Chapter VII: Part 7

“And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the
everlasting good news to preach to those dwelling on the earth,
and to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people, saying
with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of
his judgment is come: and worship him who made the heaven, and the
earth, and the sea, and fountains of water!”—Rev. 14:6, 7.

The era symbolized by the flight of this angel, has been applied, by different writers to the epoch of the Reformation, to that of modern missions, &c. The view here taken, is that it synchronizes with the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles.

The angel flying through the midst of heaven, doubtless symbolizes a body of men conspicuous for their position, energetic in their movements, extensive in their operations, and urgent in their proclamation,—whose teachings correspond with this announcement of the angel.

The message they bear is that of the everlasting gospel ευαγγελιον, (_evangelion_)—which is, literally, the good news, the glad tidings; that which brings “life and immortality to light,” 2 Tim. 1:10. It is a message which foreshadows the resurrection and coming judgment at Christ’s appearing; and is therefore called “the gospel of the kingdom,” (Matt. 4:23);—the good news of the glorious kingdom of the Son of God.

It is the preaching of the _everlasting_ gospel which is thus symbolized. It is no _new_ gospel; for, “the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham,—saying: In thee shall all nations be blessed,” Gal. 3:8. And not Abraham alone, but all the fathers “did eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that rock was Christ,” 1 Cor. 10:3, 4. Of this gospel the Jewish nation and a few proselytes, were for ages the sole recipients. “Unto them were committed the oracles of God.” Rom. 3:2. To them pertained “the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises,” Rom. 9:4. But the time had been foretold when the Gentiles should come to their light, and kings to the brightness of their rising, Isa. 60:3.

With the coming of Christ, and his rejection of that nation, the gospel, was no longer to be confined within its former narrow limits. The Savior said to his disciples: “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,” Matt. 28:19, 20. “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned,” Mark 16:15, 16. “Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures, and he said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem,” Luke 24:45-47.

The fulfilment of those predictions and commands could not be more beautifully and appropriately symbolized, than by an angel flying “in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” It could be no other gospel: for Paul testified: “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed,” Gal. 1:8, 9.

In accordance with the divine command, to preach the gospel to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem, the apostles began their mission; and when the Jews rejected their message, they turned to the Gentiles, and went everywhere preaching the word “according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith,” Rom. 16:25, 26.

The first converts to the faith, comprised “Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians,” Acts 2:9-12. When the Jews contradicted and blasphemed, “Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles,” Acts 13:46. Afterwards Paul, in writing to the Colossians, refers to the gospel as that “which was preached to every creature which is under heaven,” Col. 1:23.

This gospel was to be preached to those who dwell on the earth, and also to all nations. The symbolic earth of the Apocalypse, being generally admitted to be the Roman empire under a quiet government, its fulfilment would require an early introduction of the gospel there. Accordingly we find, within thirty years after the crucifixion of Christ, a flourishing church existing in the metropolis of the Roman empire, to which Paul addressed one of his most able letters. In it, he thanks God that their “faith is spoken of throughout all the world,” Rom. 1:8. The apostle had then “fully preached the gospel of Christ” from Jerusalem “round about [the coast of the Mediterranean] unto Illyricum,” (Rom. 16:19);—a country on the Adriatic, or Gulf of Venice. He afterwards visited Rome, and is supposed to have preached the gospel as far west as Spain. The apostles spread Christianity throughout the Roman empire. Palestine, Syria, Natolia, Greece, the islands of the Mediterranean, Italy, and the northern coast of Africa, contained societies of Christians in the first century. In the second century societies existed, and Christ was worshipped, among the Germans, Spaniards, French, Celts, and Britons, and many other nations in Europe, and almost throughout the whole east. In the fourth century Christianity had become the prevailing religion of the empire.

In later times the gospel which began to be preached at Jerusalem, has been extended to more distant countries, and is still finding its way to every tribe and people that have not before heard its joyful sound. Thus has the light of the gospel nearly encircled the globe, having been, in one age or another, proclaimed in every known country—fulfilling the words of the Saviour: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come,” Matt. 24:14. “And the gospel must first be published among all nations,” Mark 13:10. It would not follow from these predictions that it must be preached at the _same time_ to all nations, any more than the light of day shines on all parts of the earth at once: but all must have been illumined by it before the end.

In accordance with this view, those who are finally redeemed to God “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (5:9), are those who will “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (7:14), in consequence of this universal extension of the gospel.

The command to fear and give glory to God, and to worship the Creator of all things implies that it was to be proclaimed to worshippers of false gods, and was not a mere proclamation addressed to _actual Christians_. The Gentiles to whom the apostles preached _were_ actual worshippers of such, and needed to be taught the worship of the _true_ God. While Paul was at Athens, his spirit was stirred within him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. “Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is the Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands,” Acts 17:22-24. “Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led,” 1 Cor. 12:2. “For they themselves show us of what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God: and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come,” 1 Thess. 1:9, 10.

The great motive, to be held forth to induce men to turn from the worship of idols to that of God, was the certainty of the approaching judgment. In accordance with this, the apostles make constant references to it. The Corinthians are exhorted to “come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Cor. 1:7, 8. As Paul “reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled,” Acts 24:25. He said to the impenitent Romans, that they were “treasuring up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,” Rom. 2:5. The first things which were presented in all their teachings were “the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment,” Heb. 6:1, 2. Thus “Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints,” Jude 14, 15.

As Christ was to judge the world “at his appearing and kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:1), a reference to his coming always involved a consideration of the hour of his judgment; and his appearing was a great incentive to holiness. “For our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,” Phil. 3:20. And “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory,” Col. 3:4. “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?” 1 Thess. 2:19. “To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints,” _Ib._ 3:13. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For 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. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord,” _Ib._ 4:14-17. “And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,” 2 Thess. 1:7, 8.

Not only the apostles, but their successors, in succeeding ages, have constantly made reference to the judgment, as the motive to holiness. Beginning in the days of the apostles, the same gospel has been continued by a succession of men to the present time; and those who are now preaching, or who support those who so preach the everlasting gospel, in connection with the warning of approaching judgment, must be regarded as belonging to the same body of men symbolized by the angel flying in the midst of heaven.

Commencing in the apostolic age, sections of the globe were evangelized—in Asia and Africa, that have never received the gospel since, either under the reformers or by modern missionaries. But beginning with the dispensation of the gospel to the Gentiles, its fulfilment is found in China, in Tartary, in Japan, in Egypt, and Ethiopia, and in lands so remote that no one can say it has not been almost universally promulgated.

The Angel announcing the Fall of Babylon.

“And another angel, a second, followed, saying, She is fallen!
Babylon the great is fallen! She made all nations drink of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication!”—Rev. 14:8.

This angel, like the former, must symbolize a body of religious teachers. The former resulted in the spread of Christianity. This announces the fall of a corrupt hierarchy.

Babylon being regarded as a symbol of the Roman church, her fall must be understood to be her loss of power, as mistress of the kings of the earth; and synchronizes with her displacement from her position on the beast, as symbolized in the 17th chapter. The epoch of her fall, and consequently of the flight of this angel, is that of the Reformation, when the corruptions of the Papal See were first exposed, and it was denounced as the Apocalyptic harlot. The argument for this application is given in the exposition of Rev. 18:1, which is a repetition of the symbol here given, p. 300.

The Wrath-denouncing Angel.

“And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud
voice, If any one worship the wild beast and his image, and
receive his mark on his forehead, or on his hand, even he will
drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out
unmingled into the cup of his wrath; and he will be tormented with
fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the
presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth for
ever and ever: and they have no rest day or night, who worship the
wild beast and his image, and whoever receiveth the mark of his
name!”—Rev. 14:9-11.

The cry of this angel synchronizes with the “voice from heaven” (18:4), and follows the discovery of the corruptions of Romanism.—See the exposition of that Scripture, p. 307.

The worship of the beast consisted in a regard for it, equivalent to saying, “Who is like unto the beast? and, Who is able to make war with him?” 13:4. To worship, is to manifest homage and respect. To worship any inferior object, is to bestow on it the confidence and affection which is due only to God. It is to trust in it, as invincible, able to protect, and infallible in judgment. Thus to regard any civil or ecclesiastical organization, is to substitute it for Him, by whom the powers that be are ordained (Rom. 13:1), who giveth the kingdom to whomsoever he will (Dan. 4:17), and by whom alone, kings reign, and princes decree justice, Prov. 8:15.

Whenever any civil or ecclesiastical enactment conflicts with the requisitions of Jehovah, that power is worshipped, which is obeyed in preference to the other: “Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey?” Rom. 6:16. The worship of God is incompatible with obedience to any power which compels a violation of His laws. Due obedience to government is commanded, when no question of conscience is involved. When it is, no forcible resistance to the execution of the law is permitted; but while God is obeyed, the penalty of the law is to be meekly endured.

The early Christians chose death, rather than to deny their Saviour at the command of Jewish Sanhedrim or Roman emperor. When Peter and John were commanded “not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus,” their answer was, “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye; for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard,” Acts 4:19, 20. In like manner, the Christians living at the epoch of this angel, were to be similarly tried, which is implied in the command, not to worship.

So soon as the reformers were placed in direct conflict with the Church of Rome, her anathemas were hurled against all who assented not to her mummeries. And the power of the civil arm was also brought into exercise to compel obedience to her commands. Those who maintained their integrity, did so in opposition to the requirements of the church and state; while those who submitted to the state as invincible, or to the church as infallible, extended to the beast or its image that homage and regard which was due to God. They thus acknowledged themselves the servants of him whom they obeyed, and subjected themselves to the wrath of God.

The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever, and they have no rest, day nor night, who worship the beast and his image. While the righteous enter into rest, the wicked are like the troubled sea which cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt, Isa. 57:20.

The Harvest of the Earth.

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are those who keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice
from heaven, saying, Write, Happy the dead who die in the Lord,
from henceforth! Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from
their toils; and their works go with them. And I looked, and
behold, a white cloud, and one was seated on the cloud like the
Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a
sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying
with a loud voice to him seated on the cloud, Thrust forth thy
sickle and reap: for the hour is come for thee to reap; for the
harvest of the earth is ripe. And he, who sat on the cloud, cast
his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.”—Rev. 14:12-16.

The announcement that here are they who keep the commandments of God, implies that, at the epoch symbolized, they are to be the subjects of special notice. By the voice from heaven, they are shown to include all of the dead who have died in the Lord; and their being blessed from thenceforth, indicates that they will at that epoch enter upon their eternal reward.

The “rest” of the righteous, is at the advent of Christ:—“To you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven,” 2 Thess. 1:6. “There remaineth a rest for the people of God,” Heb. 4:9.

On hearing the voice from heaven, the revelator looked, and beheld on a cloud “one like the Son of man.” In Ezek. 1:26, “the likeness as the appearance of a man,” upon “the likeness of the throne,” is explained to be “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” In Dan. 7:13, “one like the Son of man,” who comes to the Ancient of days, is evidently a symbol of Christ. In Rev. 1:13, “one like unto the Son of man,” is the one who was alive, was dead, and is alive forevermore. The same symbol repeated, must here also be a representative of Christ.

His position on a cloud, indicates the arrival of the period when he is to be manifested in mid-heaven: “Behold he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him,” 1:7. “One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him,” Dan. 7:13, 14. “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 together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other,” Matt. 24:30, 31.

The epoch of this manifestation, according to the above, is that of the last trump, the second advent, and the first resurrection. “At the last trump ... the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed,” 1 Cor. 15:52. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air,” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17.

His “golden crown” indicates that he is now to take to himself his great power, and to reign, “when the kingdoms of this world become our Lord’s and his Christ’s,” 11:15, 17. Crowns are symbols of sovereignty. As such, they respectively denoted the periods, when the forms of government, symbolized by the heads of the beast (12:3) and its horns (13:1), bore rule. Now the diadem is to be transferred from them, to encircle the brow of earth’s rightful Sovereign.

The sharp sickle in his hand, indicates that the time of harvest has arrived; and the act of reaping, the gathering of the harvest. There are two gatherings symbolized, corresponding to the two classes of persons who are to be gathered. “The dead in Christ shall rise first,” and will be “caught up to meet the Lord in the air,” before the wicked are gathered, 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. “I will come again, and receive you unto myself,” said the Saviour, John 14:5. The Lord of the harvest directs its gathering, but effects it by the instrumentality of angels: “He shall send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth, to the uttermost part of heaven,” Mark 13:27. When thus gathered, they are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, where the Lord of the harvest sits. This is the separation of the righteous and wicked, who were to “grow together till the harvest,” which, says the Saviour, “is the end of the world,” Matt. 13:39.

Mr. Lord suggests, that it is inconsistent with the dignity of Christ, to be notified by an angel when to begin his work; and therefore dissents from the application of the symbol to him. It may not, however, be necessary to consider the cry of the angel, as one of command. The angel may be a messenger from the Ancient of days, announcing the epoch of the resurrection. Or he may symbolize a body of men, who will be ardently praying for the return of the nobleman to take his kingdom.

The harvest is spoken of in distinction from the gathering of the vine, and in contrast with it. Men harvest what they prize,—their grain and fruits. They do not harvest briers and thorns. They cut or reap both; but the act of reaping is not expressive of the destiny of what is reaped. This is indicated by the disposition made, and the terms applied; the one is gathered into the garner of the Lord; but the other is given to the consuming fire.

The righteous being caught up to meet the Lord at his coming, the destruction of the wicked, which must precede the regeneration of the earth and descent of the saints, is next symbolized.

The Reaping of the Vine.

“And another angel came out of the temple in heaven, he also
having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar,
who had power over the fire, and called with a loud shout to him
who had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and
cut off the clusters of the vine of the earth; for its grapes are
ripe. And the angel cast in his sickle into the earth, and cut off
the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of
the wrath of God. And the wine-press was trodden without the city,
and blood came out of the wine-press, even to the bridles of the
horses, for the distance of one thousand six hundred
furlongs.”—Rev. 14:17-20.

The wicked also are gathered by the instrumentality of angels: said the Saviour, “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” Matt. 13:40-42. In the parable of the tares, the Saviour said, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” Thus the tares were to be gathered _first_—not before the righteous are gathered, but before the wheat is placed in the garner: the new earth being the garner where the righteous are _finally_ to be gathered, they cannot be placed there till the wicked have been gathered out. “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear,” Matt. 13:30, 43.

The disposition of the vine, its being trodden down, and the great presence of blood flowing, symbolize the awful judgments to overtake the wicked, after the escape of the righteous, when they are gathered into bundles and burned. Thus Isaiah prophesied: “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-vat? I have trodden the wine-press alone: and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come,” Isa. 63:1-4.

Before the destruction of the old world by the deluge, Noah was secure in the ark. Before the destruction of Sodom, Lot is removed to a place of safety. So before the destruction of the vine of the earth, the righteous are caught up to the Lord in the air, where they are symbolized, in the following chapter, as:

The Victors on the Sea of Glass.

“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful, seven
angels having the seven last plagues; for by these, the wrath of
God is completed. And I saw as it were a transparent sea mingled
with fire; and those who had obtained the victory over the wild
beast, and over his image, and over the number of his name,
standing on the transparent sea, having harps of God. And they
sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the
Lamb, saying, Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God
Almighty; just and true are thy ways, king of nations! Who should
not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art
holy; for all nations will come and worship before thee; for thy
judgments are manifested.” Rev. 15:1-4.

This appears to close the vision commencing with the sixth verse of the 14th chapter, and to be independent of the remaining portion of the 15th chapter.

These “seven angels,” in the subsequent vision, discharge the contents of the vials of God’s wrath; but the epoch here presented is evidently subsequent to that fulfilment; for the imitation of the “Song of Moses,” must follow the infliction of the judgments which call forth that song of rejoicing. They had here completed the wrath of God, the manner of which act is subsequently shown in a separate vision.

The “sea of glass,” must represent an elevation above the earth. For those stationed there had gotten the victory over the beast and his image, had escaped the wrath to be poured on those who worshipped those powers (14:9), had been gathered when the harvest of the earth was reaped (14:16), being then caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17), and now, the clusters of the vine of the earth having been gathered and cast into the wine-press of the wrath of God (14:19), they rejoice above the fires of earth, witnesses of the manifestations of God’s judgments. They have come out of all their tribulations, and evidently synchronize with the palm-bearing multitude (Rev. 7:9), the hundred and forty-four thousand on Mount Zion (14:1), and the multitude in heaven who sing Alleluia over the judgment of the great harlot, 19:1.

“The song of Moses,” was that sung by the Israelites when the Egyptians had perished in the waters of the Red Sea, and they were safely encamped on its further shore. The Lord had triumphed gloriously over the enemies of Israel, had buried the horse and his rider in the sea, and was about to plant his people in the mountain of his inheritance,—in the place which he had made for them to dwell in,—in the sanctuary which he had established, Ex. 15:1-21. The analogy requires that when this corresponding song is sung, the ransomed of the Lord shall have correspondingly witnessed the overthrow of the adversaries of Jehovah, and shall themselves have escaped from the perils of the many waters which had threatened to engulf them.

The judgments of God being manifested on the nations of the ungodly, there are none remaining, only “the nations of them which are saved,” 21:24. As these will all walk in the light of the new Jerusalem, those on the sea of glass may well sing:

“Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints! Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art Holy: For all nations shall come and worship before thee; For thy judgments are made manifest.”

In accordance with the foregoing view, this synchronizes with the “new song” sung by those who are redeemed from every nation, kindred, tongue and people (5:9), who are afterwards seen standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion, 14:3.

The Angels with the Seven Vials.

“And after this, I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the
testimony in heaven was opened; and the seven angels came out of
the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure white linen,
and girded around the breasts with golden girdles. And one of the
four living beings gave to the seven angels, seven golden bowls
filled with 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 one was able to enter the temple till the seven
plagues of the seven angels were completed.” Rev. 15:5-8.

“And I heard a loud voice out of the temple saying, to the seven
angels, Depart, and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the
earth.” Rev. 16:1.

“The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven,” must symbolize heaven itself. It corresponds with the tabernacle “after the second veil,”—called “the holiest of all,” where the tables of the covenant were deposited by the command of Moses, Heb. 9:1-5. There, the “cherubims of glory” over-shadowed the mercy-seat,—a type of the presence-chamber of the Almighty. Consequently, when it is symbolized as being opened in heaven, the angels who come out are divinely commissioned executors of God’s purposes.

The “seven angels,” are the ministers of the divine vengeance,—the rectitude of their character and the dignity of their office, being symbolized by their “white robes” and “golden girdles.”

The period of time symbolized by the pouring out of the vials, must be anterior to the second advent; for in the analogous instances of God’s judgments, he visits his enemies with plagues previous to the deliverance of his children. Thus were the ancient Egyptians visited, before the Israelites escaped from their power, Ex. 5-11.

The deliverance of the vials to the angels by one of the four “living creatures,” indicates that the intelligences in the divine presence, which are thus symbolized, are cognizant of God’s design, and acquiesce in his purpose to visit the subjects of his wrath with these plagues.

By these being called “the vials of God’s wrath,” we learn that their infliction is not corrective, but judicial;—that they are not agents of mercy, but of vengeance.

The filling of the temple with the smoke of God’s glory, to the exclusion of all persons during the pouring out of the vials, shows that during that period, there will be no intercession with God for him to refrain from the execution of the purposes thus symbolized. They are inevitable; and there will be no supplication for their suspension. When Moses had finished the type of the “Holiest of all,” a “cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle,” Ex. 40:34, 35. It was only when Moses could enter the tabernacle, that he could there commune with God face to face, Ex. 33:9, 11.

The voice from the temple to the seven angels, shows that the acts commanded are the subjects of divine appointment,—the angels simply designating the commencement of the several judgments.

The First Vial.

“And the first went away, and poured out his bowl on the earth;
and there came an evil and sore ulcer on the men who had the mark
of the beast, and on those worshipping his image.” Rev. 16:2.

The “earth,” in the Apocalypse, symbolizes a quiet and settled government (13:11), in distinction from one politically agitated, which is symbolized by waters, 13:1; 17:15.

Those who receive the contents of the first vial, being the worshippers of the “beast” and its “image” (13:15), it is certain that the governments on which it is poured, are subservient to the church of Rome and within the boundaries of the ten kingdoms.

The effect of the vial is “a noisome and grievous sore;” and the only things analogous, are mental maladies. Therefore the results symbolized must be noxious principles and opinions, which fill the mind with rancor and hate,—producing strife, alienation and contention.

The _epoch_ here symbolized, in the very unanimous opinion of most judicious writers, corresponds with the commencement of the agitations which preceded the outbreak of the first French revolution, about A. D. 1785. Commencing in France, and extending with more or less virulence throughout the ten kingdoms, there was excited an intense uneasiness of the people respecting their relation to their rulers. They regarded themselves as insupportably oppressed and degraded, and were exasperated to madness against their respective governments. This, under the next vial, resulted in the overthrow of the French monarchy, and in attempted revolutions in other kingdoms.

The Second Vial.

“And the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea; and it
became like the blood of a dead person; and every living creature
in the sea died.” Rev. 16:8.

The first vial having excited political agitations in previously quiet governments, they are now more fitly symbolized by the “sea” than by the “earth.” And on such the second vial is poured.

As the sea symbolizes a people agitated and disquieted, the living things in it, must symbolize those who live on and are sustained by the people. Consequently, the waters becoming blood, and the death of the things living in the waters, symbolize the shedding of the blood of the people, and the slaughter, by them, of their rulers and superiors.

The epoch symbolized, would therefore correspond with the actual outbreak of the French revolution, to which the agitations produced by the previous vial had goaded on the excited people. In their riots and insurrections, history records the destruction of large numbers of the populace; and these exterminated the members of the royal family, and all persons of rank and influence. A million of people, according to Alison, perished in the civil war of La Vendee alone; and thousands of the nobility and persons of distinction were ruthlessly slaughtered throughout France, whose rivers were discolored with the blood of the slain.

The Third Vial.

“And the third poured out his bowl on the rivers and on the
fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel
of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Thou, who art, and wast
holy, because thou hast inflicted these judgments; for they have
poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given
them blood to drink: they are worthy! And I heard one from the
altar, saying, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are
thy judgments!” Rev. 16:4-7.

Mr. Lord justly remarks that “Rivers and fountains of waters, are to a sea, what smaller exterior communities and nations are to a great central people.” As the French nation was the sea, the “rivers and fountains” symbolize contiguous or more remote communities surrounding it. These are said to have become blood, without its being specified that the living things in them perished, as in the sea. Accordingly, while the greater portion of Europe continued, with little interruption, for twenty years from 1792, to be deluged with war and bloodshed, the nobles and rulers of the other nations were not exterminated, as in France.

The nations thus overwhelmed with blood, were those which had sanctioned the shedding of the blood of the saints; consequently their retribution was just.

The Fourth Vial.

“And the fourth angel poured out his vial on the sun; and it was
given him to burn men with fire. And men were burned with great
heat, and reviled the name of God, who had power over these
plagues; and they repented not to give him glory.” Rev. 16:8, 9.

The influence of the sun on the earth and sea, is analogous to that of a government on the subjects of its rule. As the right degree of light and heat is conducive to vegetation, and the excessive action of the sun’s rays will scorch and destroy; so a genial government is a blessing to the people, while its arbitrary and tyrannical acts are often insupportably oppressive.

With the overthrow of the French monarchy under the second vial, there arose new rulers in France, who usurped despotic powers, and subjected the governed to most oppressive exactions. The rich were impoverished, the nation was robbed, the business of the country was paralyzed, the obnoxious were slain, every species of misery and wickedness abounded, the males were subjected to military conscription, and hundreds of thousands of them were sent to subjugate surrounding nations. The countries they invaded were also devastated, and oppressed, and robbed by impoverishing taxations. These continued, though in a milder form, under the imperial rule, and all parts of the Roman earth felt the scorching effects of the devouring heat of French usurpation. But when Napoleon passed beyond the boundaries of the Roman empire, he was met and driven back by the snow and frost of the Almighty.

Notwithstanding the oppressions to which the people were subjected, and the exactions under which they groaned, they made no recognition of God’s sovereignty. They saw not that this chastisement was from Him. They did not deprecate his wrath, nor acknowledge his righteousness, but still continued to be infidels and apostates. They continued to blaspheme the name of God, who had power over these plagues, and repented not to give him glory.

The Fifth Vial.

“And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the wild
beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues
through pain, and reviled the God of heaven, because of their
pains and their ulcers, and repented not of their deeds” Rev.
16:10, 11.

The beast, here spoken of, is the same seven-headed, ten-horned wild beast that ascended out of the sea (Rev. 13:1), symbolizing the Roman empire in its divided form. Consequently the seat or throne of the beast would be the ruling power which exercised and controlled the government of these kingdoms. Just previous to this epoch, Napoleon had reached the summit of his power; and the subversion of his throne, with the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty in 1814 and 1815, is evidently here symbolized. Napoleon had become the idol of France, which worshipped at the shrine of his glory. With his fall, their sun was stricken from its firmament, and the kingdom was darkened.

The change being effected by foreign arms, the chagrin and mortification of his adherents was natural and expected. They were filled with pain and anguish at this termination of all their hopes. The re-imposition on them of the Bourbon line, revived all their former hatred towards their rulers and sense of oppression, symbolized by the ulcers of the first vial. They continued still a nation of infidels, performing the same works of blasphemy against God; and again and again have they risen in rebellion against their government.

The Sixth Vial.

“And the sixth poured out his bowl on the great river, the
Euphrates; and its water was dried up, that the way of the kings
from the rising of the sun might be prepared.” Rev. 16:12.

This symbol resembles a like prediction respecting ancient Babylon: “A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up,” (Jer. 50:38); and “I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry,” Jer. 51:36. Ancient Babylon was situated on the river Euphrates, which contributed to the wealth and greatness of the city, and was a means of its defence. The kings of Media and Persia, from the east of Babylon, subjugated it by diverting from the city the waters of the river, and entering by its unprotected bed. The turning of the waters into other channels, fulfilled the prediction that it should be dried up.

Waters, when used as a symbol, are explained to be “peoples, nations,” &c., Rev. 17:15. In the 17th chapter of the Apocalypse, the angel informs the revelator that he will show him “the judgment of the great harlot who sitteth on many waters,” (17:1); which implies that he had already seen a vision to that effect. He is then shown a woman on a scarlet-colored beast (v. 3), who is spoken of as sitting “on many waters” (v. 1), and on seven mountains (v. 10), and who is affirmed to be the “great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth,” v. 18. Under the seventh vial, the “great city,” which is “great Babylon,” is divided into three parts (16:19); and the inference is, that the harlot and ancient Babylon are analogous symbols of the same organized agency; and, that the city was here exhibited on the great river Euphrates.

As a woman clothed with sunbeams and crowned with stars (Rev. 12:1), and a city illuminated with the glory of God (Rev. 21:10), are each symbols of the true church, corresponding symbols of opposite moral characteristics are appropriate representatives of a corrupt and apostate church. As Jerusalem was the seat of the ancient church, so was Babylon the seat of her oppressors. The former is addressed as a woman, and told to put on her “beautiful garments,” (Isa. 52:1); and Babylon is called the “daughter of the Chaldeans,” and “the lady of kingdoms,” (Isa. 47:5): so that a woman, and a city of corresponding character, may, interchangeably, symbolize the same object. Consequently, the “Babylon,” and the “harlot” of the Apocalypse, both symbolize the corrupt Roman hierarchy.

Ancient Babylon is described as a harlot, and is addressed as one who “dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures,” (Jer. 51:13); whose end was to come by her waters being dried up, 51:36. That city sustained a relation to the waters on which it was situated, analogous to that held by the Roman Catholic church to the people who support and defend her pretensions. Their alienation and withdrawal from her support, must therefore be symbolized by the drying up of the great river Euphrates, which becomes diverted into other channels. This is now apparently being fulfilled in the marked alienation of feeling from the church of Rome, which is evident throughout the ten kingdoms. During the last twenty years, the hold of that community on the affection of her supporters in Europe, has been constantly becoming weaker and weaker. Infidel principles have been extensively propagated. Her cathedrals have been comparatively deserted; and her existence has been endured more as a matter of expediency than of affection. At the present moment, probably, the mass of the people have little confidence in her pretensions; but it will require a more marked withdrawal from her support than has yet been witnessed, to fulfil, in all its significance, the meaning conveyed in the symbol.

The “kings of the east,” whose way is to be thus prepared, are doubtless her enemies, who, having produced the desired alienation from her support, will take advantage of her defenceless position, and hasten her ruin; as the kings of Media and Persia, in like manner, subjugated old Babylon.

Under the operation of the sixth vial, and, according to the fulfilment of the preceding symbols, corresponding with the present time, are to be developed:

The Unclean Spirits.

“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth
of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the wild beast, and out of
the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons,
performing signs, that go forth to the kings of the whole world,
to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
Rev. 16:13, 14.

The “dragon,” “beast,” and “false prophet,” being regarded as symbols: the first, of the Roman empire previous to its subversion by the northern barbarians; the second of the ten kingdoms which subsequently arose; and the third, of the eastern Roman empire—now the Mohamedan power; the mouths of each, from which the frog-like spirits emerge, are next to be considered.

To the wild beast was given “a mouth, speaking great things and blasphemies,” the power of which was “to continue forty and two months,” Rev. 13:5. The agreement of this with the corresponding appendages of Daniel’s “little horn” (Dan. 7:8), makes it evident that a “mouth” is a symbol of an ecclesiastical organization existing in a political one,—that it symbolizes the agency by which the people are taught, and is representative of ecclesiastics, who are the mouthpiece of the nation in all matters of faith and worship, p. 172.

The religion of Rome imperial, when symbolized by the dragon, was Paganism; that of the ten kingdoms, was the Papacy; and that of the eastern empire, is Mohammedanism. From these three, then, emerge the “unclean spirits.” Diverse as their origin appears, they have no marked individual peculiarities. Being alike in their characteristics, they must symbolize some common agency:—a combination of religious teachers, whose views harmonize in a system of belief common to Paganism, Catholicism, and Mohammedanism.

The character of these teachers, is shown by the declaration that “they are the spirits of _devils_ working miracles.”

There are two words rendered devils in the New Testament, viz.: δαιμονιον (_daimonion_) or δαιμων (_daimoon_), and διαβολος (_diabolus_). The latter signifies the Devil, or Satan, who is the same as Beelzebub the prince of the _demons_, Matt. 12:25. He it was by whom Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, (Matt. 4:1-11); who sowed the tares in the field, (Matt, 13:39); and for whom, with his angels, the final punishment for the wicked is prepared, Matt. 25:41.

The word here, is _daimoon_. It is used, in different forms, sixty-five times by our Lord and his apostles; and on no occasion do they hint that they use the word in a sense different from its then accepted signification; to learn which, recourse must be had to the testimony of the Pagan, Jewish, and Christian writers of those times.(6)

HESIOD taught that, “The spirits of departed mortals become _demons_ when separated from their earthly bodies;” and PLUTARCH, that “The demons of the Greeks were the _ghosts_ and _genii_ of departed men.” “All Pagan antiquity affirms,” says Dr. CAMPBELL, “that from Titan and Saturn, the poetic progeny of Cœlus and Terra, down to Æsculapius, Proteus, and Minos, all their _divinities_ were the _ghosts_ of dead men; and were so regarded by the most erudite of the Pagans themselves.”

Among the Pagans, the term _demon_, as often represented a good as an evil spirit; but among the Jews, it generally, if not universally, denoted an unclean, malign, or wicked spirit. Thus JOSEPHUS says: “Demons are the spirits of wicked men.” PHILO says that “The souls of dead men are called demons.” “The notion,” says Dr. LARDNER, “of demons, or the souls of dead men, having power over living men, was universally prevalent among the heathen of these times [the first two centuries], and believed by many Christians.” JUSTIN MARTYR speaks of “those who are seized by the souls of the dead, whom we call _demons_ and madmen.” Ignatius quotes the words of Christ to Peter thus: “Handle me and see; for I am not a _daimoon asomaton_,—a disembodied demon,”—_i.e._ a spirit without a body.

The foregoing is evidence of the New Testament signification of the word _daimoon_, here improperly rendered devils,—spirits of which, the frog-like agencies are affirmed to be.

Demon worship is a characteristic of the three religions referred to. As already shown, all Pagans regarded their gods as the ghosts of dead men; and the Bible speaks of them as devils, _i.e._ _demons_. Moses says of them, “Even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods,” (Deut. 12:31); while the Psalmist affirms that “they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto _devils_,” Ps. 106:37. “They sacrificed unto _devils_, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up,” Deut. 32:17. Jeroboam “ordained him priests for the high places, and for the _devils_,” 2 Chron. 11:15. “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to _devils_, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with _devils_. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of _devils_; ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of _devils_,”—_i.e._ of _demons_.

Of the same kind are the gods of the heathen now. In the Youth’s Day-Spring, for June, a missionary describing the alarm and grief of the Africans on the Gaboon river, at the near prospect of a death in their village, says: “The room was filled with women, who were weeping in the most piteous manner, and calling on the _spirits of their fathers and of others who were dead_, and upon all spirits in whom they believe, Ologo, Njembi, Abambo, and Mbwini, to save the man from death. These spirits could not help them, but they knew of none mightier, and so called on them.” Mr. White, a Wesleyan missionary, says: “There is a class of people in New Zealand, called Eruku, or priests. These men pretend to have intercourse with departed spirits, ... by which they are able to kill by incantation any person on whom their anger may fall.” The Sandwich Islanders, when they found that Christians supposed they worshipped the images of their gods, were much amused, and said “We are not such fools.” They used the idol as an aid to fix their minds on their divinity. Some of them supposed their divinity was a spirit residing in their idol.