(12:6). The wonders that are here referred to, are what John saw in his visions, which he describes in figurative and forcible language.

"THE WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE SUN"

This woman consists of those who have believed and obeyed the Gospel, and who have been redeemed from among all the tribes of Israel, and who are sealed with their Father's name in their foreheads, and who pass through the fiery trials, who have the patience of the saints and keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (14:12). The sun with which she is clothed is Christ; the moon which is under her feet is the law, as she is developed under the new covenant. The man child that she gives birth to is the first king in the flesh, of the house of David, that will reign under Christ on David's throne in the new age and kingdom of Israel that succeeds the final passing away of the old Mosaic heavens and earth, with great noise, and garments rolled in blood.

THE GREAT RED DRAGON

The second wonder that John saw in heaven, he describes as follows, " And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth; and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born." This great red dragon is that famous king in Israel that the Lord spake of by Samuel, when the people of Israel were rebellious and said defiantly to Samuel, "Nay, but we will have a king over us, that we may be like all the nations "; in reply to which the Lord said to Samuel, "Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king, yet protest solemnly unto them the manner of the king that shall reign over them." And the Lord says further, "Ye shall cry out in that day (the latter day), because of your king which ye shall set over you, and the Lord will not hear you in that day" (I Sam. 8).

SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS

It may be asked, If this great dragon is a king in Israel, how comes he to have seven heads and ten horns, as well as the beast? The seven heads and ten horns that are upon the dragon, are one and the same thing as those upon the beast. These heads upon the dragon are crowned (Rev. 12:3), which signifies that they are kings of the seven grand divisions of Gog's army, and at this point in the prophecy are placed by Gog, or the beast himself, under the power and authority of the king of Israel, as it is said (13:7), “And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."

This is done by covenant between the Assyrian and the king of Israel, as it is written in the prophets (Hos. 12: 1), "Ephraim feedeth upon wind, and followeth after the east wind (one of the names by which the Assyrian's great army is known), and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians." This covenant is described by the prophet Isaiah (28: 15), as "a covenant with death and hell," that is, with death and the grave. The results to Israel that grow out of this alliance furnish a name by which to call the Assyrian with whom they make a covenant.

This covenant is made with the Crown of Pride" or as Job (41:34) calls him, "A king over all the children of pride." The Lord says of him (Isa. 28: 1-2), "Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim ('drunk but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink'), whose glorious beauty is as a fading flower." (Verse 2) (Verse 2) "Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and a strong one, which, as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand, the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden under feet."

(Verse 14) "Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. (This king of Ephraim, it must be noted here, rules in and over Jerusalem, in these days.) Because," saith the Lord (verse 15), "Ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement. (with death' that is, the Assyrian, and 'with hell,' the grave); when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves." This is not really what they themselves say, nevertheless this is the real truth.

"Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste." This same prophet says elsewhere (Isa. 8: 14-15), The Lord (that is the Lord Jesus) shall be for a stone of stumbling, and rock of offence to both the houses of Israel." And we may here say that as yet he has only been a stone of stumbling, and rock of offence in the past to the house of Judah, but in the latter days he will be manifest in this character to both houses.

And the Lord adds (28: 17-18), "Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail (from the north) shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death (the Assyrian) shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through the land, then shall ye be trodden down by it." This is the same as Isaiah says in another place, the Assyrian shall tread them down "as the mire in the streets (10:6).

From these things it appears that the proud king of Israel will make a covenant with the mighty Assyrian for protection and defence, and will enjoy it while it lasts until the words of the Lord shall be fulfilled. He will have power over the seven heads and ten horns of the beast by covenant, not expecting that this power in the end will be for his ruin and the destruction of his people. But alas, the crown of pride, the great red dragon, shall be trodIden under feet.

The king of Israel, therefore, in plain language, has seven heads and ten horns, or rather has power over these heads and horns while his covenant with the Assyrian lasts, but when this covenant is disannulled, the Assyrian becomes death and the grave to the rebellious house and their kings. Jeremiah also says, "Their quiver is an open sepulchre," that is, an open grave (5:15-16).

THE DRAGON'S TAIL

The dragon's tail consists of the false prophets in Israel who cry "Peace and Safety" while destruction is at the door. The faithful servants of the Lord cry, "Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come, and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." These things they proclaim at the peril of their lives to those who worship the beast, the dragon, and their images, while the false prophets, the tail, say, No evil shall come upon us, neither shall we see the sword or famine" (Jer. 5: 12).

When Jesus came warning the scribes, Pharisees, and the rulers of Israel of the evils that would overtake them, they were filled with wrath and sought his destruction, but could not accomplish their purpose till his time had fully come and his good work was finished. So also in the latter days many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased, and they that withstand the false prophets and turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars, for ever and ever. But with reference to these stars, it is again said, “And they that understand among the people shall instruct many, yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days" (Dan. 11:33; 12:3).

Many of these stars are drawn down and cast to the earth by means of the dragon's tail, for Isaiah saith, "The ancient and honorable, he is the head, and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail" (Isa. 9:15). The color of the dragon is red, because he will shed much innocent blood for a period of three years and a half, during which time he, being backed up by the beast, will make war upon the saints, and upon those who refuse to recognize his abominations, and worship his gods.

THE MAN OF SIN

The same character which John calls the great red dragon Paul calls the man of sin." Christ's coming to execute the judgments of the law, will not transpire till after the manifestation of the man of sin. In the first part of Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians he speaks of the persecutions that they were enduring for the truth's sake, and he commends them for bearing their tribulations patiently, which he says is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, "that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer." And he encourages those that were troubled, saying, "Rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in all his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe in that day."

After thus introducing to their attention the coming of Christ to judgment with his mighty angels, and the punishment of the wicked, and the rewarding of the righteous, he proceeds to caution them not to look for this too soon, saying, "Now we beseech you, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by

our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first" (II Thess. 2).

The Falling Away

"The falling away" referred to here by Paul, we have already shown to be the falling away of the house of Israel in the latter days after the second exodus in which they will be brought up from among the nations, after the manner of Egypt. And after the rebellious element is again purged out from among them in the wilderness, as of old, they will then be planted again in their own land as a righteous nation, and their falling away is their falling again into the iniquities of their ancestors. And it is during the times of this apostacy that the man of sin will make his appearance in Israel, who will not only astonish his own people with his marvelous exploits, but he will make the deep seas of nations boil like a pot: he will make the sea like a pot of ointment. He will make a path to shine after him; for upon the earth there will not be his like, who is made without fear.

The children of Israel insolently and imperatively demanded a king at the hands of Samuel, and the Lord said, "Hearken to their voice, and give them a king." But the Lord has declared his purpose in many ways and in different places, that before they finish up their rebellious career in the latter days, among the many wonderful things that he will do to punish them for their iniquities he will raise them up a king that will so far transcend their utmost expectations of a king, and of what a king should do to and for them, that the Lord says, "And ye shall cry out in that. day, because of your king which ye shall have chosen you, and the Lord will not hear you in that day" (I Sam. 8: 18).

Again the Lord says, and he says it not in vain, "I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord. But I will deliver the men every one into the hand of his king, and into his neighbor's hand. And they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them" (Zech. 11:6). And he says again (verse 16), "For lo, I will raise up a shepherd (one of the names by which kings are called) in the land which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still, but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces."

But when his work is done, and the day of his own overthrow has arrived. then the Lord says of him, "Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock; the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened." This is, therefore, a shepherd in Israel, who will demand divine honors and exalt himself as a god to be worshipped. But he will in the end prove to be a broken idol, and no god.

The Revelation of the Man of Sin

There will be a falling away first, and then will that "man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that

is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

Now we might inquire, Whence did Paul gather such knowledge and information as this? for he himself affirmed that he said none other things than those which Moses and the prophets did say should come. In the Book of Daniel we find a prophecy concerning a king who answers to Paul's " man of sin." In this prophecy of the things which shall befall Israel in the latter days, he speaks of one of the kings, as follows, "And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the desire of women, nor regard any god, for he shall magnify himself above all" (Dan. 11: 36-37).

Here is a character which answers Paul's description of the man of sin. In fact Paul quotes the very language that Daniel here employs to describe the character of this idol shepherd. The Lord says by Hosea, "I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets." We will therefore refer to one of the similitudes that the Lord employs to speak of this man of sin, under the name of the Prince of Tyrus, as was shown to the prophet Ezekiel in chapter twentyeight, where he says, "The word of the Lord came again unto me saying, Son of man, say unto the Prince of Tyrus; Thus saith the Lord God, because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God (in the holy of holies in the Temple), in the midst of the seas (of nations), yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God." As God gave to King Solomon great wisdom and largeness of heart above all men, so will he give to this king, and therefore the prophet says of him (verse 3), "Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: with thy wisdom and thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, thou hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: by thy great wisdom, and by thy traffic, hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches.

"Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God, behold, therefore, I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations, and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas (of nations). Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? But thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee." And then as this man is a circumcised Israelite, the Lord says of him, "Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God."

And in the lamentation that follows for this prince, the Lord says (verse 14), "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God (in Jerusalem); thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with