A WONDERFUL BOOK by Milton C. Wilcox

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Oct 25, 1905

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 31, No. 43.

A WONDERFUL BOOK

By Milton C. Wilcox

The Seven Seals. Revelation, Chapters Four to Eight

The Man—The Place—The Story—The Scene

The Man: A prophet of God, the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ, John the Aged.

The Place: The rocky, bleak, barren, wave-washed isle of Patmos in the Mediterranean Sea, a penal colony of Rome, where the prophet was banished because of "the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus." Rev. 1:9.

The Story: That of a wonderful seven-sealed book, opened in a wonderful way, at marvelous cost, for the benefit of humanity.

The Scene: Heaven opened, the prophet in mind transported thither, that he might see the work of God for the salvation of men in the visions—the very seeings—of God, even as Ezekiel of old. Eze. 40:2.

Behold the center of all, God upon His throne, robed in ineffable glory. A rainbow bends about the throne, God’s covenant token of mercy, forgiveness, and love, rising above the bleak, sad shadows of the world’s despair, sin, and sorrow.

Twenty-four courses of elders,—crowned conquerors, translated to heaven (Matt. 25:52, 53; Eph. 4:8), minister, as in the temple of old, before God. And, as in the type, there burn the lamps from the seven-branched candlestick—representation of the fulness of the Spirit of God.

Companies of His holy ones, moving, serving in the forms of various creatures, also representations of God’s work, are seen by the prophet as before His throne, by Ezekiel as above and upon the earth; and there by their service rendering one continual song of praise to the Lord God Omnipotent. Resting on the hand of the Being upon the throne lies a book, written within and on the back, close sealed with seven seals. Its inscriptions indicate the marvel of its hidden truth.

A strong angel strides forth with the challenge to the universe:

"Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?"

No creature responds. Nor man, nor angel, nor seraph, nor cherub, who are able to stand in the blazing splendor of the throne, can open the book or read its story of suffering or glory. The prophet weeps. His own salvation and the safety of the universe is wrapped in the wonderful book, and the God of love upon the throne will not prove false to the beautiful bow of promise. A crowned elder speaks to the prophet:

"Weep not; behold, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath overcome [so as] to open the book and the seven seals thereof."

Then looked the prophet to see a Lion, but, behold, a Lamb,—in the midst of the throne, in the midst of the living ones, in the midst of the elders, in all, of all, binding all together by His relationship to all—a Lamb, having been slain, seven-horned in His fulness of power, seven-eyed in His fulness of wisdom, in His plenitude of the Spirit of God, operative in infinite love for the needy earth. It cost the death of the Lamb of God to open the book.

Amid all the acclamations of holy-hearted beings, He takes the book. A new song rises in heaven to His praise:

"Worthy art Thou to take the book, And to open the seals thereof; For Thou wast slain, And didst purchase unto God with Thy blood men Of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, And madest them to be unto our God A kingdom and priests; And they reign upon the earth."

And then the myriads upon myriads of holy ones in glorious song ascribe to the Lamb a sevenfold song of praise:

"Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the Power, and Riches, and Wisdom, and Might, and Honor, and Glory, and Blessing."

And then he who is enrapt in visions of God sees the gracious culmination of a new universe, and every creature in that universe joining in the universal song of praise to God and the Lamb, ascribing to them forever and ever "the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion."

The book contains that for which Christ died, the salvation of man, the Gospel of God in its revelation of love, to the children of men, even "the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, but now is manifested." Rom. 16:25, 26; 1 Cor. 2:7; et al.

The Opening of the Book

The first seal is broken in the revelation of God’s glory, and from one of those four living creatures, representing the great need of a sin-agonized world, comes the appealing cry to the conquering Lamb,—

COME

But the world is not ready for His coming in His fulness of forthshining glory. His own people could not bear it. Therefore He comes in His Gospel to save, represented by a rider upon a white horse, with bow and crown, going forth conquering and to conquer. Compare with Psalm 45—prophetic of Christ. He sends His Gospel to win the world unto Himself.

He breaks the second seal of His revelation, and again the world’s great need is voiced in the cry of the living creature, like a calf, indicative, doubtless, of sacrifice, and service,—

COME

And another rides forth on a red horse, with great sound, significant of war and strife and bloodshed. Men will not accept the white Gospel of peace and purity; they reap in their own mad, rebellious passions war and strife. So, and only so, Christ’s Gospel sends "a sword" upon the earth. Yet still the white-horse rider conquers in all souls submitted to Him, even tho they die in the wars and strifes of men. And still groaning, sin-burdened humanity, voiced by the man-like creature, cries,—

COME

As the Lamb breaks the third seal, lo, a black horse, and his rider holds in his hand a weighing instrument. The color is indicative of pestilence, plague, famine, mourning. And the needs of humanity are met with scanty rations doled out at exorbitant prices, a bushel of wheat at $5.50, a bushel of barley at $1.81. All these calamities have come upon the earth on account of sin. They are sin’s inevitable fruits, and God must let the world reap them that they may learn the awful lesson.

Another seal broken, and another horse, pale and spectral,—another rider, dread and terrible, Death. His lieutenant, Hades, follows with him. What was introduced by the third rider is used by him with fearful effect to kill with sword, with famine, with pestilence (margin), with wild beasts. And God’s groaning earth and universe still cry,—

COME

Yet the white-horse rider is still ready to conquer and make conquerors all who will receive Him. Strife rages, grim Want strikes his victim, Death and Destruction desolate, still God pleads. All creation groans for the coming King, and He pleads with souls, "Come unto Me."

Then agencies of evil came in as the result of rejecting the Gospel. They have been in operation since the Lamb of God was slain upon the cross, one following the other till all were in operation, the pale-horse rider doing his fiercest work during the 1260 years of papal persecution of the Dark Ages.

The Vision Changes

We are nearing the end. Back and forth throughout the world the four horsemen are riding. God remembers His people. The next seal is opened, and the writer sees the faithful ones who received the Conqueror, yet who fell physically before the wicked riders, dead in their graves. And as tho they were alive, as they are in God’s purposes, they are comforted. God’s judgment clothes them in the garment of the white-horse conqueror.

Another seal, and the very earth convulses in longing for her King. A great earthquake, fulfilled in that marvelous one of Lisbon, November 1, 1755; the darkening of sun and moon, fulfilled May 19, 1780; and the falling of the stars, met in the greatest of all meteoric showers, of November 13, 1833. These will be followed by convulsions which dismember the earth, and render it incapable of habitation. The atmospheric heavens are burned, mountains are removed, and the mighty and proud of the earth, too proud to ask the help of God, now pray to the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them, and hide them from the face of Him who is love unchangeable.

Yet previous to these awful convulsions of earth, God has a work to be done, the sealing of His servants for all eternity, the placing upon them the character of God. See also Ezekiel 9. This is treated more at length in an article on "The Seal of God" in No. 4 of this series. It is the last testing work of God for the inhabitants of this world, the ripening-up work for the garner of God, the final result of obeying God.

Beyond this work, the seventh seal is broken. Till then the King lingers. The woes of sin, the suffering people, and His sin-burdened creation through all the centuries have cried,—

COME! COME!! COME!!!

And now He comes. Rev. 8:1., Heaven is emptied of its angelic chorus; for behold, He comes and all the holy angels with Him. Matt. 25:31. Heaven is willing for a brief space to be silenced of her chorus that the poor earth may hear a burst of its divine melody, and that the church militant may be escorted to the heavenly mansions by the Royal Band of heaven, victorious forever.

The book of seven seals is open to the universe, and before all the worlds of righteousness there is revealed the mercy, the compassion, the power, the tenderness, of the God of love and of His Son Jesus Christ, the science and song of all eternity.