ment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool; His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him; thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; the judgment was set and the books were opened. I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions; and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Dan. vii. 9-14. How fully does this confirm the view given by Paul to the Thessalonians!

Under the representation of seven angels pouring out the vials of God's wrath upon the earth, the book of the Revelation contains a prediction of the judgments which precede the Millennium; by the last of which vials, Antichrist is to be finally destroyed. But after the account of the sixth, and before the out-pouring of the seventh vial, there is a remarkable parenthetical intimation given: "And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates, [in judgments upon the

look was more stout than his fellows, the prophet "beheld [these] till the thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days did sit" in judgment upon him. It was while these thrones were set, and judginent was being executed, that One like the Son of Man came from heaven, which must receive Him "until the times of Restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." These "times" having now arrived, He comes "with the clouds of heaven," and there is "given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him."

Turkish empire, symbolized by that river,] and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of [from] the east might be prepared, [probably the Israelites, called "princes," Ps. xlvii. 8, 9.] And I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, for they are the spirits of devils working miracles, [signs or wonders,] which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (Behold I COME as a thief; blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.) And he gathered them together into a place called, in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." Rev. xvi. 12-17. Then follow the judgments of the last vial: " And the seventh angel poured out his vial," &c. There is no such intimation as is here made of the Coming of the Lord given between the out-pouring of any two of the preceding vials, nor in any other of the prophetic parts of the book of the Revelation. And the figure used-as a thief is that in which Christ himself foretold his personal advent; "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding.... And this know, that if the good man of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also, for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not." Luke xii. 35-40. The apostle Peter also assures us, "the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night." 2 Pet. iii, 10. This distinctive character of Christ's personal return might alone suggest that it is to the same advent the intimation between the sixth and seventh vials refers, "Behold, I come as a thief." But when we reflect that Paul expressly asserts that the destruction of the Man of sin is to be effected by the brightness of Christ's coming-that Daniel's vision presents the view of his coming with the clouds of heaven at the same time, and that this parenthetical intimation is made just before the account of the final destruction of

that apostasy, there surely remains no reason to question the fact.

Advancing to the more enlarged account of the utter destruction of that power, and of the apostate nations leagued with it, we find the Saviour represented as present in the dread conflict. The first nine verses of the 19th chapter of the Revelation contain an account of the rejoicing of the saints in heaven, and their aspirations of praise to God for the infliction of His judgments upon her who had corrupted the earth, and because the marriage of the Lamb is come. And in the following part of that chapter, and beginning of the 20th, is declared the signal destruction of the enemies of Christ. In the 11th verse of the 19th chapter, the apostle "saw heaven opened, and, behold, a white horse, and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war." There can be no doubt that this Glorious Personage is the blessed Saviour, who is indeed afterwards called expressly the word of God; and He hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords," and on His head were many crowns." He meditates the destruction of his enemies; for the armies of heaven, wearing the raiment of saints, followed Him, "and out of His mouth goeth 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 wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." To intimate the extent of the carnage, the

apos

tle" saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves unto the supper of the Great 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 on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great." Without entering upon any particular examination of the imagery employed, we may merely observe, that the sharp sword going out of the Saviour's mouth is probably designed to intimate, that this work of tremendous destruction will be effected in

This is intro-

obedience to His immediate command. duced in the blessing of Moses, already referred to in connection with the restoration of Israel: "There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath the everlasting arms. And he shall thrust out the enemy before thee, and shall say, Destroy them." Deut. xxxiii. 26, 27. The explanation, sometimes given, of the sword going out of the Saviour's mouth being designed to intimate His bringing the world into subjection to himself, by the preaching of the word, attended by the blessed influences of His Spirit, is quite inconsistent with the whole representation. The angels are commissioned to "pour out the wrath of God upon the earth;" (Rev. xvi. 1;) and experience proves that the contents of the first six of their vials-all of which are light compared with the seventh-have not been of a converting but of a destructive nature. The gospel is indeed at this time to be preached extensively to the nations, calling them to fear God and give glory to Him, on account of these tremendous judgments upon the enemies of religion and of mankind; "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven," says the apostle, immediately before the destruction of mystic Babylon," having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every kindred, and nation, and tongue, and people, saying, with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of his judgments is come, and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."* Rev. xiv. 6, 7. Had it been in gracious and benignant influences that Christ was coming to these "kings of the earth, and their armies," there could have been no meaning in the fowls of heaven being summoned to the banquet:-" And all the fowls were filled with their flesh." This is evidently no other than that destruction of Antichrist which Paul

*How often is the first part of this text quoted, while the latter part, which is the substance of the angelic message, is studiously kept out of view! There is something manifestly wrong, when we are so unwilling to declare, nay, so unwilling to believe, the denunciations of divine indignation upon the enemies of God.

informed the Thessalonians would be effected by the brightness of Christ's coming.

In a preceding chapter of the book of the Revelation, we have another statement of this final overthrow: "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet, [the Roman empire not having been divided at the time the apostle had this celestial vision,] but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are WITH Him are called, and chosen, and faithful;" for "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." Rev. xvii. 12-14. 2 Thes. i. 7, 8. "And Enoch, also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His Saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude, ver. 14, 15. On this account "shall all the tribes of the earth mourn," when "they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Matt. xxiv. 30. The result of this conflict with the kings of the earth and their armies follows: "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles [wonders] before him....these both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone, and the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceedeth out of His mouth." Satan himself, who has so long roamed the world, seducing men from their allegiance to heaven's high Majesty, shall be bound and shut up that he may not deceive the nations: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand; and he laid hold on the Dragon, that old