But the mighty earthquake having commenced in 1848, and the democracy which caused it having been repressed to a considerable extent, what agency remains, as revealed in the scriptures of truth, by which is to be brought about the wonderful consummation we have been considering? The answer to this question is contained in the following words: "I saw," says the apostle, "three unclean spirits like Frogs out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of demons bringing to pass remarkable events and they go forth to the kings of the earth, and of the whole habitable (oikoumenes holes) to assemble them to the war (eis polemon) of that great day of God the Almighty. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon." (Rev. 16:13-16.) In this passage we have to consider the "three unclean spirits like frogs," the three mouths out of which they proceed, the fruit of their mission. There are three spirits, and three mouths, that is, one spirit proceeding out of each mouth; but as they are all three like frogs and unclean, though proceeding from three different mouths, they are in nature, origin, and tendency, the same. They are called "the spirits of demons," not because of their uncleanness, or wickedness; but because the mouths from which they issue are the demons, or chiefs, of the dominions represented by the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. Now the throne of the dragon is Constantinople; that of the two-horned beast, Vienna; and that of the image of the beast, Rome. The thrones being in these cities, it follows that the demon of the dragon is the Sultan; the demon of the two-horned beast, of the image, the false prophet himself. It is worthy of observation here, that the text says, "out of the mouth of the false prophet," and not "out of the mouth of the image of the beast." In the beginning of the chapter, while the first vial is supposed to be pouring out, the papal Jupiter is styled the beast's image; but in the thirteenth verse of the same chapter, while the spirits are at work, he is termed the false prophet; and in verse twenty of chapter nineteen also, where it speaks of his perdition. This change of style is by no means accidental. If the reader take a view of the papal dominion at the close of the last century; then view it as it is now, and compare the views together; he will doubtless come to the conclusion, that the pope is no longer the image of the imperial head of the beast. He has no dominion really, for it is so far consumed, that what remains is of little, or no account. He has good will enough to make terrible examples of the democrats who caused his flight from Rome; but he cannot carry it into effect, because the French will not permit him. He is a fugitive in exile, and though pressed to return to Rome, he is afraid to go. He is then no longer imperial, and consequently, has fallen from his Iconism, and become a simple prophet.
Protestant and papal scribes are in the habit of applying the epithet "false prophet" to Mohammed, and therefore do not perceive its applicability to the Roman bishop. But neither mohammed, nor his successors, are termed the "false prophet" in the apocalypse. The Arabian was false enough doubtless; but he was a far more respectable character than any pope that has ever reigned; and were I to choose between the two superstitions, I would rather be a Moslem than a papist. It was the glory of Mohammed to destroy idolatry; it is the infamy of the popes to be the high priests of the "queen of heaven." The Saracens were God's locusts to torment, and the Ottomans, God's cavalry to slay with political death, the catholic image-worshippers of the Asiatic third part of the Roman dragon. Mohammed was the star; and his successors, the "commanders of the faithful," the "angels of the bottomless pit; whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon (Rev. 9:1,11)." These names in English signify destroyer, which is indicative of the mission of those who marshalled themselves under the standard of the Arabian. The epithet "false prophet" is singularly applicable to the Roman bishop. It is a part of his function to preach or prophesy; that is, to "speak unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort (1Cor. 14:3)." From him these blessings are supposed to flow to all "his children." Aaron was given to Moses to be his prophet because he could speak well. As Aaron, then, was speaker, mouth, or prophet, to Moses; so the pope is now mouth, or prophet, or speaker, of the papacy, and no more. He is virtually stripped of his dominions; he can prophesy, but his rule is a thing of name, and not a fact. A false prophet is he; truthless as Satan; sporting himself with his own deceivings, and thereby provoking a speedy fate, which is "capture and destruction."
But, before he and the two-horned beast before whom he is now working, perish in the fiery European lake they are blowing into a flame, they must fulfil the mission to which they are appointed under the sixth and seventh vials. The Sultan, the pope, and the emperor, are the demons of the crisis, and the mouths, or speakers of the systems to which they belong. Forth from them are to proceed such measures of policy as will produce a general war. These political measures are symbolized as "unclean spirits." They are "unclean," because nothing clean can proceed out of such mouths. Rome, Vienna, and Constantinople, are so many centres of intrigue, whence proceeds the evil that is to ruin the beast. I say Rome, which however, is not strictly correct. It should be, wherever the false prophet is for the time being, whether at Gaeta, or at Portici. Then from Vienna, Constantinople, and the locality of the false prophet are to go forth to "the kings of the earth," and to "the kings of the whole habitable," the results of these intrigues, which will stir up all their propensities to war. The "kings of the earth" are here distinguished from the "kings of the habitable." The former are the kings of Germany and Russia, &c. while the latter are the kings of Roman Europe, such as of Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Naples, and Greece. They are all to be involved in war by the "unclean spirits" of the three demons, whose policy will bring about results that will ruin themselves, and astonish the world.
But why are these three political influences likened to frogs? "I saw," says the apostle, "three unclean spirits like frogs come out of these mouths." The interpretation, I conceive, is this. The frogs are the heraldic symbol of a power, which at the prophetic crisis is to be the proximate cause of the several policies which characterize the demon-mouths. That is to say, if this frog-power had not struck out a new course of operation which deranged every thing, there would have been no ground for the Sultan, the Emperor, and the Pope, to change their policy, and all things would have gone on as usual. The frogs, therefore, and "the spirits," stand related to each other as cause and effect, the demons being only the media through which the frog-power brings about the destruction of the two-horned beast and the false prophet; and at the same time brings upon the arena a power which is to unjewel the horns, repress the frog-power itself, and build up the image of Nebuchadnezzar, preparatory to its being shivered to pieces on the mountains of Israel. In other words, the scenery of the thirteenth and fourteenth verses of this chapter is a symbolical representation of the working of things when "the judgment sits, and they shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it to the end (Dan. 7:26)". Who "they" are to whom the work of destruction is committed is obvious from the twenty-second verse, where it is written, "judgment was given to the saints," that is, of the Median class, who do their work previously to "the people of the saints," or saints of the holy city, assuming the ruling-judgment "under the whole heaven."
Now, from the evidence I am about to adduce, I think, I shall be able to convince the reader, that "the Frogs" are the symbol of the French democracy, the old enemy of the Beasts and their Image. The testimony to establish this is as follows:
1. Montfaucon, in his Monu-mens de la Monarchie Francaise, p.4, plate 6, gives a Frog as one of the monuments of the French king, Childeric; thus writing respecting it,". Another medal representing a frog, which was also an Egyptian symbol." This was found A.D. 1623, at St. Brice, near Tournay, with other things belonging to Childeric. He reigned A.D. 456. That is, before the Franks acknowledged the Roman Bishop.
2. In the "Monde Primitif, compare avec le Monde Moder-ne," par M. Court de Gebelin, Paris, 1781, the author thus writes, p. 181, "In M. Court de Gebelin's work styled "the Primitive World compared with the Modern World," he says, "the armorial bearing of Guyenne are a leopard; those of the Celts-- especially of the Belgians--are a lion; and of the French a frog. The Frog represents the marshes whence the French originated." And again, "the Cosmography of Munster has transmitted to us a very remarkable fact of this kind. Marcomir, king of the French, having penetrated from Westphalia into Tongres, saw in a dream a figure with three heads, the one of a lion, the other of an eagle, and the third of a frog. He consulted there, it is added, a celebrated druid of the country, named Al Runus; who assured him that this figure represented the three powers which had reigned successively over the Gauls; and Celts whose symbol was the lion; the Romans designated by the eagle, and the Francs by the frog, because of their marshes."
3. In the sixth century, xlvi. of the prophecies of Nostra Damus (p. 251) translated by Garencieres of London, 1672, occur the following lines:
Unjuste sera un exil envoye
Parpestilence aus confins de non seigle;
Response au rouge le feta desvoye,
Roi retirant a la Rane et a l'aigle.
On which, Garencieres observes: "by the eagle he meaneth the emperor; and the frog, the king of France; for, before he took the fleur de luc, the French bore three frogs."
4. In Pynson's edition of Fabyan's Chronicle, at the beginning of the account of Pharamoud (the first king of the Franks who reigned at Treves about A.D. 420) there is a shield of arms bearing three frogs, (p. 37, Ellis' edit.); with the words beneath,
The banner underneath, having upon it the three frogs, is from ancient tapestry in the cathedral of Rheims, representing battle scenes of Clovis, who is said to have been baptized there after his conversion to Romanism.
The next engraving is from the Franciscan church at Innspruck; where is a row of tall bronze figures, twenty-three in number, representing principally the most distinguished personages of the House of Austria; the armor and costumes being those chiefly of the 16th century, and the workmanship excellent. Among them is Clovis, king of France, and on his shield three fleur de lis and three frogs, with the words underneath, "Clodovaeus er i Christenlich kunig von Frankreich;" that is, Clovis the first christian king of France.
1. Uptonus de Militari Officio, p. 155, states that three frogs were the old arms of France, without specifying what race of kings.
2. Professor Schott supposes the three frogs to have been distinctly the original arms of the Bourbons; bourbe signifying mud. This may have been the case. When their family became the dynasty of France, they probably assumed the frogs as their arms, being kings of the Franks, whose symbol it had been so long. The Bourbons arose out of the mud which is natural to frogs, and by the revolution of 1848 are deep in the mud again!
3. Typoticus, p. 75, gives as the device on a coin of Louis VI., the last French king before Hugh Capet, the first of the Bourbons, a frog with the inscription Mihi terra lacusque, land and water are mine, i.e. I am amphibious.
4. In the Encylopaedia Metro-politana," on Heraldry, it is stated that "Paulus Emilus blazons the arms of France, argent three diadems gules;" others say, they bear three toads, sable in a field vert (ap. Gwillim c. 1.) which, if ever they did, it must have been before the existence of the present rules."
Such is the testimony I have to offer in the case before us. The conviction produced on my mind is, the Frogs in the prophecy are the symbol of the French democratic power. It will be seen from the armorial shield of Clovis, that the frogs and the lilies were both used as symbols. They are both indigenous to wet, or marshy, lands, and therefore very fit emblems of the French, who came originally from the marshes of Westphalia. But on the shield of Pharamound, so far back as A. D. 420, the frogs without the lilies appear in the armorial bearings of the Franks; and in the medal of Childeric I. there is no lily, but the frog only. It would therefore seem from this, that the lilies were not the original arms, but superadded many years after; and at length adopted by the Bourbons as the symbol of their race in its dominion over the frogs. These, then, represent the nation, and the lilies, or fleur de lis, the ruling dynasty. Now, if the apostle had said, I saw three unclean spirits like lilies come out of the Mouths," be would have intimated by such a similitude that the French Bourbons were the cause of the "unclean spirits" issuing forth from the sultan, the emperor, and the Roman prophet. But he does not say this; he says they were like frogs. The truth, then, is obvious. In A.D. 96, when John was an exile in Patmos, the Franks were savages in an untamed country, living by hunting and fishing like American Indians. But the Holy Spirit revealed to him, that this people would play a conspicuous part in the affairs of nations; and, foreseeing by what symbol they would represent themselves, he symbolized their nation by it, and styled them "Frogs." He informed him, that under the sixth vial their influence would be remarkably apparent. That the Frog-nation would have much to do with the dragon, beast, and false prophet; in fact, that so intimate and direct would their dealing be with them, that its effect would be perceived in the warlike tendency and influence of the measures proceeding from the sultan, the emperor, and the pope; who, being so completely entangled in the complications created by the policy of the Frog-power, would in their endeavours to extricate themselves, involve the whole habitable in war, which would end in the destruction of the two-horned beast, and the false prophet, and in the subjugation of the surviving horns to a new Imperial dominion for a time.
The reader's attention is particularly invited to the interpretation of the remarkable prophecy of the "Unclean Spirits like frogs." The interpretation is entirely original; and, as the writer believes, the only true and correct one extant. If any one can show a better, and one more in harmony with what has been, is, and will be transpiring from Feb. 24, 1848, to the breaking out of that terrible war which is near at hand, why then let him do it. None will be more thankful than we for the unsophisticated and genuine construction of the text. But until such an interpretation shall appear, or we gain more light from the progress of events than we possess at present, we shall regard it as unique, and beyond dispute.
A millennium, or period of national blessedness of a thousand years, is expected by nearly all classes of society. But the kind of millennium, and the agency by which it is to be introduced, are matters of disputation. Some regard it as a "spiritual millennium," that is, a state of church-prosperity unequalled before; when the Jews shall be converted, genuine christianity be diffused through all the nations, and Christ reign by his invisible influence in a glorious manner. This invisible influence is styled his "spiritual presence," or literally, his personal absence! Others regard the millennium as a state of things to succeed the conflagration of the present earth, in which the Saints only will inhabit the earth made new from the debris of the old planet, and reigning with Christ over the beast of the field, the fowls of the air, &x. which is the original and proper dominion of man, as appears from Gen. 1:28. This they call "Paradise Restored." The scriptures, however, reveal a very different millennium from either of these. They set forth a period of one thousand years in which "all people, nations, and languages" shall constitute one dominion or empire; that this empire shall be appended to a kingdom, then existing in the land of Israel; that the subjects of this kingdom will be the Twelve Tribes of natural Israel; its throne, that of David restored; its king, Jesus " the King of the Jews;" and its peers, or nobility and administrators of its affairs, those Jews and Gentiles who shall have attained to immortality "by faith," and "through the faith (Rom. 3:30)," that is, by belief of the gospel of the kingdom before Christ came; and by belief of the same gospel and recognition of Jesus as the Christ. These Saints of the patriarchal and Mosaic economies, and of the post-pentecostial times, having risen from the dead, or been changed, will "possess the kingdom and empire, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven (Dan. 7:18,27)." Hence society in the Age to Come will be mixed. It will not be wholly mortal as now, nor wholly immortal as after the millennium; but a Theocracy on the earth in which the subjects of the kingdom and empire will be mortal, and their rulers living and incorruptible, equal to the angels (Luke 20:36.) During this time the Lord's nation will be the first-born of this nation-family; so that "the nation and kingdom that will not serve Israel shall perish (Isa. 60:12; 65:18). Jerusalem will then be a rejoicing,and her people a joy; and Yahweh will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame (Zeph. 3:19) They will be greatly blessed in their own country, then converted into the Paradise of God; and all other nations having prudence enough to submit to the sovereignty of Israel's king, will rejoice with the Twelve Tribes (Deut. 32:43) in the rest and enjoyments of those peaceful years.
Such is the thousand years, or Kingdom and Age to Come, the gospel proclaims, and which we advocate as the subject-matter of the faith which God counts to men for righteousness in the name of Jesus as its priest and king. Few, we admit, believe in such a millennium as this. That, however, is one scriptural evidence of its truth; for an almost entire faithlessness in the gospel of the kingdom is a recorded sign of the closing up of the time of the Gentiles and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Numbers are no mark of truth. We think nothing of numerical force; one testimony of a prophet outweighs a host, though marshalled by all the divines and philosophers of the age.
These gentlemen have sadly erred respecting the agency by which the millennium is to be introduced--as egregiously as they have in regard to the nature of the millennium itself. They suppose it will come on by degrees, and be fully established when the world is seven thousand years old. This coming on, they imagine, will be the result of clerical preaching, of the operation of benevolent institutions for the illumination of the people, the circulation of the Bible, and so-forth! But we need hardly say to those who take heed to the sure word of prophecy, that all this is mere twaddle, and utterly at variance with the Law and the Testimony. The agency is of a very opposite character to this. As a whole, it is revolutionary, diplomatic, military, naval, and lastly, supernatural. This agency, which is premillennial, is necessary to effect a political clearance, so as to make room for "the Mountain" which is to "fill the whole earth." There is no resting place for "the Stone" even, to say nothing of the Mountain, so long as the land of Israel is in the possession of the Gentiles; and though the Stone-kingdom occupied the land, it could not become "a great mountain," it would still be restricted to the Land promised to Christ and Abraham, so long as the existing thrones, and dominions, principalities and powers, continue to rule over the people, languages, and nations of other countries. Hence, the Horn-kingdoms of the west must be humbled; the Austro-papal empire must be destroyed; and the Dragon-dominion of the combined east and west broken to pieces on the mountains of Israel; after which Assyria, Persia, Greece, and the iron-kingdoms of the west, must be subdued, and made subservient to the law of Him who wastes and overcomes them.
But before Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Naples, and Greece--seven of the Horn-kingdoms having in them the strength of the iron--can lose their independence and become vassal--kingdoms to the Dragon;--before Austria and its papal ally--the Beast and False Prophet--can be destroyed and their territories occupied by the Dragon;--the flames of war must be kindled in all those countries. It is the mission of the "Unclean Spirits like Frogs" to accomplish this. They have been at this work since Feb., 1848. They are at it now, and will not cease their wonder-working influence until they have embroiled "the kings of the earth, and the whole habitable." The governments may try to keep the peace, but they will not be able. When the war begins it will wax hot and terrible; and will not end till Magogue and Gomer and his bands become subject to the "Prince of Ros, Mosc, and Tobl;" that is, until Germany and the ten kingdoms of the west acknowledge the sovereignty of the Autocrat of All the Russias. The war will then take its direction eastward. The embattled hosts of the Russo-Assyrian king of the north will overspread the land of Israel as a cloud. Then will Britain and the Autocrat contend for the dominion of the east. Thus will the ambition of the latter, and the preservation of India to Britain, bring "all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;" and thus assembled, the Lord appears and overthrows them with a terrible defeat. But more of this anon.
In the last week of Feb. 1848, the Parisian democracy, ever foremost in revolution, plucked the Bourbon Lily from its throne, and thrust it deep into its native mud. This dynasty of a thousand years was abolished, and the nation resumed its original Westphalian right of choosing a ruler better suited to its taste. The Fleur de Lis being thrown aside, the Frogs by a vote of six millions set over themselves the nephew of their democratic emperor, who had done such good service in executing judgment upon their enemies. The president of the French Republic is therefore the incarnation of the Frog power, as the Bourbaons were of the beast while ruling the tenth of the kingdoms. From February the outbreaks of the democracy in other countries became frequent and formidable; and the National Assembly and its Provisional Government constituted in fact the Parliament and executive of the democracy throughout Europe. Under the shadow of their favor Germany and Italy became insurgent, and Hungary followed in the wake of insurrection. The earth shook on every side. Urged on by its democracy, Sardinia attacked the Beast; and, provoked by the treachery of the false prophet, the people of Rome rose, and scared him into exile. After this, the plucking up of the Lombard Kingdom by the roots, and the defeat of the Sardinian horn at Novara, by which the Little Horn became triumphant in Italy, caused the Frogs to seize on Rome that their interests in the Peninsular might be preserved from annihilation. By this move the Frog-nation placed itself in antagonism to the two-horned Beast and the false prophet. The Frogs invited the prophet to return to Rome; in other words, to put himself in their power, for which, with the experience of French hospitality towards his predecessors before his eyes, and the treatment he has already received in Rome, he has not the smallest inclination, notwithstanding all his professions to the contrary. If he were to return, he could not remain there twenty-four hours in the absence of a strong military force; and the Frogs will consent to no other than their own; for they occupied Rome, not our of love to the pope, but as a check upon Austria in Italy. The truth is, Austria and the pope are natural allies; and are as intimately related as the eyes and mouth of a man are to the man himself. Their fortunes are inseparable. The fate of one is the fate of both, even perdition by the burning flame of war.
The army of the Frog power has seized upon Rome, and the false prophet refuses to return, because he regards the Frogs as his real foes. If the Austrians had possession of the city he would go back in triumph; but this not being the case, he is obliged to temporize until the times be more propitious. After this manner, then, the Frogs have become an obstacle in the way of Austria and the pope, who are both desirous of their expulsion from Rome. They have become the occasion of unclean spirits proceeding from the emperor and the Roman prophet, which will yet embroil them all, and in the end accomplish the destruction of the Austro-papal dominion.
In regard in the Sultan, the Frogs are seen exerting their influence upon him. They have assured him of their support in case of his being attacked by Russia. This promise is sure, sooner or later, to bring on a war between the Porte and the Autocrat. If the Sultan had been left to himself, being weak, he would have yielded and so have avoided the chance of war; but being energized by France and England, tow strong military and naval powers, the Sultan feels himself a match for Russia, and prepared to assume a bold and warlike attitude. But these assurances will only lure him on to ruin. No powers, however strong, can save dominions foredoomed of God. Their friendship for the Sultan will be as fatal to him, as the friendship of England for Austria and the Pope wee to them in the days of Napoleon. The autocrat, being God's sword upon Turkey, will be too strong for them both; for in the tumult and confusion created by the measures of the Sultan, the emperor, and the Roman bishop, their several dominions will be abolished, and the autocrat remain lord of the ascendant.
If the reader take a survey of Europe as exhibited in the events of the last two years, he will see the view I have presented still further illustrated. The Pope and the emperor have been the principals who have brought about the wars on the continent. The unclean spirit of the Little Horn went forth to Russia and brought down its host upon Hungary; it is also going forth to Prussia in opposition to the democratic constitution it is developing at Erfurt; and, in concert with Russia, it has gone forth to the Sultan, with whom it has interrupted its former amicable relations. Before the Pope consented to be restored by France, an unclean spirit went forth from him likewise, and brought the Austrians, Neapolitans, and Spaniards, into his states, when he found the Frogs could not be excluded. I pointed these things out to thousands of people in my lectures, and told them, that in regard to Hungary they were deceiving themselves if they imagined the Magyars would succeed in their war of independence. That Hungary was a brittle toe-kingdom, and one of the three horns which were to be "plucked up by the roots" by the Little Horn. Meetings of sympathy for the Hungarians were being held throughout England; and news arriving every week of Austrian defeats, and Magyar victories. Still, I said, if I have fallen upon the true principles of interpretation, it is impossible for the Hungarians to triumph. So certainly incorrect did some regard this view of the matter, that they said, when I returned to London I should have to expunge what I had advanced about Hungary from the manuscript before I published this book. A preacher who had listened to me at one place, was so convinced of my error, that in his next discourse he predicted the certain triumph of the "brave Hungarians" over all their enemies. But, alas for him. Men should never prophecy of the future from present appearances. Though these were against my exposition, I was persuaded it would turn out in the end as I had said; and I added furthermore, that "an unclean spirit" was to go forth out of the mouth of the dragon, as well as from the false prophet; but that while we could discern "the spirits issuing forth from these, we did not yet perceive one issuing from the Sultan: nevertheless, though then calm and tranquil, we should soon see a warlike disposition manifest itself in his policy growing out of the Hungarian war. The unclean spirit of the Little Horn had brought the Russians into Hungary, which would only whet their appetites for Turkey, whom they would prepare to devour next. In two or three weeks after making these statements, which as I have said before, were not whispered in a corner, but spoken before thousands, all Europe was astounded by the news of Gorgey's surrender, and therein of the Magyar cause. The details are known to every one. And as I had said, so it came to pass, Turkish sympathy with the Hungarians, and hospitality to the refugees, was made a casus belli by the autocrat; and on the refusal of the Sultan to violate it, diplomatic relations were broken off between Russia, Austria, and Turkey; and the "unclean spirit" energized by the Frogs, exhibits even the Sultan as a belligerent.
The mission, then, of these three demons for the brief period which remains of their political existence, is to stir up the nations to war, which will redound to their own destruction. The press is prophesying smooth things, and persuading the world of the moderation of the autocrat, and of the good intentions of Austria and the Pope! It has told us several times that the extradition affair was composed and that peace between Russia and Turkey will not be interrupted; and as often it unsays what it had before affirmed. But, the reader need place no reliance upon newspaper speculations.--Their scribes know not what God has revealed, consequently their reasonings are vain, and sure to take a wrong direction. As records of facts, the journals are invaluable; but if a person permit his opinions to be formed by the views presented in leading articles, and the letters of "our own correspondents," he will be continually misled, and compelled to eat his words for evermore. The Bible is the enlightener. If men would not be carried about by every wind that blows, let them study this. It will unfold to them the future, and make them wiser than the world. The coming years will not be years of peace. The policy of the autocrat will be to throw his adversaries off their guard, and take the Sultan by surprise. He is to "come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter into the countries, and overflow and pass over. And many countries shall be overthrown (Dan. 11:40,41)." This is the career marked out for him; which neither France, nor England, nor the world combined can obstruct, or circumvent.
In dismissing this part of the subject, it is necessary to call the attention of the reader to a very important information in connexion with the prophecy of the "unclean spirits like frogs." This part of the prediction is contained in four verses, that is, from the thirteenth to the sixteenth inclusive. Now, if the reader will examine the passage, he will find that there is a break in the prophecy. That is to say, the subject of the spirits of demons gathering the kings of the whole habitable to war, is suddenly and entirely dropped; and an altogether different subject introduced. This new topic is nothing less than the appearance of him who sent and signified the contents of the apocalypse to his servant John (Rev. 1:1). "Behold," says he, "I come as a THIEF. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." Then, in the next verse, the former subject is revived, and it is revealed, that the angel of the sixth vial gathers the kings and their armies into the battle-field of Armageddon; where, as we learn from other testimony, they encounter the Lamb upon whom they make war, without knowing, probably, that he is the commander of the forces with which they are contending (Rev. 17:14; 19:19,21).
Now, does it not strike the reader as remarkable that the coming of the Lord should be introduced in a prophecy like that concerning the frogs? But singular as it may seem it is by no means accidental, but the best possible place for it, because it is intimately connected with their operations. It is mercifully introduced as a warning of what is about to happen at the crisis, that the believer may not be taken at unawares. It speaks to us in effect, saying, "When you perceive the policy of the frog power acting upon the demon of Turkey, the demon of Austria, and the demon of Romanism, so as to cause them to assume an attitude tending to embroil the nations, you may then know that I, the Lord, am about to revisit the world stealthily." Christ says, "Behold I come as a thief." That is, he comes as a thief comes when he is bent on stealing. A thief not only comes unexpectedly but he gets into the house with secrecy. John, indeed, says "He cometh with clouds and every eye shall see him, even those kai hoitines who pierced him; and all the tribes of the land shall mourn in his presence (ep 'auton."){Rev. 1:7} This, however, is affirmed of his appearance in Israel, when he shall make himself known to his brethren after the type of Joseph; (Zech. 13:10-14) which will be subsequently to the great battle in the valley of Megiddo. The 185,000 Assyrians in the reign of Hezekiah felt the vengeance of the destroyer, but they saw him not; so I believe it will be at the battle of Armageddon, the kings and their armies will be overcome with dreadful slaughter, but they will not see the Avenger's person. The work of the succeeding forty years requires that so signal a revelation be witheld from them. Israel and the saints of the holy city will see the Lord; but not the nations at large. The divine majesty is not prodigal of its manifestations. Men in the flesh, therefore, will I apprehend, believe in the presence of the Lord on earth as its imperial and pontifical ruler, as nations now believe in the existence and sovereignty of the Autocrat, the Sultan, the Emperor, or the Pope, of whom they have heard by the report of others, but whom they have not seen, and perhaps may never behold. Men profess now to believe that the Lord Jesus is at the right hand of God; but hereafter they will believe that he is "reigning in Jerusalem before his Ancients gloriously; (Isaiah 14:23) and their faith if made perfect by works, will, doubtless, as now, be counted to them for righteousness.
But, let the reader, observe, that in connexion with the warning given, a blessing is pronounced on those who are heedful of the signs of the times. "Blessed," says Jesus, "is he that watcheth." Now no one can watch without light. If the heavens be dark, the watchman must be provided with light, or he cannot watch. By gazing at the natural luminaries as some professors are accustomed to do, no light can be derived, nor signs observed permonitory of the coming of the Lord. This is "the way of the heathen," and "a custom which is vain (Jer. 10:2,3,)." The natural heavens are impenetrably dark in relation to his appearing. The believer, or spiritual watchman, must take "the sure word of prophecy," which is the only "light" capable of enlightening him in the surrounding gloom. This world is "a dark place" and its cosmopolites who understand not the word mere embodiments of fog. If we understand "the word of the kingdom" we shall "shine as lights in the world," and be enabled to rejoice in the approach of "the day of Christ." By the "shining light of prophecy" we shall be able to interpret the signs which God has revealed as appearing int he political heavens and earth. Events among the nations of the Roman habitable, and not atmospheric phenomena, are the signs of the coming of the Lord as a thief; whose nature, whether signs or not, can only be determined by "the testimony of God."
From the whole, then, there can be no doubt in the mind of a true believer. He discerns the sign given under the sixth vial as manifestly, and believes as assuredly that the Lord is at hand, as they who observed the sun setting in Syrian splendor knew that the coming day would be glorious. Be not deceived, then, by the syren-voices of the peace-prophets. Ere long the last and most terrible of wars will break out. The beast and the false prophet will be destroyed, and the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Let this conviction work out its intended results. The blessing is not simply to him that watcheth; but to him that "watcheth and keepeth his garments." Simply to believe that the Lord is near, and to be able to discern the signs of the times, will not entitle a man to the blessing. He must "buy gold tried in the fire; and white raiment, that he may be clothed, and that the shame of his nakedness do not appear; and anoint his eyes with eye-salve, that he may see (Rev. 3:18)." In other words, he must believe "the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ;" follow the example of the Samaritans and be baptized into the name of the Holy Ones; and thenceforth perfect his faith by his works, as Abraham did. He will then be a lamp, well oiled and trimmed, and fit to shine forth as a glorious light at the marriage of the Lamb. A community of such persons in a city, constitutes the Lamb's wife there, prepared for the coming of the Lord. He is arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen represents the righteousness of the saints (Rev. 19:7,8);" who have "washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Therefore they will be "before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple (or kingdom:) and he that sitteth upon the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes (Rev. 7:14-17)." The representative number of their aggregate is 144,000 (Rev. 14:1-3); and their representative measure 144 cubits (Rev. 21:17). "There are they who (in the days of their flesh) were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God, and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God." At present, they are the "holy city trodden under foot of the Gentiles;" but when changed and raised from the dead, and exalted to meet the Lord in the air, and are seen descending thence towards Zion, they are "the great city, the new and holy Jerusalem, having the glory of God (Rev. 11:2; 21:2,9,10,11)."
This, then, is the great desideratum of the age, namely, the preparation of a people for the Lord; a people whose character shall answer to the testimonies adduced. "The churches" do not contain such a people, neither can their pulpit ministrations produce them. In fact, "the churches" are precisely what college divinity is alone competent to create. "The truth as it is in Jesus" is not taught in the schools. They are mere nurseries of pride, professional religion, and conceit; and "the droppings of the sanctuary" which their nurslings are appointed to distil, wear away the intelligence of the people, and leave them irresponsive to "the testimony of God." Nothing short of this, unmixed with the traditions of men, can make people what they must be if they would inherit his kingdom. Other gospels will make other kinds of christians than those who believe the gospel the apostles preached. We must forsake the pulpits, and devote the time usually spent in dozing over their mar-text expositions, to the Berean scrutiny of the scriptures for ourselves. These alone are able to make us wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. Hearing "sermons" is not "hearing the word." It is this we must hear if we would have faith; for "faith comes by hearing the word of God." If the gospel of the kingdom were preached in "the churches," and believed, there would be no more complaints of want of spirituality and life. There would be so much of these, that they would be too hot to hold the worldlings who overshadow them with the wings of death. They would go out from them, because they were not of them. Let the well disposed in "the churches" try the experiment, and they will soon discover the truth of what is here stated. The time is come in which there must be no faint-heartedness, and when a courageous testimony must be borne for the word of the kingdom. Ministerial favor and popularity must be utterly disregarded; and the question be, not "what saith the minister?" or "what will people think?" It matters not what they say, or think, in the case; the simple question is, "How is it written?" "What saith the word?" Let this course be pursued in candor, and I doubt not, but in a short time a people will spring up in this island prepared for the Lord, whom he will acknowledge at his return.
(By Dr. John Thomas)