“Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead; and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork; and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar; and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.”
The prophet, after seeing the flying roll, and being told what it will do in the world, is invited in verse 5 to look again. “Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.” He looks, and asks, “What is it?” The reply was given, “This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.” The prophet then sees a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah; and, behold, wickedness is cast in with her, and a weighty piece placed on the top of the ephah.
An ephah is a measure holding in ancient times about one bushel, later, about one-half bushel. It was a common standard of measure. In the preceding vision the flying roll represented God’s standard of measure; but here we see another standard going forth. A woman in prophecy symbolizes a church. Then the woman sitting in the midst of the ephah must represent a church which has surrounded herself with a standard of measure which she sends forth over the earth. As we scan the pages of history, we find the Roman Catholic Church to have literally fulfilled this description.
Coming to power, she takes the law of God, which is God’s own standard of measure, and makes changes in it as follows:—
1. She omits, in her catechisms generally, the second commandment.
2. She takes the fourth, which she calls the third, and tears from it the seventh day, which is God’s memorial of creation, and substitutes the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, the great festival day of sun worship, in its stead.
3. Having omitted one commandment, she must keep the number ten. This she does by dividing the tenth; making one commandment which forbids the coveting of a man’s wife, and another which forbids the coveting of his house and other possessions.
Surrounding herself with this standard of measure, like the woman sitting in the midst of the ephah, she requires all within the enclosure to comply with her false standard of right; and as set forth in the symbol, great wickedness is soon found within the enclosure. The church becoming very corrupt, is not satisfied with simply requiring those in the church to conform; but lo, she sends forth this false standard to the world, and endeavors by the exercise of power to enforce her dogmas on all. Just as she seems to have succeeded in establishing her power and the authority of her false standard, there falls upon her a crushing weight, represented by the talent of lead, or weighty piece, placed upon the top of the ephah. The Reformation fell upon the church like a crushing weight; and it seemed for a time that both the woman (church) and the ephah (false standard) would be utterly destroyed. But lo! a change; for the prophecy continues, “Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold,
There Came Out Two Women,
“and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork; and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.” “Whither do these bear the ephah?” asked the prophet. The angel replied, “To build it an house in the land of Shinar; and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.”
Ephah, sixty pints.
As a result of the Reformation we have two religious bodies, to-wit, the Catholic and the Protestant. Both were ready for a long and high flight, having stork’s wings full of wind.
The prophecy indicates that as they ascend to power and influence, they will unite to lift up this false standard of measure, and would seek to give it a permanent place, even establishing it upon its own base in the land of Shinar, or in the land of the tower of Babel, or Babylon (confusion).
What are the Facts in this Regard To-day?
1. We are living in a time of great religious confusion, and in the religious world one can hear the cry of the Babel workers on every hand as they shout to each other, in their vain efforts to be understood. Nothing but the word of the Lord can ever bring order out of this chaos of confusion.
We see an effort on the part of all to unite; but the union is only the one described by the prophet Micah in chapter 4:1–5; where they will all unite to establish the law of God, as they interpret it; and yet “All people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.” It is only a surface union, and upon some common points of agreement; while at heart each one still clings to his own peculiar tenets of faith. But we have before us the fact that the majority of the Protestants are becoming more friendly toward the Catholics, and are heartily working for the enactment and enforcement of laws compelling men to observe the first day of the week, which the Catholic Church claims is a sign of her power and authority to change the law of God. As the professed Christian nations gain an4influence or control over the pagan nations, the same laws are introduced, as may be seen in certain parts of China, where Sunday laws have been recently enacted. So we see Protestants and Catholics uniting to exalt the false standard represented by the ephah. They are lifting it up between the earth and heaven; and the open and avowed purpose, according to their own statements, is to give it an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land; or as the prophecy reads, “To build it an house in the land of Shinar; and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.”
In verse 6 the measure is said to be their resemblance in all the earth. Just as God’s law in the flying roll represents His character, so this measure represents their character; and just as God seeks to win all to conformity to His resemblance, so they seek to compel all to conform to their resemblance. The Catholic translation reads, “This is their eye which goeth forth.” As the law of God in the flying roll is His eye sent forth to search out the transgressor, so this is their eye sent forth to find those out of harmony with their measure. The Septuagint translation reads, “This is their iniquity in all the earth;” and so it is; for that which is not in harmony with the law of God is iniquity, or sin; for sin is the transgression of the law. But let us quote this translation entire, for it seems to be a clear reading:—
“This is the measure that goeth forth. And he said, This is the iniquity in all the earth. And behold a talent of lead lifted up, and behold, a woman sat in the midst of the measure. And he said, This is iniquity. And he cast it in the midst of the measure; and cast the weight of lead on the mouth of it. And I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and, behold, two women coming forth, and the wind was in their wings; and they had stork’s wings, and they lifted up the measure between the earth and sky. And I said, Whither do these carry away the measure? And he said to me, To build it a house in the land of Babylon, and to prepare a place for it. And they shall set it there upon its own base.”
According to the prophecy just cited, this movement is going to succeed; and this false standard will be established in the midst of confusion, and will be enforced upon the people. Those who are loyal to the law of God as He wrote and spoke it, will suffer tribulation; and against them the decree of death will be issued. This will bring the time of Jacob’s trouble to the people of God; but they shall be delivered; while the flying roll will cut off the wicked world, together with the false professors.
O when will men learn that Christians can not be made by the enactment and enforcement of law! When will Christians, like the apostle Paul, learn to persuade men and beseech men by the meekness and gentleness of Christ!
[The next article is “The Vision of the Chariots,” chapter 6.]
