Divine Counsel Respecting Israel and Her Deadly Foe
We have now arrived at the second great division of the Book of Revelation, embraced in the third woe, which contains in its scope the seven last plagues, which complete the wrath of God. The scene is completely changed. The throne has disappeared. The temple takes its place. The ark, Israel, all testify that God’s greatest of all controversies has come. It is the time of Jacob’s trouble; but God is faithful; he shall be saved out of it. Increased judgments, lightnings, voices, thunderings, earthquake, hail. The eighteenth Psalm must be fulfilled, before the nineteenth can begin. But a great finger-post, as it were, points us to a divine object, while another finger-post calls our attention to an infernal monster. The divine object is no less than God’s Israel, “Whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the law-giving, and the service, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as according to flesh Christ came, who is [now] over all, God blessed forever. Amen” (Rom. 9:4, 54Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 9:4‑5)).
“She... forgat Me, saith the Lord. Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak to her heart. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and troubling [Achor] for a door of hope” (Hos. 2:1414Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. (Hosea 2:14)).
These three scriptures give the whole position of the divine object presented to us here better than any exposition could do. As for the dragon, he is here presented as foreshadowing himself and his infernal array, just as the woman foreshadows Isaac (Christ), Jacob (Israel), and the twelve tribes. “Red” (fiery), powerful, “having seven crowned heads” (complete Roman Empire), “ten horns” (the powers of administration through which he first acts). He has followers (tail) who have occupied the heavenly places with himself (stars), but they are cast to the earth (involved in his fall). How all this is brought about is the subject of the next page. Here, it is the general sketch of the two parties involved in this mighty drama of the half-week.
We get a good instance here of the way in which prophecy presents the moral features of a case, displaying only such points as are necessary to produce a given effect upon the soul, and quite disregarding other features which, although of great importance intrinsically, are not allowed by their introduction to obscure the immediate thought the Spirit of God wishes to convey. Want of attention to this characteristic of prophecy has led to many blunders, because, owing to a certain knowledge, already possessed from other sources, in respect of a given subject, those elements have been introduced, and by their introduction have served to obliterate and obscure where interpretation was sought. Take the instance in this section. It is impossible not to recognize Christ born of Israel, and the Devil seeking to destroy Him. Now, the grand facts of death and resurrection are unnoticed. Why? Because the object in view is to assert that Israel produces One who is to bear supremacy over the nations, deriving His authority from God’s throne, and that there is a usurper to be put down. It is no question of death or resurrection. Christ is to be victorious, and an opposing force defeated. That is precisely the picture drawn, and it is remarkable how, in a few divine touches, comprehensive history is presented.
War in Heaven. Defeat of Satan and His Angels. All Cast Down to Earth.
The grand mainspring is here dealt with, the hidden secret of all evil, the opposing force to all God’s purposes of blessing to man, His creature, formed for the purpose of being the exponent of Himself and His ways in heaven and earth. This opposing force has occupied the heavenly places (called often high places). Thus Isaiah 24:21: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones on high.” This is here accomplished. And as Daniel 12:11And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1) puts it: “At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people.” It takes place here; there is war in the heaven. Michael and his angels went to war with the dragon, and the dragon accepted the battle, and fought, with his angels, and he prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in the heaven. And the great dragon was cast out (and here we drop his symbolical name of dragon, and get the names by which he is known on earth)—the serpent of old (that tempted Eve), the Devil (Greek), and Satan (Hebrew), which, as to the first means “accuser,” and the latter “adversary,” who deceives the whole habitable world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Oh, what a deliverance for heaven! Oh, what a fearful thing for earth! No match for the heavenlies, for Christ and His loyal two-thirds are there; more than a match for the earthlies, till Christ and His armies shall come forth, and rout and capture his satellites, and shut up their leader! But it will be done, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. At the end of this great drama we shall see that the second half of Isaiah 24:2121And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. (Isaiah 24:21) shall be accomplished. Not only will the Lord have punished the host of the high ones that are on high, but “the kings of the earth upon the earth” (Rev. 19:1919And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. (Revelation 19:19)). I saw the “beast” (Satan’s “king”), “and the kings of the earth” (the ten horns, three of which fell before “another horn,” the beast: Daniel 7:2020And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. (Daniel 7:20)), “and their armies; gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. And the beast was taken, and the false prophet [Satan’s priest] ... Both were cast alive into a lake of fire... The rest were slain with the sword of Him on the horse... And an angel with a key and a great chain laid hold of the dragon—the old serpent, the Devil—Satan [mark the exact order at the end as at the beginning], and bound him, and shut him up, and put a seal upon him till the thousand years were completed.”
The above will come before us in its own place, but it is here set forth to show the end of that of which this section is the beginning, and to show that all that intervenes between Rev. 12:77And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, (Revelation 12:7) and 22:7 is a division complete in itself, the unity of which must be preserved, and not confounded with that ending Rev. 11:1818And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:18); for while the first great division of the Book ends here (and unless this division is seen all is hopeless confusion), yet the Spirit of God gives us sometimes a complete history within another complete history. It is this which renders the Book so perplexing to the novice. After pursuing the history with but feeble apprehension through a few pages, he finds himself historically on ground earlier than he started from. This ought not to discourage him. He has but stepped over the boundary of a parenthesis, or a separate history, without knowing it, and is really on a path which he had not previously perceived had been broken in upon. It is not within the scope of this book to enlarge on these interesting subjects, but the reader will find the question of parenthesis the solution of many a seeming difficulty, the pitfall of many an unwary philosopher, but the abundant reward of the divinely led student. Numberless fallacies, and not a few heresies, have resulted from this cause. On the other hand, recoveries of some of the profoundest truths have resulted from the spiritual perception of these divine boundaries. The Church is one of them; the times of this present age is another. God so ordered the writing of His Word that only the instructed should understand it.
Heaven’s Rejoicing. Comments on the Issue of the War.
A loud voice is now heard in heaven, giving us the joyous appreciation of what has taken place. We are now in the region of facts; not symbols of facts, nor foreshadowings of facts, but the facts themselves, for which symbols and foreshadowings are so useful and necessary. For be it understood as a canon of interpretation in divine things, you must know a thing before you can understand it. This seems a foolish dictum, because in natural things it is quite the opposite: a thing must be understood before it can be known. In divine things God tells us something, and then, when faith has laid hold of it, God either lets it remain dormant, like seed in the ground, till He calls it into vitality; or, if it so please Him, He gives it vitality at once. But it is there, understood or not. Hence it is called the “incorruptible seed” of the Word. The apostle John says, “I have not written to you because ye do not know the truth, but because ye do know it” (1 John 2:2121I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. (1 John 2:21)). He could therefore call up the vitality of what they already knew.
“Now is come [is set up] the salvation [not in its inception, as at the cross, but its completion], the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren [an angel can say this as well as a blood-bought one, Rev. 19:1010And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10)], has been cast out, who accused them before our God day and night.” What a persistent foe but what a long-suffering, patient, faithful God! “And they have overcome him [saints on earth are in question] by reason of the blood of the Lamb [the only source of victory] and the word of their testimony [He is maintained as the truth, against the lie that is being enacted on earth]; and have not loved their life even unto death” [He is of more value in their eyes than life itself] “Therefore be full of delight [the ‘Let us be merry’ of Luke 15], ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them [this is the contrast to earth-dwellers.] Woe to the earth and to the sea [the Devil has got both now under his grasp], because the Devil has come down to you [gone down or descended, only he has been ejected thence], having great rage, [not only at his defeat, but] knowing that he hath but a short time” (3-1/2 years) to accomplish his final act of malice as far as Israel is concerned; for, alas! it is Israel that has brought all this dreadful scene upon the earth. The nations have done abominations, but Israel had been chosen as God’s witness in the earth. Let no flesh, however, glory in His presence. Israel shall yet be a praise in the earth.
There is, therefore, nothing now to hinder the display of God’s kingdom. Salvation and strength and the power of His Christ are ready to be revealed. Satan is ejected from heaven where he has, with relentless malice, accused God’s saints day and night, ever since man has fallen under his power. The voices that are heard in heaven may be those of angels, but they may also be those of the saints of God who have been caught up to meet the Lord in the air ere the judgments began. How truly can they rejoice! How really can they sympathize! they whose conflict on earth was with the wicked spirits in the heavenly places. How well, too, can they sympathize with their brethren on earth, who are using the same all-availing shield, the Blood of the Lamb, and the same word of testimony which maintained His rights, and with that same devotion that had characterized the martyrs of Diocletian’s persecution! The Church of God will always be the minister of blessing to the earthly saints. The exact opposite of all that Satan has been. In man, thus honored by God, will be fulfilled the eighth Psalm. “What is man, that Thou rememberest him, or son of Man that Thou visitest him? Thou hast made him some little inferior to the angels; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and hast set him over the works of Thy hands. Thou hast subjected all things under his feet” (Heb. 2:6, 7, 86But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 7Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. (Hebrews 2:6‑8)).
The Dragon and the Woman. Satan Persecutes Israel.
“And when the dragon saw that he was cast out unto the earth, he persecuted the woman that bare the male child.” We see now the reason of the two narrations. The first vision presents Israel before Christ came into the world. Satan was ready to devour it then; he also tried his best both in the Wilderness and in the Garden, but the Blessed One was victorious in both cases, and “Sit Thou at My right hand” was the divine estimate after resurrection. After the cross, alas! the woman was the persecutor, as far as she could be represented by Judah and Benjamin. But here, where the dragon is cast unto the earth, his rage is turned against the woman which brought forth the male child that had escaped him. But the woman is helped. Babylon and Egypt are both set forth in Ezekiel 17 as eagles with great wings, and as the wilderness is mentioned as “her place,” it is probably Egypt that is here referred to; especially as Egypt is within the Roman earth. And, moreover, when the serpent (not the dragon)—that deceiver and tempter—had cast out of his mouth water as a river after the retreating woman, that he might make her as one carried away by a river, the earth helped the woman, “and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed the river which the dragon [not the serpent now, for he resumes his symbolical character] cast out of his mouth.” Disappointed and baffled, he turns his forces against the remnant of Israel, who obviously have not followed the others;—for, keeping the Word of God, they would have learned from Ezekiel 17 that Egypt could be no help to them: “I the Lord... have dried up the green tree” (Ezek. 17:2424And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it. (Ezekiel 17:24)). The Lord when down here was the green tree, under which had Israel reposed she had been safe; now we see what takes place in the dry. (See the affecting remark made by the Lord when led to the cross, Luke 23:3131For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? (Luke 23:31)). The godly remnant, therefore, are preserved by the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus (which the spirit of prophecy is). They have not the teaching of the Spirit as we have it, but they have the Spirit’s teaching in the Old and New Testaments, and the prophetic word in both will be their light in a dark place until the day dawn. But the dragon will make war with them, and terrible will be the havoc he will make with them. Thank God! they have to do with one that, after he has killed the body, has no more that he can do. Their prayers are heard, and offered up with sweet incense above, and “The just shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:44Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:4)).
Israel’s history is exceedingly interesting in this portion of the prophecy. We may not find the symbols used easy to interpret in the physical details, but it has been several times remarked that what we need to get are the moral features. The “serpent” casts water out of his mouth as a river after the retreating woman, that he may make her as one carried away by a river. Now, the term “serpent” instead of “dragon” is a clue. Deceit is intended to reach and swamp the nation which God intends to have for Himself. But the bait is taken, not by Israel, but by the earth, which swallows what has issued from the “dragon.” So that what was intended as deceit is taken up as violence by another class, and thus the woman escapes. But the dragon’s ire is excited by his defeat, and he persecutes the godly remnant of her seed. The Spirit of God never uses two distinct terms without a very definite object. It is evident here. The dragon persecutes, the woman flees. The serpent tempts, somebody else appropriates the temptation. Then the dragon persecutes the godly, while the nation (Judah, not Israel) is kept for God’s purposes later on, for there is nothing to indicate that it is blessing. It is merely to show that the dragon is under control from God, just as he has always been. ALL power belongs to God.
The Beast From the Sea (I).
The seer is invariably put in a place in consonance with the vision he is called to behold. “I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rising out of the sea.” Woe had been pronounced to the earth and to the sea. The sea comes first on our view. Jeremiah says (Jer. 51:4141How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! (Jeremiah 51:41)), “The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the tumult thereof.” By this we gather that out of the tumult of nations (“The tumult of those that rise up against Thee ascendeth continually,” Ps. 74:23) arises this beast having seven heads, bearing names of blasphemy, and ten crowned horns. We know from the seventeenth chapter how to interpret this beast, as long as we do not confuse this vision, which is the rise of—with the other vision, which is an episode of—the same beast. There are seven heads and seven kings, and the ten horns are ten kings. The ten kings are confederate, and receive power [at] one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and give their power and authority to the beast (that is, they play into his hands). The seven kings are quite another thing. They represent the imperial power of Rome in three aspects, viz., existing, defunct, resuscitated. Of these three aspects, the whole seven are represented by the first two aspects, viz., existing and defunct; for the seventh, not then arisen, was to continue but a little time. But at this point begins the blasphemous travesty of the blessed Lord’s resurrection; the seventh head is seen wounded to death (suicide, perhaps, after the fashion of Nero). By the power of Satan, however, the seventh head is resuscitated and so, i.e., as resuscitated, is an eighth, but otherwise is the last of the seven. This is the beast. A monster seen in Daniel’s vision as the fourth of four. Daniel’s vision was to show the four monarchies from his time to the end: lion, bear, leopard, monster. But as he says of the first three, their dominion would have passed away, but their lives would be prolonged for a season and a time. That season and time is here shown, for this monster has characteristics which carry us back; therefore the order is reversed: leopard, bear, lion. So that we may say that this beast has the spring, dash, audacity, and resource of an Alexander; who, in about ten years, overthrew the cumbrous forces of Persia. To Persia are the feet of the monster compared; that is to say, its powerful and crushing armaments. Darius Hystaspes invaded Scythia with 700,000 men, his naval force being 600 ships manned by 120,000 men, while Xerxes took 2,500,000 men, collected from over fifty nations, against Greece. Artaxerxes Longimanus subdued Egypt with 600,000 men, and raised 1,200,000 to crush Cyrus. Darius Codomannus opposed Alexander at Issus with 600,000 troops, and even after defeat made a supreme effort in another place with 1,000,000 infantry, 40,000 cavalry, and 200 scythed chariots!
It has been shown under another section that “the beast” is spoken of as a power, and also as a person. This causes a little perplexity in a reader’s mind which it may be well to relieve here. Even in this page the perplexity may have been felt somewhat. And first, Daniel (Rev. 7) and John both tell of this beast. Daniel gives information not repeated here, for, as a rule, the child of God is expected to know what is in the Word of God. Now, John tells of seven kings and ten kings. The seven represent the resuscitated Roman empire in its Satan-possessed aspect. The seventh head is seen wounded to death; that terminates the old empire. But then that same seventh head is made to live, it thus becomes an eighth, and yet being of the seven, the continuity (although broken) is not lost. It is the same, only in a new phase. Now for the person. John tells of ten kings. Daniel also tells us of ten kings, but Daniel shows us that three of these kings fall from their place by a person who thus becomes an eighth, yet of the seven; because he has acquired three of the ten. The seven give their power into his hand. This is the beast as a person.
The Beast From the Sea (II).
In the previous page the intelligence and celerity of the Grecian, and the material power and force of the Medo-Persian, have been dwelt upon, but not the royal despotism of the Babylonian Empire. This, the dominant and divinely appointed power, held undisputed sway over the whole world for sixty-seven years, and was represented in another vision as the “head of gold” of the great image. This beast from the sea is to possess the characteristics of all of these sovereign powers, but with a fearful addition—the dragon invests it with his power and throne and great authority. So that, to sum up our estimate of this fearful engine of man’s punishment, we have but to take the image in its entirety, and add to it the dragon’s physical and moral power, and his throne, and we shall understand the tempter’s offer to the Holy One: “I will give Thee all this power and their glory, for it is given up to me, and to whomsoever I will I give it. If, therefore, Thou wilt do homage to me, all of it shall be Thine” (Luke 4:6, 76And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. (Luke 4:6‑7)). The Word, however, settles to whom homage belongs, and the world knows not God nor His Word, and they do homage to the dragon, because he gave the authority to the beast; and they do homage to the beast, saying, Who is like to the beast? and, Who can make war with it? (for it must be remembered that the beast is a power, as well as a personality). In the previous page, attention has been drawn to the use made of the resuscitation of the head with the death-wound, to travesty resurrection. We get the detail of it here; and the world, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God, nor, in fact, knowing anything but what is in man and of man—is carried away by what they see. Deceived, they have refused the truth; deceived, they believe a lie; they are under delusion, according to 2 Thess. 2. The lawless one, a title belonging more particularly to the second beast, is here partially revealed. “His coming is according to the energy of Satan, in all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and in all deceit of unrighteousness to them that perish, because they have not received the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this reason God sends to them an energy of error, that they should believe what is false; that all might be judged that have not believed the truth, but have found pleasure in unrighteousness.” And thus we find the true end of all Babylonianism: whatever form it may have taken since the Flood, and in whatever direction it may have spread, east or west; one end has been always in view—DEVIL-worship.
There are probably very few indeed who have the smallest idea of the forces that have been set in motion throughout the world, during the last twenty years, to bring about this result; not from the ordinary and natural tendency of man to slight, neglect, or even despise the things of God—these forces have been always at work as long as man has had a history. What is alluded to now is different in its character altogether. Our span of existence is so brief that we fail to realize the flood of divine light and truth we have lived in. Up to 300 years ago it was not so. The power of the Devil was actively at work, persecuting, cajoling, trampling, or deadening the saints of God; but, since the Reformation, an astounding respite was given to man; the truth made its way by leaps and bounds; the early rain of Pentecost had been succeeded by the latter rain of the same Spirit, and the recovery of precious doctrines, practically unknown from apostolic times, have been enjoyed and delighted in. And what has been running by the side of all this? Not, indeed, interfering with it, because He had set open a door; but the Devil’s power has been active in the world. Men have in spiritualism opened communications with demons; and these are, through Theosophy and Buddhism, with its 40 million followers, laboring to throw off the Christian faith. These things may be unknown to, or unrecognized by, the majority of Christians, just as the insidious and stealthy advances of Popery are unobserved while popular clamor is not raised; but they are none the less active and doing their deadly work while men sleep.
The Beast From the Sea (III). A Mouth Opened in Blasphemy.
A mouth speaking big (boastful) things, and blasphemies, are given to this beast by the dragon; and to it was given authority to continue its career forty-two months, or three-and-a-half years. We might think that boastful language had been heard before, and that blasphemy was not unknown in this day. But men little know to what extent they are indebted to the restraints which they are so anxious to throw off. Even the man that has not God in his thoughts, is conscious of a power around him, which he is glad enough to avail himself of, without cost, as he does other of God’s merciful provisions, in a world that heeds Him not. This power goes by various names, “a proper sense,” “every decent person,” “the right-minded opinion,” etc., forgetting that this unseen court of appeal is, in reality, due to an unrecognized but large class, who are governed, intelligently or otherwise, by the Word of God and the Spirit of God. But in the day of which the Apocalypse treats, the Spirit of Truth has left the earth, and those in whom He dwelt have left with Him. There may be plenty of Bibles, but no interpreter, no restraining voice to check, no salt to preserve from corruption. It will be the reign of self, which is the most despotic of tyrannies, for the king wants everything, or he would not be king. And so blasphemy, full, open, free, and round, shall find its free vent. A Niagara of hatred, bellows forth its resistless torrent of spite and venom against God personally—against that which bears His name in every form—against His dwelling-place—against the heaven, and the happy and secure dwellers therein. Using to the fullest effect the forty-two months—a short time to that which has had more than as many centuries to work its evil course, the mighty waters, limited to this narrow channel, boil, and hiss, and writhe with the unwonted constraint. Passive vilification of all that is good will not suffice evil-workers. The mouth speaking big things to man, and uttering blasphemies to all that is of God, finds a vent in deeds, as the next page will reveal to us.
It has been already remarked that when the Spirit of God, with those in whom He dwells, has left the earth, there will be no restraining power. The full effect of this may not be apparent all at once, for we must not forget a twofold action of the Spirit of God, set forth in this book. One is the unity of the Spirit, displayed in His oneness, in the Church. He that hath an ear, let him hear what “the Spirit” saith unto the churches. Again, “the Spirit” and the bride say, Come. But there is also the seven-fold unity of the Spirit in His relation to the world—the “seven spirits” that are before His throne. The “seven spirits” sent forth into all the earth. Now, the “one Spirit,” personally in the believer, or corporately in the assembly, has nothing whatever to do with the world, except so far as that believer or that assembly is a witness for God to it. Again, the aspect of the Spirit to the world as the demonstrator of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:88And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (John 16:8)), has nothing whatever to do with the believer or the assembly. To the world He says, You believe not on Christ. You are sinners. You have sent the righteous One back to His righteous Father, and you see Him no more. You are under judgment, for the ruler of this world is judged. To the believer He says, Ye have believed that He came out from God. He has washed you from your sins in His own blood. You see Him because He has gone to the Father. You have everlasting life, and shall never come into judgment. The Spirit of God, then, as indwelling the believer, or binding saints together into one, will absolutely cease to be found on earth at the rapture. Not so that other function, which it has been shown He exercises in condemnation of the world’s rejection of Christ. This it is the effort of the world to throw off. This is the spring of all the downgrade movements we hear of, weakening the authority of the Word, and by it leading to the denial of the Son, and through Him of the Father. Complete success in these efforts may not have been attained at the translation of the saints, but its progress will be with giant strides, until at last the beast will express it openly in foul blasphemies.
The Beast From the Sea (IV). War With the Godly Jew. Power Over the Gentiles.
“And there was given to it to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.” In a previous section, we saw that the beast had a mouth speaking big things and blasphemies; here we have the activities of his opposition to the saints; that is, to those who, as we have seen before, are clinging to the Word of God and prophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus. We must ever bear in mind that the old notion, that prophecy is merely the disclosing of future events, is utterly misleading, and lends itself to the most foolish results, as one has repeatedly seen. Prophecy is the disclosure of the place and position, the dignity and honor proper to Jesus, in that future. His rights have been disowned, usurped, misused, by man: and now in the scenes before us, Satan is investing a power without conscience (beast), to trample upon them still further. Prophecy, at such a moment, is of all importance; for it is God’s testimony in the world, by His own people, that everything that is being devastated belongs to His Son; that He is Heir and Lord of all, and that His servants and adherents are waiting for that very kingdom that is being defiled by the invading scourge. It is small wonder, therefore, that the beast makes war upon this minority, and overcomes them. His object is to obliterate the name of God, and to make man run riot during the little while that remains before imprisonment and torment begin. To wipe out God’s witnesses, and to display his own power over the nations of the earth, and to exercise, for his brief span, his authority over every tribe, people, tongue and nation, and bring them under their sway, is that which power is here given him for.
Note the contrast here manifest between the tribes, peoples, tongues and nations, just mentioned, and that special class called earth-dwellers, to which attention has been drawn at other places.
“It was given unto him to make war with the saints.” Let us take advantage of this expression to see that we understand the functions of the several personages at work. This beast we are considering is Gentile, and its representative is a Gentile. When we come to consider the beast from the land, we shall find it to be Jewish, and its representative a Jew. Both are apostate. One represents apostate Christianity the other apostate Judaism. The beast we are considering is the one representing apostate Christianity. In the Book of Daniel we shall find both these powers referred to, only in Daniel we shall get the political, rather than the religious aspect. Look at Daniel 7. It will be found there that the beast of the fourth kingdom has ten horns, and another horn before whom three of the ten fall. This is the beast from the sea, which we are considering. Now, in Dan. 11:36,36And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. (Daniel 11:36) we shall find mention made of a “willful king.” This is the second beast, the beast from the land. The rise of the second beast appears to be the outcome of the first; that is to say, that the apostate and revived Roman empire, carrying with it all that is effete in Christendom after the saints are gone, is the forerunner of the second apostate and Jewish power that arises in Judea, and who plays into the hands of, and is identified with, the Gentile power in apostasy. It is in effect what we saw in the treatment of the blessed Lord. Herod and Pontius Pilate joined hand; in condemning Him of whom Pilate declared they found no fault. Now in judgment, Jew and Gentile are found in concert to make war on the godly; only at the present stage of our book, the second beast has not yet appeared. It is difficult for us, who have not experienced such things, to appreciate at its proper value what it would be for a repentant, godly Jew to have the image of the beast forced upon him by an apostate ruler of his own people. But he has, alas! brought it upon himself. He thought he could establish himself in his religion before God without accounting for past iniquity. He thought he could establish his place of supremacy among the nations by calling to his aid a kingdom just then the admiration of the whole world. Little does he think that what seems so easy—such a matter to be grasped at is a delusion and a snare of Satan, who has endowed the ruler of the land, and the Gentile power he seeks, for the very purpose of destroying him.
The Beast From the Sea (V). His Worshippers: Their Antecedents.
If there is one class more than another in this Book of solemnities that we are now studying, that strikes us with a peculiar and increasing force every time it recurs, it is that which here presents itself: the class described as the earth-dwellers. The fact that God has dealt with three classes of people at different times, and in various ways, upon this earth, has caused the earth-dweller proper to be overlooked. Of course, any of the sons of men, while spending the period between their birth and death, might be called dwellers on earth, whether of Israel, or the Gentiles, or the Church of God. That, however, is not what Scripture means by an earth-dweller. In 1 Kings 8:27,27But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? (1 Kings 8:27) and 2 Chron. 6:18,18But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! (2 Chronicles 6:18) we get this very searching question put, “Will God, in very deed, dwell with men on the earth?” Because, if so, He must have an habitation; He cannot be a wanderer in His own Creation, and without a home. Christ, to win man to a home above with Him, has done so, in unfathomable and matchless grace. But if God have an habitation on earth it must be one suitable to Himself, and in the land of His choice. And this is just the whole point of God’s relations with man here. The earth is the Lord’s, and His purpose is to dwell with man; and eventually He will do so. But man—proud, vain, empty man—wants to appropriate all privileges, mercies, and gracious provision on the part of God, and to make the earth his own, and to dwell there; leaving God entirely out of the question. We first heard of earth-dwellers in the Churches; we next heard of them as guilty of the blood of souls under the altar; then we heard of them rejoicing that God’s two witnesses had been slain; and now they are the first to worship the beast—at least, some of them; for even here there is a characteristic attached to them which makes us hope that those alluded to in the fourteenth chapter, if the same (for a slightly different word is used), may give heed to the voice of the angel who warns men to prepare for the final reckoning with Him who made earth and heaven. The characteristic alluded to will then be determined of them. Were their names written from the founding of the world, in the Book of Life of the Lamb (who has since been slain to give effect to that life)? If not, alas for them!
It may be well to take this opportunity to look a little further at this point, which has not been clear to some. “Whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” The only obscurity is occasioned by the words, “of the Lamb slain,” which makes it read as if the Lamb had been slain from the foundation of the world. But Rev. 17:88The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (Revelation 17:8) gives us the same thought without the words in question, so that it reads, “Whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world.” The reason the words, “of the Lamb slain,” are found in Rev. 13, is because it might otherwise have led to the inference that the names were written there irrespective of the great work of redemption, whereas this is conclusive, that the Book of Life is the Lamb’s, and that the need of redemption was foreknown ere a name was written. This having been clearly asserted, it was not necessary to repeat it in Rev. 17, because the leading thought is not “redemption,” but “names inscribed in the Book of Life.” The Book of Life, as such, is a Book from which a name could be removed (Psalm 69:28,28Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. (Psalm 69:28) Rev. 3:55He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (Revelation 3:5)). Hence the extraordinary favor of having been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, for that carries with it certain redemption, and is a certain passport to the heavenly city (Rev. 21:2727And 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. (Revelation 21:27)).
“From the foundation of the world” presents an interesting thought as distinguished from “Before the foundation of the world.” The former is “time,” the latter is “eternity.” “From the foundation” occurs seven times. “Before the foundation” occurs three times. Most interesting are these three times to us of this day of grace; for such belong to “eternity, although manifested in time.” The three things referred to are the Father’s love to Christ (John 17:2424Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24)), the blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:2020Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (1 Peter 1:20)); the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ chose us in Him (Eph. 1:44According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Ephesians 1:4)). Oh, the marvelous grace of our God!
The Beast From the Sea (VI). The Resource of the Faithful.
God never yet, in the whole course of His dealings with man, has been known to fail His own when they called upon Him in the day of their calamity. “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Ps. 50:15). “Ye shall call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you, And ye shall seek Me and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart; and I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn again your captivity” (Jer. 29:12, 13, 1412Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. (Jeremiah 29:12‑14)). But power was given unto this beast (Rev. 13:55And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. (Revelation 13:5)). It is permitted that it should make war with the saints, and overcome them. Him whom God sent to be a ruler and deliverer has been despised, rejected, crucified, and now they must wait upon God. He is their only resource. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” In the meantime, there is nothing for it but absolute submission. If any earth-dweller read the words now, let him humble himself, at once; wash, and make his robes white in the blood of the Lamb, at once; look for Him who is coming from heaven, at once; and he will escape these judgments altogether: for he shall be “caught up” with the saints of God to meet the Lord in the air. But when once judgment has begun, Jew or Gentile, whichever you may be; if you have an ear to hear, pay heed to these words: your only remedy then is UNQUALIFIED SUBMISSION. If you are led into captivity, go into captivity. If they slay with the sword, you must be slain. Resistance will not only be vain, but be disobedience. The patience and the faith of a saint will be known by unqualified submission. This was the way the Master triumphed. He was oppressed, yet He humbled Himself, and opened not His mouth. “As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb, yea, He opened not His mouth.... He was cut off out of the land of the living” (Isa. 53:7, 87He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. (Isaiah 53:7‑8)). If this was the Master’s resource in the day when the hand of the enemy was upon Him, it is your only resource when the same enemy lays his hand upon you. It is most gracious that this little word of comfort, in a bitter hour, has been vouchsafed. Make the most of it, for “Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”
Let there be no mistake with respect to those who shall be “caught up,” for now that the truth has got a certain hold on men’s minds, the enemy is sure to make an effort to nullify or pervert it. If there is one truth above another with respect to the future standing out bright, clear, and decisive, it is that the very first act that shalt mark God’s supernatural action will be the disappearance from everyday life all over the world of those who own in sincerity and truth the Lord Jesus Christ. The dead in Christ, and the living remaining ones, will be caught up into the air to meet the Lord. Of those that are left, only two classes will be found, Jew and Gentile and both these classes come under the judgments of the Apocalypse. The enemy is already deluding souls to look for their being caught up while judgments are going on. There is no warrant for it whatever. Two witnesses in Rev. 11, after being slain, and their dead bodies exposed, will have spirit of life from God, and will hear a voice from heaven saying, “Come up hither,” and they will be seen to go up to heaven; but otherwise there will be none, so far as revealed. Judgment cannot begin till the Church has gone; and after that, except in the instance given, there are none to go.
It was hardly to be expected that Satan would leave long untouched this precious truth of the believer’s hope, resting, as it does, upon “This we say unto you by the Word of the Lord.” It is, however, necessary for the Lord’s glory, first, to show the competency of His death to deliver, not only from our sins, but out of the present evil world (Gal. 1:44Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: (Galatians 1:4)); second, to satisfy the affection of His heart (John 14:33And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3)); third, to be with Him at His second coming to the world, according to Zechariah 14:5,5And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (Zechariah 14:5) “The Lord my God shall come, and all the holy ones with Thee.” This is at the time His feet stand on the Mount of Olives.
The Beast From the Earth
This beast, whose function appears to be to give moral support to the first beast, comes up out of the earth, not necessarily signifying a settled order, in contrast to the tumult of the people, out of which the first beast is seen to rise; but rather that which is of the earth earthy, as opposed to all that which is spiritual or heavenly in character. If the first beast was a travesty of the One who came in His Father’s name, this is equally so of Him who testifies of the risen One. It had indeed horns like a lamb, but there was no mistaking its voice. It exercises all the authority of the first beast, causing the earth and the earth-dwellers to do homage to the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. It is a testimony to resuscitation. Mark how the earth-dwellers are laid hold of by this power to accept resuscitation, who had rejected or slighted resurrection. It works great wonders in confirmation of its doctrine. It even causes fire to come down from heaven, and earth-dwellers are deluded by it. It deceives the earth-dwellers by many of the signs which were given to it to work before the (first) beast. The earth-dwellers are told to make an image to the beast that has the wound of the sword and lived. The image being made, this (second) beast has power bestowed upon it to give breath to the image of the (first) beast, that it should even speak. It goes further. It causes to be killed all who will not do homage to the image. It further causes all classes, small and great, rich and poor, bond and free, to receive a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead. It might be the name of the (first) beast, or it might be his number, for the number expressed what it was. It is the travesty of the 8th and 9th chapters of Ezekiel. There, is the image of jealousy; there is the slaughter of all that had not a mark on their forehead. That was executed by six men. And this trinity of evil is expressed by a three-fold six. The beast’s name and this number will exactly correspond.
And these earth-dwellers, who received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, have been given over to strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned that believed not the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thess. 2:10, 1110And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (2 Thessalonians 2:10‑11)). Thus, the function of this second beast is to deny both Father and Son, through these awful counterfeits of truth. And there can be little doubt that John, who wrote his Epistles after these visions, designated as Anti-Christ—and by the Spirit, of course—this fearful thing that has been under consideration. John alone uses the term Anti-Christ in his Epistles, and most suitable it is to express the energizing power that, as a second beast, of the earth earthy, gave spirit and speech to that which represented the first beast; and thus involved earth-dwellers with the entire system; dragon, first beast, second beast, image, by a mark and perdition: OR, death and deliverance, if God gave repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth. This second beast reigns in Palestine, and is “the king” introduced somewhat abruptly at Daniel 11:3636And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. (Daniel 11:36).
In the understanding of these later chapters of Daniel’s prophecy, let the reader be careful to mark four powers at work as well as Satan. The first beast is the king and kingdom of revived Rome. The second beast is the king and kingdom of revived Judaism. The King of the South is Egypt, allied with the first beast. The King of the North is a power not yet in existence. He will be called the Assyrian (Isa. 10:55O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. (Isaiah 10:5)).
The Lamb on Mount Zion. 144,000 Redeemed From the Earth.
Oh, what a relief to get into the sweet and refreshing atmosphere of the Lamb’s presence once more! After seven pages about those fearful agents of Satan, who are to be the first occupants of the lake of fire, we come to that which, in Division II, marks the first direct symbol of the end: the Lamb is seen standing on God’s holy hill of Zion. There is no spot on the whole earth that God takes such interest in as Zion. “The joy of the whole earth is mount Zion.” God says, “I have set My king upon My holy hill of Zion.” It is not the time for the king yet, but the very mention of the name makes much music in the heavenlies; for the redeeming One stands with 144,000 representatives of the election of grace, and every man bears His Father’s name on his forehead, and His own name also. What an answer to Anti-christ, overleaf! “O Zion, that bringest good tidings”! Out of about 110 times that Zion is mentioned, ninety are in terms of the Lord’s great love and affection for her: so that the place has great, very great significance; and heaven knows it, too. For a voice is heard, as the voice of many waters, and as a voice of great thunder: and the voice is that of harp-singers playing on their harps, and they sing a new song before the throne (how sweet to hear of the throne again!) and before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song but the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. Had any one ever gone through such scenes as they had? Had any one ever known, as they had, the value of God’s seal upon them? Had any beings ever known such an escape, and such a Deliverer? Yes, the elders had, and could sing their song too. But it was not the same song. “The theme of joy is but one,” but their song was their very own, for these were redeemed, purchased from the earth; those out from among the dead. These were redeemed from among men; those out of the very clutch of the Devil himself. But these are very precious—virgins, undefiled, these followers of the footsteps of the Lamb. These are very precious—these first fruits to God and the Lamb. Nathanael in character, no falsehood is found in their mouth; they are Israelites indeed, and shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
A large class, of a still larger class, who appear to find “THE CHURCH” anywhere except where God has put it, find it in these 144,000. Whence arises this strange obliquity of vision among those whose love to the Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours, we should never for a moment think of calling into question? It probably arises from two causes, one the consequence of the other. The first cause is that THE CHURCH, that exceptional and unique company, called out of Jew and Gentile since Pentecost, has no connection in any shape or form whatever with the Jew as Jew or the Gentile as Gentile. One new man is the only way it can be spoken of according to Scripture. This by its identity with the Man risen from the dead gives its title, and disconnects it, in the same particular, from Jew or Gentile. Now the Lord’s coming, the second advent spoken of to Jew and Gentile all through the Word of God, does not apply to this “One new man”; and for the simple reason that at that coming or advent it is itself to come with its Head, the Lord Himself. It has a hope, a coming which it looks forward to, but not that above referred to. Its hope is the subject of special revelation (1 Thess. 4:15, 1615For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (1 Thessalonians 4:15‑16)), where the Word of the Lord declares that “the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we, the living and remaining ones, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord IN THE AIR.” “The dead in Christ” is a mighty company.