the city of Jerusalem, as shown by the Prophet Ezekiel in the third, fourth, and fifth chapters of the book of his prophecies, at which time one-third of the house of Judah will go into captivity for a measured term of forty years' duration, and the house of Israel will also go into a measured term of captivity of 390 years' duration. These captivities overlap the millennial period of the reign of Christ and of the saints.

Moreover the troubles, the sorrows, and the anguish of these captives who go down to the great and wide sea of nations in human ships which do business in great waters, are graphically described by Moses in the twenty-sixth chapter of Leviticus, and also how the Lord will bring them again to their desired haven of rest when they repent and cry unto him. The destruction of Jerusalem and her people in the latter day will far exceed in magnitude and importance any of the misfortunes and calamities of the past, because Israel will then be as the sand of the sea for multitude, and Jerusalem will be great, mighty, and populous, a mart of nations, her merchants, princes, and her nobles, the honorable of the earth. These things appear by what is said of her by those who have been made rich by traffic in the abundance of her delicacies and varied merchandise when they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off.

WAILING OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH (REV. 18:9-10)

"And the kings of the earth who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come."

WAILING OF THE MERCHANTS (REV. 18:11-17)

(Verse 1) "And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any more. The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple. and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner of ivory, and all manner of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls (persons) of men, and the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought."

WAILING OF THE SHIPMASTERS (REV. 18: 17-19)

"And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea stood afar off and cried, when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that

great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate."

REJOICINGS OVER HER PUNISHMENT (REV. 18:20)

"Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her."

A SYMBOL OF HER DESTRUCTION (REV. 18:21-23)

"And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee, and no craftsman of whatever craft he be shall be found any more in thee, and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee, and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived."

THE BLOOD OF PROPHETS AND SAINTS (REV. 18:24)

"And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth." This allegation, this charge, can be affirmed of no other city on the face of the earth, than the nation of Israel. This is proved beyond the possibility of contradiction by the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, spoken directly to Jerusalem and to the people of Israel themselves (Luke 13:33).

REJOICINGS OF THE HUNDRED FORTY AND FOUR THOUSAND

(REV. 19:1-3)

In chapter 19 John writes saying, “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia, Salvation and glory, and honour, and power unto the Lord our God; for true and righteous are his judgments, for he hath judged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said Alleluia.

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AND HER SMOKE ROSE UP FOR EVER AND EVER (REV. 19:3)

This oracle is not intended to convey the idea that when Jerusalem is burned to ashes for the last time in the latter days by the enemy, she will continue to burn and never cease burning, and that her smoke will never cease to rise from her ruins. But it signifies that she will be utterly consumed and that the fires will burn and her smoke will continue to rise until that consumption is accomplished. Again the angel said, "Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all" (Rev. 18:21). Again the prophet saith of her, "The lofty city he layeth low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust; the foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy (Isa. 26:5-6). And again the prophet saith of her, "Thou hast made of a

city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin; it shall never be built" (Isa. 25:2). Now in view of the fact that Jerusalem is again to be the chief city of the earth after this for a thousand years, how is this to be reconciled with these sayings, that it shall never be built, and never shall be any more? We reply that this and similar Scriptures are to be interpreted as follows: Abraham had two sons, one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman, "Which things are an allegory," saith Paul (Gal. 4:24), "for these are (or represent) the two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai which gendereth to bondage which is Agar. For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children," and the Scripture saith that this bondwoman and her son are to be cast out, to give place to the free woman and her son, or the new covenant.

Therefore it is that Jerusalem under the old covenant as it has been in the past and as it is yet to be in the future under the second manifestation of the law, after the second exodus, will be cast out with her children and will never be any more, and never will be built again under the old covenant. Jerusalem has been a city of wickedness and provocation in the past, and in the future will exceed the past; but when her time comes, all her sins will be visited upon her and her children; not one jot or tittle of the curses of the law will fail to be visited upon her. The old heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements of the law will melt with fervent heat, and the earth (that is, the Hebrew earth) and the works thereof shall be burned up, or, as saith the prophet, "The transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall and not rise again" (Isa. 24: 17-23).

These things are all plain to him that understands the position and condition of Jerusalem under the old covenant, and the exalted condition of Jerusalem and her children under the new. Jerusalem will be built the last time under the new covenant, and will therefore never appear nor exist again under the old covenant which will then have passed away with sound of trumpet, with war, and garments rolled in blood.

To these rejoicings of the hundred forty and four thousand, and to the truth of the things set forth therein, the body of Christ symbolized by the four beasts and the four and twenty elders responds, "Amen, Alleluia," as it is said in verse 4, And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen, Alleluia." It might be objected that the rejoicings set forth in the first part of this chapter should be ascribed to the hundred forty and four thousand from the fact they are mortal men dwelling on the earth, inasmuch as John says, "I heard a great voice of much people in heaven," but this apparent difficulty disappears when we return to what is said of the hundred forty and four thousand (Rev. 14), "And I looked, and lo a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder, and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps."

Now in this instance the voice which John heard from heaven is unmistakably the voice of the hundred forty and four thousand, as the sound of many waters and as the voice of a great thunder. They sing of themselves.

This song John heard them sing in heaven; this heaven is the new heaven and these redeemed people out of all the tribes of Israel constitute the new heaven themselves, standing with the Lamb on Mount Sion. They are a separate and distinct people from the body of Christ made perfect, which is manifest from the fact that they sing their new song before the throne, and before, and in the presence of the four beasts and the elders.

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CHAPTER X

THE SUBDUING OF THE NATIONS
(REV. 19-20)

The Lord reigneth "- Marriage of the Lamb Guests, bride and marriage supper-What becomes of the righteous who die? - Revelation is Spirit of Prophecy"- The Lord as man of war Means of warfare — Christ's first coming to teach - Second coming to judge and rule - Symbolic description of Christ as man of war-Iron rule - Feigned obedience of nations - Wine-press - Battle of great day of God Almighty — Result — "Lake of fire and brimstone "— Destiny of escaped - Dragon "bound for a thousand years"-" First resurrection"- Resurrection of Satan - Revolt of nations Destiny of Devil.

A VOICE FROM HEAVEN (REV. 19:5-6)

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"And a voice came out of the throne saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both great and small." This command is to men in the flesh, the hundred forty and four thousand, the remnant of Israel. And John heard in response to this command, " as the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."

THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB (REV. 19:7)

The hundred forty and four thousand continue, saying, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready."

THE GARMENTS OF THE BRIDE (REV. 19:8)

"And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is (or represents) the righteousness of saints." And the angel commanded John, saying, "Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." And John adds, “And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God."

THOSE CALLED UNTO THE MARRIAGE SUPPER (REV. 19:9)

"Write, Blessed are they that are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." But who are they that are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb? We reply, They can be neither the bride, nor the bridegroom. Christ is the Lamb, and the church of Christ is the bride, and the Lamb of God is the bridegroom, and it is the hundred forty and four thousand that are the guests at the wedding. These have the honor of attending the greatest and most notable wedding that has ever been celebrated since the world began.