"Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."* "There is a parallel representation of this battle in the sixty-third chapter, as executed by the same person who is exhibited in the nineteenth chapter of the Revelation, riding forth to make war in righteousness, and fighting this same battle, in which the wicked then on earth will be slain." "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore 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 my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore, mine own arm brought salvation unto me, and my fury it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth." "The same thing is predicted in the sixtysixth chapter:" "A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord who rendereth recompense to his enemies. Behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger * Chap. ix. with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire, and by his sword, will the Lord plead with all flesh."* These predictions of the slaughter and destruction of the wicked are here intermixed with promises to the church. "Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye who love her; rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her; that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory." t "A passage in the tenth chapter of Jeremiah seems to refer to the same event." "Jehovah is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation." The following expressions, in the twenty-fifth chapter, "refer chiefly to the battle in which Antichrist and the nations of the earth will fall." "The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. He will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. And the slain of the Lord shall be, at that day, from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground."§ "There is another prophecy of this in the * Verses 6, 15, 16. † Verses 10, 11. thirtieth chapter of Jeremiah. Here the deliverance of the church from her oppressors, and from all her sufferings and trouble, is promised; which shall be attended with the utter overthrow and destruction of the wicked, and all her enemies.” "Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off his neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him. But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee. Though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee. Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind; it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. The ' fierce anger of the Lord shall not return until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it."* In the book of Daniel there is a prophecy of the same event. "And at that time" (i. e., when Antichrist is to be destroyed) "shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people," (i. e., Jesus Christ;) "and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time;" (this is the time of the battle of that great day of God Almighty.) "And at that *Verses 7, 8, 9, 11, 23, 24. time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." Then, many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.* This is the time of the deliverance of the church from the power of Antichrist, and from all wicked men, her enemies, and of her entering upon the happy state in which the saints will reign on earth a thousand years. The prophet Joel dwells upon the awful scene of this day. He describes it as the harvest, and the treading of the wine-press of the wrath of God--as the day when the Lord's mighty ones shall come down. He calls it the day of the Lord-the day of decision. "Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get ye down, for the press is full, the fats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. The Lord shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake." John says, "I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness doth he judge and make war. And his name is called the Word of God. And the armies in heaven followed him." So here, God causes his mighty ones to come down, and commands them to put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. "But the Lord will be the refuge of his people. Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more-the mountains Chap. xii. 1, 2. shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness. But Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation."* Zephaniah prophesied of this day, and called it "the great day of the Lord; the day of the Lord's wrath; the day of the Lord's sacrifice. A day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet: the day that God will rise up to the prey, to gather the nations and assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them his indignation and fierce anger." "In the Revelation, the whole world were gathered to the battle of that great day. The words, THAT great day of battle, seem to have reference to some day which had already been made known, and undoubtedly refer to the great day of God's wrath, which is mentioned in the prophecy before us." And "when the nations and kingdoms of the world have been gathered, and God has poured upon them his indignation, even all his fierce anger, and all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of his jealousy, the scene is changed." This is represented in the last chapter, from verse ninth to the end of the prophecy: "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad *Chap. iii. 11-20. |