Continued: Chapter XIII-The Christian Dispensation

To make the truth of this great prophecy stand out in bold relief, I shall use the following illustration: At the publishing house where this book was printed, there is a large clock of the latest type which runs night and day—365 days out of every year. It always indicates the flight of time. The manager, however, has on his desk a stop clock, which he uses to time long-distance telephone conversations. The large clock running night and day may be thought of as the chronometer of God that ticks off the years and centuries of time, whereas the stop clock runs only at certain times, starting and stopping as He wills. Thus, figuratively speaking, God started His stop clock the year that Cyrus began to reign and stopped it 483 years later when Messiah was cut off. At this time Israel was rejected for failing to recognize Messiah at His first coming. The nation, so to speak, took the siding, leaving the main line of God's plan and purpose.

Then began a period of time, indefinite so far as this prophecy is concerned. This period has continued, as is evident, for nearly two thousand years. In due time, God will put his stop clock into operation again, and it will continue for seven years. This final period will close when the Messiah comes again and establishes His reign of righteousness, peace, sinlessness, sicklessness, and universal blessing.