Rome and Turkey in Connexion with the Second Advent Part 1

Rome and Turkey in Connexion with the Second Advent.

by Edward h.o.a.re.

PREFACE.

THE three lectures on Turkey are published at the request of several of my paris.h.i.+oners; I have added two others respecting Rome, which were written in 1873, because I consider that they strengthen the conclusion derived from the present position of the Ottoman Empire. I regard Rome and Turkey as two great political witnesses to the near approach of the glorious end. If this be the case, it is clearly right that their two testimonies should appear together and confirm each other.

E. H.

_Tunbridge Wells_, _Jan._ 1876.

ROME.

I.

THE OUTLINE.

IT is impossible to imagine anything more delightful than the prospect of the promised return of our most blessed Saviour. How do the father and the mother feel when they welcome their long-absent son from India? How will many an English wife feel when she welcomes her husband from the Arctic Expedition? And how must the Church of G.o.d feel when, after her long night of toil and difficulty, she stands face to face before Him whom her soul loveth, and enters into the full enjoyment of the promise, 'So shall we ever be with the Lord.' There will be no tears then, for there will be no sorrow; no death then, for there will be no more curse; no sin then, for we shall see Him as He is, and shall be like Him. Then will be the time of resurrection, when all the firstborn of G.o.d shall awake to a life without decay and without corruption; and then the time of reunion, when the whole company of G.o.d's elect shall stand together before the Lord, never again to shed a tear over each other's grave; and then will be the time when those who have loved and longed after Him, as they have journeyed on alone in their pilgrimage, will find themselves on the right hand of His throne, and hear His delightful words, 'Come, ye blessed children of my Father: inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!'

No wonder then that the people of G.o.d are waiting with anxious hearts for the advent; and no wonder that many are ready to say, 'Lord, how long?'

and to ask, What hope is there of His quick return? Have we, or have we not, any reason to look out for it soon? To this inquiry I would endeavour to draw your attention this morning; and in doing so, I do not intend to examine into what are usually called 'the signs of the times,'

but to study the great prophetic sketch of the world's history as given to us by the prophet Daniel. This may be termed the backbone of prophecy, and almost all the great prophecies of Holy Scripture fit into it at some point or other; so that, if we wish to understand them, we must begin by studying it. I fear I may not interest those who aim simply to have their hearts warmed by the ministry. But they must remember that the real study of G.o.d's Word requires work, and that work, though it lays the best possible foundation for feeling, does not at the time excite it. To-day, then, we are to work, and I hope the Lord may so bless His Word, that through work we may be led to feel.

Our business, then, is to endeavour to discover whether the great prophetic sketch of history, given through the prophet Daniel, encourages the blessed hope that the coming of the Lord may be near. Daniel gives a prophecy of the history of political power from his own day till the time when 'the Ancient of Days shall sit,' and describes a succession of events which must take place in the interval. It is clear that our business is to ascertain how many of these events have taken place, or, in other words, how far we have advanced in the series.

In the study of our subject we have the advantage of looking at two sides of the picture, for it has pleased G.o.d to give us the same series as seen in two different aspects. In the second and seventh chapters you will find predictions of the same events under different figures. In the second chapter the prophecy is given as a vision to a proud, idolatrous monarch. So the different kingdoms about to arise appear to him as the several parts of a mighty image, with himself as the head of gold. It was given in just such a shape as should coincide with his idolatry and his pride. Whereas, in the seventh chapter, the vision is given to one of G.o.d's people, and he sees in all this glory nothing better than a series of wild beasts coming up one after another to devour. How different is the estimate of the world from that of G.o.d! The world regards Babylon as the head of gold, the summit of glory and greatness, while G.o.d looks on it as a savage beast, to be dreaded by His saints!

The same difference of character may be observed in the visions of the coming of the Lord. To the great king it appeared as a triumphant kingdom, to the captive prophet as a manifestation of the Son of man.

The one saw a kingdom, the other a person; the one, the overthrow of power, the other, the advent of the Lord of Glory.

But now let us look at the series. In both prophecies there is a description of four kingdoms which should in succession be supreme in political power, and which should fill up an interval between Daniel and the Advent.

1. There is the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar's image, the same as the lion in the vision of Daniel. The most precious of metals corresponding to the king of beasts.

2. There is next the breast and arms of silver, corresponding to the bear of Daniel.

3. After that the belly and thighs of bra.s.s, representing the same nation as the leopard of the prophet.

4. And following them is the last kingdom of the four, represented to Nebuchadnezzar as the 'legs of iron, and the feet, part of iron and part of clay,' and to Daniel as a beast, 'dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly.'

It is interesting to observe how the same iron character is attributed to this last power in both visions. In the one we read of it, chap. ii. 40, 'The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all things, shall it break in pieces and bruise.' And in the other, chap. vii. 7, it is said to be, 'strong exceedingly, and it had great iron teeth: it devoured, and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it.'

Such is the series of kingdoms that were to hold the chief political power of the world, and fill up the whole interval between the date of the prophecy and the advent of the Lord. Now the remarkable, and I believe I may say the indisputable, fact, is that, according to the prophecy, all these four kingdoms have arisen. They have followed each other exactly as it was predicted. Babylon was the head of gold, or the lion. The Medes and Persians were the breast of silver, or the bear.

Greece, always called 'the brazen armed,' in cla.s.sic poetry, was the belly and the thighs of bra.s.s, or the leopard. And then the mighty power of Rome, far exceeding all the others in its terrible strength, with the legs of iron in the royal image, and the teeth of iron in the prophetic beast. Thus far there is an agreement almost unanimous among the students of prophetic Scripture; and the conclusion certainly is, that we have already been a long time under the last of the four successive empires of the world. So far then as those four empires are concerned, we are encouraged to entertain the strong hope that, as we have reached the last kingdom in the succession, we may begin hopefully to look out for the end. We have pa.s.sed the last station on the line, so now we may begin to prepare for home.

But again. There is one remarkable difference between the fourth kingdom and the other three, viz., this, that its history is divided into two periods, during the first of which it appears as an undivided power, and during the second split up into ten. In chap, ii. 41, it says, 'the kingdom shall be divided.' In this divided period it is represented by the ten toes on the image, and the ten horns on the beast. The ten toes are described as kings, or kingdoms, in chap. ii. 44; and so are the ten horns in chap. vii. 24, where it is said, 'The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise.' So then the prophecy teaches us that when Rome had overpowered Greece it would go on for a time as one mighty undivided empire, but that after a time it would break up into a cl.u.s.ter of kingdoms, and that this cl.u.s.ter would retain amongst them the supremacy of the world. It does not describe any fresh s.h.i.+ft of political supremacy to any new kingdom that should arise, or the loss or decay of that supremacy. But it teaches that there would be a division in the kingdom, that the parts should fall asunder, and that, while the iron of the fourth kingdom would remain amongst them, there should be so much clay mixed up with it, that it should never again be united under a single head.

Now this is exactly what has happened. In the days of the Caesars united Rome was supreme in the pomp of the iron empire. Its body was Europe, and its heart was the emperor. It was one as much as Babylon had been one under Nebuchadnezzar. But look at it now. There is all the old power; for Europe and its races practically govern the world. It has not lost its iron. But there is no one kingdom that embodies all. The power is vested in a cl.u.s.ter of independent nations. Many attempts have been made to combine them: some by conquest, as in the case of Napoleon; some by negotiation, as in the case of the Spanish marriages. But all in vain, for the toes are irrecoverably divided, and whatever is done, though as an aggregate they retain their power, as individual nations they are always distinct. I have no time to enter into detail, but I regard this division as a most remarkable fulfilment of the prophetic word. More than five hundred years before the coming of the Lord there was a captive in Babylon, and G.o.d so directed that man's mind, as through him to communicate to the world even then the present position of modern Europe. With such a fact before us who can doubt the inspiration of the prophet, or the statement of St. Peter, that 'holy men of G.o.d spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost?'

But, without stopping to consider the wonders of the prophecy, let us learn the lesson which it teaches us with reference to the nearness of the Advent. We have already found that we have long since reached the fourth kingdom of the series; and now we are led a step further, and find that we have long since reached the second period of that kingdom. It is difficult with accuracy to a.s.sign a date, for the transition was gradual; but we shall be sufficiently near if we say that it practically took place between twelve and fourteen hundred years ago. And when we reflect on such a promise as that in Daniel, ii. 44, in which G.o.d a.s.sures us of a kingdom that shall be set up in the days of these kings, and never be destroyed: when we consider that those kings have already been reigning through that lengthened period, it is surely time that we begin to look out for that which is to come; for the happy and blessed day when we shall welcome the kingdom which shall never be moved, and when Christ Himself shall reign in glory.

But this is not all, for, although we shall learn no more from the vision of the king, we may gather much more from that of the prophet, for in it we find a most important additional prophecy. I can perfectly understand why it was given by the prophet, and not by the king, for I believe it to refer to the religious history of Europe, and the king of course had no concern with that. He did not care for religion, or for the saints of G.o.d. I allude to the prophecy of the little horn raised in the midst of the other ten. I have no time to discuss arguments, and can merely state conclusions. All therefore that I can do now is to express my own convictions on two points:

1. That the little horn diverse from all the rest is the Papal power.

2. That the time, times, and dividing of a time, which is to be the limit of its power, stands in prophetic figure for 1260 years.

If this be correct it gives some idea as to the duration of the second division of the last kingdom, for it shows that it must last at least 1260 years. Still more, as the Papacy is to be destroyed at the approach of the Ancient of Days, if we could only ascertain the date of its commencement we might calculate the date of the Advent. But here is the difficulty, for who can say when a horn begins to grow? and who can determine the date of the first swelling of Papal pride? It is impossible to make any such calculation, and I believe it would be wrong to attempt it. But we may still be led by the great outline to hope for the approach of that most blessed day. The horn has been growing a long time, and it is impossible to read European history without believing that the 1260 years cannot be very far from its close. Everything therefore looks like an approaching end. We have long since reached the fourth kingdom; long since reached its second, or divided period; and, though we cannot say when it took place, we have long since seen the commencement of the 1260 years of the little horn. Surely then it is high time that we be looking out for the coming of the Lord, high time that we be watching with our loins girt and our lamps burning, and we ourselves as those that wait for their Lord.

With these facts before us, I may fairly ask any thinking person, whether there is not good ground for the hope that the coming of the Lord draweth nigh? You observe I have not dwelt on minute and isolated points. I have taken the great outline of the world's history, and compared it with the great outline of the word of prophecy. I see that the two exactly correspond. I thank G.o.d from the bottom of my heart for the evidence given of the inspiration of Scripture, for no such prophecy could have had its origin with man; and, while I thank G.o.d for such a confirmation of the faith, I cannot resist the conclusion that we have nearly reached the end of the series, that we are living in the last part of the last period of the last kingdom, and that the next great event of this prophecy is nothing else than the sitting of the Ancient of Days, the glorious kingdom of the Son of Man.

But do we all desire it? Are we all looking out with loving and longing hearts for the appearance of our beloved Redeemer? I fear that many would be very far from glad if they thought it would come to-morrow.

Their own consciences tell them they are not ready; and in such a case how can they desire it? You might say to them, as in the words of the prophet, 'To what end is the day of the Lord to you? the day of the Lord is darkness and not light.' I believe it to be impossible for any man really to desire the coming of Christ as his king until in his own soul he is personally acquainted with Him as his sin-offering or atonement.

Thus I believe that you will find very few really desire the Advent who have not practically and experimentally drunk in the great doctrine of justification by faith. If you are reconciled through the precious blood of Christ; if you are justified in the righteousness of Christ; if you are preserved and sanctified by the loving Spirit of Christ, then of course you will be ready to say, 'Even so come, Lord Jesus; come quickly.' But if you are still living for the world, content with the world's gifts and the world's enjoyments; or even if you are still toiling, and struggling on to reach Him you know not how, and know not whether you may trust Him to place you on the right hand of the throne or not, how is it possible that you should be happy in waiting for Him?

Never rest, therefore, till you stand accepted in Him; till you have good reason to believe that you are safe, and not safe only, but beloved.

Then you may wait for Him, then you may welcome Him, then He cannot come too soon to please you; and if His sign is seen even to-night you will be able to say, 'This is our G.o.d; 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.'

II.

THE CONSUMPTION.

I ENDEAVOURED in the last lecture to bring before you the blessed hope of our Lord's return, and to show, from the great outlines of prophecy, that there is enough to justify the expectations of those who humbly trust that we shall not have much longer to wait. I purposely avoided any reference to what are called the 'signs of the times,' and confined your attention exclusively to what may be called the great backbone of prophecy, _i.e._, to the prophetic history of the four mighty kingdoms which were foretold as holding the empire of the world. From that outline I endeavoured to show that these four great kingdoms were to arise in succession, one after the other, and that they would fill up the interval between the time of the prophecy and the sitting of the Ancient of Days. I hope, also, I made it plain from history that three of those kingdoms have long since fallen, and that, as far as the predicted periods enable us to judge, we must be drawing near to the close of the fourth. The great outline, therefore, leads to the hope that the time of the glorious kingdom of our blessed Lord may be near. But, though we did not study the signs of the times then, I do not think we should undervalue them, for our blessed Saviour foretold certain things that should take place, and added, 'When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.' If, therefore, any of these things are now taking place, it is clear that we ought to study them; and that we should not be really carrying out the teaching of the Lord Jesus if we were to neglect them. I propose, therefore, in obedience to His words, to bring before you in this lecture what has long appeared to me one of the most conclusive signs that the time is not very far distant. I allude to the present position of the Church of Rome, and I earnestly hope that G.o.d has directed my thoughts in the study of it, and that whatever in what I may now say is according to His word, may be written in all our hearts and minds by the teaching of the Holy Ghost.

There are three great historical prophecies, which, in the opinion of the majority of our best expositors, predict the rise, the progress, and the fall of the Church of Rome.

The first of these we briefly noticed last Sunday. It is the prophecy of the little horn rising amidst the ten horns of the beast, or the Papacy rising in the midst of that cl.u.s.ter of European kingdoms which succeeded the power of the undivided Roman Empire.

The second is the prophecy of 'the man of sin' in 2 Thess. ii. And I cannot forbear the mention of one ill.u.s.tration of a verse in that prophecy which I saw myself in Rome. Many people think that the description in the fourth verse is too strong for Popery: but there is a curious ill.u.s.tration of it in St. Peter's. You may there see what they call the altar in the usual place at the end of the chancel, and above it, surrounded by an elaborately decorated reredos, is what is called the chair of St. Peter, or the Pope's throne, the seat of Papal power. On the altar below, according to their own teaching, is the living person of the King of Glory, perfect man and perfect G.o.d, and in front of that altar may be seen men wors.h.i.+pping the wafer because they call it G.o.d.

But above it is the Pope's chair, and if he were to occupy it he would sit there with that which they call G.o.d, and wors.h.i.+p as G.o.d, beneath his feet. Can anything be a more exact fulfilment of the words, 'Exalteth himself above all that is called G.o.d, or that is wors.h.i.+pped?'

The third is the prophecy of the woman in Rev. xvii. The application of this to the Church of Rome is less disputed than that of either of the other two, for the seat of the woman is decided by the 9th verse to be the seven-hilled city, which is almost universally admitted to be Rome.

Now it is not my object to study the details of these prophecies, and there is only one point to which I invite your careful attention-one most important point common to all the three, viz. that the final overthrow will be preceded by a consuming process. It will not be a sudden destruction in the height of prosperity, but will be the final act after a period of wasting and defeat. If these three pa.s.sages refer to Rome, as I fully believe they do, then Rome will be first consumed and then destroyed.

In Daniel it says (vii. 26), 'The judgment shall sit.' It seems clear from the context, that this does not mean the great day of judgment, but the commencement of judgment on her sins here upon earth. 'And they shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end.'

There is, therefore, a consuming process before the end. The word here rendered 'consume' conveys the idea of a gradual process, and not a sudden blow; and teaches us that there will be a wasting before the final overthrow.

In 2 Thess. ii. 8, exactly the same process is described, and in almost the same words: 'Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy at the brightness of his coming.' He will first consume him by His word, and ultimately destroy him at His advent.

It is just the same in Rev. xvii. There you meet with the old beast, the ten-horned beast of Daniel; and ten horns still representing ten kings; and when we reach the close of the chapter we find these ten kings all turned against the woman: so that, instead of being ridden and governed by her, as they were when she was riding on the beast, they are now turned against her, and agree in consuming her. 'The ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the wh.o.r.e, and make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.'

(Verse 16.)