file which includes the original illustration4 ,see #ahhae-;h4htm or #ahhae-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/dirs_/#a_/ h_/h_/a_/ahhae_/ahhae-;h_/#ahhae-;h4htm7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/dirs_/#a_/ h_/h_/a_/ahhae_/ahhae-;h4zip7 ,,the ,,mark ,,of ,,the ,,beast by ,,sidney ,,watson ,author of ,in the ,twinkling of ,an ,eye2 ,scarlet and ,purple ,new ,york ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company ,london and ,edinburgh ,copyright1 #aiah1 by ,bible ,institute of ,los ,angeles ,copyright1 #aicc1 by ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company ,,publisher',s ,,note4 ,after the ,lord's ,second ,coming1 what will happen to those left behind8 ,what will the ,tribulation period be like8 ,what will happen during the reign of the ,antichrist8 ,what is meant by ,the ,mark of the ,beast8 ,what will be the fate of those who refuse to bear this mark8 ,all of these questions and many others connected with the mark of the beast1 are answered in this realistic1 startling1 awe-inspiring story4 ,although entirely fictional1 the author has based his narrative on just what the ,bible teaches concerning the ,great ,tribulation--that awful period of distress and woe that is coming upon this earth during the time when the ,anti-christ will rule with unhindered sway4 ,it is a story you will never forget--a story that has been used of ,god in the salvation of souls1 and in awakening careless ,christians to the need of a closer walk with ,jesus in their daily lives4 ,this volume deserves a wide reading4 ,it should be in every ,sunday ,school ,library and in every home4 ,,to ,,that ,,champion ,,of ,,the ,,word ,,of ,,god1 ,,the ,,rev4 ,g4 ,,campbell ,,morgan1 ,d4,d4 ,,this ,,book ,,is 7,,by ,,his ,,permission7 ,,humbly ,,dedicated ,,in ,,recognition ,,of ,,the ,,spiritual ,,help1 ,,and ,a ,,deep ,,quickening ,,to ,,bible ,,study ,,received ,,by ,,the ,,author ,,contents4 ,,preface4 ,,prologue4 ,,chapter4 ,i4 ,,twenty ,,five ,,years ,,later ,,ii4 ,a ,,super ,,man ,,iii4 ,,to ,,the ,,world1 ,,the ,,flesh1 ,,and ,,the ,,devil ,,iv4 ,,foreshadowings ,v4 ,,cruel ,,as ,,the ,,grave6 ,,vi4 ,a ,,reed ,,like ,a ,,rod ,,vii4 ,,the ,,mark ,,of ,,the ,,beast ,,viii4 ,,the ,,investiture ,,ix4 ,,the ,,dedication ,x4 ,a ,,lebanon ,,rose ,,xi4 ,,hero ,,worship ,,xii4 ,,anti-,,we-,,ism ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,abomination ,,of ,,desolation ,,xiv4 ,,death ,,of ,,the ,,two ,,witnesses ,,xv4 ,,flight6 ,,pursuit6 ,,xvi4 ,,martyred ,,xvii4 ,a ,,gathering ,,up ,,illustration ,the ,mark of the ,beast ,,preface4 ,the great acceptance with which the ,author's previous volume ,in the ,twinkling of an ,eye was received1 when published in ,oct4 #aiaj1 together with the many records of blessing resulting from the perusal1 leads him to hope that the present volume may prove equally useful4 ,the subjects treated in this volume are possibly less known1 7even among some who hold the truth of the ,lord's ,near ,return in joyful ,hope7 than the subjects handled ,in the ,twinkling of an ,eye1 but they certainly should have as much interest as the earlier truths1 and should lead 7those hitherto unacquainted with them7 to a careful1 prayerful searching of ,the ,word4 ,the ,author would here mark his indebtedness to ,dr4 ,joseph ,a4 ,seiss1 and ,dr4 ,campbell ,morgan1 for the inceptive thoughts re ,judas ,iscariot1 and ,the ,antichrist4 ,dr4 ,campbell ,morgan's very remarkable sermon on ,christ and ,judas--under date ,december #ah1 #aijh--while being profoundly interesting and illuminating1 it has proved to the ,author to be the only sound theory of explanation of that perplexing personality--,judas ,iscariot--he has ever met4 ,while cleaving close to ,scripture1 at the same time it has settled the life-long perplexity of the writer of this book1 as to the difficulties surrounding ,the ,traitor4 ,the fictional form has again been adopted in this volume1 for the same reasons that obtained in the writing of ,in the ,twinkling of an ,eye4 ,the use of the fictional style for the presentment of sacred subjects is ever a moot-point with some people4 ,yet1 every parable1 allegory1 etc41 7not excepting ,bunyan's ,master-piece7 is fictional form4 ,so that the moot-point really becomes one of degree and not of principle--if ,bunyan1 ,milton1 and ,dante1 be allowed to be right4 ,certain it is that many thousands have read1 and have been awakened1 quickened1 even converted1 by reading ,in the ,twinkling of an ,eye1 ,long ,odds1 ,he's coming ,to-morrow1 7,mrs4 ,harriet ,beecher ,stowe7 who would never have looked at an ordinary pamphlet or book upon the subject4 ,one of the truest and most noted leaders 7in the ,church7 on our great convention platforms1 himself an authority1 and voluminous writer on the pre-milleniarian view of our ,lord's near ,return1 7a perfect stranger1 personally1 to the writer7 wrote within a week or two of the issue of ,in the ,twinkling of an ,eye1 saying3 ,i have just finished reading your wonderful book ,in the ,twinkling of an ,eye4 ,it has solemnised me very greatly--more than anything for a long time 4 4 4 4 ,may the ,lord use your book to ,,startle the careless1 ill-taught professing ,christians 4 4 4 ,please send me #bd copies1 etc41 etc4 ,the desire of the author of ,the ,mark of the ,beast has been to further startle and awaken careless1 ill-taught professing ,christians1 by giving some faint view of the fate of those professors who will be left behind to go through the horrors of ,the ,tribulation4 ,to be true to his subject1 and to his convictions1 the author has had to approach one or two delicate subjects4 ,these he has sought to touch in a veiled1 a guarded way4 ,each reader1 if desirous of pursuing more minutely the study of those special parts1 can do so by referring to other ,christian author's works4 ,that there is a growing interest in the whole subject of ,the ,lord's ,coming1 is very apparent in many ways4 ,the intense interest and quickening that has accompanied the ,author's many series of ,bible ,readings on ,the ,near ,return of our ,lord1 during the past twelve months especially1 would have proved the revived interest in the subject--if proof had been needed4 ,,sydney ,,watson4 ,the ,firs1 ,vernham ,dean1 ,hungerford1 ,berks4 ,april #bdth1 #aiaa4 ,,the ,,mark ,,of ,,the ,,beast ,,prologue4 ,it was late ,august4 ,the year #ah-- no matter the exact date1 except that the century was growing old4 ,a small house-party was gathered under the sixteenth century roof of that fine old ,warwickshire house1 ,the ,antlers4 ,very old famerly1 very old6 the head coachman was fond of saying to sight-seers1 and others4 ,come over with ,william of ,normandy1 the first ,duerdon did4 ,famerly allus kept 'emselves very eleck1 cream-del-al-cream1 as the saying is in hupper cirkles4 ,the coachman's estimate of the ,duerdon ,house will serve all the purpose we need here1 and enable us to move among the guests of the house-party though we have little to do save with two of them--the most striking female personality in the house1 ,judith ,montmarte1 and the latest society lion1 ,colonel ,youlter1 the ,thibet explorer4 ,judith ,montmarte1 as her name suggests1 was a ,jewess4 ,she was tall--it is curious that the nineteen centuries of ,semitic persecution should have left the ,jewess taller1 in proportion1 than the ,jew--,judith ,montmarte was tall1 with a full figure4 ,the contour of her face suggested ,spanish blood4 ,her hair--what a wealth of it there was--was blue-black1 finer than such hair usually is1 and with a sheen on it like unto a raven's wing4 ,her eyes were large1 black1 and melting in their fullness4 ,her lips were full1 and rich in their crimson4 ,the face was extraordinarily beautiful1 in a general way4 ,but though the lips and eyes would be accounted lovely1 yet a true student of faces would have read cruelty in the ruby lips1 and a shade of hell lurking in the melting black eyes4 ,a millionairess1 several times over1 7if report could be trusted7 she was known and felt to be a powerful personage4 ,there was not a continental or oriental court where she was not well-known--and feared1 because of her power4 ,a much-travelled woman1 a wide reader--especially in the matter of the occult2 a superb musician2 a ,patti and a ,lind rolled into one1 made her the most wonderful songster of the day4 ,in character--chameleon is the only word that can in anyway describe her4 ,as regarded her appearances in society1 her acceptance of invitations1 etc41 she was usually regarded as capricious1 to a fault4 ,but this was as it appeared to those with whom she had to do4 ,she had been known to refuse a banquet at the table of a prince1 yet eat a dish of macaroni with a peasant1 or boiled chestnuts with a forest charcoal burner4 ,what the world did not know1 did not realize1 was that1 in these things1 she was not capricious1 but simply serving some deep purpose of her life4 ,she had accepted the ,duerdon invitation because she specially desired to meet ,colonel ,youlter4 ,to-night1 the pair had met for the first time1 just five minutes before the gong had sounded for dinner4 ,colonel ,youlter had taken her down to the dining-room4 ,just at first she had spoken but little1 and the ,colonel had thought her fatigued1 for he had caught one glimpse of the dreamy languor in her great liquid eyes4 ,an almost chance remark of his1 towards the end of the meal1 anent the mysticism1 the spiritism of the ,east1 and the growing cult of the same order in the ,west1 appeared to suddenly wake her from her dreaminess4 ,her dark eyes were turned quickly up to his1 a new and eager light flashed in them4 ,do you know1 she said1 her tone low enough to be caught only by him1 that it was only the expectation of meeting you1 and hearing you talk of the occult1 of that wondrous mysticism of the ,east1 that made me accept the invitation to this house--that is1 ,i should add1 at this particular time1 for ,i had arranged to go to my glorious ,hungarian hills this week4 ,colonel ,youlter searched her face eagerly4 ,had she spoken the tongue of flattery1 or of the mere conventional8 ,he saw she had not1 and he began to regard her with something more than the mere curiosity with which he had anticipated meeting her4 ,in his callow days he had been romantic to a degree4 ,even now his heart was younger than his years1 for while he had never wed1 because of a love-tragedy thirty years before1 he had preserved a rare1 a very tender chivalry towards women4 ,he knew he would never love again1 as he had once loved1 though1 at times1 he told himself that he might yet love in a soberer fashion1 and even wed4 ,you are interested in the occult1 ,miss ,montmarte8 he replied4 ,she smiled up into his face1 as she said3 ',interested1' ,colonel ,youlter8 interested is no word for it1 for ,i might almost say that it is a passion with me1 for very little else in life really holds me long1 compared with my love for it4 ,she glanced swiftly to right and left1 and across the table to see if she was being watched1 or listened to4 ,everyone seemed absorbed with either their plates or their companions4 ,bending towards the man at her side1 she said1 ,you know what an evening is like at such times as this4 ,we women will adjourn to the ,drawing ,room1 you men will presently join us1 there will be a buzzing of voices1 talk--'cackle' one of ,america's representatives used to term it1 and it was a good name1 only that the hen has done something to cackle about1 she has fulfilled the purpose for which she came into existence1 and women--the average ,society women1 at least--do not4 ,then there'll be singing1 of a sort1 and--but you know1 ,colonel1 all the usual rigmarole4 ,now ,i want a long1 long talk with you about the subject you have just broached4 ,we could not talk1 as we would1 in the crowd that will be in the drawing-room presently1 so ,i wonder if you would give me an hour in the library1 tomorrow morning after breakfast4 ,i suggest the library because ,i find it is the one room in the house into which no one ever seems to go4 ,of course1 ,colonel ,youlter1 if you have something else you must needs do in the forenoon1 pray don't regard my suggestion4 ,or1 if you would prefer that we walked and talked1 ,i will gladly accommodate myself to your time and your conveniences4 ,he assured her that he had made no plans for the morrow1 and that he would be delighted to meet her in the library1 for a good long 'confab' over the subject that evidently possessed a mutual attraction for them4 ,mentally1 while he studied her1 he decided that her chief charm1 in his eyes1 was her absolute naturalness and unconventionality4 ,but to some men1 he mused what a danger zone she would prove4 ,allied to her great beauty1 her wealth1 and her gifts1 there is a way with her that would make her almost absolutely irresistible if she had set her heart on anything6 ,an hour later that opinion deepened within him as he listened to her singing in the drawing-room4 ,she had been known to bluntly1 flatly refuse an ,emperor who had asked her to sing1 and yet to take a little ,sicillian street singer's tambourine from her hand1 and sing the coppers and silver out of the pockets of the folk who had crowded the market-place at the first liquid notes of her song4 ,she rarely sang in the houses of her hosts and hostesses4 ,tonight she had voluntarily gone to the piano1 accompanying herself4 ,she sang in ,hungarian1 a folk-song1 and a love song of the people of her own land4 ,yearning and wistful1 full of that curious mystical melancholy1 that always appealed to her own soul1 and which characterizes some of the oldest of the ,hungarian folk-songs4 ,her second song finished1 amid the profoundest hush1 she rose as suddenly from the piano as she had seated herself4 ,a little later she was missed from the company4 ,she had slipped away to her room1 after a quiet good-night to her table-companion1 ,colonel ,youlter4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,at ten-thirty1 next morning1 ,judith ,montmarte entered the library4 ,the ,colonel was there already4 ,he rose to meet her1 saying1 ,where will you sit8 ,where will you be most comfortable4 ,there was a decidedly comfo air about the luxuriously-furnished room4 ,the eyes of the beautiful woman--she was twenty-eight--swept the apartment and1 finally1 resting upon a delightful vis-a-vis1 she laughed merrily1 as she said3 ,fancy finding a vis-a-vis1 and of this luxurious type1 too1 in a library4 ,i always think it is a mistake to have the library of the house so stiff1 sometimes the library is positively forbidding4 ,she laughed lightly again1 as she said4 ,i'm going off into a disquisition on interiors1 so--shall we sit here8 ,she dropped into one of the curves of the vis-a-vis1 and he took the other4 ,for half-an-hour their talk on their pet subject was more or less general1 then he startled her by asking3 ,do you know the ,christian ,new ,testament1 at all8 ,the ,gospels1 ,i have read1 she replied1 and am fairly well familiar with them4 ,i have read1 too1 the final book1 ,the ,revelation1 which though a sealed book to me1 as far as knowledge of its meaning goes1 yet has1 ,i confess1 a perennial attraction for me4 ,she lifted her great eyes to his1 a little quizzical expression in them1 as she added3 ,you are surprised that ,i1 a ,jewess1 should speak thus of the ,gentile scriptures6 ,then1 without giving him time to reply1 she went on3 ,but why did you ask whether ,i knew anything of the ,new ,testament8 ,because1 apropos of what ,i said a moment ago1 anent the repetition of ,history1 the ,christ of the ,new ,testament declared that as the days of ,noah were1 so shall also the coming of the ,son of ,man be4 ,she nodded her beautiful head1 as though she would assent to the correctness of his quotation4 ,now ,i make no profession of being ultra-,christian1 he went on1 but ,i know the letter of the ,bible quite as well as most ,teachers of ,christianity1 and without intending any egotism ,i am sure ,i dare to say that ,i know it infinitely better than the average ,christian4 ,and if ,i was a teacher or preacher of the ,christian faith ,i would raise my voice most vehemently against the wilful1 sinful ignorance of the ,bible on the part of the professed ,christians4 ,members of the various so-called 'churches1' seem to know everything except their ,bibles4 ,mention a passage in ,spenser1 ,william ,wordsworth1 ,whittier1 ,longfellow1 ,tennyson1 ,browning1 or even ,swinburne1 ,william ,watson1 ,charles ,fox1 ,carleton1 or ,lowell1 and they can pick the volume off the shelf in an instant1 and the next instant1 they have the book open at your quotation4 ,but quote ,jude or ,enoch1 or ,job on salt with our eggs1 and they go fumbling about in the mazes of ,leviticus1 or the ,minor ,prophets4 ,he laughed1 not maliciously1 but with a certain pitying contempt1 as he said3 ,the average professing ,christian is about as much like the ,new ,testament model of what he should be1 as is the straw-stuffed scarecrow in the field1 in the pockets of the costume of which the birds conceive it to be the latest joke to build4 ,but ,i am digressing1 ,i was beginning about the 'days of ,noah' and their near future repetition on the earth4 ',near repetition8' ,how do you mean1 ,colonel8 ,judith ,montmarte leaned a little eagerly toward him4 ,in the ordinary way1 alone with a man of his type she would have played the coquette4 ,to-day she thought nothing of such trifling4 ,there was something so different in his manner1 as he spoke of the things that were engaging them1 to even the ordinary preacher4 ,the pair were as utterly alone as though they had been on the wide1 wide sea together in an open boat4 ,she had said truly1 over-night1 no one ever comes near the library4 ,i mean1 he said1 replying to her question1 that the seven chief causes of the apostasy which brought down ,god's wrath upon the ,antediluvians1 have already begun to manifest themselves upon the earth1 in such a measure as to warrant one's saying that 'as it was in the days of ,noah1 so it is again today1' and if the ,new ,testament is true in every letter--we may expect the ,return of the ,christ at any moment4 ,she was staring amazedly at him--enquiring1 eager1 but evidently puzzled4 ,but she made no sound or sign of interruption1 and he went on3 ,the first element of the ,antediluvian apostasy was the worship of ,god as ,creator and ,benefactor1 and not as the ,jehovah-,god of ,covenant and ,mercy4 ,and surely that is what we find everywhere to-day4 ,people acknowledge a ,supreme ,being1 and accept ,christ as a model man1 but they flatly deny the ,fall1 ,hereditary ,sin1 the need of an ,atonement1 and all else that is connected with the ,great ,evangel4 ,the ,second cause of ,antediluvian apostasy was the disregard of the original law of marriage1 and the increased prominence of the female sex4 ,judith ,montmarte smiled back into his face1 as she said3 ,oh that you would propound that in a convention of ,new ,women6 ,and yet--yet--yes1 you are right1 as to your fact1 as regards life1 to-day4 ,the pair had a merry1 friendly spar for a moment or two1 then1 at her request1 he resumed his subject1 and1 for a full half hour1 he amazed her with his comparisons of the ,antediluvian age with the present time4 ,he was an interesting speaker and she enjoyed the time immensely4 ,but1 presently1 when he came to his seventh and last likeness between the two ages1 since it had to do with a curious phase of ,spiritism1 she became more intensely interested4 ,there seems to me1 he said1 but one correct way of interpreting that historical item of those strange1 ,antediluvian days3 ',the sons of ,god saw the daughters of men that they were fair2 and they took them wives of all which they chose4' ,the superficial rendering of this1 sometimes given1 that it signifies nothing more than the intermarriage of ,cainites and ,sethites1 will not suffice when a deeper examination is made in the original languages4 ,the term ',sons of ,god' does not appear to have any other meaning in the ,old ,testament1 than that of angels4 ,some of the angels1 with ,lucifer1 fell from their high estate in ,heaven1 and were banished from ,heaven4 ,scripture clearly proves in many places that these fallen ones took up their abode 'in the air1' the ,devil becoming1 even as the ,christ ,himself said3 ',prince of the power of the air4' ,now both ,peter and ,jude1 in their epistles allude to certain of these fallen1 air-dwelling angels1 leaving their first estate1 and the mention of their second fall is sufficiently clear to indicate their sin--intermarriage with the fairest of the daughters of men4 ,their name as given in the old ,testament1 ',nephilim' means 'fallen ones4' ,in their original condition1 as angels in ,heaven1 they 'neither married nor were given in marriage4' ,it is too big a subject1 ,miss ,judith ----4 ,hurriedly1 eagerly1 for she wanted him to continue his topic1 she said3 ,call me ,ju1 or ,judith1 or ,judy1 ,colonel1 and drop the ',miss1' and do please go on with this very wonderful subject4 ,thank you1 ,ju1 he laughed1 then continuing his talk1 he said3 ,it is far too big a subject1 ,ju1 in all its details1 to talk of here and now1 but1 broadly1 the fact seems to me to remain1 that fallen angels assumed human shape1 or in some way held illicit intercourse with the women of the day1 a race of giant-like beings resulting4 ,for this foul sin ,god would seem to have condemned these doubly sinning fallen angels to ,tartarus1 to be reserved unto ,judgment4 ',now as it was in the days of ,noah1 so shall it be in the coming of the ,son of ,man1' and---- ,judith ,montmarte caught her breath sharply1 and1 in an unconscious movement of eager wonder1 let her beautiful hand drop upon his wrist1 as she gasped you don't think--you don't mean--er--er--1 tell me1 ,colonel1 do you mean to say that-- ,i do mean1 he replied1 that ,i am firmly convinced that so far has demonology increased--the door being opened by modern spiritualism--that ,i believe this poor old world of ours is beginning to experience a return of this association between fallen spirits and the daughters of men4 ,of course1 ,i cannot enter into minute detail with you1 ,ju1 but let me register my firm conviction1 that ,i believe from some such demoniacal association1 there will spring the ',man of ,sin'--',the ,antichrist4' ,at that instant1 to the utter amaze of both of them1 the first luncheon gong sounded4 ,they had been talking for nearly three hours4 ,with the request from ,judith1 and a promise from him to resume the subject at the first favourable opportunity1 they parted4 ,intensely1 almost feverishly excited1 ,judith went to her room4 ,beautiful in face and form as she was1 she was fouler than a ,lucretia ,borgia1 in soul1 in thought4 ,and now1 as a foul1 wild1 mad thought surged through her brain1 she murmured1 half-aloud3 ,demon or man1 what matters6 ,if ,i thought ,i could be the ,mother of ,the ,antichrist1 ,i would--so much do ,i hate the ,nazarene1 the ,christ--4 ,she spat through the open window as she uttered the precious1 though to her the hated name of the ,son of ,god4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,twenty-,,five ,,years ,,later4 ,the huge ,london church was crowded in every part1 and men had been standing in the aisles from the first moment that the service began4 ,the preacher who had attracted so huge a crowd at two-thirty on a weekday afternoon1 was one of the very youngest of the coming men of the ,english church4 ,tall1 thin1 with a magnificent head crowned by a mane of hair that was fast becoming prematurely grey1 and a face so intense in its cast1 and set with eyes so piercing1 that strangers1 not knowing who he was1 would almost inevitably turn to look at him when they passed him on the street4 ,his career had been a strange one4 ,ordained at quite an early age1 he had been offered a living within six months of his ordination4 ,he entered upon his charge1 preached but once only1 then met with an accident that laid him low for seven years4 ,the seven years were fruitful years1 since1 shut up with ,god and ,his word1 he had become almost the most remarkable spiritually-minded ,bible student of his time4 ,the day came1 at length1 when once more he was strong enough to do public service1 and though without a living1 from the moment that he had preached his first sermon1 after his recovery1 he found himself in constant request on every hand4 ,he lived in close communion with ,god1 and his soul burned within him as he delivered--not an address1 not a sermon1 but the message of ,god4 ,the music of the voluntary was filling all the church1 while the offering was being taken4 ,then1 as the last well-filled plate was piled on the step of the communion rail1 the voluntary died away in a soft whisper4 ,amid a tense hush1 he rose to give out the hymn before the sermon4 ,clear1 bell-like1 his voice rang out3 ,when ,i survey the wondrous cross4 ,the hymn sung1 he gave out his text3 ,did not ,i choose you the twelve1 and one of you is a demon4 ,you will note1 he began that ,i have changed the word devil to demon4 ,there is but one devil in the universe1 but there are myriads of demons1 fallen angels like their master1 the ,devil1 only they were angels of lesser rank4 ,he paused for one moment1 and his eagle eyes swept the sea of faces4 ,then in quiet1 calm1 but incisive tones he asked3 ,who1--what1 was ,judas ,iscariot8 ,was he human1 was he man1 as ,i am1 as you are8 or1 was he a demon8 ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 who knew as ,god1 as well as man1 declared that ,judas was a demon--a fallen angel4 ,the silence was awesome in its tenseness4 ,every eye was fixed on the preacher1 necks were strained forward1 lips were parted--the people held their breath4 ,again that clear1 rich bell-like voice rang out in the repeated question3 ,who1 ,i repeat1 was ,judas ,iscariot8 ,was he a man1 in the usual acceptance of the term1 or was he a demon incarnated8 ,what does the ,bible say about him8 ,in considering this ,i ask you each to put from your mind1 as far as it is possible for you to do so1 all preconceived ideas1 all that you have been accustomed to think about this flame of evil in the story of ,christ4 ,and first let me say what my own feeling1 my own strong personal conviction is regarding ,judas ,iscariot4 ,i believe him to have been a demon incarnated by the power of the ,devil1 whose intent was to frustrate ,god's plans4 ,in all his foul work of destruction and confusion1 the ,devil1 from the time of the ,fall in ,eden1 has ever been busy counterfeiting all that ,god has wrought out for the salvation of the human race1 and as the time approaches for his own utter defeat so the more cunning will his devices of evil become4 ,in the foulness of his thoughts to frustrate ,god's purposes of salvation1 ,i believe that when he knew that the ,christ had been born1 that ,god had ,himself become incarnate1 so that ,he might deliver man--for we must never forget that ',god was in ,christ reconciling the world unto ,himself--that he1 the ,devil1 incarnated one of his demons1 who afterwards became known as ,judas ,iscariot1 the ,betrayer of ,christ4 ,for one instant the preacher paused1 for the awed and listening mass of people who had been literally holding their breath1 were compelled to inbreathe1 and the catch of breath was heard through all the place4 ,to use a twentieth century expression1 he went on1 ,i may seem to have 'given myself away' by this statement of my own conviction4 ,but ,i am not concerned with the effect1 ,i am concerned only with a great and important truth1 as it seems to me1 and a truth which will1 ,i believe1 be curiously1 fatefully emphasized in the days near to come1 when our ,lord shall have taken away ,his church at ,his coming in the air4 ,now let me invite your attention to the actual ,scriptures which speak of ,judas ,iscariot4 ,but before doing so let me acknowledge my indebtedness for the inceptive thought of all ,i have said1 and shall say1 to ,dr4 ,joseph ,a4 ,seiss1 of ,philadelphia1 in his wondrous lectures on ',the ,revelation4' ,we will turn first again to my text1 to the #fth of ,john1 the #gjth verse1 ',did ,i not choose you the twelve1 and one of you is a devil--a demon8 ,he spake of ,judas ,iscariot4' ,the second text ,i want us to note is in ,john #ag1 verse #ab1 and again it is ,jesus who makes the solemn declaration3 ',those whom ,thou gavest me ,i have kept1 and none of them is lost1 but the ,son of ,perdition4' ,the third text ,i would draw your attention to is in the #beth verse of ,acts #a4 ,it is ,peter who is speaking1 at the time of the choosing of another as apostle in ,judas's place2 he says3 ',judas1 by transgression1 fell1 that he might go to his own place4' ,in spite of their intentness in the wondrous personality of the messenger1 and the extraordinary character of his message1 not a few found time to marvel at the facile ease and certainty of touch with which he handled his little pocket ,bible1 and turned to the desired places4 ,as he finished reading the third passage1 and laid the open book down upon the desk1 the old hush deepened upon the people4 ,link those three passages together2 he went on1 and you will instantly see what ,i meant when ,i said just now1 that ,i believe ,judas ,iscariot to have been an incarnated demon1 and incarnated by the ,devil for the one fell purpose of frustrating ,god's designs for the ,world's ,salvation through ,jesus ,christ4 ,there is not a single recorded good thought1 word1 or deed that ever ,judas thought1 said1 or did4 ,and do please remember that ,christ was never once deceived by him1 for in the #fdth verse of that #fth of ,john1 we read ',for ,jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not1 and who should betray ,him4' ,and knowing everything1 he said of the ,betrayer1 ',i have chosen--he is a demon4' ,if our ,lord had said 'one of you has a demon1' the whole statement would have been different1 for many1 in ,christ's days1 we find1 were possessed by demons1 and ,he1 by ,his divine power cast out the demons4 ,but in ,judas we have something different1 not a human man in whom a demon has taken up his abode1 but a demon who has had a body given him in which to pass among men as a man4 ,christ's statement that he was a ',son of ,perdition1' is equally damning as to the real nature of ,judas ,iscariot4 ,he is called the 'son of ,simon1' as regards the human side of his life1 as ,jesus was called ',joseph's son1'--more especially ,mary's son4 ,but1 though1 nominally1 ',simon's son1' ,judas ,iscariot was ever 'a ,son of ,perdition4' ,and because he was this--'a demon1' a ,son of ,perdition1 ,peter1 at ,pentecost time1 speaking in the ,holy ,ghost1 was able to say that he1 ,judas1 'went to his own place4' ,we need spend no time in any detailed arguments as to whether this 'place' to which he went in the under-world1 was ,tartarus or elsewhere1 it was 'his own place1' the place of imprisoned demons1 the place where other demons who kept not their first estate1 but left their own habitation are reserved in chains4' ,neither ,tartarus or ,hell were ever 'prepared' for lost human souls1 'but for demons1 and1 as a demon1 ,judas went to his own place4' ,he paused a moment4 ,his tall1 thin form became rigid in the intensity of his service4 ,in the silence1 that deepened1 the ticking of the clock in the front of the gallery1 could be heard plainly in every part of the building4 ,slowly he bent his lithe form forward until he leaned far over the ,reading ,desk4 ,then stretching out his arm1 the long index finger pointing forward1 he said3 ,listen1 friends6 ,receive this next part of the message1 if you will1 if you can4 ,i believe that ',the ,man of ,sin1' ',the ,antichrist1' when he shall be revealed1 will be ,judas re-incarnated4 ,there can be no doubt1 ,i think1 but that any one studying ,daniel's description of the ,anti-christ will realize that1 in his human personation1 he will necessarily be a ,jew1 for otherwise1 the ,jews 7who will have largely returned to their own land1 and will have built their ,temple1 and resumed their ,mosaic service17 would not accept him as their leader1 and make their seven years' covenant with him4 ,now1 beloved1 my last word is a very solemn one4 ,it is this1 our ,lord's ,return for ,his ,bride1 the ,church1 is very near1--',he is even at our doors4' ,any day1 any hour he may return4 ,we1 here1 may never reach the point of the ',benediction' at the arranged close of this service1 for ,jesus may come and call up to ,himself everyone of ,his own in this place4 ,then what of you here who are not ,his8 ,for you1 there will remain nothing but the horrors of the ,tribulation1 7should you seek and find ,god after the ,translation of the church47 ,will you be among the ,martyrs of the ,tribulation1 or of the final impenitent1 rebels who shall be cast into the ,hell reserved for the ,devil1 for ,anti-christ1 for the demons2 or1 blessed thought1 will you here and now yield to ,christ1 and become the saved of the ,lord8 ,amid the most intense hush1 he added3 ,somewhere1 even as ,i have preached of him1 and as you have listened1 there is1 ,i believe1 a young man1 of noble stature1 exceedingly attractive1 wealthy1 fascinating1--bewitching1 in fact1 since 'all the world will wonder after him'--yes1 somewhere in the world1 perhaps in this very city where we are now gathered1 is the young man who1 presently1 when our ,lord has come1 when the ,church1 and the ,holy ,spirit are gone1 will manifest himself as the ,anti-christ4 ,may ,god save everyone of us from his reign1 for ,jesus ,christ's sake4 ,amen6 ,a gasping cry of amazed wonder broke from the thousand or more throats4 ,they bowed1 as one man1 under the silent request of his spread hands1 they heard the old1 old ,benediction as they had never heard it before3 ,may the ,grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the ,love of ,god1 and the ,fellowship of the ,holy ,spirit1 all unite in leading us into the ,peace of ,god which passeth all understanding1 ,amen4 ,silent1 awed1 in many cases speechless1 the great congregation passed out of the several exits of the church4 ,among them was the woman we know as ,judith ,montmarte1 and her son4 ,in spite of their pre-occupation1 many of the outgoing congregation turned to gaze with wondering eyes upon the handsome young fellow who walked with such a regal air beside his mother1 ,judith ,montmarte4 ,like ,saul1 in ,israel1 he stood a head and shoulders above the tallest of the crowd4 ,and he was magnificently proportioned4 ,on the continent1 and in ,new ,york and ,chicago1 ,lucien ,apleon1 was well-known1 but only in certain of the ,english circles was he known4 ,those who knew him1 whether men or women1 fairly idolized him1 in spite of the impenetrable mystery that enveloped his birth4 ,for a full year ,judith ,montmarte had disappeared from the ken of the world4 ,where she went1 what she did1 what happened to her1 none ever knew4 ,on her re-appearance in her ,hungarian home1 she called herself ,madame ,apleon1 and her child was ,lucien ,apleon4 ,no one ever heard of a husband1 no one knew the history of that year of disappearance4 ,lucien ,apleon was now about twenty-five years of age1 but with the maturity of face and character of a much older man4 ,he was accounted1 by all who knew him1 to be the most accomplished man in everything1 that the world had ever known4 ,the greatest scientists were babes before him4 ,as artist1 sculptor1 poet1 musician1 he could not be approached by any living being4 ,and there appeared an almost creative power in all he did1 since works of every kind of art grew under his hand4 ,among those who had been in that service1 and who turned to look at ,lucien ,apleon1 was ,ralph ,bastin4 ,it was his last day in ,london1 previous to those years of wandering recorded in ,the ,twinkling of an ,eye4 ,often during those years of adventurous wanderings the memory of ,ralph ,bastin had recalled that wonderful service4 ,one special moment of its recall was during that fateful1 sacrificial cave scene in that ,carribean ,island4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,a ,,super-,,man4 ,london was still in its first throes of wonder1 speculation1 and1 in some cases1 fearsome dread1 at the ever increasing discovery that a number of its citizens had mysteriously disappeared4 ,and the most curious part of the whole affair1 a prominent ,london philanthropist had remarked to an informal gathering of the ,committee of one of the ,great ,societies1 is this1 that whether we look at the gaps in our own committee1 or of any other committee1 or of any church--as far as ,i have been able to gather1 the story is the same1 the missing people are in almost every case those whom1 when they were with us1 were least understood by us4 ,some such thought had been filling the mind of ,ralph ,bastin1 as he sat in his ,editor's chair in the office of the ,courier4 ,allied to this thought there came another--an almost necessary corollary of the first--namely the new atmosphere of evil1 of lawlessness1 of wantonness that pervaded the city4 ,with a jerk1 his mind darted backward over the years to that remarkable sermon on ,judas and the ,antichrist4 ,it is true1 too true1 he murmured1 'the mystery of iniquity' that has long been working undermining the foundations of all true social and religious safety and solidity1 is now to be openly manifested and perfected4 ,the real ,christians1 the ,church of ,god1 which is the ,bride of ,christ1 has been silently1 secretly caught up to her ,lord in the air4 ,she was 'the salt of the earth1' she kept it from the open putrefaction that has already1 now1 begun to work4 ,then1 too1 that wondrous1 silent1 but mighty influence of restraint upon evil4--,the ,holy ,spirit1 ,himself1 has left the earth1 and now1 what8 ,all restraint gone1 the world everywhere open to believe the ,antichrist lie1 the delusion4 ,the whole tendency of the teaching1 from a myriad pulpits1 during the last few years1 has been to prepare the world to receive the ,devil's lie4 ,for a moment or two he sat in deep thought4 ,suddenly glancing at the clock1 he murmured3 ,i wonder what the other papers are saying this evening4 ,he rang up his messenger boy on his office phone4 ,the lad came promptly4 ,bastin handed him half-a-crown1 saying3 ,get me a copy of the last edition of all the chief evening papers1 ,charley1 and be smart about it1 and perhaps you will keep the change for your smartness4 ,in six minutes the lad was back with a sheaf of papers4 ,bastin just glanced at them separately1 noting the several times of their issue1 then with a ,good boy1 ,charley6 ,keep the change1 he unfolded one of the papers4 ,the boy stood hesitatingly1 a moment1 then said3 ,beg yer pardin'1 ,mr4 ,bastin1 sir1 but wot's yer fink as people's sayin' 'bout the ',translation o' the ,saints1' as it's called8 ,i can't say1 ,i am sure1 ,charley4 ,the careless1 and godless have already said some very foolish things relative to the stupendous event that has just taken place1 and ,i think1 for a few days1 they are likely to say even more foolish things4 ,what is the special one that you have heard8 ,why they sez1 sir--its in one o' the heving peepers1 they sez--that the people wot's missin' hev been carted off in aeroplanes by some o' the other religionists wot wanted to git rid o' them1 an' that the crank religiouses is all gone to---- ,where8 smiled ,bastin4 ,i don't think anybody knows where1 sir6 ,i do1 ,charley1 and many others to-day1 who have been left behind from that great ,translation know--they have been 'caught up' into the air where ,jesus ,christ had come from ,heaven to summon them to ,himself4 ,mr4 ,hammond is there1 ,charley1 and that sweet little adopted daughter of mine1 whom you once asked me whether 'angels could be more beautiful than she was6' ,ah1 yus1 sir1 ,i recollecks1 sir1 she wur too bootiful fur words1 she wur4 ,there was one moment's pause1 then the boy1 with a hurried1 it's all dreadful confuzellin1 slipped from the room4 ,ralph ,bastin opened paper after paper1 glanced with the swift1 comprehensive eye of the practised journalist at here and there a column or paragraph1 and was on the point of tossing the last news-sheet down with the others1 on the floor1 when his eye caught the words1 ,joyce1 ,journalist4 ,the paragraph recorded the finding of the body of the drunken scoundrel4 ,from the position of the body1 the account read1 and from the nature of the wounds1 it would almost seem as though some infernal power had hurled him1 head on1 against the wall of the room4 ,whether we believe1 or disbelieve the statements concerning the taking away1 by some mysterious ,translation process1 of a number of persons from our midst1 yet the fact remains that each hour is marked by the finding of some poor dead creature1 under circumstances quite as tragically mysterious as this case of ,joyce the reporter4 ,for a time ,ralph ,bastin sat deep in thought4 ,he had not yet written the article for to-morrow's issue ,from the ,prophet's chair4 ,he felt his insufficiency1 he realized the need of being ,god's true witness in this hour that was ushering in the awful reign of ,the ,antichrist4 ,he did the best thing1 he knelt in prayer1 crying3 ,o ,god1 ,i am so ignorant1 teach me1 give me ,thy wisdom in this momentous hour4 ,if those who cleave to ,thee amid this awful time must seal their witness with death1 must face martyrdom1 then let me be counted worthy to die for ,thee4 ,in the old days1 before yesterday's great event1 all prayer had to be offered to ,thee through ,jesus ,christ4 ,i know no other way1 please then hear my prayer1 and accept it1 for ,jesus ,christ's sake4 ,amen4 ,rising from his knees1 with a sense of solemn calm pervading all his soul1 he presently took his pen and began to write rapidly1 his mind seeming1 to him1 to be consciously under the domination of the divine4 ,embodying the various items over which he had so recently mused1 as to the awfulness of the development of evil that would increasingly mark the near coming days1 now that all restraints were taken away1 he went on to show that now that the ,devil1 who had1 for ages1 been the ,prince of the ,power of the air1 with all his foul following of demons1 had been cast down out of that upper realm1 where ,christ and his translated saints had taken up their abode1 the forces of evil upon the earth would be magnified and multiplied a million-fold4 ,christ and the ,devil1 he went on1 never can dwell in the same realm1 hence the coming of ,christ into the air meant the descent to earth1 of the ,devil and1 with him all the invisible hosts of evil4 ,the wildest1 weirdest imagination could not conceive all the horrors that must come upon those who presently will refuse to wear the ',mark of the ,beast' and bow to worship him4 ,suddenly1 at this point in his writing1 a curious sense of some presence1 other than his own1 came over him1 and slowly1 almost reluctantly he looked up4 ,he started visibly1 for1 seated in the chair on the opposite side of his desk1 was a visitor4 ,the man was the most magnificent specimen of the human race he had ever seen1 a giant1 almost1 in stature1 handsome to a degree1 and with a certain regal air about him4 ,bastin had involuntarily leaped to his feet1 and now stammered3 ,i--er--beg pardon1 but ,i did not hear you come in4 ,even as he spoke two things happened4 ,his mind swept backward over the years to the day of that wonderful ,judas sermon he had heard1 and with this recalled memory there came the recollection of his turning to look into the face of that magnificent looking young man who had been the cynosure of all eyes as he left the church with his mother4 ,he was conscious also of a strange uncanny sense that this smiling handsome man1 with mocking1 dancing light in his eyes1 was no ordinary man4 ,in that same instant1 too1 ,ralph ,bastin knew who his visitor was1 since he had become familiarized by the illustrated papers and magazines1 with the features of ,the ,genius of the ,age--as he was often styled--,lucien ,apleon4 ,my name1 said the smiling visitor1 is ,lucien ,apleon4 ,as editor of a great journal like the ',courier1' you know who ,i am when you know my name1 even though we have never met before4 ,you were so busy1 so absorbed1 when ,i came in that ,i did not so much as cough to announce my presence4 ,ralph longed to ask him if he came through the door1 or how1 since he had heard no sound4 ,but he did not put his question1 but replied3 ,who has not heard and read of ,lucien ,apleon1 ',the ,genius of the ,age1' sage1 savant1 artist1 sculptor1 poet1 novelist1 a giant in intellect1 the ,napoleon of commercial capacity1 the croesus for wealth1 and master of all courts and diplomacy4 ,but ,i had not heard that you were in ,england1 the last news par' of you which ,i read1 gave you as at that wonderful city1 the ,new ,babylon1 more wonderful1 ,i hear1 than any of the former cities of its name and site4 ,ralph had talked more than he needed to have done1 but he wanted time to recover his mental balance1 for his nerves had been considerably startled by the suddenness1 the uncanniness of his visitor's appearance4 ,there was a curious quizzical1 mocking look in the eyes of ,apleon while ,ralph was speaking4 ,the latter noted it and had an uncomfortable consciousness that the mocking-eyed visitor was reading him like a book4 ,i only landed to-day1 replied ,apleon4 ,steamer8 asked ,ralph4 ,no1 by a new aerial type of my own invention1 replied ,apleon4 ,it brought me from ,babylon to ,london in about as many minutes as it would have occupied the best aeronaut1 days1 by the best machines of a year ago4 ,he laughed4 ,there was a curious sound in the laugh1 it was mocking yet musical1 it was eerie yet merry4 ,involuntarily ,ralph thought of ,grieg's ,dance of the ,imps1 and ,auber's overture ,le ,domino ,noir4 ,but ,i have not yet explained my object in calling upon you1 the visitor went on4 ,i have1 of course1 seen this morning's ',courier1' and have been intensely interested1 and1 will you mind1 if ,i say it1 amused4 ,amused1 ,mr4 ,apleon8 cried ,ralph4 ,yes1 intensely amused1 went on the mocking-eyed visitor4 ,i do not mean with the issue as regards its general contents1 it was to the ',prophet's ,chair' column that ,i alluded4 ,ralph1 regarding him questioningly1 inclined his head1 without speaking4 ,do you really believe1 ,mr4 ,bastin1 went on the visitor1 what you have written in that column8 ,do you really believe that a certain section of ,christians1 out of every one of the visible ,evangelical churches of this land1 and elsewhere1 have been translated into the air8 ,that the ,holy ,spirit of the ,christian ,new ,testament1 the third ,person of the ,trinity1 whom that same ,new ,testament declares was sent to the earth when the ,nazarene ,christ went home to ,his ,father--please1 note1 ,mr4 ,bastin1 that ,i am using the terms of the orthodox ,christian1 enough ,i tell you frankly ,i do not believe a word of the jumble which1 for nearly two thousand years1 has been accepted as a divinely inspired ,revelation to so-called fallen man8 ,yes1 replied ,ralph1 and his voice rang with a rare assurance1 and every line of his face held a wondrous nobility4 ,yes1 ,i believe it all4 ,if ,i had not been a blind1 conceited fool of a sinner1 a week ago1 ,i should have known that all this1 and much more was true1 and ,i should have found my way in penitence and faith to the feet of the ,nazarene1 of ,jesus ,christ the ,world's ,redeemer1 and1 finding pardon for my sin1 as ,i should have done1 ,i should have been made one of the ,church of ,god1 as my friend1 and ,editor-in-chief1 ,tom ,hammond1 had done4 ,and1 had ,i listened to him1 ,i should now have been with those blessed translated ones of whom ,i have written in that article of which you speak1 ,mr4 ,apleon4 ,i sat in that chair where you now sit1 ,ralph went en4 ,mr4 ,hammond1 in his eagerness to win me to ,christ1 leant forward over this desk--he was sitting where ,i am--to lay his hand on my wrist1 when1 with angry impatience1 ,i leaped to my feet1 and declaring that he must be going out of his head1 ,i swung round on my heel4 ,instantly there fell upon the room an eerie stillness4 ,i swung back on my heel to reply to my friend1 but his chair was empty1 he was gone--gone to the ,christ whom he loved1 'caught up in the air' to meet his ,lord1 where all those other missing saints have been taken4 ,yes1 yes1 ,mr4 ,apleon1 a thousand times yes1 to your question1 'do ,i believe all that ,i have written there in that article4' ,here in this little pamphlet-- ,he laid his hand1 as he spoke1 upon a small book that had been ,tom ,hammond's1 which bore the title ,,the ,,second ,,coming ,,of ,,our ,,lord ,,jesus ,,christ4 ,systematically arranged from passages in the ,holy ,scriptures1 for ,students1 ,teachers1 and others4 ,by the ,rev4 ,robert ,middleton4 ,here1 in this little book1 he went on1 there is not only set out with the most luminous clearness1 with the actual ,bible texts1 all that ,i have written in that article1 but also many other truths and texts which have already been literally fulfilled during the last forty-eight hours--even as the book said that they would be4 ,with the old mocking1 quizzical smile1 the handsome ,apleon interrupted him1 asking3 ,what do you mean by the real ,church of ,god8 ,the ,romish ,church1 ,the ,greek ,church1 ,the ,anglican ,church or any one of the multitude of dissenting churches8 ,it was ,ralph's turn to smile now1 as he said3 ,none of those churches could be called ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,god4 ,the true1 the real church was composed of true believers1 men and women who had been born again by the ,spirit of ,god1 and who1 numbered among every section of so-called ,christians--and some who were wholly unattached--made up in their wide-world entirety the true ,church of ,god1 the ,bride of ,christ4 ,and what1 asked ,apleon1 of the rest1 the vast bulk of the worshippers at the various churches8 ,what is their fate to be8 ,god only knows6 replied ,bastin4 ,some1 at least1 have already sought1 and found ,god1 or believe they have1 even as ,i have sought1 and believe that ,i have found ,god4 ,but the vast bulk of the people already seem to be rollicking in a curious sense of non-restraint4 ,i remember some years ago1 hearing a lady say that visiting the houses of one of the worst streets in ,winchester1 and speaking to the people as to their eternal welfare1 she found one woman particularly hardened4 ,to this woman she said3 ',but1 my dear sister1 think of what it will be to be eternally lost1 to be separated from ,god1 and from all that is pure and good1 for ever1 and in a state and place which the ,bible calls ,hell4' ,and the woman laughed1 as she said3 ',well1 there's one thing1 ,i shall not be lonely there1 for ,i shall have all my neighbours around me1 for every one in this street is on the same track as me4' ,a sardonic smile curled the full lips of ,apleon1 as he said3 ,poor deluded soul6 ,for if there is such a place as that ,hell1 that underworld of lost souls of which your ,bible speaks1 and declares that it was prepared for the ,devil and his angels1 and that woman and her neighbours find themselves there1 they will realize that hell1 for its lost1 is the loneliest spot in the universe1 since each soul will hate the other and will live alone1 apart in its own hideous realm of anguish and remorse4 ,lifting his eyes to his visitor's face1 as the latter delivered himself to this strange speech1 ,bastin was startled to note the expression on the handsome face4 ,the eyes1 unutterably sad for one instant1 turned suddenly to savage hate1 the mouth was as cruel as death1 the eyes grew baleful1 like the eyes of a snake that is being whipped to death4 ,he was startled even more by the tones of his voice when he said3 ,and what of the ,anti-christ of whom you have spoken and written8 ,do you believe what you have written8 ,i most certainly do1 replied ,ralph4 ,again the sardonic smile filled all ,apleon's face as he returned3 ,then if all that you say and write be true1 as regards the coming ,anti-christ1 and you continue to wear the late editor's mantle when you write ',the ,prophet's chair' articles1 how long do you suppose that that powerful super-man1 the ,anti-christ of your belief1 will let you alone4 ,if he is to be so powerful1 and if the devil is to energize him1 as you say2--even as you profess to believe that he has called into being--is now actually dwelling on the earth1 though invisible1 and all his angels 7demons1 ,i believe they are called in the ,bible7 are moving about invisibly among the people on the earth1 among the people of this wonderful ,london1 if all this1 ,i say1 be so1 how long do you suppose you will be allowed1 by his ,satanic ,majesty1 to ply your trade of warner of the peoples8 ,why1 man1 your life is not worth the snap of a finger8 ,ralph smiled4 ,the smile transfigured his face1 even as the same sort of smile transfigured the faces of the martyrs of old time1 beginning with ,stephen4 ,i care not how long ,i live1 he replied4 ,the only care ,i have now is to be true to my convictions1 true to my ,god4 ,the telephone rang at that instant4 ,excuse me one moment1 ,mr4 ,apleon1 he said1 turning to the instrument4 ,there followed a few moments exchanges on the 'phone1 then replacing the receiver he turned4 ,but his visitor was gone4 ,that's curious6 he muttered4 ,i did not hear a sound of his going1 any more than ,i did of his coming4 ,uncanny1 eerie1 creepy1 almost6 ,there was a tap at the door4 ,come in6 he called4 ,the messenger boy1 ,charley1 entered with a sheaf of proof galleys4 ,did you see that tall gentleman pass out1 ,charley8 he asked4 ,did he go down stairs1 or into one of the other offices8 ,tall gennelman1 sir8 ,there aint bin no one come along this way1 sir1 nobody couldn't pass my little hutch wivout me a seein' on 'em4 ,i ain't been out no wheres1 an' ,i knows no one aint come by--least ways1 not this way1 not past my place4 ,if any tall gentleman does come up1 ,charley1 show him in to me1 at once please4 ,ralph had had time1 during ,charley's extended answer1 to recover himself from the amaze that the boy's first sentence has produced in him4 ,that's all1 ,charley6 he added1 turning to his desk4 ,the boy gave him a curious1 puzzled look1 lingered for the fraction of a second1 then slowly turned and left the office4 ,when the door had closed behind him1 ,ralph1 who had felt all that had passed in that moment of the boy's hesitancy1 though he had purposely refrained from looking up1 lifted his head and glanced around him4 ,if ,i did not know better1 he murmured1 ,i should suppose that the whole incident was but a dream1 or hallucination4 ,a perplexed look filled his face1 as he continued3 ,what does it all mean8 ,again1 in a flash1 the memory of that ,judas sermon swept back over him1 and the startling statement recurred to him ,somewhere1 even as ,i have preached of him1 and as you have listened1 there is1 ,i believe1 a young man of noble stature1 exceedingly attractive1 wealthy1 fascinating1 bewitching in fact1 since 'all the world will wonder after him'--yes1 somewhere in the world1 perhaps in this very city where we are now gathered1 is the young man who1 presently1 when our ,lord has come1 when the ,church1 and the ,holy ,spirit are gone1 will manifest himself as the ,anti-christ4 ,coming back at this particular moment1 ,ralph asked himself3 ,is ,lucien ,apleon the ,anti-christ8 ,he paused an instant1 then1 as a sudden startling sense of assurance of the fact swept into his soul he cried3 ,he is6 ,i have seen the ,anti-christ6 ,for nearly an hour he sat on his chair1 his mind wrapped in deep thought1 and occasionally referring to a book of prophecy which ,tom ,hammond had evidently deeply studied4 ,at the end of the hour1 he bowed his head upon his hands1 and held silent communion with ,god1 seeking wisdom to write and speak and live the ,truth4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,to ,,the ,,world1 ,,the ,,flesh1 ,,and ,,the ,,devil ,the next day was ,sunday4 ,it was also the first ,sunday of the month4 ,as he bathed and dressed1 ,ralph found himself wondering whether the churches and chapels would be filled1 whether the awe and fear that had fallen upon so many ,christian professors during the first hours after the ,rapture1 would drive them to the churches4 ,the first of the month1 he mused4 ,the ,lord's ,supper has been the order of the day in most places4 ,i wonder if it will be celebrated to-day8 ,until ,he come6 he mused on4 ,he has come1 so that the ,lord's ,supper1 as part of the worship of the churches is concerned1 can have no further meaning4 ,will any attempt be made to celebrate it1 to-day1 ,i wonder8 ,every available moment of the fateful week that had just passed he had occupied in deep reading the prophetic scriptures referring to ,the ,coming of the ,lord1 and the events which follow4 ,he had also studied deeply every book on the subject which he could secure1 that was likely to help him to understand the position of affairs4 ,again and again1 he had said to himself3 ,how could ,i have been such a fool8 a journalist1 a bookman1 a lover of research1 professing to have the open mind which should be the condition of every man of my trade1 and yet never to have studied my ,bible1 never to have sought to know what all the startling events of the past decade1 pointed to4 ,surely1 surely1 ,tom ,carlyle was right about we ,british--'mostly fools4' ,at breakfast he ate and drank only sufficient to satisfy the sense of need4 ,previous to ,the ,rapture he had been a bit of an ,epicure1 now he scarcely noted what he ate or drank4 ,almost directly his meal was finished1 he left the house4 ,the journalistic instinct was strong enough within him to make him desire to see what changes1 if any1 would be apparent in ,london on this first ,sunday after the momentous event that had so recently come upon the world4 ,turning out of the quiet square where his lodgings were1 he was instantly struck by a new tone in the streets4 ,there was an utter absence of the old-time ,sabbath sense4 ,the gutterways were already lined with fruit and other hawkers1 their coarse voices1 crying their wares1 making hideous what should have been a ,sunday quiet4 ,it was barely ten1 yet already many of the ,tea ,rooms were open1 and most of them seemed thronged1 whole families1 and pleasure-parties taking breakfast1 evidently4 ,he passed a large and popular theatre1 across the whole front of which was a huge1 hand-painted announcement1 ,matinee at #b1 this afternoon4 ,performance to-night #g-de4 ,new ,topical song entitled ,the ,rapture1 on the great event of the week4 ,living ,pictures at both performances3 ,the ,flight of the ,saints4 ,ralph1 in his amaze1 had paused to read the full contents of the announcement4 ,he shuddered as he took in the full import of the blasphemy4 ,surveying the crowd that stood around the notice1 he was struck by the composition of the little mob4 ,it was anything but a low-class crowd4 ,many of them were evidently of the upper middle class1 well-dressed1 and often intellectual-looking people4 ,he was turning to leave the spot1 when a horsey-looking young fellow close to him1 in a voice loud enough to be heard by the whole crowd--he evidently meant that it should--cried3 ,well1 if it's true that all the long-faced puritans have been carted off1 vamoused1 kidnapped1 ,rapturized1 as they call it1 and that now there's to be no ,theatre ,censor1 and every one can do as they like1 well then1 good riddance to the kill-joys1 ,i say4 ,and so say all of us1 sang a voice1 almost everyone present joining in the song4 ,when twenty yards off ,ralph could hear the blasphemy ringing out ,the ,devil's a jolly good fellow1 and so say all of us6 ,what will ,london be like in a month's time6 he mused4 ,he moved on quickly1 but even as he went the thought thrust itself upon him1 that half ,london1 for some reason or the other1 was abroad in the streets unusually early4 ,his own objective was a great ,nonconformist church1 where one of ,london's most popular and remarkable preachers had ministered4 ,he had been one of the comparatively few whose ministry had been characterized by a close adherence to the ,word of ,god1 and an occasional solemn word of expository warning and exhortation anent the ,coming of the ,lord4 ,ralph was within a stone's throw of the great building when the squeaking tones of ,punchinello1 reached his ears1 while a deep roar of many laughing voices accompanied the squeakings4 ,a moment more and he was abreast of a crowd of many hundreds of people gathered around the ,punch and ,judy show4 ,sick in soul at all that told of open blasphemy everywhere around him1 he hurried on1 not so much as casting an eye at the show1 though it was impossible for him to miss the question and answer that rang out from the show4 ,now1 now ,mr4 ,punch1 where's your poor wife8 ,have you done away with her8 ,no1 screamed the hook-nosed puppet1 ,not me1 ,i aint done away with her1 she done away with herself1 she's gone and got ',rapturized4' ,then1 above the ribald laughter of the crowd1 the squeaking puppet sang3 ,oh1 p'raps she is1 p'raps she aint1 ,an' p'raps she's gone to sea1 ,or p'raps she's gone to ,brigham ,young ,a ,mormonite to be4 ,ralph shivered as with chill1 as he went up the steps of the great church to which he had been aiming4 ,it was filling fast4 ,five minutes after he entered1 the doors had to be closed1 there was not even standing room4 ,he swept the huge densely-packed building with his keen eyes4 ,many present were evidently accustomed to gather there1 though the bulk were curious strangers4 ,a strange hush was upon the people1 a half-frightened look upon many faces1 and a general air of suspense4 ,once1 someone in the gallery cracked a nut4 ,the sound was almost as startling as a pistol shot1 and hundreds of faces were turned in the direction of the sound4 ,ralph noticed that the ,communion table1 on the lower platform under the rostrum was covered with white1 and evidently arranged as for the ,lord's ,supper4 ,exactly at eleven1 someone emerged from a vestry and passed up the rostrum stairs4 ,a moment later the man was standing at the desk4 ,many instantly recognized him4 ,it was the ,secretary of the ,church4 ,a dead hush fell upon the people4 ,the face of the man was deathly pale1 his eyes were dull and sunken4 ,twice his lips parted and he essayed to speak1 but no sound escaped him4 ,the hush deepened4 ,then1 at last1 low and husky came the words ,my dear friends--for ,i recognize some who have been wont to gather here on the ,sundays1 though the majority are strangers1 ,i think4 ,his eyes slowly swept the great congregation4 ,we have1 ,i believe1 many of us1 gathered here this morning more by a new1 strange1 common instinct1 than by mere force of ,sunday habit4 ,yet1 ,i cannot but think that many of us1 solemnized by the events that have transpired since last ,sunday1 have met more in the ,spirit of real seeking after ,god than ever we have done before4 ,a few voices joined in a murmur of assent1 but something like a ripple of mocking laughter came from others4 ,and one voice in the gallery laughed outright--it was the man who had cracked the nut4 ,momentarily unnerved by that laughter the speaker paused4 ,then recovering himself he went on3 ,our pastor has gone2 the ,puritans 7as we were wont to call them7 are gone2 and we know now--now that it is too late for those of us who are 'left'--that they have been 'caught up' into the air1 to be with their ,lord forever4 ,he glanced down at the white-draped communion table1 as he continued3 ,our church officer has performed his usual monthly office1 and has spread the ,table for the ,lord's ,supper1 but it dawns upon us1 friends1 how useless1 how empty is the symbol since it was only ordained 'until ,he should come4' ,he has come1 and we1 the unready1 have been left behind4 ,tommy ,rot6 ,the expression came angrily1 sneeringly from the man in the gallery1 the man who cracked that nut1 and who had laughed so boisterously a moment ago4 ,many eyes were turned up to the man1 but no voice of reprimand came1 no cry of shame6 or of ,turn him out1 was raised4 ,all that had happened during the days of the past week1 had served to fill many of the people gathered there that morning1 with a curious mingling of doubt1 hesitancy1 fearsomeness1 and uncertainty1 as well as an unconscious growth of a new strange skepticism1 and a carelessness that almost amounted to recklessness4 ,as it is with many more here1 this morning1 the ,secretary went on1 some members of my family have gone1 been caught up-- ,aviated6 laughed a ribald voice1 and this time it came from another part of the building4 ,disregarding the interruption1 the secretary went on3 ,my wife has gone-- ,his voice shook with the deep emotion that stirred him1 and for a moment he was too moved to speak4 ,then recovering himself with an effort he continued3 ,my daughter1 too1 who against my wish had offered herself as a ,foreign ,missionary1 has gone4 ,both wife and daughter lived in the spirit of expectancy of the ,coming of ,christ into the air4 ,now they are with ,him1 to be with ,him for ever4 ,the ribald voice that had last interrupted1 again broke into the ,secretary's touching words4 ,this time the interrupter roared out a stanza or two of a wretched song3 ,will no one tell me where they're gone1 ,my bursting heart with grief is torn1 ,i wish ,i never had been born1 ,i've lost1 ,i've lost my vife4 ,a hundred or more voices roared with laughter4 ,the devil of blasphemy was growing bolder4 ,but in the silence that immediately followed the laughter1 the ,secretary went on again3 ,i have been a deeply religious man1 even as ,nicodemus and ,paul were1 before their conversion4 ,but now that it is too late to share in the bliss of the glorious ,translation1 ,i have discovered that ,religion1 without ,christ1 without the ,regeneration of the ,new ,birth1 is evidently useless1 otherwise1 ,i1 with scores of others in this church1 this morning1 who have1 for years1 listened to a full-orbed gospel from our ,god-filled translated pastor1 would be now with those of our loved ones who have 'ascended up on high4' ,he paused for the briefest fraction of a second1 a look of keenest anguish filled his face1 his eyes grew moist with unshed tears1 and were full of appeal1 of enquiry1 as he swept the great assembly1 crying3 ,there must be thousands upon thousands left in our land1 who1 like myself1 deceived themselves1 and thus1 unwittingly deceived others1 and in whose souls there rises the cry3 ',how can we find ,god8 ,who will show us the way8' ,friends1 ,i have searched my ,new ,testament from end to end4 ,i have been up two whole nights1 and ,i have read the ,new ,testament through from ,matthew to ,revelation1 twice4 ,but ,i can find no provision for the position ,i find myself in4 ,i can find no guidance as to how to be saved4 ,the whole situation is too solemn1 too awful for any fooling4 ,does anyone here know8 ,can anyone here tell us how we may find ,god1 now that the salt of the earth--the real ,christians are gone1 and now1 too1 that the ,holy ,spirit who1 of old time--not yet a full week1 but it seems an eternity--led souls to ,god through ,christ4 ,there was something so solemn1 so pathetic in the man's manner and utterance1 that even the ribald fools who had previously interrupted1 were silent4 ,the hush was intense4 ,the ticking of the clock could be heard distinctly4 ,impelled by a power which he could not have defined or described1 ,ralph ,bastin rose to his feet4 ,the hush deepened4 ,then a voice broke the silence1 crying3 ,bastin1 editor of ',the ,courier'6 ,he was very pale1 but the light of a rare courage flashed in his eyes4 ,he acknowledged the recognition of himself by an inclination of the head4 ,then amid a strange hush he began to speak1 his voice husky1 at first1 rapidly clearing as he went on3 ,friends1 ,i take it that this is the most momentous ,sunday that has ever been1 since the first one--the day of the resurrection of the ,christ4 ,our friend who has just spoken has surely voiced the question of many hearts here this morning1 and many other troubled hearts the wide world over4 ,let me say1 right here1 that my friend and colleague1 ,mr4 ,tom ,hammond1 the originator and late editor of ',the ,courier1' was in the very act of explaining the wonderful1 expected return of ,christ 7expected by him though scoffed at by myself7 when he was 'caught up' from my very presence1 and then ,i knew what a fool ,i had been to neglect ,god and ,his salvation4 ,the nut-cracking interrupter in the gallery1 with a burst of laughter1 began mockingly to sing the old revival chorus1 ,come to ,jesus1 come to ,jesus1 come to ,jesus1 just now1 just---- ,silence6 you blasphemous1 ribald fool6 ,the words leaped from the lips of ,ralph ,bastin1 in a tone of command that literally awed the interrupter4 ,the effect1 too1 upon the hesitating1 vacillating mass of people was1 for the moment at least1 to arouse their sympathy with ,ralph1 and a little murmur of applause followed4 ,at the same time a soldier in uniform1 a man of giant proportions1 who was sitting almost immediately behind the disturber1 rose in his seat1 and addressing the man in front of him1 cried1 in a stentorian voice3 ,see here1 mouthy1 we're about fed up with your gas1 so if you give us so much as one wag of that cursed red rag of yours1 ,i'll pick you up and snap you in half across my knee1 as ,i would snap a stick4 ,this time the applause broke out all over the crowded church4 ,when it ceased1 ,ralph standing straight as a larch1 and looking up at the soldier1 gave a military salute1 as he said3 ,thank you1 brave soldier4 ,coming back to his audience1 he went on1 as if there had been no interruption3 ,i1 too1 like the gentleman who addressed us just now1 have read the whole of the ,bible through1 and the ,new ,testament twice1 and ,i can find no definite provision or ,revelation for those who are left behind--that is as to the how1 ,i mean1 of salvation4 ,yet that there are to be many saved during the next seven years1 is evident1 since there is to be a great multitude come out of ,the ,great ,tribulation1 and thousands of these will be martyrs for ,god1 refusing to wear the ,mark of the ,beast4 ,in one of the pamphlets ,i have been studying on ',the second coming of the ,lord1' ,i have found this statement1 that ,christ1 during ,his ministry1 preached the ,gospel of the ,kingdom1 which is explained as referring to the fact that1 as a ,jew1 as the ,messiah1 ,he came to ,his own people the ,jews1 the chosen earthly people of ,god1 and that if they would have accepted ,him as their ,messiah1 ,his ,kingdom--with ,himself reigning as ,king--might have been set up there and then4 ,but they rejected ,him1 yes1 even when ,peter1 at ,pentecost1 after the ,ascension of ,christ1 made the final offer in those wonderful words of his4 ,as a nation1 they rejected ,him1 rejected their ,lord and ,king1 and henceforth1 until ,he should come again4 7,he came last week1 as we know1 now that it is too late for us to share in the glory of that coming47 ,until that coming1 as ,i said1 the ,gospel to be preached was to be the ',gospel of the ,grace of ,god1' and not the ',gospel of the ,kingdom4' ',the ,gospel of the ,grace of ,god1' included all peoples1 ,gentile as well as ,jew1 while 'the ,gospel of the ,kingdom1' in its first preaching1 was especially a message to the ,jew4 ,now1 friends1 since there appears to be no special ,revelation left as to how men and women are to be saved1 ,i have been forced to the conclusion that we must go back to the ,old ,testament word3 ',seek ye the ,lord'--',call upon the ,name of the ,lord'--',trust ye in the ,lord'--',come now and let us reason1 saith the ,lord4 ,though your sins be as scarlet1 they shall be as white as snow1 though they be red like crimson1 they shall be as wool4' ',the ,lord is nigh unto them who are of broken heart1 and saveth such as be of a ,contrite spirit4' ,i have taken my own stand upon this1 that ,god1 the ,god of the ,old ,testament1 is the same ,god1 who pities like a father1 and that if we confess our sin1 and witness a true confession1 ,he will forgive us our sin1 and though we can never be part of that wondrous ,bride of ,christ1 whom1 last week ,he caught up to ,himself into the ,heavenlies1 yet we may be eternally saved4 ,and1 friends1 whether ,i am right or wrong1 ,i am daily pleading the ,name of ,jesus ,christ in all my approaches to ,god4 ,i plead the ,blood of ,jesus ,christ1 and the power of that ,blood1 to save me2 for1 as far as ,i understand myself1 in this matter1 my belief1 my trust is the same as that which inspired the saints who were translated at the ',rapture'--as that event has come to be called4 ,in my studies during the past week--would ,god ,i had been wise1 and given myself to all this a month ago1 ,i should then have shared in the glory of that ,rapturous event of which all our minds are so full4 ,but1 as ,i was saying1 in my studies during the past week1 ,i have seen that in ,revelation ,seven1 in the account of those who are to be saved during the seven years of the present dispensation1 7and which has just begun7 that they 'have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb4' ,so that though ,i am not able to reduce my standing to an actual theological position--statement--yet ,i pin my soul1 my faith on the ,eternal character of ,god1 and on the efficacy of the ,blood of ,jesus1 as shown in ,revelation ,seven1 fourteen4 ,he paused for an instant1 and his eyes swept the great assembly sorrowfully1 sadly1 as he went on3 ,but it is forced upon me that what is done by us1 in this matter of seeking ,god1 must be done by us now1 at once4 ,every hour increases the danger of delay because the powers of evil1 of the ,antichrist1 are already growing more and more rampant1 more and more pronounced4 ,presently1 friends1 we know not but that any hour or even moment now1 the awful delusion of the ,antichrist lie1 may be actually formulated into speech and print1 and it will be so almost universally absorbed by mankind1 and its influence be so pervading1 so saturating1 in every class1 of society1 that it will every hour become harder1 more difficult for the individual soul to turn to ,god4 ,he paused again for one instant4 ,then startlingly1 suddenly1 the words ,great ,god6 leaped from his lips4 ,they sounded like a mighty sob4 ,great ,god6 he repeated with an anguish that awed the people4 ,the great mass of people in ,london1 are already mocking ,god4 ,they laugh at the notion of there being a ,god1 of there being any ,retribution4 ,the great mass of the people are ripe for anything1 even for a public1 official denial of the very existence of ,god4 ,deluded1 they will believe any lie1 ,,the ,,foul ,,lie4 ,how long is it since1 in ,france1 in the ,revolution1 the leading men1 the 'flower' of that capricious nation1 carried in triumph in grand procession the most beautiful harlot of ,paris1 to the ,cathedral of ,notre ,dame1 and1 unveiling and kissing her before the high altar1 proclaimed her as the ',goddess of ,reason1' exhorting the multitude of people to forget all the childish things that they had been taught as to the thunders of the wrath of ,god1 for ,god was not1 and had never been4 ,and all that happened while the 'salt of the earth1' was abroad1 and while that great1 divine restrainer of evil1 the ,holy ,spirit1 the third ,person of the ,trinity1 was still upon the earth exercising ,his restraint4 ,and1 in a week from to-day1 ,i believe it will be absolutely impossible to get a gathering like this4 ,the world1 the ,flesh1 the ,devil1 the ,antichrist1 will have almost absolute sway1 and if any of us will live to ,god1 we must be prepared to suffer the direst persecution1 and all the horrors of the ,great ,tribulation1 with its thousands of martyrs1 will be the portion of those who will cleave to ,god1 and flout ,antichrist4 ,a deep1 sullen growl1 like that of some huge savage beast1 rose here and there from a number of dissenters to these predictions4 ,ralph lifted his head proudly1 and fearlessly for his ,god1 as he cried3 ,there rises the first growl of the slumbering demon of ,antichrist1 which1 only too soon1 shall possess almost the whole world4 ,soon1 a year1 or two1 less than that1 doubtless4 ,antichrist will dominate the earth's peoples4 ,none will be able to trade1 to buy or sell1 unless they bear on their forehead or their right hand1 the ,mark of the ,beast4 ,what will that mark be8 ,i cannot tell4 ,i do not know1 no one save ,antichrist1 and the ,devil who has incarnated him1 can as yet know1 ,i think4 ,again that growl rose from the throats of some of the listeners4 ,this time it was deeper1 fuller more voices joined in it1 and the savage note was more pronounced4 ,suddenly1 a mighty roar of thousands of voices1 mingled with the blare of brass instruments penetrated into the building from the street4 ,there followed1 instantly1 a general rising to their feet1 and a rush of the people to the exits4 ,the crush at the exits was terrible4 ,screams of women mingled with the hoarse cursings of men--men who had never uttered an oath before1 found their mouth filled with hideous1 blasphemous oaths4 ,it was as if the very devil himself had suddenly possessed the crowd4 ,ralph found himself alongside the ,secretary of the church1 the man who had preceded him in speaking4 ,the pair watched and listened for a moment while noisily1 slowly1 painfully the people passed out of the building4 ,involuntarily there sprang to ,ralph's lips1 and1 before he realized it1 he was uttering the words3 ,the whole herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea1 and was choked4 ,the two men were strangers1 yet as they turned and faced each other1 by some common impulse they clasped hands4 ,for one instant it looked as though each would have spoken4 ,then1 as though some strange power had tied their tongues1 they moved on silently1 side by side1 down the wide aisle of the church1 and passed out through the entrance doors of the now empty building4 ,the streets were filled with surging masses of people1 and there was a glare of ruddy flames1 while dense volumes of smoke poured into the upper air from the first of two huge cars drawn by hundreds of excited men1 boys1 and even women and girls4 ,in the center of the platform of the first car was a huge1 altar-like construction in polished iron or steel4 ,the center of the altar was evidently a deep hollow cauldron1 into which a score of men1 costumed as satyrs1 were pitchforking ,bibles4 ,the four sides of the ,altar-cauldron had open bars1 so that1 fanned on every side by the double draught of the car's motion1 and the fairly stiff breeze that was blowing1 the furnace roared fiercely1 fed1 as it incessantly was by the copies of ,god's ,word4 ,hundreds of wildly-excited men and women--many seemed semi-drunken--attired in every conceivable grotesqueness of costume1 and forming a kind of open-air fancy-dress ball1 disported themselves shamelessly about the cauldron car1 and the triumphal car that followed in its wake4 ,the latter was a gorgeous structure1 finished in gold1 purple1 and imitation white marble4 ,its center was a kind of tableaux vivant4 ,on one side was an effigy of a parsonic kind of man1 crucified head downwards upon a cross4 ,a second side showed a theatre front with a staring announcement seven day performances4 ,a third side showed a figure of ,bacchus crowned with vine-leaves and grape-bunches4 ,a fourth side showed an entrance to a ,law ,court1 with an announcement3 ,closed ,eternally1 for since there is no marriage1 there is no divorce4 ,above all this was a golden throne1 and in a deep purple-plush-covered chair sat a florid1 coarsely-beautiful woman1 with long hair of golden hue hanging down upon her shoulders and blowing in the breeze4 ,she was literally naked1 save for a ruffle of pink muslin about her waist4 ,upon her head was a crown1 in her right hand she held a gilded crozier4 ,the most wanton1 hideous licentiousness was the order of the hour among the mob of fancy-costumed people4 ,ralph ,bastin and his companion followed in the wake of the foaming1 raging sea of semi-mad people4 ,the ,french ,revolution business over again1 said ,ralph--he had to shout into his friend's ear to be heard4 ,his companion nodded an assent1 then bawled back3 ,whither are they bound1 ,i wonder8 ,ralph pointed to a banner bearing the inscription4 ,to ,st4 ,pauls4 ,the procession swept on1 and seven minutes later the cars were rounded up in front of the open space before the ,cathedral4 ,a score of policemen had managed to muster on the upper step of the flight4 ,but the rush of the mob was irresistible4 ,they took entire possession of the steps and all the open space around even to the head of ,ludgate ,hill4 ,ralph had got separated from his companion1 and found himself swept close up to the great triumphal car4 ,above him seated smilingly on her purple throne1 in all her shameless nakedness1 was the beautiful form of the foul souled harlot4 ,her gilded crozier was upheld between her naked knees1 and now1 in her right hand she held a goblet of champagne1 just passed up to her4 ,a bugle sounded for silence4 ,the hush was instantaneous4 ,then as she held the goblet high aloft1 her clear1 shrill voice rang out in the toast she gave3 ,to the ,world1 the ,flesh1 and the ,devil6 ,she drained the sparkling draught1 and tossed the goblet down into the upraised hand of a handsome1 but dissolute-looking man1 who1 attired in the theatrical idea of ,mephistopheles1 appeared to be a kind of ,master of ,ceremonies4 ,a mighty roar of applause1 mingled with cries of ,dolly ,durden6 ,dear little ,dolly ,durden6 accompanied the drinking of the toast4 ,again the bugle rang out for silence1 and amid a hush as before1 ,mephistopheles shouted3 ,the ,sunday of the ,puritans is dead and damned6 ,their ,bible is burned and a dead letter6 ,he pointed1 as he uttered the last sentence1 to the ,satyrs who were piling the last of their stock of ,bibles into the fiery furnace of the cauldron-altar4 ,his blasphemies were greeted with a roar of applause4 ,then1 as he obtained a comparative silence by the raising of his hand1 he yelled3 ,to ,hyde ,park4 ,the band struck up ,good ,st4 ,anthony1 and the monster procession1 swept down ,ludgate ,hill1 hundreds of throats belching out the words of the song1 to the music of the band3 ,st4 ,anthony sat on a lowly stool1 ,a large black book he held in his hand1 ,never his eyes from the page he took1 ,with steadfast soul the page he scanned4 ,the ,devil was in his best humour that day1 ,that ever his ,highness was known to be in1-- ,that's why he sent out his imps to play ,with sulphur1 and tar1 and pitch1 and resin3 ,they came to the saint in a motley crew1 ,twisted and twirl'd themselves about1-- ,imps of every shape and hue1 ,a devilish1 strange1 and rum-looking rout4 ,yet the good ,st4 ,anthony kept his eyes ,so firmly fixed upon his book1 ,shouts nor laughter1 sighs nor cries1 ,never could win away his look4 ,verse after verse belched forth from the now more or less raucous throats of the blasphemous mob1 until1 with unholy unctiousness1 reaching the last verse but one1 they screamed laughingly1 vilely3 ,a thing with horny eyes was there-- ,with horny eyes just like the dead1 ,while fish-bones grew instead of hair ,upon his bald and skinless head4 ,last came an imp--how unlike the rest1-- ,a lovely-looking female form1 ,and while with a whisper his cheek she press'd1 ,her lips felt downy1 soft1 and warm2 ,as over his shoulder she bent1 the light ,of her brilliant eyes upon his page ,soon filled his soul with mild delight1 ,and the good old chap forgot his age4 ,and the good ,st4 ,anthony boggled his eyes ,so quickly o'er his old black book1-- ,ho6 ,ho6 at the corners they 'gan to rise1 ,and he couldn't choose but have a look4 ,there are many devils that walk this world1 ,devils so meagre and devils so stout1 ,devils that go with their tails uncurl'd1 ,devils with horns and devils without4 ,serious devils1 laughing devils1 ,devils black and devils white1 ,devils uncouth1 and devils polite4 ,devils for churches1 devils for revels1 ,devils with feathers1 devils with scales1 ,devils with blue and warty skins1 ,devils with claws like iron nails1 ,devils with fishes' gills and fins2 ,devils foolish1 devils wise1 ,devils great1 and devils small1-- ,but a laughing woman with two bright eyes ,proves to be the worst devil of them all4 ,it was all of ,hell1 ,hellish1 and should have proved conclusively1 it proof had been desired1 that with the translation of the ,church1 and the flight of the ,holy ,spirit1 the last restraint upon man's natural love of lawlessness had been taken away4 ,sweeping westwards1 the hideous1 blasphemous procession was continually augmented by crowds that swarmed up from side-streets1 and fell-in in the rear of the marching throng4 ,somewhere on the route1 owing to a kind of backwash of the surging people1 ,ralph ,bastin and the ,secretary of the ,church had become separated4 ,at ,picadilly circus they came suddenly face to face again4 ,what is this foul1 blasphemous movement8 ,what does it mean8 asked the ,secretary4 ,is this a beginning of organized lawlessness on the part of the ,anti-christ8 ,i think not1 replied ,ralph4 ,i should rather say that it was a bit of wanton outrage of all the decencies of ordinary life1 and arranged by some of the rude fellows--male and female--of the baser sort4 ,you noticed1 of course1 that most of those immediately connected with the two cars1 looked like the drinking1 smoking1 sporting fellows who are the habitues of the music-halls and the promenades of the theatres4 ,an uproarious cheering of the mighty throng interrupted ,ralph for a moment4 ,only those well to the front of the procession could know the cause of the cheering1 but the whole mass of people joined in it4 ,as the roar died away1 ,ralph ,bastin took up the broken thread of his reply3 ,yet1 for all ,i have just said1 ,i feel it in my bones as ,mrs4 ,beecher ,stowe's old negress 'mammy' used to say1 that this foul demonstration on this golden ,sunday morning1 is the unauthorized unofficial beginning of the ,anti-christ movement4 ,there was a couple of hundred yards between the tail of the actual procession1 and ,ralph and his companion4 ,hundreds of people thronged the sidewalks1 but the road was fairly clear1 and along the gutter-way there swept a gang of boys with coarse1 raucous laughter1 kicking--football fashion--two or three of the half-burned ,bibles that had fallen from the cauldron-altar on the car4 ,the church ,secretary visibly shuddered at the sacrilege4 ,a pained look shot into ,ralph ,bastin's face1 as he said3 ,such wanton1 open sacrilege as that could only have become possible by the gradual decay of reverence for the word of ,god1 brought about largely by the so-called ',higher critics' of the last thirty years1 the men who broke ,spurgeon's heart1 the ,issachars of the nineteenth and early twentieth century1 those 'knowing ones' who1 like ,issachar1 thought that they knew better than ,god4 ,the two men walked on together in deep talk4 ,ralph learned that his companion was ,robert ,j4 ,baring1 principal of the great shipping firm1 and of merchants and importers4 ,baring was an educated man1 and of considerable culture1 and ,ralph and he found that they had very much in common4 ,but that which perhaps constituted the closest tie between them was the fact that both had lost their nearest and dearest1 and were left to face the coming horrors of the ,anti-christ reign1 and the hideousness of the great ,tribulation4 ,god grant1 ,ralph said once1 as they talked1 that when the moment comes1 as come it will1 that we are called upon to stand for ,god1 or die for ,him1 that we may witness a good confession4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,foreshadowings4 ,a month had elapsed since the translation of the church4 ,a new order in everything had arisen--,religious1 ,governmental1 ,social4 ,the spirit of lawlessness grew fiercer and fouler each day1 it is true1 yet there was a supreme authority1 a governmental restriction1 that prevented the fouler1 the more destructive passions of the baser kind of men and women1 having full scope4 ,a curious kind of religion had been set up in many of the churches4 ,the services were sensuous to a degree1 and were a strange mixture of ,romanism1 ,spiritism 7demonology17 ,theosophy1 ,materialism1 and other kindred cults4 ,almost every week some new ode or hymn was produced1 every sentiment of which was an applauding of man1 for ,god was utterly ignored1 and the key-note of the ,harvard college class ,poem1 for the year #aijh1 became the key-note of the ,sunday ,song of the worshippers in the churches3 ,no ,god for a gift ,god gave us-- ,,mankind ,,alone must save us4 ,it was a curious situation1 since it was man worshipping himself4 ,presently1 the centre of worship would shift from man1 to ,the ,man of ,sin--the ,anti-christ4 ,these religious services were held1 as a rule1 from twelve-thirty to one-fifteen on the ,sunday once a day only1 7without any week-night meetings47 ,they were held at an hour when1 in the old-days1 the congregations would have been home1 or going home1 from their services4 ,but this arranged lateness was due to the fact1 that there had grown up in all sections of society an ever-increasing lateness of retiring at night1 coupled with a growth of indolence caused by every kind of sensual indulgence1 not the least of which was gluttony4 ,music of a sensuous1 voluptuous character formed a chief part of the brief ,sunday services1 and every item was loudly applauded as though the whole affair had been a performance rather than a professedly religious service4 ,most of the interior arrangements in many of the old places of worship had been altered4 ,the theatre style of thing--plush-covered tip seats1 etc4--had taken the place of the old pews and the wooden seats4 ,in many of these ,sunday services1 too1 people of both sexes smoked at will--for smoking among women had become almost universal4 ,there were no ,bibles1 or ,hymn books1 the odes1 etc41 were printed on double sheets1 after the fashion of theatre programmes1 and1 like them1 contained numerous advertisements of the ,sunday matinees and evening performances at the theatres1 music-halls1 etc4 ,all this had been brought about much more easily than would at first appear1 until we remember one or two factors that had long been working silently1 subtly among the attendants--mere church professors--of the various places of worship1 such as1 the insistance on shorter services1 and fewer--for long1 before the ,rapture1 the unspiritual had clamoured for a single service of the week1 that of a late ,sunday morning one4 ,then for years1 religious services 7those of the ,sunday7 had grown more and more sensuous1 unspiritual4 ,every real spiritual doctrine had first been denied1 then expunged from the essay that had largely taken the place of the old-time sermon4 ,again1 all spiritual restraints had now been taken away--the true believers1 the ,holy ,spirit1 every spiritually-minded1 born-again pastor and clergyman4 ,the new ,religion 7it could not be called a ,faith7 was a universal one4 ,the powers of the ,priest-craft had invented a religion of the ,flesh1 fleshy to a degree4 ,every type of indulgence was permissible1 so that men everywhere gloried in their religion1 having a form--but denying ,god4 ,the performances at all theatres1 music-halls1 etc41 had grown rapidly worse and worse1 in character1--licentiousness1 animalism1 voluptuousness1 debauchery1 these were the main features of the newer type of performances4 ,salome dances1 and even the wildest1 obscenest type of the can-can of the ,french1 in its most promiscuous lascivious forms1 were common fare on the varied ,english stages4 ,but if the stage was filthy and indecent1 what could be said of the books6 ,there was not a foulness or obscenity and indecency that was not openly1 shamelessly treated in the bluntest of phraseology4 ,thousands of penny1 two-penny1 and three-penny editions of utter obscenity were issued daily4 ,and the vitiated taste of the great mass of the people grew voraciously by feeding upon them4 ,marriage was a thing of the dead past4 ,there had been a growth of foul1 subtle1 hideous teaching before the translation of the church4 ,marriage had been taught 7in many circles7 to be an unnecessary restraint upon human liberty4 ,women--it had been written1 absolved from shame1 shall be owners of themselves4 ,we believe 7the same writer had written7 in the sacredness of the family and the home1 the legitimacy of every child1 and the inalienable right of every woman to the absolute possession of herself4 ,all this foul seed-teaching of the days before the ,translation of the ,church1 burst into open blossom and fullest fruit when once the restraint of ,christian public opinion had been withdrawn from the earth4 ,the friendship between ,ralph ,bastin and ,baring had grown with the days1 and as they watched the rapid march of events1 all heading towards ultimate evil1 they talked of the possible finale1 while they encouraged themselves in their ,god4 ,one evening1 when they met1 ,baring said3 ,i suppose there will soon come the time when no one will be able to trade without bearing the mark of the ,beast4 ,some new indication that way8 asked ,ralph4 ,i think so1 ,baring returned4 ,you remember that ,i told you that previous to the taking away of the ,church1 the vessels of my firm had been tentatively chartered for the transport of the various parts of the ,temple to ,jerusalem4 ,to-day1 the negotiations have been quashed by those who had previously approached us4 ,for what reason8 asked ,ralph4 ,they gave no reason1 ,baring went on1 but ,i have not the slightest doubt1 myself1 that the real reason is this1 that ,i have1 of late1 continually spoken warningly against ,anti-christ4 ,but how could that be known in circles purely ,anti-christ8 ,ralph's tones were eager2 his eyes1 too1 were filled with a puzzled expression4 ,you know1 ,baring returned1 what we were speaking of the other night1 that now that the devil and his angels had been cast down from the air1 they are 7though invisible7 yet actively engaged all about us on the earth8 ,ralph nodded assent4 ,i believe1 ,i am sure they are everywhere present4 ,baring smiled a little sadly1 as he added1 his eyes sweeping the room in a swift1 comprehensive way3 ,there may be1 there probably is1 one or more present in this room1 at this moment1 their object espionage4 ,they have doubtless been present when ,i have spoken against ,anti-christ1 and---- ,yes1 but this shipping matter of which you spoke1 ,bob1 is a ,jewish affair1 interrupted ,bastin1 adding3 ,for ,i presume1 since the cargoes would be composed of the ,temple parts1 that it would be financed by ,jewish capitalists1 religionists1 or what not8 ,how then would ,anti-christ have anything to do with it8 ,slowly1 deliberately1 almost solemnly ,baring replied3 ,lucien ,apleon is a ,jew6 ,bastin started sharply4 ,some idea of what his friend meant flashed upon him4 ,lucien ,apleon6 he cried hoarsely4 ,but what---- ,baring broke in with3 ,i believe that ,lucien ,apleon will presently be revealed as the ,anti-christ1 and---- ,the conversation had been going on in ,ralph's ,editorial office4 ,it was now interrupted by a startling call over the tape-wire1 and ,baring suddenly realizing the hour1 took a hurried temporary farewell of his friend4 ,an hour later ,ralph was seated at his table penning the ,prophet's chair column for the next morning's issue of his paper4 ,it was only natural1 under the new order of life and thought that prevailed1 that a daily paper1 conducted on the lines of the ,courier1 should drop heavily in circulation4 ,the ,courier had so dropped1 though it still paid to issue it4 ,my enemies1 the enemies of ,god and of righteousness1 he murmured1 as he took up his ,fountain1 7he preferred a pen to a type-writer7 are1 ,i am inclined to believe1 the chief purchasers of the paper new1 and they only buy it to see what ,i say from the ',prophet's ,chair4' ,for a moment1 as was now his invariable custom1 before beginning his daily message1 he bowed his head and prayed for wisdom to write ,god's mind4 ,when next he lifted his head1 and put pen to paper1 he wrote with great rapidity1 and without an instant's hesitation3 ,resuming the subject of which we wrote yesterday1 we tried to show from ,revelation ,,xii1 that the teaching was this1 that1 full of rage because of his casting out from the heavens1 ,satan1 the great ,dragon1 the old ,serpent1 determined to destroy all lovers of ,god1 that were yet found among mortals4 ,but even ,satan himself is a spirit1 and 'cannot operate in the affairs of the world except through the minds1 passions and activities of men4' ,he needs to embody himself in earthly agents1 and to put himself forth in earthly organisms1 in order to accomplish his murderous will4 ,through this wonderful ,revelation of ,god to ,john1 ,god makes known to us what that organism is1 and how the agency and the domination of the enraged ,dragon will be exerted in acting out his blasphemies1 deceits1 and bloody spite4 ,the subject is not a pleasant one1 but it is an important one4 ,it also has features so startling and extraordinary that many may think it but a wild and foolish dream4 ,nevertheless it is imperative that we should all look at it1 and understand it4 ,god has evidently set it out for us to learn and know just how things will eventually turn out4#a ,john1 'in the ,spirit1' finds himself stationed on the sands of the sea--the same great sea upon which ,daniel beheld the winds striving in their fury4 ,he beholds a monstrous ,beast rising out of the troubled elements4 ,he sees horns emerging1 and the number of them is ten1 and on each horn a diadem4 ,he sees the heads which bear the horns1 and these heads are seven1 and on the heads are names of blasphemy4 ,presently the whole figure of the monster is before him4 ,its appearance is like a leopard or panther1 but its feet are the feet of a bear1 and its mouth as the mouth of a lion4 ,he saw also that the ,beast had a throne1 and power1 and great authority4 ,one of his heads showed marks of having been fatally wounded and slain1 but the death-stroke was healed4 ,he saw also the whole earth wondering after the ,beast1 amazed at his majesty and power1 exclaiming at the impossibility of withstanding it1 and celebrating its superiority to everything4 ,he beheld1 and the ,beast was speaking great and blasphemous things against ,god1 blaspheming ,his name1 ,his tabernacle1 even them that ,transcriber's note3 line missing from book here tabernacle in the ,heaven the translated saints71 assailing and overcoming the saints on the earth1 and wielding authority over every tribe1 and people1 and tongue and nation4 ,he saw also that all the dwellers on earth1 whose names are not written in the book of life of the ,lamb slain1 did worship this ,beast4 ,and for forty-two months the monster holds its place and enacts its resistless will4 ,this is the picture6 ,what are we to make of it8 ,what does it mean8 ,how are we to understand it8 ,it would seem to be a symbolic presentation of the political sovereignty of this world at the final crisis4 ,the ,beast has horns1 and horns represent power4 ,on these horns are diadems1 and diadems are the emblems of regal dominion4 ,the ,beast is said to possess power1 a throne1 and great authority4 ,he makes war4 ,he exercises dominion over all tribes1 and peoples1 and tongues1 and nations4 ,he is a monstrous ,beast1 including in his composition the four beasts of ,daniel4 ,from the interpreting angel we know that ,daniel's four beasts denoted 'four kingdoms' that arose upon the earth4 ,the identification thus becomes complete and unmistakable1 that this monstrous ,beast is meant to set before us an image of earthly sovereignty and dominion4 ,and if any further evidence of this is demanded1 it may be abundantly found in ,rev4 ,,xvii4 #i-ag1 where the same ,beast is further described1 and the ten horns are interpreted to be 'ten kings4' ,this ,beast is therefore the embodiment of this world's political sovereignty in its last phase1 in the last years of its existence4 ,daniel's beasts were successive empires1 the ,babylonian1 the ,medo-,persian1 the ,graeco-,macedonian1 and the ,roman4 ,but the lion1 the bear1 the leopard1 and the nameless ten-horned monster1 each distinct in ,daniel1 are all united in one in ,revelation4 ,this ,beast appears to be1 undoubtedly1 an individual administration1 embodied in one particular man4 ,though upheld by ten kings or governments1 they unite in making the ,beast the one sole ,arch ,regent of their time4 ,this he--the ,beast1 the ,anti-christ--gets a grip of the nations1 who willingly submit to his rule1 being under the spirit of delusion1 'believing the lie' of the ,anti-christ4 ,already1 we see that this confederacy of nations is being called into an almost sudden existence4 ,the seers of our nation1 before this strange order of things that has arisen in our midst1 since the taking away of the church1 were wont to say to certain political changes--'at the back of all the known forces that have helped to bring so-and-so to pass1 there almost seems to have been some unseen1 unknown ,master-mind at work4' ',tis so now1 and the startling events that are following each other so rapidly1 are the product of a master-mind1 the ',man of ,sin1' ,anti-christ1 the ,beast who has been energized by ,satan1 the ,old ,dragon1 who though he has not yet avowed himself1 may be expected to do so any day or hour now4 ,it will hardly be news to any one who reads this column regularly1 that the building of the ,temple which is to be reared in ,jerusalem1 by the ,jews1 who have largely returned to the ',promised land' in unbelief1 is being pushed on with the utmost celerity4 ,the fact that1 for some years previous to the ,translation of the ,church1 all its parts1 made to perfect scale1 were prepared and fitted1 enables the builders to erect this wonderful structure with almost magical speed4 ,simultaneous with this work1 there has just appeared in ,jerusalem1 two remarkable men1 who would appear to be ,enoch and ,elijah of old4 ,these men are witnesses for ,god1 and are testifying against ,anti-christ4 ,we say that these men would appear to be ,enoch and ,elijah1 and not ,moses and ,elijah1 as some1 in the old days before the ,rapture1 had supposed4 ,the allusion to water turned to blood1 in the eleventh chapter of ,revelation 7which treats of ,god's two witnesses7 very probably led some writers to connect the first of the two witnesses with ,moses--since ,moses turned water into blood4 ,the main point of identification1 we think1 in the case of these two witnesses1 however1 lies in the fact that since it is appointed unto men once to die1 the two witnesses must needs be men who have never passed through mortal death4 ,moses did die1 hence it seems to us that he was disqualified from being one of the two witnesses1 both of whom have presently to pass through mortal death in the streets of ,jerusalem4 ,now ,enoch and ,elijah did not pass through mortal death1 hence we believe the event will prove that these two witnesses are ,enoch and ,elijah4 ,each day that we pen this particular column we are conscious that it may be the last we shall pen1 hence our anxiety to warn all our readers against the ,anti-christ1 and his lie--the strong delusion of #b ,thessalonians ,,ii #ab4 ,for a few moments longer ,ralph wrote on in this strain1 then1 just as he had completed the last sentence1 his special ,tape-wire rang him up4 ,he summoned ,charley to carry his ,m4,s4 sheets to the comp4 room4 ,with a word to his ,secretary1 7who was divided from him by one thickness of wall only1 communication being by a 'phone17 he turned to his ,tape4 #a ,the ,apocalypse1 by ,joseph ,a4 ,seiss1 ,d4,d4 p4 p4 #dja4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,cruel ,,as ,,the ,,grave6 ,lucien ,apleon's eyes held the cold1 cruel malignity of a snake4 ,his brows were cold1 straight1 unruffled4 ,his smile held the polished brutality of the most ,mephistophelian ,mephistopheles4 ,judith ,apleon knelt at his feet1 her beautiful face working painfully4 ,a smile as cruel as his mouth crept into his eyes as he noted her grovelling1 as he watched the anguish in her face4 ,she shuddered as she saw that smile creep into his eyes4 ,she had seen it before--more than once4 ,the first time had been among the glorious mountains of her beautiful ,hungarian home4 ,an old peasant woman1 with the reputation of a witch1 had scowled upon him1 and had uttered a curse on him4 ,the spot where the three had met was in a lonely pass4 ,at the utterance of the curse he had cut the poor old hag down1 with one fierce slash of his heavy riding whip4 ,she had howled for mercy1 and for reply he flogged the poor frail old prostrate form until life had fled1 then1 with a lifting spurn of his foot1 he had hurled the body over the edge of that mountain pass1 into the unknown depths of the ravine beyond4 ,and all the time his eyes had smiled1 as they smiled now--and ,judith shuddered1 for the smile was as cruel as the grave1 and was a reflection of ,hell4 ,she knew the diabolical cruelty which lay hidden behind that smile1 and remembering the fate of those upon whom he had bent that smile1 she sickened with a shuddering fear of her own life4 ,they had quarreled1 that is to say she had tried to thwart him in a trifling thing4 ,she hardly1 herself1 realized what he was1 or the power he possessed4 ,lucien1 and her voice shook with the agony which filled her1 with the fear that had her in its shuddering grip4 ,lucien1 don't look like that at me4 ,with an affrighted scream she cried3 ,don't6 ,don't6 ,lucien6 ,no one on whom ,i ever saw you look1 as you look now1 ever lived an hour1 and----4 ,his gaze of diabolical hate hypnotized her4 ,she wanted to take her eyes from his1 but could not4 ,he made her no audible reply4 ,he only smiled on4 ,a faint cry1 like the low scream of a terrified coney1 escaped her4 ,her face paled until it was like the grey-white of a corpse4 ,spare me1 ,lucien1 spare me----4 ,she would have said more1 but the chill of his hellish smile froze the words upon her lips4 ,he never once changed his attitude4 ,his left elbow rested on the corner of the mantel1 the fingers of his right hand played with the gold watch-guard he wore4 ,a full minute elapsed1 then with a cry of passionate1 painful entreaty1 she lifted her beautiful clasped hands1 and wringing them in agony1 cried3 ,lucien--,lucien--4 ,then a sob choked her4 ,for another long minute there was a tomb-like silence4 ,he never moved a muscle of his face4 ,the chill of the smile in his eyes deepened1 and seemed1 as it was bent upon her1 to numb her faculties4 ,her whole frame seemed to wilt under the ice of his smile4 ,she shivered with the concentrated hate his eyes expressed4 ,lower and lower she crouched at his feet4 ,and as he saw her wilt and shiver the smile of ,hell deepened in his cruel eyes4 ,suddenly he spoke4 ,the words were uttered in dulcet tones4 ,but their meaning had1 to her1 the sentence of death1 as softly1 calmly1 there fell from his lips3 ,i have no further need of you6 ,you are in my way6 ,for one instant her eyes remained fixed upon his face4 ,then slowly her limbs relaxed1 her body swayed lightly forward1 and sank rather than fell upon the thick pile of the carpet4 ,with a low1 mocking laugh ,lucien ,apleon turned away from the dead form4 ,but before he passed out of the room he did a curious thing4 ,a ,bible rested on one of the shelves of the room1 he took the volume from its place1 opened it at the #acth of ,revelation and taking a pen1 he dipped it into the red ink1 and ran a red line around the #aeth verse of the chapter4 ,a moment later he had passed from the room4 ,the verse he had red-scored1 read3 ,he had power to give life unto the image of the ,beast1 that the image of the ,beast should both speak1 and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed4 ,no wonder that ,lucien ,apleon smiled4 ,for if presently1 he was going to cause the image of the ,beast to cause death to those who defied him1 how much more could he himself strike dead by the power of the ,satanic energy given to him4 ,judith ,apleon's body was conveyed to the crematorium and consumed4 ,a doctor had certified heart-disease2 there was no inquest4 ,lucien did not attend the funeral4 ,the whole affair was carried through by the undertaker4 ,there were no mourners4 ,the ,anti-christ spirit is marked by ,without natural affection1 one could not therefore expect ,anti-christ himself to possess any affection4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,a ,,reed ,,like ,a ,,rod4 ,events moved with startling rapidity4 ,events which1 in the swift-moving times of the last years of the nineteenth century1 would have occupied a decade to bring to pass1 now occupied no more than the same number of days4 ,the revived ,roman ,empire was an established fact4 ,moved by ,satan1 the ten kings had united to make ,lucien ,apleon their ,emperor4 ,the nations1 having cast off all belief in the orthodoxy of the previous centuries1 refusing to believe ,god's truth1 utterly scouting it1 in fact1 they had laid themselves open to receive ,anti-christ's lie1 and had swallowed it wholesale4 ,babylon had been rebuilt1 and had become the ,commercial centre of the reign of ,lucien ,apleon1 even as ,jerusalem was now to become his religious centre4 ,ralph ,bastin was still ,editor of the ,courier1 though each week1 each day1 in fact1 he wondered if it would be his last of office1 even as he often wondered if he might not have to seal his testimony as a ,god-inspired editor1 with his blood1 his life4 ,already1 all who1 like himself1 would live ,godly1 had to suffer bitter persecution4 ,many of the ,godly had been found mysteriously murdered1 and always the murders had been passed over by those who were in authority4 ,ralph was on the point of leaving his office for luncheon1 7he always lunched in the city17 when a visitor was announced4 ,rabbi ,cohen1 to see you1 sir1 announced ,charley4 ,show him in at once1 replied ,ralph1 and rising to his feet he went to the door to meet his friend4 ,the ,rabbi entered with a little eager run1 and the two men grasped hands heartily1 their respective faces glowing with the gladness they each felt4 ,as it had been with ,tom ,hammond and that other ,cohen1 the ,jew1 who had shared in the translation of the ,church1 so with the ,rabbi who was now visiting ,ralph1 he had been drawn to call upon ,ralph1 in the first place1 because of his editorial espousal of the ,jewish people and their interests4 ,between ,ralph and the ,rabbi1 there had grown up a very strong friendship1 and though for some weeks1 they had not met1 each knew that the other's friendship was as ever4 ,after a few ordinary exchanges between the pair1 the ,rabbi1 suddenly looked up eagerly1 saying3 ,i have come to say good-bye1 to you1 my friend1 unless1 by any fortunate chance1 ,i can persuade you to accompany me1 or1 at least1 follow me soon4 ,good-bye1 ,cohen8 cried ,ralph1 ,why--what--where are you going8 ,to ,jerusalem1 ,bastin6 ,there was a curious ring of mixed pride and gladness in the manner of his saying ,jerusalem4 ,you know1 he went on1 that we ,cohens are the descendents of ,aaron1 that we are of the priestly line4 ,i am the head of our family1 and my people have chosen me as the first ,high priest for our new ,temple worship4 ,brimming with his subject1 he spoke rapidly1 enthusiastically3 ,the ,temple is to be formally opened on the tenth of ,september4 ,the tradition among my people1 and handed down to us in many of our writings is this1 that the ,great ,temple of ,solomon--opened in the seventh month1 as all our scriptures1 yours as well as ours1 say--was dedicated and opened on a day corresponding with the modern tenth of ,september4 ,our new ,temple will be opened on the tenth of this month4 ,on entering the room he had laid a long1 cylinder-shaped japanned roll upon the table4 ,this he now took up1 took off the lid1 and drew out a roll of vellum4 ,unrolling the vellum1 he held the wide sheet out between his two outstretched hands1 saying3 ,i brought this on purpose for you to see1 friend ,bastin4 ,he smiled pleasantly as he added3 ,i expect you are the only ,gentile who has seen this finished drawing4 ,for a few moments both men were silent4 ,ralph was speechless from amazement1 the ,rabbi from eager interest in watching his friend's amaze4 ,the drawing1 as the ,rabbi had called it1 was in reality a superb painting of the most marvelous structure possible to conceive4 ,the bulk of the vellum surface was occupied with an enormous oblong enclosure4 ,the outer sides of the enclosure showing a most exquisite marble terracing1 the capping of the marble wall was of a wondrous red-and-orange-veined dark green stone4 ,the bronze gates were capped and adorned with massive inlayings of gold and silver1 while the floral parts showed the colours of the precious stones used to produce each separate coloured flower4 ,a huge altar1 the ascent to which1 on three of the sides was by flights of wide steps1 occupied the fore-part of the courtyard inside the gates of the main entrance--there were five entrances1 each with its own gates4 ,two entrances on each side of the oblong enclosure1 and one at the courtyard end4 ,beyond the altar was a huge brazen sea1 resting upon the hind-quarters of twelve bronze oxen4 ,beyond the brazen sea was the temple itself1 entered by a wide porch of wondrous marble1 the pillars of which were crowned with golden capitals of marvellous workmanship4 ,the porch was surmounted by a dome4 ,then came the temple proper1 its form a square above a square1 the upper square surmounted by a huge dome1 supported upon columns similar to those found in the porch1 and in the base-square4 ,what the actual building must be like ,ralph could not conceive6 ,the picture of it was a bewildering vision of almost inconceivable loveliness4 ,now and again he asked a question1 the ,rabbi1 at his side1 delighted with his admiration1 answering everything fully4 ,what has your wonderful temple cost8 ,ralph presently asked1 as the picture was being rolled up1 and replaced in the japanned cylinder4 ,twenty million pounds1 a full third of which has been spent upon precious stones for studding the walls1 and gates1 and pillars6 ,ralph gasped in amaze4 ,twenty--million--pounds6 ,he repeated the words much after the manner of a man who1 recovering from a swoon1 says1 ,where--am--,i8 ,they talked together for a few moments of the how of the financing of such a costly undertaking4 ,then suddenly1 ,bastin faced his friend1 a rare wistfulness in his face and in his voice1 as he said3 ,i wish1 dear ,cohen1 you1 and your dear people could see how futile all this work is6 ,i do not want to hurt you by speaking of ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,but suffer me to say this1 that probably the only references which ,god's word makes to this ,temple of yours1 are in ,daniel xii4 #aa and in the ,christian ,new ,testament1 ,matthew xxiv4 ,mark xiii #b1 #b ,thessalonians ii #ad1 and ,revelation xi #a1 and there it is mentioned in connection with ,judgment4 ,in the first verse of our eleventh of ,revelation1 the temple is to be measured1 but it is with a reed like a rod4 ,not the ordinary measuring reed1 but like a rod1 the symbol of ,judgment4 ,and that1 dear ,cohen1 will be the end of your beautiful temple--it will be destroyed in ,judgment1 and soon--all too soon--it will be cursed and defiled by the abomination of desolation of which your beloved prophet ,daniel speaks1 in the twelfth chapter and the eleventh verse4 ,with a sudden new eagerness1 but as sad as he was eager1 he said3 ,in your extremity1 and in your desire to be established in the land of your fathers1 you talk of making a seven years covenant with ,lucien ,apleon1 ,emperor of the ,european confederacy8 ,cohen1 evidently impressed by ,ralph's manner1 nodded an assent1 but did not speak4 ,oh1 ,cohen1 my friend1 my friend6 ,ralph went on4 ,would to ,god you and your people had your eyes open to the true character of that man1 ,lucien ,apleon6 ,if you had1 you would see from your own prophets that he was prophesied to be your foe4 ,remember ,daniel nine1 twenty-seven 7according to the modern chaptering and verses7 ,he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week3 7a week of years1 of seven years7 and in the midst of the week 7at the end of the first three and a half years7 he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease1 and on the battlements shall be the idols of the desolator4 ,cohen's face was a picture of wondering amaze4 ,twice his lips parted as though he would speak1 but no sound came from them1 and ,ralph went on3 ,i could weep with very anguish of soul1 dear friend1 at all that you1 and every truly pious ,jew will suffer2 when1 at the end of the three years and a half 7'the midst of the week'7 the foul fiend whom you are all trusting so implicitly1 will suddenly abolish your daily sacrifice of the morning and evening lamb1 and will set up an image of himself1 which you1 and all the ,godly of your race1 will refuse to worship4 ,then will begin your awful tribulation1 'the time of ,jacob's deadly sorrow4' ,it is in your own ,scriptures1 dear friend1 if you would but see it4 ,and in our ,new ,testament1 in ,matthew twenty-four1 which is all ,jewish in its teaching1 our ,lord and ,saviour1 foretold all this as to come upon your people4 ,he even showed them to be in their own land1 saying1 'let them which are in ,judea flee into the mountains 4 4 4 and pray that your flight be not on the ,sabbath day3' 7for you ,godly ,jews would not go beyond ,moses' ',sabbath day's journey1' and ,anti-christ's myrmidons would then soon overtake you47 ,as if to jerk the talk into a new channel1 ,cohen said1 almost abruptly3 ,why do you say1 my friend1 that our temple1 the temple which we shall dedicate on the tenth of this month1 has probably so few mentions in the ,scriptures1 and those in judgment4 ,when we say that the whole of the nine last chapters of our prophet ,ezekiel are taken up with it4 ,nearly all our plans have followed the directions1 the picture of ,ezekiel's ,temple8 ,that temple1 sketched in ,ezekiel1 replied ,ralph1 is the millennial temple4 ,there was no temple in the nineteen hundred odd years between the destruction of ,jerusalem and its temple1 and the translation of ',the church1' a few months ago4 ,there could be no temple as regards ,god's people--,the ,church--because all that nineteen hundred years was a spiritual dispensation4 ,god's ,temple then was composed of living stones1 wherein a spiritual priesthood offered up spiritual sacrifices4 ,but to go back to the temple described by ,ezekiel in the last nine chapters of his prophecy--this is the temple which will be reared in the ,millennium1 but it will not be in ,jerusalem4 ,read carefully over all that ,ezekiel's description1 and you will see that when your ,messiah1 our ,christ1 comes to reign for that wonderful time of a thousand years of perfect righteousness1 that your land--the land given in promise by ,god to your father ,abraham--is to be re-divided 7,ezekiel forty-five one to five74 ,ezekiel's ,temple1 and the division of the land1 stand and fall together1 and it is a subject that cannot be symbolized4 ,now when the land is divided into straight lines1 'a holy oblation' is commanded of sixty square miles--if the measurement be by reeds1 or fifteen square miles if the measurement be by cubits4 ,this oblation land will be divided into three parts4 ,the northern portion will be for the priests1 and the new temple will be in the midst4 ,the second division of land1 going ,south will be for the ,levites4 ,and the third1 the most ,southerly portion1 will contain ,jerusalem4 ,so that that temple of the ,millenium--,ezekiel's temple--will be fully thirty miles from ,jerusalem4 ,solomon's temple1 and the one your people have just reared are both situated on ,mount ,moriah1 but ,ezekiel's temple will not be on ,mount ,moriah1 for according to ,isaiah two1 two1 ',it shall come to pass in the last days1 that the mountain of ,jehovah's ,house shall be established in the top of the mountains1 and shall be exalted above the hills2 and all nations shall flow unto it4' ,read carefully1 dear ,cohen1 your own loved ,scriptures 7in this connection1 especially ,isaiah #ej7 and you will see that ,gentiles shall help1 financially1 as well as by manual labor to build the place1 which shall make the place of ,jehovah's feet glorious--that must be ,his ,temple1 and not the city4 ,though ,gentiles will also help to build the walls of your new city of ,jerusalem in that day4 ,for fully another half hour the subject was pursued4 ,cohen was amazed1 puzzled1 but because his mind was not an open one to receive the ,truth--nothing blinds and obstructs like a preconceived idea--he failed to grasp the ,scriptural facts as presented by ,ralph4 ,the moment came for the farewell word between them4 ,i may never see you again on earth1 dear friend1 ,ralph remarked4 ,for1 believe me1 the day is near at hand when all of us who will cleave to our ,god1 your ,god--the ,god of ,abraham1 ,isaac and ,jacob1 will have to seal our testimony with our blood4 ,in three years and a half you1 dear ,cohen1 and all the ,godly ones of your race1 will be at issue with ,lucien ,apleon1 for according to your own prophet1 ,daniel 7apart from our ,new ,testament ,scriptures7 he1 the ,anti-christ1 will autocratically put a stop to your sacrifices in your ,temple1 and will set up his own image to be worshipped1 and if you will not worship that image1 or if you do not succeed in fleeing to a place of safety1 your lives will be forfeited4 ,may ,god bless you dear1 dear friend1 and lead you into the ,truth of ,his own plain statements of the facts you have to face4 ,cohen was quiet1 subdued1 almost sad4 ,then1 as if to bridge an awkward moment1 he said1 with a forced eagerness3 ,why not come to the opening of the ,temple yourself1 instead of sending a representative to report to your paper8 ,ralph shook his head2 ,i could not get away1 dear friend4 ,he did not voice the actual thing which weighed with him1 that any day now he might cease to be ,editor of the ,courier4 ,the two men shook hands1 and parted as men part who never expect to meet again4 ,bastin left alone dropped into a brown study4 ,he was suddenly recalled to the present1 by the arrival of the mail4 ,the most important packet bore the handwriting of ,sir ,archibald ,carlyon1 ,ralph's proprietor4 ,he smiled as he broke the envelope1 recalling the thought of his heart only twenty minutes ago1 and wondering whether his foreboding was now to be verified4 ,the letter was as kindly in its tone as ,sir ,archibald's letters ever were4 ,but it was none the less emphatic4 ,after kindliest greetings1 and a few personal items1 it went on3 ,all the strange happenings of the past months have strangely unnerved me4 ,i cannot understand things1 ',i dunno where ,i are1' as that curious catch-saying of the nineteenth century put it4 ,i live like a man in a troubled dream1 a night-mare4 ,several members of our church have been taken1 and ,i1 who prided myself on my strict churchmanship1 have been left behind4 ,my boon companion1 the rector of our parish1 a man who always seemed to me to be the beau ideal clergyman1 he too is left1 and is as puzzled and angry as ,i am4 ,i think he is more angry and mortified than ,i am1 because his pride is hurt at every point1 since1 as the ,spiritual head 7nominally at least7 of this parish1 he has not only been passed over by this wonderful translation of spiritual persons1 but being left behind he has no excuse to offer for it4 ,the curate of our church and his wife1 whom we always spoke of as being 'a bit peculiar1' they disappeared when the others did4 ,by the bye1 ,bastin1 good fellow1 what constitutes 'peculiarity1' in this sense8 ,it seems to me now1 that to be out and out for ,god--as that good fellow and his wife were1 as well as one or two others in our parish--is the real peculiarity of such people4 ,god help us1 what fools we have been6 ,our village shopkeeper1 a dissenter1 and a much-vaunted local preacher1 is also left behind1 but his wife was taken4 ,a farmer1 a member of our own church1 who used to invite preachers down from the ,evangelization ,society1 ,london1 is gone1 but his wife1 a strict churchwoman like myself--but a rare shrew--is left4 ,but to come to the chief object of my letter1 ,i am afraid you will be sorry--though perhaps not altogether unprepared for what ,i have to say--',i have sold the ',courier4' ,it may be the only daily paper1 7as you wrote me the other day7 that 'witnesses for righteousness1' but my mind is too harrassed by all this mysterious business of the ,translation of men and women1 to think of anything else but the future1 and what it will bring4 ,i have sold the paper to ,lucien ,apleon 7through one of his agents1 of course1 since now that he is made ,emperor of this strangely constituted confederation of kings and countries7 he cannot be expected to personally transact so small a piece of business as the purchase of a daily paper4 ,ralph lowered the letter-sheet1 a moment1 and a weary little smile crept into his face4 ,i might have guessed that ,apleon would have done this1 he mused1 if he is1 as ,i believe1 the ,anti-christ6 ,he lifted the letter again1 and read on3 ,he wanted to take possession at once1 and give me #e1jjj pounds extra as a retiring fee for you4 ,but ,i was obstinate on this point1 and told his agent that he could not have possession until a month from today4 ,between this and then ,i shall hope to see you1 dear ,bastin4 ,i want to see you very much on my own account4 ,your utterances from ',the ,prophet's chair1' have aroused strange new thoughts and desires within me1 and ,i want you to help me to a clearer view of the events of the near future4 ,then1 as to the sundering of our business relations1 you know me so well that you know ,i shall treat you handsomely when you retire from the ,editorship4 ,talking of finance1 what special use can money be to a man like me now1 if all that you have lately written in the ',courier'--as to the future--be true8 ,the letter wound up most cordially4 ,then there followed a ,p4 ,s4 ,my old friend1 the ,rector of the parish1 who has always been keen on theatricals--he would have made a better actor than parson--is having the church seated with plush-covered tip-seats like a theatre1 and proposes to have a performance every ,sunday ,evening1 and as often in the week as funds1 and interest in the affair1 will warrant4 ,good ,heavens6 ,what has the world come to8 ,then only to think that ,england's ,king1 is under the supreme rule of a ,jew1 whose antecedents no one appears to know--that is to say1 previous to his meteoric-like appearance when he was twenty-five4 ',how are the mighty fallen6 ,how1 indeed6 murmured ,ralph1 with a sigh1 as he let the letter fall on his table4 ,for a moment or two he stared straight in front of him1 then1 half aloud1 he murmured3 ,a month only6 ,god help me to make good use of the thirty days6 ,if ,i can but wake up some of the people of this land to the real position of affairs1 ,i shall be only too thankful4 ,for a few moment's longer he sat on1 deep in thought4 ,then suddenly he started sharply1 grew alert in every sense1 and sounded a summons for his messenger boy4 ,when the lad appeared1 he asked3 ,do you know if ,mr4 ,bullen is on the premises8 ,yus1 sur1 he is6 ,ask him to step this way1 at once1 please6 ,george ,bullen1 was a keen1 up-to-date young journalist1 a man of thirty-two only1 but with a fine record as regarded his profession4 ,a close personal friendship existed between his chief and himself1 for he had been wholly won to ,god through ,ralph's efforts4 ,in a few words ,ralph explained to the younger man1 the changes that were near at hand4 ,then continuing3 ,but while you and ,i1 ,george1 represent ',the ,courier1' we will make it all the power for ,god and for humanity that lies in our power4 ,though ,i am not sure that we can do much with humanity1 now4 ,the strong delusion has got such an almost universal grip upon the race1 that they will gladly1 eagerly swallow all the lie of the ,arch-liar1 the ,anti-christ4 ,in the old days1 before the translation of the church1 the ,bible spoke of 'the whole world lieth in the arms of the ,wicked ,one1' and that is truer than ever now4 ,well1 ,george1 we must do all we can4 ,but now to the chief thing for which ,i sent for you4 ,the new temple at ,jerusalem is to be opened on the tenth4 ,i want you to go1 to represent the ',courier4' ,what ,i am especially anxious for you to do1 is to note everything that will show the true inwardness of things1 so that the little time left to us1 on the dear old paper1 shall be a time of holy witness for ,god4 ,your knowledge of the ,east1 your acquaintance with ,yiddish1 and ,syrian and ,hebrew1 the very swarthiness of your skin1 and blackness of your hair1 dear boy1 may all serve you in good stead4 ,for1 if you feel led to it1 ,i should suggest that you adopt that ,syrian costume ,i once saw you in4 ,this course would have many advantages1 for while you could the more readily mix with the people1 and obtain entree often where you otherwise could not1 your identity as representative of ',the ,courier1' would not be made known4 ,i am not sure1 ,george1 but that if you presented yourself as our representative1 that all kinds of obstacles might not be put in the way of your obtaining information1 or1 more likely1 in transmitting it4 ,you might even be quietly put out of the way4 ,spare no expense1 dear boy1 where other men spend five pounds1 spend a hundred1 if it will serve us better4 ,for a time the two men held deep consultation4 ,then when they gripped hands in parting1 each commended the other to ,god4 ,george ,bullen started for the ,east next afternoon4 ,his stock of ,eastern garments was full and varied1 and not one ,eastern in a million would have known him from a ,syrian native4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,mark ,,of ,,the ,,beast4 ,george ,bullen was no stranger to ,jerusalem1 yet it was a strange ,jerusalem that met his sight as he entered it by the ,jaffa gate4 ,for interest1 picturesqueness1 even amusement1 there is no time so rich as at early morning1 at the ,jaffa gate4 ,bullen had been perfectly familiar1 in the old days 7eight years ago7 with the scene1 but there were differences this morning4 ,the long strings of donkeys and camels1 laden to within the proverbial last straw and led by foul-smelling1 unkempt ,bedouins were there1 as usual1 in spite of the fact that railways now ran in every direction4 ,eastern women1 robed in their loose blue cotton wrapper garments--sleeping1 as well as day attire--were there in galore1 only now all of them walked unveiled1 whereas1 in the old days1 most of them were veiled4 ,pilgrims from every land were pouring into the city4 ,the cafes were crowded4 ,the aroma of strong black coffee was often fortunately1 stronger than the less pleasant odours of the insanitary streets4 ,early as it was1 the money changers were doing a stirring trade4 ,water-carriers moved about with their monotonous cry of moyeh1 supplemented1 in some cases1 by the same word in ,english--,water4 ,market garden produce1 the finest in the world1 and now proving how literally ,palestine1 under the fertilizing power of the latter rain1 had become a fruitful garden1 was piled everywhere about at the sides of the streets4 ,cauliflowers thirty-six inches around1 with every other vegetable equally fine1 melons1 lemons1 oranges1 grapes1 tomatoes1 asparagus1 onions1 leeks1 lettuce1 water-cress1 even garlic1 all were here1 with turbaned dealers sitting cross-legged among the produce4 ,early as it was1 crowds of ,american1 ,english1 and ,continental tourists were abroad1 their gleaming white drill attire and tobies and helmets1 conspicuous among the grander colour of the natives4 ,but ,george ,bullen had seen all this many times before1 his eyes now took but little note of the streets and their contents1 except that he noted the fact under the new order of things1 since the ,jews had come into possession of the city1 that there was scarce a ,moslem of any kind to be seen1 and that most of the tumble-down1 smaller houses1 of a few years back1 had been pulled down1 and that the streets in consequence had been considerably widened4 ,hundreds of new houses of bungalow type1 had taken the places of those pulled down4 ,most of these were built on the ,frazzi system1 or else after the fashion known as reinforced concrete4 ,all these changes were note-worthy1 and full of meaning1 but ,george ,bullen's eyes and attention were almost wholly absorbed by the ,temple that crowned ,mount ,moriah4 ,he had not1 of course1 seen that wonderful painting on ,vellum which ,rabbi ,cohen had shown ,ralph ,bastin4 ,it is true he had seen photographs and sketches reproduced in the ,english illustrated papers4 ,but none of these had prepared him for the actual4 ,robed in his ,syrian garb1 and looking for all the world like the real article1 he passed through the cosmopolitan crowd always making his way upwards to where the marble and gold of the wonderful ,temple reared itself4 ,arrived outside the great main gates1 he stood awed at the wonder and magnificence of all that he saw4 ,the whole structure was complete4 ,not a pole or plank of scaffolding was left standing1 no litter or rubbish heaps were to be seen2 every approach1 every yard of the enclosure was beautifully swept4 ,a few officials1 in a remarkable uniform moved here and there about the great enclosure4 ,for two hours ,george ,bullen moved slowly round the ,temple1 making long pauses at intervals1 and taking in every item of the wondrous architecture and still more wondrous ornamentation4 ,when he finally left the ,mount1 and took his way down the wide1 steep decline--the whole of this wide road was composed of marble blocks1 reminding him of the ,roman ,appian way--his mind was in a whirl1 his head ached with the glare of the sun on the gold1 and with the deep concentration of his sight upon so much colour and glitter4 ,again and again he paused1 and looked upwards and backwards1 he had a difficulty in tearing himself away4 ,but he had much to do1 and could not afford to linger4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was the day before the official opening of the ,temple4 ,jerusalem was thronged--inside and outside1 for ,jerusalem1 7according to ,zechariah ii4 #d7 was inhabited as a town without walls4 ,the environs1 and the suburbs had spread in every direction4 ,for the first time in the history of the world1 the hills1 ,gareb and ,goath1 outside ,jerusalem1 had1 a few years before this1 been covered with villas1 bungalows1 hotels1 etc41 absolutely fulfilling ,jeremiah xxxi4 #ch-dj4 ,lucien ,apleon's ,palace1 which had been built concurrently with the ,temple1 and which1 in its way1 was almost as gorgeous a building1 was filled with the ten ,kings of the ,confederacy1 and their suites4 ,soldiers of every one of the ten nationalities--though all wearing one uniform1 save that the facings were different to denote the land to which they belonged--were everywhere to be seen4 ,itinerant venders moved about among the throngs bawling their chief ware--,programs for the ,temple1 to-morrow4 ,george ,bullen bought one of the ,programs4 ,it was an amazing production1 and as blasphemous as it was amazing4 ,it was most sumptuously got up1 printed in a style unknown to the days of even the end of the first decade of the #bjth century4 ,but before he began to read the order of the events1 or even to note the marks of sumptuousness of the appearance of the program1 his attention was arrested by a bold1 curious hieroglyphic which headed the program4 ,this figuring was in richest purple and gold1 and bore this form3 ,illustration3 ,mark of the ,beast ,for a long time he puzzled over the sign4 ,then1 suddenly a memory returned to him4 ,one night when ,ralph ,bastin had been speaking to him about the ,anti-,christ he had said3 ,here is a curious thing1 ,george6 ,i have just read in the ,revelation1 thirteen1 eighteen1 that ,the ,number of the ,beast--the ,anti-christ--is ,,the ,number of ,,man2 and his number is #fff4 ,now this number1 in the ,greek1 is made up of two characters which stand for the name of ,christ1 with a third character1 the figure of a crooked serpent put between them--the name of ,god's ,christ1 the ,messiah1 turned into a devil sacrament 7i4 e4 oath of fidelity47 ,ralph would have shown me the sign1 ,i know1 ,bullen mused1 but that at the very moment we were talking together1 there came that scare of fire in the stereo room1 and we both rushed away4 ,but now ,i know that this sign on the program is the ',mark of the ,beast1' and that it signifies the oath of ,fidelity to ,anti-christ4 ,he caught his breath sharply1 as he murmured3 ,so it has begun6 ,he has begun to show his hand6 ,then he let his eyes take in the contents of the program4 ,beneath the ,hieroglyphic was the greeting3 ,,to ,,all ,,the ,,world6 ,,apleon1 ,,emperor1 by the election of ,,man4 ,commands the following events in connection with the ,dedication and opening of the ,temple at ,jerusalem4 #d-cj p4 m4 #ith ,sept41 year #a of ,apleon4 7,subject to minor alterations47 ,appointment of the ,high ,priest elect1 by the ,emperor4 ,address by ,the ,high ,priest4 ,confirmation of the #g years ,covenant between the ,hebrew ,nation and the ,emperor4 ,affirmatory ,signatures and ,seals affixed4 ,sign of the ,sacrament to be distributed and donned by all present4 #f-cj p4 m4 ,bureaus will be opened all over the city1 and in the immediate neighbourhood of the ,temple for the free distribution of the sacramental signs1 with directions for wearing the same4 ,the donning of the sign will be1 of course1 entirely voluntary4 ,for how long1 murmured ,bullen to himself1 will this be voluntary8 ,he continued his reading3 ,at #g-cj a4 m4 #ajth ,sept4 ,the ,dedication of the ,temple4 ,the procession of ,kings1 headed by ,apleon1 ,emperor of the ,world1 will start from the ,apleon ,palace at #g-j a4 m4 ,imperial troops will line the way4 ,fanfare of trumpets will greet the procession on its arrival at the ,temple ,gates4 ,opening ode will be sung by #a1jjj1 singers massed in the courtyard4 ,ceremony inside will commence by the investiture of the ,high ,priest with his glorious robes of office1 the investiture will be performed by the ,emperor4 ,the #g years ,covenant to be read aloud by the ,high ,priest4 ,ode of ,adoration of the ,emperor to be sung by the ,priests1 choristers1 and others4 ,the ceremony is to be held at the above early hour1 that there may be no undue exposure to the heat of the later fore-noon4 ,in pursuance with the liberty of these more enlightened days1 all persons may worship with covered or uncovered heads1 as may seem fit to each person4 ,this applies to ,jews and ,jewesses also1 and1 7,n4 ,b47 there will be no division of sex for the ,jew and ,jewess1 they will worship together4 ,the days of the grille are past4 ,,long ,,live ,,the ,,emperor6 ,of all the extraordinary productions--6 murmured ,george ,bullen4 ,he did not finish his sentence1 he would have been puzzled to have found terms to have expressed all that he felt4 ,i wonder if these programs can be procured in ,london8 he went on4 ,a seller passed him at that moment1 and he bought a second program1 to send to ,ralph ,bastin4 ,they had made an arrangement1 before parting1 that everything--letters1 wireless1 and all other messages--should be sent in code1 and to an address1 and under a name that should not be recognized as having any connection with the ',courier'--if1 ,ralph had added quietly1 there are no demons present here who can divulge our talk4 ,this was always one of the difficulties that the godly1 at that time1 had to contend with1 the ignorance of how far invisible demons could spy upon1 and report their sayings and doings4 ,hour by hour1 the streets grew denser1 for each hour brought new arrivals1 and always some of the elite of the earth4 ,to ,george ,bullen1 with the journalist instinct1 there was copy everywhere1 and he was not slow to take full notes4 ,things were quieter from one to four1 for the heat1 in the open1 was almost unbearable4 ,at four o'clock1 ,bullen was close by the chief gate of the ,temple4 ,he would watch the arrival of the chief actors in the first part of the great ceremonies4 ,through the mighty hosts of acclaiming peoples which lined that wide marble upward road1 ,king after ,king rode1 all on white horses4 ,merchant princes from ,babylon2 ,royal princes from many lands4 ,the last of the ,kings to arrive was the ,king of ,syria4 ,at the gate1 close to where ,george ,bullen was standing1 the horse of the ,syrian monarch grew restive4 ,quick to seize an opportunity of getting into the ,temple to see the ceremony1 ,george caught the rein of the horse1 and with a soothing word and touch1 led the beast through the gate1 flinging back a word in ,syrian to the ,king in the saddle4 ,hearing his own tongue1 and noting the garb of his horse's leader1 the ,king flung a word of thanks to ,george1 who led the horse right up to the door of the sanctuary4 ,each monarch kept his saddle4 ,five were drawn up on one side1 and five on the other4 ,they waited for ,apleon4 ,a moment or two only1 then amid a thunder of acclaim of ,long live the ,world's ,emperor6 ,lucien ,apleon1 the ,anti-christ1 the ,man of ,sin1 riding a jet black horse1 cantered through the gate4 ,he was a marvellous figure of a man4 ,in stature he was nearer seven feet than six4 ,his form as erect as a ,venetian mast4 ,his costume was strange1 but very striking1 and gave him a regality of appearance4 ,it was partly ,oriental1 partly occidental1 and consisted of a curious-toned darkish green military tunic1 heavily-frogged with gold1 and with a wide1 gold-braid collar4 ,the buttons of the tunic were separate emeralds set in circles of diamonds1 and enclosed in a wide circlet of gold4 ,he wore white knee-breeches1 and high ,hessian boots1 adorned at the heels with gold spurs4 ,over his shoulders1 clasped at the neck with a large gold-and-precious-stone buckle of the same mysterious form as the hieroglyphic crest at the head of the ,programs1 he wore a wonderful burnouse of white and gold fleece1 the gold predominating over the white1 and flashing fiercely1 gorgeously in the sun4 ,his leonine head was surmounted with a dazzling covering that was neither a crown1 a mitre1 nor a turban1 but partook of the nature of all three4 ,it was profusely bedecked with the most costly of precious stones4 ,the largest diamond ever seen1 shaped as an eight-pointed star1 and measuring nearly six inches from point to point1 was set in the front-centre of the mitre-turban-crown4 ,with the sun shining upon it1 it was impossible to gaze upon the diamond4 ,riding up to the door of the porch of the ,temple1 his horse's fore-hoofs resting on the upper of the four steps1 he paused only to return the salutes of the ten kings1 then flung himself from the saddle1 and waited a moment until his horse was led away4 ,then turning outwards towards the way by which he had come1 he surveyed the scene below him4 ,never in the history of the world had anything more ,wonderful been seen4 ,several million people were gathered--streets were blocked2 walls of the city1 roofs of the houses and palaces and public buildings were packed4 ,every window that faced the mount was crowded4 ,flags flew everywhere within the city1 and beyond the walls1 where hundreds of thousands of acclaiming people were gathered1 every eye was directed towards that ,temple entrance where ,anti-christ1 the ,world's ,emperor stood4 ,as he turned to face the millions of acclaiming people1 a gun was fired from the grounds of his palace1 and at the same instant1 a ball of white1 which had hung at the head of the flag-staff on the roof of his palace1 suddenly broke1 and there swept out upon the light breeze1 an enormous white silk flag1 the centre of which bore the mystic inscription that had already appeared on the official programs1 and which he wore in gold jewels for a buckle of his bernouse4 ,the eyes of ,apleon flashed with a curious pride as he saw the great white flag break in the air1 while a smile1 diabolical as ,hell itself1 curled his lips4 ,it seemed almost as though it was to see that damnable challenge flung forth to the wind1 that he had turned1 more than to acknowledge the acclaim of the gathered millions of the deceived1 lie-deluded people4 ,a moment later1 he turned into the ,temple4 ,the ten kings1 ,babylonian merchant-princes1 and others of note following4 ,george ,bullen1 walking directly behind the ,king of ,syria1 passed in with the others4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,investiture4 ,a great hush fell upon those who gathered within that ,temple4 ,it was not an awe from the sense of the divine--for ,god was not there in ,his glory and power1 since ,anti-christ's spirit filled the place4 ,it was not the awe of silence and subjection to the world's greatest ruler--though1 presently1 something of that would come upon those gathered when they had eyes1 ears1 and mind for ,apleon the ,emperor4 ,neither was the silence one of curiosity in the character of the service in which they had been called to take part4 ,the hush upon the assembly was one of wonder and amaze at the splendour of the ,temple's interior in which they found themselves4 ,gold--there was no silver--1 precious stones1 sandalwood1 marbles such as had never been seen by any eye before1 all fashioned into a wondrous style of architecture peculiarly unique1 yet withal holding a perfect harmony--such is 7not a description1 for a description1 in detail would baffle the clearest mind and cleverest pen7--a bold mention of a few of the chief materials4 ,the artist--architect--he must have been as much an artist as an architect to have designed the style--had taken some ideas from the description1 in ,ezekiel1 of the ,millennial ,temple4 ,there was the palm1 the cherub with two faces1 7the young lion and the man7 so that the face of a young lion was on the one side toward the palm1 and the face of a man on the other side toward the palm4 ,the vine and the pomegranite were there4 ,in spite of the most profuse detail all was rendered with a perfection of minuteness1 while throughout the whole of the interior the harmony of colour was beyond praise--and beyond description4 ,for the technical skill exhibited in each separate item of colour1 carving1 and cunning workmanship1 had1 with truest artistic sense1 been subordinated to that wondrous balance of the whole appearance that went to make up the amazing harmony that was as a veritable atmosphere in the place4 ,to combine in a chromatic scheme so much brilliance and colour without even a suspicion of gaudiness1 or the bizarre1 was a triumph of art4 ,the light in the place was a true adjunct to the effects produced by the wondrous composition of the blended glory and colour4 ,there was no window anywhere1 but ,radiance1 the newest light of the day1 tempered by rose-pink and palest electric blue prisms1 filled the place with a wondrous radiance1 while at the same time the eye could not detect the various spots where the separate lights were located4 ,the company gathered was in harmony with the place1 since the many otherwise gaudy tints of costume and uniform were softened1 blended1 and harmonized by the power of colour-tone of the prisms through which the otherwise fierce1 flashing ,radiance was shed4 ,the outer temple interior--the place where the brilliant throng was gathered--would hold a thousand persons comfortably4 7,there was no seat in ,solomon's temple1 as there was no seat in the ,tabernacle1 which was a symbol of the ever unfinished work of the earthly priesthood47 ,and there was no seat here1 save a throne-chair of gold1 ivory1 mother-of-pearl1 and precious stones1 that occupied the centre of a magnificent dais just in front of the entrance into the very small ,holy of ,holies4 ,a wonderful curtain of purple velvet--not the fine twined linen as of old--screened off this narrow strip of the interior1 from the larger outer section4 ,the curtain was worked with marvellous needlework in gold and pearls of almost priceless value1 the pattern being a wonderful blending of cherubim1 palm1 and pomegranate4 ,on entering the building ,the ,emperor ,apleon1 seated himself on the ,throne1 when each person present made a deep bow of obeisance4 ,one man only remained upright--,george ,bullen4 ,taking advantage of his position behind a marble pillar1 he held himself erect4 ,had he been detected1 he would have rapturously sacrificed his life rather than have bent to the ,anti-christ4 ,the platform of the dais1 on which the throne-chair stood1 was reached by three wide marble steps that sprang from the floor-level4 ,at the foot of these steps1 ,cohen the ,high-priest elect1 stood clothed in a single garment of pure white linen1 that reached from his shoulders to his feet4 ,attendant priests stood by1 each holding one garment or ornament1 as the case might be1 ready for the investiture4 ,apleon rose from his throne1 a magnificent1 but a sardonic figure for all that4 ,as he rose1 soft1 weird music came from an angle where a screen of palm-ferns was placed4 ,though mechanical1 the music was of an exquisite character4 ,then1 suddenly1 swelling above the low weird music1 came the voices of a score or more white-robed priests chanting3 ,hear1 ,o ,israel1 the ,lord thy ,god is one ,god6 ,george ,bullen's eyes were fixed upon the face of ,apleon1 and he noted the mocking1 contemptuous smile that curled his lips at the language of the chant4 ,as the chant finished1 ,cohen turned and faced ,apleon1 and slowly climbed the steps4 ,the music had ceased now1 and1 amid an absolute silence1 ,apleon took the embroidered coat from the offered hands of one of the subordinate priests4 ,the garment was of white linen wonderfully1 beautifully embroidered4 ,it reached from the shoulders to the feet and fitted the body closely1 a draw-string of white linen tape fastening the sleeves at the wrists1 and drawing the breast of the vestment close about4 ,a linen girdle four fingers wide1 and long enough when tied to reach the feet1 was next put about ,cohen by ,apleon4 ,then a third priest handed the ,emperor1 ,the ,robe of the ,ephod4 ,this was a long1 loose garment of ,royal blue satin1 with a wide neck-opening1 the opening bound with a wide gold band4 ,the ,robe was slipped over the head1 and it dropped to the feet of the ,high-priest4 ,upon the lower hem of the ,robe was a rich1 deep fringe of alternate blue1 purple1 and scarlet tassels made in the form of pomegranates4 ,between each pomegranate was a golden bell4 ,still amid an absolute silence1 the investiture proceeded4 ,apleon took the costly and beautiful ,ephod of a fourth priest4 ,this vestment was in two pieces1 one for the front1 the other for the back4 ,they were joined together1 at the shoulders1 by bands of wide gold braid1 and buckled with two of the ,anti-christ covenant badges4 ,apleon had provided himself with these1 and no one probably1 save ,george ,bullen1 noticed of what the bucklings consisted4 ,but nothing escaped ,bullen1 for while the attention of everyone else in the place was given only in a general way to the robing of the ,high ,priest1 his whole and absolute attention was concentrated on ,apleon1 all that he did1 every varying expression of his handsome but sardonic face1 and every movement of his fingers4 ,another priest handed ,the curious girdle of the ,ephod4 ,but1 unlike the ordained adjunct1 as given in ,exodus1 in this case it was a separate piece1 and instead of being of the same stuff1 was a cunningly worked band of gold studded with many gems4 ,the girdle handed to ,apleon1 fastened with a clasp4 ,the clasp was worth a ,jew's ransom1 and like the breast-plate--presently to be slung about the neck of ,cohen--was a gift to the ,temple by ,apleon4 ,but the gift was accursed1 for among the curiously1 twisted gold of the clasp1 the ,mark of the ,beast could be traced1 if carefully scrutinized4 ,the ,ephod ,girdle being clasped1 a priest handed the breastplate to the ,emperor4 ,it should1 according to the ,mosaic command1 have been made of the same material as the ,ephod--of gold1 of blue1 of purple1 of scarlet1 and of fine twisted linen4 ,but in this case it was made of gold1 and slung by a gold chain about the ,high-priest's neck4 ,the gold filigree setting for the stones1 held within its cunning workmanship that same damnable sign--,the ,mark of the ,beast1 though only a very keen1 clever eye would have detected the foul hieroglyphic among the twistings of gold patterning4 ,the whole plate was about ten inches square1 the centre divided by gold ribs1 across and across1 into twelve sections1 each section holding a separate precious stone of fabulous wealth4 ,just for a moment or two the wondrous mechanical music stole out again upon the silence4 ,lovers of music recognized part of ,schubert's ,unfinished ,symphony4 ,what wondrous melody there was in the fragment6 ,the priests' voices chanted again1 and all the time the face of ,apleon wore its mocking smile4 ,reading from the top--right to left1 as the breastplate hung on the breast--the stones and their significance ran as follows3 ,,carbuncle1 ,,topaz1 ,,sardius1 ,zebulun ,issachar4 ,judah4 ,,diamond1 ,,sapphire1 ,,emerald1 ,gad4 ,simeon4 ,reuben4 ,,amethyst1 ,,agate1 ,,ligure1 ,benjamin4 ,manasseh1 ,ephraim4 ,,jasper1 ,,onyx1 ,,beryl1 ,naphtali4 ,asher4 ,dan4 ,the last piece of this wonderful ,robing1 was the ,mitre4 ,it was really a turban of pure white linen1 an oblong shield-shaped plate of pure gold1 being attached to the fullness of the deep1 front roll of the turban4 ,engraved in ,hebrew characters upon the plate1 were the words3 ,,holiness ,,to ,,the ,,lord4 ,here again1 keen and practised eyes would have detected the foul sign of the man of sin1 among the wondrous1 and delicate chasing of the gold around the ,hebrew lettering4 ,it has taken twenty times longer to record this robing than the time actually employed4 ,as a matter of fact it occupied but a few minutes4 ,then1 at last1 the work was complete1 and the silence was broken4 ,it was the ,emperor who spoke3 ,behold the ,priest of the ,most ,high ,god6 he cried4 ,every soul present1 save ,george ,bullen1 was more or less under the spell of the ,arch-,deceiver1 or they would have caught the sneer in the rich full voice1 even as ,george ,bullen caught it4 ,true to his journalistic instinct1 as well as to his new desire as a ,christian1 to know well the ,word of ,god1 ,bullen had read over1 the night before1 the passages in ,exodus and ,leviticus1 relating to the robing of the ,high-priest1 and had been struck with this fact1 that the ,high-priest himself did nothing1 took no active part in his robing4 ,moses1 as ,god's representative1 did everything4 ,now as he recalled this1 and while he considered why ,apleon should have acted valet to a ,jew priest1 there recurred1 with startling power to ,bullen1 the words of prophecy by ,daniel1 concerning the ,man of ,sin3 he shall exalt himself1 and magnify himself above every ,god-- ,he has purposely chosen to do this robing business1 quietly setting himself up as ,god1 was the thought of ,bullen4 ,there was no time for further musing4 ,the newly-invested ,high-priest was speaking3 ,bring hither the ',torah'--,roll of the ,law4 ,a serious-faced young ,jew1 a praying shawl over his head1 bore towards the ,high-,priest--the parchment scroll loosely-cased in a silken slip-off4 ,as he bore the sacred roll he reverently kissed the tassels of the drawstring of the silken slip4 ,the attendant drew off the cover1 and dropping it across his left shoulder1 unrolled the scroll1 and held it extended for the ,high-priest to read4 ,cohen made a sign to a priest who held a ,shophar 7hallowed ram's horn7 in his hand4 ,instantly the priest covered his head with his talate 7praying shawl7 and lifting the horn to his lips he blew the great ,teru-gnah4 ,every ,jew presently covered his head with his prayer shawl1 and the ,high-,priest1 cried3 ,hear1 ,o ,israel1 the ,lord thy ,god is one ,god6 ,then turning to the scroll1 he read in a curious1 monotonous intone1 part of ,solomon's prayer at the opening of the ,temple3 ,now then1 ,o ,lord ,god of ,israel1 let ,thy word be verified 7on the morrow of this day74 ,thy word which ,thou hast spoken unto ,thy servant ,david4 ,amen4 ,inclining his head towards the scroll-bearer1 as a sign that he had finished his brief reading1 he cleared his voice and addressing his own people1 said3 ,brethren1 fathers1 sons of ,father ,abraham1 ,isaac1 ,jacob1 because that the good hand of our ,god hath been upon us1 we are once more restored to our own land4 ,no longer trodden down by stranger's feet1 ,jerusalem is again for the ,jew1 and the ,jew for ,jerusalem4 ,we meet here this afternoon in our own ,temple1 reared by ,jewish gold and patriotism4 ,our ,father's ,temple1 ,solomon's could have been but a poor synagogue compared to this in which we are now found4 ,to-morrow1 all the world will be gathered to this place1 7all that part of the world worth calling ,the ,world7 to the formal1 official opening of this ,temple4 ,to-morrow1 for the first time since this city1 and since ,herod's ,temple were destroyed1 we shall slay the morning and evening lamb1 the daily sacrifice ordained by our ,god4 ,today we have an accredited place among the nations4 ,there may be special ,jewish reasons for the coming to pass of this universal recognition of our race1 but chief among the factors that have gone to bring all this about1 is the friendship of ,lucien ,apleon1 ,emperor1 ,dictator of the world4 ,cohen turned and bowed to the throne where ,apleon sat1 his face filled with a smile in which pride in his position and quizzical mirth at ,cohen's allusion to the soundness of the ,jewish position1 were mingled4 ,there was a slight movement among the kings1 and other grandees1 and amid murmurs of assent at ,cohen's allusion to the ,emperor1 the member of the ,royal confederation bowed to the throne4 ,cohen proceeded3 ,in spite of our position1 today1 fathers and brethren1 we could not maintain it a week1 and certainly we could not strengthen and consolidate it1 but for our ,emperor4 ,we desire to maintain1 to strengthen our position1 hence it has seemed good to the great ,international ,jewish committee to seek to have a covenant with ,lucien ,apleon1 ,emperor--,dictator of the ,world4 ,the covenant is for seven years4 ,we on our part are to serve him in every way1 he on his part to guarantee our protection--for we have neither ,army or ,navy--in return for our allegiance to him4 ,this covenant1 duly drawn up1 is here for final signature this afternoon4 ,as your elected ,high-,priest1 and representative of our race1 ,i shall sign it on behalf of our people1 our ,emperor will also affix his signature4 ,then all of us1 as a sign of our covenant and our allegiance1 will wear a badge which has been prepared4 ,the badge can be worn--like the written ,law of our ,god1 as commanded by our father ,moses1 'as a sign upon our hand1 or as a frontlet between our eyes--4' ,many millions of the badges have been prepared1 made in white metal for free distribution to the poorest of the world1 or jewelled1 gold or silver1 for those who would fain purchase something more in accordance with their rank1 station1 or wealth4 ,the time is at hand when no one will be able to buy or sell1 save he who wears this sign4 ,he paused1 and turning to where a little knot of white-robed priests stood1 they parted1 and showed an exquisite little table of gold and pearl1 and on the table a jewelled casket of marvellous workmanship4 ,two of the priests bore the table to the centre of the floor where ,cohen stood4 ,he opened the casket1 drew forth a small silk-tasselled parchment roll1 and laid it open upon the table4 ,the two priests held down the curling corners4 ,a fountain pen--the cylinder of jewelled gold--lay in a hollow of the casket4 ,cohen took the pen1 and wrote at the foot of the text of the covenant3 ,in the ,name of our ,god1 the ,god of ,abraham1 ,isaac and ,jacob1 and on behalf of ,his chosen people1 ,i ,solomon ,isaac ,cohen 7,aaron17 ,first ,high-,priest of the new era1 in the ,city of ,jerusalem1 on the ninth day of ,september1 #ai--1 7world's calculation7 subscribe myself4 ,as he lifted his form erect again1 he made a sign to the two priests4 ,they lifted the table and bore it up to the platform of the dais4 ,apleon1 without rising from the throne1 took the pen and made his signature4 ,two seals were affixed1 ,cohen and ,apleon1 touched them1 then the table was once more lifted to the floor level1 and the ten kings signed the covenant1 as witnesses4 ,then every one present1 save ,george ,bullen1 donned one of the badges4 ,in the crowding1 his non-compliance was unnoticed4 ,all the kings and most of the princes and others1 from ,babylon1 received massive and costly signet rings from the hands of ,apleon1 himself4 ,each signet was engraved with ,the covenant ,sign1 as it was called4 ,god calls it ,the ,mark of the ,beast4 ,the recipients of the rings1 all wore them on the third finger of the right hand1 as did others of the minor personages4 ,many of the ,jews1 in their enthusiasm1 wore one of the ,signs in the centre of the forehead1 held in position by a fine gold chain that passed round the head1 as well as one on the right hand4 ,when the ,covenant badges had been donned1 ,apleon was hailed as the world's deliverer1 the whole ,temple ringing with the plaudits of the kings and others4 ,a moment1 and he passed outside1 and stood on the top step of the ,temple flight4 ,again the ,hurrahs were raised1 and caught by the multitudes that thronged that wide marble approach to the gates of the ,temple1 and caught again and again by ever more distant peoples1 until in a moment or two1 from three to four million people1 inside and outside the city1 were belching forth their acclaimings of a demon1 counting him almost ,god4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,dedication4 ,save for the ,bible record of the opening of ,solomon's ,temple1 ,cohen and his colleague-priests1 had no precedent upon which to base their order of procedure as regarded the official opening of the ,temple1 and the consequent re-commencement and re-establishment of the daily sacrifices4 ,then1 too1 the ideas of the ,jew of the period1 as regarded worship1 were more or less of a hybrid character1 while the modern repugnance to blood-shedding1 and all the consequent unpleasantness of the sacrificial ceremonies1 caused the ,jewish leaders to construct a very much more simple ritual than anything approaching the original ,mosaic standard4 ,one thing had been decided by them in council1 that was1 to make this great epoch in their renationalization to synchronize with their ,new ,year1 which would properly fall the next month1 on ,october #bnd1 to be correct4 ,the usual ,new ,year's ceremony of ,shophar-blowing would be observed4 ,cohen1 and his fellow priests1 were early at the ,temple1 and long before the hour advertised on the programmes--#g-cj1 every arrangement 7from their stand-point7 was complete4 ,at seven o'clock1 sharp1 the gun was fired at the ,palace ,apleon1 and the great silken flag1 with its ,covenant sign1 flew out upon the breeze4 ,the whole city and its suburbs were astir4 ,suddenly a burst of brazen music rent the more or less silent air of the city1 and ,cohen and his fellow priests knew that the procession had started from the ,palace4 ,soon it was in sight4 ,oh the wonder1 the gorgeousness1 the ,,blasphemy of it6 ,riding on a white horse1 there came first the standard bearer4 ,the heel of the standard pole was socketted in a deep barrel of leather that ran from the saddle to the stirrup4 ,the rider was a man of enormous strength1 and he had need to be1 to bear the strain of the breeze that tugged at the many square yards of white silk1 of which the standard was composed4 ,like the flag on the place1 like the brand on the brows and right hands of many of the multitude1 the ,covenant sign appeared in the centre of the standard borne aloft by that mounted bearer4 ,behind the standard came the band1 fifty mounted players4 ,behind the band there was a gap of sixty or seventy feet4 ,then1 alone1 proud1 regal1 handsome1 mighty of stature1 noble in pose1 mounted on his jet-black mare1 and attired as he had been overnight1 rode ,apleon1 the ,emperor--,dictator of the ,world4 ,after him1 but with fifty feet of space between1 rode the ten kings1 then their respective suites4 ,then came the ,babylonian merchant princes1 and others4 ,it was a triumphal procession for ,apleon4 ,for it was his name that filled throats of the acclaiming multitudes as they roared out their ,huzzahs6 ,the scene in the ,courtyard of the ,temple was one of wondrous pomp1 and of even deeper significance4 ,as ,apleon rode in1 a fan-fare of trumpets gave him greeting4 ,then when the last intricate brazen note had sounded1 the mighty multitude drowned even the memory of the trumpets1 by the deafening roar of their ,huzzahs6 ,ten bugles sounded ,silence4 ,it took a full minute for the command to pass from lip to lip to the uttermost reaches of the people4 ,then1 in the comparative stillness1 ,apleon dismounted from his horse1 took the diamond-studded key from the hand of the ,high-,priest1 opened the door1 flung it wide1 and proclaimed ,the ,temple opened1 in the name of ,apleon1 ,emperor--,dictator of the ,world4 ,that opening word truly translated1 meant1 in the name of the ,devil1 by the person of his ,anti-christ4 ,the ,high-,priest1 standing on the top-step of the wide flight that led to the porch1 faced the people and priests1 and began to recite selected parts of ,solomon's prayer at the ,dedication of his ,temple4 ,these finished1 he cried1 with a loud voice3 ,it having pleased our ,god to restore us1 ,his chosen earthly people1 the ,jews1 to our own land1 and to our own beautiful ,zion1 joy of the whole earth1 we make the occasion to be as the beginning of a new era1 a new year4 ,and as the ,lord spake unto ,moses and ,aaron1 in ,egypt1 saying3 ',this month shall be the beginning of months3 it shall be the first month of the year to you1' so we proclaim to our people today1 this month shall be the beginning of our ,new ,year1 and of a ,new ,dispensation to us4 ,dropping his proclamation loudness of voice1 he slipped into his synagogue recitative tone1 as he went on3 ,on the first of the month1 shall be a ,sabbath1 a memorial of blowing of trumpets and holy convocation4 ,ye shall offer an offering unto the ,lord4 ,he signed to the ,tokeang--the ,shophar blower--and instantly the weird1 curious1 quavering1 vibrating sounds broke on the still air4 ,as the last note of the shophar died away1 ,cohen cried3 ,let all the house of ,israel1 sacrifice unto the ,lord6 ,lifting his hand as he spoke1 a turbaned priest led a lamb to the foot of the altar4 ,a gleaming knife1 snatched from his girdle flashed for a moment in the air2 there was a swift movement of the sacrificial priest's arm1 a gurgle from the silent lamb1 and the little fleecy thing sank dying upon the grating before the altar4 ,only those immediately near could see all that followed1 until the moment when the carcass of the lamb was reared to the grating on the summit of the altar4 ,a strange stillness rested upon the people gathered1 as another turbaned priest brought a torch to fire the wood beneath the altar4 ,before he could reach the altar1 the voice of ,apleon stayed his feet4 ,let no fire be brought6 he cried1 in commanding tones4 ,i will consume the offering6 ,he stretched his right hand forth1 the fingers closed4 ,then opening his fingers1 he drew back his arm suddenly1 sharply1 then jerked it forward again--it was the old mesmeric pass of the magicians4 ,instantly1 the interior of the altar blazed with long1 fierce forks of many coloured flames1 and as they finally resolved themselves into a blood-red fiery cloud that hung over the sacrifice1 the covenant sign floated in white amid the blood-red cloud4 ,another movement and the red cloud melted away1 but like a quivering golden light the ,sign remained an instant hovering over the altar4 ,when that1 too1 melted1 it was seen that not a vestige of the lamb was left4 ,awed and silent1 the onlookers wondered6 ,for a moment ,george ,bullen was puzzled4 ,then he recalled the words of prophecy1 as regarded ,the ,anti-christ4 ,his coming is after the working of ,satan1 with all power and signs and lying wonders 4 4 4 ,and he doeth great wonders1 so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men1 and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do4 ,the greatest tribute that could have been given to the supernatural power exhibited by ,apleon1 was the awed silence1 and the bowed heads of all who had witnessed his satanic miracle4 ,its effect upon ,cohen and the rest of the ,jews1 was1 if possible1 greater than upon any of the ,gentiles who had witnessed the wonder4 ,upon the awed silence there suddenly fell a deep growl of thunder4 ,the startled people lifted their heads4 ,with almost an instantaneousness1 the heavens darkened4 ,it might well have been a moonless midnight1 so dark did it suddenly become4 ,the thunders roared and cannonaded1 while fierce lightnings1 like liquid fires1 raced earthwards down the blackened heavens4 ,no one1 native of the land1 or foreigner1 had ever known thunder or lightning such as now broke upon them4 ,for days afterwards men were as deaf as though born thus1 stunned by the thunder2 and scores lost their sight from the lightning's flash1 never to recover it again4 ,as sudden as the darkness1 there now came a hurricane blast that tore at the ,temple walls as if it would hurl its gold and marbles into the valley below4 ,no man could keep his footing in the courtyard or on that summit1 and everyone flung themselves prone to the earth--save ,apleon4 ,he stood smiling his sardonic1 contemptuous smile4 ,cohen and a few others crawled towards the wide1 folding-doors of the ,temple4 ,but the hurricane was before them1 and the doors slammed to1 and1 in some way jammed4 ,the horses started in stampede1 terrified by the storm4 ,apleon spoke the one word ,soh6 and they stood absolutely still1 save for a long1 shuddering kind of shiver that ran through each beast at the same instant4 ,now1 for a few minutes1 the thunder roared louder and deeper1 until it drowned the thunderous roar of the wind4 ,peal followed peal with hideous1 horrible swiftness4 ,the lightning was a succession of fierce1 white ribbons of blood-red flaming fire4 ,for ten minutes this extraordinary storm raged4 ,there was not one drop of rain4 ,then1 with a suddenness only equalled by that of the starting of the storm1 it ceased4 ,the blackness of the heavens rolled away like mist before the rising sun1 and while all the western horizon suddenly glowed with the fierce red glow of a furnace blaze1 the sun appeared once more over-head shining as though nought had happened4 ,the procession now re-formed1 in the order in which it had arrived1 and to the lilt of the gay music of the powerful band1 the volatile spirits of the multitude revived1 and the loud huzzahs rent the air as ,apleon--the ,anti-christ--passed through the waiting masses of the people4 ,george ,bullen contrived to keep ,apleon full in view4 ,in a general way no item of the procession of the ceremony at the ,temple1 or of aught else had escaped him--but it was in1 and on ,apleon that his special attention had been concentrated4 ,he watched the procession sweep through the great gate-way of the ,emperor's ,palace4 ,then1 when the last of the guests had passed in1 the huge folding gates closed1 and the multitudes began to disperse4 ,the vast bulk of the people were lodged outside the city1 and now poured out through the gates--for1 with the practical re-building of the city1 the exits had been made very numerous4 ,bullen was lodging with a ,christian ,syrian about half-a-mile outside the city4 ,he moved on in a line with one of the exodus streams4 ,as he cleared the city1 he became conscious that just ahead of him there was a great and ever increasing gathering of people--a mighty throng1 in fact4 ,arriving at the fringe of the crowd which grew closer and closer1 as well as greater1 every moment1 he was amazed to see two very striking looking ,easterns1 clothed in sackcloth1 and standing high upon a mound of stone4 ,the appearance of the two men was extraordinary4 ,the face of the elder of the two was cast in a wonderful mould4 ,george ,bullen was fairly well versed in the facial characteristics of all the known races--past as well as present4 ,but this man's face bore no relation to any type he had ever seen depicted4 ,eastern1 it was1 it is true1 but unlike1 and more beautiful than anything he knew of4 ,the calm of it was wondrous1 and ,george involuntarily found himself saying over3 ,thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on ,thee1 and instantly there flashed upon him1 in connection with that word1 one other3 ,enoch walked with ,god1 and was not1 for ,god took him4 ,he might be ,enoch returned to earth1 he told himself4 ,the other man was a different specimen4 ,his features were strongly ,jewish marked4 ,there was a fierceness of eye1 a power for a blazing wrath in his deep-set orbs4 ,not that the first man's eyes and face were incapable of fiery indignation1 but they gave indication of having been schooled by long intercourse with the divine keeping power of the ,god of ,peace4 ,the men were evidently preachers--prophet-preachers4 ,they spoke alternately1 their voices clear1 far-reaching1 their tones perfectly natural--there was no raising of the voice--yet reaching as far as the farthest listener4 ,their message was a ,testimony to ,god1 to ,his power1 ,his might1 ,his ,holiness1 even to ,his mercy4 ,they told of judgments1 near at hand1 upon all who would not cleave to ,god in righteousness4 ,then in deeply solemn tones1 they spoke of the presence of the ,mark of the ,beast1 upon the persons of so many thousands of the people1 and warned all who would not discard the badge1 and throw over their allegiance to ,apleon1--,the ,anti-christ--that they would presently share in the awful destruction which should overtake ,anti-christ and his followers4 ,a roar1 savage and full as from ten thousand lions1 with the snarl of wolves in it1 greeted this last part of the testimony1 while a thousand throats belched forth the cry3 ,down with them6 murder them6 ,there was a savage rush towards the sackclothed prophets4 ,but though the multitude of would-be murderers swept over1 around1 and past the mound on which the two faithful witnesses had been standing1 and though they did not see them disappear1 yet they were not found4 ,and when they shall have completed their ,testimony1 the ,beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them1 and overcome them1 and kill them--4 ,yes1 mused ,george ,bullen1 when they have completed their ,testimony1 and not an hour1 or a day before4 ,for these are evidently ,god's two faithful witnesses1 ,enoch and ,elijah1 the only two men who never passed through mortal death1 and hence are the only two saints who can become ,god's witnesses1 in this hideous ,anti-christ time1 for1 as witnesses1 they must be slain in the streets of the city of ,jerusalem--where also their ,lord was crucified4 ,there was much angry talk1 and savage swearing among the enraged1 mystified1 disappointed multitude1 at the loss of their vengeance upon the witnesses1 but1 had they known it1 they had come off very lightly in being only disappointed1 for ,god's witnesses had the power when any one willed to injure them1 to send forth fire out of their mouths1 and to devour their enemies1 and in the days that were to follow this first encounter with them1 the multitude would learn this to their cost4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,a ,,lebanon ,,rose4 ,with the disappearance of the two witnesses there came a gradual darkening of the heavens1 until in the space of a couple of minutes1 the whole district became as dark as it had been when the sacrifice in the ,temple courtyard had finished4 ,thunder and lightning accompanied the darkness1 and this time heavy rain4 ,baffled by the darkness1 the multitude ran hither and thither1 aimlessly1 wildly1 in search of their homes4 ,presently the vivid lightning flashes gave them fitful direction1 and gradually the crowds melted away4 ,george ,bullen had swerved from his homeward way1 to reach the crowd about the two witnesses4 ,the gleaming lightning gave him his direction now4 ,he was already drenched to the skin1 for the rain was a deluge4 ,as he moved on through the black darkness1 7illumined only with the occasional lightning flashes7 he stumbled over something4 ,some instinct told him it was a human form4 ,stooping in the blackness1 and groping with his hands1 he made out that the form was that of a slender woman4 ,there was no movement1 and in response to his question1 are you hurt8 there came no reply4 ,the face1 the lips which he touched with his groping fingers1 were warm1 so that he knew it was not death1 though the form was as still as death4 ,whoever she is1 he mused1 she will die in this storm if she is left here4 ,so he stooped and gathered the drenched form up in his arms4 ,her head fell upon his breast1 her limbs were nerveless in his clasp4 ,another1 a longer1 a more vivid flash of lightning1 came at this instant1 and showed him his path clearly1 he was close to his lodgings4 ,two minutes later he had reached the door of the house4 ,it was on the latch1 and he entered with his burden4 ,he found his way to his room1 laid the warm1 breathing form down upon a rug upon the floor1 and lit the lamp4 ,by the light of the lamp he saw that the poor soul he had rescued1 was a sweet-faced ,syrian girl1 by whose side he had found himself standing on the evening before1 when he had stood in the throng on the ,temple mount4 ,they had exchanged a few words of ordinary tourist-interchange1 and he had been surprised to find that she could speak good ,english1 though with a foreign accent4 ,but realizing now that she needed immediate attention1 if she was to be saved from taking a chill1 he lit a tiny hand-lamp and carrying it with him to light his way1 he went in search of the woman of the house4 ,as recorded on an earlier page1 the people with whom he had found lodgment were ,christian ,syrians--a husband and wife4 ,he went all over the premises1 but though he shouted several times1 neither the husband or wife answered or appeared4 ,there was no sign of them anywhere4 ,they were probably caught1 as ,i was1 in the storm1 he told himself1 as he returned to where he had left the rain-soaked ,syrian girl4 ,he had a bottle of mixture1 which he always carried on ,eastern travel1 as a preventive of chill4 ,he poured out a little of the warming stuff1 and raising the unconscious girl he poured a few drops through her parted lips4 ,she drank by mere instinct4 ,he repeated the experiment1 and she caught her breath sharply as she swallowed the second draught4 ,a faint sigh escaped her1 her eyelids trembled1 and1 a moment more they unclosed4 ,at first her gaze was unseeing1 then slowly she took in his anxious face4 ,where--am--,i8 she murmured brokenly4 ,you are safe1 and with friends6 he replied4 ,i stumbled over you in the road1 you had fallen1 somehow1 in that dreadful thunder-storm4 ,her eyes met his1 and for one long instant she seemed to be searching his face4 ,then a weak1 little smile trembled about her mouth1 as she said3 ,we met last night--,i remember ,i thought how true your face was--,i can trust you1 ,i know4 ,a sigh1 more of content than aught else1 escaped her1 and he felt how she let herself rest more fully in his supporting arm4 ,he gave her another sip of the cordial1 and she thanked him as some sweet child might have done4 ,for a moment she lay silent and still1 then she spoke again1 in a vague1 speculative way1 as though she was searching her mind for the clue3 ,ah1 yes1 ,i remember now4 ,the great darkness came on1 after those good men of ,god had spoken4 ,and the crowd got frightened and ran hither and thither1--to find their homes1 ,i suppose--and in the darkness some rushed against me1 knocked me down1 and--and-- ,she shuddered1 as she added1 ,i believe some others kicked me and trampled upon me1 and-- ,are you hurt8 he cried anxiously4 ,do you feel as if any bone was broken1 anywhere8 ,she smiled back into his anxious face3 ,hurt8 not much6 ,certainly no bones are broken4 ,but ,i feel bruised and sore1 and--so-- ,she shivered1 as she added3 so cold6 ,he awoke to the immediate necessity for her to get out of her wet clothes1 and gently lifting her until she stood upon her feet1 he said3 ,can you stand alone1 do you think8 ,let go your hold1 she answered1 and ,i will see4 ,very reluctantly ,george released his hold of her1 though his eyes were anxious1 and his hands were stretched out within reach of her1 lest she should give way4 ,she put her hand to her head1 as she said3 ,i feel a little dizzy1 but that will pass off4 ,when did you eat anything last8 he inquired4 ,oh1 ,i had a good breakfast1 before ,i started out this morning4 ,if ,i could lie down somewhere1--and sleep--for ,i slept but badly last night--,i think ,i should soon be all right4 ,he explained that he could not find the man or wife of the house1 but1 7pointing to a room beyond7 he said3 ,there is a bed there1 and there are female clothes hanging in a recess 7they were there when ,i occupied the room7 go in there1 dear child4 ,she seemed but a child1 to him1 so sweet and innocent was her face4 ,divest yourself of every rag of your wet clothes 7drop them out of the window1 and ,i will gather them up1 and get them dry for you7 chafe yourself with the towels you will find in the room1 then wrap yourself in one of the sheets or rugs1 and try and sleep4 ,ah1 kind friend6 ,how good you are6 she said1 softly1 a deep sense of what she owed him1 7for he had doubtless1 she realized1 saved her life7 moving her heart strangely4 ,with the shy1 tender grace of a child1 she caught his hand and kissed it1 leaving two great warm teardrops upon it1 as she cried3 ,may ,god reward you6 ,you saved my life6 ,her long silken lashes held great quivering drops upon them4 ,her hair--what swathes there were of it--had become loosened1 and hung about her in long1 thick1 wet tresses4 ,her cheeks were warmed to a vivid tinting by the cordial1 the excitement by the deep emotion that filled her1 so that1 in that moment she looked very beautiful4 ,he led her to the room he had indicated1 and glancing around to see that the towels were in the place1 he said1 what is your name8 ,in ,english8 she asked4 ,then without waiting for him to reply1 added3 ,rose6 ,mine is ,george6 he returned4 ,then with a final word of3 ,sleep1 if you can6 he left her4 ,when the hanging over the door-way had dropped behind him1 and he was alone in his little living room1 he tried to think out the many wonderful things that had happened since he had sallied forth at half-past six that morning4 ,taking his note-book from his breast1 he tore the sheaf of short-hand notes he had already made1 along the perforated line1 and began to compose his message for the ,courier in the code that had been previously arranged4 ,it took him an hour and a half to complete the work1 as writing in code1 took longer than the ordinary method4 ,by the time he had finished1 it was past noon1 and he wondered at the stillness of the house4 ,once more he made a tour of the other part of the premises1 calling the names of both the man and woman of the house4 ,they were still absent4 ,it was very mysterious6 ,he could not know that they were among the scores of those who had been trampled to death in the horrible darkness on the ,temple mount that morning4 ,passing back to his room1 he listened at the hanging over that inner room1 where the rescued girl lay4 ,he could hear her softly1 regularly snoring1 and decided to get his message off while she slept4 ,he was a little dubious about leaving the house door unlocked1 yet feared to lock it lest the man and wife should return4 ,he was gone an hour4 ,both going and returning1 he had been struck with the general desertedness of the streets1 but realized that in all probability every one would be resting after the scenes of the morning4 ,entering the house he found it exactly as he had left it1 and beginning to feel hungry1 he hunted about for the wherewithal to make a meal4 ,deciding that his protege might soon be stirring1 he carried into his living-room all the materials for a meal4 ,when he had spread his table1 he remembered the clothes for his protege 7he had spread them in the sun to dry1 having found them where she had dropped them1 by his instructions1 out of the window47 ,passing quietly back to the hanging between the two rooms1 he listened again4 ,this time she was awake and softly humming the air of ,the sands of ,time are sinking4 ,lifting the hanging a few inches at the bottom he thrust the clothes underneath1 and called3 ,do you feel well enough to get up1 ,rose8 ,if you do1 ,i will make coffee1 and we will have a meal6 ,thank you1 thank you1 good ,george6 she cried1 with the naivete of an innocent child4 ,i will dress and come out1 for oh1 ,i am so hungry and thirsty6 ,he smiled to himself at her sweet child-likeness1 and hurried away to make the coffee4 ,whether the aroma of the coffee reached her senses and hurried her1 it would be impossible to say1 but certainly1 in an incredibly short space of time 7for a woman7 she drew aside the hanging a little1 and asked3 ,may ,i come1 please8 ,he flung aside the hanging1 his smile1 as well as his voice saying3 ,come6 ,then as she appeared before him1 bright1 fresh from her sound restful sleep1 her hair carefully groomed and coiled in a crown on her head1 her cheek glowing with the prettiest1 tenderest blushes1 he thought how beautiful she was6 ,a woman1 evidently in years1 7as she would be judged in the east7 yet a pure child in character and manner4 ,how do you feel1 little ,rose8 he asked1 taking her hand in greeting4 ,a little stiff1 she answered1 but that is more from the bruises than ought else1 ,i think1 for-- ,her cheeks warmer to a deeper tint1 as she said3 ,i have a dozen or more bruises6 ,let us sit down1 he laughed1 and we can do two things at once1 eat and talk4 ,half an hour passed2 they ate and drank1 and grew almost merry as they exchanged a few notes4 ,when1 however1 in response to her question3 ,but you are ,english1 ,george8 he replied4 ,yes6 ,though as ,i speak ,syrian perfectly1 and ,hebrew fairly1 it seems better for me not to appear to be ,english1 hence my ,syrian costume4 ,i feel ,i can trust you1 ,rose1 my new little friend1 so ,i do not mind telling you that ,i belong to a great ,english newspaper1 and as many of those now in authority are opposed to our paper1 ,i am passing as a ,syrian1 that ,i may better get my reports1 for our paper1 through to ,england4 ,she had started when he began to speak of his connection with a great ,english ,newspaper4 ,now she interrupted him1 saying1 in a cautious whisper3 ,are you ,mr4 ,ralph ,bastin8 ,it was his turn to start now1 and in amaze1 he cried3 ,no1 ,i am not ,ralph ,bastin1 but ,i am his representative4 ,but---- ,his voice grew hoarse with excitement1 as he added1 low and cautiously3 ,what do you know about ,ralph ,bastin8 ,she glanced frightenedly around1 then with her finger raised1 she whispered3 ,the very air seems full of spies here1 as it was at ,babylon4 ,she leant towards him until her lips almost touched his ear1 and whispered3 ,lucien ,apleon1 ,the ,emperor1 has decreed that ,ralph ,bastin is to be slain6 ,tell me more1 ,rose1 trust me absolutely1 dear child6 ,his voice was very hoarse as he spoke4 ,how do you know this8 he added4 ,but perhaps you had better tell me who and what you are1 dear child6 ,he leant to her that his voice might be a whisper only1 for he realized her warning of a moment ago4 ,do not fear1 dear child1 ,i shall hold as sacred as my faith in ,god1 anything that you tell me6 ,she laid her pretty little plump hand in his1 and looked at him confidingly out of her great ,eastern liquid eyes1 as with a beaming smile1 she said3 ,i could not be afraid of you1 good ,george1 you saved my life1 and---- ,she sighed1 and there was a sound of supreme content this time in the sigh4 ,no1 she went on1 ,i could not be afraid of you1 my saviour from death4 ,and ,i can1 ,i will1 confide in you1 for ,i sorely need a friend1 and ,i feel1 ,i know ,i can trust you4 ,i had been asking ,god1 yesterday1 to help me1 to guide me to a friend1 and ,i feel that ,he has sent you into my life at this point when ,i1 a lone girl1 need most a friend4 ,someday ,i may be able to tell you all the story of my life4 ,it will be enough here1 however1 to tell you that1 for two months1 ,i have been in ,babylon1 with my brother--my only living relative1 as far as ,i know4 ,babylon---- ,she shuddered as she repeated the name1 and her face flushed scarlet1 then paled as swiftly1 while a look of horror leaped into her eyes1 and she gazed fearfully round as though she feared some terror of the foul and mighty city might even here have pursued her4 ,no tongue dare1 no tongue can tell a thousandth part of the abominations of that sink of iniquity4 ,i came here with my brother three days ago1 and he has joined hands with ,the ,people of the ,mark4 ,he is clever1 very clever6 ,they know that1 and because he will be useful to them1 he has been placed in high office among them1 and---- ,she paused abruptly1 and with another frightened glance around1 whispered3 ,do you know what 'the mark' is1 and what it means8 ,is it what has been flying over the ',eternal ,city' here1 in the centre of that great white flag that floats over the ,apleon ,palace8 ,i think you must mean that1 and if so it is the two ,greek characters for the name of ,christ1 with a crooked serpent put between them6 ,yes6 the one word came in merest whisper from her1 then leaning closer to him1 she went on3 ,but do you know1 ,george1 the import of the foul ,mark8 ,i believe ,i do6 he whispered back4 ,i believe it is what our ,scriptures call the ',mark of the ,beast4' ,if that be so1 as ,i am convinced it is1 it is the brand of the ,anti-christ--and---- ,he1 too1 seemed to feel the need of increased caution1 for he glanced fearsomely round1 as he added3 ,and ,i believe ,i know who the ,anti-christ will prove to be4 ,she shot a swift glance upwards to the casement window1 and with upraised finger1 leant towards him until her warm lips touched his ear1 as she repeated what she had said once before3 ,the very air here1 seems full of spies4 ,it was so at ,babylon6 ,lucien ,apleon is ,,the ,,anti-,,christ4 ,again her frightened glance travelled to the casement ,then she went on3 ,my brother always confided everything to me4 ,and in telling me the secret of the ,emperor ,apleon--though exactly how he learned it1 ,i cannot say--he never dreamed that ,i should have any scruples about serving the ,anti-christ4 ,but ,i love ,god6 ,i missed the great ',rapture1' when ,god's true children were taken 'into the air' with their ,lord1 but1 though it cost me torture1 or my very life1 during these coming days of awful persecution1 ,i can do no other than cleave to our ,lord4 ,in an unconscious gesture of loyalty to her ,god1 she had drawn herself up to her full height1 while her vow of fidelity had been uttered aloud4 ,for awhile longer they talked on together of ,babylon1 of ,the ,mark1 of ,anti-christ1 of the probable coming days of horror and persecution1 then a chance question of his as to how she came to learn to speak ,english so well1 led her to say3 ,shall ,i tell you my story8 ,the sun is too hot for you to go out for another two hours1 and---- ,yes1 tell me1 ,rose1 he cried1 not giving her time to finish her sentence4 ,he glanced towards a low ,eastern couch on the other side of the room1 as he added3 ,but before you begin1 ,i want to see you lying upon that couch2 after all you have passed through1 and in view of unexpected contingencies that may arise1 any hour1 you must rest all that you can4 ,he made her comfortable1 with cushions1 on the couch1 then seating himself cross-legged on the floor by her side--the posture was a favorite one of his1 and had been acquired1 long ago1 during his residence in the ,east--he bade her go on4 ,i was born1 she began1 in a little village at the foot of ,lebanon1 but when ,i was only six years old my father got work in the neighbourhood of ,trebizond1 and we migrated thither4 ,within a week of our arrival1 at our new home1 ,i became a scholar in a lady ,missionary's class of native children1 where1 among other things1 ,i learned ,english4 ,when ,i was eleven1 my father and mother died of small-pox1 and ,i became a little waiting-maid to my dear ,american missionary teacher4 ,miss ,roosevelly1 living in the house1 with her1 of course4 ,my brother ,hassan1 was eight years older than me1 and he lived with a schoolmaster1 in ,constantinople4 ,i had also a dear old grandmother1 my mother's mother1 who lived about four miles from the tiny mission where ,i lived1 and1 now and again1 ,i was allowed to visit grandmother for two or three days at a time4 ,my life was an even1 regular1 but never monotonous one1 for ,i was always busy4 ,then1 a year or more ago1 there came an awful event in my life4 ,i was sixteen1 and ,i had gone to spend a few days with dear old grandmother1 and---- ,there came the faintest click in her voice1 and she glanced toward the lemonade caraffe4 ,his watching eyes saw her need1 and he reached the caraffe and a glass1 and poured out a draught4 ,she took a big gulp1 then sipped more slowly4 ,and while she drank1 he watched her and he realized more than ever1 how true and sweet as well as how beautiful her face was4 ,young as she was1 in development she was a woman1 as is invariably the case of maidens born under tropical skies4 ,it is true that her beauty was1 as yet1 of the tender1 budding type1 but it was the full bursting bud of the queen of flowers1 and already foreshadowed the wondrous brilliance of the full-blown blossom4 ,eastern though she was1 she had blue eyes--forget-me-not-blue--though the long silken eye-lashes1 and the thin1 arched1 pencilled-like eye-brows were raven black4 ,when she had finished her lemonade1 and had replaced the glass on the table1 she went on with her story4 ,it was the first evening of my home-coming to dear grandmother4 ,the sun was setting1 and the roseate gold of his departing glory was illuminating everything4 ,how lovely it all was6 ,the gold of that sunset--,i shall never wholly forget it1 ,i think--was everywhere4 ,it glittered among the tree-tops1 gilded the hill-crests1 changed the eastern horizon into a molten sea of warmest gold and colour2 and---- ,transfigured ,rose1 eh1 he broke in1 with a smile4 ,she laughed merrily as she said3 ,i am afraid ,i was forgetting myself1 talking so much description6 ,a shadow passed over her face1 as she went on3 ,how quickly everything was to be changed1 though6 ,grandmother's voice called me from inside1 ,come1 ,rose1 my child1 and we will give ,god our evening chant6 ,i am afraid ,i sighed1 as ,i turned from watching all that sunset loveliness4 ,it was not that ,i disliked our evening devotions1 but somehow felt that evening--as ,i have often done1 in fact--that ,i would fain worship ,god with all ,his evening miracle before my eyes1 and would fain then have lingered on in the glorious after-glow1 though that after-glow lasted all too short a time4 ,i turned into the house1 but ,i did not close the door1 for it would have seemed like sacrilege to have shut out all that glory4 ,i took my place by grandmother's side1 with my hands folded across my breast1 as1 together1 we chanted ',our ,father who art in ,heaven6 ,hallowed be ,thy name4' ,how it all remains with me1 and ever will1 all the little items of that last night of dear grandma's life6 ,i can seem to hear her voice even now1 she was very old1 and it quavered and quivered like one of our hill-country dulcimers6 ,our chant over1 grandmother prayed1 she prayed extra long that night and our quick night had come down before she had finished4 ,i lit a little lamp1 and we went to bed4 ,then---- ,a shudder passed through her beautiful1 reclining frame1 as she continued1 and her voice had a new note in it1 a note of pain3 ,it was about midnight4 ,the whole country slept4 ,there were sixteen small houses in our little village4 ,they all huddled close together1 7for once there had been a wall enclosing them7 suddenly there was a sound of gun-fire4 ,i leaped from my bed--,ah1 me6 ,i cannot describe it4 ,in half-an-hour the awful tragedy was completed4 ,every old man and woman was killed1 slain with a sword1 or hacked to death1 or speared4 ,babies1 and little children were brained against the walls of the houses2 strong men--fathers1 lovers1 sons--had been murdered with every wantonness of savagery conceivable4 ,the only persons spared had been the budding girls1 and one or two of the best looking of the women4 ,everything of value1 that was readily portable1 had been seized1 each raider keeping his own lootings4 ,then1 at last1 at a given signal1 the murderers and robbers reformed themselves into a solid company1 and rode away1 setting fire to the village in half-a-dozen separate places before they left4 ,i was1 of course1 one of the girls whose life had been spared4 ,the man who had seized upon me1 when1 in my fright1 ,i had run from my bed to the cottage door1 had flashed the light of a torch upon me1 and even now ,i can recall the fierce delight and satisfaction that leaped into his greedy eyes1 and the manner of his mutterings3 ,good6 ,good6 ,she'll sell well6 ,he stood over me while ,i dressed warmly1 then hurried me out into the open again4 ,grandmother had made no sound1 given no sign of waking1 and ,i wondered4 ,i wanted to go into the little room where her bed was1 but my captor would not let me--,i never saw her again1 and can only fear that1 if ,god had not already taken her in her sleep 7and sometimes ,i think this must have been the case71 she was slain with the rest of the old people4 ,of the next week ,i have no distinct remembrance4 ,i believe ,i travelled1 travelled1 travelled1 ate1 drank1 slept1 but all my faculties seemed numbed1 and my mind was largely a blank4 ,it was when ,i was being taken into ,constantinople1 that ,i began to arouse from my strange mental and physical stupor4 ,it was through the cool mist of the morning that ,i got my first glimpse of the city of which ,i had heard so much4 ,santa ,sophia1 rising like some beautiful dream-structure1 with the points of its four light1 airy1 minarets flashing in the sunlight4 ,then1 little by little1 kiosks1 tall sad-looking cypresses1 sycamores1 and the other thousand-and-one wonders of that city of beautiful and revolting contradictions1 took shape and form4 ,by seven o'clock we were in the heart of the city1 and breakfasting4 ,my captor had treated me with a certain rough kindness through all the journey1 and done his best to hearten me4 ,he had told me my fate--to be sold into a harem--but he had pictured it as glowingly1 as glitteringly as his rough eloquence would let him4 ,and1 with all the blood of countless centuries of ,eastern races coursing in my veins1 and in the more or less stunned1 stupified condition in which that awful night-tragedy had left me1 ,i yielded1 for the time1 to the fatalism with which we ,easterns are familiarized from our babyhood4 ,my captor was no novice at the business of selling a girl1 neither was he a stranger to the house to which he had taken me4 ,for1 after breakfast1 he showed me into a little room with one quaint1 ,arabesque window4 ,in this room there was a bath1 and every toilette requisite1 while1 from a tin box that he brought in1 he took out a number of most exquisite outer and under garments4 ,telling me to make myself as beautiful-looking as ,i knew how1 he presently left me4 ,i am afraid that for a time ,i was too overwhelmed to do more than weep4 ,then as ,i remembered that it would be the worse for me if ,i angered my master1 ,i bathed and anointed myself1 though ,i remember how once ,i paused1 as ,i scented my body1 and said1 through my blinding tears3 ',this is like preparing myself for a sacrificial altar4' ,i was sitting an hour later1 on an ottoman in the room outside the bath-room1 when ,i heard voices1 and steps1 and a moment later my master1 accompanied by a little tub of a man1 with fatted-hog kind of face1 greasy-looking1 and wrinkled with fat1 out of which peered two tiny black eyes--like currants stuck in a bladder of lard--and twinkling most villainously1 entered the room4 ,he was very richly dressed1 and bore the name of ,osman ,mahmed1 and1 as ,i afterwards learned1 he was very high in office and in favour with the ,sultan4 ,he was fabulously rich1 and1 excepting the ,sultan1 had the most extensive harem in the city4 ,i had1 as a child1 learned the ,turkish tongue1 and had no difficulty in following all that passed between the seller and buyer4 ,then after being lightly pinched1 pressed1 and squeezed1 and ogled1 the bargain was struck1 the money for my purchase was paid1 and my captor was instructed to take me1 veiled1 to the purchaser's palace at two o'clock that afternoon4 ,i was taken1 as arranged1 to the ,palace1 and given in charge of the head eunuch4 ,a few minutes later1 two female slaves took me to a large dressing-room4 ,here ,i was bathed again1 and sprayed with a very valuable perfume1 a curious blending of rose and patchouli4 ,i have three crosses tatooed on my body4 ,each cross consists of eleven blue dots1 one on each of my shoulders1 and one on my breast1 and ,i noticed a look of horror come into the faces of the two slave-women who were attending me1 but neither of them asked any question of me4 ,my hair was well-groomed1 and beautifully dressed1 and strings of gold sequins1 and glittering jewelled stars were twisted amid the swathes of my hair4 ,then came my robing in garments1 so rich1 so wonderful1 that they almost took my breath away4 ,when the very last touch had been given to this wonderful toilette1 one of the attendants gave me a cachou from a box to sweeten my breath4 ,then1 for a time1 ,i was left alone1 a strange and awful fear of some coming evil stealing over me4 ,for ,i could not forget the looks of fear and of terror of the slave-women1 at the sight of the crosses on my arms and breast4 ,wondering what type of place ,i was in1 ,i got up and looked out of the casement4 ,a marble court lay just below the window1 and1 in the centre of the court was a most beautiful marble basin1 quite twenty feet across1 from the heart of which there rose a fountain1 with a graceful jet d' eau1 flinging its spray high in the air4 ,two flights of balustraded steps led down into the basin1 a few white doves fluttered about the steps4 ,flower borders and beds were artistically dotted about the court2 and cool-looking1 shady bowers clung to the high walls like swallow-nests to the house-eaves4 ,but the beauty of all ,i saw could not drive from me the strange sense of dread of some coming disaster4 ,suddenly1 a huge ,sudanese eunuch appeared1 and signed for me to follow him2 and a minute later ,i was ushered into a room where the chief eunuch1 and that hideous little tub of a ,vizier1 who had bought me1 were4 ,the fat1 greasy face was distorted with rage1 the eyes were blood-shot and fierce1 and his voice was almost a scream1 as he cried out to me3 ',what is this they tell me of you1 you ,lebanon beast8 ,are you one of those dogs1 the ,christians8' ',i am6' ,i replied4 ,the fat little beast on the dais spat at me1 the foul expectoration falling short of my robe by barely a foot4 ',your body1 the body ,i bought1' he yelled1 'is damned by the cursed sign of the cross1 they tell me4' ,i gave him no reply1 and he yelled1 ',i will see for myself4' ,then to the two eunuchs1 he yelled3 ',strip her6' ,the men did his bidding1 and nude1 and shamed1 ,i stood before that foul tyrant4 ',bring her closer6' he yelled1 and the big ,soudanese lifted me bodily1 and dropped me upon my feet on a mat not a yard from the ,vizier4 ,he glared at the tatooed cross upon my breast1 then with a fearful curse1 he spat full into my breast1 the vileness running down the sacred sign4 ,then1 as a fiendish look filled his face1 he ordered the chief eunuch to send me for sale in any market that would be open for such carrion4 ,at a word from the chief eunuch1 the big ,soudanese snatched me up in his brawny hands1 tucked me under his arm1 as a father might laughingly carry his five-year-old boy1 and bore me off4 ,the rest of the story is all too wonderful for more than the merest outline4 ,i was being taken through the streets1 veiled1 of course1 to a dealer in girls1 when suddenly ,i saw my brother ,hassan1 coming towards me4 ,my veil1 of course1 would prevent his knowing me1 but tearing off my veil1 ,i leaped towards him1 crying3 ,hassan1 ,hassan1 save me6 ,she paused in her recital1 her voice choked with deep emotion for a moment1 then1 as she recovered herself1 she went on3 ',how wonderful are ,god's providences6 ,his ways are past finding out6' ,hassan was walking--when ,i met him--with an officer of the ,american ,embassy--,hassan was clerking for this officer--and though the eunuch tried to make a fuss1 when he knew who the officer was1 he scuttled back to the ,palace as hard as he could go4 ,that night1 ,hassan and ,i left the city1 lest there should be any attempt to seize me1 and-- ,she paused suddenly1 and he leaped to his feet at the same instant1 for1 from the direction of the city1 there came sounds of loud and prolonged hurrahing4 ,i will go out and see what is going on6 he said4 ,perhaps1 he added1 in these disturbed times1 it would be well for you to fasten the doors1 while ,i am gone4 ,whether the people of the house or ,i1 return first1 you can easily ascertain who it is1 before you open4 ,meanwhile1 find your way to the other parts of the house1 and make yourself coffee or anything else that you may need--and1 ,he held out his hand--3 ,good bye1 for the present1 and1 another time1 you must tell me the rest of your wonderful story1 and especially how it came about that you knew so much of ,christianity and yet did not share in the ',rapture' of ,christ's own4 ,with the warmth of her ,southern1 ,eastern nature1 remembering how he had saved her1 she lifted the hand he gave her1 to her lips1 and kissed it passionately1 leaving two heavy tear-drops on it1 when she dropped it4 ,a moment later she was alone4 ,she had barred the outer doors1 when he left4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,hero-,,worship4 ,neither ,george ,bullen1 or the ,lebanon ,rose1 whom he had so opportunely saved1 had had any idea of how rapidly time had fled during that afternoon4 ,on reaching the street1 and looking at his watch1 ,george was amazed to find that it was past six o'clock4 ,moving as briskly as it was wise to do1 so as not to call attention to himself1 he made his way to where the noise of the multitude told him that something extra was happening4 ,he soon discovered that the excitement came from a kind of impromptu mass meeting that had followed upon the appearance of ,apleon riding on his now celebrated black charger4 ,the first thing which struck ,bullen was the fact that1 already1 every one seemed to be wearing the ,covenant sign--,the ,mark of the ,beast4 ,he himself appeared to be the only person who was not wearing it4 ,and--was it fancy8 or did ,apleon's eyes fix on him with a momentary scowl4 ,the second thing which struck him1 was the intense admiration and homage of the great crowd--all classes alike seemed absolutely infatuated--for this ,emperor-,dictator of the world1 ,lucien ,apleon1 ,the ,anti-christ4 ,two cries rose loud and laudatory from the multitude ,who is like ,apleon8 ,who dare oppose him8 ,it was the ultimate fruit of the jingoism of the previous years6 ,this is what ,john beheld1 ,bullen told himself1 all the world wondered after the ,beast6 ,they are1 already1 worshipping him1 in their poor deluded hearts1 as a ,god6 ,almost1 it seemed to the young journalist as though there was headed up in this one man--the ,man of ,sin--all that men through the by-gone ages had worshipped4 ,the captivating power of ancient ,babylon4 ,the mighty prowess of the ,medo-,persian1 the power that held all the world in subjection and awe4 ,the ,grecian polish4 ,the ,roman legal acumen1 and martial perfection4 ,all these things seemed combined in this one notable man4 ,and added to all this1 there was his resistless attractiveness1 his beauty of face1 his grace of form1 his wondrous voice1 his regal air--all the world wondered after him4 ,as1 after awhile1 he walked slowly homewards1 ,george ,bullen asked himself the question3 ,how can it have come to pass1 that in comparatively so short a time1 it should be possible for all the world to be ready to yield an almost idolatrous obedience to one man8 ,unconsciously to himself his pace slackened1 it was as though his mind had willed to have time to review things that should answer his question1 before he should reach his rooms1 and the consideration should be broken into4 ,there was first1 he mused that gradual falling away from the ,truth of ,god1 for a full half of the nineteenth century--very gradual1 very slow1 and very subtle at first1 but growing bolder each year1 until1 in the early part of the first decade of the twentieth century1 men calling themselves ,christians1 taking the salaries of ,christian ministers1 openly denied every fundamental truth of the ,bible--,sin1 the ,fall1 ,the ,atonement1 ,the ,resurrection1 the ,immaculate ,birth of ,christ1 ,his ,deity1 the ,personality of ,satan1 the ,personality of ,the ,holy ,spirit1 and everything else in ,god's word which clashed with the flesh of their unregenerate lives4 ,then there was the giving heed to seducing spirits and teachings of demons 7demonology1 called spiritism7 'forbidding to marry' 7doctrine of ,lust1 known as ',free ,love4'7 ,great forces were at work during the latter part of the nineteenth century1 and more especially in the early part of the twentieth1 all of which were preparing the way for the ,anti-christ4 ,what blinded intellects called ',progress1' was really ,apostasy4 ,and ,scientists1 ,materialists1 and ,humanists1 and the world's teachers were all looking for some great outstanding genius1 some super-man4 ,the ,believing ,church1 before the ',rapture1' had its ,hope1 a ,hope given by ,god of ,a ,man who should head all things up in ,himself1 and clothe ,his ,church with ,his own glory4 ,and that ,man came1 the ,man ,christ ,jesus1 the ,lord of ,glory4 ,and all the time the world had its hope1 and just as ,christ1 the ,hope of the ,church1 said ',i will come again1' so ,he also said1 as regards the world's hope1 ',another shall come in his own name1' and now-- ,george ,bullen paused in his walking and looked back to where the laudatory shouts of the deluded multitude1 still rose around ,apleon4 ,and now1 he continued1 that other has come1 come in his own name1 and the world has received him4 ,as late as nineteen hundred and eight1 one of the world's so-called 'great thinkers1' a ,d4,d41 too1 said3 ',we still wait for ,the ,genius who shall state our fundamental faith in accordance with that insight which the modern man has gained4' ,that 'great thinker1' if he is living1 ought now to be satisfied1 for his ',genius' has appeared4 ,and if he still possesses a ,bible1 let him turn to ,revelation1 thirteen-eighteen1 and he will know how all his fancied man-progress was prophesied for nearly two thousand years ago in the words3 ',here is wisdom4 ,let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast2 for it is ,,the ,,number ,,of ,,man2 and his number is #fff4' ,oh1 yes1 in a hundred and one ways1 the coming of the ,anti-christ1 and the consequent worship of his ,satanic-energized personality1 was well-paved2 for the world relegated to the limbo of the past1 ,god's evangel as effete1 superstitious1 worn-out1 and it was then prepared for the ,devil's lie1 the ,great ,delusion4 ,by this time ,george's feet had carried him to the door of the house4 ,he knocked1 as arranged before leaving1 three slow1 deliberate knocks and two others1 sharp1 quickly-following4 ,almost instantly ,rose appeared at the door4 ,she had prepared an evening meal1 and over the supper-table he told her all that he had seen and heard1 while out1 adding3 ,the whole world will be abjectly at the feet of that man of ,satan1 presently4 ,for a few moments they talked on together1 then she rose to clear the table4 ,his eyes followed her in all her movements1 for1 in spite of her bruised stiffness1 all that she did was done so deftly1 and every movement of her beautiful form was full of the grace of perfect ease4 ,now1 almost for the first time1 it came to him with full seriousness1 ,what am ,i to do with her8 since1 saving her1 housing her ,i have1 to a certain extent1 made myself responsible for her8 ,when she returned to the room1 after clearing the last thing from the table1 he said3 ,we must face your future1 ,rose6 ,what are your plans1 or haven't you any8 ,i am afraid ,i have no plans1 she returned4 ,you see1 good ,george1 ,i was so terrified at all ,i heard from my brother1 that ,i simply got away as quickly as ,i could1 without any plan for the future1 other than that there has always been1 at the back of my mind1 an idea1 that should ,i ever 7from any cause whatever7 become a refugee1 ,i should make my way to ,england4 ,for1 rightly or wrongly2 ,i believe the peoples of all the world have always associated with ,england the two thoughts of safety and liberty4 ,lifting her eyes to his1 a bright smile filling all her face1 she went on3 ,i am not without money4 ,i have nearly twenty-five pounds with me4 ,the question is1 where would one--who would rather die than wear the ',mark of the ,beast'--be safest8 ,in ,england1 do you think8 ,i don't know1 ,rose4 ,my place is there1 because my duty lies there4 ,and now that ,i have1 ,i think1 finished all that ,i can do here1 ,i ought to be getting back1 at once4 ,i ought1 ,i think1 to go to-night4 ,at ten-thirty there is a good service to the ,west1 but ,i cannot leave you alone here4 ,i fear that death1 in some way1 must have overtaken the people of this house1 so that ,i cannot remain here1 but must leave the house to its fate4 ,but about you1 ,rose8 ,i cannot leave you1 like the house1 to your fate6 ,with the absolute trust of a little child1 she stretched her hands towards him1 saying3 ,good ,george1 my saviour already from one dreadful death1 save me again please4 ,take care of me until we get to ,england1 take me with you1 ,i will be no expense to you1 ,i will give no trouble1 ,i will-- ,her clinging1 child-like trust moved him greatly4 ,he took the two pretty1 plump little hands in his1 and holding them in a clasp1 firm and tight1 as though by his grip upon her he would give her an assurance of safety1 he said3 ,take you with me1 little one1 of course ,i will4 ,and now that is settled we will talk over our plans1 for ,i think we ought to leave by that ten-thirty ,western-bound service4 ,each hour after to-night1 the service will become more crowded1 and we had better avoid the crowd1 if we can4 ,george ,bullen had never had much to do with women4 ,no woman had ever quickened by one extra beat his heart or pulse4 ,yet now he felt himself strangely1 mysteriously drawn to this sweet young ,lebanon girl4 ,he realized that it was no time for love-making1 yet he would have been of marble not to have been moved by her trust in him1 and by her sweet1 gracious personality4 ,at ten-thirty that night they were clear of the place1 and homeward-bound to ,england4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,anti-,,we-,,ism4 ,sir ,archibald ,carlyon1 proprietor of the ,courier1 and ,ralph ,bastin's employer1 had just arrived at the ,courier office4 ,the whilom middle-aged1 sprightly old man was as bowed and decrepit as a man of ninety4 ,as he entered the editorial private room1 ,ralph1 for one instant1 did not recognize him4 ,then1 as he realized who it was1 he sprang forward with an almost son-like solicitude1 and helped him to a chair4 ,sir ,archibald1 what has happened8 he cried4 ,the old man lifted weary1 hopeless eyes1 out of which all the old-time flash had gone1 and nothing but heavy dullness remained4 ,have you heard from my boy1 from ,george8 he asked4 ,no1 why1 is there anything the matter1 ,sir ,archibald8 ,ralph's tones were full of alarmed anxiety4 ,the baronet's hand had been thrust into his breast-pocket1 as he spoke4 ,he took out a letter and handing it to ,ralph1 groaned out the two words3 ,read that6 ,ralph caught his breath as his eyes took in the first lines3 ,dear ,uncle1 by the time you receive this1 ,i shall be beyond this life1 though where--in that outer world1 that world beyond--,i can--not tell4 ,ralph had not turned to the signature1 he knew the writing too well1 and knew it for bright1 happy jocund ,george ,carlyon's4 ,he read on3 ,all that has happened in the world1 of late1 has driven me mad4 ,dear old ,tom ,hammond wrote me fully of his change of heart1 and besought me to face the whole matter of my 'eternal destiny1' as he termed it4 ,i simply did not reply to his letter4 ,three days later he was taken1 with all those others1 to ,god4 ,since then ,i have plunged into everything trying to drown thought1 and remorse1 but ,i cannot1 so ,i am ending all--there's a mad thing to say1 as if death could end all4 ,though ,i do not doubt but what many other fellows will do what ,i am doing now4 ,good bye1 good old ,hunky ,archie1 ,your unhappy1 rotten1 ,,george4 ,as ,ralph lifted his eyes from the paper he found ,sir ,archibald's fixed upon him1 and the anguish in the poor old dull eyes drew tears to ,ralph's4 ,we found him1 cried the old man1 in the boathouse1 by the lake1 with a bullet through his temples4 ,my poor boy6 ,my noble boy6 ,dry-eyes1 but with a soul full of anguish1 his features1 too1 twisted with the anguish of his soul1 the old man rocked himself for a moment in his chair4 ,looking up suddenly1 he startled ,ralph by the bitterness of his tones1 as he said3 ,god forgive me6 ,but ,i could find it easy to curse our clergy1 our ministers1 our bishops1 our teachers1 for that when we looked to them1 and paid them1 to tell us the right1 the true thing1 they let us go on deluded by the belief that attendance upon the outward form was sufficient to make us sure of ,heaven in the future4 ,why1 ,bastin1 good fellow1 do you know that more than half of the clergymen with whom ,i was well acquainted1 are among those whom ,god has left behind1 and not one of those whom ,i know1 thus left1 has a mite of concern about their state1 but seem to have gone right over to the ,devil1 if ,i may so say it4 ,what does it all mean8 ,ralph began to speak kindly1 sympathetically to him1 but the old man suddenly interrupted with3 ,and yesterday's article in 'the ,courier' upon the opening of that ,temple at ,jerusalem1 with all that about the ',mark of the ,beast2' that mock 7,i suppose it was mock7 miracle1 with the fire consuming the sacrifice1 and then that awful portent of darkness1 thunder1 and lightning--but no rain4 ,it reminded me of the scene at ,calvary1 when the ,christ was crucified4 ,what does it all mean1 ,bastin8 ,what ,i have said in that article1 ,i believe1 ,sir ,archibald4 ,the events in ,jerusalem1 during the last three days are the beginning of the reign of ,anti-christ4 ,for years1 blinded by ,satan whom most of us1 unknowingly1 served1 and blinded by what we termed the ',progress of the ,age1' and of the ,world1 but which ought to have been recognized for what it really was1 the growing of the ,apostasy1 which has now begun to be avowed and absolutely universal--blinded1 ,i say1 by all this1 ,sir ,archibald1 we suffered many mighty forces to stealthily1 powerfully work together so that the climax that has come upon us1 was made absolutely easy4 ,if we had known our ,bibles only a tithe as well as we knew our newspapers1 we should have seen that all we were glorying in1 under the name of ',progress1' was but a perfecting of human systems1 leaving ,god1 and ,his purposes1 and ,his plans utterly out of the question4 ,we went to our churches1 our chapels1 we had a 'form of ,godliness1' but we tacitly1 and controversally1 in print and speech1 'denied the power thereof4' ,we not only made it possible1 but easy 'for one man of ,master-mind to assume universal dominion1 and to be the object of universal worship1 as ,apleon1 the ,anti-christ1 soon will be4' ,and now1 ,sir ,archibald1 we are on the eve of a gigantic blend of all religions1 with all commercial undertakings4 ,the more ,i study ,god's word in the light of all that is happening1 the more clearly ,i see this4 ,how often1 in the old days--say from the mid-eighties--professing ,christian men1 when expostulated with as to the difference between their professed creed of the ,sunday1 and their daily practice in business1 would say1 'oh1 bosh6 religion is one thing1 business is another6' ,then1 as the years moved on1 all kinds of trading concerns sprang up professedly religious1 and conducted on professedly religious lines4 ,but even the truest ,seers in the ,church of ,god would hardly have dared to predict that in a comparatively few years the final outcome of this trend in events would be an absolute coalescence into one vast system of the world's many religious systems and of the world's commerce4 ,the most that the ,seers of ,god1 in ,his church1 dared to say of the future was that the principle of such a combined system was suggested by the text of ,rev4 xiii4 ,for the second ,beast 'caused the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first ,beast 4 4 4 4 ,and he had power 4 4 4 to cause that as many as would not worship the image of the ,beast should be killed4 ,and he causeth all1 both small and great1 rich and poor1 free and bond1 to receive a mark in their right hand1 or in their foreheads1 and that no man might buy or sell1 save he that had the mark1 or the name of the beast1 or the number of his name4' ,here1 for nearly two thousand years1 was the principle of this ,hell-devised1 ,devil-developed combined system of religion and commerce1 prophesied1 but now few even of ,god's choicest saints realized all that would mean4 ,the nineteenth and early twentieth century ,christendom had lost the ,bible ideal of ,christianity1 and had substituted a very material idea for ,god's idea4 ,the two decades--last of the nineteenth1 and first of the twentieth centuries--were marked by immense religious activities1 but while a merely religious movement might manufacture a ,christendom1 it could never make ,christians4 ,to be religious is one thing to be a ,christian quite another thing4 ,the vast bulk of the members of the so-called ,christian ,churches of those years1 had never been born again from above4 ,christian in name 7by virtue of membership in a ,church2 or by virtue of their subscription to a creed2 or by a careful attendance upon the forms of their own particular church7 they were yet only religious1 because ,god's word regards those only as ,christians in whom ,christ indwells1 and none can be indwelt by ,christ save those into whom ,he has come in the birth from above4 7',born again' ones47 ',except a man be born again1 he ,,cannot see the ,kingdom of ,god' much more live in it4 ',that which is born of the flesh is flesh1' and 'flesh and blood cannot inherit the ,kingdom of ,god1' but only those spiritually born--born from above4 ,we only become ,christians by re-generation4 ,in the years immediately before the ',rapture1' professing ,christians1 and even professedly ,christian ministers1 men who had taken vows before ,god to preach the 'whole counsel of ,god1' and who received their salary avowedly for this purpose1 scouted1 and often publicly denied the necessity of the ,new ,birth4 ,blind leaders of the blind1 they surely will have the greater punishment4 ,but to return to the other thought4 ,the last twenty years of the nineteenth century1 and more so the first ten years of the twentieth century1 was marked as an age of centralization and concentration of all kinds of interests1 commercial1 and religious4 ,each year1 the trusts and monopolies in the commercial world became more and more concentrated1 until it has become perfectly easy for ,lucien ,apleon1 ,emperor-,dictator of the ,world1 to govern and control 7from that beautiful1 hellish city1 ,babylon the great17 every business interest in the world4 ,two days ago1 at ,jerusalem1 the ',covenant ,sign'--so called--but which ,god calls the ',mark of the ,beast'--was donned by three or four million people1 in the holiday spirit4 ,but what was donned voluntarily1 in a holiday spirit1 forty-eight hours ago1 will have to be branded on every one's person in the universe in three and a half years time--or less--or else the refuser of the degradation will have to seal his or her loyalty to ,god by their life4 ,in three and a half years from now1 ,sir ,archibald1 the image of ,lucien ,apleon1 will be set up in the ,temple of ,jerusalem1 and1 ,i believe1 in every other great religious centre of the ,world--,st4 ,peter's1 ,rome2 ,st4 ,paul's1 ,london2 and so on in all our great cities1 and world centres4 ,i have been studying this subject naturally1 and ,i find that one great scholar 7,hengstenberg7 says1 that though one image is spoken of1 yet having regard to the sense of the original1 'a multitude of images is meant4' ,but religiously1 ,bastin1 religiously8 cried the old man4 ,how did the condition of things in the end of the nineteenth1 and the beginning of the twentieth centuries1 help to make it possible for all the world presently to worship the ,beast1 and his image8 ,there was an almost childish querulousness of tone in the old baronet's questioning4 ,all those years1 began ,ralph1 were marked by a wonderful activity on new lines of deliverance for the human race1 from the ills that had grown up around the vast bulk of that race4 ,god's plan was for man's regeneration1 a change of heart and life--a working from the centre to the circumference4 ,but the churches--all denominations--of the years we are speaking about1 began endless schemes of deliverance that the man1 as they hoped1 might be changed from the outside--that is to say1 man's idea of benefitting man was by an outward reform4 ,they failed to recognize the fundamental fact that all the ',ills of ,humanity1' so called1 proceeded from man's natural depravity1 from man himself1 and not from his environment4 ,we failed to see that a reformed race would only mean a perpetuation of all the old natural lusts1 and presently1 bring about a return to the old condition of things1 while a regenerated race would hold reform in it1 and that that reform would not only be perpetual1 but ever increasing in its perfecting4 ,then1 too1 the great religious denominations became fired with the idea of a consolidating1 unifying process that should smelt down all denominations into one4 ,to do this every type of religion should find a place4 ,what would it matter if one or more of the religions denied the ,deity of ,christ8 that others did not accept the ,bible as the ,inspired word of ,god and so on8 ',the doctrine of ,christ1' was gradually eliminated from almost all preaching and the doctrine of a divine humanism--',the divinity of man1' became largely the new cult4 ,i believe1 from all that ,i can gather1 one of the first steps towards this elimination of 'the doctrine of ,christ1' could be traced in the continued elimination from the various denominational hymn-books 7as new ones were issued beginning as far back as the late seventies7 of hymns relating to the facts of the ,atonement and other kindred subjects1 and the substitution of odes1 poems1 etc41 in which aspiration took the place of experimental religion4 ,the hymn-books of more than one1 or two1 or three denominations1 showed this retrograde movement1 through their several successive issues4 ,then1 side by side with this ,anti-christian movement1 there went on silently that gathering out from the world1 and from the merely professing ,christian church1 those who were1 by virtue of their ,new ,birth1 through faith in ,christ1 the recipients of ,eternal life1 and who1 when that glorious ',rapture' took place awhile ago1 were caught up into the air as a body of living believers to be joined for ever1 to their head--,christ2 thus robbing the world of what ,christ ,himself called 'the salt of the earth4' ,with a groan1 ,sir ,archibald cried3 ,god help us1 ,bastin6 ,what fools we were6 ,then with a weary upward look into ,ralph's face1 he rose to his feet1 saying3 ,i must be going4 ,i've arranged to meet the lawyers in half-an-hour from now4 ,good-bye1 dear fellow4 ,i will come up to town to see you1 or you must come down to see me1 before the wind-up of the paper4 ,good-bye4 ,the two men wrung each other's hand1 then parted4 ,ten minutes later ,george ,bullen and ,rose arrived4 ,amazed to see his friend with an extraordinary beautiful girl1 ,ralph was presently listening to all the wonderful story of their meeting1 etc4 ,later on1 when1 for a moment or two1 the two men were alone together1 in the inner room1 ,ralph asked ,george what he proposed to do with the beautiful girl8 ,there is but one thing ,i can do1 he replied4 ,i must marry her1 and that soon4 ,it is no time1 in the ordinary sense1 to be thinking of 'marrying and giving in marriage1' yet1 under the circumstances1 ,i can do no other4 ,i care for her already1 as ,i never cared for any woman1 and her affection for me is touching in its clingingness4 ,he smiled a little sadly1 as he added3 ,it is well that there is a little company of us here in ,london1 ,believers in ,god1 and therefore believers in marriage4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,george ,bullen and ,rose were married within the week of their landing in ,england4 ,the ceremony took place in a little company of believers1 who gathered on ,sunday 7old-count of time7 and once on a week-night1 in a little hall that had been used for a ,sunday ,school in the old days4 ,sunday ,schools1 like many of the other religious institutions1 of the old days before the ,rapture1 were quite a thing of the past4 ,marriage was one of the things of the past4 ,some years before the ,rapture1 a booklet entitled ,we-ism had been published1 in which the author had unblushingly declared3 ,women1 absolved from shame1 servitude1 and inequality1 shall be enfranchised1 owners of themselves 99 99 99 ,we believe in the sacredness of the family and the home1 the legitimacy of every child1 and the inalienable right of every woman to the absolute possession of herself4 ,the doctrines and practice of affinity1 the problem plays1 and sex novels1 of the first decade of the twentieth century1 had all materially helped to make the unregenerate mind and heart ready to receive free love in its widest1 grossest forms4 ,while a certain teaching of ,christian ,science had had an overwhelming power in the same direction4#a ,all these forces had helped to make the doctrine of illicit love acceptable in these early days of the ,anti-christ reign1 so that it was only among the little gatherings of true ,believers1 that marriage was sanctified into the sacrament it had been in the good1 true old days4 #a ,we prefer1 in a book of this character1 to keep back the actual terms of the filthy statement4 ,author4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,abomination ,,of ,,desolation4 ,the three-and-a-half years since the ,covenant with ,lucien ,apleon1 on the night before the opening at the ,temple in ,jerusalem1 had been signed1 had practically expired4 ,god's judgments had been seen in many ways upon the earth during these forty-two months4 ,the position which ,apleon now held1 as the ,world's ,dictator1 had not been the work of a day4 ,wars1 no longer local1 but practically universal had1 for many long months at a time1 been the order of the history of the world4 ,nation shall rise against nation1 and kingdom against kingdom4 ,these wars occupying only months at this period1 would have occupied scores of years had they been events of the mid-nineteenth century4 ,but with the perfection of hideousness--one might safely write ,hellishness--of war's latest devices the work of destruction1 and almost annihilation became short and sharp4 ,aerial warfare helped to bring about this consummation more speedily4 ,the firing of a bomb or of a torpedo from an aerial war engine often accomplished in an hour what could not have been accomplished1 a few years before1 under months1 often years of old-fashioned war4 ,these fearful conflicts were not confined to those of kingdom and nation against kingdom and nation1 but citizens of one city fought with themselves1 civil war was on the rampage4 ,the lust of war1 the lust of blood1 born of vile passions1 burned in the breasts of men and women--for with the growth of the woman's rights question1 and the establishment of the equality of the sexes1 bands of women fought bands of women4 ,these ,amazons1 indeed1 wrought even fouler cruelties and butcheries than the men1 for as there is no fouler odour under the sun than that of rotted lilies1 so the depths to which the lilies of the human kind--women--will descend is fouler and deeper than the abysses of fall of men4 ,the hideous wars--international1 civil1 and personal conflicts--resulted1 as wars ever do1 in famine and pestilence4 ,only in this case1 these later horrors had been fearfully aggravated1 terribly prolonged4 ,the picture of the famine is most striking4 ,the rider of the black horse is shown bearing a pair of scales1 typifying the exactitude of weight--for single grains counted in these days4 ,a man's full day's wage would purchase only a pint and a half of wheat 7a choenix7 and that would form but a scant feeding for the day for himself4 ,but there will then not be wheat enough to go round1 and people will hail barley with the rapture of starving souls4 ,the tendency of the days in which we write these lines1 is an ever-increasing luxury in eating and drinking1 and this1 too1 among all classes4 ,that tendency will increase more and more1 so that the inhabitants of the famine stricken earth will feel scarcity more than they would otherwise have done4 ,the pestilence followed the famine1 until from war1 famine1 and pestilence a fourth of the entire population of the earth was swept away4 ,during the last twelve months quite a crop of false ,christs had arisen4 ,each of these1 in his turn1 had had a certain following for a brief period1 and each had had an untimely end4 ,the only really notable impostor was a man who had suddenly appeared in ,london1 and who had immediately attracted immense attention4 ,his knowledge of scripture1 of the prophecies especially1 was marvellous to those whom he addressed4 ,no one ever attempted to verify his quotations1 much less his connections of scriptures4 ,for as ,jannes and ,jambres1 ,pharaoh's two chief ,magicians1 withstood ,moses by demonology and jugglery1 so1 by a hellish jugglery1 did ,conrad the ,conqueror 7as this false ,christ styled himself7 juggle with the scriptures4 ,apleon1 the ,anti-christ1 had1 apparently1 taken no notice of any of the petty tribe of mushroom-like false ,christs4 ,that he was well acquainted with the sayings and doings of each of them goes without saying1 as it was equally so as regarded this more presumptious of the crew ,conrad the ,conqueror4 ,there were many1 in ,london especially1 who wondered that ,apleon did not appear and refute this man's claims1 if they had no foundation4 ,the evident success of the imposter wrought his own downfall4 ,inflated with his success he publicly declared that ,apleon would perish beneath a blast of his 7,conrad's7 nostrils1 and announced that on a certain evening at ten o'clock on ,st4 ,paul's steps he would publicly re-state his claims1 and also defy ,apleon4 ,in the first year after the ,rapture1 the whole of the shops and warehouses on both sides of ,ludgate hill1 with all the purlieus at the back of each range of buildings1 had been demolished1 so that a huge open space1 spreading fan shape1 7the handle at ,st4 ,paul's7 swept out1 ever-widening1 on the left as far as the approach of ,blackfriar's ,bridge1 on the right through ,farringdon ,street to the ,viaduct ,bridge4 ,within this space a million people could not only have congregated1 but have heard distinctly1 without any effort1 the merest whisper spoken into the latest phone discovery the ,hearit4 ,as1 too1 every bit of that open space was many yards below the level of ,st4 ,paul's steps1 every one had a perfect view of all that transpired there4 ,the night in question1 when the latest and greatest of the false ,christs1 ,conrad the ,conqueror1 had arranged to defy ,apleon1 proved to be exceptionally dark4 ,three quarters of a million people were gathered in ,the ,fan--that open space had been christened ,the ,fan on account of its shape4 ,it was admirably lit by the new light ,radiance1 while a perfect blaze of radiance illumined the huge scarlet-covered1 scarlet-draped platform that had been erected immediately in front of the steps of the ,cathedral4 7,it was all very stagey1 very theatrical1 but then that was characteristic of the new age and regime47 ,the false ,christ appeared1 and was greeted with a curious mixture of groans and hisses1 and of cheers4 7,a keen judge might have been pardoned if he had said that the bulk of the cheers were ironical47 ,speaking in his ordinary voice1 the suction plates of the ,hearit transmitted his words to the farthest remove of that ,fan so that all could easily hear4 ,with a kind of gentle gravity1 at first1 he began by saying3 ,nearly nineteen hundred years ago when ,i walked this earth1 at my first advent1 ,i warned my disciples--and through them the world--that many false ,christs would come1 but when it was said ',lo1 here6' or ',lo1 there6' that they were not to go hither and thither1 many of these false ,christs have appeared1 and have tried to lead the people astray4 ,oh foolish people6 ,how easily were they bewitched6 ,and how worse than foolish the imposters were4 ,they might have known that ,i should not have suffered them to take ,my ,name in vain4 ,for ten minutes he talked thus1 then suddenly changed his tone1 and raising his right arm--it was long1 thin1 gaunt1 and the wide-flowing sleeve of his white seamless robe1 fell back showing the lean limb almost to the shoulder--he poured out a defiant speech against ,apleon1 adding ,i have challenged6 ,i wait for my challenge to be accepted4 ,a sudden1 awesome silence fell upon all the gathered1 listening thousands4 ,they had not long to wait1 for in that same instant a fierce crimson light shone in the dark heavens above them1 and looking up they saw a fiery ruby scroll like flame rushing downwards through the sky4 ,an instant later the fiery scroll resolved itself into the characters of the ,covenant ,sign 7,the ,mark of the ,beast47 ,with a swoop1 like that of some crimson ,albatross1 the thing descended until it seemed almost to touch the platform where the challenger ,conrad stood4 ,then1 to the amaze and delight of the vast audience in ,the ,fan1 out from convolutions of the central sign of the ,mark1 ,apleon stepped on to the platform4 ,his aerial chair 7on this occasion made in the form of his own number and sign7 rose swiftly again and hovered mid-air4 ,the false ,christ was as white of face as his robe4 ,he visibly cowered and shrank before the coming of the giant figure of the ,world's ,dictator1 as the latter strode in three long strides across the platform4 ,for one brief second1 amid the hush and silence of the absolute awe that rested on the mighty audience1 challenger and challenged stood facing each other4 ,then ,apleon's voice was heard1 as with a sweep of his hand he uttered the one word3 ,,perish1 thou ,fool6 ,as his hand swept the air in the direction of the false ,prophet1 a wide sheet of flame leaped out of space1 enveloped the white-robed figure1 and it was instantly consumed4 ,as at the burning of the sacrificial lamb at the dedication of the temple at ,jerusalem1 so now1 the flame that had consumed the challenging imposter floated a yard or two over the spot where he had stood1 and slowly resolved itself into ,the ,sign of the ,covenant 7,mark of the ,beast17 in pure ruby flame4 ,he doeth great wonders1 so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men1 and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do4 ,apleon turned towards the mighty gathering1 and said triumphantly3 ,so perish all impostors6 ,a thunder of cheers rose from three quarters of a million throats6 ,instantly followed by the chorus of the ,apleon ode6 ,hail6 ,hail6 ,hail ,man of ,men6 ,world's ,deliverer6 ,,apleon6 ,like a living thing of writhing flames1 the brilliant car swept downwards from the sky1 where it had waited4 ,almost1 it seemed to skim the scarlet floor of the platform and to scoop up its owner1 for none saw ,apleon lift a foot to step into it1 yet the next moment he was soaring away seated within the upper convolution of the serpent sign4 ,for hours1 thousands of the people remained within the sweep of the great ,fan1 talking of all that had occurred1 and more absolutely convinced than ever that ,apleon was ,god--their ,god4 ,thrice during the next hour after ,apleon's departure1 three separate faithful souls--one of the three a woman--raised a testimony against the ,man of ,sin4 ,but each one met with death within thirty seconds of their first utterance4 ,and white robes were given unto everyone of them2 and it was said unto them1 that they should rest yet for a little season1 until their fellow-servants also and their brethren1 that should be killed as they were1 should be fulfilled4 ,there were1 scattered over all the earth1 many thousands of believers in ,god1 praying ,thy kingdom come4 ,many of these had turned to ,god during the first days of the shock of realization of things as they truly were1 when the ,church had been translated to the heavenlies4 ,the number of these believers had been added to considerably1 during the awful times of war1 pestilence and famine1 for these horrors 7so plainly predicted in the word of ,god7 had taught them to read their ,bibles with new eyes1 and to receive its truths and obey them4 ,of these believers1 many had been1 and many1 many more were yet to be slain on account of the ,word of ,god1 and on account of the testimony which they held fast4 ,the whole of the three-and-a-half years had been rife with growing horrors1 with licentiousness1 and every evil possible to the unregenerate mind1 and heart1 and life1 when full license is given to them4 ,the license and indulgence permitted--even arranged for1 in the first instance--by the apostate church with a view to the more perfect enslavement of the world's worshippers1 had brought forth a full harvest of evil4 ,the effect of license is disorder1 and presently anarchy4 ,for three-years-and-a-half the apostate church had grown in assumption and in all abominations1 and the effects of the license permitted1 and fearfully abused1 had produced a condition of things which became such an intolerable burden1 that the time had become ripe for the authority in all this1 to be destroyed4 ,the apostate church was the cause and the authority for all the excess of evil of the times1 hence the ten-kingdomed confederacy which had at first buttressed the impious system1 now1 by united action1 destroyed it4 ,and the ten horns which thou sawest1 and the ,beast1 these shall hate the harlot1 and shall make her desolate and naked1 and shall eat her flesh1 and shall ,,burn ,,her ,,utterly ,,with ,,fire4 ,for ,god did put in their hearts to do ,his mind1 ,,and ,,to ,,come ,,to ,,one ,,mind1 and to give their ,kingdom unto the ,beast1 until the words of ,god shall be accomplished4 7,rev4 #ag3af-ag7 ,man is a religious animal6 ,and ,lucien ,apleon1 endowed with special wisdom of his father and ,master--the ,devil--recognized this necessity for a religion from the outset of his career4 ,the ,devil has always recognized religion1 encouraged it1 and has even instigated it in a hundred forms1 during the last #f1jjj years4 ,only every effort of his ,satanic power and force has been directed towards the luring of the religious soul away from ,god4 ,the ,devil is a ,ritualist6 ,he loves to entangle souls in a ritual1 and the more sensuous the ritual1 the better he is pleased1 because such sensuousness and ritualism ministers to the flesh1 and while men and women's religion is fleshly1 it cannot be spiritual4 ,and the ,,father seeketh spiritual worshippers1 for they that worship ,him1 must worship ,him in ,spirit and in ,truth4 ,then1 too1 ,satan knows that all religiousness that is of the flesh1 tends to make its devotees anxious for the development of a good-self within them1 while true1 spiritual life in ,christ1 leads to the continual consciousness that in me1 that is ,,in ,,my ,,flesh1 dwelleth no good thing4 ,lucien ,apleon encouraged religion1 but not the religion of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ--for he1 ,apleon was ,the ,anti-,christ4 ,it was he1 with his emissaries1 taught and guided by ,satan1 the ,arch-enemy of ,god1 and of ,his ,christ1 that had subtlety1 secretly energized the world-religion1 that followed the taking away of the church4 ,that world-wide system had been an amalgamation of all the then existing false systems of religion4 ,with the taking away of the church every type of license had been gradually permitted to the worshippers in the churches of this infernal system1 until1 at last1 as we have seen1 the governments had been compelled to abolish what at first they had helped to establish--for license had bred such a character and temper in the peoples that it became a menace to all order4 ,all this was part of ,satan's organized plan1 for1 when the moment of the crushing out of this licentious1 abominable religious system arrived1 his plans1 as regarded ,lucien ,apleon1 ,the ,anti-christ1 were so perfected1 by the ripeness of the world for the ,anti-christ rule1 that all else seemed plain sailing4 ,the poor1 duped world knew ,apleon only as the great ,,super-,,man1 long looked-for1 come at last1 the ,world's ,deliverer1 who was presently to be universally acclaimed as the ,world's ,dictator4 ,the world had long been familiar with the system of private chaplains attached to great men's households4 ,it was familiar knowledge to them that ,dan1 the ,free-booter1 7in the days of ,the ,judges7 must needs have a renegade1 runaway ,levite for a priest1 his salary thirty shillings a year1 a suit of clothes and his victuals 7as much as a renegade was worth74 ,absalom could do little1 in his revolt1 without the religious brand1 so must needs have ,ahithophel4 ,and down to their own times1 the ,world1 at the period of ,apleon's coming1 was familiar with private chaplains4 ,apleon's chaplain1 a swarthy-skinned ,jew 7to all outward appearance17 was undoubtedly like ,apleon himself1 a ,satanic resurrection1 or if not a resurrection1 certainly energized by the same infernal power4 ,the ,holy ,ghost calls this man ,the ,false ,prophet4 ,he exercised all the authority of ,anti-christ1 in his presence1 as well as in his absence4 ,eight times the emphatic word he causeth is written of him1 by the ,holy ,spirit1 and a more hideous1 lying1 extraordinarily wicked catalogue of deeds is no where else to be found in the world's history3 ,he causeth the earth1 and those that dwell in it1 7does that refer to the foul spirits who dwell in that awful under-world1 from which we believe the ,anti-,christ1 as ,judas re-incarnated came1 or does it refer only to dwellers on the earth8 ,it may well mean both67--,to worship the first beast4 ,as well as his co-associate1 ,apleon--,the ,anti-christ1 the false ,prophet not only claimed the power to work miracles1 but he did work them1 showing a baleful but powerful supernatural control over the forces of nature4 ,and he doeth great miracles 4 4 4 ,and he deceiveth those that dwell ,,on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to work in the presence of the ,beast4 ,in ,egypt1 three thousand four hundred or more years ago1 it was demonstrated by ,jannes and ,jambres that there is a supernaturalism of the ,devil1 as well as of ,god1 against1 as well as for ,god4 ,both ,anti-christ and his subaltern1 the false prophet1 dealt largely in the miracle of fire4 ,the two witnesses1 who had testified that they had come from ,god1 had consumed their persecutors1 again and again by fire1 and the ,hell-born imposters felt the necessity of showing that they1 too1 could command fire4 ,utterly destroyed by the ten kings1 the world was without an organized religion1 and was ready for the fouler1 fuller rule of ,satan--the worship of ,anti-christ1 and his image4 ,as ,god had ever had a ,trinity of personality and power in ,himself1 so ,satan in his damnable1 deceivable counterfeiting has now his trinity4 ,himself 7,satan7 the embodiment of evil1 the suggester1 creator1 energizer1 he makes a mock ,christ--,apleon1 the ,anti-christ1 answers to the second ,person of the divine ,trinity4 ,while ,apleon's chaplain1 the false prophet1 answers to the third person of the divine ,trinity4 ,energized by ,satan1 even as ,anti-christ himself is1 the false ,prophet becomes a mighty force among the world's peoples1 persuading them that ,apleon really is ,god1 and worthy of worship4 ,the whole world has seen and heard of the marvellous miracles of ,the ,prophet1 as he is called4 ,the infatuation of all the world for the ,man of ,sin1 ,lucien ,apleon1 was almost absolute and complete4 ,he ruled the world1 every department of it--social1 political1 commercial1 religious4 ,he blasphemed ,god4 ,he blasphemed the translated ,church that occupied the ,heavenlies with her ,lord4 ,day by day1 week by week1 month by month he grew bolder1 more impious1 more cruel1 more persecuting to the saints that were then living to ,god4 ,and through all this time ,enoch and ,elijah continued their witness for their ,lord4 ,as judgment prophets1 they had been sent in this age of judgment1 to resist the awful1 the gigantic blasphemies of ,anti-christ1 and to give to the poor1 vain1 deluded world its last awful warning4 ,for bad as had been the apostate ,church1 so recently destroyed1 the worship of ,anti-christ himself1 would be infamously more impious4 ,the world hated them1 yet feared the two witnesses4 ,more than once when blatant blasphemers1 agents of ,apleon1 had openly opposed them1 and cursed them and their witnessing1 these witnesses of ,jesus ,christ1 the faithful and true witness1 had sent forth fire from themselves and consumed their enemies4 ,and the world had learned to fear them1 though they ignored their warnings4 ,many times1 too1 they had wrought fearful1 havoc-making miracles1 so that as it was with the ,egyptians so1 the days of ,moses1 so it came to be with all the peoples who witnessed the miracles of these prophets1 ,enoch and ,elijah1 for they shut the ,heaven1 in many places1 that rain should not fall during the days of their prophesying4 ,they turned the waters into blood1 and smote the earth with every plague as often as they willed4 ,until the people hated1 and feared them1 yet1 all the time1 they hardened themselves against ,god1 and the testimony of the two prophets1 as ,pharaoh hardened himself against ,god4 ,the multitudes learned that though they were absolutely powerless to hurt the ,,two ,,witnesses themselves1 yet1 given that ,,the ,,witnesses were not present the mob found that they could work their will upon their followers--and they did1 continually4 ,it was the morning before the great event that had been announced1 the nature of the coming event was not known1 though a hundred speculations were rife4 ,the city was astir early1 for the night had been too sultry for much sleeping1 and everyone was more or less excited1 as to what would be the great event which the next thirty hours--more or less--was to bring4 ,as the sun mounted higher and higher the whole of the districts around the city belched forth their tens of thousands of curious people of every nationality1 their goal the city itself4 ,suddenly--the suddenness was like some magical effect--the two worst-hated beings in all the world1 appeared on a mound of marble blocks1 within a hundred yards of and outside the ,jaffa ,gate4 ,they were ,god's two gracious1 faithful ,,witnesses4 ,the multitudes began to converge towards the spot where they had suddenly appeared4 7,it was a curious fact1 however much people might hate the testimony of the ,,two ,,witnesses they seemed to have no power to pass on1 when once the men of ,god began to preach47 ,men and brethren of every clime1 rang out the voice of ,enoch4 ,once again1 in the name of ,jehovah--,jesus1 we lift our voices to warn you of the shortness of the time left unto you in which to repent1 and to turn unto ,god4 ,turn ye1 turn ye1 for why will ye die8 as die you certainly will under the breath of the ,christ1 when ,he presently shall come--for ,he shall 'slay with the breath of ,his mouth4' ,we preach not the gospel of the grace of ,god which1 aforetime1 before ',the ,rapture1' was preached1 that gospel which was good news of glad tidings to all sinners4 ,that gospel told how ,he had lived on earth for over thirty-years--,god inhabiting a human body1 for ,god was in ,christ reconciling the world unto ,himself--it told how ,he died a death of shame and agony1 a substitute for sinners1 so that whosoever should believe on ,him1 should not perish1 but have everlasting life4 ,and as many as believed on ,him gave ,he power to become the sons of ,god4 ,it told of ,his coming again to receive all those sons of ,god1 dead or living1 unto ,himself in the ,heavenlies4 ,less than four years ago ,he came4 ,thousands who knew the truth1 but had not accepted it1 before ,he came1 did so after the ,,rapture of the saints1 and thousands of those have already sealed1 and many more thousands will yet1 seal their faith with their blood4 ,the days of our testimony draws shorter now1 we have few more opportunities of warning you1 and of witnessing to our ,god4 ,but here1 once more1 this morning1 we preach unto you the gospel of the ,kingdom4 ,the gospel of the coming ,kingdom of ,christ4 ',for ,he shall reign whose right it is1 and of ,his kingdom of peace1 and joy1 and love there shall be no end4' ,for nearly two thousand years men have prayed ',thy kingdom come4' ,it is coming soon1 but before ,he begins ,his reign1 ,he shall put down all enemies under ,his feet4 ,none will be able to hide from ,him for ,his eyes will be as a flame of fire4 ,those who will now seek ,him1 accept ,him as their king1 whether ,he comes in their life-time1 or whether they lay down their lives as faithful witnesses to ,his coming1 all such we proclaim1 shall live the glorious life which ,he has for such4 ,the crowd numbered a hundred thousand now1 and the majority of them kept up a sullen murmur against the preaching4 ,a native prince of a notable eastern realm1 plucked a javelin-type of weapon from his cumberband and hurled it full into the face of the preacher4 ,it never reached its mark1 but1 boomerang like1 it returned to the thrower and shattered and entered his right temple4 ,but for the density of the crowd1 the eastern would have dropped to the earth like a stone--for he was dead4 ,a way was made for a few to drag the body clear of the mob1 then1 once clear1 those who dragged it thence returned to the crowd4 ,without natural affection1--a trait of the ,times--had degenerated into without common humanity4 ,for half-an-hour longer ,,the ,,two ,,witnesses preached1 warned1 pleaded with the multitude4 ,then they stepped from the pile of marble blocks1 and passed quietly away4 ,as was customary after every such session of testimony1 the crowd split up into many groups and discussed the whole situation4 ,on this occasion some five hundred men and women1 mostly ,jews1 who had received the testimony1#a were moving off in a body1 when an unlocked for incident occurred4 ,through all the witnessing of ,god's two prophets1 there had stood among the listening crowd1 a tall1 swarthy-faced man1 richly attired1 a ,jew by race1 7that was evident from the marked ,hebrew lines of his face74 ,the expression of his face1 during the ,,witnessing1 had alternated between mocking and rage4 ,now his eyes followed the departing band of men and women who were loyal to the ,gospel of the ,kingdom4 ,with a scornful1 devilish laugh1 he pointed to the departing people1 as he cried3 ,if we cannot kill the spawn that preaches1 why not kill the hatched-out ones8 ,the crowd was ripe for anything4 ,with a roar1 like unto ,hell itself1 they raced after the godly band and in a moment surrounded them1 brandishing the long murderous knives of the east1 and revolvers of the west4 ,the foul work of wiping out the whole band of faithful ones began4 ,every shot went home1 every knife found a faithful heart4 ,the twin lusts of hate and of religious fanaticism burned in the breasts of the mob4 ,it was a carnival of cruelty and blood4 ,everyone wanted to see it4 ,other thousands hearing the sound of the shots1 poured through the gates of the city4 ,everyone wanted a sight of the entertainment--for this the slaying was regarded1 as1 of old-time1 ,rome entertained herself by filling the eighty thousand seats of the great theatre1 to see the ,christians thrown to the lions4 ,there was not a coign of vantage to which the mob did not climb4 ,they climbed upon the roofs1 the balconies1 held themselves perilously upon the sloping verandas1 they stood upon window-sills1 and hung from electric light pillars1 and tram-line standards4 ,they shouted1 and sang1 and urged upon the slayers to mutilate as well as kill the carrion4 ,then1 suddenly1 above all the din1 and above even the crack of revolvers1 the great song of ,apleon1 that foul ode of idolatrous laudation1 set to most wonderful music1 rang out from thousands of excited throats4 ,the song was ,hell-born1 and hellishly sung4 ,when1 a moment later the whole mob had trampled upon the slain believers--wantonly1 heedlessly trod upon them1--in their passage towards the city1 the swarthy ,jew who had incited the crowd to their deed of blood1 lit a cigarette1 and crossed to where his aerial-chair waited him4 ,he stepped into the upholstered seat1 and turned his head to watch the mob1 then with that evil laugh of his1 he muttered3 ,men are but sheep after all1 and will follow any bell-wether6 ,to his waiting driver1 he said3 ,esdraelon4 ,the next moment the chair rose in the air1 and like some wondrous bird soared away1 northwards4 ,the swarthy ,jew was ,apleon's ,chaplain1 the false prophet4 ,jerusalem was enormously crowded4 ,thousands upon thousands of people had come up from ,babylon1 as well as from every part of the world4 ,the news had been flashed all over the earth1 that some world-important event in connection with the ,emperor-,dictator1 would take place during this last week of the first three-and-a-half years of the ,great ,covenant4 ,at the time of the offering of the ,morning ,lamb1 just as the course of officiating priests were preparing for the slaughter of the lamb1 ,apleon's resident viceroy1 entered the ,temple enclosure1 followed by a military detachment1 and1 accompanied by ,apleon's chaplain1 he whom ,god the ,holy ,ghost has called the false ,prophet4 ,the latter ordered the priest in charge of the ,course1 to cease the offering1 and to the amazed protest of the priest1 he laughed scornfully1 vouchsafing no other explanation than that it was his and the ,emperor's command1 that all ,jewish worship-ritual should cease4 ,the priests could do no other than obey the command1 enforced1 as it was1 by the presence of the ,viceroy1 and the military force4 ,the ,high-,priest lived a mile away from the ,temple4 ,one of the minor officials went off to apprise him of this strange new order4 ,as the man made his way down the marble road to the city level1 he met a ponderous motor-driven trolley of great length--the thing was evidently bound for the ,temple4 ,two hundred workmen followed behind the trolley1 and the ,temple-messenger noticed that on the trolley1 lying beside the huge coffin-like packing-case that formed its chief burden1 were a number of hoisting and hauling tackles1 with a pile of handspikes1 jacks1 etc4 ,it was an hour before the messenger returned1 the ,high-,priest accompanying him4 ,by that time wonders--infernal wonders--had been wrought4 ,from the packing case there had been taken a gigantic image of ,lucien ,apleon1 and it had been reared upon a plinth of dark green marble1 upon the tessellated platform within the ,temple4 ,the statue was of gold1 and upon the green marble plinth was engraved3 ,i ,,am ,,that ,i ,,am6 ,in amazed1 frightened horror1 the ,high-,priest gazed for one moment upon the idolatrous abomination1 then1 as his blood boiled with a holy1 righteous indignation1 he thundered forth the words3 ,thou shalt have no other ,god before me4 ,thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image1 4 4 4 4 ,thou shalt not bow down thyself to them1 nor serve them3 for ,i the ,lord thy ,god am a jealous ,god--4 ,take that foul1 idolatrous thing hence6 he cried1 with passionate warmth4 ,his eyes were fixed upon ,apleon's chaplain1 7the false ,prophet7 whose mocking smile1 as he stood by the gang of workmen1 angered him beyond measure4 ,not a man moved at the order of the ,high-,priest1 and he thundered forth his command again3 ,take that abomination down1 and hence1 or ,i will call upon ,jehovah to send ,his judgment fire down and consume you all1 and the idol as well4 ,with a blasphemous oath1 the false ,prophet1 spat in the forehead of the fulminating ,priest1 and hissed3 ,silence1 fool1 idiot1 driveller6 ,as the foul spittle touched the face of the ,priest1 he fell prone upon his back on the pavement of the ,temple4 ,a dead hush fell upon everyone present1 for as they gazed upon the face of the dead ,priest they saw that the whole forehead became filled with the ,mark of the ,beast4 ,the silence of this awesome hush was suddenly1 startlingly broken by a peal of mocking laughter4 ,it came from ,lucien ,apleon's deputy1 the false ,prophet4 ,then1 more startling still1 the lips of the golden image parted1 and in deep1 solemn tones the idol cried3 ,so perish all who shall dare to oppose the ,emperor ,lucien's will4 ,this was no trick4 ,it was not a mechanical device within the image4 ,it was not a clever piece of ventriloquism4 ,of this we are assured--the image actually spoke4 ,god's word cannot lie1 and ,john1 under the command of ,god1 wrote it down3 ,it was given the false ,prophet to give spirit to the image of the ,beast1 that the image of the ,beast should even speak4 ,to give ,,spirit to the image6 ,what does that mean8 ,does it mean that life was given to it1 temporarily8 ,who shall say8 ,certainly it spoke6 ,unseen1 unnoticed1 at the very moment that the ,high-,priest fell1 slain by the false ,prophet1 there had entered the ,temple1 ,cohen1 who had been ,high-,priest for the first year of this new ,temple's history4 ,he slipped away as the image uttered its speech4 ,he met many of the priests of other of the ,courses1 as they were approaching the ,temple1 also numbers of the devout ,jews of the city and its suburbs1 and many from other parts of the world1 who had been specially drawn hither by the news that had been flashed world-wide1 as to some great event about to happen in ,jerusalem4 ,stay6 he cried4 ,his looks told of something serious1 and in an instant he was the centre of an eager1 anxious1 enquiring crowd of ,jews4 ,jehovah help us6 he went on4 ,for those who would be true to ,him now1 must be prepared for flight or for death4 ,apleon1 is a traitor6 ',he hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him2 he hath broken his covenant4' ,psalm lv4 #bj4 ',he confirmed a covenant with us for seven years4' ,daniel ix4 #bg4 ',the words of his mouth were smoother than butter1 but war was in his heart3 his words were softer than oil1 yet were drawn swords4' ,psalm lv4 #ba4 ,cohen1 even while he had been speaking had led the crowding ,jews away from that main road1 and now1 in a cul-de-sac1 he was continuing his words4 ,blind6 ,blind6 that we were1 all of us1 ,i1 especially1 for my ,gentile friend1 the editor of ',the ,courier'--,london daily paper--warned me4 ,he told me of the meaning of our own prophet ,daniel's words1 ',in the midst of the week 7the seven years of the covenant we made with that apostate7 he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease4' ,this he has done this morning4 ,the priests were stopped in their preparations for the morning sacrifice4 ',and1' said our father1 ,daniel1 'for the over-spreading of abominations he shall make it desolate1 even until the consummation4' ,daniel ix4 #bg4 ,brethren1 of the ,house of ,israel1 the ,lord our ,god is one ,god4 ,i am no ,mehushmad1 but in common with many of our rabbis1 ,i have read the ,gentile ,new ,testament1 and there1 in the words of the ,nazarene ,prophet1 7,matt4 xxiv4 #ae1 #af47 ,he prophesied exactly what has come to pass this morning in our beautiful ,temple1 for he said3 ',when ye 7that is we of the ,house of ,israel7 therefore1 shall see the abomination of desolation1 spoken of by ,daniel the prophet1 stand in the holy place 7of the ,temple7--whoso readeth1 let him understand3--then let them which be in ,judaea flee into the mountains 4 4 4 and pray ye that your flight be not on the sabbath day4 ,for then shall be great tribulation1 such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time1 nor ever shall be4' ,jehovah help us1 brethren6 ,this morning has convinced me that these times are upon us4 ,what this day will bring none but ,jehovah can tell6 ,my last word to you1 my advice to you all1 is1 flee this city1 flee the neighbourhood4 ,for weeks ,i have had it borne in upon my soul1 that the man we have covenanted with1 was working some deep1 subtle1 hellish scheme4 ,now he hath shown his hand1 there are but three courses open to us1 idolatry--worshipping that idol set up in our holy place1 yonder2 flight2 or death4 ,even as ,cohen harangued his crowd of priests and ,jews1 ,apleon rode up the white marble road to the ,temple4 ,the ,hebrew crowd was quite hidden from any observation from that main road4 ,it was well for them1 doubtless1 that it was so4 ,a moment or two after ,apleon and the mighty throng which followed him had passed1 the crowd of ,jews left the cul-de-sac1 and silently1 anxiously dispersed in various directions4 ,cohen found himself walking with the man who had been ,hight-priest last year4 ,together they conversed in low1 serious1 guarded tones1 until they suddenly discovered themselves close up to a mighty throng gathered about the now well-known witnesses1 ,enoch and ,elijah4 ,the two priests paused to listen to the witnesses' denunciations of ,apleon1 whom they designated ,the ,beast4--,the ,anti-christ4 ,both men had listened often before to these prophets of ,god1 and both had often been well-nigh convinced of the truth of the testimony of the two witnesses4 ,it is said1 whispered ,cohen1 to his fellow-priest1 that these two men are the two prophets of the ,most ,high ,god1 ,enoch and ,elijah--those two of ,god's servants who never passed through death4 ,the three and a half years of their witnessing1 replied the second priest1 have been crowded with incident1 miracle1 and much that has been supernatural4 ,they say that no man has seen them eat4 ,that1 like ,elijah1 when upon earth1 they too have been super-naturally fed4 ,then1 too1 nothing has been able to harm them4 ,apleon 7the priest's voice was lowered to the merest whisper7 has directed his agents to war against them over and over again4 ,they have shot at them1 hurled vitrol upon them1 and tried to seize them1 to bind them1 but as they have themselves testified again and again1 nothing can harm them until they have finished their testimony4 ,cohen bent closer to his fellow-priest1 as he whispered3 ,the book of ,revelation1 in the ,gentile ,new ,testament1 declares that 'they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days1 clothed in sack-cloth4 ,and when they have completed their testimony1 the ,beast that cometh up out of the abyss 7,i believe that is ,apleon7 shall make war with them1 and overcome them1 and kill them4' ,now if this come to pass1 then they will die to-day1 for it is a thousand two hundred and sixty days1 this very evening1 since they began their preaching1 and----4 ,but1 listen1 to what the one of them is saying4 ,the voice of ,enoch rang out as it had done five thousand years before1 when he had prophesied1 saying1 ,behold6 the ,lord cometh with ten thousands of ,his saints to execute judgment upon all2 and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed1 and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against ,him--4 ,but now the message of the prophet had in it testimony as well as warning3 ,have we not warned you for three years and a half1 that the man1 ,apleon1 whom you have all trusted in1 was but the tool of his father1 the ,devil8 ,have we not told you often that he worked upon your deluded minds and imaginations for one purpose only1 to keep you from ',the ,god of ,salvation1' and that1 presently1 he would set up his own image to be worshipped in that gilded thing of unbelief1 upon that mount1 yonder8 ,a peal of derisive1 mocking laughter greeted this statement4 ,the voice of the prophet cut the laughter1 with its supernatural incisiveness1 so that it rose clear and distinct above the laughter3 ,and now all that we prophesied has come to pass4 ,the image of ,apleon 7the abomination of desolation7 spoken of by ,daniel the prophet1 has this morning been set up in the ,temple over there4 ',and that ,man of ,sin 4 4 4 opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called ,god1 or that is worshipped2 so that he1 as ,god1 sitteth in the ,temple of ,god1 showing himself that he is ,god4' #b ,thess4 ii4 #d4 ,upon the pedestal of his image1 that was reared this morning1 he has caused to be engraved the very name of our ,jehovah ,god--',i ,,am ,,that ,i ,,am6' as he supposes it to be1 because it is thus translated in the ,bibles of the world4 ,there is no sense in that way of putting it1 as there is no sense1 nothing but vanity and coming failure and fall1 in that ',man of ,sin' himself4 ,but he has chosen to ape ,jehovah-,god by using ',i am1 that ,i am6' instead of the true translation which has evidently been hidden from him and which is3 ',i ,,am ,,he ,,who ,,am ,,for ,,ever6 ,he is ,anti-christ1 that denieth the ,father and the ,son4 #a ,john ii4 #bb4 ,the ,scriptures have been issued by millions1 every soul of you here has had an opportunity of knowing the things whereof we again testify4 ,you have heard1 or read1 or both1 7or you could have done if you would7 that he1 the ,man of ,sin1 'would cause an image of himself to be made1 that he would give life to it1 and that the image should speak' 7,rev4 xiii4 #ad1 #ae74 ,all this has happened this morning1 and all else will happen that is prophesied4 ,therefore we cry3 ,turn ye1 turn ye1 for why will ye die8 ,why should ye be stricken any more8 ,ye will revolt more and more4 ,from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in you1 but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores3 ,wash you1 make you clean2 put away the evil of your doings from before ,god's eyes2 cease to do evil4 ,turn ye1 turn ye1 for why will ye die8 ,strangely affected by the power and earnestness of this witness of ,god1 ,cohen and his fellow-priest turned reluctantly away4 ,in the heart of each of them was the determination to be clear of the ,jerusalem neighbourhood that very forenoon1 if possible4 ,in fact before one o'clock had struck1 that mid-day1 there had taken place a really remarkable exodus from the city and its neighbourhood4 ,of these1 many were ,jews1 in whose composition there was deeply engraved a deep-seated antagonism to all idolatry4 ,then1 too1 there were many ,kingdom believers 7by what other name can we call them1 since1 having missed ,salvation by the ,gospel of ,grace1 they now served ,god1 while waiting for ,christ's coming to set up ,his kingdom47 ,many of these fled the city and its neighbourhood1 for they counted not their lives dear when it came to a case of blasphemy and idolatry4 ,yet1 because the love of life is inherent with the race1 and because1 too1 these ,kingdom believers1 learned to bring others to ,god1 before the final judgments came1 and knowing that it was written that as many as will not worship the image of the ,beast shall be killed1 they fled ,jerusalem4 #a ,the ,author1 in common with every other public speaker1 and writer1 on these themes1 has been so often asked the question1 ,what of my loved ones who are out of ,christ1 how will they fare when we are gone1 and the ,church is gone8 ,let me say that the more ,i study the ,scriptures of the times of which this volume speaks1 the more ,i am convinced that of the many who are brought to accept ,christ 7in the ,gospel of ,his coming to reign1 the ,gospel of the ,kingdom17 through the sudden translation of the ,church1 even though they be ill-taught1 perhaps only half-hearted1 they will1 under the preaching of the ,,two ,,witnesses1 be wholly brought into fellowship with ,christ1 and will1 themselves in turn1 become faithful witnesses to the ,,truth4 ,there is nothing in ,scripture to warrant the belief that the preaching of the ,,two ,,witnesses will be confined to ,jerusalem1 and it is surely reasonable to suppose that ,london1 ,edinburgh1 ,new ,york1 ,chicago1 ,berlin1 and all other chief cities1 will hear their voices in witness and warning4 ,they will doubtless have thousands of converts1 ,jew and ,gentile alike1 or where will the great multitude whom ,john saw1 come from4 ,but all those left behind when ,christ comes1 who may be won to ,him afterwards1 will not only miss the glories of the ,heavenlies with ,christ1 but will suffer persecution1 and many of them death at the hands of ,anti-christ and his emissaries4 7,author47 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,death ,,of ,,the ,,two ,,witnesses4 ,apleon had been on the ,temple mount for two hours4 ,part of that time he had been in the ,temple itself1 in and out of which there passed continually1 streams of people1 all curious to see the wonderful image of ,apleon1 the image that had spoken1 and that had slain unbelievers4 ,apleon had watched the ever-moving crowds of dupes1 and noticed how every one of them bowed1 or prostrated themselves before his image4 ,he noticed1 too1 whenever his own presence had been realized1 that the worshippers1 while bowing before the image faced him1 ,apleon1 so that they really gave him the worship4 ,in spite of all that ,romanists1 and others of a similar cult1 may say1 the worship of an image or of a statue1 means the worship of the person imaged or sculptured--this is the very essence of all image-worship4 ,the great ,chrysostom1 in one of his records of his time1 says3 ,when the images of the ,emperor are sent down and brought into a city1 its rulers and multitude go out to meet them with carefulness and reverence1 not honouring the tablet or the representation moulded in wax1 but the standing of the ,emperor4 ,athanasius wrote3 ,he who worshippeth the image1 in it worshippeth the emperor2 for the image is his form and likeness4 ,and the worship1 in the ,jerusalem ,temple1 of the image of ,apleon1 7,the ,beast7 was the worship of the man himself4 ,there is a very curious word in ,habakkuk ii4 #i1 ,woe to him that saith to the wood1 ',awake6' to the dumb stone1 ,arise1 it shall teach4 ,apleon1 the ,anti-christ actually qualifies himself for that woe of ,god's4 ,a notice had been promulgated that in the ,broadway--the wide1 open square from which the great marble road to the ,temple opened out1--throughout the whole day1 the new ,covenant brands would be affixed4 ,the ,covenant sign1 had for three years and a half been mostly worn 7as we have seen7 in the form of a ring on the right hand1 or as a pendant frontlet upon the forehead4 ,some few million enthusiasts1 it is true1 had worn it branded on the flesh of the forehead1 but this had not been universal4 ,now it had been decreed by ,apleon1 and endorsed by his second1 the false ,prophet1 that the wearing of a detatchable ,sign1 be no longer permissable1 that all must be branded--or die4 ,brands1 in several sizes1 had been prepared1 which1 when pressed against the forehead1 and worked by a spring-lever1 left the damnable mark upon the skin in deep1 rich purple characters4 ,the surface of the branding instrument was peculiarly soft and yielding1 so that when1 by the automatic inking1 the mark was made1 there was never an imperfect sign1 but every character was truly formed4 ,the ink used1 claimed to be absolutely indelible1 and those who had tried it1 more than two years before1 had found no break in any single line or curve if either of the characters4 ,for two hours1 a hundred branders had been at work at their truly hellish task1 and if the donning of the badges1 three and a half years before had been in a veritable holiday spirit1 the acceptance of the brand1 now1 was with a blend of rapturous joy1 and of actual worship4 ,with the infernal cunning which has ever characterized ,satan's efforts to thwart ,god and ,his ,christ1 he has counterfeited every rite1 every sacrament of ,christ's ,church4 ,hence ,apleon1 ,satan's tool1 is very keen upon this matter of a baptismal sign4 ,he makes a sacrament of it 7i4 e4 an oath or covenant of fidelity47 ,to show their allegiance to his infernal lordship1 ,anti-christ's subjects must now wear his brand so that it can never be erased or removed1 and his chaplain 7,the ,false ,prophet7 causeth all1 the small and the great1 and the rich and the poor1 and the free and the bond1 to receive--literal translation--a stamp or brand1 on their right hand1 or on their forehead4 ,the preaching of the cross1 of ,jesus ,christ as the ,world's ,redeemer1 the putting away of sin1 and the gift of eternal life by faith in ,god's word of grace1 the baptism into the name of ,christ1 had1 for several decades1 been growingly scouted as foolishness4 ,an obsolete doctrine1 all that was voted4 ,men are far too intelligent to be bound by such a ,bible creed as that4 ,new times need new doctrines1 etc41 etc4 ,the twenty years immediately preceding the manifestation of the ,man of ,sin1 had been characterized by such utterances1 and many others infinitely more impious1 blasphemous1 and senseless4 ,but after the world by its wisdom knew not ,god1 it was ,god's good pleasure through the foolishness of the thing preached1 to save them that believe 4 4 4 ,because ,,the ,,foolishness ,,of ,,god is ,,wiser ,,than ,,men4 ,but when ,anti-christ shall promulgate his devil-doctrines1 senseless1 idolatrous1 humiliating1 the bulk of men of every grade and class1 will suffer themselves to be branded like cattle in a round-up4 ,believing the lie1 deluded by that universal lie1 they will have no choice1 save to be branded1 or to die4 ,and to yield themselves to the infernal brand will mean to be cut off for ever from ,god4 ,if any man worship the ,beast and his image1 and receive his mark in his forehead1 or in his hand1 the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of ,god1 which is poured out without mixture into the cup of ,his indignation2 and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels1 and in the presence of the ,lamb2 and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever2 and they have no rest day or night1 who worship the ,beast and his image1 ,,and ,,whosoever ,,receiveth ,,the ,,mark ,,of ,,his ,,name4 7,rev4 xiv4 #i-aa47 ,simultaneous with the beginning of the branding1 the two witnesses had taken up a position close by the branders1 and had persistently witnessed to the near coming of the ,lord in judgment upon those who wore the ,mark of the ,beast1 while1 at the same time1 they denounced ,apleon as the ,anti-christ4 ,over and over again during their testimony1 attempts had been made to silence them1 every conceivable death-attack had been made upon them--but nothing harmed them4 ,no weapon formed against them could prosper1 until their witness was completed4 ,and every one who had assisted in any form1 in attacking them1 had died in the act4 ,now1 ,apleon1 attended by the ten kings1 who had been summoned to ,jerusalem1 rode down from the ,temple4 ,at the branding station1 the ten kings dismounted1 and each received the foul mark on the forehead4 ,as the last of them received the brand1 a startled wondering cry burst from some of the multitude who thronged ,the ,broadway1 and following the many pointing fingers of the startled ones1 every one saw how that purple1 lambent flames played about ,apleon's forehead in the form of the ,covenant sign4 ,he doeth great wonders in the sight of men1 and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of these miracles4 ,rev4 xiii4 #ab1 #ad4 ,power was given him over all kindreds1 and tongues1 and nations4 ,rev4 xiii4 #g4 ,he shall do according to his will2 and he shall exalt himself1 and magnify himself above every ,god4 ,acclaiming him as very ,god1 the people suddenly prostrated themselves in worship before the great deceiver4 ,suddenly the voices of the two witnesses were heard4 ,both voices were clear and distinct1 yet neither clashed with the other1 even though each voice used separate terms4 ,they stood about a hundred yards apart from each other4 ,everyone rose to their feet1 every eye was fixed upon the two grand1 fearless faces1 as they thundered forth their words of warning of judgment1 of entreaty4 ,then suddenly they turned their gaze and their speech upon ,apleon himself4 ,as the ,te ,deum sprang spontaneously from the lips of ,ambrose and ,augustine1 each saint voicing an alternate stanza1 so now the two witnesses hurled their fulminations against the ,man of ,sin3 ,thou heart of all foulness and deceiveableness1 with the breath of ,his lips shall the ,christ slay thee4 ,isa4 xi4 #d4 ,thou marked one1 the ,lord shall consume thee with the spirit of ,his mouth1 and shall destroy thee with the brightness of ,his coming4 #b ,thess4 ii4 #h4 ,o thou enemy6 ,thy destructions shall soon come to a perpetual end4 ,ps4 lx4 #f4 ,it shall come to pass in that day 7when ,jehovah shall deliver ,his people out of thy hands7 saith the ,lord of ,hosts1 that ,i will break thy yoke 7,apleon ,emperor1 ,man of ,sin1 ,anti-christ7 from off the 'peoples' neck4 ,jer4 xxx #h4 ,judgment shall sit1 and ,christ shall take away thy kingdom1 to consume and to destroy it unto the end4 ,dan4 vii4 #bf4 ,tophet is ordained of old1 yea for thee1 thou ,man of ,sin1 it is prepared3 ,god hath made it deep1 and large2 the pile thereof is fire and much wood3 the breath of the ,lord1 like a stream of brimstone1 doth kindle it4 ,isa4 xxx4 #cc4 ,and thou shall be taken1 and with thee ,the ,false ,prophet1 thy co-adjutor1 he whom thou hast deputed to work miracles before thee1 and in thy foul name1 and with all those whom thou and thy ,false ,prophet have deceived1 who have received thy brand on them1 and who have worshipped thine image4--,these all1 you1 your prophet1 and your dupes1 shall be cast into a lake of fire burning with brimstone4 ,rev4 xiii4 #b1 #c4 ,rev4 xix4 #bj4 ,low and mocking1 a laugh broke from ,apleon1 upon whose brow there still played that lambent flame4 ,the laugh was caught up by the multitude1 until one far-reaching volume of mocking1 derisive laughter went rolling out-and-away from ,the ,broadway1 to ,gareth and ,goab1 and every other suburb of the city1 and back again4 ,as the last echo of the laughter died away1 ,apleon called1 to his ,viceroy3 ,where is the axe and the block8 ,here1 ,sire6 ,a score of men bearing broad1 gleaming axes1 with thrice a score of others1 bearing1 each three1 a blood-red enamelled block1 came forward into the centre of the square4 ,take those two drivelling prophets1 and behead them6 cried ,apleon4 ,a thousand hands were stretched towards the witnesses4 ,this time they were readily taken4 ,their bodies were dragged to the blocks1 and with one stroke to each1 they were beheaded4 ,with a shout of triumph1 that spread far and wide1 the people acclaimed ,apleon as ,god ,almighty4 ,let no man touch that carrion1 to bury it6 ,was the order of ,apleon4 ,that was to be doubly his hour of triumph4 ,all arrangements had been made for his official coronation4 ,an immense awning of purple and gold silk1 was stretched over the whole of ,the ,broadway4 ,the time occupied in stretching the whole thing was not more than sixty seconds4 ,a throne of ,ivory1 ,pearl1 and gold was set in the centre of the pavement1 beneath the awning4 ,everything was done with the rapidity of a stage-setting in a theatre--it was all very theatrical6 ,a score of trumpeters executed a wonderful fanfare1 then1 amid more pomp than the world had ever yet seen1 a crown1 of fabulous value and of extraordinary magnificence1 was set upon the head of ,apleon1 who occupied the throne1 each of the ten kings actually touching1 and helping to set the crown upon his head4 ,hitherto1 ,apleon1 though upheld by the ten kings and governments1 had1 after all1 been an un-crowned ,dictator4 ,now1 in the hour of his seeming triumph over ,the ,two ,witnesses1 he was crowned ,roman ,emperor of the ten-kingdomed confederacy4 ,when the coronation ceremony was finally completed1 and ,apleon1 mounted on his black horse1 and surrounded by the ten kings1 started to ride back to the ,palace1 he ordered messages to be flashed to all the cities of the world1 announcing three days of rejoicing over the slaying of the ,witnesses1 and also the announcement of his own coronation4 ,the rejoicings in ,jerusalem1 ,babylon1 and elsewhere1 over the death of ,the ,witnesses was wilder than the ,mafficking ,transcriber's note3 ,mafeking8 in ,england of the ,boer war days4 ,the two ,witnesses had been a source of torment and fear upon all peoples 7save those who clove to ,god7 and now that their headless bodies lay stark and dead on the marble pave of ,the ,broadway1 the people rejoiced upon them1 made merry1 and sent gifts one to another4 ,rev4 xi4 #aj4 ,the outrage upon decency1 sanitation1 and even common humanity1 in suffering the two bodies to remain unburied1 lasted three days and a half4 ,three days and a half was long enough period for the representatives of every nation1 gathered in the city and neighbourhood1 to be perfectly assured that they were dead4 ,and certain ones from among the peoples and the tribes and tongues and nations behold their corpses three days and a half1 and suffer not their corpses to be put in sepulchre4 ,rev4 xi4 #i4 ,when ,edward the #gth of ,britain1 lay dead in the great ,abbey of the ,empire1 it was counted high honour to be part of the silent guard over the coffin4 ,and men almost fought for the privilege to stand guard over the headless forms of the ,two ,witnesses lying on that marble pave in ,jerusalem3 ,it cannot be that a prophet perish out of ,jerusalem4 ,luke xiii4 #cc4 ,but these death-guards were not silent4 ,they laugh scornfully1 derisively1 and crack jokes upon the now silenced testimony of the ,two ,witnesses4 ,caricatures1 and comic cuts upon their lives1 their death1 their oft-repeated warnings1 were printed and sold in the streets of the city4 ,it was the evening of the fourth day after the setting up of the image in the ,temple1 and three and a half days since the ,witnesses were slain4 ,a last1 a final public function before the dispersal of the kings1 and others specially gathered for the coronation1 and other ceremonies1 had been arranged for #f o'clock in ,the ,broadway4 ,apleon1 and the other kings had gathered4 ,the trumpeters had blown one blast upon their silver instruments1 when a cry of horror burst from the gathered multitudes4 ,for the bodies of the ,two ,witnesses suddenly stood upon their feet4 ,they were facing ,apleon1 as they stood up4 ,their eyes met his startled1 fearsome gaze4 ,his face was deathly pale4 ,a tomb-like hush of awe and fear was upon the gathered peoples4 ,suddenly1 overhead1 three deep notes1 like thunder rolled through space4 ,the multitude thought it was thunder1 the resurrected ,witnesses knew it for the voice of their ,lord1 crying ,come up hither6 ,and instantly their bodies rose in the sight of all the people4 ,no awning was spread over the square1 this evening1 and every eye beheld the ascent of the resurrected saints1 a wondrous cloud seeming to upbear them upon its billowy whiteness4 ,an overwhelming fear fell upon everyone4 ,the arranged kingly function was suspended4 ,yet still the people remained4 ,it was as though they were spell-bound4 ,and while everyone waited1 wondering and fearing1 a low1 deep rumbling was heard beneath their feet4 ,then the earth trembled1 and rocked4 ,for one long1 shuddering instant every voice was hushed1 horror got hold of the people4 ,then in a moment yells and shrieks of terror escaped men and women alike4 ,from the roofs of the houses there came piteous cries for help1 for1 with the trembling of the earth1 the houses rocked like children's houses of cards4 ,it grew dark1 and bewildered by the sudden awfulness of the whole situation1 and maddened by the hopelessness born of the sense of insecurity of even the foot of ground upon which each stood1 the mob rushed blindly hither and thither4 ,panic1 in its most hideous form got hold of them4 ,in their blind1 unseeing rushes they collided with each other1 and a score of fierce passions leaped to life within them1 chief of which was a lust for war4 ,madly1 savagely1 senselessly1 neither knowing or caring with whom they fought1 they stabbed and shot1 and clawed and scratched1 and boxed and wrestled with each other4 ,the many horses stampeded1 and beat down hundreds of the people beneath their iron hoofs4 ,the darkness deepened1 it grew sooty1 inky4 ,the horrors pressed upon the people1 women and children1 and even men grovelled on their faces in the dust1 clutching and clawing at the ground4 ,thunder in the heavens1 and thunder under the earth deafened and terrified every soul4 ,fierce1 wide1 jagged ribbons of awful flame came out of the blackened heavens4 ,scores of thunderbolts1 red and flaming1 leaped out of the blackness of cloud above1 and1 hissing as they came1 wrought awful death among the mobs upon which they descended4 ,the smell of burning flesh filled the air1 making a new horror4 ,the thunder and rumble beneath the earth increased4 ,the whole surface of the city heaved like the swell of a storm-tossed sea4 ,chasms1 fissures1 gulfs yawned every-where1 and thousands of people toppled into the opened earth4 ,suddenly1 the whole heavens were filled with an appalling succession of frightful crashings2 it was as though hundreds of millions of powerful rockets were exploding in successive volleys of millions each4 ,beneath the earth1 thunders and crashings went on at the same time4 ,then1 in every direction1 the earth fissured and gaped and yawned wider than ever1 and with blood-curdling roarings and crashings1 a whole tenth part of the city tottered and fell into the yawning gulfs1 with thousands upon thousands of people4 ,slowly1 the rumble of falling buildings1 and the hideous thunders below and aloft died away1 and a strange1 awesome hush fell upon the city4 ,slowly1 too1 the darkness melted1 leaving the sky blood-red4 ,the blood gradually merged into pink towards the centre of the dome1 the pink became gold1 then every living eye in the city and suburbs became centred upon that golden centre1 and all saw the forms of the ,,two ,,witnesses1 with a pavement of dazzling white cumulus beneath their sandalled feet4 ,the wondrous scene was as the very voice of ,god to the watching multitudes1 if they could but have understood1 the voice testifying to the power and truth of ,god and ,his word4 ,it was the new1 the fashionable part of the city that had suffered in the earthquake and its attendant horrors--the part of the city where ,satan's seat was1 chiefly4 ,with the engulphing of the most fashionable part of the city1 there was a consequent heavy toll of human life4 ,seven thousand men of name1 of notable rank1 perished in the earthquake4 ,when the last building had tottered into the yawning chasms of the riven earth1 and the souls of the late deriders of ,god had toppled into their hell2 when the clouds of dust had cleared away2 when no further earth-rumble came1 then with a gasp of terror the remainder of the gathered thousands of people ,gave glory to ,god4 ,there was no worship2 no sorrow for their sin2 no repentance2 not even any remorse2 certainly no conversions of the whole mass1 any more than were of ,jaunes and ,jambres1 when they declared1 of the ,miracles of ,moses and ,aaron1 ,this is the finger of ,god4 ,some there were1 who had been near to yielding to the pleadings of the ,two ,witnesses1 who were wholly won to ,god in this hour1 but the vast mass of the people continued to worship the ,beast4 ,their cry to ,god had been but a terror-stricken cry4 ,by the morning the gathered masses had wholly recovered themselves1 and the suspended public function was carried out4 ,one part of this function was the partition of ,palestine among certain rulers1 millionaires1 and others4 ,he 7,anti-christ7 shall divide the land for gain4 ,dan4 xi4 #ci4 ,with the horror and fear of the survivors of this earthquake1 the ,second ,woe was finished1 and behold the third woe cometh quickly4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,flight6 ,,pursuit6 ,throughout the latter half of the ,day of ,blasphemy1 when the ,abomination of ,desolation1 had been set up in the ,temple of ,jerusalem1 the exodus of fearsome1 fleeing people went on4 ,with nearly three million visitors1 from every land1 the more or less rapid departure of a hundred thousand or more1 was not noticed4 ,in fact1 more than that number of persons might be expected to leave every twenty-four hours--the ordinary exit of visitors after the special visit4 ,but1 presently1 it was reported to ,apleon1 that a mighty exodus of ,jews and ,gentiles1 few of whom wore the ,brand of the ,covenant1 had taken place1 and was still taking place4 ,he had spies everywhere4 ,the whole of ,jewish population1 with those on visit to the city for this special occasion1 were either for the ,anti-christ or against him1 those against him were but a very small minority4 ,the deluded1 idolatrous ,jews will hate and betray their nearest and dearest relations and friends1 as ,micah prophesied that they would3 ,trust ye not in a friend1 put ye not confidence in a guide2 keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom4 ,micah vii4 #e4 ,and endorsing this1 ,jesus said3 ,they shall deliver you up to be afflicted1 and shall kill you3 and ye shall be hated of all1 for my name's sake4 ,and then shall many be offended1 and shall betray one another1 and1 shall hate one another4 ,matt4 xxiv4 ,with father1 mother1 brother1 lover1 sister1 friend all acting as betrayers of their own kith and kin1 ,apleon soon learned much that he needed to know as to the fugitives4 ,he discovered that the many thousand fleeing ,jews had1 first1 at least1 travelled southwards1 and he instructed his emissaries to ascertain the objective point of these fleeing ,jews4 ,he left the whole thing in the hands of his chaplain1 ,the ,false ,prophet1 who had the essence of all the subtlety of ,hell in his composition1 with all the devilish ingeniousness of cruelty of every ,inquisitor who had ever practised in past days4 ,a lamb in seeming1 he was a dragon in actual nature4 ,rev4 xiii4 #aa4 ,spies had informed him that ,cohen1 the first high-priest1 was undoubtedly the leader of the fugitives1 but that his wife and daughter had refused to accompany him4 ,they are wholly with our ,world-,lord1 ,apleon1 one of the spies had said4 ,will ,cohen1 think you1 asked the chaplain1 steal back under cover of one of the dark nights and try to induce his wife to join him8 ,no1 laughed the spy4 ,he will think himself well rid of her4 ,she has been the plague of his life4 ,every drop of her blood is as sharp as the juice of a lime4 ,her lips distil wormwood4 ,and vinegar is a cloying sweetness compared to her kindest thought or utterance1 and---- ,but the daughter1 interrupted the chaplain1 sharply1 ,what of her8 ,is she a replica of her mother8 ,not a bit1 not a bit of it6 ,and the eyes of the betrayer flashed with a new light4 ,miriam is as beautiful as a houri1 as fair as the light of a sun-lit day after a black night of tempest1 and as sweet in disposition as ,rachel1 the favoured of our father ,jacob4 ,if she is all this1 why is she unwed8 or perhaps she loves1 and perhaps we could make her a tool of her lover1 and thus find out where her father has led those dogs of fugitives4 ,there was a look of hate and malice in the eyes of the betrayer1 as he answered3 ,yes1 she loves1 loves as her very life1 but the man she loves is an even greater zealot than her father1 and he has gone with ,cohen--curse him6 may he never more be seen by ,miriam6 ,the chaplain laughed maliciously3 ,oh6 the wind blows in that quarter1 eh8 ,you love the fair ,miriam1 but another has cut you out6 ,the betrayer was inclined to be surly1 but the chaplain knew how to speak like the lamb1 and quickly mollified the young ,hebrew4 ,then1 together1 they plotted and conferred1 their plotting based on the supposition that young ,isaac ,wolferstein1 the fugitive lover of ,miriam would return1 secretly1 to induce ,miriam to share the loyal-to-,jehovah flight of himself and her father4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,the vineyard of ,cohen was an eighth of a mile from his villa1 and the villa was a mile and a half from the ,jaffa ,gate of the city4 ,miriam had wandered out as far as the vineyard1 for her heart was too sore to sleep that night4 ,she made her way to the arbour1 where so often ,isaac and she had held sweet and tender intercourse4 ,during the last twelve hours1 she had turned unto ,god and unto the ,messiah who was so soon to come to deliver ,his people and to set up ,his kingdom4 ,she had gazed upon the resurrected ,two ,witnesses1 as they had appeared1 glorified1 in the ,heavens1 after that awful earthquake4 ,and1 recalling the words of their preaching1 and all that her lover and father had urged upon her before they reluctantly left her1 to flee the city1 she had been suddenly bowed before ,god1 in penitence and prayer4 ,if only ,isaac would come back for me1 she moaned1 as she dropped wearily upon the seat of the arbour4 ,he has come back1 ,mirry1 darling6 ,at the first sound of the voice that spoke1 she leaped to her feet1 crying3 ,isaac6 ,isaac6 ,forgive me1 dear1 that ,i---- ,she got no further1 his arms enclosed her fair form1 his hot lips gave and received love's pure caress1 and when at last he spoke again1 it was to say3 ,god has given us again each other1 darling1 and nothing but death must ever part us again4 ,the hours passed and to them they seemed but as minutes4 ,he had much to tell of the flight of the ,believers1 as he termed them1 and had many words of message from her father4 ,the morning comes early in ,palestine4 ,at the first blush of dawn they stole out of the vineyard1 to where his motor waited4 ,they had eyes only for each other1 as1 hand in hand1 they moved through the morning twilight4 ,then1 with a bewildering suddenness1 from the off-side of the motor1 a dozen crouching men sprang out4 ,five minutes later1 amid the mocking1 jeering laughter of their captors1 they were being taken to the city--only not together4 ,miriam was forced to ride in the car seated by the side of their betrayer1 the man whom she hated1 and whose love-overtures she had scorned and repulsed4 ,her wrists and her ankles were bound with cords1 and she had been lifted into the car1 bodily1 by the man of her hate4 ,to humble her and to shame her1 the cur had kissed her again and again before her captive lover1 then with a carefully judged malice1 he had seated her1 by his side1 on the seat that faced the rear of the car1 so that her captive-lover would be further tormented by the sight of her1 compelled to accept his1 his rival's1 caresses4 ,isaac ,wolferstein was cruelly bound1 fastened to the rear of the car1 and made to stumble over the road1 and often to be dragged1 when the pace of the car carried him off his feet4 ,once or twice he almost fainted1 for the soles of his feet were skinned--his captors had purposely divested him of his shoes and socks4 ,the ants found out the bare1 bleeding feet and added torment to his pain4 ,the city was astir as the car entered4 ,the news was shouted from the car1 that one of the accursed1 who defied ,the ,lord1 ,apleon1 had been captured1 and was to be tortured in the ,broadway4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,the great open space was crowded with people4 ,as1 of old1 the ,roman populace gathered in holiday1 theatre mood to see the ,christians tortured and slain1 so had this great concourse gathered about the beautiful ,miriam1 and her handsome lover ,isaac ,wolferstein4 ,one of the ,kiosks1 from which ,covenant brands were worked1 was opened1 and the spring instrument was brought out4 ,apleon's chaplain was there1 and in a voice heard clearly by everyone at the farthest remove from him1 he asked3 ,isaac ,wolferstein1 will you worship ,the ,lord ,apleon8 ,wolferstein was hoarse with pain and thirst1 but lifting his head proudly1 he looked the ,false ,prophet full in the eyes1 as he cried fearlessly3 ,never6 ,apleon1 is a demon1 and of his father ,beelzebub6 ,silence1 you beast6 yelled his tormenter1 and he struck him across the lips with the stick he carried4 ,then he turned towards the beautiful ,jewess1 saying3 ,miriam ,cohen4 ,will you worship our ,lord ,apleon1 and wear his brand8 ,never6 she cried4 ,he spat at her1 as he said1 ,well1 we shall see6 ,he turned to ,wolferstein again1 saying3 ,where has ,cohen1 the ex-priest1 and that herd of disloyal pigs gone8 ,i will not tell you6 replied the captive1 proudly4 ,you defy me1 so be it4 ,aha1 aha6 ,the ,false ,prophet laughed mockingly4 ,turning to some of the ,apleon guards who were massed on two sides of the ,broadway1 he said3 ,strip him6 and lash him----4 ,he lifted his eyes to the sun1 calculated how it would travel1 then1 with a fiendish smile1 he indicated one of the pillars of the colonnade1 lash him there were the sun will reach him4 ,they tore the clothes from the fine form of the loyal young ,jew4 ,then1 when he was absolutely nude1 they fastened him to the pillar4 ,a honey-seller stood in the crowd4 ,an officer of the guards spied the man1 and called him out4 ,take a handful of that fellow's honey1 he ordered one of his men1 and lightly smear that foul ,jew's back and shoulders1 his face and ears too4 ,don't put it on thickly1 but as light as you can1 that the insects may find his flesh through the honey4 ,the officer's bidding was done4 ,then began as hideous a martyrdom for ,isaac ,wolferstein1 as had ever come to a soul loyal to ,god4 ,the flies1 ants1 and a score of other stinging things found him out4 ,his honey-smeared flesh was black with them4 ,in his agony and torture he turned his eyes upon ,miriam4 ,my darling6 he cried1 as well as his dried leather tongue and throat would let him4 ,god will pardon you1 surely1 if you bend to circumstances1 and wear the foul sign6 ,but ,i should never forgive myself1 ,isaac1 she called4 ,and how could ,i meet ,jehovah's searching eye1 if ,i failed ,him now4 ,courage1 courage dear one6 ,she knew1 as we know1 that ,wolferstein meant no disloyalty to his ,god1 but that he was momentarily beside himself with the agony of his torture and his love for her4 ,with a very suave1 mocking smile1 ,the ,false ,prophet spoke across the six yards that separated him from ,miriam1 saying3 ,tell us where your father and that foul herd that went with him1 are located4 ,i will not1 not even if you torture me to death1 she cried4 ,wait until your torture begins1 before you brag6 this to ,miriam4 ,then turning to some of the soldiers1 he cried3 ,strip her1 don't leave a rag upon her1 and treat her from top to toe with that smearing of honey6 ,wolferstein shut his teeth sharply with the agony that swept over him at this order4 ,in that moment he was unmindful of his own torture1 in his dread contemplation of his loved one's shaming and torment4 ,he shut his eyes that he might not see all that followed4 ,the brutal soldiery took a fiendish delight in fulfilling the order given them4 ,they literally rent the clothes off the beautiful girl in strips and ribbons4 ,then when she stood absolutely nude before them1 they smeared the beautiful form with the honey4 ,lash her to that pillar1 cried ,apleon's hellish deputy4 ,he indicated a pillar1 adding3 ,while they will both get the full benefit of the sun1 they can see each other--lovers are never really happy out of sight of each other6 ,there was a roar of laughter at this thrust4 ,we cannot--there is no need to detail all their sufferings4 ,in less than two hours both were crazed with the blistering sun1 and the ravening of the foul and biting insects4 ,once1 just before the crazing robbed him of coherent thought1 the mind of ,wolferstein travelled to the ,psalm he knew so well from his childhood's days1 and his black backed lips feebly murmured3 ,be not far from me1 ,o ,god1 for there is none to help me4 ,many bulls of ,bashan have compassed me4 ,i am poured out like water1 my heart is like wax1 it is melted within me4 ,my strength is dried up like a potsherd2 and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws2 ,i am brought into the dust of death2 for dogs have compassed me2 the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me4 ,be not ,thou far from me1 ,o ,lord3 ,o my strength1 haste ,thou to help me4 ,deliver my soul from the sword2 my darling from the power of the dog4 ,the lovers were alike1 both past speech a moment later1 and it looked as though they would soon be past consciousness4 ,not a single eye1 apparently1 in all that vast crowd1 had cast a glance of pity upon them1 no voice had been raised in sympathetic pleading for them4 ,devilism was the heart of all things1 and it changed men and women into veritable demons4 ,their persecutors had been as fiends in their torturing1 and the onlookers enjoyed the scene as of some fine sport4 ,and now it looked as though both were dying4 ,both were losing consciousness4 ,the half-closed eyes were blood-shot2 the lips were baked black1 and hideously swollen2 their mouths were open2 and where the suffused blood--from the fierce knottings of the cords that bound them--showed blue and purple1 the veins were swollen to the bursting point4 ,the block and the axe6 commanded ,the ,false ,prophet4 ,the grim things were brought4 ,loose the carrion6 came the next command4 ,a dozen hands were busy in a moment with the knotted cords4 ,miriam was the first to be fully released4 ,her eyes were closed2 her breaths were heavy1 slow throbs2 her beautiful form bent and swayed2 and the soldier who held her had to bear all her weight4 ,he carried her to the block2 then1 waiting1 glanced for instructions to where the officer of the guards1 and ,the ,false ,prophet stood4 ,an executioner1 toying with his axe1 stood by the side of the block4 ,off with it6 called ,the ,false ,prophet1 laughingly4 ,the soldier lifted the nude1 insensible form of the beautiful girl so that her neck rested in the hollow of the block4 ,he held her in position4 ,the axe fell4 ,the head rolled to the stone pave4 ,a woman close by1 caught the head by the hair1 twisted her fingers well into the beautiful black swathes1 and swinging the gory thing around her head1 let it fly from her hand1 shouting1 as it hurled through the air4 ,a kick-off1 for the first team6 ,the mob1 among whom the head fell1 began to play football with it4 ,a moment later1 the head of ,isaac ,wolferstein rolled to the pavement1 and a second woman caught that and hurled it over the heads of the people in the opposite direction to that in which ,miriam's head had gone4 ,a kick-off1 shouted the hurler of the head1 for the second team4 #a 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,this effort to trace ,cohen and the fugitives had failed1 but the knowledge soon came in1 in four or five different ways4 ,one of the wireless messages had brought a clue4 ,some traders brought in a fuller clue1 and rapidly other news came to hand4 ,it soon became perfectly clear that there existed some kind of evident understanding between the various fleeing crowds1 and that their first place of united meeting was to be one of the agricultural colonies near to the old ,kadesh-,barnea4 ,by this time the fugitives had had four good days start4 ,apleon ordered an enormous body of troops to go in pursuit1 and to slay or capture the fugitives--capture1 by preference1 that they might be publicly tortured and beheaded4 ,mad with the lust for blood1 and that fouler lust of ,religious revenge1 the pursuing host sped southwards4 ,the wondrous new motor-trains1 that would career over hillocks easier than a thoroughbred hunter gallops over a turfy down1 carried the expedition4 ,there were a hundred trains of thirty cars each1 besides a thousand or more single ,motor-,cars1 carrying from twelve to twenty persons4 ,worked on the then latest principle1--ether-driven--the cars and trains swept onward at the rate of a hundred miles an hour4 ,over head1 travelling at the same rate1 was a fleet of aerial war-ships1 armed with infernal torpedoes1 that if dropped into any town or community1 would wipe out every living soul1 and destroy the stoutest city1 in a few minutes4 ,it looked as though the devoted band of ,jews and ,gentiles who had fled south were doomed4 ,wild1 exultant shouts of ironical laughter and unholy glee burst from the land and aerial pursuers1 as they came within a moment or two 7at their rate of travelling7 of the fugitives4 ,the latter had seen them1 heard them1 and1 as a body1 were bowed in prayer for----4 ,they scarcely knew what to ask1 for deliverance or for fortitude1 so that the essence of their prayer was undertake for us1 ,lord6 ,the sky lowered over their heads4 ,they thought it was the aerial fleet hiding the sun--but the winged warriors were not quite come up over their place of gathering4 ,the prostrate refugees remained1 to a man1 upon their faces4 ,souls in direct dealing with ,god have no curiosity as to outside events4 ,suddenly1 like the hiss of ten thousand times ten thousand snakes1 a rushing sibilation passed through the momentarily darkened air4 ,at the same instant the earth trembled1 and there was an awful1 thunderous rumbling in the nether world4 ,simultaneous with both of these phenomena there came yells and screams1 then1--anon--silence4 ,the mass of refugees raised themselves1 and stood silent with awe and thankfulness4 ,sheets of flame had rushed out of the heavens1 overwhelmed the aerial fleet of vengeful pursuers1 fired the vessels1 and hurled men and machines downwards into a mighty gulf4 ,for the trembling1 and thundering of the earth had been the result and accompaniments of a terrible earth-quake1 that now swallowed up the whole pursuing host--land and aerial1 alike4 ,for a moment or two no sound came from the mighty crowd of miraculously-delivered refugees4 ,then1 suddenly1 one of the late priests of the ,temple1 a chorister-priest1 burst into song3 ,sing unto the ,lord1 for ,he hath triumphed gloriously4 ,the ,lord is my strength and my song1 and ,he is become my salvation3 ,he is my ,god 4 4 4 4 ,my father's ,god1 and ,i will exalt ,him4 ,the ,lord is a ,man of war3 the ,lord is ,his name4 ,our enemy's chariots and his host hath ,he cast into the earth 4 4 4 4 ,thy right hand1 ,o ,lord1 is become glorious in power3 ,thy right hand1 ,o ,lord1 dashed in pieces the enemy4 ,and in the greatness of ,thine excellency ,thou hast overthrown them that rose up against ,thee2 ,thou sentest forth ,thy wrath1 which consumed them4 ,almost in the instant of the starting of the song1 thousands of ,jews1 7and ,gentiles1 as well7 had recognized the ,red ,sea ,triumph ,song1 and had joined the voice of the leader4 ,what a swell of triumph it was6 ,on1 on they sang3 ,the enemy said3 ,i will pursue1 ,i will overtake2 my lust shall be satisfied upon them2 ,i will draw my sword1 and my hand shall destroy them4 ,thou didst blow with ,thy wind1 and they were destroyed4 ,who is like unto ,thee1 ,o ,lord1 among the ,gods6 ,who is like ,thee1 glorious in ,holiness1 fearful in praises1 doing wonders4 ,thou stretchedst out ,thy right hand1 the earth swallowed them4 ,thou in ,thy mercy hast led forth the people which ,thou hast redeemed3 ,thou hast guided them in ,thy strength4 ,the people shall hear1 and be afraid3 sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of ,palestine4 ,fear and dread shall fall upon them3 by the greatness of ,thine arm they shall be as still as a stone2 till ,thy people1 ,o ,lord1 till the people pass over1 whom ,thou hast purchased4 ,thou shalt bring them in1 and plant them in the mountain of ,thine inheritance1 in the place1 ,o ,lord1 which ,thou hast made1 in the ,sanctuary1 ,o ,lord1 which ,thy hands have established4 ,the ,lord shall reign for ever and ever4 ,three times over1 led by the impromptu priest-precentor1 that grateful1 jubilant1 delivered people sang the last sentence4 ,then1 as their song of praise finished1 the leaders took counsel together as to what they should do next4 ,it was the unanimous feeling1 and expressed opinion1 that ,apleon would send forth other expeditions to destroy them1 if he learned that they had escaped the fate of his aerial and land pursuit4 ,i do not believe1 cried ,cohen1 the chief spokesman among the ,jews1 that ,god ,jehovah has permitted one of our pursuers to escape4 ,god's judgments1 like ,his mercies1 are full and complete4 ,will ,apleon1 the ,traitor to his covenant-word1 ever know the fate of our pursuers8 ,i believe not1 unless anyone of us here retrace his steps to ,jerusalem to tell him1 and that would mean public torture and death to the tale-bearer4 ,he paused1 and glanced around on the throng nearest to him1 as he asked3 ,does anyone present know anything in the ,scriptures relating to this present position1 that will serve as a guide to our movements now8 ,a tall1 fine-looking man responded by lifting his right arm4 ,he was asked to speak4 ,he came forward and stood upon the hillock where ,cohen stood4 ,holding aloft a ,bible1 he cried3 ,men and ,brethren1 of the stock of ,israel1 and ,gentiles associated with them4 ,i was a ,christian minister1 so-called1 in ,australia1 when the ',rapture' took place4 ,i was left behind1 because1 though ,i could preach eloquently enough1 and could keep my church filled to over-flowing4 ,i was not a converted man2 ,i had been trained for the church1 as my only brother had been trained for the bar4 ,i never realized the need of conversion1 my soul was filled with pride in my gifts1 hence ,i was left behind when ,christ came for ,his own1--and1 among ,his own1 thank ,god1 were many ',israelites indeed1' as well as ,gentiles4 ,since my conversion1 friends1 7and though too late for the ,rapture1 yet still the glorious event took place within forty-eight hours of the ,rapture7 ,i have studied my ,bible1 to see what should happen4 ,everything has happened according as the ,new ,testament has laid it down3 ,the 'people of ,god1' the ,jews1 have built their ,temple4 ,they made their seven-year covenant with ,apleon4 ,the ,anti-christ1 the ,scripture calls him4 ,at the end of the three and a half years 7half of the covenant time7 he orders the ,sacrifice to cease in the ,temple at ,jerusalem--and everybody here knows how literally all this has happened4 ,he has set up his own image to be worshipped1 as was foretold1 and ,god's ancient people1 with those of us here who are ,gentiles1 have fled4 ,we are here1 to-day1 here at this moment1 living out exactly what the ,new ,testament had all along prophesied would come to pass4 ,in that wonderful book1 which deals with these times in which we are now living1--,revelation twelve1 it says1 that the faithful ,jews1 and others1 'were given two wings of a great eagle1 that she might fly into the wilderness1 into her place1 where she is nourished for a time1 and times1 and half a time1 7three and a half years from now17 friends1 which period will complete the seven years of ,apleon's 7,anti-christ's7 reign4 ,now listen again to that same prophesy1 friends3 ',and the ,serpent 7,apleon7 cast out of his mouth water as a flood1 after 7the fugitives1 us who are here today7 that he might cause them to be carried away of the flood4 ,and the earth helped 7the fugitives7 and the earth opened her mouth1 and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth4' ,has not every item of this been actually fulfilled1 has not ,god opened the earth and swallowed up the flood1 and delivered us8 ,then that wonderful prophecy goes on3 ,and 7the fugitives7 fled into the wilderness1 where they had a place prepared of ,god1 and where they should be fed for twelve hundred and sixty days1 7three and a half years47 ,i do not pose as a prophet1 friends1 but ,i cannot help thinking from all ,i read1 some of which ,i have quoted to you1 that ,god's mind for us is that we should make our way into the wilderness beyond here1 where ,god's people of old time went1 after ,god had swallowed up ,pharoah's hosts1 even as ,he has just swallowed up ,apleon's hosts4 ,for1 did you notice1 in the word ,i quoted to you just now1 it not only said 'the wilderness1' but 'her place4' ,it was the wilderness yonder there---- ,he pointed ,southwards with his finger4 ,in ,sinai2 where ,moses fled from the wrath of ,pharoah2 where ,israel fled when pursued by the ,egyptians2 where ,elijah fled from bloody ,jezebel1 and where1 again and again1 ,god's people have found shelter1 so that ,god calls it 'her place4' ,it comes to me1 as ,i speak thus1 that since ,apleon's attempt to destroy us has failed1 7whether he will learn that1 or not1 he will know that his punitive expedition does not return to him7 his rage will be fixed against all1 in every part of the world1 who will not ,worship him1 and his image4 ,so that the persecuted ones1 in each land1 against whom his rage shall blaze1 will probably flee to some wilderness in their own land1 while thousands of those who cannot flee will meet martyrdom4 ,but wheresoever the wilderness shall be1 whether down there in ,sinai1 or in that vast desert in my wonderful land of ,australia1 or in one or other of ,america's deserts1 or the desert of whatever land it may be4 ,god will1 ,i believe1 miraculously feed1 as ,he miraculously fed the fugitive millions of ,israel with manna1 and fed ,elijah with food from ,heaven by ravens4 ,he could send 'manna' again1 or any other food he pleased4 ,or he could as readily feed if he pleased1 with one meal to last the three and a half years1 as he could make his servants of old 'go in the strength of one meal for forty days4' ,there was a little more in this strain1 then there followed a kind of general conference upon the matter in hand4 ,the whole thing was too serious to be delayed1 or trifled with1 and1 eventually1 it was agreed to travel as swiftly as might be to the ,wilderness of ,sinai1 where waiting upon ,god1 they would hope to be directed in any future movement1 or be sustained by his wonder-working hand4 #a ,may ,god arouse readers of this scene to reflect that there must be thousands living to-day1 who will suffer thus hideously4 ,some1 too1 who to-day are members of churches1 others1 children of ,christian ,parents1 many too1 of the ,almost persuaded among us4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,martyred4 ,it was three months since the image of ,apleon had been set up in the ,holy place in ,jerusalem4 ,now all the world worshipped ,the ,beast1 for the images had been multiplied until every town and city and almost every church1 etc41 had its own idol4 ,the world had begun by ,wondering after the ,beast1 it gave itself up to error1 despised the ,truth1 opened itself to receive the ,strong delusion1 the ,anti-christ lie1 so that the worship of the ,beast himself1 then of his image1 became but just consequent steps one after the other4 ,in ,ancient ,roman days its ,emperors took divine titles1 accepted homage1 worship1 honor1 all of which belonged1 by right1 to ,deity alone4 ,augustus had temples reared for the worship of himself1 and1 through all the ages since1 the remains of one of these temples 7at ,angora7 has remained1 and inscribed upon a great stone lintel is the significant word3 ,to ,,the ,,god ,,augustus4 ,near by1 in the same district1 is a kindred inscription1 ,to ,,marcus ,,aurelius 4 4 4 4 by one most devoted to his ,godhead4 ,nero and ,domitian1 fiends of blood and lust1 were styled1 while they lived1 ,,god1 and ,,our ,,god ,,and ,,lord4 ,and ,apleon fulfilled1 to the minutest letter1 all that was prophesied of him as regarded his assumption of the divine4 ,he will exalt himself1 wrote ,daniel and magnify himself above ,god4 ,he will speak marvellous things against the ,god of gods4 ,he will not regard any ,god1 for he will magnify himself above all4 ,he opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called ,god1 ,paul said1 or that is worshipped2 so that he1 as ,god1 sitteth in the temple of ,god1 showing himself that he is ,god4 ,whatever may be the cause of it1 the fact remains that ever since the ,devil's lie in ,eden was absorbed by1 and ruined man1 there has been a proneness1 a latent tendency to idolatry in the human race4 ,and the manifestations of this tendency have not been confined to peoples who in their recent past have been won from idol worship4 ,as late as the revolution days1 in cultured1 polished ,france1 busts of ,marat and others1 were greeted in the streets with bursts of ,hallelujahs1 by the populace1 and1 even in the churches1 all over ,france1 the people sang odes and ,hallelujahs1 and bowed themselves before these busts1 and at the mention of their names4 ,marat1 especially was treated as divine and was universally deified1 and divine worship of his image was everywhere set up in churches4 ,and the worship of the ,beast came about easily1 and as the natural transition from the world's earlier adulation of the ,man of ,sin4 ,millions upon millions of his image1 in the form of charms1 were worn like the eikons of the ,greek church4 ,in the hour of death these eikons 7likenesses7 of the ,beast1 were held before the eyes of the passing soul1 as the crucifix was held1 7in the old days before the destruction of the older ecclesiastical systems17 before the eyes of the dying ,romanist and ,ritualist4 ,in that first three months of the second half of the seven years of ,anti-christ1 much had changed in every way in the world4 ,under the supreme dictation of ,apleon changes commanded by him were effected throughout the whole world1 in one week1 that would have occupied a century in the old days of the nineteenth century1 say4 ,babylon the ,great1 which had long since been rebuilt1 had become the world's commercial centre4 ,it was exclusively a commercial city1 there was nothing ecclesiastical 7,babylon ecclesiastical1 the religious system had been destroyed1 when all religious head-ship had been summed up in ,apleon74 ,there was nothing military1 in the ,new ,babylon1 and though every vileness in the form of entertainment was to be found in the great city1 all this was but the recreative side of the life of the commercial people of the world's metropolis4 ,ever increasingly1 during the #aith century1 and the first decade of the #bjth1 commerce had been growing as clamorous and as exciting as the horse-leech1 never satisfied1 ever crying give1 give4 ,it had clamoured for a common currency1 common weights and measures1 common code of terms1 and a hundred and one kindred things4 ,but it was in ,babylon the ,great1 that the woman of ,zechariah v4 #a--;,commerce--had found all she had been insisting for1 through all the past years1--and it all emanated from1 and was centred in ,apleon4 ,and it was all connected with worship4 ,covetousness1 which is idolatry4 ,with the utter destruction of ,mystic ,babylon1 the vast religious system1 7whose destruction we have seen17 there came a mighty impulse of commerce1 and of consequent wealth to ,babylon the ,great the ,city4 ,apleon had made it his head-quarters4 ,the kings of the earth lived wantonly with her4 ,her wharves and warehouses--built on that wondrous ,euphrates--were packed with merchandise of gold1 silver1 precious stones1 of pearls1 fine linen1 purple1 silk1 scarlet1 and all rare woods1 and all manner of vessels of ivory1 brass1 iron1 marble1 cinnamon1 odours1 ointments1 frankincense1 wine1 oil1 fine flour1 wheat1 beasts1 sheep1 horses1 chariots1 slaves--and souls of men4 ,her vessels traded with the whole world4 ,her liners1 travelling at #ajj miles per hour1 were in easy touch of every land4 ,her pride in her ,maritime and commercial power1 was overwhelming3 ,how much she hath glorified herself1 and lived deliciously4 4 4 4 ,for she saith in her heart1 ,i sit a queen6 ,her aerial merchandise fleets1 too1 were amazing6 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,the three months had brought great changes to the trio in whom we are specially interested--,ralph ,bastin1 ,george ,bullen1 and ,rose1 his young wife4 ,ralph1 in quitting the editor's chair of the ,courier1 had received a handsome doucier1 from ,sir ,archibald ,carlyon1 and this1 at his special request1 had been paid to him in the new paper currency of the time--there was a world-common currency1 under the ,apleon regime1 as there was also a world-common code1 weights and measures1 etc4 ,he had also contrived to turn his savings into the paper currency4 ,george ,bullen had done the same1 though in the case of each of them it had not been easy work1 for both were marked men4 ,they knew themselves to be hated--and watched4 ,again and again they had narrowly escaped death1 and each day they realized that it might be the last4 ,the news of the wondrous enthusiasm of the world's peoples gathered in ,babylon and ,jerusalem1 in their new worship of the golden images of ,apleon1 had stirred ,london1 ,new ,york1 ,berlin1 ,paris--atheistical ,paris2 and all other great world-centres1 and in each city many images had been set up4 ,though neither ,ralph ,bastin1 or ,george ,bullen had now anything to do with journalism--they could not obtain work of any kind because of the absence of the mark of the ,beast upon their foreheads4 ,but both were journalists by nature1 hence when they knew that the image of the ,beast was to be set up in ,st4 ,paul's on a given ,sunday1 they determined to be present to see how far this basest of idolatry had really laid hold of ,london4 ,the trio lived together in a little house1 in a by-street in ,bloomsbury4 ,rose would never allow her husband to go out without her2 the times were too perilous1 either for him to be in the streets1 or for her to remain alone at home4 ,in the actual language of ,ruth1 she had said to him3-- ,entreat me not to leave thee3--for whither thou goest ,i will go2 where thou lodgest1 ,i will lodge2 4 4 4 where thou diest1 ,i will die2 4 4 4 the ,lord do so to me1 and more also1 if aught but death part thee and me4 ,on reaching the ,mansion ,house--the old building was still there1 though used for another purpose--they were amazed at the excitement which prevailed in the streets4 ,thousands of excited people were moving westwards1 many of them evidently bound for ,st4 ,paul's4 ,everyone seemed to be wearing the brand of the ,beast1 and more than once our trio came very near to being set upon1 for that they were defying public opinion1 as well as the command of the ,all-,supreme ,director of consciences as well as lives--,apleon--by the absence of the ,mark upon them4 ,arrived at the cathedral they had no difficulty in getting in1 since the hour was early1 and a rumour having obtained credence that the great idol was to be wheeled out upon the steps of the cathedral1 the vast bulk of would-be worshippers remained outside of the huge building4 ,presently these outside must have become acquainted with the falseness of the rumour for there was a tremendous rush into the building1 until1 in three minutes1 it was packed to its utmost limits4 ,ralph1 ,george and ,rose had secured seats1 in the centre of the third row1 almost under the great dome1 for they wanted to get as perfect a view of the image as possible4 ,the hum of several thousand voices1 as the gathered people gossipped about the image1 made quite a volume of sound4 ,every eye was fixed on the great golden statue4 ,it was a wondrous piece of work and the likeness of ,apleon was an extraordinary one4 ,the people who were seated far back could see only from the breast upwards4 ,but those nearer 7,ralph1 and ,george1 and ,rose among them7 who could see not only the whole figure1 but the plinth and the pedestal upon which it stood1 saw that the inscription on the plinth was the same as that which had been reported as upon the first image1 the one set up in the ,temple at ,jerusalem--,i ,,am1 ,,that ,i ,,am6 ,a shudder passed over our trio1 as they read the blasphemy4 ,now1 suddenly1 a richly-robed priest1 holding a silver bugle to his lips1 stood out on the altar steps4 ,the shrill bugle call for silence rang through the great building1 and a tomb-like hush fell upon the multitude4 ,another priest1 more gorgeously costumed than the first1 came slowly forward chanting clearly and distinctly3 ,we believe in ,man1 in the ,religion of ,humanity1 ,man is ,god1 and ,god is man4 ,we believe that all the excellencies which of old1 were attributed to the ,god of the ,bible1 were but sparks struck out of the goodnesses that were within the man ,himself4 ,hence we no longer need to be ,divine by proxy4 #a ,the organ rolled out a gay note to which the gathered thousands chanted a gay ,amen6 ,we believe1 the priest went on in his chant--that the living ,god1 is the marriage of ,force and matter1 of ,head and ,hand4 ,and we believe that the product of this co-ordination is in our ,great ,superman1 the ,god of the ,universe1 ,apleon1 our ,superior-,god1 and ,him we worship and adore-- ,the priest made a well-understood sign1 and the whole mass of the people knelt--they were too crowded to prostrate themselves4 ,the great organ pealed forth in some wondrous chordings1 that were dying down into zephyr-like breaths1 when the voice of the priest broke the comparative silence4 ,in harsh1 commanding tones1 he cried3 ,you three rebels1 kneel at once6 ,the whole congregation lifted their eyes to see two men1 and a beautiful woman between them1 standing proudly1 fearlessly1 amid the great kneeling throng4 ,kneel1 you apostate rebels6 thundered the priest4 ,for answer1 ,rose lifted her strong1 powerful1 beautiful voice1 in a ,god-inspired spontaneous burst of true worship1 singing3 ,all ,hail the power of ,jesus' ,name1 ,let angels prostrate fall4 ,ralph and her husband caught the inspiration and the musical key1 and the trio had reached the ,bring forth the ,royal ,diadem1 before the great congregation of blasphemers awoke to the full meaning of what the song of the trio meant4 ,then1 with a roar like ten thousand lions1 they shouted3 ,kill them6 ,murder them6 ,the priest raised his hand1 the bugler sounded ,silence4 ,the old hush fell upon the people1 instantly1 and the priest1 with a triumphant note ringing in his voice1 and with an equally triumphant smile on his face1 cried3 ,we have anticipated the action of such rebels as these1 and have prepared for them4 ,outside there has been already set up an automatically-locked scaffold-- ,with a wave of his hand towards our trio1 he cried2 ,to the block with them1 unless they instantly worship4 ,pointing with his long index finger to the three ,protesters1 he shouted3 ,kneel6 ,for answer they drew themselves upright1 and with a ringing gladness began to sing3 ,crown ,jesus ,lord of all6 ,instantly they were seized1 and hurried out of one of the side entrances4 ,with the utmost difficulty a way was cleared for the passage of the priests and the three victims--the bugler going ahead sounding sharp notes of warning on his instrument4 ,they reached the front of the cathedral1 at last4 ,the whole of the space in the front1 at the sides1 and far away into ,the ,fan was packed with a seething1 excited mass of human life4 ,twenty feet high1 a light but strong scaffold had been rapidly1 and practically silently1 erected--the whole structure having all its separate parts fitted with automatic lockings4 ,the scaffold stood just outside the railings that fenced the cathedral from the ,fan4 ,on the platform of the scaffold was a conical-shaped block1 enamelled in a brilliant red4 ,a huge fellow1 leaning on the handle of a wide-bladed gleaming axe1 stood by the side of the block4 ,the trio of ,protestants were taken up the steps of the scaffold4 ,two priests accompanied them4 ,the chief of the two priests1 he who had led the chant in the cathedral1 held up before the trio a silver figure of ,apleon1 about eighteen inches long1 and1 7amid the intense silence all around1 his words were distinctly heard7 cried3 ,will you worship ,god8 ,we do worship ,god--but we will not worship either the ,anti-christ1 ,anti-,god1 or his image6 ,it was ,ralph who1 in ringing fearless tones1 replied1 the other two responding with3 ,amen6 ,amen6 to our ,god who sitteth on ,the ,throne1 and to the ,lamb1 for ever6 ,a savage roar swept upwards from the maddened mass below4 ,ralph was told to bow his head upon the block4 ,he did so1 while ,rose sang clear and strong3 ,am ,i a soldier of the cross1 ,a follower of the ,lamb1 ,and shall ,i fear---------- ,the chief of the two priests1 struck her heavily across the mouth and silenced her4 ,at the same instant the executioner held aloft1 by the hair1 the severed head of ,ralph ,bastin4 ,yells of delight1 mingled with ,long live our ,god ,apleon6 greeted the sight of the head4 ,george ,bullen's head was now upon the block1 while ,rose1 the light of a holy triumph in her eyes1 unable to sing because of her bleeding mouth1 shouted1 ,jesus6 ,jesus6 ,precious ,christ6 ,she kept her eyes from the block1 and turned slightly away1 as the head of her dear one was held aloft amid the frantic delighted cries of the murderous mass below4 ,it was her turn now1 and she turned rapturously towards the block4 ,but before she could lay her head upon the blood-stained horror1 the chief of the priests thrust her forward to the near edge of the floor of the scaffold1 and1 holding his hand up for silence1 cried3 ,is she too beautiful for the block8 ,he caught her up suddenly in his arms1 and held her as high aloft as his strength would permit1 as he shouted3 ,does any one want her1 if you do1 say so1 and ,i will hurl her down6 ,behead her6 roared a voice in the crowd1 and thousands of voices joined in the cry4 ,the priest dragged her to the block and laid her neck in the hollow of it4 ,there was a flash of steel in the sunlight1 and the beautiful head rolled into the basket4 ,the next moment it was being held aloft by the long1 lovely hair1 the people below yelling with joy4 ,at a sign from the priest1 the bugler sounded for silence4 ,then the priest cried3 ,so shall die every rebel against our ,,lord ,,god1 ,the ,emperor6 ,with a wave of his hand towards the ,cathedral behind him1 he added3 ,our worship will be continued in our ,temple and1 for today1 at least1 worship will continue all day4 ,the fools1 the dupes1 flocked back to the cathedral--as many as could crowd in4 ,those who could not get in watched the bodies and heads of the three martyrs for ,god hurled down from the scaffold on the stones below4 ,someone suggested the river1 and six lengths of line were quickly got1 and amid the howls of mingled execrations1 and the notes of a fiendish joy1 the three heads and three trunks were dragged down to the blackfriars end of the embankment4 ,here men cut the clothes from the three bodies1 and the naked forms were kicked into almost shapeless masses1 before they were eventually hurled over the embankment into the swirling muddy ,thames4 ,he1 7,the ,false ,prophet7 had power 4 4 4 to cause that as many as would not worship the image of the ,beast should be killed4 ,from this day there began a perfect reign of terror on the earth1 for the vast bulk of the people who had yielded utter allegiance to the ,beast1 and to his worship1 became heretic-hunters4 ,natural affection appeared to be actually absent from the world1 and sons and daughters betrayed fathers and mothers1 husbands betrayed wives1 wives husbands1 and the friend his friends4 ,thousands were beheaded every month1 taking the earth over--men1 women1 and children1 who had learned to trust ,god1 and who waited for the coming ,kingdom of ,christ1 when1 having put down all enemies under his feet1 he should begin his reign of a thousand years4 ,these saved ones1 and martyred ones1 were an innumerable multitude saved out of ,t ,h ,e great tribulation1 from all nations1 kindreds1 and peoples1 and tongues4 #a ,this creed1 in its essence1 and often in its terminology is taken from a book already published1 in which the religion of ,humanism exalts man to the place of ,god4 7,author47 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,a ,,gathering ,,up4 ,at this stage it seems well to the writer to gather together in a brief--but necessarily very fragmentary fashion--some of the chief events of the second half of ,anti-christ's reign1 and those immediately preceding the millenial reign of ,christ4 ,the object of this little volume1 as well as its predecessor--,in the ,twinkling of an ,eye--being chiefly to incite in the readers of the two books1 a desire to look into the wonders of the ,after ,events1 we can only touch upon these things in the most disjointed fashion1 many events1 from necessity of space1 being untouched altogether4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,the two scenes recorded in previous chapters--the torture and beheading of ,isaac ,wolferstein and his beautiful fiancee1 ,miriam ,cohen1 and the beheading of three at ,st4 ,paul's--were duplicated many thousands of times1 every town and city of the wide world had its own hideous tale of torturing and of death4 ,the effect upon the bulk of the people was to deepen the strong delusion1 as to ,anti-christ1 under which they laboured1 so that they fed upon ,the ,lie1 and became abject slaves in their wills and worship of the ,man of ,sin4 ,the effect of the persecution and martyrdoms upon most of the believers--kingdom believers--was to stiffen their faith1 and to confirm their hope in the near ,coming of the ,christ1 to take vengeance upon his foes and deliver his people4 ,the licentiousness and blasphemy of the times was as a veritable atmosphere abroad1 so that1 affected by it1 the love of the many towards ,god waxed colder and colder1 until they flung off the last semblance of allegiance to ,him1 in thought1 word1 or deed1 and wholly given up to ,the ,lie1 they ripened rapidly for ,judgment4 ,but amid the almost universal declension1 there was ever the remnant--,jew and ,gentile--who endured1 seeing the invisible1 and strengthening their souls in the special tribulation promise ,he that shall endure unto the end1 the same shall be saved6 ,and these endurers shall be ,god's witnesses unto all nations4 ,no suffering1 privation1 no spending or being spent will be counted too much by these tribulation-time witnesses2 they will live only to serve ,god in witnessing4 ,the chief source of temptation and danger to the ,kingdom ,believers will be from the ever multiplying ,false ,christs4 ,each new imposter parading some new notion1 but each in turn1 either publicly slain by order of the ,false ,prophet1 or mysteriously disappearing4 ,the only likeness of imposture in them all1 existed in their claim to be the ,saviour who should deliver from the awful days of tribulation which the would-be godly were passing through4 ,a similar thing preceded the first advent of our ,lord1 only then1 the sole trust of these imposters was in their own statements2 but before the coming of ,christ again to the earth1 when the cry will often be ,lo here is ,christ1 and ,lo there is ,christ1 these imposters will buttress their claims with the exhibition of supernatural powers4 ,the remnant of faithful ,jews which we saw in our last chapter1 escaping to the wilderness1 will be only a remnant4 ,the main body of the ,jews of the world will have concentrated themselves in ,jerusalem1 its neighbourhood1 and parts of ,palestine left to them after the partition of the land by ,anti-christ4 ,dan4 xi4 #i4 ,it would seem as though the remnant1 meanwhile learn of ,god so intimately that they become the ,evangelizers of the world1 preaching the ,gospel of the coming kingdom of ,christ4 ,rev4 xiv4 #f1 #g4 ,matt4 xxiv4 #ad4 ,among those ,jews who were unable to escape with the remnant1 there are also others who are loyal to ,god1 who would not worship the ,beast or his image1 many of whom are betrayed by their bigoted ,jewish relatives4 ,all these1 alike1 are delivered up to ,anti-christ and to his creatures1 to be tortured and to be killed4 ,then shall be great ,tribulation1 such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time1 no1 nor ever shall be4 ,and except those days should be shortened1 there should no flesh be saved3 but for the elect's sake1 those days shall be shortened4 ,matt4 xxiv4 #ba1 #bb4 ,dan4 xii4 #a4 ,jer4 xxx4 #g1 #aa1 #ad1 #ae4 ,zech4 xiii #h1 #i4 ,may it not well be that the imprecatory ,psalms1 otherwise so difficult to understand1 in the virulence of their desires for vengeance1 etc41 are prophetic of these days of persecution and tribulation8 ,as well1 too1 must be many of the ,prayers of the ,psalms1 etc4 ,ps4 xxv4 #b4 ,ps4 lxxiv4 ,ps4 cxl4 ,ps4 lxxix4 ,isaiah xxxv4 #c1 #d4 ,isaiah li4 #ab-ae4 ,micah vii4 #h1 #i4 ,luke xviii4 #g1 #h4 ,the almost universal return of the ,jew to his own land1 with all the aims of ,zionism1 and other kindred movements among the ,hebrew people today is1 curiously enough1 not marked by the religious spirit1 but purely national4 ,the comparatively few pious souls 7certainly not more than a quarter of a million1 if that7 who built the ,temple1 and afterwards flee into the wilderness1 or are beheaded rather than worship the ,beast1 or who1 unable to get away in time1 are beheaded for their loyalty to ,god1 are now left out of future count in the history of the final fate of ,jerusalem4 ,the city will probably be enormously enlarged and will come to embrace miles of suburbs1 as ,london has absorbed towns as far distant1 almost1 as ,croydon1 in ,surrey4 ,in the latter years of the great ,tribulation there will appear to be a general rising of the nations against ,jerusalem--against the ,jews4 ,it may well be1 that all the powers will have become so indebted1 financially1 to the ,jews1 that there shall be an universal outbreak of ,anti-,semitism1 the real cause of the outbreak being inability on the part of the nations to pay their debts1 when they shall make common cause against the ,jew1 hoping thus to clear off their debts1 by the destruction of their creditors4 ,preparatory to this great and final struggle1 the great eastern boundary river1 the ,euphrates1 will be dried up4 ,the literal accomplishment of this great physical wonder1 is an absolute necessity1 if the vast hordes of the ,eastern armies are to be marched to ,jerusalem4 ,even as those days of the end draw nearer and nearer ,god's people of that time will suffer more and yet more4 ,happy the dead who in the ,lord do die from henceforth4 ,yea 7saith the ,spirit7 that they may rest from their toils1 for their works do follow with them4 ,ceased only that form of service which brings weariness1 and have found perfect happiness in the ability to continue service without weariness4--,,rotherham4 ,while this is true of all the saints of all the ages1 it is specifically true of those who1 in ,the ,great ,tribulation1 shall lay down their lives for ,god in faithful1 enduring obedience4 ,and now the end draws ever more rapidly near4 ,north1 ,east1 ,south and ,west of ,palestine the armies of allies against ,jerusalem close in upon her4 ,had the ,jewish race been as loyally devoted to their ,god and ,his ,word as they had been to ,anti-christ the ,deceiver1 and his vile1 promulgated laws1 they would have1 inevitably1 recognized ,psalms lxxxiii4 #c1 #d1 as a prophecy of this time and the approach of their foes3 ,they have taken crafty counsel against thy people1 and consulted against thy hidden ones4 ,they have said1 ,come1 and let us cut them off from being a nation2 that the name of ,israel may be no more in remembrance4 ,but ,god has not forgotten ,his promises to ,israel1 and the time of her worst visitation1 is to be ,his opportunity3 ,wait ye upon ,me1 saith the ,lord1 until the day that ,i rise up to the prey2 for my determination is to gather the nations1 that ,i may assemble the kingdoms1 to pour upon them mine indignation1 even all my fierce anger3 for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy4 ,zeph4 iii4 #h4 ,now also many nations are gathered against thee 7,zion17 but they know not the thoughts of the ,lord1 neither understand they ,his counsel3 for ,he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor4 ,mich4 iv4 #aa1 #ab4 ,in that time1 when ,i shall bring again the captivity of ,judah and ,jerusalem1 ,i will also gather all nations1 and will bring them down into the valley of ,jehoshaphat1 and will plead with them there for ,my people and for ,my heritage ,israel1 whom they have scattered among the nations1 and parted ,my land4 ,joel iii4 #a1 #b1 #i-ab1 #ad4 ,zech4 xiv4 #a1 #b4 ,zech4 xii4 #b1 #c4 ,ps4 lxviii4 #a-c4 ,joel ii4 #cb4 ,against the gathered multitudes of the armed nations--every devilish instrument of war then known1 being brought to bear against the doomed city1 doomed as the allies consider it--the ,jews can bring but a comparatively feeble resistance4 ,with seeming ease1 ,jerusalem would appear to be taken4 ,the city shall be taken1 and the houses rifled1 and the women ravished2 and half of the city shall go forth into captivity1 ,,and ,,the ,,residue ,,of ,,the ,,people ,,shall ,,not ,,be ,,cut ,,off ,,from ,,the ,,city4 ,zech4 xiv4 #b4 ,with great spoil1 full of unholy rejoicing1 their souls steeped in pride1 their hands stained with blood1 the victorious armies march to the great plain of ,esdraelon to hold a mighty revel1 and to prepare for any future event4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,how oft after anxious provisions of man ,flashes in with a silence ,god's unforseen plan6 ,god is a tower without a stair ,and ,his perfection loves despair4 ,the residue of the people of ,jerusalem1 who were left in the city on the triumphant departure of the allies of ,hell1 were utterly broken in spirit4 ,their discomfited hearts will be being prepared for some word or sin4 ,will they then begin to see their national1 as well as their individual folly8 ,who can say for certain8 ,but the near-to-come events with them1 would almost seem to point to something like this4 ,certainly1 ,god's unforseen plan was about to flash in upon their despairing condition4 ,the world's peoples were fully ripe for the ,judgment1 and the sharp sickle of ,judgment was now waiting to fall into the earth4 ,first come signs1 every sign a warning1 yet the peoples1 the enemies of ,christ1 will not hear nor see4 ,immediately after the ,tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened1 and the moon shall not give her light1 and the stars will fall from heaven1 and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken4 ,matt4 xxiv4 #bi4 ,isaiah xiii4 #i-aj-ac4 ,joel ii4 #cj1 #ca4 ,joel iii4 #ae4 ,rev4 vi4 #ab-ad4 ,and then 7after the ,tribulation1 and after these physical signs and disturbances7 shall appear the sign of the ,son of ,man in ,heaven4 ,matt4 xxiv4 #cj4 ,what will this sign be8 ,we cannot actually say4 ,the only ,scriptural hint we know of is our ,lord's own word that the ,manifestation of ,his ,presence will be as the lightning which flashes from the one end of heaven to the other4 ,it may be that this will occur while men are horrified with the unnatural darkness1 and that the sign will be a sudden and momentary cleaving of the black heavens1 so that the glory of the ,lord will break through1 and ,he will1 for an instant1 be revealed in close proximity to earth4 ,will it be thus that the ,jew will receive his sign from heaven8 ,that which follows1 and which should be rendered3 ,then shall all the tribes of the land mourn1 points to the connection of this verse with ,zechariah's prophecy3 ,and ,i will pour upon the house of ,david1 and upon the inhabitants of ,jerusalem1 the spirit of grace and supplications3 and they shall look upon ,,me ,whom they have pierced1 and they shall mourn for ,him1 as one mourneth for his only son1 and shall be in bitterness for ,him1 as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn4 ,zech4 xii4 #aj4 ,and again1 the manner in which ,zechariah's prophecy is quoted in the ,apocalypse may1 perhaps1 afford some slight argument in favour of the explanation of the sign suggested above1 namely1 that it is ,christ ,himself seen for a moment through a rift in the clouds1 for ,john says1 ',behold ,he cometh with the clouds3 and every eye shall see ,him1 and they also which pierced ,him3 and all the ,,tribes ,,of ,,the ,,land shall mourn because of ,him4' ,thus the ,jews1 although they may not as yet understand all1 will at least know that it was the ,messenger of ,jehovah whom they slew1 and that in so doing they pierced ,himself4 ,and they will mourn with no feigned lamentation1 but as one mourns for his first-born1 nay1 his only son4 ,all their pride will have broken down2 for the word will then have been fulfilled1 ',i will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride1 and thou shalt no more be haughty because of ,my holy mountain4 ,i will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people1 and they shall trust in the name of the ,lord4' ,zeph4 ii4 #aa1 #ab4 ,then will ,god look down upon the stiff-necked and rebellious people1 whom long centuries of chastisement could not subdue1 and lo6 a remnant1 broken-hearted and contrite1 humbly confessing that 'all their righteousnesses are as filthy rags1 that they are all fading as a leaf1 and that their iniquities1 like the wind1 have carried them away4' ,they long for the personal interposition of ,god their ,father1 and cry1 ',oh that ,thou wouldst rend the heavens1 that ,thou wouldst come down6' ,they are ready at last1 for their ,messiah4 ,christ has become precious to them3 there is no need that ,he1 the true ,joseph1 should longer refrain ,himself4 ,he had indeed said1 ',ye shall not see ,me henceforth till ye shall say1 ,blessed is ,he that cometh in the name of the ,lord4' ,but that word withholds ,him no longer2 for now their eyes are waiting for the ,lord their ,god1 until that ,he have mercy upon them3 their souls are watching for ,him more than they that watch for the morning4 7,,pember',s ,,great ,,prophecies47 ,then shall ,he suddenly come1 ,his feet shall stand in that day upon the ,mount of ,olives1 which is before ,jerusalem on the east2 and the ,mount of ,olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west1 and there shall be a very great valley1 and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north1 and half of it toward the south4 ,and ye shall flee to ,,my valley1 when ,he shall touch the valley of the mountain to the place ,he separated4 ,zech4 xiv4 #d1 #e4 ,in this great valley of ,his special making it is possible1 probable1 that our ,lord will shelter ,his people1 while ,he is destroying the hordes of ,anti-christ4 ,it is of this that ,isaiah speaks3 ,come ,my people1 enter thou into thy chambers1 and shut thy doors about thee3 hide thyself as it were for a little moment1 ,,until ,,the ,,indignation ,,be ,,over ,,past4 ,for behold the ,lord cometh out of ,his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity4 ,and when that awful judgment shall be over--which shall burn as an oven1 they shall come out of their shelter skipping as calves of the stall4 ,a wondrous figure of the frolicsome calves coming out of the darkness of their stalls into the glorious light1 and into the full freshness of the luscious meadows4 ,all this time ,anti-christ and his warrior hosts are camped in the plain of ,esdraelon1 preparing for a fresh attack that is to utterly demolish the ,jews as a nation4 ,to ,apleon1 ,the ,anti-christ1 word comes of the appearance of ,christ1 and that ,he is espousing the cause of ,israel4 ,satan1 and his colleagues1 self-blinded1 suppose that they can war with and overcome even ,christ and ,his hosts of saints2 and1 determined to do this3 the kings of the earth set themselves1 and the rulers take counsel together1 against ,his ,anointed4 ,psa4 ii4 #b4 ,armageddon--the ,valley of ,megidda2 ,the ,valley of ,jehosaphat2 ,bozrah1 all these names are mentioned as the scene of the great final conflict between ,anti-christ and ,christ1 between the armies of the earth1 and the translated ,saints of ,god who return with ,christ4 ,it is probable that the line of the encamped hosts of ,anti-christ will extend from ,bozrah1 on the southeast1 to ,megidda1 on the ,north-west4 ,is it we wonder1 merely a coincidence that this should measure exactly #a1fjj ,stadia1 the actual distance named in ,rev4 xiv4 #af1 as that over which the blood of the judgment wine-press flowed4 ,surely ,habakkuk's wonderful prophetic vision covered this great battle-field4 ,god came from ,teman1 and the ,holy ,one from ,mount ,paran4 ,the march of ,god's indignation would seem to be from ,sinai1 through ,idumea1 past ,jerusalem1 and on to the mighty field of ,esdraelon's plain4 ,oh1 what a scene it will be6 ,the glory1 the judgment6 our ,christ on ,his ,white ,horse2 ,his eyes a flame of fire2 on his head many crowns 7diamens17 vestured and girded with his title ,,king ,,of ,,kings ,,and ,,lord ,,of ,,lords6 his bride is with ,him--for the ,marriage of the ,lamb has taken place2 the bride is every believer who has been gathered out of the world by the ,spirit4 ,you1 who read this1 he who writes this1 if so be we are in ,christ1 looking for1 and hasting the coming of our ,lord1 yes1 we shall be there1 we shall be ,his army4 ,on white horses1 whether literal horses or not does not matter1 the term implies force1 power1 swift movement1 even triumph4 ,christ's army will be a cavalry force4 ,like our ,lord we shall wear no armour1--clothed in fine linen1 white1 pure1--we shall be immortal1 no weapon that is formed against us shall prosper4 ,every enemy1 every foe of ,christ will be there4 ,the earth-armies1 the dwellers of the earth1 ,demon-possessed1 will be blinded1 deluded by the lie of the ,anti-christ1 and ,the ,false ,prophet4 ,there is no madness or delusion into which the most rational of men will not run when they are demon-possessed4 ,outside the city1 the battle takes place1 for the city has become ,holy by the recent presence of ,christ4 ,not even a private soldier of ,anti-christ's hosts is inside the city1 for1 it may well be1 that ,christ has already appropriated it4 ,outside the city1 the wine-press is trodden6 wonderful figure6 ,fully ripe1 is said to be the condition of the grapes of the vine of the earth4 ,what grape1 more so a ripe grape1 can stand the weight of a man as his foot crushes down upon it8 ,and the iron heel of ,the ,lion of ,judah1 crushes out the life of these gathered hell-led1 hell-inspired hosts1 and blood came forth out of the wine-press of ,god's wrath1 up to the bits of the horses for distance of #a1fjj stadia4 ,a river of blood #afj miles in length1 and reaching to the horses' bits in depth6 ,even if it be taken as a figure only1 the figure is never so great as the fact it prefigures6 ,the land shall be drunk with blood1 and its dust made fat with fatness1 for it is the day of ,jehovah's vengeance1 the year of recompenses for the controversy against ,zion4 ,isaiah xxxiv4 #g1 #h4 ,as a picture of the absolute triumph of ,god1 on this occasion1 the ,psalmist uses the most awful figure of any in the ,bible--,,the ,,laughter ,,of ,,god6 ,he that sitteth in the ,heavens ,,shall ,,laugh2 the ,lord shall have them in derision4 ,ps4 ii4 #d4 ,god is not mocked6 ,and the ,beast 7,anti-christ7 was taken4 ,the ring-leader is first taken1 not slain with the others4 ,taken alive1 he is cast into the ,lake of ,fire4 ,the confidence of the mighty host of ,hell-inspired warrior hosts1 had been ,who is like unto the ,beast8 ,who can war with him8 ,but they see him taken1 taken alive1 taken without being able to lift a finger against his captors4 ,tophet had been prepared for him1 and into that awful abyss he sinks to rise no more4 ,and with him the ,false ,prophet who wrought the miracles in his presence4 ,colleagues in evil on earth1 the two are hurled into the same ,lake of ,fire4 ,and the rest were slain with the ,sword of the ,sitter on the horse1 7,the ,conquering ,christ17 which sword proceeded out of ,his mouth4 ,he speaks and it is done4 ,and a certain angel standing in the sun1 has been placed there ready to call forth the final actors on this hideous battle-field1 cried with a great voice1 saying to all the fowls that fly in mid-heaven1 ',hither be gathered together to the great supper of ,god1 that ye may eat the flesh of kings1 and flesh of captains of thousands1 and flesh of mighty men1 and flesh of horses1 and of those that sit on them1 and flesh of all 7classes of people17 both free and bond1 and small and great 4 4 4 and the fowls were filled from their flesh4 ,rev4 xix4 ,at the great and terrible conflict there are lightnings and thunders of unheard of force and might4 ,the ,lord of ,hosts1 says ,isaiah xxix4 #f1 shall visit with thunder1 with earthquake1 and great noise1 with storm and tempest1 and the flame of devouring fire4 ,all through ,god's judgments1 during the seven years of ,anti-christ1 aerial convulsions will be continual4 ,one reason for this1 during the later events will doubtless be to overwhelm and destroy the myriad aerial engines of war used by the senselessly deluded attacking hosts arrayed against ,jerusalem and against ,christ and ,his ,saints4 ,and there was a great earthquake1 such as was not since men were upon the earth1 so mighty an earthquake1 and so great4 ,rev4 xvi4 #ah4 ,jerusalem will be split into three parts1 as a result of this earthquake4 ,but the effect upon the nations is utter ruin1--the cities of the nations fell4 ,london1 ,new ,york1 ,paris1 ,berlin1 ,chicago1 every other city1 collapses like a rent balloon1 and the opened earth swallows up palaces and cots1 men and women1 and what the overwhelming and the falling shall not slay1 shall perish in the awful conflagrations produced4 ,and ,babylon the great was remembered in the presence of ,god to give her the cup of wine of the fierceness of ,his anger4 ,babylon1 the great1 the colossal city of mighty splendor1 re-built1 as we saw earlier in this book1 will have become exclusively a commercial city4 ,all the vice and sin and voluptuousness of all the vilest cities of the whole world1 through all the ages1 gathered up into one whole foulness1 would be as virtue compared with the foulness and vice and voluptuousness of the ,great ,babylon4 ,fallen1 ,fallen1 ,babylon the ,great4 ,may we gather from the twice-repeated word ,fallen1 that the collapse comprises the two things ,babylon1 mystery6--the foul religious system1 the false worship1--and also ,babylon the city8 ,god does not settle ,his accounts every ,saturday night as petty tradesmen do4 ,babylon had been garnering judgment for herself1 from the beginning4 ,and the cry of doom goes out against her1 from ,heaven4 ,render to her even as she rewarded1 and double the double according to her works2 in the cup which she mixed1 mix for her double2 insomuch as she glorified herself and was wanton1 ,,to ,,that ,,proportion give to her torment and grief4 ,because she saith in her heart1 ,i sit a queen and am not a widow1 and shall see no mourning1 therefore1 ,,in ,,one ,,day1 shall come her plagues1 death1 and mourning and famine1 and with fire shall she be burnt1 because strong is the ,lord who hath judged her4 ,and never more after this shall the foul city arise4 ,awful convulsions of the earth will take place all over the world4 ,the whole configuration of the earth shall be changed4 ,mountains and islands1 well known before1 will disappear4 ,with all the other aerial and other convulsions of nature1 a hailstorm1 covering an enormous area1 will be one of the horrors1 when1 putting the weight of the stones at the lowest average1 they will probably be quite a hundred-weight each4 ,and so event will follow event in such rapid succession as to puzzle the writer how to place them wholly in consecutive order4 ,satan will be taken and bound for a thousand years4 ,the living nations will have been judged as regards their treatment of the ,jews1 and as to their acceptance of the ,gospel of the ,kingdom4 ,on1 on1 on1 event upon event1 until the glorious millennial reign of ,christ shall be ushered in4 ,but before anything of which we have written in these pages can come to pass1 our precious1 loving ,lord must come into the air to take up ,his own people to ,himself4 ,for this every true ,christian should be looking1 waiting1 watching1--and working while they wait1 for ,he has said ,occupy till ,i come4 ,so ,i am watching quietly ,every day1 ,whenever the sun shines brightly ,i rise and say1-- ,surely it is the shining of ,his face1 ,and look unto the gates of ,his high place ,beyond the sea1 ,for ,i know ,he is coming shortly ,to summon me4 ,and when a shadow falls across the window ,of my room1 ,where ,i am working my appointed task1 ,i lift my head to watch the door1 and ask ,if ,he is come8 ,and the ,angel answers sweetly ,in my home1---- ,only a few more shadows1 ,and ,he will come4 ,even so1 ,lord ,jesus6 ,come6 ,come quickly6 ,,finis8 ,no6 ,,waiting6