{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_39313/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_39313","id":"gutenberg_39313","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39313","summary":null,"tags":["Bible -- Prophecies","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Second Advent","Theology, Doctrinal -- Popular works"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1876 H. Colbran edition by David Price, email\nccx074@pglaf.org\n\n\n\n\n\n                             ROME AND TURKEY\n                            IN CONNEXION WITH\n                            The Second Advent.\n\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 SERMONS.\n\n                            BY REV. E. HOARE,\n\n                  VICAR OF TRINITY, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, AND\n                        HON. CANON OF CANTERBURY.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 LONDON:\n                          HATCHARDS, PICCADILLY.\n               H. COLBRAN, CALVERLEY ROAD, TUNBRIDGE WELLS.\n                                  1876.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nTHE three lectures on Turkey are published at the request of several of\nmy parishioners; I have added two others respecting Rome, which were\nwritten in 1873, because I consider that they strengthen the conclusion\nderived from the present position of the Ottoman Empire.  I regard Rome\nand Turkey as two great political witnesses to the near approach of the\nglorious end.  If this be the case, it is clearly right that their two\ntestimonies should appear together and confirm each other.\n\n                                                                     E. H.\n\n_Tunbridge Wells_,\n      _Jan._ 1876.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n                              PAGE\nROME:\u2014\n   THE OUTLINE                   1\n   THE CONSUMPTION              21\nTURKEY:\u2014\n   THE EUPHRATES                42\n   THE FROGS                    63\n   THE ADVENT                   81\n\n\n\n\nROME.\n\n\nI.\nTHE OUTLINE.\n\n\nIT is impossible to imagine anything more delightful than the prospect of\nthe promised return of our most blessed Saviour.  How do the father and\nthe mother feel when they welcome their long-absent son from India?  How\nwill many an English wife feel when she welcomes her husband from the\nArctic Expedition?  And how must the Church of God feel when, after her\nlong night of toil and difficulty, she stands face to face before Him\nwhom her soul loveth, and enters into the full enjoyment of the promise,\n\u2018So shall we ever be with the Lord.\u2019  There will be no tears then, for\nthere will be no sorrow; no death then, for there will be no more curse;\nno sin then, for we shall see Him as He is, and shall be like Him.  Then\nwill be the time of resurrection, when all the firstborn of God shall\nawake to a life without decay and without corruption; and then the time\nof reunion, when the whole company of God\u2019s elect shall stand together\nbefore the Lord, never again to shed a tear over each other\u2019s grave; and\nthen will be the time when those who have loved and longed after Him, as\nthey have journeyed on alone in their pilgrimage, will find themselves on\nthe right hand of His throne, and hear His delightful words, \u2018Come, ye\nblessed children of my Father: inherit the kingdom prepared for you from\nthe foundation of the world!\u2019\n\nNo wonder then that the people of God are waiting with anxious hearts for\nthe advent; and no wonder that many are ready to say, \u2018Lord, how long?\u2019\nand to ask, What hope is there of His quick return?  Have we, or have we\nnot, any reason to look out for it soon?  To this inquiry I would\nendeavour to draw your attention this morning; and in doing so, I do not\nintend to examine into what are usually called \u2018the signs of the times,\u2019\nbut to study the great prophetic sketch of the world\u2019s history as given\nto us by the prophet Daniel.  This may be termed the backbone of\nprophecy, and almost all the great prophecies of Holy Scripture fit into\nit at some point or other; so that, if we wish to understand them, we\nmust begin by studying it.  I fear I may not interest those who aim\nsimply to have their hearts warmed by the ministry.  But they must\nremember that the real study of God\u2019s Word requires work, and that work,\nthough it lays the best possible foundation for feeling, does not at the\ntime excite it.  To-day, then, we are to work, and I hope the Lord may so\nbless His Word, that through work we may be led to feel.\n\nOur business, then, is to endeavour to discover whether the great\nprophetic sketch of history, given through the prophet Daniel, encourages\nthe blessed hope that the coming of the Lord may be near.  Daniel gives a\nprophecy of the history of political power from his own day till the time\nwhen \u2018the Ancient of Days shall sit,\u2019 and describes a succession of\nevents which must take place in the interval.  It is clear that our\nbusiness is to ascertain how many of these events have taken place, or,\nin other words, how far we have advanced in the series.\n\nIn the study of our subject we have the advantage of looking at two sides\nof the picture, for it has pleased God to give us the same series as seen\nin two different aspects.  In the second and seventh chapters you will\nfind predictions of the same events under different figures.  In the\nsecond chapter the prophecy is given as a vision to a proud, idolatrous\nmonarch.  So the different kingdoms about to arise appear to him as the\nseveral parts of a mighty image, with himself as the head of gold.  It\nwas given in just such a shape as should coincide with his idolatry and\nhis pride.  Whereas, in the seventh chapter, the vision is given to one\nof God\u2019s people, and he sees in all this glory nothing better than a\nseries of wild beasts coming up one after another to devour.  How\ndifferent is the estimate of the world from that of God!  The world\nregards Babylon as the head of gold, the summit of glory and greatness,\nwhile God looks on it as a savage beast, to be dreaded by His saints!\nThe same difference of character may be observed in the visions of the\ncoming of the Lord.  To the great king it appeared as a triumphant\nkingdom, to the captive prophet as a manifestation of the Son of man.\nThe one saw a kingdom, the other a person; the one, the overthrow of\npower, the other, the advent of the Lord of Glory.\n\nBut now let us look at the series.  In both prophecies there is a\ndescription of four kingdoms which should in succession be supreme in\npolitical power, and which should fill up an interval between Daniel and\nthe Advent.\n\n1.  There is the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s image, the same as the\nlion in the vision of Daniel.  The most precious of metals corresponding\nto the king of beasts.\n\n2.  There is next the breast and arms of silver, corresponding to the\nbear of Daniel.\n\n3.  After that the belly and thighs of brass, representing the same\nnation as the leopard of the prophet.\n\n4.  And following them is the last kingdom of the four, represented to\nNebuchadnezzar as the \u2018legs of iron, and the feet, part of iron and part\nof clay,\u2019 and to Daniel as a beast, \u2018dreadful and terrible, and strong\nexceedingly.\u2019\n\nIt is interesting to observe how the same iron character is attributed to\nthis last power in both visions.  In the one we read of it, chap. ii. 40,\n\u2018The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh\nin pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all things,\nshall it break in pieces and bruise.\u2019  And in the other, chap. vii. 7, it\nis said to be, \u2018strong exceedingly, and it had great iron teeth: it\ndevoured, and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of\nit.\u2019\n\nSuch is the series of kingdoms that were to hold the chief political\npower of the world, and fill up the whole interval between the date of\nthe prophecy and the advent of the Lord.  Now the remarkable, and I\nbelieve I may say the indisputable, fact, is that, according to the\nprophecy, all these four kingdoms have arisen.  They have followed each\nother exactly as it was predicted.  Babylon was the head of gold, or the\nlion.  The Medes and Persians were the breast of silver, or the bear.\nGreece, always called \u2018the brazen armed,\u2019 in classic poetry, was the\nbelly and the thighs of brass, or the leopard.  And then the mighty power\nof Rome, far exceeding all the others in its terrible strength, with the\nlegs of iron in the royal image, and the teeth of iron in the prophetic\nbeast.  Thus far there is an agreement almost unanimous among the\nstudents of prophetic Scripture; and the conclusion certainly is, that we\nhave already been a long time under the last of the four successive\nempires of the world.  So far then as those four empires are concerned,\nwe are encouraged to entertain the strong hope that, as we have reached\nthe last kingdom in the succession, we may begin hopefully to look out\nfor the end.  We have passed the last station on the line, so now we may\nbegin to prepare for home.\n\nBut again.  There is one remarkable difference between the fourth kingdom\nand the other three, viz., this, that its history is divided into two\nperiods, during the first of which it appears as an undivided power, and\nduring the second split up into ten.  In chap, ii. 41, it says, \u2018the\nkingdom shall be divided.\u2019  In this divided period it is represented by\nthe ten toes on the image, and the ten horns on the beast.  The ten toes\nare described as kings, or kingdoms, in chap. ii. 44; and so are the ten\nhorns in chap. vii. 24, where it is said, \u2018The ten horns out of this\nkingdom are ten kings that shall arise.\u2019  So then the prophecy teaches us\nthat when Rome had overpowered Greece it would go on for a time as one\nmighty undivided empire, but that after a time it would break up into a\ncluster of kingdoms, and that this cluster would retain amongst them the\nsupremacy of the world.  It does not describe any fresh shift of\npolitical supremacy to any new kingdom that should arise, or the loss or\ndecay of that supremacy.  But it teaches that there would be a division\nin the kingdom, that the parts should fall asunder, and that, while the\niron of the fourth kingdom would remain amongst them, there should be so\nmuch clay mixed up with it, that it should never again be united under a\nsingle head.\n\nNow this is exactly what has happened.  In the days of the C\u00e6sars united\nRome was supreme in the pomp of the iron empire.  Its body was Europe,\nand its heart was the emperor.  It was one as much as Babylon had been\none under Nebuchadnezzar.  But look at it now.  There is all the old\npower; for Europe and its races practically govern the world.  It has not\nlost its iron.  But there is no one kingdom that embodies all.  The power\nis vested in a cluster of independent nations.  Many attempts have been\nmade to combine them: some by conquest, as in the case of Napoleon; some\nby negotiation, as in the case of the Spanish marriages.  But all in\nvain, for the toes are irrecoverably divided, and whatever is done,\nthough as an aggregate they retain their power, as individual nations\nthey are always distinct.  I have no time to enter into detail, but I\nregard this division as a most remarkable fulfilment of the prophetic\nword.  More than five hundred years before the coming of the Lord there\nwas a captive in Babylon, and God so directed that man\u2019s mind, as through\nhim to communicate to the world even then the present position of modern\nEurope.  With such a fact before us who can doubt the inspiration of the\nprophet, or the statement of St. Peter, that \u2018holy men of God spake as\nthey were moved by the Holy Ghost?\u2019\n\nBut, without stopping to consider the wonders of the prophecy, let us\nlearn the lesson which it teaches us with reference to the nearness of\nthe Advent.  We have already found that we have long since reached the\nfourth kingdom of the series; and now we are led a step further, and find\nthat we have long since reached the second period of that kingdom.  It is\ndifficult with accuracy to assign a date, for the transition was gradual;\nbut we shall be sufficiently near if we say that it practically took\nplace between twelve and fourteen hundred years ago.  And when we reflect\non such a promise as that in Daniel, ii. 44, in which God assures us of a\nkingdom that shall be set up in the days of these kings, and never be\ndestroyed: when we consider that those kings have already been reigning\nthrough that lengthened period, it is surely time that we begin to look\nout for that which is to come; for the happy and blessed day when we\nshall welcome the kingdom which shall never be moved, and when Christ\nHimself shall reign in glory.\n\nBut this is not all, for, although we shall learn no more from the vision\nof the king, we may gather much more from that of the prophet, for in it\nwe find a most important additional prophecy.  I can perfectly understand\nwhy it was given by the prophet, and not by the king, for I believe it to\nrefer to the religious history of Europe, and the king of course had no\nconcern with that.  He did not care for religion, or for the saints of\nGod.  I allude to the prophecy of the little horn raised in the midst of\nthe other ten.  I have no time to discuss arguments, and can merely state\nconclusions.  All therefore that I can do now is to express my own\nconvictions on two points:\n\n1.  That the little horn diverse from all the rest is the Papal power.\n\n2.  That the time, times, and dividing of a time, which is to be the\nlimit of its power, stands in prophetic figure for 1260 years.\n\nIf this be correct it gives some idea as to the duration of the second\ndivision of the last kingdom, for it shows that it must last at least\n1260 years.  Still more, as the Papacy is to be destroyed at the approach\nof the Ancient of Days, if we could only ascertain the date of its\ncommencement we might calculate the date of the Advent.  But here is the\ndifficulty, for who can say when a horn begins to grow? and who can\ndetermine the date of the first swelling of Papal pride?  It is\nimpossible to make any such calculation, and I believe it would be wrong\nto attempt it.  But we may still be led by the great outline to hope for\nthe approach of that most blessed day.  The horn has been growing a long\ntime, and it is impossible to read European history without believing\nthat the 1260 years cannot be very far from its close.  Everything\ntherefore looks like an approaching end.  We have long since reached the\nfourth kingdom; long since reached its second, or divided period; and,\nthough we cannot say when it took place, we have long since seen the\ncommencement of the 1260 years of the little horn.  Surely then it is\nhigh time that we be looking out for the coming of the Lord, high time\nthat we be watching with our loins girt and our lamps burning, and we\nourselves as those that wait for their Lord.\n\nWith these facts before us, I may fairly ask any thinking person, whether\nthere is not good ground for the hope that the coming of the Lord draweth\nnigh?  You observe I have not dwelt on minute and isolated points.  I\nhave taken the great outline of the world\u2019s history, and compared it with\nthe great outline of the word of prophecy.  I see that the two exactly\ncorrespond.  I thank God from the bottom of my heart for the evidence\ngiven of the inspiration of Scripture, for no such prophecy could have\nhad its origin with man; and, while I thank God for such a confirmation\nof the faith, I cannot resist the conclusion that we have nearly reached\nthe end of the series, that we are living in the last part of the last\nperiod of the last kingdom, and that the next great event of this\nprophecy is nothing else than the sitting of the Ancient of Days, the\nglorious kingdom of the Son of Man.\n\nBut do we all desire it?  Are we all looking out with loving and longing\nhearts for the appearance of our beloved Redeemer?  I fear that many\nwould be very far from glad if they thought it would come to-morrow.\nTheir own consciences tell them they are not ready; and in such a case\nhow can they desire it?  You might say to them, as in the words of the\nprophet, \u2018To what end is the day of the Lord to you? the day of the Lord\nis darkness and not light.\u2019  I believe it to be impossible for any man\nreally to desire the coming of Christ as his king until in his own soul\nhe is personally acquainted with Him as his sin-offering or atonement.\nThus I believe that you will find very few really desire the Advent who\nhave not practically and experimentally drunk in the great doctrine of\njustification by faith.  If you are reconciled through the precious blood\nof Christ; if you are justified in the righteousness of Christ; if you\nare preserved and sanctified by the loving Spirit of Christ, then of\ncourse you will be ready to say, \u2018Even so come, Lord Jesus; come\nquickly.\u2019  But if you are still living for the world, content with the\nworld\u2019s gifts and the world\u2019s enjoyments; or even if you are still\ntoiling, and struggling on to reach Him you know not how, and know not\nwhether you may trust Him to place you on the right hand of the throne or\nnot, how is it possible that you should be happy in waiting for Him?\nNever rest, therefore, till you stand accepted in Him; till you have good\nreason to believe that you are safe, and not safe only, but beloved.\nThen you may wait for Him, then you may welcome Him, then He cannot come\ntoo soon to please you; and if His sign is seen even to-night you will be\nable to say, \u2018This is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save\nus: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice\nin His salvation.\u2019\n\n\n\nII.\nTHE CONSUMPTION.\n\n\nI ENDEAVOURED in the last lecture to bring before you the blessed hope of\nour Lord\u2019s return, and to show, from the great outlines of prophecy, that\nthere is enough to justify the expectations of those who humbly trust\nthat we shall not have much longer to wait.  I purposely avoided any\nreference to what are called the \u2018signs of the times,\u2019 and confined your\nattention exclusively to what may be called the great backbone of\nprophecy, _i.e._, to the prophetic history of the four mighty kingdoms\nwhich were foretold as holding the empire of the world.  From that\noutline I endeavoured to show that these four great kingdoms were to\narise in succession, one after the other, and that they would fill up the\ninterval between the time of the prophecy and the sitting of the Ancient\nof Days.  I hope, also, I made it plain from history that three of those\nkingdoms have long since fallen, and that, as far as the predicted\nperiods enable us to judge, we must be drawing near to the close of the\nfourth.  The great outline, therefore, leads to the hope that the time of\nthe glorious kingdom of our blessed Lord may be near.  But, though we did\nnot study the signs of the times then, I do not think we should\nundervalue them, for our blessed Saviour foretold certain things that\nshould take place, and added, \u2018When ye shall see all these things, know\nthat it is near, even at the doors.\u2019  If, therefore, any of these things\nare now taking place, it is clear that we ought to study them; and that\nwe should not be really carrying out the teaching of the Lord Jesus if we\nwere to neglect them.  I propose, therefore, in obedience to His words,\nto bring before you in this lecture what has long appeared to me one of\nthe most conclusive signs that the time is not very far distant.  I\nallude to the present position of the Church of Rome, and I earnestly\nhope that God has directed my thoughts in the study of it, and that\nwhatever in what I may now say is according to His word, may be written\nin all our hearts and minds by the teaching of the Holy Ghost.\n\nThere are three great historical prophecies, which, in the opinion of the\nmajority of our best expositors, predict the rise, the progress, and the\nfall of the Church of Rome.\n\nThe first of these we briefly noticed last Sunday.  It is the prophecy of\nthe little horn rising amidst the ten horns of the beast, or the Papacy\nrising in the midst of that cluster of European kingdoms which succeeded\nthe power of the undivided Roman Empire.\n\nThe second is the prophecy of \u2018the man of sin\u2019 in 2 Thess. ii.  And I\ncannot forbear the mention of one illustration of a verse in that\nprophecy which I saw myself in Rome.  Many people think that the\ndescription in the fourth verse is too strong for Popery: but there is a\ncurious illustration of it in St. Peter\u2019s.  You may there see what they\ncall the altar in the usual place at the end of the chancel, and above\nit, surrounded by an elaborately decorated reredos, is what is called the\nchair of St. Peter, or the Pope\u2019s throne, the seat of Papal power.  On\nthe altar below, according to their own teaching, is the living person of\nthe King of Glory, perfect man and perfect God, and in front of that\naltar may be seen men worshipping the wafer because they call it God.\nBut above it is the Pope\u2019s chair, and if he were to occupy it he would\nsit there with that which they call God, and worship as God, beneath his\nfeet.  Can anything be a more exact fulfilment of the words, \u2018Exalteth\nhimself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped?\u2019\n\nThe third is the prophecy of the woman in Rev. xvii.  The application of\nthis to the Church of Rome is less disputed than that of either of the\nother two, for the seat of the woman is decided by the 9th verse to be\nthe seven-hilled city, which is almost universally admitted to be Rome.\n\nNow it is not my object to study the details of these prophecies, and\nthere is only one point to which I invite your careful attention\u2014one most\nimportant point common to all the three, viz. that the final overthrow\nwill be preceded by a consuming process.  It will not be a sudden\ndestruction in the height of prosperity, but will be the final act after\na period of wasting and defeat.  If these three passages refer to Rome,\nas I fully believe they do, then Rome will be first consumed and then\ndestroyed.\n\nIn Daniel it says (vii. 26), \u2018The judgment shall sit.\u2019  It seems clear\nfrom the context, that this does not mean the great day of judgment, but\nthe commencement of judgment on her sins here upon earth.  \u2018And they\nshall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end.\u2019\nThere is, therefore, a consuming process before the end.  The word here\nrendered \u2018consume\u2019 conveys the idea of a gradual process, and not a\nsudden blow; and teaches us that there will be a wasting before the final\noverthrow.\n\nIn 2 Thess. ii. 8, exactly the same process is described, and in almost\nthe same words: \u2018Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his\nmouth, and destroy at the brightness of his coming.\u2019  He will first\nconsume him by His word, and ultimately destroy him at His advent.\n\nIt is just the same in Rev. xvii.  There you meet with the old beast, the\nten-horned beast of Daniel; and ten horns still representing ten kings;\nand when we reach the close of the chapter we find these ten kings all\nturned against the woman: so that, instead of being ridden and governed\nby her, as they were when she was riding on the beast, they are now\nturned against her, and agree in consuming her.  \u2018The ten horns which\nthou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and make her\ndesolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.\u2019\n(Verse 16.)\n\nWithout stopping to look into the detail, which it is impossible to do in\na short lecture, it appears clear that all these passages agree in\npredicting a period during which the Papacy will be consumed before its\nfinal fall.  This will be brought about partly by the power of truth, and\npartly by the change of mind in the kings.  But whatever be the agency,\nthe result is the same.  \u2018They will take away his dominion, to consume,\nand to destroy unto the end.\u2019  And this you mark is the last great\nprocess before the coming of our blessed Saviour, for the final\ndestruction will be by the brightness of His coming.\n\nAnd now comes the question, Has this consuming process begun?  Is it, or\nis it not, in progress?  I know that some fainthearted people will say,\n\u2018Oh, no!  Rome is making dreadful progress, and must soon triumph.\u2019  But\nsurely that opinion is contrary to fact.  Surely it may be proved, from\nthe great facts of European history, not merely that the consumption has\nbegun, but that it has been going on during the last few years with\npeculiar and unexampled speed.\n\nLet us look at a few great European facts, not at little things that\nhappen to fall within our own observation, but at great facts that are\nconspicuous before the world.\n\nRome has always claimed, as she does still, dominion over all the\nkingdoms of the world, and she used to exercise it over all those of\nWestern Christendom.  Her claim even went so far that, by the common\nconsent and advice of his barons, the King of England once \u2018resigned\nEngland and Ireland to God, to St. Peter and St. Paul, to Pope Innocent,\nand his successors in the Apostolic chair: and agreed to hold these\ndominions as feudatory of the Church of Rome, by the annual payment of\none thousand marks.\u2019 {30}  Imagine any one standing up amongst the barons\nof England, and making such a proposal now!  That dominion of the Papacy\nis taken away, and taken away, as I believe, for ever.\n\nWhen the dominion was gone he made concordats, or compacts, with the\ndifferent states; in which, with varying conditions, it was agreed that\nhe should uphold them by his spiritual power, and they uphold him by the\nsecular arm.  It is a most remarkable fact, that within the last fifteen\nyears almost all of these concordats have been brought abruptly to a\nviolent end: those with Naples, Tuscany, and the Italian Duchies in 1858;\nthat with Austria, including Venice, in 1866; with Spain in 1868; with\nFrance in 1870; and with Bavaria in 1873.  There may be others remaining\nin force, but I know of none.  According to the best information I can\nobtain, all are dissolved.  The Papacy has lost all its political power.\nThe ten kings have shaken off his government, and there is not one left\nthat submits to his authority.\n\nBut more than that.  The Pope of Rome used to be king over a considerable\nportion of Italy.  But he is now deposed.  The States of the Church are\nincorporated with united Italy, and the Pope is king no more.  They have\ntaken away his dominion.  His sovereignty is at an end.  Five years ago\nit received its death-blow, and shall we not acknowledge that the\nconsuming process is begun?\n\nBut further still.  The Church of Rome used to have vast estates.  The\nconvents which used to swarm through Italy were richly endowed with\nlanded property.  But as soon as the kingdom of Italy was well\nestablished, those convents were broken up and their property\nconfiscated.  And now that the Pope has been dethroned in Rome, a similar\nmeasure has been passed for all those within the city, and on the 20th of\nOctober, 1874, they received notice of their dissolution.  It looks very\nmuch as if the kings were eating up the flesh of the woman. {32}\n\nBut some will say, \u2018Ah, but in religious matters Popery is making\nprogress, for it is winning so many perverts to its errors.\u2019  I know\nthere are perverts, and I am deeply grieved at it, but I doubt whether\nRome\u2019s progress is as great as many think.  It has been calculated that\nin the year 1801 there were in Great Britain and Ireland twenty-seven\nRomanists out of every hundred of the population, but that in 1869 there\nwere only eighteen.  The proportion, therefore, had actually diminished\nfrom twenty-seven to eighteen per cent.\n\nBut take a wider range, and look at the great facts of European history.\nAt the Lateran Council in 1513, after all the so-called heretics had been\nsilenced or burned, it was proclaimed, \u2018No one now opposes, no one now\nobjects,\u2019 and then the orator addressing the Pope said, \u2018The whole body\nof Christendom is now subjugated to one head, even to thee.\u2019  But it is\ncalculated that there are now more than 95,000,000 Protestants in Europe,\nand 67,000,000 members of the Greek Church, making together 162,000,000\nwho reject the Pope\u2019s authority, against 157,000,000 who profess to\nsubmit to it.  Putting all these facts together, I may ask any reasonable\nman, any one who looks at great facts instead of minute details, Is there\nnot reason to believe that the consumption has begun?  What else is it\nthat has taken away his dominions, broken up his concordats, overturned\nhis throne, stripped him of his property, and above all has set\n95,000,000 in Europe alone free from his yoke?  What else is it but the\nfulfilment of the prophecy, \u2018Whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit\nof His mouth,\u2019 preparatory to the time when He shall \u2018destroy him with\nthe brightness of His coming?\u2019\n\nNow there are many lessons that we might learn if we had but time from\nthis subject; _e.g._ I might well spend all the time that remains in\npressing on you the importance of keeping clear of all alliance with\nRome.  If God is consuming her, God\u2019s people must have nothing to do with\nher either in politics or religion, for if they do, they will find\nthemselves drawn into the vortex into which she must infallibly sink.\nThe message to them is, \u2018Come out of her, my people, that ye be not\npartakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.\u2019\n\nBut this is not my point in this lecture.  I am anxious rather that we\nshould look on the whole subject as an encouragement to faith.  Surely\nsome amongst us are too fainthearted about the truth.  It really seems as\nif they could trust the Lord Jesus for their own souls, but not for His\nchurch, or for His truth: as if they had forgotten the text, \u2018Are not\nthine eyes upon the truth?\u2019  They value their Bible, and are ready to\ncontend for it even unto the death; but still, they do not above half\nbelieve it.  They are ready to go forth to battle, but they are not ready\nto begin, like Jehoshaphat, with the hymn, \u2018Praise the Lord!\u2019  They would\nrather chant some plaintive lament, and go into the battle with the\ndoleful expectation of defeat.  But this is not faith.  This is not trust\nin the Lord Jesus.  Ah! but one says he cannot rely on government, and\nanother that he does not trust in bishops.  But what has this to do with\nit?  No one asks you to trust in rulers either in Church or State, for\nthe Scripture says, \u2018Put not your trust in princes.\u2019  What we ask you to\ndo is to trust the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of God.  Trust\nHim, and all will be right, though all other objects of trust fail you.\n\nNow take this great subject as a help to your trust.  See how it exhibits\nHim in His own time, and His own way, working out His own predicted\npurpose.  It was utterly impossible for any man by private interpretation\nto calculate the course that things would take.  But He foresaw all, and\nmore than two thousand years ago He actually foretold what He would do.\nAnd now, after all these centuries have passed, after great empires have\nrisen and fallen according to His prophecy, after every species of effort\nhas been made in vain to silence God\u2019s Word, after every available means\nhave been employed,\u2014political influence, religious influence, priestly\nassumption, and fiery persecution\u2014to stamp out God\u2019s truth, we see the\nLord Jesus with a mighty hand fulfilling His word, carrying out His\npurpose, and preparing the way for victory.  And is that the time to\ndistrust Him?  If we are so fainthearted now what should we have been\nbefore the Reformation?  What should we have been after John Huss was\nburned, and when the Lord\u2019s own people were like the seven thousand\nhidden ones in the days of Elijah?  If we cannot trust Him now, that we\nhave experienced that \u2018His counsels of old are faithfulness and truth,\u2019\nwhat should we have done if we had lived before any prophecies had been\nfulfilled; if we had had to trust to His bare naked word before it was\nconfirmed by history?  But now that we have this great confirmation, and\nnow that we see the putting forth of His hand, this is not the time for\nfaintheartedness or misgiving; this is not the time to distrust Him whom\nGod has made the \u2018head over all things to His Church.\u2019  It is true that\n\n    \u2018God moves in a mysterious way\n       His wonders to perform;\u2019\n\nbut it is certain that He is riding on the storm and will perform His own\nwonders, so that we may add, as in the next verse of the same hymn,\n\n   \u2018Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,\n      The cloud ye so much dread\n   Is big with mercies, and will break\n      In blessings on your head.\u2019\n\nAnd not only so, but we may reverently hope that it will not be long\nbefore we behold His triumph.  When the disciples were on the lake the\nnight was dark, and the winds were contrary, but He came to them in His\nown good time, and all was rest.  So we may meet with rough weather, but\nthere will be a great calm when He comes, and I cannot but hope He will\nsoon be here.  We have long since known of Him on the mountain-top, but\nnow we can almost see Him walking on the waves.  It is high time\ntherefore that we act on His own words, \u2018When these things begin to come\nto pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption\ndraweth nigh.\u2019  He does not say, \u2018Wait till they have all come to pass,\u2019\nbut \u2018look up as soon as they begin.\u2019  Now they most undoubtedly have\nbegun, and for a long time have been in progress.  It is high time\ntherefore that we begin to look up in faith and hope, waiting for Christ,\nlooking for Christ, longing for Christ, and meanwhile trusting in Christ,\nso that when He comes we may be found pardoned through His blood,\naccepted in His covenant, clothed in His righteousness, and with loving\nhearts waiting for His appearing.\n\n\n\n\nTURKEY.\n\n\nIII.\nTHE EUPHRATES.\n\n\nTHE condition of the Turkish Empire is one of the greatest interests of\nthe day, and is engaging more than any other public subject the grave\nthoughts of thinking men.  The capitalists of England are deploring the\nloss of not less than 50,000,000_l._ through its bankruptcy.  Those who\nrejoice in religious liberty are watching with the deepest interest the\nnoble struggles of the men of Herzegovina to free themselves from the\nfearful yoke of Mahommedan oppression.  And the politicians of all the\ngreat states of Europe are at their wits\u2019 end to know what is to become\nof Turkey.  Nor is this a state of things that has come on suddenly.  It\nis not the transitory effect of any sudden calamity, but the result of a\nsteady decay that has been going forward with irresistible power for\ncertainly not less than fifty years.  France and England combined in the\nCrimean war to endeavour to maintain the Turkish power, but it was all in\nvain.  That power has been steadily on the wane ever since, till now the\ncrisis of bankruptcy has arrived, and \u2018the Sick Man,\u2019 as the Turkish\nempire has been called, appears on the very point of his dissolution.\n\nNow I am quite aware of the difficulty of preaching on such subjects, and\nI have no doubt that in your mind as well as my own there is a preference\nfor those portions of the Word of God which bear directly on our\nspiritual experience; but still \u2018all Scripture is given by inspiration of\nGod, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for\ninstruction in righteousness;\u2019 and, moreover, there is a special blessing\non the congregational study of this Revelation of St. John, for it is\nsaid, chap. i. 3, \u2018Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the\nwords of this prophecy.\u2019  I propose, therefore, to consider three\nquestions: (1.) Has the present state of Turkey been foretold in\nprophecy?  (2.) Does it teach us any lessons respecting our spiritual\nposition?  (3.) Does it throw any light on our hope of the coming of our\nLord?  I pray God that He may fulfil to us the promise attached to this\nwonderful book, and that both they that hear and he that readeth may\nalike enjoy His blessing.\n\nWith reference to the first question,\u2014Has the present state of Turkey\nbeen foretold in prophecy?  I have not the least hesitation in expressing\nmy own conviction that it has been foretold in a most remarkable manner,\nand that the present state of things is nothing more than the fulfilment\nof what God predicted little less than 1800 years ago.\n\nIt is impossible in a short lecture to give all the reasons for this\nopinion.  I can only attempt the barest outline.  But we may gain some\nidea of the subject if we consider what is meant by the Euphrates; what\nby its overflow; and what by its drying up, in the words of Scripture, as\ncontained in Rev. xvi. 12: \u2018And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon\nthe great river Euphrates, and the waters thereof were dried up.\u2019\n\nI.  The Euphrates.  By this we must not understand the literal river, for\nthe whole book is symbolical.  The river, therefore, stands as the symbol\nfor something else.  It is this that makes the subject so difficult, for\nthe symbols are like hieroglyphics, and therefore, though full of\nmeaning, peculiarly liable to be misunderstood.  The question then is,\nwhat is the power of which the Euphrates in this verse stands as a\nsymbol, or hieroglyphic?  Of course, in the answer to such a question, we\nmust distrust ourselves, and I dare not speak on it with the certainty\nwith which we ought to speak of the plainly revealed facts of Scripture.\nAll I can do is to express my own very confident conviction that by the\nEuphrates is symbolized the Ottoman, or, as it is frequently called, the\nTurkish Empire.\n\nFor this I give two reasons:\u2014\n\n(1.)  It is the one great empire existing in the world that originated on\nthe banks of the river Euphrates.  Its birthplace was at Bagdad, and it\nwould be historically more correct to call it the Euphratian than the\nTurkish Empire.  For we must remember that the Turks, or Ottomans, do not\nbelong to the soil.  The French are the natives of France, and the\nItalians of Italy, but the Turks are not the natives of Turkey, but\ninvaders from Asia.  They hold the country by conquest.  The\nhead-quarters of the empire are now in Turkey, on the shores of the\nBosphorus; but its birthplace was Bagdad, on the banks of the Euphrates.\n\n(2.)  There are two series of prophecies in the book of Revelation, the\none given under the figure of seven trumpets, the other of seven vials,\nand they appear to be linked together by a very remarkable connexion as\nto the subject of the prophecies.  You will see the correspondence\nclearly if you compare the account of the trumpets in chapters viii. and\nix. with that of the vials in chapter xvi.\n\nWhen the first trumpet sounded the judgment was on the earth, viii. 7;\nand so the first vial was poured on the earth, xvi. 2.\n\nWhen the second trumpet sounded the judgment was on the sea, chap, viii.\n8.  So the second vial was poured on the sea, xvi. 3.\n\nWhen the third trumpet sounded, the judgment was on the rivers and\nfountains of waters, viii. 10.  So the third angel poured out his vial on\nthe rivers and fountains of waters, xvi. 4.\n\nWhen the fourth trumpet sounded, the judgment was on the sun, viii. 12.\nSo the fourth angel poured out his vial on the sun, xvi. 8.\n\nWhen the fifth trumpet sounded, the judgment was on those men who had not\nthe seal of God on their foreheads, ix. 4.  So the fifth vial was on the\nseat of the beast, xvi. 10.\n\nThe correspondence is not at first sight so apparent in this as in the\nother vials; but if we bear in mind the prophecy that all shall worship\nthe beast whose names are not written in the book of life, we shall see\nthe same reality in the coincidence.\n\nAnd, lastly, when the sixth trumpet sounded, there was a mighty host\nloosed from the Euphrates, ix. 14; and when the sixth vial was poured\nout, it fell on the Euphrates, and the Euphrates was dried up, xvi. 12.\n\nSurely, then, we may come to the conclusion that this prophecy in chapter\nxvi. relates to the same great power as that referred to in chapter ix.;\nand as I believe that it has been proved that the trumpet prophecy\npredicts the invasion of Christendom by the Ottoman empire, so I am\npersuaded in my own mind that that under the vial foretells its\nexhaustion and decay.  The Ottoman empire I believe to be the subject of\nboth the prophecies.\n\nII.  The overflow.  There is no actual mention of the symbol of an\noverflow, but as that figure is employed in Holy Scripture to represent\ninvasion, we may use it in this instance as descriptive of the invasion\nby the Ottomans, as predicted under the seventh trumpet.  If you turn to\nJer. xlvi. 7, 8, you find an invasion by Egypt described by an exactly\nsimilar figure.  The invasion by Egypt is there compared to an overflow\nof the Nile.  \u2018Egypt cometh up like a flood, and his waters are moved as\nthe rivers.\u2019  So in Isaiah, viii. 7, 8, the invasion of Palestine by the\nAssyrians is foretold under the figure of an inundation: \u2018He shall come\nup over all his channels, and go over all his banks: and he shall pass\nthrough Judah; he shall overflow, and go over.\u2019  And so here the invasion\nby the Ottoman or Euphratian horsemen appears to be represented by an\noverflow of the Euphrates.\n\nNow consider the result of the recent floods in our own country.  When\nthe Trent rose above its banks, what happened?  The waters spread far and\nwide on both sides the river, till, instead of fields and homesteads, you\nsaw a vast inland lake.  As you passed by in the train you might have\nseen the whole country under water.  Just so it was when, according to\nthe symbol, the Euphrates overflowed its banks; or, according to history,\nthe Ottomans invaded Europe.  The invading waters rushed on in every\ndirection.  On the east they reached the borders of China; on the west\nthey soon reached Palestine, and all the heroic efforts of the Crusaders\nfailed to check them.  They then spread out in two branches.  On the\nsouth they crossed into Africa, and spread over the whole northern\nportion of that vast continent.  In the north they spread rapidly over\nAsia Minor, crossed the Bosphorus, conquered Greece, and spread over\nEurope till they reached the shores of the Adriatic, and even Venice.\nThus when they had reached the height of their power, the whole of\nsouth-east Europe, the whole of north Africa, and the whole of west Asia,\nwere flooded by the vast inundation.  Their dominion extended from the\nshores of the Adriatic on the west to the borders of China on the east;\nwhile in Africa it reached from the Atlantic to Suez.  Accordingly we\nhave been taught from our childhood of Turkey in Europe, Turkey in Asia,\nand Turkey in Africa.  But I am not sure that we are all aware that the\nTurks, or Ottomans, are Asiatic invaders who obtained their dominions by\nconquest.\n\nIII.  So much for the overflow.  Let us now turn to the drying up as\npredicted in the prophecy.\n\nThink once more of the illustration of the river, and consider what would\nbe the effect on the overflow if the waters were to subside in the river.\nThe inundation would gradually recede, and one field after another would\nbe left dry, until after a time the whole country would be free.  If,\ntherefore, the interpretation of the prophecy be correct, we should\nexpect to see the Ottoman power gradually dying out, and the various\nnations that were overrun by conquest one by one shaking off the yoke.\nAnd this is exactly what has been taking place ever since the year 1820.\nThere is a remarkable prophecy in Daniel believed to refer to this same\nOttoman power, and from it some of the best students of prophecy in the\ncourse of the last century named that year as the probable commencement\nof the decline of Turkey.  Up to the spring of the year all appeared to\nprosper; but then the waters began rapidly to recede.  That very year the\nGreek insurrection began.  The flood receded from Greece, so that in 1827\nthe present kingdom was established.  In that same year the inundation\nwent back so far that Servia was left dry.  In the same year Moldavia and\nWallachia, and the territory north of the Danube, were set free from the\nOttoman yoke; and now there seems to be every hope that Herzegovina and\nBosnia will succeed in shaking off the invader.  Indeed, the whole\nTurkish Empire is in such a condition that if the statesmen of Europe\ncould agree as to who should possess Constantinople, the whole Ottoman\nPower would in all probability be driven out of Europe before another\nyear is over.\n\nAs for Africa, the flood has already left it almost dry.  Morocco has\nbecome an independent state.  The French have taken Algeria, while on the\neast, Egypt has asserted its independence, and with the one exception of\nan annual tribute, is entirely free from the Turkish yoke.  For some\nyears this process had been going on, till at length, in 1866, the Pasha\nassumed the title of \u2018Khedive,\u2019 which means king, proclaiming thereby an\nindependent monarchy.  The only possession remaining to Turkey is the\nlittle province of Tripoli, containing considerably less than 1,000,000\ninhabitants.  Turkey in Africa has almost ceased to exist.  Turkey in\nEurope may last a little longer, but is going fast.  As for Turkey in\nAsia, it has ceased to be a power to any distance east of the Euphrates;\nand I fully believe that on the west of the river the drying-up process\nwill be steadily continued till the floods recede from Palestine, and\nthat beautiful land is set free from the blight of Turkish misgovernment,\nand handed over to be once more a land flowing with milk and honey to its\nrightful possessors, the seed of Abraham, the nation to which God has\ngiven it.\n\nSuch are a few of the leading events with reference to the decline of the\nOttoman empire; and there is only one further remark that I would make\nrespecting it.  The failure has not been the result of external conquest,\nbut of internal decay.  The Turks have not been brought down by any great\ndefeats, but by their own want of life.  The powers of Europe have not\nattacked them, but, on the contrary, have done their best to uphold them,\nas, _e.g._, in the Crimean war; but, notwithstanding all that France and\nEngland could do, their power is falling to pieces of itself.  The sick\nman is dying, and the physicians cannot keep him alive.  Their energy\nseems gone, their exchequer is exhausted, and their population is so much\ndiminished, that there are now only 2,000,000 Turks or Ottomans left in\nEurope.  In other words, the Euphrates is drying up, and the inundation\ncannot long remain upon the land.\n\nNow I can quite understand the feeling of those who have experienced a\ncertain amount of disappointment in hearing this morning about the\nTurkish empire, instead of something bearing more directly on their own\npersonal salvation, and I should myself have preferred to have preached\non some such subject.  But I have taken this subject on principle.\n\n1.  Because, as I have already said, \u2018all Scripture is given by\ninspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for\ncorrection, for instruction in righteousness.\u2019  No portion, therefore, of\nGod\u2019s word, whether it be prophetic or historical, ought to be set aside\nby those who really desire to know God\u2019s truth.  If we wish to know the\nwhole mind of God we must be prepared to study the whole of the Holy\nScriptures which God has given us.\n\n2.  But, besides that, we must remember that our whole faith depends on\nHoly Scripture.  All that we know of the Lord Jesus Christ, of His great\nhigh priesthood, of His atoning blood, of His free salvation, of the gift\nof the Holy Ghost, of the new birth, and of the coming advent, all our\nhope for the future, and all our rest for the present, depend simply and\nentirely on the word of God.  In it we find all; without it we have\nnothing.  When, therefore, we see a great prophecy of Holy Scripture\nfulfilled in our own day, within reach of our own observation, traceable\non our own maps, and included within the range of our own memory, we\nought not to pass it by, but should accept it with thankfulness in these\ndays of rebuke and infidelity, as a most blessed confirmation of our\nfaith.  Let any one who has a different view respecting Scripture look at\nthe facts.  Two thousand four hundred years ago there was a prophet, the\nprophet Daniel, by the river of Ulai, and he foresaw in a vision the rise\nand progress of a mighty power, telling us at the same time how long it\nwas likely to continue.  Six hundred years after him there arose another\nprophet, who described what appears to be the same power, and gave a\ngraphic picture both of its progress and decay.  Students of Holy\nScripture have since been diligently occupied in the study of these two\nprophecies; and by comparing Scripture with Scripture were long since\nbrought to the conclusion that in the course of this century the decline\nof the Ottoman Empire would take place.  And now we see it going on.\nJust when the students thought it would begin, then it began, and just as\nthe prophet described its decay, so it is decaying.  The prophets\nthemselves could have known nothing about it when they prophesied, for\nthe empire did not arise till many centuries after they had foretold its\nfall.  But God knew all, and a thousand years were to Him as one day.\nThese prophecies, therefore, did not arise from any private\ninterpretation or human calculation of probabilities, but \u2018holy men of\nGod spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.\u2019\n\nNow what should be the result on our minds?  What effect should such\nfacts have on ourselves?  Should they not strengthen faith and confirm us\nin a simple, childlike, unquestioning trust in the inspired word of the\nliving God?  Who but God Himself could have foretold either to Daniel or\nJohn the rise and decay of the Ottoman Empire?  It is God\u2019s own word,\nthen, with which we are dealing when we study Holy Scripture.  There may\nbe things in it completely beyond all power of human calculation, as the\nhistory of the Ottoman Empire was utterly beyond the human calculation of\neither Daniel or John.  But God\u2019s truth does not depend on our power of\ncalculation.  It is beyond us altogether, infinite, eternal, divine; and\nour part is, whether we can fit it together or not, to receive the whole\nas God has given it, and as weak, ignorant, short-lived, and\nshort-sighted creatures, to receive His will as He has revealed it, into\nour hands, and hearts, and say, \u2018I believe God, that it shall be as it\nwas said unto me.\u2019\n\n\n\nIV.\nTHE FROGS.\n\n\nIN opening our subject in the last lecture, I said that there were three\nquestions to be considered: 1.  Has the present state of Turkey been\nforetold in prophecy?  2.  Does it teach us any lessons respecting our\nspiritual position? and 3.  Does it throw any light on the blessed hope\nof our Lord\u2019s return?  The first of these questions we examined in the\nlast lecture, and surely it was proved that in the symbol of the drying\nup of the Euphrates we have a most remarkable symbolic prophecy of the\nexhaustion of the Ottoman power.  To-day we are to pass on to the second\nquestion: Is our own spiritual position affected by the exhaustion of\nTurkish power?  Now I can quite understand the thought that has no doubt\noccurred to many of you, that the two things can have no possible\nconnexion with each other, for there seems to our mind to be no possible\nconnexion of even the most remote character between the Turkish Empire\nand our own spiritual life.  We may well say, \u2018What have we to do with\nthe Turks, or the Turks with us in our own daily, private walk with God?\u2019\nIt may surprise some of you when I say that, although no man can explain\nthe reason of the connexion, I believe it to be very intimate, and that\nthe religious life of modern Christendom is in a most remarkable manner\nbound up with the decline of the Turkish Empire.\n\nTo understand this we must remember that the great prophecy in the book\nof Revelation is arranged in periods.  Each seal, each trumpet, and each\nvial, represents a period.  So there is one particular period of history\nforetold under the figure of the sixth vial, and all the events predicted\nunder that vial we should expect to appear at about the same time in\nhistory.  Whether we can trace any connexion or not, the events of each\nvial are linked together in respect of time; so that if there are two\nevents under any one vial, when we see the one we ought to look out for\nthe other, and when one takes place we have every reason to believe that\nthe other is at hand.  Now there are two events, apparently quite\ndistinct in themselves, which are thus connected with each other under\nthe sixth vial\u2014the drying up of the Euphrates, and the appearance of\ncertain most dangerous and seductive spirits, going forth to gather men\ntogether for the battle of Almighty God.  If, therefore, it be a fact, as\nI firmly believe it to be a fact, that the Euphrates is now being dried\nup, then it follows as a sure and certain consequence that the unclean\nspirits are soon, if not already, going forth to do their deadly work.\nThe two things go on according to the prophecy within the same prophetic\nperiod, and therefore if we see the one, as believers in the word of God,\nwe ought to be on the look-out for the other.  We are thus brought to the\nconclusion, that whenever the Euphrates shall be drying up, there will be\na time of great spiritual seduction; or, in other words, that the\nexhaustion of the Turkish Empire will be accompanied, or quickly\nfollowed, by a remarkable development of mischievous spiritual power.\nThis, then, must be our subject in this lecture, and we will study (if\nGod permit) first the danger, and then the caution.  May God grant that\nthe result may be that we may be like those few men of Sardis who had not\ndefiled their garments, and who will walk with the Lord Jesus in white,\nfor they are worthy!\n\nI.  The danger.\n\nThis is described in verses 13, 14.  \u2018And I saw three unclean spirits\nlike frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of\nthe beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.  For they are the\nspirits of devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the\nearth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great\nday of God Almighty.\u2019\n\nAll students of prophecy are well aware how much has been written in\nexposition of these two verses, and what different explanations have been\ngiven of these three seductive spirits.  I have not time this morning to\ndiscuss any of them, but there are three things perfectly clear, and it\nwill be sufficient for us to study them.\n\n(1.)  The subtlety of the danger.\n\nThe passage does not describe three empires, or three churches, or three\ngreat societies, or three organizations of any kind whatever, but three\nspirits.  Now a spirit is something subtle and unseen.  Its presence is\nnot perceived; its voice is not heard; its touch is not felt.  It comes\nand goes, but it leaves no footsteps in the sand.  It seems, therefore, a\ngreat mistake to explain this prophecy by different systems that are\nconspicuous to the eye, and we must be careful lest, by so doing, we\nshould be thrown off our guard with reference to our real danger.  There\nmay be no false system presented to us, and we may be perfectly safe with\nreference to any definite form of evil, such as infidelity or popery, but\nthere may be any one, or indeed all three, of these deadly spirits\nimperceptibly breathing poison into our souls.  It is this subtlety of\nspiritual action that makes it so pre-eminently dangerous.  If it were\nall open and before the eye we should know how to avoid it.\n\n(2.)  The variety.\n\nThere is not one spirit only, but there are three acting together.  We\nare taught, therefore, that at the time of the drying up of the Euphrates\nwe must be prepared for subtle and seductive power of various forms and\ncharacters.  If there were only one spirit the danger might assume only\none form: but as there are three spirits acting together we should be on\nour guard against every possible combination.  We are not merely to look\nout for three distinct and separate forms of error, but, as all the three\nact together, they may combine in every conceivable variety.  One may act\non one mind, two on another, and all three on a third, and so produce the\nmost remarkable and inconsistent combinations.  Suppose, _e.g._, that the\nfirst was Infidelity, the second Worldliness, and the third Popery.\nRemember, I do not say that they are, but suppose they were.  In some\ncases you might have avowed Atheism; in some, a life so absorbed in the\nworld that a man does not even take the trouble to be an infidel; and in\nothers pure and unadulterated Romanism.  But, besides that, you might\nfind every possible combination.  Sceptical opinions might be combined\nwith Romish ritual, and high ceremonial with worldliness of life.\nIndeed, there is scarcely any form of seductive error that you might not\ndevelope by combining in different proportions those three most dangerous\nspirits.  Thus it follows that, though a person may be well on his guard\nagainst one, he may be gradually entangled by the other two; and though\nhe may be on the watch against all in their distinct and separate forms,\nhe may be drawn out of a straight path by a beautiful combination of the\nthree, in which, according to St. Paul\u2019s illustration, Satan has\ntransformed himself into an angel of light.\n\n(3.)  The result of the action of these spirits in conflict.  Verse\n14,\u2014\u2018For they are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth\nunto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the\nbattle of the great day of God Almighty.\u2019\n\nTheir special object appears to be to gather together the kings to the\nbattle of the great day of God Almighty; and in studying the prophecy it\nis impossible to forget the political difficulties that have already\narisen from the decline of Turkey.  But we must not limit the prophecy to\nkings, for the warning voice of verse 15 clearly applies to us all.\nKings are not the only persons who find it necessary to watch and keep\ntheir garments.  These spirits, then, are predicted as gathering men\ntogether for battle.  When they are abroad truth and error will be thrown\ninto antagonism.  The Lord Jesus Christ will be collecting His forces,\nand Satan his: there will be on both sides the mustering of the host.\nThose that are on the side of the Lamb will rally round His banner,\n\u2018called, and chosen, and faithful;\u2019 and those that are under the\ninfluence of any of the seductive spirits will throw themselves into the\nranks of open opposition.  The characteristic of the day will be, not\nsloth or indifference, but zeal, eagerness, and conflict.\n\nNow no one can have watched the progress of men\u2019s minds during the last\nhalf century without observing that this has been most remarkably the\ncase.  There cannot be a doubt as to the fact that, while the Turkish\npower has been declining, the powers of good and evil throughout\nChristendom have been awakening into life.  The two processes have gone\non side by side.  Turkey has been drying up, and almost every state in\nEurope has been aroused to religious conflict.  Many amongst us have been\nable to trace the vast change that has taken place during our own\nlifetimes.  I can see myself an immense difference between the state of\nthings when I commenced my ministry forty years ago, and the state of\nthings now.  Then the characteristic of the day was stagnation, but now\nit is conflict.  Then our warfare was against cold, dull, dead, stolid\nindifference; but now error in every shape is in full activity, and we\nrequire to be armed at all points against every species of attack.  Then\nall that unconverted men desired was to be left undisturbed in the deep\nsleep that had settled down on their souls.  But they are all awake now,\nand the cry is \u2018To arms!\u2019  Many, alas! are on the wrong side.  Far too\nmany have fallen under the fatal influence of these seducing spirits;\nbut, whether on the wrong side or the right, they are awake.  They are\nup, and hurrying to their post.  The time for sleep is over; the bugle\nhas sounded, the ranks are forming, the struggle has begun, and the time\nis come when those who know their Saviour must be prepared to stand with\na holy decision on His side.\n\nII.  And now you can see the overwhelming importance of the warning of\nthis verse: \u2018Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest\nhe walk naked, and they see his shame.\u2019  You can see that the exhaustion\nof Turkey is a conspicuous signal from God to arouse all Christendom to\nwatchfulness.  We cannot see the three unclean spirits coming forth, but\nwe can see Turkey decaying; and that is God\u2019s visible signal that the\ninvisible spirits are at work.  If ever, therefore, there was a time for\nespecial watchfulness it is now.  If ever there was a time when our young\npeople require to be cautioned, and warned, and helped, and guided, it is\nnow.  And you will observe that the warning is given to those who have\nsome garments.  It is not spoken to the heathen, or unconverted\nworldlings; but to those who have, what I may term, some sort of\nChristian clothing.  I have not time to discuss what that clothing is.\nIt may be their baptismal robe, that which they put on when they were\nbaptized into Christ.  It may be the robe of their Christian profession,\nthat which they wear habitually in daily life; or it may even be that\nspotless robe washed white in the blood of the Lamb, in which alone they\ncan stand before God, the wedding garment of the perfect righteousness of\nthe Lord Jesus Christ.  In whatever sense we understand the expression,\nthe solemn and sacred warning from God to every one of us, both old and\nyoung, is the same; viz. that we watch and keep our garments, lest we\nwalk naked, and they see our shame.  We see the Euphrates drying up, and\ntherefore we know that the evil spirits are abroad.  We know, _i.e._ that\nthere are subtle, deadly influences all around us, of various kinds and\ncharacters, whose object is to draw us away from the simplicity that is\nin Christ, to strip us of our garments, and to enlist us on the wrong\nside of the struggle.  We may not be aware of their stealthy approach;\nand we are not likely to be so, for we are certain not to see them.  We\nneed not necessarily be shocked by their suggestions, for, though they be\nunclean spirits, they can clothe their temptation in the form of beauty.\nBut, whether we detect them or not, we may be sure they are at work, and\nin full activity.  They are moving with stealthy steps in the midst of\nus.  They are approaching our minds in secret, disturbing prayer,\nsuggesting doubts, weakening faith, poisoning thought, alienating love,\nand so labouring by subtle, mental influence, to detach us from Christ.\nAnd only think what the result would be if they were to succeed; nothing\nless than this, that we should walk naked and they would see our shame.\nIt is not clear who is meant by the \u2018they\u2019 that are to see the shame.  It\nmay be the world at large, or it may be the very spirits that have done\nthe mischief, looking on with a fiendish smile on the misery and\nnakedness of the poor wretch whom they have ruined.  But it matters not\nwho sees it; that will make very little difference.  To be naked before\nGod, that is enough.  He is sure to see it, and the dreadful horrors of\nsuch a position far exceed any power of human imagination.  You remember\nhow St. Paul spoke of it in 2 Cor. v. 3: \u2018If so be that being clothed\u2019\n(clothed, _i.e._ with the resurrection body) \u2018we shall not be found\nnaked.\u2019  Clothed, but yet naked.  Risen, but not covered.  Alive with all\nthe realities of the body, and all the faculties of the mind, memory, and\nconscience; but with the poor soul naked, without a claim, without an\nexcuse, without an atonement, without a plea, without a Saviour, without\nany hope for all eternity of either concealment or forgiveness.  The\nthought is too dreadful to be borne.  Oh, may God in mercy grant that not\none of us, and not one whom we love, may be found naked in that day!  And\noh! what an inexpressible joy it is for the child of God, however weak,\nhowever unworthy, however unable to cope with all the seductions of those\nwicked spirits, to fall back on the sure promise of his blessed Saviour:\n\u2018They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My\nhand.\u2019  He can keep us, and we may be sure He will.  Let us throw\nourselves then into His hand to be clothed, to be kept, to be watched\nover, to be held fast, that so, preserved in Christ Jesus, and clothed in\nHis spotless robe, we may never be found naked, but may when He comes be\npresented faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.\n\n\n\nV.\nTHE ADVENT.\n\n\nI TRUST there are many amongst us who are able to say, from the very\ndepths of their longing hearts, \u2018I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait.\u2019\nThe long-expected coming of the Lord is the blessed hope on which their\nhearts rest in eager and earnest expectation, and they can add their\nunqualified \u2018Amen\u2019 to the last prayer of Scripture, \u2018Even so, come, Lord\nJesus.\u2019\n\nI am persuaded that all those who are thus looking for the coming of the\nLord must feel the greatest possible interest in the last of the three\nsubjects proposed for our consideration with reference to the exhaustion\nof the Turkish Empire, as symbolized by the drying up of the Euphrates.\nWe have seen that the exhaustion which is now attracting the anxious\nattention of all the politicians of Europe was foretold more than\neighteen hundred years ago in this remarkable symbolic prophecy.  We\nfound also in the last lecture that the internal decay of Turkey is a\nwarning to us all to be on the watch against the seductive spirits of the\nlatter days; and we now have to examine whether there is any connexion\nbetween that decay and the glorious advent of the Lord Jesus; whether, in\nother words, the decline of the Ottoman empire is not like the cry which\naroused the ten virgins in the parable, \u2018The Bridegroom cometh.\u2019  There\nare two questions which will clearly require our careful study, (1.) What\nlight does the decline of the Ottoman Empire throw on the near approach\nof our Lord\u2019s return?  And (2), if it does throw such a light, how are we\nto understand His declaration that He will come as a thief?  May God\nHimself, who has inspired His own word, be graciously pleased to direct\nus in the study of it; and to lead us, every one of us, to be perfectly\nready, waiting for the Lord Jesus!\n\nI.  What light, then, does the decay of the Ottoman Empire throw on the\nprospect of the near approach of our Lord\u2019s return?  Has it any bearing\non our Christian hope? and may we regard it as a signal from God that the\ntime is come when we may soon expect the Advent?\n\nIn order to answer this question we must examine:\u2014\n\n(1.)  The position of the prophecy in the general structure of the Book.\nThe prophecies of this wonderful book are arranged on a divinely ordered\nplan.  There are some chapters to which it is difficult to assign their\nplace; but it is easy to see what may be termed the backbone running\nthrough the whole.  To use a very homely illustration, there is the main\nline of rail conspicuously running through the whole, and you may trace\nthat clearly, though you cannot always trace the branches.  Now in this\noutline there are three great series of prophetic periods\u2014the seven\nseals, the seven trumpets, and the seven vials; and these three series\nappear in a remarkable manner to follow each other.  First there are the\nseals, as in chap. vi.; and when the sixth seal is opened, and the\nseventh about to follow, there appears a general expectation of the\ncoming of the Lord.  But when the seventh seal is actually opened,\ninstead of our coming to the end, as apparently was expected, we find a\nsecond series developed.  The seven trumpets were wrapped as it were in\nthe seventh seal (viii. 1, 2), so that when it was opened they appeared,\nand a fresh series commenced, and the trumpet-angels one after another\nblew their blast.  At length the seventh trumpet is sounded, and again it\nappears as though you had reached the end.  But like the seventh seal,\nit, too, is found to contain within itself a third series.  The seven\nvials are wrapped within it, and when that last trumpet is blown they are\npoured forth in awful succession on a wicked world.  Thus the seventh\nseal contains all the trumpets, and the seventh trumpet all the vials.\nNow if this be the case it is clear that the sixth vial must come very\nnear the end.  The trumpets are none sounded till the six seals are\npassed and the seventh seal is opened.  The vials do not begin till the\nsix trumpets have completed their blast and the seventh has sounded; and\nof the vials five must have been poured out already, so that there can be\nnothing remaining but the seventh, or the last.\n\nTo take the very homely illustration of a railway.  Suppose a series of\nstations on a line, the seventh being a junction; suppose that on the\nbranch from that junction there was another series of stations, the\nseventh again being a junction; and from that second junction there was\nanother line of seven stations, the last being your home.  What would you\nthink of your position when you had travelled the whole length of the\nmain line, and the whole of the first branch, and when you had gone so\nfar along the second branch that you had actually reached the sixth\nstation on that last line?  You would say, surely, that you were near the\nend of your journey, close to home.  Now whenever the Church of God\nreaches the sixth vial that will be its position.  All the seals will\nhave been opened, all the trumpets blown, and six of the seven vials\npoured out.\n\nBut that I believe to be our position now, and that we are at this\npresent time living under the sixth vial.  I believe that the great\npublic, political event of the sixth vial, is the drying up of the\nOttoman Empire, and that we can all see to be in progress.  There can be\nno doubt about the great, public, political fact.  It is confirmed by\nevery newspaper, and is forced on the attention of England by the sore\ndistress brought on many families through the Turkish bankruptcy.  But if\nthis be the fact predicted by the symbol of the drying up of the\nEuphrates, then it follows that we are living under the sixth vial, and\nthat the seventh vial is all that remains of the great prophetic series.\n\n(2.)  But consider next the contents of the seventh vial.  The seventh\nseal contained the series of seven trumpets, and the seventh trumpet the\nseries of seven vials.  May there not be some similar series wrapped up\nin the seventh vial?\n\nSuch a question would be perfectly reasonable, but the only answer that\nwe can give is that we do not find any such series described in the\nprophecy.  On the other hand, everything in it looks like the end.  When\nthe seventh angel poured out his vial there came a great voice out of the\ntemple of heaven from the throne, saying, \u2018It is done!\u2019  It certainly did\nnot look like the commencement of another series, but taught us rather to\nlook out for the great winding up of the world and the final close of the\ngreat prophetic plan.  So in the account of the seventh vial you may see\nfour things plainly revealed.  The fall of Babylon, which I believe to be\nthe fall of Rome: chap, xvi. 17, to the end of xviii.  The marriage\nsupper of the Lamb, chap. xix. 1\u20139.  The triumphant victory of the Son of\nGod: chap. xix. 11, 12; and, last of all, the millennial reign, chap, xx.\nSurely, then, this vial brings us to the end.  Surely when it is poured\nforth we shall have done with the politics of the world, and shall cease\nto look for the gradual development of history.  All thoughts will then\nbe occupied by the unspeakable blessedness of the marriage supper of the\nLamb.\n\nIt seems clear, then, that the seventh vial is the close of the series,\nand that under it we are to expect the final victory of the Lord Jesus\nChrist.  The conclusion, therefore, is plain, that if the exhaustion of\nthe Ottoman Empire is the event symbolized by the drying up of the\nEuphrates, it is high time that we awake out of sleep; for the sixth vial\nis already begun, and we must soon expect to behold Christ Himself, with\nall the joys of His kingdom and all the terrors of a crushing victory.  I\nsay \u2018soon,\u2019 not \u2018immediately,\u2019 for it does not appear that this passage\nteaches us to expect it any day or hour, for it describes certain great\npolitical events which have not yet taken place.  The Euphrates is\ndrying, but not yet dry.  The kings have not yet passed over from the\nEast, and the battle of Almighty God, whatever it may symbolize, has not\nyet been fought.  All, therefore, that we can say is, that we appear to\nhave reached what Daniel terms \u2018the time of the end;\u2019 that now it is high\ntime to awake out of sleep, for we already begin to see the first streaks\nof morning dawn.  We have already witnessed some of the great events that\nmust very shortly precede the Advent, and we may begin to look out full\nof hope for the actual return of the Lord Himself.\n\n(3.)  This conclusion is confirmed by the words of our Lord Himself.  I\nneed not stop to prove that He is the speaker in this passage, but we\nmust carefully observe His words.  What does He say when the sixth vial\nis poured out, and the Euphrates is drying up, and when the three evil\nspirits are gone forth through Christendom?  What is the warning voice\nwhich He Himself then gives out with reference to His coming?  What\nlesson would He have us learn from these great events?  Of what are they\nHis signal?  Does He not teach us to be looking out for His coming?  Does\nHe not say, \u2018Behold, I come as a thief?\u2019  Does He not call us to a double\nwatchfulness, and teach us not merely to watch against the seductive\ninfluence of these foul spirits, but to watch also for His own appearing,\nand for the bright hope of joyfully meeting Him?  But if this be the\ncase, and if the prophecy of the sixth vial is really being now\nfulfilled, as we believe it to be, by the drying up of the Turkish power;\nthen every fresh symptom of decay in that power, every loss of territory\nby the Turks, every fresh insurrection, and every proof that the empire\nis reduced to hopeless bankruptcy, is like a clarion blast of the trumpet\nof God ringing through the ears of Christendom; and proclaiming, with a\ndistinctness which cannot be mistaken, \u2018Watch, therefore, for ye know\nneither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh!\u2019\n\nII.  But if this be the case, it behoves us carefully to examine our\nsecond question.  If such a warning is so clearly given, how can He be\nsaid to come as a thief?  He Himself teaches us perfectly clearly that\nthe meaning of the illustration is that, as the thief comes without\ngiving notice, so He will return without previously giving any such\nnotice of His approach as will arouse the sleepers.  The thief does not\ntell you when he is coming; and when he comes, he neither knocks the door\nnor rings the bell.  But he comes quietly.  He does nothing to disturb\nthose that are asleep, and His object is to enter unobserved.  So our\nLord teaches us, that when He comes He will do nothing to startle the\nworld.  There will be nothing to prevent men eating and drinking,\nmarrying and giving in marriage, right up to the very end.  The men of\nthe world will find Him in the house before they have the least idea of\nHis approach.  That this is the meaning of the words is perfectly clear\nfrom what He said (Matt. xxiv. 42\u201344): \u2018Watch, therefore; for ye know not\nwhat hour your Lord doth come.  But know this, that if the goodman of the\nhouse had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have\nwatched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.\nTherefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son\nof Man cometh.\u2019\n\nBut, you may say, how far is this consistent with what has been said of\nthe probability of His return following quickly on the exhaustion of the\nOttoman Empire?  If there be a prophetic series in the book of\nRevelation, and we have already reached the last station on the last\nbranch of the line, how is it that He can be said to come upon us without\nnotice as a thief does?  Has He not given us notice in this prophecy?\n\nIn answer to that question we must observe the clearly marked distinction\nbetween His own believing people and the unbelieving world.  To His own\npeople He will not come as a thief, for we read in 1 Thess. v. 4, 5, \u2018But\nye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake _you_ as\na thief.\u2019  _You_ are in the light, _i.e._, for you can see Him coming; so\n_you_ will not be found asleep.  So He Himself taught us distinctly in\nthe very passage in which He uses the illustration; for He there shows\nthat His own disciples are to expect His coming when they see the\npredicted signs, just as they expect the summer when they see the budding\nof the trees in spring. (Matt. xxiv. 32, 33.)  Nor are they to wait in\ntheir expectation till they see these signs fully developed; not to wait,\n_i.e._, till the young branch is fully grown; but they are to watch\nbeginnings, and learn from them.  They are to draw their conclusion when\nthe branch is yet tender, without waiting till it is fully ripened; as He\nHimself taught us in Luke, xxi. 28: \u2018When these things _begin_ to come to\npass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth\nnigh.\u2019  If, therefore, you be amongst the people of God, you need never\nbe taken by surprise.  We do not know the exact time, but we may study\nthe predicted signs, and, having them before us, may look out for the\nsecond advent just as Simeon and Anna looked out for the first.  We may\nbe like the servant of Elijah, going up again and again to the hill-top\nto watch for the coming rain; or like the loving servant watching for the\nfootsteps of the master whom he loves, and perfectly ready, whenever he\nreturns, to open the door, and welcome him to his home.  The Lord came\nsuddenly to His temple, but He did not come suddenly to Simeon; and the\nLord will come as a thief to the world, but if you hold fast to His own\nword He will never be as a thief to you.\n\nAs I have already said, it is the _world_ that will be found asleep, and\nto whom He will really come as a thief.  But some man may say, \u2018If there\nbe these signs beforehand, will they not arouse the world as well as\nbelievers?  Will they not awaken society?  Will they not compel men to\nprepare?\u2019  I answer that by another question, Do they?  There are certain\nsigns already given; do they wake up society?  Have they produced such an\nimpression as to arouse the great mass of worldly men?  There are the\nJews preserved as a separate people, in fulfilment of a prophecy given\nmore than three thousand years ago; what effect has such a fulfilment of\nGod\u2019s word had in the city?  There are all the politicians of Europe at\ntheir wits\u2019 end because of the decay of Turkey; how many even of\nyourselves have been led thereby to look out for the near approach of our\nblessed Saviour?  There is Rome stripped of its temporal power in\nfulfilment of great prophecies given, some of them, more than two\nthousand years ago; how many are there that have been led by that\nfulfilment to look out even for the fall of Babylon?  The simple fact is,\nthat these great fulfilments, though conspicuous to the eye of those who\nstudy them, completely fail to produce the least impression on the deep\nsleep of the unconverted world.  The prophecies are not read; the facts\nare not compared with them; the lessons are not learned; and the soul is\nnot aroused to preparation.  How many are there even in this very town on\nwhom the fulfilment of God\u2019s prophetic word has never produced the\nslightest effect?  They are living just as they would have lived, or\nrather sleeping as they would have slept, if there had been no prophecy\nto give the warning, and no history to confirm its truth.  Can you\nwonder, then, that the Lord Jesus should come upon such persons as a\nthief?\n\nBut I trust, dear brethren, that He may not come as a thief to you, but\nthat you may be found in the light and awake, not in darkness and asleep;\nor, to use the illustration of this text, that you may not wake up naked\nto your everlasting shame.  I am sure you desire when He comes to be\nfound awake, looking out, ready to welcome Him.  You wish to be found\nclothed.  Oh, think what it would be to be found naked, when all the\nsaints of God are standing around you in their resurrection robe!  We\nhave lately read of poor people startled in the night by shipwreck, and\nrushing as they were to the deck, utterly unprotected against the bitter\nblast of the winter\u2019s snow-storm.  Think what it would be to be suddenly\naroused from your own deep sleep, to see all that you have in the world\nwrecked around you, and to find your poor soul quite naked, while the\nterrible storm of God\u2019s most just judgment beats upon you, and breaks\ndown every hope of escape!  Oh, dear brethren, may it never be so with\nyou!  May you be amongst those who can peacefully look for His appearing,\nbecause you are clothed in His righteousness!  May you be kept walking in\nthe light, and cleansed from all sin through His most precious blood!\nThen you will have nothing to fear, but everything to hope for, in the\nthought of His coming.  Then He will never come as a thief to you, for\nyou will be ready at any time to open the door and welcome Him.  As the\nbride delights in the bridegroom, so will you delight in Him.  Your trial\nwill consist, not in the dread of His coming, but in the difficulty of\npatiently waiting for His return; and when He comes you will find no\nlanguage to bless and praise His holy name, for His boundless and\nunmerited love in having redeemed you by His atoning blood; in having\ncalled you by His sovereign grace; in having forgiven you through His\nfinished atonement; in having sanctified you by the Holy Ghost; and in\nhaving preserved you in His own unchanging faithfulness, till He shall\nhave finally presented you spotless and faultless before the throne of\nHis everlasting glory.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 LONDON:\n          Printed by JOHN STRANGEWAYS, Castle St. Leicester Sq.\n\n\n\n\nBy the same author.\n\n\n                                * * * * *\n\nSANCTIFICATION: being Expository Sermons.\n\n   Second Edition, enlarged.\n\n   Square fcap. cloth, 2_s._ 6_d._\n\nTHE COMMUNION AND COMMUNICANT.\n\n   Fourth Edition, revised and enlarged.\n\n   Fcap. 8vo. sewed, 6_d._\n\nBAPTISM.\n\n   As taught in the Bible and Prayer-book.\n\n   Sixth Edition.  Sewed, 4_d._\n\nINSPIRATION: its Nature and Extent.\n\n   Sewed, 6_d._\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                    HATCHARDS, 187 PICCADILLY, LONDON.\n               H. COLBRAN, CALVERLEY ROAD, TUNBRIDGE WELLS.\n\n\n\n\nFootnotes\n\n\n{30}  Hume, ii. 67.\n\n{32}  I was interested, two days after preparing this lecture, by reading\nthe following sentence in the _Times_, \u2018Upon every temporal consideration\nRome never was so low as she lies this day.\u2019\u2014_Times_, Dec. 15, 1873.","title":"Rome and Turkey in Connexion with the Second Advent","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":14956}