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and rebellious nation, and when instead of the armies of the nations coming one way against Israel, but fleeing seven ways before them, the reverse is the case; then the lions of the nations will eat the prey and drink the blood of the slain of Israel.

Therefore the Lord speaks by the hand of Jeremiah saying "I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles (Abaddon) is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate: and thy cities shall be laid waste without an inhabitant" (4:6-7). This lion of the nations is brought to view in the ninth chapter of the Revelation, where he is spoken of as the king of the locusts and called also the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon; but in the Greek tongue he hath his name Apollyon, and in the English tongue he hath his name Destroyer.

Therefore when a star falls from Israel's heaven unto the earth, to whom is given the key of the bottomless pit, and when he opens the bottomless pit which consists in the king of pride making a covenant with death and the grave, that is with the Assyrian whose quiver is an open sepulchre, then there arises out of this pit a smoke from the north (Isa. 14:31), as the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air (of Israel's heavens) are darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit, and out of this smoke there comes forth locusts upon the earth, and it is said that the shapes of these locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle.

Now as the soldiers from the north are in the vision called horses, and their commanders riders, and as we put bits in the horses' mouths that they may obey us, and as horses drink also with their mouths and as this great army will drink the blood of the slain of Israel, therefore according to these figures, the blood of the slain and the bridles of the horses would come in contact at the horses' mouths, hence the expression in the Revelation, saying, “Blood came out of the wine-press, even unto the horses' bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." Allowing a furlong to be an eighth part of a mile, that would make a space of two hundred miles, which is just about the distance from the entering in at Hamath on the north of the land of Israel, to the river of the wilderness on the south. This is the territory occupied by the whole house of Israel in the day of their prosperity, and comprehends the north country of Ephraim and the south country of Judah.

This is the country of which the Lord speaks saying, "Behold I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the Lord God of hosts, and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hamath, unto the river of the wilderness" (Amos 6: 14). Again speaking by this same prophet, it is said. "Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, saith thus, Wailing shall be in all streets, and they shall say in all the high ways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful to lamentation to wailing. And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee saith the Lord" (5: 16-17); and again (8: 2-3), "And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not pass by them any more. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them

forth with silence." These Scriptures present a view of the wine-press of the wrath of God in the day when it shall be trodden without the city.

THE WINE-PRESS TRODDEN WITHOUT THE CITY (REV. 14:20) This city is not the city of Jerusalem, because Jerusalem and all the cities of the land are included in the wine-press. The city here spoken of is the same city that is spoken of in chapter 11 of Revelations where John says, "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod; and the angel stood saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God and the altar and them that worship therein." This measure refers to the hundred forty and four thousand who are sealed out of all the tribes of Israel, upon whom a line is drawn to live, who are hid in the day of the Lord's anger and are the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb, and will constitute the beginning of the new kingdom of God after the judgment is past. This is the woman that flees into the wilderness.

But there is another class called the remnant of the woman's seed, of whom it is said, "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." The seven churches of mystical Asia are comprehended in this remnant of the woman's seed, and of these it is said (11:2), "But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." It is upon this people that the Gentiles and rulers of Israel make war three years and an half. But there is some respite for them during these times of trial, especially if they give heed to what the spirit saith to the churches in the seven letters. Therefore there is a nice distinction made in their favor when the locusts come out of the smoke to torment those who have the mark of the beast and his image, saying, “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth (the righteous), neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads" (Rev. 9:4). Here the enemy

is commanded to make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked in that day.

This is according to what the Lord said to Jeremiah touching the remnant, "The Lord said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil, and in the time of affliction " (Jer. 15:11). Again to Daniel the angel said, "Now when many shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help, but many shall cleave to them with flatteries" (11:34). This people constitutes the holy city, which will be exempted when the wine-press is trodden by the horses' hoofs as Isaiah says, "Their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind" (5: 26-30).

"Who Is This That Cometh from Edom?"

He who treads the wine-press comes up from Edom, as saith the Prophet Isaiah (63). The Lord's great army comes up by Esau's country and by way of Bosrah, one of Esau's cities. of the beasts is slain to death. or the king of the north, goes

This is shown as follows; one of the heads This is Ethiopia. When, therefore, the beast, down to Egypt to spoil that country, and to

Ethiopia to bring that refractory head into line, while he is absent from Jerusalem engaged in that work there is found conspiracy and rebellion in his rear. Therefore when he returns flushed with success, and the Libyans and Ethiopians marching with his army, he comes back again with great fury utterly to destroy and make away with many,- that is, to utterly destroy and make away with the whole house of Israel (Dan. 11:41-45). It is then that these mighty and victorious armies under the invisible influence and power of the King of kings go forth in fury to tread the great wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

CHAPTER VIII

THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES
(Rev. 15-16)

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Visited upon idolaters - Remnant safe in Zion-Sea of glass - Song of Moses applies here-World learning righteousness - Executors of judgments - Wrath of God filled up. Temple filled with smoke' - First vial-Diseases of Egypt - Second vial- Civil strife-Third vial-Israel against Judah-Angel of waters - These plagues upon Jews Fourth vial-An infuriated king - Fifth vial - Incurable diseases—“ Darkness"- Sixth vial-Israelitish armies destroyed by "kings of east"- Unclean spirits like frogs from mouth of dragon, beast and false prophet gather hosts for battle of great day - Meaning - Christ's coming - Armaged don-Seventh vial- Alliance with Gog broken - Wine-press - Jerusalem desolated - Captivities - Great "hail"—" It is done."

"And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels. having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God." The seven last plagues are to be visited upon the idolaters of the house of Israel in their own land, upon those who worship the beast and his image (Rev. 14:9-10; Rev. 16: 2, 6),- this image which the house of Israel and the house of Judah under the symbol of the two-horned beast cause to be made and set up in the Temple in honor of the Assyrian, or the beast that rises out of the sea, and to whom the king of Israel as the dragon gives his power, his seat and great authority, by which act the Assyrian becomes their king, as it is written (Hos. 11:5).

When this image is set up in the land, then the law goes forth that as many as will not worship the image of the beast shall be killed, and they cause all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their forehead, or in their right hand, that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name (Rev. 13:16-17). These will be the times of trial for the righteous spoken of by Jesus, saying, "When ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (that is, in the Temple), then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains" (Mark 13: 14),— that is to hide themselves in the dens and rocks of the mountains from the face of the enemy. Hence the expression, "Mountains fall on us, and hills cover us," as Jesus said when he was being led forth to execution by his enemies, the rulers of his own people, "If they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in a dry? Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to the hills, Cover us.'

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In these evil and adulterous times, the woman that is clothed with the sun will be safe in her retreat in the wilderness. That is, the hundred forty and

four thousand will be securely entrenched and encamped in Mount Zion, a people of whom the Prophet Isaiah speaks saying, "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain (Isa. 26: 20-21).

The hundred forty and four thousand from their exalted position in Mount Zion will be witnesses of the plagues that are poured out upon those who worship the beast and his image, but the plagues will not come nigh them, only with their eyes will they see the destruction of the wicked; and on this occasion they will sing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, which song was given to Israel by the hand of Moses and Joshua to be sung as a witness against the idolaters of Israel at this very time in the latter days. Therefore John speaks saying, “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest." In these precious and memorable words, there are some things worthy of special notice.

THE SEA OF GLASS (REV. 15:2-4)

When a door was opened in heaven and John saw the Father himself sitting in majesty and glory upon his throne surrounded by the beasts and elders. and seven spirits standing before the throne, he also saw a sea of glass like unto crystal spread out before the throne (4: 1-6), but the sea of glass was at that time unoccupied. The people that were to stand upon that platform before the throne were not as yet developed. Therefore after this, John saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds. of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree, until the servants of God were sealed in their foreheads. This sealing will consist in men like unto the apostles going among all the tribes of Israel preaching the Gospel and warning the people of the wrath to come.

The sum of those that are sealed out of each tribe is specified as twelve thousand, which makes in round numbers, one hundred forty and four thousand. These being gathered out of all the tribes of Israel by the proclamation of the truth will constitute a powerful army which will follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These have to be thoroughly tried; they must go through fire and through water. These must face and contend in battle with the mightiest combination of armies in one great confederation that the world will have ever seen. But under the command of Michael, the great prince which stands for the children of Daniel's people, they will be victorious. They will cast the dragon king of Israel with all his helpers out of the heavens

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