1917_The_Finished_Mystery_Text

There was silence.— "Assemble yourselves,and let us enter into the defenced cities, and letus be silent there: for the Lord our God hath putus to silence." (Jer. 8:14.) "They (the clergy)somehow realize that neither reason norScripture supports their false doctrines, and thatthe wisest method is to keep silent, in the shadowof old superstitions and under the protection ofso-called Christian governments."— C158.In heaven.— In the nominal ecclesiasticalheavens.About the space of half an hour.— On thescale of a year for a day this would mean but aweek, and indicates that, as soon as the fullnumber to complete the Body of Christ havebeen sealed with the Present Truth, persecutionin a public way, and on an unprecedented scale,may be expected to begin almost immediately.(This verse should properly be included inChapter 7.)Revelation 7:23. 8:2.And I saw.— As the next vision of the grandseries. Something never seen until the seventhseal is broken and the Mystery of God finished.The seven angels.— Instrumentalities suitablefor the work to be performed.FM144Which stood before God.— Featuring theReformation.And to them were given seven trumpets.—Bugles with which to blow bugle-blasts ofliberty from the oppressions of the papacy,leading up to and including the final blast of"Liberty throughout all the land unto all, theinhabitants thereof."— Lev. 25:10.Revelation 7:23. 8:3.And another angel.— Not the "voice of theLord," mentioned in the preceding chapter, butthe corporate body— the Watch Tower Bible andTract Society, which Pastor Russell formed tofinish his work.