Israel which,
according to Leviticus 26:28 was to be for 'seven times', or 2520 literal years.
The first half of this period was taken in migrating, firstly from captivity
into the eastern section of the Roman Empire and secondly, after the wave, of
Hunnish inva�sions, to the coastland and islands north-west of Palestine. As
the first half of Israel's punishment period began to run out, the Angles and
Saxons began to arrive in the lands of the West, to be followed in the
succeeding centuries by other component parts of the same people. All along the
way and even when settled in the isles, the serpent, now disguised as the
Papacy, attempted to destroy the developing Israel people. "The serpent
cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her
to be carried away of the flood." The Papal bulls and edicts which had the
Roman world trembling, was un�able to quench
the fire which had been kindled within the woman Israel. In Scotland and
at the commencement of the fourteenth century, the Scottish Barons appended
their signatures to a rejection of Papal rule which,
together with the work of the Reformers, showed that the Woman was
indeed being nourished and sustained during the last centuries of national punishment.
"And the dragon was wrath
with the woman and went to make war with
the remnant of her seed which keep the commandment of God and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ." Although Dr. Scofield in his helpful notes
suggests that this remnant of the woman were the Jews, the continued rejection
of the Lord Jesus Christ by these people plus their miscellaneous racial
origins makes this contention untenable. The question of the identity of this
remnant therefore remains obscure and could be the stragglers left in
Europe en route to the 'appointed place'. While it is admittedly speculative, this remnant could be the Huguenots for many
of the modern descendants of these people now living in South Africa bear
family names which perpetuate Israel cir�cumstances. For instance, there is the
name 'van Niekerk' � literally, of 'no Church', originating at the time when the
Huguenot resistance to Papal Rome caused such sorrow. Then the name 'Niemand' �
"no�body", arising out of the Hosea prophecy when Israel was 'not my
people' (Hos. 1.9)', 'van der Westhuizen' � of the West House; 'Oost-huizen
� East House; in which one is thrown back to the arrangement of the tribes of
Israel round the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.
None will surely deny that the Huguenots were persecuted in
a most diabolical manner as were other remnants of Israel in Europe. Thus, in
the history of Europe during the era of the Reformation, one finds the last
verse of the twelfth chapter of the Revelation being fulfilled.
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901
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CHAPTER�� 7 THE
BEAST
"And
I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise out of the sea, having seven
heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of
blasphemy" (Rev.
13:1).
In the general description of the 'beast' of
Revelation 13 it will be noted that ". .,,. the dragon gave him his power
and his seat, and great authority (verse 2) from which one may gather that this
entity would, with all the subtlety of
Satan, operate within, the sphere of his ambition to "... be like the Most High" (Isa.
14:14). As a means of identification, John presents a crystallisation of
Daniel's beasts (Dan. 7:4-6) in that the beast which rose from the sea (peoples)
was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and mouth as the mouth of a lion � a
description which tallies with the three
Babylonian succession of Em�pires of
Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece. The beast which John saw was undoubtedly
that representing Rome which incorporated all the characteristics of the
preceding Empires and exhibited a diabolism in excess of any that preceded it.
By way of
further identification, John records that he saw one of the seven heads wounded unto death
although which of the heads is not mentioned. As
has been seen previously in this study, and under the context of the 'dragon'
which stood ready to devour the 'man child' born of the Israel woman, the
'seven heads' were seen as the seven forms
of government which dominated the Roman Empire from its incep�tion until
its decline and fall. The last of these was that of the 'De�spotic Emperors' which received a mortal blow
when Constantine suc�ceeded to the throne in Rome and created a
revolution which saw the passing of paganism and barbarity and 'Christianity'
being instituted as the national way of life. However, as history makes
abundantly clear, paganism was resuscitated after the death of Constantine
which could be the meaning of the head that was 'wounded unto death' but whose deadly wound was healed (verse 3).
Another historical vindication of
this could be in the events of the last quarter of the fifth 'century when, in the reign of Romulus Au�gustus,
Imperial Rome ceased to be the capital of the Roman world � the seat of government being transferred to Constantinople,
an act which indicated that the city, the seat of government, was indeed wounded unto death. Rome, however, grew again,
not as the seat of a mighty military
power, but .as that of an insidious religious-cum-political one in which the 'head' wielded power which
not only rivalled that of the Caesars, but actually surpassed it.
This
'beast' which suffered a tremendous blow and was on the point of death was revived and
exercised a greater dominion than ever before by the very nature of its apparent resurrection
so that 'the world wondered
after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast' (verses 3-4). Within the compass of
'wordly' adoration "... there was given him (the beast) a mouth speaking great things
and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in
blasphemy against God, to blaspheme
his name and his tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven.'
It will be noted that the
period of 'forty and two months' was the period allotted to the treading down of the Truth of God (Rev.
11:2) and that this was the duration of the
'nourishment' of the Israel woman (Rev. 12:6 and 14) from the face of the
serpent. As has been noted, this was the era of the complete dominion by Papal
Rome over the Christian message and may be
taken as commencing when Justinian, the
Eastern Roman Emperor officially acknowledged the Pope as head of all churches in A.D. 533. This was later
ratified by Phorcas in 607. These dates coincide with the migratory
waves of Israelites arriving in the 'isles of the west'.
While John did not record
what the 'mouth' of the beast spoke, he summarily wrote that it spoke 'great things and
blasphemies' which, if one examines the Greek
text, are found to be doctrines which are diametrically
opposed to those of God. Let the doctrines of the Roman Church identify
this itself with the 'great things and blasphemies' of Revelation 13. Of the
many documents used as the basis for Roman faith,
that of The Manual for the use of Confessors, by Abbe Guame, is most
illuminating. The following is an extract from this:
"What language of man can
speak of the dignity and greatness of of the Priest? The first man was great - Moses
was great - Joshua was great - kings of the earth are great - but there stands
a man greater still. This is the man who every day � when he pleases (our
italics) � opens the gates of heaven and
addressing himself to' the Son of
the Eternal, to the Monarch of the Worlds, says to Him:- 'Descend from the throne and come:' Docile at the voice of
this man, the Word of God, He by
whom all things were made, instantly descends from His seat of Glory and
incarnates Himself in the hands of this man, more powerful than kings, than
angels, than the .August Mary . . . and this man
says to Him, 'Thou art my victim . . .' " In what Bible or by what authority is such blasphemy vindicated?
However,
this is not the end of such infamy for this work contin�ues: "The Priest, powerful as God, can in an instant
snatch the sinner from hell . . . God
Himself is obliged to adhere to the judgment of the Priest." As must be
obvious to even the most naive, all this makes the First Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ an
unnecessary encumbrance on the Christian faith for if the Priest has
such power, the Agony of the Cross becomes
a wasted effort.
In further 'treading
down' the Truth of God, the Roman Church claimed
and still claims the infallibility of the Church, the reason for which is given by the Rev. Bertrand L. Conway of
the Paulist Fathers, in The Question Box in which he contends: "Because
she alone repre�sents Christ, the Divine, Infallible Teacher, in
conduct, belief and worship. She alone says to the world as Christ did: "I
am the Way (conduct), ihe Truth (belief) and
the Life (worship). Reason and reve�lation
alike demand that the teacher of the divine revelation of Christ speak
as He did, infallibly, i.e., that she by divine guidance be ever kept free from the liability of error."
This same work proceeds: "Once
we admit that the Church is infallible, it follows that its head and mouthpiece
must likewise be infallible. For if Peter and his successors, could as supreme
pastors teach false doctrine, they would cease to be the rock foundation on which the Church was built ..." However, the same Pope who inqcher works is called "The
Lord God the Pope - the Most Holy Father" is only infallible when he
speaks ex cathedra, i.e., 'when he speaks as supreme pastor of the universal
Church', when 'he defines a doctrine regarding faith and morals' and 'when he
intends to bind the whole Church'. This
authority is supposedly derived from Peter of whom ac�cording to the Vatican
Council (On the Church: chap. 2) declares: "St. Peter still
lives, presides and judges in the person of his successors, the Bishops of Rome."
Here indeed are matters
which certainly do not enjoy the support of Holy Scripture. The Bible relates the words of Christ
Himself Who said: "I am not sent but unto
the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt.
15:24) which would then make the Roman Church the supplanters of Israel. Secondly, Peter never received a
commission from the Lord to go to Rome or to be the 'first. Bishop'. He
was told to 'Feed my sheep' (John 21:16) � the
'sheep' being very definitely identified in Holy Scripture as the Israel servant nation of God (Ezek. 34:30-31 and Matt. 15:24). Peter's so-called presence in Rome
is indeed a master�piece of Satanic
manipulation of the Scriptures for it is taken from the fact that he wrote his two epistles in 'Babylon'
which Roman writers identify
spiritually with Rome. That this is true is not denied but by what authority
does the Roman Church suddenly make 'Babylon' in Peter's epistle a
spiritual city when all else in his writing is literal? He wrote specifically to Israel in dispersion (I Peter 1:1) and reminded
them that the conditions incurred
through transgression and reported by Hosea
(Hos. 1:6-9) were now obviated (IPeter 2:9-10) and that they were now "...
returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of
your souls" � Christ Jesus, not
Peter.
The 'great things and
blasphemies' spoken are clearly indicated in the claims of Rome not the least
of which was and is the complete repudiation of the narrative of the Old Testament with its Oath-bound Covenants and Promises. Is it not
blaspheming the Name of God (Rev. 13:6) to contend that His Holy Name which is bound up with the con�tinuity of Israel (Jer. 31:35) was
merely an expedient given at a time when God did not mean what He said and did not say what He meant? Is it not blasphemy to contend that
the Lord never intended to perpe�tuate His Plan and Purpose which He committed
to the Patriarchs? Is it
not blasphemy to usurp authority and speak on behalf of God and in His Name to keep people in total
submission to a priesthood which pretends to Divine Authority? This is the 'war' which was made on the 'saints' to keep them in ignorance of
their destiny which was and is bound up in the Covenants which God made with their fathers (Heb. 6:13).
Within
this 'war' one may read of the hideous atrocities perpe�trated by the beast � the breaking of
countless bodies of men, women and children to force them into an acceptance of the Roman faith and staining the pages of human history
with the blood of innocent people. The list of Popes who encouraged this slaughter is long � Alexander 3rd; Paul 3rd; Gregory 13th to name
but a few who waged this war against people whom they called 'heretics, wild beasts, children of the
devil and the spawn of
hell'. Was this war waged at the instigation of the Lord Jesus Christ in Whose
Name the horror was perpetrated by Rome? Did He advocate such measures against those who did not agree with Him? The answer is surely NO! for He said that if the
people would not heed, His emissaries should merely wipe the dust off their
feet and leave (Matt.. 10:14). The Papal modus operand! certainly stamps it as
the 'beast' of Revelation 13.
The Papacy undoubtedly
held the whole of Christendom captive during the prescribed period of forty-two months when, as
John record�ed: "He that leadeth into
captivity shall go into captivity and he that killeth
with the sword must be killed with the sword" (Rev. 13:10). If one accepts the starting point of the ravages of
the 'beast' as commen�cing when the
official acknowledgement of Papal supremacy was made in 533 A.D. the forty-two prophetic months or 1260
literal years would run out in 1793. This should be the acid test of
identity for then one should expect to see some such event transpire within the
context of the Papal 'head'.
The latter end of the 18th
century saw the French Revolution break out
at a time which marked the end of the forty-two months of the despotic
pleasure of the 'beast'. Secular history records that the Pope was taken captive by French troops and subjected to every
humiliation in a French prison with
the colossal wealth of the Papacy confiscated. It is true that a new
Pope was installed after the death of Napoleon but by 1870 the power of the Papacy was broken and Italy came under the
dominion of a monarchy headed by Victor Immanuel. The Papal 'beast' was indeed
'taken captive' � but it was not killed. Its fangs were withdrawn for a
while but, as will be seen in the 16th chapter, the 'beast' once again emerges on the scene � an emergence occasion�ed by Mussolini's decree restoring power to the
Pope.
Bearing in mind that the 'beast'
was the specific entity which the dragon
endowed with his authority and power, it would be under�estimating the
subtlety of Satan to aver that he made no provision against the downfall of this outward manifestation of his world ambi�tion.
This he certainly did � a fact which was revealed to John on the isle of
Patmos. "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had
two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon" (Rev. 13:11). As one reads on it becomes obvious that this other
'beast' was associated with and linked to the first 'beast' for ".
. . he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of
the beast should both speak, and cause as
many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed" (verse 15).
Here one finds a 'working party" within the framework
of the 'beast' which had influence in both the religious and political fields (the two horns). These were they who set up an
'image' to the 10-horn-ed beast and one should not imagine that this was
a literal image .set up for the Papal
Church had already a surfeit of images. An 'image' is a picture � a model or representation � and true
to this interpretation, the Roman
priesthood was responsible for setting up the General Coun�cil of the
Church of Rome in which they had an official voice to echo through the world under the Papacy. Between the
years 1153 and 1545, twelve such
Councils were held which formulated further blasphemies in addition to
those already in existence and which drew up laws in response to the rumblings of dissent evident in support for the Reform�ers.
Thus, motivated by the Papal priesthood, the 'image' spoke, the decrees of the
Council being absolute with any violation met with death. One instance of this
was recorded in the Council of Constance in 1415 when Huss and Jerome were
condemned to death by burning because of their refusal to obey the resolutions
of the 'image'.
As the
Reformation developed into a tangible reality, the second 'beast' became increasingly active and received a 'charter'
from Pope Paul III in 1540 to form the
'Society of Jesus' under which a free par�don was granted for all methods used to suppress the spirit of religious
freedom which had begun to burn in
the hearts of the modern develop�ment of Israel. For a hundred and fifty
years the Jesuits worked to stave off the
effect of the Reformation, during which time they became a powerful
force taking over political and religious affairs in many Papal States. Such was their influence that the
Papacy found it neces�sary, through a 'Bull of Excommunication', to annul the
original Char�ter and to disband the
Society.
Roman Catholic countries
responded by hounding the Jesuits and expelling them wherever they operated until it appeared
that all traces of the
Society had been exterminated. However, they emerged from the 'underground' as the 'Illuminati' which had tentacles in
the highest places within all Roman
Catholic countries and which eventually crea�ted the French Revolution
which, in turn, was the beginning of the limitation
of the power of the ten-horned Roman Beast. Napoleon was trained in a Jesuit school and his dealing with
the Papacy may be seen as an
operation against the 'Bull of Excommunication' which had been issued
against the Jesuits. This 'Bull' was repealed in 1814 � an exercise indicating
that the second 'beast' still owed allegiance to the first 'beast' � with the
Jesuits 'white-anting' the now fully emerged Israel people in all spheres of
national and international life.
From the closing verses of the 13th
chapter, one may gather that the second
'beast' was dedicated to furthering the mechanics of the dominion of the first
'beast' which, in a nutshell, was the dominion of the dragon himself. It will
be noted that the second 'beast' initiated sanctions against all and sundry who
were opposed to the first 'beast'. "And
he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a
mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might
buy or sell, save that he had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number
of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number
of the beast: for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred
three score and six" (verses 16-18). The sanctions enforced by the second
beast were nothing less than the projection of the same custom which had been
introduced by the beast during its forty-two
months reign of terror. Complete and un�reserved obedience to all Papal
decrees was demanded and acquies�cence to these was indicative of having the
mark of the master either in the right hand or in the forehead. Any refusal or
revolt was 'hereti�cal' and as such the dissidents were not permitted to buy or
sell and so were deprived of all the benefits of civil society. One such
instance in history was recorded by Roger Hoveden who wrote of William the Conqueror that "such was his fidelity that
he would not permit any one in his power to buy or sell any thing, whom
he found disobedient to the apostolic see."
A similar incident was recorded of the Council of Lateran
under Pope Alexander III who charged the Waldenses and Albigenses with heresy, decreeing that "upon the pain of
anathema, no man presume to entertain or cherish them in his house or
land, or exercise traffic with them." The Synod of Tours in France, under
the same Pope, decreed "... no
man should presume to receive or assist them, no not so much as to hold communion with them in selling or
buying, that being depriv�ed of the
comfort of humanity, they may be compelled to repent of the error of their way."
Pope Martin V, in his 'Bull' set out after the Coun�cil of Constance,
commanded that "... they permit
not the heretics to have houses in their districts, or enter into contracts, or
carry on com�merce, or enjoy the comforts of
humanity with Christians." Here indeed was the projection of the
edict of Diocletian (300 A.D.) whose sanc�tions
were perpetrated in the 'Hymn of Justin Martyr' � "They had not the
power of buying or selling any thing, nor were they allowed the liberty of
drawing water itself, before they had offered incense to de�testable� idols."�
This,� of course, �was the pattern followed by the Jesuits �the second beast � who saw to it that
sanctions were applied to all who
would not acknowledge the supremacy of the Papal See.
SIX-SIX-SIX
Historically, the
practice of signifying men or objects in numbers, is well attested to. Toth, the Egyptian Mercury, was
signified by the number 1218 while Jupiter
or 'the beginning of things' was recorded by the number of 717 and the sun, or the author of the rain was represented
by the number 608. Irenaeus, who lived shortly after John's time and was said to have been the disciple of Polycarp,
who himself was repu�ted to have
been John's disciple, wrote: "Sed et Lateinos nomen habet sexcentorum sexaginta sex numerum: et valde
verisimile est, quoniam novissimum regnim hoc habet vocabulum. Latini
enim sunt qui nunc regnant: sed non in hoc nos gloriabimur." A literal
translation of this is: "The name Lateinos contains the number of 666,
and it is very likely, because the last kingdom is so called, for they are
Latins who now reign; but in this we will not glory." Pope Vitallian
issued his decree that Latin was the only language to be used in worship and thus earned for himself the historical name of Lateinos
and inheriting for himself the
number of the beast.
This, however, may not be
the full implication of the number for 666 is
undoubtedly involved in economics. This figure heads the list of the practices
of Solomon which resulted in his downfall and the division of the twelve tribes
of Israel.
THE� BEAST� AND POWER POLITICS
"And I looked, and lo, A Lamb stood on
the mount Sion, and with him an hundred
forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads" (Rev. 14:1).
A significant feature of the closing verses of
the thirteenth chapter of Revelation is
that no mention is made of the end of the ac�tivities of the greater or
the lesser beast. The chapter ends with the provision
of the defensive mechanism whereby men may identify the diabolical ramifications of the beast and, having
been so equipped, are able to appreciate that 'power polities' was the
policy of Satan's as�sault. That this is currently the modus operand! within
the world's political sphere is indeed a
wonderful testimony to the veracity of the Revelation of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
With the introduction of politically coercive
tactics � 'no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark of the beast' � the
Lord resorted to the same faith-engendering
mechanism previously noted in the
context of Satan's subtlety when he joined the prodigious resources of Pagan Rome to the Christian Message (Rev. 7). It
will be noted that the one hundred
and forty four thousand again make their appearance and in such a manner
as to place them in diametrical opposition to the beast for they had the 'name
of God' written in their foreheads. While much confusion surrounds the subject
of the 144000 this has only arisen because men will not accept the clues
provided by the Lord Who never poses a problem without providing the answer.
"And I heard a voice from heaven as the
voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the
voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song
before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man
could learn that song but the hundred and forty (our thousand, which were
redeemed from the earth" (Rev. 14:3). Here indeed is the clue for, as
in the case of the seventh chapter, the nation Israel is thrust unmistak�ably
to the fore. Who, in terms of Bible revelation received the Name of God as an
integral part of their national structure? "And they shall put my name
upon the children of Israel and I will bless them" (Num. 6:27). Who was
redeemed by the Lord? "Blessed .be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath
visited and redeemed his people" (Luke 1:68).
It will be noted that only the
144 000 could understand the song which was sung � a fact which thrusts the
nations of the Reformation into this role for with the Open Bible in their
hands, they could be stimulated into further action by appreciating that they
were Israel. This realisation could initiate the implementation of the
'everlasting gospel' which surely had as its objective, the blessing of all the
'families and nations of the earth'.
That this message was received and understood
is borne out by history which reveals that tremendous revivals swept through
Anglo-Saxondom. The writings and teachings of the Reformers who certainly
recognised their position in the great stream of the Revelation � the
exhortation of the Lord Jesus Christ concerning the preaching of the Gospel of
the Kingdom as a witness to all nations (Matt. 24:14) � this certainly provided
the impetus which resulted in unprecedented Bibli�cal exposition in a vein and
context hitherto unknown in Christian evangelism.
While this was progressing, it should be
remembered that the power politics of the beast was in operation � a mechanism
which, arising out of Satan's recognition of the 'Philadelphia' era, was aimed
at creating diversionary tactics. Had the 'Philadelphia' era been per�mitted to continue uninterrupted the course of
world history would have been entirely different to that which has
characterised the road of hu�man relations.
In the short period of one hundred and fifty years (middle 18th and
nineteenth centuries) the unbiased record of world history reveals an almost
frantic effort to spread the knowledge of God among the nations of the world
and significantly, these efforts revolved, in the main, round the Hope of the
Second Advent of the Lord. This may have had some relationship to the fact that
in the 14th chapter of the Revelation is
mentioned that the judgment of God was impending (verse 7). Be that as
it may, one feature is certain and that is that Israel in Anglo-Saxondom was
very definitely involved in 'shewing forth my praise' (Isa. 43:21) at a time
when Rome and its related institutions were manipulating the power political
machine as a counter to all that was taking place in the modern development of
the Israel of God.
As one proceeds with the 14th chapter which is
indeed a paren�thetical one, one notes that 'Babylon' is mentioned for the
first time in the Revelation. "And there followed another angel saying,
Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations
drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication" (verse 8). That
'Babylon' is associated with the 'beast' cannot be denied for in the rapid
succes�sion of messages which highlight the remainder of the 14th chapter, the
two become synonymous with the exhortation to Israel to remain outside of the
web being woven by manipulators of power politics. "And the third angel
followed them saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his
image and receive his mark ... the
same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God."
While this was very definitely a warning to
Israel at a time when they were beginning to expand their activities, it is one
which is pro�jected through the duration of the beast's activity and serves as
a directive against such foolhardiness as has been witnessed in Britain's membership with the Common Market or 'Treaty of
Rome'.
The closing message of the parenthetical
chapter projects the end of the age scene to the fore and while it portrays, in
grim detail, the wrath of God in judgment,
it does not fail to provide encouragement. One may see from the 14th
chapter and its message to Israel that it was directed to a people prepared by
the Lord and as an exhortation to go forward in the face of adversity zealously
guarding the Word of Truth against the universal falsity as propagated by the
beast. It was intended as an instrument of assurance against the incredible
subtlety of the power politics of the Babylonian beast and even today,
continues to provide hope in an otherwise hopeless situation.
Bearing in mind that the
machinery of coercion is depicted as continuing until the time when 'one like
unto the Son of man' would come with a 'sharp sickle' in his hand (Rev. 14:14),
the succeeding
[[IMAGE]]
Early drawing of the defeat of the Spanish Amarda.
�
�
[[IMAGE]]
Queen
Elizabeth gives thanks
in St. Paul's Cathedral
for deliverance.
chapters are evidently a portrayal of the events which led
up to this great climax. The fifteenth chapter, comprising eight verses in all,
serves as an introduction to the Seven Vials
of the Wrath of God which are poured out upon 'the men which had the mark of
the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image' (Rev. 16:2). "And
I saw another sign in heaven . . . seven angels having the seven last plagues;
for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass
mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and
over his image and over his mark . . . stand on the sea of glass, having the
harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song
of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty;
just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints ..." (Rev. 15:1-3).
Here again Israel is thrust to
the fore and in such a manner as to make this identification .unassailable. It
will be noted that those who sang the 'song of Moses' were those who had
'gotten the victory over the beast' � phraseology
which draws attention to the breakdown of the absolute power wielded by the Papacy. From the middle of the seven�teenth
century when anti-Papacy feelings were running very high in Britain and the
Continent, the Jesuits were unleashed in order to re�cover the lost ground. Their
insidious manipulation of power politics recovered
considerable Continental support for the Pope but only serv�ed to
strengthen the opposition in Britain. The churches in England and Scotland
rejected the 'voice of the image' by incorporating in their constitutional
articles of faith safeguards which only traitors would violate. By an Act of
Parliament, Latin was abolished as a medium of worship and the people, could worship God in their own language. The beast
and his 'gestapo' were not finished by any means for the history of those years shows one thrust after the other
in all spheres of nation�al life aimed at returning the 'sheep to the
Papal fold'.
Finding the people disenchanted
with the Papal system and al�most entirely unresponsive to the overtures made
to them, attention was focused on the aristocracy and the Monarch. However,
national safeguards were created to ensure
the continued victory over the beast. The
Test Act of 1673 ensured that all governors or government officials as such could owe allegiance to none other than
the Sovereign of Eng�land. In this, all officials were required to partake of
Communion in the Church of England adding to this association a public
denial of the Roman institution known as the doctrine of transubstantiation. In
this doctrine, the Roman priesthood claimed
to have the power of changing the elements of bread and wine into the
literal body and blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
The Parliamentary
Test Act of 1678 was another demonstration of the determination of Israel in the isles to perpetuate
the victory over the beast for this Act
required all Members of the English Parliament to publicly repudiate the worship of the Virgin Mary and the Sacrifice of the Mass. So precious had this victory become
that even the Monarch, James II, lost his throne because of an apparent
leaning toward Papal convictions. This 'leaning' brought yet another Act into
being � the Act of Settlement an extract of
which, because of its far-reaching im�plication,
is now provided: ". . . whereas it hath been found by experi�ence
that it is inconsistent with the safety of this protestant kingdom to be
governed by a popish prince . . . the said Lord, Spiritual and Temporal and Commons do further pray that it be
enacted that all and every person
that should hold communion with the see or the church of Rome, or shall profess the Popish religion, shall
be excluded and for�ever incapable
to inherit, possess or enjoy the crown and government of this realm and the dominions thereto belonging."
Since the Act was passed in 1699,
all British Monarchs have been required to
take this oath at their coronations in which they swear to uphold the Act of Settlement and to Defend the
Faith which prompted it. It is a sad evidence of the declining "victory
over the beast' that not only the British
Monarch, but ecclesiastical and political leaders have, in recent years, made contact with, the
Pope himself. This, how�ever, is a, far cry from the time when Israel had
'gotten the victory over the beast'
and must be left for further consideration when the stream of history as
unveiled by the Revelation, presents the end of the age scene.
As one passes on, it will be noted that the
victorious people stood 'alongside the sea
of glass' � an expression which can only be fully appreciated if the historical sequence of events has been
followed through the Revelation. 'Seas' are indicative of people and
'glass' is equated with brittleness. While Israel in the isles was
consolidating its victory over Rome, across
the literal sea and in France, the brittle nature of the people was being demonstrated in the Revolution � a
remarkable situation which, as with so many other historical events, testifies to the accuracy of prophecy.
While
France writhed under revolution, British history shows an incredible development of the
prophetic pattern. It will be noted that those
who had 'gotten the victory over the beast', sang the 'song of Moses', the meaning of which must remain obscure
until the pages of the Old Testament
are once again opened and accepted as true. It will be found that there are two 'songs of Moses' in
the Old Testament each being
relevant to the two features in the 3rd verse of the 15th chapter. The one song concerns the works of the Lord
while the other embraces His Way.
The works of the Lord was the subject of
the 'song of Moses' who praised Him for His
deliverance of the children of Israel from the pursuing Egyptian hosts (Ex. 15:10).
In praising the Lord, Moses said: "Thou didst blow with thy wind,
the sea covered them: they sank as lead in
the mighty waters." Was it purely coincidental that the people in
the isles, having been given their freedom from Papal dominion in much the same manner as Israel had received this
from the Egyptians, were 'pursued' by the Papal minion Philip of Spain?
Again, under the Providence of God, the victory was Israel's and the then
Monarch of England, Queen Elizabeth I, sang the 'song of Moses', using words almost identical to those of Moses on a
commemorative medal which was struck to perpetuate the memory of the defeat of
the Spanish Ar�mada. The Queen acknowledged: "He blew with His
winds and they were scattered."
The second 'song of Moses' has
to do with God's way which is described
as 'just and true'. Quite contrary to usual explanations
which appear to centre around the
Character and Nature of God as found with�in the context of 'love', this
'song' has to do with God's way of ac�complishing
His Plan in the earth. In the chapter which is theologically headed as 'the song of Moses', i.e., Deuteronomy 32,
one finds Moses exhorting the people
to "Remember the days of old, consider the years of many
generations: ask thy father and he will shew thee; thy elders and they will tell thee. When the Most High
divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of
Adam, He set the bounds of the people
according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord's
portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance" (Deut. 32:7-9).
Here, in unmistakable
terms, one reads of land allocation for the sons
of Jacob � land reserved for Israel's occupancy in close proxi�mity to other
nations of the earth. This second 'song of Moses' takes on greater importance
when it is realised that the Papal beast had at�tempted to play the role of God
in parcelling out land to its Latin minion
nations. Both Spain and France, under the authority of the Pope, appeared set to become mighty empires but, 'The
Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.' The
Lord had determined that His people would expand through the earth and
be a blessing to all the nations. History
records that Spain was defeated in such a man�ner as to preclude any further aspirations to a world empire and France,
the second bow to the Papal string, became riven by internal strife.
The expansion of Britain
at this time was one of those improba�bilities which became a reality. She was
outnumbered at every turn and yet, in spite of
everything, became one of the greatest world empires of history. She became 'a
great and mighty nation' (Gen. 18:18); she became 'a nation and a company of
nations' (Gen. 35:10) and indeed put on the mantle of Israel identity as no
other people have ever done. The 'song of
Moses' was indeed sung � but more, both became trans�lated into
political action which became inscribed in the annals of world history.
"And after that I looked
and . . . the seven angels came out of the temple having the seven plagues. And
the temple was filled with smoke from the
glory of God and from his power: and no man was able, to enter into the
temple, till the seven plagues . . . were fulfilled." Having been directed
to the Old Testament by the 'song of Moses' one is kept in that context to
understand the closing message of the 15th chapter.
In Numbers I6 is the record, in phraseology
almost identical to that in Revelation 15, of unauthorised persons attempting
to perform service to God. The 'gainsaying of Korah' is here explained. Those who sought the implementation of man's concepts
attempted to perform the priestly office and were immediately slain (Num.
16:32) with a great plague spreading among the Israel people. Aaron, the duly
ap�pointed priest, 'made atonement for the people and he stood between the living and the dead; and the plague was
stayed' (Num. 16:47-50).
In this reference to the Old
Testament narrative, one may see the Papal priesthood or the agencies of the
beast attempting to carry out the priest's
office �an office to which they had no right. In the plagues which were about to be poured out on those on the
Continent who ac�cepted the imposters, one may see the record of Numbers
16 being re-enacted. Literally thousands of
people perished when the plagues were poured out � a devastation fully
recorded in the 16th chapter of the Revelation. However, while convulsion
characterised the Continental scene, Israel in the isles remained comparatively
safe, the plagues having no effect because of the faithful high-priestly
Ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of the people whom He had redeemed
on Calvary.
**********
[[IMAGE]]
CHAPTER�� 8
SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE END OF THE
AGE
"And
one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God,
who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter
into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled" (Rev. 15:7-8).
As one looks at the closing
verses of the 15th chapter of the Revelation,
an unmistakable picture begins to emerge � a picture of opportunity provided but a retarding mechanism in
operation mitigating against the
full benefits to be derived from this. It is only as one keeps the Israel factor in mind that one can fully
appreciate the significance of this.
The sons of Jacob, having given tangible reality to the 'songs of Moses' (Rev. 15:3), i.e., having translated
this into political action, were now
poised to bless the nations of the earth by demonstrating their 'wisdom and understanding' (Deut. 4:5-6) under
the Providence of God. However,
'wisdom' in the context of the Hebrew meaning of the word, implied an intelligence based on all the
relevant facts �the most important of
which was national identity. That this was lacking in the true modern
development of Israel and that this void would continue is graphically illustrated in the last verse of
the 15th chapter.
It is an
undeniable scriptural fact, emphasised in both the Old and New Testaments, that Israel would suffer the
consequences of national blindness (Isa. 42:19;
59:10 and Rom. 11:25) and this was the
retarding mechanism which resulted in the 'seven plagues' being poured out on those who served the 'beast'. The
history of Anglc-Sax-ondom from the
beginning of the 16th century to that of the 18th, carried more than enough evidence to reawaken the people
to a realisation of national identity. There were, of course, men who came to
know that they were indeed the
modern development of Israel � a knowledge which took root particularly
among the sons of Jacob who 'spread abroad'.
In America and as early as 1630, John Winthrop, who became Governor of the colony of Boston, firmly rooted
in the belief of Israel identity and the need to keep the Law of the
Lord, said: "... wee shall finde
that the God of Israeli is among us ...
when hee shall make us a prayse and glory,
that men shall say of succeeding plantacions:
the Lord make it like that of New England: for wee must Consi�der that wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill, the
eies of all people are upon us."
John Winthrop further told his people: ". . . Beloved, there is now set before us life and good, death and
evil, in that we are com�manded this day to love the Lord our God, and to love
one another, to walk in His ways and
to keep His Commandments and His Ordinances, and His Laws, and the articles of our covenant with Him, that we may live and be multiplied, and that the Lord our God
may bless us in that land whither we
go to possess it." Winthrop was one out of so many who knew the identity of Anglo-Saxondom among
whom were several clergymen who
merely lacked sufficient courage to press the subject. However, the
majority of the shepherds were loath to divorce their teaching from that which had characterised the Papal Roman counter�feit
with the result that Israel remained in ignorance of her identity and her mission in the earth. She was, as it were, a
technician into whose hands were
thrust the tools of his trade but who did not know what to do with them nor why they had been given to him.
One wonders what the
course of human history would have been had
Israel come to a realisation of her identity three centuries ago when all the signs � all the God-given marks � were
taking very real shape in Anglo-Saxondom.
While one may speculate over this, the re: cord of European history shows the 'seven vials of the wrath of God' as
a mechanism of protection against the consequences of Israel's blindness.
THE SEVEN� PLAGUES
"And I heard a great
voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the
wrath of God. upon the earth" (Rev. 16:1).
It will be noted that these 'vials of wrath' were poured out on the similar sphere
as that which is recorded in the 8th chapter
of the Revelation and. which is summarised as the 'Trumpets of Judgment'.
These 'judgments' took place on (1) the earth; (2) the sea; (3) the rivers and
fountains of waters; and (4) the sun. Now note the same area of operation in Revelation 16. "And the first went and
pour�ed out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and
grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast and upon them which worshipped his image" (verse 2). Thus,
the first vial was poured out on the earth but not in a universal sense
in that it was limited to those who were associated with the 'beast' and were
subservient to its dictates.
As one
looks at the history of those who remained servile to the 'beast' one finds that the Western
European countries were suddenly afflicted by a 'noisome and grievous sore' � revolution. Rousseau and Voltaire had previously laid the
foundation for this by their revolution�ary doctrines in France � doctrines which later were
translated into violent
revolution in which was released the bestial nature in man and which left a trail of horror as an attestation of the
'noisome sore' of the first vial. In 1793,
France declared war on the ruling classes of the other Latin nations with the result that Europe was plunged into the bloodiest war since the fall of Rome.
THE SECOND 'VIAL' -� the
Sea
"And the second angel poured out his vial
upon the sea and it became as the blood of a dead man and every living soul
died in the sea.'' This vial is translated by the incredible sea actions which
were fought and in which those nations serving the 'beast' lost all control of
the sea lanes. One thinks of the French fleet assembled at Brest to carry out a
projected invasion of England and which was finally de�stroyed in the battle of Quiberon Bay with tremendous loss of life. One thinks, too, of Lord Hood, Lord Howe and Nelson
of Trafalgar � names which recall
monumental sea battles during which the seas were stain�ed with blood
until the French and Spanish ships feared to set sail because of this second vial of wrath.
THE THIRD VIAL � the rivers and fountains of waters
"And the third angel poured
out his vial upon the rivers and the fountains of waters; and they became as
blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, 0 Lord,
which art and wast and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed
the blood of saints and prophets and thou
hast given them blood to drink for they are worthy" (verses 5-6). It
has been noted previously when the third Trumpet
was considered, that the same symbolism was used to describe the Hunnish
invasion of the northern boundaries of Italy and the coun�tries watered
by the rivers Rhone and Danube � indeed all the sub-Alpine provinces of Italy.
The activity of the 'noisome sore' began to
spread further afield and one finds that the French revolution spilled over and
covered the same regions as did the Hunnish
invasion those many centuries earlier and left a record of bloodshed
unparallelled in the history of the val�leys of the Danube and the Po. This
region had previously witnessed the merciless death of tens of thousands under
the Papal decree of suppression and now, under the assault of the French
revolutionary forces, the reverse was happening � indeed the vial of the wrath
of God on the 'rivers and fountains of
waters'.
THE FOURTH VIAL � the sun
"And
the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun and power was given him to scorch men with fire. And men were
scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which had power over
these plagues and they repented not to give him glory (verses 8-9)-Under the symbolism of the fourth Trumpet. (Rev. 8:12)
judgment fell on Rome and, as with
the sixth Seal (Rev. 6:12) this was translated by the overthrow of the ruling powers. However, there is
a difference in that with the fourth Trumpet and the sixth Seal the 'sun
was darkened' whereas in the fourth 'vial',
this was poured upon the sun presenting a picture of a sun bursting with
excessive brilliance and exercising a destructive
and baneful influence. In the events of those times, Napo�leon had an
influence which was identical with that of the vial being poured on the sun for his was indeed a
'scorching' heat on those of the ruling classes among the nations who
continued to be subservient to the 'beast'. Wherever he established his
authority, he placed despotic governors in
charge who deprived the people of every shred of liberty and justice. No
better description of the role of Napoleon than that which, in Revelation symbolism, is depicted as the 'scorching heat' of the sun can be found adequate enough to portray
this man.
ISRAEL� DURING��
THE 'VIALS OF� WRATH'
While Napoleon's
'scorching heat' ravaged the people who sub�scribed
to the 'beast's' authority, it is most significant that the Lord God afforded Israel in the isles further
evidences of His Faithfulness. His
Word, recorded by the .prophet Isaiah � 'No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper' � was once again
vindicated for Napoleon certainly
forged an immense invasion weapon which came to naught. A camp of one
hundred thousand men was formed at Boulogne which, together with the host of flat-bottomed boats was intended to set Eng�land
alight with Napoleon's particular brand of government. Napoleon declared:
"Let us be masters of the Channel for six hours and we are masters of the world" but this was denied to
him by two factors � (1) timely
death of the Admiral in charge of the operation and (2) the in�credible
victory of Nelson who, at Trafalgar, put paid to Napoleon's dreams of the invasion of England.
THE FIFTH VIAL - the seat of the beast darkened
Whereas the first four 'Vials' were poured out on those who
had the 'mark of the beast', the fifth was directed against the 'seat of the
beast'. "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the
beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of
heaven because of their pains and sores and repented not of their deeds"
(verses 10-11). It should be noted that this vial .was directed, not upon the
'beast' him�self, but rather upon his 'seat', i.e., the main platform through
which he was manifest. History once again
interprets this for in 1798, French troops
having concentrated against the city
of Rome, finally took the city and
arrested Pope Pius 6th. He was subjected to all forms of abuse and finally
committed to prison. Napoleon then declared the Pope's temporal reign at an end by proclaiming a Roman Republic with Rome
itself elevated to the position of 'second city of the French Empire'.
Napoleon died in 1815 and
it appeared as though the 'scorching heat' of
the fourth Vial was turned away from the 'seat of the beast' for temporal power was again restored to the Pope
who ruled for a fur�ther 55 years
without any further challenge. However, in 1848, the Pope was forced to
flee from Rome because of threatening forces but was returned and restored to his position by Marshal Oudinot of the French Army. In I860, Sardinians under Victor Emmanuel,
invaded the Papal States and, after defeating the Papal troops,
established Italy as a kingdom under a
monarchy thus finally terminating the temporal power of the Papacy.
THE SIXTH� VIAL� -� the� Euphrates dries� up
"And the sixth angel poured out his vial
on the great river Eu�phrates and the water thereof was dried up, that the way
of the kings of the east might be prepared"
(verse 12). As has been noted, the fifth Vial of God's Wrath resulted in the termination of the temporal power of the Papacy which was accomplished by the year 1870.
It was from this period that,
notwithstanding national blindness, true modern Israel in Anglo-Saxondom was thrust on to the world
scene in such a manner that, only
the full weight of satanic propaganda could prevent the na�tion's
realisation of its identity. During the Victorian era, the words of God's
Promises to the patriarchs were translated into the tangible reality of Anglo-Saxon experience � a mighty
modern event which was ignored
because of Satan's build-up of his counterfeit Israel in World Zionism. Whatever modern teachers and preachers
might think of the subject ot
chronological prophecy, Satan is a firm believer for he knew that the sands of
time were running out and the Victorian expansion of true Israel was
about to be capped by the crowning experience of the delivery of Jerusalem by the true sons of Jacob.
It is generally agreed
that wars do not 'just happen' but are care�fully planned against some long-term objective and the
First World War was no
exception. As one looks back, one may see that satanic ingenu�ity had contrived this in order to establish a pseudo-Israel
State in Palestine � the original home of true Israel and it is in this context
that the sixth Vial finds its meaning. It will be noted that the 'vial' was
poured upon the 'great river Euphrates' and as this literal river still contains a considerable amount of water, the
meaning of the sixth Vial must be
sought in its symbolic context.
In the
'sixth Trumpet' of judgment (Rev. 9:13), history identified this 'second woe' which was released
upon the dying Imperial Roman Empire as the
Turks who, as an instrument of destruction, originated from the river Euphrates in 1061. The Turks were thus identified by the
'river Euphrates'. In 1453, and according to the prescribed period allot�ted to
the sixth Trumpet, the Turks accomplished the downfall of Con�stantinople � the capital of the Eastern Roman
Empire � but the con�tinued existence
of this instrument under the Revelation symbolism of the 'river
Euphrates' was assured until its 'waters' were dried up by either political or military action.
The decline of Turkish
power was not in evidence until the end of the
19th century � a decline which was accelerated by Turkey's alignment with Germany in the First World War. With
the prophetically significant deliverance of Jerusalem by General
Allenby in 1917, the end of the Empire
symbolised by the 'river Euphrates' was in sight. By March 1924, the Empire had ceased to exist and
the 'waters' had dried up. Thus, in these historical events, one
has an unmistakable time factor, in
comparatively modern times, to deal with.
"And I
saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth
of the beast, and out of the mouth of the
false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working mir�acles, which go
forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty"
(Rev. 16:13-14).
Many commentators have described the record of the 'three spirits like frogs' as parenthetical, i.e., a
supplementary record of events which, while not being of the sixth Vial of
wrath, are com�plementary to it. True to
this, contemporary history reveals the emer�gence of a trinity of evil
which, since the second decade of the 20th century has created a situation
which can only be unravelled by the direct
intervention of Almighty God.
Many interpretations have appeared in print identifying the
trinity of evil, all of which stimulate study of the 16th chapter of the
Revelation for it undoubtedly deals with the present and immediate future. As
one looks at the first of this trinity, indeed at each of them, it becomes obvious that propaganda would be the
keynote of their acti�vity for in each instance, the 'unclean spirits
came out of the mouth'. The first, it will
be noted, came out of the mouth of the dragon and, as has been noted previously, the 'dragon' symbolised
Pagan Rome under Dictators/lip. Dictatorship, as has been proved in
modern experience, is not limited to individual exercise of totalitarianism as
in the cases of Mussolini and Hitler but also embraces ideology. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1728�78) in close collaboration with
Voltaire provided the theoretical background for this when he spread the
doctrine of rejection of the notion that the 'state is an association of
individuals each pur�suing his own best
ends'. He propagated that the state was a corporate being with a general will which was always right
and above the sum of individual wills which was invariably wrong. Thus,
dictatorship by a system known as totalitarianism, is equally compatible with
the con�cept of dictatorships in the bygone
era of Roman Imperialism.
Significantly, such a totalitarianism rose at
the very tune when the 'river Euphrates' began to dry up in Palestine for in 1917,
in the exact month when General Allenby
delivered Jerusalem, the Bolsheviks overthrew the Socialist government
of Kerensky in Moscow which, earlier that year, had deposed the Tsar. None will
surely deny that since that time Communism has made tremendous capital out of
its borrowed technology to fool the great masses of the under-developed people
of the world with their delusions. It has certainly been in the forefront of
the anti-God forces in the world radiating a propaganda which is leading the nations of the world into a confrontation with God just
as appears in the 14th verse of Revelation 16.
It will be recalled that the Russian astronaut,
Gherman Titoy, after his return from what
modern man calls 'space', said: "Some peo�ple say there is a God
out there . . . but in my travels around the earth all day long, I looked around and didn't see Him ... I
saw no God nor angels. The rocket was made by our own people. I don't
believe in God. I believe in man, his strength, his possibilities, his reason."
Here, indeed, is evidence of the existence of the unclean spirit like the frog which came out of the mouth of the
dragon and which had its modern
beginning when the Turkish Empire began to dry up.
Bearing in
mind the definition previously given for the beast, i.e., a malignancy which is not only imposing but controls
nations and peoples, an entity which adopts many forms and is sometimes
religious and sometimes completely atheistic; is on occasions cultured and ele�gant
and on others brutal and barbarous, such a factor certainly emerg�ed on the world scene as a tangible mechanism
over a period commen�cing in 1922.
The 'false prophet' or literally
the 'religious imposter' which is the direct English translation of the Greek pseudoprophetes,
cannot be, as so many students aver, the Islamic religion for, in the
Arabic con�text, there is nothing pseudo about it and further, it did not have
any need for re-emergence having enjoyed a continuity since the seventh century when Mohammed presented the. Koran as the
religious textbook for his people. The 'religious imposter' must, of
necessity, be one who had previously been in operation but whose activity was
curtailed and which fits the office of the Pope. It has been demonstrated
previously in this study that the Pope, and indeed the Papal priesthood, held
views and taught doctrines which were the projection of the ancient Babylonian
'mysteries' into the Christian context thus revealing the Roman faith as a counterfeit,
therefore a religious humbug.
It will be recalled that in 1870
the Papacy, already weakened by the Reformation, received a tremendous blow
when the temporal power of the Pope was abrogated. In 1929, the Pope was
endowed with new power by Mussolini, the Italian dictator, and from that time
the in�fluence of the Papacy has increased until today it effectively controls
an army which rivals not only that of the United States of America but of the
Soviet Union as well.
This trinity, in the parenthetical verses of
Revelation 16, is responsible for gathering
the rulers of the world together in a one-world, satanically-sponsored
kingdom under which the Israel witness nation of God would be irretrievably
lost to both Him and His World Purpose. That Israel, still hopelessly blind to
her identity, would become en�meshed in this is all too plain, not only from
the subsequent chapters of the Revelation but from the writings of the prophets
of the Old Tes�tament for did not the Lord, through Ezekiel the prophet say:
"Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be
ashamed and confounded for your own ways, 0 house of Israel" (Ezek. 36:32).
However, while the current position of true Israel, as distinct from the pseudo-Israel
now masquerading as God's people in both Pa�lestine and the world, is very
precarious and outwardly hopeless, the promise of God, in the Revelation of His
Son, is that in a time, already predetermined by the Father, He will react
against the evil trinity and its
minions to destroy its work in the earth. This surely is a great hope in this otherwise hopeless era.
ARMAGEDDON
"And the seventh angel poured out his
vial into the air; and there came a great
voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and
thunders, and lightnings; and there
was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so
great" (Rev. 16:17-18).
While there are many subjects in Holy Scripture
which suffer abuse because of man's interpretation, that pertaining to the
subject of Armageddon is foremost in the
casualties. More often than not, it is presented as the scene of
tremendous carnage in Palestine at a time when God deals with a rebellious
Creation which is accompanied by fantastic physical changes in the topography
of the land. This inter�pretation has arisen because men have failed to 'search
the scriptures' and have ignored the
Biblical meaning of words used.
Attention is very
carefully focused on the Hebrew word 'Arma�geddon'
in the Revelation and significantly, it appears in this form only once which
fact should encourage a fuller investigation of the subject. If Megiddo of the
Old Testament is to be the scene of this great
gathering of nations and people who have come under the persua�sion of the evil trinity of Dragon, Beast and
False Prophet, it becomes more than a little difficult to visualise. Megiddo
was the southern rim of the plain of
Esdraelon which plain is twenty miles long and fourteen in width and in
the Old Testament was the scene of the death of the kings Saul and Josiah (I Sam. 31:8 and II Kings 23:29-30).
In the Hebrew language,
the word megiddo means a rendezvous and
in the plainest of language, Revelation 16:16 indicates the pro�cess, on a
universal scale, which leads to the direct intervention of God and which, in turn, is seen in the physical
upheavals in the earth. However, the
phrase Armageddon indicates the fact of an event rather than a place � a preparation so to speak, which
calls for the attention of the Lord God Almighty. This is the process of
which Joel wrote: "Proclaim ye this
among the Gentiles (Heb. goyim � nations); Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of
war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and
your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong . . . Multitudes,
multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the
valley of decision" (Joel 3:9-14).
This is undoubtedly the
work of the evil trinity of Revelation 16: 13�� whose� ecclesiastical,�� economic�
and� militant� deviousness goes 'forth unto the kings of the earth and
of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.'
Against this contention,
there are no doubt many who would im�mediately
point to the Old Testament statements which indicate that Palestine is to be
the scene of tremendous carnage in the great and dreadful Day of the Lord and which cannot be forced into a metaphori�cal
context. This is undoubtedly true for there is no possible justifica�tion for interpreting Ezekiel 38:19-22 in any
context other than a literal one. "Surely in that day there shall
be a great shaking in the land of Israel; so that the fishes of the sea, and
the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things
that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth,
shall shake at my presence, and the
mountains shall be thrown down. . . And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people
that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire and
brimstone." This, of course, is God's reaction to those who seek to
implement the 'evil thought' which Satan's
imposters attempt in the holy land (Ezek.38:10).
. Another indication of a very literal reaction
is to be found in Joel's preview of the end of the age. "... the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A
day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness ..." (Joel 2:1-2). The effect of this
situation upon men is further described by the prophet who states: "They
shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run up the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter
in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the
heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall
withdraw their shining" (Joel 2:9-10).
While it is admittedly difficult
to visualise a man running up a wall just
as it is to comprehend a situation in which the sun and moon shall be
dark, this is no reason for supposing that Joel was using metaphorical language.
It is clearly evident that Peter was not of the opinion that Joel was using tjiis form of communicating a spiritual ex�perience
for, in quoting Joel's prophecy, he said: "The sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the
Lord" (Acts 2:19-20). The context here is, as Peter clearly indicates, the
'wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath.'
There can thus be no doubt that the earth is
heading for a ren�dezvous with tremendous
physical change �-� a change which Zechariah describes in detail (Zech. 14:4-8)
� but this does not necessarily mean that the seventh Vial or 'Armageddon'
depicts the same sequence of physical upheavals which the Old Testament
prophets describe. There is no indication in the l6th chapter of the Revelation
which suggests that the student, having been led to accept the fact that the
Book and its information is provided in symbolism, should suddenly
change by intruding a literal meaning because the symbolism has become obscure.
There is nothing obscure about the seventh Vial if one continues to apply the
principle of symbolism which, up to the last portion of the 16th chapter, has
provided an accurate account of history as this has been enacted by men in the
then known world.
THE JUDGMENT OF THE SEVENTH VIAL
The last words in the parenthetical verses of
the sixth Vial imply the process of gathering the people and nations of the
world to their rendezvous with God. The
seventh Vial is in this context and one should note that initially,
there are four great highlights which may be summarised as (1) the vial poured
out in the air accompanied by (2) voices and thunderings; (3) a great
earthquake, and (4) the falling of great hailstones.
One may today well appreciate the force of the
metaphor of the vial poured out in the air
for both national and social atmospheres have become polluted and
contaminated by the poison of the trinity which, having commenced their
activity when the metaphorical 'Euphrates' dried up, have utilised every device
at their command to reach all the inhabitants of the earth to coerce them into
the mould of change. The utilisation of the metaphor of 'voices and thunders',
as has been noted previously (Rev. 10:3),
thrusts one into the realm of propaganda through which the Truth has become subverted in accordance with the policy of one-wocldism
initiated by the 'dragon', the 'beast' and the 'false prophet'.
It does not require an exceptionally perceptive
genius to note that the pattern of modern propaganda is directed toward
creating a one-world planet � at a price � and
this price is the surrender of God-given privileges for a mess �f temporal
pottage. There can be absolute�ly no doubt that the Utopian end of the
prevailing struggles which thunder through society via the propaganda media is
nothing less than the proverbial red herring
which detracts from the real motive of world dictatorship by the trinity
of evil.
THE MIGHTY EARTHQUAKE
It will be noted that in the context
of the seventh Vial and coinciding with the
'voices and thunders', there was an 'earthquake' unprecedented in human experience. Is it mere coincidence that since the emergence of the 'three spirits like frogs'
the world and world poli�tics have undergone such a radical change? As
has been noted pre�viously, earthquakes in
the Revelation denote political upheavals, the interpretation of which
metaphor is vindicated when one recalls the decline and fall of the Roman
Empire as depicted in Revelation 6: 12-15.
Since the termination of the Second World War,
world politics have undergone such a change that one cannot explain it as a
natural sequence of events. Even before the end of hostilities eastern Euro�pean countries were consigned to the arena of
political change whether they wanted
this or not for at the Yalta Conference (7th�12th February 1945),
totalitarian Russia bargained for their incorporation into the Communist sphere
of influence as the price for that country's entry into the war against Japan. That
some diabolical forces were at work cannot be doubted for Russia declared war
on Japan only two days before that country
surrendered to the Allies. What possible motivation could have been behind the Yalta betrayal of
eastern Europe into Com�munist hands when Russia's assistance in the Far
Eastern War was not needed? The old order in Europe was passing and the ripples
of a universal political upheaval was
already in evidence.
From 1947 until the mid-60s
one may see the 'earthquake' of the seventh
Vial in operation. No less than 53 countries, formerly main�tained and governed by what is today known as the
'colonial powers', demanded and obtained 'independence' � changes which
created a complete metamorphosis in the
political order of events. The main in�strument
for this was, of course, the United Nations Organisation � a convenient
body through which the 'spirits like frogs' could initiate their devious plans for world dominion.
"And the great city was divided into three
parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and
great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of
the wine of the fierceness of his wrath" (Rev. 16:19). Whereas previously
in the Revelation, the phrase 'the great
city' had its identifying marks of 'Sodom and Egypt' thus present�ing
Rome as the main theatre of operation (Rev. 11:8), in the context of the seventh Vial no such qualifying mark of
identity is provided and one is left
to search for its meaning in the context of the seventh Vial.
As is
obvious, the sphere of operation of the trinity of evil is the world for no country or people is
today free from the insidious coercion of the
one-world propaganda. The world is likewise divided into three parts (1) the
Communist section; (2) the so-called free world; and (3) the uncommitted
nations. However, it is stated that the tripartition of the world was
reminiscent of 'great Babylon' � an order of existence which has a familiarity
not to be missed today. In its heyday, Babylon exercised a threefold influence on
all who came within its compass which may be summed up as Ecclesiastical,
Economic and Militant.
In its ecclesiastical control, Babylon demanded
complete sub�mission for entrance into the city was only possible through the
two gates, the Ishtar and Marduk gates, at which priests demanded rever�ence
for the gods of the Babylonians. In the modern context, ecclesi�astical
dominion is on a par with that of the Babylonian priests for none is permitted
membership of the community unless subscribing to man's image of God � any
other acceptance of Deity is immediately ostracised. The World Council of
Churches (more concerned with poli�tics than the Bible) has shown that it fully
supports the 'earthquake' of the seventh Vial and condemns and assaults any
people who do not make obeisance to the god of their imagination.
The setting up of the golden
image on the plains of Dura (Dan. 3:1) by Nebuchadnezzar served a two-fold
purpose in that apart from indulging in an ecumenical movement based on self-deification,
it was indicative of economic controls
which emanated from this wonder of the ancient world. As one reads the
writings of the minor prophets as these concern the remnant of Judah and
Benjamin on their return from the Babylonian captivity, one may see greed for possession
of wealth and the power which this gives (Hag. 2:7). Being the commercial
centre of the world, even if only for a brief span of seventy years, one is
able to perceive the influence of the economic control wielded by the Baby�lonians
which has been perpetuated down the centuries until the pre�sent time. The
boycotts and sanctions currently initiated through the United Nations have all
the hallmarks of procedures in operation when the great city of Babylon
exercised dominion in Mesopotamia.
Babylon's military machine worked in
collaboration with the two other entities and was used to ensure the
perpetuation of Babylonian aspirations just as today military might is
conscripted in the service of one-worldism. One blatant instance of this is to
be found in Africa when after the Congo had written its chapter of bestiality
on the record of human depravity, the copper-rich Katanga refused incorporation
in this. United Nations troops were dispatched to force an amalgamation whether
or not the Africans wanted this. Here indeed, one is able to see why 'great
Babylon came in remembrance before God' for the anti-God aspirations of the
trinity of evil today follow the same pattern as was in evidence when Babylon
of old challenged the dominion of God in Israel those many millennia ago.
GOD ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE
In all that is related in the 16th chapter, it
would appear that the Israel people are a forgotten factor as no mention is
made of them. However, as has been stated previously, the 15th chapter reveals
that because of national blindness in Israel, the full benefits of the
Abrahamic Covenant could not be realised and consequently, the nations and
families of the earth were prevented from participating in this. Capitalising
on the continued ignorance of national identity in Israel, Satan's minions
press on under the umbrella of the propaganda machine confident that the
turmoil created by emergent nationalism in all parts of the world will
successfully occupy the attention of Anglo-Saxondom thus denying them the opportunity
of coming to a realisation of identity.
As is obvious, modern propaganda in all its
modern tentacles is aimed at Anglo-Saxondom
which, without knowing it, has been motivat�ed by a desire to act as
servants of the Most High God. The equalitarian dogma is intended to eradicate
from the national consciousness of true Israel the exalted position which she
occupies in the Service of God by claiming that all men are equal and that God,
if He exists, has no chosen people. Added to this incredible barrage on the
mind, is the emphasis and over-emphasis of the story of the emergent nations
who are clamouring for 'a place in the sun' which, because of Anglo-Saxondom's
mythical exploitation, was denied to them.
Within this assault have come the economic
pressures and with a tottering economy in Britain and indeed in all Anglo-Saxon
countries, emphasis has been laid on national survival which depends on econom�ic
salvation at the hands of those who have created the chaos. Battered and
bewildered, the modern development of true Israel does not know which way to go
and, as recent events indicate, is quite prepared to commit national suicide by
bowing the knee to Satan's trinity of
evil.
The present situation in Anglo-Saxondom is
indeed a challenge to the Lord God Almighty for He has ever pointed to His
salvation which the nation has experienced when threatened by satanic forces. In
the context of the events related in the seventh Vial, He is none the less
concerned over Israel because of her complete dominion by the evil trinity and
the danger of impending national suicide which is quite contrary to His
assurance concerning the nation (Jer. 31:35). He acts by giving to the trinity
'the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath'.
Babylon, which in the 17th chapter is on record
as having made the inhabitants of the earth 'drunk' with the wine of her
fornication (Rev. 17:2) now receives the 'cup' of God's reaction which, in
point of fact, is the same mechanism of destruction forced on Israel. It is
most significant that the prophet Isaiah made reference to this in a chapter
which called on Israel to 'Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that
bare you.' Isaiah calls on Israel: "Awake, awake, put on strength 0 arm of
the Lord ..." thus indicating
that great danger lay in blindness and death in continued ignorance. He ends
his call by stating: "Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that
pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the
cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more
drink of it again: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee;
which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over; and thou hast laid
thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over" (Isa. 51:22-23).
In this as with many other
prophecies, there are two fulfilments and while its primary meaning has to do
with Jerusalem, there can be no doubt that its relationship to God's reaction
to the challenge posed by the trinity of evil in Revelation 16 is equally valid.
The effect of the 'cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath' is, of
course, the great day of the battle of God Almighty Who manifests His answer in
a very tangible manner. It will be noted that "...
there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of
a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of hail . . ." If
this is to be a literal event there would be very little time for blaspheming
God as men would either be dead or too busy dodging a ninety-three and three-quarter
pound hailstone from heaven (a talent is this weight). This 'hail' which falls
on men who blaspheme the experience is no haphazard visitation but by reason of
the wording in the Revelation, is measured and specific. In the plainest of
language, God's reaction is His direct intervention precisely along lines which
He has prescribed in the writing of the prophets and the establishment of His
Kingdom which is in conformity with His Divine Law.
As is obvious, the righteousness of God's Law
is anathema to those whose main assault on the things of God is lawlessness and
with this 'writing on the wall' one may well appreciate the resistance of those
who believed that world salvation lay in the machinery of one-worldism and the
subtle control of the minions of the devil.
**********
[[IMAGE]]
The
other woman.
CHAPTER��
9
THE
OTHER 'WOMAN'
"And there came one of
the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee
the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters" (Rev. 17:1).
As has been noted throughout this study, the
Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ is an
all-embracing one which, through its symbol�ism, penetrates the future
and then returns to the point in history which commences the circumstances
which have a direct bearing on the event portrayed. The sixteenth chapter, with
its description of the work of the trinity
of evil, unfolds God's reaction to the world situation created by the
'three unclean spirits like frogs' and in which 'great Babylon came in remembrance before God ..." Continuing the
pattern already referred to, the seventeenth chapter returns into
history con�centrating on the loathsome course of another character in the
great drama.
"So he carried me away in
the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet beast,
full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." In the Old
Testament record, the 'woman' who dominates the narrative is, of course, Israel
who is de�signated as a 'harlot' and who is depicted as following 'after her
lov�ers' (Hos. 2:2-7). Israel had prostituted
her faith � a fact which called forth the comment of the Lord Who said:
". . . it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord
thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts. For of
old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst
thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not trans�gress; when upon every high hill
and under every green tree thou wan-derest,
playing the harlot" (Jer. 2:19-20).
The Books of the prophets are full to
overflowing with the ac�counts of Israel's adulteries and no attempt is made to
justify her de�parture from the Directives of God. Yet running through the
whole narrative, one finds the promise of restoration for the Lord said: "Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither
be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt
forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not
remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more"�� (Isa. 54:4).
In the New Testament, one finds
the Israel 'woman' once again in evidence
and in order to establish her identity, thus precluding any misunderstanding,
the vision which John saw was highlighted by the witnesses which the Lord had
appointed as evidence of His Faithful�ness
to His Covenant people. The New Testament 'woman' was clothed with the 'sun, and the moon under her feet, and
upon her head a crown of twelve stars' (Rev. 12:1 and Jer. 31:35). This
'woman' fled into the wilderness where 'she hath a place prepared of God' and
where, not�withstanding her continuing national blindness, she was protected against a return to her former 'harlot' condition.
The second 'woman' who
emerges in the Revelation, while hav�ing
points of similarity with Israel of the Old Testament, is the very antithesis of what God said Israel would be. This
\woman' is introduc�ed in such a
manner and at such a time as to indicate that the Revela�tion spotlight
had now swept backwards in time as a build-up to the tremendous climax of the age when the Lord takes a very definite hand in the affairs of the world. This 'woman' is
introduced as sitting 'upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of
blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.' It is the description of the
'beast' which estab�lishes the time which leads to the identification of the
'woman' as the Church of Rome.
It will be noted that the beast has seven heads
and ten horns � a picture already familiar
to John who saw this beast rise up out of the sea (Rev. 13:1). However, there
is a subtle difference to be seen when contrasting the two accounts for
the beast with the seven heads and ten
horns which came out of the sea had crowns denoting rulership and sovereignty
which is missing in the account of the beast which the woman rode. As has been noted previously, the Roman world was the outward
manifestation of the beast and that the insignia of imperial authority was
missing, surely indicates the period in time when the dominion and grandeur of Imperial Rome had vanished. The process by which this state was achieved has already been
commented on as ful�filling the six
Trumpets of judgment recorded in the 8th and 9th chap�ters of the Revelation � a
process which was completed in 1452 when Constaptinople fell to the
Turks. It was during this time that the 'woman'
makes her appearance and rides upon the 'scarlet beast'.
An interesting sidelight on this is to be found in the book
Ceremoniale Romanum by the Roman Archbishop Marcelles who, in the 16th
century, dedicated his work to Pope Leo X. In this he describes the
Papal robes which will be found to be nothing less than the same de�scription
of the clothes of the 'whore' who sat upon the beast. However, it would appear
that the ceremonial of 'adoration of the Pope' was determined to complete the
picture of the 'woman' riding the 'scarlet beast' for, after the third
adoration, the Pope was carried by chairmen all of whom wore long scarlet robes
which reached the floor. The pic�ture of the Pope, gloriously bedecked in the
most incredible finery, riding upon a mass of scarlet is surely one in keeping
with that which John saw so long ago.
Significantly, the time factor, i.e., when Rome
was being shorn of its imperial authority, immediately refutes any notion that
this 'woman' could be. Israel for this was the period during which Israel was
being 'nourished' from 'the face of the serpent' (Rev. 12:14). Further to
which, Israel in the isles has never been in the position by which she could
ride upon or control anything associated with Rome.
"And upon her
forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." In John's
day the harlots carried their names written on a label on their foreheads where
everyone but them�selves could see and read and while the Roman Church protests
its association with the harlot, history has written that name across Papal
Rome for all to see and understand. The phraseology written on the forehead of
the 'woman' is most interesting for it immediately throws the Papal church into
sharp relief as the continuation of the early Chaldean idolatries.
The word 'MYSTERY' which
prefaces the name was, according to Elliot's florae apocalypticae (Vol.6 page 35)
written on the Pope's tiara until it was removed by Julius III. However, scholars
who have studied the religions of ancient times have noted that the religion of
ancient Babylon was simply called 'Mystery' the reason for which centres around
the Tower of Babel which was not merely a tower of refuge from another flood,
but the central headquarters of an idolatrous religion.
When the Tower of Babel was overthrown by the judgment and intervention
of God, the perpetrators of this idolatry re-established their religion but did
so in secret and simply took the name 'Mystery'.
The Rev. Alexander Hislop, in
his Two Babylons drew attention to this subject by writing: "The Chaldean
Mysteries can be traced up to the days of
Semiramis who lived only a few centuries after the flood, and who is known to have impressed upon them the
image of her own depraved and polluted mind. That beautiful but
abandoned queen of Babylon was not only herself a paragon of unbridled lust and
licen�tiousness, but in the mysteries which
she had a chief hand in forming, she was worshipped as Rhea, the great 'mother'
of the gods, with such rites as identify her with Venus, the mother of all
impurity, and raised the very city where she reigned to a bad eminence among
the nations, as the grand seat at once of idolatry and prostitution. Thus
was this Chaldean queen a fit and remarkable prototype of the 'woman' in the
Apocalypse, with the golden cup in her hand, and the name on her forehead, 'Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother
of harlots and abomi�nations of the earth."
John records his utter
amazement at this new development. Being an
Israelite, he fully appreciated the significance of the vision of the 'woman' which he had previously seen � it should
be recalled that this 'wonder' did not fill him with amazement � but this
second 'woman' parading on the beast and displaying a 'golden cup' which was
full of abominations caused him to be shattered at the dimensions of Satan's
temerity. Being a true apostle and having seen the things which were attendant
on the Mission of the Lord Jesus Christ, he was amazed when the beast of Revelation 13 was 'wounded unto death' but was re�surrected (verse 3) and now he saw the harlot
making a mockery of the 'cup' which,
to an Israelite, meant the institution of the New Covenant � the symbol of the Faithfulness of God to His
promise.
"And the angel said
unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell
thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns." The
angel then immediate�ly proceeded to clarify the situation by stating
that the beast was an entity � a mechanism of destruction � 'that was' in the
diabolism which operated to destroy the Truth as it was centred in the Lord
Jesus Christ, 'and is not' in John's time because of the overthrow of paganism,
and 'yet is' to be resuscitated in the future. By way of am�plification, the angel said: "And here is
the mind which hath wisdom The seven heads are seven mountains, on which
the woman sitteth." It would appear that the angel used this phraseology
to establish the specific area of operation
as Rome for the Vatican City is very defin�itely associated with seven
hills � Equilinus, Aventinus, Palatinus, Capitolinus,
Quirimalis, Viminalis and Caelinus.
However, 'mountains' in the symbolism of the
Revelation are expressive of kingdoms and as history makes abundantly clear,
Papal Rome controlled seven specific
kingdoms from the middle of the 8th century until the time of the French
Revolution. These were the Franks, the
House of Saxony, Franconia, the House of Suabia, Spain, Austria and
France. This exposition of the 'seven heads' appears to have, as its main
objective, the dominion of the woman for the angel then proceeds to draw attention to the beast.
"And there are seven kings: five are fallen,
and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue
a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." As
has been noted previous�ly in this study, Roman historians have left on
record the fact that ancient Rome was ruled successively by seven forms of
government which have been summed up as (1) Kings;
(2) Consuls; (3) Dictators; (4) Decimvers; (5) Military tribunes; (6) Emperors;
and (7) Despotic Emperors. It should be noted that the angel stated that
'five are fallen' and in vindication of this, five had indeed fallen in John's
day. The angel then used the present tense by stating 'and one is', i.e., the sixth form of government, Emperors, was in operation
in John's day � a fact which John could confirm by reason of his imprisonment
on Patmos. The seventh form of
government was that of the Despotic Emper�ors and the enquiring student
will naturally seek an explanation as to the
differentiation between the Emperors and the Despotic Emperors.
It was the
historian Gibbon who drew attention to the change in form of rule which took place when
Diocletian became Emperor in Rome. Prior to Diocletian, the Emperors wore the laurel crown and were the Stephanas crowned
Caesars whereas Diocletian discarded this and wore
the diadem which was the badge of despotic Asiatic sovereignty. This
line of Emperors indeed continued for 'a short space' and ended in 476 A.D. with the abdication of Romulus
Augustus. Thus the seven forms of government or 'kings' came to an end
but the angel related that there was to be an 'eighth' and, true to this,
history indicates that when the Papacy rose
to political power the Caesars lived again in the Popes.
In The Holy Roman Empire, by
Lord Bryce, the picture of the eighth form of government is clearly painted on
the occasion of the celebration of Pope Boniface's Jubilee in 1300 for, seated
on the throne of Constantine, arrayed with crown, sceptre and sword, this Pope declared: "I am Caesar! I am Emperor!"
Here indeed one is able to see the historical tribute to the accuracy of
the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. The eighth 'head', as it were, may be
said to come into operation in the middle of the 8th century for it was at this
time that the Papacy assumed the dictatorial
right to impose its prerogatives over the political leadership of nations. Charlemagne,
it will be recal�led, received his
crown at the hands of Pope Leo III and was told that his position as
Caesar was bestowed only because the Pope willed it in the Name of God.
"And the ten horns
which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but
receive power as kings one hour with the beast."
This subject of the 'ten horns' has puzzled commentators ever since the Bible
became an open Book and today remains, to a certain degree, an enigma. However,
there are certain points which provide the
basis for study and may be summed up as (a) the time when the ten horns are effective; (b) the sphere of
operation, and (c) whether they depict a succession or are contemporary.
It will be noted that
unlike the heads which very clearly indicate a
succession � 'five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come' � the
ten horns appear to be contemporary, i.e., they exist to�gether at the same
time. The fact that they had received no kingdom or dominion 'as yet' � at the
time when John received the vision � would appear to thrust their existence
into the then future. The angel does not
state on which of the seven heads the ten horns appeared but the
phraseology used limits this to two � the seventh or eighth. By reason of the
explanation given to John of the vision of the 'woman' riding the beast, it would therefore appear that the ten horns were as�sociated
with the eighth beast and indeed contribute to the overall strength of the
beast.
This,
however, does not pinpoint the time factor for, as has been noted, the beast,
controlled and dominated by the woman, commenced in the middle of the eighth century and continues until the end of the
age when it goes 'into perdition' (verse 8). However, the fact that the beast,
dominated by the 'woman', made 'war with the Lamb' would appear to refer to the
earlier vision given to John of the 'beast' which, having been wounded unto death, revived and blasphemed against God and
made war with the saints (Rev. 13:3-7). It is at this stage that the angel begins to draw in the threads of history for
this was undoubtedly the time of the Reformation in which ten Papal kingdoms
were used to put down the embers of
religious freedom � the political mechanism of the beast used by the
'woman' to retain her position.
As has been noted, in the 16th
chapter of the Revelation the kingdoms which
were formerly subservient to the Papacy were turned against her and the
'seat of the beast' - note it was not the 'beast' which was darkened but the
'seat' where the 'woman' sat (Rev. 16:10) � was assailed by the revolutionary
forces of Napoleon. It is in these events that one is able to see something of
the beast again in opera�tion in comparatively modern times. The malignant
forces of totalitar�ianism which ironically marched under the banner of
'liberty, equality, fraternity' in the assault on the 'woman' in the French
Revolution, was that which had, since the eighth century, been nurtured and
schooled by the Papacy in the 'woman's' dominion over the beast's lands.
That the 'woman' was in fact the target of the
revolutionary forces which in the main comprised the ten horns of the beast, is
con�firmed by the angel of the Lord for he said that the ten would turn on the
'woman', hating her and tearing her to pieces. This is surely indi�cative ot a
process of disintegration which is supported by compara�tively modern history. With
the 'darkening' of the 'seat of the beast' one finds the temporal power of the
Papacy removed but it did not indi�cate the death of the 'woman'. Italy and the
'seven hills' came under the control of Victor Emmanuel in I860 but the 'woman'
once again appeared in 1929 when, under the decree of the Italian dictator
Musso�lini, the Pope was endowed with new power. Since that time and in
conjunction with the 'dragon' and the 'beast', she has played her part in the
tragedy which is the modern experience and which is leading the world to its
rendezvous with God.
However, prior to the climax of
the age, it would appear that the Papacy is to pass through considerable
tribulation at the hands of her former suppliants. ". . . these shall hate
the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and
burn her with fire." That this is taking place today, none will surely
deny for coun�tries which formerly were Roman Catholic are today more tolerant
of Communism (totalitarianism) than of Romanism and where once the voice of the
Pope was law, Papal decrees are only effective when they are in line with the
doctrines of the 'dragon' and the 'beast'.
Thus did the angel of the Lord
clarify the picture of the 'mother of harlots' who was the third in the trinity
of evil which, capitalising on the blindness of Israel and the reluctance of
the genuine 'woman' of Holy Scripture to show forth God's praise (Isa. 43:21),
fills the earth with satanic propaganda. The scene is thus set for the final
act in the great drama of the ages when the Lord takes a hand and com�mences
the machinery which culminates in the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the earth.
[[IMAGE]]
�
ANCIENT HEBREW BILL OF DIVORCEMENT.
CHAPTER�� 10
THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB
"And
after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation,
and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great whore, which
did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand . . ."(Rev. 19:1-2).
The fall of Babylon, in all its phases, is, of
course, in the future and from all the
signs of the times as they currently obtain, one is en�couraged in the
belief that this future is not too far hence. The 19th chapter of the Revelation too deals with matters which are in the future
and unless one is prepared to be guided by the Holy Scriptures, private interpretation
could lead to an expectation which bears absolutely no resemblance to the events which the Lord has prescribed.
Among many other subjects, that
of the 'marriage supper of the Lamb' suffers most from interpretations which
arise because students will not accept that
God meant what He said and said what He meant. It suffers because the
Old Testament is discounted in the New Testa�ment dispensation with the result
that the 'Bride' is identified with the 'Church'
� an identification which carries implications which are un�complimentary to
God. However, in order to appreciate the magnitude of this, it is
necessary to follow the course of events as they are un�folded by the nineteenth chapter.
The first feature which impressed itself on
John, was the fact of the Sovereignty of
God. As the twenty-four elders and the four 'living creatures' fell down
and worshipped God, John heard a voice saying: "Praise our God, all ye his
servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of many thunderings, say�ing, Alleluia: for the Lord omnipotent reigneth."
Protestant interpretation of Prophecy.
"In London, the
Institute for the Study of Conflict has published its most recent study entitled
Marxism and the Church of Rome. This admittedly 'controversial' report has been prepared by a
journalist who has been
accredited to the Vatican for twelve years.
"The report begins by
quoting Monsignor Casaroli, Secretary of the Council of Public Affairs of the Church, who stated
during a visit to Cuba
that he saw no contradiction between the teaching of Marxism as a means of social education, of scientific discipline,
of critical spirit, and the teaching of religion as spiritual education, etc. These
statements were neither denied nor modified
when Monsignor Casaroli returned to
Rome and they only add weight to speculation that Pope Paul VI wishes to make more rapid progress and
create an irreversible situation of
understanding with the 'socialist' countries (I.S.C. Report, Page 1).
"The writer contends
that these pro-Marxist postures of the Pa�pacy are not merely another example of Communist
infiltration parallel with the socialist and
humanist statements of modernist Protestant clerics, but that any attempted
agreement between the Vatican and Moscow is
of great prophetic import, to be viewed in the light of the convictions of the Reformers, and to be tried by
the Word, of God.
"Returning to the I.S.C. Report, the
journalist who is French, naturally
approaches the topic from his own national standpoint. He puts great stress on the well documented failure
of the post-war French worker-priest movement and concludes: 'Quickly seduced
by the anti-capitalist bias on the factory floor, they dignified the
concept of the working class with a value
which it did not possess and soon regarded themselves as the prophets of a future evangelical community. In this
way they were led gradually to identify the proletariat with Marxism, class warfare with revolutionary agitation, to
the extent that within a few years,
they were appearing in the front ranks of Communist demon�strations!' (I.S.C., page 5).
"The journalist also
singles out Teilhard de Chardin for his contribution
toward a more favourable Romanist attitude to Communism, quoting from Quelques Reflexions stir La Conversion
du Monde, where Chardin wrote: "The Christian God on High and
the Marxist God of Progress are reconciled in Christ.' As the I.S.C. Report
comments: 'Bearing in mind the
extraordinary intellectual prestige of Teilhard de Chardin during the decade of the 1950s, one can
understand the strength which his para-Marxism gave to the socialist ideas in
Christian thought.
Moreover he was not the only member of
the Society of Jesus to offer protective cover to revolution!'��
(I.S.C. page 5).
"In the 1960s Pope John XXIII, through a
friend of President Kennedy's, Norman
Cousins, made contact with the Russians Shumeiko and Feodorov, who in
turn were friends of Khrushchev. The official attempt by the Vatican to 'melt
the Russian ice' had begun, and in consequence
the Italian Communist Party recruited one million more votes at the next election (28:4:1963).
"Vatican
II was marked in particular, by a determination on the part of some powerful clerics, to
ensure that there would be no attempt to condemn Communism anew. Instead of issuing just such a
condem�nation according
to the I.S.C. Report, Vatican II 'served as a platform for its (Communism's) aims.' H. Fesquet in his Journal
de Concile quotes Cardinal Alfrink (page
682) as stating: 'A great number of men adhere to Communism for reasons
of social justice', and on page 274 the
Bishop of Verdun stated: 'Marxists have been more faithful to Scrip�ture by giving bread to those who are hungry.'
The Report
brings the pro-Communist realignment of the Vatican up to date with a review of Pope Paul's personal background.
This "lone-wolf had his origins in the
liberal Catholic culture of Lombardy, and is known to have supported a
little left-wing journal called La Fronde,
as well as the worker-priest
movement and the New Theology. Pope
Paul VI is promoting a Papal policy which lends justification to Communist subversion.
"It
is little wonder that the Archbishop of Malmes-Brussels has given his approval to Mgr. Joseph
Comblin's thesis entitled The Theo�logy of Revolution in which it is claimed among other outlandish pro-Communist statements that 'the principles of Christian
faith are the motors of modern revolution'."
THE�
END� OF BABYLON
"And
after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the
earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is
fallen, is fallen, and
is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird"
(Rev. 18:1-2).
The seventeenth chapter of the
Revelation has such an abun�dance of
information that one might be forgiven for labouring the point. One should ever bear in mind that the events
described in the various chapters may not be taken out of context for
this would fall within the sphere of 'private interpretation' and could be made
to fit any circum�stance and any period in history. As has been shown, the
seventeenth chapter is an amplification of the previous one and the characters
in the drama are obviously identified with the 'three evil spirits like frogs'
whose activity is responsible for Divine Action and intervention.
Significantly, it is stated that 'great Babylon
came in remem�brance before God . . ." � a statement which leads one to
conclude that the events in the earth immediately prior to God's intervention,
would be similar in nature to those which obtained when the Babylon�ian
succession of empires was set up. As has been noted, Babylon, in its heyday,
exercised a threefold influence on all who came within its compass � ecclesiastical,
economic and militant. All three were bound up in one so as to complete the
mechanism of Babylonian dominion.
This was no new situation but merely a
perpetuation of the sys�tem which had been
founded by Nimrod � the son of Cush (Gen. 10:8) � who instituted the
Cabal, a secret order of political priests. The Rev. Alexander Hislop in
his The Two Babylons provides a graphic account of this early Babylonian
system which, apart from its priestly political impact on the then known
nations of the world, may be said to have instituted an economic system which
was the forerunner of the modern world
banking procedures.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica opens its account of the history of banking in these words:
"A bank, in its simplest form, is an institu�tion where money may be
deposited for safe-keeping; but banks are usually established to lend as well
as receive money; and the profits of a banker are commonly derived from the
excess of the interest he receives from those indebted to him over the interest
he allows, so far as he allows any, to those who have deposited money with him."
This, of course, is a simplification of the whole modern structure of banking
but it is significant to note that a bank is not a charitable institution and
originally derived its finance from 'interest' alone.
That this practice was in operation and had
become an integral part of the way of life prior to Israel's organisation at
Sinai is all too obvious from the fact that in the Law of the Lord, an
Israelite was for�bidden to indulge in this where his kinsmen were concerned.
"If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt
not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury" (Ex. 22:25).
Thus is established the fact that this iniquitous system was flourish�ing among
the nations of the Middle East when Israel was formed into nationhood by God.
NEBUCHADNEZZAR� CRYSTALLISES�
NIMROD'S� CABAL
When the
Babylonian Empire became the first in a succession of empires to hold dominion
in the earth while the 'Seven Times' punish�ment
(Lev. 26:28) over Israel ran its course, Nebuchadnezzar set the pattern on
Nimrod's Cabal and instituted gold as the medium of ex�change. It is
interesting to note Daniel's account of the setting up of the image of gold on
the plains of Dura. "Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the
princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors,
the sheriffs and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of
the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had
set up" (Dan. 3:2). Whichever way one may look at this gathering, it bore
all the marks of an economic con�ference for those specifically invited
were all involved, to a lesser or greater degree, with commerce. From that
time, commerce and gold were bound together
and as the Babylonian succession of empires pro�gressed so too did the
enslavement of people under a system which the Lord gave to His people Israel. Small
wonder that Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego �
three Hebrew captives in Babylon � refused to bow the knee to 'Mammon' which, the Lord Jesus Christ said at a later stage, no man can serve and worship and follow
God (Luke 16:11-13).
Just as
the monetary system of Nebuchadnezzar progressed with each passing empire, so too did his Cabal and as the world
passed into the Christian dispensation, one
finds the Roman Church perpetu�ating the Cabal exercising the same
authority as did the 'political priests' of
Nimrod's original system. All the nations who were dominat�ed by the
Papacy, with the exception of Britain, practised Nimrod's banking system. The Encyclopaedia Britannic a provides
a graphic account of this in
operation.
BANKING�� BUSINESS INTRODUCED� INTO BRITAIN
The Reformation Era figures very prominently in
the earlier chapters of the Revelation and
while Henry VIII is associated with this, it was Elizabeth I who set the
seal on the Reformation. Rome, of course, through Spain, in typical Babylonian
fashion, tried to invade Britain and return
Israel in the Isles to the Papal fold. Through Divine intervention, this
attempt failed and while the Papacy sought to sub�vert certain nobles in the
land, a more subtle Babylonian threat was forthcoming in that in the 17th
century, the business of banking was introduced
into Britain and was undertaken by the Goldsmiths in Lon�don who appear to have borrowed it from Holland.
Mr. Gilbart, in his History and
Principles of Banking, quotes from a pamphlet published in 1676, entitled The Mystery of
the New-Fash�ioned
Goldsmiths or Bankers Discovered. The following is a quote from the pamphlet:
"Much about the same
time � the time of the civil commotion � the
goldsmiths (or new-fashioned bankers) began to receive the rents of gentlemen's estates remitted to town, and to
allow them, and others who put cash into their hands, some interest for
it if it remained but a single month in their hands, or even a lesser time. This
was a great allurement for people to put
money into their hands, which would bear interest till the day they
wanted it; and they could also draw it out by one hundred pounds or fifty
pounds, at a time as they wanted it, with infinitely less trouble than if they
had lent it out on either real or personal security."
The Bank of England as such was
founded in 1694 and arose because of the
need of the Government for public funds. A loan of one million, two hundred thousand pounds was made
available to the sub�scribers who received 8 percent on the sum advanced. The
Charter for the Bank of England,
dated 27th July, 1694, stated, among other things, that it '. . . be
capable, in law, to purchase, enjoy, and retain to them and their successors,
any moneys, lands, rents, tenements, and pos�sessions
whatsoever; and to purchase, wherein they are not restrained by Act of
Parliament; and also to grant, demise, and dispose of the same.'
This was the beginning of
the involvement, by the modern devel�opment of Israel, in the economic system
instituted by Nebuchadnezzar. Having thrown
off the ecclesiastical yoke by the Reformation Act, Israel, because of
blindness, could not see that the Divine protection afforded Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego when they refused to submit to Nebuchadnezzar's system, would be theirs if
they remained steadfast in the light
of the now opened Scriptures. This is that to which refer�ence is made in the fifteenth chapter of the
Revelation and which pre�vented men
from entering into the Glory of God (Rev. 15:8).
COMMERCE AND ECONOMICS CONTROLLED BY
ONE-WORLDERS
As one looks at the world
of today, one may see why indeed '. . . great Babylon came in remembrance before God' for
Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom
and all his aspirations of a one-world government under the influence of the threefold mechanism
of religion, economics and mili�tary control
is once again in evidence on a global scale. Israel, now dispersed through the world, is hopelessly lost
within the coils of this satanic instrument of destruction. To indicate
something of the nature of this, it is necessary to recall Anglo-Saxondom's
involvement with the United Nations Organisation. As is well known, one
of the chief architects in formulating the machinery of the United
Nations was Alger Hiss who, in 1950 was
exposed as a Communist espionage agent. Thus Nebuchadnezzar's political wing was more than slightly respons�ible for setting up a machinery which demanded
Israel's subservience to it.
The International Monetary
Fund, established under the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 and ratified by Britain in 1945, is the econo�mic wing of the same system. Here again one finds exactly
the same set-up. A key figure in this was
Harry Dexter White who was the chair�man
of the Bretton Woods Conference which was attended by represent�atives of forty-four nations and who had a
starting capital of 8 billion dollars
to work with. Harry Dexter White was later proved to be a mem�ber of the
Soviet spy ring known as the 'Ware cell' which comprised, among other convicted Communist spies, the same
Alger Hiss who was involved with the
formulation of the United Nations Organisation. From these facts one may glean something of the web of
subversion which has entrapped, not only the modern nation and company of
nations of Israel, but the whole
world.
It is no exaggeration to state that Britain,
having been 'conned' into association with the two wings of Nebuchadnezzar's
system, is rapidly returning to the ecclesiastical fold with Church dignitaries
violating British law and 'holding
communication with the See of Rome'.
THE�
LORD'S COMMAND� TO HIS PEOPLE
"Come out of her, my people, that ye be
not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues" (Rev. 18:4). Here indeed is a warning to God's Israel people � a warning
which is given in the context of one specific period in time when the Lord
promises to take positive action
when all else has failed. Through Ezekiel the prophet, the Lord draws
attention to all that is embodied in. the 'Gog' name which is associated with
the 'three spirits like frogs', and His inter�vention. "Behold, it is
come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken" (Ezek. 39:8).
If one is to understand the 18th
chapter of the Revelation, it is imperative
that one accepts the veracity of the Old Testament Scrip�tures for it is
only in these Scriptures that one may appreciate some�thing of the magnitude of the events which attend the destruction of
the system which currently threatens
to invalidate God's Plan on the earth. In the first instance, Isaiah the
prophet records the same call as is
[[IMAGE]]
Isaiah as depicted by the 14th Century
sculptor Claus Sluter
recorded in Revelation 18:4. "Come my people (note: not
just any people, but specifically 'my people' as in the Revelation scripture),
enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thy�self as
it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast" (Isa. 26:20).
This 'indignation' is the main theme of Jeremiah 51:6 which, too, is a call to
'come out'. "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his
soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's
vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence." Lest any should charge
that this does not apply to the end of the age, it should be recalled that John
hears the angel of the Lord describing Babylon in these terms: "O thou
that dwellest upon many waters" (Rev. 17:1) while Jeremiah writes: "O
thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come,
and the mea�sure of thy covetousness" (Jer. 51:13).
In the forty-fifth verse of the
same chapter, i.e., 51, one finds another instance of identification with the
Revelation. "My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye
every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord", while in verses 63-64,
one finds the end of Babylon recorded in words which have an unmistakable
parallel with the Revelation. "It shall be, when thou hast made an end of
reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the
midst of the Euphrates. And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall
not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her" (Jer. 51:63-64). "And
a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the
sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that, great city be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all"
(Rev. 18:21).
The
prophet Isaiah records God's warning to the 'Mother of Har�lots' (Rev. 17:5) in these words: "Sit- thou silent,
and get thee into darkness, O daughter of
the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called The lady of kingdoms. I
was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine
inheritance (see here Deut. 32:9), and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient
hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke. And thou saidst, I shall be a lady
for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst
remember the latter end of it. Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to
plea�sures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am (note
the usage of the Jehovah Name), and none else beside me, I shall not sit as a
widow, neither shall I know the loss of children. But these two things shall
come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children and widowhood ..." (Isa. 47:5-9).
TIME FACTORS IN THE DEMISE OF BABYLON
Isaiah's reference to the
period 'one day* could be identical with the 'one day' of Revelation 18:8 for
in the Revelation it states: "There�fore shall her plagues come in one day.." A 'day'
in prophecy usually denotes
a period of 360 years and there can be no doubting that Baby�lonian plagues certainly afflicted
the people of true modern Israel from the time
of Elizabeth I. However, the 'judgment' on the Babylonian system is referred to
in the tenth verse: "Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come."
The
starting point in chronological prophecy is not always easy to determine and this 'one hour'
factor is no exception. However, if one accepts
that the Babylonian system commenced in 606B.C. with the commencement of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, certain
comparatively modern events will fall into place. The span of time
allocated to the Babylonian succession of empires was that of the 'seven times'
pun�ishment of Israel, i.e., 2520 years. This period should commence to run out in 1914 which is 'seven times' from 606 B.C.
One hour is one twenty-fourth
part of a day and as one day is calculated
as 360 years in prophecy, one hour should be calculated as one twenty-fourth
part of that period and is thus fifteen years. If one adds fifteen years to 1914,
i.e., the termination of the 'seven times' commencing
with 606 B.C., this introduces 1929 � a year which saw the beginning of
financial judgment on the economic system which reverberated throughout the
world. Financiers indeed wailed as Wall Street
crashed and since that period, economic conferences have been called with increasing frequency in order to
bolster the crumbling eco�nomic wing
of Nebuchadnezzar's system.
At the same time,
judgments were meted out to the now resuscit�ated Roman Church � an occurrence,
in terms of timing, which makes the events
mote than a coincidence. It will be noted that in the sixth verse of the 18th
chapter, that a judgment is passed in words which cannot be understood unless one follows the historical development of events.
"Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works ..." In Foxe's Book of the Martyrs and among accounts of many
horrors perpetrated on all who opposed the Roman
system, is the one in which the Duke of Savoy opened the pri�sons and
let loose the scum of the Papal earth who butchered the Protestants. In 1936, a like reward was meted out to Papists in Spain.
In that
year, the Government in Spain did precisely what the Duke of Savoy had done earlier. They loosed the scum of Spanish
prisons who butchered Roman Catholics
without mercy. Foxe adds to the pic�ture by describing how Papists
violated and desecrated the bodies of Protestants in Seville and Toledo in
Spain and one wonders if it was pure
coincidence that the Pope, on the 15th September, 1936, lamented the
'profanation of Catholic tombs in Spain'. Throughout that year, history records
that it was a year of unusual activity insofar as the Roman Church was concerned for to use the Pope's own words, it was a 'year of unprecedented horror" for
Catholics in the Argentine, France, Spain
and Ireland.
However, despite the
warning signs of the times, there is neither an awakening in true Israel nor is there any evidence
that those involv�ed
with 'great Babylon' have recognised the 'writing on the wall'. The dominion of the Babylonian trinity is
intensifying and one may trust in the Word of the Lord that the time will yet come, and is not too far off
when the words of the angel of the Lord will
be a reality indeed � "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen ..."
**********
MUSTERING� SATANIC�
FORCES
"These
have one mind, and shall
give their power and strength unto the beast" (Rev. 17:13).
The 'great wrath' which
is unleashed by Satan on the inhabitants of the earth (Rev. 12:12) can only be fully appreciated
if one follows, in detail, the whole account
of the end of the age scene as given by the
Lord in His Revelation. While the seventeenth chapter, as has been noted, deals mainly with the 'mother of harlots',
the extent of her do�minion and the revolt of the 'ten horns' of the
beast, it should be re�called that this chapter is a recapitulation of history
as this contri�butes to the overall context in which the trinity of evil
appears. The three 'evil spirits like
frogs', while working for the same goal, are not said to work in unison nor are they stated to be deliberately collabor�ating with each other in their one-world purpose. In
a nutshell, one may understand that this trinity is satanically
energised for the express purpose of
completing Satan's dominion in the earth which is held up and contained by the existence of the Israel
woman who is God's Own property (Isa. 43:1).
In the section dealing
with the fifteenth chapter of the Revela�tion,
comment was made on the tremendous opportunity which was given to Israel for
the realisation of her true identity and which she failed to grasp and which resulted in the seven plagues of the wrath of
God. Satan, in the full realisation of what was transpiring, created this trinity
of evil and aimed it at the incorporation of the Israel woman into his world kingdoms.
The means whereby this was to be achieved was
basically through deceptions (Matt. 24:24) and
no better modern illustration of this can be found than in the apparent
conflict between each of the powers which
are aiming for world dominion. The Roman Church, per�haps the greatest
authoritarian institution of all time, appears to be at variance with the totalitarian states and is presented, through the com�munication
media, as the greatest opponent of materialistic atheism. The 'harlot' of history, according to world
propaganda, has been trans�formed from the Papacy of the Inquisition into a
benevolent institution which is
dedicated to world peace. Make no mistake here. Rome has never shifted
its objective nor has it altered in character. The com�plete subjugation of
body and soul of the whole world still remains its objective.
Little dolls are still
paraded through the world and endowed with spiritual virtues to which Roman adherents are required
to pay homage � and a part of their wealth. One
may still read of journalists' ac�counts of the homage demanded by these little
dolls of Papal fantasy, not the least of which is the statue of the Lady of
Fatima. The story of Fatima commenced in 1917 and during the period in which
Papal ambitions were contained by the effect of the revolt of the 'ten horns'
in the middle of the 19th century. According to Papal propaganda, three
children in Fatima in Portugal were 'blessed' by a visit from the Virgin Mary
and were told that she guaranteed the ultimate triumph of the Roman Church and
that she would assist it in the struggle against Communism.
When power was restored to the
Papacy in 1929 by Mussolini, the parading of the 'Lady of Fatima' through the
streets of so-called Chris�tendom was invariably attended by some startling
announcement of Roman Catholic struggles with Communism. The image of Rome was
being built up as the defender of Christianity against the atheistic ravages of
materialism with Protestant and Romanist looking with con�siderable support on
Rome's claims. However, notwithstanding the propaganda, the 'woman' of
Revelation 17 is far from dead and her alliances with the other members of the
trinity of evil are still in evi�dence and may be seen as contributing to the
whole which is aimed at the complete destruction of the Israel 'woman' in Anglo-Saxondom.
In support of this the following has been contributed
by Clifford Smyth of Belfast and which is included as a vindication of the
above:
"For much of the Twentieth Century the
Roman Catholic Church has been looked upon as an opponent of Atheistic
Communism. On this reading of events, some Bible believing Christians have
entered into alliances and into fellowship with Roman Catholics in a joint
effort to uphold patriotic causes and oppose the many manifestations of the of the Communist Conspiracy.
"In the United States the Protestant
interpretation of history taught by the European Reformers of the 16th century
hardly seemed relevant. With the passing of the years, Protestants in the
United States disregarded or reinterpreted those passages of Bible prophecy
which the Reformers, and indeed Christian scholars of medieval times, believed,
clearly exposed the Papacy as the Antichrist system. After all the United
States was at one time removed from the passions, tur�moil, and suffering of
previous generations who had taken part in the religious and constitutional
conflicts that marked out the Reformation in the history of Europe. Now the
para-Marxist position which the Papacy is adopting forces our attention once
more on the Historist.
THE REALITY OF THE ONE TRUE GOD
ESTABLISHED
The mighty
anthem of praise is only fully appreciated when one considers the situation as it obtains
today with the trinity of evil capi�talising
on the 'social gospel' which is taught by a panic-stricken clergy who view empty pews with alarm. One has
become familiar with the doctrine which suggests that the God of the Old
Testament has been displaced by a God of
Love Who has become the God of the New Testament Dispensation. The
implication here, of course, is that the God
Who created the world and Who was active throughout the Old dis�pensation, could not measure up to what man
required of Deity � man having been indoctrinated with a nebulous
emotion called Love, re�quired that the object of his worship should conform
with this. Thus the God Who 'made the world and all things therein . . . and
made all nations of men for to dwell on all
the face of the earth, and hath deter�mined
the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they
should seek after the Lord, if haply they might feel after him ..." (Acts 17:24-27) � this God is
displaced by men because they cannot
reconcile Him with what they imagine God should be.
One is
thus confronted by a plurality of gods which, although it may be vigorously
denied, is merely a sophistication of the old pagan religion whose priests, having found that the old god was
no longer compatible with the 'enlightened intellectualism', merely created a
new god which was. However, the current situation goes infinitely deeper. Not
content with arrogantly disposing of the God of the Old Testament as no longer relevant in an era of love, they have presumed to
create a doctrine which, they claim, arises from an understanding of the Mind of Christ � a doctrine which masquerades
under the name of the 'social gospel'.
While the advocates of
this 'gospel' may not realise it, this doc�trine,
in its evolution, is leading to the same cul-de-sac as do Social�ism and Communism � a one-world totalitarian
State in which God has no place. The 'social gospel' in its present
state, shows a remarkable affinity with the 'Aims, Objects and Principles of
the Socialist Party of Great Britain' although, at this stage, it is
unlikely that its advo�cates would
subscribe in toto to the Labour Manifesto. However, being set firmly on the road to what may be termed
'Christian Socialism', the advocates of this policy should note the official
viewpoint on the sub�ject of religion generally and Christianity
particularly. The following is taken from 'The Declaration of Principles' of
'The Socialist Party of Great Britain � 1922'
under the heading of 'Socialism and Religion'.
Under the sub-heading "The Natural History of
Religion", this resume is provided: "As a belief, religion was
the outcome of man's ignorance of Nature's
working, and of the mastery which awful and un-comprehended natural forces had over him, while as rites and
ceremon�ies it reflected the forms,
customs and unchanging nature of primitive society. Thus the obscurity
of material conditions is the source of religion;
God did not create man, man created God in his own image.
"By the inertia of the mind, religion
tends to persist, even through vast changes in the environment, in so far as it
serves some interest and does not directly conflict with new conditions. But in
spite of this tendency to independent existence, religion has been modified continuously as the result of changing
conditions and inter�ests; while, notwithstanding repeated endeavours to
adapt the ancient legends to modern
requirements, its influence has waned. Nevertheless, in the degree that
it survives, religion reacts upon society; it is the paralysing hand of the dead past upon the living present."
Then, under the sub-title '/s
Socialism antagonistic to religion', the following is the official reply:
"If a man supports the Church, or in any respect allows religious ideas to
stand in the way of the prin�ciples of Socialism or the activity of the Party,
he proves thereby that he does not accept Socialism as fundamentally true and
of the first importance, and his place is
outside. No man can be consistently both a Socialist and a Christian . .
."
It is therefore obvious that
within the Socialist policy, God has no
place and while the advocates of the 'social gospel' would deny any affiliation
with the principles of political socialism, the road leads to the same end with
the same consequences. It should be noted, as has been stated above, that
modern teachers have 'changed Gods' � the God
of the Old Testament being equated with a 'primitive era' in which vengeance was the keynote, has been abandoned for
a God of Love in the modern era of enlightenment. This procedure should be
compared with the quotation above as issued by the Socialist Party of
Great Britain.
Be that as it may, the point to
note is that the trinity of evil of Revelation 16:13-14 is stated as being
directed to the same end as prescribed
above. The fall of Babylon, however, is such that whatever theories men
might entertain, these will be displaced by the tangible demonstration of His Reality. It should be noted
again that there is no ambiguity in the anthem of praise for it
establishes the reality of the Lord God � a
phraseology which dominates the Old Testament narra�tive and vindicates
the scriptural statement which assures that He is the unchanging God (Mal. 3:6).
Another feature in this is that it once again thrusts Israel, His witness
nation (Isa. 43:12), to the fore, for while
Israel rejected the Kingship of God (I Sam. 8:7), He never relin�quished
the right to be their King. Thus the anthem of praise dispels the ambiguity of the role of Psychologist which
men have bestowed on the Lord and once again places Him as Sovereign. It
serves also to introduce the main actors in
the great climax of the age � the marriage supper of the Lamb.
THE IDENTITY OF THE BRIDE
"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give
honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb
is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." Prior to passing on
to the identity of the 'wife', one should note that John heard the angel of the Lord exhorting the twenty four elders and four living creatures to 'give honour to him",
i.e., the Lord God. Thus, whatever
follows must be God-honouring and in line with what God has promised. In
the twenty-first chapter of the Revelation, John saw 'the bride, the Lamb's wife' which was that great city,
the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God'. The Greek word which
has been translated 'city' is polis
which, according to Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon means
the arrangement of government rather than a walled
city and which meaning gives credence to Abraham's faith for he 'looked for a city (polis � arrangement
of government) which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God' (Heb. 11:10).
This, of course, runs
contrary to many interpretations placed on the
identity of the 'wife of the Lamb' but, as has been stated above, the trend to act as spokesman for God and to
prescribe for His King�dom will undergo a drastic change when God
reveals Himself at the end of the age. The New Jerusalem which John saw was
nothing less than the world order or
arrangement for which Israel had been formed and for which the Lord had bound Himself by Oath-Covenant to them.
If one examines the Greek text again,
particularly in respect of the 'wife' who had made herself ready, it will be
noted that the theo�logical identification of the Church in this role simply
does not hold water. Dr. Scofield, in his
exposition of the subject of the 'wife', says: "The Lamb's wife
here is the 'bride' the Church, identified with the heavenly Jerusalem and to be distinguished from Israel, the adulterous and
repudiated wife of Jehovah, yet to be restored, who is identified with the earth. A forgiven and restored wife
could not be called either a virgin, or a bride." One would
suggest, in answer to this statement, that
the Church of the Laodicean age (Rev. 3:14-22) certainly does not qualify, for apart from lacking the 'white
raiment' of God's righteousness, this organisation is nowhere called the
'wife of God' whereas Israel was.
The word 'wife' in the Greek text of Revelation
19:7 is gune which means
'specifically a wife' as distinct from nupto which means 'a
betrothed' or 'a bride'. It should be noted, too, that '. . . to her was granted
that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine
linen is the righteousness of saints.' Had she been a 'virgin' there would have been no need for the grace which
permitted the wear�ing of fine white
linen � it would have been her right to do so. There is, of course, much more. God is no polygamist
which He must be if the Church is indeed the 'bride' of the Lamb. In the
Old Testament, Israel was the 'wife' of the Lord: "For thy Maker is thine
husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of
Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called" (Isa. 54:5). It is
absolutely true that, because of apostasy in the nation, God invoked the 'Law
of divorce' (Deut. 24:1-4) and was estranged
from his 'wife' (Jer. 3:8) but because
of His Commitments, established under the Oath-Covenant, He promised
reconciliation with Israel. "I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I
will betroth thee unto me in righteousness (the Law), and in judgment, and in
lovingkindness, and in mercies" (Hos. 2:19)-
Running through the writings of
the prophets and through the Gospel accounts is the fact of the
Redemption of Israel, the faithless 'wife'
and if the 'marriage of the Lamb' does not involve the Redeemed Israel people, one is tempted to ask why the
Christ of God had to suffer the agony of the Cross? If the supercilious
answer to this is that it was to accomplish
salvation � the Scripture very definitely establishes that salvation was
available without' the Sacrifice (Luke 19:9)- If, as the angel of the Lord
exhorts, one must give 'honour' unto the Lord, surely the 'wife' must be
identified by the Scriptures as Israel!
THE�
MARRIAGE� SUPPER
"And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are
they which are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of
God." Prior to a consideration of those invited to this marriage supper,
it would serve a useful purpose to review the four great suppers which
appear in God's Holy Word. The first of these was The Passover in which Israel slew and ate the lamb after marking the
door-posts and lintels of their homes with its blood. The overall meaning of
this 'supper' was all too clear for on the night of the death of Egypt's firstborn, Israel was safe having been
justified in their faith and belief. An era had come to an end and
Israel was about to go forward to take its God-promised inheritance.
The Second great Supper was when
the Lord Jesus Christ was gathered together with His disciples in the upper
room to eat the Pass�over. Another era was coming to an end � an era which tied
Israel to Jerusalem in the bonds of sacrificial death. During the Mosaic dispen�sation,
sacrificial propitiation for sin was confined to the Tabernacle of the Lord
which was housed in Jerusalem. Israel, being under the 'bill of divorce', could
not return to this place and in consequence was deprived of the mechanism by
which God could be reconciled with His adulterous 'wife'. The great supper in
the upper room was the prelude to the end of the sacrificial ordinances
breaking the tie that bound Israel, now on her way to the 'appointed place' (I
Sam. 7:10), to Jeru�salem and the Temple ritual.
At this Supper, the Redeemer,
after breaking the bread and giving the disciples both bread and wine said:
"I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day
when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom" (Matt. 26:29). This
leads one to the Third Supper which is that of the marriage of the Lamb. It is
surely obvious that as Israel was intimately involved in each of the two
preceding Suppers and as the promise of the Lord was made to His disciples who
were Israelites, the same identity must be in evidence in the Third Supper. The
Fourth Supper is that to which the fowls of the air are invited that they might
'eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty
men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them ..." (Rev. 19:18). This 'feast' has
to do with the 'great and terrible day of the Lord'.
As to those invited to the
'marriage supper of the Lamb' many have indicated that the background to this
event is the oriental custom in which the bridegroom entertained his friends to
a supper at the end of which, he claimed his bride. Instances of this are found
in the story of Jacob who had laboured for seven years for Rachel and it was
only after the supper or feast, indeed on the following morning, that he found
that Laban had given him Leah in place of Rachel. Another in�stance of this is
found in the story of Samson. After entertaining Phili�stine guests at his
marriage supper, he became incensed at their trick�ery and left before the
conclusion of the supper and so did not take his bride to wife. When he later
returned, he found that she had been given to another (Judges 14 and 15). Does
this same practice obtain in re�spect of the 'marriage supper of the Lamb'? It
is highly unlikely. It should be recalled that Israel passed out of the sphere
of oriental cus�toms when she left the Middle East and to apply the early
customs of the East to Israel in the West
would merely add chaos to confusion.
This is the time when, in vindication of the
words of Gabriel to Mary, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lamb of God, is given 'the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house, of Jacob for ever; and
of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:32-33). These are indeed the
'true sayings of God' the magnitude of which caused John to fall at the angel's
feet in worship. However, the angel restrained him. "See that thou do it
not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy bre�thren
that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." It was to this end that the Lord God created and formed Israel and the angel
exhorted John to worship God for His faithfulness in bringing to pass those
things which He had spoken of His people Israel. The Coming Again of the
Lord Jesus Christ, in vindication of the
word of prophecy, will show that all these things promised concerning Israel were no idle words, but an expres�sion of Divine Intention in the earth.
THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD
"And I saw heaven
opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in
righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his
head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself" (Rev. 19:11-12).
One of the
greatest triumphs of the triology of evil in gathering the nations for their
rendezvous with God (Rev. 16:14), is its success in the sphere of the destruction of faith in God and His Word. There was
a time in human experience when Israel, God's servant nation, believed, without
any mental reservation, that God meant precisely what He said and whose spokesmen refuted any suggestion of ambi�guity
in terms of God's Covenants. The great king David expressed this faith when he
said: "... what one nation in
the earth is like thy people, even Israel,
whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to
do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? For thou hast
confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever:
and thou, Lord, art become their God" (II
Sam. 7:23-24).
There is no gainsaying the fact that this faith
in God's Word waned as the priestly integrity wilted under the satanic attack (Mal.
2:1-8), but it is equally evident that there
were some in the nation who recognised the 'signs of the times' (I Chron.
12:32) and knew 'what
[[IMAGE]]
Pagan Rome and Christianity
Israel ought to do' and consequently,
throughout the Old Testament and into the New,
there were those who waited for God to manifest His faithfulness (Luke 2:25-32)
� not as theology conceived this, but in the precise manner as the Lord had
declared it. No better illustration and
certainly no more adequate vindication of this is the statement by Zacharias
who praised God for doing exactly what He had promised with, and to the people who were the recipients of His promises (Luke 1:68-73).
THE ERA OF DISSIPATION OF TRUTH
One would have thought
that the years immediately after the con�clusion
of the Lord's First Advent Mission would have recorded a blossoming of faith in the Word of God. However,
history records no such event. A mere three decades after the Ascension
of the Lord, Jude found it necessary to
'exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was
once delivered unto the saints' (Jude 3) � an exhortation which arose because
of the spread of religious philoso�phies which, in fact, were displacing the
historical reality and the scriptural context of the First Advent of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
The Revelation of the Lord Himself makes it
abundantly clear that the Truth was in the process of being dissipated and that
it was being effected by 'self-appointed apostles' who did not measure up to
the yardstick of apostleship (John 15:27 and Acts 1:21-22). The true apostles
of the Lord, having been instructed by Him, would not have gone to Ephesus and
indulged in the 'deeds of the Nicolaitanes' (pro-selytism) which thing, the Lord said He hated (Rev. 2:6 and 3:15). The assault
by these 'apostles' resulted in a religious philosophy which was the very
antithesis of the Mission of the First Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ and most
certainly derogatory to it. It is small wonder that Jude wrote of ". . . ungodly
men, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord
God, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 4) for the Truth of God and His Word
were being sub�verted by numerous religious
philosophies, which all insisted on being a fuller and more expanded version of
God's intention in the earth.
When Rome, under Constantine, embraced the
Christian faith, God's Truth, or what was left of it after the 'self-appointed
apostles' had finished with it, became
further subverted by the infusion of Baby�lonian idolatry. The Pope
assumed the role of God's spokesman and whenever* he spoke 'ex cathedra', it
was taken as the 'Voice of God' and held as greater in authority than any of
the previously written Scriptures. In the process of time, relics and shrines
were venerated and new mediators "whose intercession was sought in some
cause or other were invented. The simple
Biblical Truth became encrusted with ceremonial ritual to such an extent
that the ritual itself became more important
than the event which it commemorated.
When the fulness of the
time was come which had been written of by Hosea the prophet (Hos. 6:2), the era of the
Reformation dawned and God's
Holy Truth was freed from the fetters of Papal imagery. However, as the Revelation makes it abundantly
clear (Rev. 15), the respite from the .religious
pretensions of Rome was not sufficient to re-establish God's revealed Truth as
this was associated with His Israel people. The demonstration of faithfulness
to His words of Covenant Promise in causing Israel to spread abroad, creating a
great and mighty nation passed unheeded
with the result that Satan was enabled to unleash his triology of evil in a mad
orgy of destruction. Under the assault which revels in the title of 'humanism',
all discipline which is exhorted by the Law of the Lord has disappeared with
all humanity cast into the melting pot of universalism ready to spawn racial
amalgams which conform to the principles of
Satan's kingdom on the earth.
THE NAME WHICH NO MAN KNEW
The above has been provided as a
background which indicates the trend away
from God's revealed Truth and the embracing of philo�sophy as a
substitute for this. It is no exaggeration to state that there is an ever-diminishing
circle of people who want to know anything about
God and an even smaller circle of men and women who are pre�pared to accept God's Word for what it is. It is
becoming increasingly difficult to
obtain an Authorised Version of the Bible � the forty-nine other modern English
translations, each purporting to be better than its predecessor are more
acceptable, not because of Truth, but because they have been translated in a
way which is acceptable to modern ethics. Just as man insists on giving God an
image which is compat�ible with what he
would like Him to be, so too with His Word which is only acceptable if it teaches doctrines which
condone the permissive�ness of modern
thought.
In the light of this, one may appreciate that
the Coming of the Lord is associated with the unknown, particularly in respect
of the self-revelation of God Himself. It
will be recalled that the Rider of the White
horse had a Name written that no man knew but himself and that Name is called The Word of God (Rev. 19:13).
The Word of God spoken by Peter assures that God will "... send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must
receive until the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his
holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:20-21). At the time of the
Ascension, the 'two men in white apparel' said: "... this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into
heaven, shall so come in like manner
as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Prior to His Crucifixion,
the Lord Himself had spoken about His Coming again in words which are unmistakable. "When the Son
of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all
nations . . ." (Matt. 25:31-32). There can thus be no mistaking the nature
of the Second Advent nor its consummation
in fulfilment of the words of Ga�briel
when he advised Mary concerning the destiny of the Son about to be born
to her. "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the
throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for
ever; and of his kingdom there shall
be no end" (Luke 1:32-33).
None of these scriptural
statements is accepted today for men have seen fit to place 'private
interpretations' on them which, when they fall down, are simply abandoned as
irrelevant in the Christian philosophy. The
Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the only hope in an otherwise
hopeless situation, finds little or no mention in modern preaching and
if it just happens to intrude, it is invariably spiritualised in such a
manner as to provide no hope for the world. It is taught that the Lord returns
every time a believer is converted or, alternatively,
when a believer dies � but very few would dare to assert that He is Coming Again to inaugurate the Kingdom
of God on the earth. The reason
behind this reluctance is that it would involve a revolution in theological thinking � a revolution is surely
needed � for it would mean that national and political affairs would
have once again to be considered as
integral parts of the Bible. The Word of God teaches that, the Lord
Jesus Christ will be given 'the throne of his father David.' and that He will 'reign over the house of Jacob
for ever' � the 'throne' being a tangible historical reality as is the
'house of Jacob'. The God-proclaimed sphere of the rule of the Lord is utterly
rejected today in consequence of which, it is small wonder that the 'Word of
God' is an unknown factor at the time of
the Second Advent.
"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,
that with it he should smite the nations: and
he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God"
(Rev. 19:15-16). There are two features in this quotation to be consi�dered and which centre on the 'sharp sword' which
proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord and 'the nations' who come under
His rule with 'a rod of iron'.
The Biblical symbolism of the 'sword' is invariably
associated with the "Word of God" (Eph. 6:17) � an association which
certainly clarifies the 'mystery of iniquity' in II Thessalonians 2:7. It will
be recalled that this 'mystery' was already at work in A.D. 54 and as has been
stated earlier, the dissipation of God's Truth had already pro�ceeded at an alarming
rate by this time (Jude 3). It centred on man substituting for God while his
doctrine of lawlessness displaced the Commandments, Statutes and Judgments of
the Lord. "Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume
with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of
his coming" (II Thes. 2:8). A very rewarding exercise is to examine the
Greek text in this context for it will be found that the English word 'destroy'
does not impart the same meaning as does the Greek katargeo. If total de�struction was intended, the Greek word olothreuo
would have been used for this carries that meaning whereas katargeo,
meaning 'to invalidate' or 'make of none effect' was written. As the
'mystery of iniquity' is said to operate within the sphere of God and the
things of God and as has been shown this is very definitely so, the overall
activity of the Lord, at His Return, will be to invalidate the spurious
doctrines and the religious pretensions which ravage God's Truth in the lives of
His people.
Thus, with the Coming of the Lord, the very
Personification of the Word, all theories
and interpretations of no matter what source, will be exposed by the
Presence of the Living Word Himself. That He is called 'Faithful and True' is
an indication that all that is written in the
Word of God will be found to be the express Will, Wish and Com�mand of the Ever-living
God. No more will preachers and teachers dis�miss the Old Testament as
irrelevant; no more will they reject the revelation
of the God of the Old Testament; no more will they presume to advise God
as to how He should go about the business of world re�habilitation; no more will they ridicule the means whereby the Lord has declared
He will fulfil His Plan in the earth.
THE NATIONS
The nations who come within the sphere of the
'sharp sword', i.e., the Word of God, are obviously the nations who are
involved in the Bible. The original Greek text here has been literally
translated and no manuscript exists which suggests that ALL the nations of the
earth are involved. It is common practice among the English speaking na�tions
to scatter the article 'the' throughout their vocabulary as though it were
going out of fashion and very few take notice of the word. However, in the
Greek and Hebrew languages, the definite article 'the' in front of something
indicates speciality and not generalisation. In Luke 18:8 one finds an example
of this for in the Authorised Version it is translated: "Nevertheless when
the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" As one examines
all the relevant prophecies deal: ing with the end of the age, the answer to
this question would be 'yes' for faith in various things dominates the scene. Man
has faith in man; man has faith in his sciences; man has faith in his religious
convic�tions (pretentious though they may be); man has faith in himself � all
manner of faith does obtain today and will continue to obtain.
As has been said, the overall situation makes
the Lord's ques�tion irrelevant but when the definite article which appears in
the Greek text is inserted, the question takes, on a new and very definite
meaning. "... shall he find THE
faith?" - the faith once delivered to the saints. It is that particular
and peculiar faith which accepts God with�out any reservation and with child-like
trust, believes "all which the Lord hath spoken." This is THE faith.
Another instance of the omission of the
definite article, 'the' is to be found in what is commonly called 'The Lord's
Prayer'. In the direct translation of the Greek text of Stephens 1550, the
Prayer reads: "Our Father who art in THE heavens, Hallowed be thy THE
Name; Thy THE Kingdom come; Thy THE Will be done as in Heaven, so on earth;
Give us this day our THE portion of THE bread ..."
From this it will be apparent that the article specifies some peculiar
something. The Father is in THE heavens; His is THE Name; His is THE King�dom;
His Will is the only One to obey and THE bread is THE specific Word of God.
In like manner THE nations who are to be
'pummelled' (literal translation) by the
Word of God cannot be simply any of all nations but some specific nations, i.e.,
those who were promised to Abraham (Gen. 17:6). As one reads through the
New Testament, one finds that unhap�pily, the translators simply ignored the
article 'the' and translated 'ethnos' as 'Gentiles' thus losing sight of
the faithfulness of God to His promises wherein He assured national
continuity to Israel. The nations who
are to be pummelled by the Word of God are the Israel, na�tions which
are to be 'shepherded' with a 'sceptre of persuasion'. It will be noted that
the Authorised Version translation "...
shall rule them with a rod of iron" has been replaced with 'shepherded'
and 'sceptre of persuasion' which are the literal translations of the rele�vant Greek words and which is confirmed by Strong's
Exhaustive Con�cordance and Liddell and Scotts: Greek-English
Lexicon.
That the Israel nations are to be 'shepherded' by the
'sceptre of persuasion', i.e., the Word of
God, is indeed in keeping with the 'faith�fulness' and 'true-ness' of
Almighty God - the Lord is thus called in the eleventh verse of the nineteenth
chapter. This being so, it is in�cumbent on all believers to 'search the
scriptures' and to verify that this particular event is confirmed. "Behold,
the Lord God will come with strong hand,
and his arm shall rule (shepherd) for him: behold, his reward is with
him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall
gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently
lead those that are with young" (Isa. 40:10-11). "And I will set up
one shepherd over them, and he shall feed
them, even my servant David; he shall feed them: I the Lord have spoken it. And I the Lord will be their God,
and my servant David a prince among
them ..." (Ezek. 34:23-24).
THE SHEPHERD - KING
While the nineteenth chapter of the Revelation
deals with the Return of the Lord Jesus Christ in fulfilment of those things
which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets (Acts 3:21), being a fulfilment cannot be fully appreciated
unless that which is ful�filled
is understood. In other words,
it is a consummation of the deli�berate
Plan of God which had its beginning when He gave His Law to His people at Sinai.
It was Jehovah, King in Israel, Who gave that Law and His rule was carried forward in accordance
with that Law. When Israel rejected the Theocratic Order (I Sam. 8:7),
the King appointed the Davidic household as custodians of His Throne which household
represented Jehovah in the sphere of
government in the kingdom.
It is significant that the Lord Jesus Christ,
at His Second Ad�vent, is not to be the successor of Jehovah upon His throne
but rather that of His father David � "the Lord God shall give unto him
the throne of his father David: and he
shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever" (Luke 1:32-33). Thus
reigning or 'shepherding' from the 'throne of his father David', the Lord Jesus
Christ will bring in the perfect
administration of the Law of the Lord in Israel.
This will indeed be the
time foreseen by David who wrote of the tremendous activities which would result from the
'shepherding' of the Word of God. "Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget
not all his bene�fits: Who forgiveth all thine
iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases: Who
crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy
youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord executeth righteousness and
judgment for all that are oppressed. He made
known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel . . . Bless
the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my
soul" (Psa. 103). This is that which John saw when the Rider upon the
white horse came to the na�tions which He would 'shepherd' with the
'sceptre of righteousness'.
THE�
MILLENNIUM
"And I saw the beast,
and the kings of the earth, and their ar�mies,
gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken,
and with him the false prophet that
wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them
that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of
fire burning with brimstone" (Rev. 19:19-20).
The above scripture is the sequel to rhe
great climax which is written of as the 'battle of that great day of God
Almighty' (Rev. 16:14) � a sequel which is written in other parts of Holy
Scripture as 'the day of the Lord'. As has already been noted, with the Return
of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Name blazoned for all to see � the Word of God � all
pretentious claims, whether political or religious in nature, are exposed for
what they are � Satan's counterfeit for the Truth. This counterfeit, which
currently grips the nations of the world and domi�nates the intellect of men by
reason of incredible propaganda is indeed the bulwark of Satan's claim of the
kingdoms of this world.
It will be noted that both the 'beast' and the
'false prophet' fall as casualties in the triumphal Return of the Lord with no
mention made of the 'dragon' whose fate is related in the following chapter. Thus,
with the assurance of the termination of the outward evidences of two-thirds of
the triology of evil, one may pass on to consider the twen�tieth chapter and
the inauguration of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ on the earth.
THE NAMES OF THE 'ADVERSARY'
"And I saw an angel come
down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his
hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and
Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit,
and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no
more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be
loosed a little season." In these opening verses of the chapter which
unveils the era of Kingdom witness, it is significant that Satan's identity is
exposed under his various titles. He is called 'that old ser�pent' which
identifies him as the conspirator in the Garden of Eden who subverted the words
which the Lord God had spoken to Adam. Again it is significant that the 'rider
on the white horse' is called 'the Word of God" and the first
identification is in the context in which he first introduced a note of
speculation into what God had said � 'hath God said?'
The second mark of identity is
the name 'the Devil' (Greek: diabolos, accuser) � a form which the Old
Testament account equates with demonology. In the Hebrew language, the word
saiyr is translated as 'devil' and literally means 'shaggy; hairy' or as a
noun, a 'he goat', the worship of which animal followed the Israelites in their
exodus from Egypt (Jos. 24:14 and Ezek. 20:7).
The term satan is used extensively in the Old
Testament in its generic sense as for instance in the account in I Kings 11:14.
"The Lord, stirred up an adversary (satan)
unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite ..."
However, the name is also used as the personality of the Evil One; the Angel of
the Bottomless Pit; the Prince of this World; Apollyon; Abaddon; Belial;
Beelzebub; and the Devil. He is, as the name indicates, the 'opponent and
adversary' and does not hesitate to enter into argument with God on the matter
of true faith as the story of Job confirms. In Zechariah 3:1 one finds Satan as
a person who sought to introduce a hindering mechanism within the true remnant
of Israel which returned from the Babylonian captivity and who asserted that 'a
just God' could not reconstitute the unworthy Israel as a 'kingdom of priests'.
God's answer to this however, was that the 'filthy garments' of Israel were to
be removed and the nation to receive reinstatement according to His Covenant
Promises. From this account in Zechariah one
may perceive that though Satan never appears openly as the enemy of God,
his works, through devious channels, are to be seen in a ne�gating aspect
designed to destroy what God had built. A testimony to this may be seen in the
history of the remnant which returned and the incredible
metamorphosis in Truth which surrounded the Jews' claim to Israel
identity and mission.
Another name, which although not
mentioned in the Revelation, equally relevant in this context, is that of
Lucifer. The Lord Jesus Christ, in His First Advent Ministry once said: "I
beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10:18) � a statement
which could allude to Isaiah 14:12 in which Lucifer (brightness), 'son of the
morn�ing' fell from heaven. Isaiah's account is a symbolical representation of
the king of Babylon in his pride, splendour and fall but the passage goes
infinitely deeper in revealing Satan and his power-system as mo�tivating the
successive world rulers of Tyre, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome.
Ezekiel, too, uses the same analogy although he
does not use the name Lucifer when, under
the figure of the king of Tyre, he writes of Satan in his glorious and
splendid unfallen state until evil was found
in him. In both Isaiah's and Ezekiel's writings the representation is
not of Satan as confined to his own person, but as working in and consummating his plan through earthly kings and
potentates.
His right to appear before the
Throne in Eternity as the 'accuser of our brethren' (Rev. 12:10) appears to
have ended when he entered into conflict
with Michael and his angels but this did not constrain him insofar as
his perversion of the nations of the earth was concerned. It is only with the commencement of the thousand year
reign of the Lord on the earth that Satan is restrained from 'deceiving
the nations of the earth'.
THE�
THOUSAND�� YEARS
As one
considers the first three verses of the twentieth chapter, an unusual feature
insofar as time factors are concerned, emerges. In the previous chapters of the
Revelation, time is communicated in the prophetic scale. In Revelation 2:10 for
instance, the tribulation of the assembly
at Smyrna was revealed as obtaining for 'ten days'; in Reve�lation 9:10,
the 'first woe' was for 'five months'; in Revelation 11:2, the 'holy city' was
trodden underfoot for 'forty-two months' and the 'two witnesses' would remain dead for 'three and a half days' (verse 9);
in Revelation 12:14, the 'woman' was
nourished for 'a time, times and half a time' � all factors given in the
prophetic chronological code of a
'day for a year' (Ezek. 4:4-6). Now, however, years are mentioned by name
for the first time and the specific number of years is mentioned no less than
six times in this chapter.
CONCEALMENT NO LONGER NECESSARY
The reason for the departure from the previous
symbolism in terms of time factors is simplicity itself when one considers the
facts. The need for concealment would now
be past for the Lord Himself will have
returned as the Word Personified with all being made clear. Gone will be
the need for the 'day-year' time scale as will be the need for the enigmatical 'time, times and half a time.'
All will, from this moment in time,
be under the direct control of the Lord Who shall order events within His Kingdom according to His Infinite
Wisdom.
There are, of course,
those who are opposed to a Personal Reign of
the Lord on the earth and who insist that His Kingdom must be either up
in the clouds or in heaven itself. It is contended that the earth, during this period of a thousand years,
will be a charred mass � the domicile of Satan himself who will have no
one to tempt nor any works to destroy. This
theory arises out of the statement by Peter who wrote in his second
epistle: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in
the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also
and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (II Peter 3:10). However, as always, texts should not be removed from
context and very definitely should never be isolated from the general
body of revealed Scripture.
THE REVEALED SCRIPTURE
That a 'charred and
devastated earth' would be the very antithe�sis of the Old Testament preview of God's Kingdom on the
earth is all too obvious. "Behold, the
days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto
David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall
execute judgment and justice in the earth" (Jer. 23:5). "They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall
be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa. 11:9).
"And the Lord shall be king over all the earth" (Zech. 14: 9).
Thus, in the Old Testament narrative, the earth is the projected sphere
of the 'reign of righteousness' � an overall picture which is diametrically opposed to the imagined burned-out
mass of this globe.
In answer to this, some
may be tempted to aver that all this will take
place after the thousand years are ended and that it will be a 'new heaven and a new earth' in which 'mine elect
shall long enjoy the work of their hands' (Isa. 65:17-25). In answer to this
contention one is tempted to ask the
reason why the earth should lay waste (or a thou�sand years and
for whose benefit this will be so? With Satan's fate irrevocably sealed (Rev. 20:10) the purpose of the whole thousand year exercise is undeniably man who, if he is no
longer on the earth, ceases to be concerned with time factors and is
certainly not limited to the twenty-four
hour day nor the 365 day, 6 hour, 9 minute, fifty-three se�cond sidereal year which obtains on the earth.
Significantly,
Peter's writing which forms the basis for the 'char�red earth' theory, i.e., II Peter 3, throws one back into
the Old Testa�ment in such a manner as to
elucidate the true meaning of his descrip�tion of the 'day of the Lord'.
The object of his writing was directed against the 'scoffers, walking after
their own lusts' in the last days who would
become the casualties in the propaganda war by the triology of evil. He
wrote: "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth
standing out of the water and in the water: Whgreby the world that then was,
being over�flowed with water, perished" (II Peter 3:5-6). The 'world' that
then was and which perished could not have been the terrestrial ball on
which God Created man in His own image for
the world has continued down the centuries and remains the habitat of
both the Adamic as well as the non-Adamic
creation.
There are three. Greek words which have been
translated as world and which are (1) aion;
(2) Oikoumene; and (3) /cosmos. Aion or 'age' is a dispensational word and may be found at
the commencement of the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:3) where it appears
in the question by the disciples to the Lord: "...
what shall be the sign of thy com�ing, and
the end of the world (Greek: aion, age). Oikoumene is found in the context of the decree by Augustus Caesar who
demanded that "... all the world (oikoumene, the inhabited
world under Rome's control) be taxed" (Luke 2:1), and thus refers
to literal territories inhabited by man. Kosmos, as is found in II Peter 3:6
reads: "Whereby the world (kosmos, world system or arrangement) that then was, being
overflowed with water, perished." If one re-reads the original
account of the Flood, it will be noted that
the permissive structure of Adam's society was the cause for the judgment by
water as ". . . all flesh had corrupt�ed his way upon
the earth" (Gen. 6:12). The whole subject is one which reflects the
'imagination of the thoughts' of men's hearts which was 'only evil continually'.
While the scripture undoubtedly makes references to changes which took place
after the Flood, the world, in the accepted meaning of the word, remained the
same. It was the 'ar�rangement' or 'system' of life by which the Adamic race
lived which passed away leaving the eight survivors of that family to
face a new order of authority which was
bestowed on them by God (Gen. 9:1-6). The 'world that then was' is
Peter's phraseology in describing a sys�tem of politics which arose in the
Adamic family as a direct result of Satan's psychological assault in distorting
and perverting the Com�mands of the Lord.
THE�
'ELEMENTS'� WHICH� PASS AWAY
By directing attention to the 'kosmos that then
was', Peter pro�vided a background to the
events as they culminated in the 'day of the Lord' or the Return of the
Lord Jesus Christ. In this, he provided the second
of che legal requirement of two witnesses for it will be recalled that
the Lord, in His Olivet Discourse, had also drawn attention to those far-off
days of Noah. He had stated: "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be" (Matt. 24:37).
Just as the perverted Adamic order of life perished and
passed away, so too a similarly perverted
way of life would pass with the Return of the Lord.
This fact has already been
stressed when dealing with the Com�ing of the Lord as the 'Word of God' and His
impact on the 'mystery of iniquity' which gave
rise to both religious and political philosophies which were in opposition to the Truth of God's Holy Word. However, as one
continues with Peter's writing, the word 'elements', which are to be dissolved,
appears to strike a discordant note. This word conjures up a picture of earth, water, air and fire including the seventy or
more other chemical substances which
are opening new horizons in scienti�fic fields of research. If these
'elements' are to be dissolved (II Peter 3:11) then it would appear that the
need for the nullification of the current
doctrines of men becomes irrelevant. In a charred and burnt-out earth
mass, doctrine, sound or otherwise, would be a valueless com�modity with no
human sphere to operate in. As has been stated pre�viously, the Old Testament does not support the picture of the earth as
a devastated mass which immediately places Peter at variance with the Scriptures which the Lord Jesus Christ endorsed
as Truth (John 17:17).
This being so, one is directed to an
investigation of the Greek text of Peter's writing for a possible clue as to
this apparent contra�diction. As always, such an investigation reveals that
when the New Testament appears to be at variance with the Old Testament, it has
arisen because of translators' errors. In this instance, the word 'ele�ments', in its accepted meaning, is a very poor
and definitely mislead�ing one. In the Greek, the word is stoicheion from
the base steicho which means 'to range in regular line'; 'to conform'
and 'orderly ar�rangement', or in other
words 'rules'. In other portions of the New Tes�tament, this word has
been translated in the context of 'principles' which is in keeping with its true meaning.
In Hebrews 5:12 the same
word stoicheion appears in the Greek text and has been translated within the context of
teaching. "For when the time ye ought to
be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles (stoicheion)
of the oracles of God". In Galatians 4, stoicheion is
again translated as 'elements' and as such, is left for readers to note how
obscure the translation makes the statement.
"For so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements
of the world (kosmos, world system) . . . But now, after that ye have known of God, how turn ye again to
the weak and beggardly elements, whereanto
ye desire again to be in bondage? " If the word 'principles' was
inserted in place of 'elements', the whole message would fall into its correct perspective.
NATIONS DECEIVED NO MORE
In returning to the
twentieth chapter of the Revelation, and the 'sealing'
of Satan, at the commencement of the thousand year period, it is stated that the binding of the adversary is
for the express purpose of ending his deception of 'the nations'. This
means, unless words have lost their meaning, that there will still be nations
in existence which immediately precludes 'heaven' as the scene of the thousand
year reign. Angelic beings are spoken of as being both sexless and raceless. Further
to this, the Greek word used here is ethnos which, according to Dr. Strong, means 'race' � a subject
which has no mean�ing in the heavenly spheres. The 'nations' in this
context are all the nations of the world
for it should be remembered that Satan's activity, while being primarily
directed against Israel, God's Witness nation, has also encompassed all nations
in his bid for absolute sovereignty over
all God's Creation.
However, in the binding of Satan,
God's promised 'covenant of peace' comes
into action and once again, while this covenant is made with, and
embraces Israel (Ezek. 34:24-26; Isa. 9:7), the satanically engineered
animosities between the families of the earth will cease and they too will know
peace. This is the beginning of the Kingdom Age
when Israel acts as the Kingdom nation and lives and moves and has its
being in the 'Son of David', now the King. "Of the increase of his
government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to
establish it with judg�ment and justice from henceforth even for ever" (Isa.
9:7).
**********
[[IMAGE]]
Cemetery on the slopes of the Mount
of Olives
CHAPTER�� 11
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
"And I saw
thrones, and they sat upon them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the
witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and
which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his
mark upon their foreheads, or in their right hands; and they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years" (Rev. 20:4).
Having first dealt with the
destiny of 'the dragon, that old ser�pent, which is the Devil, and Satan' in
terms of the thousand years, John then proceeded to record the details of the
Administrative body which would operate
during this period. Two points immediately thrust themselves to the fore and demand attention and
are (1) the plurality of thrones,
and (2) the identity of those
who sat upon them. The fact that John saw more than one throne in his
vision establishes that Heaven, as this term is usually understood, is
not the locale of the events about to be unfolded. In Heaven, there is only
one throne and this is occupied by the Father. The Son, it will be recalled",
was 'set on the right hand of the throne of
the Majesty in the heavens' (Heb. 8:1). Thus the scene of the thousand
year Reign of the Son which is associated with
the plurality of thrones, is obviously some other sphere and which, although having relationship to the Heavenly
throne, in no way dimin�ishes the August Majesty of the Father on High.
Further
light is thrown on this when the identity of the occupants of the thrones is
considered. The word 'thrones' (Greek, thronos) liter�ally means 'a stately seat of power' and of which, John
records that there will be a plurality
exercising the function normally attendant on sovereignty. This function is
recorded as 'judgment' (Greek, krima), a word which covers a
considerable field including that of 'administra�tion'. This, together
with the fact that no positive identification is given to these occupants of the thrones, demands that one searches the Scriptures
in order to ascertain precisely who shall be seated upon them.
In turning back the pages of Holy
Scripture, one finds the Pro�mise of the Lord made to Israel through Isaiah the prophet in which something of the nature of the events
recorded by John may be seen. "And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy
dross, and take away all
thy tin; And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy
counsellors, as at the beginning; afterward thou shalt be cal�led, The city of righteousness, the faithful city" (Isa.
1:25). This statement, it will be found, is in the same context as those events
previously discussed and which lead up to
the thousand year reign of the Lord
in the earth. It will be recalled that comment has already been made on Peter's record as to the passing of the
'elements' which, as has been noted, has a direct reference to the passing of
the 'rules' or 'principles' which are accepted as the norm in the society at
the end of the age. The Greek word stoicheion translated as 'elements'
does not mean the physical world of
this planet called the Earth. The purg�ing
of Israel's 'dross and tin' is in the context of refining � the pro�cess of which removes all impurities and leaves
one with a pure object. The point to
note here is that Isaiah points unerringly to the reinstate�ment of the Theocracy in which the kingdom was
administered by 'judges' � a picture
identical with that presented by John in the Reve�lation.
While this information
provides light indicating the reinstatement of the Theocracy in which a plurality of 'judges' would
be involved in administration,
it does not answer the question of the identity of those 'judges'. Bearing in mind that the
Lord Jesus Christ was the Revelator and John merely the chronicler, it is inconceivable that He would have
made a statement which was not readily and easily understood by John and those for whom the Revelation was
written. It will be recalled that John was numbered among those to whom the Lord, during His First Advent, had said: "Verily I say
unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in
the throne of his glory,
ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matt. 19:28). Here
indeed is a momentous Promise which not only confirms the Promise made through Isaiah the prophet, but
also shows that despite modern censorship of the Word of God and the spiritualising of its contents,
God will be proved Faithful to His Words of Promise made to the patriarchs concerning the perpetuity of Israel.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NUMBERS� -THE�
TWELVE� THRONES
Dr. Bullinger, in The Companion Bible, devotes
considerable space to a consideration of the significance of numbers in the
Bible with particular reference to the figure twelve which dominates the
last two chapters of the Revelation. Of this number, Dr. Bullinger writes:
"Twelve. Denotes Governmental Perfection. It is the number or
factor of all numbers connected with government: whether by tribes or apost�les,
or in measurements of time, or in things which have to do with government in
the heavens and the earth." Thus, when the Lord pro�mised His disciples
that they would 'sit upon twelve thrones (Greek, thronos as in
Revelation 20:4) judging the twelve tribes of Israel', He indicated that the
'regeneration' would be in Israel and that Govern�mental Perfection would
operate within that nucleus.
While on the subject of numbers, Dr. Bullinger's
comment on the figure thirteen is of such importance that it deserves
comment here. "Thirteen. Denotes rebellion, apostasy, defection,
disintegration, revolution, etc. It, and its multiples, are seen in all
numbers, and in the Gematria of all names and passages that are associated with
re�bellion etc." This, of course,, is very interesting particularly when
considering the 'Governmental Perfection' which is symbolised in the twelve thrones which administer the kingdom in Israel. If one adds the Lord's
Throne, i.e., the 'throne of his father David' to that number, it makes thirteen � a number which would
immediately detract from the perfection embodied in the figure twelve. However,
this contingency had been foreseen and as one considers the story of Judas
Iscariot, one is able to realise that the 'throne of David" of the tribe
of Judah, would replace that of Judas which
was forfeited because of his trans�gression.
JUDAS�
ISCARIOT
It is impossible to trace the tribal origins of
each of the twelve apostles � the only exception being Judas Iscariot whose
name, for some strange reason and of all the apostles, carries his tribal identity
and city of birth. His first name, Judas, is written in Greek as loudas which
is the equivalent of the Hebrew Judah. His surname was Iscariot (Greek, Iskariotes)
and literally means 'an inhabitant of Kerioth' � a southern town in the
territory of Judah. Thus, no matter in which way one may look at the man and
his name, it is an inescapable fact that the tribe of Judah is thrust into
one's consciousness.
The Promise made to Mary was
that her Son would be given 'the throne of his father David. And he shall reign
over the house of Jacob for ever ..."
(Luke 1:32-33) and as the genealogies of both the Old and New Testaments
confirm, the Da-vidic household was drawn from the 'sceptre tribe' of Judah (Gen.
49:10). Thus, in order to maintain the number of Governmental Perfection in the
Kingdom Age, it is quite possible that the
twelfth throne of Administration will be that of David and occupied by David's
Greater Son.
THE ADMINISTRATIVE BODY
While John
saw the Administrative Body as a fait accompli, i.e., the thrones and their occupants plus
those who 'were beheaded for the witness of
Jesus, and for the word of God' and merely sums it up by calling it 'the first
resurrection' (Rev. 20:5), he leaves the student to once again search the Scriptures for the account of the resurrection of
the dead. It is most significant that in the Olivet Discourse, and as
the consummation of the signs of the times, the Lord revealed His Second Advent
at which "... shall all the
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall
see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And
he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather his elect from the four winds, from
one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. 24:30-31). A literal translation of
the last portion of this statement according to The Greek Text of Stephens 1550
reads: "And he shall send his angels with the great sound of a
trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the extremities of the heavens
and to the extremities of them."
Once again two points of
extreme interest emerge from this por�tion of Scripture and are (1) the sound of a single
trumpet, and (2) the extremities of the heavens.
The sound of a single trumpet is for the gathering of the 'elect* and while
theology is more than content to identify the 'elect' as all and sundry 'saved
persons', the Bible cate�gorically asserts that Israel is the elect of God (Isa.
45:4). The Trum�pet, too, has a meaning which is only elucidated when considered
in the context of the Israel people.
The Egyptian oppression and
tribulation through which Israel passed, was followed by the Divine Instruction
as to the pattern of events which preceded the setting up of the Israel kingdom.
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shall thou
make them, that thou mayest use them for the calling
of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. And when they shall blow
with them, all the assembly shall assemble, .themselves to thee at the
door of the tabernacle of the congregation" (Num. 10: 1-3). From this, one may gather that the sound of
two trumpets at that time, had a specific meaning which was not
to be confused with later trumpet calls. In
II Chronicles 5:12 the number of trumpets was enlarg�ed to one hundred
and twenty and were used for war and for the announcement of feasts. However,
the two silver trumpets were used specifically to call the whole congregation
of Israel into 'assembly', i.e., a context in which one may recognise the
people in their civil character.
However, the sound of one
trumpet had a different meaning. "And if
they blow but one trumpet, then the princes, which are the heads of the
thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee" (Num. 10: 4). If
one projects this into the New Testament and the statement by the Lord concerning the gathering of His elect,
one is given to under�stand that the 'princes' or the 'heads' from among
the elect shall be gathered first.
The statement concerning the 'extremities of
the heavens' can only be fully appreciated if one accepts that the phraseology
covers time and not space. The subject of 'heaven'; 'heavens'; 'the
heaven and the heavens' is too vast to be included in this study but the stu�dent
is asked to note that throughout the New Testament and in the Greek Text which
is most emphatic in all that it says, these terms are not interchangeable nor
do they mean the same thing. Two illustra�tions
should serve to confirm this and stimulate the student into further research
into this subject.
The literal translation of the
Greek Text of The Lord's Prayer reads: "Our Father, Who art in the
heavens, Sanctified be Thy the Name, Thy
the Kingdom come; Thy the will be done, As in heaven, so on earth
..." The first reference here
in respect of 'the heavens' has to do with the Omnipresence of God, i.e., He is
not limited to time as are inhabitants of the earth. The Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, being the 'express image of the
Father' (Heb. 1:3), introduced something of this Omnipresence when He said: "... Before Abraham was, I am'.' (John 8:58). Thus, in the Lord's
Prayer one is -acknowledging God's Pre�sence in all the ages and paying tribute
to His great Omnipresence. The reference to
His Will being done pn earth as in heaven (singular), is a petition that
the perfection of God's Law, as it obtains in the Universe, should operate in the earth and so bring in the Kingdom.
The second illustration designed
to create interest and stimulate further research, is found in Matthew 5:20:
". . . For I say unto you that unless your righteousness shall abound
above the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, ye shall in no wise
enter into the kingdom of the heavens (note plural)." This 'kingdom
of the heavens' is obviously the goal for
which men have been striving but its plurality need not cause dismay nor
confusion. If one reflects on II Peter 3 again, it will be noted that he
provides the key when referring to the passing away of the first 'heavens' and
which, as he elucidates, was the world
system as it obtained in the days of Noah � a system which ended in the
judgment by water. This was the 'first heavens'. The second 'heavens' covers the period from the time of the Flood, from the
time when the Noahic family was
endowed with the authority to admin�ister
judgment (Gen. 9:5-6), until this authority would be removed and placed on the Shoulder of the 'Prince of Peace' (Isa.
9:7). This second 'heavens' � or day
of man � ends with the Day of the Lord Who shall inaugurate the 'third heavens' to which Paul made reference in II Corin�thians 12:2, and what is commonly called 'the
Millennium'.
Having thus provided the basis for a sincere
scriptural research for the diligent student, attention is once again drawn to
the phrase�ology used by the Lord concerning
the gathering of the 'elect' from the 'extremities of the heavens'. This
has to do with all those who, down the ages
and through the various periods of time, died in the Service of God's
Kingdom. These are to be the 'princes' or the 'heads'. In respect of the
others, i.e., ". . . the souls of them that are beheaded for the witness
of Jesus, and for the word of God" and all those who have died doing the
'will of my Father' (Matt. 7:21), will "hear his voice. And come forth; they that have done good, (the
first resurrection) unto the resurrection of life; and they (after the
Millennium) that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation"
(John 5:28-29)- The first of these are the overcomers in Israel who shall live
and reign with Is�rael's King for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4). This will be
the time when the fulness of God's Covenant
Promises, made to the Patriarchs, shall be realised in their entirety.
ANTI-MILLENNIAL1STS
There are, of course, those who
are vigorously anti-Millennialists and who aver that this era has already
passed into history. How�ever, if one reckons the thousands from the time of
the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ or if, as Grotius avers, from the time
of Con-stantine, it will be seen that neither of these periods corresponds with
the character of the Millennium as depicted in the Revelation. If one thinks back over this study commencing with the
pagan Roman perse�cutions of the Truth and continuing with Papal Rome, the
Saracens and their bloody conflicts and the subsequent idolatry and
cruelty of the Church of Rome; the Reformation era, the period of the Vials of
the Wrath of God; the emergence of the
Triology of evil � one fails to find anything remotely like the picture
of the Revelation as it depicts the Day of
the Lord or the thousand year reign over Israel. In Daniel 7:27,
[[IMAGE]]
Sculpture depicting Daniel the
Prophet
it is stated: "...
the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven (literal) shall be given to the people
of the saints of the Most High." This has not happened. It yet
remains for the future � a hope for the present generation which, through the ministration
of Satan and his minions, has been bereft of any faith in the future.
"And when the
thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out
to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and
Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea" (Rev. 20:7-8).
As has been noted previously, the reason for
the binding of Satan is that he should 'deceive the nations no more' � the
nations have been deceived right through the Christian dispensation and
this once again refutes any contention that the Millennium is past � but during
the thousand year Israel witness, the nations are 'on their own' as it were
without Satan's bias against the things of God injected into their general behaviour.
There are,
however, as Scripture makes abundantly clear, those wno are inherently evil and wicked (Isa. 26:10), a fact
which is con�firmed by the Lord Jesus
Christ Who charged: "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil
speak good things ..." (Matt.
12:34). It is patently obvious that even the 'children of the devil' (John 8:44)
are not all destroyed in the Battle of the great Day of God Almighty and even
they are offered the opportunity of accepting the rule of God's Kingdom during that Millennium.
The sorting out, which is
what the Millennium is all about, will continue for the thousand years and
while it is not specifically detail�ed as
such, it would appear that this will follow the line of the prin�ciple of genetics. It would appear, too, that
life expectancy during this period will be extended from the present
three score and ten to one hundred years (Isa.
65:20) and with the cleansing of the effect of mis�cegenation requiring ten generations, one may see
the thousand years as a logical and very necessary period in which to
invalidate Satan's mongrelisation campaign.
At the end
of this period, Satan is again loosed to make one more effort to re-establish his kingdom and significantly the
names of Gog and Magog are once again mentioned. This is not a reiteration of
the Ezekiel chapters where these names are recorded for while Ezekiel pinpoints
the locale of Gog and Magog specifically in the north, the Revelation account puts them in the four corners
of the earth. Gog and Magog together with the other nations who, despite
the glory of the Kingdom demonstration,
align themselves against this Kingdom thus showing an inherent antagonism which can never be removed. Satan's brood thus persists throughout the Millennium and
are found as supporting Satan in his
last bid for dominion.
"And they went up on the
breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp
of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them" (Rev.
20:9)- The 'camp' of the saints is that 'city of righteousness' � a polity
based on the im�plementation of God's Laws � which is not limited to one
particular geographical area on the earth
for, it will be noted, this polity is to be ~ upon 'the breadth of the earth'. The
evil nations and people thus iden�tify themselves as outside the bounds
of conversion and fittingly are destroyed.
"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false
prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.''
The long and bitter
conflict of the ages now comes to an end and while men may speculate over the
ultimate fate of Satan, the beast and the
false prophet in terms of the epilogue just quoted, one should be content to note that in the succeeding verses
wherein is recorded para�dise regained, no evil intrudes itself nor is
there any wickedness to mar its perfection.
**********
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ANCIENT HEBREW SCROLLS
CHAPTER��
12
THE BOOKS OPENED
"And
I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God;
and the books were opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books, according to their works" (Rev. 20:11-12).
With the
opening of the 'books' one is confronted with the sub�ject of 'judgment' in which � thank
God � human values and concepts play no part. Down
through the ages, men have devoted their lives to 'good works' in the sincere
belief that they have worked within the compass
of God's Will. Through the era of the dominion of Rome and notwithstanding
the Biblical condemnation of that system, men and women believed without
any mental reservation, that their lives con�formed
with the Commandments of God as these embraced human living. This falls
within the sphere which one may categorise as 'the faiths which men live by'. Were they wrong? Was the
Roman centurion wrong when he hurled
hundreds of Christians to the lions? Were the Saracens wrong in committing
atrocities in their 'holy war' against Rome gener�ally and Roman
Christianity specifically? These are
extremely sensitive questions which the average human conscience of today is
incapable of answering � in the context of righteous judgment. The Roman centurion � the Saracen warrior � these
took human life within the framework
of their faith. The Roman believed in the divinity of the Caesar; the
Saracen believed in his 'holy war' and it is pointless to argue that human conscience should have mitigated
against the horrors perpetrated by both Roman and Saracen. Human
conscience today is incredibly inactive when one considers the behaviour of the
World Council of Churches in their
sponsorship of terrorism, which terrorism has left trails of mutilation
and misery which, compared with Roman times, shows a devolution to the status
of beasts.
Paul wrote: ". . . for whatsoever is not of faith is
sin" (Rom. 14:23) and it should be
noted that he did not specify which faith � the article 'the' does not
appear in the Greek text making it a specific faith
� thus denying his converts the right to point an accusing finger at the behaviour of others. The Roman did his
duty within the frame�work of his
faith � is he to be condemned for this? Christian judgment will demand
punishment and the Roman, in the second resurrection, will be utterly bewildered at such castigation because what he did,
he did within the framework of
his faith. Had he not done so,
and accord�ing to Paul, he would have been guilty of sin � an act which would
demand punishment.
According to the Lord Jesus Christ, there would
also be many Christians who would do 'works' which they considered as 'good'
but who would not be acceptable as participants
in the First Resurrection. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of the
heavens, i.e., the 'day of the Lord' or the Millennium); but he that doeth the will of my Father which is
in heaven. Many will say to me in that
day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy
name done many won�derful works? And then will I profess unto them, I
never knew you: depart from me, ye that
work iniquity" (Matt. 7:21-23). It is only as one accepts the true meaning of the phrase 'the
kingdom of the heavens' is one able to understand what otherwise appears
to be a total rejection of works done in
the Lord's name. The 'works' enumerated by the Lord are not denounced as evil but are done within the
framework of a men�tal attitude or belief that the Law of God has no
validity. The Lord said: ". . . depart from me., ye that work iniquity"
or literally: ". . . ye who work lawlessness." The 'good works' are
not lawlessness but because they are done
without the guidance of the Law, they earn the disapproval of the Lord voiced above.
However, having been thoroughly
convinced that the Law was invalidated by
the Lord through the teaching of men and having been persuaded that they
are under a nebulous 'grace', the judgment of the Lord � "depart from me"
� merely disqualifies participation in the First
Resurrection. At the Second Resurrection, they, and all the dead will be judged according to their works. "And
the sea gave up the dead which were in
it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according
to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This
is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:13-15). It will be noted that
those who have already partaken of the First
Resurrection do not come with�in the
scope of the Second, which, of course, is the last judgment.
The Second Resurrection is
not only the Resurrection to 'damna�tion' � this applies to 'whosoever was not found written in the book of
life' from which one may
gather that there will be those who, because of
'their works', pass into the fellowship of the Kingdom. However, there is an ominous warning for those whose names
are not written in the 'book of life'
and those who deliberately reject the Kingdom Mes�sage that "It shall be1 more
tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha . ." than for those in
that day (Matt. 10:15). They shall be aligned with the 'angels which kept not
their first estate' and who had been 'reserved
in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6).
Thus, those who are not
found worthy, in the judgment of God, are to
be cast into the 'lake of fire' into which are also cast 'death and hell'. This is merely another way of saying that temporal
death which has exercised
dominion over the inhabitants of the earth will be totally abolished and
in respect of those judged as unworthy, converted into eternal death.
John� and� the New Order
of the Ages
In the first chapter of the Revelation, John
very clearly estab�lishes the point in time from which the Revelation was given
to him. He was 'in the Spirit on the Lord's day' and by reason of no further
elucidation as to whether this 'day' was either the first or the seventh day of the week, one may only assume that he had
been transported in time, to the 'Day of the Lord' (II Peter 3:10) in
which all the events leading up to this
passed in historical parade before him. Having now seen the consummation of the 'Day of the Lord' and
having witnessed the sequence of events in which 'Death is swallowed up
in victory' (I Cor. 15:54), John then saw "a
new heaven and a new earth" � ter�minology
which was used in Old Testament times by Isaiah the prophet who wrote the words of the Lord Who Promised: "... there
shall be a new heaven and the earth
shall be new: and they shall no more remember the former things, nor shall they ever come again into their mind"
(Isa. 65:17, Sept.). Whether or not John's reference "... and there
was no more sea" is to be taken as literal or symbolic remains for the
future to reveal. Seas, in the Revelation, usually represent people in
agitation and may indicate that this disrupting factor will no longer intrude itself into the order of things but while
this point may be open to speculation, it is patently obvious that
'seas' in a literal sense, obtained immediately prior to the Second
Resurrection. It will be recalled that the 'sea gave up the dead which were in
it' in the context of the 'judgment' which presupposes that literal seas will
be in exis�tence up to that time.
Apart from the bare mention that 'there was no
more sea', John concentrates on a definition of life in the new order. This is
preceded by the 'holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven' �
phraseology which implies that the new order in the earth originates from
God and has a very tangible and physical impact upon people. "And God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away." This glorious state of existence
is to be achieved by the deliberate action of God and not as the end
product of man's technology. There are, of course, those who aver that God will use man to bring about a
Utopian existence on the earth but the Revelation makes it abundantly
clear that God will achieve His Goals in
the earth and that these will be finalised by Him exclusively. John records the
words of the Lord Who said: "Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto
me, Write: for these words are true and faithful."
Throughout
the Scriptures, in both Old and New Testaments, one is confronted by statements which are
made by non-Israel nations and even
individuals within the nation to the effect that they are doubtful of the
reality of the God of Israel - "Where is their God?" (Joel 2:17) say
the 'heathen'; "Where is the promise of his coming?" (II Pet. 3:4) says
the Israelite 'scoffer'. These are but two out of the many instan�ces in which
the Israel people permitted the Name of God to be in jeopardy through their loose living and association with other people. The
Lord, through the prophets, accuses them of 'profaning' His Holy Name (Ezek.
36:23) � an act which destroys faith in God when it is perpetrated by the nation which He constituted as 'his witnesses' (Isa.
43:10). "Write: for these words are true and faithful" - as
though to emphasise this 'faithfulness', this statement was made immediately
after .the Lord had promised to remove 'tears, suffering, sorrow and death' � a
promise which He had made to Israel in Old Testament times when the nation was
fully conversant with this situation (Isa. 65:18-19).
The Mountain of the Lord
"And there came unto me one
of the seven angels which had given the seven vials full of the seven last
plagues, and talked with me saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride,
the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in
the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of hea�ven
from God ..." (Rev. 21:9-10). It
has been suggested that this portion is out of context in the Authorised
Version and should be a portion of the
nineteenth chapter. However, it is where it is for a very good reason. It
will be noted that John refers back to the 'seven an�gels which had the seven
vials full of the wrath of God' � an angelic company
which was mentioned in the fifteenth chapter dealing with the direct
intervention of God because of Israel's blindness. In the eigh�teenth chapter, one of this angelic company
carried John into the 'wil�derness' and showed him the 'woman' seated on
the 'scarlet beast' and the 'abominations'
which emanated from this situation. In the symbol�ism of the harlot of Rome, the Lord unveiled
something of the natuse of Satan's working as it affected nationally
blind Israel. Israel, too, it will be
recalled, had been drawn into the 'wilderness' (Rev.. 12:14 and Hosea 2:l4) � the place prepared for her by God
where Satan's counter�feit for the
Israel woman � the Papal Church and his imitation of Is�rael's political
system � the beast, are seen as devastating Israel.
Now, and as a result of
the Second Advent of the Lord, the situa�tion changes. John is taken, by another of the angelic
company on to a 'high mountain' and that which
he sees in detail, is that which the prophet
Micah saw in general. The Old Testament prophet wrote of the time when ".
. . the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be estab�lished in the top of
the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and the people shall
flow unto it" (Mic. 4:1). This is the very antithesis of the picture which John saw in the 'wilderness' for it
indi�cates a situation in which people are not coerced as in the rampage
of the 'mother of harlots' but in a deliberate and voluntary action 'flow' into it.
The 'mountain of the house of
the Lord' has nothing to do with the so-called 'church universal' but specifically
with the Israel nation. In the first instance, and as has been stated
throughout this study, the word 'mountain',
when not associated with an outcrop of rock, is .invar�iably indicative
of a 'kingdom' or 'an empire of great power'. The phrase, the 'house of the
Lord', is elucidated by first examining the Name
to which the 'house' belongs � Jehovah. It will be noted that the Name 'Lord', in the Authorised Version, is
written in capital letters � a
practice observed throughout the Old Testament whenever the Name Jehovah
is used. The word 'house' � Hebrew: bayith � indicates a 'household' or 'family' as distinct from a
building constructed of bricks and mortar. Further, as the context
reveals, this 'household' is not a heterogeneous
family of faith, but one specific family for the Name of Jehovah was
only put upon the Israel people (Num. 6:23-27) and to associate It with all and
sundry is to do violence to the whole body of
revealed Scripture.
That John was taken to a 'high
mountain' confirms the Micah prophecy for in the latter, it will be noted that
'the mountain of the Lord' was 'established in the top of the mountains'. In
the same vision John saw nations walking in
the light of this 'mountain' (Rev. 21:24) � yet another confirmation of
Micah's statement concerning the 'people' who would 'flow into it'. "And
many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word
of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Micah 4:2).
The 'great city, the holy
Jerusalem' which John saw is very definitely equated with Israel. The Apostle
described it in its initial aspect as "Having the glory of God: and her
light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as
crystal." As has been noted above, Micah projects Israel into the
'mountain of the Lord.' and in similar vein, Isaiah the prophet does likewise.
"For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will
not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the
salvation thereof as the lamp that burneth . . . Thou (Israel) shalt also be a
crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy
God" (Isa. 62:1-3). In later verses, the prophet equates Israel as
Jerusalem which, says the Lord, He would make 'a praise in the earth' (vv. 6-7).
As John proceeds with his
description of the 'city' or 'polity', he wrote that it had "... a wall great and high, and had
twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and the names written thereon,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east
three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the
west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them
the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Kev. 21:12-14). The first point which emerges here is the figure twelve
which, as has been noted previously, has to do with perfect government. The
fact that the gates bore the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, plus the
twelve foundations bearing the names of the apost�les, plus the overall
arrangement once again draws Israel into the picture. The twelve gates, three
on each side of the square, is identi�cal with the pattern of Israel around the
Tabernacle of the Lord in the wilderness. In the second chapter of the Book of
Numbers, it will be noted that Judah
occupied the eastern position with the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun in
attendance. In the south, Reuben dominated this region with Simeon and
Gad while in the north, Dan, together with Asher
and Napthali and in the west, Ephraim with Manasseh and Ben�jamin completed the national arrangement of order
around God's Taber�nacle. The picture as seen by John was identical with
this.
The
foundations of the walls bore the names of the apostles and, as one appreciates, these men were sent to the 'lost sheep
of the house of Israel' (Matt. 10:6) and passed the commission on to 'let all
the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made this same Jesus . . . both Lord and Christ' (Acts 2:36). Through
Isaiah the pro�phet, the Lord drew Israel's attention to the then far distant
time when "Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor
destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation,
and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for
brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy
glory" (Isa. 60:18-19)-The
Message of God's 'Salvation' (deliverance) centred as this was in Christ
Jesus the" Lord, was the Message taught by the apostles al�though, because
of the 'mystery of iniquity' (II Thes. 2:7) it became distorted and misdirected and in consequence, Israel was lost sight of and
remained in obscurity until the 'times of the restitution of all things' when
they could see the structure of their witness being laid on the Message of the apostles.
As has been intimated at
the commencement of this study of the Book of the Revelation, while the
apostles themselves were undoubt�edly faithful
to their commission, the succeeding generations saw fit to intrude their own interpretations of this commission which resulted in
a 'darkening' of God's revealed Truth as this embraced His Plan and Purpose in
Israel. The whole emphasis of God's dealing in the earth was swung away from
what He had declared, to embrace the purely individual sphere in its personal
relationship to the Father. In the light of this, the nation Israel forgot
its commission of 'blessing all the nations
of the earth' and became a fragmented and aimless en�tity. Significantly,
John records the reversal of this when he wrote: "And the city (Greek � polis) had no need of the sun, neither
of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Rev. 21:23).
As has been noted in previous
chapters, the 'sun, moon and stars' � in the
Revelation symbolism, indicate government and general civil direction (Rev. 8:12). In the Kingdom Age
and under the Personal Reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, as institutions,
these fall away. The Law of the Lord � the
Kingdom Constitution - written on the heart and in the mind of the Israel
people in terms of the New Covenant (Heb. 8:10), will become operative and no
other mechanism will be able to guide and direct them. Isaiah, in his writing
on the same subject, also drew on the same symbolism and used the personal
pronoun as this applied to Israel: "Thy sun shall no more go down;
neither shall thy moon withdraw
itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended" (Isa.
60:20).
The Dimensions of the 'City'
"And he that talked with me had a golden
reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the
city lieth foursquare, and the length is as
large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve
thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth
and the .height of it are equal." The first point to be noted here i�
that the 'city' is presented as a cube which is the highest geometric
expression of perfection. The next point of importance is the actual size of
the 'city*. If it is to be a literal city, it is patently obvious that
Palestine, even with the additional land promised to Abraham, i.e., 'from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the
river Euphrates' (Gen. 15:18), would
not be big enough to hold it. A 'furlong' (Greek: stadia) is generally accepted
as being one-eighth of a mile which would then imply that the 'city' would be one thousand, five hundred miles long by one thousand, five hundred miles broad and one
thousand, five hundred miles high! Even, if as some writers contend, the
furlong in Biblical days, i.e., New Testament times, was one-tenth of the
present mile, this would constitute an incredible structure which few lands
could house.
However,
all such problems cease to be problems when one con�siders that the 'new Jerusalem' is a 'polity' or an
arrangement of perfection which is ushered
in when the Lord God Almighty 'tabernacles' with His people, in the
earth.
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[[IMAGE]]
The
Story began with the expulsion from the garden of Eden.
CHAPTER��
13
THE END
As the prodigious Revelation of .the Lord to
John drew to its close, the 'apostle whom
the Lord loved' was more than a little moved to see the writings of the
prophets of his people vindicated. If there had been any doubt in his mind as
to the veracity of Peter's statement that 'holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost' (II Peter 1:21), that which he saw in the closing
stages of the Revela�tion dispelled it. The
prophet Isaiah had written concerning the things which John now saw and being a man well versed in the Scriptures � it
will be recalled that the Lord had 'opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures' (Luke 24:45)
� John would recall that the prophet had written: "Arise, shine;
for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For,
behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but
the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee" (Isa.
60:1-2). This is precisely what John saw for he wrote: "And the city had
no need of the sun, neither the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light
thereof" (Rev. 21:23).
Isaiah had written of the
sequel to the Glory of the Lord as this rose
on Israel: "And the Gentiles (Hebrew: Goy, nations) shall come to thy
light and .kings to the brightness of thy. rising" and John now saw 'the
nations' (the words 'which are saved' are not in the original text) walking in
the light of this Glory. The Holy Spirit moved Isaiah to continue with the prophetic preview: "Then thou shalt see, and
flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto
thee, the forces (wealth) of the Gentiles shall come unto thee . . . Therefore
thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day or night; that
men may bring unto thee .the forces (wealth)
of the Gentiles, and that their kings may
be brought" (Isa. 60:5 and 11). This again was the picture which John
saw in which 'there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination,
or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.'
This was indeed the summing up of Isaiah of "The city of the Lord, The
Zion of the Holy One of Israel" in which 'violence shall no more be heard
in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call
thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise . . . Thy people shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever,
the branch of my .plant�ing, the
work of my hands, that I may be glorified' (Isa. 60:14,18,21).
The� last chapter - Revelation
explained
"And he said unto me, These sayings are
faithful and true: and the Lord God of the
holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his ser�vants the things which
must shortly be done." As the penultimate chapter of the Revelation ends,
and as has been stated above, pro�phecy is seen, not as 'cunningly devised
fables', but as the faithful account of the
revealed foreknowledge of God � a fact now established in the last chapter of the Revelation. The Lord
foreknew precisely how men would handle the subject of prophecy � He
foreknew that men would introduce the
doctrine of Praeterism or a contention that all the events of prophecy were fulfilled in the time in
which they were utter�ed; He foreknew too that another school, known as
Futurism, would arise in which it would be
taught that all prophetic fulfilment would be held in abeyance until the
appearance of 'the man of sin' whose coven�ant with the Jews would
trigger off the fulfilment of each and every one of the, as yet, unfulfilled
prophecies of the Bible. The Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ refutes these
teachings and provides a con�tinual flow of
historical fulfilment, without interruption, from the dawn of the
Christian dispensation until the establishment of the Kingdom at His Second Advent.
It is more than merely an
interesting exercise to note something of the circumstances as they provided
the foundation for great decep�tions against
which the Lord countered with His Revelation to John on the isle of Patmos. It
will be recalled that what is referred to as 'the
mystery of iniquity' arose subsequent to the Ascension of the Lord into
heaven. While this is a specific term related to 'lawlessness* � Dr. James
Strong, in his Concordance, emphasises that 'iniquity' is, in fact,
'lawlessness' � this was not the only form of the Satanic attack on the Truth
as this was centred in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was thus against
this background that the last verses in the Gospel
of John were written.
In His Glorified, Resurrected
Body, the Triumphant Lord Jesus Christ re-affirmed
His original Commission to the disciples concerning the 'lost sheep of
the house of Israel' when He said to Peter;. "Feed my lambs . . . Feed my
sheep . . . Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-17). Having thus received the
renewal of his appointment and for some strange reason, Peter then asked
concerning John, the apostle 'whom Jesus loved'. ". . . and what shall
this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I
will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then
went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He
shall not die; but., If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that
to thee?" (John 21:21-23). This
statement can only be fully appreciated when one realises some�thing of the magnitude of the events as they would
develop and crystal�lise as a result of Satan's counter to the Plan of
the Lord. The whole of Palestine became a veritable 'babel' with false claims
to apostle-ship (Rev. 2:2) which resulted in
doctrines, two of which were singled out for special mention because of
their particular abhorrence in the sight of the Lord. These were the 'doctrine
of Balaam' (Rev. 2:14) which involved
miscegenation (Num. 25) and the 'doctrine of the Nicolaitanes' � proselytism. This doctrine had its
foundations in Nicolaus, a native of Antioch who was converted to
Pharisaism and later to Christianity which then invented a 'grace' which
invalidated the Law in order to accommodate this proselyte. Nicolaus is mentioned
in Acts 6:5.
John was thus to 'tarry'
while the multitudes of doctrines wreak�ed havoc with the Truth and in A.D. 96,
during the reign of Domitian, the apostle was
given the Revelation in order to provide a faith-sus�taining mechanism against the spurious pretension of men and the arro�gance, of the 'mystery of iniquity'. He was
transported in time, into the 'Lord's Day', i.e., the Millennium, and
was permitted to look back in time over the
centuries and see the events which would lead up to the necessity of the Second Advent. He was privileged
to see the Kingdom Age in all its
perfection and witnessed the new order, the New Jerusa�lem, filling the
earth with its beauty and peace.
John�
and� A.D. 96
As one studies the last chapter
of the Bible, it is clearly evident that John is once again on the isle of
Patmos and still a prisoner. In the last few chapters, i.e., from the
nineteenth to the twenty-first, the account
of the Revelation is written from a point in time when the Lord has come
and His Millennial Reign is on the earth. However, in the last chapter, this
event is still in the future for the promise is: "Be�hold I come
quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book" and in verse, twenty: "He which
testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly." It is thus
very evident that John, having been granted the prodigious preview of events as
they culmin�ated in the Mighty Second
Advent of the Lord at some future time and as the result of desperate
necessity, now found himself with the prob�lems
of his then immediate present.
In the first instance he was told: "Seal
not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand." Secondly,
John was told: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which
is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me to give every man
according as his work shall be." This was John's return to the cold
reality of his present time in which unrighteousness was still the order of the
day as was the 'filthiness' of those who permitted Satan to have his way in their lives. However, the Divine
invitation which is certain�ly not extended at the end of the
Millennium, is there: "Come. And let him
that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And who�soever
will, let him take the water of life freely." Conversely, and as a result
of the 'mystery of iniquity', there is the grim warning to all irrespective of
status: "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the
prophecy of this book (The Revelation), If any man shall add unto these things,
God shall add unto him the plagues that ate written
in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out
of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." If
there had been no meddling with the Scriptures and if this had not been the
main objective of the Satanic attack, there would surely have been no reason
for such an ominous warning concerning the contents of the Revelation.
As one looks at the Bible again as a whole,
while it may not have occurred to John, his record provides the conclusion of
the Plan of God which was. originally recorded in the first Book of the Bible,
Genesis (Gen. 3:15). Very briefly, Genesis is the history of the crea�tion of the world, the sun, moon and stars and
the various forms of life which
inhabited the earth. Man (adam) was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26)
and later, 'the' adam was .placed in a 'garden' (Gen. 2:8) which was watered by a river (Gen. 2:10). This
'adam' was commanded not to eat of
the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17) and was
subsequently given a 'helpmeet' to assist in the task of tending the 'garden'. Satan
entered the garden and injected a rebellion against God (Gen. 3:1) and sin
entered, the tree of life being denied to them (Gen. 3:24). Sorrow, suffering and death became the adam's experience �
an experience which all his descendants have passed through since then.
However, in the Revelation recorded
by John, one finds the com�plete
reversal of the evil which followed transgression. A new heaven and a new earth is recorded (Rev. 21:1);
Satan's last rebellion and de�feat is recorded (Rev. 20:3,7,10); a pure river of water of life is
given (Rev. 22:1); no
more .curse (Rev. 22:3); no more sorrow (Rev. 21:4); no more death (Rev. 21:4) and the right to the tree of life is
bestowed (Rev. 22:14).
Between the first and last Books
of the Bible, the Lord has caused to be written the many vicissitudes which
attended His Plan for the rehabilitation of
the earth and while the retarding mechanisms receive considerable prominence, His promise has remained sure throughout. He has promised that His Word would
not return unto Him void hut that it would prosper in the thing
whereunto He sent it (Isa. 55:11) and in
the Revelation, with all the conviction of having witnes�sed, not the words of prophecy, but their actual
fulfilment, John could only pray: "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
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