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
develop 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.’ {69}
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?