le as the
religion, of God has been generally recognized. Its value, however,
is not limited to the proof of the divinity of Biblical truth which it
furnishes: it serves a definite and most important purpose in the life
and work of God's believing children in all ages. By it we are better
able to understand God's own plan and purposes in human history, and
by it we are made conscious of our own whereabouts along the pathway
of time. The movements of God in the history of the past that were
predicted by earlier prophets have received their chief inspiration
from the conscious knowledge the leaders had of the prophetic
character of their work. It was Daniel's study of prophecy that
stirred his soul for the restoration of Israel to the favor of God
and to their own land (Dan. 9:2), and at the same time opened his own
heart for the wonderful revelation concerning future events. It was
the consciousness of prophetic fulfilment that gave John the Baptist
his inspiration for work (John 1:23); and in establishing the truths
of the gospel of Christ, the apostles placed leading emphasis on the
fact that these things were written in the law and in the prophets.

The love and care that Christ had for his people did not cease in the
beginning of the gospel dispensation; for he gave the promise, "I
am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." It is altogether
reasonable, then, that we should receive "the revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave unto him, to _show unto his servants_ things
which must shortly come to pass" (Rev. 1:1). Through the varying
conditions of time, Christ leads his people on to certain victory.

Since the mission of the church was to be world-wide and perpetual, it
is fitting that the church should be described prophetically in order
that we might have definite information concerning the operations
of the divine hand in working out the great problem of the church's
destiny after the close of the sacred canon.

[Sidenote: Prophetic symbols]

Before proceeding with our discussion of those prophecies which
concern the church, let us pause and consider briefly the character
of symbols. The prophecy of the Scriptures is presented to us in two
distinct forms--direct statements in the ordinary language of life and
in symbolic representations, but far the greater part is expressed
in symbols, as in the book of Daniel and in the Revelation of John.
Without an understanding of the nature of symbols we can n