; so
that the mourning as "in the valley of Megiddon," became a proverbial
expression in Israel for great mourning, Zech. 12:11,12. It is therefore
significantly applied to the final battle.

Thus do "the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take
counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed;" but "He that
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision."
For the decree has gone forth: "I shall give thee the heathen for thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou
shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a
potter's vessel," Ps. 2:2-9. In this victory the saints, also, have a
part; for it is written: "He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto
the end, to him will I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them
with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to
shivers: even as I received of my Father," 2:26, 27.

As thus predicted, in this final conflict the nations are smitten, 19:15.
Those symbolized by the beast and false prophet are cast alive into the
burning flame; _i.e._, the individuals constituting the bodies of those
beasts are cast therein: their governments cease when taken by the Lamb
and his armies. This is in accordance with what Daniel saw, who "beheld,
even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed and given to the
burning flame," Dan. 7:11.

"The remnant" also are slain; so that there are none left alive on the
earth of all the wicked. Thus Daniel interpreted to king Nebuchadnezzar
his dream: "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which
smote the image [representing the governments of earth] upon his feet,
that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron,
the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together,
and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind
carried them away, that no place was found for them," Dan. 2:34, 35. It
will "break in pieces, and consume all these kingdoms" (_Ib._), according
to the prediction: "The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall
perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted," Isa. 60:12. "And this
shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people which
have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall consume away while they
stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,
and the