THE BRIDE (II COR. 11:2)

Paul said to the church at Corinth, "I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." The children of God are espoused to Christ now, and if faithful, will be married to him in the resurrection. The apostle writes also to the church at Ephesus (5:30-32) saying, "For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones; for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Therefore as Christ's flesh and bones are now made perfect, that is immortal, so will the flesh and bones of his bride be when they are united in marriage in the resurrection.

OF WHAT WILL THE SUPPER CONSIST? (REV. 19:17-18)

The angel said unto John, "Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." Now the invitation to the guests to come to the marriage supper of the Lamb is not couched in plain language, but it is spoken to them after the manner of this book in figurative language, and reads as follows, saying (verse 17), "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." The food then of which the supper will consist is described as follows, saying to the fowls, "that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses (soldiers), and of them that sit on them (their captains), and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great." When John saw and heard these wonderful things, he was so much impressed with them that he fell at the feet of the angel which showed him these things, to worship him, and he said unto him (verse 10), "See thou do it not; I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS" (REV. 19:10)

"For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The Book of the Revelation is the testimony of Jesus, even as it is called in the very beginning of the book of which John bare record. Again Jesus speaks of himself in the closing words of the book saying, "I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches."

"I AM OF THY BRETHREN, THE PROPHETS (REV. 19: 10)

The reason why the angel who showed John these wonderful things by signs, figures, and similitudes would not accept divine honors from him, he states in the following words saying, "I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus." And the second time that John would worship him (22:9) he refused saying, "I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book." This angel, therefore, being one of John's brethren was an Israelite, one of the children of Israel who had been glorified, for he was an angel.

This is a valuable lesson for all to learn who are in doubt, or who are entirely ignorant as to what the saints will do in the ages to come. Between death and the resurrection, as we have already proved, they will do nothing, neither the righteous nor the wicked, even as speaketh the Preacher, saying (Eccles. 9), All things come alike to all; there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, and to the clean and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not; as is the good so is the sinner; and he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath. This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all; yea also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion." And we may now say that in the present day very few of the inhabitants of the earth know and understand the scriptural reason why a live dog is better than a dead lion, but here the wise man informs us, saying, "For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now perished."

Now in the light of these words it is folly for any one to affirm that when a man dies, his body knows not anything but that his mind is still active, that his love, hatred, envy and all the faculties of his mind are still alive and vigorous. But No, saith the prophet, "their love and their hatred, and their envy is now perished." Knowledge, memory, thought, love, hatred, envy are all qualities of the mind, and when a man dies, they all die with him, and are no more until he rises from the dead; then they will appear again in all their fullness and vigor, but not till then.

Therefore when the righteous rise in the resurrection in glory and in power, they will be employed with Christ their Lord in executing the judgment and will have power like the angel who spake to John, to communicate with men in the flesh, with wise men and prophets, even as the angels have done in the past who have been sent of God to do his will in the earth. But they will be hidden from human sight as the angels are; and will not be seen except as the angels have been in the past, when they were pleased to withdraw the veil and show themselves to men in the flesh, to mortal men, to speak with them face to face, as the angel spake to Moses in the wilderness, or in visions and dreams, as was often done; even so will the saints do when they are as the angels. "For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, of which we speak." The age to come will be governed by Christ and his brethren.

The angel said to John, "I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus" (Rev. 19:10). And the reason why he could have the testimony of Jesus, he explains, saying, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." This is tantamount to saying that the book of the Revelation is a summary in concentrated form of the great things of God's law as set forth in the writings of Moses and the prophets; and therefore as this angel who showed John

these things was himself one of Israel's prophets who had been glorified by resurrection or translation, but whose name is secret, and as this angel had lived in the flesh in the former days of Israel,- he could then have held and kept the testimony of the prophets, which is afterwards called the testimony of Jesus. For Peter says, "The prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what or what manner of time the spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified before hand of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow" (I Pet. 1: 10-11).

Again Paul hath said of Israel in the wilderness, "They all did eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ" (I Cor. 10:3-4). Now the spirit which accompanied the children of Israel through the wilderness by which they were instructed and guided, and by which they received the law, is called the spirit of Christ, that is, the spirit of anointing, and is the spirit by which Jesus was anointed, even as Peter spake to Cornelius saying, "The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, that word I say ye know, which was published throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him."

It is easy, therefore, to see how the testimony of Jesus, as contained in the Book of the Revelation, is the spirit of prophecy, for with the same spirit by which God spake to Israel by the former prophets of old, he afterwards spake to Israel by Jesus of Nazareth, and by that same spirit was the Book of the Revelation given to the churches through Jesus of Nazareth and is therefore called the testimony of Jesus. And as the spirit spake by the prophets of things which should arise in the future, both in plain language and by figures and similitudes, so the same spirit also spake of the same things in the Revelation, but in a much more symbolical form by the hand of Jesus than he had done before by the hand of Moses and the prophets. Moreover, a very striking illustration of how the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, appears in what is said of the marriage supper of the Lamb, first in the prophets and afterwards in the Revelation.

THE MARRIAGE SUPPER SPOKEN OF IN PROPHECY

First, this great supper, or sacrifice, and what it consists of, and who are the honored guests that are to consume this bountiful repast as brought to view in the Revelation, are also portrayed in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel long before the Book of the Revelation was sent by the hand of Jesus Christ to the churches. Therefore the Lord spake by Ezekiel (39: 1-5) saying, "Son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: and I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the moun

tains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured; thou shalt fall upon the open field; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God."

The people who are spoken of by figure as ravenous birds and beasts of the field, to whom the Lord says he will give Gog and all his multitude to be devoured, are afterwards in verse 9 spoken of in plain language as the house of Israel that is, they are the remnant of the house of Israel who remain in the land after the old rebellious house of Israel under the old covenant had been swept away by the sword of Gog as we have before pointed out. This remnant constitutes the only house of Israel that there is in the land when Gog falls upon the mountains of Israel, and are spoken of (39:9) saying, "And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years, so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God."

After that in verses 17 to 20 the Lord adds, again in figurative language, saying, "And thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God, Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field (the remnant of Israel, and the guests of the marriage supper of the Lamb), Assemble 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, 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 with all men of war, saith the Lord God."

This great sacrifice that is here spoken of in both plain and figurative language which consists of the spoils of war of Gog and all his multitude, who are devoured by the ravenous birds and beasts of the field, that is, by the remnant of the people of Israel, is reproduced in the testimony of Jesus where Gog and all his multitude are spoken of as the beast, and the kings of the earth and their armies, and the remnant of Israel, as they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb; and the call to every feathered fowl and every beast of the field is reviewed in the testimony of Jesus by the vision of an angel standing in the sun and calling to them, as it is written, saying, “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."

Now as both Ezekiel and John in these prophecies speak of the same things, by comparing what they have said the truth is plainly seen. Moreover the whole story is not all told in any one place, and there are many more things said of this great supper in the Revelation than are spoken of by Ezekiel. Ezekiel says nothing about this great sacrifice being the marriage supper of

the Lamb, for the Lamb of God had not yet appeared in his day, but he was manifest in the days of John when this Revelation was given. Again Ezekiel says that it is the Lord God of Israel who destroys Gog and all his multitude upon the mountains of Israel. In the testimony of Jesus it is the same personage, but he is there called the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, which name is written on his vesture and on his thigh. His name also is called the Word of God, but in plain language it is Jesus of Nazareth who became both Lord and Christ when the Father's name was transferred to him from the angel who bore it until Jesus was manifest.

Neither did Ezekiel say anything about the armies of heaven who follow the King of Kings riding upon white horses. These armies of heaven are his brethren, the saints, who come with Christ to execute judgment upon the Jew first, and after that upon the Gentile, for Gog will not fall upon the mountains, of Israel until after the rebellious house of Israel has first been destroyed, one-third by famine and pestilence, one-third by the sword, and one-third by captivity, leaving but a remnant to possess the land. The testimony of Jesus furnishes us with many things as they transpire in the latter days which are not described anywhere else as they are in this book. For instance, John says (Rev. 19: 11-16), " 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 hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords." This description of Christ and his brethren in the resurrection, and the work that they shall then do is forcibly described in this passage.

THE LORD AS A MAN OF WAR

When the Lord delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Egyptians and brought them through the Red Sea, which the Egyptians assaying to do, were drowned, "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea." In this song of triumph they said, "The Lord is a man of war. The Lord (Jehovah) is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them, they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy, and in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee. Thou sentest forth thy wrath which consumed them as stubble, and with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea" (Exod. 15). The sayings contained in this song show what a mighty