and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." This verse contains the new song, sung by those who are brought in by the gospel. Verse 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." This verse shows the downfall of the papal power, or mystical Babylon, which was fulfilled in 1799, when she lost her power to rule over the kings of the earth. Rev. xvii. 18: "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." The first angel in the 6th verse represents the sending out of missionaries and Bibles into every part of the world, which began about 1798. The second angel is the messenger of God, denouncing the judgments of God upon mystical Babylon. Verse 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 third angel, which follows the others, is the same as the "midnight cry," giving due notice to the world of the near approach of the judgment day. He has already sounded the alarm,

saying with a loud voice." This has sounded from every part of God's moral vineyard; some in Asia, many in Europe, and multitudes in America, are now sounding the alarm to the world given in verses 10 and 11: "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: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever 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." These verses describe the same events as the last vial of God's wrath, and the scene which will take place at the coming of the Lord Jesus, with all his saints, taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished

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with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. Why start so, my Universal brother? What aileth thee? You used a bad word. What word, my dear sir? Everlasting destruction. Is it not scripture? Yes. But God doth not mean what he says. Ah! ah! my brother, let me tell you one solemn truth: if your conscience had not been alarming you, and if its thunders had not brought convic tion to your mind, you would not thus have started; for words are harmless things. Oh, be warned, my dear sir; let conscience speak, and you will no longer cry peace and safety, when sudden destruction cometh." Verse 12: "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." While the saints have been tantalized, scoffed at, ridiculed and persecuted, they have had patience, they continued to keep the commands of God, and have believed in the testimony of Jesus. "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Verse 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." In this verse the blessings of those who die in the faith of Jesus are clearly brought to view: "they rest from their labors, and their works do follow them." They will be rewarded according to their works. Verse 14: "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle." The Son of man is now discovered sitting on the throne of his glory, crowned with a pure crown of righteousness and truth; having all power to gather the remnant of his people, to reap the last harvest of the wheat, and tread the winepress of the wrath of God. Verse 15: "And another ange came out of the temple, crying with a loud Voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and reap; for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe." God

commands, by his angel, the earth to be reaped; that is, the last of the servants of God to be sealed. We are now living in this last sealing time: the singular means and measures that have been used, the great blessings that have attended these means, the meetings of days, answering to the Jewish feast of tabernacles in time of harvest, the rain of grace that has descended upon these protracted efforts, the withholding of the rain from those churches who would not keep the feast of the tabernacles. Zech. xiv. 16-19: "And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles."

The extraordinary spread of the Bible, the conversion of the inhabitants of the islands of the sea, the numerous societies which have arisen within a few years for moral and universal reform, all go far to prove to me that we are living in the time when the angel has "thrust in his sickle on the earth," and many who are now alive will, no doubt, live to see this angel's work done-" and the earth was reaped." The door of mercy will then close forever, and the next angel will come forth to use as extraordinary means to reap the vine of the earth as were used to reap the wheat. Verses 17, 18: "And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the

clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe." Another angel having power over fire; but as he cannot exercise his power to cleanse the world by fire until the third angel has reaped the vine, he therefore cries "with a loud cry to him that had a sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe." Verses 19, 20: "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the wine-press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine-press even unto the horses' bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."

This last harvest is the great battle of God Almighty, when the wicked of the earth will be cut off by famine, pestilence, and the sword; "for with these three will God plead with all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many." The whole vine of the earth will be gathered, and cast into the winepress of the wrath of God. This is the last cup of the indignation of God, poured upon the kingdoms of the earth. Here the kingdoms of the earth, spoken of in Daniel's vision, will be broken to pieces, and carried away like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, and no place found for them. Then Ps. ii. 9 will be fulfilled: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth."

Ezekiel xxxviii. 19-23 shall then be fulfilled: "For in my jealousy, and in the fire of my wrath, have I spoken. Surely, in that day, there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; so that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence; and the mountains (meaning kingdoms) shall be thrown, down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword

against him, throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God; every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him (Gog, meaning the wicked or persecuting world) with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone.'

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Again, Ezekiel xxxix. 17—20: “And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God: Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assem ble yourselves and come, gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice, that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, (pretended christian kingdoms,) that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice, which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and all men of war, saith the Lord God." These prophecies of Ezekiel, I am confident, are only to be fulfilled after the gospel harvest, and at the time of the harvest of the vine, when God will be sanctified-all nations on the earth will see him, and every tongue confess, and every knee shall bow, when "his glory shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.'

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All who believe that the harvest of the world is this mundane system, must and will acknowledge, that in the description given in this chapter there is not the least allusion to a reign of a thousand years of great happiness and prosperity before the harvest, before the wine-press is trodden without the city. "O no," says the modern millenarian, "we do not profess to believe that the wicked kingdoms, and kings, and wicked men, will be permitted to lord it over God's people then; but we believe that the battle of the kings, and the harvest of the vine, the