The World Undeceived Too Late
By M. C. W.
A Deceived and Blinded World — Brief Triumph of Apostasy — Its Final Overthrow — The Victory for the Lamb and His Followers RECALL the chief features of Revelation, chapter 17. 1. John, standing as the representative of God’s people in the last days — these times — is, by one of the plague-bearing angels, made to see the character and judgment of the great harlot, the great system of apostasy called Babylon, the very center of which, in the Christian dispensation, is found in the Roman Catholic Church, and in churches molded by the same principles, called her daughters. These are intolerant churches, whose object is to enforce perverted aims by civil power. 2. The “beast” of seven heads and ten horns, a symbol of the great church-and-state system that has controlled the nations from Babylon to the present. Each successive head is a symbol of some phase of that beast system of government. These are: (1) Babylon; (2) Medo-Persia; (3) Grecia; (4) pagan Rome; (5) papal Rome; (6) apostate, professedly Protestant church-and-state powers now in existence in Europe; and (7) the papacy, the fifth head restored. 3. The prophecy of Revelation 17 deals with the papal head, or phase, of government almost exclusively, and designates it “the beast.” This beast is not Babylon, but it is controlled at times by Babylon, the harlot. 4. The “wilderness” period is marked by the 1,260 years of persecution in chapter 12:6, 14. During this time, the true church is a fugitive from her persecuting oppressors; the false church is riding on the back of a depraved civil power; she is drunken with the blood of the saints of God. Compare Rev. 12:6, 13-15 with Rev. 17:3-6. God shows us the apostate church in this period, that the world may know what her character is when she is restored. 5. The ten horns symbolize ten confederate powers yet to arise, which will help to restore the papacy, or the beast of the fifth head. These ten horns are not Babylon, but at one time help to exalt her, and at a later date to destroy her. Verse 16. The union of the ten horns with the restored beast constitutes the seventh head of chapters 12 and 13. Reckoned separately, they number eight. Blended, they combine to make the seventh. When the papal phase of the beast is restored, then the “image” is made by the two-horned beast of the Western Continent; for that “image” is made to that head or phase of the beast “which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” Rev. 13:12, 14. We studied the two messages of peace in our last. The one, based on the righteousness of God in Christ, unites with the Lamb of God, and is victorious forever; the other, a false peace, ends with the close of probation and the beginning of the outpouring of the plagues of the just wrath of God. It has ever been true, among the apostate and obdurate peoples, that when the consequences of their own sins come upon them, they lay the blame upon the prophets and faithful teachers who reproved them. Ahab called the prophet Elijah, who pointed out his sins, the troubler of Israel, when it was Ahab’s own sins that brought trouble. Caiaphas, the high priest of Judah, said in reference to Christ, the blameless reprover, “It is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” Deceived and Blinded World
And we may well believe that when the nations of earth have rejected God’s final message of warning, and the long deferred and divinely just judgments begin to materialize in the seven last plagues, the deceived and blinded world will lay the consequences and penalties of their own sins to the people of the Lamb who have been suffered to live. And the war against the Lamb will be continued by decrees against His people till the ultimate decree of death is promulgated. Rev. 13:15. The promised peace to the nations, however, passes with probation. The prosperity has departed. The power of the harlot to deceive as the plagues near their culmination passes away forever. And the very nations, the confederation of ten powers, that helped to reinstate her, shall, as the heathen turns and breaks his idol, turn against the harlot that deceived them. They will use their powers severally and unitedly to destroy the harlot. The confederation, the beast, and the ten kings individually, will seek to destroy the deceiver. “And the ten horns which thou sawest [individually], and the beast [the confederation], these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire.” Rev. 17:16, A. R. V. The beast has again become anti-religious, anti-papal. But this is in the closing part of the plague period. These strong terms will be clear if we bear in mind the figures of beasts and harlots and of kings and city. The time or period of this world triumph of the papacy, previous to the plagues, is set forth as “a little while,” as “one hour.” Rev. 17:10, 12. If the one hour is prophetic time, as it doubtless is, it is an aliquot part of a day. The whole day — day and night — is twenty-four hours long. This, however, is never so mentioned in the Bible. But in John 11:9, Jesus says, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” The fact that our Lord284Himself mentions twelve hours, and that, too, recorded by John, who also wrote the Revelation, is certainly worthy of consideration. It is true there are twenty-four hours in a day, and it is also true that there are 365 days in the year; but we reckon the prophetic year at 360 days because Inspiration so designates it. Would not the same rule hold as to the day? Applying it to Rev. 8:1, it would give a little over two weeks for the angels of God to come from heaven and return at the second coming of our Lord. In the text under examination, it would symbolize thirty days, one twelfth of a year, a common period used regularly in law. For one month, then,—possibly fifteen days,—the world would enjoy this peace, and the apostate church her triumph. At the end of that time fall the plagues, the judgments of God. And carrying out still further the figure of the city, men of different classes are represented as saying three times over at the close of that period, “In one hour is thy judgment come;” “In one hour so great riches is made desolate;” “In one hour is she made desolate.” Rev. 18:10, 17, 19. And the judgment passes on through the plagues to her utter destruction. Rev. 18:21-24. We would like once more to say, We believe that the center of that apostasy now is found in the Roman Catholic Church and in the papal system. But in saying this, we do not pass judgment upon Roman Catholics. We have no enmity toward them. “We war with principles, not with men.” The system with which they are connected we believe to be evil. It is contrary to Christ and His truth. It puts man in the place of God. But the Roman Catholic may be a Christian, a saved man, in spite of his adherence to his outward belief. He may look past priest, and prelate, and penances, and works of supererogation, and humanity exalted, and see in Jesus alone his salvation from sin. We pray God that so it may be. We should praise God to see, in that last fearful conflict, the men that are now pope and cardinals standing on the right side and against the system. There is where God wants them to stand. At that time it is possible that many who are now opposed to Roman Catholicism and Roman Catholics may stand with them in the war against the Lamb. Our prayer is that all may then stand with the Lamb, and even now with Him, in telling the story of the gospel of His love for the salvation of men, and in warning men against the worship of the “beast” and his “image” and the reception of his “mark.” Rev. 14:6-12. Of those who heed that warning and accept of that everlasting gospel of His grace, it is said, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12. Reader, join the phalanxes of the Lamb; for “the Lamb shall overcome them, for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with Him, called and chosen and faithful.” Rev. 17:14. The earth army of the Lamb may be small, poor, despised, and like the Master on earth, of no beauty that men should desire them; but He is with them as truly as He was with His mighty invisible armies who with the desert-worn Israel marched around Jericho; as truly as the chariots and angels of God were with the aged Elisha when the Syrian host went to capture him. All heaven is with those who serve God. The Lamb is strong in the strength of the lion. He shall overcome all the powers of earth, and the “called and chosen and faithful” shall overcome with Him. Rev. 17:14. Theirs is the victory over the beast and his image, and they at last stand triumphant on the crystal sea, “having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God [victory over all earthly foes], and the song of the Lamb [victory over all inward foes].” Rev. 15:2-4. They are triumphant forever. But they are militant now. They have God’s message to give, God’s cause to fight; and thus God entreats them. “Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” Zeph. 2:1-3. The danger lies not in God’s lack of willingness or power. Both are sufficient. Man must be correspondingly earnest. Through God, then, is victory, not with the weapons of earth’s warfare, not with howitzers or machine guns or aeroplane bombs or mines or submarines. Our weapons are not carnal, but mighty through God in the breaking of the strongholds of sin, which no earthly weapon could destroy. Panoplied from the armory of God, the heralds of the cross go forth to proclaim to the world the last threefold gospel message of Rev. 14:6-14. There is no other. All the opposing forces are under the banner of the dragon, the beast, the false prophet. By the devil’s influence, all Christendom has been deceived, all her teaching has been corrupted. All the world is paying homage, often unconsciously, to the beast system of apostasy. In the final struggle before probation closes, there will be only two classes — the worshipers of the beast, and the worshipers of God. The one class will bear the mark of the beast system of apostasy. The other class will bear the seal of eternal character. For the one class there waits the doom of all identified with sin, destruction. For the other class there waits eternal triumph and everlasting life. God’s great message warns against the world-wide apostasy, and it offers to the world the everlasting hope of His gospel of life and character. There is no other message. This is all-comprehensive, all-sufficient. Within its heart, acceptance is safety. Without its salvation-embracing folds is death eternal. Rejecting God’s message is warring against the Lamb. Accepting it is eternal victory; for “they also shall overcome that are with Him, called and chosen and faithful.” He is Lord of lords, and King of kings.” M. C. W.