breath of thy salvation, which we have wrought upon not FALL, but ALL that dwell upon The dead SHALL RISE, and they, shall be RAISED, and they, that are the earth we shall the land SHALL FALL. that are in the tombs, in the earth, shall rejoice; for the dew from thee is healing to THEM; but the land of the ungodly shall perish," (Isa. xxvi: 18, 19, Sept. ver). "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain," (vs 20, 21). In this passage we have the deliverance of God's people clearly portrayed as occurring prior to the great day of wrath. "Draw near, ye nations; and hearken, ye princes; let the earth hear, and they that are in it; the world, and the people that are therein. For the wrath of the Lord is upon all nations, and His anger upon the number of them, to destroy them, and give them up to slaughter. And their slain shall be cast forth, and their corpses; and their ill-savor shall come up, and the mountains shall be made wet with their blood. And all the powers of the heavens shall melt, and the sky shall be rolled up like a scroll; and all the stars shall fall like leaves from a vine, and as leaves fall from a fig tree," (Isa. xxxiv: 1-4, Sept. ver). "The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is glutted with fat, with the blood of goats and lambs, and with the fat of goats and rams; for the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozar, and a great slaughter in Idumea. And the mighty ones shall fall with them, and the rams and the bulls; and the land shall be soaked with blood, and shall be filled with their fat. For it is the day of the judgment of the Lord, and the year of the recompense of Zion in judgment," (Ibid. vs. 6-8). In Isaiah lxiii. we have a parallel to the above. "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Where fore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat? I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people there was none with me: for 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 mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come," (vs. 1-4). From the passages quoted, it will appear that the Lord saves his people before the hour of fatal strife. In the very beginning, yea, prior to the opening of that fearful scene, the saints shall enter the chambers of Omnipotence, and be screened from that mighty tempest of wrath. They shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, while the thunderbolts of heaven's vindictive justice shall dart through the concave; the bellowing thunder shall mutter the vengeance of Jehovah, whose ire, having been long restrained through the mediation of His Son, shall burst forth with relentless and overwhelming fury, exterminating the ungodly nations, deluging the earth with a fiery flood, and destroying the devil with all his works. But this, thank God, is not the last of earth, for "we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." Although this shall return to its original and chaotic state, yet shall it arise more fair than Eden of old; and then shall the morning stars sing together again, and the sons of God shout for joy; then shall "the wilderness and the solitary place be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it; the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; and they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." Then shall the mountains and the hills break forth into singing, "and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn, shall come up the fir-tree, and, instead of the brier, shall come up the myrtle-tree." "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious." Then shall these precious promises be all realized; and when the earth is filled with the glory of God, the rightful heir will take the kingdom, and sit on the throne of His Father David," to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever." CHAPTER IV. EXPOSITION OF DANIEL, CHAP. XI. "THE eleventh chapter of Daniel," says Bishop Newton, "may be considered a comment and explanation of the eighth. It naturally divides itself into four parts, as follows: 1. From Cyrus, the first king of the Medo-Persian Empire, to the death of Christ. 2. From the death of Christ, to the breaking up of the Roman Empire. 3. From the breaking up of the Roman Empire to "the time of the end." 4. From the commencement of "the time of the end," to the second Advent of Christ. V. 1. " Also I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him." Cyrus was, in reality, the first king of Medo-Persia, but from a respectful courtesy to his Father-in-law, Darius, he permitted him to reign supreme during his life. v. 2. "And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all; and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia." The three kings that stood up subsequently to the then reigning monarch, namely, Cyrus, were: 1. Cam byses; 2. Smerdis, the Magian; 3. Darius Hystaspes.* In scripture the kings are called: 1. Ahasuerus; 2. Artaxerxes; 3. Darius. The fourth, here referred to, was Xerxes the Great. He was richer than they all, that is, the four that preceded him. "He shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia." This was true of Xerxes; for we are informed by Prideaux, that his forces numbered at least, 2,941,610 men, besides attendants enough to swell the number to five millions. A perfect fulfilment. v. 3. "And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will." The "mighty king," here alluded to, was Alexander the Great. Historians inform us, that in about twelve years and a half, he conquered the then known world. He died at the age of thirty-two, B.C. 323. v. 4. "And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor accord ing to his dominion which he ruled; for his kingdom shall he plucked up, even for others beside those." "Divided towards the four winds of heaven.". This item was fulfilled в.c. 300, when Alexander's Empiro was "divided towards the four winds of heaven,” and assigned to four of his Generals, namely, Ptolemy Soter, Seleucus Nicator, Cassander and Lysimachus. Ptolemy had Egypt, Libya, Arabia, Colosyria and Pal *New. on Proph. p. 263. †Prid. vol. i. p. 235. |