Thursday, August 23, 2012

Apollyon

Revelation 9:
 1.And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

  2. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

    3. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

    4. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

    5. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but
    that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was
    as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

    6. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find
    it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

    7. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared
    unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like
    gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

    8. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were
    as the teeth of lions.

    9. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron;
    and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of
    many horses running to battle.

    10. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were
    stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

    11. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

Commentary by F G Smith:

The symbols of this trumpet are of a very peculiar character and
peculiarly combined. They are not drawn entirely from the natural world,
showing that we are not to look for their fulfilment in political events
alone; neither are they drawn from human life in any such way as to
indicate events in the religious history of the church. The leading
characters in it, however, are living, active agents of such a
destructive nature as to entitle them to the designation of a woe.

The first object presented in the vision is a "star" fallen to the
earth. Our translation conveys the idea that this star was in the act of
falling; but in the original it is different, being there represented as
having fallen, its dejection from heaven to earth being complete. The
only place that it appeared in view was on the earth, and there it is
described as fallen. A star is a symbol either of a civil ruler or of a
religious teacher, the symbols in connection deciding whether it is set
in the political or the ecclesiastical firmament. But this was not such
a star as He who walketh in the midst of the golden candle-sticks
holdeth in his right hand, but it was a _fallen_ star, indicating that
it was the propagator of a false faith.

To this star was given a key. In the Gospels the same figure is
employed, where the ministers of Christ are represented as possessing
the keys of the kingdom of heaven, showing that they acted in his name
and by his authority. How appropriate, then, is this symbol as applied
to a false teacher, who possesses, not the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, but, instead, "the key of the bottomless pit"! Thus, under the
symbol of the star and the key, we have the teacher and his authority
set forth. Armed with this authority, this false teacher "opened the
bottomless pit; and there rose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a
great furnace; and the sun and air were darkened by reason of the smoke
of the pit." In the Scriptures Jesus is represented as the Sun of
righteousness, while "the light of the _glorious gospel_ of Christ"
illuminates the world. But here we have something of the opposite
character--a dense smoke eclipsing the sun and darkening the heavens.
Have we not here a fit representation of a delusive faith proceeding
from its true source, "the bottomless pit"? And is not a fallen star an
appropriate symbol of its propagator?

In representing a system of religion by these objects from nature we
depart from the general rule first laid down--that objects of nature
symbolize political affairs, while the department of human and angelic
life is chosen to represent religious affairs. But the reader should
bear in mind one important exception to this rule--that things
prominently connected with the history of the people of God in former
ages are frequently employed (regardless of the department to which they
belong) to represent spiritual things, their interpretation being easily
seen; such as candle-sticks, altar, temple, incense, etc. When the
plague of "thick darkness" covered the land of Egypt for three days,
"the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." In the exodus the
Lord went before them "by night in a pillar of fire, to give them
light." After the erection of the tabernacle the holy place was
constantly illuminated. This natural light in the Jewish age constitutes
a beautiful type of the spiritual "light of the glorious gospel of
Christ" that has "shined in our hearts" in the Christian dispensation.
This spiritual light comes from Christ, the "Sun of righteousness," the
"true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world"; and
proceeds, also, from his people, who "shine as lights in the world." But
it is the "light of the _gospel_." This light proceeds in a special
sense from God's ministers, who are represented as "stars" (chap. 1:20)
and who possess "the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Mat. 16:19; 18:18.
How appropriate, then, that a _fallen_ "star," possessing "the key of
the bottomless pit," should be a symbol of a religious impostor, and
that the smoke which darkened the heavens, eclipsing the sun, the source
of light, should represent a prominent delusive faith! I have already
mentioned the fact that the symbols of this vision lead to a series of
events entirely separate in their nature from the spiritual history of
the church as developed under other symbols. We find its fulfilment in
Mohammed and the delusive system he promulgated. In the year 606 Mahomet
retired to a cave in Hera, near Mecca, and there received his pretended
revelations, although it was not until six years later that he began to
teach his doctrines publicly and to gain followers outside of the circle
of his own family and personal friends. Gibbon, Vol. V., p. 121.

The next object in the vision is the locusts that came out of the smoke,
to which was given power like scorpions, or power to inflict a deadly
sting like scorpions. To what living agents, then, did the delusion of
Mohammedanism give birth--agents of a destructive nature like scorpion
locust? Evidently, the Saracens,[6] those warrior followers of Mohammed
who flocked to his standard. These locusts received the express command
that "they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green
thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of
God in their foreheads." The successor of Mohammed, Abubeker, gave the
Saracens a command that they should "destroy no palm-trees, nor burn any
fields of grain; cut down no fruit-trees, nor do any mischief to cattle,
only such as you kill to eat." This command was singular, yet it
doubtless is not the fulfilment of the command to the locusts; for that
would be adopting a literal meaning instead of a symbolic one, and to
complete the picture we should have had literal Saracens instead of
locusts. We can not consistently make a part literal and the remainder
symbolical. In the explanation of the first trumpet (chap. 8:6, 7), we
showed that grass and trees symbolized the inhabitants of a kingdom,
grass representing the feebler and trees the stronger portions of
society. The fact, then, that these locusts were not to destroy the
green grass and trees show that they were not sent as a scourge upon the
political empire only, as was the storm of hail and fire under the first
trumpet. Had their mission been like that of natural locusts, to destroy
every green thing, we should then conclude that they were sent as a
scourge upon the empire alone, having nothing whatever to do with a
system of religion. These locusts, however, were commanded not to do
what natural locusts always do--eat green grass and trees--and were
commissioned to do what locusts never do--"hurt men," but only those who
have not the seal of God in their foreheads; that is, the worshipers of
a false, idolatrous church, who are not known unto God as his true
people. This is positive proof that the design of this vision is to set
forth some awful religious imposture; for the "men" that they were to
hurt are found in the department which by analogy represents religious
events.

[Footnote 6: "In earlier times the name of Saraceni was applied by
Greeks and Romans to the troublesome Nomad Arabs of the Syro-Arabian
desert."--_Encyclopædia Britannica_. In the Middle Ages, however,
Europeans began to call all their Moslem enemies Saracens. It is in the
limited sense that it is here applied, designating the first followers
of Mohammed before the rise of the Ottoman empire.]

The fact that their commission was to torment those "men which have not
the seal of God in their foreheads," is a proof also of the wide-spread
apostasies that had already taken place. This was the time when the pale
horseman was careering over the world carrying desolation everywhere by
his instruments of oppression--sword, pestilences, famine, and the wild
beasts of the earth. "The churches both in the Western and Eastern
empire were in the most deplorable condition, being corrupted with the
grossest ignorance and idolatry; the virgin Mary, the saints, and
miserable relics of every description being worshiped in the place of
Jehovah, and superstition reigning with sovereign power over all minds."
The Saracen warriors of Mohammed were sent as a scourge upon apostate
Christendom, overrunning the very territory where the gospel was first
preached, and were commissioned to "torment" the false professors of
Christianity.

In regard to the kind and the extent of the injury they were to inflict,
it is said that "to them it was given that they should not kill them,
but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as
the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days
shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die,
and death shall flee from them." The Saracens, as here described under
the symbol of the locusts, sustained a two-fold relation, and the
careful and perfect manner in which the symbols are selected to set it
forth is worthy of particular notice. In the first place, the Saracens
were a political body. As such, locusts would fitly represent them. But
they were also a religious body, and how could that fact be symbolically
combined with the other? It is done by the locusts' being forbidden to
act out their own nature in eating grass and trees, and their being
commanded instead to "hurt men," thus changing the field of their
operations into the department of human life--the department that is
chosen to symbolically set forth religious events. Thus the
politico-religious system of the Saracens is accurately set forth. This,
also, is nearly as clear as a demonstration that the position already
taken concerning the nature and the use of symbolic language is correct.

It was given that they should "not kill" men. We have already shown that
killing men when used symbolically signifies the destruction of the
political or ecclesiastical organizations and institutions of society.
We could not consistently interpret it as literal slaughter, but as some
analagous destruction. Now, the Saracen power was, as already stated, a
politico-religious system, and its warriors were an infatuated set of
religious fanatics, described by historians as "carrying the sword in
one hand, and the Koran in the other." Thus, they had it in their power
to kill either religiously or politically--destroy either the church or
the empire--but they did neither, for their mission was not to kill, but
to "torment." "They made extensive conquests and gained immense numbers
of converts. But they did not overthrow the Eastern empire, although
they repeatedly attacked and besieged Constantinople, suffering,
however, uniform defeat in the attempt. Neither did they destroy the
church, corrupt and apostate as it was. To idolators and infidels they
put the alternative of the Koran or death; but allowed the Christians to
retain their church organization, laying them, however, under severe
contributions, and treating them to the ignominious appellation of
Christian dogs." Concerning the character of Mohammed, Gibbon informs us
that "he seldom trampled on a prostrate enemy, and he seems to promise,
that on the payment of a tribute, the least guilty of his unbelieving
subjects might be indulged in their worship, or at least in their
imperfect faith" (Vol. V, p. 129), and this, of course, would be the
natural tendency of his followers. The Armenian and the Greek churches
survived, and still exist in that portion of the world, but they have
indeed been greviously tormented. "The proud Moslem, glorying in his
prophet and religion, has heaped every possible insult and injury upon
the Christians," yet he suffered them to live, but live only for him to
torment. Surely the oppressions thus experienced are appropriately
described by the words, "as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh
a man." Under such torments the professed Christians might court death,
but such is not granted; and still they survive, but only to be
"tormented." The Moslem had "the Christian dog" completely under his
foot.

We now turn our attention to the period of time during which these
Saracen locusts were to continue their ravages. It is given as "five
months," or one hundred and fifty days. As this description is entirely
symbolic, we must consider the time symbolic also, for time certainly
can be symbolized as well as anything else. It is very appropriate for
days to symbolize years, for they are analagous periods of time; the
diurnal revolution of the earth being taken to represent the earth's
annual movement. Such a system of reckoning time was known centuries
ago. When Jacob complained to Laban because he had been given Leah
instead of Rachel, "Laban said, It must not be so done in our country,
to give the younger before the first-born. Fulfil her _week_, and we
will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve me yet
_seven other years_. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week ... seven
other years." Gen. 29:26-30. In this case it will be seen that a day was
used to represent a year, since seven days, or one week, represented
seven years. When the law was given, Moses recognized the week of seven
natural days, the last day of which was constituted a Sabbath of rest
for Israel; but he also instituted a week of seven years, the last year
of which was a sabbatical year of rest unto the land. This last fact
will explain such expressions as "forty days, _each day for a year_"
(Num. 14:34), and "I have appointed thee each day for a year." Ezek.
4:6.

This period, then, of "five months," or one hundred and fifty days,
would represent symbolically one hundred and fifty years. As before
stated, it was in the year A.D. 612 that Mohammed began to expound his
doctrines publicly and to gather adherents around his standard, from
which point the locusts commenced, although the smoke had been let out
of the pit a little previously. For a period of one hundred and fifty
years from this date, they continued their ravages, until A.D. 762. Then
they "built Bagdad, which became their settled seat of empire; and
henceforth they became a settled nation, making no further conquests."
From that date their power began to decline. But during this one hundred
and fifty years they spread over the country like swarms of devouring
locusts. According to the well-known facts of history, "they overran
Arabia, Palestine, Persia, Egypt, and the northern shores of Africa,
from which they passed to the conquest of Portugal and Spain." These
were the countries that had been the most oppressed by a priest-ridden
church and where especially were to be found those "men which have not
the seal of God in their foreheads." Europe was trembling and filled
with apprehension at what her fate might be at the hands of these
fanatic warriors who fought with savage fury, under the promise of their
prophet that, if slain in battle, they should be immediately transported to Paradise. At the zenith of their power, and confident of success, they passed from Spain into France four hundred thousand strong. But here they exceeded their mission. The southern provinces of France contained many Christians who had the "seal of God" upon them, and this country became the seat of the Waldenses and Albigenses, of which interesting people we shall learn more hereafter. The invading host was met at Tours by Charles, grandfather of Charlemagne, who dealt them such a crushing blow that he was ever afterward designated by the surname Martel--the Hammer. This battle was one of the fiercest recorded in history. The Saracens who had scarcely ever experienced defeat fought with the fury of despair, until, according to the accounts of that age, three hundred and seventy-five thousand of their number lay upon the
field of battle with their general. This decisive victory saved Europe
from her threatened subjection to the Mohammedan faith.

The next point in the vision to claim our attention is the particular
description of these locusts. Some of the points mentioned might find a
literal fulfilment in the personal appearance of the Saracens--such as
the crowns signifying the turbans they wore, etc., but we must adhere
strictly to the symbolic mode of interpretation and look for their
fulfilment in Saracen character. Their being like war-horses denotes
their warlike disposition. The crowns on their heads signify their great
success and triumphs. Their faces of men and hair like women doubtless
signify their boldness on the one hand and their effeminateness on the
other. Their teeth as the teeth of lions show their ferocity of
character. Their breastplates of iron indicate their invincibility or
else their insensibility to injuries inflicted upon them. The sound of
their wings like horses and chariots running to battle denotes the
multitude and rapidity of their conquests. Their tails like scorpions,
containing stings with which to "hurt men"--operating in the religious
world--symbolize their position as propagators of a false faith. Thus
they are set forth in their two-fold character--as invincible warriors
and as the zealous professors of a delusion, whose sting was like that
of a scorpion when he strikes a man.

"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless
pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue
hath his name Apollyon." The following fact of history will explain
this: "The Saracens had their Caliphs, the successors of Mohammed, who
united in themselves the supreme civil, military and ecclesiastical
powers. They were the high-priests of their religion, the commanders of
their armies, and the emperors of the nation." This king over them
signifies a succession of rulers, and they are well described as "the
angel of the bottomless pit," for that is the very place where the
delusion is said to have originated. Mahomet, as a fallen star, opened
the pit and let out the smoke, and his successors, who grasped his power
and authority, are fitly characterized as angels from the same place,
bearing the name Abaddon or Apollyon, which terms both signify
Destroyer.

Is not this a wonderful combination of symbols which can be carried out
with surprising accuracy? What human ingenuity could have ever contrived
such a marvelous series of events, and described them under such
appropriate symbols? Finally, let me ask, Where in the whole compass of
universal history can be found another series of events so perfectly
meeting every requirement of the symbols? In this we must acknowledge
the hand of God.

    12. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more
    hereafter.

This announcement, that one woe is past, meaning that the period of one
hundred and fifty years during which the Saracens were to continue their
conquests has ended, serves an important purpose in enabling us to fix
the chronology of the events described. It proves that they succeed each
other.

    13. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the
    four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

    14. Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the
    four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

    15. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an
    hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third
    part of men.

    16. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred
    thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

    17. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat
    on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and
    brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of
    lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and
    brimstone.

    18. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the
    fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out
    of their mouths.

    19. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for
    their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with
    them they do hurt.

    20. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these
    plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they
    should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and
    brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear,
    nor walk:

    21. Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their
    sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

At the sounding of the sixth trumpet, or the second woe trumpet, a voice
is heard from the four horns (all the horns) of the golden altar. This
probably denotes that the very same altar where incense was offered up
to God with the prayers of all saints was now crying out to him for
vengeance upon an apostate church. That church had reached the summit of
apostasy and iniquity, the virgin Mary, the saints, and thousands of
idols in the form of miserable relics being worshiped more than God.
Because of these abominable idolatries, a voice is heard crying from the
golden altar for the avenging judgments of Heaven, which were the
loosing of the four angels bound in the river Euphrates. The symbols of
this vision are also of peculiar character and drawn from different
departments. We have four angels bound in the Euphrates, an immense army
of horsemen, then a large number of horses with heads as of lions, and
fire, smoke, and brimstone issuing from their mouths. The horses thus
particularly described are evidently intended to have a definite
symbolical signification, and being objects of nature, they would
indicate a political or military power. The horsemen, being objects from
human life, would point us to some religious body; while the angels
signify the leaders that have control of these agencies. Their being
commissioned "to slay the third part of men" show that they will
overthrow some of the established institutions of society. We are to
look, therefore, for some politico-religious power that should invade
and overthrow the empire. We are, of course, directed to the Eastern
empire; for the Western division was subverted under the symbols of the
first four trumpets. With these specifications before us, we shall have
no difficulty in identifying the power intended--_the Turkish, or
Ottoman, empire_. Its agreement with the symbolic representations of the
vision will be manifest from a statement of the facts of history.

"The Turks were of Tartar or Scythian origin, from the northern regions
of Asia, whence also the Huns hived upon Europe during the fourth and
fifth centuries. The latter passed to the north of the Black sea from
Russia, and swept the regions of the Danube and the Rhine. The Turks,
passing to the east of the same, fell upon the empire from that quarter.
They took possession of Armenia Major in the ninth century, where they
increased, and in the space of two hundred years became a formidable
power, being at the end of this period combined into four Sultanies, the
heads of which were at Bagdad, Damascus, Aleppo, and Iconium. The first
of these was erected A.D. 1055; the two next A.D. 1079, and the last
A.D. 1080--all of them within twenty-five years, and the three last
within two."

These four Sultanies are doubtless signified by "the four angels" that
were bound in the river Euphrates. The Euphrates here is employed as a
symbol, not of the Turks themselves--for the horsemen are their symbol,
as we shall see--but of the binding of the angels. The use of this word
as a symbol is derived from a fact of history, being the object,
according to Herodotus, that kept Cyrus back from entering the city of
Babylon. While the Persian monarch surrounded the walls of that ancient
metropolis of the Babylonian empire, with his army, he was held in
restraint by the river Euphrates; and it was not until he had diverted
its waters into an artificial channel that he gained an entrance. So,
also, these Sultanies, or leaders of the Turks, were held under
restraint as if bound by the river Euphrates, until the time appointed
for them to go forth on their mission of conquest. Different causes held
them back. For a long time they were involved in fierce and almost
continuous wars with the neighboring Tartar tribes on the east and the
north, and at the same time the Crusaders of Europe were carrying on a
determined war with the Saracens for the possession of the Holy Land.
For two centuries the armies of Christendom poured into Syria and
Palestine to recover from the hands of the "infidels," as they were
called, the holy sepulchre and the country that gave birth to
Christianity; but when Europe finally abandoned the project, then went
forth the command to loose the four angels, "which were prepared for an
hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of
man." To kill men symbolically, I have already shown, signifies the
destruction either of an empire as a political body or of the church
(that is, the so-called church) as a religious body. The locusts under
the fifth trumpet were to do neither; but the symbolic characters of
this vision are "to slay the third part of men," by which is set forth
the fall and subjugation of the Eastern empire and church; just as,
under the fifth trumpet, the fall of the Western empire was described by
the darkening of a third part of the sun, moon, and stars.

Before considering the time-prophecy in this vision, we will pass on to
notice a few particulars respecting the horses and their riders. The
horsemen possessed breastplates of fire, jacinth, and brimstone; while
out of the mouths of the horses proceeded fire, smoke, and brimstone.
There is evidently a special design in distinguishing between the horses
and their riders. These symbols, being drawn from different sources--the
former from the natural world and the latter from human life--point out
the two characteristics of the Turks as a politico-religious power. The
symbolic description of the two is almost identical. The horsemen had
breastplates of fire, jacinth (purplish or reddish blue), and brimstone.
This describes the character of the Turks as a religious system. Out of
the horses' mouths proceeded fire, smoke, and brimstone, which
represents the Moslems as a political power. The only difference is that
the smoke is substituted for the jacinth, but they very nearly agree in
color. We are thus brought to the conclusion that the political and the
religious power of the Turks is in harmony and agreement with each
other--united in the closest manner possible, like a horse and its
rider, and both animated by the same spirit. That spirit is perhaps
their fierce, fanatical, aggressive, intolerant character.

The tails of the horses were like serpents with heads, their power being
in their mouth and in their tails--the one a lion, the other a serpent.
It was by the fire, the smoke, and the brimstone that came from their
lion-heads that the third part of men was killed, or their conquests
were made; then with their serpent-like tails would they torment or
"hurt" all those who would not adopt the Moslem faith, being in this
respect like the scorpion locusts. Their lion-heads would denote their
invincible strength and courage; and their serpent-tails, the tormenting
sting inflicted upon those whom they subdued but who would not accept
their religion. It is not said that the riders were the direct agents of
destruction--not the Moslem faith as a religion--but it was the horses
that accomplished the deadly work--the Ottomans as a political body.
This was the power that extended conquests and established their empire,
although it was accompanied by the religious system, working in perfect
harmony.

It is said that the "rest of the men which were not killed by these
plagues" repented not. This expression doubtless signifies the Western,
or Latin, church. They saw these judgments of the Euphratean horsemen on
the Eastern empire, and the triumph of the Moslem sword and faith (the
woe fell as a judgment upon the Eastern church); still, they continued
as before in their abominable idolatries, by which is probably meant
their worship of the virgin Mary, saints, relics, and images. There was
no reformation. Error, superstition, and ecclesiastical usurpation
prevailed as before.

The Turks obtained their first victory over the Christians of the
Eastern, or Greek, empire in A.D. 1281. Within ten years the Latins who
inhabited Palestine were entirely overthrown (see Gibbon, Vol. VI, p.
47), and the way was now clear for Turkish aggression against the Greek
empire. Before the end of the century the four Sultanies mentioned were
combined into one consolidated empire under Osman (corrupted by
Europeans into Ottoman) and from him took the name which it still
retains--the Ottoman empire. From the time they were let loose, the
Turks continued their aggressions until A.D. 1453, when Constantinople
fell before their victorious arms, and the Eastern empire, with the last
of the Constantines, sunk to rise no more. "The Turkish sword and the
religion of the Koran were enthroned in the Christian metropolis of the
Roman emperors; and the proud Moslem had the Christian dog completely
under his foot." The Ottoman power, however, continued to grow and make
new conquests until the year A.D. 1672, when they conducted a successful
campaign against Poland, in which forty-eight towns and villages were
ceded to the Sultan, with promise of an annual tribute of two hundred
and twenty thousand ducats. See Encyclopædia Britannica, Art. Turkey.
This was the last victory they ever gained wherein the Ottoman empire
obtained any advantage. A little later they marched against Vienna, but
sustained a miserable defeat. "Venice and Russia now declared war
against Turkey; misfortune followed misfortune; city after city was rent
away from the empire; the Austrians were in possession of almost the
whole of Hungary, the Italians of almost all the Morea." Encyclopædia
Britannica, Art. Turkey. So the power of the Ottomans to extend their
conquests and to add to their empire, ended with the victory over the
Poles in A.D. 1672. This fact is even admitted by Demetrius Cantemir,
prince of Moldavia, one of their historians, in the following language:
"This was the _last_ victory by which any advantage accrued to the
Othman state, or any city or province was annexed to the ancient bounds
of the empire." In accordance with this statement, the same historian
entitles the first part of his history up to the victory over the Poles
in 1672 the History of _the Growth of the Othman Empire_, and the
remaining portion, _The Decay of the Othman Empire_.

Calculating now the time during which these horsemen were prepared to
extend their conquests--"an hour, and a day, and a month, and a
year"--we find according to prophetic, or symbolic, time--thirty days in
a month, three hundred and sixty in a year--that it signifies three
hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days. This is exactly the
period of time that elapsed between their first victory in A.D. 1281 and
their last conquest in A.D. 1672. I can not verify the fifteen days,
because no history at my command states the exact days of the month on
which these victories occurred.

One more point of importance must be considered before we conclude this
chapter, and that is the continuance of the Ottoman power. The first, or
Saracen, woe had power to torment men "five months," or one hundred and
fifty years, during which time they continued their ravages. The second
woe began when the command was given to loose the four angels, or the
beginning of the Ottoman conquests. "An hour, and a day, and a month,
and a year," or three hundred and ninety-one years, marked the time
during which they were "prepared" to extend their conquests. But it is
not stated that the woe itself, or the Ottoman power, would then cease;
for it is not represented as ending until after the death and the
resurrection of the witnesses (chap. 11:14), immediately following which
the coming of Christ and the general judgment, or the third woe, is
described. Verses 15-18. The Turkish power has made no advance for
centuries, but has been on the decline; yet it will endure for its
allotted time. It furnishes us a way-mark by which we can determine our
position along the pathway of time; for when it falls, we may rest
assured that the coming of Christ is imminent.

For nearly two centuries it has been the wonder of civilized nations how
that corrupt, tyrannical government, which has been described as a
"despotism tempered by assassination," could exist in the increased
light and onward advance of modern civilization. Concerning its position
in Europe, Judson, in his recent history of Europe in the Nineteenth
Century, says: "The Turkish empire has been an element of unrest in
Europe. It has long been plain to all that it is not permanent. It has
taken no root. The Turks are merely encamped in Europe; and it is merely
a question of time when the last of them must return across the
Bosphorus." Pp. 269, 270. But Turkey will continue to hold this
territory of the old Greek empire until the time appointed by the Father
for her overthrow. The nations of Europe have often conspired for her
overthrow. This is what is known as the great Eastern Question, which
has been described by one writer as "the expulsion of the Turk from
Europe, and the scramble for his territory." But it has not yet been
accomplished, for the very reason doubtless, that it _could not_ take
place before the resurrection of the witnesses, of which we will speak
later. Judson thus continues his account of the matter: "As soon as this
idea was realized [that Turkish power in Europe must fall] by the
Western nations, in place of the dread of the Turk which had so long
been part and parcel of European thinking, the question of the disposal
to be made of the Turkish possessions became matter of live interest.
And this is the Eastern Question. The Greek empire vanished forever when
the last Constantine fell in 1453. The only problem is one of partition.
And the heart of it all is the disposal to be made of Constantinople.
That imperial city is a site that, in strong hands, means power and
wealth. What shall become of it? Russia early formed designs of
conquest.... The empress Catherine ... had a grand scheme for a
restoration of the Greek empire under a Russian prince. Alexander I., at
Tilsit, planned a partition of the Ottoman empire with Napoleon, but the
latter declined to see Constantinople in Russian hands.
'Constantinople,' said he, 'is the empire of the world.' In 1844
Nicholas visited England and made guarded suggestions to the
prime-minister about the Turkish lands. The Ottoman empire, said he, was
a sick man, nearly at the last extremity.... England declined to plan
for a share of the inheritance, and nothing was done. In 1853 Nicholas
resumed the subject with the British ambassador at St. Petersburg. The
sick man, he now held, was at the point of death.... But again England
declined and, indeed, the next year went to war with Russia to save the
sick man from a premature end at the hands of the would-be administrator
of the estate. Another power doubly interested in the future of the
Turkish dominions is Austria. That empire has been the traditional enemy
of the Turk, and at the end of the seventeenth century was the actual
bulwark of Europe against Mohammedan conquest. When the tide of war
rolled the other way, Austria was ready to share in the spoils. Twice
near the end of the eighteenth century, was an alliance made between
Russia and Austria for the partition of Turkey," etc. Pp. 270, 271.
Thus, we find that these designs of nations for the overthrow of Turkey
have so far been overruled; for God will not allow that power to come to
"a _premature end_."





No comments:

Post a Comment