clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire." (Rev. x. 1.) This indicates the appearance of a living messenger upon the earth, to declare something hitherto dark and mysterious: his mission will be one of mercy and love: he will speak with great clearness, and the end God will accomplish by it will be pure and holy. Ver. 2; "And he had in his hand a little book open and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth." He will disclose in part the mystery of God's providential dealings towards His church; and the nations and people chiefly interested in what he makes known, will be those represented under the figurative terms of the earth and sea. Ver. 3; "And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices." What he says shall be heard by all interested, and the effect produced by it in the moral and spiritual world, will resemble the noise of many thunders in the natural world. Ver. 4; "And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not." What was said was so plain and intelligible, that the Apostle was commanded not to write it. Ver. 5 and 6; "And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer." What is declared will be so well attested by evidence, that it will be as sure as if confirmed by an

oath and although the full particulars of what will be made known were sealed up, the substance of the message will be, that the end of the present state of things is at hand. Ver. 7; "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." When the period of time begins, which is allotted to those events represented as occurring when the seventh angel is sounding, then shall the completeness of the great mystery of God be made known as finished: and this the prophets have foretold. "And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up and it was in my mouth sweet as honey and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophecy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." (Verses 8-11.) It is here indicated, that as John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah the prophet before our Lord, so another in the spirit of John should, by a peculiar training for so solemn a work, be prepared for making known in the fulness of the time what should till then be sealed up. (Chap. xi. ver. 1;) "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein." John did not measure any of these things, so that he

may be still regarded as representing one, in his spirit, who should be raised up, and to whom would be given the means of showing to the world the exactness, order, and harmony of the Divine procedure towards His church. Ver. 2; "But the court which is without the temple, leave out, and measure it not for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." The events occurring among those nations under the dominion of the beast, were not to be measured; although it was yet destined to be the holy city, that part of the earth was to hold the same relation to the land, where the true church was established, that the outer court did to the Jewish temple. It is thus written, Zechariah ii. 1, 2; "I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof." It is also written, Daniel xii. 8, 9, and 13; "And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." It is also written in Ezekiel xl. 2-5; "In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city in the south. And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed: and he stood in the gate. And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with

thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee; for to the intent that I might show them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel. And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long, by the cubit and an hand-breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height one reed." The message sent, the light given, will be communicated to the world in a written form. "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels: and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." (Malachi iii. 16, 17.) Many shall then seek after God: the right and the wrong of the principles by which the conduct of men is regulated will be made so clear that all may discern between them. "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth Him not." (Malachi iii. 18.)

CHAPTER II.

"GOD hath made the world and all things therein. He giveth to all life, breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being." (Acts xvii. 24-27.) God's scheme of providence, which is strictly subservient to His scheme of grace, for the redemption of this world, is divided into three sections or chambers, each embracing a period of two thousand years. The first section begins with the fall of man, and concludes with the death of Noah. Midway between these two events, "Enoch walked with God, and was not, for God took him." (Gen. v. 24.) Immediately after the fall, when moral darkness was upon the face of the deep, God said, Let there be light, and there was light; for He said unto the serpent, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Gen. iii. 15.) God also divided the light from the darkness. When wicked Cain, instigated by Satan, slew his righteous brother Abel, God raised