The judgment described here is not the last judgment, but that of the nations, which is always in process and in virtue of which one great empire after another is set aside. This constant change must continue until the kingdom of Jesus Christ, which is now a spiritual and hidden one, shall be set up before the eyes of men. This dread persecuting power has been identified with Antiochus and others. But it is better to think of it as that spirit of evil, which is always at war with the people of God, assuming different phases in its manifestation. It may be that as God’s people have suffered from Antichrist in the past, so they may expect some last manifestation of such hatred. But they ‘shall overcome by the blood of Jesus and the word of their testimony, and the kingdom of Christ shall survive the wreck of all others. What a glimpse is afforded of the awful conflict which must go on between the saints of the Most High and the great world-powers which desire to wear them out! Are we not now witnessing the judgment of God which is being executed on the nations of the earth?