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But by the middle of the century, the era of enlightenment and the force of world opinion, in the good providence of God, had so permeated the Catholic states of Europe that general violent persecution had ceased. One incident will suffice as evidence of this.
The scene was in France, where alone, of all the Catholic states, there were any great numbers of Protestants. In 1762 a Huguenot of Toulouse, unjustly charged with crime, was put to torture and to death, under the pressure of the old persecuting spirit. Many Huguenots thought the persecutions of former times were reviving, and prepared to flee to Switzerland. But Voltaire took up the matter, and so wrought upon public opinion that the Paris parliament reviewed the case, and the king paid the man's family a large indemnity.
This shows that by the middle of that century the days of any general persecution had ceased. In the nature of the case, we may not point to the exact year and say, Here the days of tribulation ended.
From these times, then, we are to scan the record of history to learn if the appointed signs began to appear. As we look, we find the events recorded, following on in the order predicted:
1. The Lisbon earthquake, cf 1755. 2. The dark day, cf 1780. 3. The falling stars, cf 1833. 4. General conditions and movements betokening the end.
"There shall be signs," the Saviour said. We are to study the record of events, watching to catch the signs of the approaching end as earnestly as the mariner watches the beacon lights when he nears the longed-for haven on a dark and stormy night.
FOOTNOTES:
[B] It was in the autumn that the army of Cestius closed in upon Jerusalem. According to the careful record of Graetz, the Jewish historian, it was evidently on a Wednesday that the Roman army retired, pursued by all the forces of the city. This was the instant for the flight of the Christians. Next day "the Zealots, shouting exultant war songs, returned to Jerusalem (8th October)."—"History of the Jews," Vol. II, p. 268. The day before was the time for unhindered flight.
[C] Apollonius, the friend and counselor of Titus, left a similar testimony to the latter's conviction that there was something supernatural about the forces of destruction let loose upon Jerusalem: "After Titus had taken Jerusalem, and when the country all round was filled with corpses, the neighboring races offered him a crown: but he disclaimed any such honor to himself, saying that it was not he himself that had accomplished this exploit, but that he had merely lent his arms to God, who had so manifested His wrath."—Philostratus, "Life of Apollonius," book 6, chap. 29.
THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE OF 1755
"Lo, There Was a Great Earthquake"
The first of a series of signs of the approaching end is thus described by the revelator:
"I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake." Rev. 6:12.
The verses immediately preceding this scripture plainly describe the days of persecution of the saints of God, and the era of protest and reform that cut short that time of tribulation. Then this first sign appears. This is in harmony with Christ's statement that the signs of His second coming should begin to appear following the tribulation of those days.
Just about the close of the days of tribulation occurred the Lisbon earthquake, as it is called, though its effects reached far beyond Portugal. Prof. W.H. Hobbs, geologist, says of it:
"Among the earth movements which in historic times have affected the kingdom of Portugal, that of Nov. 1, 1755, takes first rank, as it does, also, in some respects, among all recorded earthquakes.... In six minutes sixty thousand people perished."—"Earthquakes," pp. 142, 143.
"Lo, there was a great earthquake," the revelator said. It was indeed "a great earthquake," and great was its influence. In all the world, men's hearts were mightily stirred. James Parton, an English author, says of it:
"The Lisbon earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, appears to have put both the theologians and philosophers on the defensive.... At twenty minutes to ten that morning, Lisbon was firm and magnificent, on one of the most picturesque and commanding sites in the world,—a city of superb approach, placed precisely where every circumstance had concurred to say to the founders, Build here! In six minutes the city was in ruins.... Half the world felt the convulsion.... For many weeks, as we see in the letters and memoirs of that time, people in distant parts of Europe went to bed in alarm, relieved in the morning to find that they had escaped the fate of Lisbon one night more."—"Life of Voltaire," Vol. II, pp. 208, 209.
The World Set to Thinking
This earthquake set men to thinking of the great day of God. Voltaire, the French philosopher, was "profoundly moved" by it, we are told. "It was the last judgment for that region," he wrote; "nothing was wanting to it except the trumpet." More than a month afterward, while still the perturbations of the earth were continuing, this skeptic wrote a poem upon the problem presented, voicing the sentiment:
"My heart oppress'd demands Aid of the God who formed me with his hands. Sons of the God supreme to suffer all Fated alike, we on our Father call.... Sad is the present if no future state, No blissful retribution mortals wait, If fate's decrees the thinking being doom To lose existence in the silent tomb. All may be well; that hope can man sustain. All now is well; 'tis an illusion vain. The sages held me forth delusive light, Divine instructions only can be right. Humbly I sigh, submissive suffer pain, Nor more the ways of Providence arraign."
—"Poem on the Destruction of Lisbon," Smollet's translation; Works, Vol. XXXIII, ed. 1761.
Just at the time, plans were under way for the opening of a theater at Lausanne for the special performance of some of Voltaire's rationalistic dramas. But the enterprise was deferred. One writer says:
"The earthquake had made all men thoughtful. They mistrusted their love of the drama, and filled the churches instead."—Tallentyre, "Life of Voltaire," p. 319.
So, in an age of rationalism and unbelief, men's thoughts were turned toward God, and human helplessness and earth's instability were recognized.
Extent of the Lisbon Earthquake
As to the extent of the earthquake, a writer of the period shows that it was felt in Sweden and in Africa and in the West Indies, adding:
"The effects were distributed over very nearly four millions of square English miles of the earth's surface, and greatly surpassed anything of the kind ever recorded in history."—"History and Philosophy of Earthquakes" (London, 1757), p. 333.
The commander of an English ship, lying off Lisbon at the time, thus described the scene in a letter to the ship's owners:
"Almost all the palaces and large churches were rent down, or part fallen, and scarce one house of this vast city is left habitable. Everybody that was not crushed to death ran out into the large places, and those near the river ran down to save themselves by boats, or any other floating convenience, running, crying, and calling to the ships for assistance; but whilst the multitude were gathered near the riverside, the water rose to such a height that it overflowed the lower part of the city, which so terrified the miserable and already dismayed inhabitants, who ran to and fro with dreadful cries, which we heard plainly on board, that it made them believe the dissolution of the world was at hand; every one falling on his knees and entreating the Almighty for His assistance.... By two o'clock the ships' boats began to ply, and took multitudes on board.... The fear, the sorrow, the cries and lamentations of the poor inhabitants are unexpressible; every one begging pardon, and embracing each other, crying, Forgive me, friend, brother, sister! Oh! what will become of us! neither water nor land will protect us, and the third element, fire, seems now to threaten our total destruction! as in effect it happened. The conflagration lasted a whole week."—Thomas Hunter, "Historical Account of Earthquakes" (Liverpool, 1756), pp. 72-74.
Recognized as a Sign
Looking down through the ages, the prophet of the Revelation saw the coming of the latter days, when signs of the approaching end were to begin to appear. Just there he beheld "a great earthquake." The terrible event was noted by inspiration as a sign of the coming of the final judgment. Earthquakes there had been before, and increasing earthquakes were to follow after,—"earthquakes in divers places,"—as Christ foretold, speaking of the signs of His second coming. But as befitted this first of the series of signs of the approaching end, a conviction from God seemed to come into the hearts of men in that generation, that this was indeed a token to remind the world of a coming day of doom.
In the year of the disaster, an English poet, John Biddolf, published a book of verse, pointing some of the lessons of the hour, from which we quote a few descriptive stanzas:
"Calm was the sky; the sun serenely bright Shot o'er the sea long dazzling streams of light. Through orange groves soft breathing breezes play'd And gathered sweets like bees where'er they stray'd. In fair relievo stood the lofty town, Set off by radiant lights and shadows brown.
"Ill-fated city! there were revels kept; Devoid of fear, they ate, they drank, they slept. No friendly voice like that of ancient Rome Was sent to give them warning of their doom: No airy warriors to each other clung, Such as 'tis said o'er destin'd Sion hung, But like a nightly thief their dreadful fate Unlooked for came and undermined their state....
"Lo, what a sudden change! On ruin's brink The proud turn humble, and the thoughtless think. Dark, gloomy sadness overclouds the gay, And hypocrites for once sincerely pray.... But let it not be thought their horrid deeds Had pulled this dreadful judgment on their heads, Or that for crimes too horrible to tell, Like guilty Sodom, thunderstruck they fell....
"Who can with curious eyes this globe survey, And not behold it tottering with decay? All things created, God's designs fulfil, And natural causes work His destined will. And that eternal Word, which cannot lie, To mortals hath revealed in prophecy That in these latter days such signs should come, Preludes and prologues to the general doom. But not the Son of man can tell that day; Then, lest it find you sleeping, watch and pray."
Thus this first of the predicted latter-day signs bore its message to men. Its immediate scene was set in the Old World, but its warning was world-wide. The next sign foretold was to appear in the New World, but like the Lisbon earthquake, its message of warning was for all men.
THE DARK DAY OF 1780
"The Sun Shall be Darkened"
We recall that in the vision of latter-day signs given to the prophet John, he saw the "great earthquake" followed by a sign in the heavens:
"The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood." Rev. 6:12.
Of this event our Saviour spoke, in giving the signs of His second coming which were to begin to appear following the cutting short of the days of persecution. We repeat His words:
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." Matt. 24:29.
The Prophecy Fulfilled
True to the order of the prophecy, following the great earthquake of 1755 in Europe, there came, in America, the second sign of the approaching end, the wonderful darkening of the sun, known in history as "The Dark Day."
This sign appeared at the time indicated in the prophecy, "immediately after the tribulation of those days;" or as Mark has it, "in those days, after that tribulation." On May 19, 1780, the sun was darkened, and the following night the moon did not give her light. Whatever explanation men may have to offer as to the cause of the phenomenon, the fact remains that when the time of the prophecy came, the sign appeared.
The first volume of the "Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences," published in Boston in 1785, contains a paper entitled, "An Account of a Very Uncommon Darkness in the States of New England, May 19, 1780. By Samuel Williams, A.M., Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy in the University at Cambridge [Massachusetts]."
Of the extent, duration, and degree of darkness on that occasion, this scientific observer said:
"The extent of this darkness was very remarkable.... From the accounts that have been received, it seems to have extended all over the New England States. It was observed as far east as Falmouth [Portland, Maine]. To the westward, we hear of its reaching to the furthest parts of Connecticut, and Albany. To the southward, it was observed all along the seacoasts. And to the north as far as our settlements extend....
"With regard to its duration, it continued in this place at least fourteen hours: but it is probable this was not exactly the same in different parts of the country. The appearance and effects were such as tended to make the prospect extremely dull and gloomy. Candles were lighted up in the houses; the birds having sung their evening songs, disappeared, and became silent; the fowls retired to roost; the cocks were crowing all around as at break of day; objects could not be distinguished but at a very little distance; and everything bore the appearance and gloom of night." (See pages 234-246.)
Whittier has commemorated it in the poem, "Abraham Davenport:"
"'Twas on a May day of the far old year Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell Over the bloom and sweet life of the spring, Over the fresh earth and the heaven of noon, A horror of great darkness....
"Birds ceased to sing, and all the barnyard fowls Roosted; the cattle at the pasture bars Lowed, and looked homeward; bats on leathern wings Flitted abroad; the sounds of labor died; Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp To hear the doom blast of the trumpet shatter The black sky."
The words of the poet are substantiated by the plain prose of the dictionary maker. In the department explanatory of "Noted Names," Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (edition 1883) says:
"The Dark Day, May 19, 1780—so called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day extending over all New England.... The obscuration began about ten o'clock in the morning, and continued till the middle of the next night, but with difference of degree and duration in different places.... The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known."
Cause Unknown
At the time, some explained the darkness as being due to smoke from forest fires, others to the exceptional rise of vapors and atmospheric dust in the warm spring following the melting of unusually heavy winter snows. But forest fires were not of extraordinary occurrence in these regions, and many a springtime since has seen the melting of heavy winter snows and the rise of vapors; yet May 19, 1780, still stands unique in the annals of modern times as "the dark day." However observers and writers disagreed as to the nature of the mantle of darkness that was drawn over New England that day, they were one in recognizing the extraordinary character of the event.
The facts are fully covered by the statement in the dictionary, "The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known."
What we do know is that the Saviour's prophecy declared, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." And when the time for it came, the sign appeared.
Contemporary Records
Though the comparatively small-sized newspapers of the day were crowded with news of the progress of the Revolutionary War, then raging, no little space was given to reports and discussions of this remarkable darkening of the sun.
A correspondent of the Boston Gazette and Country Journal (of May 29, 1780) reported observations made at Ipswich Hamlet, Mass., "by several gentlemen of liberal education:"
"About eleven o'clock the darkness was such as to demand our attention, and put us upon making observations. At half past eleven, in a room with three windows, twenty-four panes each, all open toward the southeast and south, large print could not be read by persons of good eyes.
"About twelve o'clock, the windows being still open, a candle cast a shade so well defined on the wall, as that profiles were taken with as much ease as they could have been in the night.
"About one o'clock a glint of light which had continued to this time in the east, shut in, and the darkness was greater than it had been for any time before.... We dined about two, the windows all open, and two candles burning on the table.
"In the time of the greatest darkness some of the ... fowls went to their roost. Cocks crowed in answer to one another as they commonly do in the night. Woodcocks, which are night birds, whistled as they do only in the dark. Frogs peeped. In short, there was the appearance of midnight at noonday.
"About three o'clock the light in the west increased, the motion of the clouds [became] more quick, their color higher and more brassy than at any time before. There appeared to be quick flashes or coruscations, not unlike the aurora borealis.... About half past four our company, which had passed an unexpected night very cheerfully together, broke up."
Of the night following, this gentleman (then at Salem) wrote:
"Perhaps it never was darker since the children of Israel left the house of bondage. This gross darkness held till about one o'clock, although the moon had fulled but the day before."
The Boston Independent Chronicle of June 8 quoted from Thomas's Massachusetts Spy:
"During the whole time a sickly, melancholy gloom overcast the face of nature. Nor was the darkness of the night less uncommon and terrifying than that of the day; notwithstanding there was almost a full moon, no object was discernible, but by the help of some artificial light, which when seen from the neighboring houses and other places at a distance, appeared through a kind of Egyptian darkness, which seemed almost impervious to the rays.
"This unusual phenomenon excited the fears and apprehensions of many people. Some considered it as a portentous omen of the wrath of Heaven in vengeance denounced against the land, others as the immediate harbinger of the last day, when 'the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.'"
Not only over the land, but out at sea also, the unnatural darkness of the day and night of May 19, 1780, was observed. In the Independent Chronicle of June 15, 1780, a correspondent, telling of interviews with various observers, said:
"I have also seen a very sensible captain of a vessel, who was that morning about forty leagues southeast of Boston. He says the cloud which appeared at the west was the blackest he ever saw. About eleven o'clock there was a little rain, and it grew dark. Between one and two he was obliged to light a large candle to steer by.... Between nine and ten at night, he ordered his men to take in some of the sails, but it was so dark that they could not find the way from one mast to the other."
Thoughts Turned to the Judgment
This writer commented as follows concerning the feelings awakened by the event:
"Various have been the sentiments of people concerning the designs of Providence in spreading the unusual darkness over us. Some suppose it portentous of the last scene. I wish it may have some good effect on the minds of the wicked, and that they may be excited to prepare for that solemn day."
The Independent Chronicle of June 22, 1780, printed a letter from Dr. Samuel Stearns, who had been appealed to because of his knowledge "in philosophy and astronomy." First, he disposed of one suggestion that had been made:
"That the darkness was not caused by an eclipse is manifest by the various positions of the planets of our system at that time; for the moon was more than one hundred and fifty degrees from the sun all that day."
Then, in the rather heavy language of the science of that period, this writer told how the action of the sun's heat was continually projecting into the atmosphere particles of earthy matter; and in his opinion it was some "vast collection of such particles that caused the late uncommon darkness." But as to the real accounting for the phenomenon he wrote:
"The primary cause must be imputed to Him that walketh through the circuit of heaven, who stretcheth out the heaven like a curtain, who maketh the clouds His chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the wind. It was He, at whose voice the stormy winds are obedient, that commanded these exhalations to be collected and condensed together, that with them He might darken both the day and the night; which darkness was, perhaps, not only a token of His indignation against the crying iniquities and abominations of the people, but an omen of some future destruction."
Thus men's minds were exercised by this sign "in the sun, and in the moon."
The early records of New York City tell of the interest excited there, though evidently the darkness was not so marked as it was farther north.
In the Connecticut Legislature
President Timothy Dwight, of Yale College, a contemporary, left the following account of one of the historic incidents of the day:
"The legislature of Connecticut was then in session at Hartford. A very general opinion prevailed that the day of judgment was at hand. The house of representatives, being unable to transact their business, adjourned. A proposal to adjourn the council [a second legislative body called the Governor's Council] was under consideration. When the opinion of Colonel Davenport was asked, he answered, 'I am against an adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.'"—Barber, "Connecticut Historical Collections," p. 403.
It was this striking incident that Whittier described with the poet's pen:
"Meanwhile in the old Statehouse, dim as ghosts, Sat the lawgivers of Connecticut, Trembling beneath their legislative robes. 'It is the Lord's great day! Let us adjourn,' Some said; and then, as with one accord, All eyes were turned to Abraham Davenport. He rose, slow cleaving with his steady voice The intolerable hush. 'This well may be The day of judgment which the world awaits; But be it so or not, I only know My present duty, and my Lord's command To occupy till He come. So at the post Where He hath set me in His providence I choose, for one, to meet Him face to face,— No faithless servant, frightened from my task, But ready when the Lord of the harvest calls; And therefore, with all reverence, I would say, Let God do His work, we will see to ours. Bring in the candles.'"
Thus, in a manner that arrested the attention of men and put awe and solemnity into their hearts, with thoughts of the coming of the great day of God, the first of the predicted signs in the heavens was revealed.
At a later time, when students of the Bible seemed moved upon simultaneously, in both Europe and America, to give attention to the doctrine of Christ's second coming, it was more generally understood that these signs had come in fulfilment of prophecy.
As we look to the past, we see how truly the tokens of the coming King began to appear as the church of Christ emerged fully from the long, dark period of tribulation. A new era was dawning, in which the Lord was to fill the earth with light before His second appearing, according to His word to Daniel the prophet:
"Thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan. 12:4.
At last the time of the end was at hand, and the signs of the latter days had begun to appear in the earth and in the heavens. The Lord was preparing to send to all the world the closing gospel message of Christ's soon coming in glory.
THE FALLING STARS OF 1833
"The Stars Shall Fall from Heaven"
A great impetus was given to the study of divine prophecy by the events of the closing years of the eighteenth century. Observers had seen the papal power receive a "deadly wound" in the events and effects of the French Revolution; and it was understood that the world was entering a new era of enlightenment and liberty.
Bible students began to see more clearly the lesson of the great outlines of historic prophecy, and hearts were stirred with the evidences that the coming of the Lord was drawing near. In Europe and America, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, there was the beginning of a revival of the study and preaching of the advent idea.
Another Sign in the Heavens
Just here appeared another great sign in the heavens, foretold by the word of prophecy. Of the sign that was to follow the darkening of the sun and moon, Christ's prophecy says:
"The stars shall fall from heaven." Matt. 24:29.
The prophet John beheld the spectacle in a vision of the last days, and described it in these words:
"The stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind." Rev. 6:13.
On Nov. 13, 1833, came the wondrous celestial exhibition of falling stars, which is listed as one of the most remarkable phenomena of the astronomical story.
Meteoric displays, swarms of shooting stars, have been observed at various times all through the ages; but this phenomenon, coming in the order given by the prophecy, that is, following the darkening of the sun, constituted the sublime display answering to the pen-picture of the Apocalypse,—as if all the stars of heaven were falling to the earth.
The essential thing about a sign is that it shall be seen, that the circumstances of its appearance shall fasten attention. Not in America alone, but equally in all the civilized world, as a topic of study, this sign in the heavens commanded the attention of men.
An English scientist, Rev. Thomas Milner, F.R.G.S., wrote:
"The attention of astronomers in Europe, and all over the world, was, as may be imagined, strongly roused by intelligence of this celestial display on the Western continent."—"The Gallery of Nature" (London, 1852), p. 141.
This writer called it "by far the most splendid display on record."—Id., p. 139.
Another English astronomical writer of more recent date says:
"Once for all, then, as the result of the star fall of 1833, the study of luminous meteors became an integral part of astronomy."—Clerke, "History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century," p. 329.
This same work describes the extent of the display as follows:
"On the night of Nov. 12-13, 1833, a tempest of falling stars broke over the earth. North America bore the brunt of its pelting. From the Gulf of Mexico to Halifax, until daylight with some difficulty put an end to the display, the sky was scored in every direction with shining tracks and illuminated with majestic fireballs."—Page 328.
The Spectacle Described
The closest scientific observations were made by Prof. Denison Olmsted, professor of astronomy at Yale, who wrote in the American Journal of Science:
"The morning of Nov. 13, 1833, was rendered memorable by an exhibition of the phenomenon called shooting stars, which was probably more extensive and magnificent than any similar one hitherto recorded.... Probably no celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this country, since its first settlement, which was viewed with so much admiration and delight by one class of spectators, or with so much astonishment and fear by another class. For some time after the occurrence, the 'meteoric phenomenon' was the principal topic of conversation in every circle."—Volume XXV (1834), pp. 363, 364.
Prof. Simon Newcomb, the astronomer, declares this phenomenal exhibition of falling stars "the most remarkable one ever observed." (See "Astronomy for Everybody," p. 280.)
This was not merely a display of an unusual number of falling stars, such as Humboldt observed in South America in 1799, or such as we find recorded of other times before and since. It was a "shower" of falling stars, just such a spectacle as one must picture from the words of the prophecy, "And the stars of heaven fell."
The French astronomer Flammarion says of the density of the shower:
"The Boston observer, Olmsted, compared them, at the moment of maximum, to half the number of flakes which we perceive in the air during an ordinary shower of snow."—"Popular Astronomy," p. 536.
This affords us a better idea of the scene than the estimate of 34,640 stars an hour, which was made by Professor Olmsted after the rain of the stars had greatly abated, so that he was able to make an attempt at counting.
Dr. Humphreys, president of St. John's College, Annapolis, said of the appearance at the Maryland capital:
"In the words of most, they fell like flakes of snow."—American Journal of Science, Vol. XXV (1834), p. 372.
Nothing less than this could have presented the counterpart of the prophetic picture.
Thoughtful hearts were solemnized by the unwonted spectacle. Prof. Alexander Twining, civil engineer, "late tutor in Yale College," giving his views as to the nature of the flaming visitants from space, wrote:
"Had they held on their course unabated for three seconds longer, half a continent must, to all appearance, have been involved in unheard-of calamity. But that almighty Being who made the world, and knew its dangers, gave it also its armature—endowing the atmospheric medium around it with protecting, no less than with life-sustaining, properties....
"Considered as one of the rare and wonderful displays of the Creator's preserving care, as well as the terrible magnitude and power of His agencies, it is not meet that such occurrences as those of November 13 should leave no more solid and permanent effect upon the human mind than the impression of a splendid scene."—American Journal of Science, Vol. XXVI (1834), p. 351.
Multitudes felt that the great Creator had spoken to men in this notable wonder of His heavens. Again and again in the records and reminiscences of that time, testimony is borne to the fact that observers were impressed with the likeness of the scene to that described in the divine prophecy as one of the signs of the end of the world.
The Prophetic Picture Reproduced
The New York Journal of Commerce emphasized the exactness of detail with which the prophecy described the scene as it appeared in 1833. This is the apocalyptic picture, as the ancient prophet saw it in vision:
"The stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind." Rev. 6:13.
A correspondent of the Journal of Commerce draws the picture as it was seen nearly eighteen centuries later, the likeness to the prophetic description being emphasized in every line:
"No philosopher or scholar has told or recorded an event like that of yesterday morning. A prophet eighteen hundred years ago foretold it exactly, if we will be at the trouble of understanding stars falling to mean falling stars."—New York Journal of Commerce, Nov. 14, 1833.
In this connection was noted by the same writer the special appropriateness of the prophet's figure of the fig tree casting the green figs in a mighty wind:
"Here is the exactness of the prophet. The falling stars did not come as if from several trees shaken, but from one. Those which appeared in the east fell toward the east: those which appeared in the north fell toward the north; those which appeared in the west fell toward the west; and those which appeared in the south (for I went out of my residence into the park) fell toward the south; and they fell not as ripe fruit falls; far from it; but they flew, they were cast, like the unripe fig, which at first refuses to leave the branch; and when it does break its hold, flies swiftly, straight off, descending; and in the multitude falling, some cross the track of others, as they are thrown with more or less force."
Professor Olmsted's long and carefully elaborated account in the American Journal of Science, gave a report from a correspondent in Bowling Green, Mo., as follows:
"Though there was no moon, when we first observed them; their brilliancy was so great that we could, at times, read common-sized print without much difficulty, and the light which they afforded was much whiter than that of the moon, in the clearest and coldest night, when the ground is covered with snow. The air itself, the face of the earth as far as we could behold it, all the surrounding objects, and the very countenances of men, wore the aspect and hue of death, occasioned by the continued, pallid glare of these countless meteors, which in all their grandeur flamed 'lawless through the sky.'
"There was a grand and indescribable gloom on all around, an awe-inspiring sublimity on all above; while—
"'The sanguine flood Rolled a broad slaughter o'er the plains of heaven, And nature's self did seem to totter on the brink of time!'
"... There was scarcely a space in the firmament which was not filled at every instant with these falling stars, nor on it could you in general perceive any particular difference in appearance; still at times they seemed to shower down in groups—calling to mind the fig tree, casting her untimely figs when shaken by a mighty wind."—Volume XXV (1834), p. 382.
A Sign to All the World
It was not in North America alone, but in all the civilized world, that the attention of men was called to the prophetic word by the discussions of this event. Thus the English scientific writer, Thomas Milner, writing for the British public, spoke as follows of the profound impression made:
"In many districts, the mass of the population were terror-struck, and the more enlightened were awed at contemplating so vivid a picture of the apocalyptic image—that of the stars of heaven falling to the earth, even as a fig tree casting her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind."—"The Gallery of Nature" (London, 1852), p. 140.
So the sign in the heavens made its solemn appeal to all the world. It brought to the multitudes who saw it, thoughts of God and the last great day. An observer living at the time in Georgia, wrote, "Everybody felt that it was the judgment, and that the end of the world had come." Another, in Kentucky, wrote, "In every direction I could hear men, women, and children screaming, 'The judgment day is come!'"
Rather, it was a signal that the hour of God's judgment was drawing near. The signs so long foretold were appearing, one by one, to register their enduring mark on the record of fulfilling prophecy.
Immediately following these times, there began an awakening concerning the vital Bible doctrine of the second coming of Christ, which has grown into the definite advent movement that is carrying the gospel message of preparation for the coming of the Lord to every nation and tongue and people.
The Sign of 1833 Emphasized by Other Displays
We have mentioned the fact that Humboldt had observed an extraordinary fall of meteorites in South America, thirty-three years, before, in 1799. And he reported at the time that the oldest inhabitants there had a recollection of a similar display in 1766.
From these reports, scientists deduced the theory that these showers were to be expected every thirty-three years. Hence in 1866 they were watching for a repetition of the 1833 display.
That there was a measure of truth in the deduction was made evident by an unusual fall of meteorites Nov. 14, 1866. This time Europe was the scene of the display. But the event was not to be compared with that of 1833. This appears plain from the account of observations made by Sir Robert Ball and Lord Rosse, the British astronomers.
Sir Robert Ball says that when the meteorites began to fall, he and Lord Rosse went out upon the wall of the observatory housing Lord Rosse's great reflecting telescope:
"There, for the next two or three hours, we witnessed a spectacle which can never fade from my memory. The shooting stars gradually increased in number until sometimes several were seen at once."—"Story of the Heavens," p. 380.
Grand as the spectacle was, it was but a reminder, apparently, of the star shower of 1833, when not "several" meteorites fell at a time, nor many, merely, but, as it appeared, "the stars of heaven fell unto the earth."
However, the spectacle of 1866, which was observed over a great part of the Old World,[D] served to direct renewed attention to the incomparable event of 1833, as well as to the prophetic descriptions of the "wonders in the heavens" (Joel 2:30) which were to appear as the end drew near.
Textbooks and astronomical works thereupon began to count it as fully established that every thirty-three years the displays would be repeated. It was confidently predicted that 1899 would witness a repetition, possibly on the scale of 1833.
Professor Langley's "New Astronomy" (published in 1888) said:
"The great November shower, which is coming once more in this century, and which every reader may hope to see toward 1899, is of particular interest to us as the first whose movements were subject to analysis."
Chambers's Astronomy, published in 1889, said:
"The meteors of November 13 may be expected to reappear with great brilliancy in 1899."—-Volume I, p. 635.
But the November date passed in 1899, and the years have passed; and the wondrous scene of 1833 has not been repeated. Clerke's "History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century" says:
"We can no longer count upon the Leonids [as the meteorites of 1833 were called, because they seemed to fall from a point in the constellation of Leo]. Their glory, for scenic purposes, is departed."—Page 338.
The Lord's Signal to Watch
Thus the wisest astronomical predictions made shortly before 1899, based upon the apparently recurrent regularity of the phenomenon, failed; but the predictions of the sure word of prophecy, set down on the sacred record eighteen centuries before, were fulfilled to the letter.
At the close of the days of the predicted tribulation of the church, the signs began to appear—the sun was darkened, the moon withheld its light, and the stars of heaven fell.
The series began at the time specified, the signs came in the order given in Christ's prophecy. The record of history bears witness that the prophecy was fulfilled.
It may be that on a yet more awful and universal scale these phenomena will be seen again in that last shaking of the powers of heaven which is to attend the rolling back of the heavens as a scroll, the immediate prelude to Christ's glorious appearing. But Christ's prophecy, at this point, was not giving a description of events at the very end of the world, but signs by which it might be known when the end was drawing near.
As the signs should be recognized, the Saviour intended that those who loved His appearing should be quickened with hope, and inspired to hasten to the world with the gospel message preparing the way of the Lord. The Lord's word for His children was,
"When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21:28.
Long ago these signs began to come to pass. Now may the Lord's believing children well look up and rejoice, knowing that the day of eternal redemption is indeed nigh at hand.
He Will Come for His Own
In the glad time of the harvest, In the grand millennial year, When the King shall take His scepter, And to judge the world appear, Earth and sea shall yield their treasure, All shall stand before the throne; Just awards will then be given, When the King shall claim His own.
O the rapture of His people! Long they've dwelt on earth's low sod, With their hearts e'er turning homeward, Rich in faith and love to God. They will share the life immortal, They will know as they are known, They will pass the pearly portal, When the King shall claim His own.
Long they've toiled within the harvest, Sown the precious seed with tears; Soon they'll drop their heavy burdens In the glad millennial years; They will share the bliss of heaven, Nevermore to sigh or moan; Starry crowns will then be given, When the King shall claim His own.
We shall greet the loved and loving, Who have left us lonely here; Every heartache will be banished When the Saviour shall appear; Never grieved with sin or sorrow, Never weary or alone; O, we long for that glad morrow When the King shall claim His own!
—L.D. Santee.
FOOTNOTES:
[D] The display was most brilliant, apparently, in Western Asia. The veteran missionary, Dr. H.H. Jessup, of the Presbyterian Missionary College, of Beirut, describes the scene in his "Fifty-Three Years in Syria:" "On the morning of the fourteenth [November], at three o'clock, I was roused from a deep sleep by the voice of one of the young men calling, 'The stars are all coming down.' ... The meteors poured down like a rain of fire. Many of them were large and varicolored, and left behind them a long train of fire. One immense green meteor came down over Lebanon, seeming as large as the moon, and exploded with a large noise, leaving a green pillar of light in its train. It was vain to attempt to count them, and the display continued until dawn, when their light was obscured by the king of day.... The Mohammedans gave the call to prayer from the minarets, and the common people were in terror."—Volume I, pp. 316, 317.
THE MEANING OF PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS
"THERE SHALL BE SIGNS ... UPON THE EARTH"
From the specific signs in the heavens, which were to herald the coming of the latter days and awaken the church to look for its coming Lord, our Saviour's prophecy passed on to designate certain general conditions in the world which were to continue until the great day of God comes:
"There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21:25-27.
Among the developments here foretold, and which contribute to the "distress of nations, with perplexity," we may list the following:
1. Political Unrest—the Arming of the Nations
Following on closely with the signs in the heavens, there appears also the awakening to national aspirations and rivalries in Europe, out of which has grown the arming of the nations. The beginning of the modern race of armaments may be dated from those stirring and eventful years of 1830 to 1848. We have seen the resources of the soil and the inventive genius of man devoted to preparations for war on a scale never before thought of. The prophet Joel foretold these conditions in the last days:
"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles ["the nations," R.V.]: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.... Let the heathen be wakened.... Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision [or "cutting off"]: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." Joel 3: 9-14.
Another prophecy forewarns of the "peace and safety" cry that is to be heard as the end draws near. We are told that many people in the last days will be saying that swords are to be beaten into plowshares, and that the nations will cease from war (Isa. 2:3, 4); but the actual conditions are repeatedly described in prophecy as warlike and perilous. Thus the revelator saw the closing days:
"The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldst give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldst destroy them which destroy the earth." Rev. 11: 18.
What we see then among the nations proclaims the approaching end.
2. Signs in the Social World
A New Testament prophecy of the latter days says:
"In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." 2 Tim. 3: 1-4.
The "perilous times" have come, when, as never before, the world is pleasure mad.
"Unrestrained passion for pleasure," said M. Comte, editor of the French Relevement Social, writing just before the European war, is bringing a terrible train of evils into modern society. Along with it he put "the hunt for money without regard for means," adding:
"This is the theme which manufacturers, business men, men in the public administration, continually harp on with ever the same conviction and ever the same wealth of proof.
"The note is ever the same, and the conclusion identical: Nous sommes perdus! [We are lost!]"—Quoted in Record of Christian Work, July, 1914.
Many agencies for social and temperance reform are rendering the greatest human service; but for lost humanity the only hope is Christ, the divine Saviour. With an urgency born of the last call, His gospel is sounding to a world on the verge of eternity. Yet with divine love longing to save, the world sweeps on, less and less mindful of eternal interests. Christ's prophecy foretold it as it is:
"As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24: 37-39.
Who can look out upon mankind today without the conviction that this scripture is being fulfilled? The drift is strong toward the world and away from God; but we are bidden to watch and pray, lest the coming day find us unprepared.
3. Signs in the Industrial World
Industrial conditions today add their contribution to the "distress of nations, with perplexity." Through the word of prophecy the Lord long ago foretold these conditions, with a warning to the careless rich, and a warning to the laborer and the poor, not to be drawn into contention over the things of this world, for the Judge is at the door. The prophecy, it will be seen, refers specifically to latter-day conditions.
"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the Judge standeth before the door." James 5: 1-9.
There is no need to argue that the issues with which the prophecy deals are pressing upon the world with ever-increasing perplexity. We quote but two statements, by men not engaged in agitation, but calmly and thoughtfully setting down the signs of the times.
The late Lord Avebury (Sir John Lubbock) wrote a few years ago in the Review of Internationalism:
"The religion of Europe is not Christianity, but the worship of the god of war.... Unless something is done, the condition of the poor in Europe will grow worse and worse. It is no use shutting our eyes. Revolution may not come soon, not probably in our time, but come it will, and as sure as fate there will be an explosion such as the world has never seen."
Of the rapid growth of discontent and its propaganda, Mr. Frederick Townsend Martin, of New York, wrote:
"Fifty years ago there was scarcely a voice of protest; indeed, there was hardly anything to protest against. Twenty-five years ago the protest was clear and distinct, and we understood it. Ten years ago the protest found expression in a dozen weekly publications, but today the protest is circulated not by hundreds or thousands of printed copies of books, pamphlets, magazines, and newspapers, but actually by the million.
"This propaganda of protest has its daily papers that are distinctive and published for that purpose, and that purpose only. It has its magazines and tens of thousands of weekly papers. Only a fool sneers at such a volume of publicity as that....
"The warnings that hundreds of us are uttering may be ignored. The squandering may go on, the vulgar bacchanalia may be prolonged, the poor may have to writhe under the iron heel of the iron lord—the dance of death may go on until society's E string snaps, and then the Vesuvius of the underworld will belch forth its lava of death and destruction."—Hearst's Magazine, September, 1913.
Thus hearts grow faint "for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." But while the increasing "distress of nations, with perplexity," abounds, the Lord sends the steadying, assuring message that soon Christ will come to end the reign of sin and strife. He would have His children keep the gospel light glowing, and wait patiently for Him.
4. The Great Missionary Movement
The Saviour's prophecy of the signs of His second coming places the work of world evangelization as the culminating sign. This in itself is a joyful token of the approaching end, a bright signal of hope in a suffering world. He said:
"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matt. 24: 14.
Before the end, the light of the gospel was to shine into every dark corner of the earth. True to the sure word of prophecy, when the latter days began,—"the time of the end,"—there sprang up the great movement of modern missions which has been one of the leading characteristics of the last century. Here are a few facts showing the missionary developments of a single century:
"In 1800 the foreign missionary societies numbered seven. In 1900 they numbered over 500.
"In 1800 the income of seven societies amounted to about $50,000. In 1900 the income was over $15,000,000.
"In 1800 the number of native communicants enrolled in Protestant mission churches was 7,000. In 1900 there were 1,500,000 native communicants.
"In 1800 the adherents of Protestant churches in heathen lands were estimated at 15,000. In 1900 they numbered 3,500,000.
"In 1800 only one fifth of the human family had the Bible in languages they could read. In 1900 nine tenths of the people of the world had the Word of God in languages and dialects known to them."
Since 1900 the missionary movement has remarkably increased in extent and activity. It is estimated that now there are about 22,000 foreign missionaries in the fields, with many thousands of trained native evangelists and helpers.
The prophecy is fulfilling before our eyes. It is not the conversion of the world that Christ's words foretold, but the evangelization of the world; and when all the world has heard the gospel of the kingdom, "then shall the end come."
Another prophecy—that of Rev. 14: 6-14—shows that the closing phase of this world-wide missionary movement is to be the proclamation of the special gospel message of preparation for the coming of the Lord, calling all men to worship God and keep His commandments, and warning them against following the traditions of men that make void the Word of God.
With the coming of this generation there has come just such a message, in the rise and progress of the advent movement, the burden of the message being expressed in the very language of the prophecy—"Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come." Rev. 14: 7. And the movement is spreading rapidly "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Thus in vision the prophet on Patmes heard the message given; and when its warning cry had reached all nations, he saw Christ coming in the clouds of heaven to reap the harvest of the earth.
"Even at the Doors"
Of the beginning of the special signs of the last days, Christ said:
"When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21: 28.
But of the time when these signs should all be seen fulfilled or in process of fulfilment, the Saviour said:
"Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender, and putteth 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 doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away." Matt. 24: 32-35.
In this generation we see these things. All about us the signs have appeared. We know, then, by the word that shall not pass away, that the generation has at last appeared that is to see the Saviour coming in power and great glory. "Of that day and hour knoweth no man," but we may know "that it is near, even at the doors"—the day for which the saints of God have hoped through all the ages.
THE HISTORIC PROPHECY OF DANIEL 7
FOUR GREAT UNIVERSAL EMPIRES
Part I
So important is it that we understand the events leading on to the end, that repeatedly the "sure word of prophecy" outlines the course of this world's history, and sets up waymarks along the highway to the everlasting kingdom.
In the light of prophecy we see the hand of God guiding and overruling through all history, shaping events for the carrying out of His purpose to end the reign of sin and to bring in the reign of eternal righteousness. His prophetic word foretells events of history, that we may know that He is the living God over all, and that we may understand that the divine purpose will surely be fulfilled. Above a wicked world there is a God in heaven, waiting only the appointed time for the accomplishment of His purposes.
"I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.... I have spoken it, I also will bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.... My salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion." Isa. 46:9-13.
In the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, recorded in the second chapter of Daniel, the Lord revealed in brief but graphic outline the course of history from the days of Babylon to the end of the world. The four great universal monarchies,—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome—were represented by the various parts of the metallic image. That prophecy described particularly the division of the Roman Empire into the kingdoms of western Europe. "In the days of these kings," declared the word of the Lord, the God of heaven was to set up His kingdom, bringing an end to all earthly powers.
In the seventh chapter we are taken over the same course of history, in Daniel's vision of the four beasts. Here also chief attention is devoted to the fourth great kingdom; and especially to its divided state; for the events taking place at this time are of the deepest eternal interest to all men.
In this vision Daniel saw four universal empires represented by great beasts. One after another the symbolic beasts arose, did their work, and gave place to the next scenes in the history. The angel clearly explained to Daniel the meaning of the vision:
"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever."
Of necessity, then, it is a repetition of the story of the four universal monarchies dealt with in the second chapter, and ending with the setting up of the everlasting kingdom.
Let us place the view given the prophet in vision alongside the record of history.
First, however, a word as to the manner in which the great beasts appeared to the prophet:
"I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another."
Again and again, in the figurative language of Scripture, winds are used as the symbol for wars; and the sea, or waters, for nations or peoples. (See Jer. 25:31-33; Rev. 17:15.) The prophet saw the clashing of the nations in war, and out of these conflicts arose the kingdoms described in the prophecy.
Babylon
Note the prophetic picture of the prophecy and the corresponding representation in history.
Prophecy.—"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it."
History.—As the lion is king of beasts, it was a fitting symbol of Babylon, "the glory of kingdoms." Isa. 13:19. The eagle's wings suggest rapidity of movement and far-reaching conquest. The prophet Habakkuk said of it, "Their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle." This was the characteristic of Babylon under the earlier kings, but especially under Nebuchadnezzar. Berosus, the ancient Chaldean historian, wrote of him:
"This Babylonian king conquered Egypt, and Syria, and Phenicia, and Arabia; and exceeded in his exploits all that had reigned before him in Babylon." (See Flavius Josephus "Against Apion," book 1, par. 19.)
But now, at the time of Daniel's vision, degeneracy had come; the empire was tottering. The lion heart was gone, the eagle's wings were plucked, and within three years from the time the vision was given, Babylon was overthrown.
Medo-Persia
As the dominion passed from Babylon to the next great power, the prophet says:
Prophecy.—"Behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh."
History.—The Medes and Persians overthrew Babylon. Medo-Persia was a dual kingdom, lifting itself up on one side, first the Median branch the stronger, then the Persian, under Cyrus and his successors, rising higher. This two-sided characteristic, noted as a distinguishing mark in the prophecy, was emphasized by the ancient writers also. AEschylus, the Greek poet, who lived in the time of Persia, wrote:
"Asia's brave host, A Mede first led. The virtues of his son Fixed firm the empire.... ... Cyrus third, by fortune graced, Adorned the throne."
—"Persoe."
The word spoken in the vision, "Arise, devour much flesh," describes the history from the time when the Persian side rose uppermost. Rawlinson says, "Cyrus proceeded with scarcely a pause on a long career of conquest."
An alliance against Persia was formed by Lydia, Egypt, and Babylon (Herodotus 1:77); and as these three great provinces were subdued, they may well be represented by the three ribs in the mouth of the Medo-Persian bear.
Grecia
Yet another kingdom was to follow, and strikingly the symbol pictures the characteristics of the Greek conquest.
Prophecy.—"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; and the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it."
History.—The third kingdom was Grecia. Under Alexander the Great, the Greeks swept into Asia with the quickness of the leopard's spring. And the four wings on the leopard must represent astonishing fleetness. Plutarch speaks of the "incredible swiftness" of Alexander's conquests. Appian wrote:
"The empire of Alexander was splendid in its magnitude, in its armies, in the success and rapidity of its conquests, and it wanted little of being boundless and unexampled, yet in its shortness of duration it was like a brilliant flash of lightning. Although broken into several satrapies, even the parts were splendid."—"History of Rome," preface, par. 10.
Thus the ancient Roman writer pictured the career of Grecia just as represented by the prophetic symbol—the fleetness, the great dominion given it, the division of the empire into satrapies, as suggested by the four heads of the leopard. Out of the conflicts following Alexander's death, there came the fourfold headship of the empire. Rawlinson says, "A quadripartite division of Alexander's domain was recognized." (See "Sixth Monarchy," chap. 3.) The real situation is best represented, as Dr. Albert Barnes says, by "one animal with four heads," just as the prophetic symbol described it centuries before.
Thus the course of empire followed the outline of the "sure word of prophecy" from age to age.
"Armies were ranged in battle's dread array: They fought—their glory withered in its bud; They perished—with them ceased their tyrants' sway; New wars, new heroes came—their story passed away."
There was to be no abiding kingdom till the time came for God's glorious kingdom to be set up.
Rome
As the prophet watched the moving panorama of history, foretold in symbols, he said:
Prophecy.—"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things."
History.—As the iron of the image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream fitly represented the "iron monarchy of Rome," so here the dreadful beast, with its iron teeth, can be none other than Rome, which followed Grecia in world dominion. It was the most powerful, the most dominating, of all the beasts in the prophetic series. A Roman Catholic writer, Cardinal Manning, compresses into a paragraph the correspondence of history to the likeness of the prophecy:
"The legions of Rome occupied the circumference of the world. The military roads which sprang from Rome traversed all the earth; the whole world was, as it were, held in peace and in tranquillity by the universal presence of this mighty heathen empire. It was 'exceedingly terrible,' according to the prophecies of Daniel; it was as it were of iron, beating down and subduing the nations."—"The Temporal Power of the Pope" (London, 1862), p. 122.
Thus far every symbol of the prophet's vision finds its exact and clear counterpart in history. A writer living in the third century, in the days of imperial Rome, rejoiced to see how exactly the prophecy was being fulfilled. Hippolytus (counted a saint by the Catholic Church) wrote:
"Rejoice, blessed Daniel! thou hast not been in error! All these things have come to pass. After this again thou hast told us of the beast, dreadful and terrible. It has iron teeth and claws of brass; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it. Already the iron rules; already it subdues and breaks all in pieces; already it brings all the unwilling into subjection; already we see these things ourselves. Now we glorify God, being instructed by thee."—"Treatise on Christ and Antichrist," sec. 33.
Now the prophetic outline comes to the time of the division of the Roman Empire, introducing events of deepest personal interest to us today.
Part II
The Fourth Kingdom and the "Little Horn"
It was the fourth great monarchy, Imperial Rome, and the events to follow it, that engaged the anxious inquiry of the prophet. He says:
"Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom."
The prophet wanted to know the truth about it; and the angel told him the truth. First, the angel said:
"The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces."
The fourth kingdom, as we have seen, was Rome. As Cardinal Manning said of the empire, "It was 'exceeding terrible,' according to the prophecies of Daniel; it was as it were of iron, breaking down and subduing the nations."
Of the ten horns that arose out of this fourth great empire, the angel said:
"The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."
We look to the history of the Roman Empire, and what do we see?—Just the picture of the prophecy. We see the original Roman Empire of the West divided into lesser kingdoms. We see the barbarian peoples of the North sweeping down upon the empire, breaking it up, and establishing within its boundaries the various kingdoms that are to this day represented by the kingdoms of western Europe.
And as we watch the history at this point, we surely see "another little horn," another land of power, rising among the horns representing the kingdoms of divided Rome—a kingdom, yet a kingdom "diverse" from the others. The work of this power riveted the attention of the prophet; and it is of the greatest importance that we also should watch closely to catch the lesson of the divine prophecy.
Prophetic and Historic Pictures of the "Little Horn"
This is plainly the picture presented by the prophet, as we look again, observing details more closely.
The prophet beheld the division of the Roman Empire into lesser kingdoms. Then, springing up among these kingdoms, he saw the little-horn power subduing three of the ten kingdoms, speaking great words, and making war with the saints of God. It was to be a religious power, then, ruling among the kings of the earth, and asserting religious dominion over the faith and consciences of men. "The same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them."
We look to history, and this is what plainly appears:
We see, as described in the prophecy, a time when ten contemporaneous kingdoms filled the territory of the original Western Empire. Just there we see an ecclesiastical kingly power rise to religious supremacy—the Roman Papacy. We see, through its influence, three of the ten kingdoms overthrown, "plucked up by the roots"—three Arian or heretical kingdoms. And as we watch the history, we find this power making "war with the saints" and prevailing against them through long ages.
A Roman Catholic writer describes it in a paragraph:
"Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western emperors was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked him to rule them; and thus, in this simple manner, the best title of all to kingly right, commenced the temporal sovereignty of the popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages."—Rev. James P. Conroy, in American Catholic Quarterly Review, April, 1911.
Yet again we look at the picture presented in prophecy. Then we turn to history; and precisely where and when the prophet saw the "little horn" coming up, we see the Roman Papacy rising to supremacy. We see this ecclesiastical power wielding a kingly scepter among the kingdoms of divided Rome, exalting itself above them, with a look "more stout than his fellows." We hear it speaking great words, and we see it carrying on warfare against the saints.
Clearly, there was no other power in history, rising at that time and in that place, which suggests the slightest correspondence to the prophecy. In every detail the Roman Papacy does correspond to it.
The prophetic outline has brought us to the rise of the great apostasy, so fully dealt with in the New Testament prophecy; but there are further specifications in this prophecy of the seventh of Daniel which demand brief study.
THE 1260 YEARS OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY
Compressed into forty-four words, the age-long story of the workings of the Roman Papacy is thus told by the angel who interpreted Daniel's vision of the little horn:
"He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.
The spirit of this apostasy was abroad in apostolic days. "The mystery of iniquity doth already work," said the apostle Paul. 2 Thess. 2:7. And this power is to continue to work until the end, when it will be destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. Verse 8.
A Prophetic Period
But according to the word of the angel to Daniel, there was to be a period during which, in a special sense, the Papacy was to hold supremacy over the saints and the times and the laws of the Most High.
"They shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." In the Scriptures the word "time," used in this manner, means a year: "at the end of times, even years." Dan. 11:13, margin. Therefore a time (one year) and times (two years) and the dividing of time (half a year) means three years and a half. The same period is mentioned twice in the twelfth chapter of Revelation, once (verse 14) as "a time, and times, and half a time," and again (verse 6) as "a thousand two hundred and threescore days."
But in the symbolic representations of time in prophecy, a day stands for a year (see Eze. 4:5, 6, and other scriptures). Thus the prophecy foretold a long period of 1260 years during which papal supremacy would continue.
Now we may ask, When was this supremacy to begin? what would mark the rise of the Papacy to acknowledged supremacy? and what events mark the ending of the 1260 years?
A Pivotal Point in History
The answer of history to the voice of prophecy is clear.
The sixth century was a pivotal period in the history of the world. The bishops of Rome had been asserting the claims of that seat (or "see") above all others. Justinian was emperor of the East. Of Justinian and his time Bury says:
"He may be likened to a colossal Janus bestriding the way of passage between the ancient and medieval worlds.... His military achievements decided the course of the history of Italy, and affected the development of Western Europe;... and his ecclesiastical authority influenced the distant future of Christendom."—"History of the Later Roman Empire," Vol. I, pp. 351-353.
Of this turning point in the world's history, Finlay says:
"The changes of centuries passed in rapid succession before the eyes of one generation."—"Greece under the Romans," p. 231.
Just here we find the Papacy lifted definitely into acknowledged supremacy. Imperial Rome had already left its ancient seat to the Papacy, the imperial throne being no longer maintained at Rome. The Bishop of Rome was left the chief figure in the ancient seat of the Caesars. The prophecy of Rev. 13:2 had said of the relation of the old imperial power to the Papacy, "The dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." The seat was given, and now imperial Rome was to give to papal Rome the definite recognition of its supreme power and "great authority."
Papal Supremacy Officially Recognized
In A.D. 533 the emperor Justinian promulgated a letter, having the force of an imperial decree, recognizing the absolute headship of the Bishop of Rome over the churches. It declared:
"We have been sedulous to subject and unite all the priests of the Orient throughout its whole extent to the see of Your Holiness.... For we do not suffer that anything which is mooted, however clear and unquestionable, pertaining to the state of the churches, should fail to be made known to Your Holiness, as being the head of all the churches. For, as we have said before, we are zealous for the increase of the honor and authority of your see in all respects."—Cod. Justin., lib. 1, title 1, Baronii "Annales Ecclesiastici," Tom. VII, an. 533, sec. 12 (Translation as given in "The Petrine Claims," by R.F. Littledale, p. 293).
From this decree (for such it really was) the Roman authorities date the official recognition of the supremacy of the Papacy. Some have taken a later decree by Emperor Phocas (A.D. 606) as a starting point. But Dr. Croly says:
"The highest authorities among the civilians and annalists of Rome spurn the idea that Phocas was the founder of the supremacy of Rome; they ascend to Justinian as the only legitimate source, and rightly date the title from the memorable year 533."—"The Apocalypse of St. John," pp. 172, 173.
The Sword of Empire Cleaves the Way
The "great authority" had been recognized. But at this time heretical Arian powers compassed the papal seat about. The Arian Vandals were persecuting Catholics in Africa, Corsica, and Sardinia, and an Arian Gothic king ruled Italy from Ravenna, his capital. The imperial arms, however, were at the service of orthodoxy. In 533-534 Justinian's famous general, Belisarius, uprooted the Vandals. The war for the faith and the empire was carried into Italy also, against the Arian Goths. In 536 Belisarius, unopposed, entered Rome at the invitation of the Pope. But the next year the Goths rallied all their forces to retake the city. It was a crisis in the struggle for Italy. "If a single post had given way," says Gibbon, "the Romans, and Rome itself, were irrecoverably lost." The Goths withdrew, defeated, in 538; and this defeat, says Hodgkin, dug "the grave of the Gothic monarchy in Italy."
Though the conflict went on for years before the Goths were rooted up, this defeat of 538 was a crucial hour in their history. Finlay says:
"With the conquest of Rome by Belisarius, the history of the ancient city may be considered as terminating; and with his defense against Witiges [538] commences the history of the Middle Ages."—"Greece under the Romans," p 295.
Roughly speaking, the Middle Ages and the age of papal supremacy and power were the same.
A New Order of Popes
Not only was there this telling stroke by the imperial sword in 538, helping to clear the way before the Papacy, but at this same time the first of a new order of popes was placed upon the papal throne by the imperial arms. Pope Silverius, accused of sympathy with the Goths, was deposed by Belisarius in 537. The emperor intervened, and the question of the validity of his deposition was held up by the emperor until 538. In that year, as Schaff says:
"Vigilius, a pliant creature of Theodora, ascended the papal chair under the military protection of Belisarius (538-554)."—"History of the Christian Church," Vol. III, p. 327.
With him begins a new order. Though personally he was humiliated by the emperor's demands, and the Papacy itself was brought into a state of subjection that it had not known even under heretical Gothic kings, yet this very arbitrary use of the papal prerogative by Justinian, strengthened the idea that the Pope of Rome was the supreme authority in religion, to speak for the universal church. In Bemont and Monod's textbook on "Medieval Europe," page 120, we read:
"Down to the sixth century all popes are declared saints in the martyrologies. Vigilius (537[E]-555) is the first of a series of popes who no longer bear this title, which is henceforth sparingly conferred. From this time on the popes, more and more involved in worldly events, no longer belong solely to the church; they are men of the state, and then rulers of the state."
A Persecuting Power
Following Vigilius came Pelagius I (556-560), who ascended the throne by "the military aid of Narses," then the imperial general in Italy. And Pelagius, who had been set in the papal see by imperial power, began to demand that the sword of the empire should be used against bishops or members in the church who did not give way to the authority of the Pope. His letters on this subject "are an unqualified defense of the principles of persecution." (See "Dictionary of Christian Biography," by Smith and Wace, art. "Pope Pelagius.")
The prophecy declared that the Papacy would be given special supremacy during a period of 1260 years.
In A.D. 533 came the memorable imperial declaration recognizing that supremacy, and in A.D. 538 came the stroke with the sword of Rome, cleaving the way; and there began the new order of popes—"men of the state, and then rulers of the state."
Thus decisive events clearly mark the beginning of the prophetic period of the 1260 years. And just 1260 years from the decree of 533, in recognition of the papal supremacy, came a decree, in 1793, aimed against that supremacy; and just 1260 years from that stroke with the sword at Rome in behalf of the Papacy, came a stroke with the sword at Rome against the Papacy.
FOOTNOTES:
[E] The exact date should be 538, as given in the quotation from Schaff's history. "From the death of Silverius [June, 538] the Roman Catholic writers date the episcopacy of Vigilius."—Bower, "History of the Popes," under year 538.
THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA
THE END OF THE 1260 YEARS
As the generation in which the papal power rose to supremacy was a turning-point in the history of the world, so, too, was the generation in which the 1260 years of its supremacy came to an end.
This measuring line of prophecy does more than run from date to date. It connects two great crises in human history, the events of the first tending to establish the papal rule over men, the events of the second signalizing a breaking of those bands.
A Crisis in History
Papal supremacy came at that time of which Finlay says, "The changes of centuries passed in rapid succession before the eyes of one generation." The measuring line of 1260 years runs on through the centuries till, lo, its end touches another time of crisis,—Europe in the convulsions of the French Revolution, when again changes, ordinarily requiring centuries, were wrought out before the eyes of men within the space of a few years. Lamartine wrote of that time:
"These five years are five centuries for France."—"History of the Girondists," book 61, sec. 16 (Vol. III), p. 544.
And the events of these times proclaimed the prophetic period of papal supremacy ended at last.
Thus, in A.D. 533 came the notable decree of the Papacy's powerful supporter, recognizing its supremacy; and then the decisive stroke by the sword at Rome in A.D. 538, cleaving the way for the new order of popes—the rulers of state.
Exactly 1260 years later, in 1793, came the notable decree of the Papacy's once powerful supporter, France,—"the eldest son of the church,"—aiming to abolish church and religion, followed by a decisive stroke with the sword at Rome against the Papacy, in 1798.
Significant Events of the French Revolution
Of the decree of 1793, W.H. Hutton says:—
"On Nov. 26, 1793, the Convention, of which seventeen bishops and some clergy were members, decreed the abolition of all religion."—"Age of Revolution," p. 156.
The frenzy of the days of the Terror presented the spectacle of outraged humanity, goaded to desperation by centuries of oppression in the name of religion and divine right, rising up and madly breaking every restraint. Because in the minds of the people the Papacy stood for religion, they blindly struck at religion itself, and at God, in whose name the papal church had done its cruel work through the centuries.
In the prophecy of Rev. 11:3-13 these events of the wild days of the French Revolution are specifically referred to as coming at the close of the prophetic period of the 1260 years. The prophetic picture was so clear that over a hundred years before the time, Jurieu, an eminent French student of prophecy, wrote that he could "not doubt that 'tis France," the chief supporter of the Papacy, that would give the shock as of an earthquake to the great spiritual Babylonian city. He wrote of France, one of the ten parts of divided Rome:
"This tenth part of the city shall fall, with respect to the Papacy; it shall break with Rome, and the Roman religion."—"The Accomplishment of the Prophecies" (London, 1687), part 2, p. 265.
And so it came to pass. Far beyond France the movement reached. Canon Trevor says of the wave of revolt against absolutism that passed over Europe:
"It is worthy of observation that only those nations which eschewed popery were able to resist the tide. Every throne and every church, without exception, that owned the supremacy of Rome, was prostrated in the dust."—"Rome and Its Papal Rulers," p. 436.
The decree of the French Convention in 1793 was followed by the stroke with the sword at Rome in 1798. The full history is told in fewest words by a Roman Catholic writer, Rev. Joseph Rickaby, of the Jesuit Society:
"When, in 1797, Pope Pius VI fell grievously ill, Napoleon gave orders that in the event of his death no successor should be elected to his office, and that the Papacy should be discontinued.
"But the Pope recovered. The peace was soon broken; Berthier entered Rome on the tenth of February, 1798, and proclaimed a republic. The aged pontiff refused to violate his oath by recognizing it, and was hurried from prison to prison in France. Broken with fatigue and sorrows, he died on the nineteenth of August, 1799, in the French fortress of Valence, aged eighty-two years. No wonder that half Europe thought Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with the Pope the Papacy was dead."—"The Modern Papacy," p. 1 (Catholic Truth Society, London).
These events of the French Revolution marked the ending of the prophetic period of papal supremacy. A "deadly wound" had been given the Papacy. And the blow with the sword at Rome was struck in 1798, just 1260 years from the year 538, when the sword of empire struck that decisive blow against the Goths at Rome, and prepared the way for the new order of popes, the kingly rulers of church and state.
Of the condition of the Papacy at this time Canon Trevor says:
"The Papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence remained; and among all the Roman Catholic powers not a finger was stirred in its defense. The Eternal City had no longer prince or pontiff; its bishop was a dying captive in foreign lands; and the decree was already announced that no successor would be allowed in his place."—"Rome and Its Papal Rulers," p. 440.
"No wonder that half Europe," the Jesuit writer says, "thought Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with the Pope the Papacy was dead." But he adds that "since then the Papacy has been lifted to a pinnacle of spiritual power" unreached before.
The stroke dealt the Papacy by the French Revolution was not to be the ending of it, by any means, according to the prophecy. These events proclaimed the ending of the prophetic period of special supremacy. Another prophecy distinctly indicates that following the deadly blow there would come a revival of the Papacy's influence, just as the Catholic writer describes it. The prophet John, speaking of this same power, says:
"I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.... And they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" Rev. 13:3, 4.
We see the healing process still going on, with evidences multiplying that the world is more and more wondering after the papal power.
A New Era of Liberty and Enlightenment
With the ending of the 1260 years of papal supremacy, a new order was ushered in. The Papacy had stood for absolutism in state as well as church. Now the power of absolutism was broken. "Absolute monarchy," Edmund Burke said at the time, "breathed its last without a struggle." There came the dawn of an era of greater religious liberty and enlightenment, that has spread blessings over all lands.
The prophecy had said of the Papacy, that the saints and the times and laws of the Most High were to be "given into his hand" for 1260 years. As foretold in Christ's prophecy (Matt. 24:22), these days of the tribulation of God's saints were "shortened." The power of the Reformation weakened the oppressing hand, even before the prophetic period ran out. And when the full 1260 years closed, the world saw the grip of that papal hand yet further loosened, and God's providence at work preparing the way for a world-wide proclamation of His gospel, bearing witness against the perversions of the papal apostasy, and restoring to men the Word and laws of the Most High.
The record of history witnesses that this time prophecy of the 1260 years of papal supremacy was exactly fulfilled. The Lord speaks in prophecy that men may know that He is the living God. In these time prophecies of His Word, He gives assurance not only that this troubled world has not escaped from the hand of its Maker, but that its times are in His hand also; and that when the time of His divine purpose fully comes, He will surely cut His work short in righteousness, and end the reign of sin on earth.
As the prophetic period of Dan. 7:25 meets its fulfilment in the history of the Papacy, even so, we shall see, the work of the Roman Church answers to the further specifications regarding the doings of this "little horn" of Daniel's prophecy.
THE WORK OF THE "LITTLE HORN" POWER
The prophetic picture of the rise and work of the "little horn" finds its exact counterpart in the history of the Roman Papacy:
The Place.—The little horn was seen by the prophet rising in the field of the Roman Empire. That was the very place where the great kingdom of the Papacy appeared, taking the name of Roman.
The Time.—The rise of the ecclesiastical kingdom of the little-horn power in the prophecy followed the breaking up of the Roman Empire into the ten kingdoms. Just so the ecclesiastical kingdom of the Roman Papacy rises to view in history immediately following the division of the empire.
The Period of Supremacy.—The prophecy allotted 1260 years to the full supremacy of this power. History responds that from the beginning of the papal supremacy, in the days of Justinian, a period of 1260 years brings us into the stirring events of the last decade of the eighteenth century, that gave to the Papacy a deadly wound.
One further set of specifications remains for study:
The Work.—Of the nature and work of the power represented by the little horn, the prophecy declares:
"He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.
Do we find in the record that the Church of Rome has fulfilled these specifications also? The Scripture prophecy is absolutely a word-photograph of the workings of the papal church. Look at the main features:
1. Speaking great words against the Most High. 2. Wearing out the saints of the Most High. 3. Thinking to change the times and the laws of the Most High.
Every count in the indictment may be clearly proved, and that by testimony from Roman Catholic sources
"He Shall Speak Great Words Against the Most High"
As Daniel observed the little-horn power, he heard it speaking "very great things." The angel declared that these great swelling words were really against the Most High. And what could be more against the honor of the Most High than that to mortal man should be ascribed the titles and attributes of divinity? Here are some of the "great words:"
"All the names which are attributed to Christ in Scripture, implying His supremacy over the church, are also attributed to the Pope."—Bellarmine, "On the Authority of Councils," book 2, chap. 17.
This ruling has been actually applied through the ages. Says Elliott:
"Look at the Sicilian ambassadors prostrated before him [Pope Martin IV] with the cry, 'Lamb of God! that takest away the sins of the world!'"—"Horae Apocalypticae," part 4, chap. 5, sec. 2.
"The Pope is of so great dignity and excellence, that he is not merely man, but as if God, and the vicar of God (non sit simplex homo, sed quasi Deus, et Dei vicarius). The Pope alone is called most holy,... divine monarch, and supreme emperor, and king of kings.... The Pope is of so great dignity and power that he constitutes one and the same tribunal with Christ (faciat unum et idem tribunal cum Christo), so that whatsoever the Pope does seems to proceed from the mouth of God (abore Dei)."—"Prompta Bibliotheca" (Ferraris), art. "Papa;" Ferraris's Ecclesiastical Dictionary (Roman Catholic), art. "The Pope." Quoted in Guinness's "Romanism and the Reformation," p. 16.
These are no merely extravagant adulations of the Dark Ages, to be repudiated by the moderns; these terms express the unchanging doctrinal claims of the Roman Church, that put man in the place of God. The modern Pope Leo XIII, in an encyclical letter dated June 20, 1894, repeated the claim:
"We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty."—"The Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII" (New York, Benziger Brothers), p. 304.
Thus does the Papacy "speak great words against the Most High."
"And Shall Wear Out the Saints of the Most High"
All through the Dark Ages we catch glimpses of the ruthless hand of Rome laid upon simple believers in God's Holy Word; but plans for wholesale wearing out of the saints of God were devised as the Waldenses and others rose to a widespread work of witnessing, heralds of the dawn of the coming Reformation,—
"These who gave earliest notice, As the lark Springs from the ground the morn to gratulate; Who, rather, rose the day to antedate, By striking out a solitary spark, When all the world with midnight gloom was dark— The harbingers of good whom bitter hate In vain endeavored to exterminate." |
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