Luke 21:8

Christian, Be Not Deceived!

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MEANING OF NAMES MENTIONED IN CONNECTION WITH THE GREAT BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON.

From the dawn of creation God has employed the meaning of names by which to teach His children. The intelligence test which the Creator gave Adam was that of giving appropriate names to each species of life. "Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." Gen. 2:19, 20. The names given were indicative of the characteristics or purpose. We also read: "Adam called his wife's name Eve [margin, i.e., Living], because she was the mother of all living." Gen. 3:20. Turning to the Revelator's description of the enemies of the remnant children of the "last Adam," we see that God has appealed to our intelligence to consider the meaning of "the name of the beast" and "the number of his name." "Here is wisdom. Let him that understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six." Rev. 13:17, 18. The Pope's accustomed title, "Vicarius Filii Dei," meaning "Vicar of the Son of God," numbers 666 in the Latin numerals. Because the Papal system of worship has brought into the professing Christian Church false conceptions of the worship of God, has outwardly changed God's Law of the Ten Commandments, and has introduced a false system of prophetic interpretation, the Revelator declares that this power has blasphemed God's "name, and His tabernacle." Rev. 13:6. By its erroneous system of salvation by meritorious works and an earthly priesthood, the Papacy does injustice to the name of Jesus—"Jehovah is salvation"—for Jesus is our only Saviour.

Spiritual truths present spiritual intelligence tests. The more we love the Lord, obey His Word, and follow the Holy Spirit's leading, the more discerning becomes our spiritual perception. Adam possessed the discernment to give appropriate names to all living things. God would have His children spiritually in tune with Him, to be able to readily discern the spiritual meaning of the names He has employed throughout the Scripture—particularly in the description of the final conflict.

"ARMAGEDDON": A SYMBOLIC "PLACE,"

Before giving the symbolic meaning of the word "Armageddon," we shall briefly deal with the word "place." Some students of Scripture have thought that the word "place" mentioned in Rev. 16:16 definitely determines that "Armageddon" must refer to a literal conflict of nations to be fought in the literal place Megiddo. This is an extraordinary conclusion when a number of places are mentioned in the book of Revelation only because of their symbolical import. Jerusalem and Babylon—both literal places—are not mentioned in reference to literal things, but to spiritual.

Chapters 1-3 of the Revelation apply the spiritual meaning of the seven candlesticks of the sanctuary to the world-wide church throughout the Christian dispensation. There is a "spiritual" priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5, 9) associated with spiritual Jerusalem. Jerusalem and Babylon, and all that was anciently associated with them, are brought into the prophecies of the Revelation in a world-wide, symbolical sense in connection with the great controversy between Christ and Satan. The latter fact is sustained by the law of Bible numbers. The word "place" (from the Greek "topos") is found seven times in the Revelation: 2: 5; 6:14; 12:6, 8, 14; 16:16; 20:11. The sixth use of the word "place" in Revelation is in ch. 16:16. The number 6, as shown in my "Christ Conquers," pp. 113-122, stands for Satan's spiritual kingdom. In Rev. 13:18 attention is called to this numbering system in connection with Satan's false system of worship—the "number of a man," 666 (man was made on the 6th day)—known in the Apocalypse as Babylon. The word Babylon is found 6 times in the Revelation. See Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2, 10, 21. It is the 6th plague which brings us to the time of the slaughter of Armageddon, and the 6th mention of the word "place" in the Revelation is in connection with Armageddon. The number 6 is used in the Revelation for Satan's spiritual kingdom: it is not employed as a national number. In the Revelation, the numbers, names, etc., have a world-wide significance, and cannot be limited to Palestine: they have a spiritual, and not a national significance. The first occurrence in the Apocalypse of the word "place" is in connection with the 7 churches. Their world-wide, spiritual significance is recognized by all. "The seven churches" are represented by "the seven candlesticks" (Rev. 1:20) of the old sanctuary services. These candlesticks were all on the one "shaft" (Ex. 25:31-37): they were all placed, or grouped, together. The first mention of the word "place" in the Apocalypse is in connection with the first of "the seven churches." To the church in Ephesus the warning was given, "repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candle stick out of his place, except thou repent." Rev. 2:5. As each of the churches has a candlestick, the symbolic "place" of each respective candlestick is as follows: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Rev. 2 and Rev. 3. These are the names of cities that existed in Asia Minor—not far distant from Megiddo! The whole book of Revelation was written for "the seven churches which are in Asia." Rev. 1:11. The cities enumerated and stated definitely to be "in Asia" were the places in which the "seven candlesticks" were located. But these, the first seven places mentioned in the prophecies of the Revelation, are used in a world-wide, symbolical sense.

The reader's attention is directed to Uriah Smith's "Daniel and the Revelation," pp. 345-383, where this writer has given the meanings of the seven names of the cities "in Asia," fully explaining their prophetic significance throughout the Christian dispensation.

After pointing out a number of churches to whom John could have written, Uriah Smith asks: "Why, then, were the seven particular churches chosen that are mentioned? For the reason, doubtless, that in the names of these churches, according to the definition of the words, are brought out the religious features of those periods of the gospel age which they respectively were to represent.

"For these reasons, 'the seven churches' are doubtless to be understood to mean not merely the seven literal churches of Asia which went by the names mentioned, but seven periods of the Christian church, from the days of the apostles to the close of probation." p. 329. (Italics mine.)

A. W. Anderson, in his instructive book "The World's Finale," pp. 13, 14, points out the symbolic use the Apocalypse makes of these places:

"A glance at the accompanying map of Asia Minor reveals that these seven cities are situated on an old Roman road which traversed the country in an irregular circular direction, connecting all these cities in the order named, with Ephesus, which was the main seaport of that province in ancient times. It must be obvious that these seven churches are used symbolically of all the churches, for it is self-evident that Christ could not represent Himself as standing in the centre of these seven literal churches, and holding in His right hand the angels of only these sever churches ... the seven churches in Asia Minor were chosen to symbolise the seven periods of church history, because the names of these seven cities and the characteristics of their citizens were admirably fitted to represent the whole gospel church in seven divisions. What a wonderful tribute to the divine prescience of Jesus is here unfolded! From His throne in the heavens He could look down upon a section of Asia Minor, and there trace the outworking of the whole Gospel age in seven periods, by simply following the meandering of an old Roman road which connected the cities of the province of Asia with the seaport of Ephesus; and then to select seven of those cities through which this road passed, the definition of whose names, together with the characteristics of their respective citizens, exactly typified the seven periods of church history .. . seven ancient cities, whose names even were typical of the period symbolized."

On p. 16 the meanings of the names of the 7 cities are given, showing their symbolic significance to "the 7 periods of church history."

"The names of the seven churches are symbolic of the church in different periods of the Christian era." A.A., p. 585.

Let us apply the principle. There is not the slightest mention that these actual cities were to be symbolically understood. These definitely named cities Rev. 1:11 says "are in Asia." The cities were literal, and Asia is literal. Yet they are used in a symbolic, world-wide sense. As the first time the word "place" is employed in the Revelation it is used in a world-wide, spiritual sense in connection with world-wide symbolic cities, and as the names of the seven cities are chosen because of the significance of their meanings, associated with the "topographical and historical features" of these cities, Scripture and logic demand that the same principles be recognized and followed when interpreting "place" and "Armageddon" of Rev. 16:16. As the "history" of the people and cities was coupled with the meaning of the names of those cities and used in a symbolic sense, so, also, when, in the same book of symbols, we read of "a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon" the same principle of associating the history of the place with the meaning of the name must be followed. Megiddo is introduced in the Bible, in Judges 4 and 5, as the place where Israel fought against devil-led enemies. Subsequent Old Testament references also show it as the place of conflict between the forces of good and evil. The history of the "place" Megiddo, like that of the 7 places, or cities, in Asia, must be taken into account in understanding its symbolical use in Rev. 16:16. Writing of the symbolical nature of the names of the Revelation, Isbon T. Beckwith, Ph.D., D.D., in his "The Apocalypse of John," p. 25, says:

"The use of proper names and designations calls for special notice here.. . Even the names of the church ... are really intended to be typical of the whole church. Abaddon, Armageddon, Gog and Magog belong solely to apocalyptic language; and in our book, Babylon, Jerusalem, Jezebel, Sion, and Sodom have a typical sense only."

If "Armageddon" referred to a specific locality, it would be the only prophetic name in the Revelation used in its literal sense.

Again, on p. 648, Dr. Beckwith says:

"Rev. 16:16, Harmageddon. The name here given to the place where Satan's hosts are gathered, and where doubtless the battle of Rev. 19:11 is conceived to occur is unquestionably purely mystical. . It is unknown to Hebrew literature, and it would be contrary to the Apocalyptist's use of proper names to identify it, in its eschatalogical application, with any place so called. It is an imaginary name for designating the scene of the great battle between Antichrist and the Messiah.. . . The designation 'Mount Megiddo,' thus derived, is open to the objection that the region is not a mountain, but a vast plain."

Then this noted author connects up the word "mountain," mentioned in the prophecy of Ezek. 38, 39, with the word "Armageddon" (Rev. 16:16), which contains a reference to "Megiddo," "famed in Israel's history as the place where Jehovah's enemies perished."

"The great battle of the Messiah with the Antichrist. Rev. 19:11-21. This prelude (vs. 17, 18) to the battle is suggested by Ezekiel's prophecy of the assault of the nations upon God's people in the last days, and the overthrow of Gog with his hosts upon the mountains of Israel." Ibid., p. 734.

Henry's Commentary declares:

"Armageddon . . . it should now be the field of the last battle in which the church . . . shall be victorious."

There is no literal place called "Armageddon." Megiddo, of course, is in John's mind, but he coins the word (see my "What is Armageddon?" pp. 12-17) when referring to the slaughter of spiritual Israel's enemies on the antitypical "mountains of Israel."

THE MEANING OF "ARMAGEDDON."

Rev. 16:16 definitely directs us to "the Hebrew tongue" for our understanding of the word "Armageddon." In Rev. 9:11 we also find reference to a "name in the Hebrew tongue." Uriah Smith, in his "Daniel and Revelation," page 479, says that it is "evident that the character, rather than the name of the power, is intended to be represented." This conclusion applies with equal force to the term "Armageddon."

If one interprets the word "Armagedddon" as "Mount Megiddo," the meaning of merely the first part of the word is applied, namely, "Har," meaning "Mount." We are not instructed to notice merely the "Har" portion of the word, for it does not give the complete meaning of the word. "Mageddon," or "Megiddo," comes from a Hebrew root "gadad," meaning "to cut off, slaughter." The noted Hebraist, Dr. William Gesenius, in his lexicon, defines this word "gadad": "to cut into, to cut,. to prune a vine, to cut cloth from the loom, to penetrate, to break in upon; Ps. 94:23 from the idea of cutting off . . . to cut oneself, to make incisions on one's skin, as in mourning, Jer. 16:6; 41:5; or as afflicting the body for any cause. Deut. 14:1."

In Dr. Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, Megiddo is shown to come from a root word meaning ". . . to gash ... cut selves ... to cut down; hew down." Dr. Strong declares that "Armageddon" is "a symbol name."

Christopher Wordsworth says: "Armageddon or Harmegedon is formed from two Hebrew words, the one 'har,' signifying a mountain, the other a cutting to pieces; and thus it means the mountain of excision or slaughter. The word Armageddon then signifies a mountain of slaughter, like the valley of decision or cutting off described by Joel (3:14), and is a figurative expression similar to that in the same prophet, namely, the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:2, 12) or judgment of God. The word Armageddon seems also designed to signify a defeat and slaughter, such as that of the kings of Canaan at Megiddo in the reign of Galilee, wrought by miraculous interposition of Almighty God discomforting the vast and terrible army of Sisera and his confederates."

Other authorities giving the meaning of "Armageddon" as "The Mountain of Slaughter" or "The Mountain of Destruction" are The New Testament Pocket Commentary from Henry, Doddridge, Burkitt, and other writers; Schofield's Bible; Dr. Scott's Commentary; Wilson's Emphatic Diaglott; Weymouth; Dr. Young, etc.

The symbolic word Armageddon is employed in Rev. 16:16 because of the meaning attached to its name and because of the Old Testament history associated with Megiddo.

"THE VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT" THE SYMBOLICAL VALLEY OF "GOD'S JUDGMENT."

The principles by which we interpret one part of Holy Writ determine the interpretation of other portions of Scripture. The belief that Rev. 16:12, 16 prophesies a literal conflict of nations at Megiddo has caused some expositors to declare that Joel 3 refers to the same conflict. Joel 3 does predict the same events as those prophesied in Rev. 16:12-16; Ezek. 38, 39; Zech. 14, etc., but while a logical examination of these passages reveals the error and incongruities of a literal interpretation in relation to warring nations, complete harmony exists in the spiritual interpretation in relation to the Israel of God and her enemies.

Joel 3 pictures a gathering of "all nations" outside Jerusalem, in the valley of Jehoshaphat. In verse 2 God declares: "I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat." In verses 11, 12 God also says: "Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen [Heb. Goyim, nations, Gentiles], and gather yourselves together round about [Jerusalem]: thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, 0 Lord. Let the heathen [nations, gentiles] be awakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen [nations, gentiles] round about [Jerusalem]." We are also informed in v. 14: "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (margin, concision, or threshing) : for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. . . . The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel."

In Rev. 16:14-16 we are informed that "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" will be "gathered together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." It is impossible for "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" to all gather together at the "place" Megiddo, for Megiddo is not large enough to accommodate them, and the valley of Jehoshaphat is only a small valley to the east of Jerusalem. It is impossible for "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" to be literally gathered at Megiddo and, at the same time, be "all" brought "down into the valley of Jehoshaphat." How could they "all" be "in the valley of Jehoshaphat" and at the same time be at mount Megiddo, about 70 miles away? Armageddon, as we have shown, is employed because of the symbolical meaning of the word.

The literal application of Joel 3 to the warring nations in the valley of Jehoshaphat brings to view many incongruities. Christ will not literally "sit" (Joel 3:12) in "the valley of Jehoshaphat" to judge the nations supposed to be literally gathered there, for that would be a contradiction of the Master's own use of this very passage of Scripture (Matt. 25:31, 32). It would also mean that Jesus would do the very thing against which tie warned when referring to the coming of false christs and false prophets. The sign of being counterfeit is the appearing in certain localities. He declared that His coming would not be to any earthly locality, but would be seen by all (Rev. 1:7); and His saints would "be caught up ... to meet" Him "in the air." See Matt. 24:23-27, 30, 31; 1 Thess. 4:16-18. Christ will not descend to the earth until at the end of the millennium.

By adhering strictly to the principle that the church is now the Israel of God and that Jerusalem, the ancient seat of the Lord's kingdom, is now the Scriptural symbol of the dwelling place of the Lord in His church, the contradictions so apparent in the literal interpretation do not exist. In Joel 2:32 deliverance from the foes which have gathered without the city of God is promised to "the remnant" within Jerusalem. "For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall he deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." In the final struggle between the forces of good and evil, deliverance will be found "in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem." Zion is definitely interpreted in the New Testament to refer to the church. Compare Joel 2:32 with Rom. 10:13; Isa. 28:16 with 1 Pet. 2:6-8; Isa. 59:20 with Rom. 11:26, etc. The remnant who are said in Joel 2:32 to find deliverance are the same remnant referred to in Rev. 12:17 as the special objects of Satanic hatred in the final conflict (or "war" or "controversy") over the law of God. In Rev. 14:1 this remnant is pictured as being "with" the "Lamb . . . on Mount Zion." When the earthly powers "give their power and strength unto the beast" (Rev. 17:13) and gather, or unite, together to attack Jerusalem (the church of the living God), and thus "make war with the Lamb," this "remnant" of the church will stand loyally "with the Lamb." "They that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful." Rev. 17:14. They will stand on Mount Zion with their Lord when the forces of evil make "war with the Lamb." The Christian church is portrayed by the beautiful imagery of the vision of the great temple and city in the "holy oblation" in "the land of Israel . . . upon a very high mountain." Ezek. 40:2; 43:12.

The enemies of spiritual Israel will "unite," or "gather" their forces around Jerusalem—the spiritual dwelling-place of the Lord—and there, "in the valley of Jehoshaphat," meaning "the valley of God's judgment," spiritual Israel's enemies will be cut in pieces in one vast "mountain of slaughter." In other places we have shown how the Revelator refers to the valley of Jehoshaphat (compare Joel 3:13 with Rev. 14:15-20; 19:15) in a world-wide sense. The harvest of wheat and the harvest of grapes, mentioned in Joel 3:13, 14 as being reaped "in the valley of Jehoshaphat" (margin, "valley of decision, or concision, or threshing"), can refer only to the harvest of the righteous and the harvest of the evil of all the world. In the parable of the wheat and the tares Jesus explicitly declared: "The field is the world . . . the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels." Matt. 13:38, 39. In Matt. 25:31, 32 Jesus points to His second advent as the time when ""all the heathen, or nations," mentioned in Joel 3, shall be gathered before Him to receive God's judgment: "then He shall sit [not in the literal valley of Jehoshaphat, Note the word "sit" is taken from Joel 3:12] upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats."  Thus Jesus gives the interpretation of "the valley of Jehoshaphat," mentioned in Joel 3, to be the symbolical valley "into" which "all nations" would be gathered" before Him; the valley in which would take place the harvest of the wheat and the tares, the dividing of the sheep and the goats: He applies the valley of Jehoshaphat (in harmony with the meaning of the name—"the valley of God's Judgment") in a world-wide, symbolical sense. Rev. 14:14-20 pictures the second advent, when the Master will come with His sickle "and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe." Thus the harvest, pictured in Joel as being "in the valley of Jehoshaphat," is said in Revelation to be "the harvest of the earth." The reference in Joel 3:13 to the treading (see Variorum Bible) of the winepress—the wrath of God upon the "multitudes, multitudes in the valley of concision, or threshing''—is given a world-wide application in Rev. 14:18-20: "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great [world-wide—not the small, literal valley of Jehoshaphat] winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city [Jerusalem, the church], and blood came out of the winepress, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." Thus the gathering of "all the nations" "into the valley of Jehoshaphat"—the reaping of the harvests of wheat and grapes, the cutting, or threshing, of "multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision"—outside Jerusalem is interpreted in the New Testament to mean the world-wide scenes of judgment at the second coming of Christ. "In Mount Zion and in Jerusalem [that is, the church] shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call," while the winepress is "trodden without the city"—the church. There will be a literal application of these verses at the end of the millennium, as explained in another chapter.

The Revelation often takes several local, literal things mentioned in the Old Testament and blends them into one picture describing the final world-wide scenes. If applied literally, contradictions would appear; but when the Revelation blends them into one symbolical picture, all the incongruities of a literal interpretation do not exist. When applied symbolically, Jehoshaphat, meaning "the valley of God's judgment," and Armageddon, meaning "the mountain of slaughter," refer to the same event: both refer to the judgment of God, which results in the utter destruction of all His enemies and the enemies of the church. In the Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, we read that "the valley of Jehoshaphat" "may be used as a general term for the theatre of God's final judgment on Israel's foes." "The valley of Jehoshaphat" is symbolical of the slaughter of "Armageddon," when God arises to slay the last foes of spiritual Israel of whom Tyre, Edom, Egypt and Philistia, mentioned in Joel, were but types.

Ezek. 38, 39; Joel 3; Zech. 14; Rev. 16:12-16, etc., do not describe a battle to be fought between nations in Palestine, but a world in rebellion against God, seeking to destroy His church: a rebellious world which is slaughtered in the world-wide valley of "God's judgment."

The following extracts are representative of what many commentators have expressed concerning the symbolical, world-wide application of the prophecies of Joel, etc. Cruden says:

"Jehoshaphat, in Hebrew, signifies the judgment of God. And it is very probable that the valley of Jehoshaphat, or God's judgment, mentioned in Joel 3, is symbolical."

Christopher Wordsworth says:

"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision . . or in the valley of cutting to pieces. like sheaves crushed on the summer threshing floor by the sharp-toothed instrument which was formed with revolving cylinders and by which they were threshed.

"The valley of jehoshaphat or Judgment of God, is the world's threshing floor; and rebellious men and nations are compared to sheaves that have been reaped in the world's harvest, and are cast on the floor to be threshed–as Mercer well says, However numerous they may be in multitude, however furious the uproar they make in their bold and blasphemous insurrection, raging against God (Ps. 2:1-2), yet He will gather them all together into the threshing floor of His judgment, and cast them down prostrate there."

Dr. W. Smith's Bible Dictionary comments concerning "the valley of Jehoshaphat":

"The passage is one of great boldness, abounding in verbal turns in which Hebrew poetry so much delights, and in particular there is a play between the name given to the spot—Jehoshaphat, i.e., 'Jehovah's judgment'—and the 'judgment' there to be pronounced. . . . The name may be only an imaginary one conferred on a spot which exists nowhere but in the vision of the prophet. Such was the view of some of the ancient translators."

Matthew Henry's Commentary says:

"A challenge given to all the enemies of God's kingdom, to do their worst; to signify to them that God is preparing war against them, they are called upon to prepare war against Him. Vs. 9-11. When the hour of God's judgment is. come, effectual methods shall be taken to gather all nations to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, Rev. 16:14. It seems to be here spoken ironically: 'Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles,' let all the forces of the nations be summoned to join in confederacy against God and His people.... Thus does a God of almighty power bid defiance to all the opposition of the powers of darkness; let the heathen rage, and the kings of the earth take counsel together against the Lord and His Christ; let them assemble and come, and gather themselves together; but He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh at them. . . Jehoshaphat signifies, the judgment of the Lord. Let them come to the place of God's judgment, which perhaps is the chief reason for the using of the name here, but it is put together as a proper name for the sake of allusion to the place so called, which we observed before; let them come thither where God will sit to judge the heathen, to that throne of glory before which shall be gathered all nations, Matt. 25:32. . . .

"The valley of threshing; so the margin, carrying on the metaphor of the harvest (V. 13). . . . The proud enemies of God's people will then be crushed and broken to pieces, and made as the dust of the summer threshing floors. Innumerable multitudes will be gathered together, to receive their final doom in that day. As in the destruction of Gog we read of the valley of Hamon-Gog, and the city of Hamonah (Ezek. 39:15, 16), both signifying the multitude of the vanquished enemies; it is the word here used [in Joel 3: 141, Hamonim ["multitudes"] . . ."

Dr. Scott's Commentary on Joel 3 says:

"We may suppose the word 'Israel' to comprehend the faithful of all ages: and then we may observe that the judgments denounced against the church's enemies are chiefly for their hatred and cruelty towards God's servants. . . .

"This is a challenge, publicly proclaimed, to the enemies of Israel, and of the church, to excite themselves and each other to a combined assault. . . . Let all the heathen collect all their forces to battle against the worshippers of Jehovah.... But the Scriptures, referred to (Ezek. 38-39, etc.), show that almost all the prophets foretell the same final victory of the church over all nations that oppose it....

"'Sanctify war.' From this expression many conclude that the war spoken of will be engaged in on religious pretexts, and be a kind of proclaimed crusade, or holy war, for the extirpation of restored Israel, and of the true church of God."

Christ chose the valley of Gehenna (Mark 9:43-45), south of Jerusalem, to symbolize a world-wide annihilation of the wicked after the millennium. Rev. 20. Similarly, the valley of Jehoshaphat, east of Jerusalem (maps at back of Bibles; Philip's Handy General Atlas, etc., place the valley of Jehoshaphat between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. See also G.C. 33), is used to symbolize the world-wide judgment at the second advent.

As explained in my "What is Armageddon?" pp. 16, 17, the measurement mentioned in Rev. 14:20 in connection with the treading of the winepress of God's wrath is taken from Ezekiel's vision of the temple, city and "the oblation." See Ezek, 40-48. One thousand six hundred furlongs is equivalent to 200 miles, which is the circuit of "the Holy oblation" in which, in Ezekiel's vision, the church is pictured under the figures of a mighty temple and city on the "very high mountain" "in the land of Israel." In the Apocalypse, Ezekiel's visions concerning Israel are given their spiritual meaning, and Ezekiel's "oblation," and all it contained, are referred to as God's city—the world-wide church—outside of which the enemies of the church perish in Armageddon's world-wide slaughter.

THE MEANING OF "GOG" AND "MAGOG" (Rev. 20:8).

The inspired interpretation of Ezek. 38, 39 is given in the book of Revelation. Rev. 20:8 distinctly states that Gog and Magog are "the nations [or Gentiles, people] which are in the four quarters of the earth . . . the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." As in the case of all other Old Testament prophecies brought into the Revelation, a world-wide application is made of the great army of Gog and Magog: we are directed to the vast numbers in Gog's army. God's Word does not indicate Gog's army to be Russia, but, to the contrary, distinctly says that Gog's army is "in the four quarters of the earth." As we have shown elsewhere, the number four is employed in the Scripture for the whole world. The prophecy of Ezek. 38, 39 does not concern merely Palestine, but is a prophecy comprehending the whole world. All the Hebrew prophets present the world-wide scenes of the last days in a Palestinian setting and, as shown in another chapter, the Revelation employs the local scenes of the Old Testament in predicting the world-wide events of the last days. This is one of the basic principles upon which depends the true understanding of the prophecies of the Old Testament.

At the end of the millennium, how would the armies of Gog be found in all parts of the world i f they were all killed in Palestine at the second advent? When resurrected at the end of the millennium, they will be in all parts of the world (Rev. 20: 8 ) because they were a world-wide army—"in the four quarters of the earth"—slain in all parts of the world at the second advent. Satan wishes to confuse the people of God on this issue: by his counterfeit interpretation—that Gog's armies attack the literal Jews in Palestine— he seeks to obscure the true interpretation that Gog's armies attack spiritual, world-wide Israel and Israel's sign of allegiance to God. Ex. 31:13-17; Ezek. 20:12, 20; Rev. 7:1-4, etc. The New Testament shows the spiritual application in relation to the church of those things in the Old Testament which belonged to national Israel. The literal application of Ezek. 38, 39, Joel 3, Zech. 14, Rev. 16:12-16, etc., in relation to Palestine is opposed to the principles o f interpretation revealed throughout the New Testament: principles upon which rests God's last-day message.

The prophecy of Joel 3 refers to "multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision." We have shown that these "multitudes" represent the great hosts of the unsaved who are destroyed at the second advent. Gog's armies, described in Ezek. 38, 39, are the same "multitudes" who are slaughtered in "Armageddon . . . the battle of the great day of God Almighty." The prophecy of Ezek. 38, 39 prominently brings to view the great number comprising Gog's army, to which Rev. 20:8 also directs us. Notice the following passages in the prophecy: "Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog.... I will bring thee forth, all thine army ... all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all o f them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his hands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters [those not of the house of Togarmah come from the other three quarters," making up the "four quarters of the earth" mentioned in Rev. 20:81, and all his bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee." Ezek. 38:2-7. To further the graphic portrayal of the great multitudes ("Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision") in Gog's world-wide army, the prophecy declares: "Thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land. thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee." Writing as a believer in the literal interpretation of this prophecy in relation to Palestine and the literal Jews, R. T. Naish, in his "The Last Call," p. 117, says: "The reference to 'a storm' and 'cloud,' may refer to the great fleet of aeroplanes darkening the sky, which will accompany the huge host of the Red armies." This, of course, is a man-made, or "private interpretation" against which we are warned, 2 Pet. 1:20. Looking to the Word of God for guidance, we turn to Heb. 12:1, where reference is made to Christians being "encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses." The myriads of angelic hosts who accompany Christ at His second advent are referred to as "the clouds of heaven." Dan. 7:13; Matt. 24:30, etc. Thus we have Scriptural testimony for the belief that the cloud to which the army of Gog is likened refers, not to aeroplanes, but to the vast numbers led by Gog. This fact is definitely taught in Ezek. 38:15, 16: "And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts [many of Israel's ancient enemies—such as Babylon, etc.—came from the north], thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding [not in aeroplanes] upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: and thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land." Thus the cloud represents the great number in Gog's army: as stated in Rev. 20:8, "Gog and Magog ... the number of whom is as the sand o f the sea ... the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth."

Other references in the Apocalypse to portions of Ezek. 38, 39 also clearly reveal that the prophecy of Ezek. 38, 39 refers to the great multitudes of the people of the world who are in the army of Satan, whose earthly, visible ecclesiastical representative is the Papacy. Study Ezek. 39:4, 17-20 in the light of Rev. 19:11-19.

"The New Testament Pocket Commentary," compiled from Henry, Scott, Doddridge, Burkitt, and other Writers," comments on Rev. 20:8: "Gog and Magog: figurative personifications of the enemies o f God's people. Magog was the son of Japeth, Gen. 10:2, from whom the nations formerly called Scythians, and in modern times, Tartars, are said to be descended. The Scythian kings went by the name of Gog. Gog is said to mean `covered,' alluding to the deceitful character of those who bore his name. Ezek. 38:2; 39:1."

Thus "Gog" is a fitting name for that false system of worship which, under the guise of Christian nomenclature, continues, in the professedly Christian church, the old Babylonian mysteries associated with sun-worship. It is a deceitful form of worship, for it counterfeits the true: it "covers" "the truth in unrighteousness," and "changes the truth of God into a lie." Rom. 1:18, 25. Spiritual Babylon of the Revelation is the rival of Jerusalem, the spiritual home of God's people; but many of God's children are still within Babylon, not knowing that its system is condemned by God. The Lord calls His people to come out of Babylon to Jerusalem, the city of truth and peace. Rev. 18:4. Though the head of that false system professes to be "the vicar of the son of God," the Scriptures define him as "that man of sin ... 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 [the professing church of Christ], shewing himself that he is God." 2 Thess. 2:3. 4. Verses 6 and 8 show that "Gog," the "covered" one, would be "revealed": "then shall that Wicked be revealed."

How true are the footnotes of Brown's Bible concerning Ezek. 38, 39: " 'Gog and Magog,' both signifying 'covered, concealed,' which, read in the light of 2 Thess. 2:3, 6, 8, where `that man of sin,' 'that wicked,' is as yet to be revealed—to be uncovered, as it were—and deprived forever of that mask of hypocrisy, that assumption of Christianity behind which is concealed his idolatry—his heathenism."

The Rev. A. Jones, in the "List of the Proper Names in the Old and New Testaments" at the back of Cruden's Concordance, gives the meaning of "Gog" as "roof, covering, extension." "Magog," according to the same authority, means "place of Gog or expansion, that is, increase of family." Thus we see the play upon the meanings of the names "Gog and Magog" in the description of the leaders and multitudes of those who are deceived by Satan. In heaven Lucifer covered up his real intentions. Under the pretext of bettering the lot of the angels, he led them into rebellion against their Maker. In the garden of Eden he employed the same deceitful tactics, promising our first parents that, by following him, their eyes would be opened to be as gods knowing good and evil. See Gen. 3:1-6. By deceiving them to believe that they would be better off in rebellion against God than in serving Him, Satan succeeded in wooing the third of the angels, our first parents, and the majority of the people of this world. He has always "covered" his real intentions, being "a liar" and a deceiver: so subtlely does he lead that many do not know that they are going contrary to God's will. The Revelator describes the devil as "Satan which deceiveth the whole world." Rev. 12:9. Satan has succeeded in deceiving many to believe that prophecies of "the final conflict" pertain to a conflict of nations in Palestine, with Russia coming from the north, Japan and China from the east, etc. The Papacy has fostered this system of interpretation which "covers" them by diverting the attention of Bible students to some national interpretation in relation to the literal Jews in Palestine, instead of applying the prophecies in relation to spiritual Israel and her enemies. "Magog," meaning "expansion," refers to the world-wide extension of Satan's false system of worship, which has "cast down the truth to the ground; and it [has] practised and prospered." Dan. 8:12, 24, 25. Error will so prosper that "all that dwell upon the earth [except the remnant church, Rev. 12:17, etc.] shall worship the beast." Rev. 13:8.  "Magog," also meaning "increase of family," represents the vast numbers in the armies of Gog: the vast '"multitudes" of the unsaved. In Ezek. 39:11 we read: "And there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it the valley of Hamon-Gog." The margin gives the meaning of this name as "the multitude of Gog." See also v. 15. The third use of the word Hamon is in v. 16, where the name is given of the city which was to have been built in commemoration of this wonderful victory for Israel: "And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah...." The margin gives the meaning of the name: "that is, multitude." Fenton's Translation says: "And the city also will be named Hamonah. Note:—'Hamonah' means 'Mob-town.'" Dr. Strong says of Hamon-Gog: "The multitude of Gog; the fanciful name of an emblematic place in Palestine." The reference to "Gog and his multitude" in the play upon the meanings of the names Hamon and Magog is obvious. No city of that name has ever been built (see Dr. Scott's Com.). If the prophecy of Ezek. 38, 39 were to have a literal fulfilment, then, after the battle of Armageddon, the victorious Jews would build a city near Megiddo and call it "Hamonah," to commemorate the slaughter of Gog's multitude in Armageddon! But, as the Bible teaches the utter destruction of all the wicked at Armageddon (including the unbelieving Jews), it is very evident that Ezek. 38, 39 will not now have a literal fulfilment. Gog, therefore, cannot refer to Russia, and the actual fulfilment will not be Palestinian, but world-wide. Gog's "multitude" (see also Rev. 17:15; G.C. 635, 636), which seek to slay spiritual Israel, are brought to view as being destroyed in the world-wide slaughter of Armageddon. See my "What is Armageddon?" pp. 14, 15, for further reference to the modern name of Megiddo—Legio, now Lejun. "Legio corresponds to the great multitude."

Referring to the burial place of God's army, Hengstenberg's Commentary says: "The valley of Megiddo is in no doubt meant, to which the description eminently applies." After giving particulars concerning the location of the grave of Gog and his multitude, he says: "All the three marks which the prophet gives suit Megiddo. In all probability, Legio, now Lejun, the modern name of Megiddo, is derived from our passage. Legio corresponds with the great multitude here."

When Jesus asked the evil spirit his name, "he answered, saying, My name is Legion, for we are many." Mark 5:9; Luke 8:30. Evil spirits, which are very many, will lead to their doom, the multitudes of the enemies of God and Israel, in the antitypical Megiddo slaughter.

It is interesting to notice the spiritual application given in Brown's Bible of the prophecy of Ezek. 38, 39: "Then borrowing from one prophecy the light derived from another, it appears from Rev. 20:8, that 'Gog and Magog' represent the devil deceived nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, and who, according to Ezek. 38:16 and Ezek. 39:7, 21, 23, 28, are 'the heathen,' 'the enemies' (Ezek. 39:27)."

The Spirit of Prophecy (see E.W., p. 284) uses the term "the heathen" (see Ezek. 38, 39) as representing "the enemies" of the truth. Many of the old godly commentators stated that Ezek. 38, 39 portrayed the combination of Satanic forces arrayed against the church. Brown's Bible comments thus: "There will never be wanting multitudes to assemble against Christ's church."

"The Annotated Paragraph Bible" says:

"The triumphs of the church of Christ, and the overthrow of its enemies, are represented by the destruction of vast armies from the extreme north and south ... the consummation of the great conflict ... between the kingdoms of God and of Satan in the world."

In his "The Book of Revelation," pp. 352, 353, T. W. Christie, B.A., says:

"But what are those simple truths of those chapters of Ezek. 38, 39, and embodied in the spiritual vision of John? . They are those figurative illustrations of spiritual truths relating to the church of God and its enemies, down to the last conflict.... Ezekiel, as a prophet of Israel, used the enemies of the nation Israel as typical of the foes of the spiritual Israel."

Hengstenberg's Commentary on Ezekiel, p. 330, says:

"The Apocalypse destroys the appearance of a historical character, inasmuch as it at once identifies Gog and Magog with the heathen in the four ends of the earth. . . . This is explained only when under Cog and Magog are concealed the enemies of the community of God."

From "The Scripture Gazeteer" we quote:

"The terms Gog and Magog are used figuratively as representing the vast hordes of the Lord's adversaries led by Satan."

Isbon T. Beckwith, Phd., D.D., in his "The Apocalypse of John," p. 288, says:

"Gog and Magog, in which are embraced under a symbolic name all the tribes of men hostile to God."

See also the "Bible Handbook," by Dr. Angus, p. 288.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MEANINGS OF "EDOM" AND "BOZRAH" IN RELATION TO ARMAGEDDON.

The arresting prophecy of Isa. 34 depicts a great slaughter, which expositors generally agree is the coming Armageddon. Schofield's Bible, representing the futuristic view that Armageddon refers to a literal conflict of nations at Megiddo, says: "The day of the Lord: Armageddon." This statement is enlarged in his notes on Rev. 19, which read:

"Armageddon (the ancient hill and valley of Megiddo, west of Jordan in the plain of Jezreel) is the appointed place for the beginning of the great battle in which the Lord, at His coming in glory, will deliver the Jewish remnant besieged by the Gentile world-powers under the Beast and False Prophet (Rev. 16:13-16; Zech. 12:1-9). Apparently the besieging hosts, whose approach to Jerusalem is described in Isa. 10:28-32, alarmed by the signs which precede the Lord's coming (Mt. 24:29, 30), have fallen back to Megiddo, after the events of Zech. 14:2, where their destruction begins; a destruction consummated in Moab and the plains of Idumea (Isa. 63:1-6)."

Another writer, in a recent article entitled "Notes on Prophetic Interpretation of Rev. 16:12-16," also expresses his belief in the futuristic conception of Armageddon. He says:

"In Isa. 34 and 63 it is suggested that the final scenes stretch from the extreme south of Palestine, the land of Edom, of which Bozrah was the capital ...it would indicate that the centre of this last great struggle is in the land of Palestine from the Arabian peninsular in the south, or the country of Edom or Idumea, of which Bozrah was the capital, to the northern extremity covering the plain of Esdraelon, and embracing the valley of Jehoshaphat."

We have already pointed out the impossibility of the literal, military, futuristic application of Joel 3 and Rev. 16: 14-16. As we have shown, "the valley of Jehoshaphat" and "Armageddon" are mentioned because of their symbolical meanings, and for this same reason Edom, or Idumea, and Bozrah are brought into the prophetic description in relation to "Armageddon," "the mountain of slaughter." The Scripture Gazeteer, p. 330, in its comments on Isa. 34, says:

"The original sense of these words aptly applies to a place of slaughter. Edom, signifying red as blood, and Bozrah, a vintage, which, in prophetic language, often denotes God's vengeance upon the wicked."

In the Scriptures wine is a symbol of blood. When inaugurating the Lord's Supper, Jesus selected wine as a symbol of His blood. He said: "This is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." Matt. 26:27-29. Jesus did not actually say that the wine was a symbol of His blood, nor the bread a symbol of His body. Roman Catholics teach that when Jesus said "This is My body . . . this is my blood" He intended us to take His words literally, and not symbolically. Protestants rightly maintain that, though Jesus did not say the bread and the wine were symbols, He certainly meant them to be understood as such. This belief is based upon the fact that, in the Old Testament, God had already employed bread with which to symbolize the Saviour. The manna—the "bread from heaven" (Ex. 16:4)—is applied by Jesus, in His spiritual sermon to the literally-minded Jews, as a type of Himself. The Jews, not seeing the spiritual application of the manna, said: "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them . . . My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world . . . I am the bread of life." John 6:31-35.

The Futuristic teaching, which applies the prophecies concerning Israel and her enemies in a literal, Palestinian and militaristic sense, belongs to the same system which erroneously applies the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper in a literal sense instead of interpreting them spiritually. Futurism declares that Armageddon is a literal conflict of nations because Rev. 16:12-16; Joel 3, etc., do not state that they are to be symbolically understood. Thus reason the Roman Catholics regarding the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper.

Jesus did not need to state that the bread and wine were symbols, for the manna, and the bread which was placed in the ancient sanctuary were already employed in the Scriptures as symbols of "the true Bread from heaven," and wine is shown in Scripture as a symbol of blood.

The names Edom, Idumea and Bozrah are employed in Isa. 34 and 63 because of their symbolical meanings. Christ's application of "blood ... the fruit of the vine" is in harmony with the meanings of "Edom," "red as blood," and "Bozrah," "a vintage." In Isa. 63:1-6, Christ is represented as coming "from Edom, with dyed garments. . . . I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save." When the fruit of the vine was picked, it was thrown into a vat and the juice was squeezed from the grapes by men in naked feet stamping and jumping on the fruit. The men would often shout, and would splash their garments with the wine as they pressed down the bunches of grapes by stamping and jumping. When Jeremiah pictured the world-wide slaughter of Armageddon, he said: "The Lord . . . shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth." Then follows a description of the "slain of the Lord ... at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth." Jer. 25:30-33. Thus Jeremiah applies the passages in Isa. 34 and 63 to the slaughter of the wicked in the entire world, using the winepress in Edom and Bozrah as a descriptive symbol.

We have already shown that Joel 3:13, 14 pictures a "full" winepress—full of "multitudes, multitudes" of unrighteous people "in the valley of Jehoshaphat." Rev. 14:14-20 applies this to the world-wide destruction of the unprepared at the second coming of Christ. See also Rev. 19:15. In Rev. 14:19, 20, the "fully ripe' grapes—with their red juice ripened by the summer suns of "the harvest"—are pictured as thrown "into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress." Thus we are definitely given the symbolical interpretation of the meanings of Edom and Bozrah: the grapes and their juice—"the fruit of the vine" trodden out in the winepress—represent the blood of the multitudes who have not made Jesus their Saviour, and so must suffer the wrath of God.

In Isa, 63:2, the Saviour, Who is represented as coming from Edom and Bozrah, is asked: "Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine fat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me." When Jesus suffered the wrath of God because He bore our sins, He suffered alone, and His holy garments were dyed with His blood. He went alone into the winepress of God's wrath, and there shed His precious blood, which is typified by the wine. As the spiritual interpretation of the passages in Isa. 34 and 63 made it unnecessary for Jesus to state that the wine used in the Lord's Supper was a symbol of blood, so these, and other passages of Scripture relating to the final conflict, made it unnecessary for John to stress that his description of Armageddon is couched in symbolic language.

Having paid the price for man's redemption by staining His raiment with His own blood, Jesus says of those who reject His loving sacrifice: "I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in My fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment. For the day of vengeance is in my heart ... and I will tread down the people in mine anger." Isa. 63:1-6.

Isa. 34, itself, clearly shows the world-wide, symbolical nature of the picture presented in connection with Edom, or Idumea, and Bozrah. At the heading of chapter 34 of Isaiah we read: "The judgments wherewith God revengeth His church. The desolation of her enemies." It was the custom of Bible writers to name some of the national enemies of national Israel when predicting the calamities to come to the spiritual enemies of spiritual Israel. Thus the Edomites, or Idumeans, are employed in this chapter as symbols of the enemies of the church. The Edomites, or the Idumeans, were descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob. Because at birth Esau was "red all over like an hairy garment, they called his name Esau." When Esau sold his birthright for "red pottage . . . his name was called Edom, that is, Red." Gen. 25:25, 30, margin.

Once persons, events, etc., are mentioned in the Scriptures, subsequent writers frequently keep them before us, and then the book of Revelation gives them a spiritual, world-wide application. From the first time the name "Israel" was given by God to repentant, overcoming Jacob, the Bible keeps before us the children of "Israel." The book of Revelation enlarges upon the main features of the history and prophecies concerning "the tribes of the children of Israel" and applies them in relation to the church. Only when interpreted in relation to the church and her enemies can the true meaning be obtained concerning the final conflict in "a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."

To rightly understand the application made throughout Scripture concerning Edom, or Esau, it is necessary to trace from the beginning the history of Esau and his descendants. Esau, who so lightly exchanged his birthright for some "red pottage," is a type of those who are called to be heirs of a heavenly birthright in Christ, but who, like Esau, relinquish it for some pleasure which appeals for the moment. Notice Paul's spiritual application: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord . . . lest there by any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." Heb. 12:14-17.

The Scripture says: "And Esau hated Jacob.... I will slay my brother Jacob." Gen. 27:41. Here we see typified the hatred which is in the heart of some toward their more spiritual brothers. Jacob fled from the wrath of his brother, but after an absence of twenty years (Gen. 31: 38), decided to return to the promised land, though fearful of his brother's anger. "And Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom." Jacob was so afraid that his blood would be shed by a man whose name meant "red as blood," that he sent presents to appease Esau's wrath. But Esau, still nursing hatred for his brother, set out with "four hundred men" to slay Jacob. Jacob's prayer of anguish by the brook Jabbok brought to him his new name, "Israel," and God's assurance of blessing and protection. In this experience we see the type of God's blessing and protection upon all who, like Jacob, wrestle in prayer and become "children of Israel."

The experience of Jacob (whose name "Israel" means "a prince of God") with Esau, or Edom (whose name means "red as blood") has its world-wide application in the last days. As stated in "The Great Controversy," pp. 616-622:—"Jacob's night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance from the hand of Esau, represents the experience of God's people in the time of trouble. .. . As Satan influenced Esau to march against Jacob, so he will stir the wicked to destroy God's people in the time of trouble." Thus God's servant refers to Esau as a type of those who will endeavour to slay God's people in the last days: thus showing the principle by which Isa. 34 and 63 should be interpreted. Edom, Idumea, and Bozrah are no more to be understood literally than Esau or Jacob, but are to be interpreted in a symbolical, world-wide sense. Within Isa. 34, itself, we are shown that Edom, Idumea, and Bozrah are brought into the picture because of their symbolical meaning in describing world-wide events. Notice to whom this chapter is addressed:—"Come near . . . let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies . . . and the mountains shall be melted with their blood [remember the meaning of "Edom" and "Bozrah"] . . . for My sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse [literally, the Edomites no longer exist] .... The sword of the Lord is filled with blood ... for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea [prophecies concerning 'the land of Israel' are applied in the New Testament in a world-wide sense, and, similarly, `the land of Idumea' stands for the world, where dwell the antitypical Esaus who will seek to slay their brother Israel] . . . their land shall be soaked with blood . . . for it is the day of the Lord's vengeance." The play upon the meaning of the names Edom, or Esau, and Bozrah is apparent.

The Idumeans, the descendants of Esau, are mentioned, in various parts of Scripture, as having hatred and enmity against Israel. They are mentioned as types of those who hate and war against spiritual Israel. Obadiah 18 foretold their national end, which is used as a type of the destruction of all those who are enemies of spiritual Israel. As recognized by most Bible commentators, the Revelator draws his imagery of the destruction of all the wicked from Isa. 34. Compare Isa. 34:4 with Rev. 6:13, 14; Isa. 34:10 with Rev. 14:11; 18:18; 19:3, etc. See the following chapter of this book, where, in the study of the book of Isaiah in relation to the river Euphrates, further facts are presented showing that Edom, or Idumea, and Bozrah are mentioned in the prophecies of Isa. 34 and Isa. 63 because of their symbolical meaning in connection with the world-wide slaughter of the wicked.

"THE MOURNING OF HADADRIMMON IN THE VALLEY OF MEGIDDON." Zech. 12:11.

The historical background forming the basis for Zechariah's prophecy concerning the last days and the mourning and slaughter of the wicked in the antitypical valley of Megiddo, is the death of King Josiah who, as an ally of Babylon, was slain "in the valley of Megiddo" (see 2 Chron. 35:20-22)—"and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah." Vs. 24, 25. The death of Josiah, which occasioned such lamentation among "all the families," or "tribes," of the chosen nation, was, as Geikie says, "the ruin of the kingdom." Geikie, in his "Hours with the Bible," Vol. 5, pages 274, 275, writes: "Tradition says that he (Josiah) adhered to his resolution to fight, in spite of the earnest entreaties of Jeremiah. Even Necho himself, indeed, tried to restrain him, but he rushed to his fate. . . . Their (Israel's) hopes as a nation had perished with him. Never before had there been such a deep or universal lamentation." See 2 Chron. 35:25.

Jesus and John, employing Zechariah's reference to the mourning which followed Josiah's death in the valley of Megiddo, direct our attention to the destruction which will surely come to those who ally themselves with spiritual Babylon in "the final conflict" concerning the Sabbath. The mark of spiritual Babylon's power is the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, instead of the Sabbath. For a fuller study concerning spiritual Babylon's mark of power in relation to the final conflict, see my "Christ Conquers, or Why Christ Rose on Sunday: the Vital Relation to the Battle of Armageddon."

It is interesting to notice the word "Hadadrimmon," found in Zech. 12:11: "In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as in the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon." Concerning "Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon," Alfred Jones, M.A., in his list of the meanings of Bible names, in Cruden's Concordance, says: "Rimmon was a god of the Syrians; the invocation of the god Rimmon." In their apostasy before they went into captivity, the professed people of God worshipped the gods of the surrounding nations–including the Syrian sun-god. In vain the devotees of the sun-god invoked his protection.

The first day of the week was devoted to the honour of the sun-god—in reality, Satan, whose heavenly name "Lucifer" meant "Day Star" (Isa. 14:12, margin). As light had been created on the first day of the week of creation, and as Satan determined to make himself "first" in his contest against the God of heaven, he chose as his day the first day of the week, calling it Sunday, in contrast to the seventh day which God said was His Sabbath. "Hadad," according to Alfred Jones, M.A., means "Chief, most eminent, a title of the kings of Syria. The god Rimmon was styled Adad. It was originally a title of the sun. It signified The FIRST."

Not only is "Hadad," the "chief," "the first"—"a title of the kings of Syria"—significantly employed in the prophecy, but the name "Syria" is significant, for it means "the highland," "highness," “magnificance," "to be elevated." In his covetous ambition to be "first," Lucifer desired "to be elevated." He said: "I will ascend . . . I will exalt my throne: I will sit also upon the mount ... I will ascend above the heights." Isa. 14:12-14. In describing that period of church history when Satan was laying the foundations for the Papal apostasy, through which he designed to reach the ascendancy in the professing church of Jesus, the Lord gave it the name of "Pergamos." "The word Pergamos signifies height, elevation." "Daniel and the Revelation," p. 355, 356, by Uriah Smith.

Hence we can see the significance of the prophetic language "the mourning of Hadadrimmon [Rimmon was a god of the Syrians] in the valley of Megiddon"—in describing the slaughter of the Babylonian world which elevates Satan by endeavouring to force all Christendom to exalt Sunday, the first day of the week.

In the chapter "The Principle of the World-wide Symbolized by the Local," we show that the mourning of "all tribes, or kindreds," mentioned in Matt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7, occurs at the second advent of Christ when, in the slaughter of Armageddon, those fighting against God and His church are destroyed. Jesus, in His second advent sermon (Matt. 24:30). and in the Revelation (1:7), refers back to the prophecy of Zech. 12:11-14, which reads: "In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart, the family of the house of David ... the family of Shimei ... all the families ... every family." The Hebrew for "family"—"mishpachah"—according to Dr. Strong, means "kindred, tribe." Thus Jesus (in Matt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7) applies Zech. 12:11-14, which predicts the mourning of all the tribes, or kindreds, "in the valley of Megiddon," to the worldwide mourning of the unsaved at the second advent. He applies ""the valley of Megiddon" in a world-wide sense. God's last-day message goes to these same tribes, or people (see Rev. 14:6), and their mourning "in the valley of Megiddon," or "the valley of destruction, or slaughter," is the result of their rejection of God's message concerning the seventh-day Sabbath, the sign of His creatorship. Rev. 14:7; Ex. 31:13-18; Ezek. 20:12, 20, etc.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MEANING OF THE WORD "EUPHRATES."

As shown in the 'following chapter, the river Euphrates is not employed to represent a nation or nations occupying the territory through which it runs, but is employed, throughout the Scriptures, as a symbol of invading forces, rushing to destroy. In Rev. 8 and 9 the powers symbolized are mentioned because they destroyed the Roman Empire. Because the Ottoman Empire did this invading, destroying work, she was symbolized by the river Euphrates. It would be illogical to turn to Rev. 9 to prove the theory that the Euphrates in Rev. 16:12 represents the downfall of Turkey or other nations occupying the territory adjacent to the Euphrates, for the Euphrates is not employed in Rev. 9—or anywhere in God's Word—as a symbol of a power that diminishes until it is defunct "dried up." The Euphrates is employed to symbolize only a strong, vigorous, invading force—never to symbolize a stationary or dying nation.

There is always harmony between the meaning of a name employed and its setting in the prophecy. According to Dr. Strong, the meaning of the word "Euphrates" is: "to break forth; rushing." The Bible records reveal a wonderful harmony between the meaning of the name and the significantly-written Bible history relating to the Euphrates.

In Rev. 16: 12; 17: 1, 15 (compare with Jer. 51: 13), the waters of the Euphrates symbolize the "multitudes" of Babylon who "break forth" and "rush" to destroy God's people.