ginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem." Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Ansnapper brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest on this side of the river (the river Euphrates), and at such a time. The result of this letter. was that Ahasuerus, or Artaxerxes, as he is also called, sent orders to stop the work until further word came from him. It is said, "Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem, unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. "Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius, King of Persia." After the work had ceased for this length of time, it is written, "Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah, the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Josadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem, and with them were the prophets of God helping them." Now when they had resumed this work again, we come to the important time referred to by Peter and Jude, for it is now said, "At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar-boznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall? And they demanded to know the names of the men, that made this building." But it is said, "The eye of their God was upon the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius, and they returned answer." The following is the copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar-boznai, and his companions, the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent unto Darius the king: "Unto Darius the king, all peace. Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands. Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls? We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them. And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up. But after our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they delivered them unto one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he has made governor. And said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place. Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and since that time, even until now, hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished. Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter. "Then Darius, the king, made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written: "In the first year of Cyrus the king, the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem. Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; with three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house. And let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple, which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God.'" Now even Michael the Archangel durst not bring a railing accusation against the Devil, but said, "The Lord rebuke thee." And the rebuke that the Lord administered to the adversary came by the hand of Darius, the king of Babylon, and is couched in the following very forcible language, and the effect of this rebuke is seen in what immediately followed its reception: "Now therefore Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-boznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence; Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews, and the elders of the Jews, build this house of God in his place. Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God; that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given to these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail; that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons. Also I have made a decree that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and, being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. And the God, that hath caused his name to dwell there, destroy all kings and people that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed." Now the wholesome effect of this rebuke, is seen by what immediately followed, for it is added, "Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily. And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo: and they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia." Now these perilous times, and the facts that then obtained, are what was shown to Zechariah in vision, where he says, "He showed me Joshua the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan (the adversary) standing at his right hand to resist him, and the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, The Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee." Now it must be noted here that one Lord calls upon another Lord to rebuke Satan. The first Lord does not do it, but calls upon the second Lord to do so. Now what two Lords are these? The first one Jude informs us is Michael the Archangel, the other is the Father himself; and in this dispute between Michael and the Devil, Michael dares not rebuke the Devil himself, but calls on God the Father to do it. It is this fact which Peter and Jude refer to when they warn the dreamers not to speak evil of dignities, showing them that angels, which are greater in power, bring not railing accusations against them before the Lord. This certainly should make it clear that the dignities, which Michael durst not rebuke but called on the Lord to rebuke were the governor of the country on this side of the river, and his companions, who were active adversaries of the Jews. Now the important fact appears here that the angel who is here called the Lord, who called upon the Father to rebuke Tatnai, the governor, and his companions, is none other than Michael. Michael then, is the angel (who bore the name of the Lord [Exod. 23:20-21] whom the Lord said he would send before Moses to bring up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, who, after Moses died, appeared to Joshua, by Jericho, with his sword drawn in his hand, and said to Joshua, "Nay but as captain of the host of the Lord, am I now come." He was not only captain, but he is immediately after called the Lord, for it is added, "And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand, Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor." It was this captain, Michael the Archangel, who was said to be "The great prince which standeth for the children of thy people." It was he who went before Joshua as the captain of the Lord's hosts, and destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, and divided it among the tribes of Israel by lot. But how different was it when he brought up the captives from Babylon! Why were they captives in Babylon? Why was their beautiful Temple destroyed? Why was their city Jerusalem laid in ashes in the sight of all nations? Because of their wickedness when they dwelt therein, for their kings, their princes, their prophets, their priests, and the people of the land had done. wickedly until there was no remedy. And so the ten tribes were carried away captives and dispersed among the nations, from which they have never yet returned; Judah was seventy years captive in Babylon, from which they now only returned to remain in the land under many afflictions and troubles, till Christ came. But they knew not the time of their visitation, but killed their Messiah, the prince of life; and after remaining in the land a few years longer, the Lord sent against them the Romans, who destroyed their place and nation, and burnt up their Temple and city, and dispersed the remnant of Judah to the four winds of heaven, where they began that long dispersion that their brethren, the ten tribes, had entered upon long before; and although a great many centuries have now already lapsed since it commenced, yet the full term of their dispersion is yet hardly begun. Therefore when they were brought up from their Babylonian captivity, they were not allowed to fall upon the inhabitants of the country, as they did upon the inhabitants of Canaan, when they came up out of the land of Egypt, but had to bear and endure the contentions of the enemy; and under these circumstances, Michael durst not bring a railing accusation against the dignitaries of the land, but said, “The Lord rebuke thee." But the controversy between Michael, the God of Israel, and the Devil, was about the "body of Moses." The body of Moses, as we have already shown, consisted of the people of Israel, who were baptized into Moses in the cloud, and in the sea, when they came up out of Egypt, as Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians (10: 1-2), by which they became the body of Moses, the mediator of the old covenant, even as we are baptized into Christ, the mediator of the new covenant, and become the mystical body of Christ. It was about this Mosaic body, that the contention occurred between Michael the Archangel, on the one hand, and the combined adversaries of Judah, on the other, who were determined to resist the rebuilding of the Temple, and the city of Jerusalem; but the Lord we are told kept his eye continually upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease till the matter came to Darius. Here again we find no use for the sectarian Devil, whereby to interpret this Scripture. The adversaries of Judah in the days of Zechariah whose doings Ezra so fully records fill the requirements and leave nothing wanting. We have thus far called attention to some of the most difficult portions of Scripture relating to this important question; to aid honest inquiry in pursuit of the truth, and that we may avoid the wiles of the Devil, for the Devil never accomplished a greater victory over the children of men than when he led them to believe that he was a party outside of themselves, so that when they are led away by their own lusts and enticed they might charge it against an imaginary Devil. Paul says in one place, "The Devil has the power of death"; again in another place he says the same thing, but in different words, namely, "The sting of death is sin" (I Cor. 15:56). Sin has the power of death and so has the Devil; therefore sin and the Devil are one and the same thing. With reference to the "Great Red Dragon," with seven heads and ten horns, called "that old serpent, the Devil and Satan," brought to view in the prophecy of Christ, the book of the Revelation, we will endeavor to interpret this when we come to speak particularly of the great things contained in that book. We consider that we have advanced sufficiently far now in our subject so |