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fall before the enemy, and thus they would not still be spoken of as an hundred and forty and four thousand, unless that is to be understood as a round number.

In this vision of John, as recorded in the fourteenth chapter, it is said, " And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and before the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God."

In this important vision John sees the Lamb of God stand upon Mount Zion and with him the hundred forty and four thousand that were sealed out of all the tribes of Israel. This scene comes after the dragon and his angels have been dislodged from the strong holds of Mount Zion, or in other words, cast out of heaven when the hundred forty and four thousand take possession thereof; and the voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters and as the voice of a great thunder, is the shouting and rejoicing of the hundred forty and four thousand when they achieve the victory and capture the city of David from the strong hand of the enemy, and hold it for three years and a half; but they vacate the place again before Jerusalem is burned to ashes by the enemy, that is before the final fall of mystical Babylon to rise no more.

They sing as it were a new song which no one could learn but themselves, because they sing of themselves and their own achievements through the power of the Lamb. And although this song is sung upon Mount Zion, upon the earth, and by mortal men in the flesh, yet it is sung before the throne of God and before the four beasts and the elders. Now if the hundred forty and four thousand were immortal, as many erroneously suppose, they would not here be spoken of as a distinct class, separate and apart from the beasts and the elders, but instead would be a part of that body. The beasts and elders represent the body of Christ made perfect, while the hundred forty and four thousand are still men in the flesh.

These were not defiled with women, that is, with Aholah and Aholibah, the lewd women, nor with any of their daughters of the nations. These were redeemed from among the idolatrous tribes of Israel by the preaching of the Gospel, and were sealed with the Father's name in their foreheads. They are the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb because they constitute the beginning of the new kingdom of God in the earth, under the new covenant, and in their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God. They are without fault, for the Lord says, "I will pardon whom I reserve"; and again, "I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgression, and as a cloud thy sins." When the Lord deals thus with the remnant of Israel they will be without fault before the throne of God. And Zephaniah

saith of these, "The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth." That is, "In their mouth was found no guile."

They follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. When the Lamb is spoken of as the Word of God, it is said, "Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he might smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron." And when he does so, the hundred forty and four thousand will be his battle axe and weapons of war with whom he will smite the nations, and destroy kingdoms. Therefore in the punishment of Edom, one of the horns, and the surrounding nations, the Lord speaks as follows, saying, "I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel (the remnant): and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury, and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God" (Ezek. 25:14).

THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL (REV. 14:6-7)

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear 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." When the twohorned beast has compelled them that dwell on the earth (the people of Israel) to make an image to the beast, which they set up in the Temple and thus blaspheme God's name and Tabernacle, which is the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (Mark 13: 14), and while they cause that as many as will not worship the image of the beast shall be killed, and while no man is allowed to buy or sell, or pass goods through his hands in traffic, save he that has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name,— that is, unless a man fully recognizes this system of idolatry that the kings of Israel and Judah, and the Assyrian, have set up in the land, they shall be killed, it is while this condition of things exists in the land that the angel flies in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach, when many under angelic guidance and protection shall run to and fro among the idolaters and transgressors, saying with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come, and (instead of worshipping an image that profiteth not) worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

The Gospel is preached to them that dwell on the earth; that is, to the rebellious house, the people of Israel, and also to every nation and kindred, tongue and people; that is, to every nation, kindred, tongue and people that are at that time encamped in Israel's land, whom the Lord has brought there. to see his glory so that those of them who escape may return to the countries again whence they came, and declare God's glory among the Gentiles.

This Gospel is called an everlasting Gospel, therefore if we attach the sectarian meaning to this word, everlasting, the things set forth therein would. never be realized, for gospel is glad tidings of good things to come subsequent to the preaching thereof. Therefore if the Gospel never ends, the things promised therein would never come. The time that this Gospel is preached is measured by the length of time contained in the hour of judgment which is a

short period. It is while those who worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in their forehead, or hand, are being tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.

Many people in Israel will repent under the preaching of this Gospel and turn from these vanities, and will instead worship him that created the heavens and earth, the seas and fountains of waters, as they are now called upon to do, and accept the consequences which, according to the laws of the throne of iniquity, is death. For this reason it will require great faith and great patience to withstand the powerful current of wickedness in those days, for it is written of these times by the Prophet Jeremiah (6:7), saying of Jerusalem, “As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness." And again the same prophet testifies of this wicked city and her prophets that cry, "Peace and safety," when sudden destruction cometh upon them, saying, "Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets, Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them to drink the waters of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land" (Jer. 9:15). Bitter destruction, the wrath of God like fire and brimstone, will be poured out upon them.

THE FALL OF BABYLON (REV. 14:8)

"And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." That is as Jeremiah speaks of her saying, "Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand that made all the earth drunken. The nations have drunken of her wine, therefore the nations are mad" (51:7). The fall of Babylon, that is, of idolatrous Jerusalem spiritually called Babylon, as she is also called Sodom and Egypt (Rev. 11:8), will be proclaimed by wise men and prophets of the Lord under divine protection, crying through the streets of the great and doomed city," Babylon is fallen, is fallen," even as the Prophet Jonah went through the streets of Nineveh, crying, "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown." The fall of the wicked city is in these times so near at hand, and so soon to transpire, that it is spoken of as though it had already taken place.

ALL NATIONS HAVE DRUNKEN OF HER CUP

The nations which have been brought there and with which she has entered. into covenant are induced by her to partake of her idolatries and abominations; they eat of her sacrifices, and drink of her wine, and enter God's house, and aid in killing the saints; therefore they must partake of her punishment. Thus after their mind is alienated from her, and her mind from them, and after they have fulfilled the word of God and executed judgment upon her, then they themselves will be cut down upon the mountains of Israel.

PUNISHMENT OF THE WORSHIPPERS OF THE BEAST (REV. 14:9) "And 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, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented

with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb," that is, in the presence of Christ Jesus and his saints who are at this time immortal, and as the angels of God in heaven. The brethren of Christ are the angels who are employed in executing the judgments written, even as they are manifested in this book. (Verse 1) And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."

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The number of those who worship the beast and his image will be great. It will comprehend all those who dwell upon the earth save those whose names are written in the book of life who resist the wickedness of the times, while the idolaters of the house of Israel are persecuting and slaying the righteous as sheep for the slaughter throughout the land for this period which is called the hour of his judgment. Nevertheless this same time is ordained of God in which the worshippers of the beast and his image, and those who receive his mark in their forehead or in their hand, shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. This wine is what in the prophets is called the water of gall, when they are fed with wormwood and bitter destruction.

Now the time that these persecutors and idol worshippers are to be thus tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels (the saints) and in the presence of the Lamb, is said to be "day and night forever and ever." Now the writers among the sects who are under the veil, and who look at these things through their immortal soul glasses, are greatly puzzled here to make things fit. For it is but too manifest that this refers to idolaters and their punishment in the present life, and therefore must of necessity come to an end. And how can that be if the terms forever and ever, and everlasting, as used in these Scriptures signify periods of endless duration? This is the hour of judgment and the time of its continuance is definite and fixed, and during this period the idolaters of the house of Israel will be busy persecuting and slaying the righteous, while at the same time they themselves are being tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. For it is of the utmost importance to remove the mists and darkness that have settled down upon these Scriptures through the errors and superstitions of the times in which we live. Therefore we ask, In what do these judgments consist? and where are they recorded? We answer, they consist of the seven last plagues in which are filled up the wrath of God, and they are recorded in the sixteenth chapter of the prophecies of this book.

This is manifest when the first angel pours out his vial upon the earth, for John speaks saying, "And the first angel went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image." Again, under the fifth vial, it is said, "They gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds." The torments of those who worship the beast and his image, therefore, we will consider in their appropriate place when we speak of the seven last plagues.

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THE PATIENCE OF THE SAINTS (REV. 14:12)

"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." Well may it be said in this place, Here is the patience of the saints," when for three years and an half they will be pursued by the enemy, the kings, princes, false prophets, and priests of the rebellious house, backed up by the beast and kings of the earth, when the saints will be hunted like wild beasts through the earth and multitudes of them will be beheaded for the witness of Jesus and the word of God.

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THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN (REV. 14:13)

And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them." "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth," that is, from the commencement of the forty-two months war upon the saints to the end thereof. Those who in these trying times hold out to the end and overcome and are faithful unto death, are promised a crown of life. The dead who die in the Lord from henceforth are blessed because their resurrection from the dead to life eternal comes soon after this time of trial which shall come on all them that dwell on the earth (Israel's earth). The angel said to Daniel, "Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand, three hundred and five and thirty days." That is, from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination set up in its stead, there will be 1260 days' war upon the saints, or three years and a half. But at the end of 1335 days, counting from the same starting-point, the resurrection of those who have died in the Lord will take place. That is to say, seventy-five days after the war upon the righteous terminates, which is for a definite period of a time, times and half a time, the dead which died in the Lord will rise to reign with Christ in life for a thousand years.

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We take rest in sleep; death is a sleep. Stephen cried with a loud voice, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge, and when he had said this, he fell asleep." The righteous sleep in the dust of the earth. Their sleep is perfect and unconscious, insomuch that the Prophet Job saith, "His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them." That is in plain language, as the preacher saith, “The dead know not any thing."

"Their Works Do Follow Them"

Daniel speaks concerning those who labor for the salvation of men in the latter days, especially while the king that does according to his will, aided by the king of the north, makes war upon the saints, saying, "And they that understand among the people shall instruct many, yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity and by spoil many days" (1260 days). The good works, therefore, of those who instruct many, will follow them after they have died in the Lord by the hand of the enemy and the avenger (Dan. 11:33) also (12:3) it is testified of them saying, "And they that be wise (teachers, mar

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