But can this vision of Christ upon a white horse denote a mere providential superintendence, such as Christ constantly exercises over the church and its spiritual affairs on earth? Certainly not by any principle of symbolic language. Throughout the whole prophecy thus far we have seen that whenever any symbolic agent is brought upon the panorama, whether horseman, or beasts, or locusts, or harlot, or whatever else, it always denotes some corresponding agents appearing on earth and beginning their appropriate work. The symbolic agent is real. But here is a symbolic appearance of Christ. By what law could such a symbolic appearance represent merely a providential superintendence? And if his appearance was necessary in this case, why was it not necessary in every event, to show that it was done under his direction? Again, if this symbolic appearance of Christ is not his real appearance, how can we tell that there is any reality in the appearance of the horsemen of the first four seals, the ten-horned beast, or the harlot woman? What right have we to remove one agent from the panorama as an actual agent there any more than another? And if this is not his real appearance, upon what principle of interpretation can we ever establish the fact of his second coming? It is evident to all that, if we can turn this agent into a mere providential one, we can do the same with another, and thus set aside his second coming altogether. Then, what shall we say in the next chapter when some one steals our weapons and declares that the great white throne before which all the dead, small and great, stand is nothing but that providential government of God under which all sinners pass condemnation upon themselves and their sins find them out? If we can deal thus with symbols, we can do anything with them and can make out any meaning we please.
The laws of symbolic language require us to take the appearance of Christ in this vision just as we do the appearance of any other agent, as a real event. We can not consistently give it any other meaning. His symbolic appearance must represent his real appearance; otherwise, it can never be represented by anything. Jesus appears in his own name and person because there is no other that can represent his infinite dignity and majesty. And the symbols connected with him denote the object of his mission and the work which he performs. His white horse shows him now a glorious conqueror; his crowns denote his supreme dominion; the sword of his mouth and his vesture dipped in blood denote the dread work of vengeance upon his enemies; while the army following him doubtless denotes the "ten thousands of his saints" that accompany him when he comes. Jude 14. The bride has already prepared herself for his coming, and now the eternal union takes place. "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."
17. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18. That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses; and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
19. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
The foregoing explanation so nearly covers this ground that little remains to be said. The symbol is that of vast slaughter on a battle-field, which gathers all the birds of heaven and the beasts of the forest to the prey. The enemies gathered for this battle were "the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies," together with the false prophet. This is the grand confederacy of wickedness formed under the mission of the three unclean spirits that went forth, not only unto the kings of the earth, but also into the whole world. This is not a literal collecting of armies, hence not a literal slaughter upon a battlefield, nor a literal assembling of carrion birds; but it is a symbolic representation of the final and eternal destruction of the allied powers of sin. As will be further described in the following chapter, they were gathered together for the purpose of overthrowing the church of God and anticipated a complete victory in the battle of Armageddon; but the sudden appearance of Jesus Christ to rescue his bride results in their complete overthrow. The special theme of this series of prophecy has been the history of apostate Christendom; hence the beast and the false prophet are represented as being taken and thrown into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. "The remnant" that were slain refers to the other powers of wickedness not embraced in Catholicism and Protestantism This series being now traced to its close, the narrative returns to take up another important theme of prophetic truth.
CHAPTER XX.
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.
3. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
It is commonly supposed that the events here described are to occur at the second advent; but by considering carefully the different things enumerated in this chapter—the binding of the dragon; then a thousand years; after that the Armageddon battle; and last of all the judgment scene, in which all the dead, both small and great, are rewarded, and all the powers of wickedness cast into the lake of fire—it will be seen at once that this is not a continuation of the series of prophecy immediately preceding, but an entirely new theme, running partly parallel with that series, and both ending at the same point—the second coming of Christ and the general judgment, in which the lake of fire is the final doom of the combined powers of wickedness. In that series the beast and the false prophet—Romanism and Protestantism—were the chief powers of evil under consideration; in this series the dragon feature predominates. If this be not true, then there will be two judgment scenes and the wicked cast into the lake of fire twice. Positive proof of the position here taken will be given as we proceed.