power was given him to continue forty-two months, and that "all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb," are worthy of notice in identifying the beast. Ingenious as he has shown himself in solving wondrous mysteries, he would find his intellectual and exegetical resources put to a terrible test to show that all the above specified characteristics met in Nero; and he acted wisely in not even attempting an application.

The only mark of identity he does attempt to fix upon is the number of his name. And how does he determine this to belong to Nero? Thus: "The cabalistic use of the Hebrew numerals shows him to be the reigning emperor, Nero."

But Dr. Warren should know that the Greek, not Hebrew numerals are the ones used to designate his name and number. Nor has he attempted to show that Nero or paganism ever caused anybody to receive that number “in his hand or forehead." As an application of symbols, I can conceive nothing more loose and unsatisfactory. It may be all clear to him, but ordinary mortals who entertain the idea that God means something by all his words, will not be satisfied with this summary way of ignoring so many marks of this mon

ster.

The Doctor continues:

"In chapter 17 is given a vision of Rome itself, under the figure of a scarlet-robed harlot riding upon a scarlet-colored beast covered with blasphemous titles, and drunken with the blood of the martyred saints. A prophetic dirge laments her hastening downfall, while a rejoicing chorus in heaven exults over the retribution, and the approaching marriage of the Lamb."-Parousia, p. 127.

My dear Doctor, why did you not tell us how that terrible doom of what you say is "Rome itself," transpired before the death of Nero? You say "A prophetic dirge of her hastening downfall." What word in that dirge intimates that it is "hastening." Not one. The dirge is over the harlot's doom already executed. So also is the rejoicing in heaven a rejoicing over the executed vengeance on their great enemy: "God hath avenged you on her."

"The approaching marriage of the Lamb!" What did the Doctor mean by this expression? Did he read the passage: "Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come?”—Rev. 19: 8. Does "is come 99 mean "approaching"?

When what was represented in prophetic vision as a dirge over great Babylon's fall shall be realized, it will follow that fall. When heaven's rejoicing over that fall as seen in vision shall repeat itself in fulfillment, it will be heard following the final overthrow of Babylon, not preceding it.

And then how unlike was the fate of Nero to the doom of the beast! Nero "died like a dog in one of the sewers of Rome.". The foretold doom of the beast is, that he "was taken and cast alive into a lake of fire." Again: at the time of the beast's doom, the beast, the kings of the earth and their armies are gathered together to make war against Christ. Did this occur at Nero's death?

Once more. The other beast, called also "the false prophet"-which Dr. Warren says represents "the Pagan religion"—meets his doom, the same doom as the beast, "cast alive into the lake of fire," at the same

time with the beast. And yet the Doctor argues that the Pagan religion was only overthrown in A.D. 324, when Constantine constituted the Christian religion the religion of the Roman empire. How is this?

THE DRAGON THE SYMBOL OF THE Devil.

We turn now to Dr. Warren's disposition of this character. As to who he is there is no controversy; on this point we are agreed, because we both accept the divine definition. For 1800 years nearly, the church with all her learned doctors has understood, from the 19th and 20th chapters of Revelation, the doom of the beast and false prophet, and the binding of Satan, to relate to one and the same period. But Dr. Warren has discovered that the beast met his doom in A.D. 68, at Nero's death; while the dragon was only bound in A.D. 324, a difference in time of 256 years.

The binding of Satan, Dr. Warren has determined, consisted only in taking the civil power from the supporters of Paganism in the Roman empire and giving it to the Christians. He admits that Pagans had equal rights of worship with Christians; and that idol worship was continued. Whereas the prophet saw the devil himself seized, bound, shut up in the abyss and sealed for a thousand years: not that he should not excite Pagan persecution any more for a thousand years, but "that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years are finished." Quite a difference. But the loosing of Satan from his prison will be to common readers as singular as his binding.

The end of the thousand years was marked by the taking of Prusa, now Brosay, the then capital of Nico

media, in Asia Minor, by the Turks in 1326; 1,002 years after Satan was bound by the decree of Constantine, making Christianity the religion of the Roman empire. And this is all God meant when he revealed to John that "when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea"! Gog and Magog of Revelation are to be found in, and come up from, the four quarters of the earth. The Turks, whom Dr. Warren calls Gog and Magog, came from Asia. Quite a difference again. The Gog and Magog, when gathered around the beloved city, are devoured by fire from heaven, without accomplishing their object, to fight a battle. But the Turks took the Christian capital Prusa. Another difference. The devil, the deceiver of Gog and Magog, was according to John, at the time of gathering his hosts around the beloved city, without fighting the proposed battle, taken and cast into the lake of fire where the beast and false prophet were cast a thousand years before; while fire from heaven devoured his army. But according to Dr. Warren, the devil took the Christian capital and made it the capital of the Turks. While the Turks, Gog and Magog, have held on their way persecuting and killing Christians these 553 years, while they should have been in the lake of fire with their great chieftain, the devil. Quite a difference, truly.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE MILLENNIAL REIGN.

"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."-Rev. 20: 4. Dr. Warren says on this passage: "The idea then is, that these faithful witnesses for Christ, whom their enemies supposed they had utterly destroyed, still lived, i. e., they were exalted to a high state of felicity. Then, as if to be more explicit, it is added, they reigned with Christ.' In other words, their living consisted in the honor of participating in the administration of the kingdom with Christ the king." "This reigning with Christ shall continue a thousand years; evidently the same thousand years as that of Satan's confinement. Not that it shall then terminate, but that period is mentioned in order that the two may stand in contrast with each other. As during the martyr age Satan was reigning in the beast and false prophet, and the saints were humiliated and oppressed, so now for a thousand years he shall be humiliated and they shall reign. This reigning was the 'judgment given them." "-Parousia, pp. 146–7, 149.

Dr. Warren maintains that everybody, at least all saints, have their resurrection at death. So all the martyrs under the ten Roman persecutions, actually had their resurrection as soon as they died. But they did not obtain judgment and begin their reign till 324 a.d. He also says the reigning relates to their judgeship. But John wrote "They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.". No judgeship is intimated. This binding of Satan, the Doctor says, does not imply the binding or imprisoning of his person-but "in his character as a persecutor.