[A]See "The Epistles to the Thessalonians, with Notes Exegetical and Expository," by C. F. Hogg and W. E. Vine, notec.pp. 259, 260. (Glasgow: Pickering & Inglis. 3/9, p.f.)
[A]See "The Epistles to the Thessalonians, with Notes Exegetical and Expository," by C. F. Hogg and W. E. Vine, notec.pp. 259, 260. (Glasgow: Pickering & Inglis. 3/9, p.f.)
The political constitution of the successive empires during "the time of theGentiles" was indicated in the image of Nebuchadnezzar's vision by the various substances of which the parts of the image were composed. While the regular deterioration in the relative value of these substances is noticeable, we are concerned now with those of the legs and feet. The legs were of iron, and the feet part of iron and part of potter's clay, not moist or miry clay, but "earthenware" (Dan. 2. 41,R.V., margin), and consequently brittle (v. 42, margin).
That the iron symbolised militarism seems clear from what is said of the fourth kingdom, that "as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush" (v. 40). Nations are broken and crushed by military power, and thus the nations were treated by the Romans. This was further signified by the iron teeth of the fourth beast, as is definitely stated in Daniel 7. 19, 23: "And shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces."
The supposition that the clay represents democracy is gratuitous and arbitrary. The early Roman Empire, symbolised by the legs of the image, was built up under democratic rule. When republicanismwas superseded by imperialism, democratic principles still prevailed. Democracy, therefore, played its part from the very commencement of the fourth kingdom, and had it been symbolised by the clay, not only the feet and toes but the legs themselves would have consisted of mingled iron and clay. Moreover, democracy in the generally accepted sense of the term has not always been found to be of an unstable or brittle character; witness the republicanism of the United States. Democracies, too, may be established on strictly constitutional principles.
Another explanation, therefore, of the symbolism of the clay must be sought, and it is not unlikely to be found in those revolutionary principles to which we have already referred, which were evidenced at the time of the French Revolution, and are finding expression, though in greater variety to-day, in such projects as those of the International Working Men's Association. Certainly the masses of the people of Europe are being permeated both by militarism and by the revolutionary doctrines of which we have spoken. Should these principles spread among the civil services and forces, everything would be in a complete state of preparedness for
which would effect the overthrow of present forms of government. From the world's point of view the situation would require a consummate genius with powers of world-wide organisation. Doubtless Satan's masterpiece of infidel ingenuity would be at hand for the occasion.
We are not predicting that this is to be the manner of the revival of the Empire and of the advent of its imperial head. We have merely suggested possible circumstances in the light of Scripture and present-day movements. The actual circumstances attending the rise of the ten kings and their Emperor must for the time remain conjectural. Certainly these kings will receive authority with him for one hour (Rev. 17. 12), a phrase which may be translated "at the same time;" and certainly they will agree to give their power and authority to him (v. 13).
(3)The Religious Standpoint.
We will now note the religious conditions which are to prevail for a time upon the resuscitation of the Empire. These are plainly indicated for us in Revelation 17. The apostle sees a womansitting on the seven-headed and ten-horned beast. The woman is gorgeously arrayed, holds in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, and is drunken with the blood of the saints. Her name, written on her forehead, is
"the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth" (vv. 3-6). The woman is symbolically described as the city of Rome (v. 18), and that leads on to a second mention of Babylon, in chapter 18, and a new description. Now to the description of the woman in chapter 17 nothing more closely corresponds than the Papacy. But if the Babylon of chapter 17 is to be identified with that of chapter 18, the Papacy answers to the whole description only to a limited extent. While, however, there is much in common in the two descriptions in these chapters, yet the two Babylons are possibly to be distinguished. The Babylon of chapter 17 is a "mystery," not so that of chapter 18. Again, the destruction of the one is different from that of the other. The first will be destroyed by the ten kings and their emperor (17. 16), the second by the direct judgment of God (18. 5, 8, 20); the first asthe result of human antagonism, the second by famine, fire and earthquake. We are perhaps, therefore, justified in taking the more limited view in connection with the circumstances of chapter 17. Even so the woman may be regarded as representing the apostate sacerdotal systems which have sprung from the Papacy as well as that system itself.
The position of the woman indicates an exercise of power which is voluntarily supported by the beast. That she sits upon the waters implies her religious dominion over the nations; that she is carried by the beast, who rules over the nations politically, implies that there will be a complete alliance between her and the ten kings with their chief, and that the sphere of her influence will be co-extensive with the dominions of the beast.
Now though the Papacy lost its temporal power in 1870, it is far from having lost its political influence. Ecclesiastically, too, though it has received various set-backs, it is manifestly gaining power. This is especially observable, for example, in Britain, the overthrow of which as a Protestant Power is undoubtedly theobject of the persistent aggressiveness of Romanism. This aggressiveness is manifest in all the dominions of the British Empire, as well as in other lands.
Again, while certain governments have of late shaken off the ecclesiastical yoke, and infidelity has spread among the people of Roman Catholic lands, the number of Roman Catholics has increased with great rapidity. They were estimated at somewhat over 200,000,000 twenty years ago, they are now said to number about 300,000,000.
Indications are not wanting of a tendency towards
which would be facilitated by a willingness on the part of the Papacy to adapt itself to the impulse of the time.
Present events, therefore, point to a great renewal of Papal power involving the fulfilment of the prophecy relating to the woman and the beast that carries her. This renewed alliance between the political and the ecclesiastical powers will, however, be of brief duration. The successful efforts of governments in recent times to liberate themselves from Papal authority, as in the case of Franceand Portugal, are but foreshadowings of the eventual entire destruction of ecclesiasticism and sacerdotalism under the revived Roman Empire. "The ten horns ... and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire" (Rev. 17. 16). Thus it would seem that, when at the very zenith of its power and ambition, the Papacy, at the head of amalgamated Christendom, will suddenly meet its doom.
Its accumulated wealth would probably be an incentive in determining the ten kings to take this step, owing possibly to the impoverishment of their kingdoms as a result of wars and political and social upheavals. An additional cause will doubtless be the widespread spirit of antagonism against all religion.
Submission to the Papal yoke has invariably had an aftermath of infidelity; similarly the temporary subservience of the beast to the woman will issue in the casting off of all religious restraint and in the universal acknowledgment of the presumptuous claims of the world-ruler.
The authority of this final emperor of the Roman kingdom will be Satanic. "The dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority" (Rev. 13. 2); "the beast ... was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition" (Rev. 17. 8). This implies that he has been on the earth in the past. The same thing is indicated in the interpretation of the seven heads. Topographically they are described as seven mountains, personally as seven kings (v. 9). Of these, five had fallen, the sixth was in power in John's time, the seventh had not then come (v. 10). The beast (clearly here symbolising, not a kingdom, but a person) would be an eighth, and yet would be of the seven (v. 11). These heads have been regarded by some as forms of government, by others as empires, or again, as emperors. There seems to be no reason why they are not to be regarded as emperors, though doubtless their empires are in view, as being associated with them. Accordingly, the fact that the eighth is also one of the seven indicates his reappearance on the scene. Various suggestions have been made as to his identification, but thismust remain uncertain until his advent. With him the ten kings for a time receive authority (v. 12), subsequently handing it over to him with their kingdom (v. 17), but not before they have together with him crushed the great religious system symbolised by the woman (v. 16). His stupendous power and brilliant abilities, the evidence of his superhuman origin, his phenomenal capacity for organisation, and the consolidation of the empire under his absolute control will cause the whole world to marvel at him (Rev. 13. 3; 17. 8). To the world, in its divinely inflicted and therefore retributive delusion, he will appear like a god who has come to deliver from woe, and to introduce the long-looked-for age of peace and prosperity. Wonder will be succeeded by worship, both of the man and of Satan. "They worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? and who is able to war with him?" (13. 4).
The world is now in course of rapid preparation for all this:
has of late become a much discussed topic in various classes of society and in thepress, and the idea is supported by the theories of evolution which are receiving increasingly wide acceptance. A spirit of expectancy is being thus aroused which will undoubtedly facilitate the recognition of the man himself at his advent, and the acknowledgment of his claims to divine honour. But this will involve the worship of Satan, and to this end the effective agency of
has been long at work. Spiritism leads to devil worship. It must do so; its energising power is Satan himself. Both spiritism and theosophy, and similar forms of error, all of which are rapidly on the increase to-day, are paving the way for world-wide worship of the dragon.
The imperial power and worship of this emperor will be promoted by another potentate similarly energised by Satan. This latter is the second beast, described in Revelation 13. 11-end. Later on in the book he is called
(Rev. 16. 13; 19. 20; 20. 10), indicating that his activities are chiefly of a religious character, and perhaps that he will be more closely connected with Jewish affairs.He will make "the earth and them that dwell therein worship the beast," the emperor of the ten kingdoms (13. 11), deceiving the world by supernatural signs wrought in the presence of the first beast (v. 12), and enforcing the worship of his image (v. 15), the abomination of desolation set up in the temple at Jerusalem (Matt. 24. 15). With the worship of an image the times of the Gentiles began (Dan. 3. 1), and with similar idolatry they will end. In the days of the early Roman emperors their deification was celebrated by the adoration of their images. Then, as formerly under Nebuchadnezzar, those who refused to worship suffered death. So will it be under the final emperor and his colleague.
Various opinions are held regarding these two beasts of Revelation 13, as to which is the Man of Sin spoken of by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2, which the Antichrist mentioned in John's Epistles, and which of the two is the wilful king described in Daniel 11. Limitations of space preclude our entering into the subject in detail here. The present writer holds the view that all three are the same person, and that they are also the same as the horn in Daniel 7. 8, 11, and as the first beast of Revelation13, and that these are all different descriptions of the final head of the revived Empire. The Old Testament passages somewhat briefly announce the arising of this world-wide ruler; the New Testament passages unfold and expand the preceding predictions concerning him, among the additional details given in the New Testament being the fact that he is to have a prophet who will assiduously support his claim to deity and his administration. It is the world-emperor, and not his prophet, who is to be worshipped, and who therefore proclaims himself as God (2 Thess. 2. 4). His prophet, the second beast of Revelation 13, in the exercise of all the power of the first, will cause the world to worship him (13. 12). As his prophet and prime minister he would not himself endeavour to usurp the position of him whose avowed deity he seeks to support.
The similarity of the details in the above-mentioned passages indicates that the same person is in view in each case. His blasphemies, for instance, and his assumption of deity are mentioned in Daniel 7. 25; 11. 36, 37; 2 Thessalonians 2. 3, 4, and Revelation 13. 5, 6, and his war with the saints in Daniel 7. 21, 25 and Revelation13. 7. Further, the blasphemous proclamation of himself as God is consistent with what is said in John's Epistles concerning the Antichrist. For in his self-deification he is directly "antagonistic to Christ," he denies that Jesus is the Christ, and therefore denies the Father and the Son (1 John 2. 22).
The two potentates will establish not only a universal religion, but also a
The second beast "causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their hand, or upon their forehead; and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, even the name of the beast or the number of his name" (Rev. 13. 16, 17). This indicates a world-wide protectionist system, such a system as, for instance, might conceivably be established under some form of syndicalism. Undeniably, circumstances in the industrial world to-day manifest an increasing tendency in this direction. The principles previously mentioned, as now making for industrial and international revolution, and the present stupendous movements towardsamalgamation, are clearly preparing for the fulfilment of this prophecy by facilitating the eventual establishment of the unrighteous commercial system of the reconstituted Empire.
Palestine, to illustrate Psalm 29.
We have now to consider the dealings of the two beasts, the final Roman emperor and his false prophet, with
With the Romans the Jews joined in the death of Christ, and with the rulers of this fourth empire they will be in agreement for a time at the close of their long course of apostasy. This was especially made known to Daniel in the prophecy of
(Dan. 9). These weeks (lit.,hebdomads, or periods of seven,i.e., seven years each) had been divinely decreed (or "cut off,"i.e., from the period of "the times of the Gentiles") upon his people and his city. From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto theAnointed One (the Messiah), the Prince, would be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks. After this the Anointed One would be cut off, and would have nothing (Dan. 9. 24-26). This period is 69 times 7, or 483 years, and to the very day this was the period commencing with the command of Artaxerxes Longimanus, King of Persia, for the restoration of Jerusalem (Neh. 2. 1-9), and ending with the triumphal entry of Christ into the city (Matt. 21. 1-11).[B]Four days later He was crucified, "the Anointed One was cut off and had nothing,"i.e., He did not enter then upon His Messianic kingdom. The prophecy predicted that the people of the prince (lit., "a prince") that would come would destroy the city and the sanctuary. That took place inA.D.70, under Titus Vespasianus. But Titus is not "the prince that shall come." This, apart from other considerations, is clear from what follows: "And his (the prince's) end shall be with a flood (or rather, 'in the overflowing,'i.e., of the wrath of God)," a prediction at once inapplicable to Titus. The mention of
is deferred, indicating an interval betweenthe sixty-ninth and the seventieth. Now the events predicted for the seventieth had no historical fulfilment immediately after the sixty-ninth. The one, therefore, did not follow the other consecutively. At the commencement of the intervening period the Jews were scattered from their land. At the seventieth they will have been restored, and the events of that week concern "the prince that shall come," the last world-emperor, and his dealings with them. "He shall make a firm covenant with many (lit., 'the many,'i.e., the great majority of the nation) for one week" (v. 27). This covenant is described in Isaiah's prophecies as a "covenant with death" and an "agreement with Hell." The covenant, he says, "shall be disannulled," and the agreement "shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it" (Isa. 28. 18). That this refers to a time yet future and not to past Israelitic history may be gathered from verse 22, where the theme and the language are similar to those of the passage in Daniel now under consideration. Daniel tells us the mode of the disannulling. "In the midst of the week (R.V., margin) he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease."Accordingly after three and a half years the Antichrist, manifesting his real character, will prove himself a traitor and break the covenant, and thus Isaiah's prediction will be fulfilled.
[B]See "The Coming Prince," by Sir Robert Anderson. Price, 5/.
[B]See "The Coming Prince," by Sir Robert Anderson. Price, 5/.
Apparently at the very time when he thus breaks his league with the Jews the Antichrist will determine upon his public deification and the establishment of his worship in the Temple. For he it is who "opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thess. 2. 4). This, with the setting up of his image, will doubtless be the fulfilment of the prophecies recorded by Daniel, that "upon the wing (or pinnacle) of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate" (Dan. 9. 27, cp. 11. 31 and 12. 11), and "they shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt offering, and they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate" (11. 31, cp. 12. 11); a fulfilment also of the Lord's prediction that "the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet," will "stand in the holy place" (Matt. 24. 15). In the establishment of this blasphemous worshipof the emperor, the false prophet will play a prominent part, as we have seen from the latter part of Revelation 13.
The many references to the desolator and the desolations are indicative of the
which will follow. This will be at first directed against "the remnant," the large numbers of Jews who will repudiate allegiance to the beast and to the false prophet, many doubtless having been converted to their coming Messiah through the testimony of two witnesses who will be sent from God to the nation. "They shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth" (Rev. 11. 3-13). The success of their ministry will apparently arouse the bitter antagonism of Satan and his human instruments. The breaking of the covenant with the people as a whole indicates that an effort will also be made to crush the entire nation. Thus the latter half of the seventieth week will be the time of "Jacob's trouble," "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time" (Dan. 12. 1), though the unprecedented tribulation will not be confined to the Jews only.
The bitter antagonism of the man of sin, and his colleague, the false prophet, against God and His people will culminate in the gathering together of all the forces of the Empire in Palestine in final conflict for the complete domination of the world. This tremendous event is thus indicated by the apostle John: "And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are the spirits of devils (correctly, "demons"), working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty" (Rev. 16. 13, 14).
In reality the issue at stake will be the supremacy of Christ or of Satan in the earth. The objective will be neither territorial conquest nor naval supremacy, nor commercial predominance. The war of the beast and the ten kings under him is against the Lamb (Rev. 17. 14). This the second Psalm had foretold: "Why do the nations rage, and the peoples imagine a vain thing? The kings of theearth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." The issue is not uncertain: "He that sitteth in the Heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."
is Har-Magedon, commonly known as Armageddon (Rev. 16. 16). The name, which is associated with Megiddo, a locality famed in Old Testament history for its decisive battles (Judges 5. 19; 2 Kings 23), doubtless stands here for a wider area, stretching, as we shall see, from the north to the south of the land.
The combatants, the conflict and its conclusion, are described by John in vivid language of terrible grandeur in Revelation 19. 11-21: "And I saw the Heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He that sat thereon, called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and He hath a name written, which no one knoweth but He Himself. And He is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and His nameis called the Word of God. And the armies which are in Heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of His mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His garment and on His thigh a name written,King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.
"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat upon the horse, and against His army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image: they twainwere cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone: and the rest were killed with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of His mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh" (Rev. 19. 11-21). Ezekiel similarly describes the scene in his prophecy in chapter 30. 17-21.
Thus it is that the climax of the world's rebellion against God is to meet its doom. This is the manner of the overthrow of the ten-kingdomed empire, the fourth of Daniel's visions. Accordingly, what we have now read from Revelation 19 is identical with (1) the falling of the stone upon the feet of the image in Nebuchadnezzar's vision, the annihilation of all Gentile government (Dan. 2. 45); (2) the consuming of the dominion of the fourth beast in Daniel's subsequent vision (Dan. 7. 26); (3) the pouring out of God's wrath upon the Antichrist, the desolator (Dan. 9. 27); and (4) the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory (Matt. 24. 30). The great emperor, the man of sin, is to be crushed by the Lord Jesus, "with the breath of His mouth," and brought to nought "by the manifestation of His coming" (2 Thess. 2. 8).
Now this "manifestation of His coming" is, to transliterate the Greek words,
An epiphany is, literally, the 'shining forth' of that which has been hidden; and the word Parousia is, literally, 'presence' (see margin ofR.V.and Phil. 2. 12). This latter word is used of the coming of Christ to the air for His saints, 'to receive them unto Himself,' and of their consequent presence with Him (1 Thess. 2. 19). They are thus to be "ever with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4. 17), and with Him they will come when He descends at His revelation "from Heaven with the angels of His power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus" (2 Thess. 1. 7, 8). The sudden bursting forth of His glory thus "to execute judgment" (Jude 15) will be the 'Epiphany, or shining forth, of His Parousia,' and by it the Man of Sin is to be brought to nought and his empire demolished. He and his false prophet will be "cast alive into the lake of fire," and his armies will perish (Rev. 19. 20, 21).
This is to be the issue of the world's attempts to establish a millennium of itsown by schemes of federation and amalgamation. This is the upshot of its fancied progress and improvement without God and His Christ.
We must now see what other Scriptures have to say concerning this scene. The instrument which the Lord uses for the destruction of His foes is a sword which proceedsout of His mouth; the destruction is described as the treading of the winepress.
First, as to the instrument. The sword is symbolic of the utterance of the Lord's voice. No material instrument is needed, a word is enough. This is clear from many passages. In the second Psalm the overthrow of the foe is thus described: "Then shall Hespeakunto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure" (v. 5). Joel prophesies of the same event: "The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining: and the Lorduttereth His voicebefore His army; for His camp is very great; for He is strong that executeth His word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" (Joel 2. 10, 11; and see 3. 16. With this compare Isa. 11. 4 and30. 30-33.) The same voice of judgment is implied in Paul's prediction of the doom of the lawless one, that "the Lord Jesus will slay himwith the breath of His mouth" (2 Thess. 2. 8). In the same connection we are doubtless to read Psalm 29, the Psalm which describes the terrible majesty and effect of thevoice of the Lord.
We must presently dwell more fully upon this Psalm in order to observe its application to the circumstances under consideration, and its connection with the passages which describe the judgment of the foe as
These passages are Isaiah 63. 1-6; Joel 9. 16; Revelation 14. 17-20, and the one already quoted in Revelation 19. It is observable, too, that in the first of these the voice of the Lord is mentioned again, for the Deliverer describes Himself as "I thatspeak in righteousness."
We shall first refer to Revelation 14. 17-20. Two angels appear coming forth, the one from the temple in Heaven with a sickle in his hand, the other from the altar. The latter calls to the one with the sickle to gather "the clusters of the vine of the earth," symbolic of the Man of Sin andhis gathered armies. The angel then casts his sickle into the earth, gathers the vintage, and casts it into the winepress of the wrath of God. The winepress is "trodden without the city," and "there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs" (i.e., 200 miles). The great emperor and his prophet, and their vast forces, will thus be gathered in dense battle array throughout the length of Palestine, Jerusalem being their objective. Joel calls the scene of the battle "the Valley of Decision." "Come, tread ye," says the prophet, "for the winepress is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision" (Joel 3. 13, 14). The multitudes are the forces of the Man of Sin.
The first six verses of Isaiah 63 narrate in the form of a dialogue
and his forces. The dialogue is between Messiah the Deliverer and the Jews. Having just overthrown the foe in the treading of the winepress, and the armies of the Empire being destroyed throughoutthe battle line from the north of the land to the south, the Messiah, in the fruits of His victory, reveals Himself to His astonished earthly people. In wondering admiration they exclaim: "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious, marching in the greatness of His strength?" To this their Deliverer answers, "I thatspeak in righteousness, mighty to save." The significance of this is at once apparent to the reader who calls to mind the various passages mentioned above in reference to the voice of the Lord. "I that speak in righteousness"—this is the voice uttered before His army (Joel 2. 10), "the sword that proceedeth out of His mouth" (Rev. 19. 15); the "breath of His mouth," by which the Man of Sin is crushed (2 Thess. 2. 8), and the "voice" of Psalm 29.
The people, struck by the appearance of the Victor, next ask: "Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?" The language is doubtless symbolic. Messiah explains in reply how the threatening foes have been crushed: "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with Me: yea, I trod them inMine anger, and trampled them in My fury; and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My raiment. For the day of vengeance was in Mine heart, and the year of My redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me; and My fury, it upheld Me. And I trod down the peoples in Mine anger, and made them drunk in My fury, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth" (vv. 3-6). The words of a previous prophecy express the joyful recognition of the delivered nation: "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation" (Isa. 25. 9).
Turning now to Psalm 29 we find
strikingly depicted; the very length of the battle line is indicated, in agreement with the later and clearer description in Revelation 20. 14. Indeed, the passages which foretell the events of this coming terrible day afford a remarkable illustration of the progressive character of the revelations ofScripture. The Psalm is divided into three parts: (1) The first three verses are a call to the saints in Heaven, the "sons of the mighty," to worship the Lord in view of the judgment He is just about to execute for the deliverance of His people the Jews, their land and their city. (2) The second part, verses 3-9, describes the actual judgment by means of "the voice of the Lord." The psalmist was doubtless thinking of a thunderstorm. The Spirit of God was giving prophetic utterance concerning a more terrible scene, and the geographical limitations of the Psalm are of prophetic import. The first place mentioned is Lebanon, in the north, with its mountain-spur Sirion (vv. 5, 6). The last place is the wilderness of Kadesh, in the south, the centre of which is Bozrah, in Edom (v. 8), a point of connection with Isaiah 63. 1. Now the distance from Sirion to Bozrah, in the wilderness of Kadesh, is 200 miles, and this is the 1600 furlongs of Revelation 14.20. Here, then, in one fell stroke of divine wrath the Man of Sin and his forces are overthrown, and the Jews are delivered. The later revelations of Scripture thus enable us to pass from the natural and physical setting of the Psalm to the veiled reality. Thus this portion of thePsalm is to be read in connection with the passage from Revelation 19 quoted above. (3) The last two verses describe the results of the conquest.
were threatened with annihilation. But man's extremity is God's opportunity. The people now see their Deliverer in person, they "look on Him whom they pierced." They realise that their enemies were destroyed because "the Lord sat as King at the flood." And now "the Lord sitteth as King for ever." He whose right it is to reign has come to Zion. Hence the psalmist can next say: "The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace." Armageddon is over, the winepress of God's wrath has been trodden, and the war against the Lamb is ended. Psalm 30 follows on with the people's song of praise for deliverance.
The judgments of God in the earth will be accompanied by
including "a great earthquake such as was not since there were men upon the earth," the overthrow of the cities of the nations,and the displacement of islands and mountains (Rev. 16. 18-21). Then doubtless will be fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah, that in the day when the Lord goes forth to fight against the nations that are gathered against Jerusalem, His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives, and the mountain will be divided, leaving a very great valley east of the city (Zech. 14. 1-5).
In this tremendous intervention in the affairs of the world for the termination of Gentile dominion the Son of God will be accompanied by all His saints. He will come "to be glorified in His saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed" (2 Thess. 1. 10). So from earliest times Enoch had prophesied: "Behold, the Lord came with His holy myriads, to execute judgment upon all" (Jude 14, 15, margin). And Zechariah: "The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee" (14. 5). They are to take an active part in the inauguration of His Kingdom, and in its government. For "the saints of the Most High shall receive the Kingdom, and possess the Kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever" (Dan. 7. 18). "TheKingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdoms under the whole Heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High" (v. 27).
Then shall the Lord "be King over all the earth" (Zech. 14. 9). God's claims will be vindicated. His Christ will reign as King of Righteousness, and King of Peace, the centre of His government being the very place where once He was despised and rejected, and men cast Him out and crucified Him. Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with judgment and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this (Isa. 9. 7). His saints "shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (Rev. 20. 6). Then will be fulfilled the words of the Lord, "I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain" (Zech. 8. 3). The days of Israel's mourning will be ended, the nation will be a "crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diademin the hand of her God," and Jerusalem will be a praise in the earth (Isa. 60. 30; 62. 3, 7). "The Heavens shall rejoice and the earth be glad," and "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Psa. 96. 11; Isa. 11. 9). According to God's Eternal Counsel the despised Nazarene will yet be manifested and acknowledged by all as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
"To Him be glory for ever and ever,Amen."
PAGEAdrian,62Alaric,37,38Alexander the Great,19Alliance of Social Democracy,71,63Alsace and Lorraine,66Antichrist,85,87,91,96Antiochus Epiphanes,20,21,64Antiochus the Great,19Armageddon,93Attila,39,40Babylon,73Bagdad,46,47Balkan Peninsula,46,53Barnabas, Epistle of,32Beast, Twofold Symbolism of,35,36Britain,23,39,53,62British Empire,67,68Bulgaria,53Byzantine Empire,46,57Cæsar Augustus,14,22,25,37Carthage,16,17,18,40Chaldean Empire,12,55,60Charlemagne,58,60Christendom, Reunion of,80Commercial System,87Comparisons of Symbols in Daniel and Revelation,29Constantine,26Constantinople,26,27,40,44,45,46,58Crimean War,52Crusades,47Cyprus,53Cyril,33Democracy,75,76Diocletian,26Early Christian Writers,32-34Eastern Half of Empire Overthrown,44European Federation,69False Prophet,84Genseric,39,40German Influence,53Germanic Tribes,37-41,56Grecian Empire,19,63,65Grecian Empire Divided,64Greece,19,20,52,53,65Hannibal,18Hippolytus,33Hungary,40,49,52,66Huns,39International Working Men's Association,71Ireland,67Irenæus,32Iron and Clay,25,74Jerome,33Jews,22,54,55,56,62,68Judæa Subdued by Romans,23Julius Cæsar,22Justinian,58Khaliphs,45,47Kosovo, Battle of,49Lactantius,33Magnesia, Battle of,19Man of Sin,85,100Medes and Persians,13,55,60Megiddo,94Mithradates,21Mohammed,45,46Mohammed II.,49Napoleon,72Navarino, Battle of,52Nebuchadnezzar,9,11,75,96Northern Limits of Empire,41Odoacer,41Omar,45Osman,48Ottoman Empire,48Palestine,20,21,54,56Papacy,79Parousia, The Epiphany of,97Psalm 29,102Pydna, Battle of,20,21Roman Emperor, The Final,67,68,77,82,89Roman Empire—Decline of,51Extended in Final Form,60Final Destruction of,30,32,60,96Still in Power at Close of Present Age,14,30,56Tenfold Division of,27-34Twofold Division of,35Roman Influence Continued,56-58Roumania,52,53San Stefano Treaty,53Saracens,45,47,55,63Scotland,67Sea Symbolic of National Unrest,72Serbia,52,53Seventy Weeks,88Slavery Under the Romans,23Spiritism,84Superman,83Ten Kingdoms Foretold,27-34Not Formed in West,42Tertullian,33Theodoret,34Times and Seasons,10Titus,40,89Tongrol Bek,47Trajan,23Trentino,66Tribulation, The,92Tripoli,53Turkish Empire,44Turkish Empire, Downfall of,63Turks,46,55,63Turks and Mohammedanism,47,50United States,67,76Valens,26Vandals,38,40Valentinian,26,37Voice of the Lord, The,98,101Western Half of Empire Overthrown,37-41Winepress, The,99,104Zama, Battle of,18
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With Notes Exegetical and Expository.By C. F. HOGG and W. E. VINE, M.A.With Index to Subjects, Texts, and Greek Words.
A few out of very many favourable notices:
"The authors have seen clearly the great difference between theparousiaand theepiphaneia, and thus set forth, so much and so clearly, the great Hope of the Church."—LordBlythswood.
"I greatly value such a book for the definiteness and prominence with which it unfolds the great truth of the Lord's return as a present hope—not a theory, nor yet a mere doctrine, but a blessed and glorious hope."—SirRobert Anderson, K.C.B., LL.D., London.
"The notes are brief, clear, full, and suggestive. It supplies a felt want between such volumes as the International Critical and the ordinary devotional expositions."—Jas. F. Arthur, Theological Tutor, B.T.I., Glasgow.
"These notes are admirable. The authors disclaim having written for scholars, but as scholars, I may say, they write for Christians, but for Christians as Bible students and serious ones."—Geo. F. Trench, B.A., Dublin.
"The book is one of such permanent value and wide scholarship. I hope it will be the first and not the last."—H. M. Bleby, B.A., Dudley.
"Should certainly find a place in the library of all Christians who desire to study this portion of God's Word."—L. W. G. Alexander.
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