duced further questions. Menno was not satisfied with the inconsistent answers which he got from Luther, Bucer and Bullinger; he resolved to rely on Scripture alone, and from this time describes his preaching as evangelical, not sacramental. Anabaptism of the Munster type repelled him. A brother of Menno joined the insurgent followers of Matthyzoon and was killed at Bolsward, April 1535. Blaming the leaders by whom these poor people had been misled, Menno blamed himself for not having shown them a straight course. Accordingly on the 12th of January 1536 he left the Roman communion.

"Among the so-called Anabaptists were four parties, the favorers of the Munster faction, the Batenburgers, extremists, the Melchiorites and the Obbenites. For a time Menno remained aloof from both Melchior Hofman and Obbe Philipsz. Before the year was out, yielding to the prayer of six or eight persons who had freed themselves from the Munster spell, he agreed to become their minister and was set apart January 1537 to the eldership at Groningen, with imposition of hands by Obbe Philipsz. Menno repudiated the formation of a sect; those who had experienced the 'new birth' were to him the true Christian church. His Christology was in the main orthodox though he rejected terms such as Trinity which he could not find in Scripture. Of the introduction of Anabaptist views into England we have no certain knowledge. Fox relates that 'the registers of London make mention of certain Dutchmen counted for Anabaptists, of whom ten were put to death in sundry places in the realm, anno 1535; other ten repented and were saved. In 1536 King Henry VIII issued a proclamation concerning faith agreed upon by Convocation, in which the clergy are told to instruct the people that they ought to repute and take "The Anabaptists opinions for detestable heresies and to be utterly condemned.' Thomas Fuller tells us from Stow's Chronicles that in the year 1538 four Anabaptists, three men and one woman, all Dutch, bare faggots at Paul's Cross, and three days after a man and woman of their sect were burnt in Smithfield. The early English Baptists, while they utterly rejected the baptism of infants, were as yet unpledged to immersion and rarely practiced it."-Brit. And the third part of the sun was smitten.-Though not apparently so stated in any confession of faith, it is a prevalent view among Baptists that the Old Testament has been entirely fulfilled. Believing thus they lose the force of a large part of the Gospel Message, typified by the sun.

And the third part of the moon.—Similarly, they do not

see the force of the teachings of the Law Dispensation, as in the Tabernacle arrangements, etc., in their application to the Church.

And the third part of the stars.-The teachings of the true light-bearers, the Apostles, cannot be fully appreciated except in connection with the prophecies of the Old Testament.

So as the third part of them was darkened.-If pressed to estimate the relative worth to us as New Creatures of the writings of the Old and New Testaments, we would admit that the writings of the New Testament are worth perhaps twice as much to us as those of the Old Testament because they contain the message addressed to the New Creation, but we want all three thirds of the Word.

And the day.-The Scripture teaching of the coming Millennial Day.

Shone not for a third part of it.-At least a third of the light we get on the subject of the Lord's Millennial Reign is from the Old Testament.

And the night likewise.-The same is true of the world's dark night of sin and death, and the darkest feature of that night-the Time of Trouble such as was not since there was a nation. The Old Testament has much of light and instruction on this subject.

8:13. And I beheld, and heard an [angel] EAGLE.-One of Pastor Russell's humble followers (Matt. 24:28) apprehending correctly the significance of the three woes.

Flying through the midst of heaven.-Beginning with the papal heavens and then in their order of development, the Lutheran heavens, Anglican heavens, Calvinistic heavens and Baptist heavens (and others shortly.) Saying with a loud voice.-With considerable plainness of speech.

Woe, woe, woe, to the Inhabiters of the earth.-Great distress and perplexity of mind to all supporters of Satan's Empire.

By reason of the other voices.-Later movements in the ecclesiastical heavens described in Chapters 9 and 10.

Of the three angels, which are yet to sound.-The four great denominations-Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian and Baptist-were formed in swift succession within twenty years from the time Luther nailed the theses on the Wittenberg door. But the work of forming new movements away from papal bondage did not stop there.

"Ye curious minds, who roam abroad,
And trace creation's wonders o'er,
Confess the footsteps of your God,
And bow before Him, and adore."

REVELATION 9

TWO INEFFECTIVE REFORMATION WOES

9:1. And the fifth angel sounded.-The Wesleyan movement began, leading up to the Methodist Episcopal Church, United American Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Church, African United Methodist Protestant Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Methodist Protestant Church, Wesleyan Methodist Church, Methodist Episcopal Church South, Congregational Methodist Church, New Congregational Methodist Church, Zion Union Apostolic Church, Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, Free Methodist Church, Reformed Methodist United Episcopal Church, and Indepen⚫ dent Methodist Churches.-1 Cor. 3:3.

And I saw a star.-John Wesley became a star in the Anglican heavens in 1728, at which time he was ordained a priest by Bishop Potter.

Fall from heaven unto the earth.-For many years Wesley had no thought of forming a sect; and yet, uncon. sciously, he began to do so from the time he was or dained. He was then in Oxford University, where "the completeness of his self-devotion to the service of God, combined with his rare moral courage and superior strength of character, caused him to be recognized as the leader of a group of under-graduates which was nicknamed the 'Holy Club' by the ungodly of the University, who derided its members for their rigid rules and charitable practices by calling them 'Methodists.'" (McC.) "He fully accepted the recognized teaching of the Church of England, and publicly appealed to the Prayer-Book and the Thirty-nine articles in justification of the doctrines he preached. Methodism began in a revival of personal religion, and it professed to have but one aim, to spread Scriptural holiness over the land. Its doctrines were in no sense new." (Brit.) The work in the Western World, particularly in the United States, grew to vast proportions. "The preachers in the South determined upon administration of the sacraments, and a committee was chosen who ordained themselves and others. The Northern preachers opposed this step and for several years the Connexion was on the verge of disruption. Wesley perceived that the Society would disintegrate unless effec

द

tive measures were speedily taken, and, aided by two presbyters of the Church of England, (one of whom was James Creighton) early in 1784 he ordained Thomas Coke, a presbyter of that Church, as Superintendent."-Brit.

His brother Charles heartily disapproved of this and wrote the following (which does not, however, appear with his other hymns in the Methodist hymnal):

"So easily are bishops made

By man or woman's whim;

Wesley his hands on Coke hath laid,
But who laid hands on him?”

In 1787 the American Conference changed Mr. Coke's title to "Bishop." Mr. Coke tried to introduce this title into the English Conference of which he was president, but the English Brethren could not accept it, despite his great earnestness in the cause. It must have been a strange sight to see a bright man like Wesley engaging those two presbyters of the Church of England to help him ordain somebody to a higher office than any of them had ever held. But the plan worked. All Methodists believe that Bishop Coke, the first Bishop of the Methodist Church received some "apostolic succession" from the original line described in comments on Rev. 2:13. These brethren have grieved that Pastor Russell did not get his ordination from the same source.

And to him was given the key of the [bottomless] pit OF THE ABYSS.-Wesley was given the key to nothing and to nowhere.

9:2. [And he opened the bottomless pit].-Wesley opened nothing. He did interpret Rom. 8:21 as meaning that the lower animals would go to Heaven, but that was an error. He was honest enough, however, to object to using the word Trinity because he did not find it in the Bible. "Christian Advocates" please note.

And there arose a smoke.-Confusion-a blinding haze. [Out of] OVER the pit.-In the "air," the ecclesiastical heavens.

As the smoke of a great furnace.—Methodism was no ordinary smudge.

And the sun.-The true Gospel.

And the air.-The Anglican Church.

Were darkened by reason of the smoke of the plt.Methodism damaged the Anglican communion as much as it did the Truth.

9:3. And there came out of the smoke locusts.-An im. mense number of followers.-Judges 7:12.

Upon the earth.-Among order-loving people.

And unto them was given power.-To attend an oldtime Methodist meeting and witness the "getting the power" was to see the sight of a life-time.

As the scorpions of the earth have power.-"A wellknown injurious insect of hot climates, which is shaped very much like a lobster. They are carnivorous in their habits, and move along in a threatening attitude with the tail elevated. The sting, which is situated at the extremity of the tail, has at its base a gland that secretes a poisonous fluid, which is discharged into the wound by two minute orifices at its extremity. The scorpion makes a painful wound in men and beasts which produces fatal results unless speedy remedies be provided such as scarifying the wound or sucking out the poison."-McC. 9:4. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth.-Men of independent thought. -Rev. 8:7.

[Neither any green thing.] Neither any tree.-Saint -Rev. 8:7.

But [only] those men.-The unconverted.

Which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.— Methodists understand that to be converted from being a sinner means to have the seal of God in one's forehead, All the energies of that church are devoted to gathering in goats to the sneepfold.

9:5. And to them it was given that they should not kil them.-No such sane and merciful sentence as "The wages of sin is death" has any place in Methodist theo logy. Wesley was born at a time when the original meaning of the word "Hell" had become hidden, and was saturated with the later teachings that it signifies a place of torment. He threw his whole heart into the work of spreading this error throughout the earth.

But that they should be tormented five months.-In symbolic time, 150 years. (Rev. 2:21). Wesley became the first Methodist in 1728. (Rev. 9:1). When the Methodist denomination, with all the others, was cast off from favor In 1878 (Rev. 3:14) its power to torment men by preaching what Presbyterians describe as "Conscious misery, eternal in duration" came to an end legally, and to a large extent actually.-Rev. 9:10.

And their torment.-The torment of those tormented by the tormenting doctrine of torment.

Was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.-See Rev. 9:10.

9:6. And in those days.-Throughout the 150 years of widely prevalent "Methodist hell-fire".