Chapter 10

. It was the discovery of Methodism as the first woe that led to an identification of the four movements of the Reformation proper which preceded it.—Rev. 8:7‐13.

9:13. [And] AFTER THESE THINGS the sixth angel sounded.—The Evangelical‐ Alliance‐Spiritism movement began in 1846‐1848 culminating in the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. The following great denominations which comprise 90% of the Protestant Church membership are represented in this council: Baptist (North), Free Baptist, Christian, Congregational, Disciples of Christ, Evangelical Association, Evangelical Synod, Friends, Lutheran General Synod, Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal (South), German Evangelical Synod, Colored Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Protestant, African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Mennonite, Moravian, Presbyterian, Presbyterian (South), Welsh Presbyterian, Reformed Presbyterian, United Presbyterian, Protestant Episcopal, Reformed Church in America, Reformed Church in the U. S. A., Reformed Episcopal, Seventh‐Day Baptist, United Brethren in Christ, United Evangelical, National Baptist Convention.

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Methodism

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Babylon Perplexes The World

Although these sects are the only ones now members of the Federal Council, yet, in hatred of the Truth, and darkness in regard to God’s Plan, the following are also entitled to membership: Evangelical Adventists, Advent Christians, Seventh‐Day Adventists, Church of God, Life and Advent Union, Church of God in Jesus Christ, fifteen kinds of Baptists named in comments on Rev. 8:12, four kinds of Dunkard brethren, the Conservative, Old Order, Progressive and Seventh‐Day German varieties, four kinds of Plymouth Brethren, three kinds of River Brethren, the Brethren in Christ, Old Order or Yorker and United Zion’s Children, Catholic Apostolic, New Apostolic, Christadelphians, Dowie’s Christian Catholic, Christian Union, Church of Christ Scientist, Winnebrenarian Churches of God, Colored Churches of the Living God, Christian Workers for Friendship, Apostolic, Church of Christ in God, Churches of the New Jerusalem, General Convention, General Church, Church Transcendent, Communistic Societies, Shakers, Amana, Churches of Christ, Apostolic Faith Movement, Peniel Missions, Metropolitan Church Association, Hepziba Faith Association, Missionary Christian Association, Heavenly Recruit Church, Apostolic Christian Church, Christian Congregation, Colored Voluntary Missionary Society, Hicksite Friends, Wilburite Friends, Primitive Friends, Friends of the Temple, German Evangelical Protestant, Latter‐Day Saints, Reorganized Latter‐Day Saints, twenty‐one kinds of Lutherans shown in comments on Rev. 8:7, Swedish Evangelical Missionary Covenant. Swedish Evangelical Free Mission, Norwegian Evangelical Free Church, twelve kinds of Mennonites, Bruederhoef, Amish, Old Amish, Conservative Amish, Reformed, General Conference, Church of God in Christ, Old Wisler, Bundes Conference, Defenceless, Brethren in Christ, sixteen kinds of Methodists shown in comments on Rev. 9:1, Union Moravian, Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene, Other Pentecostal Associations, twelve kinds of Presbyterians shown in comments on Rev. 8:10, 11, Christian Reformed, Hungarian Reformed, Reformed Catholic, Salvation Army, Schwenkfelders, Social Brethren, Society for Ethical Culture, Spiritualists, Theosophical Society, Old Constitution Brethren, Unitarians, Universalists, etc.

Their “faiths” are quite as varied as their names, but without exception they deny the central truth of the Scriptures (1 John 4:2, 3) that when Jesus Christ came to earth He came as a man only, devoid of immortality or Divinity, that when He died He was as dead as though He never had lived, and that by that death He bought for Adam and his race the Restitution of all things foretold by “the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began.” (Rev. 4:10.) The common ground upon which they stand is this, their denial of the Ransom, their affirmation of Spiritism, in some form, and their adherence to the principle of Federation. All of these things are condemned in the Scriptures but the Scriptures will never be allowed to stand in the way of those who live by shearing the wool from the sheep. (2 Tim. 4:3, 4; Deut. 18:10, 11; Isa. 8:9‐22.) The latter passage is full of the deepest significance at this time.

“Christian Heralds” that refused to publish advertisements of Pastor Russell’s books now give space to advertisements of godless, Christless, Buddhist, demoniacal books, glorifying the New Thought system of mind worship, the boot‐strap system of religion by which men, by cultivation of the will, lift themselves into money, piety and immortality, and by making assertions to and demands of the alleged “sub‐conscious mind” invite and receive the assistance of evil spirits, and finally come under their control. Modern “Christianity” is Buddhism.

“The Rev. Dr. Day, Chancellor of the Syracuse University, recently, in an address to the Y. M. C. A., is reported by the public press to have said: ‘Wouldn’t you rather live in America than in Heaven? I would. I’d like to go to Heaven when I can’t be here. In fact, I think I’d be rather discontented in Heaven till I got adjusted. You can get anything you want here. You can live under forty odd governments, meet all the nations of the world, eat all the fruits of the world and get any kind of climate that you choose. So America is the beat place to live; but I think when a man can’t stay here any longer he ought to steer for Heaven,’ ” (Z. ’08‐196.) Having concluded to stay here as long as possible, “Christians” are now flocking by thousands to the purchase of works which will show them how to use spiritism to take advantage of their fellow men. The religious and other periodicals are now filled with advertisements of these books. We quote a few extracts to show their Satanic character:

“It is necessary to control others, to discover their plans. This you may be able to do if you have developed your inner faculties. We show you how to so develop your intuitional nature that you are able to detect the feelings of others; to penetrate their secret motives; and to discover what they try to conceal. The Golden Rule must be followed in controlling others. ‘Do unto others as you would that they should do unto you.’ There comes more and more the power of seeing the future, so that more and more true becomes the old adage that coming events cast their shadows before. Health in time takes the place of disease; for all disease and its consequent suffering is merely the result of the violation of law, whether consciously or unconsciously. There comes a spiritual power which, as it is sent out, is adequate for the healing of others the same as in the days of old.”

“Many omniscient men and women will soon walk the earth. Omniscience and Freedom are the goal of all, and in this Great Age of Light many Egos are approaching the blessed omniscience state.”

“Suddenly it seemed that the top of my head had been lifted, and I became aware of an immense increase of personal consciousness. I became conscious, I say—I know what I am writing—of the vast sky above, and the mighty deeps below, and the wide sweep of present human life, and the long forward and backward stretch of human history. It seemed that I could sense the All. Since that day all is well. Life is deeper, richer, stronger—assured, fearless, and saturated with perennial vital interests.” (What really happened to this man was that he became obsessed by demons.)—Rev. 7:3.

“The strength of these delusions lies in the grave errors mixed with truths long held by Christian people, because of the ‘falling away’ from the pure faith of the Apostolic Church, foretold in the Scriptures. Among these errors none is designed to open the heart and mind to these delusive and destructive theories of today more effectually than the general belief of the first lie—‘Ye shall _not_ surely die.’ (Gen. 3:4.) The general acceptance of it results from a failure to understand the Bible doctrine concerning _life_ and _immortality_, which were brought to light by our Lord Jesus through His Gospel of salvation from sin by His Ransom‐ sacrifice. The advocates of these false doctrines are surprisingly alert and active everywhere, especially in the United States, where thought is most active and where liberty often means license. Hundreds of thousands have embraced these errors as new and advanced light. The extent of their success is not fully apparent to many; for their success lies in a _still hunt_ for prey. Their advocates are to be found in almost every congregation of every denomination, and especially among the more cultured; and the ‘angel of light’ feature is seldom neglected. The nominal churches are already permeated, _leavened_ with these false doctrines. The Scriptural prophecy that ‘a thousand shall fall at thy [the true Church’s] side, and ten thousand at thy right hand’ (Psalm 91:3‐14), is now fulfilled before our eyes.”—Z. ’15‐343.

And I heard a voice.—William Miller, from A. D. 1829 to 1844.

From [the four horns of] the golden altar which is before God.—“The Golden Altar in the ‘Holy’ would seem to represent the ‘little flock,’ the consecrated Church in the present sacrificing condition.”—T. 120.

9:14. Saying.—By pointing to the near fulfillment of the 2300 days.—Dan. 8:14.

To the sixth angel which had the trumpet.—The Evangelical Alliance‐ Spiritism movement. The Alliance proper was organized Sept. 2nd, 1846, at the end of the 2800 years. The spiritism feature began January, 1848. The two have been growing towards each other ever since until now they are substantially one and the same thing.

Loose the four angels.—Four errors in the nine fundamental principles of the Evangelical Alliance. We give the erroneous clauses by number: (3) “The unity of the Godhead, and the trinity of persons therein.” See Rev. 6:4; 5:7. (5) “The incarnation of the Son of God.” (8) “The immortality of the soul.” (9) “The Divine institution of the Christian ministry” (i. e., the clergy).

Which are bound.—Hindered from gaining fullest expression.

In the great river Euphrates.—The world of mankind.—B. 209, D. 24.

And the four angels.—The four great errors of trinity, incarnation, immortality and lordship over God’s heritage.

Were loosed.—Given greater liberties than ever before.

Which were prepared.—Each sect for itself, and in its own time.

For [an] THE hour.—The hour of judgment, 1918.

[And a day] and [a] month, and [a] year.—Thirteen symbolic months, the 390 years of Protestantism’s siege of the Papacy.—Ezek. 4:5.

For to slay.—To make nominal Christians of, to take away the manhood of.

The third part of men.—According to the World Almanac for 1917, the total number of Christians in the world at the beginning of the twentieth century was 571,400,000, of whom one third, 177,800,000, were Protestants.

9:16. And the number of the army of the horsemen.—In round numbers, at the time of identification.

Were two hundred thousand thousand.—Approximately two hundred millions.

[And] I heard the number of them.—Heard, heeded, or noted, the count as given in the World Almanac, as correct. This is a tribute to a journal notorious for its ignoble, unjust and dishonest attacks on Pastor Russell. “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee.” And have you noticed, on the same principle, that nearly all the encyclopedic references herein are to the great standard Protestant works to be found in every capable minister’s library? How is it that _they_ do not know these things?

9:17. And thus I saw the horses in the vision.—Horses are symbols of teachings. It is the doctrines a man has been taught that carry him along to do things. “As a man thinketh, so is he.” The man and his beliefs are inseparable.—Joel 2:4. (The four kinds of horses of Zech. 6:1‐8 seem to refer to four companies of saved ones. Red, the Ancient Worthies; black, the Little Flock; white, the Great Company; bay, the world of mankind.)

And them that sat [on] UPON them.—The total Protestant church membership.

Having breastplates of fire.—Keeping the doctrine of hell‐fire well to the front in their teachings.

And of jacinth.—“The hyacinthus of the Romans is invariably blue and lustrous. This description suggests the blue flame which issues between the fire and the brimstone, represented as ‘smoke’ in verse 18.”—Cook.

And brimstone.—Yes, indeed, plenty of brimstone went along with the hell‐ fire.—Rev. 14:10.

And the heads.—“The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail.”—Isa. 9:15. “In a genus of serpents or ophidian reptiles called _amphisboena_ the tail and head are equally obtuse, and the scales on the head so similar to those on the back as to render it difficult to distinguish one extremity from the other. Hence these reptiles have been supposed to have the power of creeping backwards or forwards with equal facility.” (Cook.)—Isa. 29:10‐14; John 4:22.

Were as the heads of lions.—Able to swallow the most ridiculous and impossible theories.—1 Chron. 12:8.

And out of their mouths issued fire.—Sermons full of hell‐fire.

And smoke.—See Rev. 9:18.

And brimstone.—O yes, surely; plenty of brimstone, to go with the hell‐ fire.

9:18. By these [three] PLAGUES was the third part of men.—The Protestant third of Christendom.

Killed.—Deprived of reason, manhood and dignity.

By the fire.—The sermons full of hell‐fire.

And [by] the smoke.—Smoke is a symbol of confusion. The following is an extract from an article on the brain written by a well‐known physician and alienist:

“To illustrate how effectually such conceptions served to block all progress in the science of life we may quote one instance from a ponderous volume in my library with the date 1618 on _Physiology and Anatomy_ by Hilkiah Crooke, Physician and Professor on Anatomy and Chirurgery to His Majesty, James I. Speaking of the origin and growth of hair, he says: ‘The immediate matter of the haires is a sooty, thicke, and earthly vapour, which in the time of the third concoction (distillation) is elevated by the strength of the action of naturall heate, and passeth through the pores of the skin, which heate exiceateth or drieth this moysture of these sootie and thicke vapours, for the vapour being thicke, in his passage leaveth some part of it selfe, to wit, the grossest, in the very outlet, where it is impacted by a succeeding vapour arising where the former did, is protruded and thrust forward, so that they are wrought together in one body. The straightness of the passages of the skin were through the matter of the haires is anoyded, formeth them into a small roundness, even as a wyre receyeth that proportion whereof the whole is, where through it is drawne.’ One great office of the hairs of the head, therefore, Crooke perceived to be to lead off ‘the vapors which otherwise would choke and make smoaky the braine,’ though how hopelessly choked the brains of all bald heads hence would be he does not mention.” A study of the foregoing leads to the conclusion that the various churches must have been founded by bald‐headed men, and the smoke being unable to find its way out through their scalps naturally had to come out of their mouths!

And [by] the brimstone.—Yes, indeed; plenty of brimstone.

Which issued out of their mouths.—Especially when an evangelist firm is in town looking for shekels.

9:19. For [their power] THE POWER OF THE HORSES is in their mouth.—Assuredly, assuredly; it certainly is not in the Scriptures.

And in their tails.—Followers, “Workers,” class‐leaders.—Isa. 9:15.

For their tails were like unto serpents.—Bright enough to know better.

And had heads.—Wills of their own—unlike the “Beheaded” saints (Rev. 20:4.)

And with them they do hurt.—Damage the cause of Truth.

9:20. And the rest of the men.—Those ordinary “good fellows” (and bad ones too), men of the world who had too much sense to swallow what is taught by any of the sects.

Which were not killed by these THEIR plagues.—Who remained “unconverted” to the mass of errors masquerading in the name of religion.

Yet repented not of the works of their hands.—Failed to turn their money, brains and service over to the nominal church, but continued on in their own way.

That they should not worship devils.—Joining, if they choose, the Masons, Odd Fellows and other secret organisations teaching a debased form of religion.—Lev. 17:7; Deut. 32:17; 1 Cor. 10:20.

And idols of gold, and silver and [brass] COPPER.—Having their affection set upon currency in hand and in the bank.—Psa. 115:1‐4; Dan. 5:22, 23.

And stone, and of wood.—Giving their attention to earthly affairs, improvements in real estate, etc.

Which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk.—But are more or less permanent, tangible and fixed.

9:21. Neither repented they of their murders.—Teaching hell‐fire keeps nobody from being a murderer or a slanderer.—Rev. 21:8.

Nor their sorceries.—Use of drugs, Greek. Teaching hell‐fire keeps nobody from being a drug fiend or pseudo‐philosopher.—Rev. 21:8.

Nor of their [fornication] WICKEDNESS.—Teaching hell‐fire keeps nobody from being a wicked man.

Nor of their thefts.—Teaching hell‐fire keeps nobody from engaging in “high finance.”

Revelation 10—The True Reformation Woe

10:1. And I saw another angel.—“The Messenger of the Covenant,” the Lord Jesus.—Mal. 3:1.

Come down from Heaven.—At the time of the Second Advent, Oct. 1874.—Rev. 3:20.

Clothed with a cloud.—“ ‘He cometh with clouds;’ and while the clouds of trouble are heavy and dark, when the mountains (kingdoms of this world) are trembling and falling, and the earth (organized society) is being shaken, disintegrated, melted, some will begin to realize what we now proclaim as already at hand—that Jehovah’s Anointed is taking to Himself His great power and beginning His work of laying justice to the line and righteousness to the plummet. (Isa. 28:17.)”—B. 138.

And [a rainbow was] THE HAIR upon His head, and His face was as it were the sun, and His feet as pillars of fire.—See Rev. 1:14‐16; 7:2; 18:1.

10:2. And [He had] HAVING in His hand.—In His power, given to Him by the Father.—Rev. 5:7, 5.

A little book open.—The Present Truth message.—C. 89.

And He set His right foot.—Exerted the strongest power of restraint.

Upon the sea.—The masses not under religious control, who, without the Lord’s control of the situation, would have long since swallowed up the present order of things.—Rev. 7:1‐3; Luke 21:25; Psa. 46:2, 3.

And His left foot on the earth.—“Throughout the Scriptures, earth, when used symbolically, represents society; seas, the restless, turbulent, dissatisfied masses of the world.”—A. 318.

10:3. And cried with a loud voice.—Pastor Russell was the voice used.—Rev. 7:2.

As when a lion roareth.—Symbolical of Justice.—Rev. 4:7; Amos 3:8.

And when.—In 1881 A. D.

He had cried.—With the first great cry, “_Food for Thinking Christians_,” 1,400,000 copies given away, _free_.

Seven thunders.—Seven volumes of “STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES.”—Rev. 8:5.

Uttered their voices.—Were foreseen as necessary to the complete statement of the Plan, and the fulfillment of this and other Scriptures.

10:4. And [when] WHATSOEVER the seven thunders had uttered [their voices], I.—Pastor Russell as a representative of the John class.

Was about to write.—Intended to put on paper at once.

And I heard a voice from Heaven.—The guidance of the Heavenly Father, directing and overruling, knowing that the results would be better if the interest of His little ones were sustained by expectancy throughout the whole time of Harvest, rather than to give them all the light at once.—John 16:12.

Saying [unto me], Seal up [those] WHAT things [which] SOEVER the seven thunders uttered.—Do not immediately disclose their full contents.—Dan. 8:26; 12:4, 9.

And write them not.—Observe how the Lord retarded the publications: Vol. I was published in 1886. “In sending forth this first volume of the MILLENNIAL DAWN, it is but proper that we apologize to the many friends who have waited for it so patiently since promised.” (A. 3.) Volume II was published in 1889, and III in 1891. “Some have urged greater haste in the writing and publishing of the several volumes of this series, and, to a large extent, I have shared the same feelings of impatience; but my observations of the Lord’s dealings and leadings and unfoldings of His Plan are gradually convincing me that He has not shared our impatience. Indeed, I can clearly trace His hand in some of the hindrances encountered and can realize by the delay I have been enabled to grasp the subjects more thoroughly, and to present them more fully, than if the work had been hastened more. Not only has this delay worked for my good and yours, but in another way also. It has afforded time for a more thorough digestion of the truths of each volume, and thereby has given to the faithful student the very necessary preparation for that which was to follow. And not only so, but it has also given opportunity for practicing the lessons learned, and for exercising the talents of each in spreading the advancing light before others of God’s saints.” (C. 12.) Volume IV was published in 1897, V in 1899, VI in 1904 and VII in 1917. This makes a total lapse of 36 years from the publication of _FOOD FOR THINKING CHRISTIANS_ to the last volume of the _SCRIPTURE STUDIES_. Meantime the Harvest work grew to a movement of vast proportions; and Volume VII was delayed.

10:5. And the angel which I saw.—The Lord Jesus, since 1874.—Rev. 10:1.

Stand upon the sea and upon the earth.—In control of the masses not under religious restraint as well as order‐loving society.

Lifted up His RIGHT hand to Heaven.—The seventh angel was in that hand when He did so.—Rev. 1:16, 20.

10:6. And sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever.—By Jehovah, His Father and our Father, His God and our God.—John 20:17.

Who created Heaven, and the things that therein are.—“The heavens declare the glory of God.”—Psa. 19:1‐6; Neh. 9:6; Rev. 4:11; 14:7.

And the earth, and the things that therein are, [and the sea, and the things which are therein].—“When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.”—Job 38, 39, 40 and 41 chapters.

That there [should be] IS time no longer.—“There shall be no further delay.”—Weym.

10:7. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel.—Pastor Russell was the seventh angel.—Rev. 3:14.

When he shall begin to sound.—In the autumn of 1881, at which time _FOOD FOR THINKING CHRISTIANS_ was circulated, and the General Call ceased.—Rev. 11:15.

The mystery of God [should be] WAS finished.—“The great unfolding of the Divine mystery we are expressly told was reserved until the close of the Gospel Age.” (Z. ’97‐255.) “The Plan ceases to be a mystery, because there is no further object in perpetuating its secrecy. The greatness of the mystery, so long kept secret, and the wonderful grace bestowed on those called to fellowship in this mystery (Eph. 3:9), suggest to us that the work to follow its completion must be an immense work, worthy of such great preparations. What may we not expect in blessings upon the world, when the veil of mystery is withdrawn and the showers of blessing descend! It is this for which the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now, waiting for the completion of this mystery, for the manifestation of the Sons of God, the promised ‘Seed’ in whom they shall all be blessed.—Rom. 8:19, 21, 22.” (A. 87.) “While the door stands open, it indicates that any believer who is anxious to enter and ready to comply with the conditions may yet do so, even though the general ‘call’ or invitation to enter is no longer sent out. The opportunity to labor and sacrifice has not yet closed though the general call ceased in 1881.”—C. 213.

As He hath declared to His servants.—The Harvest Workers.

AND the Prophets.—Daniel (12:4‐12) and Habakkuk (2:1‐3).—Rev. 1:1.

10:8. And the Voice which I heard from Heaven.—The Heavenly Father’s voice.—Rev. 10:4.

Spake unto me again.—By His Holy Spirit.

And said.—Through the Bible, His Word, His Voice.

Go take the little book.—“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.”—2 Tim. 2:15.

Which is open in the hand of the angel.—The Lord Jesus. Rev. 10:1, 5.

Which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.—See Rev. 10:2, 5.

10:9. And I went unto the angel.—“In coming out of bondage to human traditions, creeds, systems and errors, we are coming directly to our Lord, to be taught and fed by Him, to be strengthened and perfected to do His pleasure, and to stand, and not fall with Babylon.”—C. 167.

And said unto Him.—By my act in obeying His command.—Rev. 18:4.

Give me the little book.—Take me into Your confidence; give me Your Holy Spirit; show me, as promised, the “things to come.”—John 16:13.

And He said unto me, Take it, and eat it up.—“It is absolutely useless for us to pray Lord, Lord, give us the Spirit, if we neglect the Word of Truth which that Spirit has supplied for out filling.”—E. _245_, 225; Ezek. 2:8.

And it shall make thy belly bitter.—Lead to self‐sacrifice, with its attendant sufferings, but create an appetite for more. “The after effects are always more or less blending of the bitterness of persecution with the sweetness.”—C. 89; Ezek. 2:10; 3:14; Dan. 8:27.

But it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.—“O the blessedness.”—Dan. 12:12; Psa. 19:10; 119:103.

10:10. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it up.—“Thy words were found and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.”—Jer. 15:16.

And it was in my mouth sweet as honey.—“So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll. And it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.”—Ezek. 3:2, 3.

And as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was [bitter] FILLED.—“It satisfies my longings as nothing else could do.”

10:11. And [He said] THEY SAY unto me.—The Scriptures do the saying.

Thou must prophesy again.—Continue to proclaim the Message of Truth Divine.

Before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.—Until it has been fully testified to all.—1 Tim. 2:6. The concluding word of this Scripture suggests that the last witness of the church in the flesh is, like their Lord’s as alleged malefactors, before earth’s rulers.

Revelation 11—The Time Of The End

11:1. And there was given me.—The John class in the Time of the End.

A reed like unto a rod.—The Lord’s Word is both a rod to lean upon, (Isa. 11:4) and a reed with which to measure. (Jer. 1:11‐12). The word here tendered “rod” is rendered “staff” in Matt. 10:10; Heb. 11:21.

[And the angel stood, saying], HE SAITH.—It is the “reed” or “rod” itself, the Divine Word, that does the saying.

Rise.—“At the exact ‘time appointed,’ 1799, the end of the 1260 days, the power of the Man of Sin, the great oppressor of the Church, was broken, and his dominion taken away. With one stroke of His mighty hand, God there struck off Zion’s fetters, and bade the oppressed go free. And forth came, and are coming, the ‘Sanctuary’ class, the ‘holy people,’ weak, and halt, and lame, and almost naked, and blind, from the dungeon darkness and filth and misery of papal bondage. Poor souls! they had been trying to serve God faithfully in the very midst of the lurid flames of persecution, clinging to the cross of Christ when almost every other truth had been swept away, and courageously endeavoring to emancipate God’s ‘Two Witnesses’ (the Old and New Testaments), which had so long been bound, and which had prophesied only under the sackcloth of dead languages.”—C. 122.

And measure the Temple of God.—“That symbolic Temple which is The Christ.” (T. 70.) “The mention of worshippers proves that the measuring is symbolical. To ‘_measure_’ is to separate for sacred purposes; what is excluded from the measurement is, accordingly, more or less mingled with evil. Hence, in this place, what is measured—the true believer typified—is to be exempted from the Judgments in which what is _not_ measured (ver. 2) is involved.” (Cook). “If the direction be understood figuratively, as applicable to the Christian Church, the work to be done would be to obtain an exact estimate or measurement of what the true Church was—as distinguished from all other bodies of men, and as constituted, and appointed, by the direction of God; such a measurement that its characteristics could be made known; that a church could be organized according to this, and that the accurate description could be transmitted to future times.” (Barnes.)—Ezek. 40:3; Rev. 21:15.

And the altar.—The Golden Altar, within the “Holy”, the true Church, as sacrificers.—Ex. 30:1‐10.

And them that worship therein.—The several volumes of _Scripture Studies_ and the booklet _Tabernacle Shadows_ are devoted to the “measurements” herein prophesied.

11:2. But the court which is [without] WITHIN the Temple leave out.—The court here represents the same thing as is represented in the Court of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the condition of progression toward complete Justification.

And measure it not.—Devote all attention to the higher privileges of the “Holy”. The “Court” was merely provided as a proper approach to the “Holy”. Acceptance of Christ as one’s Savior, appreciation of His work at Calvary, and washing one’s self in the water of the Word as represented respectively by the First Gate, Brazen Altar, and Laver of the “Court” are not the things to which we are particularly invited; but consecration to God’s will, illumination by His Spirit, appropriation of His promises and sacrifice of our all, acceptable to the Father through our great High Priest, represented respectively by the Second Gate or Door, the Candlestick, Table of Shew‐bread and Golden Altar of the “Holy”, are the things to which we were called: so that we might pass the Third Gate or Veil, actual death of the body, and finally become a part of The Christ, represented by the Ark of the Covenant, of which our Father is the Head.

For it is given ALSO unto the Gentiles.—With the deliverance of the Little Flock, the condition represented by the “Holy” ceases. This leaves the Great Company still in the “Court” and the special objects of Gentile wrath as their kingdoms fall into ruin. “Being denied the liberty accorded to the Priests, these will have merely the standing of justification, which, if they maintain, will constitute them worthy of eternal life. But that life will not be human life, because they gave that up in order to become Priests. Their failure puts them out of the Holy condition back into the Court condition.” (Z. ’11‐22.)

“After the establishment of Messiah’s Kingdom, this distinction between the Church proper, joint‐heirs with Christ, and the larger company of antitypical Levites, will be perpetual, and the services of the two will be different. The former will be a Priesthood corresponding to that of Melchizedek—a Priest upon His Throne. The work of the latter will correspond more to that accomplished by the Levites; namely, teaching the people, etc., as servants of the Priests, from whom they will receive their directions.”—Z. ’14‐79.

And the Holy City.—The embryo Kingdom of God.

Shall they tread under foot.—“The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”—Matt. 11:12.

Forty and two months.—1260 years from papacy’s establishment as a temporal power, 539 A. D. to 1799 A. D.—B. 91, 310; C. 50, 64; Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 12:6, 14; 13:5; Jas. 5:17.

11:3. And I will give power unto My Two Witnesses.—“The Lord refers to the Old and New Testament Scriptures, and faithfully they have borne their testimony to every nation.”—D. 258.

And they shall prophesy.—Teach.

A thousand, two hundred and three score days.—1260 years, from A. D. 539 to 1799.

Clothed in sackcloth.—“Kept covered in dead languages.”—C. 50.

11:4. These are the Two Olive Trees.—Sources of the oil, the holy Spirit.—Zech. 4:1‐6; Rom. 11:17.

And the Two Candlesticks.—“The _light_ of the world, during all the darkness of the past.”—D. 652.

Standing before the [God] LORD of the earth.—Jehovah. “The earth is the Lord’s.”—Psa. 24:1.

11:5. And if any man will hurt them.—“And if any man _desireth_ to hurt them. The present tense here points to the continued enmity of the world to the Church, during the entire course of the Witnesses’ testimony.”—Cook.

Fire proceedeth out of their mouth.—“I will make My words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.”—Jer. 5:14.

And devoureth their enemies.—“History supplies the illustrations—the fire that consumed the opponents of Moses (Num. 16:28, 35), and that which came down at the word of Elijah. (2 Kings 1:10, 12)”—Cook.

And if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.—“Therefore have I hewed them by the Prophets; and I have slain them by the words of My mouth.”—Hos. 6:5.

11:6. These have power to shut heaven.—The literal heavens and the spiritual heavens.—1 Ki. 17:1.

That it rain not.—That there be no literal showers, or spiritual showers of blessings.

In the days of their prophecy.—Literally in the three and one half years in Elijah’s day in which there was no rain (James 5:17) and spiritually in the three and one half times, or 1260 years, from A. D. 539 to 1799 in which the showers of blessing were withheld from the world.—Rev. 2:20.

And have power over waters.—Literal and symbolic.

To turn them into blood.—Literally as when Moses turned the waters of Egypt into blood (Exodus 7:21.) Symbolically during this Harvest time in which the Heavenly Harvest truths have become “bloody”, repulsive, abhorrent, symbolizing death where they should be received as a blessing.—Z. ’07‐279.

[And] to smite the earth with all plagues.—Literal and symbolic.

As often as they will.—Literally in the plagues which Moses poured out upon the Egyptians (Exodus 7 to 11.) Symbolically in the spiritual plagues, the seven last upon Christendom.—Rev. 16.

11:7. And when they shall have finished their testimony.—In the dead languages, about the time of the end of papacy’s power to persecute.

The beast that THEN ascendeth out of the [bottomless pit] ABYSS.—The government without a foundation; revolutionary France during the “Reign of Terror.”

Shall make war against them.—“In 1793 a decree passed the French Assembly forbidding the Bible; and under that decree the Bibles were gathered and burned, every possible mark of contempt was heaped upon them.”—Smith.

And shall overcome them, and kill them.—“All the institutions of the Bible were abolished; the weekly rest day was blotted out, and every tenth day substituted for mirth and profanity. Baptism and the communion were abolished. The being of God was denied, and death proclaimed an eternal sleep. The Goddess of Reason, in the person of a vile woman, was set up, and publicly worshipped.”—Smith.

11:8. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street.—France.

Of the great city.—Christendom, the Old Roman Empire.—Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 17:9, 18; 18:2, 10, 16, 18, 19, 21.

Which spiritually is called Sodom.—“ ‘Remember Lot’s wife!’ is our Lord’s pointed warning. How intensely forceful it is as a caution to God’s people here, in the close of the Gospel Age. When we learn that Babylon is doomed, and hear the Lord’s message, ‘Come out of her My people that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues,’ it is indeed like the voice of the messengers who hastened Lot and his family out of Sodom, saying, ‘Stay not in all the plain; escape for thy life; escape to the mountain lest thou be consumed; look not behind thee.’ (Gen. 19:17). Christendom is ‘that great city [Babylon] which spiritually is called Sodom.’ ”—D. 607, 608; Rev. 17:5; Isa. 1:9, 10; 3:8, 9; Jer. 23:14; Ezek. 16:48, 41.

And Egypt.—“Egypt is recognized as a symbol or type of the world of mankind, full of vain philosophies, but ignorant of the true Light.”—C. 315; Ezek. 23:3, 4, 8, 27.

Where also [our] THE Lord was crucified.—Catholic France, through its connection with the papacy, is a part of the old Roman Empire, in another part of which our Lord was slain. In another aspect France is identified with the death of the Lord. Anything done to the least of one of the Lord’s little ones is counted as done to Himself. When Saul of Tarsus persecuted the Lord’s saints, the One who met him in the way said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” (Acts 9:4, 5; 22:7, 8; 26:14, 15.) A plot was laid in France to destroy all the Protestants; and on Aug. 24, 1572, sixty thousand were murdered, and the streets of Paris literally ran with blood. The Protestants were in Paris under a solemn oath of safety, to celebrate the marriage of the king of Navarre. Admiral Coligny, a Protestant of great ability and prominence, was basely murdered in his own house, and his head was sent to his holiness, the Pope, as proof that he was really dead. The “Holy Father of Fathers”, the “Vicar of Christ”, the “Chief Pastor and Teacher”, was so pleased that “bells were rung, and guns were fired, bonfires were set ablaze; and Gregory XIII, attended by cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and a great throng of prelates, marched in procession. A _Te Deum_ was chanted, and the Pope commissioned the painter Vasari to paint the scene of the massacre, and employed an artist to engrave a medal commemorative of the event. The preachers in Rome delivered eloquent orations, and a messenger carried a golden rose to Charles as a present from the Pope.”—Coffin.

11:9. And they of the people.—The Protestant people.

And kindreds and tongues and nations.—Of other parts of Europe.

[Shall] see their dead [bodies] BODY.—“As if though silenced in death they continued witnesses still.” (Cook.) Take note of the horrible effect upon France of their effort to exterminate the Scriptures. “The more deeply the French Revolution is considered, the more manifest is its preeminence above all the strange and terrible things that have come to pass on this earth. Every ancient institution and every time honored custom disappeared in a moment. The whole social and political system went down before the first stroke. Monarchy, nobility and church were swept away almost without resistance. The good things of this world,—birth, rank, wealth, fine clothes and elegant manners,—became worldly perils, and worldly disadvantages. The people waged a war of such extermination with everything established, as to abolish the common forms of address and salutation, and the common mode of reckoning time, abhorred ‘you’ as a sin, and shrank from ‘monsieur’ as an abomination, turned the weeks into decades, and would know the old months no more. The demolished halls of the aristocracy, the rifled sepulchres of royalty, the decapitated king and queen, the little dauphin so sadly done to death, the beggared princes, the slaughtered priests and nobles, the sovereign guillotine, the republican marriages, the Meudon tannery, the couples tied together and thrown into the Loire, and the gloves made of men’s and women’s skins: these things are most horrible.” (T. H. Gill, _The Papal Drama_.)—D. 537.

Three days and an half.—See Rev. 11:11.

And [shall not] suffer NOT their dead bodies to be put in [graves] A GRAVE.—On the contrary, this very attempt “served to arouse Christians everywhere to put forth new exertions in behalf of the Bible.”—Smith.

11:10. And they that dwell upon the earth.—The people of France, then infidels, without any hopes except for the present poor earth‐life.

[Shall] rejoice over them, and make merry.—Literally fulfilled when the Assembly proscribed the Scriptures.

And [shall] send gifts one to another.—Literally fulfilled, the gifts being expressions of joy over the sudden “liberty,” “a custom usual in times of festivity.”—Neh. 8:10, 12; Esth. 9:19, 22.—Cook.

Because these Two Prophets tormented.—By continuing to proclaim the coming Reign of Christ and His Church.

Them that dwelt on the earth.—The classes whose hopes and destinies are earthly.

11:11. And after three days and an half.—Three years and one half.

The Spirit of life from God entered into Them.—In a symbolic sense They were “raised from the dead.”—Ezek. 37:5, 9, 10, 14.

And They stood upon Their feet.—See Ezek. 37:10. “In 1793, a decree passed the French Assembly suppressing the Bible. Just three years after, a resolution was introduced into the Assembly superseding the decree, and giving toleration to the Scriptures. That resolution lay on the table six months, when it was taken up, and passed without a dissenting vote. Thus, in just three years and a half, the Witnesses ‘stood upon their feet.’ ”—Smith.

And great fear fell upon them which saw them.—“Nothing but the appalling results of the rejection of the Bible, could have induced France to take her hands off these Witnesses.” (Smith.) “In the light of the foretold character of coming events of this battle, we may regard the French Revolution as only the rumbling of distant thunder, giving warning of an approaching storm; as a slight tremor preceding the general earthquake shock; as the premonitory click of the great clock of the ages, which gives notice to those already awake that the wheels are in motion, and that shortly it will strike the midnight hour which will end the present order of affairs and usher in a new order,—the Year of Jubilee, with its attendant commotion and changes of possession.”—D. 535.

In comments on Rev. 3:14, reasons are given for anticipating the deliverance of the Little Flock about Passover, 1918 [possibly on the _Passover day_, as a result of activities by the tribe of Dan. (Jer. 8:16.)] There we noted the Lord’s use of the half‐week principle. In this prophecy, we have the same principle. The French Revolution is Divinely provided as a picture of events now at hand, and we therefore expect three and a half years of proscription of the Truth, from the spring of 1918 to the fall of 1921. This will give the Great Company splendid opportunities for martyrdom and allow another three and a half years, to the spring of 1925, for the world to think the matter over, by which time, doubtless, they will be quite ready to listen to the voice that speaketh from Heaven.—Heb. 12:19.

11:12. And they heard a great voice from Heaven.—The voice last referred to—the Lord Jesus Himself, the “voice,” the “Word,” of the Heavenly Father.

Saying unto them, Come up hither.—“The Two Witnesses of God, the Old and New Testaments, ascended to heaven, the place of honor and power, as the Scriptures symbolically represent the matter.”—Z. ’15‐199.

And they ascended up to heaven.—“The British and Foreign Bible Society (which has distributed 230,000,000 copies of the Bible) was established in 1803; the New York Bible Society in 1804; the Berlin‐Prussian Bible Society in 1805; the Philadelphia Bible Society in 1808; and the American Bible Society (127,000,000 copies distributed) in 1817. Bibles by the million, in over 300 languages, are published yearly and sold at low prices, and many thousands are given away to the poor. It is difficult to estimate the wide influence of this work. Its quiet teaching is the greatest of all levelers and equalizers.”—C. 51.

In a cloud.—In a time of trouble, the French Revolution. The exaltation which the Word of God received as a result of the French Revolution is as nothing compared with the exaltation which awaits it after the “Time of Trouble such as was not since there was a nation.”

And their enemies beheld them.—As the enemies of the Word of God were compelled by the stern logic of events to consent to its restoration in the French time of trouble, so the Lord’s enemies, and the enemies of His Church, will be compelled to submit to the Reign of Truth when their forces have been exhausted in the Battle of the great Day of God Almighty.—Luke 19:27; Isa. 54:11‐17.

11:13. And the same hour was there a great earthquake.—“In the symbolic language of Revelation, the French Revolution was indeed a ‘great earthquake’—a social shock so great that all ‘Christendom’ trembled until it was over; and that terrible and sudden outburst of a single nation’s wrath, only a century ago, may give some idea of the fury of the coming storm, when the wrath of all the angry nations will burst the bands of law and order and cause a reign of universal anarchy. In fact, the French Revolution seems referred to by our Lord in His Revelation to John on Patmos as a prelude to, and an illustration of, the great crisis now approaching.”—D. 531.

The French Revolution lasted ten and a half years, from June 17th, 1789, when the Assembly began its reign, until Napoleon seized the government and caused himself to be appointed First Consul, November 9th, 1799. This coincides well with the thought previously expressed (Rev. 7:3) that all phases of Babylon will not be disposed of until about ten and a half years from the fall of 1914. The Assembly was in control from the first, but did not execute the king until January 21st, 1793, three years and one‐half from the time the trouble started. The Assembly continued in control until June 25th, 1795, six years from the time the trouble began, when the government was intrusted to five persons under the name of the Directory. It was on October 4th of the same year that Napoleon cleared the streets of Paris of the mobs, and from that point onward his star began to rise. Some interesting developments in connection with the setting up of the Kingdom may occur in 1920, six years after the great Time of Trouble began. It would not be strange if this were so, when we recall that after forty years wandering in the wilderness the Israelites came into possession of the land of Canaan after a further six years. As these matters are still future we can but wait to see. We anticipate that the “earthquake” will occur early in 1918, and that the “fire” will come in the fall of 1920.—1 Kings 19:11, 12; Z. ’98‐207, 208.

And the tenth part of the city fell.—The French part of Christendom; one of the ten toes of the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar; one of the ten horns of Daniel’s beast and John’s dragon.—Dan. 2:41‐43; 7:24; Rev. 12:3.

And in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand.—“And by the earthquake were destroyed seven thousand names of men.” (Diaglott.) “France made war, in her revolution of 1793‐98, on all titles of nobility. It is said by those who have examined the French records, that just seven thousand titles of men were abolished in that revolution.”—Smith.

And the remnant were affrighted and gave glory to the God of Heaven.—“Their God‐dishonoring and Heaven‐defying work filled France with such scenes of blood, carnage, and horror, as made even the infidels themselves tremble, and stand aghast; and the ‘remnant’ that escaped the horrors of that hour ‘gave glory to God’—not willingly, but the God of Heaven caused this ‘wrath of man to praise Him,’ by causing all the world to see that those who make war on Heaven make graves for themselves; thus glory redounded to God by the very means that wicked men employed to tarnish that glory. For the statistics and many of the foregoing thoughts on the Two Witnesses, we are indebted to an exposition of the subject of The Two Witnesses, by the late George Storrs.” (Smith.) “And here I gratefully mention assistance rendered by Brothers George Stetson and George Storrs, the latter the Editor of _The Bible Examiner_, both now deceased. The study of the Word of God with these dear brethren led step by step into greener pastures and brighter hopes for the world.”—Pastor Russell’s Autobiography. Z. ’16‐170.

11:14. The second woe is past.—In the narrative of