“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter” (Revelation 8:10,11).

The Scriptures do not make any distinction between what are generally termed fixed stars, and meteors; that is, only one Greek word, aster, is employed to designate both. However, the very fact that the one in this third trumpet symbol fell from heaven, determines its nature as that of a meteor or falling star. The fact that it was burning as a torch, shows that it was of the nature classified by astronomers as an aerolite or “fire ball.” The fact that it embittered the rivers and fountains indicates that it exploded, and scattered its poisonous elements upon them. That many men died because of the embittering of the waters, implies the poisoning of these waters by the scattering of its poisonous substances upon them. The deaths resulting must have been caused by drinking the waters, and imply that the “waters” themselves in this symbol cannot picture peoples, as some historical expositors in expounding this trumpet symbol teach, though it is manifestly true that in some of the visions, “waters” are employed as symbols to represent peoples, as in Revelation 17:15.

The symbolism used in this third trumpet then is that of the fall of a great meteor into earth’s atmosphere, and its explosion, thus spreading its poisonous gases, etc., over the rivers and their sources, causing those who drank of them to die.

While the Scriptures make no distinction between meteors and fixed stars, so far as the word employed to designate them is concerned, yet in their use in symbolic language, we find a wide difference. Stars usually represent teachers. We have this use in Revelation 1:20, and it is so explained by Christ himself: “The seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand are the messengers (teachers) of the seven Churches.” However, it is very necessary to keep in mind that there are only twelve fixed stars (teachers) in the Church in the sense of true, infallible guides of the Lord’s people. These teachers (the twelve Apostles) were very specially chosen and inspired of God, and their utterances are always to be final in settling matters of doctrine, teaching. They are referred to in the vision of Revelation 12, which describes the early Church: “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars” (Revelation 12:1).

While other teachers are symbolized by stars, such are not fixed (infallible) stars; that is, they are liable to err, and their teaching must be tested by the utterances of the twelve fixed stars, the Apostles. Thus it has been pointed out that: “God has recognized or appointed twelve apostolic stars for the Church. From these and the moon and the sun all the enlightenment of the Church was to proceed. And from these the true light, which has blessed the true Church, has proceeded. But Papacy, assuming ecclesiastical lordship of earth, has placed or ‘ordained’ various stars, lights, ‘authorities,’ ‘theologians,’ in her firmament; and the various Protestant denominations have done likewise, until the whole number is innumerable. But God, while providing helps, evangelists and teachers to his true Church, has not ordained them with the authority of lights or stars. On the contrary, all of his faithful followers are instructed to accept as light only those rays of truth seen to proceed from the sun and moon and twelve stars ordained for that purpose.”

Stars are, however, used in the Scriptures to represent teachers, faithful and unfaithful, true and false, who, if faithful and true, are upheld and commended by Christ, but if unfaithful and false, are rebuked or condemned and cast off by him. Compare Revelation 1:20, 2:8-10, 3:14-18. Whoever, outside of the twelve Apostles, may be represented by symbolic stars, even though faithful, they must never be looked upon as inspired. In other words, it is required that their teaching must be tested by the sun, moon, and the twelve specially chosen inspired stars, the Apostles. The “star,” or rather meteor, that fell from heaven in the vision under consideration could not, we believe, represent a true teacher.

The Falling Star an Apostate Teacher

The “star,” or meteor of the vision we are considering represents a false, apostate teacher, and being specially designated as a “great” star, it must represent a very eminent one. Further evidence of this will be seen as we consider the symbolical significance of “fountains and rivers,” and note the effect this “falling star” had in the scattering of its poisonous substances upon the same. It should be noted also that it could not represent a reformer in the Church. The Reformers, Luther, Zwingli, Reuchlin, Calvin, and others, came out of the fallen Romish church system, and their teaching, as all Bible students know, had the effect in a measure at least, of purifying or sweetening the polluted waters, instead of embittering or poisoning them. The Papacy, long before the Sixteenth Century opened, had so perverted and distorted the Truth, that one could hardly recognize it as the pure Gospel given to the Church in the apostolic days.

It is our conviction that the Roman Catholic Bishop, the Pope, and his successors are represented by the notable “star” of this third trumpet symbol. The Prophet Daniel was caused in prophetic vision to see the rise of this great ecclesiastical Bishop, the Pope.

Third and Fourth Trumpets 247

The fountain or source of all truth is the ransom sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a positive fact that the so-called doctrine of the Mass has so polluted or poisoned this great fountain truth that it no longer has any effective power to cleanse the conscience of those who are deceived by it from dead works to serve the living God. “Christ’s continual sacrifice was not actually canceled or abolished by Papacy, but it was set aside by a false doctrine advanced by that system— which gradually, but in the end fully and completely, set aside the merit of Christ’s sacrifice as a continual and ever-efficacious one. This false doctrine is known as the Mass, or Sacrifice of the Mass.

“Protestants in general totally misunderstand this so-called sacrament. They suppose it to be merely a different form of celebrating the Lord’s Last Supper, adopted by Roman Catholics. Others get the idea that it is a sort of special prayer. But these ideas are quite erroneous. The Roman Catholic doctrine of the Mass is this: The death of Christ, they claim, canceled Adamic or original sin, but is not applicable for our daily shortcomings, weaknesses, sins, and omissions; it is not a continual sacrifice, ever meritorious for all our sins, ever sufficient and efficacious to cover as a robe every sinner and every sin, so as to permit the contrite one to come back into union and fellowship with God. For such sins the sacrifice of the Mass was instituted: it is esteemed by Papists as a further development of the Calvary sacrifice. Each time the Mass is offered in sacrifice it is, they claim, a fresh sacrifice of Christ, for the particular persons and sins to which the priest offering it mentally applies it. The Christ to be thus sacrificed afresh is first ‘created’ from wheat bread and wine by the officiating priest.”

While it is true that this pollution of the foundation truth of God’s Plan of salvation began to be manifest in a measure before Papacy came fully into power, yet it was Papacy that made a belief in it and the practice of it compulsory upon all Christians, as we learn from their own records:

“If any one shall say that the Mass is only a service of praise and thanksgiving, or a bare commemoration of the sacrifice made on the Cross, and not [in itself] a propitiatory offering [i.e., a sacrifice which itself makes satisfaction for sins]; or that it only benefits him who receives it, and ought not to be offered for the living and the dead, for sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other necessities: let him [who so denies the power of this sacrifice] be accursed” (Canon 3, Council of Trent). (Concil. Trid., Sess. 22. De Missae).

The pollution of this fountain laid the foundation for a system that gradually counterfeited every Christian doctrine. It was the work of the reformers of the Sixteenth Century to restore this foundation truth to the Church. Other visions of the Revelation portray very minutely this great counterfeit fallen Church, whose “head” is fittingly described in the symbol of this “great star” (meteor).

We have thus far in our unfolding of the vision taken for granted that “fountains and rivers” in this instance symbolize the sources and channels of truth. We will now endeavor to prove that this is the correct interpretation. Sometimes, as we have noted in explaining other symbols, “waters” symbolize peoples. In other instances, particularly where mentioned as “fountains and rivers” together, they are used to represent the sources and channels of truth. The true source or fountain of all Christian truth is the Word of God. The pure channels would be the divinely appointed agencies through which the truth flows, Christ, the Apostles and Prophets, and the other inspired Scripture writers. These originally pure channels have had introduced into them, impure, false teaching, false pagan ceremonies and rites. This, we have found, began early in the Gospel Age. St. Paul said in his day, “the mystery of iniquity doth already work” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). It developed very rapidly in the Fourth Century, the days in which the so-called Christian emperors ruled from Rome, and on the overthrow of Western Rome, it culminated in the Bishop of Rome claiming to be the successor of the Apostle Peter. This resulted in a very general recognition of him as the appointed channel of truth, succeeding the Apostles.

We have in other visions of the Revelation several uses of “fountains and rivers” as symbols. For example, in Revelation 7:17: “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters.” In Revelation 22:1 we read of a river employed as a symbol: “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” Both of these instances refer to the future Millennial conditions, and evidently picture the pure truth as it flows through the pure channels of those blessed times. In the outpouring of the third “vial” of Revelation 16:4, all seven of which, expositors in general understand refer to the last plagues (judgments) upon Christendom, we have another use of these symbols: “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.” Commenting upon this latter vision, Mr. Russell said:

“The river channels through which water (truth) has flowed, symbolize the founders and schools of these various systems — the places or men in whom these channels had their start or beginning. For a long time ‘water’ (truth) truly very muddy in some, but nevertheless a mixture of water, has flowed through these various systems of which many have partaken, and have been refreshed, but a change comes, and that which once refreshed, gradually becomes loathsome.”

In the symbol of this third trumpet vision we are not considering the judgments or plagues upon these false religious systems of our day, but rather the rise of the “mother” system itself, its beginning in Papacy. This occurred in the early part of the Sixth Century. It is our conviction that this third trumpet symbol, depicts the embittering (poisoning) of the truth by Papacy’s distortion and perversion of the original fount itself. The heaven from which this “great star” fell was, therefore, not the Papal heavens (they were not in existence at the time of this vision); rather it was the heavens preceding the rise of the Papacy, the period in which the professed Church was rapidly departing from apostolic purity of faith — the period just prior to the worldly age of Constantine and his successors on the so-called Christian imperial throne. The “mystery of iniquity” (2 Thessalonians 2:7), the desire to lord it over God’s heritage, began to work in the Church as early as the Apostle Paul’s day. This evil continued to develop amongst the elders or bishops of the Church for two or three centuries. It at last culminated in a rivalry between four prominent bishops (stars) in the Church — those of Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, and Alexandria. This contention for rulership was finally settled in 533 AD by a decree of Justinian, the emperor of Eastern Rome, declaring that the Bishop of Rome was the one to be recognized by all Christians, as the sole divinely appointed ruler in the Church. This Roman Bishop, therefore, we understand to be the “great star” that “fell from heaven” and fulfilled this vision, in embittering, poisoning the waters of truth. We should not say, however, that it referred to one particular man, except in its beginning, any more than the expression, “man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), or the “man of God” (2 Timothy 3:17), refers to one man. It rather refers to the long line of so-called Christian bishops (popes), each one of whom has falsely claimed to be the vicar of Christ. They have ruled the Church throughout the Dark Ages and exercised an evil influence over all the nations and to a very large extent over the whole world up to the present time. A large portion of the Revelation is taken up in portraying the evil doings of the power of which this “great star” is the head.

The third part of the rivers and fountains becoming embittered (poisoned) by the poisonous elements that fell from this “great star” represents the proportionate extent of the deadly, evil influence that this “man of sin” (pope) had, and has since had, upon the truth of God’s Word.

The many men who died because of drinking the poisoned waters, represent the many who have been influenced to accept the teaching and claims of this great false church system, and who thus suffer spiritually, losing all appreciation of and desire for the pure truth that comes from the true fountain, the Word of God, and the unpolluted, divinely appointed channels, the Apostles and Prophets.

Some noted Historical expositors in the past have applied the symbols of this third trumpet to the invasions of Western Rome by the Scythian hordes under Attila (whom they claim to be the “great star”) and the evil effects of these invasions upon the people dwelling in the northern and western skirts of the Empire. The “rivers and fountains” are explained to be the peoples who lived on the outskirts of the Empire; and the embittering of the waters according to this interpretation refers to the infusion into the minds and dispositions of these, the restless, seditious spirit of these Scythian hordes, which was communicated to the central population, and finally caused revolts that overthrew the Empire.

Others apply the symbols of this third trumpet to events of the Sixteenth Century, interpreting the “great star” which fell from heaven to be fulfilled in John Calvin, and the effects of his teaching. In the light of the foregoing, neither of these interpretations seem justifiable.

In our study of this third trumpet symbol to discover the time or period of its fulfillment, we have, as in the other trumpet symbols, looked for great and noted events in the history of the Church, which have exerted a powerful influence over mankind and its affairs and also upon the testing and development of the “little flock.” Thus far we have found the events symbolized by the three trumpets, acknowledged by all historians to be the most noted. They followed each other in succession; they have continued to a large extent up to the present time to affect the destinies of mankind; and they have been overruled by Christ to the accomplishment of his great plans and purposes in the development of his called out ones. These three most notable occurrences of history are more fully depicted in later symbolic visions of the Revelation. As we consider the fourth trumpet symbols, we shall find described other evil effects upon the pure truth of God’s Word by this false Christian Bishop, this “great star” of the third trumpet.

The Fourth Trumpet — the Eclipse of Hope

“And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise” (Revelation 8:12).

That we may more fully appreciate the connection and relationship between the events represented in this fourth trumpet symbol and those in the three preceding, we briefly summarize the very notable events in the history of the Church which we believe have constituted a fulfillment of the visions of the three preceding trumpets, as follows:

The first trumpet — the great storm of hail, etc., portrays the effects that certain truths of Christianity had upon the false, idolatrous Pagan religion and upon the Pagan government which indirectly caused its overthrow, and the substitution in its place of a paganized form of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire. This had its fulfillment in the second and third centuries, reaching its culmination in the days of Constantine the Great, in the beginning of the Fourth Century.

The second trumpet — that of the burning mountain being cast into the sea, describes in symbol the overthrow of the Western Roman Empire. The events that gradually accomplished its overthrow, occurred during the Fourth Century and the beginning of the fifth, 476 AD.

The third trumpet — the falling of the “great star” or meteor and its poisoning the fountains and rivers, etc., illustrates in symbol the apostasy of a Roman Bishop, and the establishment of a succession of the same, who perverted and defiled the true source and channels of truth. The center of the influence of this great false teacher has been the city of Rome. The time in history that this occurred was about a half century after the fall of the Western Roman Empire which would be 539 AD. It is well to keep in mind the fact that the evil influence of this succession of false teachers has been most keenly felt throughout all the centuries of the Gospel Age and still continues. It has been the cause of the sorest trial and severest testing of the Lord’s consecrated that appears in the annals of history. We shall not be surprised, therefore, to find that the destruction of this and other false religious systems is most clearly portrayed in the symbols of the seven vials or seven last plagues of Revelation 16.

In view of the foregoing we should, therefore, look for the symbols of this fourth trumpet to have their fulfillment, not after, this order of false Christian teachers is destroyed, but rather shortly after its rise, and contemporaneous with its governing influence. Indeed, the symbols of this fourth trumpet we believe depict very strikingly, special particular features of what is termed by all historians the “Dark Ages,” during which time the saints, according to inspired prophecy, were delivered into Papacy’s power for a season (Daniel 7:25, Revelation 13:7).

Let us first study the symbols themselves. They are two in number and as they are such as are used very frequently in the Scriptures they are familiar to Bible students. First, the sun, moon, and stars are smitten so as to cause the third part of them to be darkened. Considering the matter from a purely natural standpoint, the effects of such a darkening of these heavenly luminaries would be that they would fail to give the third part of the light and heat that they were designed by the Creator to shed forth upon the earth and its inhabitants, thus producing calamitous effects upon the earth and upon all the terrestrial creation. Second, the effects produced by the darkening of the heavenly bodies is in the symbolism stated to be, to cause the day to be darkened for a third part of it and the night in like manner.

We will now consider the symbolical significance in the Scriptures of the sun, moon, and stars when mentioned together. We have one instance of their use in this sense in the case of Joseph’s dream (Genesis 37:9), in which the sun, moon, and stars are represented as bowing down to Joseph. In this instance, they represented the different degrees of power and influence in Jacob’s family; Jacob being represented by the sun, his wife by the moon, and the sons by the stars. Another instance, and one doubtless used the same as in the vision we are considering, is that found in Revelation 12:1, describing the true Church as a woman clothed in a robe of sunlight, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. The vesture of sunlight represents the pure unadulterated truth of the Gospel; the moon, the reflected light proceeding from the Old Testament illustrations — the types and shadows in the Law, and the utterances of the Prophets; the twelve stars, the twelve chosen Apostles, through whom the light from the Old and New Testament shines.

The picture then is that of the Church in its purity before the divinely appointed lights had become darkened. The sun is the supreme light of the material world, consequently when, in a symbolical sense, it will rise fully in the coming Millennial Day, all other lights will disappear — will not be needed.

The Church was originally given the benefit of all these lights. They are represented as shining out through the Church in this world’s night. In a literal sense, it is the same sun that illuminates all parts of the earth; so in a symbolical sense, whatever parts of the earth have been enlightened by the true light, could be darkened by false teaching, or by substituting error for truth. This would be symbolized by the darkening of the literal sunlight. The sun can never symbolize darkness, error; and so it would be improper to speak of the Papal sun, in the sense that it is, or has a light of its own that could be darkened, for the reason that the Papal power has obscured the light from these heavenly luminaries, and has become a propagator of error, false doctrines. Thus explained Mr. Russell:

“The sun as a symbol represents the Gospel light, the truth — and thus Christ Jesus. The moon as a symbol represents the light of the Mosaic Law. As the moon is a reflection of the light of the sun, so the Law [covenant] was the shadow or reflection beforehand of the Gospel. The stars as symbols represent the inspired teachers of the Church — the Apostles. A combination of these symbols is found in Revelation (12:1) where the ‘woman’ symbolizing the early Church is represented as clothed with the sun, that is, resplendent in the full, clear light of the unclouded Gospel.”

Shading of the Gospel Sunlight

In a general way, therefore, the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars would mean the darkening of the truths of the Gospel, the darkening of those truths foreshadowed in the Law and in the utterances of the Prophets, and the darkening of the truths contained in the writings of the twelve Apostles. From this standpoint the sun, moon, and stars of all the professed Christian systems would be the same sun, moon, and stars, and for these lights to be darkened would mean the same — the substitution in a measure at least, of error for truth, the difference between these systems being represented in the varying degrees that error has become mixed with the truth; or it might be a neglect of the use of these true lights which would result in wholly darkening the understanding with regard to God’s plans and purposes.

We give herein an example of this method of interpreting this symbolism found in the writings of Mr. Russell. While the quotation is in connection with the unfolding of another vision, belonging to the closing days of the Gospel Age, yet the principle or rule of interpretation is the same as given above:

“Wherever we look we can recognize the fact that while God’s consecrated people are being specially fed and enlightened at the present time, yet with the nominal Church it is not so. Its sun [light of truth] is being darkened; its moon [typical sacrifices, etc.] is being turned into blood: and its stars [teachers, who once had a measure of truth] are falling. The center of the Gospel light has from the first been the cross of Christ, the ransom; and however boldly Papacy set up the competitive sacrifice of the Mass, the saints of God have always held fast to this blessed center of all God’s promises and of all His people’s hopes.”

We would, therefore, understand that the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars of these systems would be a measurable loss of the light of truth that proceeds from these divinely appointed luminaries.

We next consider the symbolical use of the word “day,” and thereby discover the evil effects produced upon the Lord’s people as also upon the world by this darkening of the day. It is generally understood by Bible students that the word day in Scripture usage, frequently refers to a period of time. It is also well known to be a symbol of a period of time in which the light of truth will fully shine, not alone to the Church but through Christ and the Church in glory to the whole world. This “day” is called the day of Christ, the Millennial day (Philippians 1:10, 2:16). It is referred to in Malachi (4:2) and is there portrayed as the day when the Sun of Righteousness shall have risen with healing in his beams. All through this present age the true saints with more or less interest and blessing in proportion as the truth concerning this blessed “day” has not been darkened by Papal teaching, have looked forward to this time, this day of Christ’s glorious reign upon the earth, as the fruition of all their precious hopes; and as the time when the sunlight of truth will shine forth for the blessing and uplifting of all mankind. In the Dark Ages, which covered the long period of Papacy’s reign, this blessed hope, to a very considerable extent, was lost sight of, or became dimmed, that is, the Church was deprived of the help and blessing derived in looking forward by faith to this coming day. The Old Testament Scriptures in shadows and types, as well as in the utterances of the Prophets, foretold and described this glad day of heavenly sunlight, when the world would be blessed through the glorified Christ.

The apostate system to a large extent darkened the light proceeding from God’s wonderful revelations that cheered the pathway of his saints, by claiming and teaching that these glorious prophecies were fulfilled in the reign of the Papal system over the nations. We quote an eminent writer in this connection:

“When the Christians were relieved from persecution by the policy of Constantine, and came into honor, after having been so long reckoned the filth and offscouring of all things, the cry was straightway raised, that the Kingdom had come [the Day had dawned]. But the result of this vain, ‘Lo here!’ was the introduction of two pernicious doctrines, that the Kingdom is possible without the second presence of the King, and the Church can become mistress of the world during her widowhood, and while Satan is still reigning prince. Further mischief followed: for there being nothing to support such views in the New Testament, those who entertained them were compelled to resort to the Old, and to cite from thence, the prophecies of Israel’s [and the world’s] future glory, in order that by a false application of them to the Church they might justify the prosperity which had accrued to her through her alliance with the Pagan [Paganized Christian] world” (Pember, Antichrist, Babylon, and the Coming Kingdom).

All the blessed features that belong in their fulfillment to that future Millennial Day were claimed by the Papal theologians as already taking place, and they taught that Christ had come the second time in the person of the Roman Bishop or Pope. For further references in proof of this see page 38 and the message to Philadelphia.

Is it a thing to be wondered at that Martin Luther, the great reformer of the Sixteenth Century, as he began to be enlightened by a proper understanding of the Scriptures, viewing Papacy’s blasphemous claims in the light of prophecy, exclaimed: “It is most manifest and without any doubt that the Roman Pontiff with his whole order is the very Antichrist.”

We thus are enabled to see the significance of the “day” being darkened as we note the distortion and misapplication of these Millennial Day prophecies by this succession of false religious teachers (stars, meteors). During the long period of the Dark Ages, the Second Advent faith and the Millennial hopes disappeared. Not wholly, however, as we learn from the historians. Harnack, an eminent Bible expositor and Church historian, has said:

“It [the true hope of the Church and the world] still lived on in the lower strata of Christian society; and in certain under-currents of tradition it was transmitted from century to century.”

As another writer has said:

“While the harlot Church, including the great body of nominal Christians, became completely dead to this truth, the true Bride, the woman in the wilder- ness, obscure, despised, and persecuted, still cherished it in secret. Hence all through the age we find glimmering rays from the Virgin’s lamp falling here and there in the surrounding darkness. The Waldensian candlestick, with its motto, ‘Lux in tenebris,’ threw stray beams of advent light into the encircling gloom. Read the following from the Noble Lesson, a famous treatise, originating in that body [Waldenses] about 1200 AD. ‘O brethren, hear a noble lesson: we ought often to watch and be in prayer; for we see that this world is near its fall. We ought to be very careful to do good works, for we see that the end of the world is approaching.’ … But these were only broken rays, feeble heart reflections from those who had kept sight of ‘the Bright and Morning Star,’ in the midnight of the Church’s apostasy. We do not forget that there were powerful outbreaks of expectation of Christ’s return, like that which marked the dawn of the thousandth year of the Christian era. But the conception which characterized these was that of a Judge coming in terror, not of a bridegroom returning to bring joy to his watching bride. The patience of hope revived only in a panic of fear. The forebodings of this period having passed, Christendom relapsed once more into profound slumber concerning her primitive hope — a slumber disturbed only here and there by the dreams of those whom she counted visionaries and fanatics” (A. J. Gordon).

It was not until the dawning of the great Reformation that the hope of Christ’s Second Coming and the Millennial reign of righteousness began to be revived; it was not until about 1829 that a distinctive Advent movement began to be felt world-wide in the Church; and it was not until some years after what is termed the Miller disappointment, which occurred in 1844, that the clear full light came.

“And the night in like manner”: These are the closing words of this fourth trumpet symbol. “Night” by the law of analogy as contrasted with day represents the time of the reign of sin and death. The special lights for the night are the moon and the stars. The darkening of the night, therefore, would mean that the reflected light from the moon, proceeding from the prophecies, types, and shadows, etc., of the Law dispensation pointing to this Millennial Day would be dimmed, so as to make the darkness of this night of the reign of sin and death more intense.

The Lord’s saints are creatures of hope. They are called in the Scriptures “the children of the day” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). They, in this night time of sin and death live by faith in the light of this coming day. The hope that was set before them in the beginning of the age was that of the coming and the reign of Christ, including the hope of reigning with him. The hope of the resurrection, not only of the just but of the unjust as well (Acts 24:15), was perverted and distorted by the teaching of the immortality of the soul, etc., so as to cause these precious truths to be deprived of their blessed influence over the Lord’s saints in both their life and teaching. The true hope of the Church became darkened, and thus were many deprived of the help and comfort designed to be given to the Church in its pilgrimage, wilderness state. In this way was the little flock of persecuted ones sorely tried. However, he who walked in the midst of the candlesticks was with them as he promised, supplying through faithful ones raised up for that purpose, the oil of truth necessary for their sustenance.

This fourth trumpet vision is quite generally applied by Historical expositors, to the overthrow of the Western Roman Empire, 476 AD. The sun, moon, and stars are applied by these expositors to the civil ruling powers. The darkening of these luminaries is explained by them to describe the evil influences upon the people of the Roman Empire, by the overthrow of the Roman government.

There are those who apply the symbols of this trumpet to the Baptist move- ment beginning in the days of the great Reformation. It cannot be truthfully said, however, in the light of history, that the Baptist Church movement caused the eclipse of these heavenly luminaries so that the Millennial hopes and prospects were lost to the Church. These blessed hopes, etc., had already been lost sight of before the Reformation began, and each reform movement, the Baptist included, has had measurably, at least, an influence to restore them again.

In our expositions thus far we have found that the Papal system has been quite frequently referred to. We have found its gradual rise portrayed in the horsemen of the second, third, and fourth seals — these describing the desire to rule in the Church, which at last culminated in this rulership becoming centered in the Roman Bishop. In the third trumpet we have depicted its embittering or poisoning the fountains and rivers of truth. In the fourth trumpet we have described its darkening the Church’s hope by its false application of prophecy. We shall find it brought to view in other visions from chapter eleven and on, each vision portraying particular features of its evil influences upon both the Church and the world.