against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day: and shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard bearer fainteth. And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them." That is, a child instructed in the Scriptures can write that five-sixths of his vast army will fall upon the mountains of Israel, insomuch that only one-sixth of his hosts will escape to return and tell among the nations the terrible things that their eyes have seen in the judgments that the Lord hath visited upon the house of Israel and the nations in the holy land, to make his great name known among all nations (Ezek. 39: 2).

THE MODE OF PROPHETIC INTERPRETATION

Now before we proceed further in the interpretation of the vision of Ezekiel concerning Gog and all his multitude, we must first call attention particularly to what the Lord says (38: 17), "Thus saith the Lord God. Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?" Again the Lord says after the judgment is past when a third part of Jerusalem and her people have fallen by the sword of Gog, a third part perished by famine and pestilence, and a third part have been scattered into all winds, into captivity among all nations, and after Gog and his multitude are destroyed upon the mountains of Israel,- at that standpoint the Lord speaks and says (39: 8), "Behold, It is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken." The importance of these two passages cannot be overestimated as a guide to the interpretation of the prophecies, for here we learn the great and important lesson, that this great confederation of nations has been the familiar topic of prophecy by the prophets of Israel in old time, who prophesied in those days many years that they should come to pass.

GOG CALLED BY DIFFERENT NAMES

Now as Gog is not spoken of by any of the prophets of old, save Ezekiel, by that name, it follows that this same combination of nations is spoken of in other places by different names and titles. How then shall we know how to identify Gog when he is spoken of in other places and by other names? We reply that there is a simple method by which we may commonly determine this very important fact: first, by determining whence this great confederation of nations comes, from the north parts; second, against whom they come, against the people of Israel; third, the time when they come against them, in the latter days; fourth, the destiny of this power after their work is done, they are miraculously destroyed, and few of them left: fifth, by the fact that the house of Israel is to be punished and destroyed by the hand of this combination of nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples, be

cause they have gone after other gods to serve them. These are some of the principal features by which we may know when other prophets are speaking of the same gathering of nations by other names and terms than those found in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters of Ezekiel, although there are frequent allusions to this confederacy where all of these features do not obtain. We will now, therefore, endeavor to identify Gog and his people, to whom he is a guard, in other places.

The prophet Isaiah speaks of him and calls him the Assyrian, although Assyria was situated in a north-easterly direction from Jerusalem. But the only points of the compass that the Scriptures recognize, as a general thing, are north, south, east and west, and therefore if a line were drawn east and west, and north and south through Jerusalem, the pivotal point of the land of Israel, the capital where the Lord's throne and David's throne was, these lines would indicate the four quarters of the earth, and all nations dwelling north of the line drawn east and west would be comprehended in "the north parts," as is said of Gog, “Thou shalt come from thy place, out of the north parts" (Ezek. 38: 15); and kings whose dominions lay east of a line drawn north and south through Jerusalem would, or could be, called kings of the east, and as Assyria lay in a north-easterly direction from Jerusalem, that country would be comprehended in the term, "the north parts," and their kings would be reckoned either among "the kings of the north," or as "kings of the east."

The Assyrian, therefore, comes from the north parts against the house of Israel, as God's rod of correction upon his rebellious house; but after his task is completed and his work is done upon Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he, like Gog, is destroyed, all but a remnant. Therefore as the characteristics of Gog and the Assyrian are identical, we conclude that they are one and the same people, and what may be said of Gog can equally be said of the Assyrian, and whatever is said of the Assyrian may be said also of Gog, for all of these references to that great power vary. One prophet describes certain features of this great confederation of all the families of the north, and other prophets describe certain other features, for this is the manner of the Holy Scripture, which contains "here a little, and there a little," so that in no one place is there a full account of all that obtains, and all the wonderful things that then transpire. And herein is the wisdom of God manifest, for this necessitates study, thought, and reflection, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, that is, Scripture with Scripture, to rightly divide the word.

The place where the Assyrian of the latter days is to be destroyed, and the manner of destruction, we will now point out. First, Isaiah testifies (14: 24-27), "The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" Thus the 1 For proof that this is future, read Isaiah 14:1-24.

place where the Assyrian falls, with all the nations that are under his domination and command, is upon the mountains of Israel, which is the same place where Gog and all his multitude falls.

The Manner of the Assyrian's Destruction

If Gog and the Assyrian are one and the same power, then the manner of their destruction as described by different prophets, must be the same. And so it is, for Isaiah speaking of the overthrow of the Assyrian says, Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy; his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: and his breath as an overflowing stream shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err (the same as is to be in the jaws of Gog). . . .

"And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared (that is, for the king of Assyria, or Gog, or the Beast); he hath made it deep, and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood: the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it" (Isa. 30: 27-33).

Again this same prophet in another place (10: 26) adds another feature to this account of the destruction of the Assyrian and his multitude, saying, "The Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him, according to the slaughter of Midian, at the rock of Oreb": And what was that? It is said when Gideon and his three hundred blew the trumpets and dashed the pitchers to pieces, "The Lord turned every man's sword against his brother." Thus all the elements of destruction that are employed to overthrow Gog and his multitude, the prophet tells us are to be employed for the destruction of the Assyrian; and they fall in the same place, and at the same time because, as we have said, it is one and the same power, as we shall see when we return to consider further what the Lord says of the destruction of Gog.

For the day when Gog comes up against the house of Israel is the day of judgment when God will judge his people and repent himself for his servants when he seeth that their power is gone and that there is none shut up or left. Therefore the things that shall then come to pass are many and mighty, and the various things that the prophets have spoken of touching these times would fill a volume, for the Lord himself says, "This is the day whereof I have spoken" (Ezek. 39:8). The just and the unjust rise from the dead in connection with these eventful times, and concerning the things that the assembled nations of the earth shall then behold the Lord says, "It shall come that I will gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come and see my glory" (Isa. 66: 18). The old Mosaic heavens and earth pass away in these times, and the new heavens and new earth are established, consisting of the

remnant of Israel under the new covenant after the wicked of the earth are

plucked away.

The judgments that are to be visited upon Jerusalem and her people, and the people of the land, are numerous and varied; they are systematized and classified and measured, and every jot and tittle contained in the book of the law, the book of judgment, must be fulfilled, and it will occupy a period of years for all these things to transpire; nevertheless it will all be compassed within one generation, as Luke says, "This generation (that see these things begin) shall not pass away, till all these things be fulfilled" (Luke 21: 29-35).

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In Daniel's vision, as recorded in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth chapters of his book wherein this august and mighty personage who showed to him this vision says to him (10: 14), Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days," in this prophecy — the personage by whose hand the Lord brings the evil upon his people is called "the king of the north," and it is said of him that when he has overrun and overthrown the countries, including "the glorious land" (the land of Palestine) and gone down and spoiled Egypt, he returns, and plants the tabernacles of his palace between the seas (the Mediterranean and the Dead sea), in the glorious holy mountain. "Yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him" (Dan. 11:45). He falls upon the mountains of Israel just where Gog falls, for he is Gog himself under another name. And when one observes what follows, he will see that these are the events which transpire and cluster about the standing up of Michael, the great prince which standeth for the children of Israel at the resurrection of the dead.

THIRD, THE IMAGE, IN DANIEL

This great confederation of nations is brought to view again in the great image, whose brightness was excellent and the form thereof terrible, which was shown to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, in a vision, which Daniel interpreted to the king to make known to him what should come to pass hereafter, saying, "There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days" (Dan. 2:28). The different metals and materials of which this great image was composed symbolize the great and mighty empires of antiquity, together with the rebellious house of Israel, who compose the clay of the image (as we will show later). These great empires of the past, under the dominion of great lords and renowned, who caused their terror in the land of the living, are again to reappear in the latter days, and will be comprehended in one great confederacy which will embrace all the countries of ancient Babylon, Media, Persia, Grecia, and Rome. These will stand as the image, upon the mountains of Israel. There the stone of Israel, cut out without hands, will smite the image and grind it to powder, till it becomes like the chaff of the summer threshing floors which the wind carries away; then the stone becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth. This image is simply Gog, and all his multitude, set forth in this wonderful manner.

The same things were shown to Daniel in the vision of the four beasts. the lion, bear, the leopard, and the ferocious wild beast with great iron teeth and ten horns answering to the ten toes of the image, and including a little horn whose look was more stout than his fellows. Daniel says, “I beheld until the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, . . . I beheld then because of the great words which the horn spake, I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame" (Dan. 7:9-11). This is therefore another presentation of Gog and all his multitude, and the people of Israel in this vision are represented by the little horn, whom we will show to be a king in Israel.

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FIFTH, THE LITTLE HORN OF THE GOAT

The vision of Daniel as recorded in the eighth chapter is another picture of Gog and the Assyrian, in part presenting other features not clearly shown in the other instances already referred to.

"The ram with two horns," says Gabriel, in the interpretation, “are the kings of Media and Persia, and the rough goat is the king of Grecia, and the great horn that is between his eyes, is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power; and in the latter time of their kingdom when the (Israelitish) transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up, and his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall practise and prosper, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people (of Israel). And through his policy also, he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart (like the Assyrian, being the Assyrian himself) and by peace (or prosperity) shall destroy many. He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand (Dan. 8: 20-27),— the same way and in the same place as the king of the north, that is between the seas in the glorious holy mountain.

This little Gentile horn is first small, but he waxes exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land (the holy land). It is said of the ram, in this vision that he did according to his will and became great and of the goat which succeeded him, that he waxed very great, but that the little horn waxed exceeding great; he surpassed his predecessors. He is the nation of fierce countenance spoken of by Moses, whom the Lord said he would send against his rebellious people for their destruction, and when his work is finished, like Gog, the Assyrian, and the king of the north, he falls and is broken upon the mountains of Israel, because it is the same power, though presented in a different form.

Thus we have referred to some of the most extensive and most prominent visions and prophecies in the Old Testament Scriptures which speak of this one great assemblage of nations in the latter days which the Lord brings up against his own rebellious people, and we are most emphatically informed that there is but one such day, that there has never been one like it before, and that there is none to arise like it afterwards. This fact should teach us that what