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Yet the worshippers of the beast, together with Satan, the beast and the false prophet
themselves must be excepted, otherwise we introduce discord into Scripture. This should
be remembered when we are tempted to make universal application of the "all's" and
"every's" of Scripture. In the case of those who worship the beast, and of Babylon itself,
we read:--
"The smoke of their (or her) torment ascendeth up (or rose up) for the ages of the ages."
The ages of the ages is the great converging point of all time. There the smoke ceases
to ascend, there every enemy is subjected, there the reign of the saints reaches its goal,
there in fact the Son Himself shall vacate His mediatorial throne, and having
accomplished the purpose of the ages He shall:--
"Deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father . . . . . . . that God may be all in all"
(I Cor. 15: 24-28).
In Ezek. 28: 11-19, which we understand to speak of Satan, we read that God
says:--
"Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, and it shall devour thee,
and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee"
(Ezek. 28: 18).
Thus ends the awful conflict of the ages. The thought of this torment an destruction is
a terrible one, yet He Who measures the guilt by the gift of His Son is righteous in His
vengeance, for perfect love must also know perfect hatred, otherwise it would be for ever
one-sided unreal.
The Great White Throne.
The Books and the Book (20: 11-15).
pp. 42 - 48
At the opening of the sixth seal great convulsions took place, causing the sun to
become black, the moon to be like blood, the stars to fall, the heaven to be parted asunder
as a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island to be moved out of their
places. Thus was ushered in the day of wrath, foretold in Isa. 13: 6-13; 34: 1-5;
Hag. 2: 6, 7, 21, 22; and Matt. 24: 35. We now have brought before us a more terrific
movement. Not merely do the heavens part asunder and the mountains move, but John
says:--
"And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and
the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them" (Rev. 20: 11).
"No place" seems to signify more than the mere idea of "room" or "position"; it
seems to indicate that the heavens and the earth that Peter said "are now" have
accomplished their purpose. This idea may be seen in such a passage as Heb. 8: 7:--