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Title: The Roman Empire in the Light of Prophecy - The Rise, Progress, and End of the Fourth World-empire
Author: Vine, W. E.
Language: English
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THE
ROMAN
EMPIRE
IN
PROPHECY.
W. E. VINE, M.A.
"Regarded as an historical
manual it is of no little value,
and the author's summaries of
the rise and progress of Rome
are quite masterly in their way."
--_Glasgow Citizen._
[Illustration: CÆSAR AUGUSTUS, first Roman Emperor, born 63 B.C.
Grand-nephew and heir of Julius Cæsar Octavianus. Obtained supreme power
over Roman dominions by victory over Anthony at Actium, 31 B.C.
Proclaimed Emperor, 27 B.C., by the Roman Senate, which conferred on him
the title Augustus. Died 19th August, A.D. 14, in his 76th year.]
THE
ROMAN EMPIRE
IN THE LIGHT OF
PROPHECY
--OR,--
THE RISE, PROGRESS AND END OF
THE FOURTH WORLD-EMPIRE.
BY
W. E. VINE, M.A.,
Author of "B.C. and A.D.; or, How the World was prepared for the
Gospel"; "The Scriptures and How to Use Them," etc.
[Illustration: Publisher's Mark]
PICKERING & INGLIS
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PREFACE.
The following pages are the outcome of several conversations with
inquirers shortly after the outbreak of the great war, in 1914, and of
requests for notes of the views expressed. The subject of these
conversations had occupied the earnest if intermittent attention of the
writer for over twenty years. The notes were expanded into a series of
articles which appeared in _The Witness_ during 1915. These have been
revised and somewhat extended for the present volume, especially the
last chapter, much of which was previously precluded by limitations of
space.
In regard to past history, the outlines of events connected with the
Roman and Turkish Empires are given with the hope that the records will
prove helpful to those who read the history of Nations in the light of
Scripture.
In regard to the future, while there are many events which the Word of
God has foretold with absolute clearness, and upon these we may speak
unreservedly, yet there are many circumstances concerning which definite
prediction has been designedly withheld, and upon which prophecy is
therefore obscure. In such matters an effort has been made to avoid
dogmatism. Prophecy was not given in order for us to prophesy.
On the other hand, the prophetic Scriptures are not to be neglected.
Difficulty in understanding them is no reason for disregarding them.
They are part of that Word, the whole of which is declared to be
"profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3. 16). They therefore demand prayerful and
patient meditation.
For a speaker to refer to the study of the prophecies in a way which
tends to minimise their importance in the minds of his hearers is to
dishonour both the sacred Word and Him who inspired it. It is
significant that the book of the Revelation opens with a promise of
blessing to him who reads (the reference is especially to public
reading) and to those who "hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the
things which are written therein" (chap. 1. 3), and at the close repeats
the blessing for him who keeps its words (chap. 22. 7).
The quotations in the present volume are from the Revised Version, the
comparatively greater accuracy of its translations being important for a
correct understanding of many of the passages considered.
While the book is published at the request of several friends, the
author fulfils such request with the earnest desire that in matters of
doctrine that only may be accepted which can be confirmed from the Word
of God itself, and that the Lord may graciously own what is in
accordance with His mind for the glory of His Name and the profit of the
reader.
BATH, 1916. W. E. VINE.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. PAGE
=The Times of the Gentiles=, 9
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream, 11
The Chaldean, Medo-Persian, Grecian Kingdoms, 12
The Fourth Kingdom, 13
CHAPTER II.
=The Roman Dominion=, 15
Rise and Progress of the Roman Empire, 16
Eastward Extension, 18
The Empire Completed, 22
The Crushing of the Nations, 23
The Twofold Division, 25
The Tenfold Division, 27
A Comparison of the Visions, 29
Testimony of Early Christian Writers, 32
Processes at Work Since the Twofold Division, 34
CHAPTER III.
=The Overthrow in the West=--GERMANIC INVASIONS, 35
Disintegration of the Western Half, 37
Alaric and the Goths, 37
Attila and the Huns, 39
Genseric and the Vandals, 40
Northern Limits of the Empire, 41
Ten Kingdoms not Formed by Germanic Invasions, 42
CHAPTER IV.
=The Overthrow in the East=--TURKISH EMPIRE, 44
Mohammed and the Khaliphs, 45
Eastern Empire at End of 10th Century, 46
The Appearance of the Turks, 46
The Turks Embrace Mohammedanism, 47
The Turks Enter Europe, 48
Constantinople Taken, 49
A Comparison of the Two Divisions, 50
Decline of the Turkish Empire, 51
The Coming Overthrow, 54
A Blank in Prophecy, 55
Continuation of the Roman Government, 56
Roman Imperialism Continued, 57
CHAPTER V.
=Coming Revival of the Roman Empire=, 59
1. GEOGRAPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS, 59
Review of the Ancient Territories, 62
Divisions of the Greek Empire, 63
Other European Territories, 65
The British Empire, 67
2. POLITICAL STANDPOINT, 69
European Federation, 69
The Sea Symbolic of National Unrest, 72
Revolutions and their Issues, 74
The Iron and the Clay, 74
Unprecedented Political and Social Upheaval, 77
3. THE RELIGIOUS STANDPOINT, 77
The Papacy: Its Present Power, 79
A Reunion of Christendom, 80
The Doom of Religious Babylon, 81
Satanic Authority of the Emperor, 82
The "Superman," 83
Spiritism--The False Prophet, 84
Universal System of Commerce, 87
CHAPTER VI.
=The Everlasting Kingdom=, 88
The Jews, 88
The Seventy Weeks, 88
The Last "Week," 89
Fierce Persecution, 92
Armageddon and After, 93
The Scene of the Conflict, 94
The Epiphany of His Parousia, 97
The Voice of the Lord, 98
The Treading of the Winepress, 99
Overthrow of the Man of Sin, 100
The Scene of Judgment, 102
The Jews in their Extremity, 104
Seismic Disturbances, 104
THE KING ETERNAL, 107
=Index to Maps.=
ROMAN EMPIRE IN APOSTOLIC TIMES, 22
WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE UNDER GERMANIC TRIBES, 36
TURKISH EMPIRE IN THE 16TH CENTURY, 44
TURKISH EMPIRE IN 1914, 54
PALESTINE TO ILLUSTRATE PSALM 29, 88
The Roman Empire in the Light of Prophecy.
CHAPTER I.
THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES.
The overthrow of the kingdom of Judah recorded in 2 Kings 24 and 25, and
in the opening words of the book of Daniel, was a remarkable crisis in
the history of the world. In judgment upon the people of God for their
long-continued iniquity, sovereignty was removed from their hands, king
and people were led into captivity, and Jerusalem was, in fulfilment of
Jeremiah's words, given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of
Babylon (Jer. 21. 10). The government of their land was thus committed
to the Gentiles, and with the Gentiles it has remained from that day
till now. These events took place in 606 and 587 B.C.
The Times of the Gentiles.
But Gentile control is not to continue indefinitely. This, which is
plain from many Scriptures, was intimated by Christ to His disciples
when He said of Jerusalem that the city would "be trodden down of the
Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21. 24).
The phrase, "the times of the Gentiles," calls for consideration, and
especially as it has to do with Nebuchadnezzar's conquest just
mentioned.
There are two words translated "times" in the New Testament; one is
_chronoi_, which is invariably rendered "times;" the other is _kairoi_,
which, when the two are found together, is rendered "seasons." Thus
Paul, in writing to the Thessalonian Church, says, "But concerning the
times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written
unto you" (1 Thess. 5. 1, R.V.; cp. Acts 1.7). We may distinguish
"seasons" from "times" in the following way: "times" denotes mere
duration, lengths of time; "seasons" implies that these lengths of time
have certain events or circumstances associated with them by which they
are characterised. Thus the words almost exactly correspond to the terms
"periods" and "epochs." Now the word _kairoi_, "seasons," is used in the
phrase translated "the times of the Gentiles," which might accordingly
be rendered "the seasons of the Gentiles." We look, then, for some
special characteristic of the period or periods thus designated. We have
observed that Nebuchadnezzar's overthrow of the kingdom of Judah
involved the transference of its sovereignty from Jew to Gentile from
that event onward. "The times of the Gentiles," accordingly, is that
period, or succession of periods, during which dominion over the Jews
and their land is committed to Gentile Powers.
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream.
Special significance attaches to the fact that no sooner had the times
of the Gentiles begun than God made known the future course of their
authority over His people, and the character and doom of that authority,
and made it known to the first Gentile conqueror himself. It was in the
second year of his reign that Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream the great
image by means of which the purposes of God were to be communicated to
him. The description of this, given by Daniel to the troubled monarch,
is as follows: "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This
image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood
before thee; and the aspect thereof was terrible. As for this image,
his head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly
and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron, and
part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands,
which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and
brake them in pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the
silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the
chaff of the summer threshing-floors: and the wind carried them away,
that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image
became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth" (Dan. 2. 31-35).
Interpreting this vision, the prophet identified Nebuchadnezzar, the
Chaldean monarch, with the head of gold, and foretold that his kingdom,
or empire, would be followed in succession by three others,
corresponding respectively to the different parts of the remainder of
the image and to the nature of the metals composing them. Of the four
kingdoms the last is to engage our chief attention in these papers.
Passing from the first, the =Chaldean=, as specified in Daniel's words
to the king, "Thou art this head of gold" (v. 38), we are shown that the
second kingdom was that of the =Medes and Persians= by the prophet's
record of the doom of Nebuchadnezzar's successor, Belshazzar: "In that
night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. And Darius the Mede
received the kingdom" (Dan. 5. 30, 31; cp. v. 28). That the third
kingdom was the =Grecian= we find in the interpretation of part of a
vision recorded in the eighth chapter: "The ram which thou sawest that
had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough
he-goat [who was seen to destroy the ram, v. 8] is the king of Greece"
(vv. 20, 21; cp. chap. 10. 20).
The Fourth Kingdom.
The name of the fourth kingdom is not mentioned in the Old Testament,
but the prediction given in the ninth chapter of Daniel's prophecies
sufficiently identifies it. Messiah, it was said, would be cut off, and
the people of a coming prince would destroy the city and the sanctuary.
Now we know that the perpetrators of this were the Romans. We know, too,
that by them the Grecian empire was conquered. The world-wide rule of
the first =Roman= Emperor is indicated in the words of Luke's
introduction to his record of the birth of Christ: "Now it came to pass
in those days, there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the
world should be enrolled" (Luke 2. 1).
It is important to note that this fourth kingdom will, in its final
condition, be in world-wide authority at the close of the times of the
Gentiles, that is, that the Roman power, though in a divided state, will
not be finally destroyed until it meets its doom at the hands of the Son
of God. This fact, which will receive fuller treatment later, and is
borne out by several Scriptures, is plainly indicated in the passage
which describes the last state of the fourth kingdom and its
destruction. Immediately after showing that it would be a divided
kingdom, and describing the nature of that division (vv. 41-43), the
prophet says: "And in the days of those kings shall the God of Heaven
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the
sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in
pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (v.
44). Now this indestructible kingdom cannot be other than that of
Christ, and by His kingdom the fourth is to be broken in pieces and
consumed, thus involving the overthrow of all forms of Gentile
authority. Obviously no form of world government will exist between that
of the fourth kingdom, in its condition described in verses 42, 43, and
the kingdom of Christ which destroys it.
CHAPTER II.
THE ROMAN DOMINION.
An understanding of the Scriptures does not depend upon access to other
books, or reference to historical records outside the limits of the
Bible. The Word of God is its own interpreter, and all that is needed
for our establishment in the faith is contained in its pages. On the
other hand, the Bible throws light upon history not recorded therein,
and it is with that in view that we give certain historical outlines in
dealing with our subject.
The first part of the prophet's description of the fourth kingdom is as
follows: "The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron
breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that crusheth
all these, shall it break in pieces and crush" (v. 40). A similar
description is given in his account of a subsequent vision, in which he
saw four great beasts coming up from the sea. In this vision the Roman
kingdom again was undoubtedly symbolised by the fourth beast. This beast
he describes as "terrible and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it
had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the
residue with his feet" (7. 7). So, again, in the words of the
interpretation: "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth,
which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole
earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces" (v. 23). Now all
this exactly depicts the Roman power in its subjugation and control of
the nations which eventually composed its empire. In the light, then, of
these prophecies we give a brief sketch of its rise and conquests.
The Rise and Progress of the Roman Empire.
The Romans, who early in the third century B.C. had become masters of
all Italy, save in the extreme north, were drawn into a course of
conquest beyond the limits of their own country by the rivalry of the
rapidly advancing power of Carthage in North Africa. Carthage, a city
founded some centuries earlier by Phoenician colonists from Tyre and
Sidon, had at length become the capital of a great North African empire,
stretching from Tripoli to the Atlantic Ocean, and embracing settlements
elsewhere in countries and islands of the Mediterranean. These
settlements included the greater part of Sicily, and that island,
situated between the rival nations, became the first bone of contention
between them. The precise cause of the struggle must not occupy us here,
but the circumstances which decided the Roman Government, in 264 B.C.,
upon an invasion of Sicily were of the deepest significance in the
history of the world. By the year 242 Sicily was subdued. In the
following year the island was ceded by Carthage, and the extension of
Roman dominion beyond Italy was begun. The war continued intermittently,
with many vicissitudes, for a century, but eventually the Carthagians
were overwhelmingly defeated by land and sea. "Think you that Carthage
or that Rome will be content, after the victory, with its own country
and Sicily?" said a Greek orator, while the issues of the struggle in
its earliest stage were yet in the balance. Rome's vast ambition, and
her abundant means of gratifying it, justified the orator's fears. The
islands of Sardinia and Corsica were shortly afterwards seized.
Defeated in Sicily, Carthage extended her dominions in Spain and made
that country a base for marching through Gaul to attack the Romans from
the north. Though their renowned leader Hannibal met with success, their
effort was doomed to failure. Meanwhile Roman armies had pushed into
Spain. After a fierce struggle of thirteen years the Carthagians were
completely overcome there, and Spain soon became a Roman province. By
the decisive battle of Zama, in North Africa, in 202, Carthage and its
territories became tributary, and thus all the western Mediterranean
passed under the supremacy of Rome. Eventually in 146, as a result of a
final war, Carthage was razed to the ground, and its North African
kingdom was constituted a Roman province under the name of Africa. War
with the Celts in North Italy, commencing the next year, resulted in the
extension of the boundary to the Alps, and countries beyond began to
feel the terror of the Roman name.
Eastward Extension.
The second century B.C. witnessed the spread of the iron rule eastward.
The Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great, the third mentioned in
Daniel's interpretation, had embraced all the countries surrounding the
eastern half of the Mediterranean and had stretched far beyond the
Euphrates. The disintegration of Alexander's empire after his death
prepared the way for the Romans. Macedonia, the former seat of that
empire, was their first great objective. A pretext for war was soon
forthcoming, and war was actually declared in 200 B.C. A series of
struggles ensued, and Macedonia was not finally subdued for over thirty
years. Meanwhile matters had developed in Greece and Asia Minor. In the
latter country Antiochus III., the Great, who had also conquered Syria
and Palestine, was seeking to extend his dominions. Cities and states of
Asia Minor, however, groaning under the tyranny of Antiochus, appealed
to Rome for aid. The Romans declared war against him in 192 B.C. The
first conflict occurred in Greece, which was largely under his
influence. An early victory secured the submission of the Greek states.
Antiochus retreated into Asia Minor, and was finally crushed at Magnesia
in 190. The whole of Asia Minor was then surrendered to Rome. Actual
possession was postponed and local government was largely granted both
there and in Greece. But that policy proved impracticable, and the force
of circumstances compelled a forward movement to universal empire. There
was no such thing as the balance of power in the ancient world. Once a
country became predominant there was nothing for it but the subjugation
of its neighbours. The extension of Rome's dominions eastward was a
fulfilment of a destiny beyond its own control. The reverent student of
Scripture sees in the course of these events the unfolding of God's
plans and the fulfilment of His Word.
The final campaign against the Macedonians was opened in 169 B.C., and
in the next year they were overwhelmed at the decisive battle of Pydna.
Macedonia and the adjacent state of Illyria became tributary, and
eventually were reduced to Roman provinces.
The Romans then felt the necessity of definitely annexing Greece.
Seventy towns in that country were plundered and 150,000 inhabitants
were sold into slavery. Antiochus IV., Epiphanes, was now king of Syria
and Palestine, and had possessed himself of almost the whole of Egypt.
Such was the effect of the battle of Pydna, however, that he was at once
compelled to hand over Egypt to the conquerors, and that country became
a Roman protectorate. Syria passed under Roman control at the death of
Antiochus Epiphanes, in 164, and by the end of a few decades all the
states of Asia Minor had been incorporated.
Thus by the middle of this century the Republic of Rome had gained
ascendancy east and west. Its senate was recognised by the civilised
world as "the supreme tribunal for kings and nations." Early in the next
century Dalmatia and Thrace were subdued, and the latter was
incorporated in the province of Macedonia. Wars with Mithradates, King
of Pontus, Cappadocia and Armenia, resulted in the conquest of all his
territories, and provinces were formed out of the states from thence
westward to the Ægean sea.
Palestine Annexed.
This century saw the actual interference of Rome in the affairs of
Judæa. Syria had been made a province in 65 B.C. by the Roman General
Pompey, and from thence he intervened in a strife which had for some
time been raging amongst the leaders of the Jews. In 63 he marched an
army into Judæa and took Jerusalem. At the final assault upon the Temple
12,000 Jews perished. Judæa thus passed under the iron heel.
As a result of the wars of Cæsar in north-western Europe, in 58-51 B.C.,
what are now Switzerland, France, and Belgium were subdued and Britain
was invaded. By Cæsar also Roman authority in Africa was consolidated
across the entire length of the north of the continent. The conquests of
Rome as a Republic were complete. The Mediterranean had become a "Roman
lake."
[Illustration: THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN APOSTOLIC TIMES.]
The Empire Completed.
In 27 B.C. the purely Republican form of constitution was abolished, and
the government of the Roman world was concentrated in the hands of an
Emperor, the Cæsar Augustus of Luke 2.1. In his reign were fulfilled the
prophecies foretelling the Birth of Christ. When the Prince of Peace was
born in Bethlehem the din of strife was hushed throughout the empire,
and Rome, under the restraining hand of God, ceased for a time its
warring. By Augustus the northern territories of the empire were
extended to practically the entire length of the Danube. The greater
part of Britain became a province under Claudius. A later Emperor,
Trajan, added, at the beginning of the second century A.D., the province
of Dacia, covering what are now Transylvania and most of Roumania. Under
Marcus Aurelius (161-180) a large part of Mesopotamia was finally
annexed.
This completes the actual conquests of the Romans. We will now note
certain characteristics of their method of subjugation, viewed in the
light of Daniel's prophecy concerning the fourth kingdom, that, like
iron, it would "break in pieces and crush."
The Crushing of the Nations.
The crushing process was evidenced in many ways, and especially by the
establishment of a general system of slavery, which almost everywhere
supplanted free labour. Slave-hunting and slave-dealing became a
profession. To such an extent were they carried on at one period that
certain provinces were well nigh depopulated. We are told that at the
great slave-market in the island of Delos, off Greece, as many as ten
thousand slaves were disembarked in the morning and bought up before
the evening of the same day. Chained gangs worked under overseers and
were confined in prison at night. To take an instance of the extreme
rigour of the laws regulating the traffic, it is recorded by the
historian Tacitus, that once, when the Prefect of Rome had been killed
by one of his slaves, of whom he owned a vast number, the whole of his
slaves, many of them women and children, were executed together, in
accordance with an ancient law. That event took place about the time,
apparently, at which the Apostle Paul arrived at Rome.
But not only were the nations ground down by slavery, the pages of Roman
history abound in records of wholesale massacre and butchery. We may
note, for instance, Luke's statement of Pilate's slaughter of Galilæans
while they were sacrificing (Luke 13. 1). Records abound, too, of
grossly burdensome taxation and financial exactions, in which the Romans
outdid all tyrants that had preceded them. Usury flourished in the last
century as it had never done before. Four per cent. per month was an
ordinary exaction for a loan to a community. On one occasion a Roman
banker, who had a claim on the municipality of Salamis, in Cyprus, kept
its council blockaded until five of its members died of hunger.
By these methods the provinces of the empire were at one period reduced
to a condition of unsurpassed misery. Nothing could more vividly
describe the course of such a kingdom and the control exercised by it
than the words of Daniel quoted above.
The Twofold Division.
This fourth kingdom was destined to be divided; and in two respects,
territorial and constitutional. The territorial division was indicated
by the symbolism of the legs and feet of the image of Nebuchadnezzar's
vision; the constitutional division was declared in Daniel's
interpretation concerning the iron and clay (v. 40). The former of these
divisions claims our consideration first. Territorially the kingdom
would be first divided into two parts corresponding with the legs of the
image. This actually took place in the fourth century of the present
era.
The Roman Empire had continued in a more or less united condition for
over three centuries after the accession of its first Emperor, Augustus,
in 27 B.C., though various signs of a coming division manifested
themselves. It was not unusual, for instance, for an emperor to appoint
an associate with himself in the imperial rank, and on one occasion
Maximian, who thus became associated with Diocletian in A.D. 288,
actually established his seat of government at Nicomedia, in Asia Minor.
Constantine (323-337) united the empire under his sole rule, but paved
the way for the final separation of east from west by founding, in 328,
the city of Constantinople as a second Rome, after his own name, and
establishing it as an eastern centre of government with its own
legislative institutions. This arrangement was favoured by several
conditions, national and otherwise, which characterised the countries of
the eastern half as distinct from those of the western.
At the death of Constantine, in 337, his dominions were divided among
his three sons, a division, however, which lasted but a brief time. The
empire was in 353 again united under Constantius, the survivor of the
three. The long impending division into two parts took place under
Valentinian I., in the year of his accession, 364. Yielding to the wish
of his soldiers that he should associate a colleague with himself, he
placed his brother Valens in power in the east, with headquarters at
Constantinople, he himself retaining control over the west.
The Tenfold Division.
Prophetic Scriptures show that the Roman Empire would be further
divided. Now while the ten toes of the image in Nebuchadnezzar's dream
have not improperly been regarded as indicative of a tenfold division,
the fact that the image had ten toes would be insufficient of itself to
signify this, for the toes are naturally essential to a complete human
figure. Moreover, the hands and their fingers, equally essential parts,
have no territorial significance attached to them. The conclusion
regarding the toes is, however, justified when we find the tenfold
division abundantly confirmed by other Scriptures.
Thus the fourth beast in the vision in chapter 7, which, as we have
seen, likewise symbolised the Roman kingdom, is described as having _ten
horns_ (v. 7). The interpretation clearly tells us what these are: "And
as for the ten horns, out of the kingdom (the fourth) shall _ten kings_
arise" (v. 24). The Apocalypse gives us further information regarding
this division, unfolding with increasing clearness the details connected
with it. In one of the visions given to the apostle John, he sees "a
great red dragon, having seven heads and _ten horns_" (Rev. 12. 3). The
meaning of the ten horns is not there explained. We are told that the
great dragon is "the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan,
the deceiver of the whole world" (v. 9). Turning now to the next
chapter, we find another vision recorded, giving a fresh view of the
same subject. A beast was seen "coming up out of the sea, having _ten
horns_ and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads
names of blasphemy" (chap. 13. 1). Again an explanation of the ten horns
is withheld, but that they are identical with those of the twelfth
chapter is undeniable. The Apostle receives, however, a further vision,
recorded in chapter 17: "I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-coloured
beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and _ten horns_"
(chap. 17. 3). And now the symbolism of the horns is explained: "the ten
horns that thou sawest are _ten kings_, which have received no kingdom
as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one
hour. These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto
the beast" (vv. 12, 13).
We are now concerned, of course, solely with the tenfold division of the
empire; other details of the visions just referred to remain for later
consideration. We cannot fail to see that what is symbolised by the ten
toes of the image, and by the ten horns of the fourth beast as revealed
to Daniel, is identical with what is symbolised by the ten horns of the
dragon and of the beast seen by John, namely, the Roman kingdom in its
ultimately divided condition.
A Comparison of the Visions.
The following points are noteworthy in comparing these visions
relatively to the tenfold division. First, there is a parallelism in the
order of the revelations given to the two seers, Daniel and John. A
preliminary vision is given to each--more than one in the case of
John--in which, in the matter of this territorial partition, symbols
occur without explanation. Each then receives a further vision, in the
interpretation of which the eventual division into ten kingdoms is
plainly disclosed. To Daniel it is said: "As for the ten horns, out of
the kingdom shall ten kings arise;" and to John: "The ten horns that
thou sawest are ten kings, ... which receive authority as kings with
the beast for one hour."
Second, the ten kingdoms are seen to be contemporaneous, as is indicated
by the co-existence of the ten horns of the beast, and further, by the
fact that the ten kings mutually agree to a certain line of policy in
handing over their authority to a supreme potentate (Rev. 17. 12, 13).
Third, it is evident that the fourth kingdom is the last of the Gentile
world-powers, and that it will exist in its tenfold state at the end of
the times of the Gentiles. We observed this above in the case of the
image, from the fact that the stone, symbolising the kingdom of Christ,
smote the image upon its toes. So now, in the vision of the four beasts,
it is the fourth beast that is slain, his body destroyed, and given to
be burned (Dan. 7. 11). The Personal Agent of this destruction is here
made known: "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with
the clouds of Heaven One like unto a son of man, and He came even to the
Ancient of Days, ... and there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a
kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him:
His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and
His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed" (vv. 13, 14). The
finality of the fourth kingdom is clearer still from the interpretation
given in the remainder of the chapter. The final world-ruler is, of
course, prominent in this vision; in his destruction is involved the
destruction of his kingdom; his power and aggression are terminated when
the Ancient of Days comes (v. 22); then it is that "the judgment shall
sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it
unto the end. And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the
saints of the Most High: His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all
dominions shall serve and obey Him" (vv. 26, 27). Similarly, again, in
Revelation 13 and 17, in the corresponding visions of the beast and its
ten horns, the ten kings and their federal head, ruling at the time of
the end, "shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them,
for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they _also shall
overcome_ that are with Him, called and chosen and faithful" (Rev. 17.
14).
The crushing of the image by the stone, the slaying of the fourth beast
before the Ancient of Days, and the conquest of the ten kings and their
chief by the Lamb, are therefore different views of the same event. The
tenfold division of the fourth kingdom is obviously still future, and
marks the condition of the world-government at the close of the times of
the Gentiles, and immediately prior to the kingdom of Christ.
The Testimony of Early Christian Writers.
That the Roman Empire would in its final form be divided into ten
kingdoms was held by Christian writers of the earliest post-apostolic
times. Their opinions are here given, not as forming any basis of
exposition, but as expressions of early Christian conception of the
Scriptures under consideration.
What is known as "_The Epistle of Barnabas_," probably written early in
the second century A.D., quotes from Daniel concerning the ten kingdoms
to show that they would exist at the consummation of the present age.
_Irenæus_ (circa A.D. 120-202), a disciple of Polycarp, who had been a
companion of the apostle John, observes that "the ten toes are ten
kings, among whom the kingdom will be divided." _Tertullian_, a
contemporary of Irenæus, remarks that "the disintegration and dispersion
of the Roman State among the ten kings will produce Antichrist, and then
shall be revealed that Wicked One, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with
the breath of His mouth and destroy by the brightness of His
manifestation." _Hippolytus_, who was a follower of Irenæus, and
flourished in the first half of the third century, makes similar
reference to the ultimate division. _Lactantius_, of the latter half of
the third and the early part of the fourth centuries, writes as follows:
"The Empire will be sub-divided, and the powers of government, after
being frittered away and shared among many, will be undermined. Civil
discords will then ensue, nor will there be respite from destructive
wars, until ten kings arise at once, who will divide the world among
themselves to consume rather than to govern it." _Cyril_ (circa
315-386), who became bishop of Jerusalem in 350, quoting from Daniel,
and speaking of the Empire and its future division, implies that
teaching on the subject was customary in the churches. _Jerome_
(342-420) observes that "at the end of the world, when the kingdom of
the Romans is to be destroyed, there will be ten kings to divide the
Roman world among themselves." Similarly writes _Theodoret_ in the fifth
century, and others of that time make more or less direct reference to
the subject. While the views of these writers differ considerably on
other points of detail, all are unanimous as to the eventual division of
the Empire among ten contemporaneous potentates.
Processes at Work Since the Twofold Division.
The mediæval and modern history of the lands originally constituting the
Roman Empire is a history of the formation of independent states in such
a way as to point to the eventual revival of the Empire in the tenfold
division we have been considering. The process has been a long and
involved one, for the counsels of God have had a far wider range than
the mere shaping of national destiny. It has been the Divine pleasure,
for instance, that the Gospel should be spread among all nations for the
purpose of taking out from among them a people for the Name of Christ,
and for the formation thereby of His Church. In contradistinction to
this, and from the standpoint of the world itself, which, though under
God's control, remains in alienation from Him, there has been a gradual
development of the political, social, and religious principles which are
ultimately to permeate the nations.
CHAPTER III.
THE OVERTHROW IN THE WEST: GERMANIC INVASIONS.
In the interpretation of his vision of the beast, John is told of its
rise, temporary removal, and reappearance: "The beast that thou sawest
was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go
into perdition" (Rev. 17. 8). Here the Roman world-power, the imperial
dominion, is in view. In verse 11 the final king himself is similarly
described. The symbol of the beast is thus employed to describe first
the dominion and then its imperial head. This symbolic association of
locality and ruler is found elsewhere in Scripture, and is illustrated
in this very chapter. The seven heads of the beast, for example, are
interpreted in both ways: "The seven heads are seven mountains, ... and
they are seven kings" (v. 9, R.V. ) The distinction between verses 8 and
11 may be observed in this way: in the first part of the chapter,
verses 1-8, the beast is viewed as a whole, indicating world-wide
government; in verse 11 the scope of the symbol is limited, the beast is
a person, and is identified with one of the seven heads, or kings, he is
"himself also an eighth, and is of the seven." With this individual we
shall be occupied later.
A striking illustration of the symbolic use of the word "beast" to
denote both a kingdom and the ruler over it is to be found in Dan. 7,
where the following statements are made: "These great beasts, which are
four, are four kings" (v. 17), and "The fourth beast shall be the fourth
kingdom" (v. 23).
[Illustration: THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE UNDER GERMANIC TRIBES]
The statement of verse 8 seems, then, undoubtedly to refer to the
Empire; it did exist, it ceased to be, and it will reappear. The
assertion that it "is not" must not be taken to mean that the beast had
ceased to exist in John's time. The present tense is to be regarded as
prophetic. The verb "to be" often has the force of continuance of
existence. The whole statement implies a past existence, a
discontinuance of that existence, a future reappearance. In the vision
recorded in the thirteenth chapter, John saw one of the heads of the
beast "as though it had been smitten unto death." If, as seems probable,
this head is imperialism, then the overthrow of imperial Rome is
likewise indicated in that passage.
In the light, then, of the words: "The beast that thou sawest was, and
is not," we may now consider how the Roman Empire was overthrown.
Disintegration of the Western Half.
We have seen that, at the accession of the Emperor Valentinian I. in
A.D. 364, the Empire was divided into two parts. The succeeding century
witnessed the disintegration of the western half. The cause was
primarily from within. Augustus, the first Emperor, had instituted a
policy of settling colonies of "barbarians" from northern Europe within
the frontiers of the Empire. Later Emperors adopted the policy more
generally. The significance of this lies in the fact that by the
barbarians who had already been thus established in the Empire, the
attacks were commenced which resulted in the dismemberment of its
western provinces.
Alaric and the Goths.
At the close of the fourth century hordes of Gothic tribes from
north-eastern and eastern Germany set out, under Alaric their chief, in
quest of new lands. Settlements of these very Goths had already been
established south of the Danube by the Imperial Government as allies of
the Romans. After an excursion into Italy, in which they were
temporarily checked, they poured, in 406, into defenceless Gaul. From
thence Alaric returned to invade Italy, and three times in three years
besieged Rome (408-410), eventually sacking the city. After his death,
in 410, the Goths retired from Italy, entered Gaul, and permanently
occupied the southern part of that country and a large part of Spain,
where they were known as =Visigoths= (_i.e._, Western Goths).
Other Germanic tribes also streamed into Gaul. Of these, the =Franks=
(whence the name France) issued from districts around the middle and
lower Rhine and occupied northern Gaul; the =Suevi=, from north and
north-west Germany, passed through into Spain; the =Alani=, formerly
from eastern Europe, settled in west France and Spain; the
=Burgundians=, from eastern Germany, seized that part of Gaul which
eventually was named after them, Burgundy. The =Vandals=, from northern
and central Germany, after being defeated by the Franks, crossed into
Spain under their leader Genseric, and from thence established
themselves in the province of Africa, in 429. This occupation of Gaul
and Spain was soon perforce recognised by the Emperor at Rome. At the
death of the Emperor Honorius, in 423, Rome exercised little more than a
nominal authority over the greater part of the west.
From Britain the Roman troops were withdrawn by Honorius, in 409, though
the final abandonment of the island province did not take place till
436. Teutonic tribes from North Europe were soon engaged in invading
this part of the Empire. The =Jutes=, from Jutland, landed in 449, the
=Saxons= in 477, and about the same time the =Angles=.
Attila and the Huns.
Toward the close of the reign of Valentinian III. (433-455), Gaul and
Italy were invaded by the =Huns= under Attila. The Huns originally
inhabited a large part of central and northern Asia. In the latter part
of the fourth century they moved west into Scythia and Germany, driving
the Goths before them. Attila's dominions thereafter extended over a
vast area of eastern, central, and northern Europe, and he was regarded
as of equal standing with the Emperors at Constantinople and Rome. After
a gigantic but futile incursion into Gaul, in 451, the Huns rushed into
Italy, ravaging its northern plains. An embassy from Rome and an immense
ransom saved the situation. Attila died in 453, and Italy was evacuated.
The Huns eventually settled in south-eastern Europe, and their dominion
dwindled away. A trace of their name may be found in the word Hungary.
Genseric and the Vandals.
In North Africa Genseric the Vandal established a powerful dominion, and
set about preparing an invasion of Italy by sea. In 455 (the last year
of the reign of Valentinian III.) his army of Vandals and Moors attacked
Rome, which was again given over to pillage. Its wealth and treasures
were transported to Carthage, and with them the vessels of the temple at
Jerusalem; these had been brought to Rome in A.D. 70 by Titus, the
conqueror of Jerusalem. For twenty years after Genseric's achievement
Roman Emperors existed in little else than name, the real power being
in the hands of a barbarian officer. In 476 the last Emperor was deposed
by Odoacer, the king of the Heruli, a tribe which, issuing from the
shores of the Baltic, made successful inroads into Italy and occupied
much of the country. Odoacer was, at the request of the Roman Senate,
given the reins of government by the eastern Emperor Zeno, and news was
despatched to the court at Constantinople that no longer was there an
Emperor of the west. Subsequently, in 493, Odoacer was slain by
Theodoric, the king of the =Ostrogoths=, who then became predominant in
the Italian peninsula. The Ostrogoths (_i.e._, Eastern Goths) had broken
off from the main body of their nation, and after settling south of the
Danube moved into the province of Dalmatia.
Northern Limits of the Empire.
Other Germanic tribes, in addition to those named above, firmly
established themselves within the northern limits of the Empire. Of
these, two are worthy of mention, the =Alemanni=, who occupied most of
what is now Switzerland and districts northward, and the =Lombards=, who
settled in north Italy and the territory north-east of it.
The Ten Kingdoms not Formed by the Germanic Invasions.
There have been various attempts to identify with the ten prophetic
kingdoms the states formed from the western half of the Roman Empire by
the Germanic tribes from the north. Such attempts fail from the
standpoints both of history and of prophecy. To group the tribes so as
to make ten kingdoms out of them is, of course, possible in several
ways, for there were at least eighteen such tribes. Accordingly lists
put forward differ considerably. But such grouping is manifestly
arbitrary. Again, since these invading nations occupied only the western
half of the Empire, the above allocation of the ten kingdoms necessarily
leaves the eastern half out of consideration, and therefore excludes the
land of Palestine from this stage of the prophetic forecast.
Now the prophecies concerning the times of the Gentiles are invariably
focussed upon the Jews and their land. The dealings of God with the Jews
form the pivot of His dealings with other nations. Thus no scheme of
prophetic exposition relative to this subject is to be regarded as
Scriptural which excludes Palestine from its scope. To endeavour to
make the Word of God square with facts of history is to tamper with
Scripture and to run the risk of obscuring its meaning and force.
The idea that the formation of the ten kingdoms took place in the fifth
century fails to stand the test of Scripture in other respects. Of the
ten kings prophecy foretells that "they receive authority as kings with
the beast for one hour," that they "have one mind, and they give their
power and authority unto the beast" (Rev. 17. 13, 14). No such tenfold
confederacy has existed in Europe; it certainly never existed among the
chieftains of the Germanic tribes which invaded the west of the Roman
Empire in the fifth century, neither is there any record of such an
agreement among them. Nor, again, can it be said that they made war with
the Lamb and were overcome by Him (v. 14). These prophecies still await
fulfilment. Similar considerations apply to the passage in Daniel 7 in
reference to the fourth kingdom. The ten kings, it is said, would arise
out of that kingdom, and after them another king who would make war with
the saints and prevail against them until the Ancient of Days came (vv.
21, 22, 24).
Again, since the persecution under the king who arises after the others
continues until the Ancient of Days comes (v. 22), his war against the
saints must have lasted from the fifth century until the present time,
if he arose in that century. Moreover, as he was said to be going to
subdue three kingdoms (v. 24), the seven kingdoms not so subdued must
likewise have continued. This has obviously not been the case. From
every point of view it is impossible to assign the tenfold division to
any time in the past.
[Illustration: The Turkish Empire in the 16th Century.]
CHAPTER IV.
THE OVERTHROW IN THE EAST: THE TURKISH EMPIRE.
Having narrated the disintegration of the western half of the Empire, we
will now recount the events which involved the overthrow of the eastern
half. The impoverishment of the imperial power at Rome, and the
weakening effect of the Germanic attacks upon it, tended to enhance the
power of the Emperor at Constantinople. Indeed the eastern Empire was
soon regarded as the more important of the two, and for some time after
the barbarian invasions in Italy the Emperors at Constantinople
claimed supremacy over the west.
Mohammed and the Khaliphs.
The seventh century saw the ascendency of Mohammed (born A.D. 570) in
Arabia, to which country his personal power, temporal and religious, was
limited. Upon his death, in 632, his followers determined on the
invasion of Persia and the Asiatic dominions of the Emperor at
Constantinople. Mohammed's successor, Abubekr, the first of the Khaliphs
(_i.e._, "representatives" of the prophet), at once waged war in both
directions. Persia speedily succumbed; Syria and Palestine were
subjugated after seven years by the Khaliph Omar. The reduction of Egypt
followed, and during the remainder of this century the Saracens, the
name by which the followers of Mohammed became termed in Christendom,
extended their territory across the entire length of North Africa, and
shortly afterwards even into Spain, where they overpowered the then
disunited Visigoths.
The Saracen power in Western Asia was distracted during the next century
by civil war, and was further weakened by unsuccessful wars against the
Greeks. At length, in 750, the seat of government was moved from
Damascus to Bagdad. From the eighth century onward, though the religion
of Mohammed gained ground, and continues to do so to-day, the empire
established by his followers dwindled rapidly, one province after
another shaking off its allegiance until at the end of the tenth century
its shattered dominions lay open to the nearest invader. The foe
appeared in the shape of the formidable Turk.
Eastern Empire at End of 10th Century.
In view of the entrance of this new enemy we may note the extent of the
territory belonging at this time to the eastern branch of the old Roman
world, the Byzantine Empire, as it is termed (from Byzantium, the
ancient name of Constantinople). The Eastern Emperors had recovered some
of their lost ground in Asia, and at the close of the tenth century they
held all Asia Minor, Armenia, a part of Syria, a considerable portion of
Italy, and all the Balkan Peninsula.
The Appearance of the Turks.
Beyond the north-eastern border of the Saracen dominions lay the country
of Turkestan, inhabited by the Turks, a branch of the warlike nation of
the Tartars of Central Asia. With them the Saracens, after the
establishment of their Government at Bagdad, waged successful warfare
for a time, taking numbers of Turks captive and dispersing them over the
Empire. This only facilitated the eventual downfall of the Saracen
sovereignty. The Turks in Western Asia grew in influence, and at length
the Turkish troops, breaking into open revolt, assumed control over the
Khaliphate, deposing and nominating the Khaliphs at their will.
The Turks Embrace Mohammedanism.
Early in the eleventh century the bulk of the Turkish nation, under its
leader Tongrol Bek, moving out from Turkestan, swept down upon Persia.
The Khaliphate at Bagdad was, however, permitted to remain, and not only
so, but Tongrol Bek and all his tribes embraced the Mohammedan religion.
The invaders then marched west in vast numbers to make an attack upon
Christendom, and in the course of time subdued Armenia and most of Asia
Minor. Europe became alarmed, and the Byzantine Emperors eagerly sought
the assistance of the nations of the west. Hence arose the Crusades,
which had as their chief object the deliverance of Palestine from both
Saracens and Turks, and which served to retard, though not to prevent,
the advance of the Turkish power in Europe.
The Turks Enter Europe.
Early in the thirteenth century a mighty movement of Mongols south-west
from Central Asia, involving the immediate destruction of the Khaliphate
at Bagdad, exerted an important influence upon the Turks, in driving
those Turkish tribes which had remained east of Armenia westward into
Asia Minor. This resulted in the establishment of various Turkish
dynasties in that country. At the close of the thirteenth century the
paramount power over these was exercised by Osman (or Othman, whence the
name Ottoman), who seized all that remained of the ancient Roman world
in Asia, and thus practically founded the Ottoman Empire. In the middle
of the fourteenth century the way was opened for the Ottomans to advance
into Europe. They were invited by one of the rival factions at
Constantinople to undertake their cause. The Turks accordingly crossed
the Hellespont and seized Gallipoli and the territory in the vicinity of
the capital. Constantinople itself was left unattacked for the time.
Under Murad I., the grandson of Osman, Roumania and several kingdoms
south of the Danube, including Bulgaria, were subdued. The kings of
Hungary, Bosnia and Serbia rose against the invader, but were severely
defeated, and by the decisive victory of Kosovo, in 1389, Serbia and
Bosnia were annexed.
Constantinople Taken.
Constantinople was temporarily saved by another advance of the Mongol
Tartars upon the Turkish dominions in Asia, where, in 1402, the Ottomans
suffered a severe defeat. From this check they recovered, and during the
first part of the fifteenth century were at war with the Hungarians and
neighbouring races, whom they eventually overthrew. In 1451 Mohammed II.
ascended the Ottoman throne, and in 1453 led an immense army against
Constantinople. The city was taken by storm, the last of the Roman
Emperors of the east died fighting, and Mohammed II. rode in triumph to
the cathedral of St. Sophia, where he established the Moslem worship.
For over a hundred years after this the Turkish Empire continued to
extend. Egypt was annexed in 1517, and in the middle of this century
Tripoli and Algeria were added, as well as considerable districts in
Europe and Asia. The Turks were now at the zenith of their power.
A Comparison of the Two Divisions.
Recapitulating, we may compare the two divisions of the Roman Empire
since their overthrow, from the _prophetic_, _religious_ and _political_
standpoints. From the _prophetic_ point of view our interest in the west
has thus far centred in the fact that the ten kingdoms were not formed
by the fifth century invasions; our interest in the east centres chiefly
in the land of Palestine, wrenched, as we have seen, from the eastern
Emperor by the Saracens, and then occupied by the Turks, who still
possess it. From the _religious_ standpoint, the Germanic tribes in the
west accepted Roman Catholicism, hence its progress in that part of
Europe; in the east the Turks had accepted Mohammedanism when invading
the Empire of the Khaliphs, hence the establishment of Islamism
throughout the Turkish dominions. _Politically_, the western invasion in
the fifth century, and the consequent amalgamation of the Teutonic
tribes with the peoples formerly under Roman control, led eventually to
the formation of the various mediaeval monarchies of Western Europe
which are to-day either kingdoms or republics. Affairs in the eastern
half of the Roman world have moved more slowly in this respect, owing to
the prolonged existence of the Ottoman Empire. The slow decay of the
Turkish power from the middle of the sixteenth century onward has
already resulted in the formation of some Eastern States, and the
process still continues.
The Decline of the Turkish Empire.
The decline of the power of the Turks set in during the latter half of
the sixteenth century, when their dominions passed under incapable
rulers. In the reign of Selim II. (1566-1574) occurred the first
conflict between the Turks and Russians, the former being driven back
from Astrakkan. In 1593, during a war between Turkey and Austria, the
provinces of Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallachia rose in revolt. As
the result of intermittent wars in the latter half of the seventeenth
century Austria acquired almost the whole of _Hungary_. In 1770 Russia
occupied _Moldavia_ and _Wallachia_, which though nominally for a time
under Turkey were practically Russian protectorates. During the next
few years Russia regained the Crimea and all the neighbouring district
north of the Black Sea. At the commencement of the nineteenth century
the Ottoman Empire was in a perilous condition. Napoleon had plans for
its partition. Provincial governors were everywhere acting independently
of the Sultan. In 1804 _Serbia_ revolted, and after a few years of
persistent struggle obtained its autonomy. _Greece_ revolted in 1820,
and, though subdued for a time, gained its independence in 1829 through
the intervention of England, France, and Russia, and chiefly as the
result of the naval battle of Navarino, in which the Turco-Egyptian
fleet was annihilated. In the same year _Algeria_ was annexed by the
French. European rivalries prevented for a time any rapid diminution of
the Empire.
The Crimean War of 1854-5 had important consequences for the Balkan
peoples. It gave them, under the slackening grasp of the Porte, twenty
years of comparatively quiet national development. In 1860 Wallachia and
Moldavia formed themselves into the single state of _Roumania_. In 1866
the Pasha of Egypt assumed the title of Khedive (_i.e._, king), thereby
securing a measure of independence for the country. In 1875 the misrule
of the Sultan led to the insurrection of Bosnia, Herzegovina, and
Bulgaria. Serbia and Montenegro then took up arms. In 1877 a war with
Russia saw Turkey without an ally. A complete Russian victory in 1878
issued in the treaties first of San Stefano and then of Berlin, by which
Turkey yielded to Russia the state of _Bessarabia_ and districts south
of the Caucasus, the independence of _Serbia_, _Montenegro_, and
_Roumania_ were recognised by the Porte, _Bulgaria_ was constituted an
autonomous state, _Bosnia_ and _Herzegovina_ were ceded to Austria,
_Thessaly_ to Greece, and _Cyprus_ to Britain. In 1885, as the result of
a revolution, Eastern _Roumelia_ became united to Bulgaria. Shortly
after that date German influence began to gain ascendancy at the court
of the Sultan, and, among other affairs, largely dominated the granting
of railway concessions in Western Asia. The effects of that influence
have been evidenced in the present war. In 1912 Italy annexed _Tripoli_
after a brief war. In 1913 a short but sanguinary war with the Balkan
States deprived Turkey of all her European dominions save for a small
piece of territory in the vicinity of Constantinople. _Egypt_, which
has been chiefly under British control for a considerable period, has in
1915 been practically annexed by Britain as a protectorate, the Khedive
being deposed and a nominee of the British Government being placed in
authority. Britain has likewise annexed a district north of the Persian
Gulf.
The Coming Overthrow.
The continual decrease of the Turkish Empire, and more especially during
the past hundred years, affords ground, apart from other considerations,
for the expectation of its overthrow and the eventual cession of
Palestine to the Jews, perhaps by a general agreement among the European
Powers, events which seem not far distant. National jealousies would not
permit the permanent annexation of Palestine by any one of these Powers,
in whatever way the remaining Asiatic Turkish dominions may be divided.
A proposal has already been put forward for its annexation to Egypt.
Such an arrangement would in any case be merely temporary. To the Jews
the land belongs, and by Divine decree the Jews are to possess it
again.
[Illustration: The Turkish Empire in 1914.]
A Blank in Prophecy.
It should be observed, in passing, that Scripture is apparently silent
concerning the occupation of Palestine by the Saracens and Turks. Such
silence is noticeable when we remember how definitely the occupation by
the other Gentile powers, the Chaldean, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman,
and the order and character of their rule, were predicted. The cause of
the silence is not difficult to ascertain. The four Gentile powers just
mentioned had to do with the Jews as the recognised possessors of
Palestine, either by way of removing them from their country or
restoring them to it, or during such time as they were permitted to
remain in it with liberty to continue their temple worship and
sacrifice. The Chaldeans removed the Jews from the land, the
Medo-Persians repatriated them, the Greeks permitted their continuance
in it, the Romans did so too, until A.D. 70, when they crushed them.
When, however, the Saracens and the Turks seized the land the Jews had
been scattered, nor have they received national recognition while under
them. Gentile occupation of Palestine during such times as the Jews
remain in their present condition seems therefore to receive no direct
notice in prophecy.
The restoration of Palestine to the Jews is closely connected with the
revival of the Roman Empire in its tenfold form. Prior to considering
the manner of this revival we must notice how during the period between
the overthrow of that Empire and its coming resuscitation, its dominions
and their government have remained Roman in character, thus affording a
further proof that the coming and final world-power will not be entirely
a new one, but will be a revival of the ancient Roman or fourth empire
indicated in the prophecies of Daniel.
The Continuation of Roman Government and Influence.
Such was the prestige of the Roman name and authority that the
chieftains of the Germanic tribes which in the fifth century subdued the
western half of the Empire governed the conquered territories, not so
much as tribal chiefs, but as successors to, and in continuation of, the
imperial rule; they introduced no radical changes in the provincial and
municipal forms of government of their predecessors. Civil organisation
remained distinctly Roman, and has continued so; upon it are based some
of the chief municipal institutions of modern life. Indeed Roman civil
law still remains the foundation of modern jurisprudence.
In south-eastern Europe, too, countries which were for centuries under
the power of the Turk retained, in their municipal institutions and
organisation, the impress of Roman authority. It should be remembered
that though the eastern or Byzantine portion of the ancient Roman Empire
was distinct from the western, its emperors being designated as Grecian
in contrast to the Roman, yet its legislative foundations were laid in
the Roman Empire prior to the division of the east from the west.
Byzantine imperialism was therefore really Roman under an eastern title.
According as the states in the east have become freed from the Turkish
yoke, so the character of their government and legislation has conformed
in a large degree to those of the west. The further diminution of the
Turkish Empire will doubtless see a corresponding revival of western
conditions and methods.
Roman Imperialism Continued.
It is important also to observe that notwithstanding the passing away of
the Roman Empire as such, the principle of imperialism remained, and,
amidst the vicissitudes of national government in Europe, has continued
to the present time. The imperial power in the west was not abolished
when in 476 the last Roman Emperor was deposed. On the contrary, there
was a kind of reunion imperially of the west with the east. For a
considerable time the tribal kings of the west received recognition from
the eastern emperors, and were regarded as their associates in imperial
control. This was the case even with the Saxon kings in Britain, and on
Saxon coins may be seen to-day the same title, _basileus_ (_i.e._,
king), as was borne by the emperors at Constantinople. Italy itself was
wrested from the Teutons by the eastern Emperor Justinian in the sixth
century, and remained under the Byzantine Caesars till 731.
Meanwhile the Roman Senate continued to exercise its authority, and in
800 chose the Frankish king Charlemagne as their sovereign. He was
already ruling over the greater part of Western Europe, and was now
crowned as Emperor at Rome by the Pope. Though his empire fell to pieces
after his death, his dominions retained, and have since retained, their
Roman character.
Consideration of space forbids our tracing here the further continuance
of imperialism as a factor in European politics. Recent history and
present-day events indicate how rapidly we are approaching its final
development at the close of the times of the Gentiles. The coming
confederacy of European states will not result in the formation of a new
empire, but will be the revival of the Roman in an altered form.
CHAPTER V.
THE COMING REVIVAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
(1) _The Geographical Standpoint._
The coming revival of the Roman Empire will for our present purpose be
best considered from the geographical, political, and religious
standpoints.
Geographical Considerations.
Any forecast of the exact delimitations of the ten kingdoms constituting
the reconstructed Empire must necessarily be largely conjectural. That
their aggregate area will precisely conform to that of the ancient Roman
Empire does not necessarily follow from the fact of its revival, and
cannot be definitely concluded from Scripture. An extension of the
territories of the Empire in its resuscitated form would be quite
consistent with the retention of its identity. Moreover, if Roman
imperialism may be considered to have continued in the hands of Teutonic
monarchs after the fall of the western part of the Empire in 476, if,
for instance, Charles the Great, of whom we have spoken (p. 58), ruled
as a Roman Emperor, despite the passing away of the actual Empire
itself, then the dominions which were under the rule of these later
monarchs may yet be found incorporated in the Empire, and so form parts
of the ten kingdoms. In that case Germany and Holland would be included.
Possibly, too, the Empire will embrace all the territories which
belonged to the three which preceded it, the Grecian, Medo-Persian, and
Chaldean. Certainly when the stone fell on the toes of the image, the
whole image, representing these former three as well as the fourth, was
demolished. Suggestive also in this respect is the fact that the beast
in the vision recorded in Revelation 13. 2 was possessed of features of
the leopard, the bear, and the lion, the same beasts which represented
in Daniel's vision the Grecian, Medo-Persian, and Chaldean kingdoms
(Dan. 7. 4-6), the order in Revelation 13 being inverted. While
political characteristics are doubtless chiefly in view in these
symbols, there may at the same time be an indication of the eventual
incorporation of the first three empires in the fourth. It must be
remembered, too, that the authority of the federal head of the ten
kingdoms is to be world-wide: "There was given to him authority over
every tribe and people and tongue and nation" (Rev. 13. 7). It is
probable, therefore, that while the ten kingdoms will occupy a well
defined area, their dependencies and the countries which are allied with
them will embrace practically the remainder of the world.
If, on the other hand, the Roman Empire is to be reconstructed in exact
conformity territorially with its ancient boundaries--such a
reconstruction is, of course, not inconceivable--we must consider what
period of the conquests of the ancient Empire to take, whether under the
first emperor, Augustus, or during the Apostolic Age, or later. We may,
perhaps, be helped by the facts already mentioned, that prophecy
relating to Gentile dominion is focussed upon the Jews and Palestine,
and has especially in view the presence of the nation in their land.
Now, shortly after their overthrow, in A.D. 70, their national
recognition as possessors of the land ceased. This period, moreover,
corresponds broadly to the close of the Apostolic Age. The dispersion of
the Jews among the nations was completed by Adrian in the next century.
He desolated the whole of Palestine, expelling all the remaining Jewish
inhabitants.
A Review of the Ancient Territories.
We will therefore now review the limits of the Empire and of some of its
provinces at that time, noticing certain circumstances of past and
present history suggestive of future issues. In doing so we are not
predicting that the boundaries of the revived Empire will be those of
the ancient.
Commencing with North Africa, it will be observed, on referring to the
map, that practically the same strip of territory which belonged to the
Roman Empire in the times of the apostles has passed directly under the
government of countries which were themselves then within the Empire.
For Spain rules over Morocco, France over Algeria and Tunis, Italy
recently seized Tripoli, and Britain has, since Turkey's entrance into
the great war, virtually taken possession of Egypt. It seems not a
little significant that no country which was outside the limits of the
Empire at the time under consideration has been permitted by God to
annex these North African territories since the Saracens and the Turks
were dispossessed of them.
Passing now to Asia, the territory in that continent which belonged to
Rome in the first century is approximately what remained to Turkey
immediately prior to the present war. Mesopotamia and most of Armenia
were included. The war has already seen Turkey dispossessed of portions
of these. The downfall of the Turkish Empire would almost certainly
involve territorial rearrangements of deepest import in the light of
prophecy, especially as regards Palestine.
Divisions of the Greek Empire: A Possible Renewal.
The 8th chapter of Daniel apparently indicates that the Asiatic
territories of the Empire will be divided much as they were under the
Greeks after the death of Alexander the Great. He was obviously
symbolised by the great horn (v. 22). The four horns which came up in
its place (v. 8) are clearly, too, the four generals who succeeded
Alexander, and among whom his dominions were divided, Cassander ruling
over Macedonia and Greece, Lysimachus over part of Asia Minor and Thrace
(the extent of the latter province was almost exactly what now belongs
to Turkey in Europe), Seleucus over most of Syria, Palestine,
Mesopotamia, and the east, and Ptolemy over Egypt. Next follows a
prediction carrying us to events which are evidently yet future. It is
said, for instance, that these events will take place "in the latter
time of their kingdom (not, it will be observed, in the time of the four
kings themselves who succeeded Alexander, but of the kingdoms over which
they ruled), when the transgressors are come to the full" (v. 23). The
expressions in this chapter, "the time of the end" (v. 17), "the latter
time of the indignation," "the appointed time of the end" (v. 19), and
"the latter time of their kingdom" (v. 23), all point to a period still
future, namely, to the close of the present age. Again, in reference to
the "king of fierce countenance," while much of the prophecy can be
applied to Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century B.C., yet no man
has hitherto arisen whose character and acts have been precisely those
related in verses 9-12 and 23-25. We may also compare what is said of
"the transgression that maketh desolate" (v. 13) with the Lord's
prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation (Matt. 24. 15-22), a
prophecy which also manifestly awaits fulfilment.
Possibly, therefore, these Asiatic territories will be similarly divided
in the coming time. In regard to the first of the above-mentioned four
divisions, the recent extension of Greece to include the ancient
province of Macedonia is remarkable. This was an outcome of the Balkan
War of 1912. The boundaries of Greece are now approximately what they
were under Cassander in the time of the Grecian Empire, what they were
also later as the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia in the Roman Empire.
There has lately, therefore, been a significant reversion to ancient
conditions in this respect.
Other European Territories.
Coming now to the dual-monarchy of Austria-Hungary, reference to the map
of the Roman Empire in the Apostolic Age will show that what are now
Hungary, Transylvania, Bessarabia, and other states of the present
monarchy were without the Roman boundaries, while Pannonia, or what is
now Austria west of the Danube, was within; even when in the next
century Dacia (now Transylvania, Bessarabia, &c.) was annexed, the two
parts of the present dual kingdom were separate. The separation of
Hungary from Austria has for a considerable time been a practical
question of European politics, and may be hastened by present events.
The northern and north-eastern boundaries of Italy embraced the Trentino
and the peninsula of Istria. Noticeable, therefore, are the present
efforts of Italy to acquire these very districts, efforts which seem
likely to achieve success. Roman states north of Italy covered what are
now Baden, Wurtemberg, Luxemberg, and a large part of Bavaria. The
possibility of an eventual severance of these from Prussian domination
has been much discussed of late.
The Rhenish provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, originally portions of the
Roman province of Gallia (now France), were snatched from France by
Germany in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. Their recovery is a
supreme object of the efforts of the French in the present war, and not
without hope of success.
The British Empire.
As to Britain, at the time under consideration the greater part of the
island was definitely included in the Roman Empire. Ireland and most of
Scotland were never conquered by the Romans. Should Britain form one of
the ten kingdoms, there is nothing to show that Ireland or any other
part of the British Empire must of necessity be absolutely separated
from it. Self-government may yet be possessed by those territories which
have not yet received it, and it is significant that Ireland has now
practically obtained it. That the lands which are linked with Britain as
dependencies, or as in possession of self-government, should remain as
integral parts of the Empire is but consistent with the coming
world-wide authority of the potentate who will be the federal head of
the ten kingdoms. And that each state in the British Empire should have
its own local government is, on the other hand, consistent with the
establishment of a closer and complete confederacy of ten kingdoms, the
area of which may correspond largely to that of the ancient Roman
Empire. In contrast to the self-government of the other countries of the
world at the coming period, the ten united kingdoms will eventually be
absolutely under the control of the final emperor just mentioned, for
the ten kings over these states, who receive authority as kings with
him, will be of one mind to give their power and authority and their
kingdom to him (Rev. 17. 12, 13, 17).
What has been said of the British Empire may be true also of others of
the ten kingdoms which have colonies or dependencies, and thus, while
the ten kingdoms will themselves constitute an Empire, their alliances
and treaties with other countries of the world will apparently involve
an extension of the authority of the controlling despot "over every
tribe and people and tongue and nation" (Rev. 13. 7). If, for instance,
the United States of America were at that time in alliance with Britain
(quite a possible contingency), their joint influence would probably
extend to the whole of the American continents, which would thereby
acknowledge his authority.
We may observe, too, the way in which the continent of Africa has come
under certain European influences in modern times. The mention of this
is simply suggestive. That the Scripture will be absolutely fulfilled
is beyond doubt; the exact mode of its accomplishment is known to God.
(2) _The Political Standpoint._
European Federation.
Agencies are already at work for the establishment of a confederacy of
European States--not the least significant of the many signs that the
end of the age is approaching. The movement towards confederacy is
doubtless receiving an impetus from the great upheaval in Europe. A
circular issued in December, 1914, and distributed far and wide,
announced the formation of a committee of influential men with the
object of promoting a "European Federation." The circular says: "In
sight of the present situation of ruin it ought to be the general
opinion that a firmer economical and political tie is of utmost
importance for all nations without exception, and that particularly for
Europe the narrower bond of a federation, based on equality and interior
independence of all partaking states, is of urgent necessity, which
public opinion ought to demand."
A pamphlet published by the Committee recommends that the union of
states shall be economical, political, and legal, with an international
army as a common guarantee, and that European Federation should become
the principal and most urgent political battle-cry for the masses of all
European nations, and declares that "when the Governments are willing,
when the public opinion of all peoples forces them to be willing, there
is no doubt but that a reasonable and practical union of nations will
prove to be as possible and natural as is at present a union of
provinces, cantons, territories, whose populations often show more
difference of race and character than those of nations now at
hostilities." The Committee calls upon the peoples of Europe to suffer
the diplomatists no longer to dispose of them like slaves and by
militarism to lash them to fury against each other. It calls upon them
to see to it that never and nowhere should a member of any body or
Government be elected who is not an advocate of the Federation, and that
the trade union, society, or club to which any individual belongs should
express sympathy with the movement in meetings and in votes. "The
people," it is said, "have it now in their power, more than ever before,
to control the Powers."
Two Possible Ways of Federation.
The formation of ten federated states, covering at least the area of the
ancient Empire at the end of the first century of the present era, may
be effected in two ways, either by the peaceful methods of arbitration
and treaty, or as a result of strife and confusion. That the present
European War will be succeeded by efforts for the creation of permanent
international harmony and universal peace is probable, as is also some
attempt at such a federation as is proposed by the above-mentioned
Committee. On the other hand, sinister indications abound to-day which
point to industrial strife and revolution rather than peace. The
condition of the industrial world presents a gloomy prospect indeed.
There are ominous signs of keener conflict than ever between capital and
labour. The forces of Socialism, Syndicalism, Communism, &c., are
rapidly increasing in power and in international activity, and their
avowed aims presage anything but peace in the near future. We may take,
for example, the declared objects of "The Alliance of the Social
Democracy"--now incorporated in the International Working Men's
Association--"To destroy all States and all Churches with all their
institutions and laws, religious, political, juridical, financial,
magisterial, academical, economical, and social, and to establish in
their place industrial co-operation and collective ownership of land and
capital." All this sounds very pretentious, and would probably fail of
complete accomplishment, but the agencies at work for it are strong.
Attempts on a large scale would certainly lead to unprecedented disorder
and chaos.
The Sea Symbolic of National Unrest.
Not improbably the ten kingdoms of the reconstructed Roman Empire will
arise as a result of political and social confusion. Thus it was in the
case of the French Revolution and the consequent uprising of Napoleon. A
repetition of such events on a far wider scale in the future is quite
conceivable. In the prophetic vision given to the Apostle John, the
beast was seen "coming up out of the sea" (Rev. 13. 1). Now the sea is
in Scripture used figuratively of the nations, its characteristic
restlessness symbolising their commotion and strife. Compare the words
of Isaiah: "Ah, the uproar of many peoples, which roar like the roaring
of the seas; and the rushing of nations, that rush like the rushing of
many waters! The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but
He shall rebuke them" (Isa. 17. 12, 13; see also Psa. 65. 7; and Ezek.
26. 3). To national unrest the Lord Jesus applied similar language when
He foretold to the disciples that there would be "upon the earth
distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the
billows; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which
are coming on the world" (Luke 21. 25, 26). So also the waters which
John had seen in his vision are described by the angel as "peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Rev. 17. 15). Daniel, too, saw
the four great beasts come up from the sea as a result of the breaking
forth of the four winds of the Heaven upon it, an undoubted
representation of a condition of national disturbance (Dan. 7. 2, 3).
That the beast of Revelation 13. 1 was seen coming up out of the sea
points, therefore, to the probability that the ten kings who will have
brief authority over the revived Empire will be raised to their kingdom,
not by constitutional methods, but as the result of revolutions and the
collapse of present-day governments and institutions.
Revolutions and their Issues.
Should any great measure of success attend the syndicalist and communist
movements of the day, and especially if they are internationalised, the
inevitable revolutions and disorder would almost certainly issue, as
revolutions have so frequently issued, in despotism and autocracy, and
perhaps in this way the ten kings would arise. The overthrow of the
governments in the countries involved would remove what has certainly
been the great restraint upon lawlessness[A] from the times of the
apostles until now. Everything would be ripe for the appearance of a
universal potentate. The cry would arise for "a man," a controlling
organiser to bring order out of chaos. The unstable character of the
rule of the ten kings, and the impoverishment of their kingdoms, would
lead them, as a matter of diplomacy, to hand over their authority to
him.
[A] See "The Epistles to the Thessalonians, with Notes Exegetical and
Expository," by C. F. Hogg and W. E. Vine, note _c._ pp. 259, 260.
(Glasgow: Pickering & Inglis. 3/9, p.f.)
The Iron and the Clay.
The political constitution of the successive empires during "the time of
the Gentiles" was indicated in the image of Nebuchadnezzar's vision by
the various substances of which the parts of the image were composed.
While the regular deterioration in the relative value of these
substances is noticeable, we are concerned now with those of the legs
and feet. The legs were of iron, and the feet part of iron and part of
potter's clay, not moist or miry clay, but "earthenware" (Dan. 2. 41,
R.V., margin), and consequently brittle (v. 42, margin).
That the iron symbolised militarism seems clear from what is said of the
fourth kingdom, that "as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all
things: and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces
and crush" (v. 40). Nations are broken and crushed by military power,
and thus the nations were treated by the Romans. This was further
signified by the iron teeth of the fourth beast, as is definitely stated
in Daniel 7. 19, 23: "And shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread
it down, and break it in pieces."
The supposition that the clay represents democracy is gratuitous and
arbitrary. The early Roman Empire, symbolised by the legs of the image,
was built up under democratic rule. When republicanism was superseded
by imperialism, democratic principles still prevailed. Democracy,
therefore, played its part from the very commencement of the fourth
kingdom, and had it been symbolised by the clay, not only the feet and
toes but the legs themselves would have consisted of mingled iron and
clay. Moreover, democracy in the generally accepted sense of the term
has not always been found to be of an unstable or brittle character;
witness the republicanism of the United States. Democracies, too, may be
established on strictly constitutional principles.
Another explanation, therefore, of the symbolism of the clay must be
sought, and it is not unlikely to be found in those revolutionary
principles to which we have already referred, which were evidenced at
the time of the French Revolution, and are finding expression, though in
greater variety to-day, in such projects as those of the International
Working Men's Association. Certainly the masses of the people of Europe
are being permeated both by militarism and by the revolutionary
doctrines of which we have spoken. Should these principles spread among
the civil services and forces, everything would be in a complete state
of preparedness for Unprecedented Political and Social Upheaval
which would effect the overthrow of present forms of government. From
the world's point of view the situation would require a consummate
genius with powers of world-wide organisation. Doubtless Satan's
masterpiece of infidel ingenuity would be at hand for the occasion.
We are not predicting that this is to be the manner of the revival of
the Empire and of the advent of its imperial head. We have merely
suggested possible circumstances in the light of Scripture and
present-day movements. The actual circumstances attending the rise of
the ten kings and their Emperor must for the time remain conjectural.
Certainly these kings will receive authority with him for one hour (Rev.
17. 12), a phrase which may be translated "at the same time;" and
certainly they will agree to give their power and authority to him (v.
13).
(3) _The Religious Standpoint._
We will now note the religious conditions which are to prevail for a
time upon the resuscitation of the Empire. These are plainly indicated
for us in Revelation 17. The apostle sees a woman sitting on the
seven-headed and ten-horned beast. The woman is gorgeously arrayed,
holds in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, and is drunken with
the blood of the saints. Her name, written on her forehead, is
"Mystery, Babylon the Great,"
"the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth" (vv.
3-6). The woman is symbolically described as the city of Rome (v. 18),
and that leads on to a second mention of Babylon, in chapter 18, and a
new description. Now to the description of the woman in chapter 17
nothing more closely corresponds than the Papacy. But if the Babylon of
chapter 17 is to be identified with that of chapter 18, the Papacy
answers to the whole description only to a limited extent. While,
however, there is much in common in the two descriptions in these
chapters, yet the two Babylons are possibly to be distinguished. The
Babylon of chapter 17 is a "mystery," not so that of chapter 18. Again,
the destruction of the one is different from that of the other. The
first will be destroyed by the ten kings and their emperor (17. 16), the
second by the direct judgment of God (18. 5, 8, 20); the first as the
result of human antagonism, the second by famine, fire and earthquake.
We are perhaps, therefore, justified in taking the more limited view in
connection with the circumstances of chapter 17. Even so the woman may
be regarded as representing the apostate sacerdotal systems which have
sprung from the Papacy as well as that system itself.
The position of the woman indicates an exercise of power which is
voluntarily supported by the beast. That she sits upon the waters
implies her religious dominion over the nations; that she is carried by
the beast, who rules over the nations politically, implies that there
will be a complete alliance between her and the ten kings with their
chief, and that the sphere of her influence will be co-extensive with
the dominions of the beast.
The Papacy: Its Present Power.
Now though the Papacy lost its temporal power in 1870, it is far from
having lost its political influence. Ecclesiastically, too, though it
has received various set-backs, it is manifestly gaining power. This is
especially observable, for example, in Britain, the overthrow of which
as a Protestant Power is undoubtedly the object of the persistent
aggressiveness of Romanism. This aggressiveness is manifest in all the
dominions of the British Empire, as well as in other lands.
Again, while certain governments have of late shaken off the
ecclesiastical yoke, and infidelity has spread among the people of Roman
Catholic lands, the number of Roman Catholics has increased with great
rapidity. They were estimated at somewhat over 200,000,000 twenty years
ago, they are now said to number about 300,000,000.
Indications are not wanting of a tendency towards
A Reunion of Christendom,
which would be facilitated by a willingness on the part of the Papacy to
adapt itself to the impulse of the time.
Present events, therefore, point to a great renewal of Papal power
involving the fulfilment of the prophecy relating to the woman and the
beast that carries her. This renewed alliance between the political and
the ecclesiastical powers will, however, be of brief duration. The
successful efforts of governments in recent times to liberate themselves
from Papal authority, as in the case of France and Portugal, are but
foreshadowings of the eventual entire destruction of ecclesiasticism and
sacerdotalism under the revived Roman Empire. "The ten horns ... and the
beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and
naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire"
(Rev. 17. 16). Thus it would seem that, when at the very zenith of its
power and ambition, the Papacy, at the head of amalgamated Christendom,
will suddenly meet its doom.
The Doom of Religious Babylon.
Its accumulated wealth would probably be an incentive in determining the
ten kings to take this step, owing possibly to the impoverishment of
their kingdoms as a result of wars and political and social upheavals.
An additional cause will doubtless be the widespread spirit of
antagonism against all religion.
Submission to the Papal yoke has invariably had an aftermath of
infidelity; similarly the temporary subservience of the beast to the
woman will issue in the casting off of all religious restraint and in
the universal acknowledgment of the presumptuous claims of the
world-ruler.
Satanic Authority of the Emperor.
The authority of this final emperor of the Roman kingdom will be
Satanic. "The dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great
authority" (Rev. 13. 2); "the beast ... was, and is not; and is about to
come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition" (Rev. 17. 8). This
implies that he has been on the earth in the past. The same thing is
indicated in the interpretation of the seven heads. Topographically they
are described as seven mountains, personally as seven kings (v. 9). Of
these, five had fallen, the sixth was in power in John's time, the
seventh had not then come (v. 10). The beast (clearly here symbolising,
not a kingdom, but a person) would be an eighth, and yet would be of the
seven (v. 11). These heads have been regarded by some as forms of
government, by others as empires, or again, as emperors. There seems to
be no reason why they are not to be regarded as emperors, though
doubtless their empires are in view, as being associated with them.
Accordingly, the fact that the eighth is also one of the seven indicates
his reappearance on the scene. Various suggestions have been made as to
his identification, but this must remain uncertain until his advent.
With him the ten kings for a time receive authority (v. 12),
subsequently handing it over to him with their kingdom (v. 17), but not
before they have together with him crushed the great religious system
symbolised by the woman (v. 16). His stupendous power and brilliant
abilities, the evidence of his superhuman origin, his phenomenal
capacity for organisation, and the consolidation of the empire under his
absolute control will cause the whole world to marvel at him (Rev. 13.
3; 17. 8). To the world, in its divinely inflicted and therefore
retributive delusion, he will appear like a god who has come to deliver
from woe, and to introduce the long-looked-for age of peace and
prosperity. Wonder will be succeeded by worship, both of the man and of
Satan. "They worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto
the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the
beast? and who is able to war with him?" (13. 4).
The world is now in course of rapid preparation for all this:
The "Superman"
has of late become a much discussed topic in various classes of society
and in the press, and the idea is supported by the theories of
evolution which are receiving increasingly wide acceptance. A spirit of
expectancy is being thus aroused which will undoubtedly facilitate the
recognition of the man himself at his advent, and the acknowledgment of
his claims to divine honour. But this will involve the worship of Satan,
and to this end the effective agency of
Spiritism
has been long at work. Spiritism leads to devil worship. It must do so;
its energising power is Satan himself. Both spiritism and theosophy, and
similar forms of error, all of which are rapidly on the increase to-day,
are paving the way for world-wide worship of the dragon.
The imperial power and worship of this emperor will be promoted by
another potentate similarly energised by Satan. This latter is the
second beast, described in Revelation 13. 11-end. Later on in the book
he is called
The False Prophet
(Rev. 16. 13; 19. 20; 20. 10), indicating that his activities are
chiefly of a religious character, and perhaps that he will be more
closely connected with Jewish affairs. He will make "the earth and them
that dwell therein worship the beast," the emperor of the ten kingdoms
(13. 11), deceiving the world by supernatural signs wrought in the
presence of the first beast (v. 12), and enforcing the worship of his
image (v. 15), the abomination of desolation set up in the temple at
Jerusalem (Matt. 24. 15). With the worship of an image the times of the
Gentiles began (Dan. 3. 1), and with similar idolatry they will end. In
the days of the early Roman emperors their deification was celebrated by
the adoration of their images. Then, as formerly under Nebuchadnezzar,
those who refused to worship suffered death. So will it be under the
final emperor and his colleague.
Various opinions are held regarding these two beasts of Revelation 13,
as to which is the Man of Sin spoken of by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2,
which the Antichrist mentioned in John's Epistles, and which of the two
is the wilful king described in Daniel 11. Limitations of space preclude
our entering into the subject in detail here. The present writer holds
the view that all three are the same person, and that they are also the
same as the horn in Daniel 7. 8, 11, and as the first beast of
Revelation 13, and that these are all different descriptions of the
final head of the revived Empire. The Old Testament passages somewhat
briefly announce the arising of this world-wide ruler; the New Testament
passages unfold and expand the preceding predictions concerning him,
among the additional details given in the New Testament being the fact
that he is to have a prophet who will assiduously support his claim to
deity and his administration. It is the world-emperor, and not his
prophet, who is to be worshipped, and who therefore proclaims himself as
God (2 Thess. 2. 4). His prophet, the second beast of Revelation 13, in
the exercise of all the power of the first, will cause the world to
worship him (13. 12). As his prophet and prime minister he would not
himself endeavour to usurp the position of him whose avowed deity he
seeks to support.
The similarity of the details in the above-mentioned passages indicates
that the same person is in view in each case. His blasphemies, for
instance, and his assumption of deity are mentioned in Daniel 7. 25; 11.
36, 37; 2 Thessalonians 2. 3, 4, and Revelation 13. 5, 6, and his war
with the saints in Daniel 7. 21, 25 and Revelation 13. 7. Further, the
blasphemous proclamation of himself as God is consistent with what is
said in John's Epistles concerning the Antichrist. For in his
self-deification he is directly "antagonistic to Christ," he denies that
Jesus is the Christ, and therefore denies the Father and the Son (1 John
2. 22).
The two potentates will establish not only a universal religion, but
also a
Universal System of Commerce.
The second beast "causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and
the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on
their hand, or upon their forehead; and that no man should be able to
buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, even the name of the beast
or the number of his name" (Rev. 13. 16, 17). This indicates a
world-wide protectionist system, such a system as, for instance, might
conceivably be established under some form of syndicalism. Undeniably,
circumstances in the industrial world to-day manifest an increasing
tendency in this direction. The principles previously mentioned, as now
making for industrial and international revolution, and the present
stupendous movements towards amalgamation, are clearly preparing for
the fulfilment of this prophecy by facilitating the eventual
establishment of the unrighteous commercial system of the reconstituted
Empire.
[Illustration: Palestine, to illustrate Psalm 29.]
CHAPTER VI.
THE EVERLASTING KINGDOM.
We have now to consider the dealings of the two beasts, the final Roman
emperor and his false prophet, with
The Jews.
With the Romans the Jews joined in the death of Christ, and with the
rulers of this fourth empire they will be in agreement for a time at the
close of their long course of apostasy. This was especially made known
to Daniel in the prophecy of
The Seventy Weeks
(Dan. 9). These weeks (lit., _hebdomads_, or periods of seven, _i.e._,
seven years each) had been divinely decreed (or "cut off," _i.e._, from
the period of "the times of the Gentiles") upon his people and his city.
From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build
Jerusalem unto the Anointed One (the Messiah), the Prince, would be
seven weeks and threescore and two weeks. After this the Anointed One
would be cut off, and would have nothing (Dan. 9. 24-26). This period is
69 times 7, or 483 years, and to the very day this was the period
commencing with the command of Artaxerxes Longimanus, King of Persia,
for the restoration of Jerusalem (Neh. 2. 1-9), and ending with the
triumphal entry of Christ into the city (Matt. 21. 1-11).[B] Four days
later He was crucified, "the Anointed One was cut off and had nothing,"
_i.e._, He did not enter then upon His Messianic kingdom. The prophecy
predicted that the people of the prince (lit., "a prince") that would
come would destroy the city and the sanctuary. That took place in A.D.
70, under Titus Vespasianus. But Titus is not "the prince that shall
come." This, apart from other considerations, is clear from what
follows: "And his (the prince's) end shall be with a flood (or rather,
'in the overflowing,' _i.e._, of the wrath of God)," a prediction at
once inapplicable to Titus. The mention of
The Last "Week"
is deferred, indicating an interval between the sixty-ninth and the
seventieth. Now the events predicted for the seventieth had no
historical fulfilment immediately after the sixty-ninth. The one,
therefore, did not follow the other consecutively. At the commencement
of the intervening period the Jews were scattered from their land. At
the seventieth they will have been restored, and the events of that week
concern "the prince that shall come," the last world-emperor, and his
dealings with them. "He shall make a firm covenant with many (lit., 'the
many,' _i.e._, the great majority of the nation) for one week" (v. 27).
This covenant is described in Isaiah's prophecies as a "covenant with
death" and an "agreement with Hell." The covenant, he says, "shall be
disannulled," and the agreement "shall not stand; when the overflowing
scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it" (Isa.
28. 18). That this refers to a time yet future and not to past
Israelitic history may be gathered from verse 22, where the theme and
the language are similar to those of the passage in Daniel now under
consideration. Daniel tells us the mode of the disannulling. "In the
midst of the week (R.V., margin) he shall cause the sacrifice and
oblation to cease." Accordingly after three and a half years the
Antichrist, manifesting his real character, will prove himself a traitor
and break the covenant, and thus Isaiah's prediction will be fulfilled.
[B] See "The Coming Prince," by Sir Robert Anderson. Price, 5/.
Apparently at the very time when he thus breaks his league with the Jews
the Antichrist will determine upon his public deification and the
establishment of his worship in the Temple. For he it is who "opposeth
and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, showing
himself that he is God" (2 Thess. 2. 4). This, with the setting up of
his image, will doubtless be the fulfilment of the prophecies recorded
by Daniel, that "upon the wing (or pinnacle) of abominations shall come
one that maketh desolate" (Dan. 9. 27, cp. 11. 31 and 12. 11), and "they
shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the
continual burnt offering, and they shall set up the abomination that
maketh desolate" (11. 31, cp. 12. 11); a fulfilment also of the Lord's
prediction that "the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by
Daniel the prophet," will "stand in the holy place" (Matt. 24. 15). In
the establishment of this blasphemous worship of the emperor, the false
prophet will play a prominent part, as we have seen from the latter part
of Revelation 13.
The many references to the desolator and the desolations are indicative
of the
Fierce Persecution
which will follow. This will be at first directed against "the remnant,"
the large numbers of Jews who will repudiate allegiance to the beast and
to the false prophet, many doubtless having been converted to their
coming Messiah through the testimony of two witnesses who will be sent
from God to the nation. "They shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and
threescore days, clothed in sackcloth" (Rev. 11. 3-13). The success of
their ministry will apparently arouse the bitter antagonism of Satan and
his human instruments. The breaking of the covenant with the people as a
whole indicates that an effort will also be made to crush the entire
nation. Thus the latter half of the seventieth week will be the time of
"Jacob's trouble," "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was
a nation even to that same time" (Dan. 12. 1), though the unprecedented
tribulation will not be confined to the Jews only.
Armageddon and After.
The bitter antagonism of the man of sin, and his colleague, the false
prophet, against God and His people will culminate in the gathering
together of all the forces of the Empire in Palestine in final conflict
for the complete domination of the world. This tremendous event is thus
indicated by the apostle John: "And I saw coming out of the mouth of the
dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the
false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are the
spirits of devils (correctly, "demons"), working signs; which go forth
unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war
of the great day of God, the Almighty" (Rev. 16. 13, 14).
In reality the issue at stake will be the supremacy of Christ or of
Satan in the earth. The objective will be neither territorial conquest
nor naval supremacy, nor commercial predominance. The war of the beast
and the ten kings under him is against the Lamb (Rev. 17. 14). This the
second Psalm had foretold: "Why do the nations rage, and the peoples
imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the
rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His Anointed,
saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from
us." The issue is not uncertain: "He that sitteth in the Heavens shall
laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."
The Scene of the Conflict
is Har-Magedon, commonly known as Armageddon (Rev. 16. 16). The name,
which is associated with Megiddo, a locality famed in Old Testament
history for its decisive battles (Judges 5. 19; 2 Kings 23), doubtless
stands here for a wider area, stretching, as we shall see, from the
north to the south of the land.
The combatants, the conflict and its conclusion, are described by John
in vivid language of terrible grandeur in Revelation 19. 11-21: "And I
saw the Heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He that sat
thereon, called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He doth judge
and make war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are
many diadems; and He hath a name written, which no one knoweth but He
Himself. And He is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and His
name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in Heaven
followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure.
And out of His mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it He should
smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He
treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.
And He hath on His garment and on His thigh a name written, KING OF
KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice,
saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered
together unto the great supper of God; that ye may eat the flesh of
kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the
flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men,
both free and bond, and small and great.
"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. And the beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them
that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his
image: they twain were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth
with brimstone: and the rest were killed with the sword of Him that sat
upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of His mouth: and
all the birds were filled with their flesh" (Rev. 19. 11-21). Ezekiel
similarly describes the scene in his prophecy in chapter 30. 17-21.
Thus it is that the climax of the world's rebellion against God is to
meet its doom. This is the manner of the overthrow of the ten-kingdomed
empire, the fourth of Daniel's visions. Accordingly, what we have now
read from Revelation 19 is identical with (1) the falling of the stone
upon the feet of the image in Nebuchadnezzar's vision, the annihilation
of all Gentile government (Dan. 2. 45); (2) the consuming of the
dominion of the fourth beast in Daniel's subsequent vision (Dan. 7. 26);
(3) the pouring out of God's wrath upon the Antichrist, the desolator
(Dan. 9. 27); and (4) the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of
Heaven with power and great glory (Matt. 24. 30). The great emperor, the
man of sin, is to be crushed by the Lord Jesus, "with the breath of His
mouth," and brought to nought "by the manifestation of His coming" (2
Thess. 2. 8).
Now this "manifestation of His coming" is, to transliterate the Greek
words,
The Epiphany of His Parousia.
An epiphany is, literally, the 'shining forth' of that which has been
hidden; and the word Parousia is, literally, 'presence' (see margin of
R.V. and Phil. 2. 12). This latter word is used of the coming of Christ
to the air for His saints, 'to receive them unto Himself,' and of their
consequent presence with Him (1 Thess. 2. 19). They are thus to be "ever
with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4. 17), and with Him they will come when He
descends at His revelation "from Heaven with the angels of His power in
flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them
that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus" (2 Thess. 1. 7, 8). The
sudden bursting forth of His glory thus "to execute judgment" (Jude 15)
will be the 'Epiphany, or shining forth, of His Parousia,' and by it the
Man of Sin is to be brought to nought and his empire demolished. He and
his false prophet will be "cast alive into the lake of fire," and his
armies will perish (Rev. 19. 20, 21).
This is to be the issue of the world's attempts to establish a
millennium of its own by schemes of federation and amalgamation. This
is the upshot of its fancied progress and improvement without God and
His Christ.
We must now see what other Scriptures have to say concerning this scene.
The instrument which the Lord uses for the destruction of His foes is a
sword which proceeds _out of His mouth_; the destruction is described as
the treading of the winepress.
The Voice of the Lord.
First, as to the instrument. The sword is symbolic of the utterance of
the Lord's voice. No material instrument is needed, a word is enough.
This is clear from many passages. In the second Psalm the overthrow of
the foe is thus described: "Then shall He _speak_ unto them in His
wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure" (v. 5). Joel prophesies of
the same event: "The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars
withdraw their shining: and the Lord _uttereth His voice_ before His
army; for His camp is very great; for He is strong that executeth His
word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can
abide it?" (Joel 2. 10, 11; and see 3. 16. With this compare Isa. 11. 4
and 30. 30-33.) The same voice of judgment is implied in Paul's
prediction of the doom of the lawless one, that "the Lord Jesus will
slay him _with the breath of His mouth_" (2 Thess. 2. 8). In the same
connection we are doubtless to read Psalm 29, the Psalm which describes
the terrible majesty and effect of the _voice of the Lord_.
We must presently dwell more fully upon this Psalm in order to observe
its application to the circumstances under consideration, and its
connection with the passages which describe the judgment of the foe as
The Treading of the Winepress.
These passages are Isaiah 63. 1-6; Joel 9. 16; Revelation 14. 17-20, and
the one already quoted in Revelation 19. It is observable, too, that in
the first of these the voice of the Lord is mentioned again, for the
Deliverer describes Himself as "I that _speak in righteousness_."
We shall first refer to Revelation 14. 17-20. Two angels appear coming
forth, the one from the temple in Heaven with a sickle in his hand, the
other from the altar. The latter calls to the one with the sickle to
gather "the clusters of the vine of the earth," symbolic of the Man of
Sin and his gathered armies. The angel then casts his sickle into the
earth, gathers the vintage, and casts it into the winepress of the wrath
of God. The winepress is "trodden without the city," and "there came out
blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as
a thousand and six hundred furlongs" (_i.e._, 200 miles). The great
emperor and his prophet, and their vast forces, will thus be gathered in
dense battle array throughout the length of Palestine, Jerusalem being
their objective. Joel calls the scene of the battle "the Valley of
Decision." "Come, tread ye," says the prophet, "for the winepress is
full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes,
multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of the Lord is near in
the valley of decision" (Joel 3. 13, 14). The multitudes are the forces
of the Man of Sin.
The first six verses of Isaiah 63 narrate in the form of a dialogue
The Overthrow of the Man of Sin
and his forces. The dialogue is between Messiah the Deliverer and the
Jews. Having just overthrown the foe in the treading of the winepress,
and the armies of the Empire being destroyed throughout the battle line
from the north of the land to the south, the Messiah, in the fruits of
His victory, reveals Himself to His astonished earthly people. In
wondering admiration they exclaim: "Who is this that cometh from Edom,
with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious, marching in the
greatness of His strength?" To this their Deliverer answers, "I that
_speak in righteousness_, mighty to save." The significance of this is
at once apparent to the reader who calls to mind the various passages
mentioned above in reference to the voice of the Lord. "I that speak in
righteousness"--this is the voice uttered before His army (Joel 2. 10),
"the sword that proceedeth out of His mouth" (Rev. 19. 15); the "breath
of His mouth," by which the Man of Sin is crushed (2 Thess. 2. 8), and
the "voice" of Psalm 29.
The people, struck by the appearance of the Victor, next ask: "Wherefore
art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth
in the winefat?" The language is doubtless symbolic. Messiah explains in
reply how the threatening foes have been crushed: "I have trodden the
winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with Me: yea, I
trod them in Mine anger, and trampled them in My fury; and their
lifeblood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My
raiment. For the day of vengeance was in Mine heart, and the year of My
redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I
wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore Mine own arm brought
salvation unto Me; and My fury, it upheld Me. And I trod down the
peoples in Mine anger, and made them drunk in My fury, and I poured out
their lifeblood on the earth" (vv. 3-6). The words of a previous
prophecy express the joyful recognition of the delivered nation: "And it
shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him,
and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will
be glad and rejoice in His salvation" (Isa. 25. 9).
Turning now to Psalm 29 we find
The Scene of Judgment
strikingly depicted; the very length of the battle line is indicated, in
agreement with the later and clearer description in Revelation 20. 14.
Indeed, the passages which foretell the events of this coming terrible
day afford a remarkable illustration of the progressive character of the
revelations of Scripture. The Psalm is divided into three parts: (1)
The first three verses are a call to the saints in Heaven, the "sons of
the mighty," to worship the Lord in view of the judgment He is just
about to execute for the deliverance of His people the Jews, their land
and their city. (2) The second part, verses 3-9, describes the actual
judgment by means of "the voice of the Lord." The psalmist was doubtless
thinking of a thunderstorm. The Spirit of God was giving prophetic
utterance concerning a more terrible scene, and the geographical
limitations of the Psalm are of prophetic import. The first place
mentioned is Lebanon, in the north, with its mountain-spur Sirion (vv.
5, 6). The last place is the wilderness of Kadesh, in the south, the
centre of which is Bozrah, in Edom (v. 8), a point of connection with
Isaiah 63. 1. Now the distance from Sirion to Bozrah, in the wilderness
of Kadesh, is 200 miles, and this is the 1600 furlongs of Revelation
14.20. Here, then, in one fell stroke of divine wrath the Man of Sin and
his forces are overthrown, and the Jews are delivered. The later
revelations of Scripture thus enable us to pass from the natural and
physical setting of the Psalm to the veiled reality. Thus this portion
of the Psalm is to be read in connection with the passage from
Revelation 19 quoted above. (3) The last two verses describe the results
of the conquest.
The Jews in their Extremity
were threatened with annihilation. But man's extremity is God's
opportunity. The people now see their Deliverer in person, they "look on
Him whom they pierced." They realise that their enemies were destroyed
because "the Lord sat as King at the flood." And now "the Lord sitteth
as King for ever." He whose right it is to reign has come to Zion. Hence
the psalmist can next say: "The Lord will give strength unto His people;
the Lord will bless His people with peace." Armageddon is over, the
winepress of God's wrath has been trodden, and the war against the Lamb
is ended. Psalm 30 follows on with the people's song of praise for
deliverance.
The judgments of God in the earth will be accompanied by
Seismic Disturbances,
including "a great earthquake such as was not since there were men upon
the earth," the overthrow of the cities of the nations, and the
displacement of islands and mountains (Rev. 16. 18-21). Then doubtless
will be fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah, that in the day when the
Lord goes forth to fight against the nations that are gathered against
Jerusalem, His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives, and the
mountain will be divided, leaving a very great valley east of the city
(Zech. 14. 1-5).
The Everlasting Kingdom.
In this tremendous intervention in the affairs of the world for the
termination of Gentile dominion the Son of God will be accompanied by
all His saints. He will come "to be glorified in His saints, and to be
marvelled at in all them that believed" (2 Thess. 1. 10). So from
earliest times Enoch had prophesied: "Behold, the Lord came with His
holy myriads, to execute judgment upon all" (Jude 14, 15, margin). And
Zechariah: "The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee"
(14. 5). They are to take an active part in the inauguration of His
Kingdom, and in its government. For "the saints of the Most High shall
receive the Kingdom, and possess the Kingdom for ever, even for ever and
ever" (Dan. 7. 18). "The Kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of
the Kingdoms under the whole Heaven, shall be given to the people of the
saints of the Most High" (v. 27).
Then shall the Lord "be King over all the earth" (Zech. 14. 9). God's
claims will be vindicated. His Christ will reign as King of
Righteousness, and King of Peace, the centre of His government being the
very place where once He was despised and rejected, and men cast Him out
and crucified Him. Of the increase of His government and of peace there
shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to
establish it, and to uphold it with judgment and with righteousness from
henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform
this (Isa. 9. 7). His saints "shall be priests of God and of Christ, and
shall reign with Him a thousand years" (Rev. 20. 6). Then will be
fulfilled the words of the Lord, "I am returned unto Zion, and will
dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called the city
of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain"
(Zech. 8. 3). The days of Israel's mourning will be ended, the nation
will be a "crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem
in the hand of her God," and Jerusalem will be a praise in the earth
(Isa. 60. 30; 62. 3, 7). "The Heavens shall rejoice and the earth be
glad," and "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea" (Psa. 96. 11; Isa. 11. 9). According to God's
Eternal Counsel the despised Nazarene will yet be manifested and
acknowledged by all as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
"To Him be glory for ever and ever,
AMEN."
INDEX.
PAGE
Adrian, 62
Alaric, 37, 38
Alexander the Great, 19
Alliance of Social Democracy, 71, 63
Alsace and Lorraine, 66
Antichrist, 85, 87, 91, 96
Antiochus Epiphanes, 20, 21, 64
Antiochus the Great, 19
Armageddon, 93
Attila, 39, 40
Babylon, 73
Bagdad, 46, 47
Balkan Peninsula, 46, 53
Barnabas, Epistle of 32
Beast, Twofold Symbolism of, 35, 36
Britain, 23, 39, 53, 62
British Empire, 67, 68
Bulgaria, 53
Byzantine Empire, 46, 57
Cæsar Augustus, 14, 22, 25, 37
Carthage, 16, 17, 18, 40
Chaldean Empire, 12, 55, 60
Charlemagne, 58, 60
Christendom, Reunion of, 80
Commercial System, 87
Comparisons of Symbols in Daniel and Revelation, 29
Constantine, 26
Constantinople, 26, 27, 40, 44, 45, 46, 58
Crimean War, 52
Crusades, 47
Cyprus, 53
Cyril, 33
Democracy, 75, 76
Diocletian, 26
Early Christian Writers, 32-34
Eastern Half of Empire Overthrown, 44
European Federation, 69
False Prophet, 84
Genseric, 39, 40
German Influence, 53
Germanic Tribes, 37-41, 56
Grecian Empire, 19, 63, 65
Grecian Empire Divided, 64
Greece, 19, 20, 52, 53, 65
Hannibal, 18
Hippolytus, 33
Hungary, 40, 49, 52, 66
Huns, 39
International Working Men's Association, 71
Ireland, 67
Irenæus, 32
Iron and Clay, 25, 74
Jerome, 33
Jews, 22, 54, 55, 56, 62, 68
Judæa Subdued by Romans, 23
Julius Cæsar, 22
Justinian, 58
Khaliphs, 45, 47
Kosovo, Battle of, 49
Lactantius, 33
Magnesia, Battle of, 19
Man of Sin, 85, 100
Medes and Persians, 13, 55, 60
Megiddo, 94
Mithradates, 21
Mohammed, 45, 46
Mohammed II., 49
Napoleon, 72
Navarino, Battle of, 52
Nebuchadnezzar, 9, 11, 75, 96
Northern Limits of Empire, 41
Odoacer, 41
Omar, 45
Osman, 48
Ottoman Empire, 48
Palestine, 20, 21, 54, 56
Papacy, 79
Parousia, The Epiphany of, 97
Psalm 29, 102
Pydna, Battle of, 20, 21
Roman Emperor, The Final, 67, 68, 77, 82, 89
Roman Empire--Decline of, 51
Extended in Final Form, 60
Final Destruction of, 30, 32, 60, 96
Still in Power at Close of Present Age, 14, 30, 56
Tenfold Division of, 27-34
Twofold Division of, 35
Roman Influence Continued, 56-58
Roumania, 52, 53
San Stefano Treaty, 53
Saracens, 45, 47, 55, 63
Scotland, 67
Sea Symbolic of National Unrest, 72
Serbia, 52, 53
Seventy Weeks, 88
Slavery Under the Romans, 23
Spiritism, 84
Superman, 83
Ten Kingdoms Foretold, 27-34
Not Formed in West, 42
Tertullian, 33
Theodoret, 34
Times and Seasons, 10
Titus, 40, 89
Tongrol Bek, 47
Trajan, 23
Trentino, 66
Tribulation, The, 92
Tripoli, 53
Turkish Empire, 44
Turkish Empire, Downfall of, 63
Turks, 46, 55, 63
Turks and Mohammedanism, 47, 50
United States, 67, 76
Valens, 26
Vandals, 38, 40
Valentinian, 26, 37
Voice of the Lord, The, 98, 101
Western Half of Empire Overthrown, 37-41
Winepress, The, 99, 104
Zama, Battle of, 18
Demy 8vo, 308 pages clear type, strong dark cloth, gold title, 4/ net
(4/6, or $1.12, post free).
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
With Notes Exegetical and Expository.
By C. F. HOGG and W. E. VINE, M.A.
With Index to Subjects, Texts, and Greek Words.
* * * * *
_A few out of very many favourable notices:_
"The authors have seen clearly the great difference between the
_parousia_ and the _epiphaneia_, and thus set forth, so much and so
clearly, the great Hope of the Church."--Lord BLYTHSWOOD.
"I greatly value such a book for the definiteness and prominence with
which it unfolds the great truth of the Lord's return as a present
hope--not a theory, nor yet a mere doctrine, but a blessed and glorious
hope."--Sir ROBERT ANDERSON, K.C.B., LL.D., London.
"The notes are brief, clear, full, and suggestive. It supplies a felt
want between such volumes as the International Critical and the ordinary
devotional expositions."--JAS. F. ARTHUR, Theological Tutor, B.T.I.,
Glasgow.
"These notes are admirable. The authors disclaim having written for
scholars, but as scholars, I may say, they write for Christians, but for
Christians as Bible students and serious ones."--GEO. F. TRENCH, B.A.,
Dublin.
"The book is one of such permanent value and wide scholarship. I hope it
will be the first and not the last."--H. M. BLEBY, B.A., Dudley.
"Should certainly find a place in the library of all Christians who
desire to study this portion of God's Word."--L. W. G. ALEXANDER.
PICKERING & INGLIS, 14 Paternoster Row, London, E.C.4.
229 Bothwell Street, Glasgow; 75 Princes Street, Edinburgh.
And through most Booksellers.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
1. The footnote at the end of page 74 reads:
See "The Epistles to the Thessalonians, with Notes Exegetical and
Expository," by C. F. Hogg and W. E. Vine, note _c._ pp. 259, 260.
(Glasgow: Pickering & Inglis. 3/9, p.f.)
The _c._ is unclear.
2. The footnote at the end of page 89 reads:
See "The Coming Prince," by Sir Robert Anderson. Price, 5/.
The 5 in 5/ is unclear.
3. Spelling, hyphenation and punctuation are left as in the original.
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