1
e Future
of Europe
and Russia?s
Destiny
By Alfred Henry Burton
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e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
4
Contents
Preface by Editor of Fifth Edition...................................7
Preface to the Sixth Edition ............................................9
e Future of Europe: Politically and Religiously (in the
Light of the Holy Scripture) .................................11
reefold Division of the Book of Revelation ............................16
e Twenty-Four Elders ............................................................. 17
Babylon and the Beast of Rev. 17 ................................................17
e Resuscitated Roman Empire ...............................................19
e Ten Kings .............................................................................20
e Little Horn of Dan. 7 ..........................................................21
“the Prince at Shall Come.” ....................................................23
e Dwellers Upon Earth ...........................................................24
“the Ten Horns … and the Beast.” ...............................................25
Babylon the Great. ......................................................................27
e Bride, the Lamb’s Wife. .......................................................27
e Great Whore. .......................................................................29
Laodicea Spued Out of Christ’s Mouth. — ................................29
5
e Reunion of Christendom. ....................................................30
“Come Out of Her My People.” .................................................38
Babylon’s Doom. ......................................................................... 39
Cardinal Manning on Reunion. ..................................................41
e Marriage of the Lamb. .........................................................47
e Overthrow of the Beast. .......................................................48
e Eastern Question. ................................................................ 50
e Future of Russia. ..................................................................50
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy ..................... 55
Palestine: Prophetic Center of the Earth. ...................................55
Russia and Palestine. ...................................................................57
y the Jews Are Scattered. ........................................................57
e Times of the Gentiles. ..........................................................58
Revival of the Roman Empire. ....................................................60
Present Period a Parenthesis. ......................................................61
Seventy Weeks of Daniel. ...........................................................62
e King of the North. ...............................................................63
e Little Horn of Dan. 8. ..........................................................65
e Assyrian. ..............................................................................70
Antichrist. ...................................................................................73
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
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Edom. Moab and Ammon. .........................................................77
Restoration of the Jews to eir Own Land. ..............................78
Destruction of the King of the North. ........................................ 80
Russia’s Catastrophic End. ..........................................................84
Conclusion ....................................................................91
Will of Peter the Great ..................................................93
Prophecy of Napoleon ...................................................97
Supplement to the Sixth Edition .................................101
Preface by Editor of Fifth Edition
7
95396
Preface by Editor of Fifth
Edition
Above forty years ago our attention was called to two
pamphlets on the subject of Prophecy, written by Dr. A.
H. Burton of London, England. ey appeared separately
under the respective titles, “e Future of Europe” and
“Russia’s Destiny.” We are convinced that these two brief
prophetic surveys rank among the very best that have
appeared in print.
ree factors contribute to the value of these brochures
and so warrant their reprinting: their brevity, their clarity,
and their conservatism.
e past thirty years have witnessed the world’s two
greatest military struggles. e interval between these two
titanic upheavals was but a truce during which nations
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
8
girded themselves for the great decision of world supremacy.
e present chaotic state of world politics leads many to
ask, “Whither bound?”. Only one Book in the world gives
us a denite program of what lies ahead.
Dr. Burton devoted the good part of a lifetime to the
study of the prophetic Scriptures. In the two following
pamphlets Dr. Burton has assembled, assayed and set forth
the basic outlines of God’s prophetic program for the
nations of the world. Either article can be conveniently
read through in an hour. But to get the greatest benet
from them they should be carefully studied along with an
open Bible.
e author has avoided the pitfall of so many writers on
prophecy by refusing to make emphatic pronouncements
about the current events of his day. Hence it is that, as we
send the book to the press for its fth edition, we nd it
necessary to make only minor deletions from the original
edition of fty years ago.
May we remember in reading prophecy that it is part
of the inspired Word and is therefore “protable.” Let us
seek reverently to get the blessing from it that our Lord
intended when He gave us these portions.
C. H. Brown
Preface to the Sixth Edition
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95397
Preface to the Sixth Edition
It has been deemed advisable to bring out another
edition of e Future of Europe and Russia’s Destiny. We are
adding a supplement made up chiey of quotations from
the Editor’s Column of Christian Truth. ese excerpts are
added to show that present day trends in Russia’s world
diplomacy do but substantiate Dr. Burton’s clear-cut
delineation of her prophetic history. Her attitude in dealing
with the other nations in the United Nations’ congress is
in direct line with what was written sixty-ve years ago. It
should be easily seen by the way that events are shaping up,
that the author of this little volume was truly Spirit-led in
his seeking to nd out from the Scriptures God’s prophetic
program. It is when we bring our own ideas into Scripture
that we go astray.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
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“And we have the prophetic word made surer, to which
ye do well taking heed (as a lamp shining in an obscure
place) until the day dawn and the morning star arise in your
hearts: knowing this rst, that the scope of no prophecy of
scripture is had from its own particular interpretation, for
prophecy was not ever uttered by the will of man, but holy
men of God spake under the power of the Holy Spirit.”
2Peter 1:19-21; J.N.D. Trans.
J. L. Erisman 1961
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
11
95398
e Future of Europe:
Politically and
Religiously (in the Light
of the Holy Scripture)
If apology be needed on the ground of incompetency for
such a task as that which is to occupy us in the following
pages, none, at any rate, is required on the ground of its
interest or importance.
e times in which we live are marked by unrest in every
sphere of human life — political, commercial, educational
and religious. e recent march of world events has
brought a mighty inuence to bear upon the destinies of
nations, of which it would be impossible to estimate the
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
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magnitude, were we left to the mere speculations of the
human mind. e waking up of the nations of the Far East
with their countless multitudes of inhabitants, must have a
vast inuence in the Western Hemisphere sooner or later;
and this the European powers are rapidly beginning to
discover. e construction of the Russo-Chinese railway,
coupled with the recent progress of Communism in China
to say nothing of the Eastern Question nearer to our
doors — of Egypt, Turkey, Armenia, Palestine, etc., and the
complications in Central Europe, the constant national and
international talk of a United States of Western Europe, all
these are indications that a spirit of change and uneasiness
is at work amongst men.
Is this state of things merely accidental? or is it the
fulllment of a vast plan long since revealed in the Scriptures
of truth? Is there in the Bible such a thing as prophecy?
Does that Book, so virulently attacked by some, so prized
and loved by others, so shamefully neglected by the mass
even by many of those who have learned somewhat of its
value — does it, we ask, pretend to speak in certain language
of the future of this world? Unquestionably it does.
Some of our readers may be amongst those who allow
it to lie unread upon their shelves; they may despise it,
and profess to have grown out of that childishness which
would give heed to its teaching, but if they will only
carefully peruse the following pages, and at the same time
read for themselves every passage referred to, we believe
that they will come to no other conclusion than that the
Book undertakes a marvelous task, and accomplishes it
with miraculous perfection and exactitude.
Let the scholars of the world account for it as they
may, there it is to be accounted for, that the Book declares
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
13
centuries beforehand “things for to come,” and that these
things “come to pass” independently of, nay, in spite of
man. is is prophecy; and that much of the Scriptures both
of the Old and New Testament are prophetic, is evident to
every one who takes the trouble to glance over their pages.
It will be seen that in so writing we address ourselves,
not to the believer, but rather to the unbeliever. e former,
though he cannot aord to neglect the study of prophecy,
except to his own great loss and damage, has learned to
trust, value, and love those precious oracles upon other
grounds as well. He has believed them, and in believing has
received life through Christ’s name. He has learned that
the Scriptures testify of Christ, from Genesis to Revelation;
and, loving Him, he reads with adoring worship, whether
the subject be “the suerings of Christ,” or “the glory that
should follow” (1Peter 1:11).
But none can aord to neglect the voice of prophecy,
for it is “a light which shineth in a dark place,” “whereunto
ye do well that ye take heed … until the day dawn.” When
the day of the fulllment of the prophetic word arrives, and
Christ at His appearing in glory shall shine forth as the Sun
of Righteousness upon a slumbering earth, then the whole
world will awake; but many, alas! too late. Happy will that
man be who has heeded the prophetic word, and walked in
its light amidst these, the dark days of Christendom’s close!
As reference has been made to this passage in Peter,
a few remarks may not be amiss on the last two verses of
the chapter (2Peter 1:20, 21). ose who adhere to the
belief that the Church has authority in matters of doctrine
and conscience, denounce the reading of the Scriptures by
the individual, on the ground that it leads to what they
call, “private interpretation”; but this is in nowise the sense
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
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of this passage, which may be more easily understood if
rendered thus: “Knowing this rst, that the scope of no
prophecy of the Scripture is to be had by its own isolated
interpretation.” e prophetic word is one whole, and no
single portion can be rightly understood apart from its
connection with the whole. Prophecies of old — such for
instance, as those of Isaiah and other prophets concerning
the Assyrian — have, no doubt, had a partial fulllment in
Sennacherib; but to conne them to Sennacherib would be
private, or isolated interpretation. ey await their complete
fulllment in a later day; for all has to be understood in
connection with God’s great plan for the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
But inspiration alone could account for the miracle
of revealing centuries beforehand, with exactitude and
precision, the very things that were to take place, and even,
in some instances, the very name of the man who was to be
the instrument of their execution, though he himself had
not yet been born;
1
and so it is added that “the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men
of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
And need we wonder that God should be able to reveal
the future? Is not this the very claim raised by Isaiah the
prophet to distinguish the true God from the many idols of
the heathen? “Let them [the idols] show the former things,
what they be, that we may consider them, and know the
latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show
the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know
that ye are gods” (Isa. 41:22, 23).
1 Josiah is mentioned by name 350 years before he lived (see
1Kings 8:2); Cyrus, about 100 years (see Isa. 44:28, etc.).
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
15
In the pages that follow we do not attempt to prophesy; all
we do is call attention to what God has long since foretold
will be the future and the end of Western Europe, both
politically and religiously. No one reading such a chapter as
Dan. 11, and familiar with the history of Greece after the
death of Alexander the Great, can fail to see how accurately
every word has been fullled up to verse 36 (from this point
to the end of the chapter the prophecy awaits fulllment).
So clear is this, that the eort of Porphyry, the heathen
writer of the second century, of rationalists at all times, and
of the rationalistic “Higher Criticism” of recent years, has
been to try and prove that Daniel lived after the events took
place, and not before. Let it once be admitted that he lived
before, and inspiration alone will account for the miracle.
We cannot here discuss the question of the date at which
Daniel lived, nor would space admit of an exposition of the
arguments of the rationalists on the one hand, and their
able refutation on the other; we take our stand upon the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matt. 24:15 where He
speaks of “Daniel the prophet;” not, be it observed, “Daniel
the historian.”
Daniel lived before the events, and prophesied of things,
some of which have been fullled to the letter, others
of which are yet to be fullled; and just as God inspired
Daniel, so did He inspire John, the writer of the Book of
Revelation. May ours be the ear attentive to hear His voice,
and the heart open to heed His warnings! With these
general remarks, we proceed to our immediate subject.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
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reefold Division of the Book of
Revelation
In order to a right understanding of this or any other
portion of the Book of Revelation, it is absolutely necessary
to bear in mind the three-fold division of the Book, which
is given us in the rst chapter. e key to the Book is
contained in Rev. 1:19.
John is told to write three things, viz.:
1. “e things which thou hast seen.” ese are found in
the rst chapter, and comprise the vision of the Son
of Man walking in the midst of the candlesticks.
2. “e things which are.” ese are found in the second
and third chapters, and consist of the history of the
professing church upon earth. ey are a description
of the present church-period, continuing right down
to the coming of the Lord.
3. “e things which shall be after these” (not “hereafter”).
ese commence at Rev. 4:1, and continue to the end
of the Book. Compare Rev. 4:1, “Come up hither,
and I will show thee things which must be after these”
(not “hereafter”). “Hereafter” gives the idea of some
indenite period in the far-distant future; whereas
“after these” implies that which immediately follows
the things that have gone before.
e distinctively prophetic portion of the Book
commences with Rev. 4. No doubt Rev. 2 and 3 are also
prophetical in character, though they give us a description
of the present church-period from its beginning to its close.
ey are an outline of church history from the time that
John wrote until the coming of the Lord, when the mass
of Christless profession shall be spued out of His mouth
(Rev. 3:16). We are elsewhere told (1ess. 4.; 1Cor. 15.,
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
17
etc) that when the Lord comes His saints will be “caught
up” to meet Him in the air. “e dead in Christ” shall be
“raised in glory”; these include not only Christians, or saints
of this present church-period, who have died, but also the
saints of Old Testament times. e living saints will also be
“changed in a moment,” and caught up together with the
raised ones, in the twinkling of an eye, to be forever with
the Lord in glory.
e Twenty-Four Elders
ese gloried saints are seen symbolically in the
twenty-four elders of Rev. 4, and the after-part of the Book.
e number 24 is, no doubt, an allusion to 1Chron. 24, in
which an account of the orders of the Aaronic priesthood
is given, arranged under twenty-four chiefs or heads of
the priestly families. In Revelation, the gloried saints, as
the family of heavenly priests, are seen represented by the
twenty-four elders. We need add no more here than that
they are a company of “kings and priests” (Rev. 5:9, 10).
e church, then, is seen on earth in Rev. 2 and 3, and
in heaven in Rev. 4 and 5.
Consequently, from Rev. 4 onward, all is prophecy
of things yet future — not the history of things past, nor
description of things present.
Babylon and the Beast of Rev. 17
Two vast earthly systems are yet to become the objects
of most terrible judgment on the part of God — the one,
political; the other, religious.
No one at all acquainted with the prophecies of Daniel
and Revelation can have much doubt as to what is signied
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
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by the ten-horned beast of Rev. 13 and 17. It is none other
than the Roman Empire.
e “four great beasts” of Dan. 7 are explained to be
“four kings, which shall arise out of the earth” (Dan. 7:17).
All are agreed that these represent the four great empires
that succeeded one another upon the earth after the throne
of the Lord was removed from Jerusalem, and power was
given into the hands of the Gentiles, viz., the Empires of
Babylon, of Medo-Persia, of Grecia, and of Rome.
e last of these four, viz., the Roman, is described as
having “ten horns” (Dan. 7:7); these “ten horns” are “ten
kings which shall rise” (Dan. 7:24). Can any reader fail to
see the point of contact between Dan. 7 and Rev. 17? In
this latter chapter the Beast has “ten horns” (Rev. 17:3),
and these are explained to be “ten kings,” which, even in
John’s time, had “received no kingdom as yet” (Rev. 17:12).
Furthermore, this fourth beast, with its ten kings, meets
its terrible judgment at the coming of the Son of Man. (See,
carefully, Dan. 7:9-28). is judgment falls upon it because
of its blasphemous and arrogant opposition to God, and
its destruction immediately precedes the establishment of
the earthly kingdom of the Son of Man. is is plain from
Dan. 7; it is also borne out by Rev. 17.
But some might object, “the Roman Empire has
passed away, and the kingdom of the Son of Man is not
yet established.” True, but is the Roman Empire not to re-
appear? It is well to remember that the kingdom of the
Son of Man of which we speak is not what some call the
“kingdom of grace.” In this present gospel period, “grace
reigns through righteousness” (Rom. 5:21), but by-and-by,
during the Millennium, “a King shall reign in righteousness”
(Isa. 32:1). e reign of grace was brought in through the
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
19
atoning work of the Cross; the reign of righteousness will
be ushered in by the overwhelming acts of judgment.
e Resuscitated Roman Empire
It is not our purpose in this pamphlet to enlarge upon
the subject of the Beast, or Roman Empire, inasmuch
as Babylon is that which more immediately engages our
attention. We shall touch upon it merely so far as is needed
for the elucidation of our subject.
Let none suppose that when speaking of the Roman
Empire, the Romanish Church is meant. e Roman
Empire is a political system, whereas the Church of Rome
is a religious system. If the Roman Empire as a political
system has passed away, Rev. 17 teaches us that it is yet to
re-appear! It is “the beast that was, and is not, and yet shall
be” (not “is”).
Not only so, but when it arises it will be energized by
Satanic power; for, we are told, “the dragon gave him his
power, and his seat, and great authority” (Rev. 13:2). In its
future form it “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit;” but
its future form will be its last, for it shall “go into perdition”
(Rev. 17:8). is will be the awful end of the great political
system of Western civilization.
Some of our readers, looking at Europe as it now
exists, may nd it dicult to believe that it will ever be
found gathered together into one empire. But when God
interferes directly with the aairs of the world, He will
carry out quickly what He has long since foretold will be
the course of events.
Who would have thought that a young lieutenant
a hundred years ago, should have suddenly risen out
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
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of comparative obscurity, and in a few short years have
had Europe at his feet? We refer, of course, to Napoleon
Bonaparte. Is not this a sample of what is yet to be when
God’s time is ripe?
e Ten Kings
If the beast of Rev. 17 is the Roman Empire, of which
we have no manner of doubt, does it describe what it was
in the past, or what it will be in the future? Unquestionably,
we reply, what it will be in the future. Two cogent reasons
lead us to this conclusion. In the rst place, there never
has been in the past a time when the beast and the ten
kings existed together. And, secondly, Rev. 17 describes the
judgment and destruction of the Beast and the ten kings at
the coming of the Lord. (Compare Rev. 19.)
Some have thought that the ten-horn period describes
that state of the empire which followed upon its decline,
when hordes of barbarians swept in upon it, and broke it
up. But this cannot be, for even supposing that in the past
there were ten kings, neither more nor less (which, however,
is not the case), these followed upon the destruction of the
empire as a whole. But in Rev. 17 the Beast and the ten
kings ourish together, at one and the same time. (Rev.
17:12; in Rev. 17:16 we should read, “e ten horns which
thou sawest, and the Beast.”)
We repeat, there never yet has been a time when the
Beast and the ten kings have existed together. Clearly, then,
Rev. 17 describes the future, and not the past.
e Roman Empire, then, is to revive; and when it does,
it will be energized by Satan. Europe is yet to witness the
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21
strange and awful sight of a vast empire in open antagonism
against God and all His interests upon this earth.
e Little Horn of Dan. 7
e fourth beast of Dan. 7 is the same as the one we
are considering in Rev. 17, namely, the Roman Empire; its
nal, or ten-horned, condition being especially dwelt on.
Without going minutely into the description given of it in
this chapter, we may notice the chief characteristics of the
little horn: —
1. Great and arrogant self-assertion — ”A mouth speaking
great things” (Dan. 7:8). It is this very thing which
brings it into judgment, and proves its downfall; and
not only so, but it brings about the destruction of the
Beast itself, when the thrones of judgment shall be
set up
2
(Dan. 7:9), and the Ancient of Days shall sit
to execute the judgment.
2. Hostility to all that is of God upon the earth — ”e
same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed
against them” (Dan. 7:21). Some may nd a diculty
in understanding who these saints can be, the Lord
having before this time taken His people to heaven.
But there is no real diculty. True, the Church
will have been “caught up” before the time during
which the revived Roman Empire will exercise its
sway upon the earth; thus Christians will have been
removed (1ess. 4). Who, then, are these saints?
Not Christians, but Jews. ey will be the godly,
believing remnant of Israel, who, in the last days, will
be persecuted by the Roman Empire and its chief.
2 “I beheld till the thrones were set up” (not “cast down”). ese
thrones are not the thrones of earthly kings, but the thrones of
heavenly judgment.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
22
3. Blasphemous opposition to God — ”He shall speak
words against the Most High” (Dan. 7:25).
Godlessness is rapidly becoming the prevailing
feature of the days in which we live. ere is a
growing disregard of God and His Word, together
with indelity and blasphemous hostility to all His
claims upon men. Immediately after the rapture of
the saints, and the removal of the Holy Ghost at the
coming of the Lord, this state of things will become
accentuated to a terrible extent.
4. Enmity against the saints in heaven — ”He shall wear
out the saints of the Most High” (Dan. 7:18, 25). All
these awful features are likewise given in Rev. 13 as
characteristic of the Beast: “He opened his mouth
in (1) blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His
name, and His tabernacle, and (2) them that dwell in
heaven [i.e. the heavenly saints]; and (3) it was given
unto him to make war with the saints [i.e., the earthly
saints], and to overcome them,” etc. (Rev. 13:6-8).
It is a terribly solemn thought that the Roman Empire
of the future, that is, Western Europe, at no very distant
date will raise itself up in open and blasphemous opposition
against God and all His interests, whether in heaven or on
earth!
5. Finally, he will seek to set aside all the Jewish ordinances,
which the godly and persecuted remnant will cling to
with reverence; and for a period he will succeed, but
not forever — ”He shall think to change times and
laws: and they [i.e., these Jewish times or solemn
days, kept by all pious Jews, such as the Passover,
Pentecost, etc.] shall be given into his hand, until
a time, and times, and the dividing of time [i.e.,
3½ times]” (Dan. 7:25). is period is frequently
spoken of in Daniel and Revelation, and is variously
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
23
expressed as a period of 1260 days, 42 months, or
the last half-week of Daniel’s 70th week. It will last
for three and a half years, and will embrace the time
of “the great tribulation” of the Jewish remnant. e
great tribulation has nothing to do with the church,
or Christians; they have the distinct promise that
they will be saved out of it (Rev. 3:10).
All this shows us that this “little horn” will at rst be
openly antagonistic to the Jewish people, though, in the
end, for political reasons, he will enter into an alliance with
the apostate portion of the nation — ”He shall conrm a
covenant with the many
3
for one week,” i.e., a period of
seven years.
“the Prince at Shall Come.”
e little horn of Daniel 7
4
is, we believe, the same
as the prince that shall come of Dan. 9:26. “e people of
the prince that shall come” are the Romans, who, in the
past, under Titus, destroyed the city (Jerusalem) and the
sanctuary (the Temple). But that people are to arise again
in the future, and they will then have a prince over them
who will be possessed of the awful characteristics that we
have attempted to enumerate. is prince will be the “little
horn” of Dan. 7. He must not be confounded with the
Antichrist, who will be reigning in Jerusalem at the same
3 is is the more literal translation. “e many” means the mass
of people of Israel, in contrast to the godly remnant.
4 e little horn of Dan. 8 is a dierent person altogether; he
will likewise play an important part in the future crisis, and
is, we believe, the same as the Ring of the North (Dan. 11) or
the Assyrian. He will arise from the third, or Grecian empire,
whereas that of Dan. 7 will arise from the fourth, or Roman
empire.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
24
time. ese are two distinct individuals, though, doubtless,
as we learn from many other scriptures, they will be in
close league for the furtherance of the same guilty and
blasphemous designs.
e Dwellers Upon Earth
ere is yet another awful characteristic of these times
(and let the reader remember that they may be very close
at hand) mentioned in Rev. 8:8, and it is this: “All that
dwell upon the earth shall worship him.” e expression,
“them that dwell upon the earth,” is one that we frequently
meet with in the Book of Revelation. It does not simply
mean the people that will at that time inhabit the earth,
but are a special class of people possessed of this moral
character that they dwell upon the earth; they have had the
oer of heaven, but have refused it, and have deliberately
chosen the earth. It is, we believe, none other than apostate
Christendom after the removal of the true Church. It is
awful to view the present state of the so-called churches.
Many of the clergy and ministers of all denominations
have abandoned all belief in the necessity of conversion,
many even mock at this vital work of the Spirit of God
in the soul, and call it a “mental spasm”; the world, with
its Movies, Radio Potpourri, Comic Monthlies and Jute
Boxes, and its many entertainments to please the senses
and deaden the conscience, has taken possession of
Christendom, even now, to an alarming extent. What will
it be when every child of God has been taken away, the
Spirit of God removed, and the apostasy fully developed!
We shudder to think of the times that are at our very doors,
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
25
and for which the professing church has been preparing
herself of late years with appalling rapidity.
Reader, God is now graciously calling souls, by the gospel,
“to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(2ess. 2:14). Have you responded to this invitation so
lovingly, so patiently given, or have you chosen the world
and its pleasures?
“the Ten Horns … and the Beast.”
A remarkable feature of the Roman Empire of the future
will be that, while it maintains its unity as an empire, it
will embrace ten separate kingdoms, each with its separate
king. is, as we have before pointed out, is a phase that has
never yet existed. “e ten horns which thou sawest are ten
kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive
power as kings one hour with the Beast” (Rev. 17:12).
Whether the countries of Western Europe (for Russia
and Germany must not be included in the Roman Empire)
will have the exact limits that they now have, we do not
attempt to say. Europe today is in a state of chaos and
uneasiness, and many changes might take place in a very
brief space of time. But Rev. 17 teaches us that in the
hour of the Beast’s power there will be ten kings; and yet,
strange to say, in spite of all the conicting interests which
the nations of Europe possess today, they will then “have
one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto
the Beast” (Rev. 17:13) — not, observe, unto the Lamb!
Neither this nor any other portion of Scripture teaches us
that the world is to be converted by the present preaching
of the gospel; so far from this, these ten kings will all give
their power to the Beast — and to what end? “ese shall
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
26
make war with the Lamb” (Rev. 17:14). is, the last great
war in which Western Europe will be involved, will take
place around Jerusalem (Zech. 14),
5
and will result in the
nal and complete overthrow of Western Confederation.
May the knowledge of these things beforehand keep the
people of God from all association with those principles at
work today in the bosom of the professing church which
tend to foster the spirit of the world in its antagonism to
God. “e Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of
lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him [i.e.,
the gloried saints `caught up’ at His coming, and who
will return with Him when He comes to execute these
judgments] are called, and chosen, and faithful” (Rev.
17:14). ese are not angels, but saints: though “all the holy
angels” will come with Him too, yet they are never spoken
of as “called.”
It is striking to notice the utter impotence of man.
While boasting that he is a free agent, but in enmity
against God and His Christ, he nevertheless is carrying
out the very purposes of God. God is behind the scenes,
and He it is who “hath put in their hearts to fulll His will,
and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the Beast, until
the words of God shall be fullled” (Rev. 17:17). Never
before have the nations of Europe been able to sink their
individual interests, and to agree; but under the ten horns
they shall do it. And for what purpose?
5 Other nations, the Northern and Eastern, are also spoken of
in the prophetic Word, and are, doubtless, the special subject
in Zech. 12 and 14. But, without doubt, the overthrow of
the Beast and the ten kings will likewise take place around
Jerusalem, though previous to that of the King of the North
and his confederates.
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27
Babylon the Great.
ough indelity and blasphemous rebellion against
God will characterize Europe politically during the nal
crisis after the removal of the true church of God, we
are not to suppose that all profession of religion will be
given up. e Beast, though he will open his mouth in
blasphemy against God, etc. (Rev. 13:6), will, nevertheless,
be controlled by a power more subtly opposed to God than
itself. “I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, full
of names of blasphemy [i.e., the beast was], having seven
heads and ten horns” (Rev. 17:3).
e attentive reader of the Book cannot fail to have been
struck with the similarity of the language in Rev. 17:1, and
Rev. 21:9, 10. In each case one of the seven angels which
had the seven vials is heard to speak, and to call upon the
prophet, in identical terms, to “come hither, and I will show
thee,” etc.
e Bride, the Lamb’s Wife.
In Rev. 21:9, after having given a description of the
eternal state (Rev. 21:1-8), the Spirit of God returns to
point out in greater detail the character of the gloried
saints, and their connection with the millennial earth (Rev.
21:9-27).
“Come hither,” cries the angel, “I will show thee the
Bride, the Lamb’s wife” (Rev. 21:9); this, no doubt, is the
true church of God, composed of all real believers in the
Lord Jesus Christ from Pentecost to the time when the
Lord comes for them according to John 14:2,3, when the
raised saints, and the living ones changed, are “caught up”
together to meet the Lord in the air, according to 1ess.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
28
4:16,17; they will be seen after that “coming down from
God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband” (Rev. 21:2; see also Col. 3:4).
John is immediately transported in the Spirit to a great
and high mountain,
6
from which elevated position he
beholds “the holy city, Jerusalem descending out of heaven
from God
7
(Rev. 21:10).
It is important to observe that the word “great” is not
properly in this verse. “e holy city,” not “that great city,”
etc. Holiness not greatness, is that which characterizes the
true church, according to God, whilst human greatness,
accompanied by a false pretension to holiness, is a
distinguishing feature of that which claims to be the true
church, but according to man’s thoughts, not God’s. Let
both reader and writer solemly and prayerfully weigh this
striking contrast!
Moreover, this holy city is seen refulgent with the
glory of God (Rev. 21:11). Holiness — real, not pretended;
glory — divine, not human; and light, the light of the
knowledge of God and the Lamb — not the darkness
of superstition, characterize the church as seen in glory.
Should not the knowledge of these things inuence the
lives of the people of God now?
We need not further enlarge upon the glorious scene
described in chapter 21, interesting as it is; enough has
been said to emphasize the contrast between God’s church
and Satan’s anti-church.
6 Not “into the wilderness” as in Rev. 17:3. To the mind of
the Spirit, Babylon, with all its earthly grandeur, was a moral
wilderness.
7 Rev. 21:1-8 is a description of the eternal state; Rev. 21:10 and
onwards, of the millennial state.
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
29
e Great Whore.
In similar language to what we have seen in Rev. 21:9,
the angel says to John, “Come hither; I will show unto thee
the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many
waters” (Rev. 17:1).
Let us solemnly consider the moral characteristics of
this unchaste woman, and see if there is any real diculty
in applying the prophetic vision.
And rst, let it be observed, that Babylon the Great
is a religious system, distinct from, though ruling over,
the temporal power. is evil woman is seen sitting upon
the scarlet-colored beast. e beast is full of names of
blasphemy; but openly indel and blasphemous as this
Roman Empire will be, it will not hinder its having with it,
or for a time allowing, for its own ends, a religion essentially
idolatrous in character.
We would here remind our readers that this portion of
the Book of Revelation is distinctly prophetic — all that is
found after Rev. 4:1 is yet future. e coming of the Lord
into the air to take the Church to glory has taken place at
the close of the period described, in Rev. 1:19, as “the things
that are.” ese “things that are,” or the present period of
God’s church upon earth, are found in Rev. 2 and 3.
But when God’s church, the true saints, have been
removed, Satan’s anti-church will take her place here below.
Of what will it consist?
Laodicea Spued Out of Christ’s Mouth. —
In Rev. 3:14-22 we are informed, in solemn terms, of the
future that awaits the empty, Christless profession which
surrounds us today. Characterized by lukewarmness and
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
30
indierence to Christ and His glory (Rev. 3:15 and 16),
lled With the spirit of worldliness and self-satisfaction
(Rev. 3:17), utterly destitute of what makes up true
Christianity according to God (Rev. 3:18) — the professing
church is destined, according to Scripture, to be spued out
of Christ’s mouth as a thing nauseous to Him who is the
“Faithful and True Witness.” But will any of His own, any
true child of God, any real member of the Body of Christ,
be thus dealt with? No. In the twinkling of an eye the Lord
will descend into the air to take all such to be with Himself
where He is (John 14:3). is may take place at any moment.
We cannot close our eyes to the fact that there are
multitudes of people who are joined to the so-called
churches, and yet have no saving knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Nay, more, many clergy and ministers of
religion are to be found today who have never experienced
for themselves that mighty change called CONVERSION.
If the Lord were to come today, and remove His own in the
twinkling of an eye, what would become of this mass of
profession? is is a serious inquiry, as to which the Word
of God leaves us in no manner of darkness; may its solemn
revelations on this point sink deep into the heart of both
writer and reader!
e Reunion of Christendom.
A movement is on foot today, which might greatly
surprise most of its promoters, if not all, to know that it has
long since been revealed in the Scriptures of truth. A vast
religious system is destined to control the nations of Western
Europe after the removal of the true church. is system has
received the title of BABYLON THE GREAT, and into
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31
this huge fabric of earthly grandeur and human religion
will all the so-called churches be merged when every true
child of God has been taken away. We solemnly believe
that we are now living in the days when this state of things
may be said to be at our very doors. We write calmly, and
with no excitement. To judge by letters and leading articles,
constantly appearing in the daily papers and religious
magazines, the reunion of Christendom is not only possible,
but extremely probable. To every student of Scripture it is
not only possible and probable, but absolutely certain. It is
something startlingly indicative of the times to nd that
it is being seriously discussed from the Pope down to the
ministers and members of almost every dissenting body.
We commend to every serious and thoughtful person, a
prayerful consideration of Rev. 17, 18 and 19.
What are the special features of Babylon the Great?
1. A religious system essentially of the earth — earthly
in origin, associations, and character; she is the
Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the earth
(Rev. 17:5), the guilty associate and friend of “the
kings of the earth” and “the merchants of the earth”
(Rev. 18:9,11, etc.), “she will ourish on the earth”
and reign over “the kings of the earth” (Rev. 17:18),
and “corrupt the earth” (Rev. 19:2), until the moment
determined of God has arrived, when she will meet
her well-merited judgment.
What a contrast is all this to the true church!
Heavenly in origin — ”As is the heavenly [One] such are
they also that are heavenly” (1Cor. 15:48). Heavenly in
associations — ”Our citizenship is in heaven; from whence
also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil.
3:20). Heavenly in blessings — ”Blessed with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3). Heavenly in
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
32
destiny, she has “an inheritance incorruptible and undeled,
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven” (1Peter 1:4).
In short, earth characterizes the one, and heaven the other.
2. Another characteristic of this vast religious system is
that she seeks and obtains a place of supremacy over
the world, in contrast to the true church, which is
“subject unto Christ” (Eph. 5:24). e great whore
“sitteth upon many waters” (Rev. 17:1), and these are
explained to be “peoples, and multitudes, and nations,
and tongues” (Rev. 17:15), showing her world-wide
inuence. She sits upon the Beast, controlling its
movements (Rev. 17:3), and “reigneth over the kings
of the earth” (Rev. 17:18). Has there ever been in the
past a religious system which has exercised such an
inuence over the nations of Europe? e church
of Rome alone has ever had such power; kings have
bowed at her feet, and the destinies of nations have
been guided by her will.
Supremacy over the nations, and worldly power and
inuence, are not the marks of the true church of God
during the present period of her Lord’s rejection. When
He reigns she will reign with Him, but that will not be
until Christ’s return in glory, and after the judgment of
the Great Whore, Satan’s anti-church (Rev. 19:1-10). e
church’s portion now is that of suering with Christ.
3. Further, as union with Christ characterizes the true
church of God, so an illicit union with the world
marks Babylon the Great, “e kings of the earth
have committed fornication with her,” etc. (Rev.
17:2). Not only so, but worldliness of every kind
is found in and about her; she is “arrayed in purple
and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious
stones and pearls,” etc. (Rev. 17:4).
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33
Babylon the Great is not only a religious, but a vast
worldly system, dazzling by her wealth, luxury, and grandeur,
the kings and merchants of the earth, and intoxicating the
nations by means of her corrupting charms. Let the reader
look around him today; let him recall the religious history
of Europe during past centuries; then let him say what
system of religion has more than any other accorded with
the awful description of Babylon the Great in Rev. 17 and
18.
4. Another characteristic of Babylon must not be passed
by without a notice. In her hand is a “golden cup full
of abominations,” etc. (Rev. 17:4); she is also called
“the mother of harlots and abominations of the
earth” (Rev. 17:5). A reference to 1Kings 11:5, 7 will
show what is the scriptural idea connected with the
word abomination:” it is idolatry. What professedly
Christian system has mingled with the worship of
the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the adoration of
Mary (blasphemously called the Mother of God),
the veneration of the saints, and the worship of “the
Host?”
We are far from asserting that Babylon the Great and
the Papacy are interchangeable terms. Babylon the Great
is here described as the mother of harlots and abominations
of the earth. In the words of another,
8
“Whatever evil
thing was used by Satan for the purpose of ensnaring the
aections from Christ, whatever idolatrous object took His
place, she is the mother of them all. Babylon is the great
parent of all the worldly systems, and of the idolatries used
by the enemy to draw away souls entirely from the Lord.”
And this we do arm, sorrowfully, yet emphatically,
that no system of religion has ever sprung up in the bosom
8 Lectures on the Revelation (W. Kelly).
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
34
of the professing church which more accurately and more
strikingly corresponds to the description here given by the
Spirit of God, than does the church of Rome.
To quote from the same writer: “ough we may look
for a future development of Babylon, as opposing God’s
nal testimony of the kingdom to all nations before the
end comes, yet I think that, even at the present moment,
there need be no diculty in judging where the features
of Babylon are found most fully. It is a religious system
that governs a number of kings; not an establishment that
is at the mercy of the secular government. is is sin; but
it is not the wickedness spoken of here. Babylon is an
incomparably darker, deeper, and more widespread system
of religious corruption — arrogating to itself the name of
the Church of God exclusively; setting itself above kings;
intriguing with them, but at the same time maintaining
its supremacy above them all; stupefying the masses with
the poison of her exciting falsehoods; arrayed in all the
meretricious splendor of the world; the fountain-head of
the worst idolatry under the sun; and, nally, manifesting
a spirit of bloodthirsty persecution against the true saints
and witnesses of Jesus, under the ursurped pretense of His
will and authority.
“ere is one that does claim this place; one that takes
it as given by God; one whose seat and center are found in
the very heart of what was once the Roman Empire — a
religious system that aects universal dominion, and that,
in order to accomplish it, either wins by every enticing
art, or extinguishes all opposition in the blood of heretics
so-called, her victims. ‘By thy sorceries were all nations
deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and
of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth’ (Rev.
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18:23, 24). For any unprejudiced person who reads this
description of Babylon calmly, and asks himself, What is
that professing Christian body so abounding in idols, so
authoritative over the kings of the earth, so indulgent to
the wicked, and so cruel to the righteous? it is impossible
not to see the answer.
9
With these words we are in full accord. While for its
complete development Babylon the Great awaits the time
when the Lord will have taken His people to heaven, yet
today we may see rapid strides made towards her by all the
so-called churches of Christendom.
5. e last feature of Babylon the Great that we would
draw the reader’s attention to, needs but to be named
to make its application beyond a question. “I saw the
woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and
with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Rev. 17:6).
Intolerance and persecution, even unto death, has
always notoriously marked that which so arrogantly
claims to be the true church. Let the blood-stained
annals of the Inquisition in Spain, with its thousands
of tortured victims, and the res of Smitheld, with
its hundreds of martyrs burnt at the stake, speak
forth their hideous story; and we can well understand
the wonder and amazement which lled the heart of
the prophet: “When I saw her I wondered with great
wonder” (Rev. 17:6).
Amidst the cry for re-union, so zealously taken up by
thoughtless multitudes today, let this terrible feature of
Babylon be well weighed by every serious mind. e boast
of Rome is that she is always and everywhere the same.
is witness is, alas! solemnly and terribly true. It may be
said that it is the secular power that has always dealt with
9 Lectures on the Revelation, pp. 383, 384. New ed.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
36
the so-called heretics — so-called, for Rome’s heretics have
ever been the unoending, and unresisting, the oppressed
and persecuted followers of the Lord Jesus Christ; those
who, in the face of the fagot and the ame, would not
deny their Lord, nor bow in idolatrous worship before the
Host — but it is the religious system which is here held
guilty by God of all this bloodshed and cruelty. “In her was
found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that
were slain upon the earth” (Rev. 18:24).
We do not, for a moment, imagine that any warning
note of ours can hinder the progress of the evil described
under the head of Babylon the Great; but we do most
earnestly desire that the drawing of the reader’s attention
to this, God’s revealed plan of the future of Europe, both
politically (the Beast) and religiously (Babylon), may have
the eect of separating him absolutely and entirely from
these evil principles now at work, which will result in the
awful spectacle described in Rev. 17 and 18. According to
God’s Word, indelity and Romanism are yet to triumph, even
though it be but for a little season; and that man must indeed
be blind who fails to see in the rationalistic teaching of
the now popular “Higher Criticism,” and the theological
colleges generally, on the one hand, and the persistent
eorts of Rome and the ritualistic party on the other — two
mighty waves of inuence, which, if unchecked, must soon
bring about this fearful state of aairs. But will they, or can
they, be checked? We believe not. Another extract may be
protably given from the author previously quoted:
“As to the Greek and Oriental Churches,
10
as to the
English, Scotch, and other reformed national establishments,
10 All must be aware of the overtures made by the Pope to these
very churches.
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37
they are more or less notoriously subservient to the
government which has to do with each of them. is may
be, and I believe is, evil. But there are two ways in which
a religious system may act contrary to Christ — either by
a guilty subjection to the world, or by a still more guilty
supremacy over it; in short, by being the world’s slave, or
the world’s mistress. At the present time there is only one
religious system which pretends to have kings at its feet,
and this is the system of Rome, which, therefore, answers
to Babylon. It is a great mistake to suppose that we have
done with it, or that its day is over. Rome may yet have a
short-lived triumph. Its emissaries are actively engaged all
over the world, and the foundations of Protestantism are
being undermined everywhere … ere will come a fearful
struggle yet; and Rome, as I conceive, will seem to acquire
vast inuence, and to put down every contrary voice,
except the feeble whisper of the few witnesses spoken of
here (Rev. 18:4), who either die by her, or come out of
her … Wherever Romanism gains the day, indelity is the
necessary consequence; and, therefore, Babylon always
prepares the way for the last eort of the Beast against the
Lamb. But before the close the Beast gets thoroughly the
upper hand, and Babylon becomes food for him and the
ten horns” (Rev. 17:16).
11
If the reader carefully and prayerfully examines these
chapters, we believe he can come to no other conclusion
than that the church of Rome, more accurately than
anything else, corresponds to Babylon the Great; though,
on the other hand, the full and complete development of
Babylon the Great will not be until the removal of the true
Church of God.
11 Wm. Kelly’s Lectures on the Revelation, pp. 384.―$2.25.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
38
“Come Out of Her My People.”
But it may be asked, Why does God enter into such
detail, in reference to this great system of false religion?
Rev. 18:4 supplies us, in part at any rate, with the answer:
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come
out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins,
and that ye receive not of her plagues.” ough this will
apply, in a special way, in the last days after the removal of
the church of God from this earth, yet we believe a most
important principle of action is contained therein for the
child of God today. Strictly speaking, there will be no
saints within the precincts of Babylon the Great, for she
represents Christendom emptied of the people of God at
the coming of the Lord; but after the heavenly saints have
been taken to heaven, God will still have His earthly saints
amongst the Jews and the heathen nations. Oppressed
and persecuted they will be; many of them even being
martyred, as we have seen, under the Beast (Rev. 13:15). It
may be a temptation to them to seek some relief from their
enemies by some sort of association with Babylon, but they
are warned to have no connection with that vast worldly
religious system, so attractive to man, but so abhorrent to
God.
Now, though Babylon the Great, in all its awful and
full-blown wickedness, awaits the period after the removal
of the church for its complete development, yet sucient
of the spirit of Babylon now exists to give this exhortation
a very real application: “Come out of her, my people.”
Wherever the spirit of Babylon is detected, the child of God
is called upon to walk in complete separation therefrom.
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39
Babylon’s Doom.
e doom of Babylon is terrible. In the hour of her
greatest prosperity God’s judgment falls upon her. All
seems secure: she has gathered around herself all the
inuence of the world, and all the commercial prosperity of
the earth. “She saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no
widow, and shall see no sorrow. erefore shall her plagues
come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and
she shall be utterly burned with re: for strong is the Lord
God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who
have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her,
shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see
the smoke of her burning, standing afar o for the fear
of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon,
that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come.
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over
her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: the
merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and
of pearls, and ne linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet,
and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all
manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and
iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odors, and ointments,
and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and ne our, and
wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and
slaves [or bodies] and souls of men.
“And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed
from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are
departed from thee, and thou shalt nd them no more at
all. e merchants of these things which were made rich by
her, shall stand afar o for the fear of her torment, weeping
and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
40
clothed in ne linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked
with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour
so great riches is come to naught. And every shipmaster, and
all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade
by sea, stood afar o, and cried when they saw the smoke
of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great
city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping
and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were
made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her
costliness! For in one hour is she made desolate.
“Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and
prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty
angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it
into the sea, saying, us with violence shall that great city
Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at
all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers,
and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and
no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any
more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard
no more at all in thee; and the light of a candle shall shine
no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom
and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee; for
thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy
sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found
the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were
slain upon the earth” (Rev. 18:7-24).
is, then, according to the Word of God, is the end of
that vast system of worldly religion which today is rapidly
heading up into Babylon the Great. May every Christian
reader have the eye annointed by God’s Spirit, so as to be
able to discern each symptom of it, wherever it is found.
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41
Cardinal Manning on Reunion.
e Reunion of Christendom, we believe, is near at
hand; but that reunion means, in the words of Cardinal
Manning,
12
“submission to the living authority of the Vicar
of Jesus Christ,” words which were re-echoed by Cardinal
Vaughan more recently, and which may well cause ears
to tingle — ”Reunion means submission to infallible
authority.”
at the reader may form some idea of the persistent
and stupendous eorts on the part of Rome to bring about
that very state of things described in Rev. 17, viz., absolute
supremacy over the nations of Europe, we would quote
again from the pen of the late Cardinal Manning:
“If ever there was a land in which work was to be
done,
13
and perhaps much to suer, it is here [England].
I shall not say too much if I say that we have to subjugate
and subdue, to conquer and rule, an imperial race … Were
heresy conquered in England, it would be conquered
throughout the world. All its lines meet here; and therefore
in England the church of God [Rome! must be gathered
in its strength.”
And again, “is nineteenth century will make a great
epoch in the history of the church … It is good for us to
be here in England. It is yours, Right Reverend Fathers, to
subjugate and subdue, to bend and to break the will of an
imperial race; the will which, as of Rome of old, rules over
nations and peoples, invincible and inexible … You have a
12 Essays on Religion, p. 19.
13 ese words came from the Cardinal’s pen as long ago as
August 6, 1859 (Tablet); with what satisfaction would he have
written, could he but have seen the strides that work would
make in the years that have since transpired!
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
42
great commission to fulll, and great is the prize for which
you strive. Surely a soldier’s eye and a soldier’s heart would
choose, by intuition, this eld of England for the warfare
of the faith. None ampler or nobler could be found … It
is the head of Protestantism; the center of its movements,
and the stronghold of its powers. Weakened in England,
it is paralyzed everywhere. Conquered in England, it is
conquered throughout the world. Once overthrown here,
all is but a war of detail. All the roads of the whole world
meet in one point; and, this point reached, the whole world
is opened to the church’s will. England is the key of the
whole position of modern error.”
is, then, is the avowed end and aim of Rome — the
whole world is to be “OPEN TO THE CHURCH’S
WILL” — an awful sentence indeed, strikingly suggestive
of the woman “sitting upon” the scarlet-colored beast. Some
may be disposed to smile at the bare supposition of such
a thing — they may consider it impossible. Scripture asserts
that it is inevitable. But will it last? e same Scriptures
assure us that it will not.
Ecclesiastical tyranny of such a sort will soon become
insupportable, and the kings of the earth who, for purposes
of their own, will for a time have put up with it, will rise
in revolt and cast o the oppressive yoke — ”e ten horns
which thou sawest and the beast, these shall hate the
whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall
eat her esh, and burn her with re. For God hath put in
their hearts to fulll His will, and to agree, and give their
kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be
fullled” (Rev. 17:16, 17).
e openly indel and blasphemous power of the beast
will, in the end, overthrow the tyranny of this corrupt and
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
43
iniquitous system of worldly religion, which, by reason of
the attractions of its wealth, luxury and eshly corruptions
on the one hand, and by its terrorism over heart and
conscience, its cruelty, and relentless persecution on the
other, will have obtained the widespread and unendurable
dominion which it strives for today, and which it is destined
to obtain for a brief season.
Let no Christian, however much he may abhor the
iniquity of Babylon the Great (and rightly so), be tempted
to take up the weapons of the world to destroy her. e
time for her destruction is not yet, nor when that time
comes will the instruments of her destruction be such as
love and worship the Father and the Son. “Come out of
her, my people,” is the path for faith to tread at all times;
and again we urge, with all the earnestness at our disposal,
the bounden duty and the solemn responsibility that rests
upon every true Christian to separate himself absolutely,
and entirely, yea, and immediately, from all association with
that mixture of worldliness and religion which abounds
today, which increases every day, which is attractive to man
and abhorrent to God, and which is designed by the god of
this world to obliterate the line of demarkation, and raze to
its foundation the wall of partition which God has placed
between Himself and the world — ”Know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever
therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God”
(James 4:4).
And what shall we say of the sacred concerts, the
theatricals, the musical evenings and dancing parties, the
bazaars, and all the host of worldly entertainments got up
today by the so-called churches? It is the spirit of Babylon
the Great, and it is of this that the heavenly voice has been
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
44
heard to say, all down the ages of the church’s history on
this earth, but with all the greater emphasis now that the
outlines of Babylon are becoming so much more clearly
visible — ”Come out of her, my people, that ye be not
partaker of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
e worldly principle that “union is strength” is rapidly
gaining ground today, and is being used as a mighty engine
to accomplish the schemes of men; but few are aware how
this principle works when combined with religion.
at the reader may form some idea of it, we quote from
one
14
who is, perhaps, better tted than most to describe it,
having once himself been a tool in the hands of the Papacy,
and well acquainted with all its workings, but eventually
emancipated from its thraldom:
“e Church of Rome is, in fact, not a body of theological
doctrine or belief, but a huge and intricate system of
government. It is an empire; it is an absolute monarchy,
with its College of Cardinals or Privy Councilors — a
monarchy which rules not only by means of force, and
which governs not only the bodies and outward actions
of its subjects, but which rules the conscience by means of
spiritual terrors, and insures the most abject obedience by
means of superstitious feelings. As a study of the Syllabus
of December 8, 1864, will show, the Papal Government
is a conspiracy of the subtlest and best informed minds,
against the fortunes and liberties of mankind. It has agents
in every land and every nation: for every priest, every monk,
every nun, every member of a religious confraternity, is an
agent of that Government. And every one of these — the
whole body, indeed, of the Romanists — move as one
14 Recent Events and a Clue to their Solution, by LORD
ROBERT MONTAGU. Second Edition, pp. 45-47.
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
45
army, in accordance with the orders from the Vatican. By
all the allurements of sense; by the feigned terrors of the
unseen world; by artices nicely calculated on an intimate
acquaintance with each man’s idiosyncrasies, tendencies,
antecedents, and present frame of mind; by the power
acquired through the knowledge of some secret crime; by
enticing young persons of mark to commit themselves, in
perpetrating some disgraceful act, so that their fair name
and fame, their honor and their liberties, are placed in the
hands of the agents of Rome; by memories of the past,
and poignant stings of remorse; by oers of preferment,
oce, glory and fame, with assurances of safety and
secrecy in exchange for services rendered clandestinely to
Rome — by all these means, and many others, the Vatican
is ever increasing in every land its body of adherents, who
must implicitly obey, while they hate her. Nor can honor or
patriotism, or even family aection, intervene. Conscience
is goaded, and oaths compel them to discard the laws and
the welfare of their nation, with the love of kindred, the
entreaties of a wife, the paternal instincts of a father for his
children, in order to submit to and obey the mandates of
the Pope.
“e system of the Church of Rome is a wonderful
mechanism. Its center is the Pope. Yet it is independent of
the Pope. Many a Pope has been a dotard; very many have
been debauchees. Yet the machine works on, irrespectively
of his idiosyncrasies. It is the Cabinet, the Privy Council,
the College of Cardinals that governs. at body never
dies. One old man and another falls away, like a sere and
yellow leaf, but the tree remains; the traditions and the
knowledge of centuries are still there. e records of the
past are added to the daily experience of the present; and
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
46
that experience is being ever gathered in every corner of
the earth, wherever there is a priest or a missioner. From
every race, from every land, from every people, nay, from
every family, there stretches a telegraphic wire of secret
intelligence to the central station of the Vatican.
“ere the intelligence is used by free minds, who are
destitute of family, without all the aections which are
natural to man, without a country or a home, without
patriotism; without restraint of obligations, oaths, moral
principles or divine laws, because the word of the Pope
is supposed to tear those holy fetters away as gossamer
webs, and priestly absolution is held to wash out even the
slightest taint of sin. at is right which is done to advance
the power of the Pope. at is true which the Pope may
please to assert ex cathedra. at which favors the interest
of the church is good. Even crime is commendable, if it be
done for the church.
“Coleridge said that there are two kinds of strong
persons, who must always prevail over men that vary in their
aims, and sometimes move in one direction and sometimes
in another: he is strong who acts always in accordance with
the will of God, and allows no consideration, no passion,
and no interest to make him deviate from the path of
rectitude and simple justice; and he, too, is strong who
puts before himself one end, to which he constantly aims
without swerving to one side or the other, allowing no
consideration of right and wrong, no soft or benevolent
feeling, no passion, no natural aection to intervene or deter.
Forti nihil dicile. (To the strong nothing is dicult.) e
latter succeeds in this world; the former lives for eternity.
Hence the success, for centuries, of the Vatican. Emperors
have resisted, and fallen. Ministers have framed their
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
47
policies to curb the pretensions of the Pope, and have been
overcome. e devices of Premiers are weak in opposition
to the intrigues of the Curia,. e advance of the Papacy
has always been as the advance of the plague — irresistible,
unsparing, remorseless, and deadly. Its myriads of secret
agents overmatch armies and dispose of their generals. Its
purposes are ‘fathomless as the sea, and silent as the grave.’
Its action is in every state, setting nation to hamper nation,
and exciting one statesman against another; breaking up,
dividing, crumbling its enemies; while its own party is
always united, conspiring everywhere towards one object.
It will triumph until the great hour for the doom of the
harlot, which sits upon the nations of the earth, has struck.”
e Marriage of the Lamb.
e downfall of Babylon, while producing lamentations
on earth amidst those who will have enriched themselves
by reason of the worldliness which she will gather around
herself, will be celebrated in heaven with rejoicing (Rev.
19:1-3). Two great events take place just before the
appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory — one on earth,
the other in heaven. On earth, the judgment of “the great
whore”; in heaven, “the marriage of the Lamb.” Satan’s
anti-church will meet her well-merited doom upon earth,
for “true and righteous are His judgments” who will avenge
“the blood of His servants at her hand” (Rev. 19:2); and in
heaven, the true church, the Bride, the Lamb’s wife, will be
presented to Christ, all-glorious in His eyes, “without spot,
or wrinkle, or any such thing.” (Eph. 5:27). — With which
will the reader’s destiny be bound up?
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
48
e judgment of the false church having been executed
upon the earth, the Beast and the ten kings having been the
instruments which God used to carry it out (Rev. 17:16),
the prophet now sees in his vision the heavens opened. e
hour has now arrived for the judgment of this arrogant
and blasphemous power which had controlled the actions
of Western Europe; and Scripture clearly informs us why,
when, where, and by whom, this judgment will be executed.
e Overthrow of the Beast.
As we purpose in another pamphlet to take up this
subject, we shall not here do more than point out for the
reader’s own study several passages of the Word of God
bearing upon this solemn matter.
“I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words
which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain,
and his body destroyed, and given to the burning ame”
(Dan. 7:11).
Indelity, of which the little horn will be the champion,
no less than that worldly and tyrannical system of false
religion portrayed by Babylon the Great, will soon meet
with God’s terrible and overwhelming judgment.
O reader, beware of being connected with either one
or the other! Let the little horn “speak great words against
the Most High,” yet “the judgment shall sit, and they shall
take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto
the end” (Dan. 7:26). is passage then shows us why the
Roman Empire of the future will be destroyed, namely,
because of its blasphemous arrogance and godlessness; and
there is far more of this kind of thing in the world even now
than many of our readers are aware. One thing is certain,
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
49
that there is a growing disregard of God and His claims,
and an alarming increase of indelity. Scripture has long
since foretold that this will all come to a head in the days
of the Beast, who “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit,
and go into perdition” Rev. 17:8), for “God is not mocked.”
Heaven is opened, and forth comes the Lord Jesus
Christ, followed by the armies of heaven. e language
here, we need hardly say, is gurative, but it is descriptive
of a warrior-judgment (Rev. 19:11, etc.).
e Beast and the kings of the earth, not content with
speaking great words against the Most High, are now
found bringing their godlessness to a climax, and gathering
their armies together against Christ and His armies. All
the armies of the West will at the end combine against the
KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Oh, fearful conict! “e beast
15
was taken and with
him the false prophet
16
that wrought miracles before
him … ese both were cast alive into a lake of re burning
with brimstone” (Rev. 19:20).
Awful doom! Taken in the very act of insolent
insurrection against Christ, they are cast down to hell
without even the necessity of a formal judgment. ey are
cast there alive — terrible contrast to those saints who will
be caught up to heaven, without dying, at the coming of the
Lord to receive His people to Himself! (1ess. 4:13 to
end.)
is will be the doom of the two leaders in this fearful
war. As for the armies that follow them, they will be “slain
15 By the term beast here, the chief is meant, no doubt the Prince
of the Roman Empire.
16 e false prophet is doubtless the Antichrist, reigning at that
time as the false Messiah in Jerusalem. See a booklet by the
author, e Man of Sin; Who will he be?
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
50
with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse” (Rev. 19:21),
to rise again and stand before the great white throne, and
be judged according to their works.
e Eastern Question.
And where will this conict take place? For some time
past the eyes of all Europe have been turned to the East.
e remarkable movement in connection with the Jews,
the Egyptian Question, the diculties as to Armenia and
Turkey — all these are so many lines converging to one
central spot — to JERUSALEM. It is there that God has
decreed He “will gather all nations to battle” (Zech. 14:2).
We shall not further enlarge upon this subject here;
enough has been said to show that the great Western
confederacy of European nations, according to God’s
Word, is doomed to be destroyed when gathered together
to battle at Jerusalem; that the Lord Jesus Christ will
suddenly appear in Mount Zion as the Redeemer and
Deliverer of His oppressed people, the godly and believing
remnant of Israel (Isa. 9:20). “It shall come to pass in that
day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come
against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit
of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me
whom they have pierced” (Zech. 12:9, 10).
e Future of Russia.
is brief survey of the future of Europe, as revealed
in Scripture, would be incomplete without an allusion
to another great Power, which, even in our own time, is
advancing with rapid strides, and is destined to meet its
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
51
judgment after the great Western confederacy of nations has
been overwhelmed at Jerusalem. We have already pointed
out that Russia formed no part of the Roman Empire, nor
will she in the end. Scripture has clearly revealed that there
will be at the close a mighty power, typied by the Assyrian
of the past, and denominated “the King of the North” in
Dan. 11. He will be called “King of the North,” because he
will occupy a position geographically north of the land of
Palestine. is King of the North will occupy the territory
now known as Turkey in Asia. A full account of him is
given in Dan. 8; he is the “little horn” that will arise out
of one of the four divisions of the great Grecian Empire
(Dan. 8:8, 9, 22 to end). We merely allude to this personage
now, as we are devoting more attention to this part of the
subject in the second part of our book.
17
But let the reader
observe that though the power of the King of the North
shall “in the latter time” be mighty, yet it is said “not by his
own power” (Dan. 8:24). Some other great nation will be at
his back: this we believe to be none other than Russia.
Some of our readers may not be aware that the Word
of God speaks of the future of, and the end of, Russia, in
no uncertain manner. She is even mentioned by name, or,
at least, in such terms as leaves no reasonable doubt that
Russia is meant. In Ezek. 38 we are told of a great northern
Power who shall come in the latter days from its place in
the north parts (i.e., north of Palestine, for God’s thoughts
are centered upon that land), and many peoples along with
it. eir numbers are so great that it is likened to a cloud
covering the land (Ezek. 38:14-16). is will be the great
gathering of the eastern and northern nations against
Jerusalem, after the destruction of the Western confederacy
17 “Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy,” page 56.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
52
described above. “Son of Man, set thy face against Gog,
the land of Magog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal,
and prophesy against him” (Ezek. 38:2). e reading here
given is now pretty generally acknowledged to be correct;
and few would nd any diculty in recognizing in these
scriptural terms names well known today as Russia (Rosh),
Moscow (Meshech), and Tobolsk (Tubal).
No European Power is occupying itself today more
busily than Russia in the aairs of the Far East. A careful
study of Ezek. 38 and 39, and of Dan. 8 and 11, will give a
clearer insight than anything else into the aairs of Russia
and the Far East, and the destinies of these nations in
connection with the nal struggle between rebellious man
and a long-suering though righteous God.
“Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye
judges of the earth: serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice
with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye
perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him” (Psa. 2:10-
12).
And now, reader, a parting word with you. e day of
grace is nearing its end. e coming of the Lord draweth
nigh. What foundation are you on? Nothing but the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ can atone for sin; have you trusted
it? Can you take up the redemption song, “Unto Him that
loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His
Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen”? (Rev. 1:5). If so, you will share in that glorious
scene when the Lamb comes forth from heaven and by
His side will be His royal Bride, the sharer of His joy, His
The F uture of Europe: P olitically and Religiously (in the Light of the Holy Scripture)
53
triumph and His glory, and that forever and forever! If we
suer with Him now, we shall reign with Him then.
“Lord of glory, we adore ee!
Christ of God, ascended high!
Heart and soul we bow before ee,
Glorious now beyond the sky:
ee we worship,
ee we praise —
Excellent in all y ways.
“Anointed King, with glory crowned,
Rightful heir and Lord of all!
Once rejected, scorned, disowned,
E’en by those ou cam’st to call:
ee we honor,
ee adore —
Glorious now and evermore.
“Royal robes shall soon invest ee,
Royal splendors crown y brow;
Christ of God, our souls confess ee
King and Sovereign even now!
ee we reverence,
ee obey-
Own ee Lord and Christ alway.”
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
54
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
55
95399
Russia’s Destiny in the Light
of Prophecy
Palestine: Prophetic Center of the Earth.
e events now transpiring around us in the political
world cannot fail to awaken an interest in every thoughtful
mind. We are living in critical times, and the eyes of nations
are necessarily turned to the East.
We cannot too strongly impress upon the reader that
Palestine is the prophetic center of the earth. Prophecy has
to do with the earth, and the destiny of all the nations of the
earth is in connection with the nation of Israel; for “when
the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance,
when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
56
of the people according to the number of the children of
Israel. For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the lot
of His inheritance.” (Deut. 32:8, 9).
Scattered to the winds, and dispersed amongst all the
countries of the world, as the Jews have been and are — down-
trodden, despised, oppressed, and persecuted as they have
been, and, to a great extent, still are — nevertheless they
exist today a standing and living witness to the truth of
God’s Word, who is pledged to fulll the promises made
unto the (Jewish) fathers.
ose promises are yet to be fullled, for “it is impossible
for God to lie,” and if “blindness in part is happened to
Israel,” it is only “until the fullness of the Gentiles be come
in,” and then “all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, ere
shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob.” (Rom. 11:25, 26.)
e aairs of the Jews, then, and matters concerning the
land of Palestine, are the key to the Eastern problem, and
the destinies of nations can alone be learned in connection
with that land and people. e Jewish people — and by
this term we include the ten tribes now lost, but soon to
be gathered again — are the earthly people of God, and
none can meddle or injuriously treat them except at their
own peril. Heavy judgments at the hand of God, “the God
of Israel,” will be poured upon those nations that more
immediately concern themselves in their aairs, according
to the words of the prophet, which are yet to be fullled:
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto
all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege
both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day
will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people:
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
57
all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces,”
etc. (Zech. 12:2-9.)
Russia and Palestine.
In a very special way, we believe, will Russia’s destiny be
bound up with the future history of Palestine and the Jews.
It is clear, from Scripture, that in the last days of this world’s
struggle, immediately preceding the millennial reign of
Christ, a great northeastern power will be in existence, and
that this power will be the last to be dealt with on the
mountains of Judea after that Israel is dwelling safely in
the land of Palestine. (See Ezek. chaps. 38 and 39.)
In the following pages we purpose examining the
various prophetic scriptures that speak of this power,
convinced that we are bordering on the times when these
things, long since foretold, are about to be accomplished.
y the Jews Are Scattered.
Our readers are no doubt familiar with the history of
the Jewish people as presented to us in the Books of Kings
and Chronicles — a history of departure from Jehovah their
God, and declension from the beginning to the end. In the
palmy days of Solomon’s reign the throne of the Lord had
been at Jerusalem (1Chron. 29:23), and though, after that,
the Lord bore with much patience the idolatry and iniquities
of Israel and Judah, the time at length arrived when their
rebellion and apostasy from Jehovah reached a climax, and
in the days of Zedekiah (B. C. 610) large numbers were
carried captive into Babylon. “Zedekiah … did that which
was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled
not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
58
the mouth of the Lord … Moreover, all the chief of the
priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all
the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house
of the Lord which He had hallowed in Jerusalem … ey
mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words,
and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose
against His people, till there was no remedy. erefore He
brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew
their young men with the sword … He gave them all into
his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God … all
these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of
God,” etc. (2Chron. 36:11-22.) From this point the throne
of the Lord was removed from Jerusalem, and power was
committed to the hands of the Gentiles.
e Times of the Gentiles.
e times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24) commenced at
the Babylonish captivity, in the days of Nebuchadnezzar,
when God wrote upon His people the solemn word,
Loammi — ”not my people” (Hos. 1:9); and that sentence
will remain upon them until the time of their glorious
restoration to their own land, under their own Messiah,
still rejected, but ere long to be recognized by them as the
One “whom they have pierced.” (Zech. 12:10.)
It will greatly assist the reader to remember that it is
these “times of the Gentiles” that are described in the Book
of Daniel, starting with Nebuchadnezzar and terminating
with the coming of the Son of Man in glory, when the last
of the Gentile powers, risen up in blasphemous rebellion
against God, shall have its dominion taken away, to give
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
59
place to the everlasting kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.
18
e great image of Dan. 2 presents to us the course of these
Gentile empires as one whole, rather than in their separate
or successional form.
We shall not here enter into any detailed exposition of
this interesting passage. We merely refer to it now to point
out that it represents to us as one whole the four great Gentile
empires that were to exist upon the earth — that terrible
“man of the earth” which is destined no more to oppress.
(Psa. 10:18). e four parts of the image represent the four
great Gentile kingdoms — Babylonian, Medo-Persian,
Grecian and Roman. But there is also a fth kingdom,
represented by the “little stone.” We must not imagine
that this little stone falling upon the toes of the image and
breaking the whole image to pieces is a description of the
kingdom of grace. Far from this; it is the coming of Christ
in judgment who will smite the image and establish in its
stead His own kingdom of righteousness upon the earth,
when He will “reign from sea to sea, and from the river to
the ends of the earth.” A glorious prospect indeed, but one
which can be realized only when the terrible judgments of
the Lord have removed “out of His kingdom all things that
oend,” etc. (Matt. 13:41.)
In Dan. 7 the same Empires are described, but in their
separate and successional form — one replacing the other.
While this is so, and though each succeeds the former as an
empire, we are not to suppose that any of the nations that
compose these dierent empires cease to exist. A verse in
this very chapter (Dan 7:12) shows that during the time
that the fourth Beast (i. e., the Roman Empire) ourishes,
the lives of the others are prolonged; and from other parts
18 See e Future of Europe, page 40.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
60
of the prophetic word we learn that they are yet to be
dealt with in the judgments that will fall upon the livings
nations, in the nal crisis of this world’s history.
Revival of the Roman Empire.
We have elsewhere shown
19
that the Roman Empire
is yet to revive. Whatever men may think or say to the
contrary, the Word of God upon this point is clear. “e
Beast that was, and is not, and shall be” (Rev. 17:8), is none
other than the fourth Beast of Dan. 7, or, in other words,
the Roman Empire, which WAS in the days of our Lord,
which IS NOT today, but which SHALL ASCEND out
of the bottomless pit prior to the coming of the Lord in
judgment, when it shall “go into perdition” — awful doom!
is Roman Empire will be the great Western confederacy
of the European nations. In its last form it will consist
of ten kingdoms, which, contrary to all precedent, will
agree together and unite under one common head, the
little horn” of Dan. 7. Proof of all this has been given in
e Future of Europe. We allude to it again in order to
emphasize the thought that the chief of the Roman Empire is
not the Antichrist.
20
Many have thought it, and still do, but
we are persuaded that it is not so. e Antichrist will be the
false King of the Jews who will be reigning at Jerusalem-of
whom our Lord Jesus spoke in saying: “I am come in my
Father’s name, and ye receive me not; if another shall come
in his own name, him ye will receive” (John 5:43), whereas
the chief of the revived Roman Empire will be located at
Rome, the city of the seven hills. (Rev. 17:9.)
19 “e Future of Europe.” page 12.
20 See a small book by the Author. e Man of Sin: Who will he
be?
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
61
Nor must the Roman Empire be confounded with the
Romish Church. e Roman Empire will be a political
system, gathered under one imperial head; this is clear
from a careful study of Dan. 7 and 9, and Rev. 13 and 17.
ere will also be an ecclesiastical system, which at rst will
control the Beast or Roman Empire, but which at length
will be rendered desolate by the ten kings of Western
Europe, confederate under the Beast.
Present Period a Parenthesis.
Let it be distinctly remembered that we are now writing
about events that will take place after the coming of our
Lord into the air to remove His true Church from the
scene where all the judgments detailed in the prophetic
scriptures are to take place. Every believer in Christ will be
“caught up” in the twinkling of an eye “to meet the Lord
in the air,” and so to be forever with Him. After that, and
not until then, will prophecy, strictly speaking, begin to be
fullled. Meanwhile the student of Scripture, observant
of the state of things around him both politically and
religiously, may discern rapid strides being taken in the
direction of preparation for the accomplishment of God’s
revealed plan; but prophecy itself has to do not with the
Church, but with Israel and the nations of Christendom
and the earth at large.
Prophecy has to do with the earth, and not with heaven:
the Church belongs to heaven, and not to the earth; far-
reaching principles of practice are contained in this simple
truth, ignored by so many in the present day. is day of
grace, during which God is gathering out from all nations
of the earth the members of Christ’s body — the Church,
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
62
which is to share Christ’s heavenly glory and to reign with
Him over the nations, and to appear with Him in glory
when He comes in judgment — this day of grace began
at the Cross, and will end at the coming of the Lord into
the air for His saints. (1ess. 4:13 to end.) is period is
entirely outside all question of dates; it is a parenthesis in
God’s dealings with the earth; during it prophetic time is not
reckoned.
Seventy Weeks of Daniel.
e seventy weeks of Daniel’s prophecy were interrupted
after the rejection of Messiah at the end of the sixty-
ninth week (Dan. 9:24-27); then comes the present long
parenthesis of already more than 1800 years, to be followed
by the last or seventieth week (i.e., seven years) after the
removal of the Church.
It is during this last week of seven years that the Beast or
Roman Empire will exercise its blasphemous and wicked
sway. For further and fuller details on this subject we refer
the interested reader to e Future of Europe, etc.
We have before observed that all the nations composing
each of the four great Gentile powers, Babylon, Medo-
Persia, Greece, and Rome, are yet to come up for judgment
in the end; Ezekiel and the minor prophets leave no room
for doubt on this point to any mind subject to the Word
of God. But, while this is so, those amongst them that
are more closely concerned in the future of Israel receive
special notice.
For this reason it is that so much is said both in Daniel
and Revelation on the subject of the resuscitated Roman
Empire. But not only is this, the fourth, Beast to revive, but
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
63
the third, or Grecian, will likewise have its representative
in the last conict of the nations with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Indeed, this representative of the Grecian Empire,
according to prophecy, will meet his doom after the
destruction of the Beast (or Roman Empire) and the false
prophet (or Antichrist), described in Rev. 19.
e King of the North.
It is with this third Beast of Dan. 7 that Russia’s destiny
is concerned. Russia will be the supporter of the last “King of
the North” (Dan. 11), who will be the representative of the
Grecian (or third) Empire in the last days — days which we
believe are near at hand. It is plain from Scripture that the
policy of these two powers (“the Beast” and “the King of
the North”) will be distinctly opposed the one to the other.
Turning to Dan. 8 we nd that the rst three of the four
Gentile Empires are menioned. It is during the reign of
Belshazzar, King of Babylon, that Daniel wrote. e Ram
is explained to represent “the Kings of Media and Persia”
(Dan. 8:20); and the He-goat is “the King of Grecia” (Dan.
8:21). us we have Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Grecia.
Deeply interesting as this chapter is, we cannot do more
than point out one or two matters in connection with the
He-goat. e Spirit of God in this chapter, as well as in Dan.
11, inspired the prophet to describe, in brief but striking
language, the course of events three hundred years before
they took place. Any one acquainted with the history of the
Grecian Empire during and after the times of Alexander
the Great, cannot fail to be struck with the perfect accuracy
of the brief outline given by Daniel: yet Daniel lived and
wrote about three centuries before Alexander’s time. Can any
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
64
external evidence of inspiration be more complete? A mere
scholar, apart from any appreciation of the spiritual power
of the Word of God upon heart and conscience, must be
struck with this.
ere can be no doubt that “the great horn” (Dan. 8:4-9)
typies Alexander the Great, who was the rst King of the
Grecian Empire, and who led his victorious armies against
the realm of Persia; indeed, Dan. 8:21 puts this beyond
question. Prophecy here informs us of certain facts that
history conrms, namely, that on the death of Alexander
his kingdom was split up into four parts (Dan. 8:8), and
that out of one of these parts “a little horn” should arise.
(Dan. 8:9.)
is little horn must not be confounded with the little
horn of the previous chapter. In Dan. 7 the little horn
proceeds from the fourth or Roman Empire, whereas here
the little horn springs from the third or Grecian Empire.
Just as there will be at the close a representative of the
Roman, so also will there be one of the Grecian Empire;
but they are not the same.
Prophecy makes known to us that three awful
individuals are to arise, and that each one of them shall
play a most important part in the future and closing scenes
of this world’s history, before the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ as the Son of Man in judgment. ese are (1) the
Antichrist, (2) the chief of the Roman Empire, and (3) the
King of the North. Let the reader carefully bear in mind
the dierence between the coming of the Lord to remove
His saints in the twinkling of an eye, and His return with
them in manifested glory; it is the latter of these two which
is spoken of as the coming of the Son of Man.” We are now
writing about the events which will take place upon the
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
65
earth between His coming into the air for His people
(1ess. 4) and His coming to the earth with His people.
(2ess. 1 and 2; Zech. 14, etc.)
But let not the study of prophecy, interesting and
important as it is, dim the hope of Christ’s coming for
the Church! He might come this very day; the Church
will be removed before the earth becomes the scene of
the desolating judgments which the prophetic word so
solemnly and plainly describes.
Reader, we are living in serious days. e people now
alive may, with their own eyes, see the things take place of
which we are now treating. Are you a part of that blood-
redeemed company that will be “caught up to meet the
Lord in the air,” or a part of that Christ-rejecting and
Gospel-refusing world, that shall witness the awful events
that will follow upon the earth?
e Little Horn of Dan. 8.
Having already written of the Antichrist and the chief
of the Roman Empire,
21
we shall now pass to the third great
prophetic character, viz., the King of the North. e “little
horn” of Dan. 8 is said to wax “exceeding great, toward the
south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.”
(Dan. 8:9.) “e pleasant land,” we need hardly say, is the
land of Palestine; and how beautiful it is to see the faith
of Daniel rising above all the desolation and ruin of that
land, resulting from the failure of the people of Israel, and
speaking of it according to God’s estimation thereof. He
entered into the spirit of those words, “e Lord thy God
bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water,
21 e Future of Europe, page 14. e Man of Sin: Who will be
be?
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
66
of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;
a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and g trees, and
pomegranates,” etc. “A land which the Lord thy God careth
for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it from
the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.”
(Deut. 8:7-9; 11:12). ough at the time at which Daniel
wrote Palestine had been desolated, the temple deled, and
large numbers of the people deported to heathen lands, yet
to faith it was still “the pleasant land.”
is little horn was to arise from one of the four divisions
of Alexander’s kingdom. History and prophecy are here
in perfect accord. History tells us that after his death his
kingdom was divided amongst four of his generals, not
his sons. Daniel, writing by inspiration three centuries
before, tells us that “four notable horns” (Dan. 8:8) came
up in place of the one great horn (Alexander); and, further
(Dan11:3, 4), that upon the breaking up of this kingdom
of the “mighty king” it should be divided towards the four
winds of heaven, but “not to his posterity,” that is, not to
his sons.
Two of these divisions came into special conict
with each other; and the land of Palestine which lay
between them, cruelly suered from them both; and their
representatives are to do likewise in the future. ey are
called the “King of the North” and the “King of the South”
in Dan. 11. We would observe again that everything is
described according to its relation to the land and people
of Israel. ese kings are spoken of as the kings of the
north and south for the simple reason that the territories
over which they rule were, and will be, one of them north,
the other south, of Palestine. In other words the King of
the North occupied Syria and Asia Minor, or that district
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
67
which is now called Turkey in Asia, and the King of the
South ruled over Egypt. According to prophecy, a king of
great importance in the future of the world, and especially
of the Jews, is yet to arise in that part of the world now
occupied by the Sultan, in Asia. No one at all aquainted
with what God has revealed in His Word in connection
with this individual can fail to be deeply interested in the
movement now taking place in reference to Turkey.
Believing, as we surely do, that we are rapidly nearing
the time of the fulllment of these things, we have little
doubt that the agitation now going on, will have a far-
reaching eect in the preparation of those lands for the
part that they are to play, according to Scripture, in the
near future.
In the past there was a notorious individual, Antiochus
Epiphanes by name; he was a specially wicked man, and
took a endish delight in ill-treating the Jews in every
conceivable manner. He even went the length of penetrating
into the holy place and there oering up a sow upon the
altar in impious and blasphemous mockery. is Antiochus
was a type of the future and last King of the North, and is,
we believe, the one mentioned in Dan. 8:11 and the rst
half of Dan. 8:12.
22
He deled the sanctuary, and caused
the daily sacrice to cease for a time. It is thought by some,
and we incline to think it too, that the 2300 days of verse
14 had their fulllment at that time.
But from verse 17 to the end of the chapter the prophet
treats of the last and yet future representative of the
northern division of Alexander’s kingdom, him of whom
22 Observe the change of the pronoun in these verses from
“it” to “he”: the whole of verse 11 and down to the word
“transgression” in verse 12 is a parenthesis, alluding, we believe,
to what has had its fulllment in the days of Antiochus.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
68
Antiochus, bad as he was, was only a type. At the time of
the end shall be the vision” (Dan. 8:17) — ”I will make thee
know what shall be in the last end of the indignation” (Dan.
8:19) — and, again, “In the latter time of their kingdom,
when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of erce
countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall
stand up.” (Dan. 8:23) But though the power of this king
will be mighty, it is added that it shall not be “by his own
power.” (Dan. 8:24) We call the reader’s earnest attention
to this point. At the back of this erce and powerful king
will be another power greater and mightier than his,
supporting him in his evil and self-willed course. In other
words, he shall be a vassal of some other great power; and we
believe that prophecy distinctly implies that Russia will be this
mighty power supporting and strengthening the last King of
the North. is we shall look at more fully presently.
ough in this pamphlet we are principally concerned
with what the prophetic word has foretold in connection
with these matters, we cannot help pointing out in passing
how the events now transpiring in the political world
are surely and rapidly paving the way for the fulllment
of prophecy. Who can close their eyes to the enormous
inuence that Russia has lately been gaining in the
management of European aairs on the one hand, and the
vast extension of her power in the Far East?
What times of thrilling interest are these in which our
lot is cast! Revival of the truth of the Lord’s coming in
the past century, and the earnest study of the prophetic
scriptures, led some to conclusions as to these matters which
at that time seemed far from probable, if even possible,
but which through the last few years have approached a
startling likelihood of accomplishment. And to what end
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
69
have these things been revealed? Are they merely to interest
our minds in prophecy in the same way as others might be
in mathematics or science? Nay, verily. When God made
known to Abraham, His friend, the awful judgment that
was soon to befall the guilty cities of the plain, it was not
merely a mark of friendship — precious as it was to be thus
admitted into God’s condence — still less was it that he
might have some subject of curious and fruitless speculation.
It brought Abraham into close communion with the Lord,
and set him in the attitude of prayer and intercession for
those who had no anxiety about themselves. In penning
these pages it is our earnest desire that the like spirit of
communion and intercession be awakened in every heart
that shall read and believe these solemn truths!
is “little horn,” then, “shall destroy wonderfully, and
shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty
and the holy people” Dan 8:24.) — that is the Jews, when
restored to their own land. But he will carry his erce and
iniquitous designs too far, for he shall “stand up against
the Prince of princes (i.e., Christ) but he shall be broken
without hand.” (Dan. 8:25.) Some have thought that this
little horn of Dan. 8 referred to the Mohammedan scourge
of the East, whilst the little horn of Rev. 7, denoted the
Papacy in the West. We are persuaded that both these
thoughts are incorrect. Once it is seen that the object of the
Spirit of God in Daniel is not to describe matters concerning
the Church, or the heavenly people of God, but concerning
ISRAEL, or the earthly people, our understanding of the
prophecy becomes amazingly clearer.
It is evident that we are on Jewish ground in this
chapter, for the little horn waxes “great toward the south,
and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.” (Dan.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
70
8:9.) It describes a power situated north of Palestine, and
whose evil designs are all directed against that land, the temple
or sanctuary (Dan. 8:11), the Jewish people (Dan 8:24), and,
nally, the Messiah Himself when He shall have appeared
at the very darkest hour of the Jews’ great tribulation in the
future.
e Assyrian.
is King of the North is elsewhere spoken of as the Assyrian.
e Assyrian of the past, Sennacherib, was but a type of the
Assyrian of the future. e Assyrian is not done with yet;
Isa. 10 and 14, along with many other scriptures, make this
evident. e Assyrian of the past was the rod of Jehovah’s
anger (Isa. 10:5), by means of which He chastised His
unfaithful people. But when the Lord shall have performed
His whole work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, and
not until then, will He “punish the fruit of the stout heart
of the King of Assyria.” (Isa. 10:12) Has the Lord nished
His whole work on Mount Zion and Jerusalem? Clearly
not; then the judgment of the Assyrian is yet to come.
If we turn to the prophecy of Micah we shall nd this
conrmed. Let the reader open his Bible at Mic. 5 — ”ey
shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.”
(Mic. 5:1) Here we have the rejection of Christ, the
Messiah, in the past. e next verse is a parenthesis, quoted
in Matt. 2:6 as being fullled in the birth of our adorable
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who combined in His own
glorious Person perfect humanity and deity, for He is here
presented in His manhood as “Ruler in Israel,” and in His
Godhead as the One “whose goings forth have been from
of old, from everlasting.” Mic. 5:3 describes the present
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
71
rejection of Israel on account of their rejection of their
Messiah, but also their future restoration after their great
tribulation. But verse 4 tells us that when this takes place
“He,” their Messiah, will be in their midst, and shall be the
peace when the Assyrian shall come into their land. (Mic.
5:5.) e Assyrian is yet to tread in their palaces (Mic. 5:5),
but the restored remnant of Jacob will be delivered from
him, and he himself will be destroyed “in the land” by the
presence of the Lord.
e prophet Isaiah bears the same testimony — ”rough
the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down,
which smote with a rod … For Tophet is ordained of old;
for the king also
23
it is prepared; He hath made it deep and
large: the pile thereof is re and much wood; the breath
of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.”
(Isa. 30:31-33.) “e King” mentioned in this passage is,
we believe, the same as the one spoken of in Dan. 11:36,
namely, the Antichrist.
An awful judgment awaits the three wicked men of
whom the prophetic word speaks, namely, (1) the Beast,
the chief of the revived Roman Empire; (2) the Antichrist;
and (3) the Assyrian, or King of the North. At the coming
of the Lord into the air all the saints then alive on the
earth will be caught up without dying into glory, “changed
in a moment”; but those three men, exceptional in their
wickedness and blasphemous rebellion against God, are
reserved for this awful and exceptional judgment — they
pass to their eternal doom without dying.
e next chapter likewise speaks of this Assyrian — ”en
shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man;
and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him.” (Isa.
23 is is the correct translation.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
72
31:8, 9.) at is, unlike the mere ordinary results of human
warfare, where one army may have to ee from a stronger,
the Assyrian of the future will ee from “the Lord, whose
re is in Zion, and His furnace in Jerusalem.”
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” therefore
each part is in perfect consistency with every other. Hence,
if we now turn to Dan. 11, we shall not be surprised to nd
the same consistent testimony in reference to this King of
the North. e whole chapter is one of the deepest interest,
and will well repay a close and careful study. Space will
not admit of more than a very brief notice of its earlier
verses. e more we examine it, the more are we lled with
wonder and worship. It is one of the most perfect answers
to the indelity that would reject the verbal inspiration of
the Scriptures. Higher Criticism quails before it. Hence the
strenuous eorts from the days of Porphyry, the heathen
opponent of Christianity of the second century, down to
the Higher Critics of our days, to disprove the early date
of Daniel.
e account given in Dan. 11:1-36 is such an accurate
description prophetically of what has since taken place
historically, that nothing short of inspiration in the fullest
acceptation of the term could account for the miracle.
We cannot here dwell upon this point, but every reader
of that part of Grecian history immediately following the
break-up of the empire upon the death of Alexander the
Great, cannot fail to be impressed with the remarkable
exactitude of Daniel’s language — a fact which can alone
be accounted for by remembering that the prophet spake
as he was “moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2Peter 1:21.)
A notable change takes place at Dan. 11:26. Up to
that point in the chapter all has had a most accurate
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
73
accomplishment; but the things described from this verse
to the end of the chapter have had no parallel in history.
In other words, at the time at which Daniel wrote all was
prophecy from Dan. 11:2 to the end of the chapter; but at
the time at which we read all up to Dan. 11:36 has passed
into history, while from that point onwards is prophecy
still unfullled. Unless this is seen, the chapter will not be
understood.
We commend Dan. 11 to the careful and prayerful
consideration of every one who desires a clear, God-given,
and yet most solemn understanding of the course of events
upon the earth after the coming of the Lord.
e King of the North mentioned throughout Dan. 11
is, of course, not the same individual all through. e King
of the North is a title, just as we might speak of the King of
England. e King of today is a dierent individual from
the King of one hundred years ago; indeed, during the last
one hundred years there have been several dierent Kings
of England. In like manner throughout this chapter there
are several successive Kings of the North. It is generally
admitted that the particular King of the North spoken of
in Dan. 11:21-35 was Antiochus Epiphanes, whom we
have already mentioned.
Antichrist.
But in Dan. 11:36 another King altogether is
introduced — ”the King.” is king we believe to be
Antichrist, who will be reigning at Jerusalem as the false
King of the Jews at the time of this attack of the last King
of the North. If the reader will carefully compare Dan.
11:36-40 with 2ess. 2:4, we believe he will be struck
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
74
with the similarity of the language. Without doubt this
willful king is in the land of Palestine — he divides “the land”
for gain. What land? e land which is the center of all
God’s interests, and the focus of all His dealings in the last
days — Palestine. en, too, he will not regard the God of
his fathers, i.e., the Jehovah of Israel (which implies that
he will be a Jew); “nor the desire of women,” that is, the
Messiah — the long promised Seed of the woman.
But “at the time of the end” — that time so near at hand,
that time which will begin very soon after the removal of
the Church — ”shall the King of the South push at him.”
e King of the South is that power that will be ruling in
Egypt, whoever at that time it may be. At the same time the
King of the North shall come down upon him from the north.
is king, then, becomes the point of attack from both north and
south. is shows that he is a third and dierent king from the
Kings of the North and South.
We cannot proceed without once again calling the
reader’s attention to the marvelous way in which the Spirit
of God has here entered into detail concerning these closing
scenes of this world’s history. And is it not a fact that the
thoughts of all the world are rapidly centering upon these
very lands? Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and the East are today
absorbing universal attention. e amazing development
and advancement of Russia during the past twenty ve
years show how dependable is the Word of God when it
tells us of “things to come”.
O reader, the times are moving quickly! e coming of
the Lord draweth nigh. e nations are falling into line; all
unknown to themselves, they are forming themselves into
the very attitude long since foretold by Him who “worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will,” and whose
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
75
irreversible decree it is to “head up in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.”
(Eph. 1:9, 10.) Yes, “the dispensation of the fullness of the
times” is at hand, and Christ shall reign in righteousness
and peace; but rst must there be unparalleled judgments
on this guilty world.
e latter part of this chapter (Dan. 11:40-45) describes
the last King of the North. He is represented as sweeping
down upon the countries like a whirlwind, at the head of
masses of men and eets of ships. He will enter also “the
glorious land.” What land is this? PALESTINE, without
doubt. at land will then be peopled by the Jews, a large
number of whom have already gone back there within the
last few years. e persecutions and banishment of the Jews
have set them in motion, and many of their own leading
men are encouraging them in every way that lies in their
power to return to Palestine, utterly ignorant, for the most
part, of how remarkably they are carrying out the plans of
God revealed centuries ago.
Yes, the Word of God must be fullled. Antichrist (an
apostate Jew) is yet to sit in the temple which is to be rebuilt
at Jerusalem, and there the Jews nationally reinstated (not
the remnant, but the unbelieving majority of the nation),
gone back to Palestine in unbelief will yield to Antichrist
the homage, allegiance, and worship which they refused to
Jesus of Nazareth, their true Messiah. In the days which are
past a small remnant only received the Messiah, while the
nation rejected Him; in the future the nation, as a whole,
will receive the Antichrist, whilst the remnant will reject
him.
en will be fullled that sorrowful prediction of our
blessed Lord, “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye
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76
receive Me not: if another shall come in his own name,
him ye will receive.” (John 5:43.) But their “covenant with
death shall be disannulled,” and their “agreement with hell
shall not stand.” An allusion is here made, we believe, to the
same northern power (the Assyrian) already referred to. It
would appear that in order to escape from the King of the
North, who will at that time be Jehovah’s rod of anger (Isa.
10:5), they will enter into a covenant with the Beast (or
Roman Emperor) on the one hand (Dan. 9:27), and with
the Antichrist (Isa. 28:18) on the other. But so far from
this being a success, “when the overowing scourge” (i.e.,
the Assyrian, or King of the North) “shall pass through,
then ye shall be trodden down by it.”
e last verse of Dan. 9 announces the same solemn
judgment.
24
e three fearful characters of the future crisis
already alluded to are mentioned in this verse. “He,” that
is, the prince of the revived Roman Empire, will enter
into a covenant with “the many,” that is, with the apostate
portion of the Jews; these again will seek a further help
from the protection held out by Antichrist, the miracle-
working “man of sin.” But “on account of the protection of
abominations” (that is, Antichrist’s idolatry) God will send
down upon them a desolator (the King of the North), who
will sweep into “the glorious land” like an overwhelming
24 e correct rendering of this verse is:―”And he [i. e., `the
prince that shall come,’ or the Roman Emperor] shall conrm
a covenant with the many for one week, and in the midst of
the week he shall cause the sacrice and the oblation to cease,
and on account of the protection of abominations there shall
be a desolator [i. e., the King of the North] even until the
consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the
desolate [i. e., Jerusalem].”
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
77
scourge, as we have already seen from Dan. 11:40, and Isa.
28:14-20.
Edom. Moab and Ammon.
But in spite of his victorious progress, three countries
neighboring upon the land of Palestine “escape out of his
hand.” is verse (ver. 41) aords an indirect evidence of
the inspiration of Scripture which is altogether remarkable.
It will be no mere accident of war that shall deliver Edom,
Moab, and Ammon from the King of the North; but God,
the Jehovah of Israel, has said, “I will lay my vengeance
upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel.” (Ezek.
25:14.) Israel, and not the King of the North, is to be
Jehovah’s instrument in the judgment of Edom. e same
God that inspired Ezekiel likewise inspired Daniel. We
notice this in passing in order to strengthen the faith of
some of our readers that may be in danger of wavering
owing to the assaults of Higher Criticism and other forms
of rationalism.
It would appear that on this last expedition of the King
of the North, Jerusalem will be besieged and taken; at least,
we incline to think that it is then that Zech. 14:2 will receive
its fulllment. Evidently this verse describes a siege of
Jerusalem when “the city shall be taken.” We must bear in
mind the dierence between the Beast and the confederacy
of the Western kings of Europe, and the Assyrian (King of
the North), and the confederacy of the Eastern nations. e
Beast will make a covenant with the Jews (Dan. 9:27)
through the inuence, no doubt, of Antichrist reigning in
Jerusalem, whereas the King of the North (or Assyrian)
will be the open and declared enemy of the Jews. It is of this
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Eastern confederacy that some of the psalms speak (e. g., Psalms
79 and 83.) ese psalms are prophetic; they tell us of a
time when the heathen shall come into God’s inheritance,
when they will dele His holy temple, and lay Jerusalem
on heaps.
Restoration of the Jews to eir Own
Land.
We cannot close our eyes to the fact that 1 great
movement is now going on in the East and around about the
land of Palestine. Politicians of today are leaving God out
of their reckonings, and yet are becoming the instruments
for the carrying out of His plans. e Powers, so called,
nd Turkey a dicult problem. Letters and leading articles
in the daily papers have gone the length of suggesting that
Russia seeks suzerainty over Syria and Turkey in Asia, and
that the Jews should be put back in their own land. is
policy would meet the requirements of the case, some say.
Are those writers aware that it is the exact plan revealed in
the prophetic Scriptures?!
e Word of God has clearly foretold that the King
of the North, or that power which will in the end occupy
Syria and Turkey in Asia, “shall be mighty, but not by his
own power.” (Dan. 8:24.) ere will be a power behind him,
and, so to speak, backing him up. What this power will
be, Scripture points out we believe. Furthermore, the same
Scriptures of truth have revealed that some great maritime
power is to be the instrument in the hands of Jehovah for
the restoration of Palestine of that people “scattered and
peeled,” “a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a
nation meted out and trodden under foot.” (Isa. 18.)
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
79
Isa. 18:1 should read, “He! to the land shadowing with
wings,” etc. It is a summons to some nation to carry out
the restoration of the Jews to their own land. Wealthy Jews,
private individuals, societies, Christian and otherwise, for
the colonization of Palestine, have all been putting their
hands to this work within the last few years, but when
God’s time has fully come He will accomplish swiftly (Isa.
18:7) and thoroughly what men are trying to do slowly and
imperfectly.
Meanwhile, dear Christian reader, stay your hand. Labor
and pray for the conversion of souls to Christ, whether
Jew, Gentile or professing Christian, rather than making
strenuous eorts to send back the Jews to Palestine to swell
the ranks of the apostate people who will band together to
serve and worship Antichrist.
Some have thought that the maritime power that is here
mentioned is England. For many generations England has
treated the Jews with great tolerance. e now famous
“Balfour Declaration” of 1917 pledged England to support
the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the
Jewish people. us willingly or unwillingly England nds
her welfare bound up with that of the Jewish nation. We
do well to remember that though the Jews are now under
God’s chastening hand, they are nevertheless “beloved for
the fathers’ sake” (Rom. 11:28), and God will not hold
guiltless either the man or nation that oppresses them. ey
are His people, though for the time He cannot publicly
recognize them as such. Scattered they have been for more
than eighteen centuries; greater sorrows still await them;
and all because of their rejection and crucixion of their
Messiah. But the time is coming when all the predictions of
the prophets shall be fullled in their glorious restoration,
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
80
when with repentant and contrite hearts “they shall look
upon Him whom they have pierced, and shall mourn for
Him as one mourning for his only son.” (Zech. 12:10.)
But when, through the inuence of the nations, one or
more, the Jews are back in their land, whilst Antichrist is
still reigning at Jerusalem, persecuting the godly remnant
in the most bitter and cruel manner possible, though at
the same time entering into a covenant with the apostate
portion of the nation, then will this last confederacy of
the Eastern nations rise up against God and His people,
saying, “Come, let us cut them o from being a nation;
that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.”
(Psa. 83:4.) Edom, Moab, and Ammon, the ancient and
inveterate enemies of Israel, once more appear upon the
scene, and “joined with them” is Asshur (the Assyrian). In
other words, we have here the very expedition described in
Dan. 11 and Zech. 14.
Destruction of the King of the North.
Let us go back again to Dan. 11. After the siege of
Jerusalem, which we have noticed in Zech. 14:2, the King
of the North will extend his conquests into Egypt, but while
there carrying everything before him, tidings of a startling
and terrible nature “shall trouble him.” (Dan. 11:44.) Let
the reader observe the direction whence these tidings shall
come-out of the east and out of the north. A glance at the map
will show that this quarter is none other than Palestine!
Fearful things will have taken place around Jerusalem,
the report of which will stay his progress and strike terror
into his heart. e greatest battle that this poor world has
ever known is yet to be fought around Mount Zion. “e
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
81
Beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies” (i. e., the
Western confederacy), are soon to be gathered together to
make war with the KING OF KINGS and LORD OF
LORDS.
is gathering of the Western nations will have taken place
around Jerusalem during the time of the King of the North’s
expedition into Egypt. e Jews will then be settled in their
own land. Having returned in unbelief, they will have
formed themselves into a ourishing community. Let the
following extract from the Jewish World speak for itself. It
is one of many that might be given, showing the thoughts
that are agitating the minds of the Jews irrespective of God
or His purposes. e extract is from an article with the
signicant heading, e Return to Palestine.”
e nancial obstacles could, no doubt, be met in a
week. To form and nance a ‘chartered’ company for such
an object as the re-establishing of an autonomous Jewish
State in Palestine would indeed present hardly any diculty,
and when it was seen that the Jewish State would not help
to give the balance of power to any European Government,
but rather tend to the preservation of European peace, it
is not impossible that political obstacles and diplomatic
objections would not be found to be very great.
“Nor will some of the chief arguments that have been
advanced against the Scheme bear close scrutiny. It is
not true that the Jews are incapable of again becoming
an agricultural people. Every agricultural colony of Jews
that has been formed in Palestine or elsewhere, has, by its
success, proved the reverse; while, even in Russia, where
Jews are none too popular, Jewish agriculturalists have
earned the commendation of the Government.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
82
“It has been argued that Jews have too much love for
art, literature, the theater, and the concert hall, to willingly
abandon London, Paris, Vienna, and Berlin for the Holy
Land, where their talents and their tastes would nd
neither scope nor satisfaction. e answer is too obvious
to need insisting on. One need only ask, Could not Jerusalem
also he made a center of art and literary culture, the drama and
music? Surely, there is nothing in the soil or the climate to
hinder this; and one might indeed look forward to a special
development of Jewish art that would benet the world as
well as the Jews themselves, but which is impossible while
we are scattered and our artists are living in a non-Jewish
environment and working, consciously or unconsciously,
for a non-Jewish public. No, the danger is rather the other
way. It is lest the new Palestinian State should be merely a
ghting-ground between the representatives of various and
conicting non-Jewish theories and practices imported
by people of Jewish birth. If there be at the present time
sucient unity and idealism in Israel; sucient detachment
from the conventions of the nations; there is no very
obvious reason why the restoration to Palestine should not
be commenced in the way Dr. Herzl and his friends think
possible.”
Man’s thought is to make Jerusalem the center of the
drama and music! God’s thought is to gather all nations
there for their judgment. (Joel 3.) Daniel’s seventieth week
is yet to come (Dan. 9:24-27); the coming Roman prince
will make a covenant with the many” (i. e., the mass of
unbelieving Jews) for one week; in the midst of the week
he will break o this covenant, and by means of Antichrist
(the false king in Jerusalem) will establish idolatry in the
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
83
Temple, where the “abomination of desolation” will be set
up.
is will be the sign to the faithful remnant to ee,
according to Matt. 24:15-25. e second half of the week
will be the period of the great tribulation, and when this
is at its very height, and the clouds gathering thicker and
darker around them, suddenly the Son of Man will be
seen coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory — awful sight for the assembled armies of the West
(read carefully Matt. 24:26-31, and Rev. 19:11-21), but
glorious deliverance for the godly and persecuted remnant.
Reader, these things may soon take place. e mighty
armies are to be mown down before the brightness of
Christ’s glory, when like the lightning He shall descend
from heaven. Let not the indelity of our days lead you
to question the possibility of such things. e God who
breathed on the hosts of Assyria in the days of Hezekiah
still lives. What was done then is but a feeble foreshadowing
of what is yet to be: — ”e remnant that is escaped of the
house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear
fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant,
and they that escape out of Mount Zion: the zeal of the
Lord of hosts shall do this … For I will defend this city, to
save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord
went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians 185,000:
and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they
were all dead corpses.” (2Kings 19:30-36.)
e “tidings out of the east and out of the north,” which reach
the King of the North when down in Egypt, are doubtless the
gathering together of the armies of Western Europe, bent upon
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84
seizing for themselves the land of Palestine.
25
He goes forth
“with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.
And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between
the seas [i. e., the Mediterranean and Dead Seas] in the
glorious holy mountain” [i. e., the Judxan mountains].
(Dan. 11:44, 45.) But a greater than he will already have
settled matters with them. e Lord Himself will be there,
the Prince of princes, against whom this King of the North
will “stand up,” but only to be “broken without hand,” for
“he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” (Dan.
8:25; 11:45.) Let the reader observe that Dan. 11:36-40 is
an account of the Man of Sin, or Antichrist, but from Dan.
11:40 to 45 the subject is the last King of the North. We
shall now turn to the prophecy of Ezekiel.
Russia’s Catastrophic End.
We have before pointed out that the King of the North
will be a vassal of some greater power, and that power we
believe to be none other than the vast Russian Empire. It
may surprise some to learn that Russia is mentioned by
name in the Scriptures, or, at any rate, in such a way as to
leave no reasonable doubt that Russia is meant. Let the
reader open his Bible and read Ezek. 36 to 40; if Ezek.
36 and 37 be read with attention, it will be seen that the
vision before the mind of the prophet is the restoration of
25 It has been suggested that “the tidings out of the east and out
of the north” (Dan. 11:44) refer more to the movements of the
ten tribes preparatory to the return to Palestine, than to the
gathering of the Beast and ten kings to battle at Jerusalem. Be
this as it may, it is certain that the tidings that trouble the King
of the North have to do with the aairs of the land of Palestine,
which will then be engrossing all minds, even as they are today
beginning to do so for many.
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
85
Israel to their own land. e restoration here described is
distinctly future; never since the days of Ezekiel has any
such an one taken place. e repentance and conversion of
the people are distinctly foretold: their blessing in the land,
which will cease to be desolate, and become fertile as the
Garden of Eden; the hostility of the tribes one against the
other shall cease, and they shall be gathered together under
one King — David’s Son and David’s Lord.
But the day of Israel’s blessing in the land is also the
day of the judgment and destruction of their enemies — a
principle which is seen all through the Psalms, where the
Spirit of God frequently employs language in a prophetical
manner most suitable in the lips of God’s earthly people,
who cannot be fully blessed until all their enemies are
destroyed, but most unsuitable for the heavenly people, the
church, who will be caught up to heaven before the living
nations are judged.
Let Ezek. 38 and 39 be now read with attention. Israel
being fully and nally restored to their own land, and
blessed therein according to the distinct announcement of
the prophetic word, their time of great tribulation being
over, the Beast, or Western confederacy of nations, and
the Antichrist, or False Prophet, having been destroyed
by the brightness of Christ’s appearing, the King of the
North likewise having fallen upon the mountains of Judæa
(Dan. 11:45), there still remains to be dealt with that vast and
mighty empire whose vassal the King of the North had been.
“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog,
prince of Rosh,
26
Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against
26 We give this as the acknowledged rendering of this verse, as
well as of Ezek. 38:3 of this chapter, and verse 1 of Ezek. 39.
ose who wish for an exhaustive discussion of the text are
referred to Notes on Ezekiel, by W. Kelly.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
86
him.” (Ezek. 38:2.) Here we have the names of three of the
sons of Japheth, who, in the early days of the settlement of
nations (Gen. 10:2, 3), moved o in the direction of what is
now called Russia. ese three names survive today in the
well-known terms Russia (Rosh), Moscow (Meshech), and
Tobolsk (Tubal). ese two chapters describe in forcible
language and almost in minute detail the nal overthrow
of the vast north-eastern confederacy which we see today
in process of rapid and unexpected formation.
Oh, that God might open the eyes of many set in the
high places of the earth, so dicult to reach with the
simple story of the Cross and of the redeeming love of
Jesus! May you, dear reader, whoever you may be, prince,
peer, or pauper, be brought to own as your Savior and Lord,
now in the day of His grace, Him whom the proudest of
monarchs and the haughtiest of empires shall be forced to
recognize in the day of His power and judgment!
e Spirit of God distinctly announces that the time of
the fulllment of the prophecy was far removed from that
in which the prophet lived — ”After many days shalt thou
[Gog] be visited.” (Ezek. 38:8.) Not only so, but it was to
be in “the latter days” — days now near at hand. Already
do we see the signs of that movement amongst the Jews
which is to result, according to Scripture, in their national
restoration to their own land. And not only the Jews, but
also the ten tribes, will share in that restoration. Men may
ask, Where are they? Faith replies, ey will be “gathered
out of many people,” and “brought forth out of the
nations.” (Ezek. 38:8.) At the time of which this chapter
treats they will be dwelling “safely, all of them.” An evil
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
87
thought will then come into the mind of Gog,
27
the north-
eastern potentate. Beholding the prosperity of returned
Israel, and their apparently unprotected condition in the
land of “unwalled villages” (Ezek. 38:11), blinded by the
unbelief of Scripture, so rife at the present time, which, did
he but heed it, might teach him that their prosperity was
the evidence that they were now blessed by Jehovah, who
had interposed on their behalf, he (Gog) gathers together all
his bands from the north and the east, and comes down like a
storm upon the once desolate but now favored land. “Cursed
is he that curseth thee,” Jehovah had long before declared,
and all who oppress and despise the Israel of God will have
to answer to the God of Israel.
In the words of another: — ”It is the last enemy of Israel
who confronts us. He dwells in the land of Magog, that son
of Japheth who overspread in due time the vast steppes of
what was anciently called Scythia. He is autocrat of all the
Russias, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. us we have
himself, his land, and his people. But the Lord Himself is
against him who, instead of seeing when good comes to a
long-troubled people, would fain aggrandize himself, and
thus nds himself in array against, not merely the Israel of
God, but the God of Israel.”
“ou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts,
thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon
horses, a great company and a mighty army: and thou shalt
come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover
the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee
against my land, that the heathen may know Me, when I
27 We must not confound the Gog and Magog of Ezekiel with
that of Rev. 20. e former is before the millennium, the latter
after.
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88
shall be sanctied in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.” (Ezek.
38:15, 16.) Can any one giving a moment’s serious thought
to the subject fail to see how the events now transpiring
tend to the accomplishment of these predictions? Russia’s
rapid extension of power in the East, could easily presage
the carrying out of those plans of Jehovah, long since
foretold in the prophetic word, which is, alas! slighted,
ignored, and despised by the vast majority in our days.
But will this invasion prosper? “us saith the Lord
God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh,
Meshech, and Tubal: and I will turn thee back, and leave
but the sixth part
28
of thee … and I will smite thy bow
out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall
out of thy right hand. ou shalt fall upon the mountains
of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is
with thee … thou shalt fall upon the open eld: for I have
spoken it, saith the Lord God. And I will send a re on
Magog [i. e., the land of Russia], and among them that
dwell carelessly in the isles [i. e., the distant countries that
contribute to his host]: and they shall know that I am the
Lord.” (Ezek. 39:1-8.)
e overthrow is terrible, whether the language be
taken literally or guratively. So vast is the host destroyed,
that their weapons of war will suce to Israel for rewood
for seven years, and seven months will be required for the
burial of the dead and the cleansing of the land. Gog, who
thought to possess himself of the land and its wealth, will
nd “a place there of graves,” and God shall then be known,
through the judgments that He executeth, by all those
28 Mr. Darby renders this: “I will turn thee back and lead thee.”
In other words the destruction is total and complete. None are
left.
Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy
89
nations refusing to know Him now as revealed in grace in
the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Solemn alternative!
Reader, lay it to heart!
When all is over, then, saith the Lord, “I will set my
glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my
judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have
laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I
am the Lord their God from that day and forward.” (Ezek.
39:21, 22.)
is, according to Scripture, is the destiny of Russia.
Mighty as she is, she is destined to be more powerful
still. e extent of her territory today is amazing-half of
Europe and the whole of Northern Asia. But according to
prophecy it is in Asia that she is destined to succeed. ere
can be little doubt that Russia, and not England, will be
the dominant power in the East.
England’s future is bound up with that of the Beast, or
Roman Empire; she, as one of the ten horns, will be in that
fatal gathering of the Western powers around Jerusalem.
(Rev. 17 and 19.) Powers they may be called today, but
in that day they will be forced to lick the dust, and bow
before the Lamb who will come forth from heaven, not in
weakness, but girt with strength and majesty, as KING OF
KINGS and LORD OF LORDS.
After the destruction of the Beast, or the Western
confederacy, the northern and eastern nations remain to be
dealt with. With prophetic irony, Gog, the autocrat of all the
Russias, is thus addressed: “Be thou prepared, and prepare
for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled
unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.” (Ezek. 38:7.)
But the awful consequences of this onslaught upon favored
and gathered Israel have been already described.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
90
Conclusion
91
95400
Conclusion
Reader, the Scriptures declare that it is the once-
rejected but now exalted Christ who is “ordained of God to
be the Judge of the living and the dead.” (Acts 10:42.) e
living nations will be judged before the millennial reign of
Christ; the dead who have died in their sins will be raised
for judgment when those thousand years are over. (See
Matt. 25:31 to end, and Rev. 20.)
29
He who has heard the
quickening voice of the Son of God, and has believed the
Gospel in this day of grace, shall not come into judgment;
for even here below, possessing Christ, he possesses eternal
life, and is passed from death unto life.
at Christ, once crucied by wicked hands, but now
exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on high, and who
is ordained of God to be Judge of the living and the dead, is
29 See a small booklet called, “e Four Judgments”
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
92
now “set forth to be a propitiatory (or mercy-seat] through
faith in His blood.” (Rom. 3:25.)
A mercy-seat! Glorious thought! A meeting-place
between a holy God and a guilty sinner has been provided
by that holy and sin-hating God Himself. It is found in
Jesus and His precious blood shed on Calvary. But all who
in the stubbornness of unbelief refuse to meet a pardoning
God in Jesus Christ, will have to meet Him in judgment,
from before whose face heaven and earth shall ee away.
In sending forth this pamphlet it is our earnest desire
that many who are living thoughtless lives of worldliness
may be brought to consider the clear warnings of Scripture
as to events now at our very doors. Heaven and earth will
pass away, but of God’s Word not one jot or tittle! “God is
not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that
He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it?
or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” is
principle holds good both in His dealings with nations and
individuals.
Will of Peter the Great
93
95401
Will of Peter the Great
In view of the rapid and surprising advance of Russia’s
inuence, both in the West and East, it may be of interest
to our readers to give a few extracts from the will of Peter
the Great, who died in 1725 A.D. is ambitious tyrant
had formed schemes of conquest which of late years have
been assuming shape and have been tending towards
accomplishment. We copy from Russia, in Bohn’s Standard
Library. e will was published some years ago in e
Times: —
“(1) e Russian nation must be constantly on a war
footing, to keep the soldiers warlike and in good condition.
No rest must be allowed, except for the purpose of
relieving the State nances, recruiting the army, or biding
the favorable moment for attack. By these means peace is
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
94
made subservient to war, and war to peace, in the interest of
the aggrandizement and increasing prosperity of Russia …
“(3) No opportunity must be lost of taking part in
the aairs and disputes of Europe, especially in those of
Germany, which from its vicinity is one of the most direct
interest to us..
“(8) We must keep steadily extending our
frontiers — northward along the Baltic, and southward
along the shores of the Black Sea.
“(9) We must progress as much as possible in the
direction of Constantinople and India. He who can get
possession of these places is the real ruler of the world.
With this view we must provoke constant quarrels at one
time with Turkey and at another with Persia. We must
establish wharves and docks in the Euxine and by degrees
make ourselves masters of that sea as well as of the Baltic,
which is a doubly important element in the success of our
plan. We must hasten the downfall of Persia, push on into
the Persian Gulf, and, if possible, re-establish the ancient
commercial intercourse with the Levant through Syria, and
force our way into the Indies, which are the storehouses of
the world. Once there, we can dispense with English gold.
“(10) Moreover, we must take pains to establish and
maintain an intimate union with Austria, apparently
countenancing her schemes for future aggrandizement in
Germany, and all the while secretly rousing the jealously
of the minor States against her. By this way we must bring
it to pass that one or the other party shall seek aid from
Russia, and thus we shall exercise a sort of protectorate over
the country, which will pave the way for future supremacy.
“(11) We must make the House of Austria interested
in the expulsion of the Turks from Europe, and we must
Will of Peter the Great
95
neutralize its jealousy at the capture of Constantinople,
either by preoccupying it with a war with the old European
States or by allowing it a share of the spoil, which we can
afterward resume at our leisure.
“(12) We must collect round our house, as round a
center, all the detached sections of Greeks which are
scattered abroad in Hungary, Turkey, and South Poland.
We must make them look to us for support, and then, by
establishing beforehand a sort of ecclesiastical supremacy,
we shall pave the way for Universal Sovereignty.
“(13) When Sweden is ours, Persia vanquished,
Poland subjugated, Turkey conquered — when
our armies are united, and the Euxine and
Baltic are in the possession of our ships, then we
must make separate and secret overtures, rst
to the Court of Versailles, and then to that of
Vienna, to share with them the dominion of the
world. If either of them accept our propositions,
which is certain to happen if their ambition
and self-interest are properly worked upon, we
must make use of one to annihilate the other; this
done, we have only to destroy the remaining one
by nding a pretext for a quarrel, this issue of
which cannot be doubtful, as Russia will then be
already in absolute possession of the East and the
best part of Europe.
“(14) Should the improbable case happen of both
rejecting the propositions of Russia, then our pol-
icy will be to set one against the other, and make
them tear each other to pieces. Russia must then
watch for and seize the favorable moment, and
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
96
pour her already assembled hosts into Germany,
while two immense eets, laden with Asiatic
hordes and conveyed by the armed squadrons of
the Euxine and the Baltic, set sail simultane-
ously from the Sea of Azo and the harbor of
Archangel; sweeping along the Mediterranean
and the Atlantic they will overrun France on the
one side, while Germany is overpowered on the
other. When these countries are fully conquered,
the rest of Europe must fall easily and without
a struggle under our yoke. us Europe can and
must be subjugated.”
is is the aim of Russia. Politicians of today may smile,
yet many tremble at Russia’s aggressiveness.
Prophecy of Napoleon
97
95402
Prophecy of Napoleon
Napoleon I foresaw what many are waking up to in our
day, and gave expression to his thoughts, while a captive at
St. Helena, in the following terms:
“In the course of a few years Russia will have
Constantinople, part of Turkey, and all Greece. is I
hold to be as certain as if it had already taken place; all
the cajolery and attery that Alexander practiced upon me
was to gain my consent to eect that object. I would not
give it, foreseeing that the equilibrium of Europe would
be destroyed. In the natural course of things Turkey must
fall to Russia; the Powers it would injure, and who would
oppose it, are England, France, Austria and Prussia. Now,
as to Austria, it would be very easy to secure her assistance
by giving her Servia and other provinces bordering on the
Austrian dominions, reaching near to Constantinople.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
98
e only hypothesis that France and England will ever be
allied with anything like sincerity will be to prevent this;
but even this alliance will not avail. France, England and
Prussia united cannot prevent it. Russia and Austria can at
any time eect it; once mistress of Constantinople, Russia
gets all the commerce of the Mediterranean, becomes a
great naval power, and God knows what may happen. e
object of my invasion of Russia was to prevent this, by the
interposition between her and Turkey of a new State which
I meant to call into existence as a barrier to her eastern
encroachments.”
We attach no undue importance to the opinions of men,
however great they may be. ere is One “who worketh all
things after the counsel of His own will.”
Man, though rebellious in heart against God, is
but the tool in His hands to accomplish His purposes.
God’s purpose is “in the dispensation of the fullness of
times” — that dispensation so near at hand when Christ
shall reign in righteousness and peace — it is His purpose
“to gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him.” (Eph.
1:9-12.)
Reader, it is CHRIST, not Russia, that is to have
“Universal Sovereignty” upon the earth. God has declared
that to JESUS “every knee shall bow,” both in heaven and
upon earth. (Phil. 2:10.) Christ has been gloried in heaven,
and He shall be gloried upon earth. e World Empires
spoken of by Daniel the prophet have risen and fallen;
when the fourth Empire rises again, for a very brief period,
the Stone — now made “Head of the Corner” in God’s
heavenly building — shall fall upon that great human
Prophecy of Napoleon
99
Image which magnies itself upon earth, and break it in
pieces, and IT shall “ll the whole earth.” (Dan. 2:34, 35.)
In vain do men look for peace and a golden age without
Christ. THE KING, God’s King, must come, according to
Psa. 72:17-19: “His name shall endure forever.. and men
shall be blessed in Him … and the whole earth shall be
lled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.” O Christian, let
thy lamp of testimony to Christ be burning bright. O mere
professor of Christianity, awake! awake! Christ is knocking
at the door of thy heart, and says “If any man hear My
voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup
with him, and he with Me.” (Rev. 3:20) — Ed.
“EVEN SO; COME, LORD JESUS!”
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
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101
95403
Supplement to the Sixth
Edition
e foregoing parts of this book were not written in the
light of mid-twentieth century developments, but rather
in the light of Holy Scripture in its prophetic utterances;
for God-given prophecy is “as a light in a dark place, to
which we do well that we take heed” (2Peter 1:19). ese
writings of another century enable men of God to look
at the future of the earth and some of its peoples through
the glasses of inspired foreknowledge. is gave them more
wisdom than the wise men of the earth who had not this
divine light.
e developments since the turn of the century have
brought the seemingly impossible within the reach of full
development. None would have supposed that within such
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
102
a short span of time the hibernating Russian bear would
come to life and bring agonizing fear into the hearts of the
English lion and the American eagle, together with the
rest of the English-speaking world and most of the Latin
world. Nor would anyone have supposed that a handful of
doctrinaire Marxists could bring into abject surrender all
the Russians and many neighbors, and then together with
their copyists in Peking control about 1 billion inhabitants
of the globe.
Perhaps the most perilous part of the conict of ideologies
for the world at large is the determined exportation of
Communism to every other part of the world where there
is the least opening for it. Russo-Chinese exploitation of
local disturbances anywhere in the world has brought on
a series of crises, any one of which could explode into a
world catastrophe.
e statesmen of the world are dismayed; they have tried
every conceivable approach to work out a modus vivendi
with international Communism, but without success. We
will herewith quote our comments on the situation at the
time of the utter collapse of the “Summit Conference” held
in Paris early last year; they were published in Christian
Truth magazine, July, 1960.
e unceremonious collapse of the so-called Summit
Conference, together with the vehemently acrimonious
charges made by Nikita Khrushchev, left a world that is
almost shock-proof, somewhat stunned. at which was
supposed to ease world tensions only increased them as two
world giants brought charges and counter charges against
each other. Much smaller contentions have in times past
brought on wars, with their resultant destruction and loss of
life. But since in this day each side possesses more frightful
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103
weapons which could, if fully unleashed, make shambles of
man’s so-called civilization, only the knowledge that the
winner would be a loser in such a contest causes men to
halt just short of actual war. Some people refer to it as the
strategy of “brinkmanship”; that is, to see how close they
can come to war without actually engaging in it. But who
can tell when someone may miscalculate, and the terrifying
lethal machines be turned loose.
Mankind in general desires peace, but not peace at any
price. If he were given an alternate choice of either having
the uncertainties of the present with the haunting fears and
terrifying prospects for the future, on the one hand, or a
full and complete surrender to God which would separate
him from the pleasures and frivolities of the world on the
other, he would almost surely choose the former. We know,
of course, that the work of the Spirit of God in the soul,
repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ
would be requisite for the latter; but we are speaking only
of man’s preference.
e Old Testament prophesied of the coming of the
“Prince of Peace”; and when He came into the world, He
was hailed by angelic voices, saying, “On earth peace.” But
after His life of devotedness to God and service to man, His
disciples were led to say, and correctly, “Peace in heaven.”
It was not the time for peace on earth. “He is despised and
rejected of men,” and, as Peter said, “Ye denied the Holy
One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted
unto you; and killed the Prince of life.” Acts 3:14, 15. Since
men knew not the way of peace, and when the “Prince of
Peace” came they rejected Him for a murderer, is it any
wonder that true world peace eludes them?
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
104
e disillusionment of the great men of the earth who
sought peace at the Summit Conference is still not as
hopeless and disheartening as that which will yet come
according to Isa. 33:7 — ”e ambassadors of peace shall
weep bitterly.” Disappointment will meet all who seek a
real peace in this world until the “Prince of Peace” will put
down all His enemies and reign gloriously.
e Word of God gives us some glimpses of war and
treachery between kingdoms of old, in Dan. 11, where
battles, intrigues, and conferences were conducted between
the warring dynasties of the Seleucidae of Syria and the
Ptolemies of Egypt. (So accurate is the prophetic account
that indels have contended that it must have been written
after the events.) At one point in the alternating war and
diplomacy ventures, the Syrian king gave his daughter to be
the wife of the Egyptian king; but this supposedly master
stroke failed, for she became loyal to her husband (Dan.
11:17). At another time, after a Syrian victory over Egypt,
the two kings sat down to a conference; but God said
beforehand, “ey shall speak lies at one table.” Treachery
was in their hearts while peace was on their lips. How well
God knows what is in man!
Statesmen and so-called Russian experts are sifting
every shred of information for the answer to why Russia
should have chosen to wreck, in a torrential rain of
invectives by their chief man, the conference which was to
include the very chief men of Great Britain, France, and the
United States. Is it not still evident that “e way of peace
have they [men] not known”? Of course Mr. Khrushchev
seemed to have some justication for his attitude, but this
would not have altered matters if he did not feel he had
more to gain by wrecking the conference than by letting
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it go on. Whether it be by war, intrigue, or so-called
diplomacy, everything must subserve the Russians in their
chief aim — bring more of the world under their sway.
We are reminded of the words of another great Russian,
Peter the Great (1672-1725): “e Russian nation must
be constantly on a war footing, to keep the soldiers warlike
and in good condition. No rest must be allowed, except
for the purpose of relieving the State nances, recruiting
the army, or biding the favorable moment for attack. By
these means peace is made subservient to war, and war to
peace, in the interest of the aggrandizement and increasing
prosperity of Russia.” See Page 82.
Although Peter the Great thought it would be
comparatively easy to set one nation against another, and
then Russia take over the winner at will, and thus “keep
steadily extending … frontiers,” he never in his wildest
moments envisaged a time when such a large percentage
of humanity would be under the heel of Russian power;
but he did let out the manner of manipulation, of which
his modern successors have become masters. So we hear of
Russia’s power to destroy the world in war, then of a cold
war which can just as really destroy nations by weakening
the will to resist. en we hear of “peaceful co-existence,”
but it is questionable whether a lamb would be allowed to
co-exist with the Russian bear, unless the lamb were rst
inside of the bear.
As the world gets older, it becomes none the wiser; and
so strife and uncertainty become an established custom.
e moment is fast approaching when men’s hearts will
fail them for fear as they anticipate the awful unleashing
of stored destruction. Scientic and technological skills
increase while man departs further and further in heart
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
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from God. Soon all of man’s greatest achievements will be
rubble. May our hearts be set more and more upon those
bright and pure scenes above, so that we can say with the
poet:
“is world is a wilderness wide!
We have nothing to seek or to choose;
We’ve no thought in the waste to abide;
We have naught to regret, nor to lose.”
We read in Isa. 14 of a man who is coming who will
make “the earth … tremble,” and “shake kingdoms.” He
will make the world a wilderness and destroy its cities (Isa.
14:9-17). is man is called the “king of Babylon,” because
he will be the holder of that Gentile power which began
with Babylon and will end with him, the Roman “beast.”
In this portion, the word which is transliterated “Lucifer”
means merely “O Bright Star, Son of the Morning,” and
should have been so translated. “Lucifer,” a transliteration,
has been taken by so many to mean “Satan” but later
sentences prove it is a man. He is the “morning star” of
the Old Testament, while Christ is the Morning Star of
the New Testament. is man — king of Babylon — is the
beast of the revived Roman Empire. He will promise to
usher in a new day, but what a day it will be! e Scripture
seems to indicate that at the very end, perhaps in the middle
of those seven years, when this man receives satanic power,
he will unleash those terrifying weapons in the so-called
“arsenals of democracy,” and make shambles of the earth.
God is going to bring down all the pride of man and allow
him to destroy much of which he has boasted.
Fellow-Christian, we look for the Lord Jesus Christ as
Savior who will take us home to His Father’s house ere long.
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ose bright and blessed scenes are our prospect, and that
in spite of the growing numbers of so-called evangelical
leaders who are now denying the hope of the Lord’s soon
return — that which many of them once preached.
Two things rush on apace — man’s great works, and his
power to destroy them. He is much like a child who builds
a beautiful house out of blocks, which he then with one
sweep tumbles into a heap. It is a principle with God to
allow man to reach his zenith before He will bring it all
down.
And when we speak of God’s power to destroy, we
think of His word, “Behold, the LORD maketh the earth
empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down,
and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof … e earth
shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed
like a cottage.” Isa. 24:1, 20. First He will let men destroy
much, but then He will arise to “shake terribly the earth”
(Isa. 2:19). Men may have forgotten that God has such
power, and vaunt themselves of the power that they have
created — in fact God is seldom thought of in connection
with the earth and with men. But a few days ago, in the
Chilean earthquake, God gave just a little specimen of
the power that He has, and many thousands were cut o.
Man cannot harness what God sets loose. He may reason
against God’s having anything to do with it, but the fact
remains that just an earthquake in Chile broke mountains,
caused lakes to disappear, sent volcanoes into action, even
where none had previously existed. But this does not touch
the hearts of those who were not personally aected by
it. It seemed a long way from them. is earthquake was
not a small temblor, but was of about the same intensity
as the San Francisco quake in 1906. It was not, however,
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
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the strongest one ever recorded. e seismic waves, rushing
across the great Pacic Ocean at more than 400 miles an
hour, destroyed property in Hawaii and the Philippine
Islands, and sent waves 20 feet high into low-lying areas
of Japan, 10,700 miles distant. It is estimated that this
earthquake unleashed a force equal to 25,000 “A” bombs.
How small man and his doings really are when put side-by-
side with God! His Word declares that there will be “great
earthquakes … in divers places.” And a time is coming
when there will be a “great earthquake, such as was not
since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake,
and so great.” Rev. 16:18.
God is not indierent to what this world did to His
Son, nor to its ungodliness, its corruption, its atheism,
its indelity, and its homage to the soul-destroying,
unprovable hypothesis of evolution. Some day man will
nd that he was wrong, but all too late. God will arise
and shake terribly the earth. Men will see His power and
also yet prove that His word was correct: “It is appointed
unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Heb.
9:27. If a sinner in his sins should read these lines, let him
be warned now and ee to Him for refuge through the
precious blood of Christ.
Another editorial from Christian Truth on the subject
of Russia, China, and the world, should add further light
on this prime topic of world importance. e world’s great
men cannot interpret these current problems; they must
be looked at in relation to the prophetic Word. We shall
herewith quote from the August 1959 issue of Christian
Truth:
At this point let us take a look at the world and see
what its state is. Suppose our hopes and aspirations are
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here, rather than in heaven. What would you have? Where
has the world drifted in just the last ten years? Apart from
any thought of the sure judgment of God soon to break
over this scene, what is the world’s outlook?
e period of the last ten years is almost insignicant
as a measure of time, but it is probably the most epochal
decade out of thousands of years. In this brief moment of
history Russia consolidated her hold on the Baltic states,
East Germany, Hungary, Rumania, Czechoslovakia,
Bulgaria, Poland, and Albania. She has absorbed much of
the heartland of Europe and pushed her advantages beyond
any hope of liberation for millions of people in the area.
In this same decade, the Red Chinese have attained
absolute power over 600,000,000 Chinese. Has anything
like that ever happened before in so short a time? Her rulers
are absolute masters of China. Besides, they have taken
over North Korea, North Vietnam, and gained footholds
in Malaya and Indonesia, from which it is doubtful if they
can be pried loose. ey have taken Tibet and crushed
resistance. ey have gained much ground in other places
on their periphery.
Today Russian-Chinese Communism controls the
great land mass of Eurasia with almost one billion people
to do its bidding. It was once said that he who controlled
that great land area controlled the world, but sea power
enabled smaller nations to contain great land powers.
ese advantages of maritime powers to conne land
armies have about ceased to exist. Daily the Russian navy
expands, especially in the great submarine eet, and has
access to ports in the Baltic, the Mediterranean, along the
China coast, and can at will push on to the Persian Gulf
from Iraq. While on the one hand the peripheral maritime
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
110
powers are poorly united and often work at cross purposes,
a handful of dedicated Communists in Moscow direct
world strategy without restraint. Air power has been a
deterrent of Russian control of the world, but this is no
longer the prerogative of one side. Neither it nor sea power
have the advantage of a decade ago.
If we look at the Middle East, we see the same
deterioration of Western dominance and inuence that
has been witnessed in many quarters. Ten years ago Russia
was an outsider in the Middle East, and she was not to
be reckoned with; but today her voice is probably the
loudest in the area. English and French inuence dropped
sharply while Russia moved in to ll the vacuum thus
created. e United States sought to dose the gap, but
indecision hindered her success. e only bright spot in
the area for the West today is the resurgence of the thriving
nation of Israel. Often her cause was hindered, or at least
not espoused by the West, for fear of oending the Arab
nations which were of uncertain loyalty; and now many of
them are virtually lost to the West.
In the same decade there have been great stirrings in the
continent of Africa with its teeming millions and untold
natural resources. Old alignments are being broken, and
new untrained nations are emerging, all seeking a voice in
world aairs. e condition is ripe for Russian subversion
and intrigue, all to the detriment of the West. In fact, it is
evident that the whole world is astir, and the statesmen
are bewildered. None knows where to go from here. is
reminds us of a story, supposedly with a comic twist, which
was told to a college graduating class. e professor who
addressed them told of the strange answers which were
received by a man seeking directions on how to go to a
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certain place. e man who tried to answer him said to go
one way, then changed his mind and the directions. is
was done numerous times, and nally the seeker was told,
“If I were you, I wouldn’t even start from here.” e present
generation has been born to a bewilderment — they know
they are in confusion, and do not know where they are
going, or even how to start. “e wise men are ashamed,
they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the
word of the Lord); and what wisdom is in them?” Jer. 8:9.
All the frantic eorts of Western leaders have failed to
hold the line against Communist encroachments in one
area after another. e last decade has been a period of
tragic loss to the West. Nowhere on the horizon is there the
least hope of reversing the trend, no, nor even of containing
Russia and China at this point.
Western conceit has received some severe jolts in the last
ten years. It was once thought that the Russians were too
slow and backward to master the sciences, that they were
too retarded to match the inventions and technological
advancements of the West. Nevertheless, the Russians
managed to set o an atomic explosion in 1949, and in
1957 sent the Sputnik aloft, beating all nations to the day
of sending man-made satellites into orbit. In those years
they also outran other nations in missile developments.
When Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, it was freely
predicted that the canal would stagnate when once
Western technicians were withdrawn. But it has continued
operating under Egyptian control.
e West has been especially blessed by God. ey have
had the opportunity of the gospel and an open Bible. ey
were blessed with great natural resources and God-given
intellects whereby they made use of His materials. But
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
112
have they continued in God’s goodness? (Rom. 11:22). It is
painfully evident that they have not. e Western world has
been almost synonymous with Christendom, but cannot
the arraignment of Rom. 3 be applied to them? Where are
those who really seek after God? Where is the fear of God
dominant? Man under the most favorable circumstances is
living to himself, forgetful of his Creator. e West’s day
is fast running out. And when judgment comes, it will fall
most severely on these most favored lands. “O that they
were wise, … that they would consider their latter end.”
Deut. 32:29.
If the Russian march has not and cannot be stopped in
the elds of intrigue, of subversion, and of military might,
what of the latest threat? It is no secret that Russia and
China today are bent on overtaking and surpassing the
West economically and industrially. Let no man hide his
head in the sand, ostrich-like, and pretend he cannot see
such a possibility. e great Russian leader freely predicts
that in another six years they will produce more than half
of the goods in the world. Perhaps it is a fantastic boast,
but their boasts have come true before. is man has also
boasted that the Russian ruble will replace the dollar in the
world of commerce. If there is anything that the Russo-
Chinese combine needs to know to forge ahead, their
espionage is fully capable of supplying all the necessary
data. en think what 850,000,000 people who are used
to obeying strict discipline can do when directed by men
dedicated to outrun and outmaneuver the West.
Russian gold and market manipulations could disrupt
world currencies. Dictator Khrushchev is at work on
economic and industrial incorporation of the satellite
nations of Europe into a single working unit to further
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these goals. Perhaps the Soviet economic oensive will
be more eective than any means yet used to accomplish
world domination.
Time is on the side of the communistic world, and a
crisis of unparalleled proportions is in the making. is is
no new thing in history, for nations have risen and fallen,
empires have come and gone during the centuries. Only a
dedicated optimist, who will not face the facts, can fail to
read the signs of these times. e day is fast approaching
when men’s hearts will fail them for fear and looking
forward to the things that are coming on the earth. ere
will be distress of nations, with perplexity (Luke 21:25).
Perhaps some readers will ask, Do you think that Russia
will dominate the whole world? No, we do not, for Scripture
is too plain for that. e point we make is that, but for
God’s intervention, it would be so, and that in the not-
too-distant future. Our aim is to point up the signicance
of world conditions, showing that it is on the eve of great
convulsions. If we survey Russo-Chinese advances in
the last ten years, and would allow them a comparable
advance in the next decade, they would either control the
world or have that power within their easy grasp. If then
God’s decrees forbid that, the end is here. Let us not fear
then, nor be distressed. Rather let us lift up our eyes in
joyful anticipation of our Lord’s imminent return. Sober
reection would make us marvel that we are still here so
close to the end of this age. Shall we paraphrase a verse and
say, “Now is our salvation much nearer than it was a short
time back.”
ere are several reasons for understanding that Russian
and Chinese world domination will be halted, by God’s
decree, short of full mastery:
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
114
e Word of God is dear that there will arise a beast
with seven heads and ten horns (Dan. 7). is beast is
the revived Roman Empire which will be a ten-kingdom
federation, the most powerful force ever seen on earth. e
man who will head this confederacy will be worshiped
as one with whom no one can make war (Rev. 13:1-10).
e Western world is soon to be headed by this man. A
Communist world domination would prelude such an
event.
is confederation will at rst be linked in dose anity
with the greatest exhibition of church unity ever seen
on earth. is ecumenical church will be “Babylon the
Great,” and its headquarters will be in Rome. e revived
Roman power will carry this great, false religious system,
characterized in Scripture as a corrupt woman — a harlot
(Rev. 17:1-7). If Red Communism could master the world,
there would be no church left in Rome to exert mastery
over the soon-to-be-revived Roman Empire.
Israel is to have a dynamic head who will work hand-
in-glove with the Roman beast (Dan. 11:36-39). In fact,
the Roman Empire under this head will give Israel a
guaranteed protection treaty for seven years’ duration
(Dan. 9:27). If Russia could take over the Middle East,
and eliminate Israel, this would not happen; but God has
decreed that it shall. erefore, Russian world domination
will be blocked by soon-to-be fullled events. We would
not, however, rule out other happenings before the taking
away of the Church.
ese three developments must come before Russia
can enslave the world, and they will be fullled after the
Church is taken to heaven. Since they must come soon
to forestall Russia, then we may rightly conclude that our
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departure from this world is an hourly probability. In view of
that blessed hour, so soon to be realized, surely we can sing:
“It is not for us to be seeking our bliss,
And building our hopes in a region like this;
We look for a city which hands have not piled —
We pant for a country by sin undeled.”
May the Lord grant us to be more heavenly-minded, and may
we more earnestly lay up in heaven a treasure that faileth
not. With the disintegraon of all that man has set his heart
on here coming apace, may we who have a hope that is sure
and steadfast, and that cannot fail, have our hearts weaned
from this poor world, and our thoughts, our hopes, and our
aspiraons set on the goal that is before us.
Sll another editorial from Chrisan Truth, September, 1960,
regarding the “cold war” and the turbulence in Africa would
seem an appropriate addion to the subjects of this book;
hence we quote:
One of the greatest changes of this century is the awakening
and muscle-exing of the non-Caucasian peoples, which,
if the Lord does not come and bring an end to man’s day,
would ulmately bring an end to Caucasian supremacy. The
multudinous hordes of Asia and Africa armed and marching
forward could swamp the rest of the world. Added to this
posing threat is the fact that Internaonal Communism is
the driving force behind the Asian resurgence, and is at least
suspect of srrings in Africa. Already one third of the world’s
populaon is under Communist dominaon; and that all
came about in much less me than the sixty years of this
century. The world is marching with quickened pace to doom.
Everything portends the coming judgment of God upon the
world which, when He came into it in grace, spit in His face
and cast Him out.
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
116
Most of the great European powers which had colonies in Asia
and Africa have either lost them thus far this century or their
hold on them is tenuous and of very doubul duraon. During
only one month, July, 1960, four African countries became
independent naons, while Italy, France, Britain, and Belgium
watched the old colonies chart new and untried courses. In
October, Nigeria becomes independent. Within two more
years three other countries are scheduled for freedom. The
dark connent with its great natural resources is on the move,
and many untried leaders of doubul allegiance between East
and West will come forward. Add the future uncertaines to
the already overwhelming perplexies of the present day and
it is not dicult to imagine the heart-breaking consternaon
that is fast coming when men’s hearts will fail them for fear.
The latest upheaval has been the terrible strife in the newly
independent Congo. Man glories in his independence, but
when there are no restraints he becomes the plaything of the
devil. Creature perfecon is characterized by dependence and
obedience; these were the marks of the perfect Man when
He was in this world. The Lord Jesus as that perfect Man said,
“Preserve Me, O God: for in Thee do I put My trust.” Psa. 16:1.
He also said, “I do always those things that please Him [the
Father].” John 8:29. The rst man, Adam, was disobedient
unto death; but the second Man, the Lord from heaven, was
“obedient unto death” (Phil. 2:8).
Man’s fall was brought about by disobedience to God, and
independence of Him. So with man today; when he pleases
only himself in independence, and there is no human power
to restrain him, he becomes an abject slave of his lusts, and
the willing tool of Satan. True liberty is only known by those
who know the Lord Jesus as their Savior, and have been set at
liberty from slavery to self and to sin, and thus are free in the
“perfect law of liberty” to please another — even God. (James
1:25.)
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Russia has been a master at sowing strife and discord and
then encouraging a minority to overthrow duly constuted
authories; then their dupes oen nd they are in worse
slavery. What a strange mess man has made of the world!
Look around today and you will nd no segment of the world
really tranquil and at rest. All of Europe is uneasy; West Berlin
is like a me bomb, with none but Russia knowing the seng
of the ming device; Italy has been through the throes of
another polical crisis; France is involved in a war in Algeria
which it is trying to terminate; Eastern Europe is either under
the heel of Russia or straddling the fence between East and
West; Belgium will feel the strain of the Congo crisis for some
me. Then to the east, Turkey has been through a revoluon;
Nasser of Egypt and Syria sll threatens Israel; Russia is
srring minories in Iran (Persia) to topple the Shah from his
throne; India has border troubles with China; Nepal and other
countries on the periphery of China have the same; likewise
Tibet is suering, as China seeks to assimilate its people while
ruthlessly crushing resistance; Indonesia has been in trouble
from within and without; to say nothing of Indo-China, Korea,
Formosa, and other naons who are threatened constantly;
nor of Japan and the bloody riots insgated by Russia. We
have already considered Africa. In North America, all are
aware of Russia’s designs either to isolate its powerful naons
from the rest of the world, or to eventually break them by
force. To the south, militant and die-hard communisc groups
are acve in nearly all lands. Cuba has already succumbed,
and the future is uncertain for any naon.
Another recent naonal upset with internaonal
complicaons has taken place, this me in the ny, strategic
kingdom of Laos in Southeast Asia. It lies between Communist
naons, and between Communist and non-Communist
countries. Less than one year ago it was rescued by the
United Naons from military aggression by Communist North
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
118
Vietnam. Now in the space of only a few hours, the pro-
Western government fell in a military coup; later the non-
Communist government revived, but is hourly in danger from
the growing might of the Communist forces. It is a crical
spot in world aairs at present. Washington has spent much
money to bolster Laos as a buer state, but all may be lost. It
is all a part of a new kind of warfare called “cold war,” which
is global in outlook and eect, and in which the Internaonal
Communist conspiracy is the most adept. How wonderful it is
that our rest and hope are in heaven, and not here!
Thus the 60’s of the great 20th century nd the world with all
its boasted progress ripe for the day when peace will be taken
from the earth (Rev. 6:4). Then what of man’s achievements?
He has lived without God, and he is about to perish in his own
delusion.
Students of internaonal aairs, and great statesmen grapple
with maers that they cannot sele; they see the ominous
trends toward disaster and are powerless to reverse or stay
them. It is easy for one polician to cricize another, but not
one of them is master of the situaons they encounter; they
can only go on from one crisis to another, devising some way
to play for me, hoping for some method of escape that is
not apparent. We quote herewith from the “second Psalm”
which shows that God is sll supreme, and “He that sieth in
the heavens shall laugh.” All of man’s puny eorts will come to
naught, and in the end the One whom the world rejected will
reign and subjugate all of His enemies.
Now as this latest edion of The Future of Europe and Russia’s
Desny is about to go to press in 1961, we nd the world in
the midst of new and increasing troubles. Russia and China
are sowing the seeds of revoluon and strife in other naons.
Cuba has fallen into the Communist orbit within only 90 miles
from the United States mainland; and its dictator, Fidel Castro,
Supplement to the Sixth Edition
119
is conniving with the internaonal communist conspiracy
to export his brand of communisc revoluon to the South
American naons, where it is evident that headway is being
made.
Russia has boldly aempted to wreck the United Naons
when unable to circumvent its operaons to preserve the
former Belgian Congo from falling apart in civil war. The
United Naons was sustained by the major noncommunist
powers; now Russia is reported to be supplying her puppet
successor to the unmely-deceased Patrice Lumumba with
material to increase internal strife. Russia has more to gain
from fomenng strife and disorder than from helping to
preserve peace. She has long found shing is good in troubled
waters.
All of this brings to mind the scripture that can only refer to
Russia, in Isa. 33, verse 1: “Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou
wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt
not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,
thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to
deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.”
The reason for assigning this poron to Russia is that Russia
will be the last naon to be dealt with by the Lord when
He comes to “reign gloriously.” In Isa. 32 the Lord is seen as
reigning; then Russia comes against Him.
He will not put down all His enemies at one me, but will deal
with them in order, when He as the Son of man descends with
power and great glory. First, He will break the Roman Empire
when it goes to the aid of beleagured Israel; He will take its
vile head (the rst beast of Rev. 13) together with his wicked
colleague, the head of the naon of Israel (the second beast of
Rev. 13), and cast them both alive into “the lake of re” (Rev.
19:20). Aer that He will execute vengeance on the “king of
the north” (Dan. 11:40-45), also called “the Assyrian,” which
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
120
will be beaten down in the land of Israel (see Isa. 30:30-33).
We take it from the correct translaon (see page 62) of the
last verse of Isa. 30 that the head of this Assyrian adversary
of Israel will also be cast into the lake of re. The verse
should read: “For Topheth is prepared of old; for the king
also it is prepared; He hath made it deep and large; its pile is
re and much wood; the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of
brimstone, doth kindle it.” The “king” menoned in this verse
is the false “king of the Jews” — the anchrist — the second
beast of Rev. 13. The correct rendering of this verse makes it
apparent that the Assyrian will be cast there where “the beast
and the false prophet” have recently been cast. “Tophet” was
prepared for him, and also for the false “king.” Thus the Lord
will deal with that old avowed enemy of Israel.
The Lord’s next visitaon of wrath upon His enemies will be
the destrucon of Russia and all her satellites as described in
Ezek. 38 and 39. The Russian hordes will come against Israel,
now seled in Palesne, as a land army; and the destrucon
will be so great that it will take seven months to bury the
dead. These hordes will be uerly destroyed, for God is not
mocked; and their boasted atheism will not avail them in that
day. God will also remember their hatred and treatment of
the children of Israel in bygone days the pogroms, etc. The
correct translaon of Ezek. 39:2 does not say that God will
leave the sixth part of them. See either the A.S.V. or the J.N.D.
translaons. Destrucon will be total.
The last half of the seven years of trouble are called “the great
tribulaon.” They are referred to as “forty and two months”
(Rev. 13:5), “a thousand two hundred and threescore days”
(Rev. 12:6), “me and mes and the dividing of me” (Dan.
7:25), and the “midst of the week” of years (Dan. 9:27). But in
the last chapter of Daniel we read of extended periods of me
1290 and 1335 days as though indicang extra me required
for Christ’s victories over various foes.
Supplement to the Sixth Edition
121
There will also be other enemies on which the Lord will
use the new, regenerated naon of Israel as His rod; as, for
instance, will be the case with Greece, which was probably not
involved in any of the confederacies previously dealt with by
the Lord Himself. We read:
“When I have bent Judah for Me, lled the bow with
Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O
Greece … The LORD their God shall save them in that day as
the ock of His people: for they shall be as the stones of a
crown, lied up as an ensign upon His land.” Zech. 9:13-16.
Isa. 11 also tells us that Israel will execute judgment upon
the old enemies of “Edom and Moab; and the children of
Ammon.” So there will be some enemies whom the Lord
will deal with through Israel aer their repentance and
restoraon. See page 68.
Solomon’s glorious reign is typical of Christ’s millennial
kingdom, but even Solomon did not set everything right at
once. There was a period of transion when each opponent
was dealt with in wisdom and righteousness; as, for instance,
Shimei was not put to death at once, but put under a ban, the
breaking of which brought death to him later (see 1 Kings 2).
In an arcle copyrighted by the United Feature Syndicate in
1952 and published in various periodicals, an interview was
given between a foreign correspondent, Richard C. Hoelet,
and Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Maxim Litvinov. Mr.
Litvinov had been the U.S.S.R. Ambassador to the United
States when Russia badly needed United States’ aid. The
amiable Russian had been used (perhaps unknowingly) to
beguile the West with encing words, but at the me of the
interview (in 1946) was about to be cast into the discard
heap as no longer serviceable to his masters. It now seemed
to them that a hard, intractable atude toward the West
e Future of Europe and Russia?s Destiny
122
was possible, and even expedient. Mr. Litvinov made it
unmistakably clear that Russia was not to be trusted, and that
their behavior was not a sloppy “hit-and-miss” aair, one-day-
hot and another-day-cold, slovenly, ill-conceived plan, but
that it was all a deliberate plot. This was a great Russian’s last
contact with the West. This should speak for itself.
A brief glance at the present destrucve potenal of only
two naons — Russia and the United States — will show the
deadly peril in which the whole world stands in 1961, and the
peril is increasing daily. As of now, it is, according to a reliable
secular source, as follows:
David Lawrence, a noted observer and news commentator,
says: “History tells us that a balance of power has oen
produced a long period of peaceful equilibrium. But today a
balance of power has been augmented by a balance of terror.
Any minute a mistake can be made, and a war started.
“The danger faced by mankind today is incredible. It dees
descripon. But the paradox is that people have not been
really awakened to it. They are fearful. They are nervous. They
are hopeful that man will not commit suicide. They have not,
however, taken steps to restrain the impulses that can at any
moment, without noce to an adversary, release a destrucve
force of incalculable dimensions.” — U.S. New & World Report,
Feb. 27, 1961.
The same issue of this magazine gives a comparison of
esmated destrucve power on hand and ready for delivery
by both Russia and the United States. We need to remember
that just at the close of World War II, Hiroshima, Japan was
destroyed by an atomic bomb. It was then an experiment in
power to destroy. Now the United States stands ready to hurl
missile weapons possessing an explosive power of more than
1 million Hiroshima-type A-bombs, and can rain down 3,600
Supplement to the Sixth Edition
123
nuclear bombs, each many mes more powerful than the old
Hiroshima-type bomb (which killed 78,150 people). If only one
third of the aackers got through, they could destroy 1,200
Soviet centers.
On the other side, “by best available esmates,” Russia could
hurl “the equivalent of about 350,000 Hiroshima-type bombs”
at the United States, and drop 250 powerful nuclear bombs on
its cies. These are probably fairly accurate esmates of the
present potenal of the two great antagonists. And thus the
world rushes madly on to destrucon.
But while the world cringes, or at least should, the Chrisan
can see in all these developments but the preparaons for the
days that will follow our translaon from earth to heaven. Our
hope is outside of and beyond this poor, doomed world. The
Lord Jesus Christ, “our hope,” will soon call His people home
to be with Himself.
“He which teseth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.”
Our response is and should be, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord
Jesus.” Rev. 22:20.
Paul Wilson
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