“The Wonders of Foretold History” (1890)

A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE

‘Har-Magedon (or Armageddon) is simply the “hill of Megiddo,” marking the great battle plain where the fate of armies has so often been decided. And so through the telescope of prophecy we see looming up in the not [too] distant future, a great world-crises, a mighty and decisive conflict between the forces of good and evil.

‘And as a result and culmination of this conflict we see approaching a period of tremendous social convulsion, war and revolution. This is inevitable. “Think not,” said Christ, “that I am come to send peace on earth; I come not to send peace but a sword.” Error will never consent to quit the field without an appeal to the sword, and by the sword it must finally perish.

‘Apostate Judaism fell in a mighty war. The great Reformation triumphed only through fields of blood. And slavery in America was overthrown in a conflict that shook the continent. And the crowning conflict, like others before it, must be accompanied by a social convulsion proportionate to its greatness.

‘And no sooner does the prophet see the hosts gathered in the “valley of decision,” than he writes: “AND THE SEVENTH (angel) POURED OUT HIS BOWL UPON THE AIR; AND THERE CAME FORTH A GREAT VOICE OUT OF THE TEMPLE, FROM THE THRONE, SAYING, IT IS DONE: AND THERE WERE LIGHTNINGS, AND VOICES, AND THUNDERS; AND THERE WAS A GREAT EARTHQUAKE, SUCH AS WAS NOT SINCE THERE WERE MEN UPON THE EARTH, SO GREAT AN EARTHQUAKE, SO MIGHTY.”

‘If the tremendous Thirty Years War is spoken of as merely “an earthquake,” and that mighty and most bloody revolution by which Constantine overthrew the pagan emperors is still only “a great earthquake,” how surpassingly great must that revolution prove whose symbol is an earthquake such as never was since there were men upon the earth!

‘We are not surprised that the next feature that rises upon our view is a scene of unexampled horror and carnage. “AND EVERY ISLAND FLED AWAY,” (we are told) “AND THE MOUNTAINS WERE NOT FOUND. AND GREAT HAIL, EVERY STONE ABOUT THE WEIGHT OF A TALENT, COMETH DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN UPON MEN: AND MEN BLASPHEMED GOD BECAUSE OF THE PLAGUE OF THE HAIL; FOR THE PLAGUE THEREOF IS EXCEEDING GREAT.”

‘If the terrible raids and sack of Rome by the Goths is called a “hail,” and the tumult and carnage of thrice ten years of blood is only “great hail,” what must be the scene that shall be witnessed on the earth when war's destruction shall become so stupendous and overwhelming that it can only be compared to the showering down out of heaven of solid globes of ice of a hundred pounds weight!

‘And yet we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that already the conditions exist for just such a conflict. The weapons of destruction have been brought to a point of tremendous energy. Armored ships, rifled cannon, sea-coast guns that hurl six hundred pounds of iron fifteen miles, dynamite bombs, repeating rifles, Maxim guns, capable of discharging sixty balls per minute, are fast revolutionizing the art of war. Steam and electricity have almost annihilated time and space, so binding the nations together that any great shock is instantly felt to the world's end. Europe is an armed camp. Sixteen millions of trained soldiers are ready at the war-signal to fly at each others throats.

‘. . . The antitypical Euphrates, the Turkish empire, is rapidly drying up; and it is easy to see that the rich prize which is slipping from her grasp is liable at any hour to prove the spark which shall fire the train, and when the explosion comes (from this cause or some other) then shall begin a carnival of blood and death such as the world has never witnessed – a mighty hailstorm of retributive judgment.’ (pp. 317-319).

WHEN? OR PROPHETIC DATES

‘. . . [T]he papacy is not the only form of false religion dealt with in prophecy. There is another “little horn” (and only one other) which is mentioned in Dan. 7: 9-14, as destined to “take away the daily sacrifice,” and “give the sanctuary to be trodden under foot.” This is Mahometanism which arose simultaneously with the papacy, and keeps pace with it till both perish at the advent. But before Mahomet arose in the East the Syrian kings appeared, of whom was Antiochus Epiphanes, known as the bitter enemy and persecutor of the Jews. He was a precursory “little horn;” the prophetic symbol evidently including both. And the whole period thus defined is declared to be two thousand three hundred years. From what point do they begin? Not earlier certainly than the decree of Artaxerxes B.C. 457, from which begin the seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety years to the resurrection of Christ. From this date two thousand three hundred years bring us to A.D. 1844, noted as the very year when by the determined intervention of England the Turkish government reluctantly consented to cease persecuting its Christian subjects, and actually issued (for the first time) an edict of toleration. In thus yielding to foreign dictation it virtually surrendered its independence, and appeared as already practically fallen.

‘But there is another point from which it is still more natural to reckon this period, and that is B.C. 312, the date of the rise of the Syrian kings (called the Seleucidæ) just referred to. And from this point (reckoning by lunar years, because this was customary with Mahometans) the period extends to 1919 – exactly seventy-five years later than in the first case – indicating this date as likely to be a marked one in the decline of the Turks, the freeing of Palestine from Mahometan thraldom, and the restoration of the Jews; but if solar years are reckoned we are brought to 1988. . . .

‘Thus the very nature of prophetic dates renders it impossible to lay down with rigid certainty the time of the end. We are not sure which one of several starting points is to be preferred; and we do not certainly know whether we are to reckon by lunar or by solar years. Still the variations of reckoning thus caused are all comprised within comparatively narrow limits; and so we are well assured that the “time is at hand” – it may be at the very doors.

‘If it shall be (according to the reckoning already given) that the dawning years of the next century shall see the fall of the Turkish powers; [it could be most likely] that by 1919 the ancient people of God shall again possess the promised land . . .’ (pp. 343-345).

The Kings of the East

British India: Colour Party of the 15th Sikhs

IV. Britain extends her Eastern possessions westward, prevents the immediate occupation of Judea by Russia, and initiates its colonization by the Jews.

‘The many and severe wars which our country has had to sustain, in order to preserve her Eastern territories, have by many been considered as too dear payment for their possession. We do not here however, enter on this question, but beg to inform such, that a far higher purpose than commercial interest or extended empire is to be served by the presence of the British power in the East. So far, indeed, as she herself is concerned, this may have been the real aim; and now that she is in possession, the commercial advantages which accrue from them will be a sufficient incitement to their retention. To preserve the East India market, and keep a path open to it, Britain will strive much and do much; but while her rulers may think they are merely serving the nation, they are really accomplishing one of the grand designs of God, and evolving events, while they cause her to take measures for the preservation of this distant part of her empire, will really and only produce occurrences which will facilitate the great design of Jehovah. Both God and Britain had a special design in the annexation of the Indian territory to the lion power, but these designs were as different in nature and object as the finite is from the infinite. While Britain thought only of wealth and conquest, God thought of his ancient people, and of his covenant, and placed the British Lion in the East to prepare a way for his ransomed, and to become their protection in the infancy of their restoration. Such is God's design, and he has enlisted the energy of the Anglo-Saxons in its accomplishment, by making it their interest to bring it to pass. The value of these lands to the nation is the inducement he has given it to retain them at all risks; and one means of their retention, which will by-and-bye become very obvious, will be to do that which will tend to introduce the accomplishment of Jehovah's long promised purpose — the restoration of the Jews. The idea has long been held, by those few who do believe in a restoration, that it must be preceded by a conversion. This is erroneous. The Jews, to some extent, will return to their own land as faithless in Jesus as the Christ as when they left it. . . .

‘It is needless, therefore, to look for the conversion of Israel as an indication of the coming of the latter days. It is the preadventural partial colonization of Judea that becomes an evidence of this; and we can imagine with what surprise the conversion-theorists will witness the approaching colonization of the land of Israel by its former inhabitants. . . . [The Jews will] be colonized [again] there, and . . . Britain [will] become the principal agent in the work . . . .’

(From: The Coming Struggle Among the Nations of the Earth . . . Described in Accordance with Prophecies in Ezekiel, Daniel, and the Apocalypse, Shewing also the Important Position Britain will Occupy During and at the End of the Awful Conflict; by John Thomas; published Toronto: Thomas MacLear, 45, Yonge Street, 1853; pp. 24-25).

‘Britain . . . [will] favor the formation of a Jewish colony in Palestine; and thus, it will appear, that the Euphrates is drying up in order “that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared.” The drying up of the river, which is in part the destruction of Turkey, will render it necessary for the British power, which then extends to the Euphrates, to promote the return of the Jews to their own land, by extending its protection over it, and holding out every inducement for the sons of Abraham to repair to it. Be this, however, as it may, it is Britain that favors the return of the sons of Judah, as we learn from the eighteenth chapter of Isaiah, where the prophet is furnished with a command to “the land shadowing with wings, that sendeth ambassadors by the sea,” enjoining it to render service in the presentation to the Lord of “a nation scattered and peeled, a nation terrible from their beginning hitherto, a nation rooted out and trodden down, whose lands the rivers have spoiled.” What a powerful and graphic description is this of the present and past state of the Jews! How their former greatness and present degredation and desolation is associated and contrasted! But how, it may be asked, do we identify the “land widely over-shadowing with wings?” We are told that it is from beyond to the rivers of Cush. Now, going east, from Judea, across the Euphrates and Tigris, we reach to the “beyond,” that is, to Hindostan, the most important of our Indian possessions and therefore governed by a power that “sendeth its ambassadors by the sea,” in other words, by an island state, which shows that the reference is to Britain, and to her alone. The allusion will, however, become more apparent in a short time, when our empire is greatly extended in that quarter, and when the lion-flag waves o'er many an island and country, proving as much its protector as its ruler. There can then be no doubt as to the fact that this country will open up a way for the despised and persecuted race of Abraham, to stand once more in their father-land, and raise anew the songs of David upon the holy hill of Zion . . . But, first of all, this country must seize a great amount of territory adjacent to the Holy Land. In the present state of affairs, there would neither be peace nor safety for the Jews in their own country. The Sultan has “divided it for gain,” and his pachas lay it waste and hold it waste at their pleasure. It will, therefore, be necessary to occupy Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba, besides other places, in order to make these a wall of defence for the Jewish colony, and hence the language of Jehovah to his restored people — “I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.” By possessing these she will also lay her hands upon Edom, Moab, Ammon, and other places on the Red Sea, till at length shadowing “to the rivers of Cush,” and on every side the new colony, under the wings of this great maritime power, will grow and prosper, like a cedar on their own mountain of Lebanon.’ (ibid. pp. 27-28).

BRITAIN'S STEAM MARINE FORETOLD BY ISAIAH.

‘ “Which sendeth by sea whirling things even upon vessels of fleetness on the surface of waters.” Tzirim uvkli-gma ol-pni-mim pronounced tzirim uviklai gome al-penaimayim, — This is the orginal which I have rendered “whirling things even upon vessels of fleetness on the surface of waters.” Could any thing be more descriptive of steamers as they appear to a spectator when gliding over the water? He sees a vessel moving with rapidity, and observes something on its sides whirling with remarkable velocity. After beholding such a vessel for the first time in motion from a position exterior to it, its fleetness and whirling things would be the two characteristics by which he would describe it to others, I do not doubt the prophet understood that in the evening time there would be a great maritime power sending swift vessels by sea to its possessions in India, propelled by whirling things instead of by sails: It is a fact, that such a power exists, and navigates the waters of the Red Sea with fleet vessels without sails; which before his day bore on their surface the sluggish craft of Solomon and his Tyrian ally in their voyages to the Indian Tarshish. The fact is foretold in the prophet's description of the shadowing land.’ (ibid. pp. 108).

(For other posts on the “Kings of the East” click on the link in the Index below).

“Observations on the Unfulfilled Prophecies of Scripture” (1835)

Ensign of the Honourable East India Company, 1801

'It is a very general impression among the students of prophecy, as we have before noted, that we see at this present hour, in the decay of the Turkish power, that “drying up” of “the waters of the Euphrates,” which was to mark the pouring out of the sixth vial. The effect predicted is, “that the way of the kings from the east,” or “from the sun-risings,” may be prepared. Many conjectures are abroad respecting the “kings from the east.” Some imagine the restored Israelites are signified. There seems no analogy afforded by prophetical language, indeed, to fix the epithet directly and absolutely upon them; though, as the time is evidently drawing nigh, a way must be made for that first restoration, and even for that second, of which we have been treating.

'On this supposition, however, we cannot determine, whether the Israelites themselves are designated, or some powerful sovereigns of the eastern part of the world, who are to become the instruments of their restoration; and for whom, by the decay of the Turkish and Mahomedan powers, access to the Holy Land in this direction is to be afforded.

'And in this point of view, that extraordinary extension of the British empire in that part of Asia, in connection with what has been said respecting the “merchants of Tarshish and the lions thereof,” cannot but awaken many conjectures, as to what may be the designs of Providence in the raising up of this novel power in the east, through whose protection we see the foundations of an Apostolic Church already laid on the banks of the Ganges. However this may be in the secret counsels of God, the eyes of all expectants must be intensely fixed on this quarter of the globe, to mark for what future changes in the political state of the eastern nations, the way may have been prepared, by the present minishing and decay of the Turkish and Mahomedan powers.

'Others have supposed that by the kings of the east, or the kings that are from the risings of the sun, Christ and his risen saints – “The word of God and the armies of heaven which follow him,” are denoted. To this it has been objected, indeed, that the minishing or decay of an earthly power can remove no obstacle that stood in the way of these. And the weight of this objection we must acknowledge. But we cannot exactly determine with what latitude the prophetic language, “that the way of the kings from the east may be prepared,” is to be understood. It is not impossible, that “the way prepared” may denote an opening to the production of such an arrangement of affairs, and of such a relative position of the nations upon earth, that the Son of Man, with the saints of the Most High, may come and take the kingdom, in the way and circumstances which have been ordained and predestinated of God.

'Respecting the approach of Zion's Deliverer, there does, indeed, seem to be some allusion in Scripture to a progress from the east. I cannot think that prophecy in the forty-first of Isaiah, respects either Abraham or Cyrus:

“Who hath raised up the just one from the east, Hath called him to his feet?

Hath given up nations before him, Hath subdued kings?

Hath rendered his sword as a column of dust, And as the driven stubble his bow?

He pursued them, he went on prosperously, He touched not the road with his feet.”*

[Footnote: * '“The road with his feet he seemed not to measure.” — Bp. Stock. Compare Jeremiah xxxii. 24.']

'And again, verse the twenty-fifth:

“I have raised him up from the north, and he shall come, From the rising of the sun shall he invoke my name;

And he shall trample princes like mortar, And as the potter treadeth the clay.”

'If this, however, is the true application of the prophecy, we must look for the fulfilment, not at the first restoration of the Jews, but at the great day of the Lord, which we shall come afterwards to consider: and we must say, “the way,” indeed, is being “prepared,” by the drying up of the waters of the Euphrates, but those, who walk in the way, appear not as yet. Nor is it impossible, that, as in other prophecies, there may be observed in this, first an inceptive, and afterwards an ultimate and more full accomplishment. In the predicted scenes of that great day, we may be able to trace, perhaps, not only the Mighty God “riding upon the heavens” “as of old,” or “from the east,” to the help of his people; but some parts of Israel miraculously conducted by the Divine presence in the same direction towards restored and rescued Jerusalem. This must be the subject of future inquiry.'

From: Observations on the Unfulfilled Prophecies of Scripture, which are yet to have their Accomplishment before the coming of the Lord in Glory, or at the Establishment of His Everlasting Kingdom; by the Rev. John Fry, B.A., Rector of Desford, in Leicestershire; published, London: James Duncan, Paternoster Row, 1835; pp. 37-40.

The Chart of Prophecy and our place in it (from “Daniel and The Revelation”)

“Daniel and The Revelation: The Chart of Prophecy and our Place in it” (1898)

'Our present position :– [is] near the close of the Sixth Vial period. (Revelation xvi. 15.)'

'When we read in Revelation xvi. 13, 14, of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet, as the prime agents in bringing about the final war of Armageddon, we cannot imagine three visible corporeal beings on earth, working to stir up the war by breathing frog-like spirits out of their mouths; but, consistently with the Historical method which we have followed, assigning a symbolical meaning to these strange symbolic figures which St. John saw again and again in his visions, we must understand that Satan, together with the Papal Power, and the body of the Romish Priesthood, the most complete organization in the world, will work by all the dark means which may then be at their disposal, in order to embroil the nations, as they have often done before, and as in our time they have endeavoured to stir up mischief in Ireland.' (ibid. p. 206-207).

'Some interesting information concerning the scheming ambition of the Papacy in the present [1898], and its power to embroil the nations in the future, is given in a remarkable article contributed to McClure's Magazine by M. de Blowitz, who from his experience and political insight is admitted to be an authority on such a matter. He Says : “To the Vatican flow innumerable missives from every corner of the world, and could I only tell some of them, it would seem how long still is the arm extending from the shadow of St. Peter's: how dreadful still are the lips that speak in the shade of the Vatican. I should show the Holy Father and his cardinals writing to the Emperor of Austria, directing him by counsel and advice, and sometimes almost by orders.”' (ibid. p. 215).

'[W]e read in Revelation xix. 19, where the coming of Christ to overthrow His enemies at this same crisis is described, “And I saw the beast, and the Kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse and against his army,” we must not, of course, fall into the error of Futurist literalism, or imagine that this passage of Scripture means that one day Christ will be seen descending from the “heaven opened” sitting upon a white horse, with myriads of saints and angels also on white horses, and that two supernatural individuals, Antichrist or the Beast, and a False Prophet, are to lead an army with an array of modern artillery, and breech-loading rifles, and smokeless powder, in order to shoot down Christ and His heavenly followers. It must be obvious to a sober judgment that this passage is simply the record of a vision which St. John saw at Patmos; and a “mind that hath wisdom,” which is mentioned in the Revelation as a needful qualification for understanding these mysterious predictions, should seek to discern the prophetic meaning of the figures which St. John saw. We trust that the explanation which has been given is a consistent and reasonable interpretation. It shows us that this vision of Revelation xix. 19, etc., in which St. John beheld the symbolic figures of the Beast and the False Prophet leading kings and armies against Christ and His armies, was a symbolic prediction of the final crises of that GENERAL WAR OF NATIONS at the close of this dispensation. . . . It shows that the Powers symbolised by the Beast and the False Prophet, namely, the Papal Imperial Power and that body of the Romish Priesthood, will be chief agents in bringing about that war . . .' (ibid. p. 216-217; emphasis added).

'[T]he era of the sixth Vial, under which we are now living, does not simply include the judgment upon the Turkish Power, which is a lengthy preliminary, [from footnote: 'Mr. Gladstone, in a reply to an Armenian deputation, recently said : “I have lived to see the Empire of Turkey in Europe reduced to less than half of what it was when I was born, and why? Simply because of its misdeeds – a great record written against it by the hand of Almighty God.”] but it also includes that tremendous outpouring of judgment upon the world which will result from the disastrous agency of the “three unclean spirits” whose going forth under this Vial is next described.' (ibid. p. 365).

'We know that the Dragon means Satan; and we have shown . . . that the Beast, in accordance with the meaning of that symbol in Daniel signifies the Roman world-empire in its last form, the Papal form, as represented by the person of the Pope at the head of it; whilst the False Prophet, or second Beast of Revelation xiii., symbolises the corporate body of the Romish priesthood, the typical example of false and anti-Christian teaching, whose subserviency to the interests of the first Beast is mentioned as one of its chief characteristics.

'In accordance with the meaning of the sources from which the three unclean spirits or evil agencies go forth over the word, we cannot be far wrong in regarding the agencies themselves as – (1) the spirit of infidelity, that special weapon of Satan, with all that follows in its train, agnosticism, socialism, spiritualism, anarchy, etc.; (2) the spirit of Papal imperial and political ambition, which, in spite of the fall of the Temporal Power, will be active up to the very end, and allied, perhaps, with the revolutionary powers of socialism, will yet embroil the world; (3) the spirit of the superstitious teachings and influence of the Romish clergy – more especially of the Jesuit Order, “the power behind the Pope” – in support of priestcraft and Papal aims. These three agencies are quite sufficient to bring about that period of confusion, tribulation and judgment, that has yet to burst forth during the era of the sixth Vial, of which they are here said to be the chief instigators . . .

'Here let us ask whether the signs of the times in which we are now living do not corroborate this Historical interpretation, and whether they do not indicate to us just that point in the era of the sixth Vial which has already been reached at the present date. No one will deny that the pernicious spirit of infidelity has gone forth with alarming activity and subtlety in this latter half of the nineteenth century, and especially during the last ten years. Perverted intellectual power is Satan's strongest lever for overturning the foundations of faith, and for loosening the bonds of truth and morality by which society is held together. Attacks on the inspiration of the Bible, on the sanctity of the Sabbath, and on the most essential points of Christian belief, are openly made in the newspapers and magazines, in novels, and, more insidiously, even in the pages of professedly religious literature.

'Nor are the other two agencies less bold and active. Both on their political and ecclesiastical side, the schemes of the Papacy are being pushed forward with a marvellous degree of astuteness and audacity. The persistent aim of the Pope, fostered by the Jesuits, and backed up by his clergy all over the world, is the restoration of the Temporal Power, and of Papal supremacy. There is no saying how soon the prosecution of these schemes may bring about an embroilment of the nations. Thus all three of the evil agencies are abroad. The seed is being sown, and in due time the crop will appear.' (ibid. p. 368-369).

'Let us now review our position, and see how we stand with regard to the events which we have shown to be foretold as destined to take place during the era of the sixth Vial in which we are now living. The drying up of the Euphrates has long been going on: the power of Turkey has long been declining. Our statesmen tell us “The Sick Man is sicker than ever.” In our daily papers we read: “The Ottoman Empire exhibits all the signs of a state in dissolution.”. . . Those evil agencies symbolised by the three frog-like spirits, which are yet to embroil the world, have began to show signs of increased activity. No one can deny that there is in the minds of thinking men, whose eyes are open to see the signs of the times, a presentiment that a great crises is approaching in the history of our world. There ever lingers on the horizon the dark storm-cloud of the Eastern Question. Now and again it seems gathering to a head, and threatening to burst. But, as often happens in thundery weather, the storm is averted for a while. Yet there the cloud is still, waiting for the time fixed by God's eternal decree, and when that time comes the cloud of the Eastern Question will once more gather and come down, involving the nations in widespread calamity and destruction. There can be little doubt that in the crises of the end of this dispensation the Eastern Question will play its part.

'We have before given examples of the coincidence of political forecasts with the anticipations of prophetical students. It may be interesting here, in connection with the Historical interpretation of the events of the sixth Vial which we have placed before our readers, to give the following extract from a leading article in one of our chief daily papers. Which is only a sample of the political anticipations that are constantly appearing in the public prints. Referring to the question of active measures being taken by the Powers in order to check Turkey in her infamous course of exterminating Armenian Christians, this article says, in words that read like a commentary on this passage of the Revelation: “With the firing of the first shot the whole of the Eastern Question, the bugbear of the diplomatist, the terror of the politician, the insoluble problem of statesmanship, would be reopened with all its intricacy and its perils. Austria with her reversionary interests on the shores of the Black Sea and the Golden Horn; Greece with her perpetual hankering after Macedonia; Bulgaria, Servia [Serbia], and Roumania, with all the rash intolerance of young and treaty-made states; Russia with her naval ambitions at the Dardanelles; France with her desire to rival Great Britain as a Mediterranean Power; and England herself,with her one predominant aim of keeping the route open to her Indian possessions [a policy affecting the occupation of Egypt and Palestine] – such would be the elements of rivalry and animosity let loose over the prostrate body of 'the Sick Man of Europe.' It is terrible to contemplate such a turmoil even in imagination.”

'Here, therefore, we may recognise our present position in the sixth Vial. We see the storm-cloud on the Eastern horizon, and we know that it will one day gather overhead, and the drops will begin to fall. That day may be near at hand or it may be years hence, for diplomacy is doing its utmost to avert it. But diplomatists know full well that it must come sooner or later. No diplomacy can prevent that which is decreed in the counsels of Providence, and marked down in the chart of God's prophetic Word. We do not know what time will be occupied by the train of events that will then be set in motion. But the full consequences of this great storm that is brewing will not reach their climax till the final crisis of the seventh Vial . . .' (ibid. p. 370-371).

The best laid schemes of FROGS and men . . .

ILLUSTRATIONS

OF

PROPHECY:

IN THE COURSE OF WHICH

ARE ELUCIDATED MANY PREDICTIONS, WHICH OCCUR

IN ISAIAH, OR DANIEL,

IN THE WRITINGS OF THE EVANGELISTS,

OR THE BOOK OF REVELATION;

And which are thought to foretell, among other Great Events,

A Revolution in France, favourable to the Interests of Mankind,

The Overthrow of the Papal Power, and of Ecclesiastical Tyranny,

The Downfal of Civil Despotism,

And the subsequent Melioration of the State of the World:

TOGETHER

WITH A LARGE COLLECTION OF

EXTRACTS,

INTERSPERSED THROUGH THE WORK, AND TAKEN FROM

NUMEROUS COMMENTATORS;

AND PARTICULARLY FROM

Joseph Mede, Vitringa, Dr. Thomas Goodwin, Dr. Henry More, Dr. John Owen, Dr. Cressener, Peter Jurieu, Brenius, Bishop Chandler, Sir Isaac Newton, Mr. William Lowth, Fleming, Bengelius, Daubuz, Whitby, Lowman, Bishop Newton, and Bishop Hurd.

VOL. I

LONDON.— M,DCC,XCVI.

[1796]

CHAPTER XVI.

ON THE GENERAL COURSE OF FUTURE EVENTS,

AND PARTICULARLY ON THE PREDICTION OF

THE WAR OF ARMAGEDDON.

'“In the ordinary wars which nations have waged,” says a recent writer*, “they have, perhaps, lost one hundred thousand lives, and slaughtered as many of their enemies; countries have been laid waste, and taxes incurred to the oppression of the industrious; but in other respects they may have sat down much as they were [. . .]” [* Mr. Bicheno in, The Signs of the Times, p. 42.]

'I now pass to a very remarkable prediction, already alluded to, which distinctly announces a military combination of divers European kings against the happiness of mankind. As the exact time is not marked out, it remains to be illustrated by the Event. It is plain, however, from its situation in ch. xvi. that it is to be accomplished during the period of the seven vials: It is plain, that the confederacy is to be planned and completed, and that the war is to be commenced, prosecuted, and concluded, whilst they are pouring out.

'But, previously to citing it, I shall allege one or two preliminary observations. The first, which is from Daubuz, there has before been occasion to cite. “Wherever the Beast and False Prophet are named, by the Beast must be understood the former with seven heads and ten horns; and by the False Prophet, the Beast with two horns.” Now it has been already seen, that the former of these is the representative of the antichristian princes who inhabit the Western part of the Roman empire; and that the latter is emblematic of the members of the antichristian priesthood. And if the Dragon be mentioned as joined with them in a great confederacy, it must signify such antichristian potentates, as have entered into the confederacy, but do not constitute a part of the proper ten-horned Beast. Such for instance may be the empress of Russia, the king of Prussia, and some of the princes of Germany, who reign over territories that lie out of the bounds of the Western Roman empire.

'St. John commences the passage by alluding to those partisans of the princes, who provoke the war, and employ themselves with activity in concerting the general alliance. It is as follows: and I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth the False Prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto, or, as I think it ought rather to be translated, among the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. — And he gathered them together into a place, called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

'In the first of these verses, St. John has wrapped up his meaning under the cover of prophetic emblems. In the next, he changes his style; and employing phraseology for the most part plain and unfigured, proceeds to explain the reason, why he had described the emissaries as coming out of the mouth of the Dragon and the Beast. For, says he, they go forth among the kings of the earth and of the whole world. To these two verses a remark of bp. [Bishop] Newton is applicable. “It is customary with the prophets, after they have described a thing in the most symbolical and figurative diction, to represent the same again in plainer language.” This episode is introduced between the sixth and the seventh vials. With a reference to the expression, and I saw, Daubuz says, “This is a fresh vision that is, the vision of a fresh matter different from the former, and therefore hath this fresh mark of attention. The Holy Ghost has here followed the method observed before in those parts of the vision, which are distinguished by seven epochas: namely, to have an episode or parenthesis discovering some collateral and remarkable accidents, which seem not to follow the same kind of matters, and could not be so well placed elsewhere; and this is done constantly after the sixth epocha.” But there is another reason, more weighty than mere precedent, to account why this episode is placed just before the description of the seventh vial. Though the confederacy of princes which it announces may be supposed to exist during the effusion of the most early of the vials, and the war conducted by them may continue to be carried on while the six first are pouring out; there nevertheless appears to be a manifest propriety, why it should be inserted immediately before the seventh [vial], because it is descriptive of those great events, which are the foundation, and indeed the immediate cause, of the mighty Revolution foretold in the last of the vials.

'The persons spoken of in this episode are represented as coming out of the mouth of the Dragon, &c; and this, says Daubuz, is a symbol of decorum, because they are said to be spirits. Of the passage that follows from this author a part has before been cited. “The mouth,” he says, “is the organ of speech, and words in the sacred style are the same as commands and actions, because they imply the effects of the thoughts, — To come out of the mouth therefore signifies to be constituted and commanded; to become an agent or minister, under a superior power.” Accordingly those mentioned in the verse under consideration are, he adds, such agents, as execute the commands of those, “out of whose mouth they are said to come” Though they are, says Vitringa, a numerous body of men, they are spoken of as if they were only three, because the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet, from whom they proceed, are three in number.

'Since the False Prophet is mentioned, it is plain, that the war of Armageddon shall be some war, which shall not only be distinguished by an extraordinary confederacy of princes, but which shall also meet with the marked approbation of the [Roman] ecclesiastical orders; a war, which the great body of priests, in the different hierarchies, shall be active to kindle, and zealous to promote. . . .' (pp. 289-293).

* * *

'The word Armageddon alludes, says Vitringa, to the Valley of Megiddo, which is mentioned in the book of Chronicles and in the prophecy of Zechariah. Indeed, says Lowman, Megiddo, being “famous in the history of God's people for several memorable slaughters, became a proverbial expression for a place of destruction and mourning.” The commentators accordingly observe, that it here signifies such a place; and Vitringa declares, that it without doubt points to some great plain situated in Europe, wherein the two parties are to be engaged together. The defeat at Armageddon, says this eminent commentator, will cause the mightiest changes, and draw after it the downfal of the antichristian empire, as is most clearly evident from the succeding prophecy. “The battle of Armageddon,” says Mede, “shall give an end to the antichristian sovereignty.” But it is not to a single engagement, but to a war, in which a succession of battles are to be fought, that the prediction of St. John probably refers; for the word translated battle signifies more properly a war, and it has been seen, that that other word, day, standing in connexion with it, is perfectly reconcileable with this notion. . . . Mr. Lowman [says] “Whoever the three unclean spirits are,— they seem plainly to intimate some powerful league or CONFEDERACY, by which the principal Popish Powers* [*from footnote: 'Who are the principal Popish Powers? Austria and Spain.'] shall be engaged with all their forces in some war, in which they shall be totally overthrown, and which shall end in their final destruction, as seems to be more fully expressed in the description of the seventh vial or last cup.” If Mr. Lowman apprehended, that these coalesced princes would be such only as profess popery, he would have found it a task of no small difficulty to have assigned any valid reason for drawing such a line of distinction. The expression, the kings of the earth, is general, and appears to be no farther restricted, than to the European quarter of the world. They go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, i.e. says Peganius, “of the whole Roman dominion, as we read of Augustus, that he taxed all the world, Luke 2. Among these are perhaps comprehended also those kings and princes, that heretofore were under the Roman jurisdiction, but have renounced the Romish religion: for certainly, amongst them also, all things are not so very well.”

'It is said in v. 16, and he gathered them, that is, says Mr. Cradock in his paraphrase, “God by his all wise providence permitted it so to be.” To the same purpose Mr. Brightman. “Whatsoever the kings of the earth aimed at, God's secret providence shall so guide and over-rule them, that whatsoever destruction they devise and intend to bring upon others, it should fall upon themselves.” It is worthy of remark, says Mr. Bicheno, “that these foul spirits are to go forth unto the kings of the earth, and not to the people,which seems to indicate that it, will be a war, in which kings will be more interested than mankind at large.” The prophet says of them, that “they are the spirits of devils working miracles. No one supposes these to be real miracles. This figurative language is used to set forth the impostures, lies, and frauds, with which they deceive men, and draw them into their destructive measures.”' (pp. 294-296).

* * *

'As the Psalmist says [Ps. cv. 30.], describing the plagues of Egypt, the land brought forth Frogs, even in their Kings' chambers. . . . Such is the Plague which St. John announces to the World in the Sixth Vial. He represents it as issuing from the mouth of the Dragon, – the Devil – and of the Beast, and of the False Prophet.'

(Canon Wordsworth, Lectures on the Apocalypse, Third Edition, 1852. p. 387).

* * *

'When we read in Revelation xvi. 13, 14, of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet, as the prime agents in bringing about the final war of Armageddon, we cannot imagine three visible corporeal beings on earth, working to stir up the war by breathing frog-like spirits out of their mouths; but, consistently with the Historical method which we have followed, assigning a symbolical meaning to these strange symbolic figures which St. John saw again and again in his visions, we must understand that Satan, together with the Papal Power, and the body of the Romish Priesthood, the most complete organization in the world, will work by all the dark means which may then be at their disposal, in order to embroil the nations, as they have often done before . . .

'Some interesting information concerning the scheming ambition of the Papacy in the present [1898], and its power to embroil the nations in the future, is given in a remarkable article contributed to McClure's Magazine by M. de Blowitz, who from his experience and political insight is admitted to be an authority on such a matter. He Says : “To the Vatican flow innumerable missives from every corner of the world, and could I only tell some of them, it would seem how long still is the arm extending from the shadow of St. Peter's: how dreadful still are the lips that speak in the shade of the Vatican. I should show the Holy Father and his cardinals writing to the Emperor of Austria, directing him by counsel and advice, and sometimes almost by orders.”'

(From: Daniel and the Revelation: The Chart of Prophecy, and our place in it; A Study of the Historical and Futurist Interpretation, by Rev. Joseph Tanner, B.A.; Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1898. pp. 206-207, 215).

* * *

'“The day before, on 26 July [1914], Baron Ritter, Chargé d' Affaires of Bavaria at the Holy See, had written to his Government: “The Pope approves of Austria's harsh treatment of Serbia. He has no great opinion of the armies of Russia and France in the event of a war against Germany. The Cardinal Secretary of State does not see when Austria could make war if she does not decide to do so now.” [Author's Note: This despatch from Baron Ritter appears in, Bayerische Dokumente zum Kriegsausbruch, III (Bavarian Documents on the Outbreak of War), p. 206.]

'“The authenticity of [this text] . . . has been acknowledged after many debates in the Catholic press . . .” notes Pierre Dominique [La politique des Jésuites, pp. 248 and 250]. “The key to the question maintains Count Sforza, along with a few others, was the necessity of converting Francis Joseph to the idea of war. The opinions of the Pope and his minister were certainly the most likely to influence him. Hence the [latter] despatch of [July 29, from] Count Palffy. . . .”'

(Edmond Paris, The Vatican Against Europe. First Published France 1959; First English Edition 1961; Reprinted 1993 by The Wickliffe Press, p. 47).

* * *

Envoi

'Lateran Treaty. A treaty concluded between the Holy See and the kingdom of Italy in 1929, establishing as sovereign the Vatican City State, thus ending the “Roman Question” began in 1870 when the temporal power of the papacy was finally abrogated and Rome became the capital of the Italian kingdom.'

'Lateran. The ancient palace of the Laterani family, which was appropriated by Nero (AD 66) and later given to Pope Sylvester I (reigned 314-335) by the Emperor Constantine. It remained the official residence of the popes until the departure to Avignon in 1309. The present palace is now a museum. Legend derives the name from Latin latere, “to hide”, and rana, “frog”, and accounts for it by saying that Nero once vomited a frog covered with blood, which he believed to be his own progeny and so hid in a vault. The palace built on its site was called the “Lateran”, or palace of the hidden frog.'

(From: Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable; Fifteenth Edition (paperback), 1997; pp. 615-616).

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs . . .

(Rev 16:13)

Milestone to Armageddon: The Fifth Vial

The first chapter of Winston Churchill's The World Crisis 1911-1918 – his history of the First World War and its outbreak – was appropriately entitled, The Vials of Wrath; and the second chapter: Milestones to Armageddon.

Concerning those apocalyptical “vials of wrath”, that Churchill alludes to in the chapter heading of the above cited work:

I'd like to first of all quote from a mid-seventeenth century work, and its author's interpretation of the fifth vial – and where he believed it was destined to fall. But before doing so I reproduce below the text that appears on the page immediately preceding the title-page to the aforementioned work; and after this follows the text reproduced from the actual title-page itself.

So first, from the page preceding the title-page, appears the following (all spellings; and capitalisation – are as per the original) :

Commons House

Munday Febr 21. An. Dom. 1641

It is this day Ordered by the Committee for Printing and Publishing of Books, &c. That Mr Jackson Minister of Saint Michael in Woodstreet London, be desired to peruse Mr More his Translation of Mr Mede his book on the Revelation, this day presented to the said Committee to be licenced, and to report to the said Committee his opinion therein, and concerning the Printing thereof.

John White.

I Have according to the Order of the Committee for printing, &c. read over Master More his Translation of Mr Mede his booke on the Revelation and finde it to be exactly Translated, and that the book it selfe gives much light for the understanding of many obscure Passages in the sweet and comfortable Prophecie, and though Master Medes opinion concerning the thousand years of the seventh Trumpet be singular from that which hath beene most generally received by Expositors of the best esteem, and I conceive hath no just ground, yet he therein delivers his judgement with such modestie and moderation that I think the Printing of it will not be perillous: and therefore conceive that the publishing of this Translation is a good work, and may with Gods blessing yeeld much comfort to many.

April 18, 1642

Arth. Jackson.

It is Ordered by the Committee of the Commons House of Parliament concerning Printing, this eighteenth day of April 1642. That the book Intituled the Key of the Revelation, &c. be Printed.

John White.

And now to the title-page itself – after which will appear the author's verdict concerning the fifth vial. (Again, all spellings; and capitalisation – are as per the original work) :

The Key of the

REVELATION,

Searched and demonstrated

out of the Naturall and proper

Charecters of the Visions.

WITH

A Coment thereupon, according to

the Rule of the same Key; published in

Latine by the profoundly Learned

Master Joseph Mede B.D. Late Fellow of

Christs Colledge in Cambridge,

For their use to whom God hath given a love and desire

of knowing and searching into that admirable Prophecie.

Translated into English by Richard More of Linley in the

Countie of Salop. ESQUIRE, One of the Burgesses

in this present Convention of Parliament. . . .

With a Præface written by Dr Twisse now Prolocutor in the

present Assembly of Divines.

Printed at LONDON by R.B. for Phil. Stephens, at his Shop

in Pauls Church-yard at the sign of the gilded Lion. 1643.

And now, concerning the aforementioned vial, the work's author writes:

'The fift phyall [fifth vial] is to be powred [poured] out upon the Throne or Seat of the Beast; that is, Rome it selfe. . . . Now by this destruction . . . the name of the Pope shall not indeed utterly perish, but from thence forth he shall be deprived of his glory and splendor, so that for griefe they shall bite their tongues: in the meane time not withstanding persevering as yet in their impenitency their hearts being hardened, they will abuse their griefs unto further blasphemy.' (p. 118).

The second source from which I wish to quote from, was written during the closing years of the seventeenth century – and was first published in 1701. It was written by the Presbyterian minister the Rev Robert Fleming (1660-1716), who was for a time the pastor of the Scots Church at Rotterdam, and was often consulted by William of Orange concerning spiritual matters; the Rev Fleming (amongst others) also accurately predicted from biblical study (a century before it occurred) the timeframe, of the then still future, French Revolution.

From the same work in which he predicted the outbreak of the French Revolution to within a few years of its occurrence: the Apocalyptical Key, or, the pouring out of the Vials (see the picture heading this post for the title-page to a much later American edition from 1843); here is what the Rev Fleming says, concerning the fifth vial of the Apocalypse (page numbers refer to the edition cited above) :

'The fifth vial, (ver. 10, 11,) [is that] which is to be poured out on the seat of the beast . . . the Roman See . . . this judgement will probably begin about the year 1794, and expire about A.D. 1848; so that the duration of it, upon this supposition, will be for the space of fifty-four years. For I do suppose, that seeing the pope received the title of supreme bishop, no sooner than A.D. 606, he cannot be supposed to have any vial poured upon his seat immediately (so as to ruin his authority so signally as this judgement must be supposed to do) until the year 1848, which is the date of the twelve hundred and sixty years in prophetical account [i.e. in calculating using the biblical 360 day year], when they are reckoned from A.D. 606. But yet we are not to imagine that this vial will totally destroy the papacy (though it will exceedingly weaken it,) for we find this [the papacy] still in being and alive, [and at work,] when the next vial [the sixth] is poured out.' (p. 21).

Looking back from his vantage point in the first half of the twentieth century, B[asil] Stewart in, Revelation Fulfilled in History (London: John Bale, Sons & Danielson, Ltd., 1934), wrote the following concerning the fifth vial of the Apocalypse:

'The Fifth Vial is a judgement upon the Papal metropolis, Rome, the seat of Popedom's authority. “Darkness” has fallen upon it twice: firstly . . . in 1798, when French troops entered Rome, arrested and insulted the Pope (Pius VI), and took him prisoner to France, where he soon afterwards died . . .

'Napoleon declared the Pope's Temporal reign at an end, and at the same time proclaimed a Roman Republic, and later, in 1809, made Rome itself the second city of the French Empire. In the latter year he issued decrees revoking Charlemagne's donations to the Holy See; annexing the Papal States to Italy, and total abolition of the Pope's Temporal Power, and making the Pope a mere pensioner of state in his spiritual capacity; acts which literally caused the Papacy and its adherents to “gnaw their tongues for mortification” at such indignities. . .

'With the downfall of Napoleon in 1815 Temporal Power was restored for a period of fifty-five years [from footnote: 'except for an interval between 1848 and 1850 when Pius IX was compelled to flee to Gaeta as a result of the French Revolution which broke out in Paris, February 23, 1848, when the Pope was formally deposed; restored to Rome two years later by a French army under Marshal Oudinot'] . . . the rise of Germany, the decline of France, and revival of Italy, combined to bring about its final abolition in 1870, as foretold in this Vial, a loss made more bitter by the fact that not a single Papist State raised a finger to prevent it !' (p. 113).

Returning back to the Rev Fleming's discourse, on what he expected to occur under the fifth vial; he continues with the following pronouncement concerning the locale of the sixth (under which the “kings of the earth and of the whole world” are gathered to the great conflict styled in the Apocalypse, “Armageddon”) :

'The sixth vial, (v. 12, &c.,) will be poured out upon the Mahometan Antichrist, as the former on the papacy. And seeing the sixth trumpet brought the Turks from beyond Euphrates, from the crossing which river they date their rise; this sixth vial dries up their waves, and exhausts their power . . . Now seeing this vial is to destroy the Turks, we hear of three unclean spirits like frogs or toads, that were sent out by Satan, and the remains of the polity and church of Rome, called the beast and the False Prophet . . . [T]hese messengers shall be so successful, as to draw . . . the greatest part of mankind, to take part with them. So that by the assistance of these their agents and missionaries, they shall engage the whole world in some manner, to join with them in rooting out the saints. (And here, in a parenthesis Christ gives a watch word to his servants, to be upon their guard in this hour of trial, v. 15.) . . . . [T]his vast army . . . [is] brought . . . to the place of battle, [symbolically] called Armageddon (i.e., the place where there will be a most diabolical, cunning, and powerful conspiracy against Christ's followers;) then immediately doth the seventh angel pour out his vial [on the air] . . .

'. . . These two vials [the sixth and the seventh] are, as it were, one continued, the first running into the second, and the second completing the first; the one giving us an account of the beast's preparations for warring against the saints, and the other showing the events of the whole.... Such long messages and intrigues . . . and preparations for so UNIVERSAL A WAR, must needs take up a great many years . . .' (pp. 21-22; emphasis added).

Before returning back to the Rev Fleming's work, it's interesting to observe what Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) thought concerning the sixth vial:

'Analogous to the loosing of . . . [the four] Angels [of the sixth TRUMPET (Revelation 9:13-21) – being the second, and Turkish phase of Islam's conquests] is the drying up of the waters of [the] Euphrates in the sixt[h] Vial. For these two actions must correspond because the beginnings of this Trumpet & Vial which are contemporary. Now by the waters of this river we are to understand the people situate upon it . . . that is, the Turkish Sultanies. And by the pouring [out of] a Vial upon this River the inflicting of some great calamity upon that people: such as was the Tattarian invasion. And by the consequent drying up [of] the waters thereof the wasting of the power & dominion of that people... that is, the [final] dissolution of the Turkish Sultanies by that invasion.'

(Untitled Treatise on Revelation by Isaac Newton. Source: Yahuda Ms. 1.8, Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem. From online transcript on the University of Sussex's, “The Newton Project”).

As to the time periods he envisioned, the Rev Fleming surmised that the Turkish monarchy might, “be totally destroyed between 1848 and 1900”; and went on to mark his discourse with the following words:

'[F]or they only that shall live after the great battle of Armageddon is over, can see the exact fulfilling of this prophecy . . . with the same advantage they see also the fulfilling of Daniel's visions with respect to the coming of the Messiah and his death. We therefore, now have no more advantage, as to time, in explaining and understanding this latter event, than the Jews had as to the first, who lived in the days of the Maccabees, while Daniel's weeks of years were running out. And I question if they did understand the periods of time they were under, more clearly, if at all so distinctly, as we do the times that have passed over the Christian Church, and that part of time we are now under. Therefore, I say we have great reason to thank God, that so much of this book [the Revelation] is already made so clear to us, as to prove confirming thus far to our faith: for whatever differences have been among the most eminent interpreters of this book, as to particular calculations and accommodations of things; yet they have all of them agreed in the main foundations of the interpretation thereof, which I have built upon . . . as Dr. Cressener has irrefragably proved in his book, entitled, A demonstration of the first principles of the Protestant application of the Apocalypse. So that there are two things almost equally strange to me, that the Jews should own the verity of the Old Testament, and particularly of Daniel's prophecy, and not see that the Messiah is come; and that the papists should believe the divinity of the New Testament, and particularly of the Revelation, and not see that their church is antichristian. But while I admire the wilful stupidity of both these parties, I cannot but admire also the wisdom of God in making use of both these in his Providence to confirm to us the verity of Christianity, in prophesying both of the one and the other so long before, and in continuing them to this day as standing monuments of the divinity both of the Old and New Testaments.' (p. 24).

At the end of his treatise, Fleming concluded with the following words:

'Yours to love and serve you in the gospel of

our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,

ROBERT FLEMING.

LONDON, Jan. 1, 1701.

Being the first day both of the year and century.'

As we saw in the previous post (The Papal Conquest) where Cardinal Manning pronounced – in a sense, no doubt, as one of the countless number of that great Roman agency, who were “gnaw[ing] their tongues for mortification” at the Pope's loss of his Temporal Power – that he believed that there was but “one solution” of that “difficulty” . . .

Here again appears Manning's sole “solution”; this time quoted from another work entitled: Prophecy, The War, and the Near East (Marshall Brothers, Ltd., Fifth Edition, December 1919), by G[eorge] Harold Lancaster, M.A., F.R.A.S., C.F., (Vicar of St Stephen's, Bow, London, E.3; Hon. Lecturer of “The Palestine Exploration Fund”, & Fellow of The Royal Colonial Institute); who writes:

'Once the temporal power of the Pope was lost . . . his political aspirations, by a strange law of contrariety, became greater than they had ever been during the past twelve and a half centuries. The Pope has been a prisoner in the Vatican for about 50 years, and his agents and emissaries have ever since been endeavouring to restore the Papal Power, and to reconstruct the Papal system, so that it may yet have world dominion and unfettered influence.

'[The late Archbishop of Westminster] Cardinal Manning once speaking upon the desired restoration of the Papal Power [as recorded in the Tablet, January 24th, 1874] uttered these momentous words : –

“There is only one solution of the difficulty, a solution I fear impending, and that is the terrible scourge of a Continental war, a war which will exceed the horrors of any of the wars of the First Empire. And it is my firm conviction that, in spite of all the obstacles, the Vicar of Jesus Christ will be put again in his own rightful place. But that day will not have been until his adversaries will have crushed each other with mutual destruction.”' (p. 116).

“The Approaching War Amongst the Powers of Europe” (1864)

TWO YEARS AFTER

AND ONWARDS

OR

THE APPROACHING WAR AMONGST THE

POWERS OF EUROPE

AND OTHER FUTURE EVENTS DESCRIBED AS FORETOLD

IN SCRIPTURE PROPHECY

BY THE AUTHOR OF

“THE COMING STRUGGLE”

LONDON HOULSTON AND WRIGHT

65 PATERNOSTER ROW

MDCCCLXIV

[1864]

PREFACE

'We had no intention of saying more in the way of introduction to this little Work than what we have said in the First Chapter; but inasmuch as the notice of its publication has called forth remarks in various newspapers, we think it just to ourselves and due to our readers, again to protest against the unfounded and absurd assumption that we, and all who write on the subject of Scripture prediction, pretend to possess prophetic power or insight. We do no such thing. We do our best to explain a portion of the Word of God, which is not only extremely interesting but most important, and all the more important because it seems so much neglected and misunderstood. The London Standard, of August 23d, contained a leading article devoted to us and our former works, the spirit, tone, and general character, of which were eminently representative of that hostility which a large portion of the newspapers press manifest towards those who venture to give an explanation of Bible prophecy. Such critics speak as if the very attempt were a presumption, and as if the exposition given must be nonsense. Is that portion of the Bible, then, a sealed mystery, not to be studied, and not to be understood, even remotely? or do the conclusions of interpreters make religion too real for the secular tastes and perhaps sceptical notions of mere political writers? The hostility to which we refer must be based on one or other of these grounds, because it takes the form not of criticism but of scoffing, taunting vituperation; the lowest motives are attributed to those who take up the subject, and, under cover of a notice of their productions, an opportunity is taken to make an attack on the Bible itself.

'The writer in the Standard declares that the eleven years which have elapsed since the issue of our pamphlet, “The Coming Struggle,” have not brought to pass any of the events which we there anticipated. Well, but have these eleven years falsified our interpretation? On the contrary, we assert that the events which have occurred, have been plainly in the direction indicated, and have produced a situation of affairs in Europe which points significantly to such occurrences as we declared, and still declare, to be Bible predictions soon to come to pass. . . .

'It is to the Christian faith and the religious feeling of the people of this country that we address ourselves. Those who believe in the Bible, and love and reverence the sublime truths it reveals, will not scoff or sneer at an effort made to render these truths clearer and more precious by a fuller possession. Believing, as we do most firmly, that the events of latter-day prophecy are on the eve of fulfilment, and that these events are of the character indicated in this little Work, we send it forth in the hope that it will help to prepare the Christian people in this country, or wherever it may be read, for “the time of trouble that is coming upon the earth,” and for the dread realities which the approaching war among the nations shall precede and usher in.

October 1864.'

(pp. v-viii)

CHAPTER I

THE FUTURE

'But whatever diversity there may be amongst expositors of prophecy, there is this general agreement, that the last of the Scripture predictions are on the eve of fulfilment.... All, or nearly all, are agreed that the “seals” and trumpets, with the events they import, are past; that five of the vials are poured out; that the sixth has been running for some time; and that the seventh and last, and most terrible and momentous of all, was in all probability opened about the year 1830. Now, this seventh vial is, as we know, the final boundary of Scripture prophecy. In it the mystery of God shall be finished; it will contain “the indignation” spoken of by Isaiah, “the great day” of Jeremiah, “the time of trouble” of Daniel, and the terrible period of “great tribulation” predicted by Christ in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew. And for a full and detailed account of the unparalleled events of the period, read in the Book of Revelation, from the seventeenth verse of the sixteenth chapter to the end of the nineteenth chapter. The language of these chapters is, no doubt, the language of symbolism; but Divine symbolism never exceeds the reality. If the description there is not to receive a literal fulfilment, the events symbolised will be of a character as dreadful as the images employed to shadow them forth. In plain words, they indicate a series of events which are very soon to transpire upon the continent of Europe, involving the whole powers there in war, and resulting in an issue which shall totally alter the character and condition of the world.

'Seeing, then, that the general, almost universal opinion of interpreters is, that this unequalled period of political change and physical conflict is near at hand . . . [Once] the strife [has] begun . . . [it] shall rage as no earthly strife has raged before, and terminate with a catastrophe which the [whole] world shall witness . . . [so] is it not of the very highest importance that Christians should be looking for it, and coming to some understanding of it? Yet how very few Christians in this country are familiar with the subject of Scripture prophecy! The supposed hopelessness of its mystery, and, shall we say, the aversion manifested to it by most of the clergy, have led them away from it, and [so] they have now come to regard the world's relation to God with comparative indifference.' (pp. 11-13)

CHAPTER II

THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY

'New Testament prophecies, and the predictions in the Old Testament concerning New Testament times, are not less, but more plainly, inspirited by “the testimony of Jesus.” They relate to the rise, progress, and fall of anti-Christ; of a power or powers that should work in the Church and the world in opposition to Jesus, and His doctrines and precepts — to Jesus, as the Redeemer and King of this earth. Here we have sin again as the cause of prophecy. If Christianity had not been oppressed, persecuted, and corrupted; if the precepts and doctrines of Jesus had been received by man, and kept in their purity and simplicity, the wars and revolutions predicted, and in part accomplished in Europe, would never have been matter of prophecy, and would never have taken place. But the antichristian power arose, as God foresaw that it would arise; it arose and put forth its energy against Christianity, it prevailed, and it was punished, — just as the Spirit of God shewed by the mouth of prophets that it should.

'The seventeen centuries of New Testament prophecy that are now past, have contained in their fulfilment nothing which can be looked upon as arbitrary Divine interference. All the events have arisen out of natural causes. God has no doubt arranged them and disposed them for the punishment of the antichristian power, and the progress of Christian truth, but they have fallen with all natural smoothness into the course of human history. The actors were men of flesh and blood, men of human passions and human powers, who, by their deeds and attempts, sought only the furtherance of their own interests, and had no thought whatever of God's plan or of prophetic fulfilment.' (pp. 20-21)

CHAPTER III

THE CONSTRUCTION AND UNITY OF PROPHECY

'The destruction of the present political and ecclesiastical structure of continental Europe is approaching; and we may easily suppose that a change so awful must be preceded and accompanied by events of the most terrible description. A universal war must come, so fierce and sanguinary that no previous war can in its character be compared with it.' (p. 33)

CHAPTER IV

THE TIME OF THE END

'Britain, if she did not miss the [Antichristian] fiend altogether, made a much less closer acquaintance with him; and at an early date caught sight of the true and fair Divinity.

'Here, then, in this little rocky island of the sea a powerful kingdom was established, based professedly on Gospel principles, with a Church whose worship was comparatively simple and pure, and whose constitution rested on principles which are eternal. This was the power which, in connexion with Protestant Germany, fitly came against the Napoleonic democracy, and destroyed it.

'In this work of ridding Europe of Napoleon we obtain a glimpse of the true mission and destiny of our country. Britain is the power reserved by God for maintaining and defending the truth. The despotisms of Europe will war among themselves, and the principles on neither side shall be worthy of victory; but Britain — however defectively she may, in practice, have realised her principles — does stand upon the glorious basis of Christian truth; and is capable of opposing, on a moral and spiritual ground, the power of Antichrist. Britain may be considered the only real antagonistic power which Antichrist has; and by and by we have no doubt that she will have Antichrist to fight with. But geographically, and morally, and spiritually, she is beyond the image territory, and is not one of the toe kingdoms, or ten horns . . . Nevertheless, as the antagonistic or Christian power, she has a great work to do — the first instalment of which was the withstanding and overthrowing of Napoleon. When we come to treat of the events that are future, we shall obtain a more extended view of the important mission and glorious destiny for which our country is reserved.' (pp. 57-58)

CHAPTER V

THE PRESENT TIME

'[The] rise [of the Turkish power] is prefigured in the sixth trumpet [of the Apocalypse], where the four angels were loosed in the great river Euphrates, and came in with an immense army of horsemen. From the time of this inroad of the Turks their power grew, till, in 1453, Mahomet the Great took Constantinople, and established the Ottoman power....

'[The] fate [of the Turkish power] was also shadowed forth under the sixth vial, and it seems almost certain that this vial began in 1820, when the Greeks successfully rebelled against the sultan, and set up a kingdom of their own. The decay of the Turkish power is represented by the drying up of the river Euphrates, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared. It is somewhat difficult to understand who are meant by “the kings of the East;” but the drying up of the river Euphrates is easily understood. From the time of the Greek rebellion the Turkish empire has been gradually weakened and shaken. It has had to sustain heavy wars against Russia and France, the former of whom wrested from it a large portion of its Greco-Roman territory, while the latter divested it of the province of Algeria. Then it received a heavy blow when, in 1839, Egypt and Syria were taken by Mehemet Ali, who established his kingdom on its southern frontier.' (pp. 64-65)

'So far, then, the sixth vial has been poured out. During the last forty years the Turkish power has been greatly weakened. What with insurrections and rebellions at home, and wasting wars with stronger powers, she is well-nigh exhausted. The waters of the Euphrates are visibly drying up, and but for foreign aid, the Ottoman Empire would, ere this, have been overthrown.' (pp. 68-69)

'The seventh vial, as well as the sixth, is being poured out at the present time. It was to be poured out into the air, thus signifying that it would affect the whole of the social and political atmosphere of Europe. This is the last and greatest vial of wrath, and culminates in the roar of a universal conflagration. In it the awful judgments of a righteous Lord are gathered and concentrated. It contains, as it were, the dregs of all the other vials [including the sixth – so, that under the seventh vial, in the ensuing predicted, “great war”, the Ottoman Empire is finally extinguished!]. . . . Under [the seventh vial] it is “the time of trouble,” and “the last indignation.” Under it nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; when men's hearts shall fail them for fear, and for looking for those things that are coming upon the earth. Under it shall be national and political convulsions, unparalleled in all past history.' (p. 70)

CHAPTER VII

THE COMING EVENTS OF THE SIXTH VIAL

'The Ottoman empire is to be overthrown, “that the way of the kings of the east might he prepared.” We shall [later] offer an explanation of the meaning of this [passage of the Revelation] . . .' (p. 96)

'[T]he Divine purpose which is required of [the British power, is to initiate] . . . we believe . . . the return to Palestine of its former light and glory, [that is] — the restoration of the Jews to their own land . . . [It will be Britain which will further] the colonisation of Judea, with its old inhabitants the Jews. Thus the way of the kings of the East will be prepared. The kings of the East must mean either the British power which rules in India, or the Jews, who are to be the future rulers in the Holy Land.

'This is the next event which naturally claims our consideration – THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS.

'Nothing in the form of prophetic interpretation has surprised us more than the opinion seriously expressed by some commentators, that the predictions regarding the future of the Jews will find their whole fulfilment in the conversion to Christianity of God's ancient people. To our view the scheme of interpretation which does not recognise the physical, national, and political restoration of the Jews misses the scope of prophecy altogether. The idea is neither in accordance with its letter nor its spirit; for the predictions regarding the return of the Jews to their own land are abundant, and couched in language so explicit, that nothing but an utter perversion of the meaning of words can make them apply to spiritual conversion, and to that alone. Thus a physical restoration is so evidently in harmony with the spirit of God's gracious dealings, that to leave that out as an event to be accomplished gives a shock both to the reason and the heart, and creates a void in the universality of the Divine restoration of all things. Our conviction on this matter are strong and unwavering. The restoration of the Jews appears to us to be the central point on which Scripture prophecy turns.' (pp. 100-102)

CHAPTER VIII

THE COMING EVENTS OF THE SEVENTH AND LAST VIAL

'Turning now to the prophecy, we read that the outpouring of the seventh vial on the air was immediately followed by voices and thunders and lightnings — that is, by great public agitation, and threatenings of a general conflict. Now, this has been precisely the state of matters in Europe since 1830. Throughout its entire length and breadth it has been excited and alarmed; and frequently have the lightnings flashed and the thunders of war rolled. As yet these lightnings have been fitful, and the thunder-peals not greatly prolonged; but, to every one who has had occasion to consider them, they give indication of a terrible impending storm — the awful character of which, however, is to be gathered from Scripture prophecy alone. It is thus that the apostle John describes it:—

“And there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven : and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” — Rev. xvi. 18-21.

'Daniel characterises the appalling catastrophe as “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time.” And Christ, the greatest authority of all, thus prophesies of it:— “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”

'Can language indicate anything more appalling than this coming war? It will be universal and unprecedented. All the wars that have in former times raged on the earth are as nothing to this final and overwhelming conflict; and we believe it is nigh at hand, even at the door. It comes as a preparation for, and the immediate occasion of, the fall of Papal Rome — an event which is calculated by most interpreters to take place in or near to the year 1866*. In all probability, therefore, it is just on the eve of bursting forth. Let us try to come to some understanding of its political and physical features.

[*1870 saw the actual fall of Rome to the forces of Victor Emanuel; and the Temporal Power of the Papacy was ended that very year.]

'It is a war which, in its various characteristics, shall be final — that is, the opposing powers will instinctively understand that they are fighting for very existence — that their quarrel is mortal, and can only terminate with the overthrow of one side or the other. It is the last and uncompromising struggle between democracy and despotism — between the ancient and the later blasphemies. They well know that they cannot exist together, and conclude that Europe must be ruled either by the one or the other. Despotism, standing on its pedestal of hoary antiquity, and looking upon democracy as a deadly heresy, which threatens its existence, will muster for its destruction; and democracy, imagining in its turn that it is destined to annihilate the old superstitions and oppressions, and realise its wild dream of liberty, will put forth its utmost efforts to hurl the thrones of tyrants to the dust. It is long since the two combatants entered the lists; but hitherto they have been only measuring their strength, and feinting at each other with a few passages of arms. Once before, indeed, they met in deadly determined conflict, and the young demon of democracy was restrained. But its strength has returned, and it looks forward to resume the contest on more equal terms. Thus both sides are prepared for a decisive encounter, and are conscious that they must conquer or die. . . .

'In what direction, or in what manner, is the storm likely to burst? Where, or from what cause, shall the war begin? These questions naturally arise, but the prophecy does not answer them. A very trivial matter may suffice to bring on a contest for which everything is so ripe. . . . We are inclined to think, however, that it will be the Italian question which shall bring on the conflict*. The power most directly opposed to France in Europe is Austria. These two are not only the chief representatives of democracy and despotism, but they are jealous rivals, their interests clash, and in Italy meet in direct opposition.' (pp. 114-118)

[* The following quote is taken from the historian Sidney Bradshaw Fay's work, Before Sarajevo: The Origins of the [First] World War , Vol 1, 1928:

'The most valuable to the historian of all the Austro-Hungarian memoirs is the voluminous work of the Austrian Chief of Staff, Baron Conrad von Hoetzendorf (entitled, Aus meiner Dienstzeit [My Years of Service], 5 vols.; published Vienna, 1921-25). It consists in large part of an undigested mass of important documents of all sorts, copies of which he evidently took from the official files and published in chronological order, with a commentary of his own. It also includes conversations in dialogue form which appear to be taken from a diary kept from day to day. With extraordinary frankness, he recounts the repeated efforts he made to have Austria make war on Italy or Serbia on what he regarded as numerous favourable occasions between 1906 and 1914. In July, 1914, it was probably he, more than anyone else, who galvanised the incompetent and hesitating Berchtold into an active advocate of war against Serbia.']

Returning back to, The Approaching War Among the Powers of Europe (1864):

'[From the] moment [that] the war becomes universal and beyond all control . . . . the strongest passions and the wildest hopes [will be] let loose, [and] further compromise . . . [will then become] impossible. France, Italy, and the oppressed nationalities on the one side, and Prussia, Russia, and Austria on the other, will wage a war, which even unaided reason sees must be unparalleled by all former wars. Reflect what progress the powers of Europe have made in the construction of warlike weapons since the last great Continental war; what an increase has been made on the power of heavy ordnance, and in the capabilities of vessels! There are the tremendous iron ships of the French navy, and the immense guns and mortars, which all the powers possess, both for land and sea service. All these indicate a power of destruction utterly unknown in former times, and render it no difficulty to understand that a great war now must be inconceivable in its effects. How, then, shall we imagine the consequences of a conflict in which the whole world-power is engaged? The destructive power of evil will never become so apparent as then, when it is turned in upon itself. Then, also, will appear the true value of European civilisation and advancement in art and science when cultivated apart from Christianity. The very forces of nature which evil takes to work upon, contribute finally to its overthrow. In connexion with obedience to law, and with the principles of rectitude, Nature and all its powers work for human well-being; but when . . . the conditions of well-being are rejected, nature's forces can be, and are, turned to purposes of destruction. Thus we have the ruining and desolating influence of the engines of war; and these will do their fell work with unexampled intensity in the world's final conflict. The apostle John saw in vision that “the cities of the nations fell.” What particular cities will be laid in ruins, we know not; but the fact that there will be cities destroyed indicates the fierceness and uncompromising character of the contest. A fallen city implies an array of unimagined horrors — a dark and terrible scene of plunder and massacre, and cruelties of the very worst description. And yet it is not one city, but many, that shall be overtaken by this fate . . . . The power of Austria will probably be the first to feel the shock of a wave of retribution from this surging sea of Divine judgment. Austria, as the two-horned beast, has been the chief supporter of Papal Antichrist. It has been the most obedient and zealous servant of the Papacy. It practised all its abominations and cruelties, and shall be dragged first into the whirlpool of wrath.' (pp. 123-125)