so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And I fell upon my face." In this description of the glory of the Lord, the throne itself is described as having the appearance of a sapphire stone, and the appearance of the person upon it was the color of amber, from his loins upward, and downward, also as the color of fire. Amber is a stone of a clear light yellow color, as the amber of the sky. The sapphire is a stone of a bright blue color. Moses, describing the pavement on which the God of Israel stood, the angel in whom the Lord's name was placed, says (Exod. 24:9-10), "Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel, and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in its clearness." These things concern the central figure that John saw in heaven, the Father himself sitting upon the throne in the time of judgment. SECOND. THE RAINBOW (REV. 4:3) The second thing which John saw in heaven and described was a rainbow, saying, “And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." Now what is this rainbow? who compose it? what does it signify? and whence comes the light that displays its glories and reflects in it all the beautiful colors of the precious stones stones of fire? First this symbol is employed to represent the myriads of angels who participate with the saints, but subject to the Lord Jesus Christ, in the work of judgment. They are the ministers of God who stand in his presence awaiting his commands to do his pleasure, and to ascribe to him who sits upon his throne the honor and glory due to him, as it is written of them in the one hundred and third Psalm, saying, “The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all his hosts, ye ministers of his that do his pleasure." Paul says of them, that they are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be the heirs of salvation; and Peter shows how profoundly they are interested in man's redemption, for speaking of what the prophets testified of the suffering of Christ, and the glory that should follow. he adds, "Which things the angels desire to look into." Again the Psalmist gives us this precious information concerning them, saying, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." And therefore we are commanded, saying, Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error. Wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?" (Eccles. 5:6). When the prophet Ezekiel saw visions of the glory of God, visions of things in heaven and visions of things in the earth in that day, as they will be manifest among the stiff-hearted Israelites, visions of the same things that John saw, though described by him in somewhat different language, Ezekiel saw the angels of God associated with the resurrected saints, as wheels, which stood beside the living creatures (the saints), saying (Ezek. 1: 16), "The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the color of a beryl, and they four had one likeness, and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel." That is, the angels coöperate with and among the saints in the work of judgment, so that their work is as a wheel in the middle of a wheel, insomuch that it is said (verse 17), And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them, and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up." The two classes of immortal men, the saints and angels, move and work together, for they are alike, as it is said (verse 20), "The spirit of the living creature was in the wheels." The saints and angels have the same spirit of life and immortality, as Jesus taught, saying that in the resurrection the saints are as the angels of God in heaven, neither can they die any more. The same rainbow that John saw round about the throne, Ezekiel also saw round about the throne (verses 27-28) saying, "I saw as it were the appearance of fire (the color of fire is seen in the rainbow), and it had brightness round about, as the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain." The appearance of the wheels and their work (as it is said in verse 16) was like unto the color of a beryl. The beryl is a precious stone of a bluish-green color, an emerald also is a precious stone of a rich green color. The beryl and the emerald therefore display in themselves that beautiful green color which is so delightful and refreshing to look upon in the rainbow, in the day of rain, when the earth is refreshed by showers to bring forth the green and precious fruits of the earth. WHAT DOES THE RAINBOW TEACH? When the old world was destroyed by a flood, when all flesh had corrupted the Lord's way upon the earth and the earth was filled with violence, insomuch that the Lord repented himself that he had made man upon the earth, and when he had destroyed all flesh from off the face of the earth save Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and those that were with him in the ark, when he came forth from the ark after the earth was dried, then "Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings upon the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savor, and the Lord said in his heart, I will not curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth, neither will I again smite any more every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Therefore God established his covenant with Noah and with all flesh, that while the earth remaineth, for perpetual generations he would not again destroy the earth by the waters of a flood, notwithstanding the fact that the imaginations of man's heart is evil from his youth. And he has placed his bow in the cloud as a token of his covenant with all flesh, that during the remainder of the days of the earth, he will not again destroy the earth with a flood, that we may look upon it and remember his covenant. And the Lord said, "I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." Therefore God's bow in the cloud in the day of rain is the rainbow of promise. THE RAINBOW AS A SYMBOL The rainbow of promise in the cloud is a symbol of the rainbow of promise that John saw round the throne of judgment in sight like unto an emerald. The rainbow about the throne is a token of God's covenant with the remnant of Israel that the floods of mighty waters that overflow their land in the latter days, when God breaks up the fountains of the great deep, the deep seas of nations which are brought up over Israel's land to destroy the sinful nation from off the face of the earth will overflow it no more again; and as the Lord spared Noah and his family, so will he spare a few, the remnant, when the floods of men, in the capacity of mighty armies, overflow the land of Israel and sweep away the ungodly. And therefore it is written (Isa. 28: 2-3), "Behold the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which, as a tempest of hail and 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 foot." Now when this flood of mighty waters overflows their hiding place and sweeps away their refuge of lies, and leaves but a remnant in the land, then the Lord speaks to this little remnant who have come through tribulation such as never was since there was a nation to that same time; no, nor ever shall be, saying (Isa. 54:7-9), "For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy upon thee, saith the Lord, thy redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me, for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee." And we may add that the rainbow that John saw around the throne is a token that this oath of God to the covenant will be fulfilled, just as surely as the bow in the cloud is a token that God's oath to Noah will be fulfilled, Therefore God's oath to David among other things (I Chron. 17:9-10) also says, "I will ordain a place for my people, and I will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place and shall be moved no more, neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more as at the beginning, and since the time that I commanded my people Israel." Again the Lord says to the remnant of his people (Isa. 30: 18-21), “And therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted that he may have mercy upon you, for the Lord is a God of judgment, blessed are all they that wait for him; for the people that dwell in Zion at Jerusalem thou shalt weep no more, he will be very gracious unto thee; at the voice of thy cry, when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers, and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it; when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the left." Again this prophet says, "Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended." Again the Revelation saith, " And there was no more sea (21: 1), that is, there will be no more sea of angry nations to deluge and desolate their land. Therefore the rainbow that John saw in the clouds of angels that surround the throne, as they reflect the light that emanates from him who sits on the throne and who dwells in the light that no (mortal) man can approach unto, whom no (mortal) man hath seen, nor can see - this rainbow is a token that for a thousand years, while the new heavens and earth remain, the floods of the ungodly, the children of wickedness, shall no more overflow and desolate the land of Israel. Moreover with reference to the countries of the earth where the children of Israel had been captives and where they had formerly been trampled under foot, as they are at this day in Russia and other countries, it is written of them in the day that the children of Israel shall forever be delivered out of their hand, as follows, "Behold at that time I will undo all that afflict thee, and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out, and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. At that time will I bring you again even in the time that I gather you, for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.” THIRD. THE FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS (REV. 4:4) And round about the throne were four and twenty seats, and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold." The symbols of the four and twenty elders and the four beasts, as seen in this vision, are drawn from the manner of the encampment of the children of Israel round about the Tabernacle in the wilderness. The Lord claimed all the first-born of Israel for his. They were all numbered when they came up out of Egypt; also they numbered the house of Levi, and the Lord exchanged the first-born of all the children of Israel for the house of Levi. The latter were appointed and qualified as ministers and priests before the Lord, to minister about holy things and to wait on the service of the sanctuary. They were given no inheritance in Israel; the Lord was their inheritance, and the tithes of all Israel were given to them, and it was required of them, saying, "The priests' lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at their mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts" (Mal. 2: 7). When the tribe of Levi was separated from the twelve tribes and placed. in the priesthood, that would leave a deficiency of one tribe in Israel. To make up for this deficiency, the Lord had before made provision. The two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, were made heads of tribes instead of Joseph their father; therefore before Jacob died he blessed the two sons of Joseph, and Jacob said to Joseph (Gen. 48: 5), " And thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine, and thy issue which thou begettest after them shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance." This provision whereby Jacob adopted the two sons of Joseph as his, so that they would be numbered among the twelve patriarchs and be heads of tribes, was a divine arrangement whereby, when the tribe of Levi should be separated from their brethren and placed in the priesthood to minister about holy things, there would not be one tribe wanting in Israel. Now wise men of the world do well to make a note of this fact and remember that as James said in the convention at Jerusalem, "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world," and therefore he laid a foundation at the beginning, and he works steadily upon his original plans until he will carry them out to completion. He has spoken from ancient times by his prophets of what should arise and be manifested in connection with his purposes in different ages of the world, as time goes on, so that men may discern the steadiness of his purpose and see a perfect system, connected in all its parts, which will never fail but will ultimately ripen into that which was originally intended. Now how is it that the works of the natural man are so different? The wise men and philosophers lay out a foundation to build upon, but they soon die and another generation arises, and their wise men lay a new foundation, and overthrow and tear to pieces that which their predecessors had laid before them; while the foundation that God has laid has never been changed, but his building goes steadily on and will be finished and perfected in the end. Now why is this? It is because God is immortal, and never dies. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. He moves the heart of kings. and multitudes of men like rivers of water. He ever lives and has power to prevent the frustration of his purposes by the will of men. But man dies through weakness, and his great schemes commonly die with him, whereas if he lived and had power, he might prevent others from tearing down his structures and ploughing up his foundations. There were twelve tribes left, therefore, after the tribe of Levi was put into the priesthood. The twelve tribes were then divided into four grand divisions consisting of three tribes to each division. These divisions were required to pitch their camps round about the Tabernacle, at a suitable distance from it, one division on the east, one on the north, one on the west, and one on the south. Now all these arrangements were not by accident, but were figures of the true, and every man of the house of Israel was required to pitch by his own standard, as the Lord commanded Moses saying (Num. 2:2), “Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard; with the ensign of their father's house over against the tabernacle of the congregation, shall they pitch it. But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it; they shall bear the tabernacle and all the vessels thereof, and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle." Now these things show wherein the wisdom of God transcends the wisdom of men. Man's works are temporal and vain, and pass away and perish with the using. But these things which God ordained in the wilderness were patterns of things in the heavens. They are figures of what shall be hereafter, and be manifest among the immortal sons of God after they are raised from |