Anti-Christ has already been? The witnesses have not yet appeared: they
have not yet wrought their miracles. The Lost Ten Tribes and the
scattered Jews have not yet been gathered from all countries whither the
Lord God hath scattered them, and placed in their own land, to go out no
more, to be plucked up no more. Jerusalem is yet being trodden under
foot, the land is comparatively desolate, no temple yet adorns the city,
nor priest, nor Levite, attend at the altar. Pshaw! upon the Biblical
interpreters of this day, who wilfully or ignorantly careen through the
line of prophecies, despising the order established by God. They are
like the girl with her novel, who cannot wait to read through the book,
and take events in their order, but she turns to the last leaf to find
the destiny of her hero. So men, borne by passion and choice, skip by
several of the prophecies, and harp everlastingly on the last--the coming
of the blessed Jesus--"He whom the heavens must receive until the times
of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all
His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts iii. 21). The world is
not yet ready for Christ; it is yet too much upside down, too much
confused. But God is in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. It
does not now look like God; so God and Christ, Providence and the Church,
must work on till the house is in order for His return. "_Hon dei
ouranon men dexasthai archri chronon apokataseos panton_," whom, indeed,
heaven must retain until the time of restoration of all things. If
things are not now restored or reconciled, or in order, why, then, Christ
cannot come. He will not come to put them in order; this He has left for
and with the Church to do, and has promised to be with His Church to the
end.
A few Sunday evenings ago, a brother kindly asked me where the Church
would be while Anti-Christ was reigning. I simply said anywhere and
everywhere, wherever it happened to be. He thought the Church would be
taken away by Christ; he referred me to several passages. I said, Come
next Sunday evening, as those passages will be partly considered in my
next sermon. He replied that he might be taken up by that time. All
right, I said, then we will excuse you. Now, in the name of common
sense, why have men, and why do men, down through the centuries, and now,
entertain such views? Because every Bible reader must see that there are
many prophecies that must be fulfilled before Christ can come--one of
which is the appearance of the two witnesses of the text. They will be
specially sent and commissioned to testify for Christ, as against
Anti-Christ.
Let us now ascertain who these two witnesses are, or are to be. I find
on examining the subject all manner of views set forth. And, as is often
the case in studying a subject of this kind, I find few that agree--so
much so, that at last I found relief in turning from what men said and
thought to what God in His Holy Word had written and said.
First. They are two men. Second. They are sent to Jerusalem which,
because of the wickedness of the city at the time of their visit, will be
called Sodom and Egypt; but, lest we should mistake the place from these
names, John adds: "Where also our Lord was crucified." So Isaiah i. 10
says: "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the
law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah." This fixes safely the place.
Besides, the place is pointed out from the fact that they oppose
Anti-Christ, who at that time we know will be at Jerusalem. Third. They
are sent. You ask where they are sent from? The answer is, From heaven,
from standing before the God of the whole earth. Fourth. Who sends
them? We answer, Jesus--because the Book of the Revelation is "the
Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto John." Fifth. What were
they sent for? In the first place they were to be special witnesses for
Jesus, for He calls them His two witnesses. In the second place, they
were to prophesy, to be prophets in the fullest sense, to forecast the
future, to interpret past and present; to work miracles; to assume
control in directing State affairs. Sixth. It is worth your careful
notice to note that they are not constituted witnesses by being sent;
they are sent because they are witnesses. They are not then to be
endowed with miraculous power; "these have power" in the present tense.
These facts, if nicely considered, will at once suggest the persons.
Whoever they are, they must have gone from earth to heaven with their
bodies, two persons who have escaped death, for their death takes place
in Jerusalem. They must have been prophets before they left earth for
heaven the first time. And in the third place, they must at some time
and place have been special witnesses for Christ. In fact, they are two
anointed ones, or, in other words, they are two persons who have been set
apart and prepared for the very visit spoken of in the text.
Daniel, when speaking of them, and the visit spoken of in the text, calls
one "the Ancient of Days;" the other one was "like the Son of Man." He
represents these two persons as sitting in judgment on Anti-Christ, and
the seven horns, or kingdoms. "And the ten horns that were in his head
and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that
horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look
was more stout than his fellows (this is Anti-Christ). I beheld, and the
same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them, until the
Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most
High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom" (Dan. vii.
20).
Many interpret "the Ancient of Days" and the "one like the Son of Man" to
be Christ. They stagger not at the fact that there are two persons, and
that they are introduced one to another, and that the Ancient of Days
seems to be the greatest. It is nothing to such interpreters that there
are two persons; these they make one. The one looking like the Son of
Man they make out to be the Son of God, although Daniel says he only
looked like Him. The judgment spoken of by Daniel they make out to be
the general judgment, when, in fact, Daniel tells on what and where they
sat in judgment--namely, at Jerusalem. About Anti-Christ--and that
Anti-Christ is soon destroyed after this--and "as concerning the rest of
the beasts (that is, the seven horns), they had their dominion taken
away; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time." The
vision and scene of the whole chapter belongs to this world, and the
kingdom of the saints here spoken of is as much material and political as
the other. The difference is, the rulers and people are Christians, they
are called saints.
Every throne should be double-kinged; that is God's purpose, that is
Heaven's plan. Christ wants no earthly throne excepting that way. As
the Creator is Lord of lords and King of kings, so Christ after His
resurrection assumed His Father's place, and stands to us as God to the
Jews of old. All power was given to Him in heaven and in earth,
therefore, He, Christ, has long since begun His reign, and He must
continue to reign until He hath put all enemies under His feet. When
David was king over Israel and Judah, so was God. We repeat, every
throne should be double-kinged.
To this end will come these two witnesses. Who will they be? We answer,
Moses and Elijah: these are the two brave old men now living and waiting
to fulfil their mission. For hundreds of years they have been anointed.
Moses is "the Ancient of Days;" the "one like the Son of Man" is Elijah
the Tishbite. This interpretation chimes in with the Divine Word,
without twisting and distorting to make both ends meet.
We said these two were to be human: so they are. They being sent from
heaven, we said they must have passed by death with their bodies; so they
did. They were to be prophets; so they are, two of the grandest prophets
of all. They were to have power over fire and water; so they had when
they lived on earth. The bloody stream of the Nile gives witness for
Moses. The parched land and time of drought speaks of Elijah in Ahab's
time. They both called fire down on them who sought to hurt them. They
were to be special witnesses of Christ; so they were on the Mount of
Transfiguration. These two olive trees stood one on each side of the
golden candlestick, Jesus; Peter, James, and John, testify to having seen
Moses and Elijah. These two old veterans know Christ well, hence they
will be sent to testify for Him against Anti-Christ. Moses is a Jew. He
will appeal unto the Jews, who will be found in the new temple,
performing according to the old Mosaic law. He will change and lead his
people from Anti-Christ to Christ. Elijah is an Israelite. He will
specially bear testimony to the Israelite, his long-lost, but then
restored, brethren.
More next Sunday evening on these two Christian heroes.
MOSES AND ELIJAH.
DISCOURSE XII.
MORE ABOUT THE TWO WITNESSES--MORMONISM--GOD RULING AMONG THE
NATIONS--CAREER OF THE TWO WITNESSES--ANTI-CHRIST--THE THRONE AND HOUSE
OF DAVID.
"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in
heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of
our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and
ever."--Rev. ii. 15.
Last Sabbath evening we called your attention to two special witnesses
who are at a given time to appear at Jerusalem for a specific purpose.
At the time of their appearance Anti-Christ will be reigning with great
power and pomp. He will have succeeded in persuading the Jews and many
others that he is the promised Jewish Messiah; this claim he will be able
to sustain and confirm in the eyes of the multitude, from the very fact
that he will, to all appearance, work miracles. Nor need we query that
such a thing can take place. Look at some of the facts of our own day,
and see how pliable human nature is. There are millions of people who
sincerely believe that Leo XIII. is God's vicegerent, and that he is
infallible. Take into account the Mormonism of this day, and see how
terrible a thing in the name of Christianity can be established and
maintained. Aye, in the nineteenth century, and in the United States of
America. Or look in upon the Spiritualists and consider their claims and
pretensions. Thousands upon thousands of them are persuaded that they
are _en rapport_ with heaven and in communication with spirits and
spirit-land. Then you will not be surprised at the pretensions, claims,
and success of Anti-Christ. In our calm and unprejudiced consideration
of these organisations, we are bound to admit that they have done more,
and owe more for their success, to deception and error, than to truth and
openness. Each in its turn has been caught in the act of deceiving, and
has been frequently exposed, but of what avail? Truly but little. We do
not mean that in these systems there is no good, for surely there is, but
that the errors and deceptions are of so glaring a kind, that we wonder
that anybody of common sense can be so easily led astray.
With these facts before us, can we wonder any longer that Anti-Christ
shall be so successful? The very occasion and peculiar times and
incidents of the reign of Anti-Christ will call for some special
manifestations on the part of the Divine One that shall soberly and
clearly confront the hollow and hypocritical pretensions of that age.
Hence the appearance of the two witnesses--Moses the Ancient of Days, and
Elijah the Tishbite, who will look like the Son of God.
Allow us to submit further evidence in proof that the two witnesses of
John in Rev. xi. are none other than Moses and Elijah: for many passages
of Holy Writ are sealed to the understanding till we comprehend who the
two witnesses are, their mission and work. We will notice the
attributive features of these witnesses as they are related by John in
this chapter--that is, Rev. xi.
In the first place, there are two persons or individualities; this
appears plainly from the tenor of the whole record. They are spoken of
as "they, them, their mouth, their feet, as dying and being resurrected."
But, strange to say, after all this plainness of speech, men have become
so accustomed to spiritualise and generalise that Anti-Christ stood for
Rome, and naturally enough, having generalised Anti-Christ, they must do
the same with the two witnesses; hence they found them in the Churches of
the Waldenses and Albigenses. In such an interpretation nearly all the
attributive features of these witnesses are ignored. Such as that they
had power to work miracles, to lie unburied in the streets of Jerusalem
for three days and a half. Some have laboured to prove that the Old and
New Testaments were these witnesses, others that they were symbolised by
the law and Gospel. Again, some that the two sacraments, baptism and the
Lord's supper, were these two witnesses, and so on almost without end.
These instances will suffice for our present purpose; for surely any of
you reading God's own Word need not so blunder.
In the second place, Jesus calls them His two witnesses. Now, in what
sense were they His? for such they are now. Not that they will be His
when they appear, but they will appear to oppose Anti-Christ at Jerusalem
because they are sent. The prophets are all witnesses; for, as Peter
says, "To Him give all the prophets witness." The apostles were
witnesses, and all believers are witnesses for Jesus; yet these two are
so in a special and pre-eminent sense. Let any one read the account of
the transfiguration of Jesus and the circumstances attendant thereon, and
all will be plain. Moses and Elias (another spelling for Elijah) we find
were present, as well as Peter, James, and John. When Christ was
transfigured, "Behold there appeared unto them Moses and Elias" (Matt,
xvii. 3). These two persons talked with Jesus, "and spake of His decease
which He should accomplish at Jerusalem." Thus, then, they were special
witnesses for Christ, and so they will come again and witness for Him in
the time appointed.
The number of days we must take in a literal sense; here the 1,260 days
and 3.5 days are the days appointed for their work and death. It is well
to remember that many of the prophetic numbers contain a double prophecy.
Thus 1,260 here may be coincident with the treading down of Jerusalem by
Mahommedanism. But whether it is or not, does not vitiate the literal
quantity when applied to these two witnesses. In the third place, they
are called two olive trees and two candlesticks standing before the God
of the whole earth. The figurative meaning will be found by finding some
passage where two trees are mentioned in the interpretation given--such a
passage by Zechariah iv. Here the prophet saw two olive trees and asked
of the angel the meaning; and the angel said, "Knowest thou not what
these be?" And I said, "No, my Lord." Then said he, "_These are two
anointed ones_ that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." The simple
meaning is, that the two olive trees mean two persons, who are in heaven
at present, but are anointed--that is, set apart, selected for some
distinct work for God.
Moses and Elijah evidently were anointed and specially selected, for it
is probable they both escaped death. The wonder connected with the
disappearance of Moses and the translation of Elijah now finds some
measure of explanation. None doubt the translation of Elijah. John the
Baptist was not Elias, except he was to go before Christ in the spirit
and power of Elias; in this sense John stood for Elias. John the Baptist
prepared the way of Christ the first time, so will Elias for Christ's
second coming. The record of Moses's departure from this world is as
mysterious as it is dramatic. But, certainly, neither the mysterious nor
the dramatic have any meaning excepting we allow something Divinely
special. To die as other people, would mean nothing on the line of
specialities; but he did not so die. He went from the people alive; no
one saw him die or dead. He went up into Mount Horeb and never returned.
So, so far as the people were concerned, he was to them a dead man, for
he went from them no more to return. The word death in Hebrew has not
less than six meanings, one of which is simply to disappear. This is the
meaning that we must attach to the death of Moses. Neither his grave nor
body have ever been found.
There is a peculiar passage in the book of Jude where "Michael the
archangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of
Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The
Lord rebuke thee." Now, Satan then had power over death in some way
Divinely permitted. Paul says (Heb. ii. 14), speaking of Christ,
"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also
Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might
destroy him _that had the power of death_--that is, the devil." When God
was translating Moses, passing him by death, Satan fought with Michael,
who was God's messenger, to inflict the sting of death on Moses, and
although Michael carried Moses on by death into the presence of God,
Satan durst not bring a railing accusation against him.
Jude, in his epistle, probably quoted from one of the now lost books of
Revelation, which was entitled, "The Ascension or Assumption of Moses the
servant of God." The Church father, Origen, makes mention of this work,
but, like the book and prophecies of Enoch, from which Jude makes a
quotation, it has been lost, they having served their purpose. The
fairest and most generous interpretation, then, is, that Moses did not
die the ordinary death, but disappeared, was, in fact, translated,
anointed, and set apart for a special work in connection with his own
people, the Jews, in the days of the coming Anti-Christ. Thus, without
any trouble, he could appear with Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration.
And it is worthy of note that before he disappeared in Horeb--the sacred
writer is mindful to tell us "Moses was an hundred and twenty years old
when he died--_his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated_" (Deut.
xxiv. 7). But, supposing Moses died naturally, there is nothing
unreasonable or irregular in concluding that God resurrected him as a
mortal for future use. True, he will die again as a witness; so there
are in heaven now eight persons who have died twice in this
world--namely:
The child raised by Elijah (1 Kings xvii. 21).
The child of Elisha (2 Kings iv. 35).
The Moabite soldier who came to life on touching the bones of Elisha (2
Kings xiii. 21).
The daughter of Jairus (Luke viii. 55).
The widow's son at Nain (Luke vii. 15).
Lazarus of Bethany (John xi. 44).
Dorcas or Tabitha by Peter (Acts ix. 40).
Eutychus by Paul (Acts xx. 10).
Anti-Christ will be a great electrician; electricity by that time will be
a fearful power in the hands of science. Edison with his genius and
marvellous discoveries, and others of like gifts, will have perfected the
use of this agent in a wonderful degree. Anti-Christ will make use of
this power to cower his enemies and bring them in fear-subjection. He
will bring fire down from heaven. The two witnesses, however, will be
clothed with Divine power; they will be able to bring fire by a simple
command--this they both understood and used when on earth.
Moses called fire down upon the 250 rebellious Korahthites, as we read in
Numbers xvi. Ahab, the King of Israel, thought to punish and compel the
obedience of Elijah; but God gave fire from heaven in answer to the
prophet's prayer. So when Ahaziah sent a captain and fifty men to bring
Elijah into the king's presence, they found him sitting on the top of a
hill and commanded him to come down. "And Elijah answered and said to
the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from
heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from
heaven, and consumed him and his fifty" (2 Kings i. 10). Thus will these
two anointed ones be able to contend with Anti-Christ and all the powers
of scientific infidels. "If any man hurt these two witnesses, by the
very means used so shall they be killed."
"These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their
prophecy, and have power over waters to turn them to blood." To whom
would these gifts and attributes apply better than to Elijah, who in the
days of the wicked King Ahab sealed the heavens against rain for three
years and a half? and to Moses, who, when contending with Pharaoh, turned
the sweet flowing Nile into a stream of blood? What two prophets had
such a wide range of prophetic energy and liberty as Moses and Elijah?
None. Well may the Revelator say, then, of them, that they can smite the
earth with all manner of plagues as often as they will.
By awful and sublime manifestations the world shall see that God rules in
the heaven and on the earth. They shall learn that Anti-Christ is a
false Christ. Then shall fear and repentance fall upon the people. The
Jews shall be convinced, and converted, and persuaded by the appearance
of their beloved Moses. They shall know of a truth that the Messiah has
been, and is waiting to come again. Referring to that time the prophet
Zechariah calls it a time of trembling, the time of a terrible siege.
But he tells us that "The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first,
that the glory of the House of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, do not magnify themselves against Judah." Thus we learn that
the Jews, who have been so long despised and bereft of a king, country,
and government, shall see through the great mystery of Providence first.
The House of David is found in the royal family of England. The Jews,
seeing this, will invite, in concert with all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the English Government to take charge of their affairs.
"Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered
together and appoint themselves one _head_" (Hosea i. 2). The Jews will
then be Christians. "For they shall look upon Him whom they have
pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son."
At this time the whole world will be amazed and confounded at the
destruction of Anti-Christ and his host. The Jews, the House of David,
and the Lost Tribes, Israel, the Saxons, will hold a council in
Jerusalem. David's house, which God selected, and throne, both of which
the Almighty promised perpetuity to, shall be found and recognised in the
English throne and royal family. The Saxon race shall distinctively
appear as long-lost Israel. So that the Jews, and David's House, and
Israel, will unite and acknowledge Christ as Lord and Master. They will
make known to America, who stands for Manasseh, and all the colonies, the
decision of the said council; all parties will see, and accept, and
federate for the world's conquest and peace.
This federation of the ancient people, the literal seed of Abraham, will
cause jealousies and alliances on the part or rest of the world,
excepting some portions of France, Austria, and Prussia. The beast,
dragon, and Anti-Christ's force, that will survive the shock of the two
witnesses, will all unite for an onslaught upon England, but especially
Palestine. Russia, though nominally Christian, will join the beast or
Romish Church. The dragon means the Pagan portion of the world. Thus
will be inaugurated the battle of Armageddon, the issues of which we are
permitted to know through Revelation. Then will the kingdoms of this
world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ.
With many, and to many, these things are but as dreams; they are
chimerical. But one thing is certain: the history of the Church and
Providence in the future are appallingly grand. Providence was grand in
leading forth His people of old from Egypt. But He will be no less grand
when He shall set His hand a second time to recover His people as He has
promised to do.
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a
righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute
judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and
Israel shall dwell safely, and this is His name whereby He shall be
called, The Lord our Righteousness." (That is, the ruler of God's
choice--a king, then, in fact, by Divine right.) "Therefore, behold, the
days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth,
which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but,
The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the House of
Israel out of the North country, and from all countries whither I had
driven them, and they shall dwell in their own land" (Jer. xxiii. 68).
God has now one of the seed of David on the throne, and He has a Jew
doing her bidding, executing her decrees over and for Israel. For though
Israel were to be numerous and powerful, yet to David's seed belongs the
throne.
The recent Congress was but a forerunner of the one yet to come. The
crownless king, Disraeli, who forced the Congress, is, perhaps, an
unconscious instrument in the hands of Providence. But whether he be or
not, he is hastening on the day with lightning speed. Forth from the
recent Congress he goes, having once again linked the destinies of
England to the Continent, which has been so strangely severed, till
Russia, Italy, Austria, France, and Spain might each test the other, and
each find their appointed place. Now, again, England pledges herself a
Continental Power--nay, more--an Asiatic Power. She will come forth from
the Congress the virtual ruler of Turkey, the owner of Palestine.
BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON.
DISCOURSE XIII.