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At a time when thrones are tottering, when kingdoms are reeling to and fro like drunken men, and all Europe is shaken to its very centre, the question involuntarily arises in every thoughtful mind, "What shall the end of these things be?"
That very "discourse of reason, that looks before and after," of which mankind, as such, are possessed, cannot fail to prompt such as inquiry, and to lead its possessor to look around in every direction, to see if there be any means by which he may penetrate the palpable obscure of the coming futurity.
The Christian mind, especially ever wake fully alive to all that may help or hinder the interests of truth and of godliness, desires to know what effect the stupendous changes now in progress are likely to have on the cause and Kingdom of God in the world.
Now God has seen fit to a certain extent , to gratify this natural desire, not indeed for the satisfaction of a mere vain curiosity, but for the practical guidance of His people
The passage of the prophetic word, which I have chosen for the subject of this treatise, Rev. 11:1-14, casts a clear and steady light upon the events now transpiring, and upon the ultimate issue to which they are tending
There are some, indeed who deprecate all such attempts as the present. Prophecy, say they, is given for the conformation of faith, after it has come to pass, but not to be made a subject of inquiry before it is accomplished.
To inquire into events, therefore, still in the womb of futurity, they regard as presumptuous. Now, there is no presumption at all in the matter. The Lord Himself has expressly encouraged such inquiries. "Blessed" saith he, at the beginning of this book, in express reference to events still future, "blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy,and keep those things that are written therein, for the time is at hand."
It is quite true, that no efforts of human ingenuity can fix before hand the precise moment when the grand moments of prophecy shall take place. Of the coming of Christ, for instance, to destroy the Man of Sin, there is abundant reason to believe, that the saying is just as true, as of his coming to destroy an ungodly world. "of the day, or hour, knoweth no man, no not the angels of God, but my Father only."
But nevertheless, the signs of the approach of the one day, as well as of the other, are clearly given in the word of God. "Now, learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender, and putting forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh, so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the very doors." Matt 24:32.
We admit that "it is not for us to know the times and seasons, which the Father hath put into His own powder." But the times into which we now propose to inquire, are not such. They are not the secret things which belong unto God. They are things which are revealed, and therefore, belong unto us, and to our children; and the signs by which they may be known, are recorded for our instruction and warning. To refuse, therefore, or neglect to inquire into these things, is it not the effect of godly reverence or true humility?
It is the effect either of indifference, or of morbid feeling, which instead of being approved, exposes those who cherish it to the keen and cutting rebuke of the Lord: "When it is evening, ye say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowering. O! ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky: but can ye discern the signs of the times?"
We know, in point of fact, that the prophecies already fulfilled, were not unintelligible till after the event, that they were given for the regulation of conduct, for quickening the faith and vigilance of God's people, as the time for the fulfillment of prophecy drew nigh; and they actually had the effect. Thus, in regard to the return from Babylonish captivity, as the time for its accomplishments approached, Daniel set himself to the prayerful study of Jerimiah on the subject. And, what was the result? That he found it involved in hopeless mystery, till the event should clear it up? No. Before the decree came forth for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, "he understood by books, the number of years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem."
The consequence was, he set his face unto the Lord, to seek by prayer and supplication, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes, the favour of God upon his people, and the city that was called by his name. The Lord heard the prayer of His servant, and the captivity of Judah was turned. The prophecy of the seventy weeks, in regard to the coming of Messiah was equally understood before its actual fulfillment. As these prophetic weeks were drawing to a close, the body of the Judaites were living in the confident expectation that Messiah was about to appear. Simeon, a just man, and a devout, waited for the consolation of Israel, had it especially revealed to him, by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, till he had seen the Lord's Christ. This godly man was peculiarity favoured, but even hoses who had no special revelation, were led, by attention to the prophecy, to the certain conclusion, that the coming of the Lord was at hand.
Thus, when John the Baptist, our Lord's forerunner, appeared in the wilderness of Judea, preaching the baptism of repentance, "all the people" says Luke, "were in the expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not". There was, no doubt, much misapprehension of the true character of the Messiah mingled with their expectations, but this resulted not from any obscurity in the prophecy, but from the sinful carnality of their own minds. Their expectation itself that the time, the set time for Christ's appearing, was near, was in itself as well founded as it was general. So, strong indeed, and universal, was the expectation of Christ's coming, just before his actual appearing, that even the heathen historians have referred to it. "There had spread," says Suetonius, "over the whole of the east, an old and constant opinion, that it was in the degrees of the fates, that at that time, some coming from Judea should gain the empire of the whole world."1
Tacitus, in his history, in almost the very same language, alludes to the very same universal belief2 Whence came this general expectation, but from the prophecy of the seventy weeks, which were then near their end? Our Lord's prediction with regards to the destruction of Jerusalem, too, was both intended to be understood before the event, and was actually so understood. "When ye see Jerusalem encompassed with armies", he said to His disciples, "then know, that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let them which are in the midst of it, depart out, and let not them which are in the countries, enter there into." Our Lord's disciples gave heed to his prophetic sayings; when the predicted signs appeared, they fled to Pella in the mountains; there they were hid in the day of the Lord's anger, and so escaped the calamities which came with desolating fury on their unbelieving country men.
Now, if in all these cases, the prophecy was understood, and intended to be so, before its actual accomplishment, why should it be thought that those which concern the Christian church, in these latter days, are an exception to the general rule? Christ loves his church, and is as tender of the welfare of His disciples now as He ever was. Shall He hide, therefore, what He is about to do, from His own chosen, and leave them in darkness, as he doth the unbelieving world,that the great events of the last days should come upon them as a thief? Surely not. In reference to these very times, he has said, "The wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand: but the wise shall understand." When the prophecy was given to Daniel, of which the Apocalyptic visions are only a more full development, "the words were closed, and sealed up," even from the godly. They had no immediate use for them. But were they always to be sealed? No. The sealing was to continue only "until the time of the end"-- until the time for their accomplishment should be drawing near. However dark and mysterious they might be at first announcement, as time rolled on, as the march of events proceeded, their meaning would be gradually evolved, until at last, the children of God, who made them the subject of humble and prayerful study, should be enabled, by the light of the signs of the times, to read their mystic characters, and put themselves in attitude of expectancy and preparation.
Some interpreters have laid it down as a principle, that before we address ourselves to the interpretation of any particular part of the Apocalypse, it is indispensable that we should determine the structure of the book, and the order, and succession of the different visions. But this is to require what is plainly by no means necessary. Who ever thought of dealing thus with the ancient prophets? In the prophecy of Isaiah, there are so many predictions of the fortunes of the church, in all ages of the world. The order of events, in many cases, is intricate and difficult to determine, and a complete arrangement of them has never yet been made. But did any of them ever think of waiting for an interpretation of the fifty third chapter, for instance, until its exact position in the series should be determined? No. That chapter contains in its own bosom, such clear, specific,and unequivocal references to Christ, that on the strength of these alone, without any regard to succession, it has all Christian expositors, been unhesitatingly applied to Him. -- Now, just so is it with the passage of th Apocalypse under consideration. It is complete in itself, and under circumstances, as make it quite possible, without any minute examination of the structure of the book, to ascertain, with very considerable precision, the leading events to which the Spirit of God refers. That this is the case, I trust, by a careful consideration of its several parts, to show.
1Sueton. Vespas., c.iv
2 Tacit.Hist.libv.x.c.9