The excellent author draws the attention of the reader to the prophecies which bear chiefly on “the time of the end.” Much that he says is correct and important; but he does not seem to distinguish the coming of the Lord from the manifestation of His coming. (2 Thess. 2:1, 81Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (2 Thessalonians 2:1)
8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (2 Thessalonians 2:8).) Hence the place, and hopes and affections, of the glorified saints must be confounded more or less with those of the people to follow.
The chief defect in “the Outline” is that the future resuscitation of “the beast,” or fourth Empire of Rome, is not seen before its final effort against the returning
Lord, when it is to be hurled into perdition All admit the once undivided empire of the Ctesars; and then the divided kingdoms of mediaeval and modern Europe. But many have yet to learn that “the beast that was and is not” must appear again (Rev. 17), and be judged by the Lord's appearing in person. (Rev. 19) The omission of this towering evil in the West is fatal to an adequate apprehension of the prophetic word as to the closing scenes of this age.
Again, “the Consumption” is founded on a mistake of the meaning of scripture and scriptural language. Neither Dan. 7:2626But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. (Daniel 7:26), nor 2 Thess. 2:88And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (2 Thessalonians 2:8), implies, as may our English word “consume,” a gradual waning of strength. “Destroy” is the true force of the Chaldee and of the Greek. So also any one can see from Isa. 30:27, 3327Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: (Isaiah 30:27)
33For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. (Isaiah 30:33),—that “breath of His mouth” will bear no such idea as the gracious effect of the Spirit by the word, but of unsparing divine judgment, whatever be the wishes of commentators like Whitby and the like. Certainly the enemies of God are to be consumed, but this is an utter destruction reserved for the Highest.
As to “the Euphrates,” the general application to the Turkmen woe and wasting is not denied; but it is well also to remember that the last holder of the Turkish dominions north of Palestine is to be not weak but mighty in power, though not by his own power, and no lees astute and prosperous in his hostility to the Jews, till he too is broken without hand, that is, by divine judgment. So, whatever actual accomplishment “the frogs” may have, we must not forget that they are “spirits of demons doing signs,” which can hardly be said of infidelity, worldliness, or popery. Their specified object, too, is acting on the kings of the whole habitable world, to gather them to the war of that great day of God the Almighty. We must not lose sight of the fulfillment in the crisis. There is the principle at work now: all results will be out, precise, and plain then.
On “the Advent” Mr. H. distinguishes the Lord's coming for His own and to the world. “To His own people He will not come as a thief.” (Page 81.) This is very true, and, if fully seen and duly applied, it would help souls greatly.
But the author falls short, we think, in his acquaintance with the revealed future of the Jews. Dan. 7; 9; 11 make it clear enough that the connection of Rome with Jerusalem will not close, whatever appearances may say, till the Lord judges at His second coming the power which, with the Jews, crucified Him at His first. The king of the north, the last representative of the Ottoman Empire, must also perish about the same time, though it would seem the later of the two. The Assyrian typifies him in Isaiah and other prophets.