power, greatness, and resurrection-vigor and immunity from death, he is "taken." With greater ease than the Jewish mob took the unresisting Jesus, the Sitter on the white horse catches him away from the very centre of his hosts. All the resistance he makes is the same as if it were not. He cannot help himself, and all his armies cannot help him. He must go whither his mighty Captor would take him. Tophet gets its own. And into the lake of fire he sinks to rise no more. And with him the False Prophet who wrought the miracles in his presence. This is no warrior; but still a main author of this culminated wickedness of the nations. From him, together with the Dragon and the first Beast, went forth the miracleworking spirits who wrought this terrible deception, and stirred up the world to this war. By his instigations were these armies equipped and gathered to the dread attempt to vanquish the Son of God. He caused men to adore the Beast, and he shares the Beast's fate. He is no system, no abstraction, no succession, no mere ideal figure, but a person. He is not slain; he does not die; he seems like the Antichrist incapable of death. But he is "taken," as the Beast was taken, made a captive, and hurried away to the same seething prison. All his miraculous power cannot save him. All his boasted wisdom cannot help him, All the armies of the world cannot rescue him from the grasp of the Sitter on the white horse. The two great leaders gone, short work is made with their followers. A few awful words tell the story. They are mortals all, and there is no salvation for them. In terrible brevity, the Seer records what came to pass. "And the rest were slain with the sword of the Sitter on the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth; AND THE FOWLS WERE FILLED FROM THEIR FLESH." Such a feast of death was, perhaps, never before seen. Long ago had the holy prophets sung of this Mighty One, and this his triumph. As the Psalmist foresaw, his arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies, whereby the people fall under him. (Ps. 45:5.) He sends out his arrows, and scattereth them; and shoots out lightnings, and discomfits them. (Ps. 18: 14.) He marches through the land in indignation; he threshes the heathen in anger. (Hab. 3:12.) All the strength of the nations is dashed to fragments before him, like pottery struck with an iron rod. (Ps. 2:9.) The stone from the eternal mountain falls on the great statue of this world's power, and it is ground to powder, never again to be regathered. (Dan. 2: 35; Matt. 22:44.) The victory of the Sitter on the white horse is complete! And He shall rule or shepherdize them with an iron rod. With many a severe judgment on the survivors of that day, the Conqueror now assumes the dominion. With their heads and armies destroyed in the winepress of the wine of the anger of the wrath of the God the All-Ruler, he now sends forth the new law from Jerusalem. After the sword of destruction, comes the rod of correction and reorganization. The world now gets a new Master, a King whose eternal right it is to reign, and whom they must at once obey or die. The shepherdizing rod of iron, is the administration which follows up the battle, gathers the populations of the earth into their proper flocks, assigns them their laws and rulers, and allows of no more disobedience. Thus ends this present world. Thus comes in the final reign and kingdom of the Prince of Peace. It only remains to tell the Devil's fate, and then come the glorious pictures of the other side of this "great and terrible day of the Lord." I only add, that our contemplations to-night will fail of their end, if they do not serve to teach us, and to write it indelibly upon our hearts, that rebellion against God is death;-that no weapon formed against Jehovah can prosper;-that those who will not have Christ to rule over them must perish! Though the wicked should wield the power of archangels, they cannot withstand the punitive majesty of the Warrior Judge and King who rides upon the white horse. His sword is mightier than Satan, mightier than the Beast deemed invincible, mightier than the command of infernal miracle over nature's laws, mightier than all the forces of earth and hell combined. And that sword is pledged to drink the life-blood of all who neglect his mercy, despise his laws, and stand out against his authority. All may seem well and promising now. People may indulge their unbelief and passions during these days of forbearance and grace, and see no disadvantages growing out of it. They may get angry at our earnestness, and account us croakers and fools when we put before them the demands and threatenings of the Almighty. But "woe to him that striveth with his Maker!" There is a deluge of bottled fury yet to be poured out on them that refuse to know God, and on the families that call not on his name, from which there is no escape, and from whose burning and tempestuous surges there is no deliverance. God help us to be wise, that we come not into that sea of death! Righteous Judge of retribution, LECTURE FORTY-FOURTH. THE BINDING OF SATAN-HIS FOUR NAMES-THE ANGEL WHO OMY OF THE UNDERWORLD-THE WORD " 'HELL," SHEOL, Rev. 20: 1-3. (Revised Text.) And I saw an angel coming down out of the heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in [or resting upon] his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil, and satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and locked and sealed [it] upon him, that he should not lead astray the nations any more until the thousand years be accomplished: after these he must be loosed a little time. HE issue of the battle of the Great Day goes THE beyond the disaster to those found in arms against the Sitter on the white horse. There is another and still greater power back of those armies, by whose instigation this war was undertaken, by whose influence these kings and mighty ones with their troops were deceived into the fatal idea of conquering the King of kings and Lord of |