III.—The Times of the Gentiles, and Their Judgment.
We have shortly traced the past history of the people of Israel to the Babylonish captivity, when the sentence “Lo Ammi” (not my people) was passed upon them, the presence of Jehovah, or the glory, departed from their midst, and the government of the world was transferred to the Gentiles. That is, the “times of the Gentiles” began. We have also followed the history of the remnant of Judah and Benjamin, which returned to the land to have their Messiah presented to them, the sentence “Lo Ammi” not having been nor to be removed till after their complete dispersion and the destruction of the cities of the land. (Isa. 6:1010Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. (Isaiah 6:10).)
Just before the time when Judah was finally carried into captivity, we find God sending His prophet to Zedekiah, who was plotting with the nations around to throw off the yoke of the king of Babylon, requiring that he and they should bring their necks under his yoke. He says, “I have made the earth, the man, and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power, and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. . . Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.” (Jer. 27:5-125I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. 6And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. 7And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. 8And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: 10For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. 11But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. 12I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. (Jeremiah 27:5‑12).) It is with this Gentile power, and those which succeed him, until the end of their “times,” we have now to do.
We turn to the Book of Daniel and read of one of the Hebrew captives enabled of God to recall and interpret his dream to the Gentile king, who had forgotten it. (Dan. 2:31-4531Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34Thou 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 to pieces. 35Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; 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. 36This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. (Daniel 2:31‑45).) The dream was of a great image, whose head was of gold; the breast and arms of silver; his belly and thighs of brass; his legs of iron, and his feet part of iron and part of clay. The interpretation shows that this image typified the Gentile power from the days of the first king, Nebuchadnezzar, till its close. When in its last state, a stone “cut out without hands,” a kingdom set up by the God of heaven, smites the image on its feet, i.e., at the close of its existence. Accordingly the compound parts of the image then fully formed are broken to pieces and consumed by a crushing act of judgment, inflicted by the stone. They become like chaff in the Bummer threshing-floors, and the wind carries them away, so that no place is found for them. Thus it is that the stone, which executed this act of judgment, becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth. The vision is plain, and needs but few words. The Gentile power exists in different stages, each inferior to the other, the farther it removes from the source of its first power, until an act of judgment most complete and destructive on its last state is executed by a power not entrusted to the hands of men, so that every vestige of the image disappears from the scene; and the power that strikes the blow becomes expanded and exalted, and stands forever.
Babylon was the head of gold; its source was the gift of God, as we have seen; its power absolute and unquestioned. “For the majesty that God gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up, and whom he would he put down.” (Dan. 5:1919And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. (Daniel 5:19).)
After it came the Medo-Persian, the breast and arms of silver, a united power (two arms), inferior to the first in its absolute power, inasmuch as if he who wielded the power made a law he was himself subject to that law as another; for “the law of the Medes and Persians altereth not.”
The third kingdom, of brass, the Grecian, was still inferior; as the fourth, that of the iron, and the iron mixed with the miry clay, degenerates yet more.
The great point for us to understand is, that the great power given to the Gentile king, to which succeeded the other powers, as typified in the great image (which, as its existence is prolonged, deteriorates), runs on till one great, crushing, complete act of judgment, yet to be executed, carries the whole and every vestige of it away, replaces it, and then fills the whole earth. I say “yet to be executed,” because it is a common thought to misapply this kingdom, which destroys the others and then fills the earth, to the gospel. Grace, or the gospel, is never represented in Scripture as doing this. In the first place, the image did not exist in the state typified by the feet in the beginning of the Gospel-day. In the next, it is on them the blow is struck, which is a crushing act of judgment, not grace. And next, it is the first act of the stone, an act of judgment, before it begins to grow and to fill the earth. This is noticed only in passing, as the object of these papers is rather to establish the truth in tracing these Gentile powers to their end, than to combat with error.
We now turn to Dan. 7, where these four great powers are expressed under the form of four ravening beasts. From the vast sea of human passions and wiles, which floated unorganized in the world, striven upon by the four winds of heaven, came up four wild beasts or kingdoms. The first like a lion, king among the beasts of the earth, with eagle's wings, the chief of birds: a power rapid in its flight, and soaring above the other powers of the world. This we know was the first of the four great monarchies—Babylon. (Dan. 1:1; 2:37, 381In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. (Daniel 1:1)
37Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. (Daniel 2:37‑38).)
Another wild beast follows—the Medo-Persian, which succeeded that of Babylon. (See chap. 5: 28, 30, 31.)
Then a third—the Grecian empire, formed by Alexander the Great, which followed the Medo-Persian (see chap. 8:21, 22), afterward divided into four heads.
The fourth, diverse from all the other beasts and yet partaking of the qualities or materials of all (see Rev. 13:22And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. (Revelation 13:2)), strong exceedingly, devouring and breaking to pieces and destroying the rest, which also had ten horns. It is with this fourth empire we have more particularly to do: the chapter we are looking at is principally occupied with him. The fourth great power was Rome, which replaced the Grecian empire after it was broken into four heads. (Chap. 7:6: 8:21, 22,) This imperial power is introduced by the ancient name of that which surrounded it, its center, Rome, in chapter 11, where we read, “the ships from Kittim shall come,” &c. This is merely referred to, to show that we have all four powers defined from Scripture, either by name or circumstances adjacent. This power existed in its vast unbroken state in the days of Christ, as we read in Luke 2:11And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (Luke 2:1), “And there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” And it is with this power we, as Christians, called out from the Gentiles, have most to do.
In the second vision of chapter 7, we find that the fourth beast had ten horns, and that amongst the horns came up another horn, before whom three fell; and this horn had eyes, expressive of active intelligence and design; and a mouth speaking great things. He speaks great words against the Most High, wears out the saints of the Most High, prevailing against them; thinks to change times (Jewish festivals), and laws (ceremonies), which are given into his hand for a time, times, and the dividing of a time (three years and a half). Thrones are set, and the Ancient of days sits, the dominion of the little horn is taken away (he personifies the beast in the end, taking the lead amongst the other horns, and so becomes the expression of the whole), his body destroyed and given to the burning flame. Judgment is given to the saints of the Most High (the heavenlies.
“Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world,” (1 Cor. 6.), and the saints possess the kingdom (the earthly, “Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matt. 25) Afterward we find, in another vision, the kingdom of the Son of man substituted for that of the fourth beast (the Ancient of days is the Son of man Himself, see verse 22), which is personified in the little horn that came up last amongst the other horns.
The questions now arise, 1st. Has not the fourth kingdom long ceased to exist in its vast iron power? 2ndly. Has it ever assumed the features conveyed by the ten horns? 3rdly. Has it ever done what is attributed to it in verse 25?
Now these questions will be satisfactorily answered by other Scriptures. We turn to Rev. 13 and read of a wild beast which the prophet sees arising from the sea. It partook of the characteristics of the three foregoing beasts of Dan. 7, but it has another added, which was, that the dragon gave him his power, and seat, and great authority; this it had not before. It had seven heads and ten horns—seven forms of government, and ten divisions in its administrative power. John saw one of its heads wounded, as it seemed, unto death, and the deadly wound was healed. There is no doubt but that this head was its imperial form, which has long ceased to exist: some think forever—that the wound was unto death. But the apparently deadly wound was healed, and all the world wonders; and they worship him, and, through him, Satan, who had given him his power, and seat, and great authority; and they say, “Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” This is clearly the little horn of Dan. 7, for the same doings are attributed to him. But we have in Revelation this added—that he was the full expression and instrument of Satan when revived; for (as in Dan. 7:2525And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Daniel 7:25)) we read that there was given him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies; and power was given to him to make war forty and two months (three and a half years). He blasphemes God and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven, “the saints of the heavenlies;” and makes war with the saints on earth, and overcomes them—we know from Dan. 7 until what time.
Turning to Rev. 17, in the explanation of the vision, to the prophet we find the same beast, which “was, and is not.” It had existed in its one vast empire, the fourth kingdom of Dan. 7; it had ceased to exist, and “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit;” it would again appear, but when it did, it would be the full expression of Satan— “The dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” (Chap. 13:2)
But we must proceed with his description under his last form. “There are seven kings,” seven forms of government of the Latin empire. “Five are fallen,” five had disappeared when the prophet wrote. “One is,” it existed then. Another form, not vet come, was to arise, and continue for a brief space. Then the beast that was, and had ceased to exist—he would be an eighth form, yet of the seven. There would now be a feature explained as to the ten horns, not belonging to his former state of existence. The ten horns are ten kings, they had received no kingdom then, they did not belong to his antecedents of one vast empire, but they would appear, and receive power at the same time as he when he would re-exist in his final form. They would have one mind, and they give their power and strength to the beast; they would have each his separate existence, and yet would own the beast as their chief—the expression of the entire. These make war with the Lamb, and He overcomes them. Their end we find in chapter xix. The rider upon the white horse, with the armies of heaven, comes forth at the last daring and blasphemous defiance of his authority; and the beast and these kings are gathered to make war against Him that sat upon the horse and His armies; and the beast was taken and was “cast alive into a lake burning with fire and brimstone.” His armies, too, are judicially slain.
We have one point to remark, to account for the presence of Satan on the earth at this closing scene, when he gives his power to the last form of the Latin empire three years and a half before the execution of judgment, which introduces the kingdom of the Son of man. We turn for this to Rev. 12. There we find the man-child (Christ and the Church, His body) caught up to God and to His throne, which is immediately followed by war in heaven. Satan is cast out to the earth; rejoicing in heaven follows; woe is pronounced upon the inhabitants of the earth, “for the devil is come down unto you, in great wrath, having but a short time.” He then turns his malice against the Jewish saints below, who are then the objects of the attention of God. He gives his power and authority to the beast for the 1260 days, or forty-two months, or “time, times, and the dividing of a time,” before the end of the beast's existence.
Let us now sum up shortly what we have gathered from Scripture, i. e., the history of the Gentile powers from its beginning to its close.
We have seen that four great kingdoms arose, commencing with Babylon, which had its power directly from God, followed by the Medo-Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman; this last was in existence when John wrote, and for some hundreds of years in more or less of its iron away. It was then broken up into different kingdoms, and continued thus for a long time. Three and a half years before the end of the Gentile power, Satan is cast out of heaven. Next, the Latin empire, so long apparently destroyed and forgotten, is restored, but in a new form; not one vast iron power, but its divided kingdoms uniting to own one man amongst them as their chief, and giving to him their power and force. Satan makes him his ready tool, and the world wonders and worships. This chief blasphemes God, and as Satan cannot now accuse the saints in the heavenlies, be makes his instruments blaspheme them. He turns his rage through this chief against the Jewish people then gathered into their country. And, finally, he leads him to turn his heart in open rebellion against Christ, who comes to take possession of His world-kingdom, and put an end to the Gentile power. This chief and his allies gather together against the King of kings and His heavenly saints, and the end of the Beast is the lake of fire and brimstone.
We have now followed, without much diversion from our subject, the history of the Gentile empires to their conclusion, looking especially upon the features the fourth empire will assume, when revived as an imperial power, three and a half years before the close of its existence; when, in the person of its leader, it will be the plain and complete expression of diabolical power. Possessed by Satan, it will be instigated in rebellion against God and Christ, and so be destroyed.
But, dear friends, we may remember when considering the past history of Israel, we saw that when Christ was presented to the Jews at Jerusalem, He was rejected, and received only by a little band of disciples, and that He told them that He had come in His Father's name and Him they would not receive; and that if another would come in his own name, him they would receive. Now during the time of the crisis of the world's history, synchronical with the three and a half years of the full-formed evil of the beast, which we have seen, the Jews will again have been gathered into their land in a state of apostacy. Scripture largely shows that a false Messiah will present himself to them at that time, who will be received by the mass of the people, and rejected by a remnant of faithful ones—just the reverse of what occurred in the day when our Lord Himself was there. This personage is the connecting link between the Gentile power in a state of apostasy and revolt and the Jews in a similar state. Christ was presented to Pilate as the representative of the fourth monarchy, and to Caiaphas who represented the Jewish nation in that day: both united in crucifying Him. At the same time He was rejected by the mass of the Jews and received by a little band of disciples. At the close of the existence of the fourth monarchy in its revived state, this false Messiah will appear, the mass of the returned Jews will receive him, and he will be recognized by the imperial head of the restored Latin empire, into whose hands he will play his game; but he will be refused by a little remnant, whose hearts God is training, through unexampled tribulation, for the kingdom about to be substituted for that of the Beast, when judgment is executed.
After thus shortly introducing this false Messiah, we will follow in order the scriptures that speak of him. He is introduced in Dan. 11:36-3936And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 38But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. (Daniel 11:36‑39); and we may remark that the prophet is told in chapter 10:14 that the angel was come to make him understand what would befall the Jews in the latter days. Chapters 10-12 are all one vision and are occupied with this subject, and the Lord Himself in His directions to the Jewish remnant in Matt. 24 alludes to this prophecy (Dan. 12) as still future, and that when the circumstance of the abomination of desolation, &c., come to pass, it would be the sign for the remnant to flee, adding that, “Immediately after those days shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven coming with power and great glory.” We can apply it, therefore, to no other time than to the hour of the great tribulation, or the closing 1260 days, before the appearing of Christ and the judgment executed by Him and the kingdom set up (see also Dan. 12:1111And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. (Daniel 12:11), where 30 days are added) and substituted for that of the beast.
The king is at once introduced in chapter 11:36-39 as one who has that title in the eyes of the Jews. He does according to his own will, exalts himself and magnifies himself above every god, speaks marvelously against the God of gods, and prospers till the indignation is accomplished. He regards not the God of the Jews, nor the Messiah, nor any god, magnifying himself above them all. The “indignation” is spoken of in Isa. 10:55O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. (Isaiah 10:5). 24, 25, where we find that there is an appointed time for its duration.
We turn to Rev. 13:1111And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. (Revelation 13:11), where we find this personage brought before us again, as the second beast, which comes up out of the earth, having two horns like a lamb—some imitation of Christ, but his voice like a dragon. He cannot set aside the power of the Gentile king, the Beast—that is reserved for Christ; but he ministers to him and “exercises the power of the first beast before him” —the power of Satan, but subordinate to that of the Beast. “And he doeth great wonders, so that he causes fire to come down from heaven, on the earth, in the sight of men,” &c. He thus imitates the great power of God (of course it is not so, but only in the sight or apprehension of men).
Read now Rev. 16:13, 1413And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (Revelation 16:13‑14), where we find the three great allies in wickedness, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, unclean spirits proceeding from each to gather together the kings of the whole habitable earth to the battle of the great day of God Almighty.
In Rev. 19:2020And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Revelation 19:20), we find Satan's two great instruments—the Beast and the false prophet. The Beast, with his vassal kings, as we have seen before, gathered together to make war with the Lamb, the Lord of lords, and King of kings. The Beast and the false prophet here meet their doom. Allies in wickedness and blasphemy, they are allied in judgment. “These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”
There is a link now wanting, beloved friends, in this sad and sorrowful history. Sad and sorrowful it is, because in the judgment of these two men we see the end, first, of one who personifies, in the close of the times of Gentile domination, the abuse of the power that had been delivered into the hands of man by God: filled with moral madness and impotent pride, he becomes the ready instrument of Satan, in the last and closing acts of his stupendous wickedness, till he is bound by Him whose heel he bruised when here, and who then exhibits in this world, so long the playground of Satan's deeds, the blessings He had “reveled to procure for man when He went down under the dark domain of him who had the power of death. Sad and sorrowful, too, as to the second, that the minds of men, ever ready to receive the veriest lie of Satan, and ever ready to doubt the love of God, at last become so besotted in wickedness and moral blindness, as to receive such an one as he for their Christ. But there is, as we were remarking, one link yet wanting, and that is, how this consummation of spiritual wickedness, this false Messiah, becomes the link, as we may say, between the history of professing Christendom and the Jews, in the close and the crisis of the history of this age, before the introduction of an age of blessedness and peace. This will be brought before our minds again; but before this we must consider another subject which comes in during the great Gentile parenthesis, which fills up the space between that time when Israel was the earthly people of God, owned and acknowledged, and that when they shall be so again. That subject is the “calling of the Church.” In it is involved the second coming of Christ for His saints, before His manifestation with them to the world, in the judgment which we have been partially considering; also the first resurrection, the resurrection from among the dead (of which Christ was the firstfruits) of the saints, the “children of the resurrection.” This subject, dear friends, is a blessed one, near to the heart of Christ—the secret that was hid in God; the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.