Part 12 (2/2)

According to the symbols of chapter 12, the woman, or true church, ”fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of G.o.d, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” The time prophecy is the same, and covers the same period, as the reign of the papal beast. Therefore, just as an important change in the papacy occurred at the expiration of that prophetic period, so also a radical change must be expected with reference to the true church: it must be no longer completely obscured in the wilderness.

Now, as the Reformation and Protestantism as a religion were the means of ending Rome's universal spiritual supremacy, so also they must be regarded as possessing sufficient light and truth to bring into prominence once more the work of the Spirit and the true people of G.o.d. ”Fire from heaven” may therefore be regarded as describing the divine work of reformation, the unfolding of truth accompanied by the saving power of G.o.d. Such spiritual work has accompanied the origin of various religious movements during the Protestant era.

The general description of the two-horned beast, however, makes prominent an evil characteristic--the disposition to lead the people into deception by making an image to the beast and then wors.h.i.+ping it.

The evil is not located in the ability to bring down fire from heaven, but in the deceptive work of image-making and image-wors.h.i.+p, for which the spiritual work simply furnished an occasion. The spiritual work of reformation is, therefore, to be distinguished from the later work of creed-and sect-making; and since the beast takes advantage of the manifestation of spiritual power and deceives men, he becomes a sort of apostate and is denominated ”the false prophet” (see chap. 16:13; 19:20).

The beast, ecclesiastically considered, stands as the symbol of the religious system and practise of Protestantism as a whole--a peculiar combination of truth and error, of good and bad, of ”fire from heaven”

and false miracle-working power (chap. 16:14); while the ”image to the beast” signifies the sectarian inst.i.tution--the man-made and man-controlled unscriptural sect machinery constructed in imitation of the papal original. To construct such earth-born churches and lead people to adore and wors.h.i.+p them is but a species of idolatry and the rankest deception. It is a sad fact, in Protestantism as well as in Catholicism, that vast mult.i.tudes of people are more devoted to their respective churches than to the Lord Jesus Christ. They can witness the open rejection of G.o.d's precious Word and the vilest profanation of his holy name without uttering a word of protest; but let any one say a word against _their church_, and instantly they are aroused to the highest pitch of indignation. _Beast-wors.h.i.+pers!_

The Protestant era has witnessed many wonderful reformations in which the true fire of G.o.d fell upon waiting souls, but this initial work of the Spirit has in each instance been employed as an excuse for taking the next step--making an image; and thousands of honest souls, lacking better light, have been induced to submit to such human organization.

Those of this number who were truly saved, however, always loved and adored their Lord more than the human church to which they were attached, and consequently they should not be regarded as beast-wors.h.i.+pers. They are the ones whom the Lord denominates _his people_ when the voice calls them out of Babylon (chap. 18:4).

The second beast also exhibits the characteristics of a persecuting power, and in this respect it is similar to the ten-horned beast. The early history of Protestantism shows that at that time the principle of religious intolerance brought over from Romanism manifested itself in the actual putting to death of numerous dissenters. Thus, we find Calvin, at Geneva, consenting to the burning of Servetus because of a difference in religious views. At a convention in Torgau, in 1574, the Lutherans established the real presence of Christ in the eucharist and then instigated the Elector of Saxony to seize, imprison, and banish those who differed from them in sentiment, as a result of which Peucer suffered ten years of the severest imprisonment and Crellius was put to death. The Protestant Council of Zurich condemned Felix Mantz to be drowned because he insisted that infant sprinkling was not baptism. In England the ”b.l.o.o.d.y Six Articles” of Henry VIII are a silent testimony to the intolerant spirit of that age, when the royal reformer dragged dissenters forth to execution. Witness also the twelve years'

imprisonment of John Bunyan and hundreds of others confined in jails throughout the country; the persecution of the Quakers; the relentless opposition to the Covenanters of Scotland, who were hunted and destroyed like beasts because they insisted on their right to wors.h.i.+p G.o.d in their own way. It was this intolerant spirit that drove the Puritans to the inhospitable sh.o.r.es of America, where they might have the free privilege of wors.h.i.+ping G.o.d according to the dictates of their own conscience.

It is possible that the persecuting principle ascribed to the two-horned beast may include both the literal and the ecclesiastical cutting off, reference being made directly to the spirit of intolerance which manifested itself first in literal slaughter and later in an unwarranted ecclesiastical exclusiveness.

The ”number of the beast” alludes to his pretentious claims and is probably a symbol of division. The definite number 666 is said to be also the number of a man, and since the pope is the most important man connected with the papal system, it is natural to identify him with the individual referred to. Paul doubtless pointed out the pope particularly as the ”_man of sin_,” ”the son of perdition” (2 Thess.

2:3). In former ages, before the modern system of notation was introduced, the only method of denoting numbers was by employing the letters of the alphabet, certain letters having the power of number as well as of sound. We still employ the same system for certain purposes. The number of a name was simply the number denoted by the several letters of that name.

The pope has a special t.i.tle. He wears in jeweled letters upon his mitre the inscription, _Vicarius Filii Dei_--Vicar of the Son of G.o.d. Taking from his name all the letters that the Latins used for numerals, we have just 666.

The era of modern sects is also covered in other places in Revelation, for the ecclesiastical history of the Christian dispensation is described under different parallel series of symbolism. In the other series, however, the symbols representing Protestantism stand so closely connected with predictions of the last reformation that I shall not attempt to enumerate them in this chapter, but shall consider them briefly in connection with those symbols describing the great final religious movement toward which all the prophetic lines of truth converge and which forms the special subject of the present work.

CHAPTER XIV

THE LAST REFORMATION

The scene changes, and again we have the picture of G.o.d's chosen people set in bright relief against the dark background of Protestantism and the still darker shades of papal apostasy.

[Sidenote: The 144,000 on Mount Zion]

”And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on 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: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto G.o.d and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of G.o.d” (Rev. 14:1-5).

What a contrast with the beast powers described in the preceding chapter of the Revelation! This redeemed company is on Mount Zion, not hidden in the darkness of the wilderness. They are with the Lamb, not wandering after the beast. Instead of being oppressed and overcome by opposers, they are singing the joyful song of redemption and harping with their harps; and instead of having the ”mark of the beast,” they have their ”_Father's name written in their foreheads_.” The manner in which this joyful, redeemed company is distinguished from the host of beast-wors.h.i.+pers brought to light under the preceding symbols, proclaims unmistakably the fact that we have here a description of the true people of G.o.d who have obtained victory over the apostasy. In other words, a distinct reformation is predicted.

This sublime scene is not a description of heaven, for the context shows its direct contact with the forms of apostate Christianity with which it is placed in contrast on earth. Certain leading figures in the scene, as Christ the Lamb and a number of angels, are heavenly beings; but their presence simply shows the divine character of the work in contrast with those other religious powers, one of which came up out of the sea and the other out of the earth. Besides, we have already shown that whenever angels figure in the symbolic scene _on earth_, they represent distinguished agencies among men, and the message of good angels, being obviously from heaven, is therefore the message of G.o.d. When different angels, bearing different messages, appear in the same general symbolic scene, they represent not isolated or independent movements, but different phases of the same work.

The Revelator introduces another phase of the religious movement under consideration with these words: ”And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear G.o.d, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and wors.h.i.+p him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (verses 6, 7).

In the message of the angel there are set forth a number of distinct truths. Prominence is given to the call to wors.h.i.+p the one true G.o.d.

This stands in contrast with the apostasy preceding; for under the papacy its adherents ”wors.h.i.+ped the dragon” and ”they wors.h.i.+ped the beast,” while the second beast caused people to ”wors.h.i.+p the first beast” and to ”wors.h.i.+p the image of the beast.” The message of this angel is universal and indicates a world-wide missionary effort in which the true G.o.d and his holy wors.h.i.+p alone will be exalted, and that before the end of time, for the judgment is set forth as an impending event for which men must speedily prepare.

But the description does not end here. An awful revelation, falling like hail-stones or coals of fire upon the heads of the devotees of modern churchianity, is proclaimed by divine authority: ”And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man wors.h.i.+p the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of G.o.d, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation” (verses 8-10).

Here we are brought face to face with some of the most solemn truths contained in the Book of G.o.d. The very powers of apostate Christianity just described under the symbols of two beasts are now represented _by the angel_ as Babylon; for, be it observed, the divine message is against those who wors.h.i.+p the beast _and his image_. The image was made by the second beast. Therefore Babylon includes both Romanism and Protestantism--the whole realm of formal churchianity; and beast-wors.h.i.+p is here condemned in one of the most terrible denunciations found in all the Word of G.o.d. All the evils inherent in the false, unscriptural systems of so-called Christianity are here summed up under the one word _Babylon_, of which we shall have more to say later.

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