A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK

A Dictionary of the Bible — Volume 4

James Hastings · 1,396,759 words · 1386 reading sections

SECTION 301

Section 301

(vi.) St. John. — The term 'regeneration' does not actually occur in St. John's writings, though it does virtually in one passage of his Gospel (3" '), in the phrase ^ei'i'Tjff?'''" fiyuflei', which is best rendered ' born auew' (cf. v.* bivrepov el<T(\Ouv . . . Kal ieiiiir)6rivai). This shade of thouglit, while proper…

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SECTION 302

Section 302

i'lie more definite and psychologically mature character of the NT experience of Regeneration, as compared with that of the godly under the OT, is hinted in the words, ' I came that they may have Life, and have it in abundance ' ( 10'°, cf. 4'''). * As has been well said, *tho disciples are in a tnio sense Chritfi In …

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SECTION 303

Section 303

Hence St. Paul's unique experience of the gospel as power of God in the soul, and as an essentially present Salvation, marks an epoch in the NT doctrine of Regeneration. His deeply self-reveal- ing consciousness of sin gave him to see, traced within, the process by which new moral energy was received, and to realize th…

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SECTION 304

Section 304

But differently as the NT writers do, in some respects, conceive the (jreat exi)erience whereliy the mural centre of gravity in a man's life changes from self to God, they are unanimous on one car- dinal point. And that is the constant relation of the ' word of God,' made vital to the conscience and heart, as the means…

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SECTION 305

Section 305

There was, in the lirst place, the political ques- tion. It was the normal condition of things that Kjihraim should envy Judah, and Judah vex Ephraim. From the time of the earliest settle- ment in Canaan the North and the South had stood ajiart. The Bk. of Judges exhibits the northern tribes welded together by common r…

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SECTION 306

Section 306

rehoboa:si REHOBOTH-IR 223 statement of the Chronicler (2 Ch 11") that Reho- bciaiii's defection did not occur \intil his fourth year, and the story of his subsequent repentance (12*), are oliWonsly designed to bear out the theory of the orijrinal orthodoxy of tlie kingdom of Judali (see Abijah's speech, 2 Ch 13'°),…

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SECTION 307

Section 307

well of which he was allowed by Abimelech's herd- men to take peaceable possession. This was after two previous wells dug by Isaac's servants had led to strife, and tlie name of the tliird was called Rehoboth (norn 'wide spaces,' LXX Ei'pi/xwpio) because, said Isaac, ' now tlie Lord hath made room (hirhibh) for us,' Gn…

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SECTION 308

Section 308

s.D. T. G. Pinches. REHUM (Din-))- — ^- 0"e of the twelve heads of the Jewish community who are said to have re- turned with Zeruhbabel, Ezr 2- (B om., A 'Ipeovii). In the parallel pas.sage Neh 7' the name appears, perhaps by a copyist's error, as Nehum (LXX XaoiV) ; in 1 Es 5" it is RoiMUS (LXX'PieiAios). 2. ' The ch…

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SECTION 309

Section 309

• To the 16 In the Concordances add 2 Eg 6S<, Wis l^, 1 Ma« 2^, which we have found in the Apocrji^ha. A new Concord, to the Apocr. is much needed. Cruden ^'ives only one o( those three. The 8.P.C.K. Concord, is a reprint of Cruden. RELIGION REPENT, REPENTAXCE 225 name; LXX ora.). 4. A city of Benjamin, men- tioned…

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SECTION 310

Section 310

In the later Judaism the idea of repentance is not indeed lost sight of, but, in Pharasaic circles at least, external acts of penitence, such as fast- ing, have usurped the place of the inner spirit, and to these acts the idea of merit has attached itself. In the preaching of the Baptist it again emerges in its pristin…

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SECTION 311

Section 311

LiTERATiTtB. — Works on 07* Theology by Schultz and Smend : on NT Theulony by Weiss, Beyscblag. and Holtzn^ann ; Sieffert, DiJi npucMen i/u'ot. Forschnnijeii Tiber Biume undljlaube; Creraer, Bifj.-thenl. Wurterlmch ; Wrede,art. * fj.iTcc>oicc Siunesanderung?' in ZUclir./. XT Wmenicha/l, i. (1900) p. 66 ff. W. MOBOAN. …

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SECTION 312

Section 312

The name doubtless indicates that this region had been occupied especially by ripha'tm, at .some period before Joshua s conquests. Its celebrity is mainly connected with events that occurred soon after Darid had been made king of all Israel in Jerusalem. In two successive campaigns the Philistines attacked him here, an…

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SECTION 313

Section 313

The foe wliicli Israel encounters in Rephidim is Amalek, a tribe which is generally described in Scripture as dwelling on the soutliern border of Palestine though occasionally found f.irther north (see Amalkk). Supposing tliat the Israelites on leaving Egypt went eastwards, they would pass by the territory which is ord…

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SECTION 314

Section 314

Eut may be inadequate even in the case of election ; ut in the case of what is called reprobation there is no verifiable truth at all. For older theological opinion on this subject see Calvin, Inst. III. ohs. xxi.-xxiii. ; Hill, Lectures in Dii-initij, iii. 41 f.; Hodge, Systematic Theology, iL 320 f. See also Election…

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SECTION 315

Section 315

J. Hastings. REREWARD — The 'rereward,' i.e. rearguard, was tlie last of the three main divisions of an army, the 'vanguard' { = avant-ward) or 'fore- front' being the first. The word comes from Old Fr. arerewarde, i.e. arere (mod. arriirc) ' beliind ' (from Lat. ad-retro) and %oarde, a variety of Old Fr. garde (which …

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SECTION 316

Section 316

3. In addition to this national rest, a rest of a more spiritual and individual character is spoken of. To IMoses tlie promise of the Divine presence with a settled abode as a goal is the guarantee of rest (Ex 3S'*). Jeremiah ofFers it (yin?) to his countrymen on condition of their walking in the eternal paths (Jer 6"'…

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SECTION 317

Section 317

KESUKRECTION RESURRECTION 231 blessings will at last be found to embrace all mankind. But it cannot be said that these pas- sages contribute any evidence for or against that view. See Weiss, Liblical Theology of XT, ii. 73. Such biblical passages were understood by Clement of Ale.xaudria, Origen, Gregory Nazianzen, …

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SECTION 318

Section 318

i. The Expectation of Resitrrection as DKVEI-OPED IX TlIK OT AND APOCRYPHA. — Martlia's words, ' I know that ho shall rise again in the resurrection in the last day'(Jn 11-'^), set before us the general belief of the Jews (excluding .Sadducees) in the time of Christ.* But how had this belief been arrived at? Its deve…

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SECTION 319

Section 319

These three tendencies of thought which were at work in the mind of Israel during and after the E.xile seem to spring naturally out of the previous OT religion, and not to reiiuire any extraneous influence to account for the shape which they took. No doubt, such a passage as Ya.ma Ix. II, 12 is sulGcient proof of a cle…

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SECTION 320

Section 320

appears to be more in harmony with the earliei eschatology. Even if ' the doctrine of the resur rectiou current among the cultured Pharisees in the century preceding the Christian era was of a truly spiritual nature,' it had not laid hold of the mass of the peojile. The character of the resur- rection belief to be gath…

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SECTION 321

Section 321

Doctrine of the REstmEECTioN or the Dead IN Apostolic Teaching. — To this the preceding remarks naturally lead us on. In two respects the doctrine presented itself to men of the apostolic age dili'erently from the way in wliich we regard it. (i) To the apostles the expectation of tlie Second Coming in their own lifetim…

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SECTION 322

Section 322

(2) Is St. Paiil's tearhitu; consistent with itself f — It is urged by Teichniann (on. cit.) that St. Paul's view in 1 Thess. is purely .Judaic {echl Judisclie). It is true that he says nothing in 1 Thess. of the ' change ' which is so prominent in the teaching of 1 Co 15, but this is no proof that it did not then form…

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SECTION 323

Section 323

236 RESURRECTION REU is that he had "iven up belief in a resurrection of the wicked. On the whole, it appears that there must be some distinctive character in tlie resurrec- tion to life, both as to causation and nature, which lias not yet been brought out adequately in theolof;y. Thus we are led to return to the di…

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SECTION 324

Section 324

The extenuation of the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the dead into a natural or conferred immortality of the soul to avoid perplexities arising from the limitation of our knowledge, evacuates the force of St. Paul's teaching as to the ideal sanctity of the human body, e.g. I Co 6''', and sacrifices the mora…

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SECTION 325

Section 325

In I', Reuben is Leah's son and Jacob's first- born, 35*», 46'-»=R, etc., 1 Ch 2'. Gn 48» ap- )arently implies that the birthright was trans- eired from Reuben and Sinieim to Ephraim and Manasseh. This is expressly stated oi Reuben in 1 Ch 5', and his incest is given as the reason. Reuben is often regarded as merely t…

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SECTION 326

Section 326

as carried captive by Tiglath-pUeser. On the other hand, they are kept quite separate in the Blessing of Jacob (Gn 49) and the Blessing of Moses (Dt 33) ; and tlie latter document shows us that Gad was flourisliing when Reuben had been reduced to insignilii-.ance. Probably Gad and Reuben were associated at tlie Conques…

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SECTION 327

Section 327

Kittel, however, considers that the statement of 1 Ch 1 1**, that among David's mighty men was the Reubenite chief Adina ben-Shiza with thirty fol- lowers, is derived from some ancient source no longer extant. According to an ancient source preserved in 1 h. •*•'■", Solomon divided the country into twelve districts, t…

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SECTION 328

Section 328

I. Introduction.— 1. Title.— The first word of the Book of Revelation gives the current title not only to this book, but to the class of literature to winch it belongs. The word * apocalypse* does not occur again in Rev., and does not here sicnifr a literary product. The title which the lK)ot • Unless wa read Cholubai …

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SECTION 329

Section 329

Iren»u8 (in. xi. 9) describes a certain sect which rejected John's Gospel on account of its doctrine of the Paraclete, and not only contended against false prophets, but would exclude prophecy from the Church altogether. Since this ground for the rejectionof the Gospel would be even more conclusive against Rev., and si…

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SECTION 330

Section 330

The Greek Church yielded only slowly to the decision of the Western, and adiiiitied tlie book into it« Canon. In Egypt, wlu-re the opposition lirst developi'd in orthodox circles, it was sooner overcome. Athanasius, and others after him, re- cognized the book. Tlie first Eastern commentary, that of Andreas, belongs to …

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SECTION 331

Section 331

A book, however, which has been canonized because of its general contents, and the spirit behind its form, will inevitably le used by many for its details literally taken. So used. Rev. has often had a harmful influence, setting thought upon useless tasks, and stimulating self-centred and morbid hopes and fears. If one…

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SECTION 332

Section 332

diction of the return of Nero. The interpretation of the numbei tU'iCi as Nero Vifxar seems to have been made independently by several scholars (Frilzsche, Benary, Hitzig, Reuss, Ewald COX With this understanding and dating of Rev,, Baur athrmed iti apostolicity, and made it a monument of the original Jewish Christiani…

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SECTION 333

Section 333

Weyland {Omwa-hiiuji en compUatie -hypotheeen toctjepast op de Apoailypse tan Johannes, 1888) elaborated Vischer's theory by supposing two Jewish sources. The oldest (:) con- tained (omitting slight and obvious Christian words or phrases) 10.11'U 12.13. 14«11 152-« 16. (part, esp. 1» ") 19112120. 211 », i.e. the little…

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SECTION 334

Section 334

244 REVELATION, BOOK OF REVELATION, BOOK OF elders (302 ff.), Harmagedon (263 ff.), the number 3i (266 ff.), the number 666 (374 ff.). Bousset adopted Ounkel's method in Dtr Antichriit in dtr Ueberlicferung dfi Jtuientumji, dis neu^n Testaments und der neuen liirche (IbUa), and attempted to sliow that an essentially…

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SECTION 335

Section 335

(4) It may not infrequently happen that the writer receives from tradition details which have no meaning at all for him, but which he retains as parts of the picture. The traditional meaning is in such cases the only one for which we need to search ; and often we can only say that it belongs to tradition, since the clu…

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SECTION 336

Section 336

The visions are described as real experiences, time and place being given, and tlie deep emotions of the seer described (7"- >» 8'»-'«- " 9»- » lO'"'"- ">■'»). The experiences seem to lie in the region of sleep or on its borderland (7'- ' 8" 10"). Their subjective reality seems to be in a measure confirmed by the inten…

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SECTION 337

Section 337

andjnr tliit i iTie pre-exil pre-exilic prophets, on the contrary, spoke in times of national prosperity and conlidence of a coming day of J", which would be a day of judg- ment on Israel at the hand of a foreign power. The message was one of repentance and righteous- ness that the threatened judgment might be averted…

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SECTION 338

Section 338

EEVELATION, BOOK OF REVELATIOX, BOOK OF 247 the materials of his book. Not only traditions, bat writings form his sources. Tliese materials may already have connected themselves with Enoch, or Mose.-, or some other great name. So that one may venture to say that the pseudonymity of these books has some basis in actua…

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SECTION 339

Section 339

fiersed Jews ; and details regarding the renewed and and city, such as Deutero-Isaiah, Ezekiel, Haggai, and others suggested. within this general Bcheme Bome important differences were possible. Tile Messiah is sometimes conceived of as God't agent in establiiihing his ItiiiK'iiom on eartli (e.</. Ps-£iol 17, Enoch 37…

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SECTION 340

Section 340

some of the %'isions in 4 Ezra (2 Esdras), more in th« first three visions (chs. 3'-9") and less in the last three (11-14). 4. Bci: as an Apocalypse. — AVe may now notice certain points of likeness and of uuliKeness which a general comparison of Rev. with the Jewish apocalypse suggests, and certain points of un- certa…

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SECTION 341

Section 341

Looking at the book itself, the most obvious nn- likeness to the Jewish apocalypse, after the identi- fications just named, is the letters to the seven Churches. To be sure, they are introduced by a highly coloured Christophany, based on Zech. and Daniel, and are given in the form of a direct communication of the exalt…

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SECTION 342

Section 342

250 REVELATION, BOOK OF EEVELATION, BOOK OF Becent investigation, however, showing the large dependence of the visionary upon memory, does not allow us to saj' with confidence of the abund- ance of OT allusions in Rev., ' This is literary art, and not the way in which living vision in the spirit expresses itself (Wei…

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SECTION 343

Section 343

destroyed (1911-21). Satan is bound, while Christ and the risea martj'rs reign 1000 years. Satan is loosed, and brings remote peoples to a final war against Jerusalem. They are Jestroyed, and he is cast into the lake ot fire (201-10). The general resurrec- tion and judgment follow (2011-15). The new heaven and earth, t…

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SECTION 344

Section 344

The vision of Christ (1'"^) brings before us the priestly and kingly One, who lives amid His Churches and possesses or rules them. The letters are introduced by descriptions of Chri-st which are in most cases burrowed from the vision, and close with promises ' tii liiiii that overcometh,' wliich in most cases anticipat…

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SECTION 345

Section 345

Our iiil'trLiice in regard to cli. 7 is, then, that the writer introduces foreign (in part Jewish) frajj- ments into his book, apparently interrupting his plan, but not without a purpose. He is writing even more to encourage true Christians than to " Trench {Kpisllea to the Seven Churohei, N.Y. 1802, p. 287(.), who pr…

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SECTION 346

Section 346

Although the wTiter connects ch. 17 and 21'*- with one of the angels of the bowls, yet it must be evident that we are not to judge this section (12-22') as consisting of the seven howl? (develop- ing the seventh trumpet), and some introductory and concluding sections ; for the prelude and post- hide would in this case …

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SECTION 347

Section 347

• It Is evident that 171 and 21* are meant to mark the begin- nings of paralti'l set-tiona, and It Is pos^iilile that the likewise parikllel IB'i and 22> are meant to mark their close. (1) The position and movements of the seer, — He is on earth in V^- ; in 41 he is summoned up into heaven, where he may be conceived …

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SECTION 348

Section 348

254 REVELATION, BOOK OF REVELATION, BOOK OF (3) Form of insjnration. — The same freedom and disregard of formal consistency is evident in the representation of the way in which the seer re- ceived his revelations. There is no set way, no fixed medium. The fli-st verses seem explicit, yet leave us uncertain whether w…

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SECTION 349

Section 349

anpels perform might almost he regarded as pictorial, since the wnter reduces the significance of these beings, who are the uniform at^tors and speakers in the Jewish apocal>-pses, to thai of messengers of Christ. He is the primary and final actor la the book (.opens the seals, ch. 6 f., and executes the judgment^ igii…

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SECTION 350

Section 350

Jewish literature furnishes other similar collec- tions of OT Messianic imagery (To 13, etc.); and the possibility that some earlier (Jewish) mind had already shaped the material in 21»-22', and that our author, in 21'"*, introduces and summarizes this section, and adds his own concluding sentences (22'-^'), is to be c…

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SECTION 351

Section 351

We have already found reasons for regarding 11'"'" as a Jewish oracle (or two fragments of a Jewish apocalypse), used by our author in a sense wliolly ditierent from its original literal meaning. It is a most convincing illustration of our author's union of dependence on traditional forms of ex- pression, and independe…

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SECTION 352

Section 352

EEVELATIOX, BOOK OF REVELATION, BOOK OF 257 historical explanation of cli. 12 in opposition to Gnnkel's tradition-historical explanation. We may regard Well Hansen's analysis as plaus- ible, for the war in heaven and the easting of the dragon down to earth must originally have pre- ceded his persecution of the woman…

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SECTION 353

Section 353

In 12' it is the seven heads that are kings, in 13* it is the ten horns, but in 13' the smitten head must mean a king. The latter is commonly interpreted (by Victorinus, and by modern scholars from I'^ieh- horn,Liicke, Bleek,downtoHoltzmannandI5ousset) of Nero's death, which ended the Julian dynasty, and seemed likely …

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SECTION 354

Section 354

serious attention. 7,a.\\-n(Zeil.f. kirchl. Wi-ssensch. u. k. Leben, 1885, p. 508 H'.) argued that Irenseus opposed the readinjj 616 because those w ho held it did so for the sake of applying it to Caligula (FAIOS KAI2AP = 616) — an interpretation which Iren. re- jected. Holtzmann (Stade's Gesr/iicA<e, ii. 388 ff.), Sp…

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SECTION 355

Section 355

Although the ellbrt to force emperor-worship npon Jews goes back to Caligula (A.D. 39-40), the total impression is that of a late, not an early time. To the actual destruction of Jerusalem there is nc reference. The condition of the churclies (forgetful- ness, indifl'erence, worldliness) points to a relatively late ti…

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SECTION 356

Section 356

fincif'ulVyet the imagery, esp. of Rev 8, fits SantorinweU (see Fouqu(i, SatUorin et ses (ruptimis, 18i9, esp. pp. 22-31, J8n.). Nothing could be more Uke the pit of the abyss than the crater of this volcano, and nothing better fitted to suggest demonic agency than the smoke darkening sun and ajr, the sulphurous vapour…

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SECTION 357

Section 357

Ood descends to be with men (213- 22r.). VTe note also that there are still 'the kings of the earth' who can bnng their treasures to the new Jerusalem (21'i'-'':''); and though there sha.U not enter into it anything unclean (212' = Is 621 etc.), yet outside of the city gates are the wicked (2214), whose part, however, …

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SECTION 358

Section 358

* Baur, Holtzmann, etzs. EEVELATIOX, BOOK OF EEVELATION, BOOK OF 26 i Ot&st itnelf would at last turn In hatred. The demonic nature •f the beast is here quit* clear. The actual Satanic power in the writer's experitnce was Home, and his hope was for its Call ; but though it was the agent and embodiment of Satan's bat…

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SECTION 359

Section 359

gunlshment (2421. H). x;, ,t the coming day of J" includes a eavcnly judgment over these sjuritual ijowcrs of the world- kingdoms. Is seen also in Is 84<- », Ps 82. 58 (?). Both in Is 2421, of. •» », and in a4* ^ earthquake phenomena are the manifest •ign of this judgment upon angel beings. That Pemion eschat- ology in…

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SECTION 360

Section 360

The Satan of chs. 12 and 20 is certainly more than a repre- sentative of Rome, and these two chapters must be intended to put the present evil power audita coming fall into relation to an ultimate principle of evil, which Rome only for a time em- bodies. Through tlie birth and ascension of Christ a victory has been ach…

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Public-domain historical reference work (1898–1905); OCR text from Internet Archive. Historical scholarship and terminology reflect its era; OCR may contain errors. Verify quotations and current scholarly claims independently.

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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.