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The Coming Prince
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Chapters 13-15 |
by Sir Robert Anderson,
K.C.B., LL.D.
.
"THE COMING PRINCE" on 8 html pages-
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Table of Contents
page 6
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CHAPTER XIII.
SECOND SERMON ON THE MOUNT
THE connecting link between the past and the future, between the fulfilled and
the unfulfilled in prophecy, will be found in the Gospel of St. Matthew.
The chief Messianic promises are grouped in two great classes, connected respectively
with the names of David and of Abraham, and the New Testament opens with the record
of the birth and ministry of Messiah as "the Son of David, the son of Abraham;"
(Matthew 1:1) for in one aspect of His work He was "a
minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto
the fathers." (Romans 15:8) The question of the Magi, "Where is
He that is born king of the Jews?" aroused a hope which was part of the national
politics of Judah; and even the base Idumean who then usurped the throne was sensible
of its significance: "Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. [1]
And when the proclamation afterwards was made, first by John the Baptist,
and finally by the Lord and His apostles, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand,"
the Jews knew well its import. It was not "the Gospel," as we understand
it now, but the announcement of the near fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy. [2] And the testimony had a twofold accompaniment. "The
Sermon on the Mount" is recorded as embodying the great truths and principles
which were associated with the Kingdom Gospel; and the attendant miracles gave proof
that all was Divine. And in the earlier stages of the ministry of Christ, His miracles
were not reserved for those whose faith responded to His words; the only qualification
for the benefit was that the recipient should belong to the favored race. "Go
not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying,
The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead,
cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." [3] Such was the commission under which the twelve went forth
through that little land, to0 every corner of which their Master's fame had gone
before them. (Matthew 4:24, 25)
But the verdict of the nation, through its accredited and responsible leaders, was
a rejection of His Messianic claims. [4]
The acts and words of Christ recorded in the twelfth chapter of Matthew were
an open and deliberate condemnation and defiance of the Pharisees, and their answer
was to meet in solemn council and decree His death. (Matthew 12:1- 14) From that
hour His ministry entered upon a new phase. The miracles continued, for He could
not meet with suffering and refuse to relieve it; but those whom thus He blessed
were charged "that they should not make Him known." (Matthew 12:16) The
Gospel of the Kingdom ceased; His teaching became veiled in parables, [5] and the disciples were forbidden any
longer to testify to His Messiahship. (Matthew 16:20)
The thirteenth chapter is prophetic of the state of things which was to intervene
between the time of His rejection and His return in glory to claim the place which
in His humiliation was denied Him. Instead of the proclamation of the Kingdom, He
taught them "the mysteries of the Kingdom." (Matthew 13:11) His
mission changed its character, and instead of a King come to reign, He described
Himself as a Sower sowing seed. Of the parables which follow, the first three, spoken
to the multitude, described the outward results of the testimony in the world; the
last three, addressed to the disciples, [6]
speak of the hidden realities revealed to spiritual minds.
But these very parables, while they taught the disciples in the plainest terms that
everything was postponed which the prophets had led them to look for in connection
with the Kingdom, taught them no less clearly that the day would surely come when
all should be fulfilled; when evil should be rooted out, and the Kingdom established
in righteousness and peace. (Matthew 13:41-43) They thus learned that there was to
be an "age" of which prophecy took no account, and another "Advent"
at its close; and "the second Sermon on the Mount" was the Lord's reply
to the inquiry, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the
age?" [7]
The twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew has been well described as "the
anchor of apocalyptic interpretation," and "the touchstone of apocalyptic
systems." [8]
The fifteenth verse specifies an event and fixes an epoch, by which we are
enabled to connect the words of the Lord with the visions of St. John, and both with
the prophecies of Daniel. The entire passage is obviously prophetic, and its fulfillment
clearly pertains to the time of the end. The fullest and most definite application
of the words must therefore be to those who are to witness their accomplishment.
To them it is that the warning is specially addressed, against being deceived through
a false hope of the immediate return of Christ. [9]
A series of terrible events are yet to come; but "these are the beginning
of sorrows;" "the end is not yet." How long these "sorrows"
shall continue is not revealed. The first sure sign that the end is near will be
the advent of the fiercest trial that the redeemed on earth have ever known. The
fulfillment of Daniel's vision of the defilement of the Holy Place is to be the signal
for immediate flight; "for then shall be the great tribulation,"
(Vers. 15-21. Compare Daniel 11:1.) unparalleled even in Judah's history. But, as
already noticed, this last great persecution belongs to the latter half of Daniel's
seventieth week, and therefore it affords a landmark by which we can determine the
character and fix the order of the chief events which mark the closing scenes foretold
in prophecy.
With the clew thus obtained from the Gospel of St. Matthew, we can turn with confidence
to study the Apocalyptic visions of St. John. But first it must be clearly recognized
that in the twenty-fourth of Matthew, as in the book of Daniel, Jerusalem is the
center of the scene to which the prophecy relates; and this of necessity implies
that the Jews shall have been restored to Palestine before the time of its fulfillment.
[10]
Objections based on the supposed improbability of such an event are sufficiently
answered by marking the connection between prophecy and miracle. The history of the
Abrahamic race, to which prophecy is so closely related, is little else than a record
of miraculous interpositions. "Their passage out of Egypt was miraculous. Their
entrance into the promised land was miraculous. Their prosperous and their adverse
fortunes in that land, their servitudes and their deliverances, their conquests and
their captivities, were all miraculous. The entire history from the call of Abraham
to the building of the sacred temple was a series of miracles. It is so much the
object of the sacred historians to describe these that little else is recorded… There
are no historians in the sacred volume of the period in which miraculous intervention
was withdrawn. After the declaration by the mouth of Malachi that a messenger should
be sent to prepare the way, the next event recorded by any inspired writer is the
birth of that messenger. But of the interval of 400 years between the promise and
the completion no account is given." [11]
The seventy years from Messiah's birth to the dispersion of the nation were
fruitful in miracle and prophetic fulfillment. But the national existence of Israel
is as it were the stage on which alone the drama of prophecy can, in its fullness,
be displayed; and from the Apostolic age to the present hour, not a single public
event can be appealed to as affording indisputable proof of immediate Divine
intervention upon earth. [12]
A silent heaven is a leading characteristic of the dispensation in which our
lot is cast. But Israel's history has yet to be completed; and when that nation comes
again upon the scene, the element of miraculous interpositions will mark once more
the course of events on earth.
On the other hand, the analogy of the past would lead us to expect a merging of the
one dispensation in the other, rather than an abrupt transition; and the question
is one of peculiar interest on general grounds, whether passing events are not tending
towards this very consummation, the restoration of the Jews to Palestine.
The decline of the Moslem power is one of the most patent of public facts; and if
the dismemberment of the Turkish Empire be still delayed, it is due entirely to the
jealousies of European nations, whose rival interests seem to render an amicable
distribution of its territories impossible. But the crisis cannot be deferred indefinitely;
and when it arrives, the question of greatest moment, next to the fate of Constantinople,
will be, What is to become of Palestine? Its annexation by any one European state
is in the highest degree improbable. The interests of several of the first-rate Powers
forbid it. The way will thus be kept open to the Jews, whenever their inclinations
or their destinies lead them back to the land of their fathers.
Not only would no hostile influence hinder their return, but the probabilities of
the case (and it is with probabilities that we are here concerned) are in
favor of the colonization of Palestine by that people to whom historically it belongs.
There is some reason to believe that a movement of this kind has already begun; and
if, whether by the Levant becoming a highway to India, or from some other cause,
any measure of prosperity should return to those shores that were once the commercial
center of the world, the Jews would migrate thither in thousands from every land.
True it is that to colonize a country is one thing, while to create a nation is another.
But the testimony of Scripture is explicit that Judah's national independence is
not to be regained by diplomacy or the sword. Jerusalem is to remain under Gentile
supremacy until the day when Daniel's visions shall be realized. In the language
of Scripture, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times
of the Gentiles be fulfilled." [13]
But long ere then the Cross must supplant the Crescent in Judea, else it is
incredible that the Mosque of Omar should give place to the Jewish Temple on the
Hill of Zion.
If the operation of causes such as those above indicated, conjointly with the decay
of the Moslem power, should lead to the formation of a protected Jewish state in
Palestine, possibly with a military occupation of Jerusalem by or on behalf of some
European Power or Powers, nothing more need be supposed than a religious revival
among the Jews, to prepare the way for the fulfillment of the prophecies. [14]
"God has not cast away His people;" and when the present dispensation
closes, and the great purpose has been satisfied for which it was ordained, the dropped
threads of prophecy and promise will again be taken up, and the dispensation historically
broken off in the Acts of the Apostles, when Jerusalem was the appointed center for
God's people on earth, [15]
will be resumed. Judah shall again become a nation, Jerusalem shall be restored,
and that temple shall be built in which the "abomination of desolation"
is to stand. [16]
CHAPTER XIV. Back to
Top
THE PATMOS VISIONS
NARROWNESS of interpretation is the bane of apocalyptic study. "The words
of this prophecy," "Things which must shortly come to pass'" such
is the Divine description of the Book of the Revelation and of its contents. No one,
therefore, is justified in denying to any portion of it a future application. The
Book in its entirety is prophetic. Even the seven epistles, though they were undoubtedly
addressed to Churches then existing, and though their intermediate reference to the
history of Christendom is also clear, may well have a special voice in days to come
for those who are to enter the fierce trials that shall precede the end. [1]
In the fourth chapter the throne is set in heaven. Judgment now waits on grace;
but when the day of grace is past, judgment must intervene ere the promises and covenants,
with all their rich store of blessings, can be fulfilled. But who can unfold that
scroll that lies on the open hand of Him who sits upon the throne? (Revelation 5:2)
No creature in the universe [2]
may dare to look on it, and God Himself will not break a single seal of it,
for the Father has ceded the prerogative of judgment. The ministry of grace may be
shared by all whom grace has blessed, but the Son of man is the only Being in the
universe who can take the initiative in judgment; (John 5:22-27) and amid the anthems
of the heavenly beings round the throne, and the swelling chorus of myriads of myriads
of angels, echoed back by the whole creation of God, the Crucified of Calvary, "a
Lamb, as it had been slain," takes up the book and prepares to break the seals.
(Revelation 5:5-14)
It is at the fifth seal that the vision crosses the lines of the chronology of
prophecy. [3] Of the earlier seals,
therefore, it is unnecessary to speak in detail. They are evidently descriptive of
the events to which the Lord referred in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, as
preceding the great final persecution; — wars and unceasing threats of war, kingdoms
in arms rushing on one another to destruction; and then famine, to be followed again
by pestilence, hunger and the sword still claiming their victims, and others being
seized by strange and nameless deaths in the ever-gathering horrors of these cumulative
woes. (Revelation 6:2-8)
According to the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, the tribulation is to be followed
immediately by the signs and portents which the old prophets have declared will herald
"the great and terrible day of the Lord." So in the Apocalypse the martyrs
of the tribulation are seen in the fifth seal, (Revelation 9) and in the sixth, the
advent of the great day of wrath is proclaimed, the precise events being named which
the Lord had spoken of on the Mount of Olives, and Joel and Isaiah had foretold long
centuries before. [4]
Like the dull, oppressive calm which precedes the fiercest storms, there is
silence in heaven when the last seal is broken, (Revelation 8:1) for the day of vengeance
has dawned. The events of the earlier seals were Divine judgments, doubtless, but
of a providential character, and such as men can account for by secondary causes.
But God has at length declared Himself, and as it has been in the past, so now, the
occasion is an outrage committed on His people. The cry of martyrs is come up in
remembrance before God, (Revelation 3) and it is the signal for the trumpet blasts
which herald the outpouring of the long-pent-up wrath. (Revelation 6)
To write a commentary on the Apocalypse within the limits of a chapter would be impossible,
and the attempt would involve a departure from the special purpose and subject of
these pages. But it is essential to notice and keep in view the character and method
of the Apocalyptic visions. The seer, be it remembered, was not privileged to read
a single line of what was written "within and on the back side" of the
sealed scroll of the fifth chapter; but as each seal was broken, some prominent characteristic
of a portion of its contents was communicated to him in a vision. The main series
of the visions, therefore, represent events in their chronological sequence. But
their course is occasionally interrupted by parenthetical or episodical visions;
sometimes, as between the sixth and seventh seals, reaching on to the time of the
end, and more frequently, as between the sixth and seventh trumpets, representing
details chronologically within the earlier visions. The first and most important
step, therefore, towards a right understanding of the Apocalypse is to distinguish
between the serial and the episodical visions of the Book, and the following analysis
is offered to promote and assist inquiry upon the subject. [5] —
First, because the seventh trumpet and the seventh vial both relate to the final
catastrophe. Under the seventh trumpet, the mystery of God is finished (10:7), and
the temple of God is opened, and there are lightnings, voices, thunders, and an earthquake
(11:19). Under the seventh vial, "It is done!" is heard from the temple,
and there are voices, thunders, lightnings, and an earthquake (16:17, 18).
Second, because the sphere of the judgments is the same in the correlative visions
of both series:
As the last trumpet and the last vial embrace the final judgments of the day of
vengeance, which precede the advent of the glorious kingdom, they necessarily include
the doom of the two great antichristian powers of the last days, — the imperial represented
by the ten-horned beast, and the ecclesiastical typified by the scarlet woman. The
visions of the thirteenth and seventeenth chapters, therefore, are interposed, descriptive
of the rise and development of these powers. These accordingly give us details which
relate to events within the earlier seals, for the martyrs of the fifth seal are
the victims of the great persecutor of the thirteenth chapter.
If the foregoing scheme be correct in the main, the eras included in the Revelation
may be divided thus:
It is manifestly within the period of the seals that the prophecies of Daniel
have their fulfillment, and the next inquiry should be directed to ascertain the
points of contact between the visions of St. John and the earlier prophecies.
As already noticed, it is only in so far as prophecy falls within the seventy weeks
that it comes within the range of human chronology. And further, the seventieth week
will be a definite period, of which the epoch of the middle and the end are definitely
marked. The epoch of the first week, that is, of the prophetic period as a whole,
was not the return of the Jews from Babylon, nor yet the rebuilding of their temple,
but the signing of the Persian decree which restored their national position. So
also the beginning of the last week will date, not from their restoration to Judea,
nor yet from the future rebuilding of their shrine, but from the signing of the treaty
by "the coming Prince," which probably will once more recognize them as
a nation. [8]
But it is obvious that this personage must have attained to power before the
date of that event; and it is expressly stated (Daniel 7:24) that his rise is to
be after that of the ten kingdoms which are hereafter to divide the Roman
earth. It follows, therefore, that the development of these kingdoms, and the rise
of the great Kaiser who is to wield the imperial scepter in the last days, must be
prior to the beginning of the seventieth week. [9]
And within certain limits, we can also fix the order of the subsequent events. The
violation of the treaty by the defilement of the Holy Place is to occur "in
the midst of the week." (Daniel 9:27) That event, again, is to be the epoch
of the great persecution by Antichrist, (Matthew 24:15- 21) which is to last precisely
three and a half years; for his power to persecute the Jews is to be limited to that
definite period. (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5) "Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light." (Matthew 24:29) Such is the statement of the twenty-fourth
of Matthew; and the sixth of Revelation exactly coincides with it, for the vision
of the fifth seal embraced the period of "the tribulation"; and when the
sixth seal was opened, "the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon
became as blood," and the cry went forth, "The great day of His wrath is
come." (Revelation 6:12, 17) In keeping with this, again, is the prophecy of
Joel. "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the
moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come." (Joel
2:31) The events of this day of vengeance are the burden of the vision of
the seventh seal, including the judgment of Babylon, the scarlet woman — or the religious
apostasy — by the agency of the imperial power (Revelation 17:16, 17) the beast,
whose fearful end is to bring the awful drama to a close. (Revelation 19:20) We have
definite grounds, therefore, for assigning the following order to the events of the
last days:
That the seventieth week will be the last seven years of the dispensation, and
the term of the reign of Antichrist, is a belief as old as the writings of the Ante-Nicene
Fathers. But a careful examination of the statements of Scripture will lead to some
modification of this view. The fulfillment to Judah of the blessings specified in
Daniel 9:24 is all that Scripture expressly states will mark the close of the seventieth
week. Antichrist will then be driven out of Judea; but there is no reason whatever
to suppose he will otherwise lose his power. As already shown, the seventieth week
ends with the period of the fifth seal, whereas the fall of Babylon is within the
era of the seventh seal. No one may assert that that era will be of long duration,
and it will probably be brief; but the only certain indication of its length is that
it will be within a single lifetime, for at its close the Antichrist is to be seized
alive, and hurled to his awful doom (Revelation 19:20).
The analogy of the past might lead us to expect that the events foretold to occur
at the end of the seventieth week would follow immediately at its close. But the
Book of Daniel expressly teaches that there will be an interval. Whatever view be
taken of the earlier portion of the eleventh of Daniel, it is clear that "the
king" of the thirty-sixth and following verses is the great enemy of the last
days. His wars and conquests are predicted, [10]
and the twelfth chapter opens with the mention of the predicted time of trouble,
"the great tribulation" of Matthew and Revelation. The seventh verse specifies
the duration of the "time of trouble" as "a time, times, and a half,"
which, as already shown, is the half week, or 1, 260 days. But the eleventh verse
expressly declares that from the date of the event which is to divide the week, and
which, according to Matthew 24., is to be the signal of persecution, there shall
be 1, 290 days; and the twelfth verse postpones the blessing to 1, 335 days, or seventy-five
days beyond the close of the prophetic weeks.
If therefore "the day of the Lord" follows immediately upon the close of
the seventieth week, it seems that Judah's complete deliverance is not to take place
until after that final period has begun. And this is expressly confirmed by the fourteenth
chapter of Zechariah. It is a prophecy than which none is more definite, and the
difficulties which beset the interpretation of it are in no degree overcome by refusing
to read it literally. It seems to teach that at that time Jerusalem is to be taken
by the allied armies of the nations, and that at the moment when a host of prisoners
are being led away, God will intervene in some miraculous way, as when He destroyed
the army of Pharaoh at the Exodus [11]
Comparison with the prophecy of the twenty-fourth chapter of St. Matthew is
the surest and strictest test which can be applied to these conclusions. After fixing
the epoch and describing the character of the great persecution of the last days,
the Lord thus enumerates the events which are to follow at its close:— First the
great natural phenomena predicted; then the appearance of the sign of the Son of
man in heaven; then the mourning of the tribes of the land; [12] and finally the glorious advent.
That there will be no interval between the persecution and the "great
signs from heaven" (Luke 21:11) which are to follow it, is expressly stated;
they are to occur "immediately after the tribulation." That an interval
shall separate the other events of the series is equally clear. From the defilement
of the Holy Place, to the day when the tribulation shall end, and the "fearful
sights" and "great signs" from heaven shall strike terror into men's
hearts, shall be a definite period of 1,260 days; [13] and yet when He goes on to speak of the Advent, the Lord
declares that that day is known to the Father only: it should be His people's part
to watch and wait. He had already warned them against being deceived by expecting
His Advent before the fulfillment of all that must come to pass (Matthew 24:4-28).
Now He warns them against apostasy after the accomplishment of all things, because
of the delay which even then shall still mark His coming. [14]
The words of Christ are unequivocally true, and He never enjoins upon His
people to live in expectation of His coming, save at a time when nothing intervenes
to bar the fulfillment of the hope. Fatalism is as popular among Christians as with
the worshippers of Mahomet; and it is forgotten that though the dispensation has
run its course these eighteen centuries, it might have been brought to a close at
any moment. Hence the Christian is taught to live, "looking for that blessed
hope." (Titus 2:12, 13) It will be otherwise in days to come, when the present
dispensation shall have closed with the first stage of the Advent. Then the word
will be, not "Watch, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come," (Matthew
24:42) — that belongs to the time when all shall have been fulfilled, — but "Take
heed that no man deceive you, all these things must come to pass, but the end is
not yet." (Matthew 4:6)
CHAPTER XV. Back to
Top
THE COMING PRINCE
"WHAT is it that all Europe is looking for?" — the words are quoted
from a leading article in the Times newspaper, on the recent finding of Agamemnon's
tomb. [1] "What is it that
all Europe is looking for? It is the KING OF MEN, the great head of the Hellenic
race, the man whom a thousand galleys and a hundred thousand men submitted to on
a simple recognition of his personal qualities, and obeyed for ten long years…The
man who can challenge for his own the shield of Agamemnon, now waiting for the challenge,
is the true Emperor of the East, and the easiest escape from our present difficulties."
The realization of this dream will be the fulfillment of prophecy.
True it is that popular movements characterize the age, rather than the power of
individual minds. It is an age of mobs. Democracy, not despotism, is the goal towards
which civilization is tending. But democracy in its full development is one of the
surest roads to despotism. First, the revolution; then, the plebiscites; then,
the despot. The Caesar often owes his scepter to the mob. A man of transcendent greatness,
moreover, never fails to leave his mark upon his times. And the true King of Men
must have an extraordinary combination of great qualities. He must be "a scholar,
a statesman, a man of unflinching courage and irrepressible enterprise, full of resources,
and ready to look in the face a rival or a foe." [2] The opportunity too must synchronize with his advent. But
the voice of prophecy is clear, that the HOUR is coming, and the MAN.
In connection with this dream or legend of the reappearance of Agamemnon, it is remarkable
that the language of Daniel's second vision has led some to fix on Greece as the
very place in which the Man of prophecy shall have his rise; [3] and it leaves no doubt whatever that he will appear within
the territorial limits of the old Grecian empire.
Having predicted the formation of the four kingdoms into which Alexander's conquests
became divided at his death, the angel Gabriel — the divinely-appointed interpreter
of the vision — proceeded thus to speak of events which must take place in days to
come. "In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come
to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall
stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy
wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the
holy people. And through his policy also, he shall cause craft to prosper in his
hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many.
He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without
hand." [4]
In the vision of the seventh chapter, the last great monarch of the Gentiles
was represented only as a blasphemer and a persecutor: "He shall speak great
words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High;"
but here he is described as being also a general and a diplomatist. Having thus obtained
a recognized place in prophecy, he is alluded to in the vision which follows as "the
Prince who is coming," (Daniel 9:26) — a well-known personage, whose advent
had already been foretold; and the mention of him in Daniel's fourth and final vision
is so explicit, that having regard to the vital importance of establishing the personality
of this "King," the passage is here set forth at length.
"And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and
magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God
of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished. for that that is
determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the
desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But
in his estate he shall honor the God of forces; and a god whom his fathers knew not
shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge
and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide
the land for gain. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at
him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots,
and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and
shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many
countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom,
and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand
also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have
power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things
of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out
of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with
great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles
of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to
his end, and none shall help him. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great
prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of
trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. and at
that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in
the book." [5]
The burden of Daniel's prophecies is Judah and Jerusalem, but the Apocalyptic
visions of the beloved disciple have a wider scope. The same scenes are sometimes
presented, but they are displayed upon a grander scale. The same actors appear, but
in relation to larger interests and events of greater magnitude. In Daniel, the Messiah
is mentioned only in relation to the earthly people, and it is in the same connection
also that the false Messiah comes upon the stage. In the Apocalypse the Lamb appears
as the Savior of an innumerable multitude "out of all nations, and kindreds,
and peoples, and tongues," (Revelation 7:9) and the Beast is seen as the persecutor
of all who name the name of Christ on earth. The visions of St. John, moreover, include
an opened heaven, while the glimpses Daniel was vouchsafed of "things to come"
are limited to earth.
The attempt to fix the meaning of every detail of these visions is to ignore the
lessons to be derived from the Messianic prophecies fulfilled at the first advent.
[6] The old Scriptures taught
the pious Jew to look for a personal Christ — not a system or a dynasty, but a person.
They enabled him, moreover, to anticipate the leading facts of His appearing.
Herod's question, for example, "Where should Christ be born?" admitted
of a definite and unhesitating answer, "In Bethlehem of Judea." (Matthew
2:4; Cf. Micah 5:2) But to assign its place and meaning to every part of the
mingled vision of suffering and glory was beyond the power even of the inspired prophets
themselves." (1 Peter 1:10-12) So also is it with the prophecies of Antichrist.
The case indeed is stronger still, for while they "who waited for redemption
in Israel" had to glean the Messianic prophecies from Scriptures which seemed
to the careless reader to refer to the sufferings of the old Hebrew prophets or the
glories of their kings, the predictions of Antichrist are as distinct and definite
as though the statements were historical and not prophetic. [7]
And yet the task of the expositor is beset with real difficulties. If the
book of Daniel might be read by itself no question whatever could arise. "The
Coming Prince" is there presented as the head of the revived Roman empire of
the future, and a persecutor of the saints. There is not a single statement respecting
him that presents the smallest difficulty. But some of the statements of St. John
seem inconsistent with the earlier prophecies. According to Daniel's visions the
sovereignty of Antichrist appears confined to the ten kingdoms, and his career seems
limited to the duration of the seventieth week. How then can this be reconciled with
the statement of St. John that "power was given him over all kindreds and tongues
and nations, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him "? [8] Is it credible, moreover, that a man endowed with such vast
supernatural powers, and filling so marvelous a place in prophecy, will be restrained
within the narrow limits of the Roman earth?
If these points be urged as objections to the truth of Scripture it is enough to
mark that the prophecies of Christ were beset with kindred difficulties. Such prophecies
are like the disjointed pieces of an elaborate and intricate mosaic. To fit each
into its place would baffle our utmost ingenuity. To discover the main design is
all we can expect; or if more be demanded of us, it is enough to show that no part
is inconsistent with the rest. And these results will reward the student of the Apocalyptic
visions of Daniel and St. John, if only he approach them untrammeled by the crude
views which prevail respecting the career of Antichrist.
These visions are not a history, but a drama. In the twelfth chapter of Revelation
we see the woman in her travail. In the twenty-first chapter she is manifested in
her final glory. The intervening chapters afford brief glimpses of events which fill
up the interval. It is with the thirteenth and seventeenth chapters that we have
specially to do in connection with the present subject, and it is clear that the
later vision unfolds events which come first in the order of time.
The false church and the true are typified under kindred emblems. Jerusalem, the
Bride, has its counterpart in Babylon, the Harlot. In the same sense in which the
New Jerusalem is the Jewish church, so likewise Babylon is the apostasy of Rome.
The heavenly city is mother of the redeemed for ages past (Galatians 4:26) the earthly
city is mother of the harlots and abominations of the earth. (Revelation 17:5) The
victims who have perished in the persecutions of Antichristian Papal Rome are estimated
at fifty millions of human beings; but even this appalling record will not
be the measure of her doom. The blood of "holy apostles and prophets,"
— the martyred dead of ages before the Papacy arose, and even of pre-Messianic times,
will be required of her when the day of vengeance comes. [9]
As it is only in its Jewish aspect that the Church is expressly symbolized
as the Bride, [10]
so also it is at a time when this, their normal relationship, has been regained
by the covenant people, that the apostate church of Christendom, in the full development
of its iniquity, appears as the Harlot [11]
The vision clearly indicates moreover a marked revival of her influence. She
is seen enthroned upon the ten-horned Beast, herself arrayed in royal hues and decked
with gold and costliest gems. The infamous greatness of Papal Rome in times gone
by shall yet be surpassed by the splendor of her glories in dark days to come, when,
having drawn within her pale it may be all that usurps the name of Christ on earth,
[12] she will claim as her
willing vassal the last great monarch of the Gentile world.
As regards the duration of this period of Rome's final triumphs, Scripture is silent;
but the crisis which brings it to a close is definitely marked.
"The ten horns and the Beast shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate
and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire." (Revelation 17:16)
One point in the angel's description of the Beast in relation to the harlot
claims special notice. The seven heads have a twofold symbolism. When viewed in connection
with the harlot, they are "seven mountains on which the woman sits;" but
in their special relation to the Beast they have a different significance. The angel
adds, "and they are seven kings;" that is "kingdoms,"
the word being used "according to its strict prophetic import, and to the analogy
of that portion of the prophecy which is here especially in view." [13]
In the seventh chapter of Daniel the Beast is identified with the Roman Empire.
In the thirteenth of Revelation he is identified also with the lion, the bear, and
the panther, the three first "kingdoms'" of Daniel's vision. But here he
is seen as the heir' and representative, not of these alone, but of all the great
world-powers which have set themselves; in opposition to God and to His people. The
seven heads typify these powers. "Five are fallen, and one is." Egypt,
Nineveh, Babylon, Persia, Greece, had fallen; and Rome then held the scepter of earthly
sovereignty, the sixth in succession to the empires already named. [14] "And the other is not yet come, and when he cometh he
must continue a short space," Here the prophecy is marked by the same strange
"foreshortening" already noticed in each of Daniel's visions. While Rome
was the sixth kingdom, the seventh is the confederacy of the latter days, heading
up in "the Coming Prince." The Coming Prince himself, in the full and final
development of his power, is called the eighth, though belonging to the seven, [15] The importance of these
conclusions will appear in the sequel.
The subject of the twelfth chapter is the dragon, the woman in her travail, the birth
of the man-child and his rapture to heaven; the conflict in heaven between the archangel
and the dragon; (Verse 7; Compare Daniel 12:1.) the dragon's banishment to earth;
his persecution of the woman, and her flight to the wilderness, where she is sustained
for "a time, and times, and half a time," or 1, 260 days (Verses 6, 14.)
(the second half of Daniel's seventieth week). The chapter ends by the statement
that, baffled in attempting to destroy the woman, the dragon "went to make war
with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony
of Jesus Christ." The thirteenth chapter, crossing the lines of Daniel's visions,
represents the fulfillment of the dragon's purpose through the agency of the man
of prophecy, whom he energizes to this end. Whatever meaning be attached to the birth
and rapture of the woman's child, there can be no reasonable doubt that the obedient,
faithful "remnant of her seed" is the Jewish Church of the latter days,
the persecuted "saints of the Most High" of Daniel's prophecy.
The serpent, the woman, and the man, appear together on the earliest page of Scripture,
and they reappear upon the latest. But how significant and terrible the change! No
longer the subtle tempter, Satan is now displayed in all his awfulness as the great
fiery dragon, [16]
who seeks to destroy the woman's promised seed. And instead of the humbled
penitent of Eden, the man appears as a wild beast, [17] a monster, both in power and wickedness. The serpent's victim
has become his willing slave and ally.
God has found a man to fulfill all His will, and to Him He has given up His throne,
with all power in heaven and "on earth." This will hereafter be travestied
by Satan, and the coming man shall have the dragon's "power, and his throne,
and great authority." (Revelation 8:2) Both the Dragon and the Beast are seen
crowned with royal diadems. (Revelation 12:3; 13:1.) Once, and only once, again in
Scripture the diadem is mentioned, and then it is as worn by Him whose name is "King
of kings and Lord of lords." (Revelation 19:12-16) It must be as pretenders
to His power that the Beast and the Dragon claim it.
The personality of Satan and his interest in and close connection with our race throughout
its history, are among the most certain though most mysterious facts of revelation.
The popular classification of angels, men, and devils, as including intelligent creation,
is misleading. The angels [18]
that fell are "reserved in everlasting chains,
under darkness, unto the judgment of the Great Day." (Jude 6) Demons
are frequently mentioned in the narrative of the Gospels, and they have also
a place in the doctrine of the Epistles. But THE DEVIL is a being who, like the Archangel,
seems, in his own domain, to have no peer [19]
.
Another fact which claims notice here is the hold which serpent worship has had upon
mankind. Among the nations of the ancient world there was scarcely one in whose religious
system it had not a place. In heathen mythology there is scarcely a hero or a god
whose history is not connected in some way with the sacred serpent. "Wherever
the devil reigned the serpent was held in some peculiar veneration." [20]
The true significance of this depends on a just appreciation of the nature
of idol worship. It may be questioned whether idolatry as popularly understood has
ever prevailed except among the most debased and ignorant of races. It is not the
emblem that is worshipped, but a power or being which the emblem represents. When
the Apostle warned the Corinthian Church against participating in anything devoted
to an idol, he was careful to explain that the idol in itself was nothing.
"But" (he declared) "the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they
sacrifice to demons, not to God, and I would not that ye should have fellowship
with demons." (1 Corinthians 10:20.)
This will afford an insight into the character of the predicted serpent worship
of the last days. [21]
Satan's master lie will be a travesty of the incarnation: he will energize
a man who will claim universal worship as being the manifestation of the Deity in
human form. And not only will there be a false Messiah, but another being, his equal
in miraculous power, yet having for his only mission to obtain for him the homage
of mankind. The mystery of the Godhead will thus be parodied by the mystery of iniquity,
and the Father, the Son, and the Spirit will have their counterpart in the Dragon,
the Beast, and the False Prophet. [22]
A silent heaven marks this age of grace. Whirlwind and earthquake and fire
may awe, yet, as in the days of the old Hebrew prophet, [23] God is not in these, but in the "still small voice"
which tells of mercy and seeks to win lost men from the power of darkness to Himself.
But the very silence which betokens that the throne of God is now a throne of grace
is appealed to as the crowning proof that God is but a myth; and the coarse blasphemer's
favorite trick is to challenge the Almighty to declare Himself by some signal act
of judgment. In days to come, the impious challenge will be taken up by Satan, and
death shall seize on men who refuse to bow before the image of the Beast. [24]
The Antichrist will be more than a profane and brutal persecutor like Antiochus
Epiphanes and some of the Emperors of Pagan Rome; more than a vulgar impostor like
Barcochab. [25] Miracles alone can silence
the
skepticism of apostates, and in the exercise of all the Dragon's delegated power,
the Beast will command the homage of a world that has rejected grace.
"All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written
in the book of life." (Revelation 8:8) If it were possible, the very
elect would be deceived by his mighty "signs and wonders"; (Matthew 24:24)
but faith, divinely given, is a sure, as it is the only, safeguard against credulity
and superstition.
But this is what he will become in the zenith of his career. In his origin he is
described as a "little horn," (Daniel 7:8) — like Alexander of Macedon,
the king of a petty kingdom. Possibly he will be the head of some new Principality
to arise in the final dismemberment of Turkey; it may be on the banks of the Euphrates,
or perhaps upon the Asian shore of the Aegean Sea. The name of Babylon is strangely
connected with events to come, and Pergamus, so long the home of serpent worship
in its vilest forms, is the only place on earth which Scripture has identified with
Satan's throne (Revelation 2:13).
Of the great political changes which must precede his advent, the most conspicuous
are the restoration of the Jews to Palestine, and the predicted division of the Roman
earth. The former of these events has already been considered in a previous chapter,
and as regards the latter there is but little to be said. The attempt to enumerate
the ten kingdoms of the future would involve a profitless inquiry. [26] History repeats itself; and if there be any element of periodicity
in the political diseases by which nations are afflicted, Europe will inevitably
pass through another crisis such as that which darkened the last decade of the eighteenth
century. And should another revolution produce another Napoleon, it is impossible
to foretell how far kingdoms may become consolidated, and boundaries may be changed.
Moreover in forecasting the fulfillment of these prophecies, we are dealing with
events which, while they may occur within the lifetime of living men, may yet be
delayed for centuries. Our part is not to prophecy, but only to interpret; and we
may well rest content with the certainty that when the Apocalyptic visions are in
fact fulfilled, their fulfillment will be clear, not merely to minds educated in
mysticism, but to all who are capable of observing public facts.
Through the gradual unfolding, it may be, of influences even now in operation; or
far more probably as the outcome of some great European crisis in the future, this
confederation of nations [27]
shall be developed, and thus the stage will be prepared on which shall appear
that awful Being, the great leader of men in the eventful days which are to close
the era of Gentile supremacy.
If we are to understand aright the predicted course of the Antichrist's career, certain
points connected with it must be clearly kept in view. The first is that up to a
certain epoch he will be, notwithstanding his pre-eminence, no more than human. And
here we must judge of the future by the past. At two-and-twenty years of age, Alexander
crossed the Hellespont, the prince of a petty Grecian state. Four years later he
had founded an Empire and given a new direction to the history of the world.
In the career of Napoleon Bonaparte, modern history affords a parallel still more
striking and complete. When, now just a hundred years ago, he entered the French
military school at Brienne, he was an unknown lad, without even the advantages which
rank and wealth afford. So utterly obscure was his position that, not only did he
owe his admission to the school to the influence of the Governor of Corsica, but
calumny has found it possible to use that trifling act of friendly patronage to the
disparagement of his mother's name. If then such a man, by the gigantic force of
his personal qualities, combined with the accident of favoring circumstances, could
attain the place which history has assigned to him, the fact affords the fullest
answer to every objection which can be urged against the credibility of the predicted
career of the man of prophecy.
Nor will it avail to urge that the last fifty years have so developed the mental
activity of civilized races, and have produced such a spirit of independence, that
the suggestion of a career like Napoleon's being repeated in days to come involves
an anachronism. "In proportion as the general standard of mental cultivation
is raised, and man made equal with man, the ordinary power of genius is diminished,
but its extraordinary power is increased, its reach deepened, its hold rendered more
firm. As men become familiar with the achievements and the exercise of talent, they
learn to despise and disregard its daily examples, and to be more independent of
mere men of ability; but they only become more completely in the power of gigantic
intellect, and the slaves of pre-eminent and unapproachable talent." [28]
By the sheer force of transcendent genius the man of prophecy will gain a
place of undisputed pre-eminence in the world; but if the facts of his after career
are to be understood, considerations of a wholly different kind must be taken into
account. A strange crisis marks his course. At first the patron of religion, a true
"eldest son of the church," he becomes a relentless and profane persecutor.
At first no more than a king of men, commanding the allegiance of the Roman earth,
he afterwards claims to be divine, and demands the worship of Christendom.
And we have seen how this extraordinary change in his career takes place at that
epoch of tremendous import in the history of the future, the beginning of the 1,
260 days of the latter half of Daniel's seventieth week. Then it is that that mysterious
event takes place, described as "war in heaven" between the Archangel and
the Dragon. As the result of that amazing struggle, Satan and his angels are "cast
out into the earth," and the Seer bewails mankind because the devil is come
down into their midst, "having great wrath because he
knoweth that he hath but a short time" (Revelation 12:7, 12).
The next feature in the vision is the rise of the ten-horned Beast. (Revelation 13:1)
This is not the event described in the seventh of Daniel. The Beast, doubtless, is
the same both in Daniel and the Apocalypse, representing the last great empire upon
earth; but in the Apocalypse it appears at a later stage of its development. Three
periods of its history are marked in Daniel. In the first it has ten horns.
In the second it has eleven, for the little horn comes up among the
ten. In the third, it has but eight, for the eleventh has grown in power,
and three of the ten have been torn away by it. Up to this point Daniel's vision
represents the Beast merely as "the fourth kingdom upon earth," the Roman
empire as revived in future times, and here the vision turns away from the history
of the Beast to describe the action of the little horn as a blasphemer and
persecutor. [29]
It is at this epoch that the thirteenth chapter of Revelation opens. The three
first stages of the history of the empire are past, and a fourth has been developed.
It is no longer a confederacy of nations bound together by treaty, with a Napoleon
rising up in the midst of them and struggling for supremacy; but a confederacy of
kings who are the lieutenants of one great Kaiser, a man whose transcendent greatness
has secured to him an undisputed pre-eminence. And this is the man whom the Dragon
will single out to administer his awful power on earth in days to come. And from
the hour in which he sells himself to Satan he will be so energized by Satan, that
"ALL power and signs and lying wonders" shall characterize his after course.
[30]
There is a danger lest in dwelling on these visions as though they were enigmas
to be solved, we should forget how appalling are the events of which they speak,
and how tremendous the forces which will be in exercise at the time of their accomplishment.
During this age of grace Satan's power on earth is so restrained that men forget
his very existence. This, indeed, will be the secret of his future triumphs. And
yet how unspeakably terrible must be the dragon's power, witness the temptation of
our Lord! It is written, "The devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, showed
unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time; and the devil said unto
Him, All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them, for that is delivered
unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it. If Thou, therefore, wilt worship me,
all shall be Thine." (Luke 4:5-7)
It is this same awful being who shall give to the Beast his throne, his power, and
great authority, (Revelation 8:2) — all that Christ refused in the days of His humiliation.
The mind that has realized this stupendous fact will not be slow to accept what follows:
Of the events which afterwards must follow upon earth, it behooves us to speak
with deep solemnity and studied reserve. The phenomenon of sudden and absolute darkness
is inconceivably terrible, even when eagerly looked for with full intelligence of
the causes which produce it. [31]
How unspeakable then would be its awfulness, if unexpected, unaccounted for,
and prolonged, it may be for days together. And such shall be the sign which Holy
Writ declares shall mark the advent of earth's last great woe. [32] The signs and wonders of Satanic power shall still command
the homage of mankind, while the thunders of a heaven no longer silent will break
forth upon the apostate race. Then will be the time of "the seven last plagues,"
wherein "is filled up the wrath of God," — the time when "the
vials of the wrath of God" shall be poured out upon the earth. (Revelation 15:1;
16:1.) And if in this day of grace the heights and depths of God's longsuffering
mercy transcend all human thoughts, His WRATH will be no less Divine. "The day
of vengeance of our God," "the great and the terrible day of the Lord,"
— such are the names divinely given to describe that time of unexampled horror.
And yet when in the midnight darkness of the last apostasy, Divine longsuffering
will only serve to blind and harden, mercy itself shall welcome the awful breaking
of the day of vengeance, for blessing lies beyond it. Another day is still to follow.
Earth's history, as unfolded in the Scriptures, reaches; on to a Sabbatic age of
blessedness and peace; an age when heaven shall rule upon the earth, when, "the
Lord shall rejoice in all His works," (Psalm 104:31) and prove Himself to be
the God of every creature He has made (Psalm 145:9-16).
Further still, the veil is raised, and a brief glimpse afforded us of a glorious
eternity beyond, when every trace of sin shall have been wiped out for ever, when
heaven will join with earth, and "the tabernacle of God" — the dwelling
place of the Almighty — shall be 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" [33]
It was a calamity for the Church of God when the light of prophecy became dimmed
in fruitless controversy, and the study of these visions, vouchsafed by God to warn,
and guide, and cheer His saints in evil days, was dismissed as utterly unprofitable.
They abound in promises which God designed to feed His people's faith and fire their
zeal, and a special blessing rests on those who read, and hear, and cherish them.
(Revelation 1:3) One of the most hopeful features of the present hour is the increasing
interest they everywhere excite; and if these pages should avail to deepen or direct
the enthusiasm even of a few in the study of a theme which is inexhaustible, the
labor they have cost will be abundantly rewarded.
.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTORY on page 1
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CHAPTERS 2-3 on page 2
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CHAPTERS 4-6 on page 3
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CHAPTERS 7-9 on page 4
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CHAPTERS 10-12 on page 5
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CHAPTERS 13-15 on page 6 (this page)
PREFACES on page 7
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APPENDICES on page 8
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.
.
For more about the author, read:
Sir
Robert Anderson and the Seventy Weeks of Daniel ---New Window
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