questions to be considered: 1. Has the present state of Turkey been
foretold in prophecy? 2. Does it teach us any lessons respecting our
spiritual position? and 3. Does it throw any light on the blessed hope
of our Lord’s return? The first of these questions we examined in the
last lecture, and surely it was proved that in the symbol of the drying
up of the Euphrates we have a most remarkable symbolic prophecy of the
exhaustion of the Ottoman power. To-day we are to pass on to the second
question: Is our own spiritual position affected by the exhaustion of
Turkish power? Now I can quite understand the thought that has no doubt
occurred to many of you, that the two things can have no possible
connexion with each other, for there seems to our mind to be no possible
connexion of even the most remote character between the Turkish Empire
and our own spiritual life. We may well say, ‘What have we to do with
the Turks, or the Turks with us in our own daily, private walk with God?’
It may surprise some of you when I say that, although no man can explain
the reason of the connexion, I believe it to be very intimate, and that
the religious life of modern Christendom is in a most remarkable manner
bound up with the decline of the Turkish Empire.
To understand this we must remember that the great prophecy in the book
of Revelation is arranged in periods. Each seal, each trumpet, and each
vial, represents a period. So there is one particular period of history
foretold under the figure of the sixth vial, and all the events predicted
under that vial we should expect to appear at about the same time in
history. Whether we can trace any connexion or not, the events of each
vial are linked together in respect of time; so that if there are two
events under any one vial, when we see the one we ought to look out for
the other, and when one takes place we have every reason to believe that
the other is at hand. Now there are two events, apparently quite
distinct in themselves, which are thus connected with each other under
the sixth vial—the drying up of the Euphrates, and the appearance of
certain most dangerous and seductive spirits, going forth to gather men
together for the battle of Almighty God. If, therefore, it be a fact, as
I firmly believe it to be a fact, that the Euphrates is now being dried
up, then it follows as a sure and certain consequence that the unclean
spirits are soon, if not already, going forth to do their deadly work.
The two things go on according to the prophecy within the same prophetic
period, and therefore if we see the one, as believers in the word of God,
we ought to be on the lookout for the other. We are thus brought to the
conclusion, that whenever the Euphrates shall be drying up, there will be
a time of great spiritual seduction; or, in other words, that the
exhaustion of the Turkish Empire will be accompanied, or quickly
followed, by a remarkable development of mischievous spiritual power.
This, then, must be our subject in this lecture, and we will study (if
God permit) first the danger, and then the caution. May God grant that
the result may be that we may be like those few men of Sardis who had not
defiled their garments, and who will walk with the Lord Jesus in white,
for they are worthy!
I. The danger.
This is described in Rev. xvi. 13, 14. ‘And I saw three unclean spirits
like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of
the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the
spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the
earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great
day of God Almighty.’
All students of prophecy are well aware how much has been written in
exposition of these two verses, and what different explanations have been
given of these three seductive spirits. I have not time this morning to
discuss any of them, but there are three things perfectly clear, and it
will be sufficient for us to study them.
(1.) The subtlety of the danger.
The passage does not describe three empires, or three churches, or three
great societies, or three organizations of any kind whatever, but three
spirits. Now a spirit is something subtle and unseen. Its presence is
not perceived; its voice is not heard; its touch is not felt. It comes
and goes, but it leaves no footsteps in the sand. It seems, therefore, a
great mistake to explain this prophecy by different systems that are
conspicuous to the eye, and we must be careful lest, by so doing, we
should be thrown off our guard with reference to our real danger. There
may be no false system presented to us, and we may be perfectly safe with
reference to any definite form of evil, such as infidelity or popery, but
there may be any one, or indeed all three, of these deadly spirits
imperceptibly breathing poison into our souls. It is this subtlety of
spiritual action that makes it so pre-eminently dangerous. If it were
all open and before the eye we should know how to avoid it.
(2.) The variety.
There is not one spirit only, but there are three acting together. We
are taught, therefore, that at the time of the drying up of the Euphrates
we must be prepared for subtle and seductive power of various forms and
characters. If there were only one spirit the danger might assume only
one form: but as there are three spirits acting together we should be on
our guard against every possible combination. We are not merely to look
out for three distinct and separate forms of error, but, as all three act
together, they may combine in every conceivable variety. One may act on
one mind, two on another, and all three on a third, and so produce the
most remarkable and inconsistent combinations. Suppose, _e.g._, that the
first was Infidelity, the second Worldliness, and the third Popery.
Remember, I do not say that they are, but suppose they were. In some
cases you might have avowed Atheism; in some, a life so absorbed in the
world that a man does not even take the trouble to be an infidel; and in
others pure and unadulterated Romanism. But, besides that, you might
find every possible combination. Sceptical opinions might be combined
with Romish ritual, and high ceremonial with worldliness of life.
Indeed, there is scarcely any form of seductive error that you might not
develope by combining in different proportions those three most dangerous
spirits. Thus it follows that, though a person may be well on his guard
against one, he may be gradually entangled by the other two; and though
he may be on the watch against all in their distinct and separate forms,
he may be drawn out of a straight path by a beautiful combination of the
three, in which, according to St. Paul’s illustration, Satan has
transformed himself into an angel of light.
(3.) The result of the action of these spirits in conflict. Verse
14,—‘For they are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth
unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the
battle of the great day of God Almighty.’
Their special object appears to be to gather together the kings to the
battle of the great day of God Almighty: and in studying the prophecy it
is impossible to forget the political difficulties that have already
arisen from the decline of Turkey. But we must not limit the prophecy to
kings, for the warning voice of verse 15 clearly applies to us all.
Kings are not the only persons who find it necessary to watch and keep
their garments. These spirits, then, are predicted as gathering men
together for battle. When they are abroad truth and error will be thrown
into antagonism. The Lord Jesus Christ will be collecting His forces,
and Satan his: there will be on both sides the mustering of the host.
Those that are on the side of the Lamb will rally round His banner,
‘called, and chosen, and faithful;’ and those that are under the
influence of any of the seductive spirits will throw themselves into the
ranks of open opposition. The characteristic of the day will be, not
sloth or indifference, but zeal, eagerness, and conflict.
Now no one can have watched the progress of men’s minds during the last
half century without observing that this has been most remarkably the
case. There cannot be a doubt as to the fact that, while the Turkish
power has been declining, the powers of good and evil throughout
Christendom have been awakening into life. The two processes have gone
on side by side. Turkey has been drying up, and almost every state in
Europe has been aroused to religious conflict. Many amongst us have been
able to trace the vast change that has taken place during our own
lifetimes. I can see myself an immense difference between the state of
things when I first commenced my ministry, forty years ago, and the state
of things now. Then the characteristic of the day was stagnation, but
now it is conflict. Then our warfare was against cold, dull, dead,
stolid indifference; but now error in every shape is in full activity,
and we require to be armed at all points against every species of attack.
Then all that unconverted men desired was to be left undisturbed in the
deep sleep that had settled down on their souls. But they are all awake
now, and the cry is, ‘To arms!’ Many, alas! are on the wrong side. Far
too many have fallen under the fatal influence of these seducing spirits;
but, whether on the wrong side or the right, they are awake. They are
up, and hurrying to their post. The time for sleep is over; the bugle
has sounded, the ranks are forming, the struggle has begun, and the time
is come when those who know their Saviour must be prepared to stand with
a holy decision on His side.
II. And now you can see the overwhelming importance of the warning of
this verse: ‘Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest
he walk naked, and they see his shame.’ You can see that the exhaustion
of Turkey is a conspicuous signal from God to arouse all Christendom to
watchfulness. We cannot see the three unclean spirits coming forth, but
we can see Turkey decaying; and that is God’s visible signal that the
invisible spirits are at work. If ever, therefore, there was a time for
especial watchfulness it is now. If ever there was a time when our young
people require to be cautioned, and warned, and helped and guided, it is
now. And you will observe that the warning is given to those who have
some garments. It is not spoken to the heathen, or unconverted
worldlings; but to those who have, what I may term, some sort of
Christian clothing. I have not time to discuss what that clothing is.
It may be their baptismal robe, that which they put on when they were
baptized into Christ. It may be the robe of their Christian profession,
that which they wear habitually in daily life; or it may even be that
spotless robe washed white in the blood of the Lamb, in which alone they
can stand before God, the wedding garment of the perfect righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ. In whatever sense we understand the expression,
the solemn and sacred warning from God to every one of us, both old and
young, is the same; viz. that we watch and keep our garments, lest we
walk naked, and they see our shame. We see the Euphrates drying up, and
therefore we know that the evil spirits are abroad. We know, _i.e._,
that there are subtle, deadly influences all around us, of various kinds
and characters, whose object is to draw us away from the simplicity that
is in Christ, to strip us of our garments, and to enlist us on the wrong
side of the struggle. We may not be aware of their stealthy approach;
and we are not likely to be so, for we are certain not to see them. We
need not necessarily be shocked by their suggestions, for, though they be
unclean spirits, they can clothe their temptation in the form of beauty.
But, whether we detect them or not, we may be sure they are at work, and
in full activity. They are moving with stealthy steps in the midst of
us. They are approaching our minds in secret, disturbing prayer,
suggesting doubts, weakening faith, poisoning thought, alienating love,
and so labouring by subtle, mental influence, to detach us from Christ.
And only think what the result would be if they were to succeed; nothing
less than this, that we should walk naked and they would see our shame!
It is not clear who is meant by the ‘they’ that are to see the shame. It
may be the world at large, or it may be the very spirits that have done
the mischief, looking on with a fiendish smile on the misery and
nakedness of the poor wretch whom they have ruined. But it matters not
who sees it; that will make very little difference. To be naked before
God, that is enough. He is sure to see it, and the dreadful horrors of
such a position far exceed any power of human imagination. You remember
how St. Paul spoke of it in 2 Cor. v. 3: ‘If so be that being clothed’
(clothed, _i.e._, with the resurrection body) ‘we shall not be found
naked.’ Clothed, but yet naked. Risen, but not covered. Alive with all
the realities of the body, and all the faculties of the mind, memory, and
conscience; but with the poor soul naked, without a claim, without an
excuse, without an atonement, without a plea, without a Saviour, without
any hope for all eternity of either concealment or forgiveness. The
thought is too dreadful to be borne. Oh, may God in mercy grant that not
one of us, and not one whom we love, may be found naked in that day! And
oh! what an inexpressible joy it is for the child of God, however weak,
however unworthy, however unable to cope with all the seductions of those
wicked spirits, to fall back on the sure promise of his blessed Saviour:
‘They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My
hand.’ He can keep us, and we may be sure He will. Let us throw
ourselves then into His hand to be clothed, to be kept, to be watched
over, to be held fast, that so, preserved in Christ Jesus, and clothed in
His spotless robe, we may never be found naked, but may when He comes be
presented ‘faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding
joy.’
V.
THE ADVENT.
I trust there are many amongst us who are able to say, from the very
depths of their longing hearts, ‘I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait.’
The long-expected coming of the Lord is the blessed hope on which their
hearts rest in eager and earnest expectation, and they can add their
unqualified ‘Amen’ to the last prayer of Scripture, ‘Even so, come, Lord
Jesus.’
I am persuaded that all those who are thus looking for the coming of the
Lord must feel the greatest possible interest in the last of the three
subjects proposed for our consideration with reference to the exhaustion
of the Turkish Empire, as symbolized by the drying up of the Euphrates.
We have seen that the exhaustion which is now attracting the anxious
attention of all the politicians of Europe was foretold more than
eighteen hundred years ago in this remarkable symbolic prophecy. We
found also in the last lecture that the internal decay of Turkey is a
warning to us all to be on the watch against the seductive spirits of the
latter days; and we now have to examine whether there is any connexion
between that decay and the glorious advent of the Lord Jesus; whether, in
other words, the decline of the Ottoman empire is not like the cry which
aroused the ten virgins in the parable, ‘The Bridegroom cometh.’ There
are two questions which will clearly require our careful study. (1.)
What light does the decline of the Ottoman Empire throw on the near
approach of our Lord’s return? And (2), if it does throw such a light,
how are we to understand His declaration that He will come as a thief?
May God Himself, who has inspired His own word, be graciously pleased to
direct us in the study of it; and to lead us, every one of us, to be
perfectly ready, waiting for the Lord Jesus!
I. What light, then, does the decay of the Ottoman Empire throw on the
prospect of the near approach of our Lord’s return? Has it any bearing
on our Christian hope? and may we regard it as a signal from God that the
time is come when we may soon expect the Advent?
In order to answer this question we must examine:—
(1.) The position of the prophecy in the general structure of the Book.
The prophecies of this wonderful book are arranged on a divinely ordered
plan. There are some chapters to which it is difficult to assign their
place; but it is easy to see what may be termed the backbone running
through the whole. To use a very homely illustration, there is the main
line of rail conspicuously running through the whole, and you may trace
that clearly, though you cannot always trace the branches. Now in this
outline there are three great series of prophetic periods—the seven
seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven vials; and these three series
appear in a remarkable manner to follow each other. First there are the
seals, as in chap. vi.; and when the sixth seal is opened, and the
seventh about to follow, there appears a general expectation of the
coming of the Lord. But when the seventh seal is actually opened,
instead of our coming to the end, as apparently was expected, we find a
second series developed. The seven trumpets were wrapped as it were in
the seventh seal (viii. 1, 2), so that when it was opened they appeared,
and a fresh series commenced, and the trumpet-angels one after another
blew their blast. At length the seventh trumpet is sounded, and again it
appears as though you had reached the end. But like the seventh seal,
it, too, is found to contain within itself a third series. The seven
vials are wrapped within it, and when that last trumpet is blown they are
poured forth in awful succession on a wicked world. Thus the seventh
seal contains all the trumpets, and the seventh trumpet all the vials.
Now if this be the case it is clear that the sixth vial must come very
near the end. The trumpets are none sounded till the six seals are
passed and the seventh seal is opened. The vials do not begin till the
six trumpets have completed their blast and the seventh has sounded; and
of the vials five must have been poured out already, so that there can be
nothing remaining but the seventh, or the last.
To take the very homely illustration of a railway. Suppose a series of
stations on a line, the seventh being a junction; suppose that on the
branch from that junction there was another series of stations, the
seventh again being a junction; and from that second junction there was
another line of seven stations, the last being your home. What would you
think of your position when you had travelled the whole length of the
main line, and the whole of the first branch, and when you had gone so
far along the second branch that you had actually reached the sixth
station on that last line? You would say, surely, that you were near the
end of your journey, close to home. Now whenever the Church of God
reaches the sixth vial that will be its position. All the seals will
have been opened, all the trumpets blown, and six of the seven vials
poured out.
But that I believe to be our position now, and that we are at this
present time living under the sixth vial. I believe that the great
public, political event of the sixth vial, is the drying up of the
Ottoman Empire, and that we can all see to be in progress. There can be
no doubt about the great, public, political fact. It is confirmed by
every newspaper, and is forced on the attention of England by the sore
distress brought on many families through the Turkish bankruptcy. But if
this be the fact predicted by the symbol of the drying up of the
Euphrates, then it follows that we are living under the sixth vial, and
that the seventh vial is all that remains of the great prophetic series.
(2.) But consider next the contents of the seventh vial. The seventh
seal contained the series of seven trumpets, and the seventh trumpet the
series of seven vials. May there not be some similar series wrapped up
in the seventh vial?
Such a question would be perfectly reasonable, but the only answer that
we can give is that we do not find any such series described in the
prophecy. On the other hand, everything in it looks like the end. When
the seventh angel poured out his vial there came a great voice out of the
temple of heaven from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ It certainly did
not look like the commencement of another series, but taught us rather to
look out for the great winding up of the whole and the final close of the
great prophetic plan. So in the account of the seventh vial you may see
four things plainly revealed;—the fall of Babylon, which I believe to be
the fall of Rome, chap. xvi. 17, to the end of xviii.; the marriage
supper of the Lamb, chap, xix. 1–9; the triumphant victory of the Son of
God, chap. xix. 11, 12; and, last of all, the millennial reign, chap. xx.
Surely, then, this vial brings us to the end. Surely when it is poured
forth we shall have done with the politics of the world, and shall cease
to look for the gradual development of history. All thoughts will then
be occupied by the unspeakable blessedness of the marriage supper of the
Lamb.
It seems clear, then, that the seventh vial is the close of the series,
and that under it we are to expect the final victory of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The conclusion, therefore, is plain, that if the exhaustion of
the Ottoman Empire is the event symbolized by the drying up of the
Euphrates, it is high time that we awake out of sleep: for the sixth vial
is already begun, and we must soon expect to behold Christ Himself, with
all the joys of His kingdom and all the terrors of a crushing victory. I
say ‘soon,’ not ‘immediately,’ for it does not appear that this passage
teaches us to expect it any day or hour, for it describes certain great
political events which have not yet taken place. The Euphrates is
drying, but not yet dry. The kings have not yet passed over from the
East, and the battle of Almighty God, whatever it may symbolize, has not
yet been fought. All, therefore, that we can say is, that we appear to
have reached what Daniel terms ‘the time of the end;’ that now it is high
time to awake out of sleep, for we already begin to see the first streaks
of morning dawn. We have already witnessed some of the great events that
must very shortly precede the Advent, and we may begin to look out full
of hope for the actual return of the Lord Himself.
(3.) This conclusion is confirmed by the words of our Lord Himself. I
need not stop to prove that He is the speaker in this passage, but we
must carefully observe His words. What does He say when the sixth vial
is poured out, and the Euphrates is drying up, and when the three evil
spirits are gone forth through Christendom? What is the warning voice
which He Himself then gives out with reference to His coming? What
lesson would He have us learn from these great events? Of what are they
His signal? Does He not teach us to be looking out for His coming? Does
He not say, ‘Behold, I come as a thief?’ Does He not call us to a double
watchfulness, and teach us not merely to watch against the seductive
influence of these foul spirits, but to watch also for His own appearing,
and for the bright hope of joyfully meeting Him? But if this be the
case, and if the prophecy of the sixth vial is really being now
fulfilled, as we believe it to be, by the drying up of the Turkish power;
then every fresh symptom of decay in that power, every loss of territory
by the Turks, every fresh insurrection, and every proof that the empire
is reduced to hopeless bankruptcy, is like a clarion blast of the trumpet
of God ringing through the ears of Christendom; and proclaiming, with a
distinctness which cannot be mistaken, ‘Watch, therefore, for ye know
neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh!’