THE COMING REVIVAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
(1) _The Geographical Standpoint._
The coming revival of the Roman Empire will for our present purpose be
best considered from the geographical, political, and religious
standpoints.
Geographical Considerations.
Any forecast of the exact delimitations of the ten kingdoms constituting
the reconstructed Empire must necessarily be largely conjectural. That
their aggregate area will precisely conform to that of the ancient Roman
Empire does not necessarily follow from the fact of its revival, and
cannot be definitely concluded from Scripture. An extension of the
territories of the Empire in its resuscitated form would be quite
consistent with the retention of its identity. Moreover, if Roman
imperialism may be considered to have continued in the hands of Teutonic
monarchs after the fall of the western part of the Empire in 476, if,
for instance, Charles the Great, of whom we have spoken (p. 58), ruled
as a Roman Emperor, despite the passing away of the actual Empire
itself, then the dominions which were under the rule of these later
monarchs may yet be found incorporated in the Empire, and so form parts
of the ten kingdoms. In that case Germany and Holland would be included.
Possibly, too, the Empire will embrace all the territories which
belonged to the three which preceded it, the Grecian, Medo-Persian, and
Chaldean. Certainly when the stone fell on the toes of the image, the
whole image, representing these former three as well as the fourth, was
demolished. Suggestive also in this respect is the fact that the beast
in the vision recorded in Revelation 13. 2 was possessed of features of
the leopard, the bear, and the lion, the same beasts which represented
in Daniel's vision the Grecian, Medo-Persian, and Chaldean kingdoms
(Dan. 7. 4-6), the order in Revelation 13 being inverted. While
political characteristics are doubtless chiefly in view in these
symbols, there may at the same time be an indication of the eventual
incorporation of the first three empires in the fourth. It must be
remembered, too, that the authority of the federal head of the ten
kingdoms is to be world-wide: "There was given to him authority over
every tribe and people and tongue and nation" (Rev. 13. 7). It is
probable, therefore, that while the ten kingdoms will occupy a well
defined area, their dependencies and the countries which are allied with
them will embrace practically the remainder of the world.
If, on the other hand, the Roman Empire is to be reconstructed in exact
conformity territorially with its ancient boundaries--such a
reconstruction is, of course, not inconceivable--we must consider what
period of the conquests of the ancient Empire to take, whether under the
first emperor, Augustus, or during the Apostolic Age, or later. We may,
perhaps, be helped by the facts already mentioned, that prophecy
relating to Gentile dominion is focussed upon the Jews and Palestine,
and has especially in view the presence of the nation in their land.
Now, shortly after their overthrow, in A.D. 70, their national
recognition as possessors of the land ceased. This period, moreover,
corresponds broadly to the close of the Apostolic Age. The dispersion of
the Jews among the nations was completed by Adrian in the next century.
He desolated the whole of Palestine, expelling all the remaining Jewish
inhabitants.
A Review of the Ancient Territories.
We will therefore now review the limits of the Empire and of some of its
provinces at that time, noticing certain circumstances of past and
present history suggestive of future issues. In doing so we are not
predicting that the boundaries of the revived Empire will be those of
the ancient.
Commencing with North Africa, it will be observed, on referring to the
map, that practically the same strip of territory which belonged to the
Roman Empire in the times of the apostles has passed directly under the
government of countries which were themselves then within the Empire.
For Spain rules over Morocco, France over Algeria and Tunis, Italy
recently seized Tripoli, and Britain has, since Turkey's entrance into
the great war, virtually taken possession of Egypt. It seems not a
little significant that no country which was outside the limits of the
Empire at the time under consideration has been permitted by God to
annex these North African territories since the Saracens and the Turks
were dispossessed of them.
Passing now to Asia, the territory in that continent which belonged to
Rome in the first century is approximately what remained to Turkey
immediately prior to the present war. Mesopotamia and most of Armenia
were included. The war has already seen Turkey dispossessed of portions
of these. The downfall of the Turkish Empire would almost certainly
involve territorial rearrangements of deepest import in the light of
prophecy, especially as regards Palestine.
Divisions of the Greek Empire: A Possible Renewal.
The 8th chapter of Daniel apparently indicates that the Asiatic
territories of the Empire will be divided much as they were under the
Greeks after the death of Alexander the Great. He was obviously
symbolised by the great horn (v. 22). The four horns which came up in
its place (v. 8) are clearly, too, the four generals who succeeded
Alexander, and among whom his dominions were divided, Cassander ruling
over Macedonia and Greece, Lysimachus over part of Asia Minor and Thrace
(the extent of the latter province was almost exactly what now belongs
to Turkey in Europe), Seleucus over most of Syria, Palestine,
Mesopotamia, and the east, and Ptolemy over Egypt. Next follows a
prediction carrying us to events which are evidently yet future. It is
said, for instance, that these events will take place "in the latter
time of their kingdom (not, it will be observed, in the time of the four
kings themselves who succeeded Alexander, but of the kingdoms over which
they ruled), when the transgressors are come to the full" (v. 23). The
expressions in this chapter, "the time of the end" (v. 17), "the latter
time of the indignation," "the appointed time of the end" (v. 19), and
"the latter time of their kingdom" (v. 23), all point to a period still
future, namely, to the close of the present age. Again, in reference to
the "king of fierce countenance," while much of the prophecy can be
applied to Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century B.C., yet no man
has hitherto arisen whose character and acts have been precisely those
related in verses 9-12 and 23-25. We may also compare what is said of
"the transgression that maketh desolate" (v. 13) with the Lord's
prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation (Matt. 24. 15-22), a
prophecy which also manifestly awaits fulfilment.
Possibly, therefore, these Asiatic territories will be similarly divided
in the coming time. In regard to the first of the above-mentioned four
divisions, the recent extension of Greece to include the ancient
province of Macedonia is remarkable. This was an outcome of the Balkan
War of 1912. The boundaries of Greece are now approximately what they
were under Cassander in the time of the Grecian Empire, what they were
also later as the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia in the Roman Empire.
There has lately, therefore, been a significant reversion to ancient
conditions in this respect.
Other European Territories.
Coming now to the dual-monarchy of Austria-Hungary, reference to the map
of the Roman Empire in the Apostolic Age will show that what are now
Hungary, Transylvania, Bessarabia, and other states of the present
monarchy were without the Roman boundaries, while Pannonia, or what is
now Austria west of the Danube, was within; even when in the next
century Dacia (now Transylvania, Bessarabia, &c.) was annexed, the two
parts of the present dual kingdom were separate. The separation of
Hungary from Austria has for a considerable time been a practical
question of European politics, and may be hastened by present events.
The northern and north-eastern boundaries of Italy embraced the Trentino
and the peninsula of Istria. Noticeable, therefore, are the present
efforts of Italy to acquire these very districts, efforts which seem
likely to achieve success. Roman states north of Italy covered what are
now Baden, Wurtemberg, Luxemberg, and a large part of Bavaria. The
possibility of an eventual severance of these from Prussian domination
has been much discussed of late.
The Rhenish provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, originally portions of the
Roman province of Gallia (now France), were snatched from France by
Germany in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. Their recovery is a
supreme object of the efforts of the French in the present war, and not
without hope of success.
The British Empire.
As to Britain, at the time under consideration the greater part of the
island was definitely included in the Roman Empire. Ireland and most of
Scotland were never conquered by the Romans. Should Britain form one of
the ten kingdoms, there is nothing to show that Ireland or any other
part of the British Empire must of necessity be absolutely separated
from it. Self-government may yet be possessed by those territories which
have not yet received it, and it is significant that Ireland has now
practically obtained it. That the lands which are linked with Britain as
dependencies, or as in possession of self-government, should remain as
integral parts of the Empire is but consistent with the coming
world-wide authority of the potentate who will be the federal head of
the ten kingdoms. And that each state in the British Empire should have
its own local government is, on the other hand, consistent with the
establishment of a closer and complete confederacy of ten kingdoms, the
area of which may correspond largely to that of the ancient Roman
Empire. In contrast to the self-government of the other countries of the
world at the coming period, the ten united kingdoms will eventually be
absolutely under the control of the final emperor just mentioned, for
the ten kings over these states, who receive authority as kings with
him, will be of one mind to give their power and authority and their
kingdom to him (Rev. 17. 12, 13, 17).
What has been said of the British Empire may be true also of others of
the ten kingdoms which have colonies or dependencies, and thus, while
the ten kingdoms will themselves constitute an Empire, their alliances
and treaties with other countries of the world will apparently involve
an extension of the authority of the controlling despot "over every
tribe and people and tongue and nation" (Rev. 13. 7). If, for instance,
the United States of America were at that time in alliance with Britain
(quite a possible contingency), their joint influence would probably
extend to the whole of the American continents, which would thereby
acknowledge his authority.
We may observe, too, the way in which the continent of Africa has come
under certain European influences in modern times. The mention of this
is simply suggestive. That the Scripture will be absolutely fulfilled
is beyond doubt; the exact mode of its accomplishment is known to God.
(2) _The Political Standpoint._
European Federation.
Agencies are already at work for the establishment of a confederacy of
European States--not the least significant of the many signs that the
end of the age is approaching. The movement towards confederacy is
doubtless receiving an impetus from the great upheaval in Europe. A
circular issued in December, 1914, and distributed far and wide,
announced the formation of a committee of influential men with the
object of promoting a "European Federation." The circular says: "In
sight of the present situation of ruin it ought to be the general
opinion that a firmer economical and political tie is of utmost
importance for all nations without exception, and that particularly for
Europe the narrower bond of a federation, based on equality and interior
independence of all partaking states, is of urgent necessity, which
public opinion ought to demand."
A pamphlet published by the Committee recommends that the union of
states shall be economical, political, and legal, with an international
army as a common guarantee, and that European Federation should become
the principal and most urgent political battle-cry for the masses of all
European nations, and declares that "when the Governments are willing,
when the public opinion of all peoples forces them to be willing, there
is no doubt but that a reasonable and practical union of nations will
prove to be as possible and natural as is at present a union of
provinces, cantons, territories, whose populations often show more
difference of race and character than those of nations now at
hostilities." The Committee calls upon the peoples of Europe to suffer
the diplomatists no longer to dispose of them like slaves and by
militarism to lash them to fury against each other. It calls upon them
to see to it that never and nowhere should a member of any body or
Government be elected who is not an advocate of the Federation, and that
the trade union, society, or club to which any individual belongs should
express sympathy with the movement in meetings and in votes. "The
people," it is said, "have it now in their power, more than ever before,
to control the Powers."
Two Possible Ways of Federation.
The formation of ten federated states, covering at least the area of the
ancient Empire at the end of the first century of the present era, may
be effected in two ways, either by the peaceful methods of arbitration
and treaty, or as a result of strife and confusion. That the present
European War will be succeeded by efforts for the creation of permanent
international harmony and universal peace is probable, as is also some
attempt at such a federation as is proposed by the above-mentioned
Committee. On the other hand, sinister indications abound to-day which
point to industrial strife and revolution rather than peace. The
condition of the industrial world presents a gloomy prospect indeed.
There are ominous signs of keener conflict than ever between capital and
labour. The forces of Socialism, Syndicalism, Communism, &c., are
rapidly increasing in power and in international activity, and their
avowed aims presage anything but peace in the near future. We may take,
for example, the declared objects of "The Alliance of the Social
Democracy"--now incorporated in the International Working Men's
Association--"To destroy all States and all Churches with all their
institutions and laws, religious, political, juridical, financial,
magisterial, academical, economical, and social, and to establish in
their place industrial co-operation and collective ownership of land and
capital." All this sounds very pretentious, and would probably fail of
complete accomplishment, but the agencies at work for it are strong.
Attempts on a large scale would certainly lead to unprecedented disorder
and chaos.
The Sea Symbolic of National Unrest.
Not improbably the ten kingdoms of the reconstructed Roman Empire will
arise as a result of political and social confusion. Thus it was in the
case of the French Revolution and the consequent uprising of Napoleon. A
repetition of such events on a far wider scale in the future is quite
conceivable. In the prophetic vision given to the Apostle John, the
beast was seen "coming up out of the sea" (Rev. 13. 1). Now the sea is
in Scripture used figuratively of the nations, its characteristic
restlessness symbolising their commotion and strife. Compare the words
of Isaiah: "Ah, the uproar of many peoples, which roar like the roaring
of the seas; and the rushing of nations, that rush like the rushing of
many waters! The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but
He shall rebuke them" (Isa. 17. 12, 13; see also Psa. 65. 7; and Ezek.
26. 3). To national unrest the Lord Jesus applied similar language when
He foretold to the disciples that there would be "upon the earth
distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the
billows; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which
are coming on the world" (Luke 21. 25, 26). So also the waters which
John had seen in his vision are described by the angel as "peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Rev. 17. 15). Daniel, too, saw
the four great beasts come up from the sea as a result of the breaking
forth of the four winds of the Heaven upon it, an undoubted
representation of a condition of national disturbance (Dan. 7. 2, 3).
That the beast of Revelation 13. 1 was seen coming up out of the sea
points, therefore, to the probability that the ten kings who will have
brief authority over the revived Empire will be raised to their kingdom,
not by constitutional methods, but as the result of revolutions and the
collapse of present-day governments and institutions.
Revolutions and their Issues.
Should any great measure of success attend the syndicalist and communist
movements of the day, and especially if they are internationalised, the
inevitable revolutions and disorder would almost certainly issue, as
revolutions have so frequently issued, in despotism and autocracy, and
perhaps in this way the ten kings would arise. The overthrow of the
governments in the countries involved would remove what has certainly
been the great restraint upon lawlessness[A] from the times of the
apostles until now. Everything would be ripe for the appearance of a
universal potentate. The cry would arise for "a man," a controlling
organiser to bring order out of chaos. The unstable character of the
rule of the ten kings, and the impoverishment of their kingdoms, would
lead them, as a matter of diplomacy, to hand over their authority to
him.
[A] See "The Epistles to the Thessalonians, with Notes Exegetical and
Expository," by C. F. Hogg and W. E. Vine, note _c._ pp. 259, 260.
(Glasgow: Pickering & Inglis. 3/9, p.f.)
The Iron and the Clay.
The political constitution of the successive empires during "the time of
the Gentiles" was indicated in the image of Nebuchadnezzar's vision by
the various substances of which the parts of the image were composed.
While the regular deterioration in the relative value of these
substances is noticeable, we are concerned now with those of the legs
and feet. The legs were of iron, and the feet part of iron and part of
potter's clay, not moist or miry clay, but "earthenware" (Dan. 2. 41,
R.V., margin), and consequently brittle (v. 42, margin).
That the iron symbolised militarism seems clear from what is said of the
fourth kingdom, that "as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all
things: and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces
and crush" (v. 40). Nations are broken and crushed by military power,
and thus the nations were treated by the Romans. This was further
signified by the iron teeth of the fourth beast, as is definitely stated
in Daniel 7. 19, 23: "And shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread
it down, and break it in pieces."
The supposition that the clay represents democracy is gratuitous and
arbitrary. The early Roman Empire, symbolised by the legs of the image,
was built up under democratic rule. When republicanism was superseded
by imperialism, democratic principles still prevailed. Democracy,
therefore, played its part from the very commencement of the fourth
kingdom, and had it been symbolised by the clay, not only the feet and
toes but the legs themselves would have consisted of mingled iron and
clay. Moreover, democracy in the generally accepted sense of the term
has not always been found to be of an unstable or brittle character;
witness the republicanism of the United States. Democracies, too, may be
established on strictly constitutional principles.
Another explanation, therefore, of the symbolism of the clay must be
sought, and it is not unlikely to be found in those revolutionary
principles to which we have already referred, which were evidenced at
the time of the French Revolution, and are finding expression, though in
greater variety to-day, in such projects as those of the International
Working Men's Association. Certainly the masses of the people of Europe
are being permeated both by militarism and by the revolutionary
doctrines of which we have spoken. Should these principles spread among
the civil services and forces, everything would be in a complete state
of preparedness for Unprecedented Political and Social Upheaval
which would effect the overthrow of present forms of government. From
the world's point of view the situation would require a consummate
genius with powers of world-wide organisation. Doubtless Satan's
masterpiece of infidel ingenuity would be at hand for the occasion.
We are not predicting that this is to be the manner of the revival of
the Empire and of the advent of its imperial head. We have merely
suggested possible circumstances in the light of Scripture and
present-day movements. The actual circumstances attending the rise of
the ten kings and their Emperor must for the time remain conjectural.
Certainly these kings will receive authority with him for one hour (Rev.
17. 12), a phrase which may be translated "at the same time;" and
certainly they will agree to give their power and authority to him (v.
13).
(3) _The Religious Standpoint._
We will now note the religious conditions which are to prevail for a
time upon the resuscitation of the Empire. These are plainly indicated
for us in Revelation 17. The apostle sees a woman sitting on the
seven-headed and ten-horned beast. The woman is gorgeously arrayed,
holds in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, and is drunken with
the blood of the saints. Her name, written on her forehead, is
"Mystery, Babylon the Great,"
"the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth" (vv.
3-6). The woman is symbolically described as the city of Rome (v. 18),
and that leads on to a second mention of Babylon, in chapter 18, and a
new description. Now to the description of the woman in chapter 17
nothing more closely corresponds than the Papacy. But if the Babylon of
chapter 17 is to be identified with that of chapter 18, the Papacy
answers to the whole description only to a limited extent. While,
however, there is much in common in the two descriptions in these
chapters, yet the two Babylons are possibly to be distinguished. The
Babylon of chapter 17 is a "mystery," not so that of chapter 18. Again,
the destruction of the one is different from that of the other. The
first will be destroyed by the ten kings and their emperor (17. 16), the
second by the direct judgment of God (18. 5, 8, 20); the first as the
result of human antagonism, the second by famine, fire and earthquake.
We are perhaps, therefore, justified in taking the more limited view in
connection with the circumstances of chapter 17. Even so the woman may
be regarded as representing the apostate sacerdotal systems which have
sprung from the Papacy as well as that system itself.
The position of the woman indicates an exercise of power which is
voluntarily supported by the beast. That she sits upon the waters
implies her religious dominion over the nations; that she is carried by
the beast, who rules over the nations politically, implies that there
will be a complete alliance between her and the ten kings with their
chief, and that the sphere of her influence will be co-extensive with
the dominions of the beast.
The Papacy: Its Present Power.
Now though the Papacy lost its temporal power in 1870, it is far from
having lost its political influence. Ecclesiastically, too, though it
has received various set-backs, it is manifestly gaining power. This is
especially observable, for example, in Britain, the overthrow of which
as a Protestant Power is undoubtedly the object of the persistent
aggressiveness of Romanism. This aggressiveness is manifest in all the
dominions of the British Empire, as well as in other lands.
Again, while certain governments have of late shaken off the
ecclesiastical yoke, and infidelity has spread among the people of Roman
Catholic lands, the number of Roman Catholics has increased with great
rapidity. They were estimated at somewhat over 200,000,000 twenty years
ago, they are now said to number about 300,000,000.
Indications are not wanting of a tendency towards
A Reunion of Christendom,
which would be facilitated by a willingness on the part of the Papacy to
adapt itself to the impulse of the time.
Present events, therefore, point to a great renewal of Papal power
involving the fulfilment of the prophecy relating to the woman and the
beast that carries her. This renewed alliance between the political and
the ecclesiastical powers will, however, be of brief duration. The
successful efforts of governments in recent times to liberate themselves
from Papal authority, as in the case of France and Portugal, are but
foreshadowings of the eventual entire destruction of ecclesiasticism and
sacerdotalism under the revived Roman Empire. "The ten horns ... and the
beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and
naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire"
(Rev. 17. 16). Thus it would seem that, when at the very zenith of its
power and ambition, the Papacy, at the head of amalgamated Christendom,
will suddenly meet its doom.
The Doom of Religious Babylon.
Its accumulated wealth would probably be an incentive in determining the
ten kings to take this step, owing possibly to the impoverishment of
their kingdoms as a result of wars and political and social upheavals.
An additional cause will doubtless be the widespread spirit of
antagonism against all religion.
Submission to the Papal yoke has invariably had an aftermath of
infidelity; similarly the temporary subservience of the beast to the
woman will issue in the casting off of all religious restraint and in
the universal acknowledgment of the presumptuous claims of the
world-ruler.
Satanic Authority of the Emperor.
The authority of this final emperor of the Roman kingdom will be
Satanic. "The dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great
authority" (Rev. 13. 2); "the beast ... was, and is not; and is about to
come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition" (Rev. 17. 8). This
implies that he has been on the earth in the past. The same thing is
indicated in the interpretation of the seven heads. Topographically they
are described as seven mountains, personally as seven kings (v. 9). Of
these, five had fallen, the sixth was in power in John's time, the
seventh had not then come (v. 10). The beast (clearly here symbolising,
not a kingdom, but a person) would be an eighth, and yet would be of the
seven (v. 11). These heads have been regarded by some as forms of
government, by others as empires, or again, as emperors. There seems to
be no reason why they are not to be regarded as emperors, though
doubtless their empires are in view, as being associated with them.
Accordingly, the fact that the eighth is also one of the seven indicates
his reappearance on the scene. Various suggestions have been made as to
his identification, but this must remain uncertain until his advent.
With him the ten kings for a time receive authority (v. 12),
subsequently handing it over to him with their kingdom (v. 17), but not
before they have together with him crushed the great religious system
symbolised by the woman (v. 16). His stupendous power and brilliant
abilities, the evidence of his superhuman origin, his phenomenal
capacity for organisation, and the consolidation of the empire under his
absolute control will cause the whole world to marvel at him (Rev. 13.
3; 17. 8). To the world, in its divinely inflicted and therefore
retributive delusion, he will appear like a god who has come to deliver
from woe, and to introduce the long-looked-for age of peace and
prosperity. Wonder will be succeeded by worship, both of the man and of
Satan. "They worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto
the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the
beast? and who is able to war with him?" (13. 4).
The world is now in course of rapid preparation for all this:
The "Superman"
has of late become a much discussed topic in various classes of society
and in the press, and the idea is supported by the theories of
evolution which are receiving increasingly wide acceptance. A spirit of
expectancy is being thus aroused which will undoubtedly facilitate the
recognition of the man himself at his advent, and the acknowledgment of
his claims to divine honour. But this will involve the worship of Satan,
and to this end the effective agency of
Spiritism
has been long at work. Spiritism leads to devil worship. It must do so;
its energising power is Satan himself. Both spiritism and theosophy, and
similar forms of error, all of which are rapidly on the increase to-day,
are paving the way for world-wide worship of the dragon.
The imperial power and worship of this emperor will be promoted by
another potentate similarly energised by Satan. This latter is the
second beast, described in Revelation 13. 11-end. Later on in the book
he is called
The False Prophet
(Rev. 16. 13; 19. 20; 20. 10), indicating that his activities are
chiefly of a religious character, and perhaps that he will be more
closely connected with Jewish affairs. He will make "the earth and them
that dwell therein worship the beast," the emperor of the ten kingdoms
(13. 11), deceiving the world by supernatural signs wrought in the
presence of the first beast (v. 12), and enforcing the worship of his
image (v. 15), the abomination of desolation set up in the temple at
Jerusalem (Matt. 24. 15). With the worship of an image the times of the
Gentiles began (Dan. 3. 1), and with similar idolatry they will end. In
the days of the early Roman emperors their deification was celebrated by
the adoration of their images. Then, as formerly under Nebuchadnezzar,
those who refused to worship suffered death. So will it be under the
final emperor and his colleague.
Various opinions are held regarding these two beasts of Revelation 13,
as to which is the Man of Sin spoken of by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2,
which the Antichrist mentioned in John's Epistles, and which of the two
is the wilful king described in Daniel 11. Limitations of space preclude
our entering into the subject in detail here. The present writer holds
the view that all three are the same person, and that they are also the
same as the horn in Daniel 7. 8, 11, and as the first beast of
Revelation 13, and that these are all different descriptions of the
final head of the revived Empire. The Old Testament passages somewhat
briefly announce the arising of this world-wide ruler; the New Testament
passages unfold and expand the preceding predictions concerning him,
among the additional details given in the New Testament being the fact
that he is to have a prophet who will assiduously support his claim to
deity and his administration. It is the world-emperor, and not his
prophet, who is to be worshipped, and who therefore proclaims himself as
God (2 Thess. 2. 4). His prophet, the second beast of Revelation 13, in
the exercise of all the power of the first, will cause the world to
worship him (13. 12). As his prophet and prime minister he would not
himself endeavour to usurp the position of him whose avowed deity he
seeks to support.
The similarity of the details in the above-mentioned passages indicates
that the same person is in view in each case. His blasphemies, for
instance, and his assumption of deity are mentioned in Daniel 7. 25; 11.
36, 37; 2 Thessalonians 2. 3, 4, and Revelation 13. 5, 6, and his war
with the saints in Daniel 7. 21, 25 and Revelation 13. 7. Further, the
blasphemous proclamation of himself as God is consistent with what is
said in John's Epistles concerning the Antichrist. For in his
self-deification he is directly "antagonistic to Christ," he denies that
Jesus is the Christ, and therefore denies the Father and the Son (1 John
2. 22).
The two potentates will establish not only a universal religion, but
also a
Universal System of Commerce.
The second beast "causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and
the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on
their hand, or upon their forehead; and that no man should be able to
buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, even the name of the beast
or the number of his name" (Rev. 13. 16, 17). This indicates a
world-wide protectionist system, such a system as, for instance, might
conceivably be established under some form of syndicalism. Undeniably,
circumstances in the industrial world to-day manifest an increasing
tendency in this direction. The principles previously mentioned, as now
making for industrial and international revolution, and the present
stupendous movements towards amalgamation, are clearly preparing for
the fulfilment of this prophecy by facilitating the eventual
establishment of the unrighteous commercial system of the reconstituted
Empire.
[Illustration: Palestine, to illustrate Psalm 29.]