God: "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Thus they came out of the position of the shut door on the side of loyalty to the God of high Heaven, the tree of life, and the eternal city of the redeemed. The reader will not fail to see the difference between their course and getting out of the shut door on the side of perdition. God pity the apostate.

THE SEVENTH ANGEL.

The seventh angel, the last of the seven trumpet angels, had been supposed to be the same as the “last trump," which will awake the righteous dead. But many among the Adventists were about this time taking a different view of the subject. The six former trumpet angels were symbols, and each had occupied a period of time, during which a series of events took place. Why not the seventh be a symbol covering a period of time, during which a series of events might also transpire?

But the scenes connected with the last trump mentioned by the apostle, are represented as transpiring "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." Not so with the events under the sounding of the seventh angel. "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel," is the testimony of Rev. x, 7. As this entire chapter has a direct bearing upon the subject of the great Advent movement as symbolized by the three messages of Rev. xiv, I will here give it with a few brief remarks of application.

"And I saw another mighty angel come down from Heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his

feet as pillars of fire. And he had in his hand a little book open and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to Heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever and ever, who created Heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer." Verses 1-6.

I will briefly call attention to the following points in the above quotation :

1. The angel, in a most solemn manner, swore that there should be time no longer. This does not mean that with the oath of the angel, time, as measured by days, months and years, would cease; for the next verse speaks of the "days" of the voice of the seventh angel. And even from the second advent of Christ and the resurrection of the just, a thousand years are marked as reaching to the resurrection of the unjust. In fact, while the earth and the sun and moon shall endure and continue their revolutions, so long will there be days, months and years. And there is no scripture evidence that these bodies will ever cease to exist. The oath of the angel, therefore, must refer to prophetic time.

2. The angel holds in his hand, as he swears upon the subject of time, a little book open. It may be inferred from this language, that this book was at some time closed up. This was true of the book of Daniel. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan. xii, 4. It was to be sealed only to the time of the end, when it

was to be opened, knowledge of the subject of which it treats should be increased, and many run to and fro in the Scriptures and obtain knowledge upon the subject. If this open book in the hand of the angel represents the unsealed book of Daniel, how forcible the application of his solemn oath to the manner in which the close of prophetic time was proclaimed in 1844.

The oath of this angel must be regarded as a symbol of a most solemn and positive message proclaimed by the servants of God. His right foot upon the earth, and his left upon the sea, represent its extent, and shows that it was to be borne to the people by sea and by land. The prophet continues:

"But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God shall be finished, as he hath declared to his servants, the prophets." Verse 7.

Why introduce the sounding of the seventh angel thus, unless his sounding commenced with the termination of the prophetic time? He is to continue his sounding a period of days, probably prophetic, meaning years, and in the beginning of his sounding, or during the first portion of the period of his sounding, the mystery of God is to be finished. This mystery is the gospel considered with especial reference to the means by which its blessings are secured to the nations of the earth. It is something which, before the apostles' days, even from the foundation of the world, was not made known as it was then revealed. Rom. xvi, 25, 26; Eph. iii, 3–5. It was known that the woman's seed should bruise the serpent's head, and that in Abraham and his seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed; but how this was to be accomplished was not understood till more fully revealed at the first advent of the Saviour, and set forth

by the preaching of his apostles. Before this it was not seen that when the Redeemer should be manifested to the world, all walls of partition shall be broken down, all distinctions be obliterated, and Jew and Gentile, male and female, bond and free, be on equal terms and in equal measure blessed in him. Hence Paul presents as the distinguishing feature of the mystery of God, the fact that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ by the gospel," and that in Christ all might be gathered together in one. Eph. iii, 6; i, 9, 10. Hence we more fully define the mystery of God to mean the great plan of salvation, as it centers in the work of Christ, and is revealed in the New Testament. See also Eph. vi, 19; Col. iv, 3; and Gal. i, 11, 12, compared with Eph. iii, 3.

The finishing of the mystery of God is the completion of the great plan of salvation in connection with Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. In the type the yearly round of service was finished on the tenth day of the seventh month. In the antitype Christ entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary at the end of the 2300 days, to finish the great plan of salvation. The mystery of God was to be finished, as he had declared by his servants, the prophets; and the cleansing of the sanctuary spoken of by the prophet Daniel, is only another expression signifying the same thing as the finishing of the mystery of God. Hence the seventh angel began to sound at the close of the 2300 days, in 1844, when the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the finishing of the mystery of God, commenced.

A series of events to occur under the sounding of the seventh angel is mentioned in chapter xi. After the announcement, in verses 15-17, of his sounding, during which period all earthly kingdoms are to pass into the

hands of the King of kings, an event which interests both earth and Heaven, and calls for the grateful thanks of the good of both worlds, this series is given as follows:

1. "And the nations were angry." This is supposed to have reference to the political commotions and wars of the nations, which the prophets of God have described as marking the closing hours of probation.

2. "And thy wrath is come." This has reference to the seven last plagues, which will be poured out immediately following the ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary.

3. "And the time of the dead, that they should be judged." This is not the investigative Judgment of the righteous. That closes with the ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. It is the Judgment of the wicked dead. We are therefore carried forward in this third event to the time of Christ's appearing in the clouds of heaven, and the resurrection of the just, when he and they will sit in Judgment on the cases of the wicked during the one thousand years.

4. "And that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great." It is true that all these receive immortality at the second coming of Christ, at the commencement of this great Judgment period; but their reward embraces the promised inheritance, the new earth, which will not appear till the close of the one thousand years. "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." Then, at the close of the one thousand years, will the prophets, the saints, and all who fear the name of God, both small and great, receive their full reward.

5. "And shouldst destroy them which destroy the