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had also come unto an innumerable company of angels, the general assembly. The
casting out of the great dragon to the earth ushers in the third and last woe:--
"Rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them, woe to the inhabiters of the earth, and
the sea! for the Devil is come down, having great wrath, because he knoweth he hath but
a short time" (12: 12).
The woman is carried away to a place prepared for her, and nourished in the
wilderness for the rest of the period until the kingdom is set up on earth. To this period
applies the LORD'S PRAYER. "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is
in heaven." These words will be the heartfelt utterance of this persecuted company, and
while experiencing again the manna in the wilderness, they will pray with real
understanding, and not with vain repetition, "Give us this day the bread that cometh
down upon us". The word rendered "daily" in the prayer occurs nowhere else in
Scripture, nor, as far as we know, in any writing in the Greek language. It is a word
which can only be fulfilled by the repetition of the miracle of the manna, and this is what
does take place.
The Scriptures speak of several companies of believers, some ready, some unready,
some watchful, some asleep, some like wise virgins, some like unwise, one taken, the
other left, one child of the woman caught up to God and His throne, other of her seed
suffering the wrath of the dragon, some sheltered in heaven and the secret of His
presence, others sheltered in the wilderness. The Church of the One Body, while not
connected with these phases of the great plan, should give heed to these differences and
seek to profit thereby.
#39.
The Two Beasts (13:).
pp. 71 - 74
"The Devil is come down having great wrath", and the most appalling programme of
evil immediately ensues. The R.V. places the opening of chapter 13: at the close of
chapter 12:, and follows the critical Greek texts by reading "and he stood upon the sand
of the sea", instead of the A.V. reading "I stood". Before attempting to analyze the
intricate details of this chapter it will be necessary to look at it as a whole. It is divided
into two parts closely related:--
1-10
speak of the beast that arises from the sea.
11-18
speak of the beast that arises from the earth.
These two parts run parallel to one another in detail:--