The Admonition.
"Behold, I come like a thief. Happy is he who watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."
Rev. 16:15.
"The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pa.s.s away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat," 2 Pet. 3:10. The Saviour said to his disciples: "Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come," Matt.
24:42. Says Paul: "Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night; for when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh, ... and they shall not escape; but ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief," 1 Thess. 5:1-6.
Thus will the day of the Lord come, as a thief, on those who are careless and indifferent to its approach; but it will not thus overtake those who watch, and keep their garments. Because so many will be deceived by the strange performances of the spirits of demons, and their miracles so delude the mult.i.tude, Christ"s coming will be to them sudden and unexpected. Therefore the greater necessity for watchfulness. While this is a predicted means for lulling the world to sleep, it is given to the Christian as an indication of the near coming of Christ, whose advent synchronizes with the outpouring of the seventh vial. The blessing p.r.o.nounced on those who watch, is an intimation that the people of G.o.d will be expecting Christ"s advent, while others will be taken by surprise: "unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation," Heb. 9:28. "For the grace of G.o.d that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying unG.o.dliness, and worldly l.u.s.ts, we should live soberly, righteously, and G.o.dly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great G.o.d, and our Saviour Jesus Christ," t.i.tus 2:11-13.
Those who keep their garments, are those who have not "defiled" them with sin, (3:4); they will walk with Christ in white, being worthy; "for the fine linen" in which they are to be arrayed "is the righteousness of saints," 19:8. To be dest.i.tute of this, is to be unclothed; and hence the Saviour says: "I counsel thee to buy of me ... white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear,"
3:18. The intimation is clear, that to be deceived by the unclean spirits, is to lose those robes of righteousness, and to be found naked at Christ"s appearing.
The Success of the Spirits.
"And they gathered them into a place called in Hebrew Armageddon."
Rev. 16:16.
Before the coming of the Lord, and as a preparation for that event, the nations are to be thus gathered. Armageddon is the name of a valley at the foot of Mount Megiddo, famous for its b.l.o.o.d.y slaughters. It fitly symbolizes the final gathering of the nations. The enemies of G.o.d will marshal for the final conflict. The powers of darkness will fancy themselves on the verge of victory; and then will be poured out:
The Seventh Vial.
"And the seventh poured out his bowl on the air; and there came a loud voice from the temple [of heaven], from the throne, saying, It is done! And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were on the earth, so mighty and so great an earthquake. And the great city became three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon was remembered before G.o.d, to give to her the cup of the wine of his furious wrath. And every island fled, and the mountains were no more. And vast hail, weighing a talent, fell from heaven on men; and men reviled G.o.d because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceedingly great." Rev.
16:17-21.
The atmosphere is not limited, like a river, or portion of the earth, to a given locality, but encircles the globe. Consequently the effect of the vial poured out on the air, would be universal, and not local like the effects of the previous vials. The air is the region of storms. These symbolize the expression of conflicting opinions, and violent outbursts of pa.s.sion; which may be the commencement of that "great battle," for the preparation of which the unclean spirits went forth under the sixth vial, to gather the people, and which terminates by the slaying of the remnant with the sword of the Lord, 19:21.
An earthquake is a symbol of a political revolution. As this is to be greater than all preceding ones, it must extend to all nations. It is during the earthquake, that the cities fall and the mountains and islands flee away. This commotion evidently synchronizes with the "time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time," when G.o.d"s "people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book," Dan. 12:1.
"It is done," is a declaration indicating the completion of the work symbolized. It marks the termination of the events of the seventh vial, which are described in the verses following:
"The great city" is "Babylon," (14:8); which "reigneth over the kings of the earth," (17:8); and which John had seen sitting "upon many waters,"
17:1. This was doubtless seen when he saw the waters of the symbolic Euphrates being dried up, 16:12. Babylon, being a symbol of the Roman hierarchy, its triple division indicates a like division of the church of Rome, not geographical, but under different leaders, previous to its destruction.
"The cities of the nations," must symbolize other hierarchies, a.n.a.logous to that of Rome, of which there are the Greek church, in Russia and Greece, the Arminian and Syrian churches, and other corrupt nationalized establishments. All such will become disconnected, like Babylon, with the governments by which they are sustained.
"Great Babylon" then comes into remembrance to drink the cup of the wine of the fierceness of G.o.d"s wrath. Because her sins have reached unto heaven, "G.o.d hath remembered her iniquities," 18:5. This synchronizes with her destruction, symbolized in Rev. 18:8-23. As the Papacy continues till Christ"s coming (Dan. 7:21, and 2 Thess. 2:3-8), this epoch must synchronize with that event, when he comes to receive his chosen ones.
With the destruction of Babylon, occurs the subversion of all national authority. As ecclesiastical hierarchies are symbolized by cities, the "mountains" and "islands" on which they are situated must symbolize the larger and smaller governments; and their removal from their places, their subversion in the great moral "earthquake" which is to overwhelm them.
This synchronizes with the sixth seal, when they are all "removed out of their places," (6:14); and it leaves the inhabitants of earth in a state of anarchy. It is at this time that the kings and great men of the earth become aware that the great day of G.o.d"s wrath is come, 6:15-17. With this time of trouble, comes the deliverance of G.o.d"s people, (Dan. 12:1); who shall be caught up together "to meet the Lord in the air," 1 Thess. 4:17.
To them the Lord has said, "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation," Ps. 91:5-9.
The removal of the saints leaves the wicked exposed to the vengeance of G.o.d"s wrath, of which a terrific hail-storm on their defenceless heads, is an expressive symbol. The Lord said, by Isaiah: "Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place.
And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with h.e.l.l shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pa.s.s through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pa.s.s over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pa.s.s his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord G.o.d of hosts a consumption even determined upon the whole earth," Isa. 28:17-22.
This must synchronize with the final conflict, (symbolized in Rev.
19:19-21): also with the casting of the vine of the earth into the wine-press of G.o.d"s wrath (14:19), and terminates the battle of "Armageddon,"-the "battle of that great day of G.o.d Almighty," 16:14.
The Judgment of the Harlot.
"And one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and talked with me, saying, Come here; I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot who sitteth on many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." Rev. 17:1, 2.
The Roman hierarchy had been frequently referred to in the preceding visions; but an inst.i.tution, so interwoven with the history of the nations, required a more full and minute symbolization.
The subject of this vision is announced to the revelator, by one of the angels who had the seven vials;-very probably, the seventh. The harlot is identified as one "that sitteth upon many waters." Ancient Babylon was thus addressed: "O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness," Jer.
51:13. She is also described as "The well-favored _harlot_, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her wh.o.r.edoms, and families through her witchcrafts," Nahum 3:4. Therefore the harlot whose judgment is to be more minutely shown, is the city of the previous vision, which received the cup of the wine of G.o.d"s wrath (16:19), and which probably was shown to John on the waters of the Euphrates, (16:12); for the reference indicates that she had been thus previously exhibited,-the waters on which she was seated, being the people, nations, &c., which sustained and defended her idolatries, 17:15. In the vision now to be shown John, the Roman hierarchy is symbolized by Babylon; but it is first exhibited as:
A Woman on a Scarlet-Colored Beast.
"And he carried me away in spirit into a desert: and I saw a woman seated on a crimson-colored wild beast, full of names of reviling, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and crimson, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; and on her forehead a name was written, A SECRET: BABYLON, THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus; and when I saw her I wondered greatly." Rev. 17:3-6.
"And the angel said to me, Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee the secret of the woman, and of the wild beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The wild beast which thou didst see, was, and is not, and will ascend out of the abyss, and go into destruction; and those who dwell on the earth will wonder, (whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,) as they behold the wild beast that was and is not, and will be. And here is the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh he must remain a little while.
And the wild beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction. And the ten horns which thou didst see are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom; but they receive power as kings, one hour, with the wild beast. These have one mind, and will give their power and strength to the wild beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and those with him are called, and chosen, and faithful." Rev.
17:7-14.
"And he saith to me, The waters which thou didst see, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and crowds, and nations, and tongues.
And the ten horns which thou didst see, and the wild beast, these will hate the harlot, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For G.o.d hath put it into their hearts to perform his purpose, and to agree, and give their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of G.o.d shall be fulfilled. And the woman whom thou didst see is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." Rev. 17:15-18.
That the woman and city symbolize the same, is shown by the declaration that she is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth, v. 18. She is also thus indicated by the name of "Babylon," on her forehead, and the golden cup in her hand: "Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord"s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore are the nations mad," Jer. 51:7. In like manner has the church of Rome intoxicated the nations.
"The scarlet-colored beast" on which the woman is seated, is evidently the same beast that John saw "rise out of the sea, having seven heads, and ten horns," 13:1. The Roman empire had been symbolized by "a great red dragon," which also had seven heads and ten horns. In that vision, crowns were on the heads of the beast, (12:3); which indicated that Rome, during the period thus represented, existed under the forms of government symbolized by the heads. These heads, the angel affirms, are the seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, (v. 9); and also that they are seven kings (v. 10), or forms of government. Mountains also symbolize governments, (16:20); and as the heads and mountains are the same, they must alike symbolize the seven forms of government under which Rome existed previous to its subversion by the northern barbarians,-viz.: 1, the kingly; 2, consular; 3, dictatorial; 4, decemviral; 5, tribunitial; 6, pagan-imperial; and 7, Christian-imperial. At the time of the explanation of this vision to John, the "five" first-named forms had pa.s.sed away; or, as the angel says, had "fallen," v. 10. One then was:-Rome then existed under its pagan-imperial, or sixth head. The other, the Christian-imperial, had not then come; but after it came, and had continued for a time, the Roman empire was subverted by the irruptions of northern barbarians. Thus "the beast was;" and then, was not for a season.
But afterwards it emerged again from the sea (13:1), under an "eight"
form, which was of the previous seven, 17:11. When it reappears, its crowns are not upon its heads, but encircle its horns, (13:1); indicating that those governments have the ascendency, which are symbolized by the "ten horns;" and which, according to the angel, are "ten kings," which had not received their kingdom at the time of the vision, v. 12. These were to be kings in "one," or the same hour with the beast, and must therefore be contemporary kingdoms, while the forms symbolized by the heads, are evidently successive. They const.i.tute the government of Rome, in its eighth, or decem-regal form; and symbolize the ten kingdoms which arose after and out of the subversion of imperial Rome. Under this form, the beast goes into perdition, (v. 11):-they continue under various combinations, till the end of the world, when they will war with and be overcome by the Lamb (v. 14), in the great battle of Armageddon, 19:19-21.
The ten contemporary kingdoms have one mind, (v. 13): they perpetuate the kingdom of the beast, by adopting similar laws, pursuing the same line of policy, and a.s.suming the same powers that the empire exercised.