Chapter V: Front Matter (5)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4:11. Thou art worthy, O Lord OUR LORD AND GOD.—“The proper view of the matter shows us the Heavenly Father perfect in all the attributes of nobility of character; perfect in Justice, so that the just sentence of His righteous Law cannot be infracted, even by Himself; perfect in wisdom, so that His plan and arrangement, not only with respect to man’s creation, but also with respect to man’s salvation, the Atonement, etc., were all so complete that no contingency or failure could arise, nor any necessity for change of the Divine Plan; as it is written, ‘I am the same, I change not, saith the Lord,’ and ‘Known unto the Lord are all His works, from the foundation of the world’; perfect also in His Love, than which there could be no greater love possible, and yet that Love is in full balance and accord with the other Divine attributes, so that it could spare the sinner only in harmony with the just program marked out by Divine Wisdom; perfect also in Power, so that all His good purposes, good intentions, just program and loving designs, fully co‐ordinated, shall be executed, and bring the originally designed result; as it is written, ‘My Word that goeth forth out of My mouth shall not return to Me void; it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.’ (Isa. 55:11; Mal. 3:6; Acts 15:18.)”—E. _37_, 34.

To receive glory.—All the glory, Greek.

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

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

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

“Sun of my soul, my Father dear,
I know no night when Thou are near.
O! may no earth‐born cloud arise
To hide Thee from thy servant’s eyes.

Shield of my soul, though tempests rage,
And ’gainst me hosts of foes engage,
My refuge and my fortress Thou,
Before Thee every foe must bow.

Thy grace and glory Thou dost give
To those who near Thee ever live;
And no good thing dost Thou withhold
From sheep which stray not from Thy fold.”

Hindrances To Christian Progress

The Thinking Public Declines To Endorse The Modern Political Preaching

Revelation 5—The Executor Of The Plan

5:1. And I saw in the right hand.—“The Divine Plan, known only to the Father, Jehovah Himself, was kept in His own power—in His own hand—until some one should be _proved_ worthy to know it, and become its executor as Jehovah’s honored Agent and Representative.”—E. _39_, 36.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Because no man.—No being in the Universe.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Root of David.—“It was not the pre‐human Logos, nor yet the man Jesus, that was David’s Lord and David’s Root; but the resurrected Messiah.”—E. _151_, 136; Isa. 11:1; Rom. 15:12; Rev. 22:16.

Hath prevailed to open the book.—“When our Lord Jesus had proven His loyalty to the Heavenly Father by His obedience, ‘even unto the [ignominious] death of the cross,’ then and thereby He did prove Himself worthy of every confidence and trust.”—E. _39_, 37.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Out of the right hand.—See Rev. 5:1.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And hast redeemed.—“_Agorazo._ This word signifies to purchase in the open market.”—E. _443_, 429; 1 Cor. 6:20; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19.

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

To God.—“What say the Scriptures respecting the sacrifice of Christ, the offering which He made? Do they say that it was made to Satan or to Jehovah God? We answer that in all the types of the Jewish dispensation, which foreshadowed this better sacrifice, which does take away the sins of the world, the offerings were presented to God, at the hands of the priest, who typified our Lord Jesus.”—E. _461_, 449.

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

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

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

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

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

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

And [priests] PRIESTHOOD.—“The Divine provision for a ‘Royal Priesthood’ implies weakness, imperfection, on the part of some whom the priests are to help, and instruct, and from whom they are to accept sacrifice and offerings for sin, and to whom they are to extend mercy and forgiveness.”—E. _486_, 476; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 20:6.

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

On.—_Epi_, over.—Rev. 6:16.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.—“Our Lord Jesus demonstrated before the Father, before angels, and before His ‘brethren,’ His fidelity to the Father and to the Father’s Law, demonstrating that it was not beyond the ability of a perfect being, even under the most adverse conditions.”—E. _134_, 120.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be.—Be ascribed to.

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

And unto the Lamb.—Our Redeemer and Brother.

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

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

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

Revelation 6—Six Seals And The Papacy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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