Part 15

As Christ was to judge the world “at his appearing and kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:1), a reference to his coming always involved a consideration of the hour of his judgment; and his appearing was a great incentive to holiness. “For our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,” Phil. 3:20. And “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory,” Col. 3:4. “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?” 1 Thess. 2:19. “To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints,” _Ib._ 3:13. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with 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,” _Ib._ 4:14-17. “And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,” 2 Thess. 1:7, 8.

Not only the apostles, but their successors, in succeeding ages, have constantly made reference to the judgment, as the motive to holiness. Beginning in the days of the apostles, the same gospel has been continued by a succession of men to the present time; and those who are now preaching, or who support those who so preach the everlasting gospel, in connection with the warning of approaching judgment, must be regarded as belonging to the same body of men symbolized by the angel flying in the midst of heaven.

Commencing in the apostolic age, sections of the globe were evangelized—in Asia and Africa, that have never received the gospel since, either under the reformers or by modern missionaries. But beginning with the dispensation of the gospel to the Gentiles, its fulfilment is found in China, in Tartary, in Japan, in Egypt, and Ethiopia, and in lands so remote that no one can say it has not been almost universally promulgated.

The Angel announcing the Fall of Babylon.

“And another angel, a second, followed, saying, She is fallen! Babylon the great is fallen! She made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication!”—Rev. 14:8.

This angel, like the former, must symbolize a body of religious teachers. The former resulted in the spread of Christianity. This announces the fall of a corrupt hierarchy.

Babylon being regarded as a symbol of the Roman church, her fall must be understood to be her loss of power, as mistress of the kings of the earth; and synchronizes with her displacement from her position on the beast, as symbolized in the 17th chapter. The epoch of her fall, and consequently of the flight of this angel, is that of the Reformation, when the corruptions of the Papal See were first exposed, and it was denounced as the Apocalyptic harlot. The argument for this application is given in the exposition of Rev. 18:1, which is a repetition of the symbol here given, p. 300.

The Wrath-denouncing Angel.

“And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any one worship the wild beast and his image, and receive his mark on his forehead, or on his hand, even he will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out unmingled into the cup of his wrath; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth for ever and ever: and they have no rest day or night, who worship the wild beast and his image, and whoever receiveth the mark of his name!”—Rev. 14:9-11.

The cry of this angel synchronizes with the “voice from heaven” (18:4), and follows the discovery of the corruptions of Romanism.—See the exposition of that Scripture, p. 307.

The worship of the beast consisted in a regard for it, equivalent to saying, “Who is like unto the beast? and, Who is able to make war with him?” 13:4. To worship, is to manifest homage and respect. To worship any inferior object, is to bestow on it the confidence and affection which is due only to God. It is to trust in it, as invincible, able to protect, and infallible in judgment. Thus to regard any civil or ecclesiastical organization, is to substitute it for Him, by whom the powers that be are ordained (Rom. 13:1), who giveth the kingdom to whomsoever he will (Dan. 4:17), and by whom alone, kings reign, and princes decree justice, Prov. 8:15.

Whenever any civil or ecclesiastical enactment conflicts with the requisitions of Jehovah, that power is worshipped, which is obeyed in preference to the other: “Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey?” Rom. 6:16. The worship of God is incompatible with obedience to any power which compels a violation of His laws. Due obedience to government is commanded, when no question of conscience is involved. When it is, no forcible resistance to the execution of the law is permitted; but while God is obeyed, the penalty of the law is to be meekly endured.

The early Christians chose death, rather than to deny their Saviour at the command of Jewish Sanhedrim or Roman emperor. When Peter and John were commanded “not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus,” their answer was, “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye; for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard,” Acts 4:19, 20. In like manner, the Christians living at the epoch of this angel, were to be similarly tried, which is implied in the command, not to worship.

So soon as the reformers were placed in direct conflict with the Church of Rome, her anathemas were hurled against all who assented not to her mummeries. And the power of the civil arm was also brought into exercise to compel obedience to her commands. Those who maintained their integrity, did so in opposition to the requirements of the church and state; while those who submitted to the state as invincible, or to the church as infallible, extended to the beast or its image that homage and regard which was due to God. They thus acknowledged themselves the servants of him whom they obeyed, and subjected themselves to the wrath of God.

The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever, and they have no rest, day nor night, who worship the beast and his image. While the righteous enter into rest, the wicked are like the troubled sea which cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt, Isa. 57:20.

The Harvest of the Earth.

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, Write, Happy the dead who die in the Lord, from henceforth! Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their toils; and their works go with them. And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and one was seated on the cloud like the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him seated on the cloud, Thrust forth thy sickle and reap: for the hour is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he, who sat on the cloud, cast his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.”—Rev. 14:12-16.

The announcement that here are they who keep the commandments of God, implies that, at the epoch symbolized, they are to be the subjects of special notice. By the voice from heaven, they are shown to include all of the dead who have died in the Lord; and their being blessed from thenceforth, indicates that they will at that epoch enter upon their eternal reward.

The “rest” of the righteous, is at the advent of Christ:—“To you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven,” 2 Thess. 1:6. “There remaineth a rest for the people of God,” Heb. 4:9.

On hearing the voice from heaven, the revelator looked, and beheld on a cloud “one like the Son of man.” In Ezek. 1:26, “the likeness as the appearance of a man,” upon “the likeness of the throne,” is explained to be “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” In Dan. 7:13, “one like the Son of man,” who comes to the Ancient of days, is evidently a symbol of Christ. In Rev. 1:13, “one like unto the Son of man,” is the one who was alive, was dead, and is alive forevermore. The same symbol repeated, must here also be a representative of Christ.

His position on a cloud, indicates the arrival of the period when he is to be manifested in mid-heaven: “Behold he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him,” 1:7. “One like the Son of man came with 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,” Dan. 7:13, 14. “And 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,” Matt. 24:30, 31.

The epoch of this manifestation, according to the above, is that of the last trump, the second advent, and the first resurrection. “At the last trump ... the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed,” 1 Cor. 15:52. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with 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,” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17.

His “golden crown” indicates that he is now to take to himself his great power, and to reign, “when the kingdoms of this world become our Lord’s and his Christ’s,” 11:15, 17. Crowns are symbols of sovereignty. As such, they respectively denoted the periods, when the forms of government, symbolized by the heads of the beast (12:3) and its horns (13:1), bore rule. Now the diadem is to be transferred from them, to encircle the brow of earth’s rightful Sovereign.

The sharp sickle in his hand, indicates that the time of harvest has arrived; and the act of reaping, the gathering of the harvest. There are two gatherings symbolized, corresponding to the two classes of persons who are to be gathered. “The dead in Christ shall rise first,” and will be “caught up to meet the Lord in the air,” before the wicked are gathered, 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. “I will come again, and receive you unto myself,” said the Saviour, John 14:5. The Lord of the harvest directs its gathering, but effects it by the instrumentality of angels: “He shall send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth, to the uttermost part of heaven,” Mark 13:27. When thus gathered, they are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, where the Lord of the harvest sits. This is the separation of the righteous and wicked, who were to “grow together till the harvest,” which, says the Saviour, “is the end of the world,” Matt. 13:39.

Mr. Lord suggests, that it is inconsistent with the dignity of Christ, to be notified by an angel when to begin his work; and therefore dissents from the application of the symbol to him. It may not, however, be necessary to consider the cry of the angel, as one of command. The angel may be a messenger from the Ancient of days, announcing the epoch of the resurrection. Or he may symbolize a body of men, who will be ardently praying for the return of the nobleman to take his kingdom.

The harvest is spoken of in distinction from the gathering of the vine, and in contrast with it. Men harvest what they prize,—their grain and fruits. They do not harvest briers and thorns. They cut or reap both; but the act of reaping is not expressive of the destiny of what is reaped. This is indicated by the disposition made, and the terms applied; the one is gathered into the garner of the Lord; but the other is given to the consuming fire.

The righteous being caught up to meet the Lord at his coming, the destruction of the wicked, which must precede the regeneration of the earth and descent of the saints, is next symbolized.

The Reaping of the Vine.

“And another angel came out of the temple in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over the fire, and called with a loud shout to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and cut off the clusters of the vine of the earth; for its grapes are ripe. And the angel cast in his sickle into the earth, and cut off the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God. And the wine-press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine-press, even to the bridles of the horses, for the distance of one thousand six hundred furlongs.”—Rev. 14:17-20.

The wicked also are gathered by the instrumentality of angels: said the Saviour, “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be 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: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” Matt. 13:40-42. In the parable of the tares, the Saviour said, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” Thus the tares were to be gathered _first_—not before the righteous are gathered, but before the wheat is placed in the garner: the new earth being the garner where the righteous are _finally_ to be gathered, they cannot be placed there till the wicked have been gathered out. “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear,” Matt. 13:30, 43.

The disposition of the vine, its being trodden down, and the great presence of blood flowing, symbolize the awful judgments to overtake the wicked, after the escape of the righteous, when they are gathered into bundles and burned. 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-vat? 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,” Isa. 63:1-4.

Before the destruction of the old world by the deluge, Noah was secure in the ark. Before the destruction of Sodom, Lot is removed to a place of safety. So before the destruction of the vine of the earth, the righteous are caught up to the Lord in the air, where they are symbolized, in the following chapter, as:

The Victors on the Sea of Glass.

“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for by these, the wrath of God is completed. And I saw as it were a transparent sea mingled with fire; and those who had obtained the victory over the wild beast, and over his image, and over the number of his name, standing on the transparent sea, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, king of nations! Who should not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all nations will come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are manifested.” Rev. 15:1-4.

This appears to close the vision commencing with the sixth verse of the 14th chapter, and to be independent of the remaining portion of the 15th chapter.

These “seven angels,” in the subsequent vision, discharge the contents of the vials of God’s wrath; but the epoch here presented is evidently subsequent to that fulfilment; for the imitation of the “Song of Moses,” must follow the infliction of the judgments which call forth that song of rejoicing. They had here completed the wrath of God, the manner of which act is subsequently shown in a separate vision.

The “sea of glass,” must represent an elevation above the earth. For those stationed there had gotten the victory over the beast and his image, had escaped the wrath to be poured on those who worshipped those powers (14:9), had been gathered when the harvest of the earth was reaped (14:16), being then caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17), and now, the clusters of the vine of the earth having been gathered and cast into the wine-press of the wrath of God (14:19), they rejoice above the fires of earth, witnesses of the manifestations of God’s judgments. They have come out of all their tribulations, and evidently synchronize with the palm-bearing multitude (Rev. 7:9), the hundred and forty-four thousand on Mount Zion (14:1), and the multitude in heaven who sing Alleluia over the judgment of the great harlot, 19:1.

“The song of Moses,” was that sung by the Israelites when the Egyptians had perished in the waters of the Red Sea, and they were safely encamped on its further shore. The Lord had triumphed gloriously over the enemies of Israel, had buried the horse and his rider in the sea, and was about to plant his people in the mountain of his inheritance,—in the place which he had made for them to dwell in,—in the sanctuary which he had established, Ex. 15:1-21. The analogy requires that when this corresponding song is sung, the ransomed of the Lord shall have correspondingly witnessed the overthrow of the adversaries of Jehovah, and shall themselves have escaped from the perils of the many waters which had threatened to engulf them.

The judgments of God being manifested on the nations of the ungodly, there are none remaining, only “the nations of them which are saved,” 21:24. As these will all walk in the light of the new Jerusalem, those on the sea of glass may well sing:

“Great and marvellous 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 accordance with the foregoing view, this synchronizes with the “new song” sung by those who are redeemed from every nation, kindred, tongue and people (5:9), who are afterwards seen standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion, 14:3.

The Angels with the Seven Vials.

“And after this, I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened; and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure white linen, and girded around the breasts with golden girdles. And one of the four living beings gave to the seven angels, seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.” Rev. 15:5-8.

“And I heard a loud voice out of the temple saying, to the seven angels, Depart, and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.” Rev. 16:1.

“The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven,” must symbolize heaven itself. It corresponds with the tabernacle “after the second veil,”—called “the holiest of all,” where the tables of the covenant were deposited by the command of Moses, Heb. 9:1-5. There, the “cherubims of glory” over-shadowed the mercy-seat,—a type of the presence-chamber of the Almighty. Consequently, when it is symbolized as being opened in heaven, the angels who come out are divinely commissioned executors of God’s purposes.

The “seven angels,” are the ministers of the divine vengeance,—the rectitude of their character and the dignity of their office, being symbolized by their “white robes” and “golden girdles.”

The period of time symbolized by the pouring out of the vials, must be anterior to the second advent; for in the analogous instances of God’s judgments, he visits his enemies with plagues previous to the deliverance of his children. Thus were the ancient Egyptians visited, before the Israelites escaped from their power, Ex. 5-11.

The deliverance of the vials to the angels by one of the four “living creatures,” indicates that the intelligences in the divine presence, which are thus symbolized, are cognizant of God’s design, and acquiesce in his purpose to visit the subjects of his wrath with these plagues.

By these being called “the vials of God’s wrath,” we learn that their infliction is not corrective, but judicial;—that they are not agents of mercy, but of vengeance.