The Kingdom of Christ and the Atonement.

CHAPTER X.

THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST

The doctrine of  the kingdom of Christ calls for special attention in this connection; though some may, at a first glance, think that it is not directly related to the subject of the Atonement. Here we may repeat a statement made, that there are no isolated, independent truths in the great plan of salvation. It takes all the truths and doctrines of the Bible to make one complete system; and the Atonement is the great central work, by virtue of which all other parts of the work of salvation and redemption are carried out.

But the special reason why the subject of the kingdom should here receive attention is this: There is another class of texts in the Scriptures which speak of Christ on his throne which are misapplied by many religious teachers, who refer them also to his kingly priesthood. They seem to take it for granted that every Scripture declaration concerning his kingly authority must refer to him while sitting a priest on his Father’s throne in Heaven. But the Scriptures themselves very clearly distinguish between these two classes of texts, and to amalgamate them is only to make confusion and to obscure the light of some precious Bible truths.

In Acts 1:6 it is recorded that the disciples inquired of Christ: “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” On this we first notice, that the term “Israel” primarily was indicative of character, and not of birth. Jacob was called Israel, and Esau was not, though they were children of the same parents—twin brothers. Afterward the term was applied to all the descendants of Jacob, though it never lost its primary signification. It was by this fact that Paul proved that the promises of God are strictly and literally fulfilled, though the unbelieving nation were rejected which claimed the sole right to that title. They are not all Israel which are of Israel, nor are all heirs of the blessings of Abraham who descended from Abraham. The promise of kingly glory preceded the existence of the nation (See Gen. 17:5-7),

Gen 17:5  Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 

Gen 17:6  And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 

Gen 17:7  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 

 and the rejection of any part of the nation, or even of the whole as a nation, did not and could not destroy the promises. When Jesus, because of their rejection of the message

The Atonement - 170

from Heaven, foretold the rejection of the Jews, he did it in the following language: “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” Matt. 21:43.That was to say, that the kingdom should be taken from nominal Israel, and given to the true Israel, the faithful overcomers. See also Gal. 3:29.

Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

 And with this agree the words of the Lord to David, as recorded in Ps. 89. “I have made a covenant with my chosen; I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations.” Verses 3,4. And again: “His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. . . . Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in Heaven.” Verses 29-37.

It is not merely a theory that depends upon the true interpretation of these promises. We shall endeavor to show that the truths which they contain are eminently practical, and that a misapplication of them leads to serious perversions of the gospel and of the relations of  Christianity to the kingdoms of this present  world.

We turn now to the question found in Acts 1:6.

Act 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 

The opinion largely prevails among commentators of the present day that the disciples were indulging a very erroneous idea respecting the kingdom, which was the cause of their asking such a question. Dr. Barnes says: “They did not ask whether he would do it at all, or whether they had correct views of the kingdom; but, taking that for granted, they asked him whether that was the time in which he would do it.” And from this he draws the conclusion that nothing is so hard to remove as “prejudice in favor of an erroneous opinion.” It might be suggested that prejudice against the truth is as blind and unreasoning as prejudice in favor of error. But Dr. Barnes thought that, from the teachings of the Saviour in regard to his kingdom, they should have better known its nature than to ask such a question. And his comment doubtless expresses the views of a majority of commentators of the present day. We say, “of the present day,” because the popular view of the present day was not always the popular view held in the Christian

- 171 - J. H. Waggoner

Church. But for that we care nothing; our inquiry is, “What saith the Scripture?” The question of the disciples was solely in regard to the time of setting up the kingdom. The answer of the Saviour was in reference to the subject of the question, the time, and it was not at all calculated to correct a wrong impression in regard to the nature of the kingdom, if they were resting in an error on that subject. “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” This answer was certainly well calculated to confirm them in the view which they held. Not the hint of the correction of an error, but, to the contrary, they were told that the time of which they inquired was not to be revealed to them. The Revised Version says, “which the Father hath set within his own authority.” Margin—”appointed by.” A careful examination of the whole subject must convince any one that this is parallel with Matt. 24:36. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but my Father only.” The declaration that the time of which they inquired is set or placed within the authority of the Father, known to no others, is quite the reverse of an intimation that the question referred to something which would never take place. Verse 3 says that, after his resurrection, Jesus was seen of the disciples “forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Some appear to think that the time and opportunities were rather limited for their gaining instruction on this important subject. But, remembering that “the kingdom” was the burden of all the teaching and preaching of both Jesus and his disciples during all his ministry, insomuch that he called his gospel “this gospel of the kingdom,” Matt. 24:14, we would rather take the chance which the disciples had of learning the truth on the subject, than to take a “three years’ course” in any theological school now in existence. We have another instance of the Saviour giving instruction on this subject where the question of time was first in their minds. “He added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.” Luke 19:11. In this parable he spoke of himself as a

The Atonement - 172

nobleman who went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. That this represents his going to his Father in Heaven to receive a kingdom, and returning to this earth, is evident, for, he said: “But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom,” then he rewarded his servants and destroyed his enemies. But this will apply to no other locality but this earth. And it exactly corresponds to his statement of what takes place at his coming, at “the end of the world.” Matt. 13:41, 43. “The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity. . . Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” It must be borne in mind that “the field is the world;” that the workers of iniquity are represented by the tares, which grow with the wheat until the harvest. That the harvest is reaped at the coming of the Son of man is shown in Rev. 14:14-20, and other scriptures. The kingdom and dominion over this world is given to Christ, the “nobleman,” not at or near the beginning of this dispensation, as many believe, but near its close. This is proved by Rev. 11.14, 15. Under the third woe trumpet, which is the last of the seven trumpets, and which introduces the Judgment (verse 18), a voice proclaims: “The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.” Under this trumpet the dispensation comes to its close. Also the prophecy of Daniel is decisive on this point. In chapter two, in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, the king or kingdom of Babylon answered to the head of gold of the image. This kingdom was succeeded by that of the Medes and Persians, see Dan. 5:30, 31, which answered to the breast and arms of the image. And the Persian was succeeded by the Grecian, Dan. 8:3-8, 20, which was represented by the body of brass of the image. Another kingdom, the fourth, was strong as iron—represented by the legs of iron, —stronger than all that preceded it; and it was divided into ten parts, or kingdoms, in the image represented by the feet and toes. This was the Roman kingdom, which was successor to the Grecian, and which

- 173 - J. H. Waggoner

bore an iron rule over all the world. It was divided into ten kingdoms. These are the several parts of the image which was seen by Nebuchadnezzar; and such was the interpretation of the dream, as given by Daniel. But  another object was seen in the  dream, and it also represented a kingdom. It was “a stone cut out of the mountain without hands.” The original is reflexive in form, conveying the idea of self-moving. This stone smote the image “upon his feet, that were of iron and clay.” That is to say, that it smote the image at some time after the Roman kingdom was divided, for the stone could not smite the feet and toes of the image before they existed. Or, in the fulfillment, the kingdom represented by the stone could not smite the kingdoms represented by the feet and toes of the image until they had arisen—until the Roman Empire was divided into ten parts or kingdoms. In the dream, the effect of the smiting of the image by the stone, is thus described: “Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” In the interpretation it is thus stated: “In the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up  a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Dan. 2:35, 44. This describes, not the conversion of earthly powers, but the entire destruction of all earthly powers, their places being filled by the kingdom of God, by which they are broken in pieces. See the same foretold in Jer. 25:15-33.

Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. 

Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. 

Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: 

Jer 25:18  To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; 

Jer 25:19  Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; 

Jer 25:20  And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, 

Jer 25:21  Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, 

Jer 25:22  And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, 

Jer 25:23  Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, 

Jer 25:24  And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, 

Jer 25:25  And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, 

Jer 25:26  And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. 

Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. 

Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. 

Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts. 

Jer 25:30  Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. 

Jer 25:31  A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. 

Jer 25:32  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 

Jer 25:33  And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. 

 In this chapter it is said that “all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the whole earth,” shall drink of the wine-cup of God’s fury, “and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among” them. No such destruction as that described in Jer. 25 has ever taken place; but it will, for the word of the Lord declares it. Then will the interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar be fulfilled.

The Atonement - 174 

It is true that Dan. 2 does not definitely give the chronology of the setting up of the kingdom of God; but it does definitely place it after the full development of the image, including the divisions of the Roman power. This brings it down several centuries this side of the days of the apostles. But in Dan. 7:9-14 it is located, as in Rev. 11:14-18, in the time of the Judgment. In Dan. 7 is recorded a vision of the prophet, which was explained by an angel. Under the symbols of beasts and horns it presents the same kingdoms and the same events which are given in chapter 2 in the great image. In chapter 7, the Roman Empire and its divisions are represented by a dreadful and terrible beast with great iron teeth, which had ten horns. This chapter contains, however, two important points which are not found in chapter 2. (1) The rise and work of “another little horn,” after the rise of the ten, which was quite different from the others, and at length became stronger than all the others. (2) The sitting of the Judgment, which takes place before the kingdoms of the world are given to the Son of man.

Dan 2:1  And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. 

Dan 2:2  Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 

Dan 2:3  And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. 

Dan 2:4  Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. 

Dan 2:5  The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. 

Dan 2:6  But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. 

Dan 2:7  They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it. 

Dan 2:8  The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. 

Dan 2:9  But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof. 

Dan 2:10  The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. 

Dan 2:11  And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. 

Dan 2:12  For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 

Dan 2:13  And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. 

Dan 2:14  Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: 

Dan 2:15  He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. 

Dan 2:16  Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. 

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

Dan 2:17  Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: 

Dan 2:18  That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 

Dan 2:19  Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 

Dan 2:20  Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 

Dan 2:21  And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: 

Dan 2:22  He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. 

Dan 2:23  I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter. 

Dan 2:24  Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation. 

Dan 2:25  Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation. 

Dan 2:26  The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? 

Dan 2:27  Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; 

Dan 2:28  But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; 

Dan 2:29  As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. 

Dan 2:30  But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart. 

Daniel Interprets the Dream

Dan 2:31  Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 

Dan 2:32  This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 

Dan 2:33  His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 

Dan 2:34  Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 

Dan 2:35  Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 

Dan 2:36  This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 

Dan 2:37  Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 

Dan 2:38  And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 

Dan 2:39  And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 

Dan 2:40  And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 

Dan 2:41  And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 

Dan 2:42  And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 

Dan 2:43  And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 

Dan 2:44  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 

Dan 2:45  Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. 

Daniel Is Promoted

Dan 2:46  Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 

Dan 2:47  The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. 

Dan 2:48  Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 

Dan 2:49  Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. 

Dan 7:9  I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 

Dan 7:10  A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 

Dan 7:11  I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. 

Dan 7:12  As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 

The Son of Man Is Given Dominion

Dan 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 

Dan 7:14  And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 

Rev 11:14  The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. 

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 

Rev 11:16  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, 

Rev 11:17  Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 

Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. 

Dan 7:1  In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. 

Dan 7:2  Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 

Dan 7:3  And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. 

Dan 7:4  The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. 

Dan 7:5  And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. 

Dan 7:6  After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. 

Dan 7:7  After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 

Dan 7:8  I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. 

Dan 7:9  I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 

Dan 7:10  A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 

Dan 7:11  I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. 

Dan 7:12  As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 

Dan 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 

Dan 7:14  And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 

Dan 7:15  I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 

Dan 7:16  I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. 

Dan 7:17  These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 

Dan 7:18  But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. 

Dan 7:19  Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; 

Dan 7:20  And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 

Dan 7:21  I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 

Dan 7:22  Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 

Dan 7:23  Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 

Dan 7:24  And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 

Dan 7:25  And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. 

Dan 7:26  But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 

Dan 7:27  And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. 

Dan 7:28  Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart. 

(To be continued)

(Excerpt from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:

THE ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

  (1884)

BY   ELDER J. H. WAGGONER