who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."

The worshippers of worldly power and of Papal idolatry are those who deliberately prefer them to heavenly truth. This awful warning ought to be solemnly impressed upon men; and yet in the present day it is considered very illiberal to denounce worldly-mindedness and Romanism as sending men to everlasting destruction. One reason of this warning is that God's saints will have to face martyrdom, as we shall see in the next

verses.

THE PATIENCE AND MARTYRDOM OF THE

SAINTS.

"HERE is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Rev. xiv. 12).

The persecuting power alluded to in the preceding verses extended under the beast and his image-i.e., the revived Western Empire in union with the Papacy. That revived empire did not include England. It included what are now called the Latin nations. The saints who have to endure those persecutions will probably be only the subjects of these nations. The wider judgments are given in verses 17-20, and before these the saints are taken up.

Romanism puts the commandments of the Church into the place of God's commandments, and denounces

damnation upon those who rely alone on Jesus. The awful decree of the Council of Trent is, "If any man shall say that justifying faith is nothing else but a confidence in the divine mercy pardoning sins for Christ's sake, let him be anathema." Christ's saints keep to the faith of Jesus-i.e., faith in Jesus. For this we have reason to believe martyrdom is again to be their doom. But they need not fear, but rather rejoice in being partakers of Christ's sufferings. Hence the encouragement, "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them" (ver. 13).

Oh, blessed rest! the everlasting reward for all toil and suffering.

THE WHEAT-HARVEST.

THE last days of Romanism are approaching: A.D. 1896 will see the utter destruction of the Latin empire, and the Papacy at Jerusalem. About that time the Lord will gather His saints to meet Him in the air (1 Thess. iv. 17). If they are to meet Him in the air, He must have come down to the air, and therefore have left His present place," far above all heavens." Now, we learn from Zechariah xiv. 4, that at the last siege of Jerusalem His feet are to stand upon the Mount of Olives. Just before that great event will probably be that rapture of the

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saints so strikingly described in Psalm 1. 1-6 :—“ The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth, from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Sion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people. Gather my saints together unto me ; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is Judge himself." From the heavens above shall come down His saints, from earth beneath His saints shall be taken up, and all those that have made a covenant with the Lord by sacrifice shall be gathered together.

All this St John saw in vision:-" And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped" (Rev. xiv. 14-16). It is the wheat-harvest of which John the Baptist spoke, "He will gather His wheat into the garner" (Matt. iii. 12). Our Lord also says, "The harvest is the end of the age." There is to be a blessed wheat-harvest, and after that a terrible vintage-harvest.

The white cloud is the throne of glory. He that sits on it is the Son of man. On His head is the victor's crown. He is about to assert His power and to rescue His saints. The harvest-sickle is in His hand.

The other angel out of the temple is the Holy Ghost, uttering God's voice to Him, "Thrust in Thy sharp sickle and reap; for the time is come for Thee to reap. The day of grace for guilty Christendom has closed: the day of ripening for the wedding-feast is closed also: "The harvest of the earth is ripe."

That gathering up will be "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." Then will be fulfilled our Lord's words, " One shall be taken and another left" (Luke xvii. 24, 26, &c.)

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To those who are left it will be an unspeakably awful moment. All the well-meaning but self-deceived persons who unite in public worship, and reverentially go to the Lord's table, will suddenly find themselves left behind, and be as the foolish virgins. We have some reason to think that even converted persons, whose unwatchfulness did not permit the Christ-like mind to shine through them, will be left behind to endure the judgments of the vine of the earth.

THE WINE-PRESS OF GOD'S WRATH.

THE Lord's faithful ones are gathered up because the time of judgment has come. The Church will then be

ripe for judgment. That judgment is also the work of the Son of man:-" As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. xiii. 40–42).

In His official character Jesus is an angel, and it is He whom St John saw in this vision as come to judgment. But He does not begin His work until the Divine voice goes forth from God's altar in heaven; the prayers of the altar of incense are turned into judgment:—“ And another Angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, He also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to Him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thurst in Thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the Angel thrust in His sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God. And the wine-press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine-press, even unto the horse-bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs" (Rev. xiv. 17-20).

The first of these angels, then, is Christ. He comes forth from the temple in heaven-i.e., the holy place or paradise of God. He had been in the holy of holies; He had come down to His saints in paradise, and He