“And one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and talked with me, saying, Come here; I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot who sitteth on many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” Rev 17:1, 2.

The Roman hierarchy had been frequently referred to in the preceding visions; but an institution, so interwoven with the history of the nations, required a more full and minute symbolization.

The subject of this vision is announced to the revelator, by one of the angels who had the seven vials; very probably, the seventh. The harlot is identified as one “that sitteth upon many waters.” Ancient Babylon was thus addressed: “O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness,” Jer 51:13. She is also described as “The well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts,” Nahum 3:4. Therefore the harlot whose judgment is to be more minutely shown, is the city of the previous vision, which received the cup of the wine of God’s wrath (16:19), and which probably was shown to John on the waters of the Euphrates, (16:12); for the reference indicates that she had been thus previously exhibited, the waters on which she was seated, being the people, nations, &c., which sustained and defended her idolatries, 17:15. In the vision now to be shown John, the Roman hierarchy is symbolized by Babylon; but it is first exhibited as:

A Woman on a Scarlet-Colored Beast

“And he carried me away in spirit into a desert: and I saw a woman seated on a crimson-colored wild beast, full of names of reviling, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and crimson, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; and on her forehead a name was written, A SECRET: BABYLON, THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus; and when I saw her I wondered greatly.” Rev 17:3-6.

“And the angel said to me, Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee the secret of the woman, and of the wild beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The wild beast which thou didst see, was, and is not, and will ascend out of the abyss, and go into destruction; and those who dwell on the earth will wonder, (whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,) as they behold the wild beast that was and is not, and will be. And here is the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh he must remain a little while. And the wild beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction. And the ten horns which thou didst see are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom; but they receive power as kings, one hour, with the wild beast. These have one mind, and will give their power and strength to the wild beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and those with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” Rev 17:7-14.

“And he saith to me, The waters which thou didst see, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and crowds, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou didst see, and the wild beast, these will hate the harlot, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For God hath put it into their hearts to perform his purpose, and to agree, and give their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman whom thou didst see is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Rev 17:15-18.

That the woman and city symbolize the same, is shown by the declaration that she is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth, v 18. She is also thus indicated by the name of “Babylon,” on her forehead, and the golden cup in her hand: “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore are the nations mad,” Jer 51:7. In like manner has the church of Rome intoxicated the nations.

“The scarlet-colored beast” on which the woman is seated, is evidently the same beast that John saw “rise out of the sea, having seven heads, and ten horns,” 13:1. The Roman empire had been symbolized by “a great red dragon,” which also had seven heads and ten horns. In that vision, crowns were on the heads of the beast, (12:3); which indicated that Rome, during the period thus represented, existed under the forms of government symbolized by the heads. These heads, the angel affirms, are the seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, (v 9); and also that they are seven kings (v 10), or forms of government. Mountains also symbolize governments, (16:20); and as the heads and mountains are the same, they must alike symbolize the seven forms of government under which Rome existed previous to its subversion by the northern barbarians, viz.: 1, the kingly; 2, consular; 3, dictatorial; 4, decemviral; 5, tribunitial; 6, pagan-imperial; and 7, Christian-imperial. At the time of the explanation of this vision to John, the “five” first-named forms had passed away; or, as the angel says, had “fallen,” v 10. One then was: Rome then existed under its pagan-imperial, or sixth head. The other, the Christian-imperial, had not then come; but after it came, and had continued for a time, the Roman empire was subverted by the irruptions of northern barbarians. Thus “the beast was;” and then, was not for a season. But afterwards it emerged again from the sea (13:1), under an “eight” form, which was of the previous seven, 17:11. When it reaeppears, its crowns are not upon its heads, but encircle its horns, (13:1); indicating that those governments have the ascendency, which are symbolized by the “ten horns;” and which, according to the angel, are “ten kings,” which had not received their kingdom at the time of the vision, . These were to be kings in “one,” or the same hour with the beast, and must therefore be contemporary kingdoms, while the forms symbolized by the heads, are evidently successive. They constitute the government of Rome, in its eighth, or decem-regal form; and symbolize the ten kingdoms which arose after and out of the subversion of imperial Rome. Under this form, the beast goes into perdition, (v 11): they continue under various combinations, till the end of the world, when they will war with and be overcome by the Lamb (v 14), in the great battle of Armageddon, 19:19-21.

The ten contemporary kingdoms have one mind, (v 13): they perpetuate the kingdom of the beast, by adopting similar laws, pursuing the same line of policy, and assuming the same powers that the empire exercised.

The “names of blasphemy” which cover the beast, symbolize its arrogating the right to dictate in matters of faith and religious worship, and to punish those who dissent from its creed. The Roman hierarchy was supported by legal enactments against heretics in all of the ten kingdoms. Those who dissented from the church were delivered over to the power of the civil arm, which punished by imprisonment, confiscation of goods, bodily torture, and death. The exercise of such power, was a blasphemous usurpation of the prerogatives of Christ, and an assumption of authority over the legislation of God.

On this beast the woman is seated. As its rider, she guides it, and is sustained by it. She is its directing power; and while she is thus seated, there is no reference to crowns encircling either heads or horns. All rule for a time is subservient to her control. Thus were the ten kingdoms obedient to the Roman hierarchy, sustaining, and being controlled by it. She crowned their kings, and dethroned them at her pleasure. The religion of the church was enforced by the sword of the state; and thus did the kings of the earth commit fornication with her, the idolatries of the church being sanctioned by them.

The superb attire of the woman, and the costly gems with which she is decked, denote the wealth, luxury, and regal splendor of the hierarchy which she symbolizes. The cup, and its abominations in her hand, denote the false doctrines with which she would seduce the nations. Her names describe her nature, and identify her with Babylon; and her intoxication with blood, indicates her blood-thirsty, persecuting character, and the delight with which she would exult over the slaughter of the saints.

The Roman hierarchy was not, however, always to retain her supremacy over the nations. She was in due time to fall from the position symbolized by the woman seated on the beast; and the kings of the earth were to hate and burn with fire, her whom they had recognized as their mistress, and to whose control they had submitted. The governments which have sustained her pretensions, were to cast her off contemptuously. This has been in progress of fulfilment from the days of Martin Luther, since which her control of the ten kingdoms has been only limited and partial. Many of her ecclesiastical estates have been confiscated, and she has been deprived of her prerogatives in many countries. There may, perhaps, be hereafter a more complete fulfilment of this prediction. It is symbolized in the following chapter, by:

The Fall of Babylon

“And after this, I saw another angel descending from heaven, having great power; and the earth was enlightened by his glory. And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, She is fallen: Babylon the great is fallen, and is become a dwelling of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird, for all the nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” Rev 18:1-3.

This announcement of the fall of the city, synchronizes with the same symbolization in the 14th chapter: “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,” 14:8. The angel, proclaiming her fall, doubtless symbolizes a body of men, who shall give utterance to corresponding declarations.

The epoch of this utterance is shown by the identity of this angel with that of Rev 10:1-3. They thus correspond: They both descend from heaven: the one is a mighty angel, and the other has great power; the one is enveloped with a robe of cloud, his head is arched with the rainbow, his face is like the sun, and his feet like fire, and he stands on both earth and sea; the other is so glorified, and occupies a position so conspicuous, that the earth is enlightened with his glory; and the one cries “with a loud voice as when a lion roareth,” while the other cries “mighty with a strong voice.” Thus their position, manner and conspicuousness, are alike. What was uttered by the angel of the tenth chapter, is not revealed; but the fall of Babylon being announced in the eighteenth, it follows that it was the subject of the angel’s utterance in the tenth.

As the messenger of the tenth chapter appears subsequent to the sixth, and before the seventh trumpet; and as, after this epoch, there were to be prophesyings “again, before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings” (10:11), it follows that the time then symbolized must be at an epoch anterior to the end of the world. A corresponding reason namely, the command to come out of Babylon, and the fulfilment of her plagues and sorrows, which are to intervene between the cry of the angel announcing her fall and the time of her actual destruction proves that the mighty angel of the 18th of Revelation must also be at an epoch having a considerable period between it and the end.

It follows, that when John saw the angel of the eighteenth chapter, and “the earth was lightened with his glory,” it did not symbolize a literal but a moral light, the light of truth. And as the enlightening of the earth by its promulgation, pre-supposes a previous state of corresponding moral darkness, it must, as in the tenth chapter, symbolize an epoch, prominent in the history of the world, as a time when the darkness of ignorance, error and superstition, began rapidly to disappear before the spread of the light of truth and knowledge.

These considerations point to the epoch of the REFORMATION, when the midnight darkness of the dark ages began to be scattered before the uprising and onward progress of truth and knowledge. Then appeared a body of religious teachers, aided by the newly discovered art of printing, who so brought the Scriptures out from their obscurity, opposed the pretensions of the Papal hierarchy, and, by the clear teachings of the word, so secured the spread of gospel light and liberty, that they might appropriately be symbolized by an angel coming down from heaven, and enlightening the earth with his glory. The descent from heaven would symbolize the heavenly origin of the doctrines promulgated. His mighty power, and the strong voice with which he proclaimed his cry, would symbolize the greatness and earnestness of the movement, and the mighty results to be effected by it. This symbolization, twice given, could only be fulfilled by some great and mighty movement, like the Reformation.

The fall of Babylon is distinct from and anterior to its destruction, and must correspond with the fall of the woman from her position on the beast; she is no longer to be the director of, and to be sustained by, the civil power. The cry of the angel, announcing her fall, as Mr. Elliot remarks, seems to be anticipative, and not retrospective. The denunciations of the Papacy by the reformers were of a character to fulfil this symbolization.

The year 1300, during the pontificate of Boniface VIII., may be regarded as marking the highest eminence to which the Papal power ever attained. From this period the dominion of the Roman Pontiffs appeared to be gradually undermined. Twenty-four years after this date, John Wickliffe was born, who, together with his followers, made more vigorous attacks upon Babylon itself. Some of these declared Rome to be mystical Babylon, and the Pope and church there to be Antichrist. These heralds announced the fall of mystical Babylon, as the ancient prophets had done that of literal Babylon, long before the event. Jer 51:7, 8. Antichrist and Babylon are identified in prophecy. In 1518, Luther first suspected their application to the Papacy; and, writing to his friend Link, on sending him a copy of the acts just published of the conference at Augsburg, he says: “My pen is ready to give birth to things much greater. I know not myself whence these thoughts come to me. I will send you what I write, that you may see if I have well conjectured in believing that the Antichrist of whom St. Paul speaks now reigns in the court of Rome.”

At first, Luther and his companions sought only the reformation of that church. They had no idea of dissolving their own connection with it. But when the thunders of the Vatican were hurled at them, and they found themselves excommunicated as heretics, they came to the conclusion that the church of Rome was the Babylon of the Apocalypse. Immediately upon this conviction, they began to cry, “Babylon is fallen!”

In 1520 appeared a famous book, by Luther, on the “Babylonish Captivity of the Church,” in which he attacked Rome with great skill and courage. In Switzerland and England the reformers considered themselves as fulfilling this message of the Apocalyptic angel. Elliot says, “They seized on this very prophecy for application; and, for the first time, upon grounds of evidence sound and tenable, concluded on the fact of progress having been made up to it, in the evolution of the great mundane drama, and on their own chronological place being already far advanced under the sixth trumpet, and in near expectancy of the seventh trumpet, of the Apocalyptic prophecy.”

These denunciations against Mystic Babylon, and protestations against all her idolatrous ceremonies and superstitious appendages, were given, by the great body of the reformers, within the very bounds of her empire. They resulted in her loss of power, and of control over the princes of Europe. In 1526, the other monarchs becoming jealous of the power of Charles V., Emperor of Germany, “Pope Clement VII. placed himself at the head of a league of the principal states of Italy against him; but their ill-directed efforts were productive of new misfortunes. Rome was taken by storm, by the troops of the constable, sacked, and the Pope himself made prisoner. Charles V. publicly disavowed the proceedings of the constable, went into mourning with his court, and carried his hypocrisy so far as to order prayers for the deliverance of the Pope. On restoring the holy father to liberty, he demanded a ransom of four hundred thousand crowns of gold, but was satisfied with a quarter of that sum.” Ency. Am.

All the Protestant princes of Germany denied the assumptions of the Pope; and the powers of western and northern Europe, one after another, denied their allegiance to him. In 1798, Pius VI. was taken prisoner by the French, under Gen. Berthier, and died in exile. When Berthier entered Rome, many of the cardinals “fled from the city on the wings of terror;” but those who remained “were disposed still to uphold the authority of the Pontiff.” Finally, however, “with melancholy voice, they pronounced their absolute renunciation of the temporal government.” Life of Pius VI. His successor resumed his position. But in 1848 Pius IX. fled from his own subjects, and was only restored by French arms. Thus gradually the Babylonish woman became unseated, and fell from her position on the beast; and, instead of guiding and directing the civil power, now only exists by sufferance. As a city, also, her supremacy was gone. Being no longer the mistress of the nations, or the ruling city, the Papal See is in the condition of ancient Babylon when becoming a dependency of the Medes and Persians.

After the fall of ancient Babylon, it became gradually more and more deserted, until there was a literal fulfilment of the words of Isaiah: “Wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces,” Isa 13:21, 22. In like manner the apocalyptic Babylon, after her fall, and the withdrawal of Protestants from her communion, was to become the receptacle of corresponding spirits. Her members were to be more impious than before, and were to adhere more closely than ever to her idolatrous practices. The contrast between these and true Christians would also be more apparent from the separation which succeeds her fall, in obedience to:

The Voice From Heaven

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye partake not of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues, for her sins have reached to heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities! Reward her even as she rendered to you, and double to her according to her works, in the cup which she hath poured out, pour out double to her. By as much as she hath glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and mourning give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and shall see no mourning. On this account, her plagues will come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she will be burned up with fire; for strong is the Lord God, who judgeth her.” Rev 18:4-8.

So long as the true character of the apostate church was unperceived, she would contain many good, as well as a multitude of bad members. The voice from heaven, indicates an epoch when there should be a widely extended and marked separation between these two classes. Till the time of that separation should be indicated, the children of God would be justified in continuing members of her communion; but not subsequently. The condition of Babylon, at the time of her fall, indicates that the separation must take place in near connection with that event; and the cry must synchronize with that of the third angel in Rev 14:9, which symbolized a body of men who should insist on such a separation from the Papacy as that here symbolized.

After the discovery that the church of Rome was the Babylon of the Apocalypse, the reformers began to call on the people of God to desert her communion; and the formation of the reformed churches was the consequence. This was preached wherever the Reformation extended, and has been continued to the present time. The Protestant churches have proclaimed connection with Romanism, an obstacle to salvation; and have called on its Christian members to come out from her abominations. Even the name “Protestant,” was given because of their protestation against the corruptions of the Papal See.

After the fall of ancient Babylon, and before her destruction, the people were, in like manner, commanded to forsake her. Said Jeremiah: “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,” Jer 51:6, 8, 9. And Isaiah said: “Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob,” Is:20. “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord,” Isa 52:11.

Sins reaching to heaven, indicate great wickedness. Thus God said to Jonah: “Go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me,” Jonah 1:2. And he said of old Babylon: “Her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,” Jer 51:9.

The Destruction of Babylon

“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and wail for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off through the fear of her torment, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come! And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her; for no one buyeth their merchandise any more; the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and crimson, and all thine wood, and all kinds of vessels of ivory, and all kinds of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and fragrant ointment, and incense, and myrrh, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and bodies, and souls of men. And the autumnal fruit of thine appetite’s desire is departed from thee, and all things dainty and sumptuous are destroyed from thee, and thou wilt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were enriched by her, will stand afar off, through the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and crimson, and adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! for in one hour such great wealth is destroyed. And every pilot, and every one sailing to any place, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried, when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city? And they cast dust on their heads, and cried out, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! the great city by which all who had ships on the sea, were made rich through her precious merchandise! for in one hour she is desolated.” Rev 18:9-20.

“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and ye saints and apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her!” Rev 18:20.

“And a strong angel took up a stone like a great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus violently, will Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and be no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers, and trumpeters, will be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of any art, will be found any more in thee; and the sound of a mill-stone will be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a lamp will shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the nobles of the earth; for by thy sorcery all nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all those slain on the earth.” Rev 18:21-24.

The punishment of Babylon is proportioned to her wickedness, and is to be inflicted partially by the kings of the earth, and partially by other agencies. The kings were to hate, and burn her with fire, (17:16); and were also, when they should see the smoke of her burnings, to bewail and lament for her, 18:9. The former passage indicates their agency in her impoverishment, and has been fulfilled in the confiscation of her property in France and England, the spoliation of churches and religious houses, wherever the arms of Napoleon extended; the dethronement of the Pope, by Gen. Berthier, in 1798; the refusal of some of the powers to permit her to nominate, within their limits, the candidates for ecclesiastical preferment, &c. She is thus made to feel her widowhood, her divorce from the secular arm, and has mourned the loss of her most devoted children, who have forsaken her communion.

Her final destruction is, however, to be entire. She is totally to disappear, like the sinking of a millstone in the sea. She is to be utterly burned with fire; but the lamentation of the kings over her burning, indicates that her destruction is to be completed by other instrumentality than theirs. Probably the multitude are to be incensed against her, and will so manifest their hatred that the governments will neither join in it, nor attempt to resist it, for fear that the same torment will be inflicted on them, 18:10. But her existence is terminated by the brightness of Christ’s coming, 2 Thess 2:8. Her destruction precedes that of the kings of the earth, who mourn her end. The merchants of the earth, the captains, sailors, &c., symbolize those who bear a relation to the hierarchy, analogous to that sustained by such to a great commercial emporium. They are those who have the control of her preferments, benefices and revenues, who traffic in her indulgences, and thereby become themselves enriched. And these articles of traffic are symbolized by the merchandise which, after her destruction, no man would buy.

The commerce of this ecclesiastical city, has been immense, particularly in indulgences. The sale of these was reduced to a system, says D’Aubigne, by “the celebrated and scandalous Tariff of Indulgences,” which went through more than forty editions. The least delicate ears would be offended by an enumeration of all the horrors it contains. Incest, if not detected, was to cost five groats; and six, if it was known. There was a stated price for murder, infanticide, adultery, perjury, burglary, &c. Polygamy cost six ducats; sacrilege and perjury, nine; murder, eight; and witchcraft, two ducats.

The penances of various kinds which were imposed as a punishment for sin, might also be compounded for money.

Tetzel, one of Rome’s travelling merchants, told the people of Germany that for “a quarter of a florin” they might “receive letters of indulgence,” by means of which they might “introduce into paradise a divine and immortal soul, without its running any risk.”

He also said “Indulgences avail not only for the living but for the dead. With twelve groats you can deliver your father from purgatory.” “At the very instant,” said he, “that the money rattles at the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies, liberated to heaven.” This is but a specimen of her vile traffic.

Responding to the command, are heard the voices of much people in heaven,

Rejoicing Over Babylon’s Destruction

“And after this, I heard a loud voice of a mighty crowd in heaven, saying, Praise ye Jehovah! The salvation, and the glory, and the power of our God! For true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand! And again they said, Praise ye Jehovah! And her smoke ascendeth for ever and ever. And the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshipped God, who sat on the throne, saying, So be it! Praise ye Jehovah!” Rev 19:1-4.

Daniel, in vision, saw the same persecuting power symbolized by a “Little Horn,” having “eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things;” and he beheld, “and the same Horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom,” Dan 7:8, 21, 22. And Paul testified of “that Wicked” who was to be revealed, that he was the “Man of Sin,” “whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming,” 2 Thess 2:3-8. The destruction of that which was thus symbolized and predicted, must, consequently, be at the epoch of Christ’s second coming and of the establishment of the kingdom of God.

It is also at the epoch anticipated by “the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held,” who, from under the altar, on the opening of the “fifth seal,” “cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” 6:9, 10. The epoch which they anticipated not having then arrived, “white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also, and their brethren that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (6:11), i.e., till their number should be filled up. As the destruction of that hierarchy, in which “was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth” (18:24), had just been symbolized, and as these rejoicings are because God “hath judged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand” (19:2), it follows that the epoch here symbolized is that to which the saints were to wait, and that they are now to be crowned with their reward.

As the destruction of Babylon is a little anterior to that of the beast and false prophet (19:20), and is to be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming (2 Thess 2:8), at a time when the kingdom is to be given to the saints of the Most High (Dan 7:22), it explains how it is that the kingdom is set up in the days of the kings symbolized by the divided toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s image: symbolic of the same as the horns of the beast in Dan 7:7, 24, and Rev 17:3, 12, 16; for “in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever,” Dan 2:44.

The kingdom is therefore commenced previous to the descent of the Lord to the earth, by the saints being caught up to meet him in the air. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and 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,” 1 Thess 4:16, 17.

This epoch, then, is that of the sounding of the seventh trumpet; for “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God shall be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets,” 10:7. This mystery Paul thus explains: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed,” 1 Cor 15:50-54. This “saying” was thus written by Isaiah, “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation,” Isa 25:8, 9. It follows, then, that the voices heard in heaven, shouting “Alleluia,” and ascribing “salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God” (v 1), synchronize with those heard when “the seventh angel sounded: and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces and worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned: And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth,” Rev 11:15-18.

The time of the dead being come that they should be judged, and the saints rewarded, is another evidence that this epoch is that of the second advent and kingdom of Christ, “who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and kingdom,” 2 Tim 4:1. Consequently it must synchronize with that of:

The Marriage of the Lamb

“And a voice came from the throne saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both the small and the great! And I heard a voice like that of a great crowd, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Praise ye Jehovah! for the Lord God Almighty reigneth. Let us rejoice and exult, and give glory up him: for the marriage of the Lamb hath come, and his wife hath prepared herself! And it was granted to her to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: (for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.) And he saith to me, Write, Happy are those called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb. And he saith to me, These are the true words of God. And I fell before his feet to worship him. And he saith to me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant and one of thy brethren, who have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rev 19:5-10.

The marriage of the Lamb is at the epoch when “the kingdoms of this world are to become our Lord’s and his Christ’s” when the Lord God Almighty takes to himself his great power and reigns, 11:15, 17. Therefore, in connection, are heard the mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia; for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth,” 9:16. This scripture, then, corresponds with that in Mat:30, 31, when “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.” For, “when the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats the one on his right hand and the other on his left,” Matt 25:31, 32. Those on his right, we learn from 1 Cor 15:51, and 1 Thess 4:16, 17, are the elect, gathered by the angels from all parts under heaven, who are caught up to meet the Lord in the air and those on the left are consequently the living wicked, who are to be slain by the sword which proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lamb, 19:21.

The wife who “hath made herself ready,” is shown by the foregoing scriptures to be, undoubtedly, the church triumphant the redeemed, who have been raised out from among the dead, and the living saints, caught up together to meet the Lord in the air; to welcome him in his coming to reign. These constitute the bride, the Lamb’s wife; for as “the husband is the head of the wife,” even so “Christ is the head of the church,” Eph 5:23. He “loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish,” Eph 5:25-27. This accords with God’s ancient promises to his people. Thus Isaiah saith: “Thy Maker is thy husband; the Lord of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel: the Lord of the whole earth shall he be called,” Isa 54:5. Also Hosea: “And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi,” my husband; “and shalt call me no more Baali,” my Lord. “And I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know the Lord,” Hos 2:16, 19. Thus is the church “espoused to one husband,” to be presented “as a chaste virgin to Christ,” 2 Cor 11:2.

The epoch of this presentation being here symbolized, it synchronizes with that part of the parable of the “ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the Bridegroom,” when, the Bridegroom having come, “they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut” those left without, afterwards crying in vain for admittance, Matt 25:10. The wife had been made ready by its having been “granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white [mar. ’bright’]; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints,” 19:8. Such were the “white robes” given to those who cried from under the altar (6:11), and who afterwards, at an epoch synchronizing with the marriage of the Lamb, appeared, “a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues,” who “stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb,” 7:9, 10. These were they of whom one of the elders asked, saying, “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?” and who was answered: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes,” 7:13-17. These had complied with the condition to the promise: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before the Father and before his holy angels,” 3:5. “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb,” 14:4.

“Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb,” 19:9. Truly are they blessed; for “they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat,” 7:16. They attain the promised blessing: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection,” 20:6. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away,” 21:4. So entranced was the apocalyptic seer at these symbols of the glorified redeemed, that he fell at his feet to worship the angel who showed him these things. But his fellow servant shrank back from the reception of homage, and pointed to God as the only object of adoration.

The union of the saints to Christ in the clouds of heaven being symbolized, they receive the gracious welcome: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” Matt 25:34. But first it is necessary to redeem the “purchased possession” (Eph 1:14), to reconquer the revolted province, which, since the fall, has been subject to “the god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4), the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2), to rescue it from the dominion of the usurper, and deliver it from its present mis-rule “up to God the Father” (1 Cor 15:24), who will bestow it on One who is worthy to wear its crown. For when Daniel saw that “the judgment was set and the books were opened,” he also “saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came in 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: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed,” Dan 7:10, 13, 14. He comes, then, to dispossess the usurper, and to take possession of his kingdom. The next representation, then, symbolizes the coming of:

The King and his Armies

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse: and he who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judgeth and maketh war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many diadems; and he had a name written which no one knew except himself. And he was clothed with a garment dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And from his mouth goeth forth a sharp sword, that he may smite the nations with it: and he will rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the wine-press of the furious wrath of God, the Almighty. And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Rev 19:11-16.

According to the significance of symbolic language, Christ is here represented as coming personally. The heavens open and he appears in resplendent majesty, in accordance with the predictions respecting his second advent. When the clouds of heaven had received the ascending Saviour, the shining ones who stood by said to the gazing disciples, “This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven,” Acts 1:11. “And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,” Matt 24:30. “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him,” Rev 1:7.

The white horse of the King, and those of his armies, are symbols of the pomp and grandeur of their descent, and show that they will triumph in victory.

The names ascribed to the descending Monarch are applicable only to Christ. He was “the Faithful and True Witness” who commanded John to write “to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans,” (3:14); for he who commanded John to “write in a book and send it unto the seven churches” of Asia (1:11), was the One whom John saw “in the midst of the seven candlesticks, like unto the Son of man” (1:13), and who announced himself as “the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come the Almighty,” 1:8. “The Word of God,” was the “Word” that was “in the beginning,” that “was with God,” and that “was God,” the same that was “in the beginning with God,” and which “was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” John 1:1-14. Jesus is “the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world,” (Ib, 29); and “the Lamb” “is Lord of lords and King of kings,” 17:14. It is “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth,” (1:5); and he alone is possessed of that incomprehensible “Name” which no man knoweth, and which he hath promised to write on “him that overcometh,” 3:12.

That the visible and personal coming of Christ, and not any providential interposition, is here symbolized, is self-evident. For, while no created object can adequately symbolize Him, it would derogate from the dignity of his character and position to be a symbol of some inferior object. In all mere providential interpositions, foreshown by symbolic imagery, the predicted events are represented by corresponding acts of symbolic agents. War between nations is symbolized by beasts, representatives of the nations, contending with each other. Pestilence and famine are symbolized by analogous results, and not by Christ’s appearing. When, therefore, he is seen coming in person, it must symbolize his personal advent.

His eyes “as a flame of fire,” show his identity with the one “like unto the Son of man” in the “midst of the seven candlesticks” (1:13), the author of the message to “the church in Thyatira;” which “things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine brass,” 2:18.

His “many crowns” are symbols of his sovereignty. Rome undivided and mistress of the world, when symbolized by the seven-headed and ten-horned dragon, is represented with the crowns on the heads, which were the seven successive kinds of government by which its sovereignty was enforced, 12:3, and 17:9, 10. But when its imperial had given place to its decem-regal form, and it is to be shown under the government of ten contemporaneous kingdoms, “the crowns,” the symbols of sovereignty, are represented as encircling the “horns” of the beast, 13:1. So, when “the King of kings” cometh, to take to himself his great power, and to reign, and “the kingdoms of this world are become those of our Lord and of his Christ” (11:15, 17), He, “the head of all principality and power” (Col 2:10), at whose name “every knee should bow” (Phil 2:9), is shown the wearer of “many crowns.”

“Come, then, and, added to thy many crowns,
Receive yet one, the crown of all the Earth,
Thou who alone art worthy! It was thine
By ancient covenant, ere nature’s birth;
And thou hast made it thine by purchase since,
And overpaid its value with thy blood.”
Cowper’s Task.

His “vesture dipped in blood” is symbolic of his coming to tread “the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (19:15), when he shall “smite the nations,” and “rule them with a rod of iron,” (Ib) 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-fat? 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. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth,” Isa 63:1-6.

The “armies” which follow him, symbolize the attending saints and angels who will accompany his advent. They are all “clothed in fine linen, white and clean,” which constituted the wedding garments of those who were called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb, and which was worn by those who had washed their robes, and made them white in his blood, (7:14); “for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints,” 19:8. The righteous being caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess 4:17), “when Christ, who is our life shall appear,” they will “appear with him in glory,” (Col 3:4); so that “the Lord my God shall come and all the saints with thee,” Zech 14:5. “Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him,” Jude 14, 15.

Not only saints, but angels also, will attend his coming. For “when the Son of man shall come in his glory,” there will be “all the holy angels with him,” Matt 25:31. “He cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels,” Mark 8:38. “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,” 2 Thess 1:7.

The “sharp sword,” going out of his mouth, must be a symbol of his word. He speaks, and it is done, Psa 33:9. “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,” Heb 4:12. As “he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked,” (Isa 11:4); and as “the Lord shall consume” “that Wicked” one “with the spirit of his mouth” (2 Thess 2:8), it follows that the sword proceeding out of his mouth is a symbol of the words he shall speak for their destruction; for with it he smites the nations, 19:15. And this he does when he comes to “rule them with a rod of iron” (Ib) and tread them in “the wine-press” of the wrath of God. This brings us to the object of his coming, which is to “judge and make war,” 19:11.

And first, “To judge.” This proves, that Christ’s second advent is here symbolized; for, as before quoted, he is to “judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and kingdom,” 2 Tim 4:1. This is at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, for then is “the time of the dead that they should be judged,” 11:18. “With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth,” when he “shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked,” Isa 11:4. “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with truth,” Psa 96:11-13. He cometh “to execute judgment upon all,” Jude 15.

To “make war.” That this is another object of his coming, is shown by:

The Final Conflict

“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying in the midst of heaven, Come! gather yourselves to the great supper of God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of commanders, and the flesh of the mighty, and the flesh of the horses, and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the wild beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered to make war with him, who sat on the horse, and with his army. And the wild beast was taken, and with him the false prophet, who wrought signs in his sight, with which he had deceived those who received the mark of the wild beast, and those who worshipped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were slain with the sword of him who sat on the horse, which sword goeth forth from his mouth; and all the birds were filled with their flesh.” Rev 19:17-21.

The contest being between the Lord and his armies on the one part, and the wicked nations on the other, the angel seen standing in the sun and performing an important act in connection with the Lord’s army, must represent one of his attending angels; for the acts to be performed are to be by their instrumentality: “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,” Matt 13:40-42.

His crying to the fowls of heaven to come and sup on the bodies of the slain, is indicative of the certainty of victory and of the entire overthrow of those who war against the Lamb. As birds gather on fields of slaughter to feast on the slain, so a cry to “all the fowls of heaven” is expressive of the extent and thoroughness of the destruction to be inflicted. It is the same cry which is made in Ezekiel, 39:17, when the armies of Gog are slain on the mountains of Israel. The beast and the kings of the earth symbolize the various governments in the world. The “beast” is that which had seven heads and ten horns (13:1, and 17:3), and was a symbol of Rome in its decem-regal form. It was said of this beast, it shall “go into perdition,” (17:8); so that under some manifestation, it must continue till the end of the world: the earth being “reserved unto fire against the day of judgement, and perdition of ungodly men,” 2 Pet 3:7. As only in its divided form, the Roman empire continues till then, the beast is here significant of the divisions represented by its ten horns the governments of modern Europe. “These shall war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful,” 17:14.

“The false prophet,” which is taken with the beast, is described as the one “that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image,” v 20. This identifies him as the two-horned beast of Rev 13. (13:11-17). The two-horned beast being a representative of the Eastern Roman empire, when that was subverted by the Turks it became the seat of the false prophet, the Mahometan hierarchy.

The kings of the earth must be the remaining governments which are not represented by those two. By their subsequently warring with the Lamb, it follows that the previous resurrection and translation of the saints does not produce a cessation of all government. Those events may not be apparent to all eyes; or they may serve only to madden the unbelieving, and to make them more desperate in their infidelity.

They gather their armies to war against the Lamb. They resist his authority. They will not have Him to reign over them. They are instigated to oppose him by “unclean spirits like frogs” (16:13), which are the spirits of devils [demons, understood by the Jews to be spirits of the wicked dead] working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, Ib. v 14. This is when Christ is to “come as a thief;” and they are to be gathered “into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon,” 16:15, 16. This was the name of the valley at the foot of Mount Megiddo (Judg 5:19), which was famous as a valley of slaughter. In it Jehu fought against Ahaziah and Joram, and slew both the kings of Israel and Judah, 2 Kings 9:27. It was afterwards memorable for the death of king Josiah, when Pharaoh-necho fought against him, (2 Kings 23:29); so that the mourning as “in the valley of Megiddon,” became a proverbial expression in Israel for great mourning, Zech 12:11,12. It is therefore significantly applied to the final battle.

Thus do “the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed;” but “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision.” For the decree has gone forth: “I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel,” Ps 2:2-9. In this victory the saints, also, have a part; for it is written: “He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father,” 2:26, 27.

As thus predicted, in this final conflict the nations are smitten, 19:15. Those symbolized by the beast and false prophet are cast alive into the burning flame; i.e., the individuals constituting the bodies of those beasts are cast therein: their governments cease when taken by the Lamb and his armies. This is in accordance with what Daniel saw, who “beheld, even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame,” Dan 7:11.

“The remnant” also are slain; so that there are none left alive on the earth of all the wicked. Thus Daniel interpreted to king Nebuchadnezzar his dream: “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image [representing the governments of earth] upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them,” Dan 2:34, 35. It will “break in pieces, and consume all these kingdoms” (Ib), according to the prediction: “The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted,” Isa 60:12. “And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people which have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongues shall consume away in their mouth,” Zech 14:12. “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch,” Mal 4:1. “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it,” Isa 13:9. Thus will the Saviour come “in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, when he comes to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe in that day,” (2 Thess 1:8-10): saying to the nations on his left, “Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels,” Matt 25:41. Thus will he “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,” Ib, 13:41, 42. The destruction of all the wicked from the earth is followed by:

The Binding of Satan

“And I saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he seized the dragon, the old serpent, who is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and set a seal over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were completed; and after that, he must be loosed a short time.” Rev 20:1-3.

The angel descending from heaven, must be a representative of his own order; for at this epoch there are no other orders of beings for him to be a representative of. He therefore symbolizes the angels who are commissioned to “gather out of his kingdom all things that offend,” Matt 13:41.

The “key,” “pit,” and “chain,” symbolize the instruments of restraint and confinement to which Satan is to be subjected; and his being bound and confined symbolize his restraint.

The “Dragon” is expressly called “that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan.” With the appendages of heads and horns symbols of political sovereignty he is used in Rev 12:3, as a symbol of the Roman civil power, under Pagan rule; and in verse 7, when divested of political insignia, of the pagan hierarchy. But now, as the beast, another symbol of Roman civil rule, has been cast into “the lake of fire and brimstone,” and the “remnant” are “slain with the sword” (19:21), there are no analogous powers remaining on earth for him to be a representative of, and consequently he is here represented as a symbol of himself.

Of his identity there can be no question: He is “that Old Serpent,” who, being “more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made” (Gen 3:1), “beguiled Eve through his subtlety,” 2 Cor 11:3. He is also the Devil, by whom our Saviour was tempted in the wilderness, (Matt 4:1-12); and the Satan, whose working is “with all power and signs and lying wonders,” 2 Thess 2:9. He is our adversary the devil, who, “as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour,” (1 Pet 5:8); and against whom we are to guard continually, “lest Satan should get an advantage of us,” 2 Cor 2:11.

Coeval with the fall, the promise was given that his head should in due time be bruised, and he is not ignorant of his doom; for when the legion saw the Saviour about to dispossess them of the two men among the tombs, they recognized him as “the Son of God,” and cried, “Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matt 8:29); “and they besought him, that he would not command them to go out into the deep,” the pit, or abyss, Luke 8:31. The epoch when he should be there confined, is also shown by Isaiah to be when “the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,” when “the earth also shall disclose her blood, and no more cover her slain,” Isa 26:21. For “in that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan [the dragon], the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent,” Ib 27:1. This synchronizes with the slaying of the remnant with the sword, when Satan is bound and cast into the abyss, to continue there a thousand years.

His being bound and confined must symbolize his dejection to a position where he can have no possible influence over the nations during the time he is bound. It can be no partial restraint, as some theologians hold; for that is contrary to the conditions of the symbolic representation. His restraint is full, complete, and entire. Consequently his influence, for the time being, will have entirely ceased. The period of his confinement, therefore, cannot be one of partial exemption from sin; but the living will be perfectly free from all its contagious influences. He is to deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years shall be fulfilled.

“The nations” who are freed from his influences, and also those whom he is subsequently to deceive, are not, necessarily, organized political bodies, under civil rulers, as they now exist. The original term,  is defined by Robinson to be “a multitude, people, race, belonging and living together.” At this epoch, the national organizations having disappeared, and the people constituting them being translated or slain, the only nations remaining will be “the nations of them which are saved” (21:24), over whom the influence of Satan will have ceased forever; and those constituting “the rest of the dead” (20:5), who will not live again till the end of the thousand years at the very time when Satan is to be loosed from his prison to go out to deceive them, 20:7, 8.