final goal of Christian hope in the immediate presence of God.(365) The purpose of the Apocalypse is thus disclosed to be interpretative of God’s plan of the ages, an unfolding of the drama of destiny, in which, notwithstanding all apparent contradictions and present reverses, he is yet ever leading on to full and final victory in the end—through all the conflict he is winning, even against appearances, and will triumph at last,—a view full of encouragement for tried and disheartened Christians of the first and each succeeding century. Why God permitted this struggle to be begun and then let it continue throughout the centuries, why he ever allowed sin to find a place among his moral creatures, is a topic nowhere entered upon or discussed throughout the book. It is evidently recognized as belonging to the unrevealed mysteries of God which lie outside the sphere of the present Revelation. But that he overrules all the apparently inapt and sinful conditions of this world for the ultimate good of his kingdom, and that he will victoriously triumph at last, is the assuring witness of the whole series of visions. The Apocalyptic form, we find, becomes more marked and definite in this main portion of the book, and the difficulties of interpretation are correspondingly increased; for they are no longer chiefly those of grammatical exegesis and historical allusion, but rather the elucidation of a body of mysterious symbols. The purpose and limits of the present volume forbid the discussion of many of the exegetical difficulties, and serve to confine attention mainly to the meaning of the symbolism as the chief subject concerning which there is wide difference of opinion. Questions of grammatical, or grammatico‐ historical, exegesis will be found more fully considered in the various commentaries to which the reader is referred in the footnotes. The visions and episodes into which the main part of the book is properly divisible, are given separately in the following analysis, i. e. the seven seals, trumpets, and vials are each considered in order consecutively, and the episodes which intervene are taken up after each sevenfold vision is complete, in order that they may be better understood. This preserves the connection of the seven in the series, and emphasizes by itself the lesson of the episodes which are interjected into the natural order. I The Vision of God on the Throne (A Vision of Sovereignty). Ch. 4:1‐5:14