SecondComingAD70

Below is the 16th of multiple excerpts of commentary on the Book of Revelation from The Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell: " EPISODE OF THE SEALING OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD . "Chap. vii. 11-17 [Rev. 7:1-17].--- ‘After this, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed; and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel,’ etc. [STAY OF EXECUTION FOR THOSE WITH SEAL OF GOD ON FOREHEADS] ...

Below is the 15th of multiple excerpts of commentary on the Book of Revelation from  The Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell:  " OPENING OF THE SIXTH SEAL [COSMIC CATACLYSM] . "Chap. vi. 12-17 [Rev. 6:12-17].--- ‘And I beheld when he [the Lamb] opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth (land [Greek:  tes ges ]), and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide u...

Below is the 14th of multiple excerpts of commentary on the Book of Revelation from   The Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell: " OPENING OF THE FIFTH SEAL [MARTYRS UNDER THE ALTAR] .  "Chap. vi. 9-11 [Rev. 6:9-11]--- ‘And when he [the Lamb] had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying,  How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell in [on] the earth (land [Greek: epi  tes ges ] )? And a white robe was given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.’   "This passage may be regarded as a crucial test of [the validity of] any interpretation of the Apocalypse [Revelat...

Below is the 13th of multiple excerpts of commentary on the Book of Revelation from  The   Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell:  " OPENING OF THE FOURTH SEAL [PALE HORSE: DEATH AND HADES] [JOSEPHUS ON HORRORS OF JEWISH-ROMAN WAR]  "Chap. vi. 7, 8. [chapter 6:7-8]--- ‘And when he [the Lamb] had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come.  And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him . And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth (land [Greek: tes ges ]), to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the beasts of the earth [land].'  "The scene here is evidently the same [as that of the previous seals], only with all the horrors and miseries of the war intensified.  The ghastly spectres of Death and Hades now follow in the train of famine and war .  The ‘four sor...