(Revelation, Chapters vi.-viii.)
"God Almighty! King of nations! earth Thy footstool, heaven Thy throne!
Thine the greatness, power, and glory, Thine the kingdom, Lord, alone!
Life and death are in Thy keeping, and Thy will ordaineth all:
From the armies of Thy heavens to an unseen insect's fall.
"Reigning, guiding, all-commanding, ruling myriad worlds of light;
Now exalting, now abasing, none can stay Thy hand of might!
Working all things by Thy power, by the counsel of Thy will.
Thou art God! enough to know it, and to hear Thy word: 'Be still!'
"In Thy sovereignty rejoicing, we Thy children bow and praise,
For we know that kind and loving, just and true, are all Thy ways.
While Thy heart of sovereign mercy, and Thy arm of sovereign might,
For our great and strong salvation in Thy sovereign grace unite."
--FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL.
The Area of the Storm.
Goodness arouses evil. Faithfulness to Christ stirs opposition. This is
a commonplace. A piece of white-hot metal plunged into cold water makes
a great fuss. Two areas of sharply different temperatures in the
atmosphere above us coming suddenly together make a storm.
Purity entering an atmosphere of impurity and insisting on staying, and
on keeping pure, creates a lively disturbance. The tempter was aroused
to his subtlest effort when Jesus appeared. There is no such demoniac
activity recorded as when Jesus walked among men.
So crowning a king arouses opposition, if there be opposition. And the
active taking of the reins of government has intensified the opposition
when it was strong enough to make a stand. The striking illustration of
this in the Bible is King David. After Saul's death the men of Judah
anointed David king. That was the signal for an immediate attack by the
chief of the forces of Saul's house. And this was succeeded by a long
war, before David was acknowledged as king over all Israel. The
clearing-up storm in his realm lasted a good while before good weather
came.
Here in this Revelation scene we have been looking at our Lord Jesus is
represented as stepping forward to take possession of His realm. It is
natural to expect a storm. This will be a signal to the opposition to
rally all its power. But there can be no question about the outcome of
such a set-to. That storm proves to be a clearing-up storm in the realm.
It is to be followed by such fine moral weather as has not been known
before. But the storm itself proves to be a terrific one for the earth
while it lasts.
The greater part of this little end-book is taken up with a description
of that storm. But before we turn to this book itself and its storm, we
want to get our bearings a bit, so as to understand better what is here.
Revelation is the knot in the end of a big bunch of threads. We shall
understand the knot better by knowing more about the threads before they
are tied into the knot.
The storm area proves to be very large. It takes in the whole earth. The
Bible is a big book in its outlook and grasp. It deals with the whole
earth, and the whole race. The thoughtful Bible student comes to have a
broad outlook, as well as a close lookout about his own front and back
doors.
It is fascinating to study the geography of the Bible. We talk about the
world growing smaller. That refers of course to the rapidity of
transit. It is only within a few hundred years that we have learned of
the earth being round. The Bible map includes practically the whole
world as we have come to know it.
The centre of the world as seen on this map may seem a little
surprising. We Americans _feel_ that the centre of things is here. The
Englishman _knows_ that it is in London; and lately the Germans have had
the same exclusive sort of knowledge about Berlin. The Chinese has long
called his country "the Middle Kingdom," in the sense of its being the
central kingdom about which the rest of the world revolves. But here the
centre is seen to be on the boundary line, practically, between Orient
and Occident, reaching out an embracing arm to each.
We have a broad division of the earth into East and West. The
differences between the two, in civilization, mode of thought, religion,
language, and so on, are so radical as to make it seem that there was no
point of contact. At least this has been emphasized much by western
writers on the East. We are disturbed just now here in the far West over
the Oriental, Chinese Japanese and Indian crossing the _far_ boundary
line between Orient and Occident and coming into the United States and
Canada.
Yet East and West have always overlapped at the _middle_ boundary line.
There is a great mixture of races in the strip where the eastern edge of
the West and the western edge of the East come together. It is the strip
running roughly north and south where Russia's western border and
Turkey's touch Germany and Austria and Greece, including the
never-at-rest Balkan Peninsula. Constantinople sits on the dividing line
between East and West, with the worst of both civilizations within her
confines. Here the hemispheres touch and their life currents intermingle
and flow together.
Scientific research seems to find good evidence that all our European
civilization, which of course means American too, may have been brought
over by Eastern immigrants from central Asia long ages ago, Asia coming
into Europe. Perhaps we Westerners would not despise the Easterners so
contemptuously and patronizingly if we knew how much we are probably
indebted to them for our civilization as well as for our Hebrew and
Christian faith, our Bible, and the Christian restraining bulwarks of
our common life.
The old common point of contact between Orient and Occident was the
strip of land forming the western edge of the Orient at the eastern end
of the Mediterranean. Palestine has been for centuries the common
roadway of all nations, East and West. No bit of earth has been so
tramped and trampled by the feet of all nations and races. This has been
the battlefield of the nations through long centuries. The ends of the
earth have met here. It is interesting that the waters that wash its
western shore are called the Mediterranean Sea, that is, the
_middle-of-the-earth_ sea.
Here then is the centre of the map. It is the centre of all things in
the Bible. And it has proven to be at the centre of human action through
history, attested by the very name given to the chief body of water
there.
Jerusalem, the capital city of this Palestine strip, was the centre of a
world power in the early ages. It has been the world capital. And it has
in turn been fought over and conquered by every world power. No city has
been a world centre of action during as long a stretch of time, and to
as many different nations.
Out from this centre the action of the Bible reaches north to Russia,
south to Africa (Ethiopia), east to China (Sinim, Isaiah xlix. 12), and
west to Spain. That practically includes the world of our day. America
is of course merely a transplanted seedling of Europe.
Those great Hebrew leaders called prophets had a world outlook. They
were world messengers. It is intensely interesting to take a piece of
paper, and pencil a rough map of the nations named in their messages,
notably Isaiah,[107] Jeremiah,[108] Ezekiel,[109] and Daniel.[110]
Beginning at Jerusalem and Israel they reach first this way, then that,
up and down, back and forth, until the whole world of action of that day
has been touched. They were men of world size. They had a world outlook
and a world message.
But then God's man always has. The world outlook of Jesus was
tremendous. And every true disciple of Jesus Christ has the world
outlook. Grace broadens as well as refining. It is one of the endless
outworkings of sin that tends toward that narrowing provincialism which
everywhere hinders so much, and so intensely.
Now in this world map in the Bible geography two cities stand out beyond
all others, Jerusalem and Babylon; Jerusalem the centre of God's people
and of God's plans, Babylon the centre of the opposing worldly power.
These are the two outstanding cities of the Bible world.
Between these two there is an enmity and warfare that is practically
continuous. Jerusalem comes to be the typical of God's people and power
and kingdom. Babylon stands out likewise as typical of the power and
kingdom always and innately opposed to God and to His people. The
conflict between the two seems irrepressible and irreconcilable. It is
never out of view.
Babylon has been the centre, under successive dynasties, of a world
empire, including not only part of Asia, but reaching west to Europe and
south to Africa. It sat practically in the connecting strip of Orient
and Occident, ruling over both. In the dim dawn of history a
God-ignoring, and so really a God-defying and man-exalting movement,
centred in the city called Babel. And from that time on that city, and
its successor Babylon, have seemed as though possessed with a spirit of
antagonism to God and His people. It is as though it were the earthly
headquarters of the blasphemous unseen evil forces.
This is a simple bit of geography lesson in the Old Testament. This is
the map that lies ever open in these older pages, with its two capital
cities marked large. And this indicates the area of the storm, and the
two central points where its outburst will centre.
Studying the Weather Forecast.
It is interesting to find a weather forecast of this storm. The old
Hebrew prophets were close students of national and world-wide weather
conditions, and much given to making forecasts of impending storms. Even
in the New Testament there is this distinct prophetic or foretelling
strain running throughout. The father of John the Baptist is told of his
son's birth; and Mary, of the unusual birth of her divine Son. The
disciples are told of the coming of the Holy Spirit. And Agabus tells of
a great famine coming. In these instances the fulfilment follows soon
after the event is foretold.
The destruction of Jerusalem, foretold by Christ, had at least a part of
its fulfilment in the terrible Titus siege of 70 A.D. Our Lord said that
He would return to earth in great glory, and that there would come a
great tribulation to all the earth, and repeated the old prophecy of a
restoration of the Hebrew kingdom. These have not yet occurred.
But the book of the Revelation is distinctively the prophetic book of
the New Testament. It deals almost entirely with events that are yet to
come. It would be natural that it would fit into the prophetic parts of
the Old Testament. So that one who is somewhat familiar with the
prophetic books of the Old naturally comes more intelligently to this
prophetic book of the New.
It is true that most of us have a sense of bewilderment about prophecy.
We seem to feel that it requires great scholarship and profound study,
and that an understanding of it is not possible to the common run of
Christians. And so we largely leave it out as not understandable.
Yet prophecy is simply God's plans for the future, together with a
revelation of other events which are not in His plan, but which He sees
will happen in the future. In it He tells us what He means us to
understand. And more than this, our understanding will have practical
bearing on our attitude toward evil and compromise. It will affect our
faith, making it steadier, especially when evil seems triumphant and
overbearing. It will make our prayer more intelligent and confident.
There are certain things we all know. As we read back into these pages
we know that the break-up of the Jewish nation, which began with the
Babylonian Captivity, came to a terrible climax in a complete break-up
after the rejection of Christ. We know that the other nations commonly
called Gentiles (_i.e._, the nations) have had supremacy in the earth.
Israel was at one time acknowledged as the great world power, with many
subject nations, in Solomon's time.
But Gentile supremacy begins back in the time of these Old Testament
pages. There is to-day practically no belief that this will ever be
changed, except perhaps by a stray Jew here and there, who still holds
to his old Bible, and except by those Christians who discern God's plan,
and believe both in Him and in it.
In the absence of an understanding of that plan of God, it has been
common to apply all the glowing prophetic Hebrew promises to the Church.
The result has been that Israel and the Kingdom have been confused in
our minds with the Church. And this has become the commonplace in the
common Church consciousness.
It is quite possible for the person of average good sense to get
something of a simple, broad grasp of the prophetic books. It involves
reading _repeatedly_ so as to get familiar with the contents, and
_rapidly_ so as not to get too much absorbed in details.
It is needful to use a common-sense interpretation in getting at the
meaning. It is a simple law that one principle of interpretation should
be applied uniformly and consistently to all parts of any one document.
If I say arbitrarily, "this part is rhetorical; it doesn't mean just
what it says, but something else; and this _other_ part means just what
it says," clearly I am reading my own ideas and prejudices into the
book.
It is much slower, and takes more pains and patience, to keep at it
until all parts gradually clear up to us, first this bit, then that,
until part fits part, and all hang together. But there is great
fascination in it, and one's reverence for this revelation of God's Word
grows deeper.
Of course there is rhetorical language here as everywhere. "The Lord is
my shepherd" is clearly rhetorical. For God is not a shepherd, and I am
not a sheep, but a man. But under this simple, clearly rhetorical
language the tender, personal relationship God bears to me is
beautifully expressed. That such language _is_ rhetorical is clear to
every mind alike.
And there is a picture language here, such as speaking of purity of
character as "white garments." The honest, earnest, unprejudiced seeker
after truth quickly recognizes these, and learns to become skilled in
discerning what is meant. We come to see that Israel means Israel, not
the Church. Jerusalem means that city in Judea, and so on.
Of course it is needful that there be an _openmindedness_, a _humble,
teachable spirit_, willing to accept the real truth, no matter how it
may shake up one's prejudices and prearranged schemes of thought. And,
above all, there should be a constant _prayerfulness_ of spirit, to
learn just what our God is seeking to have us know. Of course there are
depths here for the scholarly, profound minds. But we ordinary folk can
get a simple, clear grasp of God's plan and revealed insight into the
future if we go at it in this thoughtful, prayerful way. And it will be
a great help to us to do so.
Three Great Unfulfilled Events.
Let us take a swift glance at these prophetic books of the Old
Testament. It helps to remember the natural way in which these prophetic
books grew up. These prophets were preachers and teachers. Here are some
people going up to the temple service one day in Jerusalem. As they get
near the temple they notice a little knot of people standing yonder at a
corner listening to a man talking earnestly. Isaiah, fresh from the
presence of God, is talking out of a burning heart to the crowd.
A visitor from another part of the land says curiously to his companion,
"What's that?" The other replies: "Oh, it's only Isaiah talking to the
people. He is a good man, that Isaiah, a well-meaning, earnest man, but
a little too intense, I fear." And they pass on to the temple service.
By and by Isaiah stops. The moving congregation scatters. He slips
quietly down to his house, and under the Spirit's holy, brooding
presence writes down a part of what he has been saying. So there grew up
the rolls to which his name is attached.
In some such simple, natural way these prophetic books grew up, always
under the Holy Spirit's guidance and control. They are full of intense
fire, and of the homely talk of street and market and fireside. There
are two sorts of these prophets, the preachers like Elijah and Elisha
and those who wrote as well as spoke, and whose names are preserved in
these books.
There are seventeen of these little books. They fall easily into four
groups. The _first group_ contains those belonging in the time before
the nation was exiled. It is a period of about one hundred and fifty
years, roughly, beginning in the prosperous reign of Uzziah and running
up to the time when the nation was taken captive to Babylon. Isaiah is
the most prominent prophet of this period, and with him are Hosea,
Micah, and Amos, all of whom may have been personally acquainted; and
also Zephaniah and Habakkuk.
The _second_ is _the exile group_, Jeremiah preaching in Judah, before
and during the siege, and to the remnant left behind in the land; and
Ezekiel and Daniel bearing their witness among the exiles in the foreign
land.
The _third group_ is made up of those who witnessed after the people are
allowed to return to their own land again. The writer of the second part
of Isaiah probably preached to the people as the opportunity came to
return to Jerusalem.[111] Haggai and Zachariah stirred up the returned
people to rebuild the temple. Joel and Malachi witnessed probably a
little later in the same period.
The _fourth_ is the _foreign group_. Obadiah sends a message to the
neighbouring nation of Edom; and Jonah and Nahum are sent with messages
to Nineveh. If one will try to make a picture of these people and events
by reading the historical books, and then watch and listen as the
prophets talk, it will do much to make these prophetic books full of the
native atmosphere in which they grew up.
Now there are three things that gradually come to stand out in these
prophetic books. Much of what is being said is of immediate application.
It refers plainly to affairs being lived out then. Then certain things
are plainly fulfilled in the coming of Christ. And again there is a
great deal that clearly has never been fulfilled but is still future. It
is the latter part that naturally is of intensest interest.
Now in this latter part, dealing with the future, _three things_ stand
out clear and sharp above the rest. There is to be judgment upon Israel
for their iniquities. The changes on this are rung again and again. And
this stands out as much in the preaching of the Captivity time, and of
the Return, as before the Captivity. But in the midst of severest
judgment there will be a _remnant spared_. The tree is cut down, but
the stump is spared; and there is life in the stump. But above these
there stand out these three things.
_The first thing_ stands out big. It is the thing the nation never
forgot. The believing Hebrew still clings to it. The wailers at the wall
of Jerusalem to-day never forget it. It is this: there is to be a
_future time of great glory for the nation of Israel in their own loved
land_.[112] The kingdom is to be restored, but with a glory
indescribably greater than ever known. This is the bright golden thread,
thick and strong, running through from end to end.
It will come through that spared remnant. The old stump will put out a
new shoot. It will be through the coming of a great king, who will prove
to be their greatest king,[113] and will reign not only over Israel, but
over all nations as tributary to Israel, with Jerusalem as the capital
city both of Israel and of the whole earth.[114] At its beginning there
will be a gathering of Israel from among all the nations where they have
been scattered.[115] To assist these scattered pilgrims to get to their
own land, the tongue of the Egyptian sea on the southwest is to be
destroyed; and the waters of the Euphrates on the extreme east are to be
so scattered or dried up that men can walk over dry-shod.
When the great king comes there will be genuine penitence among the
people over their past sins,[116] and they will become a wholly changed
people.[117] Israel will be a nation converted by the power of the Holy
Spirit through the conversion of the people individually. There will be
at this time a resurrection of God's people who have died.[118]
The new reign and kingdom is to be one of great spiritual enlightenment
to all nations.[119] There will be everywhere a new, remarkable
openmindedness to God and His truth.[120] And there will be the same
visible evidence of the presence of God at Jerusalem as when the pillar
of fire and cloud was with them in the wilderness. That wondrous
presence-cloud is to be always in view.[121]
This sounds to our ears like the highly coloured visionary dream of some
over-enthusiastic Hebrew. Yet this is a calm statement of what is found
here. And be it keenly marked, it is a picture which the godly Hebrew of
the old time never lost sight of. _This is the first thing_ that stands
out in these prophetic pages.
_The second thing_ stands out distinctly. Preceding this wondrous
kingdom _the earth will be visited by terrible judgments_.[122] There is
an awfully dark shadow before the blaze of light breaks out. A terrific
storm will come before the sun shines out in its new strength. All
nations will combine to make war against the Jew. Their forces will be
gathered at Jerusalem.[123] At the head of the coalition will be a power
called Babylon.[124] There will come a terrific battle, victory for the
coalition will seem assured. The sufferings of the Jews will be
indescribable.
Then there will come a day never after to be forgotten. In the midst of
the indescribable horrors of that battle, when things are at their worst
for the Jew, then comes the deliverance. Suddenly Jehovah will appear
out of the heavens, with a great company of holy ones. His feet will
stand upon Mount Olivet to the east of Jerusalem. There will be a
terrible earthquake, and an equally terrific shake-up of the heavenly
bodies. The luminaries, sun, moon, and stars, will be darkened.[125]
There will be terrible judgments visited not only upon the earth, but
upon the evil spirit powers.[126] Repeated emphasis is put upon the
judgment to be visited upon Babylon.
All this will sound like a veritable fairy tale to many who are not
familiar with this Book of God; the unlikeliest thing imaginable. Yet
this is the thing seriously set forth throughout these old prophetic
pages. I have given a few references in footnotes. But these few
scattered passages of themselves will not give an adequate conception of
what these pages hold.
There is all the fascination of a novel, and immensely more and deeper
fascination than any novel, in reading these prophetic pages repeatedly
in the way already spoken of till their mere contents become somewhat
familiar. Then taking paper and pencil, running through again, and
drawing off patiently and carefully, item after item of these prophecies
plainly not yet fulfilled, and then slowly and painstakingly put them
together in what would be a simple, logical order.
It will be helpful, in reading, to remember that it is a common thing
with these writers to speak of a future thing as already past. It is a
bit of the intensity that sees the thing that is yet to come as already
accomplished. And one should discern between the immediate thing that
may likely occur in that generation and the far-distant thing. A careful
noting of the language will make the difference clear.
This is the second thing that stands out, the visitation of judgments.
Then there is _a third thing_. This terrible visitation of judgments
comes in connection with, and at the close of, _a time of great
persecution of the Jew_ by the nations. Jeremiah speaks of it as the
time of Jacob's trouble,[127] and the Man of Fire tells Daniel that
there will be a time of trouble _such as never was since there was a
nation even to that same time_.[128] This persecution of the Jew, and
the visitation of judgments on the earth as a deliverance from it, are
connected with the setting up of the Kingdom.
These are the three things that stand dominantly out in these prophetic
pages as distinctly-future, the great Jew persecution unprecedented in
intensity, the visitation of terrible judgments on the earth, and the
coming of a glorious kingdom. And the three are connected. We know that
no events have yet taken place that at all satisfy the language used of
these three connected events.
This is the simple outline of expected coming events with which the
thoughtful reader of God's Word is supposed to be familiar. The reverent
student of God's promises and plans and revelations would naturally have
all this clear and fresh in his mind as he turns to open the pages of
the prophetic book of the New Testament.
Forecast of the Great Storm.
Now it is _of intense interest_ to note that our Lord Jesus speaks of
these same three things, at much length, and with much emphasis; the
persecution, the visitation of judgments, and the kingdom. It came to me
as a great surprise and with startling force when I realized, after
gathering out this summary from the Old Testament, that the three things
that stand out so sharply there are the very things Jesus speaks of here
with such fulness and emphasis.
He puts special emphasis on the time of persecution as of unprecedented
horror and ferocity. He plainly indicates that this will be directed
not only against the Jew, but against His own followers. Three times
this talk of His on Olivet just before His death is given at much
length.[129] That talk is given to a little group of Jewish disciples
who have broken with the Jewish leaders, and who become the great
leaders of the Church formed at Pentecost.
He speaks of that terrible experience as "great tribulation,"[130] "such
as there hath not been the like from the beginning of the creation which
God created until now, nor ever shall be."[131] We shall find it spoken
of in this book of Revelation as "the tribulation, the great one."[132]
It has come to be spoken of commonly as "the tribulation" and "the great
tribulation."
With all this fresh in mind, a run back through the Old Testament brings
out that it is spoken of there much more than we may have realized. The
warning to Israel, at Sinai, as they made the covenant of allegiance
with God, of the bitter punishment that would come if they were untrue,
has seemed many times as though couched in very intense, almost extreme
language.[133] But it is found to fit into these later descriptions of
this great tribulation to come. That warning is repeated, in as intense
words and with a greater fulness, by Moses in his series of farewell
talks in the Plains of Moab,[134] and it runs through the song he left
for their use.[135]
The experiences of the people of Israel in Egypt are found to be an
illustration of the coming experience at the end, great persecution and
suffering, then great deliverance through a visitation of judgment upon
their persecutors, and great revelation of God's glory following. And
the experience of the three young Hebrew exiles in Babylon comes to
mind. They went through the fire, seven times heated, and they had a
marvellous deliverance, and then high promotion.[136]
Certain Psalms shine with new light in the light of this terrible truth.
Chief among these is the Ninety-first. Quite likely it grew up out of
the experience of Israel at the last before leaving Egypt. It, of
course, has its practical use in one's daily life. But the vividness and
intensity of its meaning will probably never be realized as during the
coming tribulation days. Nor will the exultant note running through the
nine Psalms immediately following it be appreciated as by those
experiencing deliverance when the tribulation is over. The Forty-sixth
Psalm, and the Psalms of praise immediately following it, likewise seem
to get new light.
It is quite probable that very much, all through this Book of Psalms,
will be understood and appreciated fully only by the generation of God's
people that go through the tribulation and know the deliverance
following. Much of the old Book of God is quite meaningless to the
Christian who has had no tribulation _experience_. That is, I mean who
has never known opposition in his Christian faith, or who has slipped
easily along when there is opposition.
The outstanding features in the Old Testament of this great experience
are terrible persecution of the Jew, deliverance at the very worst pitch
of extremity, by a visitation of judgment on their enemies, and by
Jehovah coming in person for their deliverance; and then the great
Kingdom following.
The outstanding features spoken of by our Lord Jesus in His Olivet talk
agree with this, but go much more into detail, especially about the
tribulation. The tribulation will be _preceded_ by wars, rumors of wars,
famines, earthquakes, and persecution. There will be many false
religious teachers, many Christians untrue to their faith, and a great
increase of wickedness. This is a sort of foreshadowing.
The tribulation itself will find all this enormously intensified. It
will _begin_ with some astonishing act of blasphemy in the temple in
Jerusalem, run its terrible course, and close with a series of
judgment-events, earthquake, heavens shaken, and great distress, ending
in the visible appearance of the Lord Jesus Himself, out of heaven on
the clouds. And this will be a signal for great penitential mourning
among the people on the earth.
This, then, is the simple, broad outline with which the thoughtful
reader of God's Word would naturally be familiar as he turns to this
prophetic book at the end to get our Lord's last message to His
followers.
Getting a Broad, Clear Outlook.
As we turn now again to the book of Revelation it will help us to
remember the general plan followed in its writing. It is like a series
of dissolving views of the same scene, each of which lets us see the
same thing from a different point of view.
This is a simple teaching rule for getting a clear grasp of what is
being taught. We are familiar with it in the Bible. The story of
creation is told in the first chapter of Genesis, and then told again in
the second chapter with details not given in the first, the two together
presenting the complete story. The historical books of Chronicles
present one view of the kingdom of Israel, the official. The books of
the Kings give another look at the same period; and the prophetic books
a wholly different view as seen by these rarely spiritually minded men
of God. Daniel is shown four visions of future events, all covering the
same general stretch of events, but with a fuller description, here of
one part and there of another. The four Gospels are a familiar
illustration of the same principle in teaching and story-telling. This
is the plan followed here.
I was impressed anew with the practical value of this method one day in
St. Petersburg. We had gone to look at the panorama of the siege of
Sebastopol, then on exhibition in a huge, round building. It will be
remembered that the British and French allied themselves with Turkey and
Sardinia in an attempt to restrain the encroachments of Russia on
Turkish territory. The famous charge of Balaklava, immortalized by
Tennyson, is remembered as the most stirring event of that war. Its
chief event was the siege of Sebastopol on the Crimea peninsula, in the
Black Sea.
At the panorama we stood as though on a high central point in the city
of Sebastopol, with the view spreading out in all directions. To the
north lay the harbour with the Russian ships securely bottled in by the
attacking fleets. To the west a body of French soldiers were retreating,
hotly pursued by Russian troops, while in the distance British troops
are hurrying to the relief of the French.
Then we looked east, where the fighting was going on at close range, the
wounded being carried away and the reserves hastening up to take their
places. And again we turned to the south, where the battle raged
fiercest. The face of the commanding officer stood out so vividly. And
we almost shrank from the fierceness of the fire. And the smell of
powder almost seemed stifling.
And as I stood brooding afresh on the horrors of inhuman war, I was
tremendously impressed that only by such successive views could I get
such a grasp of that memorable siege. I had a more intelligent and
vivid understanding of it than ever before.
And so it is that we may get a simple, clear, and real grasp of the
tremendous tribulation time that is coming, that it is presented to us
in this fashion, first one distinct view, then another, and another,
till some understanding of the whole begins to get hold of us.
We have seen the Lord Jesus, in the vision in chapters four and five, as
He comes forward to take an advance step. We have seen the tremendous
outburst of praise in heaven as He steps forward. This step and scene
are in heaven. The earth is wholly unaware of it _at that moment_.
Now all that follows is connected directly with that advance step. This
is the significant thing to get clearly fixed in mind. At the present
time our Lord Jesus is still walking among the candlestick Churches
watching and waiting. We are still in that waiting time. The Holy Spirit
still dwells in the Church on earth.
At some time in the future, no one knows, nor can know, just when, the
Lord Jesus will rise up in readiness for an advance move. He will
withdraw the Holy Spirit from the Church up into His presence again
"before the throne." _Then in connection with this advance step_ there
will occur on the earth the things spoken of in these pages following.
This is the tremendous fact to keep clear, the immediate connection
between these happenings on earth and His new move in heaven.
We come now to these happenings on earth. There are seven distinct views
given here in this section, chapters six to the end of the book. There
is a great detail in description which it would be both instructive and
interesting to study out. But we want to get at the essential things.
And so we will give our time and thought to these essentials.
Our Lord Jesus is represented as about to take possession of His realm.
The first step is a dispossessing of the claimants in possession. This
furnishes the key to what follows. The descriptions are of the process
of cleaning out the evil forces. At the close of this we find Him taking
possession (in chapter twenty) and reigning over the earth.
These descriptions make it clear at once that this is the tribulation so
much spoken of in these preceding pages. What follows fits so into what
has been spoken of that the identification seems complete. The thing our
Lord Jesus is revealing here tallies with what He had told John before
on Olivet.
There comes first a general description of the whole period (chapters
vi.-vii.). Then follows a description of _how_ these happenings will
come. It will be through the withdrawal of restraint and so the
loosening out of evil (chapters viii.-ix.). During this whole period
there will be a special faithful witnessing on earth, in the midst of
the riot of evil, to God and His truth (chapter xi.).
A detailed outline of the run of events follows, giving much additional
information, picturing the rise and characteristics of the leader of the
tribulation time, and the manner of its close (chapters xii.-xiv.).
There follows this a description of the judgments and the supreme
contest with which the period closes (chapters xv.-xvi.). There is a
description of the organized system of evil, and then of the fall of the
capital of the system (chapters xvii.-xviii.) And then follows the
actual coming of our Lord Jesus, the setting up of the kingdom, and
subsequent events (chapters xix.-xxii.).
A General Look at the Storm and Its Close.
We turn now to _the first_ of these.[137] It begins with a crowned One
seated on a white horse going forth conquering and to conquer. This
description agrees with the much fuller description of the Lord Jesus
near the end of the book, as he goes to the earth for the decisive close
of the tribulation.[138]
This gives fresh emphasis to the fact that what follows is the direct
result of His advance step. At once there follows on earth a time of
war, famine, death, and of persecution to the death of God's people.
There is no hint as to how long this goes on. It is brought to a close
with an earthquake and an equally terrific disturbance of the heavens,
the sun, moon, and stars, something unknown before.
The utmost consternation is created on earth. All conditions of men,
crowned kings, merchant princes, men of autocratic power financially and
politically and socially, join with the humblest in hiding themselves in
the great holes made by the earthquake. They feel that the time of
judgment has come, and they are not ready for it.
The description of their terror tallies remarkably with the prophetic
language used by Isaiah,[139] even as the whole description fits into
our Lord's Olivet talk. This is seen to be a general, rapid vision of
the whole tribulation period.
Then there follows what clearly seems to be a parenthesis fitting in
just before the great earthquake. The earth and sea have been terribly
torn up by the earthquake. This parenthesis begins with a command that
the earth and sea be not hurt until certain things have taken place.
This fits the two events of the parenthesis in just before the ruinous
earthquake takes place. The two events are of a radically different sort
from what has just been told. They are thus put by themselves, and the
run of evil and of judgment upon it, put by itself, so keeping these two
quite clear, following the general plan of the book.
There are two events in this parenthesis. There is what is called the
"sealing" of a certain number of the Hebrew tribes _on the earth_.
Twelve thousand of each tribe are sealed, making a total of one hundred
and forty-four thousand. The word "seal" is used in two senses in the
Bible, as a means of fastening up a writing or roll, and, in the New
Testament, commonly for the presence of the Holy Spirit in a human life.
The seal in this second sense was a mark of ownership. Paul tells us
that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit,[140] so indicating that we
belong to the Lord Jesus, who gives us this evidence of His ownership.
If this simple, natural meaning be taken here, it would mean that at
this time the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon the Jew. The
spiritual regeneration spoken of so frequently in the prophetic pages
takes place at this time.
The significance of the numbers should be noticed. Twelve is the number
commonly used in the Bible, for corporate completeness, to indicate that
a group is complete. Twelve times twelve would simply represent a fully
completed corporate number. That is to say, upon the entire body of Jews
then living on the earth the Holy Spirit is poured out, thus marking
them once again as God's peculiar people, restored fully to favour after
the long national rejection.
The second event is of equally intense interest, indeed to us of
non-Jewish birth it has yet greater interest. John is up in heaven. It
is from that point of view that he sees. Now he is suddenly startled.
All at once there appears before his eyes a group he had not seen
before. He describes it as a great multitude, actually countless, out of
all the peoples of the whole earth, a great polyglot polyracial world
company.
They are clothed in white, holding the conqueror's palm in their hands,
and singing, making wondrous music. John is getting another taste of the
music of heaven. And their singing is a signal for a fresh outburst of
praise by the angels, the elders, and the living creatures. All this
seems to occur suddenly, this appearance of this new company before the
throne.
John gazes spellbound, wondering who these are, and where they come
from, and what this means. And he is told that these are they that come
out of the tribulation, the great one, down on the earth. Then in a few
exquisitely tender, heart-touching words their happiness is described.
These two events occur just before the terrible earthquake and the
shake-up of the earth's heavenly bodies. Just before the judgment that
closes the tribulation this double event takes place, the conversion of
the Jews, and the catching away out of the tribulation distress on
earth, up into the presence of the throne, of the followers of our Lord
Jesus.
We remember that that great Jew, Paul, was converted by the appearance
of Jesus in the heavens above him. We remember that in the Olivet talk
Jesus says that His followers will so be gathered up to Himself at the
time of His second coming. These two events, taking place here, tell us
what has happened down on the earth. In his vision John, being in
heaven, sees these things as they appear from above.
This is the first view of the tribulation. It begins with the moment
when our Lord Jesus up in heaven begins action, describes the
characteristics of the tribulation on earth, and closes with the
national regeneration of Israel, and the catching up from earth of
Christ's true followers.
Evil Let Loose.
The _second view_ runs through chapters eight and nine. Chapters ten and
eleven to the close of verse thirteen make a distinct parenthesis. And
then this view is picked up again at eleven, fourteen, and runs to the
close of that chapter. But this final bit in chapter eleven is merely a
connecting link with what comes later. Practically the whole of this
view is in chapters eight and nine.
It closes with an earthquake, so connecting it with the final event in
the first view. It begins with a period of prolonged silence, which
would seem to answer to the hush in the great volume of praise in the
first view, when the Lamb takes the sealed roll. So it carries us back
to the same starting-point as there.
There is first a striking scene before the throne, where John sees a
golden altar. On this there is being offered incense, which is said to
be added to the prayers of all the saints. Incense and prayers rise
together before God. Then an angel pours some of the fire of this
prayer-altar into the earth, and a storm follows. So these two views,
first and second, have another common starting-point, the beginning of a
storm.
This is a very suggestive scene. The prayers of all the saints, both in
earth and heaven, have a decided restraining influence over evil down on
earth at the present time. At the close they will become a decisive
influence in the cleaning-up process on earth, and the bringing in of
the new order.
Then follows a fourfold description of distressing events on earth,
which are caused by fiery influences coming out of the heavens. The
language used seems to make clear that it is through a loosening out of
the powers of evil that the tribulation comes.
In the picture language of the vision, "a great mountain burning with
fire was cast into the sea," with injurious results to water, to life,
and to shipping. A mountain is a common figure in the Bible for a great
ruling power. So Israel is called by Isaiah.[141] The seventeenth
chapter of Revelation speaks of seven kingdoms as seven mountains.[142]
In Jeremiah, Babylon, which is spoken of repeatedly and typically as
being the embodiment of evil and of opposition to God, is called: "O
destroying mountain ... which destroyest all the earth, (I) will make of
thee a burnt mountain."[143] It speaks here also of "a great star,[144]
burning as a torch," that fell upon the rivers and makes them bitter as
wormwood. These two things seem to suggest clearly that the great hurt
done to sea and vegetation, to all life, and through the obscuring of
the heavenly lights, is a result directly of the powers of evil having
been loosened out.
The long restraint upon evil through the presence of the Holy Spirit in
the Church is now withdrawn in the withdrawal of the Spirit. His
withdrawal is practically an answer to the tacit prayer both of world
and Church. That prayer is being answered. The "One" who restraineth has
been withdrawn. This it is that makes the tribulation on its negative
side. The awful character of the demons from the pit is so utterly
beyond human experience up to that time that there seem no adequate
words to describe them.
The Gospels are full of the awful activity of demons on earth in
possessing men. In our own land there is not wanting plenty of evidence
of men horribly possessed by demons. In the older countries of Europe
this experience is much more marked. But it is in heathen lands that it
is most marked, where even the very air seems charged with evil forces,
as though these unseen demons swarmed about.
Yet all this sort of thing is now under restraint. What it will mean to
have that restraint withdrawn, and the horrid hordes here described free
to do as they will, no imagination can depict. This is well called the
first _woe_, and an awful woe it will be. Mercifully there is a time
limit set on this demon activity.
Following this comes the loosing out of another horde of demons, as
difficult of description, and yet more terrible. They seem countless,
yet there is a limit to their numbers. The supreme Hand is never wholly
withdrawn. These have power to kill as well as to torment. This is the
second woe. It is most strikingly noticeable that neither of these
things has influence to make men penitent.
The last item of this view is given in chapter xi. 14-19. The
announcement is made that the sovereignty of the world is transferred to
our Lord and His Christ. The temple of God is seen open, and some
further action takes place, but the detail of it is reserved for another
view. Such is the terrible sight in the second view of the tribulation
time. Evil is loosened out, apparently unrestrained, and yet under
restraint. This it is that makes the tribulation on its positive side.
The parenthesis in the description of this view has been spoken of. It
runs through chapters ten and eleven to the close of verse thirteen, and
contains two chief things. The first is a little group of three items.
There is a fresh description of our Lord Jesus as He is seen standing
with one foot on the sea and the other upon the earth, and holding a
little open book. Then seven thunders roar out. John is about to write,
but is told not to. That terrific storm coming is far greater than can
be told. Then comes the solemn declaration that there will be no
further delay, but that at once shall be finished up this terrible time
of judgment. Then follows a personal word to John. These three items
make up chapter ten.
God's Faithful Witnesses.
Then comes the second thing, in chapter eleven on to verse thirteen,
which proves to be _the third view_ of the tribulation. It shows that
during the whole of this tribulation time there will be a special
faithful witness being borne to God and His truth. As the Holy Spirit is
being withdrawn from the Church, these two men begin their special
ministry of witnessing.
The place of that witness will be Jerusalem. But recent events will have
brought a greatly diversified population to that city from all parts of
the world. So that the witness becomes world-wide in its immediate
reach, and probably in the reports of it that go out.
While there is good reason for thinking that these two witnesses may be
Enoch and Elijah, the two men of Bible record, one before the Flood and
one after, who were distinctively God's witnesses, and were taken away
without death, yet it is best not to stop over a matter that has been
and is apt to be a matter of mere idle speculative talk.[145] The thing
worthy of note is that as the Holy Spirit's distinctive witness is
withdrawn there will be these two special witnesses sent to Jerusalem
for a witness that will be world-wide in its extent and influence. Such
is God's gracious patience and longsuffering.
These two men are clothed in mourning as a part of their witness. They
have miraculous power in protecting themselves against attack, and in
withholding rain, and sending plagues among the people, and in turning
water into blood, to give force and effect to their testimony. Their
witness continues through twelve hundred and sixty days.
John had already been told that Jerusalem would be trodden under foot by
the nations for forty-two months. We are apt to think that it has been
trodden under foot or desecrated by the nations for an immensely longer
period. But prophecy never gives any reckoning of time for Israel,
except when Israel is an organized nation. It is concerned with telling
Jewish _national_ events.
At this time the Jews have their national organization again in
Palestine. For forty-two months after the nation has been newly set up
the city will be so trodden under the desecrating feet of the nations.
This is the first hint of time we have had. The witnessing and the
desecration of the holy city will continue side by side for three and a
half years.
At the end of this period evil will be given full swing over these
witnesses. They are killed and their bodies left lying in the streets,
while the international crowds make merry because their tormentors, as
these two are called, are gone. Then before the terror-stricken gaze of
these crowds the two men come to life, and are caught up into the
heavens. Is this the moment when all are caught up? Quite possibly. Then
comes the terrible earthquake as at the end of the other two views.
The one distinctive thing told here is that during the tribulation, in
the midst of all the blasphemous reign of unrestrained wickedness, there
will be the unbroken, faithful witnessing. This seems to explain why the
account comes as a parenthesis in the account of the awful riot of evil.
During the worst of the evil there will go on unbroken the faithful,
gracious testimony of God's truth and love.
The Lawless Leader.
_The fourth view_ takes the longest sweep of any, thus far, goes into
much more detail, and gives much fresh information. It runs through
chapters twelve to fourteen. In the intensely picturesque language of a
woman arrayed in the most glorious splendour and dignity and power
imaginable the nation of Israel is depicted.
This woman is with child. In more intensely dramatic language Satan is
pictured as standing before the woman waiting to destroy her child as
soon as born. The child is born, a man-child, who is to rule all the
nations with autocratic sway. He is caught up to heaven, and his mother
flees into the wilderness from the serpent. This is the opening action
of this view.
The meaning lies open on the face. Israel gave birth to the man Jesus,
who foiled all the attacks of Satan and ascended to heaven. The old
prophetic characteristic of connecting events far apart without
reference to intervening time is marked here. The long interval between
the break-up of the Jew nation and its taking shape again as a nation,
which has lasted nineteen hundred years roughly, comes between the last
word of verse five and the first word of verse six.
The prophetic writing takes no reckoning of Israel, except as a nation.
The woman fleeing into the wilderness is Israel organized again as a
nation suffering persecution. She is so persecuted for twelve hundred
and sixty days, but divinely protected and preserved. Such is the first
act of the drama pictured here.[146]
Then we are told _why_ the woman flees, that is, the explanation of this
special persecution of the Jew this time.[147] Satan has had his
headquarters somewhere in the heavens, below God's throne, but above the
earth. Now, after a conflict, he is cast out of heaven, down to the
earth. Here is a third event that comes approximately at the beginning
of the tribulation time, Satan is cast down to the earth.
The Holy Spirit is withdrawn from the Church up to heaven, so removing
the restraint upon evil. Satan is cast out of heaven and comes down to
earth. Thus there is a double intensifying of evil on the earth, the
withdrawal of restraint, and the presence of the evil one himself. And
as the witness of the Holy Spirit is withdrawn the special witness of
the two men in Jerusalem begins.
The defeat of Satan in this heavenly conflict draws out a burst of
praise from the upper hosts. It is because of the great victory of our
Lord Jesus in His death that this victory is gotten. They overcome
because of the blood of the Lamb, _and_ the word of their testimony,
_and_ they loved not their lives unto death,--a threefold cord that
could never, and can never, be broken or successfully resisted.
This explains the special persecution at this time of the reshaped
Jewish nation. It is the outburst of the rage of the freshly defeated
Satan. But the Jew is protected. The armies that would swallow the Jew
up are swallowed up by the great earthquake that closes the tribulation
time.
The length of this persecution is put in two different ways, twelve
hundred and sixty days, and "time, times, and half a time." This latter
phrase seems to be an old Oriental or Hebrew way of saying a year, two
years, and half a year. The same length of time is expressed in yet
another way in the eleventh chapter, forty and two months. The time is
thus put in three different ways, that we may know surely that it means
just plain three and a half years of our common time. It is significant
that the dragon makes war with "the rest" of the woman's seed. This can
only mean the Church, which of course was born in the Jewish nation.
This is the first run of events in this view.[148]
Then follows a description of the awful leader of evil during the
tribulation time.[149] It is significant that, as Satan is cast out of
heaven down to the earth, this leader appears among men. He has great
intelligence and power and is the very embodiment of blasphemy. He is
described as a strange mixture of wild beasts, having the chief
characteristic strength of each, the cunning of the leopard, the feet of
the bear, and the mouth of the lion.
He is the personal representative on earth among men of Satan. There is
something strangely uncanny in the suggestion that he is some former
leader, who died, and is now raised from the dead. There seems to be
nothing too daring for Satan to attempt in his impious opposition to
God. This leader comes into great prominence and power. All the world
wonders after him. And they worship Satan, who is recognized as giving
his power to this notorious leader.
He comes to be accepted as the world ruler, and is commonly worshipped
by the people. And he not only persecutes God's people, but overcomes
them. A limit of time is set to his sway. It is the same as already
noted for Jerusalem being desecrated, for God's two witnesses, and for
the persecution of the Jew, _i.e._, forty and two months, three and a
half years.
It is striking that in the midst of the description of his terrible
reign there comes a word that sounds like an echo from those messages to
the Churches. "If any man hath an ear, let him hear."[150] Then the word
goes on warning, pleading, and encouraging. In the midst of these
blasphemous conditions every man must do as he personally decides. He
may yield to this evil and become a captive of evil, bound hand and
foot. He may try to use the world's weapons in fighting God's battle,
but will find himself outmatched in their use. He may rise to the true
level, and steadfastly cling to his faith, and endure, and by faith be
victorious in the end.
The description goes on to tell of the blasphemous worship demanded of
all. This leader has an assistant or lieutenant to whom he deputizes
great power. He makes an image to his chief, and demands all to worship
at this shrine. He has supernatural power, that is, devilishly
supernatural. He performs great miracles, even calling down fire from
heaven. He gives breath to the image and makes it speak. And he punishes
with death any one who refuses this blasphemous worship to the leader
and his image. And every one is required to have a mark on his hand or
his forehead as indicating his loyalty to the leader. Whoever refuses is
unable to buy or sell. It is the boycott principle carried to the last
extreme.
While God's two witnesses are doing miracles by divine power this
lieutenant is doing them by devilish power. So the fearful account goes
on. One can easily imagine the vast crowds swayed by the idolatrous
worship, and the intense suffering and distress among those who insist
on being steadfast and true in their faith.
Now in the midst of all this terrible scene John is suddenly and
tremendously startled by something else.[151]
In the vision John is in heaven looking down on these scenes on the
earth. Now his attention is attracted by a scene that suddenly takes
place before his eyes in heaven. It is a scene of wondrous winsomeness
and beauty. It stands out in sharpest contrast with what is going on on
the earth.
There's a great company standing around the Lord Jesus, before the
throne. They are singing a wonderful song to the accompaniment of harps,
which they have. The volume of music is like the voice of many waters,
or like great thunder. There is a simple, fine description of the
character of these singers. They are _pure_, and they are _obedient_. In
their purity they are as undefiled virgins, the highest possible
statement of purity. And they follow the Lamb unquestioningly
whithersoever He goeth with fullest obedience.
Who are these, and where have they come from so suddenly, at this
moment, into the presence of the One on the throne? The description
tells just what has happened. When things are at their devilish worst
down on the earth the Lord Jesus has caught up His own from the earth.
And they have become like Him in character, for now they see Him face to
face as He is.
This recalls the scene, essentially the same, back in the first view, in
chapter seven, where the great multitudes are suddenly seen before the
throne with palm branches, songs, and white garments. It is the same
company as there. But there is a difference in telling the numbers.
_There_ they are too many to be counted. _Here_ they are said to be a
hundred and forty-four thousand. It is symbolical, a picture number,
the number of full corporate completeness as with the Spirit-baptized
Jews in chapter seven.
The believers caught up out of the great tribulation have been joined by
the trusting hearts of all time who have been waiting in the Father's
presence for this glad day. The number is now complete of all from
creation's earliest dawn, who by grace have followed fully, regardless
of hindrance or opposition. This great climax is thus seen by John in
sudden and sharp contrast with the climax of hellish evil on the earth.
Then John is shown the steps by which this climax is reached.[152]
Verses six to the close of this chapter seem clearly to be a detail of
what has gone before, describing the steps by which this climax is
reached, and then reaching further to the judgment upon the evil. During
the iniquitous scenes being enacted on earth an angel is seen flying in
mid-heavens calling to the people on earth, in warning, to give their
worship and reverence to God only. The gracious wooing of God never
ceases.
Another angel follows, calling out that the great system of iniquity, in
which they are enmeshed, is doomed. A third gives solemn warning that
those who yield to the terrible pressure, and engage in the blasphemous
worship, will be surely and terribly punished. Again there comes another
echo of the strain of pleading in the Church messages. In the midst of
just such conditions as prevail then, the saints can be steady in
keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
And down into the awful persecution being waged comes an encouraging
voice from heaven. There is special blessing from God on all those who
remain true, even unto death. There will be sweetest rest for them, and
their faithful witnessing and suffering shall be all noted and
acknowledged and rewarded as they come up into the Father's presence.
And then follows the blessed harvest of the righteous whose wonderful
arrival in heaven has already been told in the opening scene of this
chapter. And then follows the awful harvest of evil down on the earth,
the visitation of judgments coming at the very end of the persecution.
So closes this long remarkable view of the tribulation. It connects back
with the nation of Israel. Its beginning is connected practically with
the casting of Satan down to earth. It gives a description of the leader
and the nature of the persecution, and a brief statement of the steps
with which it ends. And it states in three different ways that the
length of time involved is three and a half years.
A Bitter Cup to Its Dregs.
_The fifth view_[153] is, not of the whole tribulation time as with
these others, but of only a part, the closing part. It speaks of the
visitation of judgments, the great climactic battle, and the
earthquake, with which the period is brought to its end.
It connects at the point in the fourth view[154] where those who have
been suffering in the tribulation are seen standing before the throne
singing with harps. It is said that they are singing the song of Moses,
who had the experience of tribulation and deliverance in Egypt, and the
song of the Lamb, who went through the worst tribulation experience in
His contest with Satan and sin on our behalf.
It connects also with the close of the second view,[155] where the
temple is seen opened and the ark of the covenant is seen. That covenant
is now to receive further fulfilment. God never forgets His promises and
agreements. Seven angels have seven golden bowls full of the wrath of
God. In this way is told the visitation of judgments now described as
taking place at this time.
In the first view the picture is of _seals_ being broken or opened,
which indicates the execution of a document. The _trumpets_ of the next
view indicate a commanding call to action; the seven _thunders_, not
written, a great storm. These _bowls_ or vials indicate the
administration of a dose of bitter-tasting medicine. The visitation of
judgments by God is commonly spoken of in Scripture in this
language.[156]
Then follows the description of the judgments upon men's persons, and
everything concerning their life. Men's bodies are diseased, the water
is unfit to drink, the food supply cut short; they suffer with terrible
heat, and then darkness. But there is no penitence. The Euphrates is
said to be dried up, suggesting that it is the great river at or near
the world's centre of action. So, it is said, the way is prepared for
the kings that come from the east.
And the prophetic bit in Isaiah comes to mind about men passing over the
Euphrates at the time of the great gathering of the Jews.[157] As though
aroused by all this to bitterest opposition there is increased demon
activity, and through it a great gathering of all nations, at a place
named in Palestine, for a great battle.
Then a terrible climax comes in the earthquake, with which the first,
second, and third views closed. It is the worst earthquake ever
experienced. It centres in "_the_ great city," Babylon, the capital of
the whole system of wickedness. With the storm is a terrible hail. The
description tallies with that in the close of the first view,[158] and
with the vivid prophetic bit in Isaiah ii. 10-22.
There's no suggestion of how much time all this takes. The judgments
visited on Egypt at the deliverance of Israel are described at much
greater length, running into ten items. Yet all could have occurred
within five weeks, allowing for brief intervals. Whether these
judgments occur in succession, or all at once, or partly in both ways,
they could all come within a very short time. This fifth view depicts
the final scene. It gives the visitation of judgments ending the
tribulation period, describes a great pitched battle, in which all
nations are involved, and ends with the earthquake. This is the third of
the three great woes.[159]
_The sixth view_ is of the great system of wickedness in the world,
through which the tribulation comes, and which is judged at its
close.[160] The description is full of details of great interest and
instructiveness, but we can only have time at present for the essential
thing being taught. The Spirit takes John into a wilderness. To the
Spirit's eye wherever wickedness has sway, whether vulgar or polished,
political or commercial, cunning or brazen, it is a wilderness.
Here is shown a woman gorgeously clothed, prodigally bedecked with
jewels, and having a cup in her hand, made of gold, but full of vile
filth. Upon her forehead appears a description: "Mystery [or explanation
of mystery], Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the
abominations of the earth." This woman is riding upon a strange beast;
it is scarlet-colored, with seven heads and ten horns, and full of
blasphemous names. This is the startlingly suggestive picture.
Who is this woman? And what is this beast upon which she is seated? The
whole description taken together suggests that she is meant to stand
for the whole system of wickedness which has had such sway in the world
from earliest time until the end. And the beast represents typically the
dominant governmental powers. The two have always worked together. There
has been a consistent unity of spirit and of characteristic, and a
persistent devilishness marking the wickedness in the world throughout
the ages.
It has been as though there were an unseen spirit power tirelessly at
work _behind_ all the varied manifestations of evil. The dominant
characteristic always has been blasphemy of God. It has controlled
thrones and royal power, and has had unlimited gold at its command. And
it has always been an enemy, subtle or open, cunning or violent, of God
and His people.
That system or genius of evil is represented in the Old Testament as
finding expression in one great political power after another, but
chiefly in the power of Babylon. Babylon stands typically in these older
pages, not merely for the great empire of the Euphrates, but for the
unseen spirit of evil lying behind that power, and making use of it to
carry through its own foul purposes.
But that unseen evil spirit power has found more than one agency to
dominate and use. Babylon long since passed off the stage as a political
factor. But the power of evil has not ceased. It is distressing to note
another great organization behind and through which the power of evil
has worked. What is the system that has, for the past sixteen
centuries, been supported by the various great civil governments?
There is only one answer. It is the organization known as "the Christian
Church." And the term Church must be taken here in its fullest, broadest
meaning. Its great main stem historically is the Roman Catholic Church.
The first great split-off was the Greek Orthodox Church. The Church of
England was a later break-off. These, with the various government-ally
supported Churches, and those free of such support, and various ancient
primitive bodies,--these all together make up the organization known as
"the Church."
The two symbolical characteristics of this woman and the two dominant
characteristics of this historical Church are the same. The Church has
been and is supported almost wholly by the civil governments, and used
by them in furthering their policies. And it has been active in
persecuting to death the people of God who would not yield to its
domination. It has been marked by intolerance of all not yielding to its
wishes, and especially of the Jew. That intolerance has been carried not
only to the extreme of blood, but a riot of bloodshed. This is utterly
heart-breaking to realize and to repeat.
The woman is said to be "drunken (1) with the blood of the saints, and
(2) with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." The twofold statement is
seen to cover the two great periods, before Christ and since. And it
covers also the two great powers through which the spirit of evil has
chiefly worked in those two periods. But the name given first in the
plains of Shinar, and used characteristically of the God-defying power
of evil, is given here, Babylon. It will be Babylon again at the very
end after the Church system is overthrown.
It is plainly said that the beast represents the great civil or
governmental power in its final stage, the shape it will be in at the
end when these events occur.[161] The chief dominating political power
of the world will have passed through a succession of changes, seven
kingdoms successively following each other. At the end there will be a
combination of some sort, with ten great subdivisions, and one great
head over all.
But at the last, the civil power will discard the Church, and persecute
it. The spirit of evil thus gets embodiment typically in the great
Babylon power, then in the Church, and at the very last, in a coalition
of civil powers heading up in a new Babylon.
Then follows announcement of the fall of Babylon. The city is regarded
here as the earthly capital of the organized system of unseen evil
spirit power at work in the world. The city and the system are
inseparably allied. The name Babylon is used in the Bible for both
system and city.
If the question be asked what city is meant here, there can be but one
answer. From the twelfth of Genesis on the Bible never touches history,
except as history touches Israel as a nation. A thoughtful review of the
book makes this clear. And this book of Revelation is a gathering-up of
Bible threads, and only these. There is only one city in the Bible
record that answers to the description here, "the great city which
reigneth over the kings of the earth." "Babylon _the_ great."
But the old Babylon lies in ruins. And its ruined condition has been
quoted as the fulfilment of the famous passage in Isaiah xiii. 19-22. It
should be carefully noted that the present conditions at the site of old
Babylon do not seem to satisfy fully the language of that passage. It
would seem to be another illustration of the rare use of language in the
Bible, which adapts a passage accurately to one event, and then to a
second event, a long time afterward.
This would, of course, involve the rebuilding of the old capital of the
Euphrates. The reverent student quietly notes the movements taking place
in that part of the world, but restrains mere curious speculation, as he
continues fervently to pray, "Thy kingdom come."
This eighteenth chapter of Revelation seems like an echo of that intense
twenty-first of Isaiah, and indeed of a strain sounding all through the
prophetic books. One familiar with the old writings is not surprised to
find this echo; he expects it. No echo of God's voice or purpose is ever
lost. God never loses any of the threads out of His hand.
Hallelujah! He Comes.
_The seventh view_ presents the climax. It includes from chapter
nineteen to chapter twenty-two, verse five. It presents in full the
great scene that closes this tribulation period; touches the kingdom in
a bare word so as to fit it into its place in the scheme of events being
outlined; and then gives the final wind-up after the Kingdom time is
over. We want to look now at the portion connected immediately with what
has just gone before, the description of the wondrous close of the
tribulation, in chapters nineteen, verse one, to twenty, verse three.
John hears a great outburst of worship and praise in heaven. It
resembles the outburst back in chapter five, when the Lamb took the
book. But it is seen to be yet greater than that. Its joy and delight
seem wholly unbounded. Again the living creatures and the four and
twenty elders lead the song that bursts out.
John tries to tell how great was the volume of adoring song that fills
all heaven. It is like the voice of a great multitude, like the waters
that he had heard many a time breaking in deafening roar on the rocky
coast of Patmos, like the mighty thunders which he had heard so much in
these visions.
And the song they sang explains the exuberance of their singing,
"Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty _reigneth_." At last He
_reigneth_. In the earlier parts of the book God is spoken of as "He
who is and who was, and _who cometh_."[162] As later events are
described that last part "who cometh" is significantly dropped.[163]
Clearly at these points being described He has come. Now the great
realization bursts out from countless voices, the Lord, our God, the
Almighty _reigneth_!
And John is bidden to write the words whose refrain has filled such a
place in hymns and devout speech, "Blessed are they that are bidden to
the marriage supper of the Lamb." And the one who seems to be serving as
John's guide puts peculiar emphasis on all that is being revealed by
saying, "these are true words of God."
John is so overwhelmed that he falls down to worship this one. And then
he finds that this is one of his own redeemed brothers of the earth. And
as He quietly bids John give his worship to One only, He adds very
significant words: "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
The whole genius and soul of all this wealth of prophecy is to point men
to our Lord Jesus Christ, God to us.
And now comes the event toward which the ages have looked. _The heavens
open._ And _our Lord Jesus appears_ coming in glory to earth. At last He
comes. There's a wonderful description. He comes as a conqueror, riding
forth to judge the earth righteously, and to make war on evil. His eyes
are as a flame of fire, and upon His head many diadems. He has a name
indicating that He is all alone in the experiences He has been through,
and in His character. He comes as King of kings and Lord of lords, to
rule all the earth with a new absolutism, to right all wrongs, and visit
the indignant wrath of God upon all sin.
As He appears an angel gives warning of what is coming. In words that
are an echo of Ezekiel's, long centuries before, he calls to all the
scavenger birds of the earth that haunt battlefields to come to a great
feasting time.[164] And John sees the vast armies of the nations of the
earth all gathered together for a last mighty battle, under the
leadership of the great leader of lawlessness and his lieutenant.
And the utter impotence of their struggle against God is revealed in the
quietness and brevity with which their defeat and capture are told.
Satan's great earth leader and his chief who deceived the people with
his miraculous power, both are taken and forever put away. And then
Satan himself is chained and fastened securely in the abyss. Such is the
tremendous consummation quietly told in a few lines. And then follows
the setting up of the glorious kingdom on earth.
Whatever the immediate circumstances under which the Second Psalm was
penned, it will be readily seen how it fits into this situation at the
end.
"Why do the nations tumultuously assemble,
And the peoples meditate a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against Jehovah and against His Anointed, saying,
'Let us break their bonds asunder,
And cast away their cords from us.'"