infinitely greater importance and occupies a more honorable position
than worldly kingdoms. Thus, a beautiful virgin bride is chosen to
represent the church of God; whereas a great red dragon with seven heads
and ten horns is chosen to symbolize the Pagan Roman empire. The
glorious body of God's reformers is set forth under the symbol of an
angel from heaven, with his face as the sun, his feet as pillars of
fire, and a rainbow upon his head; whereas the Saracen warriors of
Mahomet are locusts upon the earth, with stings of scorpions. The
department of human and angelic life is chosen to set forth the
spiritual affairs of the church, while the department of nature and of
animal life represents the political affairs of nations. To this general
rule, there is at least one exception. Certain things connected with
God's chosen people under the old dispensation are considered proper
symbols to represent similar things or events in the New Testament
dispensation, without special regard to the department from which they
are drawn. Thus, the temple, altar, incense, candlesticks, holy city,
etc., of the former age, though not taken from the department of human
or angelic life, are, nevertheless, clearly used to represent affairs of
the church, the analogy in the case being apparent because of their
former prominence as connected with the Lord's covenant people.

Again, when the symbol selected is that of a living, active, intelligent
agent, it represents an analagous intelligent agent. Likewise, the
actions of the former plainly denote analagous actions in the latter,
and the effects produced by the actions of the symbolic agent signify
analagous effects produced by the actions of the agent symbolized. To
make it clearer: agents symbolize agents, actions symbolize actions, and
effects symbolize effects. If this be not true--if agents can symbolize
actions and effects as well as agents, or if actions can symbolize
agents and effects--then all is an inextricable maze of confusion, and