Vers. 13, 14.-771e unclean spirits. Following the steps hitherto taken, we come to a aymbol of great repulsiveness-a symbol doubtless intended to represent evil in its repulsive form. Again we premise we see no individual persons or individual systems in this figure. "The descriptions here, as. well as in the parallel passage, poim to the last, the most reckless antichristian and blasphemous manifestations of the beast an,l the false prophet, when impregnated to the full with the spirit of Satan, and acting as his a.gents iu the final effort he makes against the kingdom of God " (Fairooim, 'Prophecy,' p. 423). "By likening the spirits tofroga some resr,ect is had, according to the juat remark of Bossuet, to one of the plagues of Egypt. '!he point of comparison is the uncle:i.nuess, the loathsomeness, which is expressly noticed." Our attention is .called to spirits and powers of evil who a.re directly unJer the control of the evil one, and Pubjeot to his inspiration(" the devil having already put it into the head of Ju.daa, ••• then entered Sat.an unto him")-'' the spirits of devils." 'l'hese "go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty." The servant of sin obeys the behests of sin. He whose heart is open to Satan will find Satan walking in sooner or later, With the great battle we have not now to do. We see how the Church has to maintain her wrestling against "the principalities, agaiust the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, againsc the spiritual hosts of wickedness iri the heavenly places." This vision seems to represent an especial malignity and effort of evil in this " warof the great day of God." We oan hardly forbear seeing some :final intensifying of the Satanic power, some tem- porary prevalence of evil. But the admonition of the Lord sounds with especial force upon our ear, and must be removed from its merely parenthetical position. "Beh.old, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments." In order to this let the Church be roused to behold the evilness of the enemy and the greatneaa of the danger. L 'fHE UNCLEAN SPIRlTB ARB "SPIRITS OP DBVILS." The devil stands as the repre- lblltative and head of all that is unlike God, and that is antagonistie to his Name and kingdom-" the adversary," 410 ·THE REVELATION or ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. [OJL XVL 1-21.
D. TB'R SPIBrrB ABE BPBOIALLY DIBTINGUISHED AS "UNCLEAN SPIRITS." All unhoU- ne111 is uncleanness. They prompt to all disobedience and worldly lW!t and foulness of life, all unbelief and evilness of conduot. III. THEY STilWLA'l'E AND INBPIBB "THB KINGS 01' THR 11:ABTH "-the 81lbtle ruling powers, passions, ha.bits, and other forms of evil which hold sway and dominion over men. The king is the symbol, not of weakness, but of power and authority and govern• ment; fit emblem of whatever domineers over the lifo of man. l V. THEY STAND IN DIBEO'I' ANTAGONISM 'l'O GoD. This is the utmost evilness con- ceivable. To be led astray by temptation, to fall by unwatcbiuluess, to yield to evil, ill bad enough, and entails just and merited punishment; but the utmost vileness is that which places itself in direct and active opposition to the Holy One. " He that opposeth God and exalteth himself against an that is called God." V. THEREFORE LET THE LOWLY BBLIEVERB (1) take heed: watching; (2) keep free from the contamination of sin in every guise : " keepeth his garments." (3) For the danger is grea.t; (4) and the great Master cometh at an hour when we think not: " Behold, l come as a thief in the night." (5) He that ao wa.tcheth is verily " blessed." -Ito. Vers. 1-21.-" The ,even mals:" predestined mfferlng m the governmrmt of tM tl}()r/d. "And I heard a great voice out of the temple sa.ying to the seven angels, Go your ways, a.nd pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went," etc. "It is incredible," says Bishop Horsley, " to any one who _has not ma.de the experiment, what proficiency may be ma.de by studying the Scriptures without any other commentary or exposition than what the different parts of the sacred volume naturally furnish for each other." Whoever has, with honesty of purpose and perse- vering endeavour studied the Bible for himself, will readily endorse this statement of the bishop. I would add to this, and say that it is incredible to any one who has not ma.de the experiment, what an amount of priceless, vital, and practical truth can be got out of the Bible by studying its utterances in connection with the unbia.ssed reason and common sense of the.human mind. Using these Apocalyptic visions of John as an illwtration of the great troths dictated by reason and confirmed "by the consciousnllll8. of every man, they come to us a., a pricelea revelation. The great truth which this chapter suggests to llll, and strikingly illustrates, is that there is predestined -SUjferlng .m the . governmimt of the world. There are ., seven plagues," sufferings, that have been developing, still are being developed, e.nd will be to the eud. The abyss of agony con- tained in these seven plagues is immeasurable to all but the Infinite. The old dogma fabricated by the old makers of our theology, viz. that the physical suffering in the worlJ. is calllled by sin, is an exploded fallacy, which all geological museums ridicule in mute laughter. Suffering is an element in the government of this world. Taking the whole of this chapter, we shall find it illustrative of three subjects, viz. (1) that all the d ~ ()f this sufferlng are under the direction of God; (2) that they hatrd all G great moral purpose; and (8) that they have all an influenr.e coea;temivtJ with tha universe. Observe- I. ALL THE DISPBNSA'l'IONS OP TBIB BUFFEBlNG ARE UNDER TIil! DIBECTION OF Goo. 1' And I heard a great voice out of the temple sa.ying to the seven angels, Go yolll