Post by Lee on Dec 22, 2014 23:11:41 GMT
Chariots of God and Mountains of Men - BY BROTHER JOHN THOMAS
"0 Shepherd of Israel, inhabiting the Cherubim, shine forth! Ο Mighty Ones (Elohim), turn us, and cause to shine Thy Faces, and we shall be saved!7'—Psa. 80:1
HAVING beheld the Harlot of the Ephah keeping house in the land of Shinar 5:11, the prophet Zechariah again informs us he 'turned — "I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked" (6:1). This indicates that his attention was directed to new objects.
Here is an amplification of the vision of the Two Olive Branches or Anointed Ones that stand by the Ruler of all the earth Zc.4:i4 the reader will perceive that the Two Branches and the Four Chariots and their Horses all relate to the same agents (compare 4:14 & 6:5). In these places they are all said to "stand by the Ruler of all the earth" In both these chapters they are represented as symbols of Yahweh's Spirit. "These" (the chariots and the horses), said the angel— ".. are the Four Spirits of the Heavens going forth from standing by the Ruler of all the earth."
In the first passage they are in the standing position; in the last they are in motion from thence, on their appointed mission. These Four Chariots are the Cherubim of Glory, which constitute the Chariot of Yahweh. In speaking of the 4-faced figures with wings outstretched over the Mercy Seat of the Ark in the Most Holy Place,
David styles them: "The Chariot of the Cherubim" (1 Chr. 33:18). The Spirit of Yahweh rested in the form of a cloud between and upon their wings, from the dedication of Solomon's Temple until the Glory took its departure in the days of Ezekiel and shortly before its destruction by the Chaldeans. Alluding to this cherubic incumbency of the Spirit, David says (Psa. 80:i)- "O Shepherd of Israel inhabiting the Cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh arouse Thy might, and come for salvation to us. Ο Mighty Ones (Elohim), turn us, and cause to shine Thy Faces, and we shall be saved." The Cherubim were the typical throne of Yahweh, before which the High Priest presented himself on the occasion of the annual covering of the sins of the nation Lev.i6:i2-i4
In chs. 1 and 10 of his prophecy, Ezekiel shows what they typify or represent. Read these chs. in connection with Rev. 4 and 5, and it will be found that the Cherubim are representative of the Spirit corporealized and manifested in the Saints, the Elohim of Israel: the One Eternal Spirit in multitudinous manifestation (Eze.i:i2,14,24)- "Whithersoever the Spirit was to go, they went . . they ran and returned as a flash of lightning . . the noise of their wings like the noise of great
waters, as the voice of Mighty Ones (Shaddai) in their going, the voice of speech, as the noise of a camp."
Zechariah's Four Chariots are identical with these. They represent the resurrected saints in the execution of 'the judgment written'Ps·149. There are 4 of them because there were 4 faces to the typical golden Cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple; and 4 Living Creatures in Ezekiel's vision; & 4 Living Creatures in the Apocalypse. And the reason why there are 4, and not 3 or 5, is because of the military organization of Israel. The 12 Tribes were set off into 4 camps: the Camps of Judah, Reuben, Ephraim and Dan.
The standard of Judah's camp or host was a Lion; that of Reuben, a Man; that of Ephraim, an Ox; and that of Dan, an Eagle. And the faces of these 4 were united in the 2 Cherubim of the Most Holy Place, and became the Cherubim-Faces of the Eternal Spirit, self-named Yahweh, which stood by the Ruler of all the earth while He dwelt in them anterior to the Babylonian captivity. Now, as the Saints, without regard to the accident of their fleshly descent, are all Israelites by adoption thru Christ, their organization is based on that of the 12 Tribes; so that they came thereby to be represented by the standards of Israel's Camps. In vision, the 4 Camps of
the Saints (constituting nevertheless one Encampment) occupy the position of the 4 Camps of Israel in the wilderness: Judah on the east, Reuben on the south, Ephraim on the west, and Dan on the south. For this reason, Zechariah's 4 Chariots are termed the '4 Winds' or Spirits 'of the Heavens' 6:S; and in their New Jerusalem symbolization the Saints' City is said to be 'four square' Rv 21:16.
Zechariah saw the 4 Cherubic Chariots going forth from between 2 Mountains of Brass. This metal connects these mountains, or dominions, with 1) the brazen parts of Nebuchadnezzar's Image (the 'Body and Thighs'), and 2) with the 'Claws of Brass' pertaining to the 4th Beast (Dn7:19), and 3) the 'Band of Iron and Brass' around the stump of the Babylonian Tree.
The 2 mountains of brass and the 2 thighs of brass are identical, & represent the Greek element of the 'Great Mountain' that is to become a Plain before ZerubbabelZc4:7, before the 2 Anointed Ones, before the 4 Chariots and their horses, before Israel and the Saints. In the days of the Maccabees, the 2 Mountains were the Greek Kingdom of Egypt, and the Greek Kingdom of Syria (including Assyria & other adjacent countries. The former is styled the 'King of the South'; and the latter, the 'King of the North.' Now, tho these countries are and will be in other hands than those of people purely and simply Greeks, they are nevertheless regarded in prophecy as the countries of the Brass Dominion, and are so designated, as in the place before us.
At the epoch of the 4 Chariots—that is, just before they are seen going forth—we learn from Daniel & Ezekiel that there will be 2 antagonistic dominions: the one occupying Egypt, and the other, Syria and the adjacent countries. The latter is the King of the North, existing on the political map in the time of the end, and called Gog by Ezekiel. The other is the Kingdom of Egypt. These 2 Mountains of Brass will be in a state of war before the going forth of the Cherubic Chariots. And, as Daniel tells us, the Egyptian province of the South Mountain of Brass will 'not escape' subjection to the brass dominion of the North— "He (the King of the North) shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape" (Dn. 11:42). This will be the relative position of the 2 Mountains, with the Holy Land between them—the battleground and bone of contention between the 2 powers—at the going forth of the Chariots.
But we may remark here that, tho the rulers of the 2 Mountains, or the dominant race, will not be racially Greek, still the North Mountain of Brass will be Greek in its superstition or state of ecclesiastism, and the South Mountain also Greek in the possession of the Greek islands of the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. Being therefore Hellenistic ecclesiastically or geographically, or both, they are dominions of Brass, occupying—in relation to the Holy Land—the same political status
as the 2 kingdoms of the Ptolemies and Seleucids in the days of the Maccabees, or Era of the Asmoneans, 2nd century before Christ.
Zechariah saw the 4 Chariots of Cherubim 'going forth from between these 2 mountains of political geography. He must, therefore, have seen them going forth from the Holy Land, which occupies that position. They first stand by the Ruler of all the earth as the 2 Anointed Ones of the 4 Faces. In this position they are the 24 Elders and the '4 Living Creatures full of Eyes before and behind,' filled with the Spirit as a lamp is filled with oil; and which in them burns before the Throne as the '7 Spirits of God' Κν·4:Φ6—which, when in motion, are 'sent forth into all the earth.'
But before they leave their standing position 'to run to and fro,' they sing to the Captain of their salvation (Rev. 5:9-io)- "Thou art worthy to take the Book, and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us for our God Kings and Priests, and we SHALL reign on the earth." When they sing this song, they are in the land of Judah' b-26:1. They are there as 'the Kings which are from a Suns risings to prepare whose 'way' the political Euphrates is 'dried up' Rev 16 : 12 , and the 2 Mountains of Brass are found temporarily occupying the place of its waters.
But Zechariah saw them 'going forth! The 'wings' of the Cherubim are their armies; and the horses of the Chariots are the same. "When they stand" says Ezekiel1:24, "they let down their wings— which, in motion, are 'as the noise of great waters,' or a multitude of people. They go forth to conquer for themselves their dominion (Dn.7:ii, 12,18,26)- "To take the Kingdom . . to slay the 4th Beast and to destroy his body . . to take away his dominion, to consume & destroy it unto the end." They 'shall reign upon the earth'; but they must first conquer the nations; for the nations will not accept them for Kings and Priests without compulsion. The Saints in their career of conquest are the— "Stream of fire flowing and issuing from before the Ancient of days" (Dn.7:io) They are the: "Angels of Christ's power in a flame of fire" (2 Thess. 1:7-8). They are the tormenters of the worshipers of the Beast & his Image and the receivers of the mark of his name, with fire and brimstone in the presence of the Lamb. They are the 144,000 Redeemed from the earth, the Firstfruits, who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. And they are the Chariot Wheels of the Spirit, full of eyes, and a burning fire Ezel:i5-i9.
The 4 Chariots in motion are the 'called and faithful and chosen' in company with the King of kings, in actual conflict with the nations of the earth Rvl7:i4, and are seen in Rv. 19 as— "The armies in the heaven upon white horses following the Word of God who smites the nations with the sword of his mouth, and rules them with a rod of iron" (vs. 14-15). They are the war Chariots of the Spirit in the conflict of— "The Great Day of God the Omnipotent Ruler (pantokrator)"-Rv.l6:14. They invade the North and the South, and then make their expeditions into all other parts of the earth. The Chariot horses are not literal horses, for it is written (Hos.i:7)—
"I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and I will save them by Yahweh their Elohim; and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen." But: "He will make Judah as His goodly horse in the battle . . and they shall be as mighty men, who tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets
in the battle: and they shall fight because Yahweh is with them*' (Zc. 10:3-5). Judah and Israel are Yahweh's battle-axe and weapons of war, by which he will 'break in pieces the nations and destroy the kingdoms' Jer-21:2°, but without the Spirit they can no more effect this than a battle-axe can wield itself in fight. The Saints will ride the Tribes of Israel in their wars. They will be their 'goodly horses' in their conflicts with the kings of the earth and their armies, which will be utterly routed and overthrown. Habakkuk says (3:8-is)— "Thou wilt ride upon Thy horses: Thy Chariots are salvation. Thy bow is made bare. The oath concerning the Tribes is the Word. "With indignation Thou wilt march thru the earth: even in anger Thou wilt thresh the nations. Thou wentest forth to save Thy people, to save
Thine Anointed . . Thou leddest Thine horses thru the sea, the foaming of mighty waters." And alluding to the same crisis, David says (Psa.68:i8)- "The Chariots of 20,000 Elohim, thousands of thousands. The Ruler is among them as on Sinai, in the Holy (Land)."
From these collateral testimonies we see that the symbols of Zechariah's vision represent the Tribes of Israel, the Saints, and the Messiah at their head, as: "The Chariot of Israel & the horsemen thereof" (2 Kg. 2:12) —in which the Eternal Spirit rides for the redemption of His people and the subjugation of the world. The idea is grand, and was employed in a typical sense by Isaiah 21:710 when predicting the fall of Babylon. He says that the Lord told him to set a man on a tower to watch,
and to report what he should see in vision. On looking, the watchman announced he saw: "A chariot, and a couple of horsemen: a chariot of asses; a chariot of camels."
He then listened with great earnestness: and, hearing a roar, "He cried out, A lion!" The meaning of this is explained in v. 9— "Behold, here comes a chariot of men, and a couple of horsemen." And he continued: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the graven images of her gods he hath broken to pieces on the earth."
The Ass was the symbol of Media, and the Camel of Persia. Hence, the 'chariot of asses' was the army of the Medes under the horseman, 'Darius the Mede'; and the 'chariot of camels' the army of the Persians under the other horseman, 'Cyrus the Persian.' These chariots of v. 7 are merged into one in v.9, and there styled simply 'a chariot of men' under the 2 horsemen.
This is very plain and satisfactory; and from it we learn that an army under its commander is a 'chariot' in the language of Scripture; & its commander is a horseman, or charioteer. The word pahrahsh signifies both ahorse & a horseman. Hence, in prophecy, the one is sometimes made to stand for the other. When this chariot of Medes and Persians came in sight of the Lion, he began to roar. This was the Lion of Babylon. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel all make a Lion the symbol of Babylon's power. The watchman heard the roar of this lion in vision. But it did not scare off the 'asses' and the 'camels'; for tho he mentions the lion no more, he declares the fall of Babylon, which was equivalent to saying the lion was snared and taken, or slain.
"0 Shepherd of Israel, inhabiting the Cherubim, shine forth! Ο Mighty Ones (Elohim), turn us, and cause to shine Thy Faces, and we shall be saved!7'—Psa. 80:1
HAVING beheld the Harlot of the Ephah keeping house in the land of Shinar 5:11, the prophet Zechariah again informs us he 'turned — "I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked" (6:1). This indicates that his attention was directed to new objects.
Here is an amplification of the vision of the Two Olive Branches or Anointed Ones that stand by the Ruler of all the earth Zc.4:i4 the reader will perceive that the Two Branches and the Four Chariots and their Horses all relate to the same agents (compare 4:14 & 6:5). In these places they are all said to "stand by the Ruler of all the earth" In both these chapters they are represented as symbols of Yahweh's Spirit. "These" (the chariots and the horses), said the angel— ".. are the Four Spirits of the Heavens going forth from standing by the Ruler of all the earth."
In the first passage they are in the standing position; in the last they are in motion from thence, on their appointed mission. These Four Chariots are the Cherubim of Glory, which constitute the Chariot of Yahweh. In speaking of the 4-faced figures with wings outstretched over the Mercy Seat of the Ark in the Most Holy Place,
David styles them: "The Chariot of the Cherubim" (1 Chr. 33:18). The Spirit of Yahweh rested in the form of a cloud between and upon their wings, from the dedication of Solomon's Temple until the Glory took its departure in the days of Ezekiel and shortly before its destruction by the Chaldeans. Alluding to this cherubic incumbency of the Spirit, David says (Psa. 80:i)- "O Shepherd of Israel inhabiting the Cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh arouse Thy might, and come for salvation to us. Ο Mighty Ones (Elohim), turn us, and cause to shine Thy Faces, and we shall be saved." The Cherubim were the typical throne of Yahweh, before which the High Priest presented himself on the occasion of the annual covering of the sins of the nation Lev.i6:i2-i4
In chs. 1 and 10 of his prophecy, Ezekiel shows what they typify or represent. Read these chs. in connection with Rev. 4 and 5, and it will be found that the Cherubim are representative of the Spirit corporealized and manifested in the Saints, the Elohim of Israel: the One Eternal Spirit in multitudinous manifestation (Eze.i:i2,14,24)- "Whithersoever the Spirit was to go, they went . . they ran and returned as a flash of lightning . . the noise of their wings like the noise of great
waters, as the voice of Mighty Ones (Shaddai) in their going, the voice of speech, as the noise of a camp."
Zechariah's Four Chariots are identical with these. They represent the resurrected saints in the execution of 'the judgment written'Ps·149. There are 4 of them because there were 4 faces to the typical golden Cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple; and 4 Living Creatures in Ezekiel's vision; & 4 Living Creatures in the Apocalypse. And the reason why there are 4, and not 3 or 5, is because of the military organization of Israel. The 12 Tribes were set off into 4 camps: the Camps of Judah, Reuben, Ephraim and Dan.
The standard of Judah's camp or host was a Lion; that of Reuben, a Man; that of Ephraim, an Ox; and that of Dan, an Eagle. And the faces of these 4 were united in the 2 Cherubim of the Most Holy Place, and became the Cherubim-Faces of the Eternal Spirit, self-named Yahweh, which stood by the Ruler of all the earth while He dwelt in them anterior to the Babylonian captivity. Now, as the Saints, without regard to the accident of their fleshly descent, are all Israelites by adoption thru Christ, their organization is based on that of the 12 Tribes; so that they came thereby to be represented by the standards of Israel's Camps. In vision, the 4 Camps of
the Saints (constituting nevertheless one Encampment) occupy the position of the 4 Camps of Israel in the wilderness: Judah on the east, Reuben on the south, Ephraim on the west, and Dan on the south. For this reason, Zechariah's 4 Chariots are termed the '4 Winds' or Spirits 'of the Heavens' 6:S; and in their New Jerusalem symbolization the Saints' City is said to be 'four square' Rv 21:16.
Zechariah saw the 4 Cherubic Chariots going forth from between 2 Mountains of Brass. This metal connects these mountains, or dominions, with 1) the brazen parts of Nebuchadnezzar's Image (the 'Body and Thighs'), and 2) with the 'Claws of Brass' pertaining to the 4th Beast (Dn7:19), and 3) the 'Band of Iron and Brass' around the stump of the Babylonian Tree.
The 2 mountains of brass and the 2 thighs of brass are identical, & represent the Greek element of the 'Great Mountain' that is to become a Plain before ZerubbabelZc4:7, before the 2 Anointed Ones, before the 4 Chariots and their horses, before Israel and the Saints. In the days of the Maccabees, the 2 Mountains were the Greek Kingdom of Egypt, and the Greek Kingdom of Syria (including Assyria & other adjacent countries. The former is styled the 'King of the South'; and the latter, the 'King of the North.' Now, tho these countries are and will be in other hands than those of people purely and simply Greeks, they are nevertheless regarded in prophecy as the countries of the Brass Dominion, and are so designated, as in the place before us.
At the epoch of the 4 Chariots—that is, just before they are seen going forth—we learn from Daniel & Ezekiel that there will be 2 antagonistic dominions: the one occupying Egypt, and the other, Syria and the adjacent countries. The latter is the King of the North, existing on the political map in the time of the end, and called Gog by Ezekiel. The other is the Kingdom of Egypt. These 2 Mountains of Brass will be in a state of war before the going forth of the Cherubic Chariots. And, as Daniel tells us, the Egyptian province of the South Mountain of Brass will 'not escape' subjection to the brass dominion of the North— "He (the King of the North) shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape" (Dn. 11:42). This will be the relative position of the 2 Mountains, with the Holy Land between them—the battleground and bone of contention between the 2 powers—at the going forth of the Chariots.
But we may remark here that, tho the rulers of the 2 Mountains, or the dominant race, will not be racially Greek, still the North Mountain of Brass will be Greek in its superstition or state of ecclesiastism, and the South Mountain also Greek in the possession of the Greek islands of the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. Being therefore Hellenistic ecclesiastically or geographically, or both, they are dominions of Brass, occupying—in relation to the Holy Land—the same political status
as the 2 kingdoms of the Ptolemies and Seleucids in the days of the Maccabees, or Era of the Asmoneans, 2nd century before Christ.
Zechariah saw the 4 Chariots of Cherubim 'going forth from between these 2 mountains of political geography. He must, therefore, have seen them going forth from the Holy Land, which occupies that position. They first stand by the Ruler of all the earth as the 2 Anointed Ones of the 4 Faces. In this position they are the 24 Elders and the '4 Living Creatures full of Eyes before and behind,' filled with the Spirit as a lamp is filled with oil; and which in them burns before the Throne as the '7 Spirits of God' Κν·4:Φ6—which, when in motion, are 'sent forth into all the earth.'
But before they leave their standing position 'to run to and fro,' they sing to the Captain of their salvation (Rev. 5:9-io)- "Thou art worthy to take the Book, and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us for our God Kings and Priests, and we SHALL reign on the earth." When they sing this song, they are in the land of Judah' b-26:1. They are there as 'the Kings which are from a Suns risings to prepare whose 'way' the political Euphrates is 'dried up' Rev 16 : 12 , and the 2 Mountains of Brass are found temporarily occupying the place of its waters.
But Zechariah saw them 'going forth! The 'wings' of the Cherubim are their armies; and the horses of the Chariots are the same. "When they stand" says Ezekiel1:24, "they let down their wings— which, in motion, are 'as the noise of great waters,' or a multitude of people. They go forth to conquer for themselves their dominion (Dn.7:ii, 12,18,26)- "To take the Kingdom . . to slay the 4th Beast and to destroy his body . . to take away his dominion, to consume & destroy it unto the end." They 'shall reign upon the earth'; but they must first conquer the nations; for the nations will not accept them for Kings and Priests without compulsion. The Saints in their career of conquest are the— "Stream of fire flowing and issuing from before the Ancient of days" (Dn.7:io) They are the: "Angels of Christ's power in a flame of fire" (2 Thess. 1:7-8). They are the tormenters of the worshipers of the Beast & his Image and the receivers of the mark of his name, with fire and brimstone in the presence of the Lamb. They are the 144,000 Redeemed from the earth, the Firstfruits, who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. And they are the Chariot Wheels of the Spirit, full of eyes, and a burning fire Ezel:i5-i9.
The 4 Chariots in motion are the 'called and faithful and chosen' in company with the King of kings, in actual conflict with the nations of the earth Rvl7:i4, and are seen in Rv. 19 as— "The armies in the heaven upon white horses following the Word of God who smites the nations with the sword of his mouth, and rules them with a rod of iron" (vs. 14-15). They are the war Chariots of the Spirit in the conflict of— "The Great Day of God the Omnipotent Ruler (pantokrator)"-Rv.l6:14. They invade the North and the South, and then make their expeditions into all other parts of the earth. The Chariot horses are not literal horses, for it is written (Hos.i:7)—
"I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and I will save them by Yahweh their Elohim; and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen." But: "He will make Judah as His goodly horse in the battle . . and they shall be as mighty men, who tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets
in the battle: and they shall fight because Yahweh is with them*' (Zc. 10:3-5). Judah and Israel are Yahweh's battle-axe and weapons of war, by which he will 'break in pieces the nations and destroy the kingdoms' Jer-21:2°, but without the Spirit they can no more effect this than a battle-axe can wield itself in fight. The Saints will ride the Tribes of Israel in their wars. They will be their 'goodly horses' in their conflicts with the kings of the earth and their armies, which will be utterly routed and overthrown. Habakkuk says (3:8-is)— "Thou wilt ride upon Thy horses: Thy Chariots are salvation. Thy bow is made bare. The oath concerning the Tribes is the Word. "With indignation Thou wilt march thru the earth: even in anger Thou wilt thresh the nations. Thou wentest forth to save Thy people, to save
Thine Anointed . . Thou leddest Thine horses thru the sea, the foaming of mighty waters." And alluding to the same crisis, David says (Psa.68:i8)- "The Chariots of 20,000 Elohim, thousands of thousands. The Ruler is among them as on Sinai, in the Holy (Land)."
From these collateral testimonies we see that the symbols of Zechariah's vision represent the Tribes of Israel, the Saints, and the Messiah at their head, as: "The Chariot of Israel & the horsemen thereof" (2 Kg. 2:12) —in which the Eternal Spirit rides for the redemption of His people and the subjugation of the world. The idea is grand, and was employed in a typical sense by Isaiah 21:710 when predicting the fall of Babylon. He says that the Lord told him to set a man on a tower to watch,
and to report what he should see in vision. On looking, the watchman announced he saw: "A chariot, and a couple of horsemen: a chariot of asses; a chariot of camels."
He then listened with great earnestness: and, hearing a roar, "He cried out, A lion!" The meaning of this is explained in v. 9— "Behold, here comes a chariot of men, and a couple of horsemen." And he continued: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the graven images of her gods he hath broken to pieces on the earth."
The Ass was the symbol of Media, and the Camel of Persia. Hence, the 'chariot of asses' was the army of the Medes under the horseman, 'Darius the Mede'; and the 'chariot of camels' the army of the Persians under the other horseman, 'Cyrus the Persian.' These chariots of v. 7 are merged into one in v.9, and there styled simply 'a chariot of men' under the 2 horsemen.
This is very plain and satisfactory; and from it we learn that an army under its commander is a 'chariot' in the language of Scripture; & its commander is a horseman, or charioteer. The word pahrahsh signifies both ahorse & a horseman. Hence, in prophecy, the one is sometimes made to stand for the other. When this chariot of Medes and Persians came in sight of the Lion, he began to roar. This was the Lion of Babylon. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel all make a Lion the symbol of Babylon's power. The watchman heard the roar of this lion in vision. But it did not scare off the 'asses' and the 'camels'; for tho he mentions the lion no more, he declares the fall of Babylon, which was equivalent to saying the lion was snared and taken, or slain.