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The Story of the Seer of Patmos

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    CHAPTER XII. THE THIRD WOE

    The record contained in the three preceding chapters is the world’s history from the stand point which could be best presented to the human mind by the symbol of the trumpet. The eighth chapter portrays the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The prophet, in the ninth chapter, follows events which occurred in connection with the downfall of the Greek Empire and the setting up of the Ottoman power, clearly portraying the four periods in Turkish history: first, its rise; second, the one hundred and fifty years, during which time its power was restricted; third, the three hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days of supreme rule; fourth, its existence by sufferance, until driven from Europe. The tenth chapter of Revelation gives the loud cry of the first angel’s message, which was proclaimed by believers in God just at the time of the ending of the second woe. It foretells also the greater work to follow in the form of another message, which is given in detail in the fourteenth chapter of the book of Revelation MarginI saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. Revelation 8:2.
    four periods in turkish history.
    1st. Revelation 9:1-4.
    2nd. Revelation 9:5-10.
    3rd. Revelation 9:14, 15.
    4th. Daniel 11:45.
    Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Revelation 14:7.
    The third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship 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 God. Revelation 14:9-13.
    The eleventh chapter, the one now before us, goes back to the Western Empire, and shows what was going on in that part of the world during the time that the Turkish Empire was making history in the eastern division.
    SSP 191.1

    The barbarians in 476 left Rome in a divided state. The ten tribes, namely, the Ostrogoths, the Lombards, the Heruli, the Vandals, the Visigoths, the Suevi, the Saxons, the Huns, the Burgundians, and the Franks, were by that time, or a few years later, settled within the borders of the Western Empire True, the Vandals, Heruli, and Ostrogoths were of short duration, having been, before the year 538, “plucked up” to make way for the enthroning of the ecclesiastical power, according to the prophetic history of Daniel 7:8. But from the other seven developed the nations of Europe which are in existence to-day. The smoke from the “bottomless pit” beclouded the eastern sky, and the consideration of the Eastern Empire necessitates a study of Mohammedanism instead of Christianity. The condition was different in the western division, that portion of Europe still claimed to be ruled by the precepts of Christ. Mohammedanism in its attempt to conquer the western nations met with a telling defeat in the eighth century, and never renewed the attempt. So the West stood before the world as the representative of the Christian religion. Here the principles of civil and religious liberty, to-day held dear, were born: and here, likewise, was committed to these nations, in a special manner, the everlasting Gospel, with the commission to make it known to the world. God was preparing, from afar, for the spread of the last message to the world. MarginThe 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. Daniel 2:40, 41.
    The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. Daniel 7:24.
    I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. Daniel 7:8.
    He opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. Revelation 9:2.
    Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2 Timothy 3:5.
    The earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. Revelation 12:16.
    SSP 192.1

    To John was given a measuring reed, “and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.” Men have as many standards for measuring their fellow-beings as there are different individuals, but the one absolute rule by which men’s actions are measured for eternity, is an infinitely perfect and unvarying standard. It cannot be comprehended by the finite mind; for it is infinite. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” The “reed like unto a rod,” with which John was bidden to measure, was the commandments of God. With his angel guide, the prophet was shown the church of God and the world, and the wisdom of God was given to him that he might record the results of the measurements. God’s law is but an expression of His own character, and John’s mind was opened to an appreciation of the principles upon which the government of God is established. There was the temple where the Father sits enthroned, Himself the center of all law, all life, all love; His presence pervading all things, upholding all things, controlling all things. The temple was to be measured, and when measured, it told the story of absolute love, the power of the Creator, who made all beings to reflect His own perfection. Then John was to measure the altar. Here he saw the High Priest, with His censer, offering the prayers of His saints. Only the Infinite mind can grasp the breadth and length and depth and MarginAnd there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. Revelation 11:1.
    So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. James 2:12.
    Romans 2:12, 13.
    Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Romans 8:7.
    I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
    For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12:36, 37.
    Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. Isaiah 28:17.
    Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Romans 7:12.
    For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. Romans 7:14.
    Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:30.
    Upholding all things by the word of his power. Hebrews 1:3.
    Another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. Revelation 8:3.
    Romans 8:26, 27.
    height, and know the love of Christ which “passeth knowledge”; but this theme will be man’s study throughout eternity, for when it is known, it reveals the fullness of God. Again it is infinite love. And as it is measured, it must be measured in every direction; there is length and breadth and height and depth; and in it all, the measures read, Love! infinite, far-reaching love!
    SSP 193.1

    The prophet was told to measure them that worship in the temple; for the creatures of His hand reflect His image, and are measured by the same standard. Angels worship in that temple, and they reflect the character of Him who is love. There were also men in that temple as worshipers; saints, who, while still on earth, were by faith within the inner veil; and they too were measured by the same reed of His law. Not an outward measure of stature, nor an external weighing of motives, as viewed by the human eye, but character was the test, with the rule of heaven for a standard. The character which is rewarded with a place near the throne is not shallow, but deep; it is not narrow, but broad; and in length it must measure with the life of God. A long experience, a deep experience, a broad experience in divine things, even while living here on earth; this is the life which develops a character that will stand the test of the “measuring reed.”SSP 194.1

    Under the third seal was revealed a power on the earth which carried a pair of balances, to weigh the deeds of men. While a self-righteous standard was being erected on the earth, God was measuring according to the rule of heaven; and when character was measured by the divine rod, eternal life was often given to those, who MarginThat Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
    May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth and height;
    And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
    Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Ephesians 3:17-20.
    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. Revelation 5:9, 10.
    Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5.
    Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
    And the Lord said unto me, Amos, whatseest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more. Amos 7:7, 8.
    Isaiah 61:10.
    When he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. Revelation 6:5.
    according to the balances in the hands of man, were accounted worthy of death.
    SSP 194.2

    It would seem that the attention of the prophet was called to the measuring in the outer court, which the loosened seals had revealed to him; and he is told to leave out “the court which is without the temple, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles,” those who know not God; and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. This locates the scene definitely in what was the Western Empire, for the same period of time is given by Daniel. In the seventh chapter of that prophecy, the power which plucked up the three barbarian tribes before referred to, “shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they (times, laws, and saints) shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”SSP 195.1

    In prophecy one day stands for a year, and time is reckoned thirty days to the month. Forty-two months is equivalent to twelve hundred and sixty days of prophetic time, or twelve hundred and sixty years of literal time. The “time and times, and the dividing of time,” is the same period as the “forty and two months,” or twelve hundred and sixty years. The power which trod the people of God under foot for twelve hundred and sixty years was the papacy. This power was established in Rome in 538 a. d. on the ruins of the Western Empire, and continued until 1798 a. d. This was the period known as the Dark Ages for Europe. During this period the smoke of Mohammedanism hid the light of MarginI saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years Revelation 20:4.
    But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. Revelation 11:2.
    Daniel 7:25.
    Numbers 14:34.
    There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. Revelation 13:5.
    Daniel 12:7.
    Revelation 12:14.
    The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Revelation 12:6.
    The dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. Revelation 13:2.
    Revelation 9:2, 3.
    the sun in the East. Mohammedanism in the East, and the “man of sin” in the West, both brought darkness and despair. Mohammedanism tormented men like the sting of a scorpion; the “man of sin” held men’s minds in such subjection that they saw nothing above the exalted man on the throne. In the East, the Koran and a false prophet bore sway; in the West, precisely the same thraldom existed; for while there was no Koran, the Word of God was suppressed just as effectually. As Mohammedanism substituted the sixth day of the week for the Sabbath, and accepted a false prophet instead of Christ, so the “man of sin” thought to change the law of God, and attempted to change the times which were created by the Word of Jehovah, as surely as man himself was so created. In the East, the Koran wholly replaced the Bible; in the West, God said, “I will give power unto my two witnesses, that they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three-score days, clothed in sackcloth.” For twelve hundred and sixty years [days] the light of God was hidden as beneath a covering, of sackcloth. Men think that with the advanced knowledge of the twentieth century, human reason has outgrown the Word of God; but history proves, without the shadow of a doubt, that when the Word is replaced by MarginLet no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
    Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
    And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Ezekiel 34:18, 19.
    Think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. Daniel 7:25.
    And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. Revelation 11:3.
    the products of man’s mind, both moral and intellectual darkness are brought upon the world. In this darkness the balances were held by those who believed that man was above God, that reason was the ultimate standard for judgment; but at that very time God was measuring character by the measuring reed of heaven,-the law which man in his blindness had set aside.
    SSP 195.2

    The “two witnesses” are the Old and the New Testaments. In the mouth of two witnesses every word is established. The Old Testament told of the God, who strove to live in man; the New Testament told of the God, who had lived in the human form, and the two agree. The same mystery is revealed to each individual heart in the providences of God. Christ, the God-man, sat on the curbing of Jacob’s well at the hour of noon, when the Samaritan woman came to draw water. Likewise the Divine Spirit drew the woman of Samaria to the well at the very hour when the Son of man was there. These two witnesses agree. They agree in lives to-day. When the spiritual eye is opened, the testimony of the two witnesses will be accepted.SSP 197.1

    For they are the “two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves.” By the prophet Zechariah, the church is represented as a golden candlestick having seven branches, each bearing aloft a light for the world. These seven branches receive their oil from a single bowl, and the oil for this bowl is supplied by two olive trees, one on either side. The purity of the oil they burn is represented by the close connection with living, growing trees. This oil MarginMaking the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. Mark 7:13.
    Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Ezekiel 22:26.
    These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. Revelation 11:4.
    Zechariah 4:2-6.
    When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. Galatians 4:4.
    Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
    There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. John 4:6, 7.
    Zechariah 4:12.
    Revelation 1:20.
    And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
    And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. Zechariah 4:2, 3.
    It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63.
    is the oil of grace, the truth of God. The unity of the seven candlesticks is typified by the common bowl from which each gains its supply of oil. How beautiful a picture of the work of God’s Word in ministering to the needs of the church on earth. Life flows from the Old as well as the New Testament to those whose hearts are open channels for the Spirit. When connection with the living trees is severed, spiritual death is the result. The lights may burn for a time, but they soon exhaust the supply in the bowl, and gradually the flame dies out. Extinguishing a light does not affect the olive trees. Indeed they are trees of life, guarded by flaming swords, like the tree of life in the garden of Eden after the fall; and the flashes of light destroy the life of those who lift a hand against the witnesses. Men may claim to receive light, independently of these witnesses; but there are no channels for the communication of the spirit of wisdom and knowledge, except these two trees, or some of their branches, through which the life, the golden oil, is constantly flowing. It is thus that they have power to stay the heavens that it rain not. It is for this reason that the three and a half years of drought in the days of Elijah are used by the divine historian to illustrate the three and one-half prophetic years, the twelve hundred and sixty years of darkness, brought about by severing the connection between the church and the two witnesses. When the connection was broken the restraining power of God was withdrawn; and as in the natural world, so in the spiritual, there was nothing to prevent bloodshed, famine, and persecution. The time of great persecution MarginI am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for severed from me ye can do nothing. John 15:5 [margin.]
    The foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. Matthew 25:8.
    And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
    These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. Revelation 11:5, 6.
    So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:11.
    James 5:17.
    The emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches. Nahum 2:2.
    I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. Revelation 17:6.
    was the period during which the witnesses prophesied covered with sackcloth. The Reformation removed the sackcloth from the two witnesses. From the close of the fourteenth century, when Wycliffe’s translation placed the Word of God in the hands of the common people of England, until the full dawn of the Reformation, the restraint which had long been placed upon the Scriptures was gradually removed. The light was spread largely through the schools. In Germany, the University of Wittenberg made the study of the Word its most prominent feature, and at the educational centers in England, Germany, and France the heralds of truth received their inspiration and their training. In the preparation of laborers; the Scriptures formed the basis of all instruction; and as the classics and false sciences of the Dark Ages gave way to the Bible as a textbook, so the formal, lifeless methods of theological instruction were exchanged for teaching which fed the souls of the students. The remarkable swiftness with which society was remolded when the Word of God was restored is witnessed to by all historians. The historian, Ranke, states that in the short period of forty years the darkness had been broken from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, and Germany sat at the feet of Protestant teachers. Error trembled before a few teachers armed with the invincible Word of God. At this juncture the speedy overthrow of the false system was prevented by a counter educational movement. The organization of the order of Jesuits, in reality a papacy of the papacy, sent into the world a body of active workers, shrewd, well educated, and armed with MarginFor now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. Nahum 1:13.
    Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
    I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
    I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. Psalm 119:98-100.
    Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
    So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. Acts 19:19, 20.
    Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
    For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? Deuteronomy 4:6-8.
    For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
    And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
    Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.
    Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. Titus 1:15.
    a double-faced conscience, which enabled them to penetrate anywhere and assume any role. One of their most efficient methods of procedure was in the schools. They founded new schools in the very shadow of the Protestant institutions, and drew from their patronage; or when this was impossible, they entered Protestant schools under the guise of Protestant teachers. Everywhere they gained the children and the youth. They were more zealous, more ambitious than the Protestants, consequently the succeeding generation surprised the Reformers by turning a large part of Europe back under papal control. Their work was most fully developed in France. That country had received the light of the Reformation, but on this ground the Jesuits found excellent material. The universities of France clung to their old methods, and they likewise clung to the subjects taught during the Dark Ages. Under the forms and ceremonies of Mediævalism, papal principles of government lurked, ready to spring into active service at the first opportunity. The renewal of these teachings wrought the same effect in the sixteenth century that the false teachings of the Alexandrian philosophers did in the church of the early Christians.
    SSP 197.2

    One cannot condemn the Jesuit teaching as wholly evil. It was as subtile a mixture of the good and evil as the devil ever compounded. It was when the two witnesses were escaping from the bondage of the Dark Ages, where they had finished their testimony in sackcloth, that the beast, which ascended out of the bottomless pit, made war against them and overcame them, and killed them. MarginYe compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Matthew 23:13-15.
    Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. Titus 1:11.
    Avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
    Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. 1 Timothy 6:20, 21.
    If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
    He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
    Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. 1 Timothy 6:3-5.
    And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. Revelation 11:7.
    SSP 200.1

    The Counter-Reformation, known as such by all historians, was felt throughout Europe; but France was unfortunate enough to have sown an abundance of seed, and consequently reaped a bountiful harvest. France is the only nation that ever openly denied the existence of the Deity, and set up a worship recognizing no other ruler than the “Goddess of Reason.” A woman, a profligate opera singer, was set up in Paris as a personification of reason, the god which France acknowledged. No other government ever made so base a movement. Men and women danced and sang in honor of the base idolatry. Other parts of France imitated the example set by Paris. The woman, veiled and worshiped in form, was but a type of what men will do when reason is enthroned above God. The decree prohibiting the Bible, changing the week, and establishing the worship of the “Goddess of Reason,” was issued in 1793. For three years and a half, the two witnesses,-the two olive trees, which alone bring life to man or nation,-lay dead in the streets of Paris. The licentiousness of Sodom in the days of Lot, was repeated in France, especially in her capital The gross idolatry of Egypt, with its proverbial darkness, was to be found again in modern France. As the Jews, by rejecting the Word of God sent by the prophets, severed their connection with heaven and crucified their Lord, so France repeated the sin, and crucified again the Son of God.SSP 201.1

    The Reign of Terror had established itself in France. Whoever was suspected of hostility toward the tyranny, was immediately hurried to the scaffold; to be lukewarm was no protection. MarginFor they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. Hosea 8:7.
    Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
    But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Daniel 11:37, 38.
    Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. Jeremiah 6:19.
    And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Revelation 11:8.
    Genesis 19:4-11.
    They crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. Hebrews 6:6.
    The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?
    Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. Jeremiah 8:9, 10.
    Old age and youth alike suffered. Wild license was given to divorce and to profligacy. “There were seen, even in the hall of the convention, throngs of coarse and fierce men, and coarser and fiercer women with their songs and wild outcries and gestures.” “Crowds escorted the batch of victims carried on carts each day to the place of execution, and insulted them with their brutal shouts.” Men of other nations looked on in utter astonishment. The worship of reason was abolished, and the convention passed a resolution acknowledging the existence of God, but denouncing Christianity as a base superstition. Thus the Reign of Terror went on. “The deaths from want,” says one historian, “much exceeded a million. France was on the brink of a great famine on the Asiatic scale.” But men grew weary of bloodshed, and “great fear fell upon them which saw” these things. The God of heaven called a halt. Nations of the earth had seen the consequences of rejecting the Word of Jehovah; they had had before them, in the Reign of Terror, a most terrible example of the rejection of the principles of the Reformation. The Spirit of God was again recognized as residing in the “two witnesses,” and before all nations the Scriptures have since been exalted. Those nations, which adhered most closely to the truths developed in the withdrawal from Roman tyranny, have taken the lead in the work of education, in invention, in judiciary matters, and in all lines of progress. Copies of the Word of God have been multiplied until the MarginSamaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up. Hosea 13:16.
    Lamentations 4:12.
    And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
    And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
    And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
    And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them,
    poorest are without excuse, if they remain unsupplied. Before the terrors in France, little attention was given to foreign missions; but in 1804 the British Bible Society was organized. Thirteen years later, the American Bible Society came into existence, and millions of copies of the Word have been printed. Its translation into hundreds of different languages has placed ignorance of the Scriptures entirely out of the question.
    SSP 201.2

    The restoration of the Christian religion in France, marked the beginning of its modern history. The Revolution of 1798 is spoken of as “a great earthquake,” in which the “tenth part of the city fell.” The “beast” received its deadly wound. Not only was the reign of papal tyranny at an end, but the power of the monarchy was shaken; and the vast army of nobles, which some historians give as seven thousand, lost their titles. The government was in the hands of the middle classes, or the common people. The exaltation of the Scriptures is always followed by a government which recognizes the equal rights of all men, and by a religion which grants the privilege to every man to worship according to the dictates of his own conscience. Men who advocate a system of government that rejects the atoning blood of Christ, or an educational system which exalts reason above faith, place themselves on the very verge of a precipice, and the next step will produce a repetition of the Terrors of France. The blindness with which men repeat the experiences of the past is amazing. The Jesuits may not be responsible to-day for the trend which many public institutions are taking, but, MarginCome up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. Revelation 11:9-12.
    When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
    Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
    To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things. Proverbs 2:10-12.
    The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. Psalm 119:130.
    And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. Revelation 11:13.
    But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
    Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. Job 32:8, 9.
    That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past. Ecclesiastes 3:15.
    She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness. Nahum 2:10.
    As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. Hosea 4:7.
    The Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. Luke 7:30.
    without doubt, the methods the Jesuits used, are repeated in the twentieth century. Education which leaves out God, is putting the government into the hands of statesmen who will eventually exalt the Goddess of Reason.
    SSP 203.1

    The second woe, as already seen, ended in 1840. The close was marked by the transfer of Turkish power into the hands of the western nations. In heaven is witnessed the sending forth of the mighty angel of Revelation 10:1-11. The earth responded to his loud cry, and men, thinking that time was about to close, prepared to meet their God. But the seventh angel had not yet sounded. He was held in heaven for a little space, that men might be prepared for the events about to come in connection with the completion of the earth’s history. “The second woe is past; and behold, the third woe cometh quickly.” The little period between 1840 and 1844, during which the message of Revelation 10:1-11 was delivered, was the time between the close of the sixth trumpet and the sounding of the seventh. In the tenth chapter of Revelation John was told that “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished.” When the seventh angel “begins to sound,” in the first part of the period of time set apart for his work, the mystery of God would be finished. “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.” A kingdom can never be truly said to pass into the hands of another power, while either the territory, the capital, or the subjects, MarginKnow ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
    Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump. 1 Corinthians 5:6, 7.
    Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Deuteronomy 32:1.
    The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. Revelation 11:14.
    There was given him dominion; and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:14.
    And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. Revelation 11:15.
    are beyond its control. It takes the three: subjects, capital, and territory, to make the full kingdom. The work of the investigative judgment, is Christ making up the number of the subjects, or in other words, taking one-third part of His kingdom; when the judgment is ended, then is given to Him the Holy City, the capital of the kingdom,-the second third part. When He comes to the earth, He takes possession of the territory, and possesses the kingdom in all its fullness forever. The enrollment for the new kingdom is made by Christ in the presence of the Father, while angels are watching. The books are open, the judgment begins; the measuring reed is applied to character. Christ offers the prayers of all His saints,-those whose names are written in the book of life,-together with the fragrant incense of His own righteous life; in this way the heirs of the kingdom are enrolled.
    SSP 204.1

    Again the prophet sees the work completed; and the four and twenty elders, who have long waited for the redemption of their fellow beings, fall before the throne, and worship Him who is crowned King of Kings. These are the beings who, with the host of the redeemed, will finally have the renewed earth for their home. A part of their song before the Father is, “Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth,” showing that in the midst of heavenly glory, they yet look forward to the restoration of the earth at the end of the thousand years, during which time, the cases of the wicked are tried.SSP 205.1

    In 1844 the third woe began. It extends into eternity, covering all the corruption of the MarginCome hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
    And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Revelation 21:9, 10.
    As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
    The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity. Matthew 13:40, 41.
    Revelation 3:5.
    Luke 9:26.
    Help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4:3.
    Isaiah 4:3.
    And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
    Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
    And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth
    . Revelation 11:16-18.
    Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
    That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:
    Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Isaiah 30:8-10.
    last days,-the anger or distress among nations, which was one sign of the second advent, as given by the Saviour. During the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the seven last plagues are poured out; men, having rejected God, drink of the wine of His wrath. During this sounding, the righteous and wicked pass through the last great time of trouble, in comparison with which the Reign of Terror in France was a. light affliction. During this woe, the saints of God welcome the Lord in the clouds of heaven, for He comes to give reward unto the faithful. This period continues over the one thousand years following the second coming of Christ, and ends when Satan and all the wicked are reduced to ashes upon the surface of the new earth, and all sorrow and sin are forever vanquished.
    SSP 205.2

    As foretold in the Scriptures, the ministration of Christ in the most holy place began at the termination of the prophetic days in 1844. The words of the revelator apply to this time. “The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament.” At the beginning of the work of the investigative judgment, when Christ entered the most holy place, the door in heaven was opened, and the law of God was seen as the foundation of His throne. It was immediately after the bitter disappointment of 1844, when earnest souls were still searching the Scriptures, that the sacredness of the law was revealed. As the decalogue was presented, a special glory shone about the Fourth Commandment. The seal of the law stood out as if written in letters of fire, and a new significance was given to the measuring reed which the angel offered. The MarginFor I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. Jeremiah 30:7, 11.
    Revelation 20:9, 10.
    Ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Malachi 4:1-3.
    And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. Revelation 11:19.
    He said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. Daniel 8:14.
    Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21.
    If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
    Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord. Isaiah 58:13-14.
    SSP 206.1

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