And the tenth part of the city fell.—The French part of Christendom; one of the ten toes of the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar; one of the ten horns of Daniel's beast and John's dragon.—Dan. 2:41-43; 7:24; Rev. 12:3.
And in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand.—“And by the earthquake were destroyed seven thousand names of men.” (Diaglott.) “France made war, in her revolution of 1793-98, on all titles of nobility. It is said by those who have examined the French records, that just seven thousand titles of men were abolished in that revolution.”—Smith.
And the remnant were affrighted and gave glory to the God of Heaven.—“Their God-dishonoring and Heaven-defying work filled France with such scenes of blood, carnage, and horror, as made even the infidels themselves tremble, and stand aghast; and the ‘remnant’ that escaped the horrors of that hour ‘gave glory to God’—not willingly, but the God of Heaven caused this ‘wrath of man to praise Him,’ by causing all the world to see that those who make war on Heaven make graves for themselves; thus glory redounded to God by the very means that wicked men employed to tarnish that glory. For the statistics and many of the foregoing thoughts on the Two Witnesses, we are indebted to an exposition of the subject of The Two Witnesses, by the late George Storrs.” (Smith.) “And here I gratefully mention assistance rendered by Brothers George Stetson and George Storrs, the latter the Editor of The Bible Examiner, both now deceased. The study of the Word of God with these dear brethren led step by step into greener pastures and brighter hopes for the world.”—Pastor Russell's Autobiography. Z. '16-170.
11:14. The second woe is past.—In the narrative of Chapter XI are briefly summed up the three most important events of the Time of the End. Between the French Revolution and the great Time of Trouble occurs a most significant event, which leads up to and is the direct cause of the great Time of Trouble. That event is the second woe. It is described in detail in Rev. 9:14-21. But for this the great Time of Trouble would never have been necessary (Mal. 4:6); but it is necessary now, as necessary as was the Flood in Noah's day, and for the same reason—to rid the earth of the progeny of the evil spirits, the “abominations of the earth.”—Rev. 17:5; 9:13.
And, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.—The third woe is the Reign of the Lord begun, with its attendant upsetting of the present order. The woes are visited upon those interested in maintaining the present order of things, who would like to retain indefinitely the advantages they have obtained. “The battle of this great Day of God Almighty will be the greatest revolution the world has ever seen. Behold, how, even now, the searchlight of general intelligence is discovering the secret springs of political intrigue, financial policies, religious claims, etc., and how all are brought to the bar of judgment, and by men, as well as by God, declared right or wrong as judged by the teachings of the Word of God.”—D. 541.
11:15. And the seventh angel.—Pastor Russell. See Rev. 3:14; 10:7.
Sounded.—“We find the ‘shout,’ the ‘voice of the Archangel’ and ‘the trump of God’ all symbols, and now in process of fulfillment.” (B. 149, 197.) “The ‘great trumpet’ we understand to be the antitypical ‘trumpet of Jubilee,’ as symbolic as the preceding six, none of which ever made any literal sound. It has been symbolically sounding since October, 1874, and will continue to the end of the Millennium.”—D. 601; Rev. 10:7.
And there were great voices in heaven.—“These voices have been uttered, and to some extent heard, in the symbolic heavens, the nominal church. For some years past a ‘volunteer work’ has been steadily progressing amongst the brethren—the work of rendering assistance to the members of the Household of Faith still in Babylon, still in darkness respecting the Lord, His true Character, His true Plan, and respecting the nearness of His Kingdom.”—Z. '02-118.
Saying, The [kingdoms] KINGDOM of this world [are] IS become the [kingdoms] KINGDOM of our Lord, and of His Christ.—“The volunteer matter prepared for this present year (the issues of our journal for February 15 and March 15) had already been prepared before we thought of how wonderfully this year's distribution will agree with the declaration of our text. Here will be a million voices proclaiming throughout the nominal Church (symbolic heavens) the great message of this present time; namely, the Second Presence of our Lord as the reaper of the Harvest of the Gospel Age, gathering the ‘wheat’ into the ‘garner,’ destroying the tares (as tares—not as human beings) and establishing His glorious Kingdom upon a firm foundation of righteousness and equity, for the blessing of every creature.”—Z. '02-119.
And He shall reign for ever and ever. AMEN.—See Rev. 5:13; Dan. 2:44; 7:14, 18, 27.