QUESTIONS by John Norton Loughborough

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 24, 1861

QUESTIONS.

By John Norton Loughborough

THE following questions from a correspondent of the Review have been handed me, with a request that I answer them:

"BRO. WHITE: Will you, or some one, explain Rev. xix, commencing at the eleventh verse?" The verses referred to read as follows:

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he had on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and the flesh of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."

I have quoted the whole testimony because it will better enable the reader to comprehend the questions, and make it a shorter matter to answer them,

QUESTION 1. Who is it that sits upon the white horse, and what is the white horse?

ANSWER. The one that sits upon the white horse is Christ. "His name is called The Word of God." In the gospel of John [chap. i, 1] Christ is called "The Word." This scene here presented takes place in connection with the second coming of Christ. That being the case, we understand the white horse as a symbol of the clouds on which Christ is said to come. See Rev. i, 5-7; Matt. xxiv, 30; xxvi, 64; Acts i, 11.

QUES. 2. Who is it that is to rule the nations with a rod of iron, at what time does it take place, and how long is he thus to rule?

ANS. The one that rules the nations is the same that sits upon the white cloud, and we will find by other testimonies that the one who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron is Christ. If you turn to Rev. ii, 18, 26, 27, you read, "These things saith the Son of God. . . . He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers; even as I have received of my Father." See also Ps. ii, 8, 9; Rev. xii, 5. The time when this takes place is after all nations are given into his hand, when the fury of God's wrath will be poured out upon them in the seven last plagues. When Christ rules the nations with a rod of iron there is no longer any mercy for them, and therefore this rule must commence when he ceases to mediate for man; just at the time the seven last plagues are to be poured out. As this ruling the nations is to accomplish the work of dashing them to pieces as a potter's vessel, it must continue till all earthly rule is put down, and therefore till the seven last plagues are poured out and the earth is desolated.

QUES. 3. At what point of time does the angel call the fowls to gather themselves unto the supper of the great God?

ANS. It is at the point of time that the whirlwind of the Lord [Jer. xxv, 30-38] shall go forth, and when the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth to the other, which must be about the time of the seventh plague. See also Zeph. i, 7.

QUES. 4. When are the beast and the false prophet cast into the lake of fire?

ANS. At the second coming of Christ. There is fire connected with his second coming, as you will see by referring to 2 Thess. i, 8, 9.

QUES. 5. Does probation last through the pouring out of the seven last plagues?

ANS. It does not. The seven last plagues are the wrath of God threatened by the third message of Rev. xiv. Of that wrath it is said, that it is the "wine of the wrath of God without mixture," which signifies that there is no mercy mingled with it. If there is no mercy with it, it must be poured out in a time when there is no probation. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.