LECTURE 4

 

The Image and the Stone

Seven Times.    The Latter-day Image.

   The Two Babylons.    A New Covenant.

"Arise, shine, for thy light is Come."

 

 

THE LAST LECTURE closed on a note of sadness, sorrow, and almost despair. And so it would be were it not for the reality of “the Hope made of God unto the fathers.” Hence, although Israel should abide “many days,” without the favor of Heaven manifested in their behalf- wherein they should no longer see the king, a prince, a sacrifice, ephod or teraphim- a ray of light is extended in the verse following the one from which the former words are taken: “Afterward,” says the prophet, “shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.” (Hosea 3:5).

Many things have been revealed for our instruction, in the Way of Salvation, which are not so readily discernible as others. Such things are embraced in the state­ment. “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.” (Prov. 25: 2).  In a soon-coming Day, many- who have been unknown in the day of small things- are to be manifested as the associates of One who was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holi­ness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (Rom. 1: 4). These (now glorified ones) will sing a new song, in which they will ascribe glory and blessing to Him by whom they have been redeemed, and through whom glorified, saying, “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast re­deemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5: 9,10).

These are the “kings” who, in a day of small things, honored God by search­ing out the matter! The captain of their salvation had said, “Search the Scriptures.” (John 5: 39). Giving heed thereto they sought as for hid treasures, and paying more attention to the Word, than to the prevalent traditions of men, they found “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14: 6). By that “way,” they came unto the Father in hope of life, for without the way of truth there is no access to God. But when will the good things promised be fulfilled? "When shall these things be? And when the sign of thy coming", and of the end of the wor1d?" were questions which exercised the minds of the contemporaries of Jesus before He left the earth- and have been asked many times since.  Do the Scriptures give, to the believers, any in­dications as to when they may anticipate the realization of their hopes? “The day and the hour” is not known: neither have we direct testimony of the “year.”

Earn­est men and women have searched deeply for an elucidation of the hidden things of the mystery of God, in anxious endeavor to know when the Lord will come and have made their hearts glad, and hopes intensified, when they have concluded to their own satisfaction that they have rightly and definitely solved the problem- only to find as time went on that they were definitely mistaken. It would therefore seem to be the path of wisdom to dwell rather upon the fact than to seek to know the day and the hour. If we are to be “like unto men that wait.” (Luke 12:36) there is to be an urge of faith, and an element of expectation, at all times; this would, in a measure, be interfered with if we knew the actual “day of His Coming.” Paul, the Apostle, wrote; “But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” (1 Thess. 5: 1, 2). “Times and seasons” are associated with a period spoken of as “the day of the Lord.” This is a day, which, unless the brethren are alive to their responsibilities- walking in the light, and not embraced in dark­ness- they are in danger of being “overtaken.” They are, therefore, counseled not to “sleep, as do others.”

Various periods are mentioned in the Bible, which come under the designation “Times and Seasons.” It is evident that the Thessalonians, to whom Paul wrote, were alive to the significance of certain matters which he designates “the times” and “the seasons.” The apostle does not specify which “times” and “seasons” are referred to in his statement. Their knowledge of those things, how­ever, is submitted as being a basis for their understanding and acceptance of a greater fact, appertaining to a coming Day.

Of this Dr. Thomas wrote, “In 1 Thess. 5: 1, Paul tells the faithful in that city that there was no need of his writing to them of the times and the seasons, for that they themselves knew perfectly that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night: and that they were not in darkness that that day should overtake them as a thief. It was the times and the seasons that had given them this knowledge, so far, at least, as they were not reserved of the Father in His own power. The apostle also tells us in Col. 2: 16, that holy days, new moons, and sabbaths, are shadows of things which are to come; and it is scarcely to be credited a priority, that the times of each Jewish rite, feast, and ceremony, should have been handed down to us with such minuteness, unless they also, as well as the other scriptures, were to be profitable to us. Besides, as the seasons refer to the former rain, seed-time, latter rain, harvest, and vintage, so do the times refer to the three times a year that all the males were obliged to appear be­fore the Lord at Jerusalem. The Passover, which was at the commencement of the second feast of Pentecost, which was at the commencement of the second feast of firstfruits; and the Feast of Tabernacles, after gathering in the harvest of corn and wine; were inchoately fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ our passover; the gathering of the firstfruits of the apostolic labors; and the ingathering at the end of their exclusive labors in Judea, after which “the stranger,” or Gentiles, became a gleaning of the corners of the field. These feasts have only had a   springing, or germinant, which I have styled an inchoate, accomplishment; but will have their fructiferous, or terminal, fulfillments after the appearing of the Lord in his kingdom. The passover, pentecost, and the feast of the tabernacles, were commemorative and typical: commemorative of the destruction of Egypt’s firstborn, and Israel’s deliverance; of the giving of the Law; and of their dwelling in tents in the wilderness. They were typical of things spiritual and national: sectionally, they were typical of things pertaining to the ‘Sect of the Nazarenes’ during the apostolic ministration of the Spirit, as already stated in brief. Nationally, the passover typifies the future vengeance on the Gentiles, and the deliverance of Israel and the saints who are passed over at the appearing of the Lord; the pentecost, the wave-manifestation of the firstfruits, and the giving of the law from Zion; and the feast of tabernacles, the Lord’s salvation, or rest for Israel and the nations, which come up to Jerusalem to keep the festival there.” -Herald of the Kingdom. Vol.5.

 

As already stated, various periods are mentioned in relation to “times;” as they refer to different epochs a citation of various scriptures in which the terms appear will be helpful.

                       

Psa. 102:13. “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time is come.”

    Dan. 8: 17, 19. “Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. For at the time appointed the end shall be.”

    Dan. 11:40. “At the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him; and the king of the north shall come against him.”

Dan. 12:4. “Seal the book, even to the time of the end."

Hab. 2:3. “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak.”

Matt. 16:3. “O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"

Luke 21:24. “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles to be fulfilled.”

Acts 1:6,7. “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them. It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”

Acts 3:21. “the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”

I Tim. 4:1. “In the latter times some shall depart from the faith.”

2 Tim. 3:1. “This know also, that IN THE LAST DAYS perilous times shall come.”

 

Thus we see that although there is a “set time” appointed of God for His favor to he poured out upon Zion, there was also to be a time of down-treading. Whilst there was held out the prospect of the kingdom of Israel being restored, there must also be a time when it should continue to be overturned. There were to be “times of the Gentiles” before we could look for the “time of restitution of all things spoken,” and revealed in the Word of God. There were to be times of declension, even “perilous times,” in which men would speak perverse things, professing “a form of godliness,” which would not be according to the Word of God; but rather “denyi­ng the power thereof.” The challenge made by our Lord to “the hypocrites” of His day is pertinent to all, even in our own day: “Can ye not discern the signs of the times?”

Those to whom Paul wrote did discern the bearing of times and seasons, con­sequently there was no need for him to enlarge upon that aspect of the matter be­fore his mind; he could however, and did, credit them with the recognition of a basic truth; “that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” So though we are now much nearer to the day of the Lord, than our brethren were in the first century of the Christian dispensation, we are also further removed from some of the things with which they were, by time and circumstances, more familiar than ourselves.

There are some outstanding features of the Eternal Plan, in its development, that all should be able to grasp, and by interpretation- in the light of certain scrip­tures- should be able to see the bearing of them upon the discerning of the signs of the times (both past and present) in relation to the down-treading, and subsequent uprising, of Israel. By this means we should also obtain some understanding of the “day of the Lord.” Here we emphasize that a “day” in the scriptures does not always signify the same length of time. To illustrate this- for the present- we have the following testimony, given concerning the forty years wandering, of the children of Israel, in the wilderness. “After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years.” (Num. 14: 24).

We must not forget, but ever keep in mind, that God’s Plan was being carried out from the beginning, and this consistently with a pre-determined purpose. What might therefore appear to be changes were really developments. The call, on the part of the Hebrews, for a king- whilst obviously originating with the people, and not strictly in accord with the way of the Lord- brought about a development which, humanly speaking, presented a more striking picture of a kingdom than hitherto. So, as we have seen, the people were developed into, what they conceived to be, a kingdom of more practical dimensions. “Make us a king,” cried the people. And God answered, “I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.” (Hosea 13: 11). Appointments of their own choice were to be thorns in their sides. “But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.” (Num. 33: 55. see also Judges 2: 1,3).

Long and bitter was to be the conflict, which would continue between the king­dom of Israel and the kingdoms of men. Even when the two Houses, of Israel and Judah, were no longer recognized as kingdoms- the people being scattered, and their land desolated, even then the conflict would be seen. The “severity of God” (Rom. 11: 22) so heavily poured out upon this people was the punishment for their sins. If therefore we find any clue to the long, dark night of sorrows being ended for Israel, we shall also see something of the closing days of the kingdoms of men; it being evident that the two systems cannot co-exist again upon the earth. Of this there can be no doubt. Jerusalem was to be “trodden down” only “till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

We therefore ask, was there, from God to His people, any intimation as to the length of time He would punish them if they disobeyed His Will? Note how “the Lord spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai,” giving instructions to him that he should “speak unto the children of Israel,” placing before them the demands of God concerning their manner of life in the land granted them for a possession; the right of which, however, was to be retained by God.” The land shall not be sold for ever for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.” (Lev. 25: 23). Bless­ings “in the basket and store” were promised, but were dependent upon the people manifesting in word and deed, their recognition of the supremacy of God, and their desire to obey His Will. “Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judg­ments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.” (Verse 18). This princi­ple is further elaborated in the next chapter. “Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and rever­ence my sanctuary. I am the Lord. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my command­ments, and do them.” What then? Would their performing the injunctions make their tenancy of the land worthwhile? Hear the promise. “Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase.” That was something to be assured of, but it was not all that God would do for them. “And I will give peace in the land . . . neither shall the sword go through your land. Ye shall chase your enemies, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.”

Has peace been maintained in that land, or has the sword gone through it? We know the latter has been the portion thereof. But why? Did the people “keep,” and “walk,” and “do” as they were commanded? To ask is but to answer these questions! And the answer shows the reliability of that Eternal Power which foretold these things, and which is able to perform even all the good, which He has promised. Read still further; “If ye walk in my statutes”- “I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.” What a promise! Then we have the other side. “But if ye will not hearken unto me . . . if ye despise my statutes . . . that ye break my covenant; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague . . . and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.” The chapter is full of what would befall this people if they persisted in walking in their own way. “They that hate you shall reign over you.”  “And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.” “I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.” “And make you few in number.” “If ye will not be reformed . . . then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.” “I will bring the land into desolation.” “I will scatter you among the heathen . . . and upon them that are left of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; .  .  and they shall pine away in their iniquity.”

THE VOICE OF PROPHECY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED in the pages of history. Did God fail in His purpose, or forget His promised blessings? Verily not! Israel was a covenant-people; they accepted The Law at Sinai with its blessings and curses, and undertook to be governed by those precepts and conditions. God pun­ished them because they deserved it, and yet to do them good-for, “if they shall con­fess their iniquity . . . and their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, with Isaac, and with Abraham; and I will remember the land.” Severity of God? Yes! But here we see forbearance, and goodness. “And yet for that . . I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.”

 

 

A “TIME” PERIOD

 

IT IS GENERALLY recognized, in relation to the prophetic periods of desolation and punishment upon the land and people of Israel, that a “time” signifies a period of 360 days. As, however, a literal day interpretation will not- cannot- meet the requirements of the threatened punishment, it is obvious that some other interpretation must be found which will more clearly help in an endeavor to understand the time periods, as given in enigmatical form. If the Bible did not furnish us with a suggestion, or alternative explanation, the best we could do would be specula­tion on our part. Therefore our first enquiry should be, Have we- in the Scriptures- any definite clue to assist us in our efforts to “rightly divide the word of truth?” Attention has already been directed to the testimony of Moses given to the children of Israel; this scripture answers the question now submitted, and therefore is worthy of repetition. “After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty years, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.”(Num. 14: 34). Accepting this as a basis, we see that a “time” being 360 days (literally). The same period prophetically would represent 360 years.

To punish Israel “seven times” therefore signifies a long period, even 7 times 360, which equals: 2,520. A literal interpretation of this number of “days” does not meet the situation, and we therefore must look upon the number as figurative, not literal.  A “day for a year” gives us 2,520 years, which unquestionably is nearer the mark than the same number of days. Here, then, we have a long period of time in which the people of Israel were threatened with punishment if they failed to keep the Covenant, which God had made with them. “I will chastise you seven times for your sins.” In doing this, the mantle of Heaven’s favor would be lifted from Israel, and yet, the actual punishment would be effected by peoples who were not Israel. “I will scatter you among the heathen,” said God, “and will draw out a sword after you; and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.” This commenced to be ful­filled in Old Testament times; and when we reach the time of our Lord we find they were not ended.

When Jesus came “to His own land” He did not find “His own people” estab­lished therein as an independent nation and kingdom. They had already been “many days without a king,” and were subject to a power “strong as iron.” Even so, Jesus foresaw and foretold of more yet to come upon His people; “There shall be great dis­tress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21: 24). During this long period the kingdoms of men were to be in the ascendancy. The kingdom of God had been overturned, and its throne was in the dust. It will not again exist, and operate in the earth, until the kingdoms of men cease to be. This is demonstrable from many scriptures, but one alone in words so well known, yet not so well understood- is for the present sufficient: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” (Rev. 11: 15).

Now whilst all peoples, who are not Israel; are a part of the kingdoms of men, be they great or small, there are nevertheless certain great powers in the earth which are particularly designated “the kingdoms of men.” In the ultimate all smaller peo­ples are included, even though all may not share the same fate. The greater powers are presented as oppressors of, and in opposition to, the kingdom of Israel; which was the kingdom of God. The drama of nations is a portrayal of the up-rise and fall of these two distinctive forces in the earth.

The Kingdoms of men are presented to us in Daniel 2, as “an image.” On the screen we show the head of gold, and the feet of iron and clay. The breast of silver, and the thighs of brass, are not shown. This is to emphasize that when “the image, and the interpretation thereof” were made known to Nebuchadnezzar, the nations, represented thereby, were not all in existence. No difficulty need be ex­perienced in identifying the powers spoken of, and represented by metallic parts of the image. They are:

 

Babylon

Medo-Persia

Greece

Rome.

 

Obviously all these powers, or empires, did not as such co-exist. Rome, as in the time of the iron feet, certainly did not occupy a regal position cooperating with the head of gold in Babylonian days. The identification of these four powers is essen­tial to an understanding of the subject matter of the image. If we were left to speculate upon the matter we would doubtless encounter many difficulties; but, for­tunately, it is not left to us to do so. We have direct testimony, which provides the identification. The first of the powers, represented by the head of gold, is plainly stated to be that which was symbolized in the king to whom the dream and the in­terpretation were given; “Thou art this head of gold.” (Dan. 2: 38).  The second and third of these great powers are briefly stated to be “the kings of Media and Persia,” and “the king of Grecia.” (Dan. 8: 20,21). The fourth is mentioned (though not directly in regard to the image of Dan. 2.) in Luke 2:1. “There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” In a brief epitome Daniel describes the rise and fall of four universal empires, and presents a picture of yet another manifestation of these four powers, which might be looked upon as a fifth world power; then portrays their united demolition, to give place to another kingdom more extensive than all preceding kingdoms and which will never be de­stroyed. Has any human historian ever presented the equal in descriptive briefness? Yet Daniel was a prophet, and testified beforehand what should come to pass in the uprise and overthrow of these kingdoms- and did so in a record, which takes but a few minutes to read, and about thirty minutes to write.

We cannot emphasize too strongly that the nation of Israel occupies a prior place in the Bible record, wherein many peoples and nations are spoken of, even to the glory thereof. But Israel is first- all others secondary, and referred to only in regard to their position and attitude relative to the Land and people of God. The one is likened to a “vine,” before whom and for whose sake other peoples were cast out of their land, and the “vine” planted therein. “Thou preparedst room before it and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.” (Psa. 80: 9). The others are likened unto four beasts. (Dan. 7). The “four great beasts” of Dan. 7, depict the same powers- from a different viewpoint, as do the metals of the image in the second chapter of the same prophecy. The whole theme is worthy of a fuller and more extended treatment than can be given in the present address. Now, our purpose is to show the extent of the Kingdoms of Men in relation to the overthrow and scattering of the Jews- the people and nation once planted and deep rooted in the land of promise, but later uprooted, that it should no longer “cumber the ground,” and like the former inhabitants, “cast out” because of unfaithfulness.

 

 

THE DREAM

 

“THOU, O KING, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose  brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass. His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and break them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” (Dan. 2: 31, 35).

 

 

THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF

 

“THOU, O KING, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shalt mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that THE STONE was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” (Dan 2: 37-45).

 

 

IN THE LATTER DAYS

 

AS already stated, these four great kingdoms were to be successive, not coexistent. “After thee shall arise,” was to be the process. These separate dynasties ap­peared and disappeared, each in turn playing their part in the drama of nations, and to that extent proving the validity of the prophecy. But there is one feature of the prophecy we require especially to note. Daniel, to whom the dream and its meaning were given from God, “in a night vision,” informed the Babylonian mon­arch of the underlying significance of the dream-image. Before doing so, however, the prophet- realizing that the information so much desired “concerning this sec­ret” had been granted unto him- expressed himself in an ascription of praise and blessing to the God of his fathers, in whom he had shown his faith and trust. “Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are His. And He changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fa­thers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.”

Having done this, Daniel requested to be presented to Nebuchadnezzar, to whom he said, “There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days” (Dan. 2: 28). The image- that by the very nature of things could not stand upon its feet in the past- is spoken of as being “broken in pieces together.” There must therefore be a latter­-day manifestation of the image, when that which was made “known to the king” shall come to pass “in the latter days.” How will this be brought about? Will it be necessary for the ancient kingdoms to be restored in their former glory in the lands of their possession? Such will not be required. We cannot contemplate a Babylon as of old, alongside of a Medo-Persian Empire, both of these powers to be co-existent with a third, which should “bear rule over all the earth;” and yet find room for a fourth kingdom, strong to break in pieces the other three. Such a view will not fit the case and circumstances. Rather it will be accomplished by an aggregation of forces- of the latter-day kingdoms- existing in the earth, which are established upon, or in possession and control of those territories formerly held by the four em­pires of the image. And this combination will be antagonistic to the Jews and the Holy Land.

Here I submit, for your consideration, a statement by Dr. John Thomas, pub­lished in 1869. “By turning to a map of Europe and Asia, the reader may trace out the territory of the Kingdom of Babylon as it is destined to exist in its last form under the King of the North in his Gogian manifestation. The names of countries furnished by Ezekiel will lead him to a just conception of its general extent. Besides ‘All the Russias,’ it will take in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Prussia, Austria, Turkey, Per­sia, Tartary, Greece, the Roman Africa, and Egypt. This will be a dominion of great magnitude, extending from the North Sea to the Wall of China and Afghanis­tan, and from the Ice-Sea to the Deserts of Africa and Arabia. The organization, which this vast empire will assume, when fully developed, is represented in the second chapter of Daniel by a Colossus in human form, which as an apparition flitted before the mind of Nebuchadnezzar in a dream. Daniel says that the scene of which it was the subject, was representative of what should be ‘in the Latter Days.’ This being admitted, it follows that what is recorded in that chapter is yet in the future. The scene exhibits a Colossus standing on its feet in unrivalled brightness of glory, and terrible to behold. Standing thus for a time not indicated, another object appears, even A STONE representative of a Power not in mortal hands. This STONE-POWER smites the Colossus on the Feet, and it falls; after which the Stone proceeds to reduce the broken fragments to dust which, by the violence of the process, is carried away so completely that not a vestige of the Colossus remains; and the place left void by the disappearance of the statue becomes the territory of the Stone-power, which by the operation becomes a Mountain-dominion, and fills the whole Image-earth. This scene has never been exhibited before the eyes of the world, because the constituents of the Colossus have never yet been put together so as to form the Image of the scene. These constituents are represented by the differ­ent metallic parts, as the Chaldaeo-Assyrian golden head; the Medo-Persian Assyrian silver arms and breast; the Macedo-Assyrian belly of brass; the Greco-Assyrian, and Greco-Egyptian, northern and southern thighs of brass; the Latino-Assyrian and the Greco-Assyrian eastern and western iron legs; and the Russo-Greek Assyrian and Latino-Assyrian iron and clay feet and toes. Now, while the head, breast and arms, belly, thighs, legs and toes, have all existed, the Feet have not yet been formed: so that it has been hitherto impossible for the Colossus Image to stand erect, as Ne­buchadnezzar saw it in his dream. It is, therefore, the mission of the Autocrat to form the feet and set up the image before the world in all its excellent bright­ness, and terribleness of form; that all men subject to the Kingdom of Babylon may worship the work of its creator’s power. It is impossible that Nebuchadnezzar’s image can represent any other imperial confederacy of nations then that under the King of the North at the time of the end. The names given in Ezekiel’s list of Gog’s army are representative of the countries known to have existed under the dynastic rule of the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron. Part of Assyria proper already belongs to the King of the North, and pertains to the gold; Persia is to be with him as the silver element; his Grecism is typified by the brass; and his Gomerians by the iron; while his Magogians, Roshi, Muscovites, and Siberians, with the cen­tral Asiatic Tartars of Togarmah’s house, are the clay, which he commingles with the iron to form the Feet as the connecting medium between the Legs and Toes. Besides, no two such empires as that of the Image and the Northern Gog could coexist in the latter days; there would be neither population nor space for them in the Kingdom of Babylon. As then the time and place of their existence are the same, they must, therefore, be one and the same confederate power, the image being symbolical or representative of the Gogian dominion of the King of the North, or Autocrat of Russia” -Exposition of the Prophecy of Daniel, Eureka, Vol. 3.

 

PROPHECY BEING FULFILLED

 

WE see from what has been advanced that we have two Babylons- one of old, and another (of which the first was typical) yet to come. In the prophecy Babylon’s king was informed, “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands (which was not in hands. see margin reference), which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.” (Verse 34).

 

WHO IS THE STONE?

 

NO difficulty should be experienced in answering this question, provided we are acquainted with the true interpretation of “the things concerning the kingdom of God,” as outlined in the Promises, testified in the Psalms and the Prophets, and assuredly preached to the Jews both by Jesus and His apostles. And yet there are those who do not understand, and consequently misapply this declaration. Being ignorant of the real Kingdom of God, and led away with their own imaginations and what are actually fantastic notions, they seek to apply “the Stone” to things present, rather than “to come.” They therefore teach that “the stone-kingdom” was to be set up during and “in the days of each and all of those kings” spoken of in Dan. 2, and therefore would be in existence, concurrent with the image! They affirm, “the Stone-Kingdom was intended to be God’s representative upon the earth, however imperfect and unworthy the representation might be.” And showing how far astray they are from a correct interpretation of the Image and its message, they ask; “Does the Stone-Kingdom indicate the Christ?” Note the answer they will give. “Nay. He is not the kingdom; never has been; never will be. He is king of kings, reigns from heaven today- the spiritual king of His spiritual kingdom.”

It is not our present purpose to wander down all these by-paths even though it would be interesting to do so and to demonstrate the fallacies to be found in the quotations given.  We quote them to show how false foundations produce erron­eous ideas, and consequently men “teach for doctrine the commandments of men, and no matter how sincere they may be, in believing what they teach, the fact remains that “ignorance alienates from the life of God” (Eph. 4: 18), and it is only the “Truth as in Jesus” that can save a soul from death.  We dismiss these false notions with but one observation; the “stone” which smites the “image” accomp­lishes that work of destruction whilst it is still the stone; it does not become a “kingdom” until later, when- the wind of heaven having swept away the dust of the demolished image- the stone becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth!

Who then is the stone, or, who is represented by the stone?  Here again, as in many other matters, we must compare scripture with scripture.”  For Dan. 2: 35 is not the only verse in the Bible, which speaks figuratively of a stone.  In the last blessing of Jacob, for his sons, mention is made of “the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob;” and those words are followed with the statement “from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel.” (Gen. 49: 24).  The prophet says of one:

 

"He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabi­tants of Jerusalem.” (Isa. 8: 14).

Again we are told, “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foun­dation: he that believeth shall not make haste (or, be confounded) (Isa. 28: 16).

Another testimony is significant. “For, behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” (Zech. 3: 9).

"Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.” (Zech. 4: 7).

And concerning Jerusalem the same prophet declares, “For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.” (Zech. 2: 5, 10).

 

Speaking of the vision being yet for “an appointed time,” and making known that “at the end it shall speak, and not lie” another prophet tells of a “proud man, who transgresseth by wine, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all na­tions, and ladeth himself with thick clay!” (Hab. 2: 3-6). It does not require imagination to associate this prophecy with, and to see a similar picture of what was re­vealed in Dan. 2 concerning “what shall be in the latter days.” In this connection we have the following statement, “For the stone shall cry out of the wall.” When “the wall of fire round about” Jerusalem is in manifestation, surely “the shepherd, the stone of Israel” will be there! And the stone shall indeed cry out effectively. As a result the “proud man” will be displaced- it is “woe unto him that buildeth a town with blood.” Though he “gather all nations,” the proud man will not suc­ceed. Like unto the image ground to powder by The Stone, and no place found for the dust thereof, so it will be with the clay-laden proud man who having “cut off many people” will come to a well-deserved end; and “the earth,” being freed from such a confederacy, will then “be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Verse 14).

ENLARGING UPON THE STONE ASPECT of the “Lord Jesus Anointed,” Dr. Thomas wrote, “In speaking of the appearance of the Man enthroned, John says, ‘it was like to a jasper and sardine stone.’ He is in this likened to a Stone most precious, not to a common stone, but to a very brilliant and inestimable living stone. He is symbolized here by a stone, because he is so designated in the prophets .  .  .This Shepherd-Stone is typified in the two onyx stones of the Aaronic ephod, upon which the names of the twelve tribes were engraved in the order of the birth of their fathers, and which were to be borne before Yahweh upon the two shoulders of the one man officiating as High Priest, for a memorial. (Ex. 28: 9,12). The pro­phecy that He was to be “a Stone of Stumbling,” has in part been accomplished, and we wait now for this stone to be laid in the identical place where it was stumbled over; according to the words of the Spirit by the prophet Isaiah, chapter 28: 6.” (which scripture has been quoted above) -Eureka, Vol. 2. pp. 20,21.

 

 

THE STONE SMITES THE IMAGE

 

IN the preceding Lecture reference was made to the parable of the Vineyard as set forth in Matt. 21. Attention is again directed to the same matter, but this time our quotation is from Luke 20: 17,18. “And he beheld them, and said, ‘What is this then that is written, The Stone which the builders rejected, the same is be­come the head of the Corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that Stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder’.” This is indeed the destined fate of the Image, when smitten on the feet by the Stone of Israel. This same challenge, presented to the chief priests and Pharisees, is expressed by Mat­thew and Mark as “Did ye never read in the scriptures?” and “Have ye not read this scripture?” to which is added “This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Mark 12: 11).

What is the scripture to which we are directed? Here it is, the spirit of Christ in the Psalms; “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord: This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The Stone which the builders refused is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psa. 118: 17-24).

“The Stone that smote the image,” and according to the prophecy is destined to become “a great mountain,” is said to be “cut out without hands” (marginal render­ing, “which was not in hands”) verse 34 whilst in verse 45 “the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands.” Jesus was cut out of the mountain of humanity “without hands,” inasmuch as He was born Son of man and Son of God. All that is involved in the destruction of the image by the stone is comprehended in, and required by, the promises to the fathers, and consequently were dependent upon the birth of Jesus; and also His second appearing on the earth. This latter phase of Bible doctrine, so essential to an understanding of the image climax, will be more fully demonstrated in another Lecture. Here it must suffice to say that Jesus taught, “If I go away, I will come again” (John 14: 2,3). HIS COMING AGAIN is absolutely necessary for the fulfillment of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, and for the obliteration of the image. Jesus must return to the earth before He can take unto Himself His great power, and reign on the earth- “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Jesus was to be “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence,” This He was to the Jews at His first coming, and what He was to them He will also be to the Gentiles when He comes again. The Jews will ultimately acknowledge the sin of their fathers, when they look upon Him whom their fathers crucified; and the Gentiles in due time will acknowledge the follies of an apostate “Christendom,” when in the language of the prophet they confess “Surely our fathers have in­herited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit” (Jer. 16:19).

 

 

SHINAR - THE ENEMY’S LAND

 

LOOKING now at the screen, we see “the land of Shinar.” After the flood, we read, “And the whole earth was of one speech.  And it came to pass, as they jour­neyed from the east (or eastward), that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.” (Gen. 11: 1, 2). “SHINAR is Babylonia proper the territory of the kingdom of Nimrod, the mighty hunter of men and beasts before the Lord. It is the land of Babel, where the children of men built the tower, and the Lord confounded human language and scattered them; the land in which the Lord’s na­tion was captivated for its sins, and the vessels of His temple desecrated in the house of the god of Babylon. It is the land whose chief city, as a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, made nations drunk and mad (Jer. 51: 7) . . . the land of Shinar stands for all the territory of the enemy, where Israel is hunted and captivated for their sins, and the saints, who are Jews inwardly, have in past times shared the experiences of Daniel and his companions as far as concerns wild beasts and fire. The vision of Zech. 5 gives us this idea of ‘Shinar’, as Dr. Thomas  has scripturally demonstrated (Eureka 1. p. 72). The house of the wicked woman there described, was to be built in the land of Shinar, and established and ‘set there upon her own base’ . . . Babylon is condemned beforehand in the Revelation, and the prophets and apostles are to rejoice over her downfall. In Isaiah 11, ‘from Shinar’ suggests this secondary and antitypical view of a feature in the second exodus. Of the number of Jews in the territory of ancient Shinar we know little, but the spiritual exten­sion of the territory necessitates the taking in of nearly all the world; and the present estimation of the world’s Jewish population is from ten to eleven millions, whose rising watchword is ZION versus BABEL, IMMANUEL’S LAND versus SHINAR.” Ministry of the Prophets, p.232.

From an article dealing with the “Eastern Geography of the Bible” by The Rev. H. W. Phillpott, M.A., Rector of Staunton- on Wye, and Prelector of Hereford Cathedral; under the heading MESOPOTAMIA we have the following quotation: “We notice that Nimrod was a mighty one in the earth, and that Babel, in the land of Shinar, was the ‘beginning of his kingdom’ Gen. 10:10. The account of the tower of Babel in Gen. 11 seems to tell us that as men journeyed from the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar. Where, then, was the land of Shinar? We find mention made of Amraphel, a king of Shinar, in Gen. 14:1, and the name Shinar applied to the Assyrian country in Isa. 11:11; Dan. 1:2; Zech. 5:11 and also in the original of Josh. 7:21, where our version renders the words ‘a robe of Shinar’ by ‘A Babylonish gar­ment,’ a term which proves the manufacturing celebrity of the district . . . Gen. 11:2, seems to say that Babel was built by men who had come into the land of Shinar, ‘from the east,’ as if the line of migration taken by this race of men had proceeded from its primeval seat in Armenia first southwards and then westwards, a view which disagrees both with the history mentioned above and with the native inscriptions which have been lately deciphered. Accordingly, the phrase ‘from the east’ has been interpreted to mean ‘toward the east’ as in the case in Gen. 13:11, and is thus made to agree with the view that the men who built Babel entered the country from the south and west.” -Bible Educator, Vol. I, p. 263.

The obvious connection between “the land of Shinar” and “the image” is dis­cernible in the light of the foregoing information. Throughout the ages there has been a conflict between men and God. It was in that land that men sought to estab­lish their own way; but God tied their tongues and scattered the people. Since then it has been Babel versus God: Babylon versus Zion, which has been manifested in world conflict: “Babylon the great” versus True Christianity. The Babylonian Image is to be destroyed by The Stone and ground to powder; the ecclesiastical, or mysti­cal Babylon is to be “cast into the sea.” Of this we read, “Babylon the great is fallen. Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty City! for in one hour is thy judgment come. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her. 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” (Rev. 18). Babylon therefore, in all ages, is representative of secular and ecclesiastical powers which are antagonistic to the Plan and Purpose of God, and in opposition to the rights and privileges of His people.  As the “head of gold” Babylon is representative of the whole image when it is developed “in the latter days.”

The subject matter of the prophecy in Dan. 2 is extended more elaborately in chapter 7, which records another dream- this one being Daniel’s own; “Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed.” The climax is the same. Being worthy of greater treatment than can be given here, we must leave it for a separate treatise.

 

 

LUCIFER’S  FALL  FROM  BABYLONIAN  HEAVEN

 

IN the controversy between Babylon and Zion it is assured that Zion will at last be free. Briefly we present the demolition of the Image under quite a different prophetic picture, which we find in the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah. Though long trampled in the dust, “a byword and a reproach,” Israel will yet rejoice in a redemp­tion, which is likened unto “life from the dead.” So the prophet declares: “For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and hand­maids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.” When the time comes for ‘the Lord to give them rest from their sorrow, and from their fear, and from the hard bondage wherein they were made to serve,” they are instructed to “take up a proverb,” or taunting speech, “against the king of Babylon.” As the people of Israel, the Jews, are not yet delivered from their enemies, obviously the time for the “taunting speech” has not come. Therefore, it is evident that the king of Babylon against whom the proverb is to be directed was not the king whose dream "troubled his spirit, and brake his sleep from him” 2,500 years ago. And before the proverb can be placed where it belongs another king of Babylon must be manifested as the oppressor and persecutor of “the cedars of Lebanon.”

Were it not for the fact that Nebuchadnezzar had been shown what should come to pass “in the latter days” we might wonder how to unravel the mystery. Isaiah’s prophecy must likewise be a revelation of what will be developed in the latter days. Lucifer has both a “heaven” and a “hell,” but these must not be confounded with erroneous ideas concerning “heaven for the good,” and “hell for the bad.” This “king” who ascends into “heaven” is described as having “fallen from heaven,” from which elevation he “smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, and ruled the nations in anger.” When the heights of heaven to which the “king” had ascended could no longer retain his majesty the very opposite of heaven was ready for him. “Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming.” HELL actually being the receptacle of the dead, or the grave, “the dead” are represented as being “stirred up,” to make room for the king when he falls. Part of the “taunting speech” is from “the kings of the nations” who, having suf­fered at the hands of Lucifer, are found amongst the dead. To this newcomer they say, “Art thou also become weak as we? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.” Before this “king” did weaken the nations, and was “cut down to the ground,” he made great claims for himself. Like the Babylonian king in the past, who “spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” (Dan. 4: 30), so this coming king of Babylon will boastfully vaunt his schemes. His claims are:

 

1.  “I will ascend into heaven.”

2.  “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.”

3.  “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.”

4.  “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.”

5.  “I will be like the most High.”

 

Comparing “scripture with scripture” will help to an understanding of these similes.

 

 

THE MOUNT

 

Isa. 27: 13, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”

Psa. 48: 1, 2, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.  Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”

 

 

CLOUDS

 

Deut. 32: 1, 2, “Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb and as the showers upon the grass.

Deut. 33: 28, "His heavens shall drop down dew."

Prov. 3: 20,  “The clouds drop down the dew.”

We are told in Mal. 2:7, “For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.”

The priests, therefore, were in the position of “clouds”; from them the figura­tive “rain” fell upon the people.

 

 

STARS OF GOD

 

THE sun, moon, and stars- literally- belong to the heavens; in the Scriptures they are often used symbolically, and are representative of the higher positions and those who occupy them.  Of the family of Jacob, Joseph “dreamed, a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me”; the interpretation, given by Joseph’s father, being “Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?” (Gen. 37: 9, 10).

When “the heavens” of Israel were established in the kingdom of God, the sons of Jacob occupied their respective places of authority, under divine arrangement, and were set in “the heavens” as the “stars of God.”  “Stars,” however, are not always the stars of God. From the burden of Babylon, upon whose constitution the destructive hand of God was to fall, we are informed “For the Stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light .  .  . Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.” (Isa. 13: 10, 13).

Of Rome also we read, “There appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the son, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” ( Rev 12: 1).

Of Him in whom all the promises of God are yea, and Amen, we are told: “I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star.” (Rev. 22: 16). But the “morning star” will not shine alone, for, “they that be wise shall shine as the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Dan. 12:3).

 

 

LUCIFER'S IDENTITY

 

“TAKE up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the op­pressor ceased! the golden city ceased! (margin or, exactness of gold.)” (Isa.14: 4). Compare this with the language of Rev. 18: 16, “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 the identity of Lucifer, the king of Babylon of Isaiah’s prophecy, we may take a clue from the past, but must find

 

 

A MODERN ASSYRIAN

 

THAT there is to be a modern Assyrian, or power in the earth in “the latter days,” which answers to the description of “Lucifer, the King of Babylon,” is evident from the following scriptures:  “The Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying, I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.” (Isa. 14: 24, 26).

It is interesting to compare the foregoing prophecy with the record of what took place B.C. 710, when 185,000 Assyrians were slain in one night. (2 Kings 19:31).

Foretelling of One who was to come forth out of Judah, unto God, to be “ruler in Israel,” we read, “He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the Name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.  And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.  And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh, into out land, and when he treadeth within our borders.” (Micah 5: 4, 6).

Such is the prophecy concerning the work of The Coming Man, who at His first appearance “came not to send peace, but a sword.” (Matt. 10:34).  But “peace” will follow the destruction of the latter-day Assyrian by “the Prince of Peace.” Recall now what we have seen developed on the Chart regarding the name of the Lord.  With that before us we consider another prophecy.  “Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity; and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.  And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.  For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brim­stone, doth kindle it.” (Isa. 30: 27-33).

The long war between Babylon and Zion will end “when the Lord of hosts shall come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.  As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem, defending also he will deliver, and passing over he will preserve it. Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited. And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.” (Isa. 31: 4, 9).

The glorious sequel will be, “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.” (Isa. 32: 1). Before this comes about, the call goes forth to Zion “Awake, put on thy strength, O Zion.  Shake thyself from the dust, and loose thyself from the bands of thy neck,” for the day of captivity is ending. “For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down to Egypt at the first to sojourn there, and the Assyrian at the last oppressed them.” -Louth's translation, Isa. 52:4.

In the soon-coming day when “Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely,” neither Egypt nor Assyria shall afflict them again; for the power of them both shall be broken forever.  “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, the Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.” ( Jer. 23: 7,8).

 

 

“SET THY FACE AGAINST GOG”

 

BEFORE the Babylonion Image can stand upon its feet, “in the latter days,” a pow­er must be developed and organized to such an extent that lesser powers will comply with its demands, and be prepared to follow in its train.  The prophecy of Ezekiel, chapter 38, supplies the necessary indication, directing the inquirer where to look for such a power.  It is a mandate against a European Power, which by its magnitude and intrigues will yet form a combination of forces, the like of which has not yet been seen.

Quoting from Dr. Young’s Literal Translation here is the message: “There is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying;! Son of man, set thy face unto Gog, of the land of Magog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophecy concerning him, and thou hast said: Lo, I am against thee, O Gog, Prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.”  As the prophecy proceeds, other lands are mentioned which come under the dominion of Gog.

The time appointed is “in the latter years”; the place of onslought “the mountains of Israel.”  To this central spot, O Gog, “Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.” Language assuredly akin to Lucifer!  The mountains of Israel, to which Gog determines an attack, will he open to this storm-cloud when my people of Israel dwelleth safely.” The direction- in relation to the Holy Land- from which this confederacy will come is clearly specified;  “Thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army.”

From out of the North, the home of Rosh, whose leader will have obtained control also of the land of Magog, this determined leader of so many forces will, at an appointed time, “think an evil thought: And say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; to take a spoil, and to take a prey. And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.”  So great is the indignation of God against these Gogian hosts that the Lord God of Israel saith, “My fury shall come in my face,” and “Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel.”

This “shaking” is in part caused by the interference of another power against the progress of Gog, for we find “Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish with all the young lions thereof” (a lion-power in the earth, which is said to sleep with one eye open). This Tarshish power challenges the Northern forces, saying, “Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey?” And with the second eye now wide open the conflict begins. But God, who has brought Gog against “His land,” will not leave the decision to the forces of Sheba and Dedan.  God Himself will “call for a sword against Gog.”  And saith the Lord, “I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.”

By such dramatic means, and conclusive evidence, will God “magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

As we have already seen from the quotation previously given from Dr. Thomas, “By turning to a map of Europe and Asia, the reader may trace out the territory of the Kingdom of Babylon as it is destined to exist in the last form under the King of the North in his Gogian Manifestation.”

In the year 1849 Dr. John Thomas also wrote; “I have no doubt that the following paraphrase will present the reader with the true import of the exordium to the prophecy of Ezekiel concerning Gogue.  ‘Son of Man, set thy face against Gogue, the emperor of Germany, Hungary, and autocrat Russia, Moscovy, and Tobolskoi, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I am against thee, O Gogue, autocrat of Russia, Moscovy, and Tobolskoi: and I will turn thee about, and put a bit into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth from the north parts, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them accoutered with all sorts of armor, even a great company of bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: among whom shall be Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans; all of them with shields and helmet; French and Italians, etc., Circassians, Cossacks, and the Tartar hordes of Usbeck, etc.; and many people not particularly named besides. Be thou prepared; prepare thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee: and be thou Imperial Chief to them.’ From these premises, then, I think, there cannot be the shadow of a doubt that the autocrat of Russia, when he shall have attained to the plentitude of his power and dominion, is the subject of the prophecy contained in the 38th and 39th of Ezekiel.  This personage at present is only Autocrat of All the Russias,’ that is, of Ros, Mosc, and Tobl; while the emperor of Austria holds the position of the Gogue of Magogue.  But, as we have seen else­where, the Austrian and German empire is doomed to extinction by fire and sword; so that when this is broken up the Gogueship will be assumed by the autocrat, or prince of Ros, Mosc, and Tobl.” -Elpis Israel, p. 387.

A century has passed since that exposition of the prophecies was written, and many changes have occurred in Europe; but nothing has happened to interfere with the basic principle underlying that wonderful treatise, to which the reader is directed for a more detailed elaboration of the historic and prophetical development of the Kingdom of God.

 

 

AFTER THESE THINGS

 

“THE DARKEST HOUR OF NIGHT IS THE HOUR BEFORE THE DAWN.” And although the things of which I have spoken portend a time of trouble and calamity for this “sad, old earth,” we must look beyond the horizon.  In the last message, given by divine inspiration, we are carried forward;  “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 I heard as it were 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.  And I 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. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Rev. 19).

And so Israel now being saved from the hand of their enemies, the ancient people- having their kingdom restored and their land freed- will enter into a new covenant with the Holy One of Israel.  This phase of the subject, now deferred, will be dealt with in another Lecture, The Wandering Jew.

We close with the cry of their prophet ringing through the years, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. The Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shalt be seen upon thee.  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.  Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.  For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.  Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.” (Isa. 60).  I THE LORD WILL HASTEN IT IN HIS TIME!  Amen.