If apology be needed on the ground of incompetency for such a task as that which is to occupy us in the following pages, none, at any rate, is required on the ground of its interest or importance.
The times in which we live are marked by unrest in every sphere of human life—political, commercial, educational and religious. The recent march of world events has brought a mighty influence to bear upon the destinies of nations, of which it would be impossible to estimate the magnitude, were we left to the mere speculations of the human mind. The waking up of the nations of the Far East with their countless multitudes of inhabitants, must have a vast influence in the Western Hemisphere sooner or later; and this the European powers are rapidly beginning to discover. The construction of the Russo-Chinese railway, coupled with the recent progress of Communism in China to say nothing of the Eastern Question nearer to our doors—of Egypt, Turkey, Armenia, Palestine, etc., and the complications in Central Europe, the constant national and international talk of a United States of Western Europe, all these are indications that a spirit of change and uneasiness is at work amongst men.
Is this state of things merely accidental? or is it the fulfillment of a vast plan long since revealed in the Scriptures of truth? Is there in the Bible such a thing as prophecy? Does that Book, so virulently attacked by some, so prized and loved by others, so shamefully neglected by the mass even by many of those who have learned somewhat of its value—does it, we ask, pretend to speak in certain language of the future of this world? Unquestionably it does.
Some of our readers may be amongst those who allow it to lie unread upon their shelves; they may despise it, and profess to have grown out of that childishness which would give heed to its teaching, but if they will only carefully peruse the following pages, and at the same time read for themselves every passage referred to, we believe that they will come to no other conclusion than that the Book undertakes a marvelous task, and accomplishes it with miraculous perfection and exactitude.
Let the scholars of the world account for it as they may, there it is to be accounted for, that the Book declares centuries beforehand "things for to come," and that these things "come to pass" independently of, nay, in spite of man. This is prophecy; and that much of the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament are prophetic, is evident to every one who takes the trouble to glance over their pages.
It will be seen that in so writing we address ourselves, not to the believer, but rather to the unbeliever. The former, though he cannot afford to neglect the study of prophecy, except to his own great loss and damage, has learned to trust, value, and love those precious oracles upon other grounds as well. He has believed them, and in believing has received life through Christ's name. He has learned that the Scriptures testify of Christ, from Genesis to Revelation; and, loving Him, he reads with adoring worship, whether the subject be "the sufferings of Christ," or "the glory that should follow" (1 Peter 1:1111Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. (1 Peter 1:11)).
But none can afford to neglect the voice of prophecy, for it is "a light which shineth in a dark place," "whereunto ye do well that ye take heed... until the day dawn." When the day of the fulfillment of the prophetic word arrives, and Christ at His appearing in glory shall shine forth as the Sun of Righteousness upon a slumbering earth, then the whole world will awake; but many, alas! too late. Happy will that man be who has heeded the prophetic word, and walked in its light amidst these, the dark days of Christendom's close!
As reference has been made to this passage in Peter, a few remarks may not be amiss on the last two verses of the chapter (2 Peter 1:20, 2120Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2 Peter 1:20‑21)). Those who adhere to the belief that the Church has authority in matters of doctrine and conscience, denounce the reading of the Scriptures by the individual, on the ground that it leads to what they call, "private interpretation"; but this is in nowise the sense of this passage, which may be more easily understood if rendered thus: "Knowing this first, that the scope of no prophecy of the Scripture is to be had by its own isolated interpretation." The prophetic word is one whole, and no single portion can be rightly understood apart from its connection with the whole. Prophecies of old—such for instance, as those of Isaiah and other prophets concerning the Assyrian— have, no doubt, had a partial fulfillment in Sennacherib; but to confine them to Sennacherib would be private, or isolated interpretation. They await their complete fulfillment in a later day; for all has to be understood in connection with God's great plan for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But inspiration alone could account for the miracle of revealing centuries beforehand, with exactitude and precision, the very things that were to take place, and even, in some instances, the very name of the man who was to be the instrument of their execution, though he himself had not yet been born; and so it is added that "the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." And need we wonder that God should be able to reveal the future? Is not this the very claim raised by Isaiah the prophet to distinguish the true God from the many idols of the heathen? "Let them [the idols] show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods" (Isa. 41:22, 2322Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen: let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. 23Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. (Isaiah 41:22‑23)).
In the pages that follow we do not attempt to prophesy; all we do is call attention to what God has long since foretold will be the future and the end of Western Europe, both politically and religiously. No one reading such a chapter as Dan. 11, and familiar with the history of Greece after the death of Alexander the Great, can fail to see how accurately every word has been fulfilled up to verse 36 (from this point to the end of the chapter the prophecy awaits fulfillment). So clear is this, that the effort of Porphyry, the heathen writer of the second century, of rationalists at all times, and of the rationalistic "Higher Criticism" of recent years, has been to try and prove that Daniel lived after the events took place, and not before. Let it once be admitted that he lived before, and inspiration alone will account for the miracle. We cannot here discuss the question of the date at which Daniel lived, nor would space admit of an exposition of the arguments of the rationalists on the one hand, and their able refutation on the other; we take our stand upon the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matt. 24:1515When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) (Matthew 24:15) where He speaks of "Daniel the prophet;" not, be it observed, "Daniel the historian."
Daniel lived before the events, and prophesied of things, some of which have been fulfilled to the letter, others of which are yet to be fulfilled; and just as God inspired Daniel, so did He inspire John, the writer of the Book of Revelation. May ours be the ear attentive to hear His voice, and the heart open to heed His warnings! With these general remarks, we proceed to our immediate subject.
Threefold Division of the Book of Revelation
In order to a right understanding of this or any other portion of the Book of Revelation, it is absolutely necessary to bear in mind the three-fold division of the Book, which is given us in the first chapter. The key to the Book is contained in Rev. 1:1919Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; (Revelation 1:19).
John is told to write three things, viz.:
1. "The things which thou hast seen." These are found in the first chapter, and comprise the vision of the Son of Man walking in the midst of the candlesticks.
2. "The things which are." These are found in the second and third chapters, and consist of the history of the professing church upon earth. They are a description of the present church-period, continuing right down to the coming of the Lord.
3. "The things which shall be after these" (not "hereafter"). These commence at Rev. 4:1,1After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. (Revelation 4:1) and continue to the end of the Book. Compare Rev. 4:1,1After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. (Revelation 4:1) "Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be after these" (not "hereafter"). "Hereafter" gives the idea of some indefinite period in the far-distant future; whereas "after these" implies that which immediately follows the things that have gone before.
The distinctively prophetic portion of the Book commences with Rev. 4. No doubt Rev. 2 and 3 are also prophetical in character, though they give us a description of the present church-period from its beginning to its close. They are an outline of church history from the time that John wrote until the coming of the Lord, when the mass of Christless profession shall be spued out of His mouth (Rev. 3:1616So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:16)). We are elsewhere told (1 Thess. 4.; 1 Cor. 15., etc) that when the Lord comes His saints will be "caught up" to meet Him in the air. "The dead in Christ" shall be "raised in glory"; these include not only Christians, or saints of this present church-period, who have died, but also the saints of Old Testament times. The living saints will also be "changed in a moment," and caught up together with the raised ones, in the twinkling of an eye, to be forever with the Lord in glory.
The Twenty-Four Elders
These glorified saints are seen symbolically in the twenty-four elders of Rev. 4, and the after-part of the Book. The number 24 is, no doubt, an allusion to 1 Chron. 24, in which an account of the orders of the Aaronic priesthood is given, arranged under twenty-four chiefs or heads of the priestly families. In Revelation, the glorified saints, as the family of heavenly priests, are seen represented by the twenty-four elders. We need add no more here than that they are a company of "kings and priests" (Rev. 5:9, 109And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:9‑10)).
The church, then, is seen on earth in Rev. 2 and 3, and in heaven in Rev. 4 and 5.
Consequently, from Rev. 4 onward, all is prophecy of things yet future—not the history of things past, nor description of things present.
Babylon and the Beast of Rev. 17
Two vast earthly systems are yet to become the objects of most terrible judgment on the part of God—the one, political; the other, religious.
No one at all acquainted with the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation can have much doubt as to what is signified by the ten-horned beast of Rev. 13 and 17. It is none other than the Roman Empire.
The "four great beasts" of Dan. 7 are explained to be "four kings, which shall arise out of the earth" (Dan. 7:1717These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. (Daniel 7:17)). All are agreed that these represent the four great empires that succeeded one another upon the earth after the throne of the Lord was removed from Jerusalem, and power was given into the hands of the Gentiles, viz., the Empires of Babylon, of Medo-Persia, of Grecia, and of Rome.
The last of these four, viz., the Roman, is described as having "ten horns" (Dan. 7:77After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. (Daniel 7:7)); these "ten horns" are "ten kings which shall rise" (Dan. 7:2424And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. (Daniel 7:24)). Can any reader fail to see the point of contact between Dan. 7 and Rev. 17? In this latter chapter the Beast has "ten horns" (Rev. 17:33So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3)), and these are explained to be "ten kings," which, even in John's time, had "received no kingdom as yet" (Rev. 17:1212And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. (Revelation 17:12)).
Furthermore, this fourth beast, with its ten kings, meets its terrible judgment at the coming of the Son of Man. (See, carefully, Dan. 7:9-289I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 11I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. 12As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 13I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 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. 15I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. 17These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. 19Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; 20And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 21I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25And 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. 26But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. 28Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart. (Daniel 7:9‑28)). This judgment falls upon it because of its blasphemous and arrogant opposition to God, and its destruction immediately precedes the establishment of the earthly kingdom of the Son of Man. This is plain from Dan. 7; it is also borne out by Rev. 17.
But some might object, "the Roman Empire has passed away, and the kingdom of the Son of Man is not yet established." True, but is the Roman Empire not to re-appear? It is well to remember that the kingdom of the Son of Man of which we speak is not what some call the "kingdom of grace." In this present gospel period, "grace reigns through righteousness" (Rom. 5:2121That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:21)), but by-and-by, during the Millennium, "a King shall reign in righteousness" (Isa. 32:11Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. (Isaiah 32:1)). The reign of grace was brought in through the atoning work of the Cross; the reign of righteousness will be ushered in by the overwhelming acts of judgment.
The Resuscitated Roman Empire
It is not our purpose in this pamphlet to enlarge upon the subject of the Beast, or Roman Empire, inasmuch as Babylon is that which more immediately engages our attention. We shall touch upon it merely so far as is needed for the elucidation of our subject.
Let none suppose that when speaking of the Roman Empire, the Romanish Church is meant. The Roman Empire is a political system, whereas the Church of Rome is a religious system. If the Roman Empire as a political system has passed away, Rev. 17 teaches us that it is yet to re-appear! It is "the beast that was, and is not, and yet shall be" (not "is").
Not only so, but when it arises it will be energized by Satanic power; for, we are told, "the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority" (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)). In its future form it "shall ascend out of the bottomless pit;" but its future form will be its last, for it shall "go into perdition" (Rev. 17:88The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (Revelation 17:8)). This will be the awful end of the great political system of Western civilization.
Some of our readers, looking at Europe as it now exists, may find it difficult to believe that it will ever be found gathered together into one empire. But when God interferes directly with the affairs of the world, He will carry out quickly what He has long since foretold will be the course of events.
Who would have thought that a young lieutenant a hundred years ago, should have suddenly risen out of comparative obscurity, and in a few short years have had Europe at his feet? We refer, of course, to Napoleon Bonaparte. Is not this a sample of what is yet to be when God's time is ripe?
The Ten Kings
If the beast of Rev. 17 is the Roman Empire, of which we have no manner of doubt, does it describe what it was in the past, or what it will be in the future? Unquestionably, we reply, what it will be in the future. Two cogent reasons lead us to this conclusion. In the first place, there never has been in the past a time when the beast and the ten kings existed together. And, secondly, Rev. 17 describes the judgment and destruction of the Beast and the ten kings at the coming of the Lord. (Compare Rev. 19.)
Some have thought that the ten-horn period describes that state of the empire which followed upon its decline, when hordes of barbarians swept in upon it, and broke it up. But this cannot be, for even supposing that in the past there were ten kings, neither more nor less (which, however, is not the case), these followed upon the destruction of the empire as a whole. But in Rev. 17 the Beast and the ten kings flourish together, at one and the same time. (Rev. 17:1212And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. (Revelation 17:12); in Rev. 17:1616And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. (Revelation 17:16) we should read, "The ten horns which thou sawest, and the Beast.")
We repeat, there never yet has been a time when the Beast and the ten kings have existed together. Clearly, then, Rev. 17 describes the future, and not the past.
The Roman Empire, then, is to revive; and when it does, it will be energized by Satan. Europe is yet to witness the strange and awful sight of a vast empire in open antagonism against God and all His interests upon this earth.
The Little Horn of Dan. 7
The fourth beast of Dan. 7 is the same as the one we are considering in Rev. 17, namely, the Roman Empire; its final, or ten-horned, condition being especially dwelt on. Without going minutely into the description given of it in this chapter, we may notice the chief characteristics of the little horn:—
1. Great and arrogant self-assertion—"A mouth speaking great things" (Dan. 7:88I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. (Daniel 7:8)). It is this very thing which brings it into judgment, and proves its downfall; and not only so, but it brings about the destruction of the Beast itself, when the thrones of judgment shall be set up (Dan. 7:99I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. (Daniel 7:9)), and the Ancient of Days shall sit to execute the judgment.
2. Hostility to all that is of God upon the earth—"The same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them" (Dan. 7:2121I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; (Daniel 7:21)). Some may find a difficulty in understanding who these saints can be, the Lord having before this time taken His people to heaven. But there is no real difficulty. True, the Church will have been "caught up" before the time during which the revived Roman Empire will exercise its sway upon the earth; thus Christians will have been removed (1 Thess. 4). Who, then, are these saints? Not Christians, but Jews. They will be the godly, believing remnant of Israel, who, in the last days, will be persecuted by the Roman Empire and its chief.
3. Blasphemous opposition to God—"He shall speak words against the Most High" (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)). Godlessness is rapidly becoming the prevailing feature of the days in which we live. There is a growing disregard of God and His Word, together with infidelity and blasphemous hostility to all His claims upon men. Immediately after the rapture of the saints, and the removal of the Holy Ghost at the coming of the Lord, this state of things will become accentuated to a terrible extent.
4. Enmity against the saints in heaven—"He shall wear out the saints of the Most High" (Dan. 7:18, 2518But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. (Daniel 7:18)
25And 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)). All these awful features are likewise given in Rev. 13 as characteristic of the Beast: "He opened his mouth in (1) blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and (2) them that dwell in heaven [i.e. the heavenly saints]; and (3) it was given unto him to make war with the saints [i.e., the earthly saints], and to overcome them," etc. (Rev. 13:6-86And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:6‑8)).
It is a terribly solemn thought that the Roman Empire of the future, that is, Western Europe, at no very distant date will raise itself up in open and blasphemous opposition against God and all His interests, whether in heaven or on earth!
5. Finally, he will seek to set aside all the Jewish ordinances, which the godly and persecuted remnant will cling to with reverence; and for a period he will succeed, but not forever—"He shall think to change times and laws: and they [i.e., these Jewish times or solemn days, kept by all pious Jews, such as the Passover, Pentecost, etc.] shall be given into his hand, until a time, and times, and the dividing of time [i.e., 3½ times]" (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)). This period is frequently spoken of in Daniel and Revelation, and is variously expressed as a period of 1260 days, 42 months, or the last half-week of Daniel's 70th week. It will last for three and a half years, and will embrace the time of "the great tribulation" of the Jewish remnant. The great tribulation has nothing to do with the church, or Christians; they have the distinct promise that they will be saved out of it (Rev. 3:1010Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Revelation 3:10)).
All this shows us that this "little horn" will at first be openly antagonistic to the Jewish people, though, in the end, for political reasons, he will enter into an alliance with the apostate portion of the nation—"He shall confirm a covenant with the many for one week," i.e., a period of seven years.
"the Prince That Shall Come."
The little horn of Daniel 7 is, we believe, the same as the prince that shall come of Dan. 9:2626And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:26). "The people of the prince that shall come" are the Romans, who, in the past, under Titus, destroyed the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the Temple). But that people are to arise again in the future, and they will then have a prince over them who will be possessed of the awful characteristics that we have attempted to enumerate. This prince will be the "little horn" of Dan. 7. He must not be confounded with the Antichrist, who will be reigning in Jerusalem at the same time. These are two distinct individuals, though, doubtless, as we learn from many other scriptures, they will be in close league for the furtherance of the same guilty and blasphemous designs.
The Dwellers Upon Earth
There is yet another awful characteristic of these times (and let the reader remember that they may be very close at hand) mentioned in Rev. 8:8,8And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; (Revelation 8:8) and it is this: "All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him." The expression, "them that dwell upon the earth," is one that we frequently meet with in the Book of Revelation. It does not simply mean the people that will at that time inhabit the earth, but are a special class of people possessed of this moral character that they dwell upon the earth; they have had the offer of heaven, but have refused it, and have deliberately chosen the earth. It is, we believe, none other than apostate Christendom after the removal of the true Church. It is awful to view the present state of the so-called churches. Many of the clergy and ministers of all denominations have abandoned all belief in the necessity of conversion, many even mock at this vital work of the Spirit of God in the soul, and call it a "mental spasm"; the world, with its Movies, Radio Potpourri, Comic Monthlies and Jute Boxes, and its many entertainments to please the senses and deaden the conscience, has taken possession of Christendom, even now, to an alarming extent. What will it be when every child of God has been taken away, the Spirit of God removed, and the apostasy fully developed! We shudder to think of the times that are at our very doors, and for which the professing church has been preparing herself of late years with appalling rapidity.
Reader, God is now graciously calling souls, by the gospel, "to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 2:1414Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:14)). Have you responded to this invitation so lovingly, so patiently given, or have you chosen the world and its pleasures?
"the Ten Horns... and the Beast."
A remarkable feature of the Roman Empire of the future will be that, while it maintains its unity as an empire, it will embrace ten separate kingdoms, each with its separate king. This, as we have before pointed out, is a phase that has never yet existed. "The ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the Beast" (Rev. 17:1212And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. (Revelation 17:12)).
Whether the countries of Western Europe (for Russia and Germany must not be included in the Roman Empire) will have the exact limits that they now have, we do not attempt to say. Europe today is in a state of chaos and uneasiness, and many changes might take place in a very brief space of time. But Rev. 17 teaches us that in the hour of the Beast's power there will be ten kings; and yet, strange to say, in spite of all the conflicting interests which the nations of Europe possess today, they will then "have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the Beast" (Rev. 17:1313These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. (Revelation 17:13))—not, observe, unto the Lamb! Neither this nor any other portion of Scripture teaches us that the world is to be converted by the present preaching of the gospel; so far from this, these ten kings will all give their power to the Beast—and to what end? "These shall make war with the Lamb" (Rev. 17:1414These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. (Revelation 17:14)). This, the last great war in which Western Europe will be involved, will take place around Jerusalem (Zech. 14), and will result in the final and complete overthrow of Western Confederation. May the knowledge of these things beforehand keep the people of God from all association with those principles at work today in the bosom of the professing church which tend to foster the spirit of the world in its antagonism to God. "The Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him [i.e., the glorified saints `caught up' at His coming, and who will return with Him when He comes to execute these judgments] are called, and chosen, and faithful" (Rev. 17:1414These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. (Revelation 17:14)). These are not angels, but saints: though "all the holy angels" will come with Him too, yet they are never spoken of as "called."
It is striking to notice the utter impotence of man. While boasting that he is a free agent, but in enmity against God and His Christ, he nevertheless is carrying out the very purposes of God. God is behind the scenes, and He it is who "hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the Beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled" (Rev. 17:1717For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. (Revelation 17:17)). Never before have the nations of Europe been able to sink their individual interests, and to agree; but under the ten horns they shall do it. And for what purpose?
Babylon the Great.
Though infidelity and blasphemous rebellion against God will characterize Europe politically during the final crisis after the removal of the true church of God, we are not to suppose that all profession of religion will be given up. The Beast, though he will open his mouth in blasphemy against God, etc. (Rev. 13:66And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. (Revelation 13:6)), will, nevertheless, be controlled by a power more subtly opposed to God than itself. "I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy [i.e., the beast was], having seven heads and ten horns" (Rev. 17:33So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3)).
The attentive reader of the Book cannot fail to have been struck with the similarity of the language in Rev. 17:1,1And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: (Revelation 17:1) and Rev. 21:9, 109And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 10And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (Revelation 21:9‑10). In each case one of the seven angels which had the seven vials is heard to speak, and to call upon the prophet, in identical terms, to "come hither, and I will show thee," etc.
The Bride, the Lamb's Wife.
In Rev. 21:9,9And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. (Revelation 21:9) after having given a description of the eternal state (Rev. 21:1-81And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:1‑8)), the Spirit of God returns to point out in greater detail the character of the glorified saints, and their connection with the millennial earth (Rev. 21:9-279And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 10And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. 17And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 18And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 19And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. 21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 22And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. 25And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 27And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Revelation 21:9‑27)).
"Come hither," cries the angel, "I will show thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife" (Rev. 21:99And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. (Revelation 21:9)); this, no doubt, is the true church of God, composed of all real believers in the Lord Jesus Christ from Pentecost to the time when the Lord comes for them according to John 14:2,3,2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2‑3) when the raised saints, and the living ones changed, are "caught up" together to meet the Lord in the air, according to 1 Thess. 4:16,1716For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16‑17); they will be seen after that "coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Rev. 21:22And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2); see also Col. 3:44When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4)).
It is important to observe that the word "great" is not properly in this verse. "The holy city," not "that great city," etc. Holiness not greatness, is that which characterizes the true church, according to God, whilst human greatness, accompanied by a false pretension to holiness, is a distinguishing feature of that which claims to be the true church, but according to man's thoughts, not God's. Let both reader and writer solemly and prayerfully weigh this striking contrast!
Moreover, this holy city is seen refulgent with the glory of God (Rev. 21:1111Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; (Revelation 21:11)). Holiness—real, not pretended; glory—divine, not human; and light, the light of the knowledge of God and the Lamb—not the darkness of superstition, characterize the church as seen in glory. Should not the knowledge of these things influence the lives of the people of God now?
We need not further enlarge upon the glorious scene described in chapter 21, interesting as it is; enough has been said to emphasize the contrast between God's church and Satan's anti-church.
The Great Whore.
In similar language to what we have seen in Rev. 21:9,9And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. (Revelation 21:9) the angel says to John, "Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters" (Rev. 17:11And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: (Revelation 17:1)).
Let us solemnly consider the moral characteristics of this unchaste woman, and see if there is any real difficulty in applying the prophetic vision.
And first, let it be observed, that Babylon the Great is a religious system, distinct from, though ruling over, the temporal power. This evil woman is seen sitting upon the scarlet-colored beast. The beast is full of names of blasphemy; but openly infidel and blasphemous as this Roman Empire will be, it will not hinder its having with it, or for a time allowing, for its own ends, a religion essentially idolatrous in character.
We would here remind our readers that this portion of the Book of Revelation is distinctly prophetic—all that is found after Rev. 4:11After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. (Revelation 4:1) is yet future. The coming of the Lord into the air to take the Church to glory has taken place at the close of the period described, in Rev. 1:19,19Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; (Revelation 1:19) as "the things that are." These "things that are," or the present period of God's church upon earth, are found in Rev. 2 and 3.
But when God's church, the true saints, have been removed, Satan's anti-church will take her place here below. Of what will it consist?
Laodicea Spued Out of Christ's Mouth.—
In Rev. 3:14-2214And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (Revelation 3:14‑22) we are informed, in solemn terms, of the future that awaits the empty, Christless profession which surrounds us today. Characterized by lukewarmness and indifference to Christ and His glory (Rev. 3:1515I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (Revelation 3:15) and 16), filled With the spirit of worldliness and self-satisfaction (Rev. 3:1717Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (Revelation 3:17)), utterly destitute of what makes up true Christianity according to God (Rev. 3:1818I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. (Revelation 3:18))—the professing church is destined, according to Scripture, to be spued out of Christ's mouth as a thing nauseous to Him who is the "Faithful and True Witness." But will any of His own, any true child of God, any real member of the Body of Christ, be thus dealt with? No. In the twinkling of an eye the Lord will descend into the air to take all such to be with Himself where He is (John 14:33And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3)). This may take place at any moment.
We cannot close our eyes to the fact that there are multitudes of people who are joined to the so-called churches, and yet have no saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nay, more, many clergy and ministers of religion are to be found today who have never experienced for themselves that mighty change called CONVERSION. If the Lord were to come today, and remove His own in the twinkling of an eye, what would become of this mass of profession? This is a serious inquiry, as to which the Word of God leaves us in no manner of darkness; may its solemn revelations on this point sink deep into the heart of both writer and reader!
The Reunion of Christendom.
A movement is on foot today, which might greatly surprise most of its promoters, if not all, to know that it has long since been revealed in the Scriptures of truth. A vast religious system is destined to control the nations of Western Europe after the removal of the true church. This system has received the title of BABYLON THE GREAT, and into this huge fabric of earthly grandeur and human religion will all the so-called churches be merged when every true child of God has been taken away. We solemnly believe that we are now living in the days when this state of things may be said to be at our very doors. We write calmly, and with no excitement. To judge by letters and leading articles, constantly appearing in the daily papers and religious magazines, the reunion of Christendom is not only possible, but extremely probable. To every student of Scripture it is not only possible and probable, but absolutely certain. It is something startlingly indicative of the times to find that it is being seriously discussed from the Pope down to the ministers and members of almost every dissenting body.
We commend to every serious and thoughtful person, a prayerful consideration of Rev. 17, 18 and 19.
What are the special features of Babylon the Great?
1. A religious system essentially of the earth—earthly in origin, associations, and character; she is the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the earth (Rev. 17:55And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Revelation 17:5)), the guilty associate and friend of "the kings of the earth" and "the merchants of the earth" (Rev. 18:9,11, etc.), "she will flourish on the earth" and reign over "the kings of the earth" (Rev. 17:1818And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:18)), and "corrupt the earth" (Rev. 19:22For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. (Revelation 19:2)), until the moment determined of God has arrived, when she will meet her well-merited judgment.
What a contrast is all this to the true church! Heavenly in origin—"As is the heavenly [One] such are they also that are heavenly" (1 Cor. 15:4848As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. (1 Corinthians 15:48)). Heavenly in associations—"Our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:2020For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: (Philippians 3:20)). Heavenly in blessings—"Blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places" (Eph. 1:33Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (Ephesians 1:3)). Heavenly in destiny, she has "an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven" (1 Peter 1:44To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, (1 Peter 1:4)). In short, earth characterizes the one, and heaven the other.
2. Another characteristic of this vast religious system is that she seeks and obtains a place of supremacy over the world, in contrast to the true church, which is "subject unto Christ" (Eph. 5:2424Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. (Ephesians 5:24)). The great whore "sitteth upon many waters" (Rev. 17:11And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: (Revelation 17:1)), and these are explained to be "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Rev. 17:1515And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. (Revelation 17:15)), showing her world-wide influence. She sits upon the Beast, controlling its movements (Rev. 17:33So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3)), and "reigneth over the kings of the earth" (Rev. 17:1818And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:18)). Has there ever been in the past a religious system which has exercised such an influence over the nations of Europe? The church of Rome alone has ever had such power; kings have bowed at her feet, and the destinies of nations have been guided by her will.
Supremacy over the nations, and worldly power and influence, are not the marks of the true church of God during the present period of her Lord's rejection. When He reigns she will reign with Him, but that will not be until Christ's return in glory, and after the judgment of the Great Whore, Satan's anti-church (Rev. 19:1-101And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:1‑10)). The church's portion now is that of suffering with Christ.
3. Further, as union with Christ characterizes the true church of God, so an illicit union with the world marks Babylon the Great, "The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her," etc. (Rev. 17:22With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. (Revelation 17:2)). Not only so, but worldliness of every kind is found in and about her; she is "arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls," etc. (Rev. 17:44And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: (Revelation 17:4)).
Babylon the Great is not only a religious, but a vast worldly system, dazzling by her wealth, luxury, and grandeur, the kings and merchants of the earth, and intoxicating the nations by means of her corrupting charms. Let the reader look around him today; let him recall the religious history of Europe during past centuries; then let him say what system of religion has more than any other accorded with the awful description of Babylon the Great in Rev. 17 and 18.
4. Another characteristic of Babylon must not be passed by without a notice. In her hand is a "golden cup full of abominations," etc. (Rev. 17:44And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: (Revelation 17:4)); she is also called "the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth" (Rev. 17:55And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Revelation 17:5)). A reference to 1 Kings 11:5, 75For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. (1 Kings 11:5)
7Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. (1 Kings 11:7) will show what is the scriptural idea connected with the word abomination:" it is idolatry. What professedly Christian system has mingled with the worship of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the adoration of Mary (blasphemously called the Mother of God), the veneration of the saints, and the worship of "the Host?"
We are far from asserting that Babylon the Great and the Papacy are interchangeable terms. Babylon the Great is here described as the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. In the words of another, "Whatever evil thing was used by Satan for the purpose of ensnaring the affections from Christ, whatever idolatrous object took His place, she is the mother of them all. Babylon is the great parent of all the worldly systems, and of the idolatries used by the enemy to draw away souls entirely from the Lord."
And this we do affirm, sorrowfully, yet emphatically, that no system of religion has ever sprung up in the bosom of the professing church which more accurately and more strikingly corresponds to the description here given by the Spirit of God, than does the church of Rome.
To quote from the same writer: "Though we may look for a future development of Babylon, as opposing God's final testimony of the kingdom to all nations before the end comes, yet I think that, even at the present moment, there need be no difficulty in judging where the features of Babylon are found most fully. It is a religious system that governs a number of kings; not an establishment that is at the mercy of the secular government. This is sin; but it is not the wickedness spoken of here. Babylon is an incomparably darker, deeper, and more widespread system of religious corruption—arrogating to itself the name of the Church of God exclusively; setting itself above kings; intriguing with them, but at the same time maintaining its supremacy above them all; stupefying the masses with the poison of her exciting falsehoods; arrayed in all the meretricious splendor of the world; the fountain-head of the worst idolatry under the sun; and, finally, manifesting a spirit of bloodthirsty persecution against the true saints and witnesses of Jesus, under the ursurped pretense of His will and authority.
"There is one that does claim this place; one that takes it as given by God; one whose seat and center are found in the very heart of what was once the Roman Empire—a religious system that affects universal dominion, and that, in order to accomplish it, either wins by every enticing art, or extinguishes all opposition in the blood of heretics so-called, her victims. 'By thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth' (Rev. 18:23, 2423And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 24And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. (Revelation 18:23‑24)). For any unprejudiced person who reads this description of Babylon calmly, and asks himself, What is that professing Christian body so abounding in idols, so authoritative over the kings of the earth, so indulgent to the wicked, and so cruel to the righteous? it is impossible not to see the answer.
With these words we are in full accord. While for its complete development Babylon the Great awaits the time when the Lord will have taken His people to heaven, yet today we may see rapid strides made towards her by all the so-called churches of Christendom.
5. The last feature of Babylon the Great that we would draw the reader's attention to, needs but to be named to make its application beyond a question. "I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Rev. 17:66And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. (Revelation 17:6)). Intolerance and persecution, even unto death, has always notoriously marked that which so arrogantly claims to be the true church. Let the blood-stained annals of the Inquisition in Spain, with its thousands of tortured victims, and the fires of Smithfield, with its hundreds of martyrs burnt at the stake, speak forth their hideous story; and we can well understand the wonder and amazement which filled the heart of the prophet: "When I saw her I wondered with great wonder" (Rev. 17:66And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. (Revelation 17:6)).
Amidst the cry for re-union, so zealously taken up by thoughtless multitudes today, let this terrible feature of Babylon be well weighed by every serious mind. The boast of Rome is that she is always and everywhere the same. This witness is, alas! solemnly and terribly true. It may be said that it is the secular power that has always dealt with the so-called heretics—so-called, for Rome's heretics have ever been the unoffending, and unresisting, the oppressed and persecuted followers of the Lord Jesus Christ; those who, in the face of the fagot and the flame, would not deny their Lord, nor bow in idolatrous worship before the Host—but it is the religious system which is here held guilty by God of all this bloodshed and cruelty. "In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth" (Rev. 18:2424And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. (Revelation 18:24)).
We do not, for a moment, imagine that any warning note of ours can hinder the progress of the evil described under the head of Babylon the Great; but we do most earnestly desire that the drawing of the reader's attention to this, God's revealed plan of the future of Europe, both politically (the Beast) and religiously (Babylon), may have the effect of separating him absolutely and entirely from these evil principles now at work, which will result in the awful spectacle described in Rev. 17 and 18. According to God's Word, infidelity and Romanism are yet to triumph, even though it be but for a little season; and that man must indeed be blind who fails to see in the rationalistic teaching of the now popular "Higher Criticism," and the theological colleges generally, on the one hand, and the persistent efforts of Rome and the ritualistic party on the other—two mighty waves of influence, which, if unchecked, must soon bring about this fearful state of affairs. But will they, or can they, be checked? We believe not. Another extract may be profitably given from the author previously quoted:
"As to the Greek and Oriental Churches, as to the English, Scotch, and other reformed national establishments, they are more or less notoriously subservient to the government which has to do with each of them. This may be, and I believe is, evil. But there are two ways in which a religious system may act contrary to Christ—either by a guilty subjection to the world, or by a still more guilty supremacy over it; in short, by being the world's slave, or the world's mistress. At the present time there is only one religious system which pretends to have kings at its feet, and this is the system of Rome, which, therefore, answers to Babylon. It is a great mistake to suppose that we have done with it, or that its day is over. Rome may yet have a short-lived triumph. Its emissaries are actively engaged all over the world, and the foundations of Protestantism are being undermined everywhere.... There will come a fearful struggle yet; and Rome, as I conceive, will seem to acquire vast influence, and to put down every contrary voice, except the feeble whisper of the few witnesses spoken of here (Rev. 18:44And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. (Revelation 18:4)), who either die by her, or come out of her... Wherever Romanism gains the day, infidelity is the necessary consequence; and, therefore, Babylon always prepares the way for the last effort of the Beast against the Lamb. But before the close the Beast gets thoroughly the upper hand, and Babylon becomes food for him and the ten horns" (Rev. 17:1616And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. (Revelation 17:16)).
If the reader carefully and prayerfully examines these chapters, we believe he can come to no other conclusion than that the church of Rome, more accurately than anything else, corresponds to Babylon the Great; though, on the other hand, the full and complete development of Babylon the Great will not be until the removal of the true Church of God.
"Come Out of Her My People."
But it may be asked, Why does God enter into such detail, in reference to this great system of false religion? Rev. 18:44And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. (Revelation 18:4) supplies us, in part at any rate, with the answer: "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Though this will apply, in a special way, in the last days after the removal of the church of God from this earth, yet we believe a most important principle of action is contained therein for the child of God today. Strictly speaking, there will be no saints within the precincts of Babylon the Great, for she represents Christendom emptied of the people of God at the coming of the Lord; but after the heavenly saints have been taken to heaven, God will still have His earthly saints amongst the Jews and the heathen nations. Oppressed and persecuted they will be; many of them even being martyred, as we have seen, under the Beast (Rev. 13:1515And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (Revelation 13:15)). It may be a temptation to them to seek some relief from their enemies by some sort of association with Babylon, but they are warned to have no connection with that vast worldly religious system, so attractive to man, but so abhorrent to God.
Now, though Babylon the Great, in all its awful and full-blown wickedness, awaits the period after the removal of the church for its complete development, yet sufficient of the spirit of Babylon now exists to give this exhortation a very real application: "Come out of her, my people." Wherever the spirit of Babylon is detected, the child of God is called upon to walk in complete separation therefrom.
Babylon's Doom.
The doom of Babylon is terrible. In the hour of her greatest prosperity God's judgment falls upon her. All seems secure: she has gathered around herself all the influence of the world, and all the commercial prosperity of the earth. "She saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves [or bodies] and souls of men.
"And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to naught. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! For in one hour is she made desolate.
"Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth" (Rev. 18:7-247How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 8Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. 9And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, 10Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. 11And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 12The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 13And cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. 14And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. 15The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! 17For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, 18And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! 19And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. 20Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. 21And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. 22And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 24And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. (Revelation 18:7‑24)).
This, then, according to the Word of God, is the end of that vast system of worldly religion which today is rapidly heading up into Babylon the Great. May every Christian reader have the eye annointed by God's Spirit, so as to be able to discern each symptom of it, wherever it is found.
Cardinal Manning on Reunion.
The Reunion of Christendom, we believe, is near at hand; but that reunion means, in the words of Cardinal Manning, "submission to the living authority of the Vicar of Jesus Christ," words which were re-echoed by Cardinal Vaughan more recently, and which may well cause ears to tingle—"Reunion means submission to infallible authority."
That the reader may form some idea of the persistent and stupendous efforts on the part of Rome to bring about that very state of things described in Rev. 17, viz., absolute supremacy over the nations of Europe, we would quote again from the pen of the late Cardinal Manning:
"If ever there was a land in which work was to be done, and perhaps much to suffer, it is here [England]. I shall not say too much if I say that we have to subjugate and subdue, to conquer and rule, an imperial race... Were heresy conquered in England, it would be conquered throughout the world. All its lines meet here; and therefore in England the church of God [Rome! must be gathered in its strength."
And again, "This nineteenth century will make a great epoch in the history of the church... It is good for us to be here in England. It is yours, Right Reverend Fathers, to subjugate and subdue, to bend and to break the will of an imperial race; the will which, as of Rome of old, rules over nations and peoples, invincible and inflexible.... You have a great commission to fulfill, and great is the prize for which you strive. Surely a soldier's eye and a soldier's heart would choose, by intuition, this field of England for the warfare of the faith. None ampler or nobler could be found.... It is the head of Protestantism; the center of its movements, and the stronghold of its powers. Weakened in England, it is paralyzed everywhere. Conquered in England, it is conquered throughout the world. Once overthrown here, all is but a war of detail. All the roads of the whole world meet in one point; and, this point reached, the whole world is opened to the church's will. England is the key of the whole position of modern error."
This, then, is the avowed end and aim of Rome—the whole world is to be "OPEN TO THE CHURCH'S WILL"—an awful sentence indeed, strikingly suggestive of the woman "sitting upon" the scarlet-colored beast. Some may be disposed to smile at the bare supposition of such a thing—they may consider it impossible. Scripture asserts that it is inevitable. But will it last? The same Scriptures assure us that it will not.
Ecclesiastical tyranny of such a sort will soon become insupportable, and the kings of the earth who, for purposes of their own, will for a time have put up with it, will rise in revolt and cast off the oppressive yoke—"The ten horns which thou sawest and the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled" (Rev. 17:16, 1716And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. (Revelation 17:16‑17)).
The openly infidel and blasphemous power of the beast will, in the end, overthrow the tyranny of this corrupt and iniquitous system of worldly religion, which, by reason of the attractions of its wealth, luxury and fleshly corruptions on the one hand, and by its terrorism over heart and conscience, its cruelty, and relentless persecution on the other, will have obtained the widespread and unendurable dominion which it strives for today, and which it is destined to obtain for a brief season.
Let no Christian, however much he may abhor the iniquity of Babylon the Great (and rightly so), be tempted to take up the weapons of the world to destroy her. The time for her destruction is not yet, nor when that time comes will the instruments of her destruction be such as love and worship the Father and the Son. "Come out of her, my people," is the path for faith to tread at all times; and again we urge, with all the earnestness at our disposal, the bounden duty and the solemn responsibility that rests upon every true Christian to separate himself absolutely, and entirely, yea, and immediately, from all association with that mixture of worldliness and religion which abounds today, which increases every day, which is attractive to man and abhorrent to God, and which is designed by the god of this world to obliterate the line of demarkation, and raze to its foundation the wall of partition which God has placed between Himself and the world—"Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (James 4:44Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)).
And what shall we say of the sacred concerts, the theatricals, the musical evenings and dancing parties, the bazaars, and all the host of worldly entertainments got up today by the so-called churches? It is the spirit of Babylon the Great, and it is of this that the heavenly voice has been heard to say, all down the ages of the church's history on this earth, but with all the greater emphasis now that the outlines of Babylon are becoming so much more clearly visible—"Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partaker of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
The worldly principle that "union is strength" is rapidly gaining ground today, and is being used as a mighty engine to accomplish the schemes of men; but few are aware how this principle works when combined with religion.
That the reader may form some idea of it, we quote from one who is, perhaps, better fitted than most to describe it, having once himself been a tool in the hands of the Papacy, and well acquainted with all its workings, but eventually emancipated from its thraldom:
"The Church of Rome is, in fact, not a body of theological doctrine or belief, but a huge and intricate system of government. It is an empire; it is an absolute monarchy, with its College of Cardinals or Privy Councilors—a monarchy which rules not only by means of force, and which governs not only the bodies and outward actions of its subjects, but which rules the conscience by means of spiritual terrors, and insures the most abject obedience by means of superstitious feelings. As a study of the Syllabus of December 8, 1864, will show, the Papal Government is a conspiracy of the subtlest and best informed minds, against the fortunes and liberties of mankind. It has agents in every land and every nation: for every priest, every monk, every nun, every member of a religious confraternity, is an agent of that Government. And every one of these—the whole body, indeed, of the Romanists—move as one army, in accordance with the orders from the Vatican. By all the allurements of sense; by the feigned terrors of the unseen world; by artifices nicely calculated on an intimate acquaintance with each man's idiosyncrasies, tendencies, antecedents, and present frame of mind; by the power acquired through the knowledge of some secret crime; by enticing young persons of mark to commit themselves, in perpetrating some disgraceful act, so that their fair name and fame, their honor and their liberties, are placed in the hands of the agents of Rome; by memories of the past, and poignant stings of remorse; by offers of preferment, office, glory and fame, with assurances of safety and secrecy in exchange for services rendered clandestinely to Rome—by all these means, and many others, the Vatican is ever increasing in every land its body of adherents, who must implicitly obey, while they hate her. Nor can honor or patriotism, or even family affection, intervene. Conscience is goaded, and oaths compel them to discard the laws and the welfare of their nation, with the love of kindred, the entreaties of a wife, the paternal instincts of a father for his children, in order to submit to and obey the mandates of the Pope.
"The system of the Church of Rome is a wonderful mechanism. Its center is the Pope. Yet it is independent of the Pope. Many a Pope has been a dotard; very many have been debauchees. Yet the machine works on, irrespectively of his idiosyncrasies. It is the Cabinet, the Privy Council, the College of Cardinals that governs. That body never dies. One old man and another falls away, like a sere and yellow leaf, but the tree remains; the traditions and the knowledge of centuries are still there. The records of the past are added to the daily experience of the present; and that experience is being ever gathered in every corner of the earth, wherever there is a priest or a missioner. From every race, from every land, from every people, nay, from every family, there stretches a telegraphic wire of secret intelligence to the central station of the Vatican.
"There the intelligence is used by free minds, who are destitute of family, without all the affections which are natural to man, without a country or a home, without patriotism; without restraint of obligations, oaths, moral principles or divine laws, because the word of the Pope is supposed to tear those holy fetters away as gossamer webs, and priestly absolution is held to wash out even the slightest taint of sin. That is right which is done to advance the power of the Pope. That is true which the Pope may please to assert ex cathedra. That which favors the interest of the church is good. Even crime is commendable, if it be done for the church.
"Coleridge said that there are two kinds of strong persons, who must always prevail over men that vary in their aims, and sometimes move in one direction and sometimes in another: he is strong who acts always in accordance with the will of God, and allows no consideration, no passion, and no interest to make him deviate from the path of rectitude and simple justice; and he, too, is strong who puts before himself one end, to which he constantly aims without swerving to one side or the other, allowing no consideration of right and wrong, no soft or benevolent feeling, no passion, no natural affection to intervene or deter. Forti nihil difficile. (To the strong nothing is difficult.) The latter succeeds in this world; the former lives for eternity. Hence the success, for centuries, of the Vatican. Emperors have resisted, and fallen. Ministers have framed their policies to curb the pretensions of the Pope, and have been overcome. The devices of Premiers are weak in opposition to the intrigues of the Curia,. The advance of the Papacy has always been as the advance of the plague—irresistible, unsparing, remorseless, and deadly. Its myriads of secret agents overmatch armies and dispose of their generals. Its purposes are 'fathomless as the sea, and silent as the grave.' Its action is in every state, setting nation to hamper nation, and exciting one statesman against another; breaking up, dividing, crumbling its enemies; while its own party is always united, conspiring everywhere towards one object. It will triumph until the great hour for the doom of the harlot, which sits upon the nations of the earth, has struck."
The Marriage of the Lamb.
The downfall of Babylon, while producing lamentations on earth amidst those who will have enriched themselves by reason of the worldliness which she will gather around herself, will be celebrated in heaven with rejoicing (Rev. 19:1-31And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. (Revelation 19:1‑3)). Two great events take place just before the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory—one on earth, the other in heaven. On earth, the judgment of "the great whore"; in heaven, "the marriage of the Lamb." Satan's anti-church will meet her well-merited doom upon earth, for "true and righteous are His judgments" who will avenge "the blood of His servants at her hand" (Rev. 19:22For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. (Revelation 19:2)); and in heaven, the true church, the Bride, the Lamb's wife, will be presented to Christ, all-glorious in His eyes, "without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." (Eph. 5:2727That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:27)).—With which will the reader's destiny be bound up?
The judgment of the false church having been executed upon the earth, the Beast and the ten kings having been the instruments which God used to carry it out (Rev. 17:1616And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. (Revelation 17:16)), the prophet now sees in his vision the heavens opened. The hour has now arrived for the judgment of this arrogant and blasphemous power which had controlled the actions of Western Europe; and Scripture clearly informs us why, when, where, and by whom, this judgment will be executed.
The Overthrow of the Beast.
As we purpose in another pamphlet to take up this subject, we shall not here do more than point out for the reader's own study several passages of the Word of God bearing upon this solemn matter.
Infidelity, of which the little horn will be the champion, no less than that worldly and tyrannical system of false religion portrayed by Babylon the Great, will soon meet with God's terrible and overwhelming judgment.
O reader, beware of being connected with either one or the other! Let the little horn "speak great words against the Most High," yet "the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end" (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)). This passage then shows us why the Roman Empire of the future will be destroyed, namely, because of its blasphemous arrogance and godlessness; and there is far more of this kind of thing in the world even now than many of our readers are aware. One thing is certain, that there is a growing disregard of God and His claims, and an alarming increase of infidelity. Scripture has long since foretold that this will all come to a head in the days of the Beast, who "shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition" Rev. 17:88The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (Revelation 17:8)), for "God is not mocked."
Heaven is opened, and forth comes the Lord Jesus Christ, followed by the armies of heaven. The language here, we need hardly say, is figurative, but it is descriptive of a warrior-judgment (Rev. 19:11,11And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. (Revelation 19:11) etc.).
The Beast and the kings of the earth, not content with speaking great words against the Most High, are now found bringing their godlessness to a climax, and gathering their armies together against Christ and His armies. All the armies of the West will at the end combine against the KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Awful doom! Taken in the very act of insolent insurrection against Christ, they are cast down to hell without even the necessity of a formal judgment. They are cast there alive—terrible contrast to those saints who will be caught up to heaven, without dying, at the coming of the Lord to receive His people to Himself! (1 Thess. 4:1313But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13) to end.)
This will be the doom of the two leaders in this fearful war. As for the armies that follow them, they will be "slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse" (Rev. 19:2121And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:21)), to rise again and stand before the great white throne, and be judged according to their works.
The Eastern Question.
And where will this conflict take place? For some time past the eyes of all Europe have been turned to the East. The remarkable movement in connection with the Jews, the Egyptian Question, the difficulties as to Armenia and Turkey—all these are so many lines converging to one central spot—to JERUSALEM. It is there that God has decreed He "will gather all nations to battle" (Zech. 14:22For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. (Zechariah 14:2)).
We shall not further enlarge upon this subject here; enough has been said to show that the great Western confederacy of European nations, according to God's Word, is doomed to be destroyed when gathered together to battle at Jerusalem; that the Lord Jesus Christ will suddenly appear in Mount Zion as the Redeemer and Deliverer of His oppressed people, the godly and believing remnant of Israel (Isa. 9:2020And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: (Isaiah 9:20)). "It shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced" (Zech. 12:9, 109And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:9‑10)).
The Future of Russia.
This brief survey of the future of Europe, as revealed in Scripture, would be incomplete without an allusion to another great Power, which, even in our own time, is advancing with rapid strides, and is destined to meet its judgment after the great Western confederacy of nations has been overwhelmed at Jerusalem. We have already pointed out that Russia formed no part of the Roman Empire, nor will she in the end. Scripture has clearly revealed that there will be at the close a mighty power, typified by the Assyrian of the past, and denominated "the King of the North" in Dan. 11. He will be called "King of the North," because he will occupy a position geographically north of the land of Palestine. This King of the North will occupy the territory now known as Turkey in Asia. A full account of him is given in Dan. 8; he is the "little horn" that will arise out of one of the four divisions of the great Grecian Empire (Dan. 8:8, 9, 228Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. 9And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. (Daniel 8:8‑9)
22Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. (Daniel 8:22) to end). We merely allude to this personage now, as we are devoting more attention to this part of the subject in the second part of our book. But let the reader observe that though the power of the King of the North shall "in the latter time" be mighty, yet it is said "not by his own power" (Dan. 8:2424And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. (Daniel 8:24)). Some other great nation will be at his back: this we believe to be none other than Russia.
Some of our readers may not be aware that the Word of God speaks of the future of, and the end of, Russia, in no uncertain manner. She is even mentioned by name, or, at least, in such terms as leaves no reasonable doubt that Russia is meant. In Ezek. 38 we are told of a great northern Power who shall come in the latter days from its place in the north parts (i.e., north of Palestine, for God's thoughts are centered upon that land), and many peoples along with it. Their numbers are so great that it is likened to a cloud covering the land (Ezek. 38:14-1614Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? 15And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: 16And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. (Ezekiel 38:14‑16)). This will be the great gathering of the eastern and northern nations against Jerusalem, after the destruction of the Western confederacy described above. "Son of Man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him" (Ezek. 38:22Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, (Ezekiel 38:2)). The reading here given is now pretty generally acknowledged to be correct; and few would find any difficulty in recognizing in these scriptural terms names well known today as Russia (Rosh), Moscow (Meshech), and Tobolsk (Tubal).
No European Power is occupying itself today more busily than Russia in the affairs of the Far East. A careful study of Ezek. 38 and 39, and of Dan. 8 and 11, will give a clearer insight than anything else into the affairs of Russia and the Far East, and the destinies of these nations in connection with the final struggle between rebellious man and a long-suffering though righteous God.
"Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth: serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him" (Psa. 2:10-1210Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. (Psalm 2:10‑12)).
And now, reader, a parting word with you. The day of grace is nearing its end. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. What foundation are you on? Nothing but the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ can atone for sin; have you trusted it? Can you take up the redemption song, "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen"? (Rev. 1:55And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (Revelation 1:5)). If so, you will share in that glorious scene when the Lamb comes forth from heaven and by His side will be His royal Bride, the sharer of His joy, His triumph and His glory, and that forever and forever! If we suffer with Him now, we shall reign with Him then.
"Lord of glory, we adore Thee!
Christ of God, ascended high!
Heart and soul we bow before Thee,
Glorious now beyond the sky:
Thee we worship,
Thee we praise—
Excellent in all Thy ways.
"Anointed King, with glory crowned,
Rightful heir and Lord of all!
Once rejected, scorned, disowned,
E'en by those Thou cam'st to call:
Thee we honor,
Thee adore—
Glorious now and evermore.
"Royal robes shall soon invest Thee,
Royal splendors crown Thy brow;
Christ of God, our souls confess Thee
King and Sovereign even now!
Thee we reverence,
Thee obey-
Own Thee Lord and Christ alway."