to act in some of the punishments of individuals in this life, as well as in the reverses which overtake some of the wicked nations?

Of the great harvest of the world, our Saviour speaks in His parable recorded in Matt. 13:37-39"He that soweth the

good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels."

By these angels the good seed is brought into the garner, but the wicked, represented as tares, will be cast into the furnace of the great burning day.

Just prior to the second coming of Christ seven awful plagues will be sent upon the wicked. See Rev. 15:1. These are to be poured out by seven angels selected for that purpose.

The Gathering of the Saints.

When the work of the gospel is finished, our Saviour will come again to this earth to take His faithful people to Himself. On this glorious mission He will be accompanied by "all the holy angels." See Matt. 25:31; 2 Thess. 1:7-10.

Of this glad day the apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord." I Thess. 4:16, 17. This gathering of the saints will be made by the angels. See Matt. 24:30, 31.

"As the Archangel in midheaven sounds the trump of God, the earth trembles, the graves are opened, and the sleeping saints arise, clothed with immortality. The same angel who has watched over that humble saint through life, and has marked his final restingplace, now stands by his grave; and as the child of God comes up from his dusty bed, he clasps him in his arms, and bears him away in triumph to their coming Lord. O glorious scene! Victory to the saints! Joyful triumph to the Son of God! And the angels share in the glory and the joy. They have borne an important part in the work of redemption, and they rejoice in its final success."

ATAN, who is now the representative of all evil, was once a commanding angel in heaven, beautiful and powerful. His name was Lucifer, which means, "Son of the Morning," or, "Shining One, Son of the

Dawn." Isa. 14: 12.

The first nineteen verses of the twenty-eighth chapter of Ezekiel have a double application:

First, they describe the beauty, riches, pride, arrogance, and wickedness of the city of Tyre, which was located near the borders of Palestine, on the Mediterranean Sea.

Secondly, in reading Eze. 28: 12-15, a deeper meaning is discovered, and it becomes evident that a being is there described who has, at some time, held a high position in heaven, near the throne of the Almighty. Such a description can apply only to Lucifer, who, since his fall, is known as the devil, or Satan.

Many of the prophecies of the Old Testament have a remote as well as an immediate application. For an example see Hosea II:1: "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt."

This refers primarily to the calling of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. This call is given in Ex. 4: 22, 23, in God's instruction to Moses: "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, even My firstborn. Let My son go that he may serve Me."

But the words of the prophet refer also to the calling of the child Jesus from Egypt. It is stated that He remained in Egypt "until the death of Herod : that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet [Hosea 11:1], saying, Out of Egypt have I called My Son." Matt. 2:15.

I

It will be seen also that in the writings of many of the prophets the condition and fate of nations are frequently taken as object-lessons, pointing to still more important events that have transpired in the past, or are to take place in the future.

Thus in the twenty-eighth of Ezekiel the power and beauty, the pride and wickedness, and the final overthrow of Tyre are taken to represent the high position of Lucifer in heaven, his sin of pride and rebellion, and his final fall.

The description of the qualifications of Lucifer and the position which he occupied, as described in Ezekiel 28, is something marvelous.

He was, next to God and Christ; and is still, the wisest being in the universe; for God said through

the prophet, "Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee." Vs. 3. "Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom." Vs. 12.

He was also the most beautiful being in all the creation of God, for the text says he was "perfect in beauty." Vs. 12.

He was permitted to go to other worlds. He had visited this earth, and been in the home of Adam and Eve. "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God." Vs. 13. His visits were for no good purpose, and resulted finally in the fall of the human race.

His appar

el was beau

tiful beyond

human con

ception. "Every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the ber

yl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold."

Vs. 13.

the garden of God."

As a musician he excelled, and doubtless presided as leader of the angelic hosts in their morning and evening songs of praise to "The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy

God.