THE
IMPELLING FORCE
OF
PROPHETIC Tr/uTH
First Published . . January, 1935
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
M. F. ROBINSON 6׳ CO. LTD., AT THE LIBRARY PRESS, LOWESTOFT
[Frontispiece
ΤΗΚ Μ'ΤΙΙΟΚ IN HIS STUDY
THE
IMPELLING FORCE
OF
PROPHETIC TRUTH
By
L. R. CONRADI
Author of
“Mystery Unfolded,” “History of the Sabbath and Sunday,” Commentaries on the Books of Daniel and Revelation, including
many Translations in the Germen end other languages, etc.
Thynne & Co. Ltd. and Daily Prayer Union 28-30 WHITEFRIARS STREET, LONDON, E.C.4
THE COLGATE ROCHESTER DIVINITY SCHOOL, ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.
♦
The Bulletin, Conrad Henry Moehlman, Editor.
Dr. L. R. Conradi,
Hamburg, Germany.
Dear Mr. Conradi,
A reading of your extensive manuscript would convince anyone that you have collected a large amount of very valuable material.
As a source book on Christian Millenarianism it is very complete.
I know of nothing quite like it. Little has escaped your attention.
Christian scholarship is but on the fringe of the vast mine of apocalypticism. There is still much to be explored. YTour diggings will help.
Very cordially,
Conrad Moehlman.
Rochester, N.Y., July 19, 1932.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Born on March 20, 1856, at Carlsruhe, Baden, in the South of Germany, the Lord by His Grace implanted in me a love for study and for work in general. Latin was taught me from early youth, later French and Greek, but History and Geography became my passion until my fifteenth year. Having lost my father at an early age, my mother urged me to learn a trade, so I decided to become a cooper, but dissatisfied with coopering gave it up and landed all alone, September, 1872, at New York. Drifting from Catholic superstition into infidelity, I found in January, 1878 (while cleaning land and boarding with a farmer in Iowa), a Christian home, where the family altar was set up and the Bible was read. Soon the Word of God took deep root in my heart, and the history of the world, so wonderfully outlined in the pro-phetic word, arrested my attention, and readily con-vinced me that God Himself had spoken here indeed. Out in the woods, for the first time the Spirit of God taught me to stammer, “Abba, Father!” and Jesus became most precious to my soul. Gladly did I forsake all ; my mother disinherited me as far as the law allowed her to, but leaving all for my Saviour, I found All in Him.
The Lord indeed knew how to draw a lost sinner by His wonderful love, and to spare my life. I well re-member when I was laid low with smallpox at the Cincinnati Hospital, Ohio, and the Doctor had declared that my case was almost hopeless, how dark my future seemed—for I would have died without God and without hope. He directed my steps from Long Island to Baltimore, from there to Chicago, from there to Cincinnati, then from there to Wyandotte, Kansas, way down to New Orleans and Yazoo City until I was willing to listen to His voice. Having been reared in a section of Germany where wine and beer
THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
VI
were freely used, having worked for eighteen months in wine cellars and breweries, He, in mercy, entirely took away the appetite I had acquired for alcohol. I was taught that smoking was a sign of manliness ; later, I became a slave to the habit of chewing tobacco, so that it seemed impossible to live without it, but, freed by the Lord, my own victory helped me later on to free others from that terrible form of slavery.
My aim now centred in the great desire to testify to others what the Lord had done for me, and ere a year had passed, the Lord had helped me to win souls for Him, even though I had to sacrifice whole days and parts of nights to accomplish this. Asked whether I did not desire to earn sufficient means to enable me to complete my English education and become a missionary, I answered that I left that with my Lord. At the same time, I unknowingly gained that very experience in soul-winning, which can only be acquired by doing it.
My success attracted the attention of my brothers and sisters in Christ, and, almost against all hope, the way was opened for me to visit a college in Michigan, and to finish a four years’ course in about eighteen months. At the same time I improved the opportunity by becoming a typesetter, and thus covered nearly all expenses myself. A half dollar or so sufficed for my simple food each week, and kept my head clear to master Greek and English and even prepare a stencilled chart of Hebrew7 roots for the University at Chicago, 111.
In 1881 the love of Christ constrained me to give up my well-paid job as printer, and with $75 which I had saved, to return to Iowa to preach the blessed tidings of salvation. God blessed my ministry among German-Russian farmers in South Dakota so abundantly that by the summer of 1882 I had built up several substantial churches, and on the fourth of July I was ordained.
Thus far, all my attention had been centred on becom-ing an efficient soul-winner. But my ordination almost made it necessary to find a suitable helpmate, one w7ho also could sing, play the organ, and who was willing to share with me a life of toil and self-denial. And here again the Lord opened up the w7ay in a marvellous manner. When in 1880
ON TOP OF MARS HILL
AT THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN, NEAR PEKING.
vil
BIOGRAPHY
I with nine others graduated (my theme being “ Human Activity ”) we ten exchanged portraits. The photographer exhibited these ten in his studio. Some time later a lady student of the same college, but entirely unknown to me, went to this artist to have her photo taken. He, with her consent, placed one of the ten on a little stand beside her as an ornament. It chanced to be mine ; no ! not chance, the Lord guided his hand to select mine. The lady was born in 1854 near Dartmouth, Devonshire, and at a very early age emigrated with her parents to Canada, later to Michigan, and after a trying pioneer life her father, Mr. Wakeham, acquired a little farm near Denison, Iowa. During the six months I spent in Iowa, preaching the Gospel, my fellow minister invited me to come with him to visit the Denison church. . During the few visits, Miss Wakeham and I became acquainted, but she never mentioned that she had my photo. She being the church clerk, I asked her to keep me informed about a German family, which had become interested. Sometime later when looking about for a suitable companion, my mind was directed to this lady for several reasons : from her youth up she had been a devoted Baptist ; by great self-denial she attained sufficient education to obtain a state school teacher’s first-class certificate. She loved to sing, and play the organ. Having studied some German in the college and taught for about six years in German settlements, she was able to speak the language and had become familiar with a life of self-denial. When I (by letter) asked her to become my helpmate, she at once replied in the affirmative, being fully persuaded that indeed the Lord had led us. After a happy married life of forty-five years, her letter of August 31, 1927, written on the anniversary of our wedding day, is very beautiful. “ In thinking back, forty-five years ago, when you became all mine, what memories crowd into my mind. I’ve never been sorry, Richard, that I cast in my lot with you, you’ve been a good husband to me, and my love for you has grown instead of diminished. Now, Darling, God’s blessing for the future on your work. With love, yours as ever, Lizzie.”
She rests since February, 1928, in the beautiful Ohls-
Vlll THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
dorf cemetery, Hamburg. The lot beside hers is my only earthly real estate !
To save and to get along on $6 or $8 a week, we bought a claim shanty for $15. We ourselves made an addition to it costing $25 more and thus faced four cold Dakota winters, but happy in the love of Christ. God blessed our united labours, so that from 1882 to January, 1886 some 700 souls were won in Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The farmers urged us to take up a homestead ; they them-selves, besides, even offered to plant a timber claim, 320 acres, in all, of good farmland ; but the Lord had greater things in store for us than earthly possessions. The effective evangelistic work, done hitherto chiefly among German-Russian colonists, created a desire on their part that I should visit their relatives in Russia. The Mission-board consented. My dear wife had, at the risk of her own life, given birth to a son in March, 1883. Feeble in health, we set out on the Cunarder Oregon in January 1886, settling at Basle, Switzerland, until the spring of 1889, when we moved to Hamburg. While awaiting summer to visit Russia, I followed an urgent call to give a series of German lectures. At Lausanne, and by May, more than twenty believers were baptized by me in the beautiful lake of Geneva.
Never having been in Russia, my entry would have been frustrated if the good Lord had not prepared the way. As my destination was the Crimea to begin with, I went by way of Hungary and Roumania, but for some strange reason chose to take the Danube steamer from Guirgiv to Galatz. En route I met a Jewish missionary, Friedman, of the London Mission, who told me that when he asked for his visa at Constantinople he had been refused, the reason given being that no missionaries were wanted in Russia. So he had to come to Bucharest, and there succeeded, because, he, as a private man, desired to visit his relatives in Russia. Accordingly, on reaching Galatz, I told the Russian Consul that I was a printer by trade and wanted to visit some of my German friends. I had quite an amount of German religious literature with me, but Reni being a small border station they finally let me
DAMASCUS.
MOUNT LEBANON.
IX
BIOGRAPHY
pass, as I was unable to give them any explanation in Russian.
Being harvest time, I passed from settlement to settle-ment among interested believers, never realizing that thus for weeks I escaped a danger that threatened me. After having gathered quite a company and baptized several persons, the sheriff found me and my interpreter, after having hunted for me in vain for some days. He at once took our passports and we were taken to Perekop and without any trial whatever were cast into the county jail. Day and night we heard the clanking of chains, quite a number of prisoners being banished Monday after Monday to far-off Siberia. Everything was taken from us, except a German and a Russian Bible with which I improved the weary hours by studying Russian. The jailor watched the prisoners constantly. A little hole in the door, called the Judas , hole, enabled him to know what we were doing in our cell. As he saw us now and then on our knees praying and knew that we were reading the Bible, he made fun of us, and scofhngly declared :	“ Your God will never hear you.״ Being
(since 1885) an American citizen, I wrote a letter to the American ambassador at St. Petersburg, but not until my letter had gone to the governor at Simferopel, and been returned from there, could it (after ten days’ delay) be finally sent. The Ambassador, the Honourable Mr. Lathrop, of Detroit, Mich, was, at that time, the only American ambassador in the world who happened to know, from personal experience gained at the Sanatorium of Dr. Kellogg, of Battle Creek, that I was a believer in Christ Jesus and not a heretic, as the accusation asserted. He accordingly wrote me that though the charge against me was a very grave one, yet he would do his best on my behalf. He himself went to the Russian minister—the Foreign Secretary—and not until he had pledged his word of honour that I was a believer in Christ Jesus, did the minister wire to set us at liberty.
Strange as it seemed, we were exactly forty days and nights in jail. When the jailor had to bring us to the justice of peace, who recorded our release, he, of his own accord, testified that “ he was not worthy to lead
THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
X
us, because our God indeed had heard us If we would only trust our Lord more, what great things He would do, to Whom all power in heaven and on earth belongs ! Quite a number of times afterwards I went to Russia, preaching behind closed doors in St. Petersburg and other large cities, and throughout the German colonies, often the police chasing me, but unable to take me in time. In Roumania, Bohemia, Turkey, Hungary I had the police after me, and was expelled several times. But God, turning the seeming defeat into final victory, opened again the way for my return.
It was but natural, that with the growth of means, my soul went out towards the poor heathen in Africa, who had never heard of Christ. An interview with Count Gotzcn, the German governor of East Africa, paved the way, so, in 1903, our first missionaries were sent. My constant aim was to obtain virgin soil, and this the Lord readily and abundantly supplied in the Pare mountains and later on, along the Eastern coast of the great Lake Victoria, Nyanza. Three times, 1904, 1908 and 1913 I myself visited these fields and noted the development. Young heathen boys, having no written language of their own, were gradually drawn to Christ by the Divine power of the blessed Gospel, until they themselves became mission-aries for Him. The British Bible Society gladly furnished the means to get out a New־ Testament in the Chasu tongue, and to-day a strong mission work is being carried on there. Later on I twice visited the Italian colony of Eritrea to start mission work among the Abyssinians. Also I visited Persia, and South and West Africa. The Moham-medan world was not forgotten ; I have baptized in the Nile and in the Jordan; among the Armenians in Asia Minor, in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, etc. During 1908 I made quite an extensive trip to the Argentine, Chile and Brazil. How inspiring was that wonderful World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh, when a generous Scotch merchant cared for all my wants !
Not even the great World War could prevent the free evangelization of the everlasting Gospel, though it became necessary for me to change my earthly citizenship, in order to stay in the old world and share its sufferings,
Aï BEREA.
THE AUTHOR WITH FRIENDS ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT OF ATHENS
XI
BIOORAFHY
and also behold the restoration of peace and its blessings. Why do men and nations prepare for war and to kill, and not rather spend their energies and means in planting the hope of eternal life in the hearts of their subjects ? During 1925 I spent three months in Soviet Russia on a philanthropic mission to the Volga German Republic, and thus with my own eyes beheld the terrible condition of its hospitals and orphan homes.
In 1926 I was invited to make a missionary tour in the far East. Going by way of Siberia I conducted Bible conferences in various cities of China, and visited Japan, Korea, Manchuria and the Philippine Islands. A severe attack of liver poisoning brought me so low at Peking that the doctors despaired of my life. Restored again I was urged to visit Weichow, inland from Hongkong, to hold a conference, but on account of the extreme cold had a relapse, and spent several weeks at׳ the Peak Hospital at Hongkong. The sea voyage of six weeks from Hong-kong to Naples brought some relief, but in March I had a third attack in the Hospital at Berlin, where my only son, with two other expert doctors, finally succeeded, with God’s blessing, in restoring my health. Ever since I have been able to do most arduous mental work, without ever losing a single day. The Lord indeed has been good to me.
As my tongue testified of the blessedness of the ever-lasting Gospel of Jesus Christ, it was but natural that at an early date my pen did the same. My experience as printer proved to be a great help to me as editor of German religious journals, and as corresponding editor of English journals. Some of my smaller publications reached a circulation of one million. My first greater literary effort was the revision of an English History of the Sab-bath and Sunday, and to re-write the whole in German. In order to accomplish my task I had to consult many libraries on the Continent, also the British Museum, and the Congressional library at Washington. Later, I wrote a number of pamphlets about “ The Ministry of Angels ”, “ The Bible as the Book of Books ”, “ The Groaning of Creation After Life Eternal”, and “The Blessed Hope”, which had a very large circulation in different languages.
But my real life’s study became more and more the
THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
ΧΠ
sure Word of Divine Prophecy. After writing, during 1897-98, editorials on Daniel and Revelation in German, I finally wrote a large Commentary on each of these books in German, of which fourteen editions appeared ; over 200,000 of each were circulated, thus having the largest circulation of any commentary in German on Prophecy. The many editions caused me more and more to consult older Com-mentaries, and thus gradually to become better acquainted with the History of Apocalyptic Interpretation. Transía-tions were called for in Spanish, Swedish, Danish, and Finnish. In time I also wrote an English work, entitled “ The Mystery Unfolded ”, which was published in London, and which was printed in about a dozen different languages.
More and more I became convinced that the only way to do justice to the impelling power of prophetic truth would be to thoroughly study all the old commen-taries on Daniel and Revelation in the leading languages. Weeks were spent in the great continental libraries and twice three months in the British Museum. On many days I copied from 9 a.m. till 6 p.m. without any inter-ruption. A German work of some 600 pages was the preparatory step. Three times I carefully selected the English material, boiled it down again and again, and in order to enable the reader to grasp its contents I grouped it into nearly 100 articles, each a complete unit by itself.
My great aim now was to ascertain the gradual de-velopment of prophetic fulfilment, century after century, ever since these two books have been written. To my great surprise I found that, quickly after the actual fulfil-ment, some interpreter would certify to it, and it gradu-ally became an accepted fact, certified as such by many subsequent writers. Latin being the universal language, all the subsequent writers could easily trace what had been written before. Another important fact became very evident—the wonderful effect the interpretation of the prophetic word had in causing mighty movements, such as that of the Donatists, the Waldensians, the Lollards, the great Reformation itself, and finally the wonderful “ Missionary Century ”, when Bible and Mission societies fulfilled Matt. 24 : 14. Commentators, persuaded and fully aware of the impelling force of the Prophetic
THE ANCIENT GATEWAY OF TARSUS.
THE AUTHOR RESTING OUTSIDE ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL AT THESSATONICA
Xlll
BIOGRAPHY
Truth, dedicated their interpretations to the mightiest rulers and called their attention to the very work, which these rulers as instruments in God’s hand were called upon to do. Even royal pens were set in motion to expound prophecies which were being fulfilled in their own days. Like as Daniel and John of old had suffered, many of the interpreters suffered likewise for testifying to the actual fulfilment of certain important prophecies in their own day. Many even sealed their testimony to the pro-phetic truth with their own blood. Like their Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who indeed was the Prophet par excellence and also the Fulfiller, many faithful interpreters and recorders of actual fulfilment ended in prison, were burned, torn asunder, so that His glory will also be theirs.
Indeed to my own soul, the prophetic Word has become more and more a shining light, which has increased in splendour as the days have passed by.' The blessings pronounced by my gracious Master, on one who reads, studies and heeds these wonderful prophecies, have been realized more and more in my own experience. Therefore to Him alone be all the glory and the honour.
THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
I
Would you with power convincing tell The message of our Father's love ?
Then, show His plans in Holy Writ,
And how He reigns in Heaven above.
II
O'er all this Earth our Lord doth rule,
His foretold plans fulfil doth He.
So, study much these happenings In standard works of history.
III
These are the footprints of our Lord,
“ Signs of the Times " for all to see.
Jesus a bright example set,
When preaching down in Galilee.
IV
In NazTeth’s synagogue ; the truth Found in the Prophecies, He taught,
What's future, still, He left untouched But, that, fulfilled, to date He brought.
V
Fulfilment of God's plans, His theme :
All wondered at His gracious power.
Authority like His, He loves To grant His servants, hour by hour.
VI
If, to His words, they close adhere,
Point to what time has sure fulfilled ;
Add not to what is future still,
This is the rule our Father willed.
VII
“To preach Lord's year acceptable '',
“ Fulfilled that day was in their ears '',
“ Now is still the accepted time ",
Anxious souls this message cheers.
William Spence, Μ,Ι,Ν,Α.
CONTENTS
Introduction.
THE IMMUTABILITY OF GOD׳S COUNSEL : “ THUS IT MUST BE ״	-
DIVINE REVELATION PROGRESSIVE -
A PROGRESSIVE AND DIVINE SETTING FOR THE PICTURE OF THE FUTURE	-	...	-
AN “ INCREASED KNOWLEDGE ״* OF PROPHETIC INTERPRETATION ־ FULFILLED PROPHECY THE STANDARD OF INTERPRETATION FOR UNFULFILLED	....	-
EPHESUS—The Church of the “ Desirable ” Apostolic Period.
״ THUS IT IS WRITTEN, AND THUS IT BEHOVED CHRIST TO SUFFER ״ “ A MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY—A LIGHT, THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE ”	-----
God “ BY REVELATION MADE KNOWN UNTO ME THE MYSTERY ”
“ THINGS WHICH MUST SHORTLY COME TO PASS ״
SMYRNA—The Church of the Martyrs under Pagan Rome.
THE INFLUENCE OF THE PROPHETIC WORD OVER HEATHEN PHILOSOPHERS	-----
THE SHARP SWORD OF THE SPIRIT AGAINST ALL FALSE DOCTRINES PROPHECY THE GROUND OF HOPE FOR TERTULLIAN AND THE MON-TANISTS	------
HIPPOLYTUS, THE FIRST EXPOSITOR OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY CYPRIAN, THE BISHOP-MARTYR, ON THE NEARNESS OF THE END VICTORINUS OF PETAU, EARLIEST CONTINUOUS APOCALYPTIC COMMENTARY -
LACTANTIUS RECORDS THE FULFILMENT OF REVELATION 2
PERGAMOS—The Imperial State Church.
AN IMPERIAL BANQUET, “ A PICTURE OF THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST ” DANIEL 7 : 25 FIRST APPLIED TO THE ARIAN CONSTANTIUS
3
CONTENTS
4
PAG B
PERGA MOS—The Imperial State Church—contd.
THE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY ASSAILED AND EARLY HOPES
BLIGHTED	70 ־ - ־
JULIAN WOULD DEFY PROPHECY BY ATTEMPTING TO REBUILD THE
JEWISH TEMPLE	75 - ־ ־ ־
TYCHONIUS SPIRITUALIZES THE FIRST RESURRECTION AND SECULAR-
IZES THE MILLENNIUM -	-	79 - ־
AMBROSIUS BELIEVES THE GOTHS ARE GOG : ״ WE SEE THE END OF
THE WORLD " -	-	־ ־	-	S3
JEROME BELIEVED DANIEL 2 : 21 ״IT MUST BE EXPLICITLY CON-
FIRMED 8 ־ - - ־ ״Γ) AUGUSTINE'S “ CITY OF GOD "	־	Q2
“ THE LORD WILL FOLLOW THE PROPHETIC SCHEDULE OF TIME "	97
LEO THE GREAT FORECASTS SPIRITUAL SUPREMACY OUTSHINING
THE IMPERIAL	.....	103
THE VAIN SAYING OF MANY “ THE TIME IS AT HAND '־ ׳ IO7
ΊΗΥΑΊ1RA—The Church during Papal Supremacy.
GOLD AND THE SWORD ELEVATE “ THE ANTICHRIST ” OF BARONIUS II5 “ THERE IS AN ARMY OF PRIESTS PREPARING FOR THE KING OF
PRIDE 122־ - - * - ״ “ THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION IN THE HOLY PLACE ״ (ISLAM) 129 CHARLEMAGNE WARNS AGAINST THE FOURTH BEAST OF DANIEL -	134
“ MUST HE NOT BE THE ANTICHRIST SITTING IN THE TEMPLE OF
GOD ?"	־ ־ - ־ ־	-	I39
KEEN MONKS WHO RENOUNCED THE WORLD SUCCEED IN RULING IT I45 BIBLE CHRISTIANS RECOGNIZE THAT ״ANTICHRIST IS ALREADY
AGED ־ ־ ־ ״	I53
ON THE YEAR-DAY PRINCIPLE, ABBOT JOACHIM FIXES THE 1260
YEARS AS THE TIME OF THE END	158 - - ־
j ARCHBISHOP EBERHARD AFFIRMS THE PAPACY FULFILLED t	DANIEL 7	165 ־ ־ ־
SPIRITUAL FRANCISCANS CLAIM TO BE JOACHIM’S FULFILMENT OF
REVELATION I4 : 6	־ ־	-	-	I73
THE EXPECTED “ ANGELIC POPE ״ AWED BY BONIFACE VIII. RESIGNS 181 THE JOACHIMITE DANTE GRAPHICALLY APPLIES PROPHETIC SYMBOLS
TO THE PAPACY	.....	!88
THE END EXPECTED AT THE SUPPOSED EXPIRATION OF THE 1335
YEAR-DAYS ־ ־ ־ ־	-	I94
THE PAPAL SCHISM : “THESE DEVILS IN HUMAN FORM HAVE ELECTED
ANTICHRIST "	201 ־
WYCLIF : “ OUR LORD POPE ״ FORETOLD IN THE 8tH BLASPHEMING
LITTLE HEAD -	...	207
REVELATION 13 : 1517־ “ ALREADY MANIFESTLY FULFILLED IN
THE LOLLARD BRETHREN211 - - ־ ״
CONTENTS
5
TAGS
THYATIRA—The Church during Papal Supremacy—contd.
THE TESTIMONY OF CHRIST AGAINST ANTICHRIST SEALED WITH
BLOOD	218־ ־ ־ ־ - ־
THE VICTORIOUS MAXIM ״ TRUTH WILL CONQUER ALL ”	226	־
CARDINAL CUSA RECOGNIZES THE 23OO DAYS AS YEARS	232	־
“ A THOUSAND VOICES HEARD FOR A REFORMATION IN THE HEAD AND
MEMBERS "	237 ־ ־ ־
SARDIS—The Church of the Reformation Period.
THE REFORMATION “ THE TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF
MANKIND 243 - - ־ ־ ’׳
luther’s prelude : “ at last the secrets of antichrist must
be revealed 248 -־---״
“ THE POPE CONFOUNDED AND HIS KINGDOM EXPOSED ״ BY DANIEL
THE PROPHET	253 ־ ־
LUTHER MAINTAINS ״THAT THE LAST DAY IS NEAR260 ־ . ־'״ “ THE FEATURES AND FORM OF THE PRESENT TIME STRIKINGLY
DESCRIBED IN PROPHECY ”	268 ־ ־ ־
“ NOW IS THE VERY TIME WHEN JESUS SHALL CONSUME THE ANTI-
CHRIST 275 ־־־-־-״ “ THE SEAL OF GOD ’׳ OR ״ THE POPE׳S FIRST AND HIGHEST
ABOMINATION "--283 -־־ EVANGELIC PROPHETIC TESTIMONY BEFORE KINGS AND RULERS 289 ־ ״ BEWARE OF ROME’S GOLDEN CUP AND OF THE POISON OFFERED
BY FALSE PROPHETS ”	295 ־
LUTHER URGES THE READING OF DANIEL : FOR " THE END IS
CERTAINLY NEAR ”	30 ־ ־ ־ ־I
" THE WORSHIP OF THE BEAST IS NOW BEING URGED AND FORCED
UPON US308 - - ־ - - ■ ״ " THE WORTHIE INVENTION AND GODLIE BENEFITE OF PRINTING 316 ״ TO THE ROMANISTS “ CHRIST IS NEW AND THE GOSPEL NEW 324 ־ ״ KNOX’S SERMON THE KEYNOTE OF THE SCOTCH REFORMATION 332 ־ REVELATION 14 :	6-12,	“ THE SUM AND CONTENT OF
EVANGELICAL DOCTRINE "	337־ ־ ־ ־
JESUITS׳ MISINTERPRETATION LAUDS THE ROMAN CHURCH AS THE
NEW JERUSALEM	-----	346
JAMES I SENDS HIS EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE TO THE
EUROPEAN RULERS	-----	353
THE CHURCH MILITANT OF CHRIST AND THE HOST OF ANTICHRIST 339 “ TRUTH CRUSHED TO EARTH SHALL RISE AGAIN ”	-	367
CROMWELL'S “ FIFTH MONARCHY OF THE SAINTS ”	375 ־ ־
A REFUGE OF " PROVIDENCE ” FOR THE SANCTITY OF CONSCIENCE 382 PALMONI OR THE TRUE NUMBERER IN DANIEL 8 : I3, 14	39 ־O
THE ONE THING NECESSARY :	“ I HAVE FOUND CHRIST ”	393 ־
CONTENTS
6
PAGE
PHILADELPHIA—The Mission Church of Brotherly Love.
" THE GLORIOUS CONSUMMATION OF THE PHILADELPHIAN CHURCH
MUST BE AT HAND 40 - ־ - ־ ״I THE CHURCH OF THE WILDERNESS :	" RESIST ! 408 ־ ־ ״
NEWTON :	״ TO REJECT DANIEL'S PROPHECIES, IS TO REJECT THE
CHRISTIAN RELIGION 413 ־ - ־ ״ A FORECAST OF THE “ SILVER AGE OF THE CHURCH 419 ־ - ״ BEVERLEY’S " SCRIPTURE LINE OF TIME ״ ELUCIDATING THE 23OO
YEARS	-	423־ - ־ - ־
PENN’S PRAYER I “ THOU, PHILADELPHIA, NAMED, BEFORE THOU
WAST BORN ” -	430 ־ - - - ־
REALISED FORECASTS AND PERVERTED MILLENNIAL EXPEC-
TATIONS	------	439
THE PHILADELPHIA OF ZINZENDORF’s BRETHREN AND OF BERLE-
BURG	------	444
BENGEL FIXES “ THE GREAT YEAR " ACCORDING TO HIS " GOLDEN
LINE OF TIME 450 -----״
FULFILMENT A “ GROWING EVIDENCE OF THE CERTAINTY OF DIVINE REVELATION ”	־ ־ ־ ־
THE CORRECT SOLUTION OF THE BEGINNING OF THE 23OO YEARS
FOUND	------	4(,3
״THAT WHICH IS DETERMINED SHALL BE DONE״ (üAN. II : 3O,
R.V.)	-	-	-	-	-	472־
“ HISTORY ASSUMES ITS GREATEST DIGNITY AS INTERPRETER OF
PROPHECY ”	480 ־ - - - ־
״THE ANCIENT OF DAYS SITS IN JUDGMENT487 - ־ ״ ״THE SANCTUARY CLEANSED FROM POPISH ABOMINATION2) ״ Chron.
7; 29: 13495־ ־ ־ ־ ־	(19־
" THE TRUTH OF HIS SON’S GLORIOUS ADVENT MAKETH WINGED
SPEED 502 ־-----״ " SO GREAT A FIRE MAY ONE SPARK KINDLE ! 509 ־ - ״ ״WHAT MAY I DO FOR THE LORD BEFORE HE RETURNS? 518 - ״ " AN END IS COME, THE END IS COME ! ״ (EZEK. 7:6)	525 ־
" THE DAY-STAR OF RETURNING LIGHT TO THE AMERICAN
CHURCHES 533 ־ ־ ־ ־ - - ״ THE PROGRESS OF " THIS VOICE NO HUMAN POWER CAN ARREST 542 ״
LAODICEA—The Lukewarm Church at Christ’s Return.
551
553 562
LAODICEA THE FINAL PERIOD OF THE CHURCH “ I AM THE VOICE—THE VICAR OF CHRIST ־ ״
" BEHOLD, I HAVE SET BEFORE THEE AN OPEN DOOR ״
CONTENTS
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PAGE
LAODICEA—The Lukewarm Church at Christ’s Return—contd.
IN THE LAND OF THE REFORMATION THE GOOD ״ OLD PATHS ״ ARE
FORSAKEN -	-	-	-	-	572־
׳' ALMOST IN SIGHT !—INCREASING MULTITUDES ARE LOOKING
FOR IT ”	-	-	580 - - ־
" THE GOSPEL MUST FIRST BE PREACHED UNTO ALL THE NATIONS ”	59I
״ BEHOLD, THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH . . . HATH PRE-
VAILED TO OPEN THE BOOK ”	-	598 - ־
THE
IMPELLING FORCE
OF
PROPHETIC TRUTH
INTRODUCTION
״ The path of the righteous is as the dawning light,
That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
The way of the wicked is as darkness ;
They know not at what they stumble."
—Proverbs 4 : 18, 19, A.R.V.
“ THE IMMUTABILITY OF GOü’s COUNSEL ” :	“ THUS
IT MUST BE ”
When Divine prophecy speaks, then the fulfilment is only a question of time. Prophecy is indeed “ the Scripture of Truth ”, which “ must ” in time be fulfilled. God Himself makes His sure word of prophecy the great challenge to all idolaters : “ Produce your cause ”, “ bring forth your strong reasons ”, “ shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods ” (Isa. 41 :	2123־). God reveals this prophetic truth,
years, centuries, yea, even thousands of years, before it is accomplished. From the beginning of the wrorld until the present day, Time has ever been the chief interpreter of prophecy, and history the great witness which abundantly proves that‘—whatever Jehovah foretells has such an impelling powder behind it—no creature can stop its fulfilment in due time. Prophecy is indeed but the history of events uttered or recorded before they come to pass. “ As the ages roll by, history practically takes the place of prophecy, the foretold becoming the fulfilled.”
The first prophecy was also the first proclamation of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. The great object of all prophecy is to make knowm, in the most convincing manner, to the uttermost parts of the Earth, salvation in the name of Jesus Christ alone. Prophecy begins and
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THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
10
ends with the “testimony of Jesus ”, which is its very spirit or essence (Rev. 19 : 10). Jehovah Himself pro-nounced the first prophecy in the garden of Eden immed-lately after the fall of man, announcing to the tempter the terrible results of his deed, but, to man, the sure remedy. Perpetual enmity and bitter conflict between the serpent’s brood and the woman’s seed would end in the final victory of the suffering Deliverer and the destruction of the tempter. The Seed of the beguiled woman would bruise the tempter’s head ; Satan could only bruise the heel of the Seed which would crush him. This prophecy “ arches over the guilty and suffering race like the grand vault of Heaven, illuminated by a glorious central Sun— Jesus Christ, the Sun of righteousness ”.
God in His infinite wisdom, many centuries beforehand, created wonderful prophetic types of the redeeming work of Christ, the most remarkable being Melchizedek, King of Salem, who typifies Christ as king-priest for ever at the right hand of God. Without being previously men-tioned, he, with refreshments, meets Abraham on his return from the pursuit of the kings, and blesses him. Abraham, though himself the great patriarch, acknowledged him, by paying tithes, to be the priest of the most High God (Gen. 14: 18-20). All the usual particulars about this king are entirely lacking. Centuries pass, until David, enlightened by the Spirit of God, mentions him, making the Son of God the archetype of Melchizedek : “ The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek ” (Ps. 110 : 4). Again many centuries pass, Christ is by this time, after His victory over death, seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and in Hebrews 7 the writer reveals why, in the Old Testament record, there is no mention of the birth, death, or descent of Melchizedek, who, “ made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually”. His very name and that of his residence, Salem, being significant as types : “ king of righteousness and of peace.” Surely the immutability of God’s counsel, confirmed by an oath, was now made manifest in Christ, being King of righteousness and high priest of peace for ever on our behalf : “ Thus it must be.”
II
INTRODUCTION
Blessed by Melchizedek, childless Abraham, “ against hope ”, and against all human possibility, believes the Lord, who, pointing to the innumerable stars, predicts : “ So shall thy seed be.” Strong in faith, giving glory to God, fully persuaded that, what God promised, “ he was able also to perform ”, Abraham believed, and, “ therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness ” (Rom. 4 : 2022־). This is written for us also, “ to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead ”. In two immutable things (prophetic promise and oath), “ in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation ” and hope as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, which entereth within the veil, into the Most Holy Place in Heaven, “ whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an High־priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek ” (Heb. 6: 1720־).
God Himself repeated in a more emphatic prophecy the hope held out to fallen man in Eden, confirming it unto Abraham even by an oath, as Paul shows in Galatians 3 : 16 : God “ saith not, And to seeds, as of many : but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ ”. And again we have another wonderful prophecy and fulfilment in Galatians 3 : 8 : “ And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Christ’s testimony to the Jews had a deeper meaning than most of us perceive : “ Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day : and he saw it, and was glad ” (John 8: 56).
What the Lord Himself had declared in Eden, and afterwards to Abraham that the Spirit of Christ did signify to the prophets of old “ when it testified before-hand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow ” (1 Peter 1 : 11). Many of the prophets described beforehand the sufferings and the subsequent glories of Christ, Isaiah being indeed the evangelist of the Old Testa-ment par excellence. But in regard to the “ searching what, or what manner of time ” the Messiah was to appear, and what would happen within the short space of seven years (or one prophetic week), Daniel is the inspired
THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
12
chronologist par excellence : “ Seventy weeks are deter-mined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” “ And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week : and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease ” (Dan. 9 : 24, 27). Five hundred years before Christ died on the cross, the sure word of Divine prophecy had announced the very time when it would happen, foretold the blessings His death wOuld bring, but also the judgments which the Jews, as a nation, would ex-perience in rejecting the promised Messiah.
What believing Joshua had declared at the entrance into Canaan, “ not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you ; all are come to pass unto you ”, that, Israel might have said, if they had believed the prophetic word in the time of Christ. For “ thus it must be”, and “ thus ” it was fulfilled.	\
DIVINE REVELATION PROGRESSIVE
The Divine revelation shines ever brighter, until in its final glory it emerges from faith into sight. Jehovah has given three great revelations of Himself to the world, His created works, the prophetic Word, and the incarnate Christ. Each succeeding revelation has been more definite and comprehensive than the preceding one. According to Paul (Rom. 1 : 19, 20), God has manifested the invisible things in His wonderful creation, “ even His everlasting power and divinity ”, that men “ may be without ex-cuse ”. God “ spake in time past unto the fathers at sundry times and in divers manners ” (Fleb. I : 1). Through its striking fulfilment the written Word of prophecy has borne witness to the Lord as the first and the last and the sole omniscient One, besides Whom there is no God and no Saviour (Isa. 43 : 8-11 ; 44 : 69 : 46 ; 8־).
In the fulness of time God spoke to us by His Son, Who, through His sufferings and resurrection, confirmed
13
INTRODUCTION
the promised plan of salvation, and revealed to the human family the infinite love of God in all its height and depth. A still greater and fuller revelation, guaranteed by Christ’s advent in humility, will follow, when the Son of man in the image and glory of His Father will appear with all His angels to transform the waiting and the sleeping saints into His own image, consume the wicked, and finally establish His eternal kingdom on this earth. Then the earth “ shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea ” (Hab. 2 : 14). “Then,” as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 : 12, we shall see Him “ face to face ” ; “ then ” we shall “ know fully even as also ” we are “ fully known ”.
The very growth of the Bible is itself a proof of the progressive development of Divine revelation. The predic-tions which Christ put into the mouths of the patriarchs were carefully arranged by Moses in Genesis. Then follows book upon book, prophecy upon prophecy, fulfilment upon fulfilment, until the last stone was placed on God’s great structure in “ the Revelation of Jesus Christ”. Each new book, each succeeding prophecy, is a more complete revelation of Jesus Christ, a more distinct disclosure of “ the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow ” (1 Pet. i : 11). With the completion of His passion the line of distinction is clearly drawm between the two dispensations, but the consummation of His glory is finally reached in the Revelation.
Prelate Bengel admirably sets forth the progressive increase of prophetic light :	“ The patriarchs looked
forward to the glories of the future advent of Christ, the great goal of all Biblical revelation. But all that was between blended together, as it were, into this one image. The prophets sawT clearer, the apostles saw still more clearly, and, finally, John saw most clearly of them all in his wonderful book of the Revelation itself. The most general matters were understood from the beginning, while the more special were cleared up gradually according to the measure and needs of the progressive times. One should not therefore WOnder if a clearer insight were given to us than to our predecessors. For the believers receive specific light for their day, to most surely protect them
14 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
against the danger of being led astray ״ (Burk, Bengel,
S. 257 f).
That this progression is eminently true of the revelation concerning the “ time of the end ״ is fittingly testified to by a noted Catholic writer, L. Atzberger, in his history of eschatology (pp. .6, 9) : “ The particular destiny and final conditions of man, as well as of the entire creation, with their full purport and actual order of succession were but gradually revealed by God, so that the course of the religious history of mankind shows concerning these a fuller and steady growth and a graded progress.״ “ A common but great fundamental thought, a uniform and powerful basic idea ״ in reference to the development of the closing scenes, “ runs through each particular book of the Holy Scriptures from Genesis to the Apocalypse.״ “ This basic idea gains more definiteness, minuteness of detail, clearness and coherence ; each successive revelation is a corroboration and at the same time an explanation and amplification of the precedent one.״ It shows us “ a gradual progress from the type to the antitype, from the premise to the conclusion, from the hidden to the revealed.״
A PROGRESSIVE AND DIVINE SETTING FOR THE PICTURE OF THE FUTURE
The Bible “ positively bristles with dates and periods, and this is one of the features which most plainly distin-guish it from all spurious revelations ״. It may be “ called God’s own history of our world, from the first entrance of evil to its final overthrow.״ But this history needs prophetic times as a fixed framework, that the nearness of its leading events may be determined. The revelation of these times was also progressive, and became clearer and more definite the nearer the event itself approached. Such time-limits, as well as the descriptions of the future events themselves, were made in symbolic rather than in literal language.
Guinness (“ Light,״ pp. 47, 48) tells why this precaution was taken : “ Divine wisdom had taken the precaution
15
INTRODUCTION
of embodying in Scripture chronological revelations, in order that, when ignorance ceased to be beneficial, as after the lapse of ages could not but be the case, when gradually increasing knowledge of the real counsels of God would be more sanctifying in its effects, that then such knowledge might be gradually attainable.,י “ To have revealed the time plainly would have been to shake the faith and damp the courage of the early Church ; net to have revealed them at all would have been to deprive later generations, and especially our own, of a blessed tonic to faith and hope, of a much-needed stimulant to courage and patient continuance in well-doing.”
In giving such chronological revelations, the Lord was chiefly concerned to make known the specific times of preparation for such great events, rather than the day and hour of the event itself, and this is especially true of the day of Christ’s appearance in glory.
AN “ INCREASED KNOWLEDGE ” OF PROPHETIC INTERPRETATION
In the revelation of prophecy there has been a steady and constant increase “ from the solitary ray of Eden, to the clear, widespread beams of Daniel, and to the rich glow of the Apocalypse”. Likewise has the human under-standing of prophecy been progressive, and in some cases the Lord had a definite purpose in this. The sufferings and resurrection of our Lord were not understood by His disciples until their Master unfolded their fulfilment to them. Likewise did the prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles remain a mystery, until the time of its fulfilment.
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to them. A very striking example of this is the prophet Daniel, who heard, but understood not (Dan. 12). He could give Nebuchadnezzar a clear interpretation of the golden head of the image, he could interpret the ram as Medo-Persia, and the rough he-goat as the King of Greece ; but there were prophetic periods extending over many centuries, and reaching down to the very end of time, which he had to shut up and seal
16 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
“ till the time of the end ”. God well knew that over
2,000	years of trial and temptation, of persecution and suffering, awaited His people in an evil world and from an awful apostasy, but He did not wish His people to know this great length ^L time^, and therefore hid its meaning in sy^toï1c t.irm§?.י
Guinness (“ Light ”, p. 48) correctly says : “ Chrono-logical prophecy was intended, as we have seen, for the benefit of later generations, and especially of the last. The lapse of time only could fulfil it, and the lapse of time only could explain it. The light that it sheds falls not on times near its own, but—as a lighthouse illuminates the ocean afar, and not the rock on . which it stands—on remote future ages.” In the last days many would run to and fro searching the blessed Word, and thereby know-ledge would be “ increased ”, the very term denoting progressive understanding. But even then it would depend more on the moral condition of the searcher than on his intellectual ability, for the wise would understand, and the wicked would not.
FULFILLED PROPHECY THE STANDARD OF INTERPRETATION FOR UNFULFILLED
The last prophecy was given over 1,800 years ago, and yet the understanding of the same is still increasing. There still remains a large treasure of unfulfilled prophecy, and the prophecies already accomplished furnish the best solution to those yet to be fulfilled. Guinness (“ Light ”, p. 58) remarks : “ Knowledge grows from age to age ; the stores accumulated by one generation give a vantage ground to following ones. Rejecting all that time has proved false, we should avail ourselves of all that time has *proved true, and to the amount of already recognized truth add the result of our own observations.” Through past experiences a certain efficiency in interpreting propheticjimes can be gained. Commenting on Proverbs i : 6, Clement of Alexandria (MSC. vi, 381) aptly saj׳s : “ He who hears these prophets being wise, will be wiser. And the intelligent man will acquire rule, and will under-
INTRODUCTION	1ך
stand a parable and a dark saying, the words and enigmas of the wise.״
In His Word the Lord Himself has furnished us with the correct interpretation of many of the prophecies which were fulfilled during the first four thousand years of history covered by scripture records, and He also gives us the rules by which we may attain to a correct under-standing of symbolic language and prophetic time. Again, over 1,800 years since the days of Christ have afforded us an ample opportunity to test these rules and to gain further experience in their interpretation. Many whole-some lessons may be gained from these centuries of re-search, from the many mistakes made from the hasty conclusions drawn from wrong calculations, and the distorted interpretations of the genuine Word of prophecy, that unbelieving Jews, heathen philosophers, and doubting modern critics have in turn used in their attacks upon this citadel of Divine truth. Strange as it may seem, yet no one has thus far undertaken to give a full historical presentation of the research and experience gained during the last 1,800 years in the study of the prophetic Word, especially of Daniel and Revelation and the expectation of the long-looked-for golden age promised therein.
Far outweighing all past blunders which have been made, there remains a most precious experience in the ever-increasing understanding of the right interpretation and the complete verification of the blessed promises in Daniel 12:12, and Revelation 1:3: “ Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1,335 days ״ ” " Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein ; for the time is at hand.״
Truly whoever comes to these blessed days, searching, hearing, and keeping the precious wrords of prophecy, will be able to testify to the truthfulness of Proverbs 4: 18, 19 : “ The path of the righteous is as the dawning light, that shineth more and mere unto the perfect day.״ “ The way of the wicked is as darkness : they know not at what they stumble״ (A.R.V.).
c
EPHESUS—The “Desirable״ Church of the Apostolic Period
I
“ THUS IT IS WRITTEN, AND THUS ÏT BEHOVED CHRIST TO SUFFER יל
With Christ’s advent the prophetic word of the Old Testa-ment became a living reality—“ the word was made flesh John the Baptist was fully convinced, from Isaiah 40 : 3, that he, as the predicted forerunner, was to prepare the way of the Lord (John 1 : 1923־). When he beheld, at the baptism of Christ, God’s Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, he bore record that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. The daily lamb offerings and the paschal lamb had reached their glorious antitype in the Lamb of God, which indeed “ taketh away the sin of the world ”. To this Lamb of God John pointed the multitudes who flocked to the Jordan ; and his message, based upon fulfilled prophecy, had such impelling power that thousands confessed their sins and were baptized in the Jordan. Willing that Christ should increase, and himself decrease, this greatest of all the prophets sealed his testimony to Christ with his own blood.
Christ Himself declared from the very beginning that not one jot or tittle of the law should pass unfulfilled (Matt. 5 : 18). In His sermon at Nazareth he stressed the fulfilment of Isaiah 61 : 13־ : “ This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” The year of the real jubilee was about to break when Christ, dying on the cross as the full atonement, made every believer “ free indeed ” from sin (Lev. 25 : 9, 10 ; Luke 4 : 1621־ ; John 8 : 36). But, contrary to the common belief shared by His apostles, that the promised Messiah would at once set up an earthly kingdom, He opened up to His hearers an immediate prospect of an entirely different character, namely that He,
18
19
EPHESUS
as the heir of the kingdom, would be rejected and killed, but He would rise again, go to His Father to share His glory, and not return till “ after a long time ״. Meanwhile, He would establish a kingdom of heaven ; that is, a rule which would be exercised by Him as King (unseen on earth, but) exalted in heaven far above all principality and power (Eph. 1 : 20, 21). “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up,״ to draw all unto Him (John 3 : 14 ; 12 : 32). But to the lifting up of the Messiah the Jews objected, because they had heard, “ out of the law, that Christ abideth for ever ״. And even after Jesus had unfolded His future sufferings three times (Mark 8: 319 ;33־: 3141־32 : 10 ; 34־) to His disciples, Peter dared to rebuke his Master ; and the disciples, filled with thoughts of exaltation, understood Him not. It was for this reason that He charged His disciples “ that they should tell no man that He was the Christ ״ till Fie had risen from the dead (Matt. 16 : 20 ; 17:9).
The more determined the Jewish leaders became to kill Him, the more positive became His predictions con-cerning the approaching doom of the Jewish nation and of Jerusalem. He shaped His parables so wisely that even the chief priests pronounced their own doom. On the strength of Psalm 118 and Isaiah 28: 16, he declared: “ Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone, which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. . . . Therefore I say unto you : The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof״ (Matt. 21: 4146־). Jerusalem utterly failed to recognize the time of her visitation, therefore the fulfilment of Daniel’s prophecy of her desolation would be witnessed even by His then living disciples (Matt. 24 : 15). On the other hand, “ the .gospel must first be published among all nations ” “ for a witness” (Mark 13 : 10; Matt. 24: 14). In order to ·secure the fulfilment of this prophecy, our Lord Jesus foretold repeatedly and emphatically the advent of the 'Comforter, who, as the Spirit of Truth, would guide the believers into all truth (John 14 : 1613 : 16 ; 26 : 15 ; 18־).
God indeed had anointed Jesus of Nazareth at Hi&
20 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
baptism with the Holy Ghost and with power, and as a result of His preaching the gospel in Galilee, Samaria and Judea, “ many Jews believed”, so that wdien He entered Jerusalem, even the Pharisees had to testify ; “ Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing ? behold the wurld is gone after Him” (John 12: 11, 19). When He had finished the great work of salvation given Him by His Father, and expired on the cross, the veil hiding the most holy place was rent in twain by unseen hands, the sun was darkened, the earth did quake, graves were opened, so that even the Roman centurion had to testify : “ Truly this was the Son of God.” Daniel’s prophecy had been fulfilled. At the beginning of the seventieth week, Jesus of Nazareth had been anointed as the Messiah, the Father Himself testifying from Heaven, “ This is my beloved Son ”, and in the middle of this week he had been cut off. The rending of the veil bore witness, that all earthly sacrifices and oblations had met their antitype, and that henceforth He, as the most holy King priest after the perfect order of Melchizedek, would minister in the Most Holy Place “ on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens”.
With the fulfilment of all things, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Jesus, the time had come on the day of His resurrection to open the understanding of His disciples, “ that they might understand ” these prophetic scriptures. Convincing and impelling as the force of prophecy is after its fulfilment, His rebuke to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus still applies to every unbeliever :	“ 0 fools,
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken : Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory ? ” But, as to the impelling force of unfolded prophecy, the two thus testified : “ Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures ? ” On the same evening, in like manner, He upbraided His disciples “ with their unbelief and hardness of heart ”, because they disbelieved the joyful news of His resurrec-tion, saying : “ These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet wdth you, that all things must be
21
EPHESUS
fulfilled, which were written . . . concerning me.״ “ Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day ״ (Luke 24 : 2548־). Previously Jesus had declared : “ Now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe ” (John 14 : 29). A doubting Thomas did not believe, until he placed his hand in the side of the resurrected Jesus, and then exclaimed : “ My Lord and my God.״ But Christ declared : “ Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet (on the very strength of fulfilled prophecy) have believed ״ (John 20 : 2729־).
During the forty days after His passion He showed Himself alive to His disciples “ by many infallible proofs ” and spoke of the things “ pertaining to the kingdom of God ״. Christ, as the founder of the kingdom of Heaven, unfolded to His disciples its mysterious rise, its spiritual character, its gradual development and spread over all the world, and its grand issues, assuring them that He would be with them always ; and, as “ all power in heaven and earth ״ belonged to Him, He commanded them, “ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ״.
II
“ A MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY—A LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE״
A momentous fact, foretold by Christ, took place fifty days after His resurrection, on the day of Pentecost. Every home in Israel had (in the type) to offer two wave loaves as firstfruits to God ; now in the glorious antitype,
3,000	souls out of all the tribes of Israel were baptized in the name of Jesus as “ firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Lev. 23: 17; Rev. 14: 4). Daily, new souls out of Israel swelled the number, until there were “ tens of thousands ”, or sufficient to make up the 144,000 referred to in Rev. 14: 1 (Acts 4:4; 21 : 20. R.V. margin). God in His wonderful providence had so shaped human affairs, that devout Jews and proselytes out of every nation under Heaven could unmolested enjoy
22 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
in Jerusalem the wonderful privileges granted to Israel in the fulness of time. During the long, peaceful reign of Augustus, iron-Rome taxed “ all the world ”, the Janus temple was closed three times, signifying that the world was at peace. “ This great calm of the stormy sea of nations lasted long, for who could oppose such over-whelming power ? Jewish law, Grecian philosophy, and Roman conquest and policy had each done its pre-paratory work. Conscience had been educated, language refined and perfected, and fitted to receive a new and final revelation, while the habitable world had been united under a wise and strong government, opened up by Roman roads and posts, and tranquillized by Roman civilization ” (Guinness, D.P. p. 364, 365). This long “ calm of the stormy sea of nations ” attests to the “ holding of the winds ”, till 144,000 of all the tribes of Israel were sealed as servants of our God, with the Lamb’s name and the name of His Father written in their fore-heads (Rev. 7 : 31 : 14 ; 4־, R.V.).
Fulfilled prophecy was the mighty theme of Peter’s pentecostal sermon, and 3,000 souls testified to the impelling power of the prophetic truth. The Father had granted Israel the special privilege of hearing Him speak to them by His prophets, but “ in these last days ” He had spoken to them by His Son (Heb. I : 2). Although they were rejecting “ so great a salvation ”, Christ in the last half of the seventieth week of Daniel granted to them another precious boon, before He sealed the doom of the chosen nation. “ Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house.” Men and handmaidens, sons and daughters of Israel, filled with the Holy Ghost, uttered with other tongues the very testimony which their leaders, after killing the Prince of Life, so detested. Peter, enlightened by the Spirit, pointed to this stupendous fact as the ful-filment of the words of Joel. In these “last days” Christ, having received the promise of the Holy Ghost from His Father, “ hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear ”. “ Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ (Messiah) ” (Acts 2 : 16, 33, 36).
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EPHESUS
When, in the name of Jesus, the lame man was healed, and the Jewish leaders in their rage laid hold of the Apostles and bade them “ to speak henceforth to no man in this name ”, then Peter proclaimed the fulfilment of the prophecy of the Psalmist, Isaiah and Christ : “ This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salva-tion in any other : for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved ” (Acts 4: ii, 12). But the leaders of Israel, who had crucified Christ, also stoned Stephen, whose wisdom in setting forth the fulfilment of prophecy they could not resist. His greatest charge against them was :	“ Ye
stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost : as your fathers did, so do ye ” (Acts 7 : 51). At the end of the seventieth week, Peter, on account of a special vision, entered the home of an uncircumcised Gentile, and convinced him, that to Jesus, “ bear all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins”. The Holy Ghost falling on all present, Cornelius and his house also were baptized “ in the name of the Lord ” (Acts 10 : 4348־).
How highly this same Peter esteemed the words of prophecy, is evident later on from 2 Peter I : 1621־. On the mount of transfiguration he, with James and John, was an eye-witness of the majesty of Christ, and heard the Father say : “ This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” But infinitely more sure than a passing vision is the word of prophecy, foretelling many, many centuries before, all the details of our Lord’s birth, suffer-ings, death, resurrection, ascension into glory, and then have the exact fulfilment attested not only by twelve chosen witnesses out of Israel, but by thousands of believers, some of them even sealing their testimony to Jesus with their own blood. Surely, we all do well to take heed to this Divine light, which lightens up the dark future. But the great object of its impelling power was, is and will be, that Christ, as the morning star, might arise in our hearts with salvation to everyone who believes in His most precious name.
24 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
III
GOD “ BY REVELATION MADE KNOWN UNTO ME THE MYSTERY ״
Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles, especially called by Christ Himself to this great task, claims repeatedly in the most positive language a special ministry based upon the unfolding of a special mystery. To him, less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that he should “ preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things ; to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord״ (Eph. 3 : 3, 811־). To the Ephesians, Colossians, Romans and Galatians, all four Gentile churches, he intimates that the gospel which he preached was not taught him of man, “but by the revelation of Jesus Christ ״ (Gal. I : II, 12). This mystery of Christ, “ which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men ״, was “ now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit ״ (Eph. 3 : 5 ; Col. I : 26 ; Rom. 16 : 25, 26).
This is indeed a striking instance of progressive revela-tion. What had not been made known in the ages past was now made manifest unto the saints, and found in full accordance with certain statements of the prophets and of Christ. But what was the special nature of this unfolded mystery ? “ That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel ״—“ Christ in you, the hope of glory ״ (Eph. 3 : 6 ; Col. 1 : 27). By the indwelling Spirit, the Church of Christ should be formed, one organic body with Christ, the living head ; a spiritual temple should be reared, fitly framed together out of lively stones, of wdiich Christ was the chief corner-stone, the apostles and prophets the foundation. Father and Son would,
25
EPHESUS
by the Spirit, make their abode in this spiritual house, the lively stones forming a royal priesthood, offering up their own bodies as spiritual sacrifices, so that Christ, who bought them with His own precious blood, could take full possession and control of them. This spiritual Church of the New Testament, which is Christ’s body, “ of his flesh, and of his bones ”, is “ a great mystery ” (Eph. 5 : 29-31).	“ By one Spirit we are all baptized into one
body: whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit ” (1 Cor. 12 : 12, 13 ; Gal. 3 : 2729־).
Every member of that spiritual Church bears the same testimony to God’s grace and to righteousness by faith, as Paul did : “ I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God : for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain ” (Gal. 2 : 20, 21). And again in 1 Corinthians 1 : 30, 31 : “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption : That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” Paul knew of no greater honour, of no greater title, than to be “ Christ’s bondservant ”, (doulos) being bought with an unspeakable price, never to become “ bondservants of men ” (1 Cor. 7 : 22, 23 R.V. ; Rom. i : 1 R.V. margin). To the Lamb of God, who bought him with His blood, he ever belonged ; His name w׳as, as it were, branded on his forehead as the seal of the living God, impressed by the Holy Spirit on his forehead ; for Him he wras willing to live or die ; this Jesus Christ, Paul, as a wise master-builder, laid as the true foundation, according to the eternal purpose of the Father (1 Cor. 3 : 10, 11).
Pentecost wras indeed “ the day winch the Lord hath made ”, when He by His Spirit laid the foundation of this first church at Jerusalem, though oimvardlv its real character was hidden as yet. Not until the first Gentile church wras founded at Antioch was this character revealed, the true name became manifest :	“ The disciples wTere
26 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
called Christians first in Antioch ” (Acts 11 : 26). It was at Antioch, where the first contest came, whether faith and baptism in Jesus’ name sufficed, or whether circumcision and the keeping of the law of Moses, the outward marks of the Jewish religion, were to be perpetuated among the Gentiles. The first council at Jerusalem, after much disputing on the part of the converted Pharisees, settled this all-important question. Peter first told his remark-able experience at. the house of the Gentile Cornelius, where God’s Spirit had so manifestly shown that He accepted uncircumcised Gentiles, as well as circumcised Jew7s. Then after Barnabas and Paul had related their wonderful experience in raising up Gentile churches, James, as the presiding elder, declared that Peter’s ex-perience agreed to the words of the prophets, so that his sentence was, “ that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God ”. To those pharisaical trouble-makers the apostles and the Church at Jerusalem “ gave no such commandment ” (Acts 15). In a private council between James, Peter and John, on the part of the Jewish Christians, and Barnabas and Paul, on the part of the Gentile Christians, that gospel, which Christ had revealed to Paul to be preached to the Gentiles, w7as fully endorsed by the very pillars of the church. They did not request the circumcision of the Greek Titus, when some false brethren demanded it of Paul. Paul had also openly rebuked Peter at Antioch, who at first ate with the Gentiles, and then later he with Barnabas separated from them, fearing those of the circumcision. Thus “ the truth of the gospel ” was main-tained by Paul according to the Divine revelation (Gal. 2). Here was the germ of all future perversion of the gospel by false apostles, the very ministers of Satan, w7ho, by demanding circumcision and obedience to the law of Moses, pretended to be “ ministers of righteousness ” (2 Cor. 11 : 2-4; 1315־). Paul had espoused the Corin-thians to but one husband—Christ ; but as Satan had beguiled Eve, he now’ tried to beguile the Church of Christ to another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. Twice, in the most emphatic manner, Paul calls those ·‘ accursed ”, who, by a false justification based upon
EPHESUS	27
the deeds of the law, pervert the pure gospel of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1 : 8, 9).
But Paul, who unveiled the mystery of the true Church, unveiled also the mystery of the apostate Church, which would claim the name “ Christian ” as its special preroga-tive. His own experience at Antioch, Jerusalem, Corinth and Galatia had taught him that “ the mystery of lawless-ness doth already work : only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way”. The Lord’s coming was not just at hand, and would not be, “ except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposeth and exalteth him-self against all that is called God or that is worshipped ; so that he sitteth in the Temple of God, setting himself forth as God. Remember ye not that, when! was yet with you, I told you these things ? ” (2 Thess. 2 : 3-7 R.V.).
The same warning Paul also gives to Timothy, after having set forth the greatness of the mystery of godliness : “ But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron ; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth ” (1 Tim. 4 : 1-3). Thus, Paul, by special revelation, unfolded, as prophet, as well as apostle of the Gentiles, the mystery of the true Church of Christ, as well as that of the apostate Church.
IV
“the things which must shortly come to pass”
“ The Revelation of Jesus Christ ” God gave by an angel to His servant John, to show unto His servants “ things which must shortly come to pass. Blessed is he that rcadeth, and they that hear the wT0rds of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein : for the time is at hand ” (Rev. 1 : 13־). This revelation was indeed “ food in due season ”, Divine consolation
28 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
in the hour of greatest need, and blessed the believer who made the proper use of it, for the beginning of its fulfilment was close at hand.
John himself was already on the Isle of Patmos an exile “ for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ ”. In his banishment he was a “ companion in tribulation” with the churches so dear to him, who suffered in his absence for their belief in the kingdom of Christ, whereby their patience was severely tried. Jeru-salem had been, according to the prophetic word, destroyed, and was now “ trodden under foot ” by the Gentiles. The political power of the synagogue was broken, but, as “ the synagogue of Satan ”, it hated Christianity worse than ever. With the spread of the Christian religion, Christ became more and more the rock of offence, over which the Jews had stumbled, and over which the all-powerful iron empire of Rome was also to stumble and fall.
The worship of many deities flourished in the empire. Everywhere there were seen idols of false gods ; later also the images of the emperors were set up in public places, and all were to be worshipped by every passer-by. Only this new sect of Christians refused the adoration of idols, worshipping the only Creator in spirit and in truth without images. They even believed in One crucified and re-surrected, sitting on the right hand of God, as their only salvation, their true King and high priest. A struggle of some 2,000 years awaited the Christians, with the power enthroned upon the seven hills as the mysterious Babylon, which, though changing its phases, would never cease to persecute.
During all these centuries of persecution the Christian needed the fullest unveiling of “ the things which must shortly come to pass ”, and the clearest light as to the means by which they might gain the final victory over Satan and his hosts. But in all these revelations, cither by Daniel or John, the names of these earthly persecutors must not be mentioned, otherwise these visions, already contested, would become the prey of fire. The unveiling must therefore be given in hidden symbols. The past and the future, historical and symbolical, known and unknown, must be so interwoven into one point of vie\v that this
29
EPHESUS
prophetic word would indeed be a light that shineth in a dark place for the wise believers, and a sealed book for the wicked unbelievers. Every new vision opens with a different view of Christ’s sphere of action in Heaven and presents a new phase of His care for His church on earth. The Divine counsel in time of need, the Divine foresight of coming events, the Divine celebration of victory, and the abundant harvest of precious souls, are presented in advance.
At the very beginning the aged disciple beholds his Master standing in the midst of seven golden candle-sticks, holding in His right hand seven stars, the candle-sticks and stars symbolizing seven churches and their messengers. After this, we read of seven spirits, seals, trumpets, thunders, heads, vials, manifesting the sacred number of perfection and fulness. When this number is reached, then “ the mystery of God should be finished ”, and the “ kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ ” (Rev. 10 : 7 ; 11:15).
The great aim of Satan, according to Luke 4 : 7, was ever to be worshipped by Christ and His followers, rather than himself to worship Christ. This great aim Satan fully realized in seducing the pagan world and even Israel to worship idols. The idol and that which is offered in sacrifice to idols, is in itself nothing, but according to Paul, the terrible thing in idolatry and in the partaking of the sacrifices is, that thereby Satan and his angels are worshipped, and that by partaking of the sacrifices one has fellowship with the demons (I Cor. 10 : 19-21). Satan’s aim to beguile men into his worship will, according to Paul and John also, be realized in apostate Christianity. Though God threatens the most terrible punishments, yet the great throng of apostates persist in worshipping “ demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood ” (Rev. 9 : 20 R.V.V Only the true Church of Jesus Christ resists, though Satan and the complex Roman Antichrist use every means in their power to force the servants of God to worship the very image of that beast. Whoever does not worship, or does not receive the mark or the name of the beast, he shall be killed and be forbidden to buy or sell. In order that their
30 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRÜTH
subjects might buy or sell, this antichristian power writes its name as the “ mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.״ As wonderful consolation in such hour of greatest need, these persecuted saints behold the Lamb of God on Mount Sion, and with Him the 144,000 out of all the tribes of Israel, having as the seal of the living God the Lamb’s name and that of His Father written in their foreheads. A threefold message of most solemn warning is_now sounEed from heaven itself, setting forth the everlasting gospel in its purity, announcing God’s fearful judgments against the fallen Babylon, and pronouncing the most dreadful punishments against all those who yield to the demands of Satan and of the Roman beast and its false prophet. The countless multitudes who heed that message are then seen on the sea of glass, having gotten the victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and over the number of his name. This throng, described in Revelation 7 : 917־, came indeed out of great tribulation, having washed their robes and made them wdiite in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 15 : 24־).
The great issue of the New Testament Church being thus clearly revealed, the rest of the book is mainly devoted to revealing the fate of the apostate Church, the name of which is “ Mystery, Babylon the Great ”, which, drunken with the blood of the saints, shall finally end with Satan, the beast and the false prophet and all the wicked in the lake of fire. With the glorious reign of the true Church in the presence of the Father and the Lamb, this wonderful revelation of Jesus fitly closes.
In full harmony with the character of the whole book, the.Sfi-vea,chu1:Ghes, to whom this book was to be sent, have fro^.thcj1j£urth.century onward been considered also as prophetic of^tíie New Testament era. Lange states how ׳ Protestant commentators understand this : “ They are prophetic letters constituting the first part of the Apoca-lypse itself, and forming a foundation for the whole. Hence, the life-pictures of the seven churches are not merely historical portraits of the Apostolical Church ; thby are also prophetic types of churchly conditions, which shall hold good unto the end of the world ” (Lange, Schaff,
x, 139)·
3*
ÈPÜESUS
Noted Catholic commentators also agree in this. We cite L. J. Ration (Apoc. p. 100) : “ It is generally accepted that the history of the Church, as it lies before us, falls naturally into seven divisions, each having its special characteristics.” As a witness he cites B. Holzhauser, whose interpretation of the Apocalypse many Catholics quote as if it was inspired.
The visions of John, as well as those of Daniel, com* menee their fulfilment with the time when they were given. Our blessed Lord stresses that in the beginning and the ending of the Apocalypse. The Revelation unveils to the churches things “ which must shortly come to pass ”, and again, “ for the time 1s at hand ” (Rev. 1:1,3; 22 : 6, 10). It is therefore a maxim among Protestant commen-tators that their fulfilment begins with the time of the writing, or, with the first century, and extends to the very end (Birk’s “ Elements,” p. 1), but with their gradual fulfilment there develops also a prophetic knowledge during the Christian era which reaches its zenith at the end of the Age. On this common ground,1 that the seven churches are prophetic of the Christian era, commentators also agree that the church of Ephesus refers to the primi-tive or Apostolic Church. Ephesus or “ desirable ” applies to the fulness of time when Christ, “ the desire of all nations ” was manifested, and fully proved Himself to be the corner-stone of the spiritual temple when the apostles, as His chosen witnesses, went forth in the power of the Holy Ghost, and proclaiming the everlasting gospel in its purity, established among Jews and Gentiles out of lively stones the primitive Church, of which Christ was the living head. This period ends with the death of the beloved John, the last of the twelve, who toward the close of his life had taken his seat at Ephesus.
1 “ Most conclusively of all, these messages do present an exact foreview of the spiritual history of the church, and in this precise order. Ephesus gives the general state at the date of the writing ; Smyrna, the period of the great persecutions ; Pergamos, the church settled down in the world, ‘ where Satan’s throne is *, after the conversion of Constantine, say, a.d. 316. Thyatira is the Papacy ... As Jezebel brought idolatry into Israel, so Romanism weds Christian doctrine to pagan ceremonies. Sardis is the Protestant Reformation, whose works were not ‘ fulfilled '. Philadelphia is whatever bears clear testimony to the Word and the Name in the time of the self-satisfied profession represented by Laodicea.” (C. I. Scofield, Ref. Bible, pp. 1331, 1332.)
SMYRNA—The Ciiurch of the Martyrs under Pagan Rome
V
THE MIGHTY INFLUENCE OF THE PROPHETIC WORD OVER HEATHEN PHILOSOPHERS
The wonderful fulfilments of Biblical prophecy, and the fearless death of Christian martyrs were a mighty argu-ment to convict thinking heathen of the truth of Christi-anity.
Justin Martyr (a.d. 89166־) is an excellent illustration of this fact. He was born in the neighbourhood of Sychem, Samaria (modern Nablous), received a Hellenic education, thirsted for truth which he was unable to find in the systems of heathen philosophy, but did recognize in the wonderful fulfilments of the prophetic utterances of the Old Testament Scriptures, as witnessed to in the life and work and death of Jesus Christ, and became the foremost apologist for Christianity. “ He was an itinerant evangelist or teaching missionary, with no fixed abode, and no regular office in the church. There is no trace of his ordination ; he was, as far as we know, a lay-preacher, with a commission from the Holy Spirit ; yet he accom-plished far more for the good of the church than any known bishop or presbyter of his day. ‘ Everyone/ says he, ‘ who can preach the truth, and does not preach it, incurs the judgment of God’. . . . He retained his philosopher’s cloak, that he might more readily discourse on the highest themes of thought. . . . He spent some time in Rome, where he met and combated Marcion (the founder of the Gnostics). In Ephesus he made an effort to gain the Jew Trypho and his friends to the Christian faith. He laboured last, for the second time, in Rome. Here, at the instigation of a Cynic philosopher, Crescens, whom he had convicted of ignorance about Christianity, Justin, with six other Christians, about the
33
SMYRNA
year 166, was scourged and beheaded. Fearlessly and joyfully, as in life, so also in the face of death, he bore witness to the truth before the tribunal of Rusticus, the prefect of the city, refused to sacrifice, and proved by his own example the steadfastness of which he had so often boasted as a characteristic trait of. his believing brethren. When asked to explain the mystery of Christ, he replied : ‘I am too little to say something great of him/ His last words were : É We desire nothing more than to suffer for our Lord Jesus Christ; for this gives us salvation and joyfulness before His dreadful judgment seat, at which all the world must appear’ ” (Schaff, “ Ante-Nicene Christianity,” ii. § 173).
His convictions are stated in a long dialogue with Trypho, the Jew, according to Eusebius “the most distinguished of the Hebrews of his time ” (Hist. bk. iv. c. 18), who had become acquainted with Christianity, having escaped into Greece from the recent rebellion of Bar-Cochba (a.d. 132135־) when Hadrian captured Jeru-salem, and 580,000 Jews are said to have perished. Justin, in refuting the argument of Trypho, gives a detailed account of how an aged Christian had led him to the prophets of Israel as the real source of truth :
“ They alone knew and taught the truth, neither regarding nor fearing any man, nor being themselves carried away by the love of glory, but declaring those things alone which they saw and heard when filled with the Holy Ghost. And their writings still remain to us, and whoever reads them will derive much instruction about the first principles and the end of things.” “ The events that have happened already, and those which are taking place even now, compel ” us to “ receive their testimony ” of Christ.
Of the tremendous effect these writings had upon him Justin says : “ A flame was immediately kindled in my mind, and I was seized with an ardent love of the Prophets, and of those men who are the friends of Christ ; and reflecting with myself on what I had heard, I saw that theirs was the only sure and valuable philosophy ” (Dialogue 38־).
As Justin had learned the power of prophecy in his
34 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
own personal experience, he made use of this mighty agency in his “ First Apology ” to the Emperor, Antoninus Pius, and to the Roman people, in demonstrating the truthfulness of the Christian religion. He contends that God alone can predict a future event, the fulfilment of which will be in accordance with the prediction. Justin explains that he believes Jesus to be the Son of God, but his belief is not based on the mere “ words of those who affirm these things, but necessarily believing those who foretold what should happen before it came to pass, for we see with our very eyes that events have happened, and are happening, as was foretold ; and this will, I think, appear, even to you, the greatest and truest proof ” (Apol. 30).
Justin goes on to state that this sure proof was written by the prophets in the Hebrew language, was taken care of by the Jewish kings, and was translated into the Greek during the reign of Ptolemy. “ They are in the hands of all the Jews throughout the world ; but although these people read them, they do not understand what is said in them ; but consider us as their enemies and opponents, killing and illtreating us, as you do, whenever they have the power, as you may well believe. For even in the late Jewish war, Barchochebas, the ringleader of the Jewish revolt, commanded that Christians alone should be dragged to cruel tortures, unless they would deny Jesus to be Christ, and blaspheme Him ; and we find it foretold in the books of the prophets ” that Jesus should come born of a Virgin, do miracles, be misunderstood, crucified, die, be resurrected, ascend to heaven, “ and should both be, and be called, the Son of God ; and that certain persons should be sent by Him into every nation of men to pro-claim these facts, and that rather the men of Gentile race should believe in Him” (Apol. 31).
After expanding the evident fulfilment of the prophecies concerning the Messiah as made through Jacob, Isaiah, Micah and David, then he refers (Apol. 47) to the predic-tions of Isaiah and Jeremiah : “ Zion is become a wilder-ness, Jerusalem is become as a desolation, the house of our sanctuary is become a curse, and the glory which our fathers blessed is burned with fire, and all its glorious
SMYRNA
35
things are fallen.״ “ And that Jerusalem was laid waste, as it was foretold should come to pass, you know. Of this desolation, and of none of its people being permitted to inhabit it, the prophet Isaiah spoke thus : ‘ Their country is desolate, their enemies devour it in their pres-ence, and there shall not be one of them to dwell in it ;י and that it is guarded by you to prevent any one from dwelling in it, and that death is decreed against a Jew who is detected entering it, you know well,״ The very decrees of Hadrian served Justin as excellent proofs for the fulfil-ment of Divine prophecies concerning Jerusalem’s fate, and demonstrated their trustworthiness.
How the Roman emperors, concerned about the preservation of their power, feared all prophecy—be it the Holy Scriptures, the writings of the Sibyl, or the Oracle of Hystaspes (in which the burning of Rome and the approaching end of all things were predicted)—is very apparent from Justin’s remark in Apology, 44 :
“ Through the agency of evil demons, death was proclaimed against those who read the books of Hystaspes, or the Sibyl, or the Prophets, that they might, through fear, turn their readers from receiving the knowledge of good, and keep them slaves to themselves ; which in the event they were not able to accomplish. For we not only read them without fear, but also, as you see, offer them to you for inspection ; knowing that they will appear well-pleasing to all, and if we convince even a few, we shall gain the greatest rewards, for, like good husbandmen, we shall receive the recompense from the Lord.”
Just as Pharaoh, Ahab, Jehoiakim and Herod, so now also the sovereigns of the mightiest empire of the world trembled before the power of prophecy in these early days of Christianity. Justin and his fellow-Christians feared no imperial threats. They were fully persuaded that, according to these very prophecies, the second advent of Christ was at hand, and with it, the first resurrection, in which they were to be crowned with eternal life.
“ The prophets foretold two advents of Christ.” As ץ the prophecies concerning the first advent had all been exactly fulfilled, so the others, with reference to the second coming were “ as assuredly about to happen ” (Apol. 52).
36 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
“ For with what reason should we believe of a crucified Man, that He is the First-born of the Unbegotten God, and that He will hold judgment on the whole race of man, except we found testimonies proclaimed of Him before He came, and was made Man ; and saw that things had happened accordingly ; witnessing, namely, the devasta-tion of the land of the Jews, and knowing that the Christ-ians who were from the Gentiles should be both more in number, and truer than those who were from the Jews and Samaritans” (Apol., 53).
According to the false chronology of the Septuagint, Justin believed that 5,000 years had already passed from Adam until the birth of Christ, and, “ the time being fulfilled ” then already, the man of sin who should speak blasphemous words against the Highest “ being now at the doors ” would endure, as Daniel declares, three and a half times, or so many years. But Trypho explained the “ time ” to be one hundred years. “ If so, the man of sin must reign three hundred and fifty years at least, calculating the holy Daniel’s expression of ‘ times ’ to mean two times only (Dial. 32). Justin thought that [after the three and a half times (350 years) of Antichrist Bmd^passe.d,. the thousand years’ reign of the righteous (would set in, preceded by the resurrection. Of these ‘thousand years, Isaiah 65, Ezekiel, and Psalm 90 : 4, spoke : “ and moreover, a teacher of ours whose name was John, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, foretold in a Revelation which was made to him, that those who believe in Christ should pass a thousand years in Jerusalem ” (Dial w 81).
The conceptions of the Jews about the restoration of their kingdom at the time of the first advent were trans-ferred by the early fathers to a millennium before the second resurrection. Such view's were greatly strengthened by' tKe^^eMñcfe'asing volume of spurious apocalyptic literature such as the Book of Enoch, the Apocalypse of Baruch, the Second Book of Esdras, the Sibylline Oracles, and a medley of pagan, Jewish and Christian conceptions about a golden age after the burning of Rome and the end of the world. Sometimes the fathers quoted from such spurious books. For example, Justin quotes the Sibyl
SMYRNA
37
aiid tjystaspes (Apol. 20). Another sample of this litera-ture is the spurious epistle of an Alexandrine Gnostic named Barimbas, which afterwards gained influence as an apostolic composition. Among all sorts of allegorical misconceptions Barnabas asserts (Apost. Fathers, p. 127, c. 15) referring to Genesis 2, that the completion of creation ! in six days implieth “ that the Lord in 6,000 years will ! finish all things ”, that the true rest will come during the seventh millennium, and that the eighth millennium will usher in eternity. He quotes in chapter iv^from the book of Enoch (the Latin reads “ Daniel ”) : “ For this end the Lord has cut short the times and the days, that His Beloved may hasten ; ,and He will come to the inheritance.” He asserts that the..Antichrist■, who, according to Daniel 7, is to arise from the midst of the ten horns of the fourth beast, is at hand : “ We take earnest heed in these last days,” “ that the Blaçk One may find no means of entrance.”
Justin believed that the thousand years of Revelation 20, would be preceded by the resurrection of the just, and also that Jerusalem would be restored. Trypho asks him (Dial. 80) : “ Do you confess that the place Jerusalem shall be built again, and look that your people shall be gathered together, and live in rejoicings with Christ, and the Patriarchs, and the Prophets, and those of our nation, or such as became proselytes to us before the coming of your Christ?” To this Justin replied: “I and many others believe that this will come to pass, as you also assuredly know. . . . And I have signified that there are at the same time many of a pure and devout Christian mind, who are not of the same opinion.” Justin believed that, after the resurrection of the just, during the thousand years Jerusalem on earth would be “ rebuilt, adorned and enlarged,” and that all the believers, both Jews and Christians, would be gathered there with Christ ; but “ many of a pure and devout Christian mind ” differed from him in this.
The primitive Christian belief of eternal life through Jesus Christ only, not to be bestowed until the first resurrection when the believers are to be granted it, when the Lifegiver comes into glory, is clearly expressed by
38 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, just before his martyrdom in a.d. 155. He thanked God that he was considered worthy “ to have a share in the number of the martyrs and in the cup of Christ, unto the resurrection of eternal life, both of the soul and body, in the incorruptible felicity of the Holy Spirit ” (Eusebius H.E. iv. 15). Tatian (Address c. 13) positively declared : “ The soul is in itself but mortal/5 Theophilus (To Aut. ii. 27) taught that God made man “neither mortal nor immortal״. Justin (Apol. ii. 7) regarded it as possible that at the destruction of the whole wOrld, “ both the wicked angels, and devils, and men, may exist no longer ; because of the race of Christians, which he knows to be in nature the cause of its preserva-tion ״.
Hagenbach (H.D. i. 221) sums the matter up : “ Justin, Tatian and Theophilus, on various grounds supposed that the soul, though.mortal in itself, or at least indifferent in relation to mortality or immortality, either acquires immortality as a promised reward, by its union with the spirit and the right use of its liberty, or, in the opposite case, perishes with the body.״
As this primitive belief was already threatened by Gnosticism and Platonism in Justin’s days, he positively declared : “For if you have held converse with any who are called Christians, but do not confess this . . . who say that there is no resurrection of the dead, but as soon as they die their souls are taken up into heaven : do not imagine them to be Christians ” (Dial. 80).
VI
THE SHARP SWORD OF THE SPIRIT AGAINST ALL FALSE DOCTRINES
The prophetic word was not only used by the early fathers as the best means of demonstrating the truthful-ness of the Christian religion, but it was also their mightiest weapon in their refutation of all false doctrines. Among these fathers must be mentioned as one standing at the “ head of the old Catholic controversialists ”, Irenæus and “ his disciple Hippolytus, both of Greek education,
SMYRNA
39
but both belonging, in their ecclesiastical relations and labours, to the West” (Schaff, “Ante-Nicene Christianity,”
ii.	747).
Irenæus “ sprang from Asia Minor, probably from Smyrna, where he spent his youth. He was born between a.d. 115 and 125. He enjoyed the instruction of the venerable Poly carp of Smyrna, the pupil of John, and of other ‘ Elders ’, who were mediate or immediate disciples of the apostles. The spirit of his preceptor passed over to him. ‘ What I heard from him/ says he, c that wrote I not on paper, but in my heart, and by the grace of God
1	constantly bring it afresh to my mind/ ... He went as a missionary to Southern Gaul which seems to have derived her Christianity from Asia Minor. During the persecution in Lugdunum and Vienne under Marcus Aurelius (177), he was presbyter there, and witnessed the horrible cruelties which the infuriated heathen populace practised upon his brethren. . . . After the martyrdom of Pothinus, he was elected bishop of Lyons (178), and laboured there with zeal and success, by tongue and pen, for the restoration of the heavily visited church, for the spread of Christianity in Gaul, and for the defence and development of its doctrines. He thus combined a vast missionary and literary activity. After the year 190 we lose sight of Irenæus. He is reported by later tradition (since the fourth or fifth century) to have died a martyr in the persecution under Septimus Severus, a.d. 202, but the silence of Tertullian, Hippolytus, Eusebius, and Epiphanius makes this point extremely doubtful ” (Schaff, Id. 749, 750).
In his fifth book against Heresies, Irenæus refutes the [fast spreading Gnosticism of hj&^lay, and *gives (c. 2536־) [quite a full explanation of ,Rome as the founh^as^ of [Daniel 7^ of the rise of AnticTirist after RomewomaT^ 31v1cfed into ten kingdoms, of the first resurrection, and 'of the millennium. He recognized the close relation between the symbols of Dan. 2; 7, and Rev. 13 and 17 while describing Rome as the fourth universal power. Having considered Paul’s prophecy of Antichrist in
2	Thess. 2, he goes on to say : “Daniel too, looking forward to the end of the last kingdom, i.e., the ten last kings,
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amongst whom the kingdom of those men shall be par-titioned, and upon whom the son of perdition shall come, declares that ten horns shall spring from the beast, and that another little horn shall arise in the midst of them ” (Dan. 7 : 24). (Against Heresies, v. 25, 3.)	“ In a still
clearer light has John, in the Apocalypse, indicated to the Lord’s disciples what shall happen in the last times, and concerning the ten kings who shall then arise, among whom the empire which now rules (the earth) shall be partitioned. He teaches us what the ten horns shall be which were seen by Daniel . . . who have received no kingdom as yet ” (Id. 26). Then he shows that Christ, as the predicted stone, does not smite the image before its division, and refutes some popular delusions. Certain Christians saw in their cruel persecutor Nero the predicted Antichrist. When Nero committed suicide (a.d. 68), the Sibyl (viii. 148) prophesied that he would rise from the dead and cause Rome’s fall in a.d. 195. The numerical value of Y ¿μη being 948, this converted into years and dated from the founding of Rome (753 b.c.) would end a.d. 195. Some claimed from deficient manuscripts that the right number in Rev. 13 : 18 was 616. Irenæus most positively states that 666 is correct, “ being found in all the most approved and ancient copies ”, and that “ those men who saw John face to face ‘ bear ’ their testimony ” to it (A.H.1 v. 30). He further concludes from the number itself that it is correct : six times one hundred, and six times ten, and six units make the number, as summing up “ the whole of that apostasy which has taken place during 6000 years
Calling attention to the fact that the Roman Empire was not as yet overthrown and divided, he states : “ These men . . . ought to ... go back to the true number. . . . Let them await in the first place, the division of the king-dom into ten ; then, in the next place, when these kings are reigning, and beginning to set their affairs in order, and advance their kingdom (let them learn) to acknowledge that he who shall come claiming the kingdom for himself, and shall terrify those men of whom \ve have been speaking, having a name containing the aforesaid number, is truly the abomination of desolation ” (Id. 30).
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Different names might be suggested containing the numerical value of 666—Teitan, Lateinos, the latter being “ a very probable (solution) this being the name of the last kingdom. For the Latins are they who at present bear rule ” (Id. 30). However, he concludes that if the name ought now to be positively known, John would have announced it, as he had his vision “ almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian’s reign ” (Id. 30).
Although Irenæus believed that Antichrist would arise out of the divided state of the Roman Empire after having subdued three kingdoms, still he fancifully inferred from Jer. 8 : 16 because “ the snorting of the horses is heard from Dan,” and this tribe is not mentioned among the twelve in Revelation 7, that Antichrist would be a Jew from the tribe of Dan. As he thought with others of the Fathers that the world would soon come to an end, he also shared their view that Antichrist would reign only three and a half years, and took them to be the last half of the seventieth \veek of Daniel 9. He says : Genesis 2 : 2 “ is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years ; and in six days created things were completed : it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousandth year ” (Id. 28).
The saints “ shall be given into his hand until a time and times and a half time ”, that is, for three years and six months, during which time, when he comes, he shall reign over the earth (Id. 25). He shall remove his kingdom into Jerusalem, he shall sit in the temple of God and take away the true sacrifice unto God which the saints thus far had offered Him, and substitute (Dan. 8 and 9) the abomination of desolation. “ Now three years and six months constitute the half week ” (Id. 25). Then, after the three and a half years at the very end of the six thousand years, “ the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and ‘ his armour-bearer,’ the ‘ false prophet,’ (Id. 28), into the lake of fire ; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day ; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance ” (Id. 30).
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Irenæus found support for his views of the millennium also in some apocryphal traditions of the “ elders who saw John ” and in the writings of a contemporary of Polycarp, Papias of Hierapolis, who believed in a prodigious fertility of the earth as a renewed paradise. The earthly Jerusalem would then be “ rebuilt after the pattern of the Jerusalem above ”, and in this kingdom the just would be disciplined beforehand, in order that they might be capable of receiv-ing the glory of the eternal kingdom. After the millen-nium “ the things connected with the general resurrection and the judgment ”, and the coming down of Jerusalem and the final consummation in the new heavens and new earth would take place (Id. v. 3335־).
Irenæus thus in the main taught the correct order of events.
VII
PROPHECY THE GROUND OF THE HOPE OF TERTULLIAN AND THE MONTANISTS
Tertullian, born about 150 at Carthage, received a liberal legal Græco-Roman education, lived in heathen blindness and licentiousness till after his thirtieth year, became the father of Latin theology and church language, converted to the Montanists about the beginning of the third century, and dying in a good old age, is one of the greatest men of Christian antiquity. See Schaff, “ Ante-Nicene Christianity,” ii, 819, iff.
Tertullian is the first Latin Father to show the superiority of the Holy Scriptures over all heathen produc-tions by use of the prophecies. “ The world, and the age, and the event, arc all before you. All that is taking place around you was fore-announced ; all that you now see with your eye was previously heard by the ear.” “ The truth of prophecy, I think, is the demonstration of its being from above. Hence there is among us an assured faith in regard to coming events as things already proved to us, for they were predicted along with what we have day by day fulfilled. They are uttered by the same voices, they are written in the same books—the same
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Spirit inspires them. Alliime is one to prophecy foretelling the future.״ The prophets have revealed one advent in humility, another in glory. The Jews, disbelieving the first, and concluding that His glorious coming is the only one, have rejected the plain fulfilment of prophecy in Christ’s sufferings. These were reported by Pilate to Emperor Tiberius, and are in full harmony with the prophecies which the Jews did not believe, and who are “ scattered abroad, a race of wanderers, exiles from their own land and clime ”, “ not possessing even a stranger’s right to set so much as a simple footstep in their native country ” (Apol. 20, 21).
Tertullian thus comments on Paul’s statement in 2 Thess. 2 : 6, with reference to the taking away of “ that which restraineth ” A.R.V. :	“ What obstacle is there
bμt the Roman state, the falling away of which, by being scattered into ten kingdoms, shall introduce Antichrist ? ” (Res. of the Flesh, ch. 24). In his Apology (chs. 31, 32) he emphasizes the Christian’s duty to obey the Scriptures in praying for the Emperor and the stability of his empire : “ For we know that a mighty shock impending over the whole earth—in fact, the very end of all things threatening dreadful wocs—is only retarded by the continued existence of the Roman empire. We have no desire, then, to be overtaken by these dire events ; and in praying that their coming may be delayed, we are lending our aid to Rome’s duration.” In another place (Scapula, v. 2) he declares that the Christian must desire the welfare of the Emperor and of the empire over which he rules “ so long as the world shall stand—for so long as that shall Rome continue ”. From the answer given to the martyrs in Revelation 6 : II, he concluded (Res. 25) that the order of the last days is spread out to view, for which the souls of the martyrs are taught to wait. First, the wrorld must drink the dregs of the seven last plagues, Babylon must receive her just doom from the ten kings, Antichrist and the false prophet must wage war on the saints, the devil must be cast into the bottomless pit for a while, the blessed prerogative of the first resurrection ordained, and that, after the consignment of Antichrist to the fire, the judgment at the final and universal resurrection must be determined
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out of the books. “ Since, then, the Scriptures both indicate the stages of the last times, and consecrate the harvest of the Christian hope in the very end of the world, it is evident, that all which God promises to us receives its accomplishment then.״
Christ, with His own words (Luke 21 ; Matt. 24) scaled the prophecies of Joel, Daniel, and the whole chorus of prophets, who, after all, were merely the voice of God. Who had seen Christ descend from heaven as the apostles afterwards had seen Him ascend into heaven ? And yet these false teachers claim to be resurrected ! True, there is a burial with Christ in baptism, and a resurrection in Him through faith in the power of God ; but any one maintaining a spiritual resurrection at the commencement of spiritual life must acknowledge the full completion of the bodily resurrection at the end of the world (Res.
.(25־22
The most glorious conquest of Montanism, which originated in Phrygia, Asia Minor, as a protest against the increased worldliness and the lax discipline of the Church, was the conversion of Tertullian to their ranks, and his writings thereafter constitute the most reliable source of information as to the tenets of that system.
About 135160־, Montanus, assisted by Priscilla and Maximilla, wrho left their husbands, claimed to be specially enlightened by the Holy Spirit, and divinely commissioned to reform the Church, to separate believers from all worldly affairs, and to prepare them in this manner for the millen-nial reign, gathering them together in the region of Pepuza, a small village of Phrygia, upon which the New Jerusalem would come down (Eus. H.E. v. 16 ; Tert. Marcion iii, 24 ; Epiph. i L. I ; Oracle of Prisca). Montanus also claimed the authority of the Holy Spirit for making second marriages a mortal and unpardonable sin, to insist on frequent, long-continued fasts, for abstaining entirely from wine, and for making flight in persecution or any denial of faith a mortal sin. The influence of Montanism spread to the Occident. It gave rise to the first synods called after the apostolic age, and it wras finally condemned as heretical. This “ new prophecy ”, as it characterized itself, claimed to be the highest grade of revelation, even
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more important than the revelation of Christ and the apostles. Tertullian, who quoted statements of this new prophecy exactly as he did those of the Holy Scriptures, thus defended his attitude : “ Now, since it was ‘ needful that there should be heresies, in order that they which are approved might be made manifest ’ ; since, however, these heresies would be unable to put on a bold front without some countenance from the Scriptures, it therefore is plain enough that the ancient Holy Writ has furnished them with sundry materials for their evil doctrine, which very materials indeed are refutable from the same Scrip-tures. It was fit and proper, therefore, that the Holy Ghost should no longer withhold the effusions of His gracious light upon these inspired writings, in order that they might be able to disseminate the seeds (of truth) with no admixture of heretical subtleties, and pluck out from it their tares. He has accordingly now dispersed all the perplexities of the past, and their self-chosen allegories and parables, by the open and perspicuous explanation of the entire mystery, through the new prophecy, which descends in copious streams from the Paraclete ” (Res. 63).
Tertullian calls the Catholic Church “ psychical ” or “ carnal ”, “ a den of fornicators ” and sarcastically addresses the Roman bishop, who had given remission !for gross carnal sins, as “ Pontifex Maximus ”, a title thus far held by the chief heathen priest alone (Modesty, iii, 57). He saw Revelation 17 fulfilled in Rome : “ So, again, !Babylon, in our own John, is a figure of the city Rome, as being equally great and proud of her sway, and trium-phant over the saints ” (“ Ans. to the Jews,” 8, 9).
He also repudiated the Jewish expectation, shared by Irenæus, and pointed to by the Gnostic, Marcion, that Judea would be restored and Jerusalem rebuilt. The figurative interpretation of all such prophecies “ is spiritually applicable to Christ and His Church, and to the character and fruits thereof ”, He believed that the saints would enjoy a thousand years’ reign with Christ in the city of Jerusalem Met down from heaven’ after the resurrection, and before the beginning of eternity. The saints were to possess this kingdom “ in another state of
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existence״. “This both Ezekiel had knowledge of, and the Apostle John beheld.״ “ The word of the new prophecy, which is a part of our belief, attests how it foretold that there would be for a sign a picture of this very city exhibited to view previous to its manifestation. This prophecy, indeed, has been very lately fulfilled in an expedition to the East.״ Even heathen witnesses testified that they had seen a city suspended in the sky early every morning for forty days. “ We say that this city has been provided by God for receiving the saints on their resurrection, and refreshing them with the abundance of all really spiritual blessings ״ (“ Against Marcion,״ iii. 24).
This Church Father held correctly that “ the last days ״ began with Christ’s first advent, that the “ time is become wound up ”, and that Antichrist “ was now close at hand ״. Therefore he felt that the new prophecy was justified in opposing second marriage, and fleeing from persecution (Monog. chs. 3, 16 ; Flight, par. 12). He taught that the Church should be composed of converted Christians, and so opposed infant baptism, declaring that “ men are made, not born Christians ״. He regarded the “ blood of Christians״ as “seed״ (Apol. 18: 50). Here are also some other gems among his sayings : “ Christ the truth, not habit ״ (“ Veiling of Virgins,1 ״) ; “ It is a fundamental human right, a privilege of nature, that every man should worship according to his own convictions.״ “ It is assuredly no part of religion to compel religion—to which free will and not force should lead us ״ (Scapula, 2).
The Montanists “ lived under a vivid impression of ; the final catastrophe, and looked therefore with contempt j upon the present order of things, and directed all their ! desires to the second advent of Christ ״. Maximilla \ prophesied : “ After me there is mo more prophecy, but only the end of the world.״ When these predictions failed, faith in the true hope was weakened, and, as Sjdjaff attests (‘VAv_N. Christianity,״ ii. 425), “ the abatement of faith in the near approach of the Lord was certainly accompanied with an increase of worldliness in the Catholic Church ״.
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VIII
^HIPPOLYTUS* THE FIRST EXPOSITOl^OF
“	daniel’s prophecy
At the beginning of the third century we meet commentator on Daniel and a part of R^exçljtjon. Bishop Hippolytus was one of the great theologians of his age.' He died a martyr after having been an opponent of the* popes of his day, and was canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church. He has enjoyed distinction of late years on account of his numerous writings brought to our attention by the discovery of a catalogue of them recorded on a statue unearthed in 1551 at Rome. His works are the valuable “ Philosophumena, or Refutation of all Heresies,” ,ajjsâlise-ôïF'Dftniel, also on Christ and Antichrist. Schaff, j^A.N. Christ.” ii, 758770־. Concerning the ancient prophets he (Ant. 2 ; 4) testifies : “ The blessed prophets were made, so to speak, eyes for us, they foresaw through faith the mysteries of the word, and became ministers of these things also to succeeding generations, not only reporting the past, but also announcing the present and the future.” In their predictions they “ weave the fair, long, perfect tunic for Christ ; and the Word passing through these, like the combs (or rods), completes through them that which the Father willeth”. Peculiar to him is his explanation of Antichrist (Ant. 6 ; 14), whichjater on became the standard view of the Fathers and the Roman Church. As Christ is a Lion, King, Lamb, so Antichrist will also be a lion, king, lamb, “ though within he is a wolf”. As Christ sprang from Judah and was circumcised, so will Antichrist spring from Dan and will be circumcised. Hippolytus thought most of Daniel’s prophecies on account of the clearness : “ I commend thee above all,” for “ the things announced by you have been fulfilled in their time.” “Thou dost prophesy concerning the lioness in Babylon ; for thou wast a captive there. Thou hast unfolded the future regarding the bear ; for thou wast still in the world, and didst see the things come to pass. Then thou speakest to me of the leopard ;
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and whence canst thou know this, for thou art already gone to thy rest ? Who instructeth thee. . . ? That is God, thou sayest. . . . The leopard has arisen ; the he־goat is come, he hath smitten the ram . . . hath stamped upon him with his feet ... all these things have come to pass. After this again thou hast told me of the beast dreadful and terrible. ‘ It had iron teeth and claws of brass : it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it.’ Already the iron rules ; already it subdues and breaks all in pieces ; already it brings all the unwilling into subjection ; already we see these things ourselves. Now we glorify God, being instructed by thee.” “ Who are these but the Romans ? which is meant by the iron—the kingdom which is now established’’ (€.-5125 ,33־). In chaptej.28 he plainly says : “ The golden head of the image and the lioness denoted the Bffby!p7¿Ian$ ; the shoulders and arms of silver, and the bear, represented the PQr§küS,aad.Medes ; the belly and thighs of brass, and the leopard meant the Greeks,, who held the sovereignty from Alexander’s time ; tlie legs of iron, and the beast dreadful and terrible, expressed the Romans, who hold the sovereignty at present ; the toes of the feet . . . and the	were emblems
of the kingdoms that are yet to rise ; the other little horn that grows up among them meant the^ntjcl^st in theii midst ; the stone that smites the earth and brings judgment upon the world was Christ.” Thus applying the fourth Empire of Danielhe was fearful of possible consequences :	“ These things, beloved, tve impart to
you with fear ; ” for as the prophets recounted them mystically in parables and dark sayings, speaking thus, ‘Here is the mind which hath wisdom’ (Rev. 17: 9), how much greater risk shall we run in venturing to declare openly things spoken by them in obscure terms . . . which are to befall this unclean harlot in the last days ; and what, and what manner of tribulation is destined to visit her in the wrath of God before the judgment as an earnest of her doom ” (c. 29).
Next he addresses Isaiah : “ Arise, tell us clearly what thou didst prophesy with respect to the mighty Babylon. For thou didst speak also of Jerusalem, and thy
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word is accomplished.” Strangers devour Judah, the Romans rule the country. Then he asks John for informa-tion about the New Babylon: “Tell me, blessed John, apostle and disciple of the Lord, what didst thou see and hear concerning Babylon ? Arise, and speak ; for it sent thee also into banishment.” He then quotes, as a suitable answer, Revelation 17 : 18 (c. 2936־). He fully quotes Revelation 13 : 11-18 (Ant. 48, 49), and gives quite a remarkable forecast on account of events transpiring in־ the Roman empire in his days. The beast out of the earth '‘represents “ the kingdom of Antichrist ” and “ the false prophet ”. Having horns like a lamb, and speaking like a dragon means that he is an untruthful deceiver. The words “He exercises all the power of the. first beast ” signifies : “ that after the law of Augustus, by whom the empire of Rome was established, he too will rule and govern, sanctioning everything by it, and taking greater glory to himself. For this is the fourth beast whose head was wounded,” and then the Antichrist “ shall with knavish skill heal it, as it were, and restore it ”. This is also implied by his giving life unto the image so that it will speak and put all saints to death. “ Because they give not glory to him, he will order incense—pans to be set up by all every-where that no man among the saints may be able to buy or sell without first sacrificing, for this is what is meant by the mark received upon the right hand.” As in his time this offering of incense was a test very commonly proposed by pagans to those whose religion they suspected, so he ;concluded that the same would be repeated again in the days of Antichrist, after he had healed the deadly wound of Home pagan and imperial. He also refers to the time \oî Antiochus as an example. Then he (Ant. 50) explains the number 666 similar to Irenæus by “ Latinus ”, referring again to the healing of the wound, by restoring the power of the Latins, “who at present still hold it ”.
Now it is a fact that in the best Codices, Sinaitic, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraim Rescriptus, Porfirian, Montanus and Platinus editions, the words “ I saw ” in Revelation 13 : 3 are not found. Therefore the new American Revision puts these words in italics. Dr. Zahn in his commentary (p. 45, An. 22) remarks : “ It was
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not understood, that ‘ the dragon gave him ’, from verse 2, still remains effective, and that this implies that the dragon has also effected the similarity of the beast with the slain and the again healed lamb—Christ. As the intervening verb “ gave ” is transitive, there is really no just reason to insert “ I saw The text is in itself/ plain : “ The dragon gave him his power, his seat and great authority, and one of its heads as slain to death.” The very healing of the slain head, accomplished through the aid of the beast arising from the earth, in the beast arising from the sea, caused the old world to worship not only this wonderful complex beast, but also Satan, from whom it derived the healing power. Lange-Schaff (Rev. p. 25) identifies the healing of the deadly wound with the interpretation of Revelation 17 : 8.	“ In its
heathen character Antichristianity was, and received a deadly wound from Christianity ; it arose again, however, an apparently Christian Antichristianity, and, in this character, as the perfection of wickedness, it is destined to go into perdition.” On pages 258264־. of the same commentary, a number of expositors are quoted, Elliot, Wordsworth, Alford, Lord, Glasgow, Auberlen, who more or less dearly show that the power of the Roman empire and of its paganism, deadly wounded at its fall, was revived in Papal Rome. Hippolytus already made the right forecast, that the false prophet would assist in the healing of the deadly wound by reviving the image or ghost of the old Roman empire. Then in his closing §53 he inti-mates that the Antichrist puffed up like Satan will sub-jugate the whole world. As the false Messiah, he will regather the Jews, raise up their kingdom, rebuild Jeru-salem, demand worship of himself in his temple, make war on the saints and prevail against them, until the Lord consume him at His appearance. This crude fore-cast became later the standard belief,
Hippolytus, like his teacher ,Irenæus, supposed that since God made all things in six" days “ it follows that
6,000	years must be f ulfilled ”, and that then the end would come. On the strength of this belief and led by two very ׳fanciful interpretations, he tried, to fix the definite year Tor that event to be exactly 500 years after Christ’s birth.
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Thus it was a Catholic Father and saint who was the first one to try^to"'figure out the time of our Lord’s return. In doing this, he was seeking to calm the minds of those who were agitated by the severe persecution, and, with the Montanists, held that the end was at the very door. He makes use of two striking examples, the first of which we give :
“ Not very long ago, a bishop of a church in Syria, inexperienced in the use of the Divine Scriptures, and dis-obedient to the voice of the Lord, was led astray and led others likewise astray, as the Lord had prophesied in Matthew 24 : 2326־. He, unattentive to these words, persuaded many believers to go out into the desert with their families, there to meet Christ. They then wandered about in the mountains and deserts, and would have been captured and executed as robbers by the governor, had not his wife also been a believer, who pacified him so that he checked the pursuit, and their prosecution did cease. How great was their folly and ignorance to seek Christ in the wilderness” (Bratke, p.p. 10, 15, 16).
While Irenæus had rebuked Bishop Victor (190) in a very emphatic manner for his hierarchical arrogance and intolerance in breaking fellowship with the churches of Asia Minor, his pupil Hippolytus (Philosophumena, ix.) went still further in his treatment of the Roman bishop, calling Zepherinus “ a weak and venal dunce ”, andCallis-tus “ a sacrilegious swindler, an infamous convict, and heresiarch ex cathedra ”, on doctrinal and disciplinary grounds. We do not know when Hippolytus died, but he must have reached a very ripe old age, and his interpreta-tion of the Scripture prophecy left its imprint on following generations.
IX
BISHOP CYPRIAN, THE MARTYR, ON THE NEARNESS 0F THE END
Çæcilius Cyprianus, born about 200, of a noble and wealthy Carthaginian family, educated in rhetoric and the law, a man of great administrative ability, lived in splen-dour until his baptism about 245, at once gave himself
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up to the study of the Scriptures and of the Fathers, especially Tertullian, and gained such influence over the masses that within two years after his conversion he was elected bishop of Carthage, much to the dissatisfaction of the presbyters. He suffered martyrdom in 258, having returned from his retirement which he had entered upon at the beginning of the persecution raised by Decius Trajan. That emperor, elevated to the throne by the soldiers, thought that the unity and stability of the state depended upon the rehabilitation of the old pagan religion. There-fore he issued the first universal edict to suppress Christ-ianity (250), when all were required to appear before the magistrates and offer sacrifice to the imperial gods. Con-fiscation, exile, torture, promises and threats of all sorts were employed to influence Christians to renounce their loyalty to God, and many of those who were weak in faith, struck with terror, ran to the market place, impatient for their turn to sacrifice. This persecution lasted under succeeding emperors until 258.
This long and severe persecution convinced Cyprian that the end of the world was at hand, and this he empha-sized again and again : “ He (the Lord) previously warned us that adversity would increase more and more in the last times. Behold, the very things occur which were spoken ; and since those occur which were foretold before, whatever things were promised will also follow ; as the Lord himself promises (Luke 21 : 31). The kingdom of God, beloved brethren, is beginning to be at hand ; the reward of life, and the rejoicing of eternal salvation, and the perpetual gladness and possession, lately lost, of paradise, are now coming, with the passing away of the world.” “ Lo, the world is changing and passing away, and witnesses to its ruin, not now by its age, but, by the end of things ” (“ Mortality,” 2, 25).
The things predicted by Paul in 2 Timothy 3 : 19־, “ are fulfilled ; and as the end of the world is approaching, they have come for the probation as well, of the men, as of the times ” (Unity, 16). He wrote to the persecuted people of Thibaris : “For you ought to know and to believe and hold it for certain, that the day of affliction has begun to hang over our heads, and the end of the world and the
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time of Antichrist to draw near.״ “ Antichrist is coming, but above him comes Christ also. The enemy goeth about and rageth, but immediately the Lord follows to avenge our sufferings and our wounds ״ (Ep. lv : i and 7). Again he avers : “ In the, ending .and completion of the world the hateful time of Antichrist is already beginning to draw near ״ (Martyrdom, 1). “ Antichrist is at hand ״ (Ep. liv : 13 ; see also Ep. lxvii : 7 ; lvii : 2). “ Let us always with solicitude and caution wait for the sudden coming of the Lord״ (“Unity,27 ״). “Already his second coming draws near to us״ (Ep. lxii: 18). “His advent will quickly approach ״ (Ep. lvii : 4). The deadly and sacrilegious edicts of Rome against the Christians evidently convinced Cyprian that the Antichrist “ set forth״ in Antiochus (“Martyrdom,11 ״) and described in Revelation 13, was now at hand, and he held out to all the saints who would persevere the promises of Revela-tion 20 : 46־ : “ All live and reign with Christ not only who have been slain ; but even whosoever, standing in firmness of the faith and in the fear of God, have not worshipped the image of the beast, and have not consented to his deadly and sacrilegious edicts״ (“Martyrdom,12 ״). “ Antichrist is threatening, but Christ is protecting ; death is brought in, but immortality follows״ (Id. 12).
The charge of the pagans that the Christians were the cause of the increasing disasters, Cyprian thus turned back upon them : “ Know that this was foretold : that evils should be multiplied in the last times, and that misfortunes should be varied ; and that as the day of judgment is now drawing nigh, the censure of an indignant God should be more and more aroused for the scourging of the human race. For these things happen not, as your false complaining and ignorant experience of the truth asserts and repeats, because your gods are not worshipped by us, but because God is not worshipped by you ״ (Demetrianus, Treat, v. 5).
Cyprian saw in the Roman bishop only his “ colleague,״ and, conscious of his own and equal dignity and authority in the controversy about heretical baptism, he accused Bishop Stephen of Rome of error and abuse of his power, and called a tradition without truth an old error. He
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evidently followed the then current computation of the world’s duration : “ Six thousand years are now nearly completed since the devil first attacked man ” (Fortunatus, “ Exhortation to Martyrdom,” Preface 2).
In those hard times of bitter persecution, Cyprian emphasized the need of continual prayer, that the Lord might soon come in His kingdom : “ whom we day by day desire to come, whose advent we crave to be quickly manifested to us” (Lord’s Prayer, 13). When he was condemned to be beheaded, he said :	“ Thanks be to
God,” and met his death “ with the dignity and com-posurc of a hero ” (SchafF, A.N.C. ii. 845).
X
VICTORINUS OF PETAU : EARLIEST CONTINUOUS --	APOCALYPTIC COMMENTARY
Yiatarinus, rhetorician by profession, Bishop of Petavium or Petabio (Petau, Styria), was the author of the^carliest extant continuous commentary of the book of Revelatiq^ and died a martyr in 304 under the persecution of Diocletia#.
He established this important principle of interpreta-tion : “ We must not regard the order of what is said, because frequently the Holy Spirit, when he has traversed even to the end of the last times, returns again to the same times, and fills up what he had failed to say. Nor must \ve look for order in the Apocalypse ; for we must follow the meanings of those things which are prophesied ” (A.N.L. xviii. 414).
In the seven churches he saw the representatives of the Church universal. The promise of the morning star to the believer (Rev. 2 : 28) he applied “ to wit ”, to the “ first resurrection ”. In the first seal he saw the progress of the gospel after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and in the other three horses “ the wars, famines, and pestilence announced by our Lord in the gospel The sealing angel of Revelation 7 \vas thought to be “ Elias the prophet, who is the precursor of the times of Anti-christ for the restoration and establishment of the churches
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from the great and intolerable persecution ”. Elias, with some other prophet, would fulfil Revelation 11 : ן “ therefore their preaching three years and six months, 1and the kingdom of Antichrist as much again,” making a week of seven years. The restraining power referred to in 2 Thessalonians 2, was “ the kingdom of the Romans ”. And when Paul said, “ the mystery of iniquity doth already work ”, he said this of Nero, “ that they might know that he should come who was then the prince ”. Nero, as the Antichrist, “ must be roused up from hell ” again. The seven heads represent the seven hills of Rome and also the seven Roman emperors. Five were fallen at the writing of the Apocalypse. Domitian was then reigning as the sixth, the seventh, Nerva, was to continue but a short time, and the eighth, Nero, who was a previous Roman emperor, was to be called one of the seven. The wounded head refers to Nero, who cut his own throat.; God, how-ever, will raise him up again as a worthy king such as the Jews merit. Appearing unto them as a circumcised Messiah, he will recall the saints, “ to undertake circum-cisión ”. As he calls himself light, his name will be DiCLux, exactly 666. The lamb-like beast “ as the false prophet shall cause that a golden image of Antichrist be placed in the temple of Jerusalem, and that the apostate angel should enter, and thence utter voices and oracles. This will be the abomination against whichDaniel, Christ and John warn When the Roman senate, pressed by Diocletian, decreed the general persecution of the Christians, and many died as martyrs, then Victorinus applied to Rome Revela-tion 17, seeing in the imperial government the woman “ drunk with the blood of the saints,” as the revised text plainly reads : “ Her wickedness having been consummated by a decree of the senate, which, casting all mercy aside, extended to all nations the prohibition of the preaching of the true faith ” (See p. 429). His comments on Revela-tion 20, evidently polluted by antichiliastic writers, have been correctly reproduced by Hauszleiter (Theol· Lit. 1895, p. 195 ff.) :
“ That the devil and all his angels will be shut up at the second advent in the Tartarus of the Gehenna every-body knows, and also that he will be let loose after the
56	THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
thousand years on account of the nations, who are to serve Antichrist that they may perish according to their merits (Rev. 20 : 2, 3). According to verses 46־, the first resurrec-tion coincides with the visible appearance of our Lord. Paul, also, speaks of	resurrection (1 Thess. 4:
1517־), and, by distinguishing the two trumpets (v. 15 compared with 1 Cor. 15 : 52), teaches a double resurrec-tion. Those who have no part in the first resurrection and in the reign of Christ over all the earth and nations shall be raised at the last trumpet, after the thousand years, with the wicked. The holy city described in Revela-tion 21 will appear with the first resurrection. There-fore, its appearance and the thousand years’ reign were announced beforehand (Ps. 72: 8, 16; Isa. 66: 15, 16; 60 : i, 19 ; Dan. 2 : 341 ; 18 : 7 ; 44־ Cor. 15 : 25 ; Rev. 15 : 2). In it takes place the hundredfold recompense promised in Matthew 19 : 29. The Lord will bring into it the riches of the sea and the treasures of the nations.״
Victorinus still more strongly emphasizes the idea of a millennium after the 6,000 years in the fragments of his treatise “ On the Creation of the World,״ which have córñe down to us (A.N.L. xviii. 388393־) : “ In the septenary number of days both heavenly and earthly things are ordered,״ and in the seventh day he sees “ the day of power to that consummation ״. “ To those seven days the Lord attributed to each a thousand years,״ wherefore “ that true Sabbath will be in the seventh millenary of years, when Christ with His elect shall reign.״
XI
LACTANTIUS RECORDS THE FULFILMENT OF 1 REVELATION 2
Eusebius, the historian, and Lactantius, the rhetorician, witnessed the cruelties of tlfÊ1״ Wôclehàn persecution, and hailed the wonderful transition from the age of martyr-dom to that of imperial patronage. Their long lives (they were both octogenarians) reflect the lights and the shades of both ages. It was about 285 that, attracted by his great eloquence and culture, Diocletian called Lactam
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tius to the imperial court at Nicomcdia. This emperor, the son of a slave, was a superstitious despot. He claimed the Divine honours as the vicar of Jupiter, and prevented the chaos of the empire by destroying the liberty of the Roman citizenship.
Eusebius testifies (H.E. viii. 1, 2, 9) : When “ hypocrisy and dissimulation had arisen to the greatest height of malignity, then the Divine judgment began “ We saw with our own eyes our houses of worship throwm down . . . the sacred scriptures of inspiration committed to the flames,” “ many (in Thebais) crowded together in one day, some suffering decapitation, some the torments of flame ; so that the murderous weapon was completely blunted, and, having lost its edge, broke to pieces ; and the execu-tioners themselves, wearied with slaughter, were obliged to relieve one another.” Pagan cruelty was indeed over-come by Christian endurance, because Christianity, relying on invisible and Divine power, was animated by the hope of a glorious conviction. At such a time Lactantius wrote his “ Divine Institutes,” and a shorter epitome of the same, in defence of this despised faith. He gave emphasis to the fact that the old Roman poets “ repeat examples of justice from the times of Saturnus, which they call the golden times. . . . This is not to be regarded as a poetic fiction, but as the truth. For, while Saturnus reigned, the religious worship of the gods not having yet been instituted. . . . God was manifestly worshipped But justice, instead of fleeing to the kingdom of Jupiter, as the poets claim, was driven away “ by Jupiter, who changed the golden age ”. When he himself and all his offspring were consecrated as gods, and the worship of many deities undertaken, the golden age was “ altogether taken away ”. “ But God, as a most indulgent parent, when the last time approached, sent a messenger to bring back that old age. . .. Therefore the appearance of that golden time returned, and justice was restored to the earth, but was assigned to a few ; and this justice is nothing else than the pious and religious worship of the one God ” (Inst. v. 57־).
At His first advent, Christ brought “ the appearance of that golden age to a few ”, but “ when He shall come again with majesty and glory to judge every soul, and to
58 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
restore the righteous to life, then He shall truly have the government of the whole earth : then, every evil having been removed from the affairs of men, a golden age (as the poets call it) that is, a time of righteousness and peace will arise” (Inst. iv. 12).
Lactantius establishes the certainty of Divine revela-tion from the fact “ that all things were foretold which we see fulfilled in Christ. Let no one believe our assertion unless I shall show that the prophets, before a long series of ages, published that it should come to pass at length that the Son of God should be born as a man ; and perform wonderful deeds, and spread the worship of God through-out the whole earth, and at last be crucified, and on the third day rise again. And when I shall have proved all these things by the writings of those very men who treated with violence their God who had assumed a mortal body, what else will prevent it from being manifest that true wisdom is conversant with this religion only ? ” (Inst. iv.
10)-
Having established the certainty of the prophetic word from the first advent, with its aid he proceeds to describe the events preceding the second advent, leading contemporary events somewhat shaping his description. Even Jewish writers of that age were so influenced by what happened about them that, as Grætz (ii. 498) states, they applied Daniel’s fourth beast to the “ malignant Roman Empire, tyrannizing all nations ”.	“ Before Dio-
cletian could usurp the purple robe, three emperors had to be deposed : Carus, Carinus and Cerausius. This murderous deed the commentators found in the words of Daniel :	‘ Three horns shall be broken before him \”
Rabbi Ami, of Tiberius, dreamed that only one more emperor would follow Diocletian (Grætz, ii. 497). Lactan-tius, who was convinced of the same, wrote : “ Therefore, as the end of this world approaches, the condition of human affairs must undergo a change, and through the prevalence of the wickedness becomes worse ; so that now these times of ours, in which iniquity and impiety have increased even to the highest degree, may be judged happy and almost golden in comparison of that incurable evil.” “ And the cause of this desolation and confusion will be
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this, because the Roman name by which the world is now ruled (my mind dreads to relate it, but I will relate it, because it is about to happen) will be taken away from the earth, and the government return to Asia ; and the East will again bear rule, and the West be reduced to servitude. Now ought it to appear wonderful to any one, if a kingdom founded with such vastness, and so increased by so many and such men, and in short streng-thened by such great resources, shall nevertheless at some time fall. There is nothing prepared by human strength which cannot equally be destroyed by human strength, since the works of mortals are mortal. Thus also other kingdoms in former times, though they had long flourished, were nevertheless destroyed. For it is related that the Egyptians and Persians and Greeks and Assyrians had the government of the wOrld ; and after the destruction of them all, the chief powrer came to the Roman state also. And inasmuch as they excel all other kingdoms in magni-tude, with so much greater an overthrow will they fall.”
“ Seneca therefore not unskilfully divided the times of the Roman city by ages. ... It so grew7 old, as though it had no strength to support itself. . . . But if these things are so, what remains, except that death follow old age ? And that it will so come to pass, the predictions of the prophets briefly announce under the cover of other names, so that no one can easily understand them. Never-theless, the Sibyls openly say that Rome is doomed to perish, and that indeed by the judgment of God, because it held His name in hatred ; and being the enemy of righteousness, it destroyed the people who kept the truth” (Inst. vii. 15).
This breaking up of the empire would be hastened by the multiplication of emperors, “ until ten kings arise at the same time, who will divide the world to . . . consume it ”. Whereupon, an enemy from the extreme North should ! come against them, overthrow three Asiatic dynasties of ; the ten, and shall be constituted prince of the rest. In י these troublous times a prophet of God was to arise, converting many. But Antichrist, the false prophet, would also arise and persecute the saints for forty־twO months, and his followers would be marked as sheep.
60 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
The saints were to finally find refuge on a mountain, and when the hosts of the wicked one are about to take it, Christ would appear, annihilate them, and deliver the saints (Inst. vii. 1619־).
As to the time at which this should happen, Lactantius shows that at the end of the 6,000 years this would take place, “ and that the last day of the extreme conclusion is now drawing near Men who have been studying the times from the sacred writings and from various histories, vary considerably in the number of years from the beginning of the world, “ yet all expectation does not exceed the limit of 200 years. The subject itself declares that the fall and ruin of the world will shortly take place ; except that, while the city of Rome remains, it appears that nothing of this kind is to be feared. But when that capital of the world shall have fallen, and shall have begun to be a street . . . who can doubt that the end has now arrived. ... It is that city, that only, which still sustains all things, and the God of Heaven, is to be entreated by us and implored—if, indeed, His arrangements and decrees can be delayed—lest sooner than we think for, that detestable tyrant should come who will undertake so great a deed, and dig out that eye, by the destruction of which the world itself is about to fall ” (Id. ch. 25).
At His coming, Christ would suppress all evil “ and will deliver all the nations into subjection to the righteous who are alive, and will raise the (righteous) dead to eternal life, and will Himself reign with them on the earth, and will build the holy city, and this kingdom of the righteous shall be for a thousand years. Through that time . . . the earth shall bring forth all her fruit without the labour of men. Honey shall drop from rocks, fountains of milk and wine shall abound. The beasts shall lay aside their ferocity ”. “ In short, those things shall then come to pass which poets spoke of as being done in the reign of Satur-nus ” (Epit. 72 ; Inst. vii. 24).
When the thousand years are fulfilled, and the prince of demons loosed, the nations will try to storm the city, but will be consumed. Then God will renew the wwld, present the righteous with the garment of immortality, in a second resurrection raise all the wicked, but to punishment.
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When this unrighteous age had run its appointed course, all wickedness extinguished, and the souls of the righteous recalled to a happy life, then “ a quiet, tranquil, peaceful, in short, golden age, as the poets call it, should flourish under the rule of God himself ” (Epit. 72 ; Inst. vii. 2).
In 315, the aged Lactantius was called into Gaul by Constantine to educate his son Crispus. This elevation from expected martyrdom to imperial favour came al-together unexpectedly. Instead of Christ’s delivering the persecuted Christians by His advent in glory, God had sent relief in an altogether different way. The Smyrna period of martyrdom of the church, the termination of which was definitely marked by the ten years’ tribulation, did not bring the advent of Christ or the coming of Anti-christ, but it ushered in the Pergamos (or elevation) and four other periods of the Christian Church, which were to follow on during a period of 1,600 years. As Lactantius beheld this wonderful transition, he wrote his treatise “ On the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died.” In this he burst out into praise : “ Behold, all the adversaries are destroyed, and tranquillity having been re-established throughout the Roman Empire, the late oppressed church arises again, and the temple of God, overthrown by the hands of the wicked, is built up with more glory than before.”
In closing his treatise with a prayer (ch. 52) he records the fulfilment of Revelation 2 : 10, evidently without the least design, as having taken place in his own time : “ Let us beseech Him to confirm forever that peace, which, after the warfare of ten years, He has bestowed on His own.”
Already in the Smyrna period some of the expositors reached the following conclusions : 1. That the prophecies of Daniel and John began to have their fulfilment from the time when they were written. 2. That the fourth beast in Daniel and the terrible monster of Revelation 13 : I, had made with the Latin Empire its appearance as the fourth universal empire, was already aged, and that it demonstrated its cruel character in suppressing Christianity. 3. That in view of the various divisions already taking place in this empire, the time could not be far distant,
62 THE IMPELLING TORCE OT PROPHETIC TRUTH
when the tenfold division would happen, and out of it the antichristian power arise, which would suppress the saints of God for a specified time still more cruelly. 4. This Antichrist, rather than being infidel, would try to imitate the lamblike character of Christ, but, as a false prophet, act like a dragon, in suppressing the true worship ; 5. Ter-tullían as Montanist, and Hippolytus already suspected that the Roman bishop might develop into that anti-Christian power ; 6. Rome, pagan and imperial, would suffer the deadly wound, the Antichristian power by healing and restoring its former authority under a new form, would become the image of the world-wide power of Rome under Augustus, enforcing its worship under penalty of death ; 7. All these expositors were pre-millenarians, though the description of the future millennium was with some, rather sensual and fantastic.
PERGAMOS1 — The Church of the Martyrs under Pagan Rome
XII
AN IMPERIAL BANQUET “ A PICTURE OF THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST ”
The great Constantine revolution, resulting in the union׳ of the Christian Church and the State, could but be exp^ed^^k iexercise a profound influence on the inter-nrpfa	It_suggestedan entirely new method
m understanding the.promises concerning the kingdom-of Heaven that could scarcely have been thought of before—that its territory, might be on the earth in its.present 'State ; thaPTne time of the realization of the., promise might be that of the present dispensation ; and^that the
-be by human establishment of the earthly Church, visible (see Elliot, iv. 310).
This wrong interpretation was Satan’s craft to confirm the opinion of men who believed the hierarchical rule of< the world to be the predicted empire of Christ upon earth. Expressive of this fact is Eusebius’ comment on Revelation 12 : 112־ (H.E. x. 4) : “ But when malignant envy and the mischievous spirit of iniquity, almost bursting asunder at such a display of grace and benevolence, was now arraying
1 Pergamos, “ a high castle," being the name of a renowned city in Mysia where under the form of a coiled serpent Aesculapius, a son of the sun, was deified as the great healer “ evangelios " of mankind, was indeed a term well chosen for the period, beginning with Constantine, which Lord (I. 43) well terms “ Christianity Enthroned The Son of man had in His humility successfully met Satan's offer, but haughty prelates filled with wT0rldly am-bitions, fell a ready prey to Satanic craft, and even believed that they were fulfilling Dan. 7 : 18 and were establishing Christ's millennial rule over a sinful world. When these false shepherds mingled the simple forms of Christian worship with pagan rites and pomp, diverted the worship due only to Christ to secular and ecclesiastical rulers and formed that unholy alliance between state and church the old serpent, Satan, was indeed enthroned at Rome as the real healer of mankind, which he anew beguiled and captivated under the mask of Christianity. Constantine removing the world's capital to Byzantium, paved the way for the Roman bishop to occupy the vacant seat and sway the world anew from “ the eternal city/׳.
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64 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
all his deadly forces against us . . . he issued dreadful hissings and serpent-like voices sometimes by the threats of impious tyrants (the red seven-headed dragon) some-times by the blasphemous ordinances of profane governors : and moreover, he himself pouring forth death, and infect-ing the souls captured by him with his pestilential and destructive poison, almost destroyed them with the deadly sacrifice to dead idols, and caused every sort of beast in the shape of man, and every savage, to assault us. Then the Angel of the mighty council, the great Captain and leader of the armies of God (Michael), after a sufficient exercise which the greatest of the soldiers of his kingdom had exhibited in their patience and persever-anee, again suddenly appeared destroying what was hostile, and annihilating his foes, so that they scarcely appeared to have had a name.” “ But those that were his friends and of his household, he advanced, not only to glory with all men, but now also, with celestial powers.” In a similar strain Constantine himself wrote to Eusebius (L.C. ii. φχ>ΐ “ that dragon having been deposed from the governance of affairs, by God’s providence ”. JEusebius (L.C. iii. 0$) further relates, that in a picture of himself, which Constantine elevated over his palace-gate, there was represented the cross, the ensign of salva-tion, above his head ; and, beneath, his enemy and that of the human race, under the semblance of a dragon, precipitated into the abyss. Ranke (H.P. i. 9) adds : “ As we see on the coins of Constantine tKêTabarum with the monogram of Christ above the conquered dragon, even so did the worship and name of Christ stand triumphant above prostrate heathenism.”
But Eusebius goes still further in his flight of fancy. He praises Paulinus, bishop of Tyre, who had erected there a stately church as a “ new Bezaleel, the architect of a Divine tabernacle, or a Solomon, the king of a new and better Jerusalem”. The songs of jubilee filling these grand temples seemed to him a fulfilment of the prophecy of the new song, for he says : “ We may raise another song of triumph, and exclaim, and appropriately say ‘ as we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord ; of hosts, in the city of our God and in what city but in
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this newly built and framed by God ? ‘ which is the church of the living God \ ” He also saw and realized in it the fulfilment of Isaiah 35 : “ This desert, this dry and thirsty land ; this^wiSavTand deserted one, whose gates they cut down with axes, as wood in the forest, breaking them down with the axe and the hatchet, whose books they destroyed and whose Divine sanctuary they burned with fire . . . now, by the marvellous power of Christ, as he himself would have it, has blossomed as the lily . . . And now she, which a little before was desolate, is changed into pools ” (H.E. x. 4).
He thus eulogizes the erection of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem: “Accordingly, on the very spot which witnessed the Saviour’s sufferings, a new Jemsalem was constructed . . . with rich and lavish magnificence. And it may be that this was. that second and new Jerusalem spoken of in the predictions of the prophets, concerning which such abundant testimony is given in the Divinely inspired records ” (L.C. iii. 33).
Again, when Constantine’s mother sent him the nails of the true cross with the instruction that they should be used as bridle bits for his war-horse, it was looked upon as evidence that the kingdom of God had come, aryj, that Zechariah 14 : 20 was fulfilled (Theodoret, H.E. i. 48).
But the climax was reached when Eusebius actually argued that the Emperor’s dining-hall at the council of Nice was a picture of Christ’s kingdom : “ Not one of the bishops was wanting at the imperial banquet, the circumstances of which were splendid beyond description.” u Troops surrounded the entrance of the palace with drawn swords, and through the midst of these, the men of God proceeded without fear into the innermost of the imperial apartments, in which some were the emperor’s own companions at table, while others reclined on couches around on either side. One might have thought that a picture of Christ’s kingdom was thus shadowed forth, and that the scene was a dream rather than reality” (L.C. iii. 15.) ^
This theocratic idea is still more strongly expressed by Eusebius in his “ Oration in Praise of Constantine ” (Wace^ chapt. 3 : 2, 5) :
“ Lastly, invested as he is with a semblance of heavenly
F
66 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
sovereignty he directs his gaze above, and frames his earthly government according to the pattern of that Divine original, feeling strength in its conformity to the monarchy of God.” When, later on, Constantine appointed his sons and kindred as Cæsars that he might thus streng-then his empire, he is said to fulfil the predictions of the holy prophets, according to what had been uttered by Daniel ages before (Dan. 7 : 18) : “ And the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom.״ “ Our emperor, by bringing those whom he rules on earth to the only begotten Word and Saviour, renders them fit subjects of His kingdom.” His rule was a vain attempt to make a nation Christian by outward profession.
An impartial Church historian, G. Arnold (H.E. 1, 140) fittingly comments : “ Eusebius has dared to fully apply the most precious utterances of the prophets about Christ and His kingdom, after the manner of ancient flatterers, to such things, and thus establish indeed a real so-called Cerinthian kingdom in which Christ could reign on earth in spite of all sensuality and lasciviousness.”
Such misinterpretations of the prophecies laid the foundation for locating the millennium, which should follow the first resurrection, in this corrupt age, and to see in earthly kingdoms the real image of the heavenly. ׳“ The Emperor-Pope ” Constantine, whose later life was sullied by the murder of his kindred, was baptized by an Arian bishop shortly before he died. The evil caused by this union of Church and State, Dante truly pictures when he regarded Constantine’s supposed donation, and bitterly exclaimed (“Inferno,” xix. 112 ff.).
" Ah, Constantine ! what evil caused to flow Not thy conversion, but that plenteous dower Thou on the lirst rich father didst bestow ! "
XIII
DANIEL 7.: 25 EIRST APPLIED TO THE ARIAN CO NSTANTIUS
Eusebius’ vain imaginations of the peaceful reign of the enthroned Church soon vanished. Arianism gained the ascendancy among the barbarians throughout the empire.
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The imperial power was misused in favour of one or the other party according to the varying professions of Con-stantine’s successors. The Arian emperor, Constantius, oppressed the Catholics, whose thrice-banished champion, Athanasius of Alexandria, truthfully declared :	“ The
devil, when he has no truth on his side, attacks and breaks down the doors of them that admit him with axes and hammers.״ “ The truth is not preached with swords or with darts, not by means of soldiers ; but by persuasion and counsel99 ( Wace and SchafF, iv : 281).
Athanasius applied Daniel 24 : ך ff. to Constantius, whom he nicknamed Costyllius, as the predicted Anti-christ or his prelude : “ Now that impiety has reached such a pitch of audacity who will any longer venture to call this Costyllius a Christian, and not rather the image of Anti-christ ? For what mark of Antichrist is yet wanting ? How’ can he in any way fail to be regarded as that one ? or how can the latter fail to be supposed such a one as he is ? Did not the Arians and the Gentiles offer those sacrifices in the great church in the Cæsareum, and utter their blasphemies against Christ as by His command ? And does not the vision of Daniel thus describe Antichrist ? ״ “ Now what other person besides Constantius has ever attempted to do these things ? He is surely such an one as Antichrist would be. He speaks great words against the Most High by supporting this impious heresy : he makes war against the saints by banishing the bishops ; although indeed he exercises this power but for a little while to his own destruction. Moreover, he has surpassed those before him in wickedness, having devised a new mode of persecution ; and after he had overthrown three kings, namely, Vetranio, Magnentius, and Gallus, he straightway undertook the patronage of impiety ; and like a giant he has dared in his pride to set himself up against the Most High. He has thought to change laws, by trans-gressing the ordinance of the Lord given us through His apostles, by altering the customs of the Church, and inventing a new kind of appointments. For he sends from strange places, distant a fifty days’ journey, bishops attended by soldiers to people unwilling to receive them.״ “ Now what is yet wanting to make him Antichrist ? ״
68 THE IMPELLING ׳ FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
“ Terrible indeed, and worse than terrible are such proceed-ings ; yet conduct suitable to him who assumes the character of Antichrist.״ “ Who that beheld him taking the lead of his pretended bishops, and presiding in eccles-iastical causes, would not justly exclaim that this was the ‘ abomination of desolation י spoken of by Daniel ? ״ (Athanasius, Hist. Arian. par. ^477־).
Athanasius also calls Arianism “ the antichristian heresy ״, fulfilling “ the falling away ״ predicted by Paul, after which the Antichrist shall be revealed, “ of whom Constantius is surely the forerunner ”, “ the prelude ”, “ who openly exhibits the image of the adversary ״ (Id. par 46,79,80). *Athanasius (“ Incarnation,50 5^4־׳ ״) fully sensed the importance of the exact prophetic time in Daniel 9 : 24 ff. to prove the divinity of Christ : “ The Jews shall be all the more refuted of the most wise Daniel who marks both the actual date, and the Divine sojourn of the Saviour. Perhaps with regard to the other prophecies they may be able even to find excuses, and to put off what is written to a future time. But what can they say to this, or can they face it at all ? Where not only is the Christ referred to, but He that is to be anointed is declared to be not man simply, but Holy of Holies ; and Jerusalem is to stand until His coming.״ “ So the Jews are trifling, and the time in question, which they refer to the future, is actually come. For when did prophet and vision cease from Israel, save when Christ came, the Holy of Holies ? He is the expectation of the nations ” Genesis 49 : 10 was fulfilled in Him.
Bishop Cyril of Jerusalem (a.d. 347) laments also the fact that “ bishops advance against bishops, and clergy against clergy, and people against people even unto blood ״. He uses it as proof for the evident fulfilment of Matthew 24 : 10. He calls it “ a sign ״, “ the Church’s sign ”, but rejoices that verse 14 is also meeting its fulfilment, “ nearly the whole world is now filled with the doctrine of Christ ״. Instructing his hearers, he told them “ that the fourth kingdom is that of the Romans, has been the tradition of the Church’s interpreters ״. “ When the times of the Roman empire shall have been fulfilled, and the end of the world is now drawing near, then there shall rise up
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together ten kings of the Romans, and after these shall arise Antichrist, who by his magical craft shall seize the Roman power, humble three kings and subject the rest.” “ He will show himself as God, sit in the Jewish temple, but his precursor, the apostasy, will be a religious one from the right faith, from truth, and from right works.” He shall “ come at a time when there shall not be left one stone upon another in the temple, according to the doom pronounced by our Saviour ; for when, either through decay of time, or demolition for the use of new buildings, or ensuing from other causes, every stone shall have been overthrown, not merely of the outer circuit, but of the shrine also, where the cherubim were, then shall he come with all signs and lying wonders, exalting himself against all idols ”. “ For this cause we must hide ourselves and flee.” Then he exhorts : 0 man, do not merely keep the signs of Antichrist “ in mind thyself, but impart them also freely to all. If thou hast a child according to the flesh, now admonish him of this. ... For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. I fear these wars of the nations ; I fear the divisions of the churches ; I fear the mutual hatred of the brethren. . . . Only God forbid that it should be fulfilled in our days ” (“ Cathech. Lectures,” xvL 718־).
Bishop Hilary of Poitiers found in the Divine prophecies the solution of the riddle of life, which he had sought in vain in the writings of the philosophers (Migne, S.L. ix. 126). Twice banished by Constantius, he was persuacted that the Antichrist had already come in Arianism and was raging in the Church of God. Therefore he asks his persecutor, the Arian bishop Auxentius of Milano, who to him seemed as Satan transformed into an angel of light : “ Can there be any doubt but that Antichrist may establish his throne there ? ” (Adv. Auxentium, 5). He compares Constantius to Nero, “ the new enemy of Christ, who fights against God, rages against the Church and persecutes the saints ” (Adv. Constantium, v. 124). “ We fight against Constan-tius, who strokes his stomach instead of lashing his back.” He confronts the emperor with the wrong of his course : “ With the gold of the state thou burdenest the sanctuary of God, and what is torn from the temples, or gained by
סך THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
confiscation, or extorted by punishment, thou obtrudest upon God.”
XIV
THE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY ASSAILED AND EARLY HOPES BLIGHTED
Schaff correctly asserts (H.E., A.N.C. i. 115) : “The great argument, not only with Jews, but with heathens also, was the^m^mij; ; since the knowledge of future events can only come from God.”
This fortress of Christian Apology was attacked very early. Indeed, the very citadel of prophecy, Daniel and Revelation, wejg^the special target of the enemy. The distort63 ¿S^ptuaginfrs version of Daniel is a striking illus-tratloh”	'Theh 0Fr e c t ~~t r a h si a tion of this
^onderful book has been properly called the culminating point of all interpretation ; but this is sadly lacking in the original Septuagint version, asJjhJPjusey(“ Lect. on Daniel,” p. 379 ff.) Testifies : “ The translator made large additions, condensed, transposed, repeated, as he thought would be acceptable.” “ In the prophecy of the seventy weeks;'the translator again repeatedly falsifies the time, in order to make it fit in with that of Epiphanes. For the dates of the original he twice substitutes 7, and 70, and 62, 'making 13a This according to the era of the Seleucidæ, winch tïïe j ews used, comprised the second year of the reign of Epiphanes, soon after whose accession Onias was deposed, to which act this writer probably alluded in his unfaithful paraphrase ‘ chrism shall be removed \” Thus the important period of seventy weeks wras corrupted and misapplied and the real object of the coming of the Messiah to die in the midst of the week was entirely obliterated.
The 2,3_oo_d^^_on3aniel 8 : 14 were also changed into ..reasons. The events under Antiochus in no wise justified the Alexandrine translator in violating the original to such an extent, “ that he absolutely inter-preted them into the text” (Fraidl, “ Exegesjs^der 70 iVochen,” p. 10).
? However, our Lord providentially had a care over the Hebrew text, and in Matthew 24: ι_ς acknowledged
71
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i
Daniel as a prophet, declaring that the apostles should witness the fulfilment of Daniel 9 : 27. After Christ’s first adverTt and the destruction of Jerusalem had demonstrated the correctness of the prophetic predictions in Daniel 9 : 24 ff., the Apocalypse was given, indicating in a most striking manner the future application of portions of Daniel.
The״egjriy..Christians, guided by the Hebrew original as well, as by the stiikiag. fulfilment of the prophecy in their own times, rejected the Septuagint translation, and sub-stitutedTn_ it§
Jerom^f^ ,,	, Ty_7 _______
Phe Septuagint version of Daniel, tKe^prophet, is not read by the chprches . . . they use Theodotion’s version, but how this came to pass I cannot tell.” u This one thing T can affirm, that it differs widely from the original, and is rightly rejected.” As an authority, he refers to Origen. The unused Daniel text oi the Septuagint entirely xÇsapÇreared, the Throdotipn version being in our copies of the Septuagint, until in Ijj2 it was published in Rome from a" recovered manuscript. A Greek-Latin version appeared in Gottingen (1774).	\
' But the first"Eatm expositor, Hjp^olyJU^ even suνβ passed the Septuagint translator in corrupting the text to make the brief raging of Antiochus against the Jews a; ,complete type of the future Antichrist. That he might apply Daniel 8 : 14 also to Antiochus, he merely changed ihe 2¿0SLáayS■ mta x^ûû^sa.ying :	“ It happened during
tius time the sanctuary lay desolate three and a half years,\ whereby the 1,300 days were fulfilled, up to the time of the : Revolt of JudSsTJTaccabaeus.” However, he reached the height of his violation of both the scripture text and of history in his interpretation of Daniel 11 and 12. Making use of i Macc. 111־, he attempted to crowd all the historical events predicted in Daniel 11 : 535־, into the brief reign of Antiochus and the upstart Balas. He applied only the subsequent verses to the future Antichrist. He comments on Daniel 12 : 11 : “ Daniel has therefore spoken of two future abominations ; one of destruction—Antiochus, and other of desolation—Antichrist.	According to Daniel
8 : 14, the former will rule noo days or three and a half
2ך THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
years; the latter, 1290 days,” which he also reduces to three and g half .years. Then on Daniel 12 : 12 he declares : “ for when the abomination cometh and makes war upon the saints whosoever shall survive his days and reach the forty-five days ... to him the Kingdom of Heaven comes ” (|(ratker iv. 40-4,3). A noted Catholic theologian,
0._^Bar^erm.ewer (p. 99), thus corrects this first Latin commentator :	“ S. Hippolytus lacked the historical
knowledge essential to a sufficient understanding of these prophecies. The sources of his historical references (as well as to Dan. 7 and 8) are the books of the Maccabees. BuCThese often leave the commentator in the lurch. Consequently the text in question must, to a great degree, have remained an unsolvable puzzle to S. Hippolytus. In his predicament and in view of the events narrated in the Maccabees and according to his supposition pre-Announced in this vision, he permits himself to arrange the text to suit himself, by making arbitrary, changes, tearing scattered phrases from their context and then putting tfiem^ogetber *as a whole. Work under such conditions can,''of 'course, hardly be called exegesis.” This severe .criticism applies with equal force to many commentators, who now more than ever attempt to apply the prophecies of Daniel and the times mentioned (on the strength of the books of the Maccabees) to the abomination of Antiochus and to his brief period of desolation. It is just because Daniel’s prophecies stand pre-eminent among all other prophecies in their evidential value, and his time prophecies furnish specific frame work, that the enemy of truth made them the chief object of his attacks at so early a date.
Towards the end of the third century. Porphyry of ׳Tyre wrote fifteen books against the Christians. In his twelfth book he attempted to ptove that titeb.ooLoLDamel A\׳ajcomposed by^a PaI<^tiniaJt,j.uw:i11.the time of Antiochus. The emperor commanded the work of this Neo-Platonic philosopher to be committed to the flames, but we have some knowledge of his arguments through the extracts quoted in	refutation He assigned (Migne, S.L.
xxv, 491 seq.) as the main ground of this theory the exact correspondence of the events with the predictions, claiming that “ Daniel did not predict so much future
73
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,eY^ts^marrate^aa&t .ones.. - What he had told up to the time of Antiochus contained the true history ; if anything was guessed beyond that point, it was fable, for he had not known the future ”.
In trying to limit Daniel’s range of vision to a time not later than Antiochus, he applied the. ÍQ.ujth beast to Alexander’s successors, A^j^^,.cr.eating.dasuper0hle diffi-culties in the explanation of the fifth universal kingdom as the eternal reign of the saints with Christ. Jeiûme fittingly remarks :	“ This method of opposing the
prophecies is the strongest testimony to their truth, for they wrere fulfilled with such exactness that to infidelsl the prophets seemed not to have foretold things future,) but to haj^e-pelatçd things past.”
^ The Apo^ypsa. also, was very early assailed. It is ¿¿interesting fact that the first attack came from the Alogi - about the-.middle 01 the, second century, and was SfêuTe because this book, as well as John’s Gospel, called Christ Logos, or the Word—a term very obnoxious to that sect (Rev. 19: 13). Therefore the Alogi rejected both books. They ascribed the Apo^I^p^jg^Qgjcuithus^ who, *^Wishing to have reputable authority for his own fiction, prefixed the title ” (Eusebius^JH.E.^ vii4 25). י -ז ..
'“' The next attack came from the presbyter Caj us, in his dispute with the Montanist, Proclus, at Rome!''' In order to meet Proclus’ arguments based on Rev. 20 in favour of a millennium, he simply ascribed the Apocalypse. tç> Cerinthus, who asserted on the strength of it “ that after the resurrection there would be an earthly kingdom of Christ, and that the flesh, i.e., men, again inhabiting Jerusalem, w^ould be subject to desires and pleasures, and that there would be a space of 1000 years for celebrating nuptial festivals ” (Id. vi, 20 ; iii, 28).
About ,thiu, vear 250' a similar dispute arose between Bishop Dionysiuà of Alexandria a pupiLaLQrigen and later head of thl!fAlexandrine school, and Bishop Nepos of Upper Egypt. From the very beginning thief s'^ooU exerted a pernicious influence. It endeavoured to explain and harmonize Bible truth with Grecian dialectics after the manner of . Philo. Its founder, Clement,, attempting to explain Daniel’s prophetic times, applied not only the
74 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
seventieth week to the seven years before the destruction of Jerusalem, but also !Ke'^260^J¿?99iJU335> and 2>300 days." ^In the first place he mistranslatea üamel 8 : 14, /*,the holy place shall be tajeen' away ^,"^^fit It to the aestruction of the temple¿ a.d. 70. He believed that in th2׳ first half ¿rthe^otli week the abomination of Nero átood in the holy city, and during the other half the abomination of Nero’s successors. These seven years he tried to identify with the 2,300 days, and to lengthen them by alluding to the 1,290 and 1,335 days י the blessedness of the latter being that at their end the war should cease with the destruction of Jerusalem	i. 21).
צ׳ Still worse was the influence ôÇj3rigen\(18 S2־ S4), the founder_of^^lj^i^xical dogmatics, wnoso spiritualized the""symt)01ic language of the prophets that he deprived it of alTits force. According to him, only children were éxcüsablê, if they believed in a literal return of Christ (MaurFomment. ser. 50). He maintained (Comm. Matt. Opera lii. 811), that as soon as one believes in the immor-ta 1 i13^01.~he can place his hope in Christ without believingjn,the resurrection. He also nullified the future Judgment, by teaching the ultimate perfection of all. Whit^The^salnts, after departing from this life, ascend from sphere to sphere in a so-called class-room of souls, until fney reach the celestial abodes and are with Christ, the picked are to be delivered to punishment by fire, where ;they are refined by the pangs of their conscience “ during the lapse of countless ages, some outstripping others, *and tending by a swifter course towards perfection ” De Principiis, ii. 10, 4; iii. 6, 49־). It_was due chiefly to Drigen’s pernicious influence that the belieF in a'"future nifféñníum^e^p^To"^wane. He °PPosed' it Fecause it vas incompatible with some of his favourite sentiments, y AV^hüTs^^^	booïc ^Refutation of the
Allegorists ” insistetP*'on the literal interpretation of [Revelation zor,Bishop Dionysius tried to refute him. He admitted the former opponents had set aside the entire book without sense or reason, and yet he reproduced the old objections with some modifications. “ He would not venture to set this book aside, as there are many brethren that value it much ”, yet he ascribed it to some other
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75
John, “ the ־work of some holy and inspired man ” (Euse-bius, H.E., vii. 25). He claimed that the book did not contain a syllable in common with the Gospel, although the Alogi had rejected it for containing the same term Logos in reference to Christ ! Eusebius (H.E., iii. 39) himself insinuates that the presbyter, John, might be the writer of the Apocalypse, and never refers to the book as an authority.
This illustrates the statement of Harnack (H.D., iizçof). “ The simple and foolish ” Christians of the Orient γπΗ& fast to the chiliastic hoper but “ were gradually obliged to recede in ezactLy the>same proportion as philosophical theology beça:m&^	this subsidence
“ denotes the progressive tutelage of the laity. The religion they understood was taken from them, a1)d they received in turn a faith they could not understand ; in other words, the old faith and the old hopes decayed of themselves, and the authority of a mysterious faith took their place. In this sense the. extirpation or decay of :hiliasm is perhaps t}iç.most manuntous fact in the history oFCEristianity in the East. With. Chiliasm men almost lost tKe living faith in the nearly impending return of Christ, and the consciousness that the prophetic spirit wltîTits gifts is a real possession of Christendom.” In The West they retained their vigour longer. In spite of the blow dealt by Augustine, this doctrine of earl^ Christianity exercised its effects far beyond his time to be fully revived again in the last days.
XV	\N
\
JULIAN W.QULD D-EEY PROPHECY BY ΑΤΊΈΜΡΤΙN G TO REBUILD THE JEWISH TEMPLE
The historical law of action and reaction is seen working out in the reaction of heathenism against an enforced Christianity, which, when it came, served as a scourge on a secularized church and clergy. Julian, “ the Apostate ”, during his two years’ reign, was to be the instrument of Him whose prophecies he defied. “ The genera] slaughter of his kindred, not excepting his father, at the change of the throne, could beget neither love for
76 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Constantius, nor respect for his court Christianity. He afterwards ascribed his escape to the special favour of the old gods.” He was kept in strict retirement at the court of Nicomedia, was educated for the clerical order, and even ordained a lector. Forbidden to attend the lectures of the pagan rhetorician Libanus, it only whetted his appetite to read his writings secretly. He became deeply interested in the Neo-Platonic philosophy and, after being instructed from their most famous teachers at Athens, he secured initiation into the Eleusinian mysteries, and while remaining outwardly a Christian, was really an enthusiastic pagan. In the Gallic war he distinguished himself as an able general, and received from his soldiers the dignity of Augustus. Only the sudden death of Constantius saved the empire from a civil war between the Christians and the pagans. As sole emperor, he reinstated at once the worship of the gods and showed himself the most zealous Pontifex Maximus of paganism, brought innumerable sacrifices to the gods, and was especially devoted to the solar deity, to whose honour, jointly with that of the Christian God, his uncle Con-stantine had dedicated the venerable day of the sun. He eulogized the godmother Cybile as well as the solar deity in many of his speeches. According to Libanus, he held to the principle that fire and the swrord cannot change a man’s faith, and that persecution only begets hypocrites and martyrs ; hence he oppressed the church “ gently ”. At first he employed the policy of toleration toward all Christian sects and parties. Sometimes he invited their champions to dispute in his presence, and then exclaimed ; “ No wild beasts are so fierce and irreconcilable as the Galilean sectarians.” He affected compassion for the “ poor, blind, deluded Galileans, who forsook the most glorious privilege of man, the worship of the immortal gods, and instead of them worshipped dead men and dead men’s bones ”. The Christian officials were all dismissed from their offices, and this influenced only too many to return to paganism.
In the midst of his preparations for the campaign against Persia, he spent his winter evenings at Antioch (a.d. 363) in writing books against Christianity. His extensive
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77
knowledge of the Holy Scriptures enabled him to augment the arguments of Celsus and Porphyry, and he malig-nantly called the religion of the “ godless Galileans ” a wicked fraud, and a hopeless mixture of the worst elements of Judiasm and paganism. Many of his arguments are preserved in the ten books of Cyril of Alexandria, written in a.d. 433, in which the latter answers them in order. Cyril aptly points out from the Bible why Christians do not circumcize as the Jews, and, in fact, do not observe the ceremonial law (Julian Opera, see Cyril, x. 351).
Not only did Julian oppose the Christian faith with his pen : in the autumn of 362 he encouraged the Jews to undertake the rebuilding of their temple at his expense, seeking thus to invalidate the strongest proof of the truth-fulness of prophecy used by the apologists (Grætz, ii. 603ff). Concerning this, Gibbon reports (“ Decline and Fall,” ii. 457459־) : “ At the call of their great deliverer, the Jews from all the provinces of the empire, assembled on the holy mountain of their fathers ; and their insolent triumph alarmed and exasperated the Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem. ... In this propitious moment, the men forgot their avarice, and the women their delicacy ; spades and pickaxes of silver wrere provided by the vanity of the rich, and the rubbish was transported in mantles of silk and purple. Every purse wras opened in liberal contribu-tions, every hand claimed a share in the pious labour ; and the commands of a great monarch were executed by the enthusiasm of a whole people. Yet, on this occasion, the joint efforts of power and enthusiasm were unsuccess-ful ; and the ground of the Jewish temple still continued to exhibit the same edifying spectacle of ruin and desola-tion.” “ An earthquake, a wdiirlwind, and a fiery eruption, which overturned and scattered the new foundations of the temple, are attested, with some variations, by con-temporary and respectable evidence.” Gibbon further re-marks : “ The imperial sophist would have converted the success of his undertaking into a specious argument against the faith of prophecy and the truth of revelation.”
Theodoret writes : “ This enemy of God immediately gave directions for the re-erection of the destroyed temple, supposing in his vanity that he could falsify the
78 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
prediction of the Lord, of which, in reality, he exhibited the truth.” “ They destroyed moreover the remains of the former construction, with the intention of building everything up afresh” (H.E., iii. 15). He then describes, with Socrates (H.E.? iii. 20) how the whirlwind scattered the building materials, how an earthquake followed, and finally, how a fire burst from the uncovered foundations. Even Ammianus Marcellinus (xxiii. 1), a pagan historian, relates :	“ Alypius, therefore, set himself vigorously to
the work, and was assisted by the governor of the province, when fearful balls of fire broke out near the foundations, and continued their attacks until they made the place inaccessible to the workmen, after repeated scorchings ; and thus, the fierce element repelling them, he gave up his attempt.” Cyril was an eye-witness of the complete fulfilment of Christ’s prophecy, that not one stone would remain upon another. Thus the unbelieving Jews them-selves were the blind instrument in the fulfilment of the prophecy to the last letter, by their attempt to reconstruct their ruined temple (Socrates, H.E., iii. 2).
Julian dreamed the “ golden dream which had lured many a Roman general to the region of the Euphrates ”— to become a world ruler as was Alexander the Great, and he took the field against the Persians. But while urging for-ward his soldiers during a nocturnal skirmish (having previously discarded his cuirass) he received a mortal wound from a hostile arrow, and died that very night, at the age of only thirty-two.
Chrysostom comments on Julian’s designs against Christianity (De Babyla, i. 692) : “ He menaced us with absolute destruction ; but also assured us that he must first end the smaller war with Persia, before he would begin the greater war with us.”
Gregory of Nazianzen also explained that Julian had expressed himself in this sense : that after a triumphant return he would proceed to eradicate the name of Christ-ianity. For this reason he had undertaken the rebuilding of the temple.
Gibbon (“ Decline,” ii. 460) speaking of the secret designs of Julian testifies to the same : “ The restoration
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of the Jewish temple was secretly connected with the ruin of the Christian Church.״
In an oration (contra Julianum, Migne, S.G., xxxv. 543) which Gregory of Nazianzen held at the time of Julian’s death (363) we read :	“ The Lord, mighty in battle,
destroyed the dragon, the apostate, the man of great mind, the common enemy and adversary of all ; who madly did and threatened many things on the earth ; and spoke and devised great wickedness against the height above. . . . Who shall worthily celebrate these things ? Who shall declare the power of the Lord, and speak his praise ?... Who broke the head of the dragon in the
יי י ^
water :
XVI
^TTCH O NI US SPIRITUALIZES TTIEL-ElRST RESURRECTION ״AND SECULARIZES THE MILLENNIUM
The Donatists arose in Northern Africa after the Diocletian persecution. Like the Montanists, they insisted on a converted church membership. They stigmatized as “ traditors ” those who had delivered up the Scriptures during the persecution, and maintained that especially the officers were unworthy of being retained in the Church. But the Roman Church, because of its catholicity claiming to be the true Church, excused its lenience toward such “ traditors ” by referring to the parable of the wheat and tares. When Constantine and his successors finallyl employed the secular power to enforce unity in the Church, the*Donatists protested against civil interference in matters! of religion, called the persecutors “ Babylon ”, and con-j sidexed themselves to be the sacred remnant of the last days.)
^___ïjdly persuaded by the~supposed־־Êxpiration of the/
ν6^000 ;years, and being more perfectly convinced by the/ persecution from professed Christian emperors and bishops} tKaFtKe en3 was not far off, the learned Tychonius felt? constrained to write a commentary on tKe ApocaTypse, portraying its fulfilment in the light of the experiences the Donatists were then passing through. However, he did
80	^ί*1Γ IMPELLING FORci^F PROPHETIC TRUTH
not view these persecutions as the final time of trouble, as the most rigid Donatists did, but saw_in thejn.rjLtJh.eiL.a, Type of that kst.ahoiniiiiitiQiv which, according to Daniel and JVfatthew 24, was soon to come over the whole earth.
of...Tychonius is not preserved, but a suTfrcientíy íajrge number of quotatiomThave come down to us to enable us to reconstruct it in the main. We have hfe kev, or seven rules of interpretation, which not only shaped his owlT'explan^	but also
exercised a great and lasting influence in prophetic study for centuries after his death. Tychonius thus recommends them in his introduction : “ Whoever walks in the immense forest of prophecy, will by these rules be kept from being lost, as though he were led by paths of light.״ They are concerning: 1. the Lord and His body; 2. the two-fold body of the Lord ; 3. the promises and the law ; 4. species and their kind; 5. the times; 6. the reca^ujation ; I7. the devil and his body (Elliotז	~
' Under recapitulation he refers to the tact that at times the Scriptures do not relate events in their chronological order, but again return to the starting point of the previous event to more fully describe what had been omitted. The seven churches, a type of the church universal, reach to thfe״ll&d ,r The seven seals and the S£^£JLJ*&y&P£ts, instead of following in chronological order, each recapitu-lates .anew* presenting^the, sameperiod from a different standpoint. HF^extends this principle to Revelation 20, jf tnFevents recorded here begin with the Christian era, fincludingithe^thousand year^. From the fact that, accord-*mg t(Ttne Scrij^urFl^^	to be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth, and yet some were onlv a part of a whole day or night, he concludes that in time the whole day or the whole night may be given for only a J3art_the£eof. As he undoubtedly had read Justin’s !dialogue with Trypho and learned that the Jews counted a prophetic time about one hundred years, he shortened what seemed to him the longest prophetic per¡oí (the ;thousand years of Rev. 20) to 3! times, or 350 years.
with the resurrection of Christ,*ïKy'wculd _en¿ in, 383׳, or about thé time he wrote. He.Jbeli^yed the firstVe^frectTon to be the raising of the sinner by faith
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8i
in baptism from death in sin to newness of life, and..jJje .^econ^re^üfféCtion to take diace at the end of time would tlnT resurrection 01 tKe "Body—as sucTi, ft AvouIcT oethe ¿^aT1^^^tkft.Qf the righteous- and the wicked. By such an interpretation he made his owti day the focus of1 all prophetic time and the near fulfilmenf of all prophecies? ' ^itêTsaw in God and in the devil the two great powers struggling on this earth for mastery ; the latter to him was the demoniacal antithesis of the former. Their respec-tive adherents form their bodies. The breast out of the pit is the embodiment of . every thing-devilish in the heathen and in the Christian world. When Satan failed to suppress and seduce the true Church, he resorted to a masterpiece of trickery, adding to his body an eighth head—■the secular Church—a mere phantom, a mirage of Christ, presented to man’s vision to lead him astray from the true Head. The beast out of the earth represents the wicked bishops of this'secularized'Roman state Church. They constitute the false prophet because they preach Christ without repentance, are content with superficial religiosity, and are therefore exceedingly popular. A faith in Christ tha¿ does not stimulate to action and lead to the keeping of the commandments of God as the true worship, is an infernal faith and the devil’s worship. Since God forsakes such wicked persons they form the desert of this earth. Then true Church, described in Revelation 12 as the woman clothed with the sun, and in Revelation 21 as the New Jerusalem, feasting on heavenly doctrine, is exiled for
1,000	years (Shortened to 350) to live among these \vicked ones—the desert. Satan cannot yet harass God’s work to his heart’s content, as he remains in chains until all Christians are sealed. Nevertheless, the effect of true preaching is greatly hampered by the sins of the formal Roman Church, Babylon, which the true Church is to leave. Satan uses this Babylon as an instrument in the persecu-tion of the true Church, who is doing her utmost to carry the gospel to the very ends of the earth.
What had happened in Africa was to be duplicated in all the world, that Antichrist might be entirely revealed. “ The time of hypocrisy nears its end.” At the near appearance of Antichrist all the wicked will withdraw
82 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
fjop the true Church, and all the righteous from the false jBnurch, and as this^rg^^segfegation is impending, it is now Jiigh time to; reveal the same to the world. The Church should prophesy again, and particularly is she to preach the message pertaining to the end—a message to reach all nations and tongues and many kings (Rev. 10 :11). The angel of the Church of Africa will be entrusted with Jfhis important proclamation, the saints are to come out of Babylon, and are to be taught to scorn the haughtv commands of the soon coming or already present Anti-christ. The Church is in need of this last great revival of preaching. When this preaching has made up the full number of saints, then Satan, who has hitherto been con-fined to the hearts of the wicked, will be set free to reveal himself completely in the Antichrist.
In stating the duration of the last_ persecution, ^ychonius, is. ih^Tirst^to apply the (year-cfay ' principle 1'outside of the jo^vréeks, as he does lircemmenting on ReveKtTon 11 : 11 : “ Antichrist will kill the enduring saints in tRe t!Rurch, till finally, after the ^ days, signify-ling so many years, their corpses will be revived, and they [will pass on to meet their Lord.״ For the elect’s sake the !?time־ Of ^tfte Taâ t ׳ tribüTâfîoiT will be shortened : they will need patience and faith to hold fast to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. During this sifting time, the false Christians who have now fully developed into the secularized Babylon, will act as did the heathen before them, and will thrust out everything Divine, and become “ the abomination of desolation ”.
Tychonius touches upon the last things but lightly. His prime object is to lead the Donatist Church to realize the great significance of their time in the light of prophecy, and to be incited to do the world-wide work there predicted. “ In his work as expositor he rather assumes the rôle of a prophet, who summons the true Church to begin the last great revival of preaching, and thus bring on the longed for separation ” in all the world between the true and the false Everything else must bend to this practical aim.
The Catholics saw in the Arian emperors and bishops the Antichrist in the Church ; the Montanist Tertullian, saw Antichrist in the Roman bishop, the Pontifex Maxi-
8.3
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mus ; but the Donatist Tychonius applied Revelation 13 and 17 to the Roman Church and its worldly bishops. He was, as Hahn (Tyc. Studien, p. 100) summarizes :
I.	convinced that in his time the nucleus of the true Church was in Africa, fiom here only the last proclamation would go to the whole earth, and that the Donatists must give the impetus to its last gathering ; 2. he gives up the Catholic Church of Africa as absolutely antichristian, whose members are all c traditors 5 ; 3. he sees with all the Donatists in the development of Church history from the time of Constantine, a piece of devilment, the apostasy from the body of Christ, a secularized Babylon, against which he must take a decisive stand ; 4. thus he fully shares in the rigid contrast of the Donatists to the state Church and imperial popery.	ף י־
Tychonius’ interpretation contained much that was excellent, and	to the Donatist
hfOVe~ffiehTr~ The Apocalypse became, the book of life in tlie^grcat^struggle with a far worse internal foe, whose deceptive mask was thus torn away. On the othejyhand, tEis* Donatist gave to the hierarchy against which he warneï by his interpretation of Revelation 20, the very weapon it desired2 jo prove■ that its secular kingdom, on eanhT^Te£n predicted in prophecy. Tychonius secular-i¿e3~the glorious reign of the Saints with Christ' tor"a thousand years, by spintualizingthc hrst fesurrection, and this feature of his prophetic interpretation has <ione untold harm from his own times until our own day. f
XVII
< ו
AMBROSIUS BELIEVES THE GOTHS ARE GOG :	“ WE SEE .
THE END OF THE WORLD ”
Ambrose, born 340, son of the governor of Gaul, received a thorough education at Rome for the highest civil offices, and in 373 was elected imperial president of Upper Italy. The following year he was chosen bishop of Milan, and, strange to say, he was baptized only eight days before his consecration. He gained such influence and power in the Church that even the mighty Theodosius
84 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
had to do penance at his bidding, and in later years the emperor acknowledged “ that he knew but one bishop and that wras Ambrose
Having been educated as a statesman, he used the prophecy in Ezekiel 38 : 1423־ to encourage Emperor Gratian to wage war against the heretical Goths, whom he surmised to be Gog, assuring him of victory (“ Faith,” ii. 16). In his comments on Luke 21 : 8, he points to the ravages of the Goths, who had just conquered Illyria : “ There are no better witnesses of these divine words than we, upon whom the end of the world is come. How many wars and rumours of war we hear of ! The Huns have revolted against the Alans, the Alans against the Goths, the Goths against the Tayfals and the Sarmates. They have made us in Illyria exiles of the Goths, as though we were living outside of our fatherland, and the end of it is not yet. Famine and pestilence rage among men and beasts so fiercely that those who have not passed through the war succumb to the diseases, because ‘ the sunset of this age approaches, certain failings precede it, such as famine, pestilence and persecutions ’.” “ The gospel is also preached, that the world might be destroyed. It has gone to the whole earth (Matt. 24 : 14), Goths and Armenians believe it, so that we therefore also see the end of the world.”
Speaking of Luke 21 : 20, he remarks that the real abomination of desolation did not come at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, as the Jews assert, but that it will come with the accursed Antichrist because he desecrates the inmost soul with abominable profanations. “ This is effected by apostasy or through passions in the heart, or may be Arius and Sabellius are the Antichrist, in fact all are Antichrists who delude us through wrong interpretations” (Migne, S. L. xv. 18981900־).
Ambrose evidently believed that the end of the world had come. Gog and Magog were raging in the Goths, Antichrist in the Arians, and the Gospel was already preached over the whole earth. Hagenbach remarks (K. G. I. 639) : “ Many believed with Ambrose, that the end of the world had come. The circumstance that just then the nations turned to Christianity was particularly
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used as a fulfilment of the prophecy that the fulness of the Gentiles would enter in before the end of the world.”
Although Ambrose conceded to the Roman bishop a religious magistracy, yet he calls the primacy of Peter only “ a primacy of confession, not of honour, of faith, naLof rank ”, and places the apostle Paul on an equality with Peter. SchaflF fitly says : “ Of any dependence of Ambrose, or of the bishops of Milan in general during the first six centuries, on the jurisdiction of Rome, no trace is to be found ” (N.P.N. Chr. p. 304).
Only a few years after Ambrose was born at Trier in the West, Antioch witnessed the birth of the'gfeáVesi, expositor and preacher of the East, John^ Chrysostomyh the golden mouthed. This high-born youth of truth and piety so deeply implanted in his heart by his mother that his literary training at a pagan school in Athens for a rhetorician’s career, could not prevent his soon devoting himself to Divine things. He spent years in close Bible study with the monks, and then filled the pulpit of Antioch for sixteen years with such success that he was chosen as patriarch of Constantinople. The in-exhaustible stores of the Scriptures were his daily bread, and he earnestly recommended their study even to the laity. His homilies on various portions of the Word became a rich storehouse to Bible students. Of special interest to us are his comments on Paul’s prediction in 2 Thessalonians 2. Instead of expecting Antichrist to be seated merely in the temple at Jerusalem, his broader experience in the universal apostasy led Chrysostom to look for Antichrist “ not to be seated in Jerusalem only, but also in the churches everywhere ”. In explaining verse 7, he says : Because Paul “ said this of the Roman empire, he naturally glanced at it, and for the present speaks covertly and darkly ”. “ For if he had said that after a little while the Roman empire would be dissolved, they would now immediately have even overwhelmed him, as a pestilent person, and all the faithful.” “ When the Roman empire is taken out of the way, then he (the Antichrist) shall come. And naturally ; for as long as the fear of this empire lasts, no one will willingly be subject to him, but when that is dissolved, he will attack the
86 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
anarchy, and endeavour to seize upon the government both of men and God. For as the kingdoms before this were destroyed ... so will this be by Antichrist, and he by Christ, and it will no longer withhold. And these things Daniel delivers to us with great clearness ” (L. F. xiv. 485, 491 ; Homily of Thess. iii and iv).
Chrysostom’s character was greatly tested after he had reached the height of his fame at the eastern capital. His unsparing sermons aroused the anger of the empress. His fame excited the envy of the ambitious patriarch of Alexandria. He was finally banished to the remote Taurus range, where he died a martyr to Christian charity (407). The Greek Church honours him as their greatest teacher, and Christendom at large regards him as the master of sacred eloquence.
XVIII
JEROME BELIEVED THAT DANIEL 2:21 “ IS BEING MOST EXPLICITLY CONFIRMED ”
The breaking up of the fourth universal empire into ten fragments, the extinction of Imperial Rome as the bright light of all the world, and the decapitating of this sixth head of the seven, seen by John in Revelation 13 and 17, made such evident progress during the long life of the very busy monk Jerome (345420־), that this great doctor of Bible exegesis, who had lived both in the East and in the West, and knew the real conditions from personal observation, became an important witness as to the gradual fulfilment. He acted as a mediator in the great conflicts between the East and the West, was counsellor of the Roman bishop, Damasus, and corresponded with all the great men of his age. He wrote his commentaries on the prophets during the migration of the barbarians, and under these vivid impressions interpreted the book of Daniel.
In his epistle to Heliodor (lx) he graphically described the conditions of the ‘empire about the year 395 : “ I shudder when I think of the catastrophes of our times. For twenty years and more the blood of Romans has been shed daily between Constantinople and the Julian
PERGAMOS	87
Alps. Scythia, Thrace, Macedonia, Dardania, Dacia, Thessaly, Achaia, Epirus, Dalmatia, the Pannonias—■ each and all of these have been sacked and pillaged and plundered by Goths and Sarmatians, Quades and Alans, Huns and Vandals and Marchmen. How many of God’s matrons and virgins, virtuous and noble ladies, have been made the sport of these brutes ! Bishops have been made captive, priests and those in minor orders have been put to death. Churches have been overthrown, horses have been stalled by the altars of Christ, the relics of the martyrs have been dug up.”
“ Mourning and fear abound on every side, and death appears in countless shapes and forms. The Roman world is falling : yet we hold up our heads instead of bowing them.We have long felt that God is angry, yet we do not try to appease Him. It is our sins which make the barbarians strong, it is our vices which vanquish Rome’s soldiers : and, as if there were here too little material for carnage, civil wars have made almost greater havoc among us than the swords of foreign foes. Miserable must those Israelites have been compared with whom Nebuchadnezzar was called God’s servant. Unhappy, too, are we who are so displeasing to God that He uses the fury of the barbarians to execute His wrath against us.” “ Rome’s army, once victor and lord of the world, now trembles with terror at the sight of the foe, and accepts defeats from men who cannot walk afoot and fancy themselves dead if once unhorsed. We do not under-stand the prophet’s word :	‘ One thousand shall flee
at the rebuke of one.’ We do not cut away the causes of the disease, as we must do to remove the disease itself ” (Wfrce, vi. p. 130).
Ύη his interpretation of Daniel (a.d. 406408־) Jerome applies already Daniel 2 : 41 to the conditions then exist-ing : “ That the feet were partly iron and partly clay is being in this time most explicitly confirmed. Once, in the beginning, nothing was stronger and more enduring than the Roman empire, now at the end of all things nothing is weaker ; for we must have the aid of the barbarians in our civil wars as well as against other nations.” This explanation was resented bv Stilicho, and only his
88 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
death removed the danger. Jerome constantly refutes the misinterpretation of Porphyry, particularly his attempt to draw the prophecy into the ridiculous by his ironical application of the mountain filling the earth to the Jewish kingdom. Jerome himself thought the passage fulfilled in the elevation of Christ and His church : “ In the end of these kingdoms is the Lord and Redeemer, but cut as the stone without hands, i.e. from the virgin,״ “ and after their shattering it has become the great mountain which has filled the whole earth.” Writing on Daniel 7 he applies the fourth beast to “ the Roman empire, containing the world’s city ”.
Against the assumption of Porphyry that the little horn was Antiochus, “ we say according to the tradition of all ecclesiastical writers : in the end of the world after the destruction of the Roman empire, ten kings will arise, dividing the Roman world’s empire among them, and as the eleventh a small king will arise, who will pluck up three of the ten, i.e.9 the kings of Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia He will sit in the temple of God, and fulfil 2 Thessalonians 2. Then, speaking of verse 11, he com-ments :	“ On account of this blaspheming Antichrist
all kingdoms are destroyed simultaneously in the one Roman empire, and there will be never more an earthly kingdom.” On verse 17 he declares : the former four kingdoms are earthly, but the saints shall never possess an earthly, but a heavenly kingdom. Therefore the fable .of the 1,000 years ceases. Daniel 8 : 14 : “ Most of us apply to the Antichrist and that which took place under Antiochus in type, will he fulfil indeed.” From his com-ments on Daniel 11 : 21 and onward he explains that Antichrist will arise in the end of the world from among the Jews, subdue the Romans and obtain through fraud the empire of the world, which no Jew ever had. He will fight against the holy covenant.
Nor is Jerome’s explanation of 2 Thessalonians 2 : 6 less positive. Speaking of Sheshach in Jeremiah 25 : 26, as a mysterious name for Antichrist, he declares that Paul did not mention the name of the hindering power for fear of stirring up persecution against the then infant Church. But according to Daniel, Antichrist does not
PERGAMOS	89
come until the Roman empire, which hinders, is destroyed and taken out of the way.”
While “ savage tribes in countless numbers have overrun all parts of Gaul (a.d. 409), laid waste the whole country between the Alps and the Ocean, and Rome was spared only by paying a heavy tribute of gold ”, Jerome wrote to the widow, Ageruchia (Epist. 126, 16, 17, Wace) : “ He that lettetK is taken out of the way, and yet we do not realize that Antichrist is near.” He enumerates ten tribes : Quadi, Vandals, Sarmatians, Alans, Gepids Henales¿ Saxons, Burgundians, Alemanni, and—alas ! for the commonweal !—even the Pannonians. Then he exclaims : “ If Rome be lost, where. shall we look for help ? ” “ Even what I have said is fraught with danger both to me who say it and to all who hear it ; for we are no longer free men to lament our fate, and are unwilling, nay, I may even say, afraid to weep over our sufferings.” But when the terrible news of the capture of Rome by Alaric (410) and the death of a number of his friends reached the hermit, he wrote to Principia (Wace, Epist. 137. 1214־): “ My voice sticks in my throat; and, as I dictate, sobs choke my utterance. The city, which had taken the whole wOrld was itself taken ; nay, more devoured by famine than it was beforehand with the sword, and but few7 citizens w;ere left, to be made captives.” “ Of ancient date a sovereign city falls.” While under the im-pression of this message, he began to write his commentary onOEzekiel, saying : “ When the bright light of all the wwld wa~s put out, or rather, when the Roman empire was decaf it-atedy and to speak correctly, the whole world perished in one city, I became dumb.” “ Who wOuld believe that Rome, built up by conquest of the whole world, had collapsed, that the mother of nations had also become a tomb ? ” The utter impotence and the deadly wround of the imperial head had by the first taking of Rome in 410 become so apparent that Jerome uses the very terms of prophecy in testifying to the fulfilment of Daniel’s and John’s predictions :	“ The Roman world is falling.”
“ In this time Daniel 2 : 21 is being most explicitly con-firmed.” “ When the bright light of all the world was put out,” plainly confirms the realization of Revelation
go THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
8 : 21. Thereby he also certifies the deadly wounding of the imperial head, foretold in Revelation 13:3; 17:11, by saying : “ When the Roman empire was decapitated, and to speak correctly the whole world perished in on(' city,״ “ Rome had collapsed.״
It was more than a mere rhetorical phrase of Jerome that Christianity was as much at fault for Rome’s down-fall as was Israel at fault for the overthrow of Jerusalem in the time of Nebuchadnezzar. As early as 375 he wrote to the Roman bishop Damasus (Ep. 15, Wace) : “ Since the east shattered as it is by the long-standing feuds, subsisting between its peoples, is bit by bit tearing into shreds the seamless vest of the Lord, ‘ woven from the top throughout ’, I think it my duty to consult the chair of Peter.” “ ‘ Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.’ In the West the Sun of righteousness is even now rising ; in the East Lucifer, who fell from heaven, has once more set his throne above the stars.” He left the companions of his hermit life, quoting the saying :	“ It is preferable to live among
wild beasts rather than with Christians such as these ״ (Ep. 17. 3). But his desire was not fulfilled as yet, as he had to remain in the state Church of the East, where, in exact fulfilment of Revelation 2 : 13, he believed that “ Satan’s throne ” was. He was ordained at Antioch, was instructed still more fully in Constantinople, and in 383 became adviser to Damasus. He easily gained access to the noblest families of the city, but at the death of the bishop, two years later, he quitted the city in disgust, writing to Asella (Ep. 45. 6, Wace) : “ Pray for me, that after Babylon I may see Jerusalem once more, that Joshua may have dominion over me, and not Nebuchadnezzar, that Ezra may come and restore me to my own country. I was a fool in wishing to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land, and in leaving Mount Sinai to seek the help of Egypt.” Thus in the East Jerome found Lucifer enthroned in the Church, and in the West the loose-tongued Rome was Babylon and Egypt ! Why Rome meant Babylon, he explains in speaking of Isaiah 47 : 1, adding : “ This is especially called Babylon in the Apocalypse and Peter’s epistle.”
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As Jerome considered the millennium a mere fable, he tried to revise the commentary of Victorinus on the Apoca-lypse by explanations from “ better books ”. Seemingly, he exploited Tychonius, when he added at the very close, these two sentences : “ Therefore they are not to be heard who assure themselves that there is to be an earthly reign of a thousand years, who think with the heretic Cerinthus. For the kingdom of Christ is now eternal in the saints, although the glory of the saints shall be manifested after the resurrection.” The principle of the year-day he endorsed by counting the 390 and the 40 days of Ezekiel 4, as so many years of visitation. He considered Matthew 24 : 14 about realized, for this preaching “ is already fulfilled or is being fulfilled. In my opinion, there exists no longer any people that has not heard of the name of Christ.”
But finally, he, too, was found among the false prophets. From the parable of the vineyard in Matthew 20, he inferj&dAhat a working day of twelve hours compared to th^^OQ^Y^i^^f the world’s duration would give about 500 ÿÊ'ârs for such a mystic hour. John (1 John 2 : 18) sSyîrîg^ that ?c it is the last hour ”, would accordingly mean that 500 years were yet allotted as the gospel time to the Gentiles. (Mignc, S. L. xxv. 1186).
The learned monk, looking at the East and the West, beholding Lucifer ruling in Babylon, on account of whose rule the Roman empire was breaking up, felt that the final day of judgment was near at hand. Sixty years before the imperial head was entirely removed and the ten king-doms fully established Jerome testified clearly to the decapitating of it. In the East he found already Lucifer enthroned in the Church, and in the West the loose-tongued Rome was Babylon and Egypt. From where he derived his wisdom at such an early date he points out in his preface to Isaiah : “ He who does not know the Scriptures, doe? not know the power and wisdom of God ; ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.”
92 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
XIX
Augustine’s city of god
Aurelius (Augustinus {354430־) of North Africa was *baptized“ by "ftïflttTJSSf in his tMrty־־third year. He began his chief work, “The City of God”, under the vivid impressions of the laïï^Fihe !Tornan empire. spent ׳thirteenyears> in this, th/first;attempt at ajcomgrehensive philosophy of universal nfefory from the standpoint of tWC hdstile^IungdoffiS^^iffigdom of this world doomed to destruction, and a kingdom of God lasting for ever.
The pagans ascribed Rome’s fall to the removal of the tribal gods by Christianity. Augustine refutes this charge in the first part of his book, while in the second part of the work he defends Christianity, and describes the develop-ment of the'city of God as well as that of the city of the dêvîî.~־״Th~ë inam iêaYüre of the book corresponds with that , of TychonTus, wrhose rules he employed and whose fellow believers he sharply attacked. As a good apologist, Augustine made frequent and effective use of the prophetic argument. He praises Daniel because “ in the very captivity of Babylon . . . Daniel even defined the time £when Christ was to come and suffer, by the exact date ” i(xviii. 34). The dispersion of the Jsw&is a living testimony of the veracity of prophecy, as is also the universal spread of the Gospel under the severest persecutions (Id. 46, 50). He sees Satan’s masterpiece in the success he had in settling himself in Christianitv after the human race had deserted
׳·
the temples of the demons and was seeking protection through the name of the liberating Mediator. This he had not accomplished through an apostate Church, as Tychonius describes it, but “ has moved the heretics under the Christian name to resist the Christian doctrine, as if they could be kept in the city of God indifferently without any correction ”.	“ And thus the devil, the prince of
the impious city, when he stirs up his own vassals against the city of God that sojourns in this world, is permitted to do her no harm ” (Id. 51). The attempts to determine the years of the end of the world are contrary to Scripture.
PERGAMOS
93
“Yet some have said that 400, some 500, others 1,000 years may be completed from the ascension of the Lord up to his final coming.” Augustine must admit that great personages of the Church as Hippolytus, Apollinaris, Ambrosius, Jerome, and others had been at fault in seeking to determine the time of the end. His refutation culmin-ates in proving that such an effort is contrary to the Scriptures.
After considering the need of a j^.^gment? he argues irom John-55 that the־ fim.resurrections spiritual, and .takes^plaoe	£ ;~fïïe~ second is the resurrection of
the tody at the end of the world; John fras^potettof these two resurrections in Revelation 20, but in such a way that some Christians construe the passage concerning the first “into ridiculous fancies ”. One ground of the belief that the first resurrection is future, and is a resurrection of the body is the number “ of a thousand years, as if it were a fit thing that the saints should thus enjoy a kind of Sabbath !rest during that period”. “This opinion would not be Objectionable, if it were believed that the joys of the saints in that Sabbath shall be spiritual, consequent on the presence of God ; for I myself, too, once held this opinion.” But carnal are the ideas of those who expect then to “ enjoy the leisure of immoderate banquets ”, furnished with an incredulous quantity of food and drink. Such carnal persons were called by the spiritual, ChiHasts or Millenarians. “ Now the 1,000 years may be under-stood in two ways, so far as occurs to me : çither because these things happen in the sixth. naUknmum (the latter part of which is now passing), as if .during the sixth day, which is followed by a Sabbath which has no evening, the endless rest of the saints, or . . . as an equivalent for the whole duration of this world, employing the number of perfection to mark the fulness of time.” Such perfection or totality, the number one thousand fitly denotes, a thousand generations being equal to all.
By the pit into which the devil will be cast “ is meant the countless multitude of the wicked, whose hearts are unfathomable, deep in malignity against the Church of God ”. He will be bound “ that he may not seduce the nations from which the Church is gathered, and which he
94 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
formerly seduced before the Church existed ”.	“ ‘ Set a
seal upon him י seems to me to mean that it was designed to keep it a secret who belonged to the devil’s party and who did not ” (Id. xx. 68־).
Then (ch. 9) : “ But while the devil is bound, the saints reign with Christ, during the same thousand years, understood in the .same way* i.e. of the time of His first coming.” The thrones refer not to those of the last 1Judgment, but to trthe seats of the rulers and to the ¡rulers themselves by whom the church is now governed ”. ^The souls are “ the souls of the martyrs not yet restored to their bodies ”?™'**TKe Church, then, begins its reign 1with Christ now in the living and in the dead.” Whoever "did not pass from death to life “ during this whole time in which the first resurrection is going on ” will surely pass with his flesh into the second death at the second resurrection. In chapter 10 Augustine uses Colossians 3 : i ; Romans 6 : 4 ; and Ephesians 5 : 14 in an effort to refute those who look upon the first resurrection as a resurrection of the body. Gog and Magog are not some barbarous nations, but all the enemies of the city of God. Their going out to war simply means that they will resort to open persecution. “ For this persecution occurring while the final judgment is imminent shall be the last which shall be endured by the holy Church throughout the world, the whole city of Christ being assailed by the whole city of the devil, as each exists on earth.” The camp of the saints (ch. 11) is “ the Church of Christ extending over the whole world ”, and wherever the Church is, there also shall be the camp of the saints and the beloved city.
In his explanation of 2 Thessalonians 2 (ch. 19) he states that it is uncertain in which temple Antichrist shall sit, “ whether in that ruin of the temple which was built by Solomon, or in the Church ”. The thought that Nero was the mystery of iniquity is an “ audacious conjecture ”. “ However, it is not absurd to believe that these words of the apostle, c Only he who now holdeth, let him hold until he be taken out of the way ,, refers to the Roman Empire.” The four kingdoms (ch. 23) are interpreted as usual, th^'TourtF beast being the Roman Empire. The fitness of this may be learned from 1 erome’s book on
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Daniel. The time of Antichrist the years, is to come before the lasFJüdgment and shall introduce the eternal reigir Of the saints.* Concerning Antichrist’s appearance among^thë ten kings, he says : “ I own I am afraid we may be deceived in this, and that he may come unex-pectedly while there are not ten kings living in the Roman world.” It may be that the number ten is merely a symbol of the whole number of kings, “ who are to precede his coming”, as totality is frequently expressed byχοορ_οI 4£0. Augustine, who lived in Rome before his conversion, speaks of Rome as “ the Western Babylon ”, and “ another Babylon, and as it were the daughter of the former Babylon, by which God was pleased to conquer the whole world, and subdue it far and wide ” by bringing it into one fellowship of government and laws. “ Such a city has not amiss received the title of the mystic Babylon, for Babylon means confusion ” (Id. xviii. 22, 27, 41).
1 In the last book (xxii. 30) he gives special attention tc the seven ages of the world. The first five ages extended from Adam to Christ, “ the sixth is now passing, and cannot be measured by any number of generations ”, since it is said that cc it is not for you to know the times ” (Acts I : 7).	“ After this period God shall rest on the
seventh day, when He shall give us rest in Himself.” His treatise on the “ End of the World ” (Migne, S. L. xxxiii. 899-922) explains why. he spoke more soberly of thar event. Hesychius, bishop of Salona, believing the end very near, had asked Augustine’s opinion in the matter. In the answer, Augustine rejected Jerome’s calculation of the “ last hour ”, and positively declared that the most important sign, the preaching of the gospel in all the world, haj^ot^bcen^uTfïïL·¿	heathen in The
interior of Africa had never as yet heard it.
1 What Augustine’s misinterpretation really implied is thus plainly stated by Harnack (H.D. V, 152, 15,3) : " Carried away by the Church’s authorit> and?lïiumpïrlÏÏAhe^worTd, as also profoundly moved by the fall of the Komar world-empire, whose internal and external power manifestly no longer existed save in the Church, Augustine saw in the present epoch, i.e. in the Church’¡: history, the millennial kingdom that had been announced by John. By thh means he revised without completely abolishing the ancient Chiliasm of the Latin. Church. But if it were once determined that the millennial kingdom was now since Christ’s appearance in existence, the Church was elevated tc the throne of supremacy over the wrorld ; for wdiile this kingdom consists ir Christ’s reign, He only reigns in the present through the Church.”
THE ÍMPROPHETIC TRUTH
Augustine’s, cjose..jekÛQü.^a,Jyjch^	. is confirmed
by fluTTormer^s epistle against the Donatist Parmenion in which he highly praises him and calls his Scripture proofs trumpet blasts. He declares Tychonius’ arguments unanswerable. He fully quotes the SfiVeiLPd*« in his “ Christian Doctrine ” (iii. 3036־), adds his comments, and declares them highly profitable to an understanding of the Scriptures. In refuting the Donatists he״applied ,the prediction ״of״lh^J£í£malxekn of Christ, on ..the. new ieaTtn tothe rthe Roman Church: “ If we recog-pized Christ in the text, that a stone cut loose from the Uoüntaln^vhKoiLtJhands .has, shattered all earthly king-fdoms i.e. all those kingdoms which^ vvere based upon idolatry^TIen we also recognized the Church in the words, lhat this stone grew until it has become a great mountain, land has ־filled the whole earth” (Donatists, 15). In his nercë"■ contest' with the Donatists, after vainly using .persuasion to bring them back to the Church, Augustine ,adwea^^the. employj^	quoting Christ’s
command cc to^Qjnp¿ them to come in ” (Luke 14: 23), as his scriptural authority (Migne, S. L. xxxiii. 329, 330). Augustinus: theory of compelling unity of faith for the sake of’ saTvation, reached its culmination in the cruel crusades and inquisition. His characterization of real Christians is true even to-day : “ They believe the prophecy, trust -in the promises, and keep the commandments.”
\ Of all Christian writers since the days of the Apostles, Augustine has maintained the most per manent and the ׳most extensive infiuence. The best authorities state this. Mln13!r^H.vCTp/‘4"13) says : “ The^dominio^of. Augustine over the opinions of the Western wor^l was. eventually over the whole of Christendom.” Schaff (Post. Nic. Christianity, p. 1003) states : “ Augustine has turfied the Chrisj^n nations since his time for the most part into his paths, and become pre-eminently their trainer and teacher.” “ Not the middle ages alone, but the Reformation also, was.x.ulcd by him.” That his nmsinterp>retation of Revela-jtion 20 obliterated the belief of the early Church in aliterai first' resurrection and a, millennium to follow, Catholic and Protestant authorities freely admit. The noted Catholic Encyclopedia of Wetzer and Welte (iii. 146)
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says : x Cjiiligsin was combated most thoroughly and effectually by 5Γ Augustine. ΈΕΓ divested it not only
Îullyôritr char act er7 as. a pious opinion held by many of he Ante-Nicene F at hers., but really carried it to its grave.” îe accomplished this by a thorough allegorical explanation of Revelation 20 : “ The biblical foundation of Chiliasm ?was knocked out from under it, and that the more effect-uaITy7 because Augustine’s interpretation was accepted almost generally by tli^ubsequent fathers and scholastics, and thus, became a dogiffi of the Church. The scholastics consider Chiliasm noTonly a vanquished theory, but even ,partly characterize it as an heretical opinion. (See S. ahornas en suppl. qu.,77, al). S. Bonaventura considers tKeTelief in a simultaneous resurrection of all men, which Chiliasm excludes, an plument g{ ,Çathofc^faith (Τη Sentt. 4, dist. 43, S. T Case (p. 17Q) comments on Augus-tine’s City of GocTf^^^TKe^m^	was now no longer a
desideratum; it:.was.,.already .a. realization. Working from this point of view, Augustine lays the ghost of MiHenarianism so effectually that for centuries thereafter the subject is practically ignored.”
\'c
V*
XX
THE LORD WILL FOLLOW THE PROPHETIC SCHEDULE OF TIME.”
An eastern hermit, probably Evagrius Ponticus* sets forth the fulfilment of Matthew 24 ΐη'almo^tWivid manner. Under an assumed name of Zachæus, he carries on a conversation with a pagan philosopher, Apollonius, who, having been convinced of the advent of Christ asks : “ When will His advent take place ? ” The proofs offered were the prophetic signs, only the very last ones of which needed to be fulfilled. “ Today no person enjoys the peace of his native land. A wicked fury of fighting has broken out ; a gruesome frenzy amuses itself with the play of weapons, and gloats over the spilling of blood. Murder and robbery are common. No brotherly love, no righteousness to strangers ; true it
H
98 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
is that piety rises up against it, but persuaded by common-sense, it must needs endure that to which it would other-wise have objected. Besides this, one nation fights the other. Usurpers drive emperors from their rightful thrones. Add to this the unspeakable threatenings of evil portents, the very frequent earthquakes, the fulfilment of most of the signs in the heavens. Please judge whether this century can endure much longer what human speech hardly dares to express. Matthew 24: 15 is fulfilled in lands bereft of the people, and the abomination of accursed images is put upon the holy altars. Verse 14 is fulfilled already, in that the Gospel has penetrated through to every inhabited part of the earth. But what is still lacking will be fulfilled by the coming of Elijah through his 3J years’ preaching, after which the Antichrist will persecute during 31 years. Surely the time of trouble will be shortened, but the Lord will quite closely follow the prophetic schedule of time ” (D’Achery, i. 3840־).
When the hermit Sulpitius 'Severus, from his retire-ment in the Gallic Pyrenees, beheld the barbarian inroads, in his “ Sacred History ”, reaching to a.d. 400, he referred to them as a striking fulfilment of Daniel 2 : “ The iron legs point to the fourth power, and that is understood of the Roman empire, which is more powerful than all the kingdoms wdtich were before it. But the fact that the feet were partly of iron, and partly of clay, indicated that the Roman empire is to be divided, so as never to be united. This, too, has been fulfilled, for the Roman state is ruled not by one emperor, but by several, and these are always quarrelling among themselves. Finally, by^ the clay and the iron mixed together, yet never in their substance thoroughly uniting, are shadowed forth those future mixtures of the human race, which disagree among them-selves though apparently combined. For it is obvious that the Roman territory is occupied by foreign nations, or rebels, or that it has been given over to those who have surrendered themselves under an appearance of peace. And it is also evident that barbarous nations, and especially Jews, have been commingled with our armies, cities and provinces . . . yet by no means agreeing to adopt our customs. And the prophets declare that these are the
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last times. But in the stone cut out without hands which broke to pieces the gold, silver, brass, iron and clay, there is a figure of Christ ” (Sacred Hist. ii. 3).
As the rise of these fragmentary kingdoms is in prophecy intimately connected with the appearance of Antichrist, it was'quite natural that his coming should be expected. The kind of rumours started by Severus and the wide circula-tion they must have had, is well illustrated by the fame of ! Bishop Martin, who was known throughout Gaul as a worker of miracles and prophet of the future. According to the report of Severus, Martin answered a question as to the nearness of the end to this effect : “ There was no doubt but that Antichrist, having been conceived by an evil spirit, wras already born and by this time reached the years of boyhood, while he would assume power as soon as he reached the proper age. Now this is the eighth year, since we heard these words from his lips : you may con-jecture, then, how nearly about to happen are those things, which are feared in the future.” Bishop Hesychius, also, asserted : “ In our time there is no land, no place, which is not visited and humiliated, as it is written ‘ men fainting for fear ’ ” (Mignc, S.L. xxxiii. 899-923).
Pagan citizens of Rome attributed her disintegration to the vengeance of their gods because their temples were abandoned and desolate, for which the Christians were to blame. To repudiate these accusations, Augustine per-suaded^the Spanish־־ presbyter Orosius (417) to write a book “ Against the Pagans"”. CfrosîïïT showed that there were sïrff ^T^e^ffiríesי of war in the earlier pagan ages. Like Augustine, he compared Rome to Sodom, then to Babylon which was to him the first empire, while Rome wasthe fourth : “ Babylon’s fall was Rome’s rise ” (Migne, P.S.L. xxxi. i. 6 ; ii. 2, 3). During the Middle Ages Orosius’ work was used as a manual of history, and his views of the four universajLerupires became common property.
In 4-3 !Thepdorfo, bishop of Cyrus, in Syria, near the : Euphrates' ·wrme a commentary on Daniel. After he had IstudiousTy'^ considered the prophecies, he confidently 1asserted anew that following the dissolution of the empire into ten kingdoms ΑηΤ^ΤΓ^ΓwoïïTct surely be revealed, and fearîuTconsequences wôutd follow. He ably refuted the
100 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
application of the fourth be^sj to Alexander’s successors.
SbouT43’2, Bishop Prosper. AquitanuWedicated a poem to his wife, and in thîiTKeUrges her to wholly consecrate herself to God, for “ everything tumbles heels over head to the end. Through the sword, pestilence, famine, cold, heat, and a thousand other means, miserable man is swept away into death. Wars rage everywhere ; everybody is seized by the madness of fighting, in the conflict, kings succumb to other innumerable kings. Wicked dissension rages in a distressed world, peace withdraws from the earth. You, as everybody else, see the last time ” (Migne, S.L, H. 611).
After the barbarians, tribe upon tribe, had been surging like the mighty billows of the deep against the rotten empire of Rome for a whole century, the eloquent Gallic presbyter, Salvian, seeing in these things the execution of God’s judgments, raised his stentorian voice of warning, as Jeremiah had done in his threatening judgments against Jerusalem before the Chaldean hosts had laid that ancient capital waste. In his eight books on “ God’s Govern-ment ” he supplies the scriptural antidote to cure the ill opinion some have taken of our great God. The conquests of the barbarians caused ever-increasing queries in the minds of the Roman Catholics who, like the ancient Jews, were so certain of the special and Divine protection which their strict orthodoxy had won for them, that when the Lord permitted these judgments, they accused Him of indifference and negligence. Salvian bluntly states that the Catholics were worse than the Arians : “ Almost all the barbarians who are of one country and government generally love each other ; but all the Romans generally take care to persecute one another.” “ Are not young fowls fed for the consuls after the manner of the Gentile sacrilege and auguries taken from their flying and almost all other follies acted, which even the old pagans themselves looked upon as ridiculous and childish ? ”	“ We prefer
plays before the churches of God, we despise the altars and honour the theatres . . . the church is emptied, the circus filled ” (vi. 2, 7). “ In the very sight of destroyed cities, captivity and even death, the unfortunate remnant clamours for races ! ” (vi. 15).	“ Even incorrigible we
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PERGAMOS
play under the very dread of captivity and having the fear of death upon us burst into laughter. You would think all the Romans were satiated with the Herbs of Sardinia, so that we die laughing. But tears follow our laughter anywhere ” (vii. 1). “ In vain we boast with the Catholic name, the purity of our faith. Facts prove what God’s judgment is of us, and of the Goths and Vandals. They increase every day and we decrease ; they go forward, we are pulled back ; they flourish and we are dried up, so that 2 Sam. 3 ; Ps. 119:137 is in us fulfilled. God punishes us by a present judgment, and migrating hordes are stirred up to our destruction and reproach. On they roll through Western Germany, Belgium, all of Gaul, Spain, clear to Africa. They themselves owned that it was not their own business, but they were forcibly compelled to it by a command from above as once the Assyrians and the Babylonians ” (vii. 11-13). “ It is not any natural strength in their bodies that makes them overcome us, neither is it any natural weakness in us that causes us to be van-quished. . . . ’Tis our vicious morals alone that have enslaved us ” (vii. 23). “ We ourselves are the authors of our own misery and calamity. . . . We light the fire of God’s wrath and stir up the flames \vhich consume us ” (viii. 1).
During the middle of the fifth century a remarkable booklet “ On the Promises and Prophecies of the Holy Scriptures ” was circulated far and wide, and, according to Bollinger (Christentum S. 432) was the main source from which the Catholics in the West took their conceptions concerning prophecy. It is among the writings 0L Bishop Pros¿ j.er (Migne, S.L. ii. 753-858) and contains 103 promises *rá^oproph ecies, an allusion to the 153 large fishes caught By־^he Disciples (John 21 : 11). The great value of this work consists in the many texts quoted to establish these promises and prophecies, which are divided into fulfilled and unfulfilled predictions. The fulfilment is proven from Scripture or from adequate historical incidents. In order to demonstrate the truth of Divine promises and prophecy, the first three sections, three times forty in number, deal with the announcements made before the law, under the law, and during the time of grace. The unknown author
102 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
shows their fulfilment in Christ, in the rise of Christianity, and in the downfall of Judaism. In explaining Daniel 2, he refers to Orosius, and accepts his exegesis of the iron legs .as^ymhofic *of *he- Aofflaa «Empire. He shares Augustine?s false opinion that the cutting out of the stone was realized in the birth of Christ, and that His kingdom riów~fiHs1 tKer eartKT'^	Ms apparent effort
to end the 1,000 years in his own day by commencing them at’Thc^'beginning of the 490 years ; so that the thousand years of Satan s captivity were about to end and his liberation would coincide with the raging of Antichrist during three axui^hal£^yea1&4p J840).
In chapter 5 he considers 2 Thess. 2 ; Rev. 19 : 20 ; 14 : 9 ; Mark 13:6; 1 John 2 : 18 f., to be fulfilled in the Donatists, Maximianists, Pelagians, and especially in the Arians, “ which, as we now see, deceive many either by temporal power, or by the activity of an evil genius, or some other evil power ”, or even disguise themselves as angels of light (2 Cor. 11 : 14 f.). The mystery of iniquity works through them to disrupt the unity of the Church. In their churches are found all the heretics, who, having forsaken the peace of the Church, go forth to preach not in their churches but in the streets, and who, although they have separated themselves from the whole body, still call themselves Catholics. Only the Christians, who commune with the universal Church, are Catholics ; whoever separates himself is a heretic and an Antichrist, who would do still greater things at his manifest appearance, which the author again proves with texts.
Chapter 7 gives fourteen predictions to be fulfilled in the time of the end, beginning with Rev. 17. The war in Rev. 17 : 14 and Dan. 7 : 25 began with the raging of the Arians, but worse persecutions were yet to follow. The time of trouble during the six work days announced in the six trumpets, would be followed by the day of God’s rest, concerning which Tychonius had written much. During the 1,260 days or forty-two months the holy city or the saints would be oppressed by heretics, especially the Arians : Gog and Magog, as some have said, Goths, Mauri, Getcs and Massageti, through whose fury the devil is now already ravaging the Church. They will cause
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the daily sacrifice to cease, on account of which the Lord warns us (Rev. 16 : 16) to watch and keep our garments (p. 848). This he explains by declaring that everyone rebaptized by the heretics has either willingly forfeited his garment or lost it by apostatizing in persecution.
The last section, supported by suitable texts, describes the “ glory and the kingdom of the saints ”.
Thus we see what a great role prophecy as the “ divine ! schedule of time ” played during the age of the breaking up of the Roman Empire. All the descriptions of the gruesome conditions given at that time in secular and ecclesiastical history, in expositions of prophecy, in prose and poetry, supported the conviction that “ everything rushes to the end ”, that “ Antichrist must be at the very door ” or is already born, and that the final day of judgment was imminent.
XXI
LEO ,ΠΙΕ GREAT FORECASTS A SPIRITUAL SUPREMACY, OUTSHINING THE IMPERIAL
The Gothic chieftain, Alaric, did not at first feel disposed to commence the siege of Rome ; the embodiment of universal power, the terror of the barbarians, the eternal city. He “ found himself compelled by some hidden and irresistible impulse to accomplish the enterprise ” (¿ogp-men, E.H. ix. 6, p. 413). When Alaric finally captured the city (410) because there had been no great imperial leader to defend her in her greatest crisis, then that which had seemed impossible, but nevertheless had been foretold in the sure word of prophecy long ago, actually took place. The throne of the universe seemed deserted and no bar-barian chief was willing to assume the role of universal emperor. The political life of Rome, comprising the universe, came to an end with one single stroke—Ravenna becoming only a temporary residence of a short-lived sham empire. But, in 452, when Rome again trembled before the approach of the Hunnic hosts under Attila, the Roman bishop, Leo, prevailed upon him by means of his eloquence and personal dignity to retire from Italy for the hand of
104 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
the princess Honoria. Three years later, when Genseric, leading the Vandals, became master of the capital, Leo’s intercessions spared the lives of the Romans, although he could not prevent these ruthless barbarians from carrying away to Carthage the treasures of the gods on the Capitoline hill, the golden candlestick of the Jewish temple, and the precious vessels of the Christian churches. Thus it was that the Roman bishop became to the German invaders the vicegerent of Divine powTer—a power that they, as Arians, adored.
During these tempestuous times, Leo I had fully shown himself a capable and energetic pilot who could steer the sinking ship of Western Rome into a safe harbour. This far-sighted genius was also fully conscious that the time was ripe for him to make good the claims of Augustine about the temporal millennial kingdom of Christ, and that the Roman bishop, with his power of loosing and binding, could openly declare his right to the vacant throne of the universe as the fitting seat of Christ’s universal kingdom. Harnack (Christ, p. 216) thus testifies to Leo’s aim to re-establish the universal rule of Rome in the Papacy : “ In the fifth century the Western Roman empire perished of internal weakness and through the inroads of the barbarians.” “ The barbarian chiefs, however, did not venture to set themselves up as Roman emperors and enter the vacant shrine of the imperium ; they founded empires of their own in the provinces. In these circum-stances the Bishop of Rome appeared as the guardian of the past and the shield of the future.” “ But in Rome the episcopal throne was occupied in the fifth century by men who understood the signs of the times and utilized them to the full. The Roman Church in this way privily pushed itself into the place of the Roman World-empire, of which it is the actual continuation ; the empire has not perished, but has only undergone a transformation.”
Innocent I, forty years before, had maintained that Christ had delegated supreme powder to Peter, and that he as successor of Peter was entitled to his jurisdiction and privileges. Leo saw the force of this claim, entrenched himself behind it, and forthwith became the more formid-able as the spiritual dictator of Christendom. He sought
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IO5
to establish this claim in his sermons on the festival of S. Peter, on the anniversary of his own election, and in various official letters. To Peter the Lord “ committed the care of His sheep and lambs. Peter is therefore the pastor and prince of the whole church, through whom Christ exercises his universal dominion on earth ”. This primacy, however, perpetuates itself through the Bishop of Rome : “ Still, to-day he more fully and effectually performs what is entrusted to him and carries out even every part of his duty and charge in Him, through whom he has been glorified, and so if anything is rightly done and rightly decreed by us ... it is of his works and merits whose power lives and whose authority prevails in His See ” (Wace, xii. 117, Ser. iii.).
In his eighty-second sermon on the feast of Peter and Paul, Leo tries to *persuade Rome that these two apostles were the means by which its spiritual domain had become even greater and its dominion far wider than under the emperors : “ These are they who promoted thee to such glory that being made a holy nation, a chosen people, a priestly and royal state, and the head of the world through the blessed Peter’s holy See, thou didst attain a wider sway by the worship of God, than by earthly government. For although thou wert increased by many victories and didst extend thy rule on land and sea, yet what thy toils in war subdued is less than what the peace of Christ has conquered.” “ The divinely planned work particularly : required that many kingdoms should be leagued together under one empire, so that the preaching of the wOrd might quickly reach to all people wffien they were held beneath ;the rule of one state and yet that state in ignorance of the author of its aggrandizement though it ruled almost all nations, w^as enthralled by the errors of them all, and seemed to itself to have fostered religion greatly because it rejected no falsehood. And hence its emancipation through Christ was the more w'ondrous that it had been so fast bound by Satan.” “ When the twelve apostles had distributed the world into parts among themselves, most blessed Peter, chief of the Apostolic band, w׳as appointed to the citadel of the Roman empire, that the light of Truth which was being displayed for the salvation of all the
106 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
nations, might spread itself more effectively throughout the body of the world from the head itself.״ “ Here it was that the tenets of philosophy must be crushed, here that the follies of earthly wisdom must be dispelled, here that the cult of demons must be refuted, here that the blasphemy of all idolatries must be rooted out ; here where the most persistent superstition had gathered together all the various errors which had anywhere been devised ״ (Wace, xii. 194, 1).
The degree of success that attended Leo is evident from his having secured the imperial authority of Valentinian III (445) for his western supremacy : “ The primacy of the Apostolic See having been established by the merits of S. Peter, its founder, the sacred council of Nice, and the dignity of the city of Rome, we thus declare our irrevocable edict, that all bishops, whether in Gaul or elsewhere, shall make no innovation without the sanction of the Bishop of Rome, and, when cited, shall be con-strained to appear by the governor of his province ״ (Novell. Val. iii. tit. 16, 172). In Gaul, Leo humiliated Archbishop Hilary, whom he even threw into prison. The Africans had to submit to his authority, as well as the people of Eastern Illyria. He banished the Manichæans and the Pelagians from Italy and advocated even the death penalty in the case of the Priscillianists, the heretics (Ep. XV ad Turribium). Through his legates at the council of Chalcedon he gained several substantial advan-tages, but was chagrined over the 28th canon which made the patriarch of New Rome equal in authority to the Bishop of Old Rome. Leo I is the first pope whom the Catholic Church styles “ the Great ״, because he is the first bishop of the Roman See who accomplished great exploits for her. Schaff (H.E. ii. 315) attests : “ Leo I justly bears the title of 4 the Great י in the history of the Latin hierarchy. In him the idea of the papacy as it were, became flesh and blood. He conceived it in great energy and clearness, and carried it out with the Roman spirit of dominion, so far as the circumstances of the time at all allowed.״ J. Lord (i. 428, 433, 444) writes concerning Leo : 44 More than any other one man, he laid the founda-tion-stone of that edifice which alike sheltered and im-
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!prisoned the European nations for more than a thousand /years.” " Even Leo I merely prepared the way for i imfversal domination.יי “ The imperial sceptre was broken. Not a diadem, but a tiara, must be the emblem of universal sovereignty. Not imperial decrees, but papal bulls, must now rule the world.” Then in closing, on page 448 he does attest the fulfilment of prophecy in the papal universal rule : “ Its institution was peculiar and unique ; a great spiritual government usurping the attributes of other governments, as predicted by Daniel, and, at first benignant, ripening into a gloomy tyranny,—a tyranny so unscrupu-lous and grasping as to become finally, in the eyes of Luther, an evil power.”
XXII
THE VAIN SAYING OF MANY :	“ THE TIME IS
AT HAND ”
Leo I had well prepared the way for the supremacy of the bishop of Rome, and, for the time being,had succeeded in the West. But when the Arian barbarians conquered Italy, Spain, Northern Africa, and even took the city of Rome itself, the Catholics had in turn to submit to their yoke.
Odoacer, King of the Heruli, forced the last Romulus to hand over to him the imperial crown of the West (476), ancT the victor simply sent it on to the emperor of the East. Unwise Catholics, seeing Gog and Magog in their conquerors and in their religion Antichrist or his forerunner, hurled from their pulpits bitter invectives against their new rulers, deriding them as Pharaohs and Holofernes. Intolerant Vandal kings retaliated and showed themselves worthy of such names. At the command of Hunneric (466) orthodox bishops assembled in Carthage, but the Arian Cyril was exalted to the patriarchal throne. Because of their protest most of the Catholic party leaders Ian-guished in banishment for many years. “ Respectable citizens, noble matrons, and consecrated virgins ” were most cruelly and shamefully tortured, so that many died as martyrs. Also Euric the Arian king of the Visigoths,
108 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
punished the popular bishops of Aquitania with imprison-ment, exile and confiscation (Gibbon, xxxvii. 487). This accounts for the advent booklet considering the Arian to be Gog, and the tribulation of the Catholics caused by them a fulfilment of the antichristian persecution that was to last 32־ times.
Although the Arian rulers in other lands granted their Catholic subjects liberty of conscience, yet the Roman bishops, themselves aspiring to absolute rule, considered every limitation of their power to be an antichristian yoke. This feeling was intensified through the bitter contest between the bishops of Rome and the emperors and patriarchs of Constantinople over the question of the primate which culminated in an open rupture (484519־).
When Odoacer attempted to control the papal election (483), Bishop Gelasius protested. In a letter to emperor AnastasiusJ he àTsô emphasized the superiority of the spiritual power : “ The world is mainly governed by the holy authority of the bishops and the power of the kings. The former is the weightier of the two, for it must render ap׳account unto God for the deeds of the kings themselves. Though the king rules mankind by his dignity, he is yet in duty bound to submit to his bishops ’^(Mansi, viii. 30).
At the instigation of the Eastern emperor, Theodoric, the tolerant Kingj3f the Ostrogoths, vanquished Odoacer (493), and th,us one of the intolerant Arian powers was removed. He eTnïïeïïished his new capital, Ravenna, as also the city of Rome, with beautiful structures. He won the confidence of the Catholics by imposing lighter burdens and granting rich donations to their church. At the death of Bishop Anastasius (498) the Roman chair was sought so eagerly after that two opposing parties set up their candidates—the imperialists putting forth Laurentius, who ran against Symmachus. The latter was attacked in the streets by his antagonists, and Arian Gothic shields had to protect the Roman bishop from the daggers of his fellow Catholics. The case was finally sub-mitted to the Arian king, who decided in favour of Sym-machus, because elected by the majority and first ordained.
Theodoric caused the incarceration of Bishop John I (526) because he had failed to secure in Constantinople
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IO9
the same tolerance for the Arians that the Catholics enjoyed in Italy. He nominated Felix as John’s successor, and ordered that hereafter the bishop elect should be con-firmed by the king. And yet, in spite of this arrangement, the same disgraceful quarrelling and bribing occurred at the next election—a sort of chronic disease in papal history. How Catholic historians look upon the rule of the Arian kings in Rome, we are informed by Baronius (Annal, eccl. ad ann. 498 no. 6) :	“ Unhappy times,
when the high priest of Christianity had to defend his case before the tribunal of an Arian ruler ! ”
As no ruler in the West or in the East professed the faith of the Bishop of Rome, subjected Catholics would surely hail the day when a temporal prince would embrace their faith and support the claims of the Roman bishop as the spiritual head of the millennial kingdom of Christ. Bishop Brück (K. G. S. 247) tersely states how this was realized : “ In the midst of the greatest tribulations the belief of Rome won its most signal triumph in the conversion of Clovis and the Salían Franks.” Clovis, listening to the entreaties of his wife, a zealous Catholic, allowed his child to be baptized, and, just before the critical battle of Tolpiac against the invading Alemanni, he vowed to em-brace the same faith in case he should be victorious. As victory was his, he and three thousand of his warriors were baptized by Bishop Remigius of Rheims. Bishop Gregory of Tours comments thus upon this event in his history of the Franks (ii. 31): “ The new Constantine proceeded to the baptismal bath.” The Burgundian bishop, Avitus (Dahn iii. 57 f. ; Avit., Vienn. Ep. 41), congratulated him in a very significant letter : “ Your faith is our victory.” Your preference for the Catholic faith is in this great conflict between Catholics and Arians “ the predetermined sentence ”. “ Spend freely from your stronghold to the heathen nations, as yet untouched by Arian heresy ; ” “ send missionaries to these heathen and they will serve you first for the sake of religion and soon afterwards will entirely yield to you and your kingdom. Then you will shine as the common sun of all ” to the Franks and Romans nearby and to the heathen nations far off. “ The success of your happy triumphs all will
IIO THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
celebrate in common, our luck affects also the church ; as often as you fight, she wins.״
Clovis quickly seized the favourable opportunity to extend his kingdom by the support of the Roman clergy. The Catholics now had their revenge : that astute prince realized the value of their assistance, and made the expedition against Alaric, the son of Euric, a holy war, saying : “ Verily, it grieves my soul that these Arians should hold a part of Gaul ; with God’s help let us go and conquer them and reduce their territory into our hands ” (H. F. ii. 37). He succeeded because the strength of the well-organized Roman Church in the fallen empire “ stood in remarkable contrast to the weakness of the less disciplined national Churches of its Arian invaders ”. The Arian bishops, taking their fill of court favour, “ stood apart from one another in stupid and ignorant isolation. Untouched apparently by the great Augustinian thought of the world-encompassing city of God, they tended more and more to form local tribal churches.״ “ The events which followed the conversion of Clovis showed the immense political power of the Catholic-Nicene Church of the West. The important Visigothic kingdom, Toulouse, which lasted for nearly a hundred years, and reached the acme of its power under Euric (466-484), fell before the Frankish arms at the decisive battle of Vouglé ״ (a.d. 508) (Hastings, Arianism, i. 782f.).
Concerning the nature of this war, F. Dahn (Urgesch.
iii.	p. 62) corroborates Hastings’ statement :	“ The war,
equally well supported by miracles of the saints and the treason of Catholic bishops in the Gothic kingdom, was considered generally as a ‘ Catholic Crusade ’ by con-temporaries and descendants.” Thus the walls of Angou-leme fell before Clovis as those of Jericho of old ; a hind showed the ford of the swollen river ; and a blaze upon the cathedral’s tower led the way. Newman (C.H. i. 404) declares : “ The conversion of the Merovingian chieftain, Clovis, to the Catholic faith, is an event of primary import-anee in the history of the papacy.” “ As he expected, the Catholics rallied around him as the only Catholic prince in the West, and assisted him in conquering the Arian princes,” “ Victory followed after victory until Gaul,
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Burgundy and Bavaria were more or less firmly united under one government. Thus was established a vigorous Catholic power, which found its interest in promoting the papacy, and which in turn was zealously supported by it.” Schaff (C. H. Med. Chr. i. 80) thus states the final outcome : In the name of Christ as the most powerful national God the Frankish kings subjected heathen and Arian neighbours, until the whole occident was subjected to their sceptre and that of the pope. In return the popes styled them ‘ the oldest son of the Church ’, ‘ the first Christian majesty \ “ Rheims, where Clovis was baptized, is the holy city where most of the French kings down to Charles X were consecrated. The conversion of the Franks prepared the way for the downfall of the Arian heresy among the other Germanic nations, and the triumph of the papacy in the German empire under Charlemagne.” Clovis’ conversion indeed is an event of primary importance in papal history, and his signal victory over the Arians, in 508, marks an important era in its development.
After gaining the first royal support in the West, the successors of Leo I felt more free to establish their claims of supremacy. In the controversy between Rome and Constantinople, Bishop Gelasius had the synod (496) decree the primacy of Rome over all the Churches. He tried to prove his claim by Matthew 16 : 16, and the martyrdom of Peter and Paul in Rome : “ Thereby they have as tvell dedicated the Roman Church to Christ, as also elevated it by their presence and triumph over all other Churches in the world.” The first chair of S. Peter is the Roman Church “ without spot and wrinkle ” ; the second, Alexandria ; the third, Antioch. This same synod decided which books were permitted and which forbidden. On the authority of Jerome the writings of Montanus, Tertullian, Lactantius, Arnobius, Sulpitius, Commodianus, and the apocalyptic commentaries of Victorinus and Tychonius on account of their chiliastic tendencies were forbidden (Mansi, viii. 151). In a letter to the bishops of Dardania (Id. viii. 49, 63) he declared that the Roman See was fully empowered to excommunicate even a bishop of the “ imperial residence ”, for “ the entire Church on earth knows that the chair of Peter . . . can judge the
112 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
entire Church, and yet no one can question her decrees nor appeal from them״. In Gelasius’ eyes tolerance towards heretics was more destructive than the visitations of the barbarians. Under Bishop Symmachus, Leo’s absolutism found still clearer expression at the Palmaris synod (503). Serious charges having been brought against this bishop, Theodoric summoned a synod, but the bishop was acquitted without investigation on the ground that no synod had a right to pass judgment on a successor of Peter, or, as Bishop Ennodius expressed it, the Roman bishop is above every human tribunal, and is responsible only to. God himself (Mansi, vii¿ 274 JL).
Yet all the while the Catholic world expected a Jew out of Dan, of devilish origin, to arise and establish his throne at Jerusalem. Not only had the Montanists set the definite time for the Lord’s return, but Catholic church fathers since the days of Hippolytus. The general belief was that this event would take place at the end of the 6,000 years, which were to expire inside of 500 years after Christ’s birth. Thus Julius Hilarianus declared in his treatise “ On the World^T Age ^U^TTom creation to Christ’s passion are 5,530 years, only 470 are therefore left, and of these 369 are past, so there remain only 101. When they are past, ten Jangs will arise and will do away with the daughter of Î5aÎ)yîon, now occupying the throne of the earth. Antichrist will come, but soon after, the Lord will appear ”[(Mignë, S. G. xviii. 101).
The, Jews, also,	1time : “ An old sibylline
verse was being flaunted in which the words were ascribed to the prophet Elijah, that the Messiah would appear in the 85th year of Jubilee (i.e. 440 according to our chron-ology).” At that time a Jewish fanatic gained all the Jews of Crete with'his promisesjthat the Lord would now through him lead them dryshod into the promised land (Grætz, ii. 617 f.). Bishop Appollinaris fixed the end at 490; Hippolytus and Eustathius of Antioch at 500 ; and so the Catholic advent-pamphlet merely expressed the general idea thàt Antichrist would rise at the close of the fifth century, and would be closely followed by the end of the world. As the Roman Empire broke up at that time and the barbarian kings divided its territory among them,
PERGAMOS
113
there was considerable warrant for the supposition, quite generally held, that the end was then near. But over agàîïïsT this belief in the nearness of the end about 500, our Lord predicted in Revelation 2 and 3 that after Pergamos there should yet follow four other periods, and warns us in Luke 21 : 8 : “ Take heed that ye be not led astray ; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am he ; and, the time is at hand : go ye not after them.”
The Pergamos period, extending from Constantine to Justinian, with its mighty and rapid transitions and, wonderful fulfilments of prophecy, caused also extensive ¡ alterations in the interpretation of Daniel and John, j Constantine’s unexpected victory, the strife between ; Arianism and Orthodoxy, the union of State and Church, the suppression of the Donatists, Tychonius’ commentary, Augustine’s “ City of God ”, the establishment of the Greek Patriarchate at Byzantium on equality with the Roman bishop, the deadly wounding of the imperial power in the West, and the subsequent division of its territory, the fact that no Arian chieftain dared to assume the imperial crown, the arrogant claims of Leo I and his successors, Clovis’ acceptance of the Catholic faith : ail combined gave colour and life to the prophetic exposition. The diief conclusions of that period might thus be sum-marized : 1. The doctrine of the first resurrection and the establishment of Christ’s kingdom were so spiritualized as to apply to a millennium under the rule of an imperial hierarchy ;	2. The apostasy, charged by Athanasius
against the Arians in fulfilment of Daniel 7 : 24 ff., and the application of the term “ Antichrist ” by either party to the other was in itself evident proof that the fulfilment of 2 Thessalonians 2, had materialized; 3. Jerome’s com-mentary supplied most positive proofs, that not only in the “ decapitation ” of the imperial power the fulfilment of Revelation 8 : 12 ; 13:3 was recognized, but also the division into ten kingdoms, as foretold by Daniel and John ; 4. Bishop Leo I and his successors, claiming the Divine right to the vacant seat of the Roman empire, did plainly forecast, that by the papal power the deadly wound would be healed; 5. All the descriptions of the gruesome conditions given at that time in history, in
I
114 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
prophetical expositions, in prose and poetry, gave evidence that “ Antichrist must be at the very door ” or is already born ; 6. B tit the m^ts triking! conclusions were those of the D0natis¿3^^^^^^#,He fully believing that the
ing"oh!y 350 years, was about to expire, was'ton
13 were	on
the stage of^action, the wicked bishops of the secularized State Œurc^	from the earth, the false
prophet.*" That this fallen Babylon was indeed enforcing
the mark of its authority, killing the saints, and that there-fore the time had fully come, when the threefold message in Revelation 14: 612־ was to be proclaimed throughout the world, and the true believers were to be called out of Babylon, sealed and made ready for the advent of Christ in glory.
THYATIRA—The Church during Papal Supremacy XXIII
GOLD AND THE SWORD ELEVATE “ THE ANTICHRIST ” OF BARONIUS TO THE PAPAL CHAIR
In the East the election of Justin I turned the tide also in favour of the Roman bishop, so that communion was renewed (519). Justin, influenced by his capable nephew,
ן Justinian, showed his orthodoxy by persecuting all oppos-ling parties—he even took the churches from the Arians, i and gave them to the Catholics. During his long reign . (¿22565־) Justinian zealously endeavoured to assure the unity of the Church. But there was a secret Monophysite court party, headed by his wife, Theodora, who used her great influence over her husband in favour of Mono-physitism.
In order that he might seal the reconciliation between the East and the West, Justinian sent the fpljowigglctte?1 JMarcL j/r;) to “ the most holy arcKBishop and patriarch 07 The noble' city of Rome ” : “ We hasten to bring to the knowledge of Your Holiness all that pertains to the condition of the churches, since it always has been our great aim to safeguard the unity of your Apostolic See , and the position of the holy churches of God which now ¡prevails and abides securely without any disturbing ¡trouble. Therefore we have been sedulous to subject and ;unite all the priests of the Orient throughout its whole ' extent to the See of your Holiness ... we do not suffer that anything which is mooted—however clear and un-questionable—pertaining to the state of the churches, should fail to be made known to Your Holiness, as being head of all the churches. For we are zealous for the increase of the honour and the authority of your See in all respects ” (Cod. Just. lib. i. title 1).
In his rep!)T^Icnj of Mf^ÏÏW534T the Roman bishop
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II6 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
pointed out Justinian’s most glorious merit to consist in “ that he preserves the respect for the Roman Sec, had subordinated everything to it, and united all with the same.” In his correspondence with the patriarch, Justinian calls him also “ the most holy and blessed archbishop of this imperial city, and the oecumenical patriarch” (Cod. i. 7.; Nov. ii. 3, 542 ,16 ,7־). He also had charged him, March 25, 533, to refer all ecclesiastical matters to the ^üftfâfi^bTshop, “ because he is the head of all most holy !priests of God, and that most especially, because so many [heretics have arisen here and have been corrected by the decision and. the right judgment of that venerable See” JCodexJ^i, 7). Although Justinian was thus paying his oompSîïïêïïtrTô the right and to the left, yet Patriarch Menas declared at the council of Constantinople (536) that nothing could be done in the Church against the will and command of the emperor (Hefele, H.C. iv. 250).
In his zeal to bring all men quickly to agree in one form of doctrine, Justinian recklessly murdered all dissen-ters, so that his reign was a “ uniform yet various scene of persecution ”. “ The insufficient term of three months was assigned for the conversion or exile of all heretics ; and if he still connived at their precarious stay, they were deprived, under his iron yoke, not only of the benefits of society, but of the common birthrights of men and Christians.” (Gibbon, Decline, ch. 47, par. 24; Cod. rJust. lib. i. tit. 5, n. 19). His edict was executed with such ngoiir that tKeTVfontanists in Phrygia retired with all their wealth to their churches and consumed themselves and their riches in their flames (Bower* H.P. i. par. 334).
But that Justinian might exercise his imperial authority also in the West, the power of the Arian rulers had to be broken and these heretics subjected to the Roman bishop. Gibbon plainly states that this great task was undertaken as “ a ־holy enterprise ” by Justinian, who was rallied to action by the exclamation of a fanatical bishop : “ I have seen a vision ! It is the will of heaven, 0 emperor, that you should not abandon your holy enterprise for the deliver-anee of the African church. The God of battle will march before your standard and disperse your enemies, who are the enemies of His Son.”
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THYATIRA
Justinian’s tried general,jîefisarius¿ landed unexpec-tedly in Africa, and vanquished the \^ndals in a few months. They “ being rapidly absorbed into the African population יי disappeared from Africa “ without leaving a trace Belisarius “ proceeded without delay to the full establishment of the Catholic Church “ The Arian worship was suppressed, the Donatist meetings proscribed ” (Id. pareil). When Belisarius appeared before Rome (535) the gates were thrown open to receive him, and the Catholics “ fondly hailed the restoration of a Roman emperor ”.
The Ostrogoths surrounded Rome in 537, but almost the whole nation was consumed in the long siege. As Dahn (Urgesch. i. 287) affirms, “ the name of the Ostro-gatïis was-nentirely obliterated from among the nations ;: all Italy obeyed the Roman emperor ”.
When Clovis vanquished the Visigoths in the decisive battle of Voulon (508) the Roman bishop was subject to a heretic ruler, even in his own palace ; in 538 the Vandals and .the Ostrogoths, also, had been vanquished,**and the Catholics of many lands were under their own rulers while their head, in the imperial city, was acknowledged by the emperor himself as the head of all the Churches ! 1In fulfilment of Daniel 7 : 8, 24, three Arian nations had ־ been “ plucked up by the roots ” before the bishop of Rome : but, were the remaining predictions of the prophecy ,also now fulfilled ?
In answer to the question just put, we will allow Baron-ius, the noted Catholic historian, to answer in due time.
' According to Hefele (H.C. iv. par. 244) Boniface II had named his ambitious deacon Vigilius, a patrician’s son, as his successor (531). Vigilius had instigated this act on the part of Boniface, and it had been executed without an election on the part of the clergy or the consent of the Gothic king. The Roman clergy, “ to whom elections had begun of late to prove a most gainful traffic ”, opposed in vain. Hard pressed by the Gothic king, Boniface confessed himself guilty of high treason, and revoked the decree, but Vigilius was appointed legate at the imperial court. Through Theodora’s craft, the Monophysite, Anthi-mus, had been made patriarch of Constantinople (535),
118 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
but was deposed. The empress, anxious to see Anthimus reinstated, offered Vigilius gold and the Roman chair, if he would secretly undertake to disavow the Chalcedonian council and pronounce Anthimus and his friends to be orthodox. At the death of the Roman bishop, Agapetus (536) Silverius, the son of the former Bishop Hormisdas, gained the support of the Gothic king. As he refused to yield to the wishes of the empress, she sent Vigilius to Belisarius, saying : “ Seek a pretext for removing Silverius from office, or at least for delivering him to us. Here you have the archdeacon Vigilius, our most beloved legate, who promised us to reinstate Anthimus.״ Vigilius met Beli-sarius at Naples, and promised him gold. This great general, swayed by his wife Antonina, who was a friend of the empress, yielded with the understanding that whatever guilt should be incurred would rest on Vigilius. A forged letter was intercepted, promising the Gothic king the open-ing of a gate near the Lateran. Silverius was summoned to Antonina, and taken into her private rooms, where she thus addressed him : “ Say, lord pope Silverius, what have we done to thee, that thou shouldst wish to betray us into the hands of the Goths ? ” While he answered, a deacon took off his pallium, led him into another room, and dressed him as a monk. The people were informed of his deposition. “Vigilius kept him in custody, and after having been made pope by the power of Belisarius, he banished the rightful shepherd to Patara ” (Wetzer and Welte, Cath. Lex. xi. 302). Silverius was taken back to Rome for a reinvestiga-tion after the local bishop of Patara had personally protested to Justinian against the deposition, but Vigilius removed Silverius to the Island of Palmaria, where he cither starved or was otherwise deprived of his life. The Lexicon just referred to, approved by Pope Leo (1902), says : “ Vigilius belongs to the few occupants of the chair of Peter, who have left a predominant evil remembrance.” “ Not until the death of Silverius (538) could Vigilius be regarded as rightful pope. . . . That he was previously only pseudo-pope, is not only the view taken in modern times, but a biography of the holy Silverius calls Vigilius at the time, when he banished him to Palmaria, arch-deacon ” (Id. xii. 956).
THYATIRA
π9
But now comes the answer of Cardinal Baronius. ipos-t important of all, given in his annals on the verÿ"yeàr (538) in Numbers 18^ 11, 20, 12, of which we give, the ־^Tibstance : Is tliere^any"-question but that Vigilius, gone mad with ambition, had started in the wrong direc-tion and had fallen into the abyss, when he had insolently striven even in the times of Boniface that he might be put in his place while the latter was yet alive ? Thus manifestly weighed down by the load of his crimes, he w^as of one mind with Lucifer and his angels, who had so plainly striven after supremacy in heaven (Isa. 14 : 12ff.). With those he plainly desired to ascend and to place his seat above the empty clouds instead of being firmly placed below upon the stable rock .as a foundation (Matt. 16). But it is with his seat like with that of the daughter of the Chaldeans, who sat “ on the ground without the throne ” (Isa. 47 : 1). Intruding himself by force into the chair of Peter he cannot be a true pontifex. Vigilius the schis-matic, who violently intruded himself upon some one else’s seat, had undoubtedly manufactured the question-able letter and it should not astonish us, that this son of perdition added heresy to his schism. For he dared to seat himself as pontifex, and at the same time, while the legal pastor was still living, he condemned him by no other authority than that of a secular man, and without any form of trial. In other words, he intruded himself as a wolf into a flock, as a thief, a robber, not by the door, but over the wall. He descended into the sheep fold, standing as the false episkopos against the true one ; could he not therefore be justly called the Antichrist, being indeed against Christ ? His crimes excel those of any previous person. This Vigilius incurred the stain of simony by spending money in order to become pontifex. Baronius mentions him once more, when he refers to the terrible end of Silverius who by his legal authority had sent back the arrow of condemnation against Vigilius himself, and thus shown to the whole world, that Vigilius, though ruling on the apostolic throne, did not represent Simon Peter, but Simon Magus, and instead of being vicar of Christ he was indeed the Antichrist (Annal, ad ann. 539, n. 4).	...
120 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Baronius, in discussing the motives that led the clergy to tolerate Vigilius in office, says that it was their conviction that even if they elected another pope, he would be only an anti-pope, causing still more dissension and even heresy. The empress would surely use her influence in favour of Vigilius, consequently “ this idol would be erected anew in the temple, and the abomination of desolation be seen standing in the holy place ”. Vigilius was also sufficiently known as a “ good Catholic ”, and by leaving him in office, he would be withdrawn from the destructive influence of Theodora, to whom he had sold himself from avarice. Such conclusions of the clergy, Baronius calls “ divinely inspired counsel ! ” (Annal, ad ann. 540 no. 7, 8). Not less shocking and untrue is Baronius’ aeclaration that the great power latent in the shadow of Peter had transformed Vigilius. The Roman populace looked upon Vigilius with contempt, and, when at the bidding of Justinian (545) he left Rome, crowds followed cursing and throwing stones at him. After he refused to yield to the emperor’s demands, he was able to escape arrest only by fleeing into Asia with Bishop Primasius. When he finally consented to do the emperor’s bidding, large portions of the West withdretv from the communion of Rome. Schafï (Nic. Christ, p. 771) comments on Vigilius’ vacillation : “ His fourfold change of opinion does poor service to the claim of papal in-fallibility.” When Vigilius, after seven years’ absence, wras permitted to return (though not without the reward of his submission), he died in Sicily. In this, Baronius secs divine retribution :	“ Having starved Silverius on an
island, he himself died on another ” (Annal, ad ann. 555,
n°. 4)·
If “ the historical fact is the evidence that the apoca-lyptical prophecy has been fulfilled ”, then it is certainlv true in the case of Vigilius and the papacy, the supreme rule of which was at this time acknowledged. Rome was hardly under Catholic jurisdiction, when, through the cunning and gold of the imperial Jezebel, the rightful bishop was deposed without a trial, and the simonist, intruder, robber, murderer, Vigilius, was ordained as the pope. A noted Catholic historian, Baronius the cardinal, is constrained to bear wfitness to the accomplished fact
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THYATIRA
that an idol was thus erected in the temple of God, that thelfBomination of desolation now stood in the holy place, and that the son of perdition, not in a Simon Peter, but in a Simon Magus* occupied the papal chair, not as Vicar of Christ, but as one rightfully called the Antichrist._ Thus, according to noted Catholic authority, the sure word of prophecy, spoken one thousand years before by Daniel, and recorded in Daniel 7 : 8, 24 ; 11 : 31, and reiterated by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2 : 3, and by John in Revelation 13 : 4, began to meet its fulfilment about/538 in the papacy, aspiring as the “ little horn ” to beconiesfipreme among the ten.
'־'Th connection with this, there is another and no less striking fulfilment of prophecy also attested by Catholic authority, namely that of Revelation 2 : 18^29, regarding the fourth Church period. B. Hol^hn^er^ whose explana-tion of the Apocalypse Catholic” regard as almost inspired, and whose counsel was even sought by an English king, says (Apoc. i. 155, 158): “ Thvatira, the fourth age of the church, began when the downfall of pagan Rome, was accomplished, and the devil was chained up for a thousand ygars. JThe body^of^ tK^cïïu!^p|re'e3 Troffi fÈ¿ tonic of persecution, fell away Fromlts high calling, and embraced luxury. This .message reveals the interior condition of the church, of the Middle Ages, which extended from the sixth to.the.sixtecn^^	“ If we apply this letter¡
to the fourth ... it may be said to coincide with it from/ the historic point of view in a remarkable manner. For both the church and the world speak of this period as the ‘ Middle Ages \ In this it may be said that we built better than we knew : for Thvatira is the middle church of the seven, and consequently stands as the symbol of the church of the Middle Ages.” Thus a Catholic cardinal and noted hiatarian, in speaking of the time when Rome was being broken into fragments, and there was a general and well-grounded expectation of the appearance of Antichrist, brings forward evidence to demonstrate that just then a man filled the papal chair whose character he could best delineate by making use of the very terms Applied to Antichrist in the Scriptures ! Further, an emi-^ent Catholic commentator on the Apocalypse declares
122 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
that the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages, from the sixth to the sixteenth century, fully meets the description of the' fThyatira period, as the fourth among the seven. One could hardly ask for better proof of prophetic fulfilment than the open acknowledgment of the very parties con-cerned in its accomplishment. The prophecy is sure, and God has also taken care to see to it that the instruments in its accomplishment should leave their testimony in behalf of its truthfulness.
XXIV
“ THERE IS AN ARMY OF PRIESTS PREPARING FOR THE KING OF PRIDE ”
It was not before the end of the sixth century that Rome produced a second bishop whom after generations were to honour as “ the great ”, in Gregory I. Born about 540 of an old senatorial family in Rome, appointed as prefect of the city by emperor Justin, he soon broke with the world, and, later, became an abbot. When he was sent to Constantinople as a legate (579) he was charged to have no communion with the patriarch there, for the struggle over the priority was still going on. The time of his pontificate (590604־) was full of trouble. Italy, a province of the Eastern Empire, was overrun by savage Arian Lombards, who constantly threatened Rome. In fact, all Europe was in a^ chaotic ^tate. Gregory, according to his own statement (Epist.Ai), took command “ of an old and violently shattered ship admitting the waters on all sides, its timbers rotten, shaken of daily storms, and sounding of wreck ”.
Gregory reports that already during the first invasion of the Lombards, Bishop Redemtus averred that he had seen the end of the world in vision, and the Lombards as the harbingers of Antichrist, the apparition thrice calling out to him “ The end of all flesh is coming ! ” As great districts of populous Italy had been turned into a wilder-ness overrun by wild beasts, Gregory, too, shared this conviction, testifying : “ In this land the world does no
THYATIRA
I23
longer announce her end, but her very appearance demon-strates it.” His world-wide correspondence with emperors, kings, queens, secular and ecclesiastical dignitaries is dominated by this conception, and thus the belief in the nearness of the end became prevalent everywhere.
When Gregory (as the first monk) became the Roman pontiff, the contest between him and the patriarch of Constantinople, John, “ the Faster”, culminated. In his letters the latter repeatedly used a title that emperors and synods had conferred upon the patriarchs—“ œcumen-ical ” or “universal bishop”. For this Gregory, jealous of his Eastern rival, thus rebuked him in his first letter (Bk. v.^Ep.^18) : “ What wilt thou say to Christ in the scrutiny*!)? the last judgment, having attempted to put all his members under thyself by the appellation of universal ? Who, I ask, is proposed for imitation in this wrongful title but he, who, despising the legions of angels, constituted socially with him, attempted to start up to an eminence of singularity, that he might seem to be under none, and to be alone above all ? ” (Isa. 14 : 13). “ When your fraternity despises them, and you would fain press them (the other bishops) down unto yourself, what else say you but what is said by the ancient foe, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds ?” Not one of all the former prelates has ever “ seized upon, this ill-advised name ”.	“ Of a truth it was proclaimed of old
through the apostle John : ‘Little children, it is the last hour,5 according as the truth foretold. And now pestilence and sword rage through the world, nations rise against nations, the globe of the earth is shaken, the gaping earth with its inhabitants is dissolved. For all that was foretold is come to pass. The king of pride is near, and (awful to be said ! ) there is an army of priests in course of preparation for him, inasmuch as they who had been appointed leaders in humility enlist themselves under the neck of pride.”
The delivery of this letter Gregory entrusted to his nuncio Sabianus, telling him that it was only out of con-sidération for the emperor Mauritius that he had written it. so mildly. He charged him : “ Never do thou presume to go to the altar with the patriarch ! ” He wrote the
124 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
emperor (Bk. v. Ep. 20) who favoured John: “ Or what sword of a most savage race would advance with so great cruelty to the slaughter of the faithful, unless the life of us, who are called priests, but are not, were weighed down by works most wicked.״ “ Our faults, which weigh down the forces of the republic,.sharpen the swords of the enemy.״ “ Our bones are worn down by fasts, and in our mind we swell. Our body is covered with vile raiment, and in elation of heart we surpass the purple. We lie in ashes, and look down upon loftiness.״ “ Teachers of humility, we are chiefs of pride.״ “ The most holy man, my fellow-priest John, attempts to be called Universal bishop. I am compelled to cry out :	0 times ! 0 manners ! Lo
all things in the regions of Europe are given up to the power of barbarians, cities are destroyed ... no cultivator inhabits the land, worshippers of idols rage and dominate daily for the slaughter of the faithful—and yet priests, who ought to lie weeping on the ground in ashes, seek for themselves names of vanity and glory in new and profane titles.״ To the empress (Bk. v. Ep. 22) he wrote : “ It is very distressing and hard to be borne with, that my fellow-bishop, despising all others, should attempt to be called sole bishop. But in this pride of his what else is denoted than that the times of the Antichrist are already near at hand ? ” The patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch he charged : “ Consider, dearest brethren, who is it that follows close at hand, of whose approach such perverse beginnings are breaking out even in priests. For it is because he is near of whom it is written, He is king over all the sons of pride (Job 41 : 34)—not without sore grief I am compelled to say it that our fellow-bishop, John,״ “ attempts through elation to be his forerunner in name ״. “ Presume not ever to issue or to receive writings with the falsity of the name Universal in them. Bid all the bishops, subject to your care, abstain from the defilement of this elation.״ Later, when the patriarch of Alexandria, heedless of this protest, addressed Gregory as “ universal bishop ״, he emphatically repudiated the title.
When John died (596) his successor, Cyriakus, also carried this title of universal bishop ; Gregory admonished
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THYATIRA
him (Bk. vii. Ep. 31) to abstain from it : “ And because Antichrist, the “enemy of God, is near at hand, I studiously desire ·that he may not find anything belonging to himself, ,not only in the manners, but even in the titles of the priests.” When the emperor admonished Gregory “ that offence ought not to be engendered among us for the appellation of a frivolous name ”, he replied (Bk. vii. Ep. 33) : “ Is it not the case that, when Antichrist comes and calls himself God, it will be very frivolous, and yet exceedingly pernicious ? If we regard the quantity of language used, there are but few syllables ; but if the weight of the wTong, there is universal disaster. Now I confidently say that whosoever calls himself, or desires to be called Universal Priest is in his elation the precursor of Antichrist, because he proudly puts himself above others.” “ As that perverse one wishes to appear as God above all men, so, whosoever this one is, who covets being called sole priest, he extols himself above other priests.”
Schaffs comments on this strife (Med. Chr. i. 221, 225) are to the point : “ Gregory called himself, in proud humility, ‘ the servant of the servants of God ’. This became one of the standing titles of the popes, although it sounds like irony in conjunction with their astounding claims.” “ But it is a very remarkable fact, that, at the beginning of the unfolding of the greatest power of the papacy, one of the best popes should have protested against the antichristian pride and usurpation of the system.” “ What he had condemned in his oriental colleagues as antichristian arrogance, the later popes considered but the appropriate expression of their official position in the church universal” (Nic. Christ, i. 329).
When the emperor Mauritius forbade his soldiers entering religious orders, Gregory (Bk. iii. Ep. 65) reminded him of the great seriousness of such a prohibition to leave the world when its end was drawing nigh. In 602 an event occurred which shows Gregory in his true light : a cruel upstart, Phocas, secured the throne by the murder of the emperor, ïiis large family, and a number of persons of rank. Yet the pontiff wTote him and his consort, Leontina, congratulatory letters full of flattery, expressing his joy “ that the benignity of your piety has arrived at imperial
126 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
supremacy. Let the heavens rejoice . . . and let the whole people of the Republic, hitherto afflicted exceedingly, grow cheerful for your benignant deeds ” (Ep. xiii. 31, 39). Phocas repaid this flattery by taking sides with the pope against the patriarch, but he was beheaded after a dis-graceful reign.
In order to strengthen the ties between the papacy and the rulers of the Franks, of the Visigoths and of the Anglo-Saxons, Gregory sent them the keys of St. Peter, or links from his chains, to be worn around the neck as a protection against all evils. He informed Edilbcrt of England that “ the end of the world is approaching ”, as changes in the air, etc., indicated. “ Yet these things will not come in our days. You, therefore, if you observe any of these things occurring in your land, by no means let your mind be troubled ” (Bk. xi. Ep. 66). Not only did Gregory foster the worst kind of super-stition by means of his relics, but his many writings are full of superstition also, and these exercised a most powerful influence on the Middle Ages. His Dialogues on the Lives and Miracles of the Saints “ abound in incredible marvels and visions of the state of the departed souls ”, and became “ the chief source of the medieval superstitions about purgatory. King Alfred ordered them to be translated into the Anglo-Saxon” (Schaff, Med. Christ, i. 228). In these Dialogues, even the souls of the dead are said to desire the holy mass to relieve their pains in purgatory : “ What believer could therefore doubt that when the priest offers the unbloody sacrifice of God, the heavens are opened at his words, the choir of angels are present in that mystery of Jesus, and the visible and invisible worlds are united ? ” Harnack’s comments are to the point (H.D. v. 271) : “ Christ as a person is forgotten,” “ the fundamental questions of salvation are not answered by reference to Him, and in life the baptized has to depend on means which exist partly alongside, partly independently of Him, or merely bear his badge.” So also Schaff speaks of Gregory (Med. Chr. ii. 397) : “ He was filled with the idea that the eucharist embodies the reconciliation of heaven and earth, of eternity and time, and is fraught
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THYATIRA
with spiritual benefit for the living and pious dead in one unbroken communion.״
No longer did the people look to Christ as the true High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary and depend alone on the one ever valid sacrifice on the cross (Heb. 8 : if.; 9 : 11 ; 10 : 10), but to high priests and priests in churches on earth and to their many man-made sacrifices in the daily mass. The Dialogues were dedicated to Queen Theodolinda, and they exercised a strong influence in gaining the Lombards to the papacy.
Gregory wrote no less than thirty-five books “ on the ;Morals of the Book of lob״, and Tob’s patience would (surely be needed to peruse them. In the beginning and iat the end he emphasizes “ that the end of the world is at !hand ״. In the 32nd book he attempts to explain passages ;from Daniel ancl· ־Revelation by connecting them with (Job 40. The Behemoth he makes to be Satan, his tail Antichrist. Revelation 20 : 3 is now being fulfiU^d^^Satan “ being bound in tEe hearts of the wicked by divine power ״. The number 1,000 implies the whole period, at the end ״of.¿ which Satan isTet loose against* us with'great power.! As to Daniel 8, Antichrist takes away the perpetual sacrifice by breaking off the desire of conversation in the church in those whom he has seized. Truth is being cast down “ because belief in heavenly things is then perverted into a longing for temporal life ״.
Gregory reveals his persecuting spirit in his epistle to Pantaleo, the African prefect (Bk. iv. Ep. 34) : “ How the law urgently persecutes the most abominable pravity of heretics is not unknown to your excellency. ... It is therefore no light sin if these should find licence to creep up again in your times.״ That the sword of princes should force all dissenters into unity his comment on Job 39 : 11 (Morals, xxxi. 7) sets forth : “ To break down the hardness of these, the Holy Church, because she suffices not with her strength, sometimes seeks the assistance of the rhinoceros, i.e. of an earthly prince, for him to break down the hardness of the wicked.״
His epistle to the citizens of Rome (Bk. xiii. Ep. 1) Reveals that there were still in his days observers of the ¿eventh-day sabbath, in that city : “ It has come to my
128 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
ears that certain men of perverse spirits have sown among you some things that are wrong and opposed to holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the Sabbath day. What else can I call these but preachers of Anti-christ, who, when he comes, will cause the Sabbath day as well as the Lord’s day to be kept free from all work. For because he pretends to die and rise again, he wishes the Lord’s day to be had in reverence ; and because he compels the people to Judaize that he may bring back the outward rite of the law, and subject the perfidy of the Jews to himself, he wishes the Sabbath to be observed.”
, Thus a new feature of Antichrist, according to Gregor}־, .will be the keeping of the seventh-day sabbath. By spiritualizing, Gregory set aside the commandment. “ We therefore accept and hold spiritually this which is written about the sabbath.” “ We introduce then no burden through the gates on the sabbath day, if we draw no weights of sin through the bodily senses of the soul.”
It was this Gregory who, by sending missionaries to the British Isles, not only wished to convert the heathen, but also desired to bring the Irish-Scotch Church into subjection to the papal chair.
The very pope who saw an army of priests preparing for the king of pride, who called his fellow patriarch, as well as the Sabbatarians at Rome, Antichrists, was the pliant instrument in the hands of the king of pride to turn the masses from Christ, from the Holy Scriptures, from the everlasting Gospel, and from the only true sacrifice : Jesus, “ the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1: 29). Unknown to himself he introduced into the papal system, antichristian doctrines and an antichristian system of worship, based on the strength of legends and counterfeit sayings of departed spirits, By misinterpreting pointed prophecies concerning Antichrist, he blinded the eyes of the Catholics against Antichrists deceptions־, and he himself was so blinded that he would fain see in the chaotic state of the world the millennial kingdom of Christ, and Satan bound. Melan-chthon hits the nail on the head : “ Gregory, whom these call Great, but I call him the leader of the dance and the torchbearer of declining theology ” (Corp. Ref. xi. 16).
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XXV
“ THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION IN THE HOLY PLACE ”
ÎFor sorgçjlme the Eastern Churcl^^gt the Ap^alygse i^pf its^ canon. Archbishop	wrote the first
ohnective Greek commentary on mistook in Cappadociati, !æsarea about the time of the Persian wars in the^sixth. !century. He undertook the task because he wras pressed jby many for an explanation of the book. He freely admits ''that he could only partially explain its prophecies because quite a number of them were still unfulfilled, and there־ fore hidden in the dark bosom of the future. He applied the first seal to the triumphs of the gospel in the apostolic age ; the second to the subsequent martyrdom ; the third to the later apostacy ; the fourth to the judgments against the apostate Church ; the sixth to the time of Antichrist, and the last to the consummation of all things. He explained the sixth head to be the old Roman empire, and the seventh to be probably Constantinople, the new Rome. As the eighth head, Antichrist would spring from the Roman empire, and flourish as king of the Romans /among its ten divisions, answering to thé ten horns of ÎDaniel. The millennium had begun with the incarnation of Christ. The entire scope of the Apocalypse (beginning there) would not end until the consummation of all things. (Migne, S. G. xvi. 199486־).
Shortly after this, while the Roman pontiff and the Byzantine patriarch were hotly contending as to who should be the greater, an Arabian merchant, endowed with a most fertile imagination, possessed of flowing eloquence and a genius for poetry, was all alone in a cave near ¡Mecca, brooding about a new religion, a faith that would ?free Arabia from heathenism, and Christianity from image ׳worship. Awakening from his ecstasies, he heralded the :message : “ There is no god but God, and Mohammed is his prophet.״ Ere his death (632) all Arabia had accepted the new faith, and the succeeding caliphs summoned its wild horsemen to a holy war against idol worshippers. They conquered the Orient in 150 years. According to
K
I30 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
the Koran (Sale, Koran S. 5, p. 63), they saw in the conquest of Palestine a fulfilment of the words of Moses : “ 0 my people, enter the holy land, which God hath decreed you.״ When the patriarch’. Sophronip saw 1Caliph Omar entering Jerusalem (637) TuF^uttered : j “ The abomination of desolation is in the holy place ! ״ \ The magnificent mosque of Omar since then occupies the 1temple site on Mount Moriah.
.During the oppressive rule of the Saracens the prophecies 1׳were eagerly searched¿ as Harnack (H.D. iii. 187) tells us : “ In the lower ranks of priests, monks and laity, apocalypses continued to be eagerly read, and new ones were even produced on the basis of the old.” A striking example of the manner in which new apocalypses were formed under assumed names is that ascribed to Bishop Methodius who died as a martyr (311). Under the cover of his name some unknown author described the conditions existing during the Saracen oppression in the form of a prophecy purporting to have been written 500 years earlier. He succeeded so well that his production has been circulated in many lands and languages, playing an important role on opportune occasions, and even now quoted by the Jesuits as genuine. In 1498 it was entitled “ Sermon of the Holy Methodius, bishop of Patara, Con-corning Earthly Kingdoms and a True Exposition of the Time of the End ״. Beginning with Adam, it mentions the table of nations, computes time according to the Septuagint, introduces the Saracens concealed under the name of sons of Ishmael and the Midianites, shows how Gideon delivered Israel from their yoke, and finally secludes these with other barbarians to the far North by the hand of Alexander the Great. Then it introduces Rome as Daniel’s fourth kingdom which would continue till the end as a Christian kingdom, as only so much was removed as would hinder the revealing of the man of sin. In the end the Ishmaelites and other barbarians would break forth as the hordes of Gog and Magog, after Persia’s defeat. God gives these Christian lands to the sons of Ishmael because of the great sins of their inhabitants. The author vividly describes the awful taxes levied upon the Christians by their Saracen conquerors, the suppression
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THYATIRA
of the true worship, the devastation of the land by famine and sword and pestilence and the people despairing 0J their lives. In this dire time of trouble the emperor oi the Greeks and Romans would awake from his long tránce, overcome the Ishmaelites, place upon them a yoke seven times heavier, proceed to Jerusalem and there lay down his crown upon the cross and deliver his kingdom unto God. During a peaceful period of ten and a half years, Ethiopia would stretch out her hands unto God. Finally, Antichrist would arise, whom the Lord would destroy with the breath of His mouth, causing him to share in the deserved judgment. As to the time : the author sees the Saracens break forth as the last enemies of Christian Rome “ in the beginning of the seventh millennium, when the end of the world has drawn nigh, and time will not last much longer ” (Sackur, Sybill. Texte, S. 196־).
«/ Antichrist was not seen in the Saracens only, but ^during the great controversy about ijnag&jvorship in the Eastern Church, each party denounced, the other as Anti-Hirist or his forerunner. When Caliph Jezid demanded the removal of images from the Christian churches (723), some bishops stood with him, and Emperor Leo III (718741־) prohibited image worship. Patriarch Germanus, in exhorting the Emperor to desist, reminded him that whosoever “ thus forbids, is a forerunner of Antichrist Constantine V called a council at Constantinople (754) which denounced image worship as a relapse into heathen idolatry, Satan having smuggled it into the Church in the place of the worship of God in spirit and in truth. The council appealed to the second commandment, and also to Romans 1 : 23 f., and forbade the worship of images on pain of excommunication (Hefele, H.C. v. 267 f.).
During this controversy a body of Christians came to light whose chief aim was to perpetuate apostolic doctrine and practices. Constantine, their founder, having received (650) a copy of the New Testament, became greatly inter-ested in the Pajaline epistles, and resolved to do all in his power to restoTe^hristianity to its primitive Pauline form. After preaching the Gospel for twenty years he was stoned as Stephen of old. For centuries -the Catholics branded his followers, known as “ Paulicians ”, as the worst of
132 Till- IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
heretics, calling them “ the churches of Antichrist ”, to justify the terrible persecutions they carried on against them. Many of the charges against them had been dis-credited even before Prof. F. Ç. Conybeare found their “ Key of Truth ” in an Armenian monastery (1898). This manual âeclarcs (ch. 18): “ As the holy, universal and apostolic Catholic Church having learned from our Lord Jesus Christ did proceed ; so also must ye do after them. For they, 1. taught; 2. asked for faith; 3. in-duced to repent, and after that granted holy baptism to those who were of full age, and in particular were cognizant of their original sin.” Before baptism the believer had to be “ completely tested ”. Being an “ old form of the Apostolic Church ”, it rejected the mass, transubstantia-tion, the graded Catholic priesthood, the worship of saints, images, relics, etc. Persecuted by the Roman, the Greek, and the Armenian Churches, the Paulicians looked upon these churches as evil and Satanic. Manv died at the stake, but from 714-775, when the emperors were virtually Paulicians themselves, they had a remark-able growth. Afterwards the persecutions were renewed. “ Under the empress Theodora, one hundred thousand Paulicians are said to have been massacred. Tephrike, their stronghold, was captured (873) and their power was broken. The destruction of this great Protestant organization in the East was the death-knell of Oriental Christianity.” “ Their struggle was an heroic one, and the}' have well been called the ‘ Christian Maccabeans “ Finding refuge in south-eastern Armenia ... it there nursed its forces in comparative security under the protcc-tion of the Persians and Arabs, and prepared itself for that magnificent career of missionary enterprise in the Greek world” (Newman^ C.H. i. 379385־).
Large bodies of the Paulicians were settled by the emperors in Eastern Europe, there being nearly one hundred thousand sent to the Lower Danube about 970. From there they extended their missionary efforts to Western Europe, in new regions, perpetuating the “ church of the wilderness ” (Rev. 12), although under various names, and suffering martyrdom in Western Germany as late as the twelfth century. Elliot, Guinness and others
THYATIRA
133
consider the Paulicians the Eastern witnessesjor the Gospel. Conybeare	fesfifies : “It was no empty
vow of their elect ones ‘ to be baptized with the baptism of Christ ’, to take on themselves scourgings, imprisonments, tortures, reproaches, crosses, blows, tribulation and all temptation of the world ! Theirs the tears, theirs the blood shed during more than ten centuries of fierce persecution in the East ; and if we reckon of their number, as well we may, the early Puritans of Europe, then the tale of wicked deeds wrought by the persecuting churches reaches dimensions which appal the mind.”
In the West, Charlemagne, with the aid of his theo-logians, published the four Caroline Books, condemning both the iconoclasts and the worshippers of images, and scouting the idea that images are necessary to perpetuate the memory of Christ, for which the Scriptures are the outward proper means. In the council he called (794) the “ adoration and service of images ” was condemned. Agobard, archbishop of Lyons (810-841) also wrote a book against image worship. Claude, bishop of Turin (814839־), protested against the worship of saints, relics, the w7ooden cross and images ; against pilgrimages, masses for the dead, transubstantiation, the supremacy of the pope, and the authority of tradition in matters of doctrine : “ When, contrary to the order of truth, I found all the churches of Turin stuffed full of vile and accursed images, I alone began to destroy what all wrere sottishly wOrshipping. Therefore it was that all opened their mouths to revile me. And forsooth, had not the Lord helped me, they would have swallowed me up quick.”
The sad condition of the Eastern Church is apparent φο from the fact that the second Greek commentary on $1e Apocalypse was not written until the tenth century, when "Ârethas, also an archbishop of Cæsarea, wrote his work. He gives due credit to his predecessor, whose ideas he follows in viewing Constantinople as Babylon, for murderers nowr dwell in her. Her citizens strive with her ,ecclesiastical dignitaries after equal authority—thus kind-ling the Divine w rath more than ever ” (Migne, S.G. x. 487־ 786). He was careful to mention the Saracens as the heir of the Babylonian Empire.
134 T1IE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
Surely the abomination of desolation was seen in the East and in the West as the first woe. But as they repented not of their worship of images of gold, silver, brass, stone and wood, and persecuted the true Church on account of its purity and its protest, a worse and a second woe was in store for them—the Turkish Woe—of Revelation 9.
XXVI
CHARLEMAGNE WARNS AGAINST THE FOURTH BEAST OF —	DANIEL
When Emperor Leo III prohibited image worship, Pope Gregory II wrote him that the children of the grammar school would throw their tablets at his head for such a deed. The emperor in return declared himself supreme judge in civil and ecclesiastical matters, that the six general councils had said nothing about images, and threatened to destroy the image of St. Peter at Rome, and to imprison the pope. This threat the pope met thus : “ You assault us, 0 tyrant ! with a carnal and military hand. . . . But you will alarm me and say : I will send to Rome and destroy the picture of St. Peter and carry off Pope Gregory as prisoner as Constantine did with Martin. You must know that the bishops of Rome, for the sake of peace, sit as middle walls between the East and the West, and are promoters of peace. If you wish to lay snares for me, as you say, I have no need to contend with you. The Roman bishop will merely remove twenty-four stadia to Campania ; and then come you and persecute the winds.” “ The eyes of the nations are fixed on our humility; and t]jev yevere as a God upon earth the ׳apostle St. Peter, whose image you threaten to destroy. Tnc remote and inferior kingdoms of the West present their homage to Christ and his vicegerent ; and we now prepare to visit one of their most powerful monarchs, who desires to receive from our hands the sacrament of baptism. The barbarians have submitted to the yoke of the Gospel, while you alone arc deaf to the voice of the shepherd. These pious barbarians are kindled into rage ; they thirst
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TH Y ATI RA
to avenge the persecution of the East. Abandon your rash and fatal enterprise ; reflect, tremble and repent ” (see Gibbon, v. 258, 259 ; Hefele, H.C. v. 294 f.). At a synod called by Gregory IjL·¿ decree of excommunication was passed against whomsoever should thenceforth remove, destroy or injure images of Christ or of the saints. Leo retaliated by sending a fleet, cutting off the papal revenues in Southern Italy, and annexing Illyria to the patri-archate of Constantinople.
When the Lombards besieged Rome (738) Gregory III looked to the Franks^ who, led by Charles Martel, had defeated the Saracens and saved Europe fronTlstem, as his protectors. Thejpope sent Martel the golden keys of Peter, offered him tïïe titles of Patrician and Consul of Rome, imploring him : tc Close not your ears against our supplica-tions, lost Sj. Peter closç against you the gates of heaven.” It was not until the pope had bestowed the royal dignity on the family of his successor, Pepin, that this aid was granted.
Stephen III visited Pepin, accompanied by a numerous nyiirucV ahd, in order to secure success, took with him the |orgecl	X,Qfis.tautine, according to which that
i&^etor had bestowed upon Bishop Sylvester the city k)f Rome and some provinces, transferring his own seat to Byzantium, “ because it is not becoming that where the chief of the priests and the head of the church is placed by the heavenly Emperor, that there an earthly emperor exercise power.” Stephen obtained from Pepin the promise under oath, that the patrimony of St. Peter wOuld be restored together with the Exarchate of Ravenna (Mirbt Quelleiyqpai:». 22^232). As the Lombards, after their defeat, again soon renewed the war, the pope sent letter after letter, in the last of which he presumed to quote Peter’s own words, spoken to him : “ I, Peter the apostle, protest, admonish and conjure you. . . . The mother of God likewise adjures you ... to save the beloved city of Rome from the detested Lombards.” “ Of all nations under heaven, the Franks are the highest in the esteem of St. Peter, to me you ow7e all your victories, obey me speedily.” Pepin, defeating the Lombards, restored the disputed territory to the pope. When imperial delegates
THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
136
demanded the restoration of the exarchate, offering money in return, Pepin, with an oath, declared that the Franks had shed their blood for Peter and the salvation of their souls, and that he would not give back what he had prom-ised the pope for all the gold in the world. In this way the papal dominion was secured.	____^
Charlemagne^ influenced by jJdsyíorger¿? enlarged the [donatia^.jLie visited Rome five times Durin^ his last "visit, Christmas, 800, the pope, kneeling with the emperor i at the altar, pîàcecTa’ golden crown on his head, the multi-tude shouting : “ To Charles Augustus, crowned by God, the' greaVjpacific emperor of the Romans, long life and jvictbrjT Γ
^ Charlemagne’s greatest ambition was to uni^ the Teutonic and the Latia, races under his Itemporaisceptre ,closely linked up with the spiritual dominion of the pope, ״and thus to set up a Christian theocracy ·in full accord with the ideas sent forth ihAü¿U^^^^City of God”— a book that was his chief deEghtTextracts of which he had ‘,read to him during his daily meals (Ein^ar^x Vita Karol, 24). The Emperor considered the Frankish^state as the bailiff of St. Peter, and accordingly wrote Leo III : “ It is our office to defend the church everywhere with arms against the irruption of the heathen and the ravages of the infidels from without, and to strengthen her bulwarks by the recognition of the Catholic faith. But you, holy Father, should support us in our service with hands uplifted to God.” He decreed that whosoever refused baptism, offered heathen sacrifices, ridiculed church ceremonies, harmed any ecclesiastical person or property was to be pun-ished with death. Pope Hadrian congratulated the emperor time and again for his bloody victories “ gained only at the request of St. Peter out of gratitude for the restitution of his territory ”, and compared him with Constantine. Charlemagne rebuked the Byzantine ruler for calling him-self Roman emperor ; for “ the Roman empire, the fourth beast of Daniel’s vision, is the embodiment of all enmity against Christianity, and the place of the most expressive image worship ” (Hauck, K.D.G. ii. 331).
Charlemagne’s empire formed the keystone of ■Augustines millennial reign, as Prof. Wittig, a noted
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Catholic writer, sets forth (p. 66) : “ The Roman-Germanic empire, the idol of the medieval world, arises at Chnsttnas, 800, out of the ruins of antiquity. The dream of Augustine u’us^ccórdíng to thinking minds, realized—one God, one [emperor^ one pope, one city of God. The miiÏÏennial reign bf Christ had come. ־־.־. . For 1,000 years the name~0Tthe Roman-Germanic emperor remained on earth, until, in thel storm of the last days, it had to give way to new names and! powers. As it had developed slowly, so likewise it passed away. But we shall see that the millennial idea persists dike a law in church history.” Some historians call Augustine’s “ City of God ” the most ingenious^"hüT^Ko the most pernicious, book ever written. The popes, since ESo^T^airhed at á theocracy in which they would be the ;brilliant sun, with the emperor a mere satellite. This common goal was the germ of all future strife between popes and emperors.
During this change in the West a number of commen-taries appeared qnj:he Apocalypse. All followed the beaten traclrTôT Tychonïus and Augustine. The^Afncah ’Tishop, Primasms' who fled with Pope Vigilius (551), copied e^l^SWIy from Tychonius and justified his plagiarism by stating that an intelligent man would prize the value of costly gems even if he found them on a dung-heap. To him everything becomes an emblem of general conditions in the Church and its indeterminable future. This mystifica-tion and vagueness exhibited by Primasius became the, rule among the com1j1£ûi£tors of the Middle Ages. Thd Anglo-Saxon monk,j^eda^.1 who died 735, enumerated briefly the seven ruleTof^chonius, the most learned man among those of his sect, inasmuch as those who are desirous to learn receive great assistance from them for understand-ing the Scriptures, counting him “ a rose among thorns ”. Beda compressed his interpretation into short and clear sentences. He took into account the indolence of the English who cultivated the seeds “ remissly enough, so far as reading is concerned ” (Beda, pp. 3-9). His division of the Apocalypse into seven sections often served later interpreters as a pattern.
How some of the clergy looked upon the commentaries on the Apocalypse is illustrated by the experience of Abbot
138 the /impelling forge of prophetic truth
. 'ΓΊf,	'	~
lAnspert '־of Gaul, whose interpretation was attacked for *Being an addition to the Apocalypse and therefore contrary ,to Rev. 22 : 18. As Pope Stephen (768-773) protected Anspert by a decree, he dedicated his book to him. Through his use of copious extracts from Tychonius, PrimasiuSjJJregory I, etc., he managed to fill 250 folio pages. Alcuin,,' Charlemagne’s most noted scholar, was so favouramy Impressed wth Anspert’s work that in his explanation of Rev. 112־, lie simply copied him (Migne, S.L. c. .1087).
;^*׳^KotEe?"'voluminous commentary, written by Bishop HainacLoLHalberstadt (died 853), is in the main taken from Anspert. Haimo is the first, in explaining the three and a half days in Rev. 11 : 9, to cite Ezek. 4 : 4 and Num. *4 : 34 as a proof that these are prophetic days and .signify three and a half years.
A wonderful storehouse from which Tychonius’ and all other lost expositions of the Apocalypse can be reproduced, is the medley of y&tracts known as the commentary of the Spanish monk, (Beatus) He is known on account of his controversy with”׳A'rchbishop Elipandus of Toledo, who called him a “ disciple of Antichrist ”. Apparently many people of Spain believed that, seeing the millennium had begun in the days of Christ, as Augustine taught, and its duration was to be shortened, the Antichrist was_ near at hand. But Beatus somehow compared such to Cerinthus. Yet he himself tried to fix the year 6,000 as the definite year. Placing Christ’s birth as 5,202, and adding 784 years since that event, he concluded that only 14 years more remained (Com, p. 332 ; Introd. xxxviii.). He there-fore considered the question “ whereby the. Antichrist might be recognized and when his rule was to be expected ” ;so imperative that in explaining Rev. 13:7, he devotes an entire section to it (p. 443 f.). But behold the great distinctive sign of Antichrist, according to him : The promulgation of a strict law to keep the Sabbath of Jehovah ! “ Now if anybody is found in this time walking about on the Sabbath or doing any kind of work, he will be delivered up to Antichrist asa violator of the law. For, as said before, Antichrist will command that all men must observe the Jewish law or else suffer the penalty of death.”
139
THYATIRA
A Benedictine monk of the ninth century* Berenjaud, was the ־first, one who suggested that Antichrist woiud Be ian avowedinfidel and an advocate of licentiçui5H£ss^
¡ ^^Awo^líónóured for j;óq_ years by the widest use in the West ” was the notes and glosses on the entire Bible ¡written by Abbot .Wal^fried tvtrabo¿ who died in 849. ^Later on the ' noted j^er-XomBard^ quoted them^'a^ “ authority ”, and many accorded these a weight equal to the accompanying text in the Bible. Notwithstanding its size, nine editions appeared from 14721634־ (Migne, S.L.
^ 9uite significant that neither Strabo nor any other commentator for the next three hundred years attempted to fix the beginning .or the end of the supposed millennium.
The dream of Augustine was “ according to thinking minds ” realized in Charlemagne’s restored Roman empire, but not according to the mind of Satan nor the bishops of Rome. The popes, seeing in Charlemagne’s universal rule a splendid sample of Augustine’s “ City of God ”, aimed next to climb over the emperors to imitate it in their own supreme rule as Harnack (H.D. i. 7. n. 2) states : “ But the Mediceval Church from its origin (period of the migration of the nations) had absorbed into itself the Roman world-empire as an ided~dnd~as a fófce) and stood face to face with Uncivilised nations ; hence its aggressive character, which, moreover, it only developed after Charlemagne had shown it how the vicarius Christi on earth must rule.”
XXVII
“ MUST HE NOT BE THE ANTICHRIST SITTING IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD ? ”
The disintegration of Charlemagne’s empire favoured the growing-papal claim for supremacy. Much was due to the appearance of a mysterious book, containing a collection of ancient decrees, canons, epistles, ordinances—the so-called “ Pscudo-Isodorian Decretals”. It is “ the most colossal and effective fraud known in the history of ecclesiastical literature By a remarkable coincidence,
I40 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
its publication synchronized with the short sway of the energetic pope, Nicolas I (858867־), who first quoted and enforced some of these decrees. Concerning the contents Milman remarks (H.L.C. v. 4, par. 11) : “ Never had the power of the clergy or the supremacy of Rome been asserted so distinctly, so inflexibly. The privileges of Rome were eternal, immutable, anterior to all synods or councils, derived from none, but granted directly by God himself.”
The terrible conditions which prevailed in the Roman Church as late as^2*?re given by Baronius in his Annals : “ Never had divisions, civil wars, the persecution of pagans, heretics, and schismatics caused it (the holy See) to suffer so much as the monsters who installed themselves on the throne of Christ by simony and murders. The Roman Church was transformed into a shameless courtesan, covered with silks and precious stones, which publicly prostituted itself for gold ; the palace of the Lateran was become a disgraceful tavern, in which ecclesiastics of all nations disputed with harlots the prize of infamy. . . . Thus the tempest of abomination fastened itself on the Church, and offered to the inspection of men the most horrible spectacle ! ” From 896963־ not less than 20 popes occupied the Roman seat. That the tenth century was if possible worse, the same writer (Annals ad an, .goo, no. 1, 3) states : It “ was an iron age, barren of all goodness ; a leaden age, abounding with all wickedness ; and a dark age, remarkable above all the rest, for scarcity of writers and men of learning. In this century the abomination of desolation was seen in the temple of the Lord ; and in the See of St. Peter . . . were placed but monsters ”.
Cardinal Hergenrother (C.H. ii. 202) thus describes this period :	“ The Papacy under the Influence of Italian
Factions of Nobility (896963־).” “ With the death of Formosus (896) began^time of the lowest degradation for the Papal chair, such as it has never before or since experienced, _ Patty .strife. controlled it and'threatened to involve it in the barbarism of that time as all other thrones. !Within eight years there were nine popes, Boniface VI, !raised during a tumult, reigned .only^.fifteen days.” Dóllinger (Lehrbuch, i. 42 0 writes : “ The Papal chair
H1
THYATIRA
resembled one chained, who cannot be held accountable for the reproach which he must endure.” Satan, who, according to Rev. 13 : 3, 4, had already given to the papacy his throne of Rome and was to give him yet the supremacy over the kings of the earth by new forces, held the Roman bishop in worse chains than the Roman nobility did.
f A wonderful reform had silently begun since Qio in the convent' of^Quny. ^ Ancient as monachism was^The real monks had about^disappeared. When a lay-abbot entered a convent with his family, horses and pack of hounds, real monachism wras out of the question. The monks followed the example of their superiors.· Though they still attended Church service, yet they preferred games and sport. All the forgotten rules of Benedict were even intensified and celibacy was insisted upon, producing an entirely new spirit among the monks. But as the abomina-tions in general increased, there was a still greater expectation of the end of the world in the tenth century !when Augustine’s hypothetical millennium was to cease. Archbishop Hervé, of Rheims, declared at the synod of Trosley (909^that God’s judgment had begun, thatcc every moment the advent of Christ was impending in terrible majesty; ” (Mansi, xviii. 266). According to tlie^Hirsau CKiOmcle of Thnthemîüs (960) hermit BernhajS ^ of Thuringia appearecf^t the diet of Würzbirrg^^miirmíy asserted that the Lord had revealed to him that the last day was impending and that, the world would shortly be cou&umed. Even queens became concerned about the end. Queen Gçrbeiga of France, daughter pf Henry I, and wife of Louis IV, demanded that Abbot vAdso should give her information concerning Antichrist arid the end. He answered her by issuing a special tract (954) “ Concern-ing^tlm Origin and the Time of Antichrist ’’ (Migne, S.L. ci. 1291 seq.). This tract is strikingly similar *totïïat^of T^eu30-Methodius in some ways, though there is this cftïïerénce : Instead of the Byzantine emperor it would be a Frankish emperor who wOuld usher in the golden era of peace in the West. Antichrist w^ould be born through a devilish miracle in Babylon. The apostasy of 2 Thess. 2 is misinterpreted to be a falling awray of all nations from
I42 THE IMPELLjÿG^y&RCE OF PROPHETIC TfuTH
the Roman empire. However, as the Frankish kings were still upholding its name and dignity, this time was still future. Adsok. tract, so well calculated to lull to sleep inquiring minds, was circulated far and wide in innumerable manuscripts, and this false tradition about a stiljjhjturc Antichrist became the prevalent teaching of commentators.
Nevertheless the fine-spun theories of Lucifer to hide the real Antichrist and the new seven-hilled Babylon could not prevail against the glarmgj^ht ofprophecy and its evident fulfilment by “ monsters,” residing in Rome. Even contemporary dignitaries outside of Rome recognized in the pap^'àBïïmmïtTon the Iong-looked-for Antichrist, as the proceedings of a council held itTlS^ms^(992) proved. The rope Had been informed by King^ugn Capet of the summons, but never replied. The leading spirit of the council, the .Wsha^ofÓri^ns, made the following bold charge against the prbstTiutiSn of the papal office : “ In fact, Rome has much degenerated. After having given shining lights to Christianity, it now spreads abroad the profound darkness which is extending over future genera-tions. Have we not seen John plunged in ignoble pleasures, conspire against the emperor, cut off the nose, right hand and tongue of the deacon John, and massacre the first citizens of Rome ? Boniface VHa that infamous parricide, that dishonest robber, that trafficker in indul-gences, did he not reign under our very eyes ? ” “ To such .monsters, full of infamy, void of all knowledge, human and divine, are all the priests of God to submit : men distin-guished throughout the world for their learning and holy lives ? ” “ Though the Roman pontiff be seated on a lofty throne, glittering with purple and gold ; if he be thus without charity,/thus'-puffed up by vain knowledge, must he not be the ‘ Antichrist^ sitting in the temple of God and showing himself TkxI ? ’ Verily such a one lacketh both wisdom and charity ; he standeth in the temple as an image, as an idol, from which as dead marble you seek counsel.” “ But the Church of God is not subject to a wicked pope ; nor even absolutely, and on all occasions to a good one.” “ If it be true, as we are informed by common report, that there is in Rome scarcely a man acquainted with letters, with what face may he who hath
THYATIRA '־־׳־.
P *KS'	143
himself learnt nothing set himself up for a teacher of others ? In the simple priest ignorance is bad enough ; hut in the high priest-of TLqmc—in him to whom it is given to pass in review the faith, the lives, the morals, the discipline of the whole body of the priesthood, yea, of the tiniversal church, ignorance is in nowise to be ^olerated. . . . Why should he not be subject in judgment fo those who, though lowest in place, are his superiors in virtue and in wisdom ?... To speak openly this city has $ince the fall of the empire lost the Church of Alexandria, forfeited that of Antiochia and even Europe withdraws from her. The appearance of the antichrist seems to draw near. ... In Rome the power is shaken, the religion destroyed, the name of God is, without punishment, desecrated by numerous falsehoods. The cult of divine religion is even disregarded by. the highest priests.״ The ^ynod then chose the learned^g^adafflUfls.archbjsJhpp, who, j according to S chaff (Med. ChristTp. 290-2) was the^possible ; framer .of this femarkflbk speech..	J
This samefGerbert as Sylvester!^occupied the papal chair at the very time wherT(ÎTosheim, C.H. ii. 216, 218) the^ notion “prevailed of the^ini^díáfé' approach of the day:' °1S ment מ which vva^pasea on the wrong interpretation oFtheRevelation by Augustine. “ À1 most'alTthe donations that *weTTIfîîâde'Îb‘t'KeTKBfch during this century, carry Evident marks of this groundless panic that had seized fell the European nations, as the reasons of these donations |re generally expressed in the following words : I‘ Appropinquante mundi termino ” nie. Xthe end of the yorld being now at hand^etc.). (£Baronius^ fnnals on 1001 that the end of tEe^Wond “was first published in Gaul, preached in Paris, and then generally circulated throughout the whole earth ”.
When, through the influence of his pupil Otho III, Gerbert was crowned with the tiara^ issues took the same turn as in the times of Methodius, Ádso, and Haimo, and this the more so because the year	approached. ;
Indeed the significant name of TSyîvestcT ” reveals ' Gerbert’s intent to aid the emperor lncaYmhg out his ־ ütopian plan to re-establish a Græco-Latin empire, with Rome "as its capital, whence the Christian world would
144 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
be ruled as during the pontificate of Sylvester I, under 'frastanUneT To this end the emperor took up his residence on the Aventine Hill, and, at that time, the device, later shining on *imperial bulls, came into vogue : “ Rome, the head of the universe, holds and guides the reins of the orb ! יי The emperor’s whole attire, even to his gloves, had “ a mystical reference to the kingdom of God and his visible master ״. His robe “ was adorned with pictures out of the book of Revela^imT,־ the wild beast and the lewd woman, the book witlTseals, etc.״ (Strindberg, p. 233). That it was to their common interest to conquer Jerusalem the pastoral letter of the pope addressed to Europe proves. With the approach of the year 1000 the emperor was seized with the same deadly fear that held his contempor-aries : “In his melancholy he resigned himself to strict penance, castigations, pilgrimages to sacred places and to .hermits. He visits the grave of Charlemagne, whose ;golden cross he took and wore.” Hagenbach (H.E. ii. 190, tf.) in recording this says : “ a fearful foreboding of divine judgment. Commerce and traffic were at a standstill; in many places even the fields were no longer tilled.״ !But when emperor and pope had passed away in 1003, JBfe dream of a millennial kingdom to be established by ¿Jhem also vanished.
Somejresponsible leaders discountenanced this expecta-tion. Adso’s friend, Abbot Fkuftt, wrote to King Robert 2f^£ra5£eTr’“ In my youth 1 heard a sermon in^Raris totheeffêct that immediately after the expiration of the
1,000	years Antichrist would come., and, .shortly after, the Judgment would follow. I tried as well as I could to review t'hfe^prcdtetiori from the gospels, the Apocalypse and Daniel. Our blessed abbot Richardus also opposed the craze . . . for the rumour had. Jilk.¿. almost the.wh.01e earth ״ (Gallandius, xiv. 141). How Cluny tried to counter-acttKe sermM'n? Hauck (K.D.G. iii. 492) tells : When the monk S. Vaast inquired of heaven about the nearness of the last day, he received the definite answer in a vision : “ The Lord is not coming now.״ But as the prevailing foreboding of death revived more vividly the remembrance of the dead, Odilo of the same convent introduced (Nov. 2) the All Saints Day to pacify their fears. Ja. a. short time
145
TH Y ATI RÀ
the ejnir^-.Chiirrk ^daptprl ît ^fGfrôrer,.; C.H. Üi. 1625).
As A^i^sdne had left	of the 1000
years ^ptionaT—the news of tlje TOnquest of Jerusalem 1üy the Jurks .X1.ÔQ.9),. caused that again “ fear and con-sternation filled many hearts^ supposing that the end had cpme^T, During a terrible famine in 1033, which was considered to be the 1 oooth year after CnrisVs death, the same fear prevailed. ^ *1**between foob-ioXl^signs^f a remarkable religious tension manifested themselves among"uneasy''minds* Many, dissatisfied with the Church, fell into heresies ” (Gfrôrer* C.H. ii. 1623). F°r years after many were overwhefmecn)y a sense 0Î their guilt. Noble-men abandoned their castles and became monks, monks sought relief in the wildest deserts as hermits, where a rLewT)0Hy־guard was trained to further the claims of the papacy. The great multitude^ feltrelieved at the passing of thejdme.""’I^côrdîng* to .tj^eï^fCÎH. ii. 392) me 1 ChurcKes were everywhere reconStïtïït’ed ahd" *,״hr this period were erected the splendid cathedrals of Stras-bourg, Mayence, Treves, Spier, Worms, Basle ”. On the otnerhana a holy remnant in this Thyatira period, dis-satisfied with the dead formalism and corruption of the papal Church, separated, and being branded as heretics, found the burden of Jezebel heavy enough (Rev. 2 : 24). jT^ebolddeclaration a^JRJieims had set the, stone rolling 1	tion^sojt£gt honest minds began to look
iuponThe monsters at Rome as the abomination of desoía-tion, as* the man of sin, sitting in the temple of God as G^^nd Babyl on the Great, as the power predicted by Darnel,. Paul and Tohn. On the other hand, Jezebel’s false prophets were also training in.silent.çpaYÇ&îsJoohe ?¿EPort of false claims of supremacy.
XXVIII
KEEN MONKS WHO RENOUNCED THE WORLD SUCCEED IN RULING IT
/, Far-seeing*. secluded, silent and ascetic abbots of Qunv Jhgd with a vision of Augustine’s “ City of God י ydraa vent their energy to reform the convents and to train a
- — - -¿y
I46 THE IMPELLING FORC^ ^" PROPHETIC TRUTH
vast army of monks. The next goal of these Benedictines was a reform of the secular clergy, but their great aim was that some of their members should get control of the papal chair, and by reforming it, realize Augustine’s !!milennial kingdom in a universal ecclesiastical dominion. ¡Their wonderful success is thus described .by Dr. ,Harnack (H.D. vi. p. 24־) : “ The monastery of Clunÿjbecamç the ¡centre of the great reform whicE the cSlÍCTrín the West ¡passed through in the eloyepjth,. century. Instituted by monks, it was ap first supported against the solarized mquaHiism, priestEood and,.gag.acy by pious and prudent princes and bishops, above ah* by the emperor, jhe repre-׳^ntative of <30d on earth, .until the greafHildebrand laid *hold of it, and, as Cardinal ancTsuccessor of Peter, sepit in opposition to the princes, the secularized clergy and the empeñar.” “ What were the aims of this new movement wKidTtook hold of the entire Church in the second half of the eleventh century ? In the first instance, and chiefly, the restoration in the monasteries themselves of the ‘ old 9 discipline, of the true abnegation of the world and piety ; but then, also, first, the monastic training of the whole secular clergy ; second, the supremacy of the monastically trained clergy over the lay world, over princes and nations ; third, the reduction of national churches, with their pride and secularity, in favour of the uniform supremacy of Rome." “ From this there resulted a new kind of dominion ·over the world, which certainly became very like the old, for there is only one way of exercising dominion.”
However, before the monks who had renounced the world could, as reformed popes, rule the world and make even emperors subservient to their purpose, a terrible price had to be paid by them—the forfeit of their jjw.n integrity-—as Harnack (H.D. vi. 6) says :	“ Thus out
01The 'programme' of renunciation 01־"the world, and out of the supra-mundane world that was to permeate this world, out of the Augustinian idea of the city of God, and out of the idea of the one Roman world-empireT^an idea that had never disappeared, but that had reached its glorification in the papal supremacy, there developed itself the claim to world-dominion though the ruin of many
147
THYATIRA
an individual monk might be involved in making it. With sullied consciences and broken courage, many monks, whose only desire was to seek after God, yielded to the plans of the great monastic popes, and became subservient to their aims. And those whom they sum-moned from the retirement of the cloisters were just those who wished to think least of the world. They knew very well that it was only the monk who fled from the world, and would be rid of it, that could give help in subduing ·thç_world. Abandonment of the world in the service of the world-ruling Church, dominion over the world in the service of renunciation of the world—this was the problem, ancTthe ideal of the Middle Ages ! ” To aim at the world Y rule after having renounced the world, is so inconsistent that only by turning a false prophet can one accomplish it. Such a new power coming forth out of the silence of a convent, lamb-like in appearance and yet aiming as false prophets to rule the world fromJRome, again answers surely to the symbol in Revelation Ij' :	11-18. How
even emperors appreciated Cluny is shown By the fact that Henry II sent the golden globe—the symbol of the world empire—which the pope gave to him, to Cluny, because, in his opinion, that convent deserved it most.
How degraded the papal chair was as late as 1032, the following occurrence well illustrates. The Roman ■nobility elevated a twelve year old boy to the papal chair as Benedict XT “ This, devil on Peter’s chair ”, to use Bishop Hnfelcls. words (H.C. iv. 706), carried on rapine, iUUider and immorality in such a shameful manner that the nobility deposed him. Three candidates fought for the tiara,'but the Emperor Henry III supported the reform party of Cluny and removed the simonistic aspirants. Leo X, aided by Hildebrand the soul of the reform party, took the reform into his own hands. In order to free the papal elections of the imperial authority, as well as that of the Roman nobility, Leo created a college of cardinals from the most prominent members of the reform party. Their first blow was directed against the “ cecumen-ical ” patriarchs of Constantinople, who stigmatized the papal supremacy as “ the chief heresy of the latter days ”. July 16, 1054, the papal legates excommunicated the
I48 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
patriarch and his adherents, placing the bull on the altar of St. Sophia ; the patriarch replied by a synodical counter-anathema. Their next blow was carefully aimed against the imperial power. The emperor had thus far exercised-;the right to invest bishops and abbots with the staff and ring, making them nobles of the state; their warriors formed the imperial army ; and their estates were national property. In 1074 Pope Gregory VI condemned the matrimony of the clergy as Nicolaism (Rev. 2 : 6), and in 1075, lay-investiture of the clergy as simony. As the emperor continued to jjiv^s^ishops, the pope threatened excommunication. Tfenry IV in turn had the “ apostate monk” deposed from the apostolic throne, “ which he soils by his abominations ”. The pope called a council which he thus addressed : “ These are the coming and predicted days. . . . The forerunner of Antichrist has arisen against the church ; the dry harvest is about to be wet with the blood of the saints.” Then, pointing to a mysterious egg, around which a serpent coiled, but recoiled mortally wounded as it struck a shield, he inter-preted : The shield symbolized the church, the serpent answering to the dragon of the Apocalypse, was personified in the rebellious Henry, and its deadly agony, told the fate of the emperor ! Addressing St. Peter in person, he exercised his power of binding by forbidding Henry “ to meddle henceforth with the government of the Teutonic kingdom in Italy. I absolve all Christians from the oath of allegiance ... to serve him as king. I now anathema-tize him in thy name ” (Migne, S.L, cxxxv. 790). As the German diet also decided on the forfeiture of the throne if Henry" could not clear himself by February 1077, ^1c htrrmd־ Over the mountains with his wife and infant son in one of the coldest winters, compelled to pass through a hostile country, to spend three days bareheaded and bare-footed within the walls of Canossa, ere he was absolved.
The masses were thus “ set on fire to contend against, rihe secularized clergy and against simonistic princes in 1the whole of Europe”. According to Harnank,(H.TTrvi. 7, 8) the ardour of the ¿rus a des· was also “ the direct fruit of the monastic papaT^eiorm movement of the eleventh century. In them most vividly the religious
149
THYATIRA
revival which had passed over the West reveals itself in its specific character. On earth the supremacy of the Church must be given effect to. It was the ideas of the world-ruling monk of Cluny that guided the Crusaders on their path”. The reform pope Urban II inspired (1095) the Franks to lead out in the Holy War “ to deliver Christ ” by conquering the Holy Land and Jerusalem. “ A red, a bloody cross ” should be worn by all crusaders, who were to receive a plenary indulgence. From the beginning, the.Papacy saw; in the crusades a means of subjecting the Greek and the Armenian Churches, as well as Islam. Some 600,000 men enthused writh the cry “ It is the will 0T~fj0d ”, embarked. Jerusalem was captured (1099), some 40,000 crusaders being spared to proclaim Godfrey of Bouillon king of Jerusalem. As the new kingdom needed help, Bernard of Clairvaux, revered as an apostle and prophet, called for a second crusade with such assurance of success that the rulers of France, and Germany obeyed with still mightier hosts what they believed to be a Divine summons (1147). When this crusade utterly failed, Bernard attributed its lack of success to the guilt of the crusaders themselves. A crusade was also carried on against the pagan Wends, the battle cry being, acceptance of Catholicism or extermination. Ranke truthfully says (W.G. viii. 85) that the chief priest of Rome had placed himself at the head of the martial men of Christianity, “ crowned himself as it were as their emperor, and accepted through genuflection a twofold adoration ”, representing “ in himself alone the spiritual and the secular union of the nations joined together in the faith.”
In striking contrast to the growing power of the papacy without, stood its political weakness within. For years anthpopes fought each other, so that the Romans, tired of their corruption,^proclaimed a republic in 1142. The popular preacher, Arnold'of Brescia, fully convinced that the evils about him^îâ^Æeir" chief source in the papal greed for power, demanded that the secularized Church confine itself rigidly to spiritual functions. He declared Constantine’s donation a fraud. He became the terrof of tîuThierarchy. Pope Lucius II, meeting his death in 1154 during an attack on the capital, Eugenius III ob-
I50 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
tained possession of Rome by force of arms and “ the church of St. Peter wore so warlike an aspect that men beheld the tomb of the apostle surrounded with bastions and imple-ments of war ” (Neandcr, C.H. vii. 211).
With the accession of Frederick ..I (Barbarossa) the struggle between pope and emperor . began .anew. He tmiŸcî'hrd^^Kôme (1755), delivered up Arnold, and was thereupon crowned By the pope. Arnold was at once burned, and his ashes scattered into the’TiBer to prevent the people from keeping any relic of this faithful witness of the truth. Alexander III hurled the ban against Victor IV, denouncing this anti-pope as Antichrist inspired of the devil (SchrockhJC.H.^xxvi. 186). He also hurled the ;ban against ïïenry'TT of England and Frederick, who submitted in the most abject way at Venice (1177).
The constant strife between popes and emperors, and between rival popes for the supremacy, the papal anathemas and bans, the corruption and the simony of the curia, the many bloody wars even among bishops about disputed territory, and the disastrous crusades, aroused in many pious minds the conviction that the millennium of peace was ended, and that Satan had been unloosed. Thus we read in the “ booklet of Hymns of Praise ”, written 1095^: “ The church is the vessel beaten about on the ocean by the storm of simony. The dragon has begun the war against the church : Nero, the Anti-christ, sits in the temple and reigns at Rome. But the bride, the daughter of Zion, cries to her heavenly bride-groom for delivery ” (Hauck, R.E. xvii. 230). Bernard of Morlay, a monk living at Cluny in the twelfth century, wrote : “ We live in the last days. Rome is the impure city of the hunter Nimrod : piety and religion have deserted its walls. Alas ! the pontiff, or rather the king of this odious Babylon, tramples under foot the Gospels of Christ, and causes himself to be adored as God.” William of Corvey wrote : “ No two are fully agreed : it is a time when the child of perdition will be revealed.” Norbert of Xanten, later archbishop of Magdeburg, assured his friend Bernard “ that the present generation would yet experience the revelation of Antichrist ” (Hauck, K.G.D. iv. 89, 371). In his four books on “ Meditation ”
15!
THYATIRA
dedicated to Eugenius III, Bernard himself gave this sound counsel :	“ From neither poison nor sword do I
so much dread danger to thee as from the love of rule.״ In the papal palace the laws of Justinian resound daily, “ not those of the Lord ״. “ I read, indeed, that the apostles stood before judgment seats, but not that they sat upon them.״ “ None of them ever held a trial, decided disputes about boundaries or portioned out lands.״ “ Why intrude into another’s province ? ” Of Peter “ it is not known that he was ever loaded with precious stones or silks, conveyed about covered with gold on a white horse, surrounded by soldiers and bustling servants. In these things thou hast not followed Peter, but Constantine”. Against the unruly Romans should be employed not “ the earthly sword, but the sword of the word ”. “ Rem-member the threatenings of Hosea 8 : 4״ (Neander, C.H, vii. 212215־). Bernard wrote to the Romans: “Your fathers have subjectedLLe whole earth to the city, and you hasten to make it a laughing-stock to the world. . .. Rome, are you not a headless corpse, an eyeless face, a beclouded forehead ? ״ (Hergenrôther, H.E. ii. 453). No wonder that Bernard, commenting on Psalm 91 stated that the only thing still wanting to make the corruption complete was the revelation jof^the man of sin.
Provost ^erhoh'of Reichersberg also addressed (1150) ,to Eugenius ^TTnemorandum “ Concerning the Corrupt Condition of the Church ״. In another pamphlet u Con-cerning the Investigation of the Antichrist” (1160), he pointed out the traces hf antichristiamty found in the Church. He censures with astonishing frankness Rome’s shameful traffic with offices, and its greed for money, its misuse of the canons, the summons and the self-enrich-ment of the legates. He claimed that in the fight over the investiture Satan was unloosed, and that now the son of perdition must be traced. Since Gregory VII the greed ,of the curia had become so great that the whole world 1could not satisfy it. He wished that the fear-inspiring hand which once appeared on the walls of Babylon above the wild revelry, would appear above the abomination of the bishops, the base life of the clergy, and the squandering of their people’s possessions, As a true son of the Church
I52 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
he expected that the golden image of earthly kingdoms would be smashed, and its great powers broken up that they no longer could oppress the Church.
What the world thought of the Roman Church, John of Salisbury told his intimate friend Adrian IV, at his own request : Her leaders “ I have heard compared to the devil, who is thought to do good, when he ceases from doing mischief “ The Roman pontiff himself is, they say, a burden to all, almost insupportable. All complain that while the churches . . . are ready to fail or lie in ruins, while the altars are neglected, he builds palaces, and appears gorgeously attired in purple and in gold. The palaces of the priests are kept clean, but the church of Christ is covered with filth. They plunder whole provinces, asif they aimed at nothing less than the wealth of Croesus יי (Milman, I^.C. iv. 4, ch. 7).
Hilaegard of Bingen, highly esteemed by popes and prince<r~as a prophetess, predicted (1170) regarding the popes : “ Like ravenous beasts they catch us with their power of loosing and binding, and in consequence the church withers away entirely. They want to subject the nations of the earth but they yvill rise up against the popes and the rich and voluptuous clergy, and reduce them to the right measure of possessions. The loftiness of the popes, in whom religion can no longer be recognized, will be humbled by the people ; only Rome and a small -territory about it will be left to them ” (Baluze-Mansi, Misccll. ii. 444 seq.).
Characteristic of the popular conceptions of that time is the “ play of Antichrist ” (according to Gerhoh), performed by students. In contrast to Adso, a German emperor becomes therein the saviour in greatest distress. Both the East and France receive the mark of Antichrist without resistance, but not the Germans until they are misled by miracles. A new clement are the hypocrites, the new orders of monks in France, who form the army of Antichrist (Hauck, K.G.D. iv. 526 ff.).
153
THYATIRA
XXIX
THE ANTICHRIST
BIBLE CHRISTIANS RECOGNIZE THAT IS ALREADY AGED ’
Already, in thectwelfth century, Catholicism was bes£t all around by: heretics, “ who saw in the church’s powerful exercise of her dominion and the alienation of her gifts of grace, the features of ancient Babylon At an early date large numbers of Fgi^cjans also found their way into Western Europe.	missionaries found a
thousand ways to accompany returning crusaders and merchants back to tKHF Western homes. This fact is attested by the sudden and simultaneous outbreak of Paulician opinions all over the West. The bearers of the true doctrine appear under various names. Suggestive is the term Passagi^i¿ P^^^L-passengers or pilgrims derived from “ gass^ïïm; ”. Church historians agree that they were so calle3 Decause they hailed from the East. The name “ Canari also given to them, corresponds to the term **Puritans ”, that is, separated from the ,state Church to live a pure and holy life. As early as 1022, ten. of the canonical clergy were burned in Orleans for rteresy, “ denying holy baptism and the virtue of the cross, abstaining from foods and simulating chastity “ About 1040 the Patarini had become very numerous in Milan, and here they flourished for at least two hundred years.” “They particularly condemned pope Sylvester as Anti-christ. They called [the adoration of] the cross the mark óíythe beast” (W.‘Jones, C.H. i. 457). ,
At the same timeftfie great scholati^g^nvarof'Tours, ^tirred up the papal wrath by preachmg*tfe־־gospcI ana 'exposing the absurdity of transubstantiation. By 1087 he naa “ almost corrupted all the French, Italians and English His persecutors charged him with declaring in his commentary on the Apocalypse that Rome wasJ^the congr£gati9%i^׳’^^wic^ed5 and Satan’s seat ”. As early as	Peter Bruys, a former priest, baptized large
numbers o^^proTession of their faith. He was soon joined bySJHenry, of Lausanne, a Cluniac monk, very
!54 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
eloquent and popular. Λ great revival was the result of their preaching. They opposed infant baptism, the celibacy of the priests, prayers for the dead, transubstantia-tion, adoration of images and th^cross, regarding the Bible alone as their rule of faith. Bruys wasj^prped ana Henry died in^lisoii. Before the middle of the twelfth century the Cathari had so increased that the pulpits !everywhere warned against-them, and most of their evangelists were burned. A contemporary prior, Everwin, wrote Bernard that it was really remarkable ho\v^TKey suffered the tortures of the fire, not only with patience, but with joy they endured and overcame ”. Southern France and Northern Italy were filled with them. Even in Austria, in spite of terrible persecutions, they also gained* aloothold. The reason for their wonderful success is given us by Hauck, based on Everwin’s statements (K.G.D. iv. 8q3)T' 'Neither in the Hierarchy nor among the monks״*Svere the followers of Christ and the apostles to be found. But when one saw on the other hand, in the twilight of a cellar, or in the musty secrecy of a narrow and low weaver’s room an itinerant apostle of the ‘ good people ’, as they were called, teaching and praying in the small circle of pious ones, was not then seen a true follower of the Lord, face to face ? They were indeed the poor, called neither house, field, nor anything else their own, but, in accordance with the word of the Lord, they travelled without rest or pause from city to city, being persecuted like the apostles, and living like them, in fasting, hunger, and thirst, in prayer and much tribulation day and night.”
In fact, the spirit of protest against the corrupted Church never ceased, the scripture light of truth never went out entirely. Popular prejudice might succeed in enshrouding it as it were in a dark cloud for a time, but soon the light would break forth brighter still.
So .about 1170, we read of a rich merchant of Lyons, Peteri^Waldo, who, convinced and convicted by the power of the13tv1îïe Word, distributed his means to the poor, had the Bible translated into the vernacular languages, taught the people the word of life, urging them to turn from their sins. The archbishop of Lyonsjorbade their preaching, but they replied : “ We must obey God rather than men.”
155
THYATIRA
The/Ç^yncil (uT^^condemncd the heretics, called: CatEan, Patarini^TuDl1caru7 ancf decreed : “ Who-soever with the consent of the bishop takes arms against them, his penance will be shortened two years, and he shall be placed under the protection of the church, the same as the^rusaders.” At this council, messengers of the j^âldensians also appeared”־¡:¿' submit a copy of their translated Bible. They were dismissed as harmless ignor-amuses", but charged not to preach any more (Hefele, H.C. .V, 716).
stop their growth, emperor and pope united in IVeron^, (1j&3)~to declare all ^artharists^ Pat^mia the poor ortyons, the Passagines, Josephists, Arnoldists, Sabbat-i?ts, to be under perpetual anathema. The emperor first declared the interdict m the cathedral, then promulgated the imperial law against heretics, then the pope followed with the ecclesiastical decree. Bishops and priests were charged on pain of severe punishment to search out heretics —the beginning of episcopal inquisition. Earls, baronets, and governors should promise, under oath, that they would effectually assist the Church, or else be deprived of their charges, excommunicated, and their goods confiscated g(Hefele, K.G. vii. 726 seq.). King Alfonso of Aragonia ■issued a similar law in 1192. Yet in spite of all these laws, [French and German portions of the Bible were spread far :׳and wide, so that Bishop Hugh of Liege demanded their ^surrender that they might be burned (1203). In 1231, ‘the synod of Treves'"reported that German copies were in everybody’s possession (Hauck, K.G.D. iv. 901).
By the end of the twelfth century, the Poor Men of Lyons competed with the Catharists and “ outnumbered theni'very rapidly ”. Hauck (K.G.D. iv. 899 ff.) gives the reasons for their remarkable success : “ At first they never concealed their intentions ; on every road they were to be seen walking two by two barefooted, garbed in woollen mantles. The beginning of the persecution forced secrecy. They now travelled in all sorts of disguise as pilgrims, penitents, tradesmen or as harvest hands. They entered the hut of the poor as well as the castle of the lord ; every-where they knew how to find points of contact for their preaching, everywhere they made disciples.” “ In the
I56 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Waldensian circles, laymen were for the first time in the Middle Ages overwhelmed by the incomparable power of the great religious monument which the church possesses in the Bible. They extolled the preaching of their leaders ; according to their belief they did not listen to human beings, but to angels from heaven, yea, it seemed as though they were seeing and lisjeniag^o God himself.”
In her predictionsCIiildegardrof ,Bingen thus portrays these evangelists : “ Tne^SSf^ombine with the mightier princes of the world. In mean apparel shall they go ; full of meekness and composure of mind shall they appear ; by stimulating the strictest abstinence and chastity, shall they draw after them a numerous train of followers ; and to the princes shall they say concerning you (priests) : Why tolerate these people among you, who pollute the earth with their sins ? They live in drunkenness and revelling, and unless you drive them forth, the whole church will go to destruction. These people shall be the rod, which God will make use of to chastise you, and they shall continue to persecute you until you are purified from your sins. When this is done, then shall the princes discover the hypocritical character of these persecutors of the clergy, and fall upon them ” (Neander, C.H. vii. 295).
How well versed all these different “ heretics ” were in the Bible, is emphasized by the inquisitors themselves. That their “ knowledge ” also greatly increased (Dan. 12 : 4.) by the study of the prophetic worçl, is proven by their “ Treatise Concerning Antichrist ” (.1/20) (Hahn, ii. 8091־). This is the substance of its teaching i The Antichrist is a system of falsehood, opposing itself to the truth, adorning itself with a show of piety and with forms which are borrowed from the outer form of the Church of Christ with their names, services, scriptures, sacraments, etc. “ Although Antichrist was conceived in the times of the apostles he was then in his infancy, imperfect and un-formed, rude, unshapen, and he at length arrived at full maturity, when men, whose hearts were set upon this world blind in the faith, multiplied in the church, and by the union of church and state got the power of both in their hand. When one presumes to be able to regenerate, forgive sins, grant the gift of the Holy Spirit, create Christ,
JS 7
THYATIRA
(confeitar Christ), such an one is the matured man of sin, who exalts himself against all that is called God, opposes truth, sits in the temple of God—the Church—sets himself forth as God and who has come with all deceit for them that perish. As this wicked one has indeed come, he must be no longer expected ; yes, he has already aged, is failing, and his power has diminished. For the Lord already kills him with his mouth, through many well-minded men, and sends a power, opposed to his and to his followers, and destroys his city Babylon, in which all sort of wickedness flourishes.” “ Such wickedness, with all its servants, great and small, gathered into one unity, is called Antichrist or Babylon, the fourth beast, whore, man of sin, son of perdition. The servants of Antichrist are called false prophets, lying teachers, the ministers of darkness, the spirit of error, the apocalyptic whore, etc.” Ten deeds of Antichrist are then enumerated : Antichrist perverts the way of truth ; transfers worship belonging alone to God to himself, to worshipping saints, images, the wafer ; robs the Saviour of His merits and the sufficiency of His grace ; attributes works of regeneration to dead faith and external baptism ; places all religion in going to mass ; allows open sins without censure ; perse-cutes the saints.
Antichrist covers his iniquity in the following ways : By an outward confession of faith ; the length of his duration, the many doctors and the multitude of his followers, according to Revelation 11:7; the spiritual authority of the apostles, against their express words “ we can do nothing against the truth ”, and “ there is no power given us for destruction ” ; the numerous miracles which the apostles foretold in 2 Thessalonians 2 : 8, 9 ; an outward show7 of holiness, prayers, fastings, alms, fulfilling 2 Timothy 3 : 5 ; thus Antichrist veils his wickedness with a cloak, that he may not be rejected as a pagan or an infidel, but it is evident from many texts, especially from Revelation 18 : 4, that God commands His people to separate from him and to join themselves to the holy city, Jerusalem.
Next are mentioned six abominations of Antichrist, contrary to the apostolic faith ancTtS The ten command-
I58 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
ments. His fourth abomination consists in that “ though the fourth beast of Daniel and the apocalyptic whore, he embellished himself with the prestige of the true church, .its might and dignity, its Divine services and scriptures, compares himself and puts himself on a par with it ״. “ For the emperor, kings and princes, being of the opinion that he was like the true church, have loved him and en-dowed him richly against the Divine command.״
What these Bible Christians taught about the nearness of the end of the world, we see from the first lines of the “ Noble... Lesson ״, written 1,100 years after the writing of the New Testament:
" Hear, O brethren, a noble lesson !
Let us often watch and pray,
. For we see this world near its fall ;
;Let us be very zealous of good works,
!For we see this world approach its end.
Fully,1.100 years are already spent ;
Since the hour of the last time was written,
Desire but little for we have reached the remnant."
XXX
ON THE YEAR-DAY PRINCIPLE. ABBOT JOACHIM FIXES 1260 AS THE TIME OF THE END
The greatest influence upon the interpretation of the Apocalypse in the Middle Ages was exerted by Abbot Joachirri of Floris in Calabria. Born of rich parents about 1T45, he served as a page at the Sicilian court, and then made a pilgrimage to Palestine and became a monk, and, in 1180, an abbot. Trained by a most careful study of the Scriptures he began his comments on the Apocalypse. Three popes, Lucius, Urban and Clement, encouraged him to continue. About 1190 he retired as a hermit, and, supported by the emperor, he founded a new monastery at Floris, the rigorous rules of which were approved by Celestine III (1196). The order spread rapidly. According to Joachim’s own statement (Apoc. p. 39), “ one Easter night the whole richness of meaning in the Apocalypse and the agreement of the Old Testament with the New
THYATIRA
159
Testament was made perfectly clear to him by a Divine revelation. It had seemed to him as if a flood of dazzling light had all at once streamed in upon his soul. And hence he could say to the Abbot Adam of Persigny, in Rome that he understood all mysteries of the Holy Scripture with the same clearness with which the Biblical prophets themselves had understood them ” (DplUnger, Prophecies, p. 107). According to Roger de Jaovaen s narration, Richajxl the Lion-hearted called Joachim to Messina, just before starting on his crusade, in order.-ta-hear.. Lis !interpretation of the prophecies. Joachim interpreted the seven heads as so many persecutors ; Herod, Nero, Constan-tius, Mohammed, Melsamut had fallen, Saladin was then, and Antichrist would quickly close the list, as Saladin would in a short time lose the Holy Land. To Richard’s question, “ When shall this be ? ” Joachim replied : “ When seven years shall have elapsed from the day of taking Jerusalem.” Then the king said, “ Why have we come nere so soon ? ” to which the abbot replied : “ Your coming is very necessary; because the Lord,,will give you the victory over his enemies, and will exalt your name over all the princes of the earth.” In this statement the king and his followers naturally took great delight. Richard then referred to the popular belief that Anti-christ, born in Babylon, was to come out of Dan, die after a reign of 3 J years, and then God would grant 60 days of penance ere the end. But Joachim insisted in spite of the objections raised by the bishops present that Antichrist was already born in Rome, and would soon be elevated to vthe Roman See. (See |£lliqt,_ iv. 418, 419.)
Joachim composed tliree noted works: “Concord of the Old and New Testaments ”,	“ The Psalter on Ten
jQhords ”, and “ The Remarkable^Exposition of the Apocalypse ”, the latter printed in TJ27 at Venice, having Y.ÇS J0u.sjna 11 pr int.	Neander 7C.H. vii. 296) well
describes the spirit of his worlcTT^^bacmm ct was inclined to look upon the imperial power of Germany as the one to be employed in executing judgment on a corrupted church, but neither could he forgive it in the popes that they had taken refuge in France. Grief over the corruption of the church, longing desire for better times, profound
160 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Christian feeling, a meditative mind, and a glowing imagination, such are the peculiar characteristics of his spirit and of his writings״.
What he ihoughL-oLtlie Catholic Church is shown by his statements in his “ Concord ״, page 53 f. : “ The church of Christ, which was once full, is now empty ; for although she now seems full of people, yet they are not her people, but strangers. They are not her sons, the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, but the sons of Babylon. What profits the name of Christ, where the power is wanting ? The church is, as it were, widowed ; there are but few or no bishops, who, to save the flocks, expose them-selves a prey to the wolves. Every man'seeks his own, and not the things of Jesus Christ.״ “Where is there more contention, more fraud, more vice and ambition than among the clergy of our Lord ? Therefore must judgment begin from the house of our Lord, and the fire go forth from His sanctuary, to consume it ‘ that the remnant, may perceive what will be done with them, when he spares not even His sinning children ’.״ There were to be three ages of the world : Peter and Paul, with their restless activity, represented the first two, and John, in his contemplation, completed the third. As John survived the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, so, when the clergy suffer martyrdom in the conflict with Antichrist, the order of contemplative monks or spirituales prefigured by Jesus, would alone survive. It was probably “ already existing in germ, but as yet it could not be observed because tlie beginnings of a new creation are ever wont to be obscure ״ (Apoc. p. 77, 83). The Holy Spirit would especially work in the third age, that humanity might honour Him. But the knowledge of the Holy Spirit comes from His gospel, which is called “the eternal״ (Rev. 14: 6, R.V.) and otherwise “ the gospel of the kingdom ״.	“ This spiritual
gospel ״ is enduring, everything else is temporal. By this gospel people must be born again, and only such will enter the promised land (p. 95c). The spiritual under-standing of this gospel proceeds from the Old and the New Testaments (p. 9a). According to Revelation 14; 6, a contemplative, righteous, wise spiritual order of men must arise to proclaim this eternal gospel to the entire world
161
THYATIRA
whereby the Greeks will be reunited, and almost the whole world will be converted (p. 27a).
He next proceeds to build up his political programme of the world by trying to establish a concord between the two Testaments, and a correspondence of certain events during seven periods answering to the seven seals. The first time, from Abraham to Moses, corresponds to that from Christ till John’s death ; that of David till the time of Constantine ; till Hezekiah corresponds till Charle-magne ; and the time of Judah’s captivity answers to the captivity of the Roman Church under German emperors until Henry I. But Babylon’s fall foreshadows the fall of the German Empire, and the deliverance of the Church.
Having established the correspondence of events, he tries to set forth a correspondence of time. The 42 genera-tions of the Old Testament are a type of 42 generations in the New Testament, for if we count 30 years to a generation we have exactly 1,260 years which answer to |the 1,260 years of the New Testament persecution, and thus Matthew 1 : 17 fully concords with Revelation 11:3; 1£; 5. He arrived at this accord by acknowledging the ^ear-day principle. Thus he says (Apoc. p. 131) Γ “ Some-Tmes^Vday in the Scripture^isNvont to designate a year.” Again, (cc Concord/* ii. 16 and v. I18) he writes : “ A day is undoubtedly taken for à year, and 1260 days for so many years.” Upon this principle he not only counted the five months of Revelation 9 : 5 as 150 years, but also the 1,260 days as 1,260 years—the end of which he thought wOuld be the end of time.
" Joachim fully realized the importance of this conclusion, for he adduced all the prophets, all the historical types of the Old Testament, and all the historical fulfilments in the New Testament, in order to demonstrate the firmness, the wonderful agreement of the prophetic word, and the correctness of all his collected evidences. His statements reach their climax at the conclusion of “ Concord ” (ch. 93) ' in the great stress he lays on Daniel 12 and Revelation 10. God Himself has affirmed to Daniel the end of all these ^wonders at the end of thej,260 years, and in a similar way after the sounding of the 6tn trumpet by the oath of a mighty angel, “ that there shall be time no longer,
M
162 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, then is finished the mystery of God ”. “ 0 wonderful concord ! ” We can solve only what has been reveafeï to "us. “ These 42 generations,^eaj^of_jc^yja^^	years,
and are called 42 months, 1260 days, or 3! times.” “ This so solemn־ nüïnbër brings on ‘ the ' cÔnWmmaïïon* sooner than one expects.” “ We should flee to the ark before the great day arrives and grace still lingers. Not I fix the end in such manner, but the Lord Himself by the 3^ times.” “ After this we have searched from the beginning of this work, and there we have landed.” “ Do you ask me what Daniel asked of the Lord, 4 0 my Lord, what shall be the latter end of these things ? ’ Then 4 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the 1335 days’—another thing I say surer, that after the finishing of this mystery, the seventh angel will sound, during which all the sacred mysteries in the Bible will be finished, and there will be a time of peace in the whole earth.” He uses similar words in concluding his introduction (p. 9) :	“ The opening
of the sixth seal, begun in recent times, will bring in a few years or days the consummation. Thenceforth will be the Sabbath—the blessed time, in which 4 the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea
Joachim made good use of Tychonius’ animated applica-tion to questions of the day, but with this difference— that the oppressed Roman Church took the place of the oppressed Donatists. As the latter expected the proclama-tion of the everlasting gospel to all the world just prior to the advent, so Joachim expected its world-wide pro-clamation by a new monastic order “ which would refresh the earth in the time of the end like a heavy rain ”. For the basis of the first four seals, trumpets, plagues and heads of beasts, he used the apostles, martyrs, doctors of the Church, and virgins, in contrast to the Jews with Herod, the Romans, Arians and Saracens. The four ages he ends about 800. The fifth age (8001200־) he ended with his own day. The Roman Church, harassed by the Saracens in the East, in Mauretania and in Spain, was the altar of the fifth seal, and its simple-minded members, seduced and even bought with money, the prey of scorpion-locusts,
TH Y ATI RA
I63
the Patarines, “ the dregs of all heretics ”. The rushing of the wings signifies their noisy arguings from the Scrip-tures : the five months of their commission, probably so many generations of 30 years each, as is “ sometimes a day used for a year. For it is long since the sect first began ”. In the woe angel he sees Gregory the Great who wrote so much and earnestly about the end, but God in mercy prolonged the time of probation. As to the sixth age (12001260־) there Avere all sorts of indications of its approach. The Saracens would unite with the Jews and the Patarines, and already such an alliance is under way. Likewise there are signs for the drying up of the Euphrates or the wasting of the imperial power, for as a prelude, Frederick I crossed the sea with multitudes, but returned with a mere remnant. As to the eating of the little book, John represents the monastic order, when, enlightened by the spiritual exposition of the messengers of truth, they preach the gospel of the kingdom. Revelation 13 describes the secular and spiritual power of Antichrist. During the time of the first crusade the Saracen supremacy seemed wounded to death. “ But now it is revived, and is as terrible as ever.” Either Saladin or some other prince is to execute the judgment, described under the sixth seal, against Rome and the Latin empire, and break it into ten parts. But with the help of the new order of contemplative monks these foes will be overcome. Then the Antichrist will stand up, probably a universal bishop of the Patarines, w״ho will sit in the temple of God. Christ or His vicegerent will seal the saints. The greatest sufferers under Antichrist will be the 144,000 living in a virgin state. Numberless Christians will perish in the struggle until Christ’s coming brings the victory. The seventh seal would bring the seventh age, the great Sabbath, the Millennium, the age of the Holy Spirit.
In order to let Augustine’s misinterpretation of Revela-¿ion 20 drop out easily, Joachim wrote :	“ Whether
Enrisrs coming is to be at the beginning or end of this Sabbath time, has seemed to some doubtful, but both Christ’s and Paul’s own words jseem to fix it at the com-rneffcement,” The first resujrectioi^he:conceived^to bea ’real ¿ne, at which the saints at once enter into life eternal,
164 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
without that terrible ordeal of the great judgment (Apoc.
So. 212). Bousset (Offb,. S. 75) emphasizes this fact: £ Joachim JioJj^	of Revela-
ion 20, in spite of ^gustine?s^different view.” rt With him he exposition^ pX the^Apocalypse attained new life, his booh3e.çam£-.popular among all who searched for the signs of the times. That the commentary enjoyed a tremendous success in subsequent time is due to two circumstances. First the apocalyjrác-^iK^	of
the time was favourable to tKe note sounded therein. Also the exaltation of monasticism was opportune. But what mere chance contributed the most was that the monastic order, desired and predicted by Joachim, really came. Not long after, the Franciscan order was founded.” Newman says (H.C. i. 552) : “ A large body of apocalyptic J1terature,Tn addition to his own products, became asso-ciated with his name, and his influence in later enthusiastic chiliastic movements was very great.” “ Such a spirited programme announced by himself and his disciples with, the utmost confidence and enthusiasm, naturally caused intense excitement.”
v It is indeed remarkable that c< immediately after the ;Christian era had so far advanced as to ׳allow.the year-day IprmH^^eing applied to the 1260 days’ prophetic period, without^Jadng^	advent necessarily at a
distance ”, this renowned abbot, deeply impressed by the solemn Divine oaths in Daniel 12 and Revelation 10, steps forth with a definite application. He compares himself with Jonah of old, too fearful to give his message, and yet he is urged on, because otherwise “ woe ” would be unto him. In the very presence of the papal chair at Rome, which cityTie regamecTaTs1 Babylon, he combats the love of the world and the disregard of the time of the end, which would mark the beginning of the perfection of ail Christians. This abbot, so closely attached to the papal See that he charged his own monks to publish none of his manuscripts'ldter his death without the consent of the papacy, never dreamed that his exposition designed as a mighty weapon against the increasing heretics, wOuld become one of the most dangerous weapons in the hands of the spiritual monks against the carnal papacy.
165
THYATIRA
“ The news of the appearance of a prophet like Joachim caused already during his lifetime—he died 1202—great excitement, even in the distant north, and even where his writings were still unknown ” (Dollinger, “Proph.” p. 108). ^fiante (Par. xii. 130 seq.) considered this abbot worthy 6f a place in paradise:
“ At my side shines Calabria’s abbot, Joachim, endowed with soul prophetic.”
XXXI
ARCHBISHOP EBERHARD AFFIRMS THE PAPACY FULFI.L_S.
DANIEL SEVEN
; Under Innocent III “ the papal power rose to its [utmost heîgïiTy^îie Ava's the ¿1st to use the title ‘ Vicar of jTesus Christ or ‘ of the Sq^of^God or c of almighty Uod or also ‘ Roman pope, who sùpplies not the place of mere men on earth, But of very God ’, and binds and looses with divine authority ’ ” (Dollinger^ Paps turn S. 66 f. N. 105). Already in his inaugural"sermon he asserted his dignity as the vicegerent of Christ, less than God, more than man. The priesthood is a Divine institution ; the worldly powrer is founded upon the presumption of Nimrod (Baluz. i. ep. 209, 218, 294).
One of Innocent’s first acts was to summon the kingSj to_another crusade, which resulted in the establishments of the Latin Lmpire and Patriarchate, but only intensified the hatred of the Greeks. When the pope spoke, the world had to submit. As the guardian of Frederick II he spoke the final word in German and Italian affairs. The princes of Aragonia, Portugal, Hungary, Bulgaria considered themselves papal vassals. Philip of France had to take back his divorced wife, and John of England was forced to the very lowest, pitch, of degradation. Innocent III was really the king of kings, in whose lustre the princes basked.
His great aim was the extirpation of heretics, whom he called “ locusts^, “ scorpions ”, people who offer “ snake-poison ” in Babylon’s golden cup. Otho IV and Frederick II had to pledge their wrord to Innocent that they would
166 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
extirpate the heretics, and he exhorted Louis VI1 of France to unite his royal sword with the papal arm against the Albigenses. He stirred up. .the. crusaders with these words : “ Go on, ye brave warriors of Christ, resist the : predecessors of Antichrist, fight with the servants of the ן old serpent. . . . Fight now for eternal glory ! Fight jthe beasts of the desert, who, like locusts, overrun the [surface of the earth ” (Hahn, i. 5, 195, 205).
\ In the zenith of his power he held one of the most brilliant of councils at Rome (121^). The opening address he gave emphasized his interpretation of Ezekiel 9, as meaning that the pope is the man clad in linen, who must pass through the midst of the Church, to seek out the righteous, and set a mark upon them. The six men with the destroying weapons denote the bishops who punish all not thus marked, with the ban and with death. Making use of Revelation 13:13, the pope said : “ Since the time of Gregory, Mohammed, the son of perdition, has arisen, whose perfidy has grown until this time. But we trust in the Lord, who has given us a sign for good that the end ,of the beast approaches : its name is contained according to the Apocalypse in 666, of which 600 years have already expired ” (Harduin, vii. 3, see Elliot, iii. 257)· This error of seeing in 666 that many years has perpetuated itself ever since.
The contest between pope and emperor over the supremacy waxed hottest under Frederick II, and ended in 1268 with the extermination of the Hohenstaufens. The controversy arose on account of Frederick’s promised participation in the crusades, which he delayed to fulfil, and so Gregory IX pronounced the ban against him again and again. When the emperor finally started, public favour quickly turned his way, especially after he had concluded a ten years’ truce. Many of his subjects thought as did Magister Markwart of Ried : “ The pope is the heretic, and not the emperor.” When Gregory pronounced the ban anew (1239) t^e emperor wrote his nobles : “ The wickedness of Babylon proceeds from the elders of the people whom they seem to rule ; but who change judg-ment into bitterness, and righteousness into wormwood.” In the ensuing struggle for life and death, Gregory replied :
167
THYATIRA
“ A beast has arisen out of the sea (Rev. 13 : 3ff.) full of names of blasphemy ... it opens its mouth to bias-pheme the name of God, and ceases not to attack his tabernacle and the saints in heaven with similar darts. No one needs to be astonished that they have also hit the pope, since it tried to eradicate the name of the Lord from the earth ; but everybody should carefully inspect the head, the middle and the lower end of this beast, the so-called Frederick, and set truth against his horrible words, blasphemies and deceptions. Princes and bishops, how-ever, might rejoice, that this shadow of death, who likes to have himself named the forerunner of Antichrist, removes with his own hands the partitions hiding his abominations, and in his letter of defence, brings to light the words of darkness by the claim, that he could not be excommunicated by us, the vicar of Christ. Thus he heretically denies the church the right of binding and loosing.	Furthermore, this * king of pestilence ’ has
apparently asserted that the whole world had been deceived by three impostors, Christ, Moses and Mohammed, and that everybody is a fool who believes that the creator has been bor$ of a virgin.יי
Frederick emphasized in his reply that the eternal providence had indeed instituted priesthood and imperi-alism, as sun and moon, for the maintenance of peace ; ct~But he who sits injthe cathedral of false doctrine, the pharisee, who has Teen anointed with the oil of rascality more than his associates, the present pope, tries to weaken what has its source in the imitation of the divine order. He wants to darken the glory of our majesty, by accusing our faith in writings full of lies. He, pope only in name, has called us the beast rising out of the sea, but we claim that he is the monster of which we read in Revelation 6. 4 : ‘ another horse came forth, a red horse, and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another.’ For from the time of his elevation this father of dissensions, the promoter of devastation, has provoked the whole world to anger. To interpret his words rightly he himself is the great dragon, which deludes the whole world ; the Ainichrist, of whom he calls us the forerunner; the otKer Balaam,
168 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
hired by money to curse us ; a prince by the prince of darkness, who had abused the prophecies.״ Frederick then makes a confession of his orthodoxy that he considers Moses as God’s friend, a worker of miracles, and that he learned of Mohammed that his body hangs suspended in the air possessed with demons. Imperial fortune has always aroused papal jealousy, and if this bellowing adversary is not stopped, he will avenge himself v7ith the sword^Schrockh^^H.E^xxvi. 363 ff.).
. Gregory now preached a crusade against the emperor, -piOmising full remission to all participants in it. The majority of the German bishops stood on Frederick’s side, and were therefore put under ban with him. Among them was Arcl^ishop Eberhar¿j0f Sajzburg, a chief coun-sellor to the emperor. At	of Bavarian bishops
held in Regensburg ^12|1), Eberhari clearly set fôïth the ^wonderfuYfulffiment of the'^p?Spïecy"ôTthe little horft,of ^Daniel in a ^ brilliant oration.	in
; collecting his noteTañnals àt theTe^ïïmg 0Tthe sixteenth 1century preserved this speech in the Bavariaii Annals (lib.-wür ·eh^-5) ; Gieseler (H.E. in. 104, 105) quotes the first part. We give”*the substance^rthe whole :
“ If we are not blind, we will see the most ferocious wolf under the title of pope and the shepherd’s garb. The Roman priests have taken up arms against all Christians : by audacity, deception and by stirring up wars, they have become great. They butcher and kill the sheep : dispel peace and concord on earth, stir up internal wars and domestic dissensions through their inferiors, daily weaken everybody’s strength more and more, so that they deride all the leaders, and devour and enslave the whole. They want us to strive against the Divine majesty, the heavenly providence, nature itself, by setting themselves in opposition to the highest majesty instituted by the supreme God. The foundations of the antichristian empire were first laid some 170 years ago by Hildebrand under the form of religion. This nefarious war, begun under favourable signs, is continued by his successors. Believe one who knows, they will not stop until the emperor has again been subordinated, the dignity of the Roman Empire vanished, the true shepherds who lead to good pastures
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THYATIRA
oppressed, removed by rapacious dogs, so that they may in this manner exterminate and kill everything. For this reason they want to disturb and confuse everything. Those Babylonian priests wish to rule everything alone. They cannot endure equality, nor can they desist until they have trodden everything under foot, sit in the temple of God, and are exalted above all that is worshipped. Their hunger and thirst after riches is insatiable ; the more you permit their greed, the greater become their hanker-ing ; give them a finger and they take your hand. We all have become worse through their licentiousness. The :servant of servants wishes to be lord of lords, as though he was God himself. He issues new decrees that the king-dom is his own, changes the laws, institutes his own, desecrates, tears down, plunders, deceives, kills—this son of perdition, who is called the Antichrist, upon whose forehead the name of blasphemy is written : I am God, I cannot err, in the temple of God he sits and rules far and wide.
“ But it is written in the mysteries of the Holy Scrip-tures : ‘ None of the wicked shall understand ; but they that are wise shall understand.’ The Roman name was mentioned already long ago. The sayings of the prophets have denounced it under other terms, but so that every-body could understand them. The majesty of the Roman people, who once ruled the whole world, has been taken from these lands and the empire has reverted to Asia : the orient will again rule, and the occident will serve. After the highest power of the government has been distributed, parcelled out, yea, I should rather say, torn apart by the enlargement of the empire, domineered by civil dissensions, we experience no rest from calamitous wars. Emperor is only an empty name and but a shadow. Ten kings now exist simultaneously, who have divided the. orb, or rather the Roman Empire, not to govern, but to destroy it : ten horns, incredible though it seemed to Augustus, the Turks, Greeks, Egyptians, Africans, Span-iards, Gauls, English, Germans, Sicilians, Italians, possess the Roman provinces and have extirpated the Roman inhabitants in them. A little horn has grown up from among them, it has eyes and a mouth, which speak
I70 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
great things ; three of these kingdoms, particularly Sicily, Italy, and Germany, it subordinated to itself, and forces them to serve him : it tortures the people of Christ, the saints of God, with its unbearable domineering, mixes divine with human affairs, and has abominable and damn-able intentions. How could this prophecy be manifested more clearly ?
..~”~Α11 the signs and wonders which our Divine Master
has foretold us (read the annals) have already been ful-filled. The whole world is full of unrest, everywhere wars are raging, all nations are armed and fight each other. The most remote states are at war among themselves and the kingdoms in turmoil. Countries perish altogether, not only by iron and fire, but also by continuous earth-quakes, great floods, and frequent plagues and famines. Everywhere remarkable signs are happening—the comets, the darkened sun, the colour of the moon, falling stars, in unnatural and unexpected ways the heavens overspread with blood fill the minds of the people with great terror. Sword, fire, famine and disease assist the wrath of God against men. Yet the wicked do not acknowledge the righteousness of God. They become ever more enraged, and although they have eyes, they do not see.”
At a poorly attended council in Lyons (1245), Gregory then called upon the assembled fathers “ to eradicate the name and offspring of this Babylonian who has proved himself a mighty hunter after unrighteousness before God and a prince of lies. Hurl him to the ground in the sight of the kings, that they, at the sight of it, may be filled with fear not to follow him ”. Frederick then appealed to the princes “ to bring back the clergy of every rank and es-pecially the highest to the simplicity of the first Christian church ”. At the death of Frederick, the pope wrote that “ the heavens should exult and the earth rejoice ”. No longer did this emperor “ the hammer of the world ” and “ the destroyer of the earth ” stand in the way of papal supremacy (Oncken, ii. 6, i, p. 651).
During the uncompromising warfare between the pope land the emperor, the *idea that the pope was the Anti-?ichrist found a ready soil in Germany. . JCritold, a Dominican, ;addressed a leaflet to all the faithful, !upraised Frederick
I71
THYATIRA
as a man bent on the reform of the church. On the other hand, he claimed that according to a divine revelation, the papal party were heretics, who denied the faith by their works. They should be divested of their honours and excluded from the society of the faithful. In fact, loyal cities “ banished the whole pack of priests ; the expelled clergy wrere derided with the farewell admonition : ‘ Go to your pope, he is rich in booty V’ Another anony-mous writer computed the Latin and Greek numerre¿! value of Innocentius Papa as 666. Innocent IV was to him the revealed Antichrist ; Frederick1Í" tkeTexecutor of .the Divine punishment. Another exclaimed in his appeal : “ Arise, arise, ye kings of the earth, arise princes and nations ! Open your eyes and see ! Extirpate this infected crowd, which confuses and defiles the whole world. Renew the holy Church which is desecrated by this sacrilege, and give the vineyard of the Lord to better husbandmen, who press out wine and not poison. Purge the Christian faith from the old leaven of wickedness and rascality ” (Hauck, K.G.D. iv. 856 f.). Hauck adds : “ No former str1fe~so deeply shook the prestige of the church as this struggle of the popes with Frederick II. While they believed that they were gaining the world’s supremacy by the destruction of the imperial dynasty, they began to lose their own sway over the minds of the people.”
A most resolute protest against the corrupt papal practices was raised by one of its leading dignitaries in England. Robert^Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, renowmed for his learning anÎTmTÎ3)Hife, very frankly expressed his feelings in a memorandum “ Concerning the Corrup-tions of the Church ”, during his visit at the papal court in 1250. This was read before Innocent IV. The infidelity, dissensions, heresy, and the corrupt life he attributed to the false shepherds, who, though they appeared in the garb of angels of light, were indeed Antichrist and Satan, because they did not preach the Word. “ And the guilt of the whole ”, he said, “ lies at the door of the Roman court ”, “ because it itself, by its dispensation, provisions and collations appoints such shepherds ; and thus in order to provide for the temporal life of an individual,
172 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
expose to eternal death thousands of souls Popes should only be obeyed as far as their commands were according to the will of Christ, but if obeyed against Christ’s will, then “ comes the true and complete apostasy—the time of Antichrist ” (Neander, C.H. vii. 249).
The" minorité, A. Marsh, sent (about 1250) passages from Joachim to Grosseteste “ in order that he might know whether the sentence of punishment pronounced upon prelates and clergy, princes and people, would soon take effect ” (Dóllinger, “Proph.” p. ill), hmocent tried to thrust his own nepliew upon Bishop Grosseteste to enjoy a rich benefice. But he refused him and wrote the pope : “ Next after the sin of Lucifer, which shall be in the latter time (to wit, of Antichrist), there is not, nor can be, any kind of sin so repugnant and contrary to the doctrine of the apostles, and to Holy Scripture, and so hateful, detest-able and abominable to . . . Christ as to destroy and kill men’s souls.” “ It is impossible therefore, that the . . . apostolic See can command, bid or in any way attempt anything tending toward wickedness. For this should be a great waste, corruption and an abuse of this most holy and plenary power and an utter separation of him from the glorious throne of our Lord, to be co-assessor with the two aforesaid princes of darkness in the chair of *pestilence.” When the pope received this epistle, it roused his indignation to the highest pitch : “ What frantic old dotard is this who so boldly and rashly judgeth of my doings ? For is not the king of England our vassal . . . who only needs a word from us to imprison him ? ” But the cardinals advised the pope to moderation, lest a tumult might arise ; “ especially there was a manifest conviction among all men that at last there must needs come a defection and secession from the Church of Rome ” (Fox, Acts and Mon. ii. 524534־).
During all this fierce struggle, the fulfilment of prophecy played a very important part. The Archbishop of Salz-burg set forth the manifest fulfilment of Daniel 7, and many saw in the papacy the predicted Antichrist. The English bishop, basing his words on Revelation 13 : 10, foretold the sure doom of the papal system : “ Neither, shall the church ever be delivered from Egyptian bondage, but with the edge of the bloody swwd.”
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THYATIRA
XXXII
SPIRITUAL FRANCISCANS CLAIM TO BE JOACHIM^ FULFIL-MENT OF REVELATION I4 : 6
I
With the growth of the political power and the luxur-ious life of the monk-popes and the decay of monastic discipline, the spirit of hostility among the masses against the papacy became so intense that a still more lamb-like power was needed to support the arrogant claims of the Roman bishops. Schaff (v.a.379) thus attests their import-anee : “ A powerful impul^ was imported into monasti-cism and the life of the mediæval Church by the two great mendicant orders, the JD0]g1i^i£g^s and the Francis-cans, who received papal sanction respectively*?¡!^12TT and. 1223. In their first period they gained equally the esteem׳ of scholars, princes, and popes, and also the regard of the masses, though not without a struggle.” “ The appearance of these two organizations was without question one of the most momentous events in the Middle Ages.” Cardinal Hergenrother (ii. 658) says of them :	“ They
were given unto poverty, mendicants, and could thereby much easier banish the hostile spirit of the sects against a church grown rich, and satisfy the people who desired poor ascetic leaders similar to the apostles. They appeared as a new militia in the front ranks.” Schaff expresses the same idea, “ they started monasticism on a new career ”. The reason for this was as Gieseler (iii. 231, 232) states it, that “ a new idea of apostolical life as consisting in an activity which renounced all enjoyment and consecrated itself singly to the preaching of the gospel, was displayed, especially by the Waldenses, and made a deep impression on the people ”. In order to counteract the influence of the true witnesses of Christ, “ the founders of the new orders made themselves masters of the idea there put forth ”. This “ new xailitia ” in their “ rough garments ” of prophets (Zech. 13 : 4) “ succeeded in banishing the spirit of hostility to the Church, as well as in securing for their orders an influence and an energy, such as no Mon-astic society had ever before achieved ”.
174 TIIE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
2
Francis of jVssisi, brought to a contemplative life while a prisoner of war, resolved to act in harmony with his understanding of Matthew 10 : 9 f., and lead a life of poverty.־ He gathered eleven like-minded men about him, and they established the^F rancis can order, or the Minorites, who, through enthusiastm^êa^tng^ànd their life of self-denial, represented the intensely emotional form of ascctical piety that sought to win to Christ the masses at home, as well as the heathen abroad. The second of these orders, founded by the learned Dominic of Southern France, aimed, first of all, to win bacTTtKTmany Catholics who had joined the Albigenses, the Waldenses, etc., and to exter-mínate the obstinate by means of the inquisition.
Francis made three texts of scripture the unchangeable basis for absolute and continual poverty ; but Rome, foreseeing in the rapid growth of the order the means of her future power, appointed ambitious generals, under whose direction the Franciscans soon accumulated posses-sions. After a very active life, Francis found himself a hermit surrounded by but a few friars. Shortly before his death they perceived on his body, exhausted by con-tinual fastings, the stigmata of five wounds, similar to those of Christ. The pope canonized him as a saint (1228), and defended the veracity of the findings of his companions. Cardinal Bonaventura declares, in his prologue to the “ Life of Francis ”, that “ in these last days ” this humble saint appeared “ fully filled with seraphic fire to prepare the way of the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah ”. Also the Revelator “ designates him not undeservedly, as the angel from the East, having the seal of God ”. The firm belief of all Franciscans, who lauded their founder “ as the restorer of genuine evangelical life, the commencer of a new period” and as “ the seraphic Father”, the cardinal as the general of their order thus declares : “ That Francis has been this amiable messenger (Rev. 7 : 2), of God, to be imitated by us and admired by the world we conclude without doubt ” (Gieseler, H.C. iii. 253).
As they grew, Joachim’s ideas also spread rapidly
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among the mendicants, especially among the Franciscans, for many believed themselves to be the barefooted messen-gers he had predicted who should proclaim the everlasting gospel, reform the secularized papacy, and usher in the age of the spirit. According to Salimbene, Joachimites were found among the imperial and papal party in Italy. “ Notaries, physicians, judges, and other men of letters assembled regularly in the dwelling of one of the leading Minorites, Hugo de Barcola, to hear his lectures on Joachimism. professor of theology, Rudolf of Saxony, gave up scholastic studies in order to devote himself entire-lyto this prophetic theology ” (Dollinger, “Proph.”p. 112). The Minorites were also zealous disseminators of these writings ; about the year 1250 Cardinal di Porto sent them into Germany.
But there arose quite a dissension among the Minorites about the strictness of the vow of poverty, even during the lifetime of Francis, when a party headed by Elias of Corteña began to mitigate this rule, and after his death the question became acute, for the papal decrees favoured the more lax tendency, and tried to settle the dispute by arranging that the property of the order might be held by them in the name of the See of Rome. When Elias was elected their general (1232), he acted the part of a cruel tyrant toward those who opposed his measures, having them scourged, imprisoned, and in some instances put to death. When one appealed to the testament of their founder, his copy was simply burned on his head. During such tribulations it was but natural that they should make a special study not only of the life of Francis, but also of Joachim’s prophecies, as Gieseler affirms : “ Many of them embraced with greater zeal the works of Joachim, Abbot of Flore, whose lamentations over the corruptions of the church, as well as his prophecies of an approaching renovation, they thought had found their complete fulfil-ment in the rise and destiny of their order ” (H.E. iii. 255).
These stricter Minorites called themselves “ spiritu-ales ”, or spiritual ones, reminding us of Tertullian’s distinction between the Montanists and the “ carnal ” Catholics. Finally, the stricter party elected one of their most efficient and enthusiastic members, John of Parma
[76 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
(12471257־), to be their general. He earnestly tried to restore the order to its original simplicity, and under him those who were imbued with Joachimitism could freely express their convictions. There appeared in Paris the famous “ Introduction to the Eternal GospeU^written by QherharcL of Borgo San Dominico (1254), who filled the chair of theology at the University. He attempted to prove that Joachim’s prediction was realized in the Minorites, and that the dispensation of the Holy Spirit would be inaugurated in six years. This writing created immense excitement. The hostile professors and clergy at once seized all the copies possible and sent them to Rome for censure.
Gherhard’s rash enthusiasm for Joachim did more harm than good by his Introduction. Joachim under-stood the everlasting gospel to be the spirit and essence of the gospel of Christ in its eternal duration, while the word “ Introduction ” suggested that his author under-stood the writings of Joachim : “ From this knowledge, his book (Joachim’s “Concord”) with the other two (“ Apocalypse ” and “ Psaltery ”) is called the eternal gospel, as it also appears from the psaltery.” Joachim’s writings evidently seemed to Gherhard to be the revelation of this Holy Spirit, as the Old Testament was that of the Father, and the New Testament that of the Son. Accord-ing to Gherhard, another man made his appearance about 1200 with whose name the eternal gospel is connected, namely, St. Francis, the sealing angel of Revelation 7. The order, founded by him recently, grows by accessions alike from the laity and from the clergy, and “ has been preferably entrusted with the preaching of the eternal gospel to all nations ”. Accordingly, the Committee of Investigation at Rome enumerated as the first error, “ that the eternal gospel, which is the same as the writings of Joachim, surpasses Christ’s teachings and the whole Old and New Testament ”. Gherhard also tried to estab-lish the fulfilment in the spiritual Minorites, and held that this order would surpass the clergy, withdraw entirely from the world, gain strength, and when one of their mem-bers would take over the leadership of the whole church, the clergy would cease altogether, A member of the order,
THYATIRA
l77
who would be preferred to all others because of his dignity and prestige, would come and fulfil Psalm 16 : 6. That not all spirituales shared Gherhard’s conceptions, Salimbenc, though himself a Joachimite, affirmed. The Introduction contains “ absurd and ridiculous words and many offences against Joachim’s doctrine, such as he never has written ” (Denifle, Archiv. i. 63). After a thorough examination, the Introduction was condemned as heretical, Gherhard had to linger eighteen years in prison, and John of Parma was deposed, barely escaping the same fate.
A leading University of Paris professor, William of St. Armour, wrote (1255), a refutation entitled “Concerning the Perils of the Last Days ”. In this, based on 2 Timothy 3 : I ff., he showed that the friars themselves had brought on these perils, instead of warding them off. Without naming the order, he termed them “ preachers of Anti-christ, pretenders of holiness, hypocrites, Pharisees ”, who may be recognized by four signs : they seek the first seats at meals, aspire to the highest professorships, wish to be saluted in public places as judges and counsellors, and finally, want to be called masters. But real perfection did not consist in following Christ through begging, but in active work. Though the Church had sanctioned begging, yet it was contrary to Paul’s command, and should be countermanded. Then on p. 38 he says of the “ Intro-duction ” : For the past 55 years some have been striving to substitute in place of the gospel of Christ another gospel which is said to be a more perfect one, which they call the gospel of the Holy Spirit or eternal gospel. These doctrines concerning a new eternal gospel, which was to be preached in the times of the Antichrist, had already been set forth in the very seat of theological studies at Paris (1254). When it is manifest that the antichristian doctrine would even now be preached from the pulpits, if there were not still something that withholdeth (2 Thess. 2 : 6), namely, the power of the pope and the bishops. It is said in that accursed book, that the eternal gospel is so much superior to the gospel of Christ as the sun is to the moon in bright-ness, the kernel to the shell in value (Neander, C.H. viii.
441 f·.)·.
William had attacked the entire mendicant orders
I78 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
and their luminaries, such as Albertus, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventura, Duns Scotus, who attempted to establish their right of existence by pointing out the neglect of the care and instruction of souls by the common clergy. Though the faculty supported William, yet the professor “ succumbed to the united spiritual and secular power which was influenced by the friars His writings were condemned, he was exiled, and not until Clement IV could he effect a reconciliation by a revision of his refuta-tion.
On the strength of Joachim’s statements his followers concluded that the oppression of the true Church by the German Empire or the mystical Babylon would last from 1200 to 1260, and the tyranny of the Antichrist from about 12561260־. With the approach of this time and the renewed suppression of the Joachimites, the tension in the order grew to such an extent that the learned Bona-ventura was appointed general (12571274־). This “ sera-phic teacher ” considered the mystical ecstasy as the seventh grade of Solomon’s wisdom, and as the Sabbath rest of the weary pilgrim. Disapproving the worldliness of the popes, he curbed the lax party, showing the same tendencies. But as the strict spirituales constantly appealed to certain statements in Francis’ biography, he was commissioned to write a new one, “ not tainted by the poison of Joachim ”. Finally, as Angelos testifies in his “ Seven Tribulations ”, Bonaventura imprisoned the still obstinate Joachimites. Still in the new biography, Francis shines as the sealing angel of Revelation 7.
However, Joachim’s predictions were ever pregnant with life and made their influence felt in various ways. As Antichrist was expected before the age of the spirit, Aquinas tried in a special treatise “ Concerning the Coming 0T7Stïcfirist ” to set forth the reasons for his delay. Fully convinced that the fourth empire in Daniel 2 represented Rome, and persuaded from history that Rome had been dismembered by the barbarian invasion, he tried to show how this could be, ,arid still Antichrist had not appeared. The sermons of Leo I seemed to him to solve the problem, since the Roman Empire had indeed been more gloriously revived in the papal universal rule. The falling awuy
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THYATIRA
should accordingly be understood as an apostasy from this spiritual Roman-papal Empire, from the Catholic faith, and was therefore still in the future (Opera, xxi. 44 ; xxviii. 611 seq., Opuse. 68).
When the year 1260 came, and with it a terrible plague, the masses, as well as the Joachimites, were highly wrought up with expectation that now that age of the spirit would begin. This very year Europe was seized with a contagion of penitence in the form of flagellations, and leading historians rightly ascribe this outbreak to the influence of Joachim’s prediction (seeD.pllinge^ “ Proph.” pp. 100,113). (Some years previously, the hermit F^sanid^Perugia^had founded the first brotherhood qf !flagellants, clothed in white sackcloth. “ But in the autumn of 1260 this move-ment spread like an epidemic over the whole of central :and northern Italy. Nearly in every town brotherhoods ;of Flagellants were formed, who by hundreds and thousands ¡wandered from town to town. Led by priests and ·monks !with crosses, banners and burning candles, these Flagellants jscourged each other, chanting songs of penance farther Sand farther.” From Italy the movement spread along the Rhine and East as far as Poland, Bohemia and Hungary. All walks of life, and all orders of society were affected by it. A contemporary chronicle (Monachi Patavini Chronicon), records that even little children of five years, entirely naked, joined these processions. All the Flagel-lants carried scourges made of leather thongs and lashed themselves until the blood ran down their bodies. All sorts of sins were confessed, enemies were reconciled, vanities and follies were renounced, and men prepared themselves as for a newT spiritual stage of life, &dimj3eite writes in his chronicle (Mon. Hist. iii. 238 ff.)'T^*־The Flagellants came through the whale world. All men, both small and great, noble knights and men of the people scourged themselves in procession through the cities, with the bishops and men of religion at their head ; and peace was made in many places, and men restored what they had unlawfully taken away ; and they confessed their sins so earnestly that the priests had scarce leisure to eat. In their words sounded words of God and not of man, and their voice was as the voice of a multitude.” One example
180 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
will illustrate how strong this movement grew in Germany. In the spring of 1261, there appeared in Strasbourg 1,200 Flagellants, whose example some 1,500 inhabitants of this city at once followed. The women scourged themselves in their houses or behind the locked doors of the churches.
By the creation of the mendicant orders, which also enrolled laymen, the Church had succeeded in taking in-to its own service the mighty movement which the true followers of Christ caused by their self-denying lives and itinerant preaching. But it did not suspect that after these orders had made themselves masters of all the forces of the Church, the very principle of “ poverty ” containing a social and an anti-hierarchical nay, even political ideal, might become a grave danger to the rich, worldly hierarch}. This danger began when this “ new· movement united itself with: the apocalyptic ideas, which, in spite of Augus-tine, had never died out in the West, and which had received a new development from Joachim and his follow-ing. Partly within the Order, and partly beyond it, an apocalyptic socio-political excitement grew up, asserting itself in a hundred different ways. Its relative justifica-tion over against the rich worldly hierarchy was furnished by the wide hold which it everywhere secured for itself : it made its appearance in all lands, and it continued to exist, always again gathering new strength, till far on in the period of the Reformation.” “ Under the impression produced by frightful elemental calamities, the apocalyp-tical, anti-hierarchical ideas became the real danger, especially as even Mendicant monks were regarded as enemies of the papacy” (Harnack,; H.D. vi. 112 f.).
In vain did pontiffs añd"füferrtry to put an end to this religious frenzy of whipping, canonized in their saints. The fact that it began in the very year 1260, when, according to the y ear-day“'׳system adopted by Joachim from the Bible, the 3! times, the 42 months or the 1,260 days of Daniel and *John were supposed to end, is irrefutable evidence that the later Protestant use of the day-for-a-year system of reckoning the prophetic periods had its first sanction centuries before in Catholic commentators who were encouraged by the popes to write their prophetic expositions of the Word of God.
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XXXIII	\
THE EXPECTED “ ANGELIC ” POPE, AWED BY BONIFACE VIII,
RESIGNS
The religious enthusiasm awakened by Joachim’s writings, also found vent (1260) in another Italian move-"ment—the Apo^olic Brethren. Segarelli of Parma applied to the FranascanTrcfofor entrance, but "obtained per-mission merely to attend their school. A picture there, re-■ presenting the apostles in coarse garments and with sandals on their feet, made such an impression on him that he sold his house, garbed himself in a white cloak, and went about preaching. Soon many others joined him. Even the mendicant orders mocked these new brethren, wandering about without any leader or vow or rule, bareheaded, with long hair and beards, garbed in girded white cloaks, accompanied by sisters, and calling out : “ Repent ye, K for the kingdom of God is at hand.״ Within twenty years they had spread beyond Italy, and when the papacy .tried to suppress them, they only warned the more loudly against this Babylon the Great.
From an action of the synocT of Arles (1263), recorded by Hefele (K.G. vi. 83), it is also evident tnaTïïy that time the “ Joachimite doctrine had already a literature of its I own״. Significant is the statement made at this synod that niany, learned men, beguiled, by the fascinations of
Íoachim’s “ Concordia ״, andjjherhard’s “ Introduction ”, ad_y ritten commentaries of a similar character which l^^dTron^Kand to hand, ever! in foreign lands. Every *CKristian is charged to detesT’and reject these writings, andlhcir reading and circulation is placed under anathema. That Joachifíds ל Concordia ״ was not condemned sooner was said to be due to the fact that it had been “ concealed till quite lately in certain monasteries, and hence had
escaped notice ״ ( Dohingeiy “ Proph.״ p. 12^._
The action of this synod undoubtedly refers to two commentaries on Isaiah and Jeremiah, which some Minor-ites under the disguise of Joachim’s name had written ,about this time. The tone of these two writings is much
182 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
more s,cvere against the corrupt Church, and they definitely state that the Minorites were the fulfilment of Joachim’s prediction. Thus the commentary oiyjeremiah (p. 81) says, that after the fall of the'proud prelates",^God had at that time sent “ humble preachers and brethren of the Minorite order to preach the eternal gospel ”. The papal court is frequently characterized as the stained and polluted “ house of the courtesan ”, in which all practise simony, offering an open door to any who knock. Everywhere the Church pushes her benefices, collects her revenues, demands her “prebends endless incomes. 0 God, how long dost thou delay to avenge the blood of the innocent, which cries to thee from beneath the altar of the capital ? ” (p. 61). Further, on pages 370, 330, 310 : “ As every man seeks his own, force is met by force ; the church attacks the state ; the greedy prelates receive not the word of Christ : ‘ Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s ’ : thus the old bottles will burst, and the pope will not only long after temporal things as belonging to him, but also after spiritual things, which do not belong to him. Thus it will come to pass that he will seat himself in the temple of God, and as a god exalt himself above all that is called God.” Anti״ christs there are several ; the pope is called the mixed or mystical Antichrist. In the commentary of Isaiah (p. 7) the crusades are thus condemned : “ When the chair of S. Peter drew the temporal sword in compliance with a forbidden ambition, and his sons, like cattle for the slaugh-ter, .exposed themselves to doubtful chances, he considered not what the Scriptures say, ‘ He that takes the sword shall perish with the sword On page 28 we read : “ The vicegerents of Christ, in these latter times . . . seek only the gold ; in order that, with great Babylon, they may mingle the golden goblets and pollute their followers with their own uncleanness.” About this time another commentary on the Apocalypse mfist have been written by some spiritual Franciscan, which is found among the works of Thomas Aquinas. Joachim is mentioned in it, and, under the fourth* trumpet, the “poor preachers” are alluded to, who warn against the formal Christians. “ The poor are almost everywhere and wholly suppressed, and nobody defends them ” (Bousset, Offb. p. 71).
183
THYATIRA
Meanwhile, the strict Franciscans w^ere more and more oppressed. Rumours" KacT reached Them of new papal decrees forcing them to accept property. They refused obedience (1274) and many of them were imprisoned for life, among them Angelo Clarena. Gregory IX rescinded the injunction of Francis of Assisi that his friars should not request any new privileges from the popes, and their generals, Arlottus and Aquaparta, yielded. But the
Ítricter part, headed by Peter Qli^ an enthusiastic; oÏÏôwër of Joaçhimxaftlî^	staunchly]
esisted. Born in 1248, Peter Olivi joined the Minorites inf arly youth, and tookjhis bachelor’s degree in.Paris. Even* [the first Franciscan pope, Nicolas IV, could not appease jthe stricter monks, though the new general, Gaufredi 11289-1296), liberated Angelo and his associates from prison, and entrusted them with an honourable mission to Armenia.
Joachim’s prophecy had awakened the old expectation of an “ angelic pope ” who would usher in the age of the Spirit. This hope had been reaffirmed in 1267 by the Minorite, Roger Bacon, one of the most richly gifted and versatile spirits of his age : “ For the last forty years it had been predicted and many visions had been granted in confirmation, that a just, true and holy pope would arise, to reform and purify the church, deeply entangled as it were in error. He will purify ecclesiastical legislation, will institute a Christian administration of justice ; and, through his excellence, reunion with the Greek Church, the conversion of the Mongols, and the annihilation of the Saracens will follow” (Dollinger, “Proph.” p. 97). This “ wonderful teacher ” entreated Clemens IV, in all earnest-ness, to put his hand to the work. Bacon was of the opinion “ all is in such an evil plight that either Antichrist must come, or else a pope who will purify the church must arise ”, and he openly stated his belief that such a great moral and intellectual reaction could be accomplished, as it were, at one stroke. Dollinger explained this (p. 98) “ by the mania for astrology, which prevailed at the time and influenced even these men ”. Bacon traced all evils to the ignorance of the Scriptures, and he wOuld have all the laity read them and be able to make use of them, even in the original text (Opus majus, p. 169). Because he contested the
184 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
corruption of the clergy, he was accused of witchcraft, and languished for ten years in a prison cell, until his powerful patrons secured his release.
The long-cherished hope of an angelic pope was kindled anew when the cardinals, each anxious to be chosen (1292), delayed the election of a new pope for several years. Finally Charles II, who needed the pope to help him regain Sicily, insisted on a decision. The pious hermit,APeter of Marone, who was honoured as a saint because of his long solitary life, and of his visions, also raised his voice in warning. Peter had founded the strict order of the ÇelesFihës* dedicated the chief convent to the Holy Spirit, waS well acquainted with Joachim’s writings, and enter-tained close relations with his followers. In their great plight to agree upon someone, some cardinals suggested Peter’s name, and, ere they fully realized the bearings of such an uncommon choice, he was chosen in spite of the opposition of Cardinal Cajetan. This choice was hailed by the suppressed as the goal of all their wishes : “ All previous prophecies seemed to aim at this pope.” This was especially true of the Apostolicals whose founder, Scgarelli, had been imprisoned (1280), and then had served as jester to the bishop. Several papal decrees were enacted against his followers in 1286 and 1290; the inquisitors had prosecuted their cruel task with great ardour, and several of the brethren had already been burned. The learned son of a priest, Fra Dolcino, had taken the leader-ship, and this apocalyptic reform movement had pene-trated the highest circles of the hierarchy, but above all it had so seized upon the masses that neither papal decrees nor condemnations of their w7ritings were of avail. Peter of Marone had passed his entire life in this atmosphere. The old sage reluctantly yielded to the pressure and ac-cepted the call to the papal chair as the will of God. “ Seated upon an ass, which the kings of Sicily and Hungary led by the bridle, he made his entry into the city of Aquiia. Thousands flocked about him, not as they had done around other new popes, to obtain rich benefices, but to receive his blessing.”
As Celestine V, he made himself dependent on Charles II, who persuaded him to take his seat in his palace at
i85
THYATIRA
Naples ; but even there he had a wooden cell constructed for his abode, and still wore his monkish dress under the papal insignia. He allowed the strict Franciscans to live according to their convictions^^ poor “ Celestino her-mits ”, afterwards called ffiraticellL* In_ spite of two .;coronations as pope, Celest1j!elfé!t: rather uncomfortable in the papal. chair, and longed to be restored to his former ; quiet. The sly Cajetan, ambitious to bear the tiara him-se^'jtrengthenecï‘1nîîfi^m his inclination. After having .published, at the instigation of Cajetan, an ordinance making his_resignatiompossible, he retired (1294), reproved by the lax mônks for having grantelTTavours to the stricter party, reproached by the jatter for resigning. __
! When the learned^ Ça jetant as JBoniface VIII, took !the papal chair ( 1294;, m'1 sirange contr^Pí^fnT retired predecessor, he entered Rome on a white palfrey, a king folding each of his stirrups. He added a gecond^yfflet^ jo his . crown as a symbol of his twofold power over the Spiritual and temporal realms. He kept Celestine, who had ân vain retired to the remotest mountains, closely confined until death, fearing that he might reassert his claims. He annulled all the privileges Celestine had granted the * hermits. The Fraticelli had to flee to a Greek Island. Segarelli, wdth many of his followers, was burned (1300). SegareTITs successor, Fra Dolcino, was overcome in his mountain fortress by an army of crusaders, and met his end with the rest (1307). The tWO cardinals belonging to the Colonna family fared no better. Because one of their family had plundered a papal convoy, Boniface issued a terrible bull against the entire family, and deposed the two cardinals (1297). As they in turn claimed that Celestine wTas the lawful pope, and made the first appeal to a general council, Boniface commanded his crusaders to level their town, Preneste. When the ambassadors of Albert, the German emperor elect, requested the papal sanction, he received them clothed in a cuirass, with a helmet on his head and a swrord in his hand held aloft, exclaiming : “ Am I not the sovereign pontiff ? Is not this the chair of St. Peter ? Cannot I protect the rights of the empire ? I am a Cæsar, I am the emperor ” (Gieseler, C.H. iii. 140).
186 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
In Kin^ Philip of Prance, Boniface found more than an equal. In "1296, when Philip placed a war tax on the clergy, and the pope had placed a ban on all who would pay it, Boniface was worsted, as the king merely cut off all his papaljeyenues. In order to impress the world with the plenitude of papal power, Boniface inaugurated the celebration of the year of Jubilee (1300), granting full remission of sins to all who, during that year or any other hundredth year, would visit the tombs of Peter and Paul. Immense crowds came to Rome, fimng the papal treasury !with their gifts. In the pope’s vestments the symbols jof the spiritual and secular authority were united, and !heralds announced the union of the two swords in the hands of Christ’s vicar. Afterwards, when Philip attempted to punish a papal legate, the quarrel broke out anew. The papal bull was hurled into the fire, the king replying : “ Let thy consummate folly know that in temporal things we are subject to none.” The French nation declared that such subordination “ pleased neither God nor good people, and could only proceed from Antichrist ”. The contention reached its height when (1302) Boniface issued the famous bull, Unam Sanctap^ from its Latin beginning : “ We are impelled to believe in one holy and apostolic church, and to hold that outside of this there is neither salvation nor remission of sins.” As the chief scriptural proof of the absolute universality of papal dominion, Jeremiah I : 10 is quoted. The assertion that there are two powers existing independently of each other is considered heretical. The climax is reached by the assertion “ that it is necessary to salvation to believe that every human being is subject to the pontiff of Rome ” (Hefele^K.G., par. 690).
Philip, threatened with the Fan, convoked a national assembly, which brought forth severe charges against the pope, and a second appeal was made to a general council and a future lawful pope. Boniface, about ready to hurl the ban, was seized in Anagni by Nogaret, Philip’s keeper of the seal. Being rescued by Anagni’s inhabitants, the pope returned to Rome, where he died shortly after-wards, from mortified pride.
The prophecy of Revelation 13 : 10, interpreted in the Minorite commentary on Jeremiah as “ the curia hath
i87
THYATIRA
violently slain, so shall it also be violently slain ”, seemed about to be realized, and the conviction grew that the papal chair had really become the seat of Antichrist. The famous poet of the Stabat Mater, Jacopone'da Todi, a Minorite, flung many a poem against the papacy for the writing of which Boniface VIII excommunicated him and placed him in a miserable dungeon. When the death of his tormentor finally brought the poet liberty, he expressed in glowing words of satire “ the horror of religiously-minded men at the appearance of the ‘ new Lucifer ’ on the papal chair ־-Dollinger (“ Proph.” p. 129) says that this passage, found !!!9*?Mildest editions, was later on dropped out.
Clement V, whose choice was due to French influence, had removed the papal mart to 4yignQnr annulled all the proceedings of Boniface, and even consented to open (1309) a process of inquiry against him. To sustain the orthodoxy of Boniface, he could only praise him as “ exter-minator of heretics To save his predecessor from final condemnation Clement satisfied the greed of Philip with the rich possessions of the Templars, a military order, whose members generally in those days met their end at the stake. Dollinger (“ Proph.” p. 129 f.) has the following comments on these proceedings : “ Men were all the more convinced that they had seen a ‘ Man of Sin and Son of ^ Perdition ’, actually sitting in the Temple of God and bedecked with the ״papal tiara, when in the year 1310, Pope Clement V subjected his predecessor Boniface, who hád then been in his grave seven years, to a public prosecu-t'ion, and opened a lengthy process of inquiry, which lasted more than a year, against him. A number of men of the highest position, prelates, abbots, counts, and other noblemen came forward as eye- or ear-witnesses to accuse the late pope of infidelity, of heresy, of the most utter contempt for all morality,—men of whom Clement himself testified afterwards, when he squashed the proceedings, that they were in the highest degree worthy of credence, and had only been induced to make these statements through zeal for the Catholic faith. And here too the greatest Italian of his time,;.Dante, who, although in a way peculiar to himself, was also a J^chimite, had his ’
188 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
word to say : “He (Boniface) who usurps upon the earth my (God’s) place, which vacant has become before the presence of the Son of God יי (“ Paradise,” xxvii. 22-24).
XXXIV
THE JOACHIMITE'' DANTE GRAPHICALLY APPLIES BIBLICAL
"sVmbols to the papacy
The removal of the papal court to Avignon, and the papacy’s increasing luxury, simony, mendacity and licen-tiousness gave a new impulse to the Joachimite system of prophecy. The papal court remained in Avignon seventy :,years (13051376־), styled “the Babylop^^gaptivity.”
Graphic descriptions of the papacy, based upon the prophetic symbols of the Bible, wrere given by artists, poets, and theological writers, and the belief that It was VA^tlchrist became quite general. Newman(C.fL i, ς2Ό says : **The French government itself"andThe"University of Paris soon became utterly disgusted with the Avignon court, and were among the most persistent advocates of reform. Germany, England, and Bohemia, one after another, revolted from papal domination. The pope was declared by theologians, jurists, and poets to be unworthy of confidence. Many regarded him as Antichrist.”
One of the most eminent Joachimites wa^^livi of France, who was fully convinced of the importance of Joachim’s prophetic knowledge, as his letters to the sons of Charles II of Naples reveal. As early as 12c)5, he wove explanations of the Apocalypse into his letters dn fulfilment of Revelation 10 : 11. His commentary appear-ing in 1297 is. in the main, only “the Apocalypse of Joachim in an improved and more spiritualized re.־eduk)n Olivi refitted Joachim’s interpretations to his own time, pointing out their fulfilments in the cruel fate of the Spirituales. He also mapped out the duration of the world in seven periods, the climax being reached in the fullest spiritual revelation of Christ, and in the greatest wonder-working power of Antichrist. Simultaneously with the sixth age, the epoch of the Holy Spirit had begun with the appear-
189
THYATIRA
anee of St. Francis. The carnal Church, with its false popes, is ripening for judgment, and the victory of the spiritual popes, freed from the poison of temporal possess-ions, is no longer far off. Then the Church will have power to convert both Jews and the whole heathen world (Dollinger, “Progh.” p. ,127). This transfer of power from carnal to spiritual popes Olivi saw predicted in Revelation 3 : 11, in the taking away of the crowm, and in the earth-quake of Revelation 6, in which the papacy with the mystical Antichrist would be swallowed up, and only the few strict followers of Francis remain to stand alone against the antichristian delusions. Referring to Bona-ventura, Olivi, too, saw in Francis the sealing angel, but in this sealing work the wonderful opening of prophecy by Joachim formed a part; for it conveyed the needful knowledge. Since the spirit has left the Church, and gone over to the evangelical poor, consecrating them by apos-tolical authority to the work of the ministry, many per-secuted them, while plunging deeper and deeper into the mire of corruption. The persecuting pope resembles Nero and Simon the magician, while the persecuted friars resemble Peter, as the primacy has been transferred to them, and Paul because of the wisdom they have received. To make the 1,260 years end in his own time, he began with the elevation of Peter to the primacy, so that they \vould expire in 1300, or within three years of the time of wilting. He saw in Frederick the deadly WOunded head, which would revive'again under his sue-cessors, obtain the empire, conquer France, and with a false pope as Antichrist, persecute the very elect. The ^carnal Church of Rome would precede him as the mystical Antichrist ; her fall would be proclaimed by the angel of Revelation 14. Then the elect would be like a few grains of gold in a huge sand heap, but an outpouring of the spirit would arm 'them for the last conflict. The visible advent of Christ would follow at the close of the seventh epoch in connection with the final judgment, though Olivi did not fix the year of that event (Dollinger, Beitráge ii. S36-582). Olivi wras called the “ Doctor Columbanus ” because the persecuted spirituales had chosen a dove as their symbol.
190 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Olivi’s successor, Ubertmo di Casale, wrote his chief work, “ The Tree of lïïe^Rhè Crucified One ”, in 1305. He wrote “ without lengthy reflection and without the aid of books, just as he felt impelled by the Spirit of Jesus, who dictated the last two-thirds of the book to him ”. Beginning with the life of Christ and His disciples and the spread of Christianity, the work ended with an explanation of the Apocalypse. Not only did he borrow Joachim’s thought, but “ even at times slavishly copied the very words of him He dedicated the book to all lovers of poverty, bitterly bewailing the corruption of the Church, wherein the life of Christ had fully died out.
/He applied Revelation 13 : I to Boniface, and Revelation 13 : II to his successors. His manuscript must have been often copied, for there are still eight copies extant. In
nit was printed in Venice. '
fter Olivi’s death, miracles were attributed to him. On his memorial day thousands thronged to his grave, and oblations even of cardinals added to its decoration. The lax friars protested against this, stressing the fact that Olivi had applied Revelation 17 to the Church. At the council of Vienne (1311) this affair caused some lengthy discussions, but libertino defended him so skilfully that Olivi’s memory remained untarnished.
The so-called Cyril-prophecy was also widely circulated —first alone, and later, with Joachim’s writings. The Carmelite order fabricated this fiction, claiming that their general, Cyril, had obtained this revelation in 1192, written on two silver tablets from the hand of the angel. Commencing with 1254 ^ predicts political contests respecting Naples and Sicily, then the speedy ruin of the Roman See. “ The imperial eagle is exhorted, ‘ Awake, spread thy wings, strike home with thy beak ! ’ ” Its author “ fathered an explanation of the prophecy of Abbot Joachim, with the fiction that Cyril had sent the prophetic spying from the East to Calabria, and had asked him for an explanation”.
The “ Pope Book of JoachimJ’, written by some persecuted^OTff^^^uSdèl the^ctitious name of Bishop AnselniI,cff.J\Iarsico, also had a~Veïy large circulation. First, vve see" Joachim, enlightened by heavenly rays,
191
THYATIRA
writing his books, and next a friar, likewise enlightened, writing the present book, on the strength of the first production, dealing with the fate of the papacy from the time of its removal to Avignon until the end. This is shown by a series of 36 striking i,[h1$ {rations. Through-out, the dove represents the sprr^flftFÍ* Joachimites, whose counsel (picture 1) the pope rejects, placing his confidence in bears, or carnal weapons. Advised by cunning foxes, devilish dragons, and serpents, and pro-tected by bears, the papacy rejects God’s law, sets up its own, places its tiara over the imperial crown, beheads the Lamb of God anew, but, being struck by God’s judg-ments, an angelic pope takes his place, who, listening humbly to the voice of his sheep, takes the Bible as his guide and ushers in the eternal kingdom of Christ. Especi-^lly fitting to the career of Boniface VIII is picture 6. The pope, holding the imperial eagle chained to his keys, with the help of France (the cock), spears the dove on the ground which holds an olive branch in its beak. Behind him is a monk reading in a book, the words of which appear as an epitaph above the picture : “ He entered like a fox, ruled like a lion, and died like a dog.” Over picture 9 we read : “ Against the dove this most turbid image of the clericals will fight.” In the place of the true pope protecting the innocence of the lamb with the sword of his mouth, and holding up the dove with the power of the keys, there is seen an ugly counterfeit, the papal mystic Antichrist. Picture 15 portrays the fulfilment of Revelation 13 : 4, realized in the papacy. A number of editions appeared in Venice, the one in the writer’s posses-, sion being dated 1600, and in the Hamburg Library is one dated 1589.
What artists endeavoured..to picture in “ Joachim’s Pope Book ”, the theological Dante of Florence (1265-1321) composed in elegant verse. He who gave the last classical expression to the Catholic conceptions of Augustine, did not spare the popes, as they, in his opinion, were betraying the most sacred of all trusts. In this he marched as the leader ahead of the children of a new world of thought.
During the struggle between the popes and the emperors for the predominance, Dante insisted in his treatise on
I92 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
the “Monarchy1312) ״) that the temporal and the spiritual powers were two realms of equal rank, that the empire derived its authority direct from God, and that it existed before the Church. Taking the Apocalypse and its interpretation by Joachim for a foundation, the exiled and agáTpoe't wrote (1321) the “ Divine Comedy ״, inter-weaving the events which he had experienced in his own time with that which was yet to come. In harmony with the current conceptions of his day, he filled purgatory, hell and paradise with the spirits of the departed, and portrayed the most important happenings of his age with their pretended statements. He gave a detailed description of the rise of the mendicant orders and their conflict with the papacy. The Church, bereaved of her first husband, remained for over a thousand years without a single suitor, until like a light from the “ sunrising ״ (Rev. 7 : 2) Francis and poverty became true lovers again. This friar “ on the hard rock ״ took from Christ the last signet his limbs did carry. Having the aged John on Patmos as the true example of a meditative life, Francis remained true to poverty, but most of his flock were tempted by new viands, and little stuff sufficed to furnish the cloaks of those cleaving to their shepherd (“ Paradise ”, xi.). As a loving minion of the Christian faith, Dominic joined Francis, and burst like a torrent from a lofty vein against the stocks of heresy (Par. xii.). In time the walls for abbevs became dens, and the cowls of friars like unto sacks choked up with musty meal, the white flour growing murky (Id. xxii.). But the small fleet would yet turn about into the right direction (xxvii.). Soon the number of those arrayed in stoles of snowy white would be complete (Rev. 7 :
4 f.), only a few still wanting (xxx.).
What Dante merely alluded to in symbolic language in “ Paradise ”, he expresses more clearly in his “ Pur-gatory ״ xvi. The Roman Church, intermingling the . two power" within herself, has trafficked with the kings, and, sullied with their vice, has sunken down into the mire. But the commencement of this vice Dante covertly describes from Revelation 17. The imperial power is the stately trunk, and the Church plucks from its branches pleasant but poisonous fruits. Christ, whose kingdom was
193
THYATIRA
not of this world, is the griffin whose beak never plucked fruit from that tree, so pleasant to the taste (Purg. xxxii.). The Church itself is symbolized by a car upon which paganism swoops down as “ the bird of Jove ”, supported by the emperor. Finally, this car,-attaching itself to the imperial power in the days of Constantine, is tied to the tree. The Arian fox, pining from hunger, also seeks food in the car. The imperial power, symbolized by an eagle, darts into the hull of the car, leaving it lined with its feathers. Islam, the dragon, fixes its forked train through the car, dragging a part of the bottom away. Then a change takes place : four heads, bearing two horns each, appear on the four corners of the wagon, while three heads, bearing one horn apiece, are shown on the beam of the wagon. ׳Such a monster, with seven heads and ten horns, eyes had .!never seen. Above the car sits a shameless woman, and [there stands a giant at her side with whom she exchanges !kisses ever and anon. As the woman, lustful, turns to another, the giant scourges her from head to foot, and drags her away into a forest. In this masterful interpretation of Revelation 17, Dante pictures what happened under Boniface VIII and his successors, who, uniting with the giant Philip, were dragged into the forest (France) ; when they wanted to renew their connection with the German emperor, Philip scourged them.
Dante next hears a responsive song, rendered by seven virgins, lamenting in the words of Psalm 79 : 1 that the “ heathen are come into thine inheritance ; thy holy temple have they defiled Then in their sweet psalmody they quote from John 16 : 17 : “ Yet a little while and ye shall see me not,” and then again, “ a little while and ye shall see me ”. Just as Christ lived, died and rose again, so as his counterpart, a vessel, broken by the serpent, was, and is not, and is about to come (Rev. 17 : 8). God’s vengeance cannot be stayed, the imperial eagle will not be left without a strong heir. He who left the chariot plumed, has become the prey of a monster papacy ; but Dante already sees the reason approaching when “ one sent from God ”, a leader bearing the name Dux or 515, and not 666, shall slay the foul woman and her accomplice, the giant Philip, and restore the empire (Purg. xxxiii.).
194 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
As Dante proceeds through hell, the symbols become more graphic. At the entrance he is frightened by a three-headed monster (Rev. 13 : 2). The wolf, Rome’s ! symbol, is used instead of the bear. This she-wolf “ fastens I to many an animal in wedlock vile ”, until a greyhound :arises, as an avenger, supporting life by love, wisdom and virtue, and chasing the lewd wolf through every town, until the monster is destroyed (Hell i.). Now reality takes the place of symbols. Greedy priests, popes and cardinals fill hell, so that Cerberus, the hell hound, expresses his delight in fierce barking on account of the rich prey furnished hell by the papacy (Hell vii.). Pope Anastasius the heretic, is there. Boniface VIII has arrived. The spirit of Nicholas III, with the souls of other simonistic popes, languishes in the flames (Id. xix.). Reverence x for the keys of St. Peter restrains Dante’s using still stronger language concerning papal corruption, whose avarice had overcast the world with mourning, trod the gods under foot, and raised up bad men. Constantine had given birth to all this ill through his donation to Sylvester. As the climax of his poetical interpretation of the Apocalypse, especially Revelation 17, Dante finally portrays the papal apostasy as worse even than heathen idolatry :
״ Of shepherds like you, the Evangelist Was aware, when her, who sits upon the waves,
: With kings in filthy whoredom he beheld ;
:[ She who with seven heads towered at her birth,
■*?. And from ten horns her proof of glory drew,
-, Long as her spouse in virtue took delight,
׳ Of gold and silver ye have made your god, i Differing wherein from the idolator,
'i But that he worships one, a hundred ye? ״ (Hell xix.).
XXXV
THE END EXPECTED AT THE SUPPOSED EXPIRATION OF THE I335 YEAR-DAYS
With the beginning of the fourteenth century all possible dates reckoned for the end of tKe 772^0 years, starting with either the birth or the resurrection of Christ, passed without the realization of the cherished expectations. But the history of Europe seemed to proceed in such
19S
TH Y ATI RA
sickly convulsions, and the corruption of the papal court became so manifest that serious minds felt more than ever constrained to seek the solution of their problems in the prophetic word.
The persecutions against the Joachimites increased even during the time of John XXII (1316-1334), for he took away the convents Clement had granted them. Some who protested against this treatment were turned over to the inquisitors, who burned four of their spokesmen and exiled the others. He imprisoned Angelo, leader of the Celestine hermits since 1305, and who had been protected by several of the cardinals. After an able defence, Ange}0 made good his escape, and found refuge among the lonely hermitages of the Fraticelli. Here he finished his “ History of Tribulations ״. Ehrle (Archiv. ii. 119) states: “ The whole computation and arrangement of tribulations, suffered by this order, rests upon Joachimism, which was so widely spread among the Spirituales, and. with which Angelo had familiarized himself.״ Angelo several times repeats that during the sixth period simultaneous with the first century of its existence this order wOuld have to pass through severe persecutions. This sixth period he commenced with the abdication of Celestine. It would last 28 years, and end in a happy millennium of peace. Angelo died in 1337.
Joachimism found entrance among the Béguins and Beghards, who, living a life of devotion, estabfishea homes for the sick and for the poor, and maintained themselves from their own property or earnings. They spread rapidly over Western Europe, but, from 1299 they were bitterly persecuted by the inquisition. Hard-pressed by this persecution, they turned to the commentaries of Joachim and Olivi for light. Through their study of these they became convinced that “ the Church of Rome was the great adultress, John XXII the mystical Antichrist, who prepared the way for the great Antichrist ״. When a Dominican inquisitor condemned the statement of a Beghard that Christ and His apostles did not own property (1321) the Minorites protested against this decision, but the pope approved of it in a special bull. The most zealous Minorites, accompanied by their general, Cesena, “ betook
I96 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
themselves at length to‘־. Lewis* the Bavarian, and per-secuted the heretical popjflo“"the day"0Γliis death” (Gieseler, C.H. par. 113).
WHen'Emperor Lewis .(13141347־) had, after a long and bloody struggle, overcome his rival, John XXII contested his right to the throne, and threatened him with the ban. Lewis replied (in 1324) with his famous declaration of Sacjigenhausen* denying to the pope any official title. He called him a “ cruel tyrant, who had sunk down in the very depths of wickedness ”. The money collected in all the world for the crusades against the Turks, the pope employed in shedding Christian blood. But the pope was also an arch-heretic, because he persecuted the “ sera-phic ” brethren, and thus overthrew “ the doctrine of evangelical poverty, the torch of our faith ” (K. Müller, i.
75 ff·)·
By a careful examination of this imperial declaration, the papal court made the painful discovery that it contained a quotation from Olivi, and that the struggle with the barefooted friars had thus been drawn into this eccles-Jastic-political contest (Archiv. iii. 540 f.). Olivi’s bones Avere dug up (1318) and burned ; and in 1326 his writings gvere foroidden, but 150 years later, Sixtus IV, himself a !Minorite, caused them to be examined afresh, and declared fthem_ to be orthodox.
! Proceedings were also begun against the Spirituales, whose leader,Ubemn^ escaped to Lewis. The emperor evidently foundurftfie oppressed friars a party of men whose pen was keener than Lewis’ sword, who were eager for contest, self-sacrificing and led by bold spirits. Their most famous document, “ Defensor Pacis ” or “ Peace Advocate ”, composed by the rector of the Paris University, Marsilius of Padua in collaboration with John of Jandun, was presented to the emperor in 1326. It strongly insisted upon a limitation of papal authority for the sake of uni-versal peace. As an eye-witness, Marsilius pointed out that “ they wdio have trod the threshold of the Roman court, that house of traffick, that abominable den of robbers, will have seen that it is the resort of all the vicious crew who push a trade with spiritual as they would with secular things. For what else do you find there but a
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confluence from all quarters of those who exercise the trade of simony ? What else than the bustling of attorneys, the intrigues of caballers, and persecutions of righteous men ? ” As the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, the pope cannot claim any sort of temporal power, and the state is absolutely independent of him. The Scriptures alone constitute the ultimate source of Christian faith. The Church is the aggregate of the faithful ; the highest respect is due not to an individual, but to the majority of believers represented in a general council. No sort of coercive or primitive power belongs to the Church as such ; no right to persecute any one who differs from her. The papal dignity is a result of historical causes and not of Divine origin. The apostles were equal, and needed not the confirmation of Peter. ^---------ץי־
An English Mendicant, W.! Occam, declared that the Old Testament theocracy no TdSgPpí xisted, that the pope lean err or deviate from the Scriptures ; that his supporters, 1prompted by fear or favour, may try to wrest contrary passages into some agreement with the fables which they have dreamed. They thus transfer to the pope the honour which is due to God alone, and make the Christian faith consist in the will of the pope. As the pope himself was a heretic, all his sentences passed against the emperor were null and void.
The General Cesena summed up the heresies of John in twelve articles, and one of them was that he misapplied, as did the Jews of old, the Messianic prophecies to a carnal and temporal kingdom, and thus prepared the way for Antichrist (see Riezler, p. 247 f.).
Against these able writers, the papacy also pitted some friars as her advocates, but by their bold and sweeping claims as to papal supremacy, they harmed her cause more than they helped it. An Augustinian, Trionfo of Ancona, even discovered a third realm for the pope to rule over. As the dispenser of grace, he could at one stroke empty purgatory by his indulgences. His con-temporary, the Franciscan A. Pelayo, declared that one could no more dream of setting limits to the papal power than to God’s omnipotence. And yet in his “ Complaint of the Church ” he had to admit (ii. 128) : “ Considering
I98 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
the papal court has filled the whole church with simony ; and the consequent corruption of religion, it is natural enough the heretics should call the church the whore ” (also see Janus, pp. 227230־).
While the pope was preaching a crusade against the excommunicated emperor, the latter was overrunning Italy, and in 1328 at Rome he pronounced the dethrone-ment of John on account of his great crimes, because, as a bloody man, he had desecrated the priesthood of Christ. “ If this mystic Antichrist were allowed to continue in this way, the empire would doubtless be destroyed.” “ He is the apocalyptic ruler of the red horse, who went forth to take peace from the earth. He also reveals him-self as the destroyer of evangelical truth and order in his endeavour to unite monarchy with hierarchy against the express command of Christ ” (Müller, i. 184 f.).
John, however, gave Lewis and the Minorites a new occasion for attack in lyyfhy declaring that the departed saints were not able to enjoy full bliss and the intuitive vision of God before the resurrection—as the older fathers had held. Violent disputes arose over this question in the theological faculty of Paris, and people in general began to fear “ that this was the heresy through which the Antichrist and his apostles would seduce the church in the last days” (Gieseler, C.H. par. 99; Müller, i. 328). The King of France went so far as to threaten the pope with the faggot, and he only saved himself by recanting.
With the election of the French pope, Clement IV, the battle with the emperor began afresh. Using Revela-tion 11:2, the pope declared in his address to his consistory (Apr. 10, 1343) that Lewis stood without the temple, far surpassing in wickedness even Pharaoh, Antiochus, Nicanor, etc. “ He is the apocalyptic dragon, which dev-ours the church” (Müller, i. 170). Besides pronouncing an interdict upon the empire, the pope hurled most terrible curses upon the emperor, and nominated Charles of Bohemia as his successor. Marsilius of Padua he pro-nounced to be the greatest heretic ever seen.
Some men of serious mind thought as did the celebrated physician, Arnold of Villanova, “ that the whole church of the West,'5,ÍSlio ugh the exceeding measures of its sins,
TH Y ATI RA
1%
was already utterly and irretrievably destroyed ”, and. with him, felt “ all must now hurry speedily to the end Undoubtedly, they, too, as did he, searched diligently ,for new prophetic dates, and it was but natural that, at !:the 1,260 days seemed expired, their attention was now) ¡directed to Daniel 12 : 12, which so positively declared that ¡the blessed time would arrive with its expiration. As çarly as 1297 Villano va fixed the year 1316 for the appear-anee of the last great^ntichrist, and the year 1335 for the end of the world. His theories were afterwards con-demhed by a tribunal of the Inquisition in Spain ”^Doffim ger, Proph. p. 135).י
Vill^1}0va’s treatises on the “ End of the World ”, “ Outlook of Antichrist ”, “ Information about Béguins ”, etc., were extensively read. That the Beguins shared the same views is very apparent from their statements before the Inquisition. They firmly believed that the papacy fulfilled Revelation 17, that “ the Antichrist had come in 1321, and that within 14 years from their time the greater Antichrist would have completed his course ” (Limborch /pp. 298-308). Dóllinger (“ Christentum,” page 43(3)' com-ments: “The Beguins seized upon Daniel’s 1,335 days, and fixed the year 13^,as the date of the destruction of the Antichrist.”
This prophetic period’s supposed expiration in 1335 called forth a new flagellant movement,	EpP
demies,” p. 34 f.) affirms : “ In 1334, 14 years before the great mortality, the sermon of Venturinus, a Dominican friar of Bergamo, induced above 10,000 persons to under-take a new pilgrimage. . . . The terror of death, which pervaded all nations and suddenly set such powerful influences in motion, might easily conjure up the׳ fanaticism of exaggerated and overpowering repentance.” The general tribulation in connection with the Black Death again recalled this prophetic date, and caused a far greater flagellant movement. Starting in Hungary it spread rapidly'westward, gathering volume and power, until all Christian lands were touched by these harbingers of impending doom. Making use of the Black Death as a striking sign, the brotherhood of Flagellants claimed to prepare the way for the approaching kingdom of God.
200 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
They rehearsed a message from Christ that was said to have been brought down from heaven to Jerusalem, by an angel, denouncing the wrath of God against the sins of men, among which was included Sunday desecration, and setting forth penance by scourging as the only atone-ment. Another letter, purported to have been found in Rome, declared that pope and clergy had forfeited their official authority. These flagellants practised their penance according to fixed rules and under the guidance of masters, but no clergyman could become a master. These “ Cross-Brethren ” as they were called, believed that the blood caused by scourging mingled with Christ’s blood, and that this painful flagellation, continued 33 \ days, would wipe awray all taint of sin. They felt more and more that the means of salvation lay in their own hands, and that the services of the priesthood could be dispensed with.
To sumptuous Clement IV, this frantic wave of human-ity, hearing its own confessions and forgiving sins freely, was not agreeable, and he issued (1349) a bull against them. Philip VI, supported by the Sorbonne, forbade their entry into France; the King of Sicily threatened them with death ; elsewhere many were burned. All these efforts for their suppression only increased their zeal to denounce their persecutors as the predicted Antichrist.
During all this upheaval, the Catholic expositors of the prophetic word, according to Nicholas of Lyra, buried ithe true sense by superabundance of mystic interpretation. [He himself, between 132040־, filled many folios without ! doing much better. According to his misinterpretation,
\ the seals reached to Constantine, the trumpets to Justinian, ithe vials to 1094, etc. Innocent II bound Satan by found-ing the orders of St. FÍaSc^a 1Td St. Dominic. The first resurrection was but a change from sin to grace. The ^]006״years is but an m3efinite־ period of time reaching from tneTb'irth of Christ to the"end.~ "
While all Catholic expositors kept on the beaten track and still clung to Augustine, the Joachimites, Spiritualcs, Waldenses, Beghards, Béguins, etc., grew more and more confirmed in the conviction that the papacy was the predicted Antichrist, who would rule 1,260 years instead of so many days, and that the blessed time would be reached
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in the destruction of Antichrist, and the return of Christ as their great deliverer at the end of the 1,335 years.
XXXVI
THE PAPAL SCHISM :	“ THOSE DEVILS IN HUMAN FORM
HAVE ELECTED AN ANTICHRIST ”
As the eternal city fell into ruins, many Roman patriots longed for the God-sent Dux of Dante, and sincere friars yearned for the angelic pope* to fulfil the predictions
In Cola di Rienzij the son of an innkeeper on the Tiber, this fire Burned for years as he viewed conditions at Avignon. In this patriot “ the whole fervour of an enthus-iastic Joachimite was united with keen political insight and a talent for ruling which bordered on genius. Like all Joachimites, he believed firmly in the near approach of the age of the spirit. He was full of the idea of a future saintly pope, who, with the support of a pious emperor, would effect a revival of the Church and the reformation of the clergy. Cyril’s silver tablets exercised such influence over him, that he wrote to Charles IV : “ As the tables of stone to Moses on Mount Sinai, so had these of silver been given to Cyril on Mount Carmel ; and he could not but believe these prophecies, for Dominic, Francis, and the reigning pope were so plainly denoted therein.” The persecutions of the poor hermits carried on by the pope and by the inquisition had been so plainly predicted (Dôllinger, Proph. 137 ff.).
In 1453 Rienzi established a Roman republic, of which he was Tribune. He attempted to unite all Italy into a confederation under Roman leadership. Even the renowned poet, Petrarch, hailed him as the saviour of Italy. But the Roman barons and the papal legate soon ended his career. He spent several years among the hermit-like Fraticelli amid the Apennines, became a tertiary of their order, and, induced by their prophecies, went to the emperor, Charles (1350), who imprisoned him in Bohemia, and then turned him over to the pope. Even
202 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
in prison he clung to the belief that “ Cyril had foretold his sufferings, but that he was still the chosen instrument of God ” to regenerate the Church, and restore the Roman Empire by reuniting Italy. He was accused of heresy, called a “ schismatic, a blasphemer and persecutor of the church, a man of sacrilege, a deceiver, who deals with unclean spirits But instead of sharing the fate of the Fraticelli, at Avignon, Innocent IV sent him as his commissioner to Rome to overthrow another tribune, where he met his death at the hands of the populace (Dollinger, Proph. p. 138 f.).
Cardinal Hergenrother (K.G. iii. 87) mentions also a ' Bartholomaus Janovezius of Mallorca, who wrote a ¡"treatise in which lie asserted that Antichrist would appear in 1560, when the daily sacrifice and the sacraments would cease, and that all Christians would follow him. In 1561 he had to recant.	—
A Franciscan, Jean de l^l^ochetaille,‘} claimed that the Holy Spirit had^^Talè1^t^T1îm wlffie interpretation first, of the Apocalypse, and secondarily, of the prophetic utterances of Merlin and Joachim ”. He was imprisoned till his death. He saw his way clear to compress within 1356-1370 "a marvellous profusion of extraordinary complications, of radical catastrophes and sudden révolu-tions ”.	“ According to his notion, the transgression of
the rigid rule of poverty in the order is the true cause of all the plagues and calamities with which mankind are now visited. The salvation of the world and of the church can now only come from two ‘ poor cord-wearers of whom the one will become pope and the other cardinal 9 99 (Id. p. 87 ; D011inger> Proph. p. 140 f.).
^Petmrcm (1304-1374) probably derived his ideas from this man. He gave expression to his ideas of the future in his sonnet “ L’avara Babylonia ”, that “ Rome and the Roman See will one day hereafter—not so soon as I could wish, he adds—be swallowed up by a great Moham-medan empire ”, But after its idols were destroyed, the Joachimite age of the Spirit would begin (Id. p. 141). With Petrarch, the first man to ascend a high mountain to enjoy a better view of the landscape, the Renaissance period began. From his own observance of the Curia and
203
THYATIRA
of the sad havoc open simony made upon the Church, he drew frightful descriptions of the “ perishing, abominable Gallic Babylon ”, “ the Apocalyptical woman drunken with blood, the seducer of Chri§£ia.ns, and plague of the human race” (Epist. viii. 795 ; xvi. 806 f.). His friend, Luigi Marsigli, an Augustinian monk of Florence, declared that the papal court “ no longer ruled through hypocrisy, but only through the dread inspired by its interdicts and excommunications” (Janus, p. 231). Nicolas Oresne, Bishop of Lisieux, compared (1363) (when giving an address before Urban V) the Roman court with vile Israel and Judah, as described in Ezekiel 16, and refuted the proud imagination of the clergy, that the Church could not fall or fail by referring to Jerusalem’s destruction (Brown, Ease. Rer. Expect, ii. 487).
In Thuringia the longing for a deliverer manifested itself in a. tragic manner. A master of the Flagellants, Conrad Schmidt, influenced by Joachim, gave the form of a coim^Ee^ystem to their dislike for the Church. On the strength of the statement of Joachim that some twenty years of preparation would precede the age of the Spirit, Schmidt, dating the year of its commencement with the formation of the Flagellants (1348), declared that the reign of Dante’s Dux would begin in 1368. He believed himself to be the Dux in whom Emperor Frederick had revived. After his death his “ Cross-Brethren ” taught that he was the Enoch, and another Flagellant who was burned in Erfurt (1366) the Elias, the two witnesses of Revelation 11, and that since 1348 the Antichrist ruled the Curia. Al-though many Flagellants were burned at the stake, yet ;they held on, and as late as 1414 the inquisitor burned 127 near Sangershausen. They existed in secret even to the time of the Reformation.
But the worst denunciations of the corruption of the papal court at Avignon came from two women, honoured by the Catholic Church, who played an important role in the return of the popes to Rome. St. Bridget, daughter of a Swedish judge, when only seven years' of age had her first visions (1310). She married young. After the death of her husband, she moved to Rome, where she died in 1373. She wrote to the pope, as the words of Christ
204 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
spoken to her : “ Thou who should release the souls and present them to me, art in truth a murderer of souls. Thou dost scatter and tear the sheep worse than Lucifer, more unjust than Pilate, greedier than Judas, and more abominable than the Jews ; for they have crucified only my body ; thou dost crucify and punish the souls of my elect” (Rev. i. ch. 41, p. 49). At Rome this northern saint found the “ whole decalogue reduced to a single precept :	‘ Bring money,’ and she therefore predicted a
reformation which should proceed not from the pope, but from Christendom ” (Hase, C.H. p. 344).
Her contemporary, the famous Dominican saint, Catherine of Sienna (died 1380), exercised a successful influence'upon the return of the popes. In her mystic piety she believed that the Saviour had exchanged his heart with hers, had placed a matrimonial ring on her finger, and had impressed the marks of his five wounds on her body, which were, however, only visible to her (Hauck, R.E. x. 188). Her visions exerted a great influence over even the highest dignitaries, as her 373 epistles and different short oracles testify. She wrote Gregory IX : “ The prelates and pastors of the holy Church have turned in their arrogance, avarice, impurity of soul and body, from ministers into murderers of souls—into wolves and vendors of Divine grace ” (Hase, “ Katharina,” p. 126). She foresaw a general crusade for the conquest of Palestine and vainly tried to influence the pope to command one. She announced a thorough reformation, when the Church as the bride, now fully disfigured, would shine with the diadem of all virtues.
But the worst came with the great schism which forced doubts upon even most devoted Catholics concerning the papal system. The Italians wanted to regain possession of the papacy, and the French desired to retain it. Urban VI, a Neapolitan, had been elected in 1378. His first attempt at a reform gave immediate occasion for a rupture. He excommunicated some French cardinals for simony. Incensed over this, the French cardinals retired to Avignon, publicly annulled Urban’s election as having been extorted by violence, urged all the faithful to withhold their obedience toward this intruder, who was only an apostate,
THYATIRA
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antichrist, mocker, and troubler of all Christendom. They then elected Robert of Geneva as Clement VII, who made Avignon his capital. “ By dint of French influence, he was immediately recognized as pope in Scotland, Savoy and Lorraine, and, later, in Castile, Aragon and Navarre. On the other hand Germany, England, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Prussia remained on Urban’s side.” “ With this duality collapsed at once the whole theory and system of an infallible election, dictated by the Holy Spirit.” The imposing unity was destroyed ; only one pope could be the true vicegerent of Christ, the other an impostor and Antichrist.” “ There were persons on both sides, since accounted as saints throughout the whole Church, but who then anathematized one another; on the French side, Peter of Luxemburg, and Vincent Ferrer, on the Italian, Catherine of Sienna and Catherine the Swede. Meanwhile there were two papal courts and two colleges of cardinals,” each determined to put on their adherents the screws of extortion to the utmost (Gieseler, C.H. par. 104; Janus, p. 2Q2 ff. ; Geffken, Church, i. 263).
/Catharine, who called Urban “ the sweet Christ on eartlT^ltïoïïed upon the opposing cardinals as fallen angels, who placed themselves in the service of Antichrist, and she wrote Urban : “ I have learned that those devils in human form have made an election. They have not chosen a Vicar of Christ on earth, but an Anti-Christ.” To the opposing cardinals she wrote : “ You \vT10 are even angels upon earth have turned to the work of devils. You would seduce us into obedience to Anti-Christ ” (Pastor, H.P. i. 127). Both popes fought each other, not only with sen-tences of excommunication, but also with mercenary troops. “ What the Curia, during centuries, had devised as a means of punishment in its contest with secular princes, in formulas of excommunication and execrations, each pope now turned upon his rival. The one pope, lauded by his adherents as the bridegroom and lord of the whole church, as the vicegerent of God on earth, was styled in the writings and in the pulpits of the other . . . a discarded apostate and archheretic, an Antichrist, an idol of eternal damnation ” (Dôllinger, Papsttum, p. 152).
This great schism was to the noted Spanish Dominican,
206 TIIE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Vincent Ferrer, the clear evidence that the public manifesta-tíó1^f:th¿3^tichrist was imminent. He organized (1399) the pilgrimages of the white Flagellants, thousands follow-ing him, while he addressed tens of thousands. He regarded himself as having received a special call as the “ apostolic preacher ”, to prepare the world for the mani-festation of Antichrist and the last struggle. He sent (1412) a treatise to Benedict XIII “ On the Overthrow of Europe ”, in which he tried to show by Dan. 2 : 31-34; 4: 1417־, and from Joachim, that in view of the terrible corruption of the Church, both head and body, these prophecies of the near end were fulfilling and that the birth of Antichrist had taken place already—nine years before. Dóllinger(“ Prophecy ” p. 67) remarks that it caused the Dominicans “ some trouble to rescue the honour of the Prophet from the reproach of presumption and super-stition ”.
Prophecy was apparently in full bloom during this great schism. “ A late outcome of the circle of ideas and prophetic store of the Joachimite school is the treatise of the supposed hermit Telesphorus ” of Thebes. Having plunged deeply into the study of prophecy, he was told by an angel (1386) that the French pope and king would be victorious. About 1409 the German emperor, Frederick, will arise, set up a German antipope, but will finally be overthrown. The angelic pope and the French emperor will then conquer Palestine, ushering in the golden age of peace. To counteract this, a German Anti-Telesphorus appeared under the name of Gamaleon, who reversed the whole prophecy in favour of the emperor and pope (Dôllinger, Proph. pp. 152-158).
Hergenrother (C.H. iii. 125) gives a fair description of the confusion this schism caused in doctrines, and he might have added in prophecies, also :	“ The schism
caused the greatest confusion in the doctrinal conceptions concerning the papacy and concerning the position of the papal primate in the Church. This confusion was still increased by alleged prophecies of the imminent end of the world and the appearance of the Antichrist.״ But while even Catholic saints and prophets were confused, sincere
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THYATIRA
Christians in all lands were unanimous in more than one sense that “ devils in human form have chosen an Anti-christ ”.
XXXVII
WYCLIF’s “ OUR LORD POPE ” FORETOLD “ IN THE EIGHTH BLASPHEMING LITTLE HEAD״
Innocent IV called England “ a garden of delights, a well that never faileth ”. Of all lands, England especially felt the burden of her papal lord, so that the common prayer was : “ Lord Jesus, remove the pope from our backs, or curb his power.” An army of mendicants smothered in blood every attempt of the free churches to gain a footing. And yet it was just here that the morning star of the Reformation appeared, in spite of all opposition. J,p|p1 AVyclif (13241384־) was sent to the renowned university TfTOxford at an early age, and developed into “ the most eminent doctor of theology of his times, in philosophy second to none, in the training of the schools without a rival Roused to concern about his salvation during the fearful pestilence (1345), his spiritual experience was rich and abiding. Fearless in his convictions, he stood forth, with the word of God in his hand, a grand witness of truth, like some mountain top illuminated with the glory of the unrisen sun, while all the world was enshrouded in darkness.
Wyclif, combining great scriptural knowledge and learning with religious zeal and patriotism, soon became the champion of the government against papal encroach-ments. The king chose him chaplain, appointed him rector of Lutterworth, and he soon acquired a mighty influence as a lecturer and writer. The king sent him to Bruges as a member of a commission to treat with the papal legates on the pending issues (1374). As these negotiations lasted two years, Wyclif had ample opportunity to become fully acquainted with the greedy spirit of the Roman See. On returning, he defended parliament against “ the proud, worldly priest at Rome,
208 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
and the most cursed of clippers and cutpurses ”. When he was summoned by Gregory XI because of his protests against papal usurpation and monkish corruption, the government shielded him. Wyclif was fully aware that the sword of the spirit is the most effective weapon against papal assumptions, and therefore he wrote his important one-thousand page treatise on “ The Truth of Holy Scrip-ture ” (1378). Demonstrating its all-sufficiency, he refutes the objections of papal satraps who “ concede that the holy Scripture is very true according to its sense, but, as they construe its words, very false ” (De Veritate. i. 384.). It is its own interpreter, the fundamental document of the Church, the Magna Charta of her liberties, the God-given deed of grace and salvation. Who does not kpów it ,does not know Christ, its Alpha and Omega. ^Wyclif [(Id. iii. 262269־) applies Paniel’s fourth kingdom to "Rome, the ten horns embrace “ all our temporal lords ”, and the little horn in Dan. 7 : 2C is the pope : “ For so does our clergy foreknow ourtorapbpe, as it is told in the eighth k blaspheming little headL” “ Faith in the holy 'writ is ddïtam~'Th^	or clerical, is the greatest
opposer to the laws of Christ, he is also the mightiest Antichrist, and whatever time or year has been fixed to him for tyranny, is according to the prophetic sense predicted of all his time.” In the three and a half times he recognized the long period of apostasy, beginning with the donation of Constantine and ending when the apostasy had reached its height. /
Wyclif, assisted by faithful co-workers, laboured day and night to render the Word of God into his mother tongue. When it appeared, angry priests denounced him, for “ by his means it is become vulgar and more open to laymen and women who can read than it is wont to be to lettered clerks of good intelligence. Thus the pearl of the gospel is scattered abroad and trodden underfoot by swine, the jewel of the clerks is turned into the sport of the laity, so that what before had been the heavenly talent for clerks and doctors of the church is now the eternal common property of the laity ” (Chron. ii. 152). Wycliff replied that when so many versions were made for the Latins, it might certainly be allowed to one poor creature to convert it into
20g
THYATIRA
English for the Englishmen ; that they indeed condemned the Holy Ghost that gave the scripture in tongues to the apostles, to speak the word in all languages.
Wyclif aroused the greatest opposition by rejecting transubstantiation as the worst heresy. He says : “ Among all the heresies which have ever appeared in the Church, there was never one which was more cunningly smuggled in by hypocrites than this, or which in more ways deceives the people ; for it plunders them, leads them astray into idolatry, denies the teaching of the Scripture.” It attributes to the priest a transcendental power, as though a creature could give being to its Creator— a sinful man to the holy God ; again, because God himself is thereby dishonoured, as though He, the Eternal, were created anew day after day ; and lastly, because by this thought the sanctuary of sacrament is desecrated, and ‘ an abomination of desolation is set up in the holy placeי (Trialogus, iv. c. 2, p. 248 ; c. 7, p. 268).
"This profanation of the holy sanctuary by heathenish idolatry forms the substance of his popular tract, “ The Wickett (Straight Gate) ”.	“ Truly this must needs be
the" worst sin, to say that you make God, and it is the abomination of Daniel ” (pp. 216־).
. Next to the Bible he relied upon Augustine, and though he emphasized the fact that with the supposed endowment of Constantine venom was shed into the Church, yet he was so under the power of Augustine’s misinterpretations that the first thousand years after Christ seemed to him [the millennium ; “ but from 1000 onward Satan was let loose, and a millennium of lies set in ”. He thus conceived of the true Church : The “ Holy Church is the congregation of just men for whom Christ shed his blood ; and not mere stones, timber and earthly dross, which the priests of Antichrist magnify more than the righteousness of God and the souls of men ” (Vaughan, ii. 279).
He often quotes from Bishop Grosseteste’s writings as high authority, and the solemn protests he had made more than a century before against papal encroachments resounded louder than ever in Wiclif. The spectacle of Christendom divided by two papal courts, each condemn-ing the other as antichristian, shook his confidence in the
210 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
divine origin of the papacy ; and terrible as the schism seemed to him at first, in later treatises he even welcomed it : “ Christ hath begun already to help us graciously in that he huth cloven the head of Antichrist, and made the two parts fight against each other.” Although at first he saw iif tEe~Two opposing popes the Antichrist, more and more he came to see in the whole papal system Antichrist. Finally he plainly declares : “ the papal institution is ‘ full of poison ’, ‘ antichrist itself ’, ‘ Gog, the head of the Cæsarean clergy ’, ‘ the man of sin \ So far from the pope being necessary to the church, the church without popes and cardinals would enjoy a greater peace. He is not ‘ a God on earth *, ‘ a mixed God ’, but ‘ the leader of the army of the devil ’, ‘ a limb of Lucifer ’, ‘ the head vicar of the fiend ’, ‘ an apostate from the rule of Christ c a more horrible idol than a painted log ’, to whom it were ‘ detestable and blasphemous idolatry ’ to pay veneration. Rome, ‘ that holy place5 ! is more cursed than Sodom andx Gomorrah” (Workman, “Wyclif,” ii. 80 f.). “All wars׳ were evil, but a waTcaused by a pope for Kis own advance-ment stood condemned as the work of Antichrist, and all pleadings in its favour were but the lies of Satan. The pope had rejected Christ, so Christendom, especially the secular lords, must reject the pope, and by an alliance of the English and the Germans, restore the church to its primitive poverty ” (Id. p. 82).
While Wyclif vehemently condemned the other monks as “ possessioners ”, he commended the Franciscans, and “ this name is itself proof of his early sympathy with the spiritual Franciscans ” (Id. 94). In his translation of the “ Rule and Testament of §t, Francis ”, he maintained that the rule was still binding : he himself went bare-footed and was similarly garbed. There can hardly be a doubt that he was acquainted with the writings of the spirituales. In the general atmosphere which they created we can see the source from which Wyclif picked up many of his ideas and much of his phraseology, “ so that the pope was the mystic Antichrist ” ; when “ he was a student these ideas were in the air ”. Rumours of the hundreds of spirituales who went to the stake at Carcassone, Nar-bonne, Marseilles, and Venice, reached England and
211
THYATIRA
probably account for his frequent reference to his possible death on account of his opinions (Id. ii. 99 f.). In fact there was found among his manuscripts a treatise of ׳thirty-six pages written in,!356׳, entitled “ Last Age of the Church ”, which Vaughan and Neander ascribed to Wyclif. Joachim, Bede, Bernard, etc., are often cited. The calcula- : tion ofthe time of the end is very significant. When the ״T,2&?pyears had passed according to Joachim’s starting ־püînt-—the birth of Christ—some Spiritual (“ On Antichrist,” fol. 48b) dated them from the time when John wrote the Apocalypse,^. When the time passed again (1356) another Spiritual by an ingenious and complicated method extended the time to 1400. Wyclif himself was fully ׳persuaded that no one could foretell the day of judgment, but equally “ certain that this time was nigh at hand ”.
What the Spiritual Franciscans tried to bring about by an angelic pope, and utterly failed in accomplishing, this evangelical doctor set in motion without popes and car-dinals, merely relying upon the power of the Holy Scriptures and the Spirit of God.
In 1382 .Wyclif’s writings were condemned by the London-tribunal, and he was obliged to return to Lutter-worth, where he died two years later. His foresight, ^fiarpêned by the prophetic wOrd, caused the hopeful prediction, “ that some brethren, wdiom God may vouch-safe to teach, will be devoutly converted to the primitive religion of Christ, and will build up the Church like Paul ” (Dial. p. 271).
XXXVIII
REVELATION I¿ :_Ij־I7 ALREADY MANIFESTLY FULFILLED IN THE (LOLLARD) BRETHREN ”
¿m
What Christ commanded in Matt. 10 : 7-14 and executed in His day, and Waldo and Francis imitated, that Wyclif, constrained by the Spirit of God, also carried out by gather-ingj^oung men about him, and, after proper training, sent them out into the highways and byways to preach the everlasting gospel, and to warn against the papal Anti-
212 THE IMPELLING^foRCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
christ. “ Clad in russet robes of undressed wool reaching to their feet, without sandals, purse, or scrip, long staves \ in their hands, dependent for food and shelter on the ]goodwill of their neighbours, their only possessions a i few pages of Wyclif’s Bible, his tracts and sermons, moving constantly from place to place.״ Wyclif’s “ poor priests ” soon became a povver. in the land. Wyclif however, was fully convinced that amidst the terrible opposition and persecution, they must not only be “ known men ” in the Word of God, but also in spiritual experience, as he himself declared in his sermons (iv. 265) : “ 0 marvellous power of the Divine seed which overpowers strong warriors, softens hearts hard as stone, and renews in the Divine image men brutalized by sin, and infinitely far from God. Plainly so mighty a wonder could never be wrought by the word of a priest, if the heat of the Spirit of Life and the Eternal Word did not above all things else work with it.״ Their numbers in some parts so increased that “ every second man you met was a Lollard״. When (1387) Parliament issued its first mandates against the Lollards, Wyclif denounced it as monstrous that the papal Anti-christ should force kings to persecute Christ’s servants without knowing the cause (Workman, ii. 200-206).
Of all his adherents, JohnPuryew who was a student at Oxford when Wyclif’s influence \vas at its highest, became the most noted. “ As an invincible disciple, he , drunk deep of Wyclif’s most secret teaching, and became his inseparable companion, living with him at Lutterworth as his sëcretary,v and proving the stout executor in all things oPEEe doctrine of his master.” “ In 1390 Purvey ‘ the librarian^ of Lollard and glosser of Wyclif ’, as Foxe^ calls hi1ft",Avas imprisoned at Saltwood, Kent, and occupied his time with writing a commentary on the Apocalypse, from lectures formerly delivered by Wyclif ” (“ Dawn of *the Reformation”, p. 236). A copy of this commentary !found its way to Livonia, thence 150 years later to Lj^ther. ?It made such asleep impression*"on him that he at once had it printed at Wittenberg^^i¿28). As the author’s name was not mentioned, Luther cafled it “ A Commentary " of the Apocalypse, Written 100 years ago ”. TKeTTamburg Library copy oí this print contains 196 double pages.
213
THYATIRA
vThisr ■first>JPrc)testant commentary aims at every turn possible' t^bb mdeecl a~pro'test against the papal apostasy amT	. truth..of. tlie, evangelical doctrine.
Again and again the Lollard movement is named, and its noble work of preaching and distributing the Word of God under the greatest persecution is set forth as a fulfil-ment of the apocalyptic prophecies, especially Revelation !T^andju: 6-12. The.author is fully convinced that “ we ia^^Taay l¿ the, times .of the Aatiokri&k”, and that the *pop^Ttfre foretold Antichrist, and that therefore all the predicted warnings must be given. The seven Churches, ■jscajs, trumpets, and even the vials, are predictive of seven ?corresponding jrges in the New Testament era, and^that [with the	entT the smth state has been
Reached. He refers Revelation 6 to the crusades, to the ;papal indulgences connected with them, and to the in-Creasing frequency of the years of jubilee with their showers of gold, as cogent proofs that the papacy is the Antichrist. The slain martyrs are those who testified with heart, mind and deed for the truth of the evangelical doctrine and there-fore suffered death in the antichristian persecutions. The great earthquake with its accompanying signs he applies to the papal schism in 1382, which shook the antichristian Church to its foundations everywhere (pp. 59-62). In Revelation 7 he sees the sealing with the cross and resurrection of Christ experienced to that extent in the lives of the 144,000 that they believe the evangelical doctrine in their hearts, “ fulfil it in their deeds and do not fail to confess it for fear of Antichrist ”. The number
144,000	signifies fulness and perfection. Dan is left out of the sealed, not because it refers to a future Antichrist, but rather because it points out the papacy which declares itself to be universal judge and will therefore meet the same fate (pp. 70-72). In the first trumpet he finds him “ who first pointed out the Roman,PQpe.a&the Antichrist ” (p. 78). The little book of Revelation 10:2 he believes toTx^ fulfilled in the papal preachers suppressing the Scriptures, holding back their contents, while the time had arrived for the prophecies to be explained and the Gospel to be preached in spite of the bitterest of experiences caused by Antichristian persecution (pp. 9397־). This evangelical
214 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
preaching must be done in the holiness of Enoch, and in the power of Elijah. In the persecution of the woman and devouring of her man-child he sees not only the pcrsccu-tion of the saints, but also the then present attempt of the papal clergy “ to burn, destroy, condemn all books, i.e. sermons, gospels, epistles in the mother tongue, which we are forbidden to have, though it is allowpfljn the Hebrew, firee
fe
1st.
;instead of the gospel. He calls the-papal assertion that ;the Word of God does not suffice buf must be confirmed by papal decretals a part of the names of blasphemy. The papal power seduces the kings of the earth to exercise their secular authority to force all evangelical Christians to obey papal decretals. On Revelation 13 : 15 f. he says : “ As would not worship the image of the beast, i.e. conform not to the will of Antichrist. They are killed first by being outlawed. This is already manifestly ful-filled in the brethren whom all their persecutors consenting to Antichrist hand over to perpetual imprisonment, as far as lies in their power.” Themarjt in the hand is thought to refer to deeds conforming to the essential·־ faith of Antichrist, while the mark in the forehead indicates that they publicly justify his (Antichrist’s) faith (p. 124). The angel of Revelation 14 : 6 f. “ is sent by Christ to evangelize against Antichrist. While Antichrist with his apostles lies, saying that the status of the modern Church should be different from the ancient, they who proclaim the everlasting gospel contend that it should be the same ”. It is therefore evident that the papal Church is the synagogue of Satan. “ As the foretold dominion of these beasts in the church is the most manifest sign of the nearness of the final judgment, therefore do not give up in the severe persecution caused by Antichrist, for it will not be long.” As to Revelation 14: 8, “ a gloss calls Rome Babylon on account of its multiplied idolatry, but for a long time it has been much more Babylon, i.e. con-fusion, because of the multiplied simony, greed and sensu-ality perpetuated in it ” (p. 128).. After setting forth the preaching 0T the third message' “ with a loud voice, i.e.
k and Latin ” (p. in). I n thç^vflbça^fc of Revela-jjjie finds the imperial and the pap)'^'Lp¿_\vei^ opprcss-the__saints and ^ forcing them to ot>ey papal decrees
215
THYATIRA
'N.
N
fearless of death ” because of papal threatenings, he comments on Revelation 14 : 12 : “ Not less in persisting in the proclamation of the evangelical truth, but in teach-ing also by example what they preach verbally ” (p. 130). After showing the complete fulfilment in the papacy since its supposed etidowment by Constantine, speaking ofRevelation 20, he beginsjthe 1,000 year¿,\y;ith the passion of Christ, and states that^ J57vearshave passed since they ,expired—so that evidently *lie wrote in !390. He accords ! to AntirKrist 4j.- ,tir),£s1 ilLJjR .¿ears from ^33 till 1383, j· ¡and says “ since that time the pope is univerTalby dehounced jj by evangelical messengers as that great Antichrist ”. I As we are already in those 45 days of Daniel (i.e. the! difference between 1290 and 1335) which are given the elect for repentance, they (the papists) have already condemned us everywhere.” In Gog and Magog he sees the host which the pope has at his command to deceive and to persecute the preachers of the evangelical doctrine
(pp. 17.0-.173)·. .	-	-
The following year (1391)^ Walter: Brute, a graduate of Oxford, dares to defend the e^rîasïmg gospel before the scarlet-robed doctors of- the Church. Fearlessly he declares that the high bishop of Rome, by disallowing Christ’s commandments and enforcing his traditions, answers to the man of sin and is the chief of false christs. He is the idol of desolation sitting in the temple of God, and, for 3! times, taking away from Him the continual sacrifice. According to Matthew 24 : 15 this idol must be revealed to Christians by Daniel. Was not Rome the beast ascend-ing out of the sea and earth ? Who created the image to the beast and compelled small and great to take his mark ? Was it not Babylon the great ? Let it be admitted that this has been a mystery long hidden, and only recently revealed, for this agrees with Daniel 12:4. Now had come the time when the veil of mystery should be remo^yed^ancL: within a little while would come her destruction/(Foxe, iii. 137). Brute was fully convinced that a pro¿tj^^¿ay" stood for.a.*ycar, “ as commonly is taken in the prophets He firmly asserted that according to the rule of Ezekiel, the ten days of Revelation 2 : 10 denoted the ten years of persecution under Diocletian, the 5 months ni Revelation
216 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
9 : 515 יo years : “ Wherefore it is an unfit thing to assign the 42 months, being appointed to the power of the beast, unto 3J years, for the sign of that fanatical and imagined Antichrist out of Dan or Babylon.״ All this is “ a fable and erroneous ; let us go forward to declare whether Anti-christ be already come, and yet is he hid from many, and must be opened and disclosed within a little while accord-ן ing to the truth of the Holy Scripture, for the salvation ; of the faithful ״ (p. 146 f.).
As a Briton, he laid special stress upon the fact that the Gospel came to his native island direct from the East : “ It is well known that this kingdom is a wilderness . . unto this place fled the church, and for 1260 years the Britons continued in the faith of Christ.״ And well it is said that she flew to this place. For from the East came the faith into Britain, “ not by walking or sailing, for then should it have come by Rome, Italy, Almaine, or France, which cannot be found : and therefore she flew over these places. . . . And there seemeth to me the Britons, amongst other nations, have been, as it were, by the special election of God, called and converted to the faith of Christ ״ and “ they never start back from the faith ״. Brute expected that soon the papal seducer would be destroyed, and the elect would come to the perfection of the gospel, for the 1,290 years, begun with the setting up of the idol at Jerusalem, would soon end (pp. 142 f.). Some were of the opinion that “ Dux cleri ״ or “ captain of the clergy ״ applying to the bishop of Rome, was the 'solution of 666. “ Surely he doth recompense in fulfilment of Revelation 13 his friends with benefices corporal and spiritual, even honour them as saints when dead, therefore my counsel is, let the buyer be aware of those marks ; because that after the fall of Babylon he shall drink of the wine of God’s wrath״ (p. 185).
But the Lollards, as a body, after being refused hearing in open parliament,-nailed to the door of St. Paul’s and Westminster Abbey (T395)‘ a paper setting forth twelve conclusions which thèyTiad learned from “ the evangelical doctor ”. Workman (ii. 391 f.) ascribed the drawing up of this paper to Purvey. The English version begins : “We poor men, tresoreris of Christ and His apostles,
217
THYATIRA
denounce to the lords and the commons of the parliament certain conclusions and truths for the reformation of Holy Church of England, the which has been blind and leprous many years/’ etc. “ Since the Church of England had begun to dote on temporalities after her stepmother of Rome, faith, hope, and charity have fled, and pride has usurped her place.” The law of celibacy induces unnatural vice ; the pretended miracle of the sacrament leads to idolatry ; king and bishop is a union adverse to the true interests of the kingdom ; prayer for the dead is a false foundation of charity ; auricular confession exalts the pride of the priest. At the close they besought God that he might renew our Church to the perfection of her early beginning. As an answer, bloody persecution followed, and for the first time in the history of England a law was enacted (1400) for the burning ofjieretics “ on a high place btfore°the people ”. Priest gawtree Vas the Jirsy of the Lollard martyrs. Purvey recanted, but later returned to the evangelical party. The inquisition of heresy was now pushed forward with vigour ; many Lollards were burned —also in Scotland—and their books were destroyed, and the University of Oxford was strangled until it became a tool in the hands of the inquisition bishops.
Lord Cobham (Sir John Oldcastle), distinguished for military’ability, and an old follower of Wyclif, disregarded the legislation against the Lollards, and still promoted their preaching in his extended domain. On the accession of Henry V he was imprisoned in the Tower, and stated as his firm belief that the Scriptures were true, but not their lordly laws. “ For ye know no part of Christ’s holy Church, as your open deeds do show ; but ye are very antichrists, obstinately set against his holy law and will. ... And let all men consider well this, that Christ was meek and merciful ; the pope is proud and a tyrant ; Christ was poor, and forgave ; the pope is rich and a malicious manslayer, as his daily acts do prove him ; Rome is the very nest of Antichrist ; and out of that nest come all of the disciples of him ; of whom prelates, priests and monks are the body, these pilled friars are the tail behind ” (Foxe, iii. 331 ff.). Having escaped, he was apprehended again, and sentenced to be hanged as a traitor and burned as a heretic. Sus-
218 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
pended by chains, he was slowly burnt by the funeral pile beneath him* praising-{j0d. Many shared his fate after him. But the depilards-/prizing the prophetic declaration that the papal Antichrist should continue 1,260 .year-days, maintained their faith. According to Workman.(11,330) the growth of Lollardy among the common people lasted with varying phases “ right through a century and a half of oppression, until it merged itself in the larger movement we call the Reformation While rival popes and prelates called each other Antichrist, fought each other with carnal arms, and both parties persecuted the saints,,Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English poetry, portrayed the Lollard priest :
“ But rich he was of holy thought and work,
He was also a learned man—a clerk That Christ's Gospel truly would preach,
His parishers devoutly would he teach.
Wide was his parish, and houses far asunder,
But he left nought for rain nor thunder.
Upon his feet, and in his hands a staff.
This example to his sheep he yaf (gave),
That first he wrought and afterwards he taught.”
XXXIX
THE TESTIMONY OF CHRIST AGAINST ANTICHRIST SEALED WITH BLOOD
Another ״fruitful soil for the reception of prophetic light W3S Bohemia»״where the Greek Church had planted Christianity in the ninth century. This land was not fully brought under papal rule until the reign of Charles (1346־ 1378), who founded the first university of the empire in fragüe^ whither thousands of students flocked. Papal rule forced upon this Slavic nation the Latin tongue for their church services, and imperial rule brought with it the German language—sufficient cause of future contention.
According to Hergenrother (K.G. iii. 179) there were in the fourteenth century many mystics in Bohemia, who were zealous preachers, but embraced the views of the ]oachimites.	.was one of them, and had
adopted the idea of the reign ol^jjtichrist from the spiritual Franciscans.” He came from Cremsia in Moravia, was
THYATIRA
219
appointed archdeacon to the cathedral, and secretary-chancellor of the emperor. He was distinguished for his untiring zeal for souls and for his self-sacrificing chatily. “ Visited by the Spirit of Christ ”, as his discipl^afta^ records it, he renounced all, and his preaching in German, Latin, and Bohemian produced such effect (1363) that Prague “ from being a Babylon, was spiritually trans-formed, full of the word of Christ and the doctrine of salvation Applying himself with great zeal to the study of prophecy, by coftîBTmïïg‘^DràinkLl'2 :12 witlTTSTattRe^ 24 : 15, He thought he had made a wonderM'drsc&vdty that in 136^x367 the 1>33S. days would end, taking the p a s s io n“101" CRffiTf |Ts ^â^^mmng. His convictions were 50 stjong^Hat rtgt only did he reprove the highest prelates, but in a great assembly even pointed‘"'to the ׳êtn^éïôr with ־hi'S“ÎngeT^anî denouncecT hum as the Antichrist. After a short imprisonment the emperor assisted him to seek the advice of Urban VI (1366). The pope still delaying at Avignon, Militsch posted his statement on the portal of St. PetSHFfte inquisition imprisoned him ; but he was allowed to state his views in a treatise, and the Revelation of Antichrist ”.	“ Abomination 0Ï
desolation ;; coverrail Loiiuptiüïï rrrthe Church at any age, and the apostasy of the Jewish nation has met its antitype in the fall of the secularized Church from evangelical truth. Antichrist has already come. “ Iniquity has taken the upper hand.” Much simony is found in the monastic orders ; “ are not these abominations and idols ? And thus the temple of God lies desolate through the hypocrisy that reigns almost universally Angels sent forth by Christ to gather up the tares and sound the trumpet of judgment, symbolize the preachers of Divine truth, to destroy the reign of Antichrist, and to prepare the world for'the' second advent. He charged the pope “ that he ^HouTd^now "root up' the tares, the heretics, Beghards, Béguins and schismatics, who were all designed by the name of Gog and Magog ; that then the fulness of the Gen-tiles would enter the kingdom of God, and the true Israel alone be left standing ” (Neander, H.É. ix. 247 f.). This sermon, delivered before a large audience, made a deep impression. Urban received him kindly, and let him return.
220 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
He renewed his efforts in Bohemia with greater zeal until his enemies selected twelve articles from his writings, and sent these to Avignon. Being summoned thither, he died while his case was pending (1374).
The truth got even a stronger hold on	of
Tanow. who was called the Parisian master because lie had f studied six years there. In 1381 he became a prebendary !at Prague. Choosing the Bible as his friend and bride, from his early youth, he carried it ever with him, as others carried their relics. He used it above all else in his writings. Taught by it, there “ entered into his breast a certain fire, subtle, new, strong and unusual, but exceedingly sweet ”. His work “ Concerning the Rules of the Old and New Testaments ” Tsiaccdrdm^	i. 610,.
” one 0Γ the' most remarkable 0ΓΠ1¿ lrtT)rmatory produc-tions of the Middle Ages ”. As by that time several rival popes were “ demanding the allegiance of the people, and anathematizing each other, he was therefore enabled more definitely than Militsch to centre his notions of Anti-christ upon the papacy ”. He says : “ The Lord Jesus instructed me to write all this which relates to the present condition of priests, i.e. the carnal ones, and which throws light on the character of these times.” “ And he sent me his spirit who shoots the fire into my bones and in my heart, leaving me no rest till I expose the man of sin, and make known the hidden shame of the mother of harlots.” It is one of the	tricJcs.QÍ ,the arch enexny to persuade
men that Antichrist is still to come, when, in truth, he is, now pressent and so. hj&ieeilipr Jongjjme.	Antichrist
l “ Kas'Tnvente^tKe fictipn of another abomination still to come, that the church, plunged, still deeper, in error, may fpay homage to the fearful abomination which isj3r£S£11t I To hypocrites, the “ Holy Scriptures had become common and contemptible as if they were fable and a very lively song. Therefore had the devil obtained from the Lord ן so much power to deceive ”. 2 Thessalonians 2 was already fulfilled “ because_ we see, on the yyhnlpresent TTay,“ iir the^tlme of AntichristT^aTl the virtues neglected ^mong Christian people ”. God’s commandments arc' transgressed, and human ordinances and traditions, which really ought to be called “ superstitions ”, are enforced.
221
THYATIRA
The many ceremonies were only׳-the glory, of -Antichrist, and would soon ~be utterly extirpated. Dead saints were honoured, the living ones persecuted. As to the worship of images, he cried out : “ Alas ! the multitude of those who style themselves masters and men of wisdom, lay it down as an ordinance of God in the church, that images of wood, stone, and of silver are to be prayed to and worshipped by Christians, though Holy Scripture is in plain and express contradiction thereto.” He called it one of the greatest wrongs to deny the frequent communion, and thought that the laity were entitled to partake of it in both kinds. From the time of the Apostles for a thousand years the priest had, after taking the Lord’s supper himself, distributed it to others, “ until in these more recent times, through the increase and spread of sin this perpetual sacrifice has been abolished ”. He portrayed the Antichrist as the one who assumed the highest station in the Church, is accorded the highest consideration, arrogates dominion over all ecclesiastics and laymen, but especially misappropriates the Holy Scriptures, the sacrament, and all that belongs to the hope of religion, to his own aggrandizement, and employs in a crafty and subtle manner what was designed for the salvation of a Christian people, as a means to lead them astray from the truth and power of Christ. But one of the striking tokens of the end wras the papal schism, which he ascribed to the pleasure-pursuing, pomp-loving worldly spirit of the cardinals. The Church, in plain fulfilment of Revelation 16 : 19, was now split into three parts—the party of the Roman popes among the Italians, the party of the popes of Avignon among the French, and then the Greeks. In fulfilment of Matthew 24 : 23 everywhere the cry was heard : Lo, here is Christ, and 10 there. Clement VI was the Antichrist, who exalted himself, persecuted and killed the saints. The time of the destruction of Antichrist had begun in 1340, and Satan had been let loose near the close of the thirteenth century. According to Janow, not the literal Elias should prepare the way for Christ’s advent, but witnesses full of His spirit, and in Militsch Elias had reappeared. “ All that now remains for us,” he said, “ is to desire and pray for reform by the destruc-
222 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
tion of Antichrist himself, and to lift up our hands, for our redemption draweth nigh״ (Neanc^^
What Janow did by his pen, till nirckath in 1394, t0 ! awaken the spirit of reform among the learned, Thomas of Stiny did for masses. Being a charming writer, and combining religious earnestness with patriotism and a recognition of the rights of the lower classes, he prepared the masses for the coming upheaval.
The marriage of Princess Anna of Bohemia to Richard II of England (1382) caused considerable intercourse to be established between the two countries, and Bohemian students returning from Oxford brought some of Wyclifs writings with,, them. Among the students of Bohemia ·was John Huss of Husinetz. He descended from a poor *family, hart excelled in the study of philosophy and theology at Prague, acquired the master’s degree (1396), became dean of the philosophical faculty (1401) and its rector (1403). Having formed the friendship of Jerome, who had returned from Oxford (1398) bringing many of Wyclifs writings with him, Huss Jearned to esteem Wyclifs philosophical writings and made use of them in his lectures. Jerome, who had defended Wyclif while at Paris and in Heidelberg, spread his writings far and wide, declaring that this evangelical doctor had been the first to lay open the kernel of all science. Until 1402 Huss had taken a deeper interest in philosophy and scholastic theology, but during that year he was appointed preacher in the Bethlehem chapel, which had been established by two wealthy citizens “ to promote evangelical preaching ״. He now began to read Wyclifs theological writings, also, and soon his eyes were open to recognize the Bible as the sole source of all wisdom and doctrine. At the demand of the cathedral chapter the university condemned forty-five propositions of Wyclif against the Bohemian vote. Still Huss was the preferred speaker in the synods. But as he protested against the persecution of Wyclifs adherents, the contest began between him and the Archbishop Zbinek. King Waclav, taking a neutral position in the papal schism, met so much opposition on the part of the university that he finally gave the Bohemians three votes, the foreigners but one. Thousands of German students left Prague
223
THYATIRA
with their teachers, and a neuLiiniversity was founded at Leipzig. Huss was chosen.,as rector. But some two hundred volumes óf the writings of Wyclif, Militsch, etc., : were'BífrnécT ín obedience to a papal bull (1410) and Huss r; was excommunicated. However, as the king and queen : and the nobility espoused his cause, the excommunication was removed. Huss was finally convinced that only the jealousy of Antichrist was at the bottom of this, full of joy he reported: “The whole Bohemian nation thirsted after truth ; it will know only the gospel.״
When John XXIII had his crusading bull published against his rival, with the usual promises of indulgences, Huss boldly opposed, and Jerome earned the greatest applause in public disputes. Students snatched the papal bulls from the preachers of these indulgences and burned them. Three youths who interrupted the reading of the bulls were executed, but Huss buried them with all honours, as the first martyrs, in Bethlehem chapel. The theological faculty, composed of eight professors, revived the con-demnation of the forty-five articles of Wyclif, and added jsix others of Huss. Significant is the. second : “ Thajt^in \these days, to suppose that great Antichrist is present, and rules, who according to the faith of the Church, and according to Holy Scripture, and the holy teachers, shall appear at the end of the world, is shown by experience to be a manifest error.״ A Roman synod followed suit, and excommunicated Huss in 1413. At the request of the king Huss had to retire from Prague to the strongholds of his friends. But from there he exhorted the rector of the university and his board to be ready for a trial : “For the prelude of Antichrist must begin first, and then the contest will go on in right good earnest. And the goose (a play on the name of Huss) must flap her wings against the wings of behemoth, and against the tail which always conceals the abominations of Antichrist. The Lord will reduce the tail and his prophets to nothing, i.e. the pope and his prophets, the masters, teachers and jurists, who, under the hypocritical name of holiness, conceal the abominations of the beast.״ He then adverts to the papacy being the abomination of self-deification in the holy place, as the papacy made traffic of spiritual things. “Woe
2¿4 THE impelling force of prophetic truth
then unto me if I do not preach of that abomination, if I do not weep over it, write about it ! ” To his beloved flock at Bethlehem he wrote that “ at first they prepared snares, citations, and ban for the ‘ goose ’, and already they are lying in wait for some of you ”. But truth always conquers, “ the more it is obscured the more it shines out, and the more it is beat down the higher it rises. And this same truth has sent to Prague instead of one feeble goose, many falcons and eagles, which excel in sharpness of vision all other birds. These, by the grace of God, soar upward, and swoop away other birds to Jesus Christ, who will strengthen them and confirm all his faithful ones ” (Neander, H.E. ix. 422 f.}.
exile he wrote his most noted work “ On the Church ”, which, “ through an endless multitude of argu-meïïÎsTàffacked the plenitude of the papal potver ”. He regarded the clerical body in it “ as made up of two sects : !the clergy of CJ^Vc&dio lean on Christ as their leader, and those of Antichrist¿ who lean for the most part or wholly on h1iffiSfTTaws"ahd the laws of Antichrist ; and yet pretend to be the clergy of Christ, so as to seduce the people by a more cunning hypocrisy ”. Comparing present priestly craft with the pharisaical, Huss continues : “ It was because I preached Christ and the Gospel, and exposed Antichrist, anxious that the clergy should live according to the law of Christ, that the prelates ” contrived to get a bull and had me placed under ban. “ Christ is the all-sufficient head of the church, as He proved during 300 years of the ^xistence of the church ; and still longer ” in which time It prospered under bishops of the same level. Monsters of papal heads have only provoked heresies and divisions : “ for it is evident that the greatest errors, and the greatest divisions have arisen by occasion of this head of the church, and that they have gone on multiplying to this day.” The Church is sufficiently provided in the invisible guidance of the promised Spirit of truth. In chapter xxxi, (fol. 245) he declared that the execution of the three young men was simply a fulfilment of Daniel 11 : 33. In the very words of Janow he stated that in th'e last days Antichrist was to haveTTKepower to deceive through his lying wonders. But in order to try the faith of the elect, the true Church ;
225
THYATIRA
must go about in the form of a servant : “ Prophecy is wrapt in obscurity, the gift of healing removed, miracles are withheld ; ” but “ it is a greater miracle to confess the truth and practise righteousness, than to perform mar-vellous works to the outward senses ” (Neander, ix. 361 f.).
A reform council was called at Croyance, and. Fmperor Sigismund, who urged it most, prevailed upon Huss to attend, granting him a safe conduct and a fair hearing. However, in violation of the imperial safe conduct, Huss was imprisoned on the charge of heresy. “ In prison and cold irons ” he wrote his friends after his hearing : “ Surely even at this day is the malice, the abomination and the filthiness of Antichrist, revealed in the pope and others of the council. ...	0 how acceptable a thing should
it be to disclose their wicked acts, which are even now apparent. ... I trust in God that He will send after me those that shall be more valiant ; and there are alive at this day those that shall make more manifest the malice of Antichrist, and shall give their lives to the death for the ׳truth of our Lord Jesus ” (Foxe, iii. j02 ff.).
In May, 1415, Wyclif war solemnly declared “ the leader of heresy in that age יי ; his books were ordered to be burned, and his bones disinterred. Comparing the writings of Wyclif and Huss, as Loserth does (p. 181 ff.), it is very apparent that the larger part^of Huss’ writings are^¿nade up almost wholly of extracfFïmm Wyclif. "ïne evangelical aoctor was the original genius, and Huss was to him as g planet to^ the sun. July 6, 1415, Huss was hastened to^ the stake, bearing on his head a cap painted with devils with the inscription, “ arch-heretic ״. May 30, 1416, ^ Jerome followed. Their ashes were :ast into the Rhine, as Wyclif’s soon after were thrown into the Swift, and borne at last by the waves of the ocean that touch all shores, a fit emblem of their doctrines which were to be dispersed over all the world.
A Hussite Cantonale of 1572 contains a hymn to the memory of Huss, the page of which is adorned with three medallions : the first representing Wy cl ifs t _r ifoipg, g spark, below him Huss kindling the light, an JT^nerat th¿ioot brandishing the lighted* torch. The true relation of the three Reformers to each omer could hardly be better expressed !
226 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
XL
THE VICTORIOUS MAXIM :	“ TRUTH WILL CONQUER ALL
The council at Constance (June, 1415) had to admit that Christ had instituted the Lord’s Supper in both kinds—bread and wine ; that He had thus administered mt to His apostles ; and that the primitive Church had followed this custom. In spite of this admission, the council condemned the assertion of this practice as a heresy worthy of excommunication and of severe punishment by the inquisition (Gieseler, H.E. v. 61).
This decree, the burning of Huss, and the contempt the council showed for Bohemia as infested with heresy, roused the most violent ferment in the country. Huss was honoured as a martyr, the university lauded him as “ the rector without an equal, and virtue itself Bohem-ian and Moravian nobles sent a protest, covered with 452 seals, to the council, and joined in a league for six years in protection of purity of doctrine. The burning of Jerome added new fuel to the fire, and after the university had pronounced in favour of the communion in both kinds, the great bulk of the nation was won over. The council issued instructions, stating how the heretics should be quelled by force, and the pope sent legates to carry it out.
In view of the danger, the Hussites held great mass meetings on hills, called “ Tabor to celebrate the Lord’s Supper under both kinds. At the largest of these meetings (1419) not less than 42,000 pilgrims were gathered in tents. Whoever attended, without distinction, was simply called “ brother ” or “ sister ” ; all were of one heart and mind in their endeavour to restore the happy condition of the early Church, and to prepare for the advent of their Lord. They encouraged each other by preaching and mutual edification to hold fast to the bond of union, and to cling to the “ consecrated cup ”. Such a “ Tabor-gathering was indeed a grand religious-idyllic national feast, elevating both heart and spirit ” (Czerwenka,
i.	122). KingWaclav, urged by his imperial brother and the council, began to suppress the Hussites. During this
ך22
THYATIRA
time of trouble, a monk, John of Selau, preached to a large audience in Prague on the"Âpocalÿemphasizing the soon comingj)f Christ. As his audience passed in solemn procession before the city hall, some of the council men derided them. They, John Ziska among them, stormed the city hall, and threw seven of the council men out of the windows, whom the furious mob caught on their pikes. The king died in a fit of rage, and, in the confusion, some of the hated convents were sacked and destroyed. As the people would not submit to the hated Sigismund, complete anarchy ensued, still increased by a split in the Hussite movement itself.
Ever since the variance with Rome, Bohemia had become the gathering place of the Waldensians, who, elsewhere persecuted, here found an excellent soil for their scriptural views in opposition to Catholic traditions. They were known in Bohemia as Pikards or Beghards. TheCalixJUjies, chiefly of Prague, would not advance beyondTTusTand Jacobellus, and drew up their doctrines in four articles
(1421)·	,	,	f-------.N
But the other Hussites, taking the name ^Taborite¿ influenced by Wyclif and the Waldensians, asserted tlie sole and absolute authority of the canonical scriptures in matters of faith and practice. In their confession of faith (1420) they declared : “ That no written or spoken statements of any doctors whatsoever are to be held or universally believed, except what are explicitly contained in the canon of the Bible,” and “ that no decrees of the holy fathers or institutions of the elders, no rites of any sort or tradition humanly invented, are to be held ; but all such things are to be abolished and destroyed as traditions of Antichrist ”. They rejected all ceremonies that had grown up in connection with the mass, repudiated the doctrines of purgatory, prayers for the dead, intercession of saints, the veneration of relics, shrines, images, transubstantiation and consubstantiation, and held only to the spiritual presence of Christ, while partaking of the simple cup and bread. They believed themselves to be the true Church of Christ, and regarded the Roman Church as that “ of the beast and of the harlot, the house of lies ”. In their demand for free preaching, the confiscation of ecclesiastical
228 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
property, a moral clergy, and a return to apostolic living, they were like the Calixtines. Their shibboleth in their struggle with the papal crusaders whom they styled “ Antichrists.”, was the cup for the laity. They were invincTBlQas long as their armies. remained -united under ^t5Kn^S»kS)and the statesman,Nicholas of Hussinetz., ־ ״״-*׳^mce’Tlie worst wras to be feared, as soon as Sigismund could give attention to Bohemia, both parties asked the university whether warfare was against the Scriptures, and the answrer was given :	“ War is permitted only in
case of self-defence ; to promulgate the gospel writh the sword is unchristian. The Christian should try to disarm his opponent with patience and overcome him with love and instruction ; but when the enemy threatens to extir-pate the faithful with the sword, then wTar with the swT0rd becomes an imperious duty” (Czerwenka, i. 128).
By this time the Catholics were so enraged against the Hussites that in the mining district of Kuttenberg rewards were offered for the capture of heretics. The Hussites were hunted like game, and when caught killed and burned. During 1420, not fewer than 4,342 Hussites were cast alive into some deserted mines of Kuttenberg. The Hussite preachers pointed to such terrible deeds as further fulfilments of the antichristian persecution. Surely> rthe abomination of desolation predicted, in Dapie] 1? : 11 stood in the holy place ן the saints were indeed dispersed, [but they”expected that soon “ all these things shall be finished ”, and the Lord would appear as the deliverer of His people. To meet the great armies of the crusaders and the knights in mail, Ziska taught his mechanics and peasants how to cover their flails with iron, and how׳ to transform their wagons, chained together, into formidable barricades.
To create a strong refuge for the faithful to flee to (before “ Antichrist ”) a new town was built on a broad, steep hill, surrounded on three sides by streams, and it was strongly fortified. The town was called Tabor, and one of the streams, Jordan ; this towm is still preserved in its ancient form.
Many were deeply impressed, by these terrible persecu-tions, that the “ time of trouble ” had indeed come. Not
229
THYATIRA
a few in Bohemia and in Moravia sold their possessions, and flocked in great numbers to one of the five cities of refuge, which they believed would be spared, when, in the time of recompense, the dwellings of sinners and hypocrites, and especially of Prague, the New Babylon, would be destroyed as Sodom of old. Convinced that the time had come to heed the injunction of Christ to flee into the moun-tains, and, imitating the early Christians, they placed the amounts received for their possessions in the hands of their preachers (Pidâ.çkyx iff. 2, 80 f.).
A young priest, M. Hauska, who had visions of an Augustinian earthly kingdom, was the prime mover in this. He believed that as the Catholics used their crusad-ing armies, so also the Taborites should purge their Canaan from the heathen, who had everywhere erected their idols upon altars. But in the autumn of 1421 the Taborite synod elected a bishop to prevent similar derailments of their priests, and Hauska was soon caught and beheaded.
During the autumn of 1420, pope and emperor sum-moned entire Christendom to arms “ to extirpate the Wyclifites, Hussites, etc.״ Ziska’s friend, John of Selau, now saw in Sigismund, who “ founded the order of the golden dragon, the sevenheaded fiery red dragon, which came to devour the child of the august lady of heaven, the newly-born truth, and against whom it was now necessary to fight for the salvation of the world The large army of crusaders, gathered at Saaz, fled panic-stricken at the approach of Ziska with his Taborites. Ziska, falling a victim to the plague (1424) Procopius the Great dispersed the mighty armies like chaff at Miesz (1427), and at Taus (1431), the moment the Taborites began to chant their war song, “ Ye who are Warriors of God”. Cardinal Cesarini was glad to save his life, leaving the papal bull, his golden crucifix and his silk robe in the hands of the victors. Fully convinced that force could not prevail, the papacy now resorted to diplomacy, and this, Cesarini, presiding at the Basle council (1431-1449), successfully employed. The Bohemians were invited to attend, and their three parties, Calixtincs, Taborites, and Orphans, sent fifteen delegates with quite a retinue. The Taborite Lauda carried a standard; on the front was Christ crucified,
¿3° THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
and on the back the cup with the inscription : “Veritas omnia vincet : ” “ Truth will conquer all.״ Cesarini, aided by. Nicholas Cusa, attained his object to divide the parties, and to make a special compact with the Calixtines. Still Constance and Basle present a wonderful contrast ! At Constance the cup of laity was forbidden and the defen-ders. of it declared heretics and burned ; in Basle the cup was granted on good grounds, and its advocates were kindly treated and could be free to preach !
The Taborites were entirely defeated by the Calixtines (1434). Pope Pius II, who visited Tabor (1451), called it “ the seat of Satan, the temple of Belial, and the kingdom of Lucifer ” ; but he admitted “ that in this heretical nest there could hardly be found a maid who did not know the Old and New Testaments ”. Tabor was taken by King Podiebrad (1453), and in their affliction the Taborites had their eyes opened to the unreality of a millennium in this sinful world, and learned that the kingdom of Christ is not set up by the sword of Gideon. They were greatly aided in this change of views by the teachings and writings of Peter Chelcicky, one of the foremost thinkers and writers of his time.
When the CalLxtiaes-(1440) obtained some important concessions from the papacy he wrote “ The Net of Faith In this he rejected any union of Church and state, all carnal warfare, and the papacy as the very system of Antichrist. As by adding mesh to mesh the real net is formed, likewise by joining one scriptural truth to the other, the net of faith, pulling believers out of the sea of sin. But the pope and the emperor—two large whales—have torn this net. Constantine wallowed the popish whale into it, and tore it, and then came in himself with all his pagan superstition. That papal ordinances are set above Christ’s law has recently been demonstrated at Basle in the controversy about the layman’s cup. The state is a necessary evil ; the greater evil is the so-called “ Christian state ” ; but the greatest evil of all is the civil power in union with the Church. The expression “ Christian state ” is a contradiction ; it is Christian only in name, for it is essential to the state to use compulsion, which is foreign to the spirit of Christianity. Equality and brotherhood
231
THYATIRA
being fundamental requirements of God’s law, can never be realized by any form of civil government. Augustine, seeking to justify the employment of force in religion, sucked blood instead of milk from the Scriptures. Chcl-cicky quoted Wyclif, and was deeply indebted to him and to Huss. In vain did he try to winRokycana, the leader of the Calixtines, who, when Rome did not confirm him as the archbishop, stormed against the pope as one closely related to the apocalyptic beast.
But what Rokycana admitted as scriptural, without carrying it into effect, his nephew, Gregory, carried out. Chelcicky convinced this young noble that “ Antichrist had established himself everywhere ”. Gathering about him (1453) others equally zealous for reform, Gregory obtained from Podiebrad permission to settle in the village on Kunwald to realize his religious ideas. At first they called themselves “ Brethren of the Law of Christ ” ; later, merely “ Brethren ” ; and finally, Unitas Fratrum. Fearing their growing influence, Podiebrad banished all who refused to become Calixtine or Catholic (1461). Gregory and some of the brethren were imprisoned, others were burnt. So the brethren formed a separate church (1464-1467), in token of their separation from antichristian Rome, each receiving a new baptism, which they con-tinued till 1535. They selected their elders by casting lots, and had them ordained by a Waldensian bishop. Gregory died in 1473. In his last treatise “ On the Endur-ing of Tribulation ”, he charged the brethren to suffer tribulation with all patience. They absorbed the Taborites, received many Waldensians, and a large number of the Bohemian and Moravian nobles became sympathetic and protected them. When some of the nobility desired membership among them, they changed some of their strict rules against exercising civil functions and per-forming military service in urgent need. Lukas of Prague
/ r	ן j	רו	· ו·	. ■&&Μ₪**1"<**η*<** י Η:
(14901528־) became their leading spirit, a university graduate and a prolific writer. During their persecutions they spread into Transylvania, Moldavia and even to the Caucasus. Lukas visited the Waldenses in their valleys, and revised and republished their noted treatise \“ Concerning Antichrist ”. The brethren systematically
232 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
promoted education, made free use of the printing press, and under Bishop Lukas’ leadership circulated far more literature than the Catholics and Calixtines of Bohemia combined. Through them many editions of the Bible or portions of it were circulated widely in the vernacular languages. They also did much to awaken religious life and thought in Germany, so that Newman (II. 600) calls it a mistake to suppose that the Lutheran reformation represents the inauguration of evangelical life in Germany. In 1500 the Brethren numbered some 100,000 souls, scattered among three to four hundred churches. They fought, lived, and overcame by the Word of God alone. Many, dying as martyrs, raised up new witnesses. Among the Brethren, the Taborite maxim, “ Truth will conquer all ” became a living reality.
XLI
CARDINAL CUSA RECOGNIZES THE TWENTY-THREE HUNDRED DAYS
As with prophecy itself, so with prophetic time : it ;was gradually given and gradually unfolded. Ezekiel gave the right canon for the measurement of prophetic days, and the exact fulfilment of the 70 week period in the baptism and death of Christ sealed as it were the prophetic visions and confirmed the measuring of all such periods on the year-day principle. Early expositors saw in the 3| days of Revelation 11 : 11 so many years ; then (âhouï1200~־) Joachim saw in the 1,260 çUys of Daniel and John so many year-days. After the׳ passing of that time, other expositors saw in the 1335 days of Daniel 12 : 12 so many years, reaching down to the blessed time of the end. Finally, 1452, the “ deepest thinker of his age ”, Cardinal Cusa, also perceived in harmony with Ezekiel’s canon that The 2,300 days of Daniel 8: 14 signified 2,300 years, when God’s sanctuary was to be cleansed.
Krebs of Cues near Treves, known as Nicholas, of Çusa, a doctor of canon law, began his high career in connection with the council of Basle, in which he figured very pro-mincntly. In his day he excelled in theology, in the
TH Y ATI RA	233
classics, in astronomy, and in mathematics. His renown is acknowledged in recent Catholic and Protestant biog-raphies. He maintained the superiority of general councils over the pope in his work “ On the Authority resting with the General Council Pope Eugene entrusted him with the important mission to Constantinople, where he pre-vailed upon the Greek emperor and his leading prelates to attend the council of Florence with him. He was created cardinal (1449), and as papal legate he success-fully solved some of the most difficult problems. Ere his death (1464), he founded a hospital at Cues for 33 poor, answering to the 33 years of the Lord’s life on earth. Of all his many works a small tract of only a few pages “ Conjectures Concerning the Last Days ”, has awakened 'the most lasting inquiry. It was written in Latin (1452), soon afterwards translated into French, and appeared in German (1745).
Apparently the duration of the earthly life of Christ and a corresponding number of years of jubilee occupied an important place in his mind. All time, rests with God and it is not for man to fix the exact year of the end of the world, for many have failed in their conjectures. Still the Word of God contains some suggestions of the duration of the Christian dispensation in the nearly 34 years of the earthly life of Christ. There is a certain relation between the years of the earthly life of the Head to the years of the existence of the Church, His body. This relation He Himself points out in Luke 4: 1721־, that with Him the agreeable year of jubilee had begun. A year of jubilee consisting of fifty common years would answer in the duration of the Church as the body to a year in the earthly life of the Head. The time of Christ is a time sanctified to God, a Sabbath, of which He is the Lord, and in which there is to be found a rest from work as well as a rest of time. A day of Christ is a Sabbath day, but a year of Christ is a year of jubilee. Seven is a holy number, the seventh day a Sabbath, the seventh year a sabbath year, and after seven sabbath years, the year of jubilee. As Christ spent nearly thirty-four years on earth, we may expect the end of this dispensa-tion in the thirty-fourth jubilee year. In 1452 there were
234 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
already twenty-nine jubilee years past, so counting thirty-four from the resurrection of Christ the end of this dis-pensation would come after 1700 and before 1734. As John the Baptist, filled with the Spirit of God, prepared the way for the first advent, so likewise men in the last days filled with the Holy Spirit would arise in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the world for the second advent. In the last days all sorts oLsjgns. and wonders would happen to announce His approach, but one of the most striking would be that there is to be no place or dwelling where Christ and His faith are not to be proclaimed. Then Satan will cause the greatest persecution and nearly destroy the Church of Christ, answering to His death. !But after having its resurrection, as it were, the Church Svill desire to meet her bridegroom, and He will return in glory to judge the world, and redeem His own. In proof that this conjecture of thirty-four jubilee years was correct, Cusa quoted Philo, according to whose com-putation the flood occurred after the lapse of thirty-four jubilee years from Adam. As a further proof he refers to Daniel who “ revealed in what manner the last abomina-tion would take place, namely, after the cleansing of the sanctuary, when the visions and the prophecy will be sealed, and this would happen 2,300 days from the hour when the commandment went forth. This revelation he received in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar or the first year of Cyrus who preceded Christ about 599 years according to Jerome, Africanus, and Josephus ; therefore it is certain that the resurrection of the Church according to the number stated above and taking, accord-ing to the explanation of Ezekiel, a day for a year, will take place after 1700 and before 1750, which agrees with our premise ”.
Cusa lived to see the fall of Constantinople (1453), which caused a large number of Greek scholars to take refuge in Italy. Their coming, and the newly discovered art of printing, produced a revival of letters and art, called the Renaissance. But while chisel and brush created the finest works of art, the profligacy of the renaissance popes (1447-1521) reached its climax. Cusa, after ex-periencing the failure of all reform councils and fathoming
*35
THYATikA
the causes of the deep corruption in the despotic and greedy papacy, foresaw, according t<y Dollinger (Kl. ;Schriften, S. 494 f.), its still deeper fall: rcThe church Avili sink still deeper, until it seems finally extinct . . . hut then it would arise again victorious in sight of all the doubting ones ! ”
Roused by the overgrowth of evil, individual men of loftier spirits arose like the prophets of the Old Testa-ment, but as Gieseler (H.E. v. 154 f.) states it, only to “ meet with the same fate as these did The Carmelite Connecte, a successful preacher of morality in Flanders, was^burned in Rome (1432). The Dominican cardinal, Andrew, died in prison at Basle (1484) for administering an evangelical rebuke to Sixtus IV. John of Wesel closed his life in prison (1482) for assailing the papal errors and showing the way back to the Bible. The Franciscan, John flilten, languished from 1457 until his death about 1500 jlmtEe closest confinement,' because he applied the pro-phecies to the corrupt papacy. In prison he wrote a commentary on Daniel and Revelation, parts of which came to the knowledge of the reformers. He denied the papal claim to be vicar of Christ, saw Revelation 17 ful-filled in the papal Church, whose fall he expected about 1516. He saw in the Turks Gog and Magog, believed with Joachim in a reformation of the Church and ex-pected the end about 1651 (R.J^.^iu..7,8 f.). Melanchthon makes mention of him in his “ Apólogy ” (pp. 0.F.-2Q : “ For we have seen the works which he wrote. And they which knew him, report him, that he was a gentle old man and altogether honest without any waywardness. This John showed, beforehand, many things, which partly have come to pass already, and partly seem to be near at hand.” His final prediction about the monks has surely been exactly fulfilled : “ There shall another come in 1518 which shall destroy you, neither shall ye be able to resist him.”
But the most noted of these worthies was the Domini-can friar of Florence. Girolamj^	who filled
the Orient and the Occident withtifc glory of his name as a popular preacher, prophet, statesman, spiritual adviser, and man of letters. In 1489 he began to expound
236 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
“ the soul-inspiring, spirit-stirring Apocalypse. How his imagination was fired—his eloquence wakened ! Words poured from him like \vater from the divine foun-tain of life, and the new light of the gospel truth sur-rounded his brows with a glory like the aureola of saints. He stood before the people as a prophet ”. Like in Pharaoh’s time, will it also be “ in our corrupt times, from which all the virtues have vanished, and in which all the vices are rampant ”.	“ The popes have attained
through the most shameful simony and subtlety the highest dignities.” Now, after many centuries of God’s long suffering, “ at last the justice of God appears, demand-ing that the rulers of the people, who with base examples corrupt all the rest, should be brought to heavy punish-ment, and that the people of Asia and Africa should be made partakers of the light ”.
So many people listened to his expositions of the prophecies that there was scarcely room for the monks, and the effect was indeed great. He was fully persuaded that the Church must be reformed in his time, that all ,Italy would be first heavily visited, and that soon. “ People of Florence,” he would exclaim, “ give your-selves to the study of the sacred Scriptures !”	“ God
will send you a holy pope.” When Alexander IV offered him the red hat, “ he heard more violent denunciations than ever fulminated from the pulpit of San Marco. No other hat will I have than that of martyrdom, coloured with my own blood ”. To him Babylon and Rome were synony-mous terms : “ What is Babylon but Rome ! Babylon signifies confusion. There is not in the world greater confusion of crimes and all sorts of iniquity than at Rome. Since they have made it a dwelling of harlots, God will make it a stall for swine and horses ! ” (“ Life of Savona-rola,” pp. 8895־ f., 149 f., 261). Shortly before he was publicly burned as a heretic (1498), he preached : “ Rome will not quench this fire, and if this were quenched, God would kindle another, and it is already kindled everywhere, only they do not know it” (Dôllinger, Proph. p. 163). But while these martyrs were imprisoned and burned for their faithful testimony, popular songs in the streets of Rome “ satirized openly and boldly the faults at which
237
THYATIRA
Luther trembled while he denounced them ”. Even chil-dren sang the \vell־known song : “ Rome has vilely fallen ! ” Savonarola in his “ Ruin of the World ” portrays the in-fidelity of the Roman See :
“ Thus the whole world seems to be destroyed,
And virtue and a noble walk of life, seem Utterly extinguished to the last spark.
Where shall I find still a ray of hope ?
Where one who of his vices is ashamed ?
One says, ‘ God is not,׳ another, ' He sleeps ! ' ”
XLII
“ A THOUSAND VOICES HEARD FOR A REFORMATION IN THE HEAD AND MEMBERS”
The entire Renaissance period resounds with endless calls for a thorough reformation of pope and Church. The most terrible serfdom under which the peasants languished only־ strengthened their belief, in view of the increasing corruption, that the last days had commenced and with them the abasement of all that was high. Peasants like Hans Werner, who “ could read and knew almost the whole Bible by heart ”, disputed with the priests, saying : “ The Bible says thus and so.”
A programme for an uprising of German peasants appeared as early at 1438, and some thought to have found the desired reformer-prophet in the shepherd, Hans Boheirn, who, in consequence of an alleged vision, beat his kettle drum (1476). Thousands thronged about him, to listen to his calls to repentance until his burning at Würzburg. The popular preacher, Geiler of Kaisersberg, put in the mouth of the thousands who heard him : “ Christianity is destroyed from the pope to the church warden, from the emperor to the shepherd.” An engraving known as the papal ass represented Rome as a female monster with the feet of a beast, the tail of a dragon, and the head of an ass. Everywhere a popular treasure of prophetic literature grew up ; the most noted and widely circulated were the prophecies of the hermit Lichtenberger, full of illustrations. The first pictures representedRrigitta and Sybilla, the iron legs of Daniel 2, and how a hermit
238 THE IΜΓ ELL T NO FORCE OF־ ÍROriIETIC TRUTH
received Cyril’s silver tables. Joachim and a Lollard, Reinhold, \vith a book on “ Great Tribulations ”, were made use of, and a great massacre of the clergy was foretold.
But still more striking were the illustrations and text of the “ Mirror of Vision ”, which (1507) the priest Joseph Griin-peckh, who had accompanied the emperor as secretary, sent ’to the imperial diet at Constance, and then published in German and Latin. On the title page we behold natural ari3celestial signs of Christ’s advent, the persecution of the saints, and, besides, a wonderful scattering of crosses, monstrances and all tokens of clerical dignity. His wood-cuts represent the Church as à ship wrecked in a storm, the peasants as priests at the altar, and monks and priests ploughing. Such impressions were worl¿-wide. ^Thc Russian Church expecteTtKe^h^ôTTnê^Crôrld about 1492, for, according to their chronology, the 6,000 years were to end about that time. But as this critical year passed uneventfully, “ the heretics began to deride not only the simple-minded, but the blessed faith ”, according to the testimony of their church historian, Philaret (H.C. p. 290 L).
That very year Columbus disCÜX^ed^a׳' ñew world in the far west, which the papacy divided between the Spani-ards and the Portuguese. He himself tells us what promp-ted him : “ In the execution of my enterprise to the Indies, human reason, mathematics, and the maps of the world have served me nothing. It has accomplished simply that which the prophet Isaiah had predicted, that before the end of the world all the prophecies should have their accomplishment.” “ He thought the ends of the earth would shortly be brought together under the sway of the Redeemer-—Mount Sion and Jerusalem be rescued from the Turks, and rebuilt by the Christians ; the nations know and revere the cross ; the Gospel, in fulfilment of our Lord’s words (Matt. 24 : 14), be proclaimed in all the world ; and then, without further delay, the end would come. This faith made him a discoverer.” Believing in Augustine, and following the Septuagint chronology, he expected the advent about 7000, of which 6,845 had already passed. July 7, 1505, he wrote the King of Spain from Jamaica that he must hasten to finish his allotted work of opening up the whole earth to the spread of
239
THYATIRA
¡Christianity preparatory to the coming of the Lord : ! “ According to my calculations there remain now to the j end of the world but 150 years ” (Taylor, p. 294 f.).
PROPHETIC TRUTH IMPELLING COLUMBUS
When God, in His appointed time, would ope to Europe's wondering gaze Columbia's cont'nent in the West, a navigator He did raise.
Columbus felt the urge within, to hasten on his Lord’s return ;
To sail across Atlantic's Main, he felt his heart within him burn.
;He knew our Saviour, when on Earth, said, that, before this age can end, The Gospel of the Kingdom must, by messengers whom he would send,
To all this world a witness be, to every nation here below,
So, countries Christopher sought out, where preachers Gospel seed might sow.
He felt that regions lay beyond, peopled by those who yet must hear The message of our Saviour’s love, ere Jesus could again appear.
Prophetic was his Christian name (Christ-bearing is its meaning plain) ; Christ's love has reached the Far West Land, with gracious influence to constrain.
To Ferdinand and Isabel, proud king and queen of haughty Spain,
He penned his faith in Christ’s return, His coming over all to reign.
He joyed that Righteousness would rule o’er all on this terrestrial ball ;
He wished that mankind all should hear the love notes of the Gospel call.
For eight long years he begged and prayed the king and queen to do their part,
To furnish him with ships and men. His faith was strong, and stout his heart,
And faith's reward, at length, was his ; three ships were given him to com-mand.
He sailed far West with mut’nous crews, ׳gainst whom he firmly had to stand.
Their childish fears he overcame ; he urged them Westward more and more, And faith’s reward was his again ; signs showed that they were nearing shore. October twelfth, Fourteen-nine-two, they landed on San Salvador ;
They knelt and praised Almighty God, thanksgiving from their hearts did pour.
William Spence, M.I.N.A.
While the great discoverer performed his task under the solemn conviction of the fast approaching consumma-tion, Picp decorándola felt convinced that in Italy the ‘*punishment of avenging Providence had already com-menced, and that still worse was to come The struggle between the warlike Julius II and Louis XII of France furnished new grounds for such predictions. Louis him-self had in the course of the struggle struck a golden coin with the inscription : “ I will destroy the name of Baby-Ion ” (Gieseler, H.C. iv. 406). In vain did he call a reform
24O THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
council at Pisa; Julius merely opened a counter council at Rome (1512). In his opening address: Aegidius, general of the Augustinians, declared that for more than twenty years he had explained over all Italy especially the apoca-lyptic prophecies concerning the impending doom of the Church and had promised its reform. Should this council fail to produce or suggest a remedy, then Christianity, religion, yea, even the accumulated treasures would perish. “ Hearken to the signs and mournings of the church which now lies prostrate, overwhelmed beneath a flood of calamities. Have you not seen how in this very year the earth has drunk more blood than rain ? Bring us help and lift her up out of the. waves under which she is sub-merged.” The next session was opened by the Dominican general, Thomas Cajetan, who had written several treatises defending the pope’s' infallibility and his superiority over the councils. He described the Roman Church as the New Jerusalem in contrast to Pisa, which was the city and the tower of Babel, generating nothing but confusion. The pope should be the mirror of the power, perfection and wisdom of God, and for this purpose he possessed two swords (Pastor, H.P. vi. 407410־). Later on, Ch. Majcellus preached that the pope is “ another God on earth ” (Hefele, K.G. viii. 301-516, 531). The council continued into the reign of Leo X, and A. Pucci (1516) gave a sermon in which he declared that the Roman Church was the heavenly Jerusalem, although he urged a reform very strongly. This was the most favourable time for “ there is an end of resistance to papal rule and religion ; nobody opposed any more ” (Id. p. 507). This council reasserted the papal prerogatives, prohibited the teaching of mortality of the soul in the universities, instituted the general censure of printed works, and, to crown the whole, forbade fixing “ ahead a definite time for future calamities, for the advent of Antichrist, or for the day of judgment ”. Under pain of excommunication everybody was charged “ not, with-out previous examination by the holy apostolic chair ”, to predict “ out of the holy Scripture anything future, or to assert to know it from the holy Spirit or divine revela-tion ”.
The great but timid humanist, Erasmus, wrote (1516)
241
y
/ ׳
THYATIRA
to J. Lang, “ that the monarchy m the Roman high priest was in its present form the very pest of Christendom, but I do not know whetherjx^wguld be wise to touch this ulcer publicly ”. Bishop (Bertholcf^ in his “ Burden of the Church ” (1519), epitomized all that Joachim, Cyril, Metho-dius, Vincent Ferrer, Catherine of Sienna, Brigitta and Hildegard had predicted as “ the close and limit of medi-eval prophecy His representations of the great image of Daniel 2, the four horses and the locusts of Revelation 5 and 9 kept his readers spell-bound. To him, the Roman See was the chief cause of all the evil. The renewal began with Francis, but its completion is still future under an angelic pope, who, with his two successors, will of their own free choice renounce all earthly possessions and turn them over to the poor. The seven periods of the Church, as mighty wave-lines, demarcate the entire Christian dispensa-tion, and will usher in the golden age, which he described in chapters 65-70. The present corruption proved that the devil was now loosed. The popes, who were more like Constantine in their gorgeous display than Peter, were the precursors of Antichrist. Through its avarice, Rome had become “ the abyss and the golden idol· of hell”. The clergy could be found more frequently in revelries and gambling houses than in sacred places, and took gold and silver out of the churches with which to bedeck prostitutes. Nearly the whole people were driven to drink-ing, gambling, cursing, to superstition and idolatry. “ It was to be feared, that, on account of these corruptions of the church, the Catholic faith would go down in our ecclesiastical domain.” “ Akin to this, and yet inspired by an altogether different spirit, is the Nollhart of the Swiss poet, P. Gengenbach.” The pope, the emperor, the King of France, and the sultan ask questions of Methodius, Cyril, Joachim, Brigitta, concerning their predictions and their fulfilment. The poet apparently wanted to give the Emperor Maximilian a hint, to fulfil the prophetic sayings 7which make the ruler of Germany conquer Rome, and re-form the Church (Dollinger* Proph. p. .168 f.).
The Catholic Church historian, Môhler, summarized the situation (K.G. iii. 99) : “ We do notlSelieve that the period before the Reformation was a flourishing period
K
242 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
of church history, for we hear from it a thousand voices for a reformation in the head and members.” Tor a century this loud call sounded in vain. Rome,, facing destruction as'Bnbyldrf the Great, the clergy subject to a terrible Divine judgment, the pope the Antichrist—these shibbo-leths resounded from all sides, out of the increasing apoca־ lyptic literature, out of song and folk-lore, out of the mouth of Joachim, Archbishop Eberhardt, Wyclif, Militsch, Huss, Savonarola, Berthold, the Waldensians, the spiritual Franciscans, the Lollards, the Hussites, the Taborites, the Bohemian brethren—all made free use of them—even pope against rival pope !
The Thyatira period, in the midst of the seven, not only per^ectly^fefed, in its description, the Middle Ages, but the evangelical expositors during the 1,000 years covering this period, unanimously concluded: (1J that Rome, imperial and papal, fulfilled to the letter^the prophecies concerning the fourtlybeast by Daniel, the man of sin by Paul, the comglex,.beast out of sea and earth, the beast and false propbeft, mystic Babylon by John; 127 that this Jezebel, the false prophetess, had already grown old in the days of the Waldenses, and was ripe indeed : for־tjM^s ^üdgment|); , 3Γ that the enforcements of her ! decrees, demanding the adoration of the wafer, of its many idols, contrary to the gospel and law of God, con-'stitutcd the forbidden worship of the beast and ks image ; ׳vfv. tTaf ' tKe'outlawing 'and "killing of all believing saints T3y the imperial and papal power was the speaking of the image—the voice of the dragon ; 5. that to yield obedi-ence to these decrees by deed or faith was to accept the mark of the Antichrist ; 6. that in view of these facts the threefold message should be sounded world-wide as warn-iiig, ^Ke'eveflasting gospel should be evangelized or pro-claimed”W	against the perverted gospel of the
;papacy, the people were to be exhorted to come out of îBàbyloîi, anthtró bewârë of the worship of the beast, and bf accepting its mark of subjection.; 7. that the 1,260, 1,290, 1,335, 2,300 days were, according to the prophetic *׳fcanon, to be counted as só "many" years.
SARDIS—The Church of the Reformation Period
XLIII
THE REFORMATION “ THE TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND ”
B. the history of mankind, and the Dronlieíic w^f j
/	. ·־״ד־־ןך ׳״י	-־*־»־■	■	׳	.	■׳
i very jm^ortant par^ it. Of all the Reformers,
. ^¿4831546־), of humble, rustic origin, became-the י toremnltr״ Me began to study law at Erfurt, but, frightened by a violent thunder-storm, he vowed to become a monk, and entered the convent of the Augustine-eremites (1505). He divided his time between ascetic exercises and theo-logical studies. His own words are significant : “ If ever a monk got to heaven by monkery, I would have gotten there.” Prior Staupitz, who wrote a popular book on the love of GMT'fíirrcaused the light of the Gospel to shine in his heart. Removed (1508) to the monastery at Witten-berg, he taught at the newly-founded university, first as a bachelor, and then from 1512 he sought to promote Bible study as doctor. Meanwhile he was sent also to Rome in the interests of his order, but, although he wras impressed that Rome was the worst of cities, still he returned a faithful son of the Church.
The Dominican Tetzel proffered papal indulgences in the neighbourhood, with hitherto unheard of exaggera-tions. Luther soon learned their corrupting influence in the confessional, and, according to the academic custom, he affixed to the door of the castle church (Oct. 15, 1517) his 95 theses of the “ Disputation to explain the virtue of indulgences ”. Within 14 days, knowledge of these had spread all over Germany. The Dominican Prierias, master of the papal palace, justified Tetzel in a dialogue, declaring : “ Whosoever rests not in the doctrine of the Roman pontiff, as the infallible rule of faith, from which-
24s
244 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
the Holy Scripture itself derives its force and authority, is a heretic ” (EhA* ad ref. hist. i. 347). Luther simply republished it with a reply, stating that Augustine had taught him to regard only the canonical books of the Bible as infallible ; for even the pope, as well as a council, could err, as the canonist, Tudesko, had declared at Basle (Id. ii. 7, 22). Eck, the warhorse of Ingolstadt University, also attacked Luther. The inquisitor, Hoch-straten, urged the immediate erection of a scaffold. Luther, still under the illusion that in Leo X Christ’s voice was heard, sent (May 1518) a very submissive letter to him, and dedicated to him an explanation of the theses. In this explanation he emphasized its being far more correct to combat error with the sword of the Spirit than to burn the heretic. In closing, he said : “ The church stands in need of a reform which is not the concern of a single man, of the pope, nor of his many cardinals, as the last council had demonstrated, but of the whole world, or rather of God alone. The time for this reform knows only He, who made the times ” (Id. ii. 259, 285292־).
Luther was then cited to Rome, and the Elector requested to deliver up this “ child of the devil ”. But the Elector arranged an interview with Cajetan at Augsburg. As neither threats nor kindness could subdue Luther, the Cardinal broke off the discussion “ with that deep-eyed German beast filled with strange speculations Luther made his escape, and Emperor Maximilian, seeing in the monk a trump in his play with the papacy for the world’s supremacy, told the Elector to take good care of him.
Luther won like-minded associates in Carlstadt, Amsdorf and Melanchthon, the latter a nephew of the celebrated Hebraist Reuchlin, who presented him with a Bible and directed his studies. The doctrine of man’s Salvation by_faith.ÍDL·-Christ alone became the inspiring; f entraTthought of all theological instruction at Wittenberg, j Providence had chosen Melanchthon, “ the teacher of G er-many ”, whose maxim was “ the original sources of Holy Scripture and of history ”, to be Luther’s associate.
What men had boldly declared in former centuries about the papal Antichrist dawned upon Luther’s mind only after several years of personal experience and bitter
24S
SARDIS
disappointment. Anticipating his excommunication, iTCrrira^appealed (Nov. 28, 1518) to a general council, and (Dec, i !),wrote his friend,:Link at Nuremberg : “ My pen was to give birth to far greater things. rÎ !mow not whence these thoughts come ; in my estimation this matter has had hardly its beginning. ... I send you my vagaries that you might see whether I correctly surmise that the, veritable Antichrist mentionedH^	jit the
^0^H;Wf^"tTí'árKe'ís worse
I nnnk I am able to prove.״ Consequently he advised ; SpaTaÏm ^DecT i S)'against rendering assistance in the : Turkish war, as victory was beyond hope “ for the Roman curia does now surpass the Turkish tyranny, fights with such monsters against Christ and His church, and the clergy has sunk up to its ears into the mire of avarice, of love of honour and of lust ”(Enders; i. 316, ¿33).
The pope sent the Saxon Mift^^to the Elector with a golden rose, accompanied by a letter wherein he called Luther “ the detestable, only son of Satan ”. Miltitz used all his powers of persuasion, entreating Luther to ask the pope’s pardon, which he did (Mar. 5, 1519), but he emphasized his inability to retract. March 13he wrote Spalatin : “ I am turning over the decretals of the popes ; and I would whisper into your ear that I begin to entertain doubts whether the Roman pontiff be not the very Anti־ christ or his apostle, so miserably is Christ, i.e. the truth corrupted and crucified in the decretals. It grieves me greatly that the people of God are fooled under the simula-tion of law and Christianity.” Only a tyrannical desire for power had, by setting the Bible aside, created such decretals and a pile of antichristian literature (Enders, i. 45°).
Luther, feeling himself challenged by Eck’s theses, boldly put up the antitheses : The primacy of the Roman Church is defended by means of most hoary decretals, composed within the last 400 years ; whereas this primacy is contradicted by authentic history for eleven centuries, by the declarations of Holy Writ, and by the canons of the CSunciTof Nice. He perceived now that Rome, demanding his blood, was the Jerusalem which killed the prophets,
“ the scarlet-coloured Babylon ” (Enders, i. 407, 431).
246 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
When Eck and Luther disputed in Leipsic (June), even Bohemians came to hear the “ Saxon Huss ” prove from ?the Bible and from history that the papal supremacy jjrests only on human right.
When Eck charged Luther with holding the heresy of Huss, he stated, after mature reflection, that Huss held some scriptural truth, that he was unjustly burnt, that pope and council may err, and that they had no right to impose any article of faith not founded in Scripture. Christ alone was the head of the true Church, embracing also the Greek. Eck having quoted a supposed decretal of Pope Nicholas (Dist. 22, c. omnes) Luther refuted as blasphemous that Christ had entrusted Peter with the two-fold right of earthly and heavenly dominion. “ Should it not be worthy of all our tears that we are urged to read and to believe this as an oracle of the Holy Spirit, and that by pain of being burnt ?... And we have been all , along dreaming .of the good state of the church and have !not recognized.AjitjcJarist in the midst of the temple ! ” |(ESTairef, hist. iii. 329 f.).
I The Calixtine priests sent to Luther Huss’ tract on the Church with the caution to beware “ that you, when you rescue Christ from Antichrist, are not caught in his snares. He has a thousand ways of injuring, and lies in wait to shoot in secret places at the perfect ! ” (Ps. 64). Reading this tract, Luther wrote Spalatin (Feb. 1520) : “I have hitherto taught and held all the opinions of John Huss unawares . . . we are all Hussites without knowing it. . . . I know not wfeat״tQ^hink for astonishment when I sec rfuch terrible!■ judgment8N\)f God on mankind that the plain .gospel truth nâsTêcn publicly burned and considered ׳damnable for a hundred years and no one to assert it ” (Enders, ii. 77, 345).
on the Eucharist, Luther acknowledged that for the completeness of the sign it would be better tto immerse thecandjda£c^in h^pti&m, and to give the cup %lso [t0| all jJ^q-faithful. On account of this justification of Huss, ' tiie Bishop of Meissen confiscated this tract—the first German decree against the Reformer. In his sermon on the mass, Luther expressed himself even stronger about the withholding of the cup : “ If the pope changes
2-1-7
SARDIS
i what Christ ha¿ established, he does it without authority, [as a tyran,t^¿ea, as Anti^hpst ” (4L A. xxvii. 168). After
Bng	tr^ntisp^^Qa^th^ Donapyg of
tantimr^ Ke wrote Spalatin :	“ Good hçayyns !
darkness _ and wickedness is at Rome ! _ You wóñder^âFד^^hדen^"δf^GΌ3^that sucITum	nticי
crass^ impudent lies not only lived mânÿ^cSuufîesfmart neywere incorporate^
ו laWTand^ fliai íhey^eHme articles of faith. I am in such a passion that I scarcely doubt that the pope is the Anti-christ expected by the world, so closely do their acts, lives, sayings and laws agree ” (Enders, ii. 332]/'
The Franciscan Alveld enàiS'^^T&BTVT'^rovt in his tract “ On the Apostolic Christ ” the Divine right of the papal monarchy by the high priesthood of Aaron. Luther, in his reply “ On the Papacy at Rome ”, pointed to Rome and Switzerland as proofs that these republics had been well governed without a monarch, so that the Church of Christ might surely get along without a visible head. He then showed (Heb. 9) that Aaron’s high priesthood met its antitype in Christ, who ministered in an heavenly temple. If the pope would stop making new articles of faith, and be walling to have all his appointments tested by Scripture, then Luther would even help to exalt him. But if not, then “ I freely say that he is the true Antichrist, of whom all Scripture speaks. Others may make an idol of him, but I wall not worship him ” (E.A. xxvii. 114,136 f.).
As by calm and independent study, Melanchthonffiad arrived at the same conclusion, Luther was confirmed in his own. Luther and Melanchthon after having found Christ and the sufficiency of Holy Writ, enlightened by the sure word of prophecy they also discovered, in the corrupt papacy, and in the falsity of her traditions and decretals, the real Antichrist. Both were now ready to launch the Reformation. They were well fitted for the task, having Christ as their strength, and the Word of God as their guide. What an important era in the history of the world had now begun is well expressed by Schaff (Ger. Refor. i. 1) when he calls it, at its very beginning, “ the turning point of modern history Then he adds : “ The Reformation of the sixteenth century is, next to the introduction of
248 THE IMPELLING FORCE^OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Christianity, the greatest event in history. It marks the end of the Middle Ages, and the beginning of modern times. Starting from religion, it gave, directly or indirectly, a mighty impulse to every forward movement, and made Protestantism the chief propelling force in the history of modern civilization.”
Surely Christ did not overlook this second greatest event in human history when he gave the forecast to the seven churches, but pointéd it out, as we shall see, very fittingly in the Sardis state. A few testimonies will suffice.
In 1717 the Berleburgef,Bible (iii. 269) declared: “ The prophetic type^arais) applies to the church which went out from the papacy on account of the Reformation, but lacked true spiritual life, for it was greatly divided in doctrine. . . . The great work of the Reformation was commenced in the spirit, but completed in the flesh.” The English commentator, M. Habershon (Rev, p. 79), said (1841) : “ This fifth great scene m the Christian drama has been faithfully exhibited on the stage of time ; and it will be readily identified, in what is emphatically called the Reformation, and the consequences that flowed from it in that and the succeeding ages.” In recent times, the Baptist, Hal^iuann _ (“ Coming of Christ,” p. 101), writes : “ The forecast of Sardis'~"áñ3"tKe'history of Protestantism fit each other like hand and glove.” Finally, the Catholic, J. Jetton (Apoc. p. 166), sums up the result :	“ The
Sardian age is commonly known as the Reformation period.”״
XLIV
luther’s prelude :	“ at last the secrets of anti-
CHRIST MUST BE REVEALED ”
Luther had learned the sophistries of the papal claims , from old and from new opponents “ Whether I will or ; not, I am compelled to become more learned day by day,
: since so many great masters vie with each other in urging me on, and giving me practice. . . . Eck, Emser with their fellow-conspirators, began to instruct me concerning the primacy of the pope. But after hearing and reading the
249
SARDIS
super-subtle subtleties of those coxcombs by which they ingeniously set up their idol . . . I am sure that the papacy is the kingdom of Babylon, and the power of Nimrod, the mighty hunter” (IjhAT^d hist. ref. v. 16 f.).
At the request of the pope, (Prierias presented in a new work, “ The Irrefutable Truth‘”, the doctrine of the su־, preme priest-king at Rome in the strongest terms. As the infallible judge he alone was entitled to decide in matters of faith, and from his decision there could be no appeal to any council. He claimed that the universal papal rule was a fulfilment of the fifth world empire predicted by Daniel.
Luther got hold of this line of thought by an examina-tion of the table of contents. As similar arguments had been used by the Roman theologian,	in his com-
mentary on the Apocalypse, dedicatea to pope Sixtus (1481), Luther merely republished this, commentary and the index of Prierias. Nannis had assured Sixtus that the papàT'mÔriàrchy, symbolized by the stone in Daniel 2, would break to pieces the	the little horn of
D3Ttfe'l £T Constantine had already given Rome to Syl-veTferAo be the capital of the world (E.A. ad ref. hist. ii. no ff.).
In refuting the arrogant claims of Prierias, Luther' boldly stated : “ If this work presents wffatTs beífeved to be taught at Rome, with the knowledge of pope and car-dinals (which I do not hope), then I freely make known that that real Antichrist sits in the temple of God^ and reigns Tn " Romë'that'sc arlet-c0foureH'TTm)yIon, and that tK^l^îÏÏaÏÏ^	synogogué of Satan.” “ If
Rome thus believes, then blessed Greece, blessed Bohemia, blessed all, who have separated from her, and have gone out of Babylon, but damned all \vho are still in communion with her. If pope and cardinals will not silence this satanic mouth, and force it to revoke, then I herewith testify we should separate from the Roman Church and denounce her and the pope and cardinals as the abomination ׳standing in the holy place. Already all faith in her is extinguished, the gospel proscribed, Christ banished, their morals more like the heathen ” (Id. p. 79 f.).
At the same time he wrote	you see
25O THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
what is to be expected of Rome, which permits such devilish stuff to go out into the church. These monsters do of course overwhelm me with the greatness of their .,folly. I will so attack the ass of Alveld that I will also ! hit the Roman pope and spare none for the very matter demands it. At last the mysteries ofAntichrist must be unveiled ¿ for they force themselves to light, and will no 40fígeF remain hidden ” (Enders, ii. 414).
At the same time he announced Kls~* Address to the German Nobility Respecting a Reformation of the Christian Estate ”. Introducing his address to the emperor and to the nobility in his dedicatory preface to Amsdorf he says : “ The time for silence is gone and the time to speak has come ״ (Eccl. 3:7). He would overthrow three walls of the Romans with his trumpet blast : They hold that the spiritual power is above the secular ; it belongs to the pope alone to interpret Scripture ; and no one but the pope can call a council. At the close, having enumerated all the abuses sanctioned by the pope and the canon law, he addresses him in this impassioned style : “ Dost thou hear this, 0 Pope ! not the most holy, but the most sinful ? Would that God would hurl thy chair headlong from heaven and cast it down into the abyss , of hell ! Who gave you the power to exalt yourself above God? to break and to loose what he commanded?” “ God has commanded to keep faith and to observe oaths even with enemies : you dare to cancel his command, laying it down in your heretical decretals that you have power to do so ; and through your mouth and your pen Satan lies as he never lied before, teaching you to twist and pervert the Scriptures according to your own arbitrary will. 0 Lord Christ ! look down upon this, let thy day of judgment come and destroy the Devil’s lair at Rome. Behold him of whom St. Paul spoke, that he should exalt himself above Thee and sit in Thy Church, showing him-self as God—the man of sin and the child of damnation. . . . The pope treads God’s commandments under foot, and exalts his own ; if this is_ not¿ A^jchris^ I do not know
wVifit־ it is”	' ׳ ״·׳··׳
Firmly Çœnvinceq that the pap.e׳ was the 'AntTcíinst, Lutffçmwas now"determne3~fo~carry
predicted ז the fight
251
SARDIS
“ agc^st^thc Y^iolc ^ang.ül-llaiïiaivSôxiom/’ tG the bitter end. Expecting tk^ulL■ q! J^£Qnmuakatio.1u. he wrote Spalatin (July 10) : “ My die is cast ; I despise the fury and the favour of Rome. I will never be reconciled to them nor commune with them. Let them condemn and burn my books. On my part, unless all the fire goes out,
I will condemn and publicly burn the whole papal lawr, that slough of heresies יי (Enders, ii. 432 f.).
In closing his address to the nobility, Luther announced : “ I have another song still to sing concerning Rome. If they wish to hear it, I will sing it to them, and sing it with all my might.” This new song, or second « war-trumpet, was the book on the “ Babylonian Captivity of the Church ”, PU^jj^h^jJ^n- Qctober. He called it only a ^prelude '^lisne knew the wrorst battle wras still before him. He attacked the sacramental system of Rome wThich he represents as a captivity and sees in Rome her-self modern Babylon^, The captivity was toTe seen in the withdrawal of t£e cup from the laity, in the doctrine of transubstantiation, the sacrifice of the mass. He allowed only two sacraments of the Roman seven.
Early in October, the papal bull of excommunication reached Wittenberg. It begins with Psalm 74 : 22, and then quotes Psalm 80 : 13. Luther’s writings should be burned, and he seized. In Leipsic the bull was torn to pieces, and in Erfurt the students threw copies of it into the water, saying : “ It is only a water bubble ” (bulla). Luther, himself, wrote : “ I rejoice in having to endure some hardships for the best of causes. I already feel more liberty in my heart ; for, at length, I knowr that the pope is Antichrist, and that his Sec is that of Satan himself ” (Enders, ii. 491).
Instead of recanting, he published “ such a recantation as the See of Rome has never yet seen or heard ”—his beautiful tract on “ Christian Freedom ”. He maintains that true gospel liberty is not liberty from Christ, but in Christ ; and offers this as the basis of reconciliation. He sent the booklet with a letter to Leo X, “ most unfortun-ate, and sitting on a most perilous throne ”. He WTote :
“ The Church of Rome . . . has become the most lawless den of thieves, the most shameless of all brothels, the very
252 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
kingdom of sin, death and hell. . . . She hates councils, she dreads to be reformed, she cannot restrain the madness of her impiety ; she fills up her sentence passed on her mother Babylon . . . she is not healed ; let us forsake her.” “ I bring with me this little book,” “ it is the sum-mary of the Christian life put together in small compass ” (Schaff, G.R. p. 225 f.).
After the coronation of the young emperor, Luther’s writings were burned in several places, even in the presence of Charles V. In a tract the Reformer called it the “ bull of Antichrist^ and charged the pope with heresy accord-tngTotlicTtandard of the sacred Word. Since this a Baby-Ion of Rome burns children of Christ ” as Savonarola, Huss, Jerome, “ the last Babylon is just like the first ”, and it is sheer hypocrisy for the papacy to try to hide behind the secular arm in so doing, as the state must act as the executor of her will (E.A. xxrywj[8
December 10, 1520, Luther invited all lovers of gospel truth to this “ pious and religious spectacle ” when the impious law-books of the enemies of the Gospel would be burned according to ancient and apostolic usage : “ for ,perchance now is the time when the Antichrist must be revealed ! ” (Enders, iii_18). In the presence of a large assembly Luther committed the bull of excommunication together with the papal decretals, the canon law, and writings of Eck and Emser to the flames, with these \vords (Josli. 7 : 25) : “ As thou pope hast vexed the Holy One of the Lord, may the eternal fire vex thee ! ”
The next day he warned the students against the Roman Antichrist, and told them 1t was highTTme to burn the papal chair and it’s abominations. He then justified the burning of the papal law-books in a special treatise, wherein he cited thirty articles out of them which deserved to be burned. He calls the canon-law “ the abomination of desolation ”, and antichristian, since the sum of its teachings is that the ! “ pope is God on earth, above all things, heavenly and earthly, spiritual and temporal”. He then adds: “A serious struggle has now commenced. Hitherto I have had only child’s play with the pope. I began the work in the name of God ; it will be terminated without me and by His power ” (E.A. xxiv. 151-165).
SARDIS
2S3
Luther had sealed his rupture with the Roman Anti-christ by the burning of that bull which demanded his recantation on pain of excommunication, ban and burning. His living testimony of Christ and of His gospel had become a flaming testimony against the papal Antichrist and his presumptions. The following poem from the title page of the Jena edition well states the main points of Luther’s works :
“ The books of Luther, great and small,
We herewith recommend to all,
For in them well revealed be The Antichrist in papal See.
The light of gospel once so dim,
Shines now again with all its vim,
Thank God, ye Germans, for such food,
Which He herein presents as good.”
XLV
“ THE POPE CONFOUNDED AND HIS KINGDOM EXPOSED ” BY DANIJEL._ THE PROPHET
In 1520, A. Cathgjinus, Dominican and eminent magister of Rome, Tteaicatêa :0 Emperor Charles V his “ Apology for the Truth of the Christian Faith Luther replied (March 1521) in Latin, declaring that Christ* and not Peter, was the rock, upon which the Church rests. The Roman Church lacked the seal of the true Church—the preaching of the Gospel—and “ where this is not, the church is not, for by the gospel the church is begotten, formed, nourished, brought up, fed, clothed, adorned, armed and preserved : in a word, her whole life and substance is the Word of God ” (Matt. 4 : 4. E.A. ad ref. hist. pp. 289311־). But Luther would “ by no means deny the papal church nor its power ; for concerning no one thing (excepting Christ) do we have so great testimony in the Scripture, especially in the New Testament, and not a little in the Old Testament. Why should I not therefore proceed in gratitude to my Catharinus, and in honour of the most holy pope in Christ, the vice-god, to show from copious and solid Scripture testimonies its pre-eminence, and to fully stop all mouths denying that this can be established by the Divine record. On the contrary, I shall prove it very thoroughly, beginning with Daniel 8 : 2325־.
254 T״E IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
t “ First of all, those are not to be heard who apply f this and similar prophecies to any one single person, thus ^ignoring the custom of the prophets to designate the whole ן body of rulers by one person. Hence they falsely apply ^vihe Antichrist of 2 Thessalonians 2 to one person, although ■ the^jûihole body and chaos of wicked men—the ^M^iole
Æ:essioh of rulers—should be understood as Aiuti-sf. r7 TV _Tt is also saicT that this king shall stand up ^ in 'fhe letter times of the fourth or mighty iron kingdom / of Rome, clearly implying that the papal tyranny would begin with the decline of the Roman Empire ; for it originated out of and in the Roman Empire, as is evident from all history, and demonstrated by present experience.
“ The apostle Paul also predicted that he who held the power then, would first be removed before that wicked one would be revealed (2 Thess. 2). In fulfilment the name of the Roman Empire was transferred to the Germans c when its imperial power ceased. This was the opportunity 1 by which the man of sin was elevated above all kings L/ánd bishops, above heaven and earth. This rule was ^strengthened in his hand and perfected by a ,diplomatic 'JKcy fraudulent as well as most stupid—donatio¿* of 11
11 י"Wdw, ,as to ?!??*"Accomplished (Latin, hidden) trans-gressions ”, Paul reveals their very nature, saying “ the)׳ received not the love of the truth ”, “ they should believe a lie ”. Daniel, with the greatest of propriety and emphasis, calls this peshaim i.e. “ prevarication, transgression, departing from the faith ”.	“ Therefore Daniel denotes
with peshaim not sins in general, but those special sins ׳"which combat truth and faith” obscuring them. “It is clear therefore that this king must be after Christ is preached, and, against the light of the gospel,” fulfilling I ¡12 Peter 2:1. One might think that Daniel spoke of the *[Turks, but theyHêvër '‘were the people of God. “ This lJ/|ang, exceeding great, so great as the Persian, Grecian or Roman shall, from that time on, dominate in the doc-trine of men contrary to the illumination of the gospel among the people of Christ.” “ Therefore these words ^predicted by Daniel, Christ, Peter, Paul, Jude, and John βfú the Apocalypse apply to us_yvlm are under the Roman
255
SARDIS
Babyloii.” In fulfilment, Luther refers to falsifying tTaïïitîoîTT' the decretals, bulls, indulgences, sacrifices, ,etc. (Id. 315-322).
jj The term used to characterize the^J^ce,Jcing, u stand [up ”, indicated not one person, but the whole succession of *TuIeFs/'and answered to the “ abomination in the holy ■place ” or to that “ wicked one who sîttetïï m the temple 'ot L'od Thus his “ might in countenances ” (Latin) does not refer to the power of arms, as when used concerning worldly kingdoms, but means the outward show, pomp ; the “ papacy itself first had its eye on the splendid triple crowm, with an incredible apparatus, a noisy parade, and a pompous retinue Then observe the pomp and the wealth of the cardinals, the patriarchs, primates, bishops, suffragans, etc. At last Luther mentions the universities “ wdiere under the name of the Christian doctrine, those things are taught wrhich are most diametrically opposed to, and subversive of, the Christian faith. They were fulfilling Revelation 9. The star falling from heaven wTas Hales, or rather, Aquinas, the smoke the opinions of philosophers, the locusts are university students, the product of such philosophy, and Apollyon w׳as Aristotle, who ruled these universities instead of Christ and His spirit ” (Id. p. 334 f.).
The Luther comments on the “ dark sentences ”, “ in Hebrew chidotk, i.e. problem, enigma, dark speech, eluding the proper sense. By it Daniel means the most pestilent illusion of antichristian doctrine and the most pernicious understanding imposed with it. This Daniel 7 clearly foretold, where he wrote that after having considered the terrible beast (wdiich by common consent is the Roman Empire) and its ten horns, then he beheld another little horn coming up among them (i.e. the papal empire, vdiich, as w׳e have said, came up in the midst of the Roman Empire) ; and, 10, in the horn were eyes like those of a man and a mouth speaking great things. These eyes were those sentences and the understanding chidptkfleshly wisdom, and the mouth blaspheming Christ	3.34)·
Luther, in his detailed exposition ό?©! proves their application to the papacy which not by his own power, but, according to 2 Thess. 2 : 9, by Satan’s power he had prospered and practised so wOnder-
256 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
fully, and had terrified the kings of the earth. In its persecutions against the holy people it had first oi all attacked their stronghold, Holy Writ, corrupting it and wresting its meaning with the most audacious liberty. Antiochus was merely a “ figure of the pope ”, who as the sum total had stood up against the Prince of princes, Christ, by casting down His word, or as Paul states it, exalting himself above all that is called God. A part of its fulfilment is seen in the public condemnation of the word of truth in Huss by the pope at Constance, and he perseveres until this present day in the same hostile and damnable stubbornness. However, in harmony with verse 25 he shall be broken without hand, or, as Paul puts it, destroyed with the breath of his mouth and the brightness of Christ’s coming. “ The laity, therefore, shall not destroy the pope and his kingdom (as they ^Kserably fear), for it is unworthy of such very mild ^engeance, but it is reserved unto Christ’s coming, whose ^nosts are, and shall be, the most atrocious ” (Id. p. 392).
Kostlin, in his excellent work on the “ Theology of LuflfeïT־l?· 422_f.) characterized the importance of this exposition :	1*f1e suspicions as to the identity of the
papacy and the dominion of Antichrist which he had first entertained with horror and inward alarm, and then communicated at first to his nearest friends and then in public words of warning, but which he had found to be more and more confirmed in the actual conduct of the pope, he now proclaims positively and wdthout regard to con-sequence^,־ ^ïTTOnOiincmg'it as a doctrinal truth. He thus presents the subject in the book against Catharinus, in which we find an extended discussion of the prophecies of the Old Testament,...particularistic	.’י
Kostlin might w7ell have added the prophecies of Christ, Pete^, Paul, and even of the Apocalypse. The more satanic the papacy appeared in its persecuting spirit, the more did Luther realize that God’s Spirit and the prophetic Word wrere the only efficient weapons with which to combat it successfully. The more the pope puffed himself up, the more certain did Luther become that this was the very sign of his approaching doom. He therefore concluded this refutation with the prayer “ that the day
257
SARDIS
of the glorious advent of his Son may soon come to destroy fKêlhàh of sin ״. In his epilogue to Link (Id. p. 392 f.) he emphasized that his former promise of a more rigorous sequel to his recantation, such a sequel as the See of Rome has never yet seen or heard, “ was now well fulfilled by this exposition, of-Daniel.”׳
״While he was finishing the last part of this refutation, the imperial herald was waiting to safely_conduct him to
י As his mind was stored with the jvonderful it of Danîéî"7 arid £ in the papal Antichrist, Tie LpreparetïTrô give an account of his convictions, expressed in his books, before this august assembly. ill of January 3, 1521, had pronounced the ex-communication of Luther and his adherents, and the papal legate, Alexander, called for its speedy execution. But the prevailing sentiment influenced the members of the diet to first hear the man condemned by the pope, for they themselves brought forward a list of one hundred and one grievances, many of which answered so well to the Refor-mer’s charges that the “ stones and trees already cried out ‘ Luther ! ’ ”
April 18, Luther firmly testified “ that he could not retract books setting forth evangelical truths, professed alike by friend and foe ; also not books against the corrup tions and abuses of the papacy which vexed and martyred the conscience and devoured the property of the German nation : these he could not retract without cloaking wickedness and tyranny ”. He did confess having been more violent than proper in his books against his popish opponents, but even these he could not retract without giving aid and comfort to his enemies, who would triumph and make things worse. In defence of his books he could only say in the words of Christ : If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil : but if well, why smitest thou me ?” (John 18: 23). If his opponents would convict him of error by prophetic and evangelical Scriptures he would revoke his book¿; and be the first to commit them to ן the flames. In concluding, he warned the young emperor j not to begin his reign by condemning God’s word. Again urged to give an answer, he replied : “ Unless I am refuted and convicted by testimonies of the Scriptnres‘ or hy clear
258 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
arguments (since I believe neither the pope nor the councils alone ; it being evident that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am conquered by the Holy Scriptures quoted by me, and my conscience is bound in the word of God : I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is unsafe and dangerous to do anything against the conscience.. . Here I stand. God help me! Amen״ (Schaff, H.E. ;QJL i. 303 ff.).	v^־׳^
The emperor with his retinue was horrified that a single monk of lowly appearance would question the su-premc authority of pope and councils in matters of faith. Next morning the emperor notified the estates that after the twenty-one days of Luther’s safe conduct had expired, he would treat him as “ an obstinate and convicted heretic, and defend with all his might the faith of his forefathers and of the councils, especially that of Constance ”. May 8 the imperial edict followed, denouncing Luther as a devil, decreeing the burning of his writings. The whole press was put under strict surveillance. The hundred and one grievances were left unheeded. On his return, Luther himself disappeared in the “ wilderness ” of the Thuringian forest, and only a few intimate friends knew where “ knight George ” was hidden. While hunting game in the forest, he was reminded of Antichrist setting on his dogs, the bishops, to hunt down poor souls. From his “ Patmos ” he refuted the treatise of Latomus, a Louvain university professor who had tried to justify burning the reformer’s books. He says : “ Although many things about the pope, councils, and university seemed to me very foolish and very different from Christ, yet I checked my thoughts for more than ten years, minding Solomon : ‘ Depend not upon your reason.’ But in the course of events my knowledge and courage have grown since those opposing have so strikingly betrayed their ignorance and wickedness by hitting upon the sign of contradiction. And if they had not revealed them in so many instances, they would have enchanted me as a fool to the very end. But I thank my Lord who at the proper time honoured me with a hundredfold knowledge for 'that test so that I am now most thoroughly convinced that the pope is that last monster— the Antichrist predicted in all the Scriptures, and that the' universities are the
259
SARDIS
synagogues of Satan, which sophistical theologians, those unclean Epicureans, exercise their rule in ” (E.A.V. 400).
*׳*־ The divines of Sorbonne also publi^KM*"ITtormal condemnation of Luther’s writings. Melanchthon answered them in a masterly manner, charging them with apostasy from Christ to Aristotle, and from biblical theology to scholastic sophistry. The proof-sheets of Melanchthon’s “ Loci communes ” reached Luther in April, and he con-sidered them, next to the Bible, as the best equipment of a theologian. In them Melanchthon tersely exposed the Roman patchwork of Divine truth and the worldly rule of popes and bishops who have “ suppressed the gospel and the right worship of God, and have ruled in an in-dependent, idolatrous, antichristian kingdom”. From 1521 till the present time more than one hundred editions have appeared. The Romanists, feeling their power, called them a new Koran and a pest, and Melanchthon, on account of his convincing style, “ an obnoxious monster, a tempting siren ”.
The Reformation gave wings to the printing press which could^but gradually be clipped. Pamphlets and tractsTdllustrated oy rude woodcuts and caricatures of obnoxious persons, were scattered far and wide. The elder Lucas Cranach exhibited the contrast between Christ and his pretended vicar in twenty-six woodcuts illustrating his “ Passion of Christ and Antichrist Christ wears the crown of thorns, the pope the jewelled tiara ; Christ washes the feet of His disciples, princes kiss the pope’s toe ; Christ declines the crown of the world, the pope refuses to open the gates of Canossa to the emperor ; Christ enters Jerusalem on an ass, pope and cardinals ride on fiery steeds into hell. Luther furnished the texts from the Bible and the decretals. Priests and monks denounced Luther as the chief of heretics, “ but the poor rabble loves him”. Th^-gapaLAntichrist- was in every-body’s rnoutji. One meets his best friend, quotes about the “ man of sin ” from 2 Thessalonians 2, and asks him : “ Claus, how do you like him ? ” Readily, Claus responds : !“ It is no other beast than the pope and his kingdom ”
P-533)·
a With the spontaneous and irresistible impulse of a
260 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
great historical movement that struck its roots deep in the wants and necessities of the Church, the Reformation spread.״ “ Like the seed which shoots up on the ploughed field at the first genial rays of the sun in spring, the new opinions now spread abroad through the whole land where the German language was spoken ״ (Schafï, G.R. p. 558 ; Ranke, H.R. ii. 74). In this spread of the ever-lasting gospel the Augustiniag, J. StiefeL saw at that time a fulfilment of Revelation 14: 6 (Strobel, _S. c) L).
“ Old John of Patmos does reveal Who shall proclaim with greatest zeal His heart to God lie inclineth His word he sharply defiueth,
At Worms lie fully proved himself,
He put his enemies on the shelf,
An angel with a,, message bright The gospel in its purest light.
As well becomes a Christian man ;
All dross he scatters with his fan ;
Stepping boldly into the field,
None dared to wrest from him his shield."
XLVI
LUTHER MAINTAINS “ THAT THE LAST DAY IS NEAR ״
The most precious gift Luther could give the German-speaking people was begun during his exile in the Wartburg. From 1462-1522 some eighteen editions of the German Bible had appeared. But when Luther put the Hebrew and the Greek idioms into the German idioms, bringing out the force and wealth and beauty of the German tongue not less than 17 editions and 50 reprints of his New Testa-ment were demanded within 12 years. In 1534 the entire Bible, with many woodcuts, appeared, and Hans Lulft of Wittenberg alone printed 100,000 copies of it within 40 years. The German Bible of Luther became indeed the people’s book, read by millions, carried about in the bosom, committed to memory, ever ready for use.
Luther had freely availed himself of Erasmus’ Greek Testament, published.iiunjiç, but had also imbibed some of his criticisms. Erasmus^ ףuestioned J■0h1Ts_ authorship of the Apocalypse^the autlloritv of the CÎiurch prevented his “rejecting it as apocryphal, and he felt that James
261
SARDIS
lacked apostolic dignity and sublimity. Some Catholics calTXfasmus־Behemoth and Antichrist, saying : “ He laid the egg which Luther hatched.” How early Luther hatched some of these ideas his letter to Eck (1519) shows. Vexed because Eck quoted James 2 : 26, he wrote him : “ The style of the epistle of James is far below apostolic sublimity ” (E.A. ad ref. hist. iii. 278). The strife between Luther and Carlstadt began over this very epistle (1520) when Luther censured his lecturing on it. Then this senior colleague defended the epistle of James in his work on “ Canonical Scriptures ” “ against the frivolous argu-ments of a good priest of our friendship ” (Luther). He also praised the Apocalypse as a gem, and approved of Erasmus having given way to the general assent in its favour, though taking offence at its visions.
Instead of letting the Holy Scriptures stand on their own merits, j^uther added prefaces, breathing his own conceptions ihto theln. Famous is his insertion of the word “ aloné ”' (Korn. 3 : 28). He declared : “ The word alone shall remain in my New Testament, and though all the pope-donkeys should get furious and foolish, they shall not turn it out.” Erasmus had declared that in scriptural research Christ must remain the Most Holy. Luther, following him, taught : “ We have the right touchstone for testing all books, in observing whether they witness to Christ or not. . . . But this James drives only the law and its works. Therefore I will not have it in my Bible ” ¿E.A. lxiii. 156 ff.). Regarding the Apocalypse he declared : r T^^^mrul there is lacking not’snupTy' one thing in !this book, 50י that I cannot regard it either as apostolic pr prophetic.” He looked upon it as he viewed the second toolToTTlsdras. “ My mind cannot become reconciled toj this"book, and that Christ is neither taught nor recognized in it, is reason enough for me not to esteem it highly ” 1 l1¿· P..1SSÙ- Neuunan rightly says (ii. 68) that Luther) "deserved to be called “ the father of modern subjective criticism ”. And ÍCóstlin (ii. 249) points outT^^^^^^^¡ ency Γη that wLilc™pIacmg a 10wr estimate upon tne^poca-lypse, “ Luther had in his answrer to Catharinus maintained the fulfilment of some of its ^mo&
representations TnTHe papal’theology ”. All this merely
262 TME IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
proves the truthfulness of Psalm 62 : 9, according to Luther’s own rendering : “ Man is nothing ; great men can also err.”
From 15171520־ Luther was the standard-bearer of the older evangelical type of religious life and thought. Tauler’s “ German Theology ”, which Luther first pub-lished, passed through ten editions during this time. His polemical tracts on indulgences, monastic vows, and papal corruption found the enthusiastic support of Staupitz and of evangelical mystics and humanists everywhere. Evangel-icals of the Waldensian type, the Bohemian brethren, Tab-orites, Spirituales, Lollards, rejoiced in his bold and evan-gelical utterances. Many who had secretly held such views now became avowed evangelicals. He had well succeeded by his writings and denunciations in undermining papal authority, and bringing the doctrine of salvation by works into contempt ; but now the fruits of real faith \vpfe-feQked for in his followers as the seal of his mini§jj^״^chaff^ ell describes the actual condition of things ffi.G.R. p.jm f.) :׳ “ The Reformation during its first five years waTabattle /of words¿ סח] r dp.eds.^, 11 scattered the seeds of new .institutions all over Germany, but the old forms and usages súll remained. The Protestant soul dwelt in the Catholic body . . . the Protestants remained in external communion "with the mother church, attending Latin mass, bowing before the transubstantiation elements on the altar, praying to Ave Maria, worshipping saints, pictures and crucifixes, making pilgrimages to holy shrines, observing the festivals ־־׳¿f the Roman calendar, and conforming to the se\־en sacraments. . . . The bishops were still in charge of their dioceses, and unmarried priests and deacons performed all the ecclesiastical functions. The convents were still occupied by monks and nuns.” The Elector still had his
¿Seth-Aven full of relics from all parts of the world. Thou-. 3?ds of students, listening in the morning to the exposition pf the Bible as the sole rule of faith and learning of Christ as the only^means of justification would, with rare excep-tions* fill the many saloons and even brothels in th.e,even-ing. What had been defended as the pure Gospel in books ññnd tracts, preached with fiery zeal as Divine truth from the pulpit, and taught by learned men to a multitude of
SARDIS
263
students must now become a living reality in the hearts of the hearers. The many abuses and ceremonies of the papal Church, so boldly condemned as the works of the | predicted Antichrist, must be removed.
' Luther “being at “ Patmos ”, the burden of reform rested upon Mel^çjbjü^QXl^.C^Ist Amsdorf and. Janas. In June, 1521, students wrecked many houses of the priests at Erfurt, and many monks there left the convents. In November thirty monks left the Augustinian convent in Wittenberg, and the ex-monk, G. Didymus, fiercely attacked the mass, the adoration of the host, and the whole system of monasticism. Turbulent students inter-rupted the mass ; some priests married, among them Carlstadt and Jonas. After M.çlanchthon had celebrated the Lord’s Supper with his students under both kinds, CarlstacTtT followed Tiís example on. Christmas, dealing it out without ornate ritual, or elevation of the host, and using the GennanJ^nguage^^ About that time two of Melanch-thon’s students, staying at his home, put still more oil into the fire by rejecting infant baptism. Storch and Stübner, as well as Miinzer who followed later, had been expelled from Zwickau. In this Saxon town near the Bohemian border the Reformation had found a ready soil among the many weavers who, influenced by the writings of the Spirituals, hoped that Luther would usher in the long-expected millennium, fulfilling Joel 3. Miinzerj: a popular speaker and writer, had read their commentary ' on Jeremiah, and was quite “ high up with prophesying” himself.
To spread the message of the approaching age of the Spirit, twelve apostles and seventy-two evangelists were set apart; Miinzer went to Prague (April 1521), and the master-weaver, Storch, came to Wittenberg later. An unnamed chronicler reports : “ Melanchthon is at a loss as to what to make of this man, well versed in the Scriptures, who says ‘ there are many Bibles here, but they are looked at from the outside, and not inside with the Spirit He predicted that the Turks would conquer Germany in a few years, and kill all the unrighteous. Then there would be “ one faith, one baptism ” ; the sprinkling of “ infants, before they possess reason, is no baptism at all Free
264 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
preaching, the abolition of the mass, the closing of the worst saloons and brothels were the demands made upon the city council. The Elector consoled them by holding out hopes of future ordinances (Jàger, Carlstadt, S. 258 f.).
Carlstadt, then rector of the university, accepted their !viewsT abandoned his scholastic dress, ^ renouijccd his and sought to conform his private life |to apostolic ^iinplicitry The learned Cellarius was also weacmy won over. Melanchthon, greatly impressed by their prophetic claims and Scripture arguments against infant baptism, wrote to the Elector : “ I cannot tell you how much that which I heard from this people has affected me ; great reasons force me not to despise them.״ The Elector replied : “ This is an important affair, and as a layman I cannot comprehend it.״ The councilmen said it would be a wonder if the Zwickauers should know more about infant baptism than our so highly-esteemed Augus-tine. Luther replied in a lengthy letter, maintaining that !through the prayers of the Church, the infant did have faith. He next referred to the unanimous consent of the 'true and legitimate Church. As the Scripture did not !forbid infant baptism, he would say: “What therefore ; is not against the Scripture, is in its favour, and the Scrip-;ture for it.״ Comparing infant baptism with circumcision !he declared: “What has been commanded once to one people to be done on the eighth day, is nowr commanded to all nations of all times. ... I have always expected that Satan would touch this ulcer. He has not done it by the papists, but by some of our own men he causes this gravest schism. May Christ quickly bruise him under our feet ״ (Enders, iii. 276 f.). Melanchthon quieted down, “ as there was nothing special in this article of infant baptism, and it would be better to let it drop than to entertain many doubts about it ״ (Schmidt, Mel. S. 86 f.).
While Luther was still at the Wartburg, Leo, according to papal custom, condemned (Maunday Thursday, 1521) the Cathari, Waldensians, Passaginians, Wyclifites, Hussites, Fraticelli, but also added Luther and his followers now. The Reformer paraphrased this bull, changing its name to “ On theJ^Uojn^u^S^	.Holy Pope ״,
ancFadded a gloss to the above named heretics : “ All that
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265
those have done against God was that they wanted to have his word and that the pope should live accordingly.״ Then, applying Psalm 10 to the papal Antichrist, he com-mented on verse 12: “God aloneT^oved by^our tears and crieSj must break this tyranny .according to Paul’s statement in 2 Thessalonians 2 : 8. Then we shall see whether the boast of the papists shall stand, that those are consumed with shame who have told the truth to the papal curia ״ (E.A. xxiv. 201).
Thus Rome’s anathemas only fixed the eyes of the Reformer more positively upon the near advent of Christ as his Church Postils to the Advent-Siindays^'(1522); prove. Taking Luke 21^2^Jf. as his text, he saichr^í let	despoil me^of my conylctiaa..
'jmgmehr'is vefy^near^ The very signs and wards of
was fully persuaded‘ tlJSr CKnstTTn I7uke’ 21* and Matthew 24. : ις, prophesied of Antichrist־־־t)elfig the"^hóMinátion of desolation “as it is now earned on in full swing under the pope in the most tyrannical form. This one thing forces upon me the conviction that Christ must soon come . . . they provoke and defy the day of judgment too much, it must overtake them yet* unless it be the conjunction of the planets that shall occur in two years hence ”. “ The great astrono-mers tell us that it would be the sign of another flood ; ;God grant that it ra!£y be.theU^t^ day, which it surely ¡does announce ” (ELA. x. 56, 58, (3q). . This blessed hope ^upheld Luther in trying“ nour s, "when others wavered .or beat a retreat.
Luther was so troubled about the disturbances caused by changes, “ small and trifling ” though necessary, that he decided to return in spite of the Elector’s warning. After stating to him his reasons for returning, Luther emphasized the fact that he had the Gospel not from men, but from Heaven, and that he therefore could come under a far higher protection than that of the Elector. In eight sermons he carried the audience with him and achieved a complete triumph. Summing up, he said : “ I will preach, speak, and write, but I will force no one ; for faith must be voluntary. Take me for an example. ... I did nothing, the Word did everything.” When Satan “ sees
266 THE IMPELLING EORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
the Word running and contending alone on the battle field, then he shudders and shakes for fear. The Word is almighty, and takes captive the hearts ” (E.A. liii. 104 ft'.).
In order to avoid causing too much offence to weaker minds, Luther restored most of the old forms for the time being. He himself wore the cowl two years longer, re-turned to the convent and observed the fast. He disposed of the Zwickau prophets by demanding a miracle of them to prove their calling.
The reform begun by Luther in 1523 became so popular, and its need was so generally felt, that Pope Adrian VI, after admitting many abominations of the Papal See and promising reform, vainly urged the diet at Nuremberg to execute the edict against Luther and to burn out with a red-hot iron the loathsome ulcer of Lutheran heresy. The estates pointed out that the great mass of the people were with Luther in his protest, and that it would be impracticable to attempt to carry out the decrees against him. A free Christian council in Germany would be the only effective means of settling the difficulty.
This open declaration of the diet encouraged many communities to adopt the evangelical organization and worship. Luther himself felt encouraged to issue one of his most important reformatory writings :	“ That a
Christian assembly or community has the right and power to judge all teaching, to call, institute and depose teachers.” He boldly declared that in this respect “ we must have absolutely no regard to human laws and ordinances, old tradition, usage, custom, and such like, whether instituted by pope or emperor, princes or bishop, even though the whole world held to them and even though they have been observed for a thousand years ” (E.A. xxii. 140 ff.). Instead of papal reform, two monks were burned at Brus-sels as the first Lutheran martyrs, and Clement VIII ¿(15231535־) agreed with his court in refusing concessions.
At this juncture, of the Reformation, several points fmust be carefully considered. The Zwickauers, though ^fherwisF^î'siôhafy, based their demand for the baptism ״and church membership of believers on sound Bible argu-ment, and that sa.ÍQrcibly that the best theologians of Wittenberg were confounded. Even in their emphasis
ך6 2
SARDIS
of the Holy Spirit as an important factor in understanding the Word of God, they did it on the strength of 1 Corinthians 2 : 10 f. Harnack’s ground is well taken (H.D. vii. 129) : “ Even those who brought forward the 4 spirit ’ against the 4 letter ’ had no thought in many cases of taking objection to the unique validity of holy Scripture, but only wished to introduce a spiritual interpretation of Scripture, and to secure recognition for the good title belonging to the free spirit that is guided by the Spirit of God.” _In^ trying to meet their sound Biblical arguments, Luther and his associates appealed to Augustine and to ancient custom, co1rtrST“to^he^ vtiy^os^xyt *statement just "quoted"Γη his^Wging " reform, fro®^QtKçr hoary papal ordinances. Luther w£1!tj?ack t^^J^^gtholic -dogma of the miraculous elRHenciTof the	.
infant of the cradle. Although there had been a never-' ceasing protest carried on by the Paulicians, Cathari/ etc., against infant sprinkling, yet he declared, perhaps¿ ignorant of historical facts, that no heretic had ever dissented from it. Instead of basing his faith on a plain^
44 thus said the Lord ”, he put forth the dangerous canon* that anything not expressly forbidden 1n Scripture is supported by it. Instead of heeding the just demand for ^“sanctified CKurch which even from the very time of baptism must rest in the believer’s personal faith in Christ, he declared : 44 Where baptism and the gospel are, there none shall doubt that saints are there, and if they were but -infants in the cradle ” (E.A. xgxh. XQ&U..
Whither such a ne\yj9te¿^^	of member-
ship through infant sprinkling must drift, Newman (C.H. ii. 50) wc\] states : 44 The iconoclastic proceedings of the Zwickau prophets and of Carlstadt had filled Luther with alarm, and he had reached_a_definite conclusion that the_ only Avay in which papal power, backed by the imperial^ could be successfully resisted was by keeping the anti-papal movement in accord with the wishes of the German princes, whose interests led them to oppose pope and emperor, and by preventing at whatever cost, any radical, and revolutionary uprisings. . . . The practical, political, militant side of the work in which he had become engaged*־ no doubt tended to eliminate from his thinking the sweet י
268 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
reasonableness of the older mysticism, and to introduce the harsher modes of thought and expression that charac-terized his latter work. By 1524, luither had not only completely broken with the papacy, but had established a State-Church system, in which he claimed and exercised: a virtual dictatorship. He had driven Carlstadt, his great, !evangelical co-labourer and fellow-student of mysticism, /from the university, and afterward from pillar to post, and ^asTrïcîting the princes to vio^	mesures.
. . . In April of this year, Staupitz wroteLuther : . . .
‘ May Christ help that we may at last live according to the gospel, which now sounds in our ears and which many carry in the mouth ; since I see that multitudes abuse the gospel for the freedom of the flesh. May my prayers, seeing that I was once the forerunner of the holy evangelical teaching, still avail somewhat with thee ’ 99 (Id. ii. 50 f.).
XLVII
“ THE FEATURES AND FORM OF THE PRESENT TIME STRIKINGLY DESCRIBED ” IN PROPHECY
God in His wonderful providence, taking into account the conditions and special needs of every country, marked out a different way for the development of the Reformation , in '^wuz^rlanU and chose native men to lead out in it. The Swiss Republic had gained its civil liberty at a great sacrifice, and her sons were eagerly enlisted as mercenaries by pope and princes alike. The Basle University soon be-came a stronghold of the new learning, and many of the city’s printers supplied literature far and wide.
As early as 1505-1508 one of the university professors in Basle, J^ttenbach, taught the need of a reformation of doctrine and life in accordance with the Divine Word, and emphasized that only Christ’s death could atone for sin. Capito taught at the university later on, and Erasmus gathered about him a circle of enthusiastic admirers of ancient learning who held liberal views concerning the papal system. This circle Ulrich Zwingli (14841531־) joined, and he and his friend Leo JúcTKere got their first
SARDIS
269
incitements to study the Word of God in the original tongues. Chosen as pastor at Glarus (1506), Zwingli thrice accompanied the cantonal banner to Italy as chaplain of the papal mercenaries, and, experiencing the demoraliz-ing effect of mercenary service, he wrote several poems against it. In 1516 Zwingli was appointed vicar of the famous shrine at Einsiedeln, where he had ample oppor-tunity to become fully acquainted with the many abuses of the Catholic system. When the Franciscan Samson began his shameful traffic in indulgences (1518), Zwingli and others so vigorously opposed him that he had to leave the country. And yet Zwingli enjoyed the papal favour to such an extent that he received a papal pension to pursue his studies until 1520. In 1518 he was appointed papal chaplain in recognition of “ his splendid virtues and merits ” and even higher dignities were held out to him (Schulthess, viia. 48 ff.). Still he was bent on reform, and declared (1517) to Capito that “ the papacy must fall ! ” (Christoffel, S. 25).
From the time Zwingli accepted the chief pastorate iin the Zürich Minster (1518) he undermined papal errors !by setting forth evangelical truthTromlKe gospels. He : Boldly "declared that everything not sustained by God’s word must be removed. His attention was first called to ,!Luther by the burning of. the pope’s bull, and while he | head his works and admired his greatness, yet Zwingli[ carefully guarded the independence of the Swiss Reforma־! tionT“ He gained an easy victory over the fiisKop οΓΟοη-ί 1stance and his associates in two public disputes. The city council, supported by public opinion, decided on a thorough reform, and (1525) images, relics, mass, etc., quickly disappeared, monasteries were transformed into schools ן and almshouses, land everything was centred on preaching ahí teaching the Gospel.
of The'BiBle was termed ^ prophesying, ”. The papacy/ in sad need of tHe Swiss mercenaries, kept the peace as long as possible, so that Zwingli could devote his strength to setting forth in his writings “ the true and false religion ”,
“ the certainty and clearness of the divine Word ”, and its correct “ interpretation ”. The first parts of the Bible appeared in the Swiss dialect. Zwingli declared (Schulthess,
10ך THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
ii. 108 ff. ): “Christ being the only true and eternal high priest, he who sets himself up as supreme priest, usurps His place and casts Him aside. But this is the very work predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2, of Antichrist. . . . He (the pope) allows himself to be called god on earth, assumes to be God, and flatterers persuade him that immed-lately after his election by men he is full of the Holy Spirit, and not less powerful than Christ.” In him is surely fulfilled the abomination of desolation predicted in Matthew 24: 15 and Daniel 11. “Here you will find the feature and form of the present time strikingly described.” The Swiss Reformation, also furthered by many of the works of Luther, which were freely printed and circulated, spread rapidly : “ Christ like the tender grass in spring sprouted forth everywhere upon these mountains.”
Luther attached great importance to infant baptism and the Lord’s Supper as very effective sacraments ; Oecolampadius, Capito and Bucer agreed with Zwingli in making both a mere sign and were disposed, for a time, ito think it needless in the case of infants. This difference ;caused the sad controversy between Lutherans and the ^Reformed. Luther spared no epithet in denouncing.jhc Zwinglians as u fanatics, devils, knaves, heretics^xioters ”.
A '‘spil more marked division ensued between the Reformed and the'BaptistsTas"the latter emphasizcTTheii'' longing for a regenerate Church. Zwingli admitted (article 18) that the eafîÿTffurcli Taptized catechumens only after they had been well instructed in the faith, and he wrote elsewhere : “ The error also misled me some years ago so that I thought it would be much more suitable to baptize children after they have arrived at a good age ” (Ne\vman, C.H. 11, 152). Zwingli had made such ad-missions to Hubmaier and to other Baptist leaders as early as 1523, when this learned and zealous evangelist supported Zwingli in his debates with the Catholics (Sachse, S. 137). This circle of earnest Christians had often besought Zwingli to form a regenerate church, but he answered : “ We cannot make a heaven upon earth.” In September, 1524, they set forth their principles in a letter to Münzer : “ True believers in Christ are like sheep in the midst of wolves—they must suffer persea 1-
271
SARDIS
tion, endure much tribulation—they, baptized into the death of Christ, must be first tried. They neither use the sword nor war. Baptism signifies the washing away of sins, and when sin is gone the new life of the Spirit must follow’. Yet water by no means confirms and augments faith, or is it the last consolation on the death bed, as the wise men of Wittenberg teach.״ All infants were saved through the merits of Christ “ without infant baptism, which is a senseless, blasphemous abomination and against all Scripture, the practice of the apostolic church and the Fathers ” (Cornelius, ii, 245).
In January, 1525, a disputation wTas held at Zürich between Zwingli and the Baptist leaders, the former defending infant baptism by alluding to circumcision and Matthew 19 : 14, also 1 Corinthians 7 : 14. The Baptists replied :	“ Since infant baptism has no foundation or
command in the divine Word, but is an invention of the pope, it should be abolished as an abomination.” “ You have always asserted against the papists that wdiat has no foundation in the word of God is unwarranted, and nowr you say : £ Much now’ takes place under God that is not w’ritten in His Word.5 Wdiere is now that powerful Word with which you refuted the bishop and all monks ! In vain they do wOrship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men55 (Schulthess, i, 237). W7hat Zwingli’s eloquence failed to accomplish, the powrer of the state had. to execute. Within eight days every child had to be sprinkled on pain of the banishment of the responsible party. In the hour of greatest need, the Baptist leaders who had thus far only argued against infant baptism, found the right solution by introducing the believer’s baptism and organizing churches of the regenerate. In this act Grebel took the initiative, baptiz-ing first of all the monk Blaurock, who in turn baptized large numbers (Cornelius, ii, 26 f.). The Zürich council now attempted to crush the movement, and with Zwingli’s consent, imprisoned and banished the Baptists. The banished leaders spread true baptism far and wide within a few weeks, multitudes submitting to it. The employ-ment of the secular arm to enforce infant baptism merely created another unregenerated state Church,
21ך THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
There was at the same time a far more dangerous move-ment going on among the German peasants who, under the papal rule, had been mere bondmen. To. obtain :greater liberty they formed secret organizations known as Bundschuh (from the clogs the peasants wore) but their attempts were crushed. They hailed the advent of Luther with delight. They saw in him the great son of a peasant who combined sympathy for the oppressed with learning, position and influence. As they heard the Gospel of liberty from him and learned from the Scriptures their God-given rights, they hoped to gain both social and religious freedom under his banner. Their moderate programme was enunciated in twelve articles ; they asked freedom from feudal oppression, and the right to elect their own pastor. They were willing to have all their demands tested by Scripture, and to withdraw anything in them that was contrary to the Word. As the new teaching had brought only “ words ”, “ faith ”, and not the liberating deed, they were becoming restless.
The soil was indeed well prepared for the doctrine of a temporal millennium, bringing liberty and equality to all kjdiea^^and destruction to those who would oppose*^ Miinzer, by his very make-up a fit prophet for the harfr-Trorking peasant, propagated his millennial views in Thuringia, where he had accepted a pastorate in the face of Luther’s warning against him. When Count Mansfeld prohibited his subjects to attend, Münzer felt
Îurged to blow God’s trumpets only the louder. As New Year’s gift (1524) Miinzer issued a treatise that set forth |true faith and baptism, and scorned “ the fabulous gospel ” *preached by Luther and his “ honey-swxet Christ ” and mis doctrine that Antichrist must be destroyed by the ?iVoTd alohè, without violence. At Alstedt he formed by S" ctfvelïâff	who had to give an account of
their faith in Christ and conversion, a “ Christian Church, wherein the elect are separated from the wicked ”. Since believers from other places were also free to unite, some 300 joined in a day. Swiss Baptists admonished him (as he still practised infant baptism) to drop all such usages of Antichrist, and they besought him, further, to desist from violence: “You have the Bible (which
¿73
SARDIS
Luther converts into bubble, babble) as your shield against the Lutheran forbearing with the wicked, which also our learned men at Zürich have planted in all the world.” Jlünzer, heedless of thek_good
measures : “ The new movement of this time should be ^respected, the old measures would no longer avail, for the prophet declared that ‘ the dregs of the cup of His fury י have not been all emptied yet, the wicked of the earth who have thirsted after blood must drink the dregs.” He exhorted the Wittenbergers, who were “ satiated with the Scripture ” and doubted his visions, “ Oh, my beloved, strive that you may prophesy, else all your theology will not be worth a farthing ! ” Ban-ished, he went to the free city of Mühlhausen where he established a theocratic government״״ Luther warned the city^xotmcih Münzer	away from Mühlhausen
by the reactionary party, and in Nuremberg he published a violent polemic “ against the spiritless, ease-loving flesh of Wittenberg He tried to inspire the Swiss Baptists with his violent spirit, but all in vain. Tie re-turned again to Mühlhausen (1525) and once more got control of its city government. Meanwhile the peasants’ war was sweeping everything before them in the South. Castles and monasteries were burned. When they neared Mühlhausen, Münzer, quoting Moses, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Matthew 24, wrote as “ God’s servant against the wicked ”, signing himself “ Münzer with the hammer and with the sword of Gideon ”, and shrieked : “ On, on, never mind the wail of the godless ; pity not. Was it not thus that God commanded to slay the Canaanites ? Let not your swrord grow cold from blood, strike hard upon the anvil of Nimrod (the princes) ; cast his tower to the ground, because the day is yours. Now has the time come when Ezekiel 39 : 4; Revelation 19 : 21 are being fulfilled.” He wrote Count Mansfeld that “ he would treat him as a brother if he would acknowledge that God in fulfilment of Daniel 7 :	27 had given the
dominion to the saints ” (E.A. lxv, 14 f.).
At the beginning of the peasants’ war Luther sought to effect a compromise, but he added a review of the twelve articles that only irritated his opponents and
I
274 T״E IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
killed his influence among them. Their demand for liberty from bond service made “ the Christian liberty altogether carnal. Did not Abraham and other patri-archs and prophets keep bondmen ? They should also read Paul’s counsel to slaves. Therefore their article was straight against the Gospel and only a robbery, as bondmen claimed their own body, the rightful property of their lords (E.A. xxiv, 294 ff.). The peasants, being under Christian lords and not under pagans, rejected such a gospel, and continued the struggle. Then Luther issued another epistle “ against the murderous and pillag-ing bands of peasants”. The last day being near, there would be no danger that they might gain an earthly king-dom for Satan ; therefore the princes should “ stab, smite, strangle them, whoever can, just as one would beat a mad dog ”. The magistrate that falters commits sin, “ and if you fall in battle, very wrell, you can never attain a more blessed death ”.
In vain did Münzer have a red cross and a drawn sword carried before him. In vain did his followers sing, “ Come, Holy Spirit ”, The swords of the knights, who heeded only too well Luther’s admonition, mowed them do\vn by thousands. Münzer, hiding in bed, was appre-hended, but ere his head fell he received as a penitent the sacrament of Rome.
However, between the common people and the Re-formers there had"'beeñ7iH3^^	Indíffer-
entlÿ they looked on as the Reformers raised up a new Church m the place of the papal Church, relying alike on the strong arm of civil.power. Schaff (G,R? p. 545) states tKe^case well : *‘The victory over the peasants greatly :increased the power of the princes. The Lutheran Re-[formers handed the work of re-organization largely over το them, and thus unwittingly introduced a cæsaro-papacy, i.e., such a union of church and state as makes the head of the state also the supreme ruler in the church.”
In order to introduce reform, in .doctrine, worship and discipline, Elector John, at the Jequestpf . Luther, ordered visitations . 0£ ah the .çhurçhes_and M	prepared
a manual for their instruction,.., Their report during 1528, and 1529 wras sad enough: “ Pastors and people had
275
SARDIS
broken loose from all restraint, churches and schools were in ruins, the ministers without income, ignorant, in-different and demoralized. Some kept taverns, were themselves drunkards, and led a scandalous life. The people of course were not better.” Luther wrote Spalatin :
“ The peasants learn nothing, know nothing, abuse all their liberty. They have ceased to pray, to confess, to
------me, as if they were bare of all religion, jhey|
id popery, so they now despise us.” c^The strong^ : the־ law is־ necessary .יי ' "Thus was the territorial hiHrîr ;g<Tvernnrerit established and order restored in the German Protestant sovereignties.	;
Luther felt deeply over this sad condition, and even! advocated a fellowship of all those “ who earnestly desired to be Christians, confess the gospel with hand and mouth, record their own names and gather by themselves in some private house ”. Then only could those who did not behave as Christians be disfellowshipped according to Matthew 18. He had to acknowledge his inability to create a regenerate Church, “ for I do not as yet have enough of the right persons ; nor do I find many who urge it ” (E.A. xxii. 231).
How well did Jesus, the true witness, forecast the real condition of the evangelical churches of the Reformation :
“ I know thy works, that thou hast a name, that thou livest, and art dead.”
Henceforth, all who insisted on conforming doctrine .and life completely with the Scriptures were treated as “ heretical fanatics ”, alike by Rome and by Wittenberg and by Zürich : in the last two centres they were also derided as “ over-evangelical ”.
XLVIII
NOW IS THE VERY TIME WHEN JESUS SHALL CONSUME THE ANTICHRIST ”
When Luther lived, Nuremberg ^ was the metropolis of German commerce, politics, Tetters, art, and the home of a constellation of distinguished men such as Dürer,
^16ך THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC ^TRUTH
the famous painter ; Hans Sachs, the “ master singer and the shoe-maker poet ” ; Luther’s intimate friend^ tbe eloquent Augustinian monk, Link; and A.'ffisiandci^, the learned preacher,jaL&t* I^m¿^ \yho hâd’^Bgtiillÿ j çtudÎed tKe prophetic Word. The preaching of the ever- ! lasfmg GospHTiaítaken such a hold on the people that when ; the papal legate attended the diet (1524) he scarcely found an abode.	2zzzr
The followip^ day Qg¿yj¿£r openly preached against the RomajAn tichrTsr^Tro hi Ï jóhn 4^ He then published ׳If book -'sero^^iji. nTer'ïîïïKCment of the ^ropKectes. ^HîtSefCTiT 1-Jews, Christians, and papists hâd^ttttlffiî-mously but wrongly applied Antichrist to the very ¡ last ruler of the Roman Empire. In accordance with Daniel 8 :23 f. the little horn of Daniel 7 represented an and^ although a mighty lord, yet, differing the other rulers, he must be a mighty bishop. Wa&ing great he was to speak terrible words against God. f ul-filling 2 Thessalonians 2, he was to sit in God’s temple, i.e. in the church. Imperial Rome had to make room for him—with the removal of Constantine from Rome to Constantinople the papal Antichrist had moved in. /According to Revelation 13:2, Satan had.given him the ' ¡glory of empire by means of a lie—the'pretçndçd donation Ι0ΓConstant¡ne. Therefore all who bclleveihat the papacy ! ÎtiTfîÇ?^^	m is of God, worship Satan. The papacy
™forbids the preaching of the Word, to^preserve Tt slower. The lamblike power represents the׳ymonk? ^vho persuade the nafibn¿"to adore the pope as an earthly god, enjoying pleasant days. The sj>e^irj^jmj^e_refers to his decretals,
^ which, everywhere obeyed, cause him to prosper. The.pope ^as overcome the saints, denouncing and persecuting them as heretics, and is indeed the wicked shepherd of Zechariah |n : 16. His persecuting power, lasting 3! years or 42 jknonths, would be 1,277 yeàrs if the year'were' counted as ntavihg^jh¿ ’day^ céîff^dated from Constantine, these ¡jdays wouirHaabout this ümOo^tKât “ now is the very !time when Jesus shall consume the Antichrist ”. Deccp-! «tive priests, as the false prophet, have caused that great /'and small receive a mark of the papacy on their right hand,.
277
SARDIS
twhen their works certify their subjection to the papal chair, or the mark is in the forehead when they openly confess obedience to the pope. Lacking this mark none might buy or sell ; banished by the pope he would also come under the imperial edict, and thus be completely cut off from spiritual and temporal intercourse. The inquisitors' took special pains to see that all observe the commands of the pope rather than those of God. The Roman Añtichrist had its childhood in the days of the apostles, until he even subjected the Roman emperor. Then fulfilling Matthew 24 : 68־, he acquired great power through war, especially during the crusades. His third age is described in Matthew 24: 913־, and was reached [through his terrible rage against the so-called heretics. [At last Matthew 24 : 14 is being fulfilled by the preaching ¡οΓτΙκΐ everlasting Gospel f5ï"3Mlwfcriess llgaf^
; t^^ïFTnusF now decrease as art^tffd^tnan, until, in fulfilment of shall be bjj&ksn without hand or human effort at Christ’s advent.ffifeHer^pp. 1344־).
Osiamglp^aving found two_copies_ of_ Joachim’s p rophecie~~whi ch_ t heS. p]r ;tualcsT)^	ted
by Hand (about 1278), now had woodcuts’made and fitted their explanation to the Retoí¿máíf10h so that the papists might see how it stood with them and yield to their fate. “ For they must be abased. . . . God will indeed find a scourge—of that we have even a more sure word of proph-ccy which will not deceive us.” He entitled the booklet, “A Wonderful Prophecy of the Papacy, and What its Fate will ^ c _at '	the Worlds e I Hus t !at e d.. with
Symbols tuunTTn the Xurcmkir^.ilgxtllüëiaa .Convent Ijans _ Sachs, ,jvyr,Qj;er,s,^ rhymes for each _ woodcut. The strife.!between pope and emperor"1s in the foreground, and on the picture we see the Roman eagle forced to kiss the pope’s feet, and the tiara, ,above,the imperial crown. The comment on this side of the picture reads : “ The pope has placed his crown above the one of his imperial majesty and trodden it underfoot. He even goes further for he pretends in his decretals that he is fully entitled to command also in heaven. This is believed and the eagle,
278 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
i.e. the Roman Empire, worships him as if all that he says and does were God’s word and work.” Sachs made the following rhyme to accompany the picture :
״ The pope glories to be still higher A true heir to the Roman Empire.
Though the eagle be greatly displeased,
Yet his feet to kiss he must lowly heed.”
Osiander also published Hildegard’s prophecy, and emphasized the stjabJ30rnn^	which, would
bring the same fate as 3id that of ancient Jerusalem : “Daniel (chapters 7 and 8), Zechariah, (chapter 11), Christ, John, Paul, and Peter prophesy to them—to no avail. The popular warnings in proverbs and visions, and the signs in the heavens prophesy to them—all in vain ” (Id. pp. 97-104).
Luther was highly, pleased .with, the copy, of the booklet published b^ Osmnd'ex.._.He himself also published a well-jllustrated^poem against the pope and monks as Anti-׳¿¿uis&^arly in 1527), saying: “The cup must be well-filled for this harlot (Rev. 17) until this blood-thirsty Jezebel, is,trodden under foot as the mire of the streets ”/ ^(E.A. xxix. 377J>1	S
In "ahs’wer to the papists’ claims that Lichtenberger’s prophecies had been fulfilled by the Lutheran heresy, and the peasants’ insurrection it had caused, Luther issued a new edition of that work, affixing his own preface to it. He stated that if the papacy should experience the judgments he had announced against it on the strength of Divine prophecy, then they themselves would confess that “ Luther had hit the mark far better than Lichten-berger or their own imaginations ” (E.A. lxiii. 257). Indeed, soon after this, May 7, the imperial troops under Frundsberg captured Rome, and the pope and his cardinals fled to the castle of St. Angelo. For eight days the papal treasury, the churches, palaces, libraries, and even St. Peter’s tomb were plundered—sustaining a loss of ten millions in gold. German soldiers paraded the streets in cardinals’ robes ; they dressed a donkey like a priest, and by a grim joke proclaimed Luther as the pope of Rome. A chronologist states that they were persuaded that God opened to them the way across the Alps, the steep rocks
SARDIS
ζ¿,)	27('
of which they had climbed like wild goats ; He had pre-served them unhurt at Mantua, where their enemies had thought to catch them in a net . . . finally, having led them by all the large cities in the face of the enemy, and once more over trackless mountains safe and sound to Rome, He had gone before them in the midst across the strong walls. Thus did the mighty God, to their great consolation, strike A^jchrist with the lightnings of His judgment (Ranke, H.G.R. ii. 451 f.). Many Lutherans rejoiced “ at the fall of Babylon ”, and vainly imagined that the victorious emperor would now rule according to the Word of G^d^
Although/tuther Siad thrust the Apocalypse from the
*1Μ·Τ||WMti **	’ ‘trMT,l,r‘· ־.'· --ττΐι ιϋΐρ^(ΙΙή|1*ΗΓ~|"ινι π ו.I." ...
canon, men ״ or keener insight, recognizing its aptness, ariptipn inKevelaj^n 13 to the papacy. Fnmcîsffiai^	con-
^ffed'T(5lÎêTvangelicarfann^ wroda commentary on the i Apocalypse dedicating it to the Landgrave of Hesse (1528^. ¡When some of Luther’s tracts fell into the hands of this ¡learned Franciscan preacher, he travelled on muleback through Geneva on to Zürich, where Zwingli directed him י To Wittenberg. There he translated reformatory tracts into French, and in 1526 he entered the Landgrave’s service. For the synod of Homberg he prepared 158^ theses, demanding that whatever was deformed should be reformed by the Word as the only rule of faith and practice. The Church should consist of true Christians only, and they should have the power of self-government and the right to exercise strict discipline. The Landgrave was pleased, but Luther advised postponement for “ the people were not ripe for such an organization ”. Lambert played an important part in the Reformation of Hesse, and in the establishment of Marburg University (Schaff, G.R. p. 582 f.).	~ ׳-־“״־־־'
Lambert’s commentary shows decisive trac^ of_Joa-chimasrmíuence in the explanation ofCRevelation 2b. The pope and the Turk were, tyges^	Antl·־!
christ. After the Jong^^ersecution set forth in the seals, hmd'er the last seal there would be a pause of half an hour, corresponding to the time of Revelation 20. He believed from the sequence and harmony of the visions that these
280 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
here fully correspond to the Jj000.y^eajs_^ there will be outward peace, truth will be cherished and the ^pint's will emoy liberty. Farther we cannot define the rtimc7Kiïï1^^nôw§ His times ” (Apoc. p. 491}^..^
After Lambert: hadfffiaj^tlms ^augLLafluture’.millcn-mium ihph^l*hi?my with Revelation 20, Iv5f0i״fhed and ..rapist commentators followed suit. Capito, the learned "and zealous r ëîor me r of Strasbourg, m his commentary on Hosea, expressed his accord with Lambert (1528) ; and his friend, the Baptist Celigxius, expected “ the golden age of the renewed world under the peaceful reign of Christ af£er.the downfall of the papacy ” (R.E. iii. 332, 810).
The gifted evangelist, SpemtiL¿ found^Pyxyau¿^ com-mentary inJüga, and sent it to Luther, wlftri^published it (1528) with a preface of his own. In his prefacc(Luther) lays special stress on the fact that “ we are not the first ones who applied the antichristian kingdom to the papacy : this many great men have dared to do many years before eus, and that frankly and openly, under the greatest per-fsecufion. These old divinely ordained witnesses confirm tôhr doctrine and the bodies of these saints arise as it were famong us with the newly-vivified gospel, and awaken much confidence ” (È.À. adj£fu^
Speratus sent Luther also the vision ascertain friar Clausen (died 1480) had concerning a man’s head wearing thcTtiara. In his preface to this, Luther emphasized the fact that he had seen this vision in earlier days, but, as at that time he had no contention with the papacy, “ it nevertheless had no effect upon me. But now the sight touches my heart ; for my wits have been sharpened by the blows received, to meditate upon these things. Truly Christ has given to the papacy many signs, but they have a brazen forehead and an iron neck that they do not care for all these, and therefore will perish and be destroyed without mercy ”. He then refers to Osiafldefe booklet with “ its fitting illustrations wherein the papacy is well, f^membered. The Antichrist has come to the very dregs,
-an'(Έ,AU Ixiii, ,
260 f.).
Under existing conditions the prophetic word received ' more and more attehtTon™sb" ΐΚή'Γ‘־LirtjhLcr. ;1j:p1.arkcd :
281
SARDIS
“ Everybody wants to be a new master of interpretation. This one tackles^DanieL thaJLfiflfe” (E.A. VxïïîTT 10). Astne contest waxed warmer, the Apocalypse was “more and more restored to its ..proper, place at the close of the canon, and John was converted into one of the jnost formidable assailants of the Romish camp ” (M. Stuart, Apoc. i. 206). Luther himself, influenced by old' and new witnesses in itsTîavour, and perceiving the1 'advantages of such an ally, substitj^dl^
^Testament a more favourable pr3ace^an3 added a numEef
H , 1^,?sses?,
fîoweven Le still maintained that the apostle John was
■î.. mit*?	: γ*Α&ιψ*.,
hot thewnter. rle declared that the Holy bpint, in his “TcvetaTions^ 6! 'future things and times, used no symbols,1 or these without interpretation. In view of this, the safest way of interpreting this book would be to find correspond-ing events in history as the certain fulfilment. In the seals ן he saw bodily tribulations of Christianity ; in the trumpets ן spiritual ixotibres. caused by heretics; the three woes׳ were, accordingly, the Arians, Mohammedans and the pap-acy ; the latter was^ an image of the Roman Empire, giving it spirit and Tile through its estates, decretals, members and offices. “ Now the devil’s final wrath has reached its height : here toward the West, the papacy and the empire ; there in the East, Mohammed and the Sara-cens, and in addition, the Turk.” All other symbols were for consolation. From Revelation II and 12 it was apparent the pious teachers and Christians would always remain. Regarding Revelation 1J, the following comments · are to the point : “In tnis 1chapter comes the third woe, yea, the papal monarchy and imperial papacy. Here the papacy gets the world’s resort in her power ... as they therefore boast that the pope has both the spiritual and the secular sword in his power. Here are the two beasts : one is the monarchy, the other with the two horns the papacy, which now also has become a secular kingdom, but with the appearance .ofxhe.name of Christ. For the pope has again established the fallen Roman Empire, and transferred it from the Greeks to the Germans. But this is a mere image of the Roman Empire, rather than the real essence of what it once has been. Yet he gives to such
282 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
image spirit and life, so that it has its ranks, rights, mem-
bers and officers and prospers to some extent. Thus
^hat which was wounded, has again become healed. . . .
Here the Devil’s last wrath prevails. In Ilevelation 14,
Christ begins to(fuc^	andjbas the** ever-
¿¿sting^GospeTpmacneî anl'״#e Tail of^îë^pàpacy pre-
dommages". "^Tne’^vTàTs T^preâenï'TKë'^assault of the pious
ר י׳״^^ ־**י״״ --r............. -.... ד ---f.
preachers upon the papalchair, the frogs are the sophists,
like Faber, Eck, etc. In Revelation 17, the imperial papacy
and tEe papal monarchy are representeTTy one symbol.
tfn Revelation'18;'thrfr^ii&stfuctibn is foretold, as Indeed
/Rome had to be stormed and pillaged by its patron
(Charles V) as the beginning of its fingí destruction ”.
Luther, an ardent admirer of Augustine, believed the 1
,ooovears Began with the writing oitKe Apocafyp^^and
KaTSaÏ^ had been loosed since they passeX He dianot
OucIPtTTe’"first resurrection, bu.Vwith Augustine, held to
)brie'genBmTTesm^ at the near advent. As the last
act, befofé Christas'appearance, the Turks, the red Jews—
the hosts of Gog and Magog—would be.pLrg^d^n by Satan,
and their destruction wcmld usher Jn the last judgment,
after which Christ would .be. Lord forever. “ If the book
be thus יז.ןnn profit by it and put it to good
JL-
^^I^nil^nnocent III, Aureolus and Lyra had explained ithe 666 as so many years of the Mohammedan supremacy, Luther Reversed the application .of .the. symbol in Revela-ion 13 to the papacy, and the 666 he made so many cars of papal supremacy, whenJ~aïter*t!Earremagne, the ope cc was made lord over all the kings of the earth ” E.A. lx. 200).
"^AftRSuglT'Luther never grasped the mysteries of the Apocalypse noTnanderstbod how Christ always had a T3ódy ot earnest Christians, yet, seeing in the woman of ?Revelation 12 the “ serving maid, so dear to Him that He could never forget her ”, he composed a “ Song of the Holy Christian Church ” :
“ She bears a crown so fair of gold, Wherein 12 stars are gleaming bold, Her garments like the sun so bright, Are shining in sun’s fullest height.׳’·
283
SARDIS
XLIX
“ THE SEAL OF GOD ”, OR “ THE POPE’S FIRST AND HIGHEST· ABOMINATION ”
The history of the true witnesses of Christ has been written in blood ever since the days of Stephen. Hase (“ History of the Anabaptists,” p. 39) conceded to them the energy, the joyful martyrdom and the overcoming faith in Christ seen in the primitive Church. With a con-tempt for death which only a living hope of eternal life can give, and a faith in the sure word of prophecy can sustain, these “ worst sons of Luther laboured in the Catholic countries with great success, where the Lutherans and the reformed did not venture to go—where their blood flowed like water : in Bavaria and Austria the law was enforced : whoever recants is to be decapitated ; who does not will be burned In Protestant countries they fared no better. At Zürich they Avere drowned with Zwingli’s consent. In the Saxon Electorate they were executed with the sword, Luther and Melanchthon approv-ing. Luther urged the officials to seize these “ hedge poachers ”, these “ satanic messengers ”, and to charge every citizen to indict such “ sneakers ” under pain of severe punishment (E.A. xxxi. 214 f.). Their best leaders were mowed down as martyrs.
Hubmaier fled (1526) to Moravia, where he was received with open arms by the Lichtensteins, rich noblemen of Nikolsburg. Within a few months the leading evangelical ministers of that section accepted his leadership, Gôschel, a former suffragan bishop, among them. Inside of a year thousands had submitted to the believer’s baptism, ad-ministered by affusion. Hubmaier was provided with a printing press, and circulated a number of doctrinal, practical and polemical works. He was seized by the Austrians (1527) and burned at the stake (1528).
The most accomplished Baptist leader was Hans Denk, a Bavarian. He was a classical and Hebrew scholar, and was associated very closely with Oecolampadius as his proof reader in Basle (1523), and on his recommenda-
•	y ־	y
284 THE IMPELLING׳ FQ.RCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
tion was appointed rector of a college at Nuremberg. Driven from there (1525) he impressed Vadian of St. Gall as a most gifted youth in whom “ all excellencies [were so present that he even surpassed his age He was Fso carried awa^YitJ^God’s infinite love that hecoulcUnot !conceive of an eternal torment, and leaned to the teachings I of Or1gen“AJ strong advocate of absolute liberty of con-jsciencc, he severely condemned the unjust persecution of ’those who differed from the state Church : “ It seems to me to be an unreasonable law that does not allow one to differ from the other ” (Keller, S. 233). After organizing a strong Baptist churchjit Augsburg, where he gained the young patrician *Langemanfêi* he wfent to Strasbourg ז noted for its toleranccpaTri“here, too, he gained a large following. TnThls'place, associated with the accomplished classical and Hebrew’ scholar Hetzer, he began a translation of the prophets that wras printed in Worms (1527) and freely used by Luther. He participated in great Baptist conven-tions, and died in the home of Oecolampadius that year. Hetzer was beheaded at Constance (1529).
Langemantcl wrote against the papists as the real “ Anabaptists ”, who instigated such bloody persecutions against the true Baptists. When this patrician was ban-ished, he saw a new pope in Luther, and new papists in his adherents, because they used the same intolerant means to uphold their view's (Uhlhorn, S. 117 f.).
Denk also baptized Hans Hut (1526) who had been in Miinzcr’s army, had been taken prisoner, and then released because he was only a “ bookseller ”. He laboured with consuming zeal in Bavaria, Moravia, and Bohemia. Λ1-though the Baptist leaders were mowed down, “ a new crop sprouted forth again, drenched by their blood. The churches recorded the names of their martyrs, and circu-lated the lists to the other churches. The reports of the martyrdom of prominent witnesses passed in printed or wTitten form from hand to hand. Their minds were full}־ occupied with the pictures of the bloody battle of patience and endurance for the kingdom of God. Their innumer-able spiritual songs dwTell only upon this theme ” (Cornelius,
ii. 60).
There w'ere more than 70,000 Baptists in Moravia
285
SARDIS
alone, during the period of their greatest prosperity. From here their views spread with wonderful rapidity into Tyrol an¿^ustrfev
Ιι\_*ις29 quite a number of the Nikolsburg Churchy decided to observe the seventh day Sabbath, and with them the LichtehsteTh^^tJuotà11 ons ' of their belief are still preserved in Schwenckfeld’s refutation written in 1532 and printed in 1599, a copy of which is at the Hamburg library. They declared themselves to be called of God to restore the breach the papacy had made in His law, thus !fulfilling Isaiah 58 : 12 f. The Sabbath, given verbally, Sat the beginning, was kept by the patriarchs, and they who ;desire to enjoy the same inheritance with them “ must keep the commandments of God as they did, i.e. rest on Saturday ” (p^ 133). Christ “ confirmed the Sabbath and truly establisnediï^ (p. 157). They called the annulling : ¡of the Sabbath “the devil’s work ”, and Sunday “ thet pope’s, invention ”.	;
Already in T?¿4*£arlstadt had in two editions of his :reatise “ Concerning the Sabbath ” called the seventh lay based on Isaiah 58 ^ a spark of delight of the eternal iabbath ”, which ought to be observed instead of the * man-made ” Sunday. Eck challenged the reformers on this very question in his “ Enchiridion ” which passed through 46 editions from 15251575־. That Catholic champions such as Eck made their greatest boast over this change,cMelanchthomadmits in article 28 of the Augsburg Confession : “ They allege the change of the Sabbath intov
Sunday contrary, as it seemeth, to the.Decalogue; and־״
they have no example more in their mouths than the change of the Sabbath. They will needs have the church’s power to be very great because it had dispensed with a precept { of the Decalogue.”
The history of these Sabbatarians is closely interwoven vith that of the Baptists, and it is also written in blood. The Jesuits tried to root them out, as well as the Baptists, 3ut wherever they fled, they carried their beliefs with them, [in Russia, Finland, Scandinavia, England, Holland, Tran-Sylvania, wre find traces of blood and pyres marking out the via dolorosa of these wT0uld־be repairers of the breach.
The fulfilment of the prophetic Word proved to all
286 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
these Baptist believers a great incentive in their wonderful spread, as Cornelius (II. 47 ff.) clearly demonstrates. They preached repentance in view of the nearness of the judgment of God. The Gospel, taught hitherto by the Reformers, could not bring salvation, “ for nowhere have they found a real Christian Church, vice is left unpunished, and none is disfellowshipped ”. The Reformers introduce the liberty of the flesh, but on the other hand abandon real Christian liberty to the secular arm of the Government. To saving faith belongs the imitation of the life of Christ. His cross must be borne, His commandments kept, the Spirit must write God’s moral law upon minds and hearts. Only those who have gone out from Babylon and Egypt will be spared. The Lord does not proffer them baptism as a child’s bath, but as a sign of the true covenant predicted in Ezekiel 9. Whoever does not have that mark upon his forehead will Shortly perish. But to those who are sealed with it, God will grant a speedy reward though they be persecuted and killed.
These messengers wandered about in humble garb. Entering the home, they offered the salutation of peace, spoke of the works of love and explained the Scriptures. Simple though their words were, they came from the hearts of “ confessors and martyrs, and the flame which consumed them also ignited the souls of their hearers. Persecuted* and fugitive, never certain of food or of life, their very deeds testified to the truth of their words : therefore their effect was so powerful. ... A few hours often sufficed to׳ found a company of believers ”. In Franconia, Hut en-tered a house, read from the Word of God, and proclaimed God’s message until the landlord and eight others received the seal of baptism. That same night Hut departed, and none of those who ivere baptized sawr him again. Under cover of simple forms—baptism and the breaking of bread—duties and morals were practised wTiich reformed the whole life. They gathered in houses, avoided churches, taverns and guild-houses, called themselves brethren and sisters, and saluted each other with an holy kiss. They were profoundly convinced that the practice of infant baptism was anti-scriptural and absolutely incompatible with the maintenance of a regenerate Church. Accordingly
287
SARDIS
they were never weary of denouncing this practice as “ the pope’s first and highest abomination ... a device of Satan for the corruption of Christianity ”.
All thesj^ believers cherished the blessedJigpe that at the soon-coming of their S^iaurJHTe woul^ deliver and eternâir¿ rm^^	^ffiubmaier (Sachse, S. 250 ff.)
in his article^ on the last judgment, emphasized that although no one might know the day or the hour, yet “ that day was nearer than we realize ; therefore we should be continually found in prayer, piety and the fear of God ”. He warns definitely against the time-setting of Hut, who had dated “ from the cave of Elijah ” an explanation of Daniel and Revelation. It was current among the people that this man possessed a book presented to Daniel by the Lord, and which his own brethren called the book sealed with seven seals. He partly interpreted the many symbols of prophecy, setting forth their fulfilment, and partly intimated there were secrets still hidden in them. As he was enthusiastic and possessed considerable personal magnetism, he exercised a great influence over the masses. He correctly understood from Revelation 20, that after the saints had been specially judged they would be raised in the first resurrection. With Luther he expected that the invading Turks would serve as the scourge of God against a corrupt Christendom. After these wild hordes had done heir work, then he expected_£hrist to appear about ^entecost^ 1526^0 destroy the wicked anatoreign with His saints for 1,000 years (R.E. viii. 490). In Nikolsburg , £e gained some followers. After the passing of theday^ 1 he set jiew date. Denk influenced him at the Augshurg '.council (1527^ not to mention his secrets concerning a ;definite day, unless piessed to do so. Shortly after that, he was burned (Cornelius, ii. 66, 252).
“ As deceived and yet true,” the Baptists proclaimed the glad tidings of salvation far and wide amidst the great-est of persecutions. Among all the evil reports there have also come to us good reports from men who had a long, personal acquaintance with them. Landgrave Philip, who had protected the learned Greek scholar Rinck, against Luther’s demand, and let him establish Baptist churches in Hesse, acknowledged : “ I see a greater reform
288 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
in those who are called fanatics than in those who are Lutherans.” Capito frankly confessed :	“ Among the
most of the Anabaptists the fear of God and pure zeal are manifested. For what earthly advantage could they hope to gain by exile, torture and horrible executions ? I testifv before God . . . that they go to their death as confessors of the Christian name with a sober conviction and wonderful patience . . . the elect servants of God are marked with their Father’s name on their foreheads ” (Cornelius, ii. 60 f.).
They were in advance of the other reformers in making absolute liberty of' conscience and separation from any union with the state their fundamental principles. Recent investigations have set these witnesses for Christ in their true light, as Harnack (H.D. vii. 125 f.) well states : “ The spirit of a new age reveals itself among them ... in the stress they lay on Qmg&gu, independence. It is with this in view that their opposition to infant baptism is to be understood, which was a protest of the individual believer against the magic of redemption and the ‘ sacramental ’ character. . . . We owe it to investigations carried on during recent years that the pictures of excellent Christians from the circles of Anabaptists have been presented to us, and not a few of these figures, so worthy of honour and so full of character, have become more intelligible to us than the heroic Luther and the iron-willed Calvin.” It is freely admitted by Ritschl (i. 36) that had it not been for the power of the secular arm, the Anabaptists would have gained the day. Declaring infant baptism and Sunday observance as human ordinances, instituted by the papacy and boasted marks of its power, also that true baptism and the Saturday Sabbath is the seal of God, they liter-ally fulfilled Revelation 6: 10, as one of their hymns testifies :
“ How long O Lord, dost thou the retribution stay ? Judge the proud persecutors,
Let the blood of thy saints before thy throne array."
289
SARDIS
L
EVANGELIC-PROPHETIC TESTIMONY BEFORE KINGS AND
RULERS
I Luther an^Lambefl; dedicated their commentaries ןto their princes, and Meïançhthon inscribed lïïs explanation m. TJàmèt'fo^ King Ferdinand (Apr. 19, 1529) just prior to the important diet of Spires, showing the high esteem in which the prophetic word was held by the Reformers. When the Turkish armies were invading Europe, issued his “ War Sermon ” (1529) against them, basedon Daniel r	■little. horn-to. .two tyrants of
[the la st day s	hitu^^ne. beings he pope, th^material
ne^ MoHamme^T All Christians who lost their lives in ims war would die as martyrs, for the Turks were surely the “ scourge of God and a plague because of the sins of the false Christians ”. When Gog perishes “ we can surely predict, that the last day must be at the door ” (E.A.
80 f.)..
XXXI.

; ltfelanchthojjfollowed the line of thought laid down by Luther, interpreting AntiçLrjgt in Daniel, as also in Revelà'tïon 13, tobe	and ^apalTKbnie, both
the'TurkisITand the idolatrous papal empires (as Gog and, Magog) would be consumed.
In eloquent words Melanchthon recommended the book of Daniel to the king, because of its Divine instructions, without which no one could piously rule a kingdom, that made it of far greater value to rulers than Plato’s writings generally recommended to them. The designs of pious and of wicked rulers and their varying results were here described ; kingdoms foretold, the succession of which the prophet beheld centuries before their existence, in order to reveal the time of Christ’s return. Daniel had predicted a rapidly jjrgwing empire during the last days— undoubtedly jhe empire>־of , the Turks. Therewith he desired to comfort the faithful who on account of its prosperity might apostatize ; for when this last^ power would be at its height, Christ would quickly appear at the last judgment. But this book still had a more important
u
2Ç0 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
purpose—that the king as the second person in the nation should in accordance with the Divine principle hear both sides, in order that he might render a fair decision : “ your majesty can earn no more lasting trophies than.the memory of the peace restored to the Church ” (C^R/Lloa-u).
The Catholic majority at Spires urged the strict cn-forcement of the edict of Worms ; the evangelical minority, whose watchword was “ the Word of God abideth for ever ”, protested against such a decision and were henceforth called “ Protestants In a few years the protest of a single monk at Worms had become the protest of many princes and free cities. All that the Lutherans could secure was toleration in their own countries until a general council. With the concurrence of the Lutheran minority it was enacted “ that rebaptizers and rebaptized, all and each, male and female, of intelligent age, be judged and brought from natural life to death, without antecedent inquisition of the spiritual judges ”. This was remorse-lessly executed : the Swabian league sent out squads of cavalry to run down Anabaptists and to kill them on the spot.
The Zwinglians also were absolutely excluded from toleration. Finally, Philip of Hesse succeeded (1529) in arranging a meeting of the leading I4j£hand Rsioxmcd theologians, but after their agreement on fourteen funda-mentals there was a deadlock^ rZwingli declared : “ We freely allow your writings, also those of the pope and all antichrists, and we combat your errors onlv with the sword of the Word ; but you, on the contrary, try to carry the day by forbidding the circulation of our writings.” He,jalso^jjdiued Luther’s ו fboast that he had brought the Bible to light again—the H^eaT facf^W	Thasrnus, Reuchlin, Pellican
‘haalímTlmade it known again by their thorough knowledge , of the original tongue¿,' arid without their aid Luther and others would have been unable to do what they had done. Others knew the sum and essence of religion as well as Luther ; but he was the true David, smiting the Roman Goliath. For eight years now he ruled far and wide as a king. With tears in his eyes Zwingli approached Luther, holding out his hand toward him in the spirit of real
SARDIS
29I
ו
is a the
brotherhood, but Luther declined, saying : “ Yours different spirit from ours. You do not belong to communion of the Christian Church. We cannot acknow-ledge you as brethren.״ Luther’s uncompromising atti-tude had only widened the breach.
In view of the Turkish advance, Luther^qi^menting on the first tehLhTpters (1530), declared Bffniel to be the chief of the Old ,Testament, prophets., He.imp1asized ^that the four universal kingdoms were the ,Babylonians, Ecrsiany^r^rfs^11d Rowing;; anTTKat yiSTtRIs liter-^Tati'on all the world agreed, and that their actions and the histories prove it mightily ”. He applied the little horn of Daniel 8 to Antiochus, and veaiTTff^	" of	. ‘‘ All
f or	hâd^ cairècTtfuw^tibcîi
1m.
►«Stf־»» ·
us a type of^
'Antichrist had hit upon the right interpretationΊΤΤΕ,A. xlfo f,). The1־essence Of DanieLs prophecy he sums up'In Tiis dedication to Elector John Frederick :
“ The world runs and hastens so surely to its end that I am often strongly impressed that the last day will come sooner than we can finish the translation of the Holy Scriptures. For this is certain : that no other temporal event is to be expected according to them—it is all over and fulfilled. The Roman Empire is at an end, the Turk has reached his climax, the glory of tlie papacy wanes, and the world js,cracking in every corner as.if.it were about "to break and fall. That at present under Emperor Charles the Roman Empire seems to rise a little . . . only makes me think that it is the last, and in the sight of God as when a candle or a straw is about all burned up, and in the last moment flickers into a blaze, as though it was about starting to burn brightly, and just then extinguishes : exactly as Christendom at present acts, in spite of the clear gospel.” In conclusion fie declared that although so j many prophets, expected a golden age on earth, after 1530, j he, on the contrary, did hope that this surely would be the lash .chy._. His prayer was that God might check the tribulation and cut it short by the preaching of the Gospel. Satan was indeed loosed out of 11is prison, and his wrath was great ; therefore Daniel’s prophecy was not only profitable for the common people, but also for kings and
2Ç2 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
princes. Daniel would he honoured most by the princes if they would imprint his writings “ as a royal book upon their very hearts ” (Id. p. 2^2 f.).
The emperor, in ùeec! oï the aicTof the Lutheran princes against the Turks, summoned a diet to be held at Augsburg (1530), and invited the Protestants to present their creeds. Melanchthon brought forth the Lutheran creed in its mdsL'cohcïïîatbry form in Latin and German. “All dissension ” is said to be “ concerning certain abuses, few in number”. No mention was,.-1nade^oi^the papacy, but The utmost pains were, taken to condemn the views of Zwingli on the Lord’s Supper, and of the Baptists on infant baptism. Luther, who had remained at Coburg, was well pleased with the “ softly stepping confession ”, but ׳^gretted the omission of the "pope and of Antichrist. The Lutheran princes risked their crowns in signing it ; the sad thing was that they refused the four cities holding Zwingli’s views permission to sign also, making it necessary for them and Zwing;H to» hand in their confession. It was read in German June 25.
The emperor charged twenty . theologians, including JEck, to work out a refutation, but it had to be five times ״revised ere it was approved and publicly read August 3^ P* emperor considered the Protestant confession well !refuted. Though Melanchthon made concession after [concession, the^RFmahTKèoIogiàns insisted on a recogni-kion of an infallible Church, a perpetual sacrjfice^and^ fa true priesthood. In this refutation, Melanchthon ^Üñd^llfe^ToTISvvTng interpretation of^Danië^W ־:T 1 :י “ This prophecy, as yet unfulfilled, miW-still be fulfilled in harmony with the words of Christ in Matthew 24 : 15., 'According to this prophecy the ;,daily], and continual sacri-^fice of Christians would genefmdy’" cease m thé future ; ]aborniMTtOTi; T:e. of Antichrist, as it now has already been discontinued in rertain churches, and has been abandoned ; \m the place of desolation, where the churches have been destroyed, forsaken, and laid wraste, so that in them there 1fias been no longer any singing, no reading of the mass, .no passing of sacrament, the altars have been cast down, ^lso the images of the saints, there are no lights, no orna-ments have been left, and there has been set up baked bread
293
V'
{ \ ^	SARDIS
as an abomination instead of the true living bread, Christ. Therefore all princes and estates are exhorted not to under-take or to discontinue anything whereby the way would be prepared for Antichrist, and for the woman, i.e. the IÇôTy^"Christian Church to flee into the wilderness, etc., /as is written in Revelation 12 ״ (C.R, xxvii. 2.5^, Further we read (p. 233^.): “ Among other things prophesied by Darnel there is;.also stated,
snaïï cease, l.e. the mass and divine services. This is readily seen 7h the	t)ffhTchurches and altars
\ . . also that the holy sacrament is called baked bread. All these things should be checked in order that there be no cause given for the fulfilment of the prophecy.״
Melanchthon paid them back in their own coin by writing his “ Apology ״, which he could carefully revise, because the emperor refused its acceptance. In paragraph 24 he responded : “ The advers_ar[es^adduce־ Daniel 12 : 11 as proof. Although it is by no means True tTEafweTembve all the ornaments, yet even though we had done so, Daniel does not speak of such things, which are .only exterior , and do not belong to the Christian Church ; he refers \ to another abomination far more detestable and'in which j jthe papacy abounds, namely the most needful and greatest j
(}of the divine service—the preaching of the Word and the i !suppression of the gospel. ... In their place the adver-.1 aries have the horrible, abominable misuse of the mass, he like of which has hardly ever been upon the earth, and ·ther innumerable unchristian ceremonies. That is the eal esolatipn^_ohjyhi^LJ^âuicl_spjeaks. . . ?'"'“Farther, /Here our adversaries consider their candles, images and other similar ornaments as a necessity and make a ritual^ out of them, they are but the menials of Antichrist, whereof Daniel 11 : 38 speaks.״ He calls the required celibacy of "the״״Stefgy״'(par. 23) “ the law of this abomination of the pope. And not without a cause, for Daniel gives this mark and token to the kingdom of Antichrist, that they shall condemn women ״. He gives them the worst rap in paragraph 7, speaking about the Church : “ Peradven-turc our adversaries require that the Church be thus defined, namely, it is the highest monarchy in all the world, in which the Bishop of Rome ought to have absolute power
¿94 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
to do as he lusteth without rendering account to any man ; of which power no man ought to dispute or judge ; who also has powTer to make articles of faith, to abrogate w hat-ever scriptures he desires, to institute observances and sacrifices ; to make whatever laws he wishes whether they be God’s laws or canonical or civil laws ; of whom the I emperor and all kings should receive the power and right to hold their kingdoms by the commandment of Christ to whom the Father hath made all things subject : we ought to understand that the same power and authority is transferred to the pope ; wherefore it is necessary that the pope be lord of the whole world, of all its kingdoms, of all things both public and private, and that he have fulness of power in temporal and spiritual things, and that he have ^oth swords, the spiritual and the temporal. And this ^definition, not of the Church of Christ, but of the kingdom of the pope, had authors for it, not onW^anonists, but also
fOanicl theprophet p^rtraysthe ^tichjis t^ iiyjthis manner.” t TTlngnmcant that Melanchmoh’s older editions also efer to John the Revelator, but it was dropped out later, j Luther was very indignant, and published early in 1531 a book against the imperial edict, in wrhich this recess of the diet was declared as a special favour. He ascribed the work to Clement, and closed with the wish that “ bias-phemous popery may perish in hell, as John prophesies in Revelation 14 : 8 ; 18 : 2 ; 22 : 20 ; let every Christian say Amen” (E.A. xxv. 51 ff.).
Protestants formed the Smalcald League. As the emperor was embroiled in foreign wars, it had its brightest period from 1532-1539, and Lutheranism spread. Mean-while, Zwingli’s star was sinking. While cheering the soldiers at the battle of Kappel, he wTas killed, October 11, 1531, and his body was quartered and burnt. Luther saw in it the judgment of God, and up to his death his feelings against the Zwinglians became so intense that he trail-scribed Psalm 1 in this wise : “ Blessed is the man w ho *wralketh not in the counsel of the Sacramentarians, nor standeth in the way of the Zwinglians, nor sitteth in the seat of the Zürichers ” (Kôstlin, ii. 195).
The truths of the Gospel and the fulfilment of the sure wT0rd of prophecy had been confessed in the presence of
SARDIS
295
emperor and Diet, and proclaimed everywhere still more strongly by the apology and commentaries. Luther complimented MelanchtLon by saying : You have con-fessed Christ, offered peace, obeyed the emperor, endured injuries ; you have not returned evil for evil : in brief, you have worthily done God’s work as becometh saints. Be glad then in the Lord ; look up, and lift up your head, for your redemption draweth nigh ! (Enders, viii. 259). While the Protestants aided the emperor in fighting the Turks, their watchword remained :
“ Keep us Lord, by thy word mighty and strong,
Stop Pope and Turk in their murderous wrong."
LI
“ BEWARE OF ROME’S GOLDEN CUP AND OF POISON OFFERED BY FALSE PROPHETS ”
The edict of Spires made the cause of the Anabaptists most desperate—they were* outlawed everywhere. The law called upon Protestants and Catholics alike to seize them wdierever found and put them to death. Earthly hope for the betterment of their condition there was none. A temporal kingdom with its Divine catastrophic solution of all difficult?^	that began to” animate
Anabaptists of a fanatical turn of mind.
The first false prophet in such a move was Melchior Hofmann of Swabia. By trade he was a leather dresser. He led a foaming life. In 1523 he was a successful Lutheran evangelist in Livonia. Banished by the Teutonic Knights, he went to Dorpat. During a visit to Wittenberg he secured Luther’s endorsement for the church at Dorpat, and, after his banishment from there, he wrent to Stock-1101m, where he accepted the Anabaptist views, and whence he sent a message to his followers in . the BaItic States, fixing u£0nj[¿33.״as the date for the beginning of Christ’s kingdom, according to his interpretation of Daniel 12. He declared that since the days of Abraham the Lord had declared his secrets to his children, and had revealed the time of the end to Daniel in a marked manner, so that the
296 THE IMPELLING EORCE OT PROPHETIC TRUTH
faithful of his own day might know the definite time as accurately as did Simeon of old. Driven from Sweden, he was invited by the King of Denmark to labour there, which he did for two years, disseminating his views from the printing plant he had established there. Later he worked with Carlstadt in Eastern Friesland. In 1530 he went to Strasbourg, where he submitted to baptism, and then associated with those who claimed to have the gift of prophecy. Among his published works was one on the Apocalypse, dedicated to the King of Denmark. He gave colour and life to the interpretation by applying it chiefly to current events. With the help of the churches, seals and trumpets, he divided the Christian dispensation into three periods : before the pope, under the pope, and since Huss during the time of the Reformers. The space of grace allotted the papacy in Revelation 2:21 had passed without repentance. The Reformers had preached the word according to the letter, but the letter must now become spirit and life by the preaching of fearless witnesses who are filled with the spirit and understanding. They must preach to the world the law and the judgment to come, and faith in Christ as the rainbow of peace. During 3Ô years they must prepare the world for the judgment and the fall of the elect as victims to the papists and to dead Protestantism. During the remaining 3^ years the truth will again be obscured, and many will forsake it. At the sounding of the seventh trumpet appears the woman clothed with the sun, “ the present Christian assembly, the new Jerusalem ”, whose child is Christ as the Divine Word, while the emperor is the dragon, the pope is the beast out of the sea, and the “ monks and sects ” are the beast out of the earth. The temple of the apostolical teachers is opened, the defenders of the letter will now combat these messengers of the spirit, the emperor will persecute the “ Christian Assembly ”, and the removed
,child of Revelation 12 : 5 answers to the ceasing of the f_____L* ^ j ״ n_______1 λ______· n____________־ _________
jjthat the miflennium wa* pa^and Satan jo^scd. The |devil wOuld incite the Turks, Gog^and Magog, to destroy '*the saints or the spiritual New Jerusalem. ..Then the Lord
SARDIS
297
would cast all His enemies into the lake of fire, and the assembly of the saints would take shape and form as the heavenly Jerusalem on a new earth (Zur Linden, S. 190־ 204). A warrant of arrest was issued against him because he had called the Emperor the red dragon, and then he propagated his views throughout Holland and the lower Rhenish provinces, influencing great multitudes through his writings and through the many emissaries he sent forth. Everywhere he organized communities of enthusiasts who eagerly awaited the speedy establishment of the kingdom of Christ. He taught them to be subject to the authorities. In 1531 he suspended baptism for two years. The persecu-tors had destroyed many dear servants of Christ, yet God would shortly raise up 144,000 who would be true apostles. “ For me it is but a small thing to become also a sacrifice unto God, after the work of Christ has been accomplished ” (Id. p. 302 f.).
In the beginning of 1533 the predicted great council seemed to be realized. A prophetess in Strasbourg pointed to Hofmann as the predicted Elijah, to Strasbourg as the heavenly Jerusalem, and an aged brother foretold that Hofmann would, after being imprisoned in Strasbourg for six months, lead the 144,000 on to victory. In the spring he arrived at Strasbourg in high spirits. He acted too boldly as “ the witness of the Most High ”, and w׳as indeed imprisoned, languishing there until his death ten years later.
The views of Hpachim of Floris also exerted quite an influence in Holland, wiiere many believed that, with the Reformation, the age of the spirit had been reached, and that the spiritual kingdom of Christ wOuld make its appear-anee. One of these was David Joris, educated at Delft. He denounced the papacy and its ceremonies so violently that he w^as imprisoned in 1528. About 1533 he became an Anabaptist, believed he had the gift of prophecy, laboured for a time in Hesse, and afterwards lived under an assumed name at Basle. His identity was discovered three years after his death (1556) and then his body and his books were committed to the flames.
Another w׳ho imbibed the principles of Joachim w׳as John Campanus, educated at Cologne and later on at
298 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Wittenberg, where he gained a high reputation for genius and learning. He accepted Anabaptist views and strongly urged a return to the tenets of the apostolic Church, as he held that since the days of Constantine the Church had departed from the true faith. In 1531 he published a Latin work u Against the Whole World after the Apostles ”, which was abbreviated in German, and called “ Restitu-tion ”. In these books he attempted to show that the prophetic dates indicated the time of restitution of all things nigh. He was thrown into prison (1555) where he died some twenty years later.
A terrible crop sown by all such spirits was ripening in Anabaptist circles in North-western Germany and Holland. In the city of Münster a dissolute prince-bishop had rigorously suppressed '9ÍT UVülïgelical preaching. In 1529 the learned B. Rothmann, educated in the school of the Brethren of the Common life, began to preach the Gospel, but he was suspended from his office. In 1532 he returned and secured one of the leading churches, supported by the guilds. A new bishop, notoriously immoral and irreligious, attempted to carry out the imperial mandate for the removal of the evangelical preachers, but provoked a rebellion that resulted in his expulsion. Rothmann had, meanwhile, learned to regard infant baptism as the “ source of the desolation and of the complete apostas) of the church ”, and by 1533 these views had in a quiet wray triujiiphedjn the city. Not so in Holland, where the baker, Jan Matthy^bf Haarlem, had, after Hofmann, become the inspirecTleaaer’&f the Anabaptists. He proclaimed him-self the prophet Enoch promised by Hofmann. He sent out twelve apostles and ordered that the suspended baptism should be resumed. Within a few weeks many thousands were introduced by baptism into the new covenant, and believed themselves to be the chosen instruments in God’s hand to set up the kingdom and to blot out His enemies.
In January, 1534, two emissaries of J^tthys reached ■ Munster, and inside of a week 1,400 were baptized. Roth-mann and his associates were overawed by this wild fana-ticism, and Jan of Leyden took charge of the city govern-ment. Soon after that, Matthys made his triumphal entry, proclaiming that Münster was the predicted New
SARDIS
299
Jerusalem as Strasbourg had forfeited this honour by its sins. In the midst of winter the wild cry was heard : “ Away with the children of Esau, out with the ungodly ! ” Lutherans and Catholics fled, but many preferred to be baptized as the sons of Israel. Pictures and statues were destroyed, the towers of churches were taken down to serve as an elevated base for the cannon. Nothing was to remain but the Bible, and everything was to be in common. When Matthys was slain during a sally, Jan of Leyden took the leadership. The Sabbath, was introduced, and, as there were many more females than males, polygamy was introduced, jan wa”aTmmted to ïülë on David’s thFonb," càTTmgTîîmsëlf “ the rightful king of New Zion ”. He wore a chain of gold around his neck, to which was attached the symbol of his dominion—a golden globe transfixed by two swords underneath a cross. When riding through town, two boys walked beside him, one bearing the Bible and the other a naked sword. In October there wras a “ great celebration ” of the Lord’s Supper,
2,000	warriors taking part. " Some 27 apostles were sent out.
Meanwhile, Rothmann had published his “ Restitu-tion ” advocating the restoration of biblical,ideals “in doctrine, life and constitution ”, claiming that it had begunjsith. Luther, -and would he completed by Hofmann, Matthys ajid Jam of. Leyden. Christ’s kingdom would not I commence until after a thorough renewal of life. The early fathers had given the right interpretation of Revelation 20, but the Babylonian Church had declared them to be heretics and chiliasts^ anchad placed the thousand years before Antichrist instead of after. And now׳ evangelical Christians in name, with her, declared all to be heretics who held to the correct interpretation. Later, Jan of Leyden also skilfully defended the same position (Zur Linden, p. 364 f.). As all the apostles were executed, Rothmann argued in his booklet “ On the Revenge and Punishment of the Babylonian Abomination ” that the time for blotting out the wicked had come as the harbinger of the approaching kingdom of peace, basing his reasons on Jeremiah 31: 21 f. He sent out a fiery appeal for the relief of Münster. Just as the popes had summoned the crusaders against the Albigenses and the Hussites, referring
300 THE ·IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
to Ezekiel 9, so now did these deluded Anabaptists summon their brethren to save the famished city. Yet the majority of the Baptists retained the peaceful spirit of Denk, and the appeal brought no relief. Women, children, and the aged, had to be abandoned to the cruelty of the enemy, who let most of them starve before the eyes of the besieged. In June, 1535, the city of Münster was taken, and when the bishop entered, the vision of a “ new Jerusalem ” on this sinful earth gave way to a cruel reality. The leaders of the Anabaptists were led about in the country caged as repulsive examples, then tortured to death with red-hot iron pincers, and their corpses hung up in these cages from the church tower, where the cages remain to this day. A similar attempt to conquer Amsterdam ended no less disastrously to the Anabaptists.
The Münster rage was used as a welcome excuse for a wholesale massacre of the Anabaptists, Catholics and Protestants vying with each other in their efforts to blot them out. The opinion was almost universal that this fanaticism was the logical result of Baptist teaching, and this odium still attaches to the profession of true baptism and chiliasm on the Continent.
However, the survivors found a new leader in Menno Simons. He was an apostle of peace, and was horrified at the atrocities of Münster. While still a Catholic priest he circulated a letter in which he proved from the Bible that “ Jesus Christ is the true, the spiritual David, the real king of kings ”, and he denounced “ the abominable and greatest blasphemy of Jan of Leyden, who pretended to be the gay king over all, to the delight of all the wretched, and placed himself upon the throne of God ” (Menno, p. 609 f.). In January 1536 he resigned his parish and entered whole-heartedly “ into the service of the cross of Christ ” which he faithfully bore amidst the greatest persecutions until his death in 1559. He and his co-workers baptized thousands of converts, evangelized widely, and spent much time in literary controversy. Menno held that no Christian doctrine or ceremonies could be properly main-tained if not expressly taught in the New Testament. He again introduced the washing of the saints’ feet, opposed all warfare, and insisted upon strict church discipline.
SARDIS
3OI
He saw in the papal Church “ the strange woman ”, which at present exercises “ great power and seduces many ”, the prophetess Jezebel, the Antichrist, the harlot of Revelation 17 (Id. p. 612). While one should beware of her golden cup, he should also beware of the poison of the serpent which false prophets offered, desiring to reign in God’s stead. The Protestant confessions likewise con-demned the false teachings of fanatical Anabaptists con-cerning the restitution of all things and the notion of an earthly kingdom of the saints and the blotting out of the wicked before the resurrection of the dead. By 1559 there were, in spite of the terrible persecutions, many thousands of quiet Baptists associated with the movement reorganized by Menno in Western Europe from the Nether־ lands and the Baltic to the Alps.
LII
LUTHER URGES THE READING OF DANIEL : FOR “ THE END IS CERTAINLY NEAR ”
From 1^z2s.jQ11ward Luther again and again expressed it as his blessed hope	which
only could end Antichrist, was very near. He frequently spoke of “ the last decline of time ”, and Melanchthon referred to “ these last dangerous times, for the world grows old and feeble ” (C.R. xxvii. 246). When the papal Antichrist and the Turk raged in 1529, Luther pointed to them as “ our defiance of and consolation in the advent of Christ, and our redemption is not far off, but will quickly follow after these ” (E.A. xxxi. 8$ f.J. In 1532 he wrote : “ Since creation about 5,474 years Have passed ; therefore we are not far ïfo^fïïrend^(WrE. lili.T 71). Luther lived ^at^Lhat Time ^ positiVely^ïn expectation of the end”, as Bezold (G.R. p. 708) confirms ; and his comments on I Corinthians 15 (1534) prove : “ We are nothing more than the last toe of the great image . . . and soon we shall have passed it also. Therefore we who have now reached the end of the world have the assurance that it is only a little while yet for we are now on the leap, and ere
302 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF rROrilETlC TRUTH
wc realize it, we shall be altogether with Christ and live with i^Him for ever ” (E.A. li. 153 f.). Fully convinced of the unconscious ^kep ojjji^ad. according to Isaiah 57 : 2, deSTim^^	the first man arises in the last day,
he will suppose that he liad been in the grave scarcely an hour ” (E.A. lii. 269).	^
Luther’s special friend, Pastor^StiefeTp noted for his great skill as a mathematician, also gives us a striking confirmation. As an Augustine monk, Sjtiefel had read (1520) of the beast in Revelation !3. and could apply it only to Leo X, under whom the Gospel had arisen. Read-ing the exhortation in verse 18 he became convinced that it would be a great consolation if this number were correctly solved. In attempting to apply 666 to mean Leo Decimus (X) I applied the extra ‘ m ’ to Misterium (Mystery) and supplied the missing 10 from X”. He con-sidered the solution so important that he prayed all night over it and “ received such consolation that it still comforts Henceforth I have always loved the Revelation and
me.
it
.esteemed it for a divine book ”, especially because
!strengthened his believing the Gospel, increased his aver-;sion to the papacy, and freed him from the house of bondage, (Deut. 5 : 6). From that time he warmly defended its /^Johannean authorship, and saw in Luther the angel with [ItTïê everlasting Gospet of Revelátion 14 : 6. In his treatise ^e îearïessly defended “ the christîike, truthful doctrine Dr. Luther ”, which quickly passed through three £׳ editions. When he was summoned by his bishop he fled vto Luther who secured him a pastorate first with Count ¡/jMansfeld, and then in Austria, and when he was expelled rfrom there (1528) he w׳as located in Lochau, near Witten-berg. Luther performed his marriage ceremony, and they interchanged visits. On one such occasion he found Jonas and the painter, Lukas Cranach, at Luther’s, “ conversing about the end of the world. Luther remarked all Scripture ¿julfifle¿ sa,.that the^end^may come at any time. Lukas replied, Dp you really mean this, dear Doctor ? Jonas, confirming it for Luther, said‘ with extended arms as a sign of his earnestness : ‘Yes, truly, Master Lukas, all Scripture is fulfilled ’ ”. Stiefel himself, in spite of Luther’s caution, published (1532) a “ Booklet on the Numbers of
303
./SARDIS
Antichrist ”. In the preface he said that the mysteries of Revelation 10 : 4 are closed up in the prophetic times, that they are solved by the art of the triangular numbers in fulfilment of Daniel 12. Bv his jysj£m^^ that both the 2,300 and the 1,335 were triangular numbersj and that the number 2,300 would designate the beginning ^ of the time of the end, and the 1,335 the blessed time. Sep־J tember 28 he submitted to Luther his 22 propositions for$ Christ’s appearance at 8 o’clock, Sunday, October 19I-K324 AHe now felt it his solemn duty to reveal the mysteryp UTGod in harmony with Revelation 10 : 7. Christ’s! ignorance of the definite day had ceased with His resurrec-tion so that since that time He could reveal the exact time of his coming.
This, wonderful announcemeniLS^read quickly far and wide. Peasants quit farming. ¿tiefeT^ave all his belong-ings away. People flocked to Lochau from remote parts, even from Silesia. During the last days just prior to the end of the time, Stiefel was kept very busy hearing con-fession. Early the last Sunday he announced the last hour in a stirring sermon, declaring that the Scriptures contained ( words and numbers, the latter forming the prophetic times of Daniel, Ezekiel and John. These times were as sure as the Word itself. When the hour passed, a coach was sent by the Elector to convey Stiefel to Wittenberg, where he was confined for a time, escaping imprisonment through the mediation of the Reformers. Lúther had predicted Stiefel’s failure, and excused it as a trial that would turn out for his best good. The Elector hesitated to give him another pastorate, for “ Stiefel’s error has gone out nearly to the whole German nation, and has caused much annoyance ” ; but the Reformers prevailed. Later Stiefel wrote several important mathematical works, and Melanchthon furnished the preface to the most important one “ On Integral Arithmetic ”, while Luther also recommended it. There is a copy of this in the hand-writing of Stiefel at the Hamb^^	During his
later years KFattempted to establish new dates. He was promoted to a professorship of mathematics at Jena, and died in 1567. He left a .manuscript commentary on the Apocalypse, applying the first angel of Revelation 14 to
304 THE IMPELLING ,FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Luther, and the second to his patrotfTTaaih, who warned and aroused, when others kept qmet*T5ecause of fear (Pipping, p. 70)'.
Luther clearly characterized Rome’s attitude toward the Protestant conviction that the end was very near in his sermon on Matthew 24, about 1537, commenting on verse 33 : “Î am fully persuaded that the last day cannot long delay. The world	stood kSocL and
sOTff^^^rî,"w1t1r the’end of tHê DjQOJJ/Vears the last, day wTïïTôme^wîtK^^ being ful^xealized. For God is in the habit of shortening time, as in the resurrection of Christ, who arose in the middle of the last 1,000 years. «Ear the pope falls, the Turk is still standing, although not ׳for long, and the world goes on in merriment. But we shall 1soon meeLthe.Jjord..in the, air- .The last day may come within a few days, and we shall not know the day until the trumpet sounds.״ “ The pope and his people scoff at our fears of the last day in fulfilment of 2 Pet. 3 : 3 ; and they say at present in Rome : Those are fools who read the Bible. This is in itself a sign of the nearness of the day, and, besides, they kill such as read the Bible.״ “ Who believes the word of God (as Noah who expected the flood during the 100 years) must suffer much derision, for the world grows worse the longer it exists ״ (E.A. xlv. 169, ff.).
The intensity of Luther’s feelings abouT^	of
the last 1u3gment was c[mte as great as his conviction that the ^paH^aîT^ veritaBIe Antichrist who would then meet ms^u^lamsliment. As early as 1521 he had recognized that the little horn of Dan. 7 and 8 applied to the papacy ; in 1522he wrote a letter to Erfurt in which he applied Rev. 13 : 47־ to it : “ Behold, how I have beaten the papacy, which hitherto has been so terrible in all the world that the common song was: ‘ Who is like unto the beast ? who is able to make war with him ? ’ ״ In 1527 he solemnly charged all Lutheran ministers that “ they should violently condemn popery with its devotees, since it is condemned by God ; for popery is the reign of Antichrist, and, by instigation of the devil, it terribly persecutes the Christian Church and the Word of God ״ (C.R. xxvi. fol. 85).
When Pau1m (1^3449־), urged by the emperor, called a general council at Mantua, Luther was asked by the
305
Mardis
Elector to work out some short articles of faith, which he did. He declared in his article on the Papacy (Müller, p. 307, ff.) : “ It is manifest that the Holy Church was without a pope for at least 500 years, and even until this day the Greek and other Churches have never been subject to him. Therefore he is only a human figment, not com-manded, not needed, nor profitable ; so that the church can well be without such a head and had better remained so, if the Devil had not exalted such a head.״ Claiming to be the head by Divine right, the pope is “ the veritable Antichrist, who has set and exalted himself over and against Christ (2 Thess. 2 : 4) ״. “ Wherefore as we cannot adore the Devil as the Lord and God, we can no more suffer his apostle, the pope or Antichrist, as head and lord.״ Forty prominent Lutheran theologians signed these articles at Smalcald. Luther had to depart on account of failing health, but his parting words were : “ May God fill you with hatred of the pope ! ״
Melanchthon then worked out a sharp polemical tract on “ The Power and Primacy of the Pope ”, which Smal-cald adopted (1537). In this he declared that the pope had not only assumed “ secular power against the clear will of God, but had also tried to be the tyrant over all the kings ״, claiming such power by Divine right. Further, it was a fact “ that the popes and their adherents want to uphold and practise wicked doctrines and false worship. Thus all the vices which Scripture describes as pertaining to Antichrist are found in the papal empire and its members, 2 Thessalonians 2 ״ (Müller, p. 335, f.).
TheTulfiln^nt'0f 41^־p£edicted Antichrist in the papacy hadxhus become a fixed article of the Lutheran faith,, Eut, as the papacy claimed that Daniel’s prophecy of Anti- ; christ was fulfilled in Luther and the Protestant Reforma- j tion, this very prophecy became the centre of the whole controversy. Bishop Warburton (Works, p. 488) well states the fact : “ On this principle (viz., ‘ that the man of sin, or Antichrist ’) could be no other than the man that fills the Papal chair was the Reformation begun and carried on, on this the gre&t separation from the Church of Rome conceived and perfected. For, though persecution for opinion would acquit these of schism whom the Church
306 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
of Rome had driven from her communion, yet on the principle that she is Antichrist, they had not only a right, but lay under the obligation of a command to come out of the spiritual Babylon.״
Not until 1538 did Luther undertake to finish the interpretation of Daniel6^: 11—־ "and onward—which he had notwarired 'hi 1530־. Hé־nM ftbpect that “ some one else would have taken the pains to finish the explanation, to strengthen our faith and to arouse our hope for the Messed day of our redemption, which is surely at the door. Because this has been left unexplained, w^e will now give others a cause to think about it farther and better ״. In
to his will “ the pope is
inal>le~ decretals
^this king, who shall do according
de^T^dT wKq^'Th, ^_________
impudently roars tEaT^h churches and thrones are to be judgedTy hTm7*hut Le by no one ״. It is the pope who ; rules, and not the emperor, who must kiss his feet. “ This ^devilish head and lewd ape magnifies himself above the true God, whose divine service he destroys and causes untold transgressions.״ He makes the mass his strong-hold or mauzzim, and all who honour his sanctity, his false worship and mass, he elevates to high offices. Huss gave him the true blow (on v. 40), but was burned for it ; but being only the goose, the foretold swan arose in 1517. The pope surely gathers in all the treasures by his legates, and as to the tidings from the North (v. 44), God has raised up a weak instrument to consume his power : “ For in this last time the Gospel has gone forth and cries against the pope, that he despairs and knows not what to do. He can and will not convene a council.״ Luther’s greatest difficulty, however, came with verse 45, for he first admits that Jerusalem lies-hctween the Dead Sea and the Great Sea, fitrt !:hen Rorne/'ateb liesr*between two seas, and can bTcaTTed the holy mountÏÏÎrrtf^Ïse of the many hundred thousand!?^	־ As to the three and a half
: times we cannot know when they are passed until further developments. If the 1,290 days are prophetic, that is, a !)day for a year, then they would'reach until the fourteenth ,year of the Emperor Lewis, of Bavaria, and the 1,335 days ^ until־ the -twenty-third year of "Charles IV. The daily sacrifice (Dan. 12 : 11) “ I shouldJikc to apply, to the Holy
307
SARDIS
Gospel which must remain unt^diç en¿ of the world/’, and yet the worlï may Become so epicurean that it. can only be preached in private houses. Of the three and a half times all teachers have spoken, but instead of applying them after the fall of Antichrist they wrongly applied them to his reign. If they refer to the ceasing of the preaching of the Gospel, the last day would still be uncertain for the M35 days went beyond the 1,290.	“ In summing up, I
think thatlïï^TTTTT'Hav?w:1ïï no t ’Be understood μηtihthe fulfilment, unless God should raise ud a Noah who would
r~- T 1 ■־ י *««ס■ miwwiIJM ■ III	WM» **:    ■ -
be able to figure out these days correctly. But I am con-tent to know that the last day is at the door, for the trees shoot forth, the scriptures also blossom. Whether we know' the definite day or not, does not matter : let another explain better, but certain it is, that the end is near.” “ We command all pious Christians to read Daniel at this time, for he is to them all a comfort and of profit ” (E.A. xli. 295323־). TheJ^^ojlays..also seemed “ obscure ” to Melanchthon ; as year-days they might perhaps begin in the time of Daniel and end in 630 with Mohammed, and then the 1,335 years added thereto would fill up the 2,000 years (Ç.R. xiii. 864, 978).
Luther fought Rome to his very death. Paul III finally issued a decree summoning a council at Trent in 1545, but at the same time he reproved the emperor for his pacific decisions concerning the Protestants at Spires. The evangelical theologians worked out a “ mild ” state-ment of their faith without mentioning the papacy. Luther, urged by the Elector, surpassed his most violent writings with his battle axe : “ Against the Papacy at Rome, founded by the Devil.״ He calls Paul III the “ most hellish Father ” and addresses him as “ Your Hellishness ”. He promised at the close to do still better in another book, and prays that, in case of his death, God may raise up another one “ a thousand fold more severe ; for the devilish papacy is the last evil on earth, and the worst that the devils wdth all their power could contrive ” (E.A. xxvi. 128-251). The Elector immediately bought twenty florins’ worth of these treatises for circulation. On hearing that the imperial ambassadors had, in Turkish costumes, begged the Sultan for peace in order that the emperor
308 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
could pounce on the Protestant heretics more quickly, Luther exclaimed : “ Thus war is now waged ” against the arch-enemy of the Christian name, for which contest the pope has extorted much money from Christendom by means of indulgences and much similar robbery. But he was glad : “ for the end of the world has come, the day of redemption ; the Lord, at His glorious return, would humiliate them along with the Turks.״ He died with this hope Feb. 18, 1546.
The last words from his pen (Kostlin, ii. 607) are that Virgil could not be understood unless one had been a shepherd or a farmer for five years, nor Cicero without one’s having moved in a large community for twenty-five years. “ But no one should think to have fully tasted the holy Scriptures unless he has led the churches for 100 years with the prophets such as Elisha and Elijah, John the Baptist, Christ and the apostles.” As to how one should constantly rivet his eyes upon the Holy Scriptures, he expressed in the words of the Roman poet, Statius, written concerning the epic poem, the Aeneid :
“ Venture thou not to handle this Aeneid,
But rather follow in reverence its leadings.
We are beggars, that is true.
“ 16th February, 1546.”
LIII
^,“tHE WORSHIP OF THE BEAST IS NOW BEINC URGED AND FORCED UPON US ”
By the Reformation the Catholic Church had suffered the most terrible defeat, and would at such a crisis the lamb-like partner of the papacy fail to furnish a new militia, precisely adapted in^irit and methods to the exigencies of the case ? J. Lord (iii. 301-305) thus describes the situation : “ 7ÍS?^í[^tfíñg successor of the Gregories and the Clements knew not where to look for aid in that crisis of peril and revolution. The monastic orders com-posed his regular army, but they had become so corrupted that they had lost the reverence of the people.” “ The famous Dominicans and Franciscans . . . had become
J■-.
SARDIS
inexhaustible subjects of sarcasm and mockery, for they‘1 wenTpëd3ïïng relics and indulgences, and quarrelling among thehtsStvesr“^ftey were hated as inquisitors, despised as scholastics, and deserted as preachers ; the roads and taverns were filled with them.” “ ¿Vt this crisis Loyola and his companions volunteered their services, ana ottered To gó^wReréver' the pope should send them, as preachers, or missionaries, or teachers, instantly, without discussion, conditions or rewards. So the pope accepted them, made ~ them a new order of mqnksxjjijd. ffiey^did what the Mendi-cant Friars had done three hundred years before—they fanned a new Spirit, "and rapidly spread over Europe . . . and became the most efficient allies that the popes ever lhad.” “ From that time we date the qounterrrefotma.tion. } In fifty years .,more a. wonderful change took place in the \Catholic Church, wrought chiefly by the Jesuits. . . . .They had planted their missionary stations among Peruvian ]mines, in the marts of the African slave-trade, among the Sslaflds of tte'lndianOcean, on the coasts of Hindustan, in fthe cities of Japan and China, in the recesses of Canadian forests, amid the wilds of the Rocky Mountains. They had the most important chairs in the universities, they were the confessors of monarchs and men of rank . . they had become the most eloquent, learned and fashion״ able preachers in all Catholic countries . . . they had.
20,000	eyes open upon every cabinet, every palace and every private family in Catholic Europe, and 20,000 arms extended over the necks of every sovereign and all their subjects—a mighty moral and spiritual power, irrespon-sible, irresistible, omnipresent, connected intimately with the education, the learning and the religion of the age ; yea, the prime agents in political affairs, the prop alike of absolute monarchies and of the Papal throne, whose interests they made identical . . . one soul swayed the vast mass ; and every pin and every cog in the machinery consented with its whole power to every movement of the one central conscience. Luther moved Europe by ideas which emancipated the millions, and set in motion a progress which is the glory of our age ; Loyolajnyanted a machine w.hjch, arrested this progress, an3 drove the Catholic world back again into the superstitions and
310 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
despotisms of the Middle,Ages.” Lord calls this counter-reformation effected by the Jesuits “ the most memorable inoral movement in the history of moderri~'T1mes"next to ¡the Protest apL TRefo rmation itself ”. Cardinal Hergcn-dp the r (iii, ,,¿041. certifies : “The most unlversal and ׳grandest of all new orders was the Society of Jesus.” He also says of Loyola that “ he experienced wonderful ecstasies ... at the elevation of the host at mass by the priest he saw above it the glory of the divine light, in it God made man . . . such visions brought to him great consolation ; the longest one is said to have lasted fully six days and revealed to him all the institutions and secrets of the Society of Jesus ”. It is of inestimable signification that, at the very time when Protestantism spread in every direction, an ecclesiastical society originated, which was impressed by one spirit, led by one will, was animated by the same obedience in thought and action, chose as its only aim of all activity the promulgation of Catholic interests, and subordinated itself unconditionally to the ✓Papal See. Newman (ii. 365) says that as the wonderful ׳growth of dissent brought into the field the Franciscans and Dominicans, “ soothe Prote^t^^t ReYolntinn^i^lled forth. The Order of Jesuits^ wliich rep.^
astic, aggressiveT^na intolerant type of Roman Catholicism in a greatly intensified and thoroughly organized form This new order was sanctioned by the pope in 1540 and Protestants soon experienced that the worship of the papal beast was forced upon them anew.
When Melanchthonjent his revised commentary on Daniel to his friend Veit )at Nuremberg (1543) he desired that Qsiander might -furnish somethin¿ better on the, prophetic times. In response, Osiander published £15^^^) , his “ Conjectures of the Last Times and of the End of the World ” in Eatin ancf in German, dedicating both to his^ páf^nf^Ibrecht of Prussia. He expressed his joy that the ^duke had attacked the Papacy, rid Prussia of its abomina-étions, and supplied the land with the pure Gospel unto the salvation of many souls. This he had accomplished as God’s instrument, under the Polish crown, as one of the ten horns, which should hate the Babylonian harlot and spoil and destroy her. The duke was wholly justified in the
311
-· Mardis
possession of this land by heaven itself, on the strength of John’s testimony, so that he could have a quiet conscience. “ May God also arouse th^otKer'JKoJfts as parts of the predicted power (Rev. 17) and make a speedy, end of it.״ Albrecht received the book gladly (Môller, p. 262 f.).
-Osiamfes refers to Cardina 1^jguga ir0m whom he? borrowed^tlre title and	rle starts out with thej
fact tliaf as God ere	six da vs an¿..tested]
the seventb^soTTkewise' afterlo^oœ^wears of toil the] eÆmalTPesTwS^	' "As]
under thejaw a part^of the sjxth day \yas giygn to prepara^ ! tion, even so shall the evening: of the sixth millenary Be overtaken oy me eteri^l rest. There were 1.010 years from'Adam to the flood, and likewise there^νΠΓο.Γ 1 ears from Christ till His return. Enoch the seventh from
7\.dam was taken to heaven without seeing death, and so it will be with the believers who approach the seventh millenary. Under his third conjecture, he refers to twro great years in the Bible—the angelic and the Mosaic. The angelic or prophetic year contains as many of our common years as a common year has days ; but the great Mosaic year w^as a space of,fifty years—from jubilee to jubilee. The thirty-three years of Christ’s life were typical of so many years of jubilee, or 1,650 years. Christ died in, the thirty-fourth year, and so the world might perish in the thirty-fourth jubilee. The fourth conjecture emphasized that according to prophecy Rome was twice to obtain universal power, first as a nation, and then as an ecclesiastical hierarchy, the papacy (Rev. 13 ; 2 Thess. 2). The first dominion ended when Alaric took Rome (412).! *Adding 1,260 years to this would bring the fatal year of the Papacy	and if the 1,656 years were reckoned
0 ןf Christ, then the end of the world 'would be i{w688c During this interval of sixteen years men would lrWTTn ease and security because the papal Antichrist was removed and the Gospel could now be freely preached. Papists had zealously contended that Antichrist wmild last only three and a half years, and consequently made the people gape with open mouths for some fictitious Antichrist, and thereby overlook the real one at Rome, in whom these prophecies had been fulfilled
312 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
some thousand years (Vermut, p. 76). Day and hour were not known, but the time of the end was made known for preparation, and the prophetic periods served this very purpose. He applied Rev. 13 to the papacy, finding 666 in the Hebrew Romith malchuth, i.e. Roman kingdom
(P· 91)·	.
The papist >Cochla^s, pointing to StiefePs failure, denounced Osiander as a time-setter. Ldither excused his
While Melanchthon declared that in response to the desire of all pious men “ that most blessed day might rather come this very hour ” (Môller, p. 261-265).
When (1546-47) the papal anathema and the imperial interdict were hurled against all messengers of the true Gospel, the Smalcald league defeated, Wittenberg taken, and Osiander himself obliged to flee, the correctness of his interpretation was still more apparent to him and to others. Duke Albrecht, however, appointed him professor at the new university of Kônigsberg, and he enjoyed the favour of that prince until his death (1559).
The Augsburg Interim (1548) withdrew7 from Protes-tants all privileges except marriage of the clergy and communion in both kinds. Some 400 Protestant ministers were expelled from Southern Germany, and the intimidated people were driven to mass by Spanish soldiers. After much negotiation, certain concessions were incorporated for Northern Germany in the Leipsic Interim, which 0w7ed its form to Melanchthon. Many of the Catholic ceremonies were restored, the mass, episcopal ordination, penance, and fasts. Newman (C.H. ii. 327) writes :	“ What
Protestants had been struggling for during thirty years was now practically surrendered. So much of Protestant-ism was abandoned, that had this arrangement gone into effect it would have been almost impossible to prevent a complete relapse to popery. Melanchthon was bitterly reproached by the strict Lutherans and by Calvin. He defended himself on the ground of necessity, and he made matters worse by maintaining that the points wherein he had yielded were adiaphora (matters of indifference).”
The former half measures of Luther with regard to the retention of human ordinances now bore bitter fruits. The
3*3
ti, r	7
l· ־ ־׳ J	SARDIS
strongly fortified city of י Magdeburg became the city of mi»ge-*sj[0r the staunch Lutherans, who, with Bishop Mmsdorpand Elacius, sawT in the Interim a fulfilment of rft^^TafioiV 13 : 1 ς f. : “ We must hearken unto God more !than unto men. . . . Whereas we are convinced by the !Scriptures that we should have no communion with Anti-]christ, that we should accept no mark from him, should worship neither him nor his image, therefore we must beware of the booklet of the Adiaphorists (Melanchthon) as of the devil. But we must remain with Christ, adhere to Him alone, and must let the Interim go with its Adiaphorists. 0 princes, 0 cities, what have you done that you have for-saken God and his dear Word so carelessly and denied Christ.sftj.ghamefully ! ” (Pressel Amsdorf, p. 84).
/Àmsdon was firmly convinced that the end was indeed vel^PlWf^and in confirmation thereof he published his I “ Five Prominent and Certain Signs from the Holy Writ, !Which are to Happen Shortly before the Last Day ” : !The apostasy of the pope ; his revelation as Antichrist ; ;the disintegration ofthe^·-G^|manic־R01nan Empire; the f cessation of the (daily sacrifice, i.e. the preaching of the Gospel, besides tfrë^establishment of the ^ desolating abomination of human traditions, and, as the last, the enforcement of the worship of the beast and the acceptance 0¿J1is mark. “ The beast is the Roman Empire which carries, nourishes and directs the red Babylonian harlot, i.e. the papacy; the marks of the beast are the papal canons, decretals and ceremonies. . . . That we should now worship such a beast and accept its mark, especially the mass, the old with its new additions, is now being urged and enforced upon us by the Adiaphorists with their counsels and command. The last day can therefore no longer delay, it is at the very door ” (Id. pp. 8992־). In a number of tracts Amsdorf warned against״' llltr Adia-phorists as against the “ snow-white devil ”, who “ trans-forms himself into an angel of light, praising Christ and His Word, and at the same time under the pretence of Christian discipline causing the people to secretly deny Christ and His Word and to worship Antichrist. . . . When enforced as a command, all matters of indifference are injurious, idolatrous, and directly contrary to the
314 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Gospel which tolerates no command of human traditions. Christ alone, none else, is Lord of our hearts and con-sciences ; therefore none should dare to bind our con-sciences by any law. . . . Whoever accepts the Interim worships the beast and receives the mark upon the fore-head and right hand, and drinks the cup of the Babylonian harlot ; in short, he falls from Christ to Antichrist and from God to the devil, although he may preach, teach, ot.heax the cospel ! ” (Id^j3j3^ 8292־).
Λ For New Year, 1554,"Yhe aged Reformer dedicated Revelation 11 to his returned Elector to serve as a watch-word. This chapterdistinguishes. between the true and the false Churches. The false is measured out by cere-monies, tradition, ordinances and decretals ; the true should not be measured by any human traditions or ordi-nances as she is measured and led by Christ. Those who have the Word of God and faith are the true Church, “ which is cast out and discarded by the measured Roman Church, disguised by a mask ” (Id. p. 97).
The peace of Augsburg (1555) removed the Interim, and gave the German princes the right of choice, but pro-vided that the religion of the subject should be the same as that of the prince. Cujus regio, ejus religio became the intolerant watchword long insisted on by Catholics and Protestants alike. With the death of the staunch and God-fearing Amsdorf (1565) the last of the Lutheran Reformers passed away. Melanchthon realized that in the Lutheran Church “ the golden age of prosperity had been followed by an age of iron brought on by political and theological strifes ” (C.R. xii. 302). Several Protestant expositors saw in the persecution caused by the Interim, lasting 3¿ years, a fulfilment of Revelation 11.
The Lutheran commentators, beginning with Grander, not only ^mmehced to apply the beast, his image, and jnark to the papacy, but as a natural result they also saw in rh eaiu^	el a t To n 14 : 6-12, Luther and
the Tfefor m?m^	.LacT cfonej^in 1522. Btigeft-
rhagen, the "noted Reformer of Northern Germany, in his fUfferalsfirmoa-at Luther’s.^ragc...reared to him.as. the brilliant sun in the bright constellation of evangelical 'teachers (Dan, 12 : 3) saying : “ The powerful, blessed,
TWO JUBILKK-UOINS ]-'ROM !»)■JO IX HONOUR OF LUTlIFk's WORK
At the centennial (1630,1 Luther was by coins, illustrations, and pen commemorated as the'TlunT Elijah (Tertius Klias), who in fulfilment of Rev. 14 : 6-8 went forth as the angel with the everlasting gospel ־ (Aetcrnum Evangelium, see inscription in the little booh־ held by the angel,
: By sounding at the time the warning “ Babylon is fallen, fallen, the \ Great ” ÍC'ecidit, Cecidit, !Babylon Magna) the papal church as the great 1 City of Babylon is seen falling wherever the everlasting gospel is accepted and justification by faith takes the place of justification by works. As . this message brings life eternal, death flees before it on the above coin, C while on others these words are quoted from Luther: “Alive I was a י scourge ; dying 1 shall be thv death, O Lope ! ” (Pestis era in vivas Moriens no Mors Tua papa.”) Sec Chr. Juncker, Ehrengcdachtnis S. 26, 27.
SARDIS
5ז3
divine doctrine of this dear man still lives on in its fullest force. For he was undoubtedly the angel of Revelation 14: 68־. . . . This angel, saying: ‘Fear God and give ,;glory to ffim ’^was^j^ J^uther, and the two prominent I j5aTFsJ'bF~thfs message, the law and the gospel, are also I the chief points of his doctrine, whereby the whole Scrip-I ture is opened and Christ is made known. . . . After the
I teaching of this angel another will follow, who will preach comfort to the grieved and afflicted church and damnation ״ to its adversaries, as disclosed in the words of the second f angel, ‘ Babylon is fallen, that great city \ Therefore ! our adversaries will not rejoice very long over this our ! grief (John 16 : 20). For, according to Revelation 14 : 68־,
I we see that this has been iulfid^4Jirst, so the other will ן surely be fulfilled also ” *(VofiL^p. 41T ־ This interpretation, acrntmnp 10־. Stjpfy¿ (i: §) was
and was especially brought forth "during jubilees of the Reformation ’**־.' Luther was more and more regarded by híi^ófltíwtfrs as the predicted third Elijah* whom God had sent in these last days for the restitution of true religion. Conspicuous proofs of this honoured position held by /Luther in the hearts of his people are given us in various fcoins struck in his memory. Some of them are in existence to-day. On ",tEOS^	appears
,with the Latin inscription : ‘‘TÎ^tïïîrïTlîJaK.^ On the reverse of one, an angel flies through the" midst of Heaven with an open book in his hand, bearing the title : “ The everlasting gospel.״ At the same time the angel trumpets forth the message : “ Babylon is fallen, is fallen, the Great.״ Death, personified as a skeleton, flees before” the ángel. On the reverse side of another coin the great city of Babylon is falling, and below it are the words “Apoc. 17 ״ (Juncker, 26 ff	—
,^^g^M^any Lutheran and Reformed expogitea^ made Luther this angel, that, as early as 1677, F^Mayenfilled a tract with such quotations, calling it “ The TfpSPalyptic Luther ״.
■*“5Tní^The preaching of the pure Gospel was everlasting, and never Kîm^éa^	the darke&t ;âges, had
beefTdcinohstrated anew during the Reformation, but it
316 THE IMPELLING FOR^E OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
is equally true that the warning against the papal beast and his imperial image had been simultaneously proclaimed since their existence. The paradox was, that, the very i Apocalypse which Lutherjat,first¿,treated, as apocryphal, ! had becômêTn tEë minds of his followers the most striking l prophetic evidence that the Reformation was a fulfilment of : the Divine providence marked out therein, and that Luther ;!himself was the third Elijah, proclaiming the message of !Revelation 14 : 68־.
LIV
THE WORTHIE INVENTION AND GODLIE BENEFITE OF PRINTINC ”
In spite of Luther’s and Zwingli’s depreciation of the Apocalypse, that book, radiating an ever-increasing light, bécarnTaleading factor in the Reformation of Germany and Switzerland. Zwingli, who has missed in it “ both the style and the genius of John ”, rejected &&Jia,canonical a text quoted from it by his Catholic opponent in a dis-cussiqju^J^erne (1529). The very next year, however, ^ecolamp adiul in his commentary on Daniel defended ÇpouaTypse’as apostoTft^ffTîîfr^CR^Sf : “ I doubt k whether there be found iii any other book of the Scripture more godly and more fit descriptions of Christ ” (“ In Danielem,” p. 159). He also showed that John, in Revela-tion 13, gave a' more extensive description of the little horn of Daniel further illuminating it, so that the anti-Christian papacy ^^Mohammedanism could be readilv Recognized therein 'JTa. pp. 8489־).
S. Meier, a Bernese theologian, declared in his com-mentaryJT534) that the Apocalypse was worthy of many more honours than to have been written bv the apostle John. He applied the smoke rising out of the bottomless pit to the heresies of Mohammed and the pope, and saw in
both the powers foretold in Revelation 13 (fol. 35, 55).
¿/ Th. Bibliander, the successor in the theological chair of Zwin^i, held such attractiveTecturés on the prophetic word, especially on his favourite book, the Apocalypse, that jullinggr .tOQk ,notes, along with others, to send
SARDIS
317
copies to the preachers throughout the country. Per-ceiving the Divine majesty and the very words of Jesus in this book, he defended its apostolic origin. וו1ך1ל fcthg.r^i of biblicaL exegesis.. in ,Switzerland: purposed to furnisk^ in his “ Ratio fidelis ” (T545J 1to *all princes and people^ “ the reliable reason that from this word of the Son of God' are to be sought exact knowledge of the present and future, also of Antichrist as the worst plague of the world, and the right and best moderation in matters of government and ,Christian life ” (Isa 8 : 20). Bv it he was fully persuaded that after 6,000^ears of prevaiing'mckedhësâ,'there would m^tfcr’TolIdvnhg ^	reign of peace and
righteousness. “ But in view of this greatest of all days it behoved us to study the signs given in the prophecies so as to know when it is near. The Scripture calling the times of Christ the acceptable year contained also prophetic times pointing to the final day, and there, according to 'Ezekiel 4, a prophetic day was^to be counted a year״ (pp. 2427־).	TurïasïTTnroads ana' the ,
corruption and commotion in the Church, tracts wereC sfreely circulated questioning whether the pope was the real Antichrist, or. Christ’s, vicar. He felt impelled to convey certain information (p. 34). The papacy was ׳ worse than the Turk and was the Antichrist predicted in 2 TKessalonians 2, and in Revelation 17.	“ The council
at Constance was surely one of Satan ; then, in fulfilment of Revelation II : 2, there were burned two faithful wit-nesses, testifying to the truthfulness of the Old and of the New Testaments—Huss and Jerome” (p. 58). Seals and trumpets represent so many successive ages, the sixth 1 beginning about 606, wiien the pope and Mohammed gained their supremacy, and ending at 1431 with the council : of Basle. In Revelation 10 there is the promise “ that the doctrine of the gospel is reinstated again to its rightful position whereby the papal Antichrist was revealed ״ (p. 138). In 1553 he published fiery appeals to the German princes against the papacy, and called for a decisive !return to the Bible as the only rule of faith, and the only !means of uniting Protestants. In his “ Fate of the Roman jMonarchy ” he declared that as the prophecies of Isaiah 'and Jeremiah concerning ancient Babylon were fulfilled
318 TilE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
À
to the letter, so those of Daniel and John concerning the papacy or modern Babylon would be. Revelation 17 (Id.
^ STbhan^e^xxeited a great influence in^jnoulding^ the ideas off^ern^ J^dlin^er^ (1504-1575), Zwingli’s able successopjn^I^dersliip. λά zealous persecutor of the ׳"AñaTaptists, against whom he wrote several works, he proved himself a shepherd to all the reformed Churches, by harbouring persecuted evangelicals from Italy, France, Germany and England. He carried on an extensive correspondence with leading theologians, rulers and states-men in all parts of Europe. Many of his writings were translated and widely circulated.
As early as 1525 he had written against “ the idolatrous bread of the mass ”, fully convinced that Revelation 9 : 2 pointed out the idolatrous ceremony and its punishment. By referring to this text he persuaded Leo Jud to quit its celebration. To Jud belongs the chief ment^Tringing out the Bible in the Swiss dialect jour years before Luther completed his version. When Jud wrote his commentarv <n The "Apocalypse, mindful of his own experience, he applied Revelation 10 to the Reformation. He saw in the angeTwitT'the little book, Christ swearing by His Father “ that the time of His glorious last coming to judge all the world, both the quick and the dead, is now already nigh at hand : and that when the victory that was proph-esied to be fulfilled of Antichrist was once passed, then should altogether be fulfilled what all prophets did ever prophesy of the kingdom of Messias the Saviour ; which is the highest mystery ” (Elliot, ii. 142). Jud’s commentary appeared injggsle (1551) and in English in London (1552). u	When rfíuhmj jet (1545) published five sermons wherein
the pope v^3S called the Antichrist, he was so severely ^attacked bÿ t&b "üatlToïïc cantons "and even at Zurich, ythat, in view of the open sores, he kept silent for a time ; “ so that I do not pour oil into the fire and tear down more than I build up ” (Pestalozzi, p. 295). When later on he wanted^ to prinj^his 105, ,sermons on the Apocalypse, ‘;Berne ana Zurich refused to publish them in spite of the many requests, fearing that an uproar might be caused ׳by it. But the real cause tvas the objection Zwingli had
3*9
SARDIS
raised jagaia&Clhc. book (Liickc, p. 1016). Printers at BffsteC However, got out the Latin edition, 1557. Layatcr’s German translation appeared imJUyhlhausen 1556^ an“. É^glislTedîtîon appeared in Ipswich Kjfoand translations were printed in French,	P01ish_im- quick
succession. He dedîcatedÎîs hook ״ to the salvation and "CBB’fiï'ïirstion of the afflicted Church, to you banished men, driven out of France, England, Italy and other realms for Jesus Christ and the gospel’s sake ”, and to all dispersed ones, looking for Plis coming and judgment and the final restitution. Their experience, as well as his own, impressed the seal of truthfulness upon this revelatioft ePJ^sus. “ Now all the world cried out that no other Antichrist ¿hall come than he that is already come in the Bishops of Rome : who shall be slain with the sword of God, i.e. His Word in the hearts of the faithful, and shortly shall be wholly abolished. If I shall suppress and conceal this thing, the stones will cry out, for now the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is come.” Having preached these sermons (15561557־), at the earnest request of the hearers he had them printed. In his preface he gave due credit to the help he had received from that “ most godly man Bibliander ”, “ who thirteen years ago to his great praise publicly read this book ”. Con״־ cerning his own attitude he testified : “ I have verily loved this book from my youth ; I have gladly read it and bestowed much labour thereupon, observing what things it had out of the books of the prophets and doctrines of the apostles. I have searched finally, divers (hi)stories, which I thought to make for an opening of the sense of : this prophecy, and also the opinions of other expositors.”
I He then quoted Eberhard’s speech of 1241, referred to 1 Joachim and to a " wh’ole^^^	witnesses ;
10ΓtT1F“tfuFFTaganTst the pope printed in jlasle in 1556. \ '	persecutions oTthe saints, \
the most terrible and grievous of which “ have boiled up under Antichrist and have endured now by the space of five hundred years and more. What is done at this day all the world seeth. The ground is wet with the blood of martyrs. Which things John foresaw ” (p. 195). The trumpets were the notes of alarm against heresies, the
320 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
fifth against popery, when Boniface under Phocas opened the abyss with the papal keys, becoming universal bishop. The second woe included the Saracens and Turks. Then on Revelation 10 he continued : “ As Antichrist coveteth to have the book of the gospel shut, closed, obscure and imperfect : so the Lord Christ holdeth the book open in his hands. He opened and no man shutteth.” ¿“Antichrist cannot . at . this, day shut the gospel book, I which, he seeketh with all his force to do.” We have the Í bright preaching of the Gospel in the place of the intricate sophistry of the papacy, and more plentiful things are yet to follow.
“ Hereunto pertaineth the worthieinven^o^^ benefite of Printing, never comrnenH'etK^enough. This opehetJT books and sendeth them abroad into the world ^ in despite of all the enemies of God’s veritv, and scattereth them abroad in every corner of the world. So.:that-they which cannot hear preachers, to them come gpdlie bookes not without Jtuit' ”'Xpr' 287).
Since the opening of the little book they were having bitter and sweet experiences. “ We feel at this day the most grievous hatred of spiritual fathers and temporal princes. Many are driven into exile, innumerable are shut up in prisons, an infinite multitude are slain with sundry kinds of deaths. All these signs did the prophets prophesy should come to pass. . . . Therefore let us be strong in the Lord and fight against Antichrist unto the end of our life.” The charge “ thou must prophesy again ” was also being fulfilled by the Translation of the Scriptures in many languages and in all these the doctrine of John was preached by faithful ministers, even to rude barbarians. This message against the Antichrist has been lately (at Augsburg) presented before kings, prelates and princes. What we see and hear and what histories report, confirms the truth of John’s prophecy (p. 304). As God protected His prophets of old, so He has kept Luther^Zwingli and ; other_	^ïïüchrist,
I according to	J22). These Antichrists
seek to destroy all the memory of the godly as when Huss and Jerome were burned. “We have heard very lately how after England was fallen again to the Romish religion,
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32I
what joy and gladness, what banquets and triumphs the papists made in all places, and so also when the faithful are burned 328).
After Bullingeh applied the first beast of Revelation 13 to old pagan Rome, ândv generalized the forty-two"'months"*’ t^^y^nfie Gbd; might fix, he applied the second beast: to^'fftF^apacy,"!he two horns indicating both spiritual·" arid temporal power. The deposing of noges caused tho׳ deadly wound. He mistook the number 666 for so many^ yehrCbeginning with the writing of the "Apocalypse in qy amending \v1mîK2dr ection of the papal supremacy in 763. ^ As”tKe"3evil in paradise, so bringeth the popery\1 thrverity of the Scriptures in doubt, and bringeth in his«N traditions and decrees, to patch up that, which he con-tended to be wanting in the Scripture. But in his tradition he affirmeth things contrary to God’s Word, and so deceived men. God will be worshipped alone : the pope added to Him saints. God forbiddeth idols and idolatry : the pope commandeth them plainly. God commanded us ‘ to keep holy the Sabbath day : the pope bringeth this to contempt, setting forth his own holy days and maketh double feasts ” (p. 390).
“ Therefore do they worship the image of the beast, who accept the decrees and those ordinances of the seat and empire, speaking the inspiration of the beast,” “ who submit to the Romish religion and obey the pope. Now if any be content with Christianity, abhor Rome, detest the image of the beast, he is judged worthy of life. In vain dost thou utter thy faith in the lawT, the prophets, the gospel, the apostles, in Christ as the only Saviour ; they will at these very words cry out, that they smell of heresy and a mind infected with poison ”.	“ And thus
does the pope mark his men both in the forehead and right hand. Thus are the Romish whelps discerned from other faithful, as it were by marks ” (p. 423). Revelation, 14 :
6 f., and Matthew 24: 14 were fulfilled by^'faitmul I preachers : “ We see at this day, that the gospel hath in a J manner thundered throughout the whole world.” “ There/ is a great similarity between Babylon and .Rome. Like׳ Babylon^ as the first monarchy had suppressed the people of God, so Rome as the last, planting all sorts of idolatry,
Y
322 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
superstition and abomination.״ As to the fulfilment of Sevg]^ti(^iL.x7, all histories testify that the. ten kings of Daniel 7 and Revelation 17 have spoiled Rome itself. “״Wfrâî^sTdonë 'at this day (referring to the spoiling of Rome 1527) experience itself teacheth ”	In
explaining Reve)gtion.2Q. Bullinger quoted Augustin^, and Bede as his authorities to count the i,ëooTyears from 60-2E060 “against the Chiliasts’ teaching that there should be tranquillity in the world ” (p. 594). The New Jerusalem he interpreted as the “ communion of the saints ”, “ the Christian Church ”. Satan’s deceiving being the papal arid the Mohammedan heresies, and the coming down of She city does only mean a renewal of the world, not “ that Vthc habitation of the saints after judgment shall again /be.on the earth ”£¡^•*63 2).
One of thoserT rendí} witnesses who sealed their testi-mony against tli^papaí Aittiihrist with their own blood, was the former mon^^Arf:J^^10ra^''who had to flee to Switzerland (1535) otf^ÎSPSunt oFnis evangelical con-;viciions, where he laboured with success, and finished his ;exposition of the New Testament in 1559. Preaching in Paris and Rouen later, he died at the capture of Rouen (1562) as a martyr. He emphasized on 2 Thessalonians 2 (N.T. ii. 413) that neither Mohammed nor the Turkish Empire were the predicted¿Antichrist, “ but the pope’s dominion, erected by fraucTTricT superstition, manifests this kingdom through its tyranny and destroys the whole Christian religion through its sinfulness ”. He saw in ¡the 1^260 years^the whole time of papal persecution being [also indicated in Daniel 7 : 25 ; 12 : 11. The laiqb-like Hbower of'Revelation 13 w׳ere the monks, sophists and doc-kor'f	iih 194 f·)·
ak° published (1565) an exposition of Daniel /in Latin,־dedicating it to the illustrious bishops of England. ׳It iVmaae up of sixty־sixj3er_mons. In the 37th, he states that the little honToF Oamel 7 is fulfilled in the papacy, which from a small hegiririingTri the Roman Empire grew up above all other powers, undertook to change God’s times and laws, and even now persecutes the saints of God. His sermons on the Apocalypse bore their fruit.
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A letter of the prominent Jesuit, A. Klosel, court chaplain to the x\ustrian archduke, testifies to this : “ After having been tortured by conscientious troubles for a long time, and after having vainly searched in many books, I have been transported from the densest darkness to the love-liest light by your precious book on Revelation. My whole soul has been filled with an indescribable joy and rapture, for which I cannot thank God enough ; and again and again I return to this inexhaustible treasure. For the rest of my life I shall esteem you highly and hold fast to the Helvetian Confession. Nothing can prevent me from quitting my present position.” He verified his promise, descending from the convent at Innsbruck by a rope, and presenting to the archduke the reasons for his departure (Pestalozzi, p. 466). Bullinger’s sermons, inter-woven with expêrîerïCes; SftkHñ variousTongu^everywher(/ but especially in the Netherlands, where, néxfto the Bible,\ they became the “ family book ”, perused more than any 0tfrer7 aïrd tetom'mëû'de'd by the ecclesiastical authorities (Id. 470) to be read in the churches. His exposition of
ERevelation 10 was fully realized in that the worthy inven-ion of printing scattered the interpreted prophecies of )aniel and John far and wide, so that they who could Snot hear the living preacher “ to them come godlie bookes not without fruit ”. The Swiss Reformed, and the German Lutheran expositors, knew־ by experience what it meant to hold out against the power of the papal beast and to refuse^ its mark. Bullinger w׳rote to his co-labourer, d^conius (1548) : “ The “devil is making his final effort
m.	tfnTTast time. But the invincible Christ will gain the victory and triumph with His own. His word will remain !
. . . You have not learned to read mass, nor I, and we will not learn it, God be our help ! Rather let us sacrifice life and body for the covenant of God. Whosoever wants ; to buy or sell will receive the mark of the beast, i (Rev. 13 : 17) I will never do it. God fortify us in His I truth ! ” (Id. p. 294).
In this sense the English translator of Bullinger’s 101 sermons composed tH^ôïïbwing lines :
324 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
and hereon loke and rede : these thynges shall fynde irnlrde who and where he doth dwell : from the depe pitte of hell, the Dragon and the rest : by the Image of the beest. the Beestes with her heades all : is Pope that down shall fall, are Legates on the syde : though now prelates of pride, as flies in summer ryfe : a people full of stryfe. but always coaxe, coaxe, holi bread, holi people, holi waxe. they may both buy and sell : redeme soûles out of hell, whom God hath chosen free, and condemned shall be. thou shalt thee not repent : no money better spent.
Who list to move his lippes In this Apocalypses What Antichrist lirst is,
And that his coming is:
Then what is th’olde Serpent,
And also what is ment,
That Rome is Babylon,
The whore sitting thereon,
The three foule sprets like frogs, And shall have part with dogges, The Locusts to declare,
The Popish clergy are,
Their songe is nothing els,
Holi Church, holi masse, holi bells, By the marke of the beest,
And they say at least,
The sealed are the elect,
All others are reject,
Then Reader by this bokc,
Yk thou wilt heron loke,
LV
TO THE ROMANISTS “ CHRIST IS NEW, AND THE GOSPEL NEW ”
While Romanism was making most determined efforts to crush the spirit of the Reformation, there arose a new star in the West, to be a light to the Roman nations— John Calvin of Picardy (15091564־). He possessed the iron firmness, the inflexible will and the thorough Bible know-ledge necessary to rally the shattered Protestant forces, to regain what had been lost, and even to conquer new ground. Under him the little state of Geneva, so favour-ably situated on the borders of France and Italy, became the scene of endless struggle, and the nursery and training school whence missionaries, who wfere filled with dauntless spirit and lofty ideals, wrent forth to carry the everlasting Gospel far and near. As a law student, Calvin was suddenly converted, and he soon became the leader of the evan-gelicals in France. In 1534, an over-zealous Protestant placarded Paris with copies of a tract “ On the horrible, Intolerable Abuses of the Popish Mass ”, which caused the enraged king to fill the prisons, and to banish thirty-four Protestants ; but Calvin barely made his escape. He wandered about as a fugitive evangelist, and finally found refuge in Basle.
In this city he published his “ Institutes of the Christian
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Religion1536) ״), setting forth its great doctrines in a logical and convincing wav, radiating from one central : point. What justification by faith was to Luther, that ; predestination was to Calvin. The “ Institutes ” were dedicated to Francis I. They appealed to this French monarch in defence of Calvin’s Protestant countrymen with a manly dignity, frankness and pathos rarely surpassed. In his immortal preface, Calvin declared that he perceived multitudes of French “ hungering and thirsting after Christ, while very few seemed to have been duly imbued with even a slender knowledge of Him. ... So far have the wicked prevailed, that the truth of Christ, if not utterly routed and dispersed, lurks as if it were ignobly buried, while the poor Church, either wasted by cruel slaughter or driven into exile, or intimidated and terror-struck, scarcely ventures to breathe ”. Nevertheless our adver-saries cease not to assail and defame, calling our doctrine “ new and of recent birth ”, but in “ calling it new, they are exceedingly injurious to God, whose sacred Word deserved not to be charged with novelty. To them, indeed, I very little doubt, it is new, as Christ is new, and the Gospel new, but those who are acquainted with the old saying of Paul (Rom. 4 : 25) will not detect any novelty in us. That it long lay buried and unknown is the guilty consequence of man’s impiety ; but now when, by the kindness of God, it is restored to us, it ought to resume its antiquity just as the returning citizen resumes his rights ”. They also “ sport with its uncertainty ; had they to seal their own doctrine with their blood, and at the expense of life, it would be seen what value they put upon it. Very different is our confidence—a confidence which is not appalled by the terrors of death, and therefore not even by the judgment-seat of God ” (i. 310־).
In his comparison between the false and the true Church (bk. 4, ch. 2) he tersely expresses his conviction about the papacy :	“ Daniel and Paul foretold that
Antichrist would sit in the temple of God (Dan. 9, 27 : and 2 Thess. 2 : 2, 4) ; we regard the Roman pontiff as the leader and standard-bearer of that wicked and abomin-able kingdom. By placing his seat in the temple of God, it is intimated that his kingdom would not be such as to
326 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
destroy the name either of Christ or of His Church. Hence, then, it is obvious that we do not all deny that churches remain under his tyranny ; churches, however, which by sacrilegious impiety he profaned, by cruel domination has oppressed, by evil and deadly doctrines like poisoned potions has corrupted and almost slain ; churches where Christ lies half-buried, the gospel is suppressed, pietv is put to flight, and the worship of God almost abolished : where, in short, all things are in such disorder as to present the appearance of Babylon rather than the holv city of God.”
In describing the Romish papacy (bk. iv. ch. 7) he exclaims : “ Shall we recognize' the" Apostolic See, where we see nothing but horrible apostasy ? Shall he be the vicar of Christ who, by his furious efforts in persecuting the Gospel, plainly declares himself to be Antichrist r Shall he be the successor of Peter who goes about with fire and sword demolishing everything that Peter built ? Shall he be the head of the Church who, after dissevering the Church from Christ, her only true Head, tears and lacerates her members ? ” After quoting 2 Thessalonians 2 : 4, he refers, as a further proof, to Daniel 7 : 25, where the Spirit “ says that his reign would be with great swelling words of vanity. Hence we infer that his tyranny is more over souls than bodies, a tyranny set up in opposition to the spiritual kingdom of Christ. Then his nature is such that he . . . rather uses the name of Christ as a pretext, and lurks under the name of Church as under a mask.”
His comments on 2 Thessalonians 2 : 4 prove how־ readily he recognized the papal Antichrist :	“ Now,
every one that has learned from Scripture what are the things that more especially belong to God, and will, on the other hand, observe what the pope claims for himself -though he were but a boy of ten years of age—will have no great difficulty in recognizing Antichrist. Scripture declares that God is the sole law-giver (James 4: 12) who is able to save and to destroy the only king, whose office is to govern souls by His word, the minister of the true tabernacle (Hebrews 8 : 2) ; it teaches that righteous-ness and salvation are to be sought from Christ alone. . . . There is not one of these things that the pope docs not affirm
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to be under his authority. He boasts that it is his to bind consciences with such laws as seem good to him, and subject them to everlasting punishment. . . . When he thus robs God of His honour, he leaves Him nothing remaining but an empty title of Deity, while he transfers to himself the whole honour.” The very fact that he as Christ’s vicar claims to occupy the place of honour in God’s Church is the best evidence of the fulfilment of 2 Thessalonians 2 : 4 ; “for Paul places Antichrist nowhere else than in the very sanctuary of God. For this is not a foreign, but a domestic enemy, who opposes Christ under the verv name of Christ ”.
Calvin came to Geneva in 1536, two months after the Reformation had been introduced by Farel. But by 1538 the opposition to this “ modern Protestant popery ” grew so strong that the two Reformers were banished. Cardinal Sadolet improved the opportunity to win back the orphan church by writing them a long epistle, in which he ignored the Bible, pointed to the warring sects and cast suspicion on the motives of the Reformers, citing them as criminals before the tribunal of God. Calvin answered the epistle so masterly from Strasbourg that he was reinstated in 1542. He arraigned the whole Roman priesthood before the tribunal of God’s judgment seat for driving unhappy people to and fro writh strange doctrines : “ Among the people themselves, the highest veneration paid to Thy Word was to revere it at a distance, as a thing inaccessible, and abstain from all investigation of it. Owing to this supine state of the pastors, and this stupidity of the people, every place was filled with pernicious errors, falsehoods, and superstition. They, indeed, have called Thee the only God, but it was while transferring to others the glory which Thou hast claimed for Thy Majestv. They figured and had for themsehws as many gods as they had saints, whom they chose to worship. Thy Christ was indeed worshipped as God, and retained ־the name of the Saviour ; but . . . spoiled of His own virtue, He passed unnoticed among the crowd of saints, like one of the meanest of them. There was none who duly considered that one sacrifice which He offered on the cross and by which He reconciled us to Thvsclf—none who ever dreamed of thinking of His
328 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
eternal priesthood, and the intercession depending upon it—none who trusted in His righteousness only. That confident hope of salvation which is both enjoined by Thy Word, and founded upon it, had almost vanished ” (SchafF, S.R. p. 406).
One of Calvin’s main charges against the papacy was the denial of Christ’s priesthood in the heavenly sanctuary by substituting as an “ intolerable blasphemy ” earthly priests and setting up a “ damnable idolatry ”, a “ horrible abomination ” daily repeated in the popish mass (Inst, bk. iv. ch. 18).
Quoting Augustine more than any other author, he also interprets Daniel 2 : 44, 45, in the sense—that the cutting out of the stone without hands was fulfilled in the birth of Christ and His spiritual kingdom which should smite all earthly kingdoms. He condemned, as puerile, the fictions of the Chiliasts, who, in limiting the reign of Christ to a thousand years, receive no “ countenance from the Apocalypse from which it is known that they extracted a gloss for their error (Rev. 20 : 4), since the one thousand years there mentioned refer not to the eternal blessedness of the Church, but only to the various troubles which await the Church militant in this world ” (bk. iii. ch. 25).
He, when writing his commentary on Daniel .in 1561, also gave the same false interpretation that “ without hands ” signifies “ His divine birth and sending from the heavens ”. He highly recommended Daniel’s prophecy. If it had been a source of strength and inspiration to Israel in its darkest days when every one was threatened with death “ why should not this word do the same to us, to whom the clearness of fulfilment shines in the uncovered glory of God in the face of Christ ? ” But he was very averse to giving any explanation of its prophetic periods, and he saw in the 1,260 days only “ any period, the termina-tion of which is in the counsel of God Still more positively he expresses himself on Daniel 12 : 12 : “In numerical calculations I am no conjurer, and those who expound this passage with too great subtlety, only trifle in their own speculations, and detract from the authority of the prophecy ” (Dan. ii. 68, 393).
Calvin avoided writing an explanation of the Apocalypse.
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His “ Ecclesiastical Ordinances ” (1542) were intended to serve as a fundamental law of the Church, to convert the Republic into a theocratic state, modelled after ancient Israel, Augustine, and the papacy.
As a thorough-going theocrat, Calvin was necessarily a persecutor of all who differed from his doctrines. The first tract he ever wrote was directed against the soul-sleepers ; after his disputation with the Anabaptists (1537) they were “ perpetually banished on penalty of death in case they returned ”. No mercy was shown the enemies of the theocracy, new methods of torture were introduced, and between 1542 and 1546 some 58 executions occurred, and 76 were banished. Calvin’s saddest deed was the burning of the Spanish physician, Michael Servetus, charged with publishing heretical opinions concerning the Trinity, the person of Christ, infant baptism, immor-tality of the soul, etc.
Servetus, skilled in most of the sciences, and well versed in the Scriptures, for which he had unbounded reverence, believed himself called by Providence to restore primitive Christianity and the true doctrine. The title page of his “Restitution of Christianity” (1553) shows that his views were based chiefly on the prophetic Word. One motto of his in Hebrew is Daniel 12:1; the other in Greek, Revelation 12 : 7. He fancied that the great battle with Antichrist was at hand, and that he, being named Michael, had to play quite a part in it. He viewed Church history in the light of Revelation 12, saw in the woman, the true ¡Church, in the child, the true faith, and in the dragon the ^pope, the Antichrist predicted by Daniel, Paul and John. The true Church had to flee into the wilderness for 1,260 prophetic days or years from 3251585־. Antichrist’s reign began with three contemporaneous events : the council of Nicea “ split the one Godhead into three ” ; the union of Church and state, when the king became a monk ; and the establishment of the papacy under Sylvester, when the bishop became a king. He dates infant baptism since that time, with the accompanying persecution of true Christians. He finds no less than sixty signs or marks of the reign of Antichrist in the eschatological discourses of Christ, in Daniel 7 and 12, in Paul, in 2
330 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Thessalonians 2, and I Timothy 4, and especially in Revela-tion 1318־. But Antichrist’s reign is drawing to a close. The battle of Michael has already begun in Heaven and on earth, and the author of the “ Restitution ” has sounded the war trumpet which will end in the victory of Christ and the true church. Servetus called the Roman Church the “ most beastly of beasts, and the most impudent of harlots ”, and he considered the Protestant churches, as her daughters, to be not much better. Infant baptism was to him “ a figment of Satan and of Antichrist ” ; he believed that the soul was mortal, but that Christ had again brought immortality to light unto all believers, who retained the earnest of this precious gift until it be bestowed upon them in the first resurrection. About 1585 the papal ן reign would be followed by Christ’s millennial reign on ¡earth, after which the wicked would be destroyed in the ז general judgment, and Christ’s eternal reign would begin
'(Schaff, S.'Rr pp. 754757־)·.
'When he was captured in Geneva, French inquisitors demanded his extradition, but the Council preferred to prove their own orthodoxy by burning heretics, also. Servetus was burned with his books in 1553. In his last moments he cried aloud :	“ Jesus, thou Son of the
eternal God, have compassion upon me ! ” The spot is now marked by a stone bearing this inscription : “ As respectful and appreciative sons of Calvin, our great , Reformer, but condemning an error, which was that of his age, we, firmly attached to the liberty of conscience in harmony with the true principles of the Reformation and of the gospel, have erected this expiatory monument,
■ October 27, 1903.”
Calvin wrote a booklet in which he tried to justify the burning on the ground of the Mosaic code. Several of the reformers disapproved of his arguments, but tin־ loudest protest came from the pen of S. Castellio, professor at Basle, who had been rector of the- Genevan Latin School until his banishment. He made a Latin translation of the Bible, dedicated to Edward VI. In his preface he declared that the 1,000 years would not begin until after the fall of the papal Antichrist (Bcngel, E.O. p. 672). In spite of his deep poverty he also published a French trans-
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Jation. But his most important work (1560) was “ The Opinions of Learned Men Concerning Heretics, Whether they Should be Persecuted It was a powerful plea for liberty of conscience. Because of his protest, Calvin misused the preface made by him to the New Testament to insert this warning, after mentioning Castellio by name : “ We notify all Christians to guard against such a person as an instrument chosen by Satan to amuse all light and indiscreet spirits ” (Buisson, ii. 251).
Nevertheless, in spite of all these defects, the everlasting Gospel, defamed as something new, made its way even to the papal court. P. Vergerius, a papal secretary and chaplain, renounced his côftnèction with Rome (1548). Having displayed great skill at the Augsburg Diet, he was used by the pope to deal with the princes, and even with Luther, but finally became the leading Italian evangelist in the Grisons, and wrote many Latin and Italian books and tracts against the papacy. Schaff (S.R. p. 153) writes of him : “ He agreed with Luther that the papacy I was an invention of the Devil ; that the pope was the very Antichrist seated in the temple of God as predicted by TTaniel and Paul, was also the beast of the,Apocalypse ; and that soon he would be destroyed by a divine judgment.” He repelled the charge of heresy by saying :	“ the
Protestants who follow the Word of God are orthodox, the Romanists who follow the traditions of men are the heretics.”
Calvin’s name, as the spiritual father of the Puritans and their great Doctor, is linked with one of the greatest religious “ movements that have marked our modern civilization. From Plymouth Rock to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, we still see the traces of his marvellous genius, and his still more wonderful influence on the minds of men and on the schools of Christian theology ” (Lord, iii. 380). The world-wide effect of his name and work has been set forth in a fitting manner by the recently-erected imposing monument at Geneva, commemorating not only John Calvin, but also, as indicative of the increasing light of the Reformed Church, there is placed alongside Calvin and among the heroes of faith, the great Baptist champion of religious liberty, Roger Williams.
332 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
LVI
KNOx’s SERMON : THE KEY-NOTE OF THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
In Scotland, where the parliament (152527־) tried to check the progress of the Reformed faith by very stringent laws, staunch Protestants bore their testimony in the very face of death. Patrick Hamilton, of royal lineage, whilst studying at universities at home and abroad, listened also to Lambert’s lectures on the Apocalypse at Marburg. Inspired by the clear light of the prophetic word he returned to Scotland, full of missionary zeal, but after labouring ardently for over a year, he was denounced by a monk and died heroically at the stake in 1528. As his accuser soon after ended as a lunatic, all the threats of burning failed to detain the Scotch from holding secret meetings at night, from bringing forth their Bibles out of their hiding-places—hollow tree-stumps or from under rocks—and from strengthening each other’s faith with the newly-gained light. Hamilton’s influence called forth a number of zealous evangelists of noble birth, who likewise suffered for bearing their testimony, and by 1540 quite a number of noblemen had accepted the true faith. Another staunch witness arose in George Wishart, who, returning in 1544 from his exile, preached the Gospel with apostolic zeal in market-places and fields, if not permitted in churches, until he was burned in 1546.
John Knox (1507-72) who, as student at St. Andrew’s University, learned about the unscriptural papal claims, became closely attached to Wishart, and sometimes accompanied him, sword in hand, to protect him. On his last trip, Wishart bade him return saying : “ one is sufficient for one sacrifice.” The following testimony from J. A. Wylie,{Great Exodus, pp. 1114־, lQ concerning Knox is to the point: “ The Reformation Church early devoted herself to the study of tEe prophetic page. It was natural she should. No sooner has the mariner freed himself from the skirts of some dense fog, which had shut out the sea and sky from his sight, than his first
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333
glance is at the stars. With the return of light, he en-deavours to ascertain his exact place on the ocean. The Church at the Reformation had just escaped from the darkness which had so long enveloped her from the papal abyss ; and her first effort, by the help of Prophecy, was to ascertain her position on the chart of time. Lifting her eyes to the firmament of revelation, she began reverently to read the great lights of Prophecy. Knox struck the key-note in his famous sermon at St. Andrew’s. His ,practical and sagacious mind, aided by the Divine Spirit, saw the exact identity betwixt the features of the harlot j as portrayed in Prophecy, and her features as portrayed I in the facts of history. From the visions of Patmos he ן turned his eyes upon the events of Europe, and he said,
! this is the Power, which John saw coming out of the abyss.
! He pronounced the Church of Rome to be the Antichrist 1 of the Apocalypse. In this canon of criticism, Knox, as it appears to us, fixed what must ever remain the funda-mental dogma in all sound apocalyptic interpretation. He determined at the same time the only legitimate method by which interpreters of the Apocalypse must proceed if they would arrive at a sound result. He did not shut his eyes and set about constructing theories : he went forth into the field of history, and observed facts.” “ This too, was Calvin’s path.” “ Calvin and Knox, then, may be regarded as, in post-reformation times, the founders of this method of interpreting the Apocalypse. A host of men, illustrious by their learning, their talents and their piety, have followed in their steps. Their com-bined labours, under the blessing of the Holy Spirit, have resulted in giving to Apocalyptic interpretation, as it , appears to us, the dignity of a science. The Jaws of sym-bolization have, to a large extent, been examined and fixed. The method of computing prophetic time has been determined.” “ Thus has the collective mind of the Reformation Church established the^ great principles applicable to the right interpretation of the prophetic portion of the Word of God.” “ We hold it an error equally grave to begin to interpret Prophecy by ignoring the labours of former interpreters, on whose prayerful and laborious investigations God has set the seal of His approval,”
334 TIIE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
“ Three centuries has the Church been occupied in this work ; and the result is, that Prophecy is no longer a sealed book.״ “ As face answereth to face in water, so did the theology of the Reformers answer to the wants of man’s heart, and the facts of man’s condition. Like to their theology was their scheme of Prophecy. It answered, as face to face, the facts of history. The image of Prophecy, as they expounded it, was seen to be pictured on the living page of history. The Reformers maintained in-violablc the grand connection between the Purpose, the Prophecy, and the Providence of God.” “ On the Reforma-tion scheme, Pr^phccj^Js the philosophy of history ; it is the key that admits us into the arcana of Providence ; it places us in the midst of great verities ; nay, it places us behind the scenes, and shows us these verities in their origin, in their order, and in their progression.”
Already, on the title page of his “ History of the Reformation ” (wherein he relates many interesting items) Knox strikes the key-note of prophetic interpretation concerning the papacy :	“ The manner, and by what
persons, the light of Christ’s Gospel has been manifested into this realm after that horrible and universal defection from the truth which has come by the means of that Roman Antichrist.” In the beginning he gives a list of the articles of faith attributed to the Scotch Lollards, and the 32nd runs thus : “ That the pope is the head of the Kirk of Antichrist.” He then tells how he was led to openly preach the Gospel and the truth about the papacy. Almost resolved to leave for Germany in 1547, he took the part of a godly preacher, Rough, against the Romanist Dean Annan. In his refutation, Knox stated : “ We must define the Church by the right notes given to us in God’s Scriptures of the true Church ; we must discern the immaculate spouse of Jesus Christ from the mother of confusion, spiritual Babylon, lest that impudently we embrace a harlot instead of the chaste spouse ; yea, to speak in plain words, lest that we submit ourselves to Satan, thinking that we submit ourselves to Jesus Christ.
. . . For, as for your Roman Church, as it is now corrupted. ... I no more doubt but that it is the synagogue of Satan, and the head thereof, called the pope, to be that man of
335
SARDIS
sin, of whom the apostle speaketh, than that I doubt that Jesus Christ suffered by the procurement of the visible Church of Jerusalem. Yea, I offer myself, by word, or writing, to prove the Roman Church this day further degenerate from the purity which was in the days of the apostles, than was the Church of the Jews from the ordin-anees given by Moses w'hen they consented to the innocent death of Jesus.” The people, hearing the offer, urged Knox to lay his proofs before them in a public speech. On the following Sunday he preached his first sermon*· taking his text from Daniel 7 ”. According to his own ; outline, he opened' witTTa short discourse on the four empires—the Babylonian, Persian, Grecian and Roman— then showed that the persecuting little horn, as the last power, was “ the Roman Church, for to no other power do all the notes appertain except to it alone ”. He clearly proved, that “ the papal doctrines and lawrs do repugn directly to the doctrine and lawrs of God The pope had indeed a mouth speaking great things, calling himself the vicar of Christ, most holy and blessed, that cannot err ; that can make right wrong, and wrong of right ; that of nothing can make somewhat, and that had. nil verity in the shrine of his breast, yea, that had power of all, and none power of him ” (H.R.S.Ji. 108 if.). The “ grey friars and black fiends ” called him to account, but he got the best of them.
Besieged and captured with other Protestants by the French fleet in 1547, he remained for nineteen months a galley-slave. Knox escaped in 1549 to England, where he laboured in various ways for the Protestant cause, until the persecuting zeal of Queen Mary forced him to seek a refuge on the Continent, where he became intimately acquainted with Calvin. During a visit to his people in Scotland, he was very happy to find that they with many others at Berwick “ had not bowed their knees to idols, nor had received the mark of Antichrist ” (Brandes, p. 123). In 1557 a large number of lords and chief gentry made, under his influence, a solemn covenant: “we, perceiving how Satan in his members, the Antichrists of our time, cruelly does rage, seeking to destroy the Gospel of Christ and His congregation—do promise to maintain and estab-
336 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
lish the most blessed word and His congregation . . . and also to renounce and forsake the congregation of Satan with all the ■ superstitious abominations and idolatry thereof” (H.R.S. ii. 101). Knox sent in 1558 a strong appeal to his beloved brethren, the people of Scotland, entreating them to give heed to the Gospel and its evidences “ that the papal religion is but an abomination before God “ Flee out of Babylon, that ye perish not with her ! ” (Brandes, p. 504). Knox, returning to Scotland in 1559, preached with such irresistible zeal, that shrines, images, convents were destroyed, and the truth triumphed. Chr. Goodman, Knox’s faithful co-labourer in Geneva, came to his assistance and rendered valuable help through his lectures in St. Andrew’s, wherein he clearly set forth the fulfilment of Revelation 17 in the corrupt papacy. Lord Napier and others were encouraged to search the proph-ecies, and later on to write about them. In the ensuing civil war the Protestants gained the day.
The Confession of Faith, drawn up by Knox chiefly, had Matthew 24 : 14 as introductory text. When the queen, Mary Stuart, introduced the mass in her palace, Knox boldly resisted, “ for it had pleased God c־f his mercy to make me one among many, to disclose unto this realm the vanity of the papistical religion and the deceit, pride and tyranny of that Roman Antichrist ” (H.R.S. ii. 288). The more severely the Queen with her Catholic following proceeded against the Reformer, the bolder he expressed himself. He declared in 1565, in his treatise concerning Fasting : “ Now is Satan so enlarged against Christ, and so odious is the light of his gospel unto the Roman Antichrist, that to suppress it in one province, realm or nation, he thinketh it nothing, unless that in all Europe the godly, and such that abhor the papistical impiety, be therewith also utterly destroyed, and so rased from the face of the earth, that no memory of them shall after remain.” He mentioned then, as evidence, the decision of the Council of Trent, that all Lutherans, Calvinists, and such as are of the new religion, shall utterly be rooted out. “ How fearful a beginning this conclusion and determination had, France will remember more ages than one, For how many above a 100,000 , . . suffered, some
337
SARDIS
by sword, some by water, some by fire, and other torments, the very enemies are compelled to acknowledge.” “ In February 1566, a messenger arrived with a copy of the Catholic League, comprising Spain, France and the pope, for extirpating the Protestants, and Mary scrupled not to set her hand to the league ” (M’Crie, p. 14042־). In 1567 the Queen was obliged to abdicate, and in the same vear the Parliament declared the Reformed Church to be
׳·
“ the only true and holy kirk of Jesus within this realm ”. But a new struggle began between Church and State. In the midst of all these dangers, Knox, weakened by a paralytic stroke, lectured on Daniel’s prophecies concern-ing the papal apostasy. Hearing of the great massacre of the Huguenots in Paris, he thundered with all his remaining strength against the murderers, and evoked the wrath of Heaven against the King of France (Brandes, p. 438). Knox firmly believed that the reformation of the whole face of the earth would not take place until Christ’s advent, and, as to its nearness, he wrote in 1554 : We know that He shall return, and that with expedition.” At his death he left a Reformed theocracy wholly after Calvin’s pattern, wherein Papist and Baptist were alike threatened with death. The new Regent Murray well said of Knox : “ Here lies he, who never feared the face of clay ! ” (Taylor, Reign, p. 151). Knox’s sermon on the little horn struck the key-note of the Scottish Reformation. He was one of the noble founders of the right apocalyptic interpretation, and his lectures on Daniel concerning the papal apostasy was the last testimony of this fearless witness.
LVII
REVELATION 14:612־, THE SUM AND CONTENI'” OF EVANGELICAL DOCTRINE
From 1£591572־ the first Protestant Church History / ^appeared. It ’ was" written by ^attliias^fjaau^v, and C? entitled “ The Magdeburg Centuries,TeiB¥fw^	of A
much historical research, and became thfiXro^estant arsenal for supplying a better knowledge of the past. The Catholics
" ' '	z
.338 THE impelling’ force of prophetic truth
denounced it as “ the most pestilential book ”, because it revealed how the papists had misrepresented the past in their own interests, and stamped everybody as a heretic who had opposed their greed for supreme powTer.
“ The Centuries ” defended the Apocalypse as a canon-^cal book, and "applied 2 ThessaTonians 2 to the Roman I bjsKófeTwhb was ruling the world in fulfilment of Revelation ji7 ÍCent/^fol 436 fA It fully endorsed־;th^pr-day, (system, but mamTa distinction between the spiritual^rule jjof the popes lasting 1.260 vegrs. and their worldly suprc-Pmacy lasting 666^ar^The kingdom of Antichrist was as it fwere conceive^irrthe womb of the Mother Church in the fifth century, but born in 606 (Cent, yi. fol. 16 ; Cent. vii. doL·.¿2). Flacius issuerfin^talogue of Wit-nesses of Truth, Who have withstood fôe rope Before Our Time”. In this he also represented the 1,260^years of the wild beast as having commenceclin 606, and referred its destruction at Christ's advent to.i866j He enumerated some 400 witness es^ f	ίϊο^^% 1 s “ Short Notes
[to the^New Testament ”, wherein he stated that the Interim had lasted 3! years, but the 1,260 year-days Extended from Constantine to the present revelation of fthe papal Antichrist. IrT"connection 'with, this hé~ inter-preted the "two witnesses in Revelation 11 as the Old jand New Testaments (Glossa, p. 1,352). TheseJLatin works were translated Tnto^different languages, many editions of	printed, and they moulded the
protestant exposition of prophecy to a very large degree. J
The increased desire for light on the prophecies was ^secn in the appearance of so many commentaries dealing ·with this subject, especially explanations of the Apocalypse and of Daniel. Although the interpretations on some subjects varied, yet one ray of light after another was brought out. Since so many commentaries were written, I can refer only to the most prominent characteristics of the greatest authorities.
^ By the endorsement of Flacius, the prophetic year-day,
; so plainly taught in the Scripture and advocated by Catholic Authorities such as ; Joachim] Cusa, and Lyra, became’ fprevalent among Protestant writers. The chief point remained^which was the right date of these periods ?
339
Prof Reliar i us; o O.
SAROI
aslc^( I SsQ advocated in his com men-
tary that "the.Ϊ','¿60 years reached from 606 until 1866
(Apoc. p. 685JT On the other hand, there was one important consideration that exerted a strong influence in an attempt not to put off the day of the Lord too far, and that was, to keep the blessed hope alive. These two conflicting ele-ments are ·seen ini<flaciu^ when he sets two dates. Also in D^ChYtigeus ¿LRostock, who declared in his illustrated
commentary (1563) : “ The____1^260,.	.
treading down the holy city are to be explained as angelic, ׳days, i.e. as 1,260 years. If numbered from ¿12^ when
✓ ״ , \■׳  ■·-י . ------------------------ך..
Alaric took JKome ana overthrew the empire, the end wil. be in 16J2 ; or, if in the time of Phocas, whenlthe pope’s' supremacjTbegan, then the end may be expected in (Apoc. p. 162).	^
From 15721586־, Luke Ç)siandejr, a son of the Nurem-'berg reformer, publisKecI a Latin Li ble with notes. Later it appeared in German, and had a large sale. Commenting on Daniel 12 (BÎEÏÏa, v. 505 ff.) he reckoned tfreypt tipies 1׳from that date on which “ in order to corrupt thelieavenly 'doctrine, the Roman popes began to introduce idolatry in the Church and to establish their tyranny, which happened many years before^Phocas ”. The 1,290 years were to reach'to tKe ‘outward ruiiToTAntichrist, ancTtïïe <1,335׳ years to the time of Christ’s advent. On 2 Thessa-Romans herróte :The pope would have gladly bestirred himself if the necessary elbow-room had not been wanting.״ In this connection he figured the 1,260 years back from 1517 to about 239. The (¡end of the m'flfenïïrum and the ldôsing of thé devil he expectecTnT 1593.
Funck’s “ Guide ”, to which Melanchthon wrote a préfacé, also made the Reformation the great terminus of the 1,260 years, and applied the angel in Revelation 10 to Luther, and the two witnesses to Luther and the~refbr^~ mers. Charles V was the 7th head, who was soon to fall—■ but, instead of that, Funck was himself beheaded in 1546
׳(Boussci, p. 84).	I,. ,, Sva,.*-.
An Tbalian, ׳;J. Brocardus, ״״attired Joachim’s seven ages in ánévangelícargarB*(1580). In the (TtK age tKe Lord sent Joachim and many others till Luther, who proclaimed the eternal Gospel and the near advent in fulfilment of
TIIE 1MPELLING FORCE of prophetic truth
, Revelation ,14(Apoc. p. 14). The 1,260 years of papal ^tyranny extended from 313-1573^. during which time so -'many evangelicals had lost their lives—recently, also in France, Holland, etc. But worst of all was the Paris massacre, of which the French king boasted in a letter to the pope. In return, Rome would have to realize the fulfilment of Revelation 1719־, but the righteous would, in harmony with Revelation 20, unite in a general council, which would introduce the age of the spirit.
The nejjness^of the end was emphatically enunciated *'by Nich.(^elnecker in his exposition of Daniel and Revela-Ition (ed. fijéy’arid 1608). ToJDaniel 7(Erkl. fob 465) he ;stated that the little, fast-growing prosperous horn,
! coming out of the ten, was the pope : “ Let us realize that « the lasj^d^i^novv ^t hand.”	‘
wi· Riegan¿,-who dedicated his commentary on Daniel ^(1570) to'Duke John of Saxony, likewise remarked that as the Gospel was being preached world-wide, and all the .^gns given T>y Christ were fulfilling, also the Roman Antichrist was being revealed more and more, so the end 'might be expected_B^Itaking the time from Israel’s exodus to Christ as a basis óf eomputation (“ Explicatîcm,” fi■ tíSak.
<^achemoserof Brunswick computed, in his “ Spiritual t Practics^Cohcerning the World’s Near Ruin” (1584), ^that the German Empire would~~conqùcr the world in a few years, and thus usher in the fiftlyprppirc about 1588, after the lapse of the 1,260 years (Corrodi, iiia. 38-49). ^ecause many expositors had ended the 1,260 yeai^at so early a date, many people expected the end iiv1588 ‘'׳^ ‘ as J. Stuck of Zurich demonstrated in his treatise (Βυτ^ΐ,
E.O. p. 672).	^~m*#***--
5er subject more delicate to deal with, on account of ihe op^ogkion of all the reformers, was the question of a futureVmillennium instead of a millennium already in the J^acnimTreturning to the right view of the early j¡¡¡ athers, Racfset the cue. The Anabap!^^^nd later,. other Protestant expositors^ foflowem^^eilarr^ empha-; 'sized Tlie many faitKiul martyrs among *ffie Chiliasts, ־ ,although they were held in bad repute. ChrisPs1<ingdom, : governed in the spirit of the Gospel, would be set up
SARDIS
“when the saints shall i udve, Rhw^yorld ? ? (Apoc. p. 725). The ,Lausanne professor, N. /C^la&/ç in his “ Easiest methodΓ^οϊ'ΐΐχρί^ΐ^.ώδ the. Apocalypse ” (1551), jnter-pretecT ]Revelation 20jfi^^,,^ame י way ,(Appc., ־p. ^3ς f.) HT^o^advocated a ^mlensm"among i etc.., ,with ever^rogras1^_light..r This and /thj fimennia^־ view afso were contended for by A, ^“Mantua in his commentary (ed. 1560311^^74). preface says : “ This one thing perchance will offend the׳ ears of some, because I am to promise a more plentiful peace to the Church. But let them bethink themselves that this is not contrary to the Scripture. I cannot perceive by what means the happiness John attributes to the church can be made good except we acknowledge some rest to the church, her enemies being overthrown.״ He also declares that the power of Revelation 13, answering to the little horn of Daniel 7, must be sought among the tell ' kífigdónis3 ~ ànd that the papacy fully answered the ־ predict ion (Apoc. p. 295). Satanes time of persecution last-* fj!ng 1,260 yeaFs־ would be followed by his beings bound for\ M^ooo years. There were three views concerning TKeJ hmÏÏehmum : 1. that Christ’s millennial reign would not f I be of this world at all ; 2. that it would manifest itself jin an age of the spirit ; 3. finally, as imagined by the! !most learned, in the past prosperity of the Church. The Ípious must decide whether they would turn to the whirl-j !pool Charybdis or the rock Scylla.	\
One of the most prolific writers, however, was George Nigrinus¿ professor of theology at Giessen^ In 1573 he puDïïIhed an illustrated commentary7 on the Apocalypse,
“ Most Faithfully and Industriously Explained in these Last, Troublous Times”. In explaining the two wit-x nesses, he first mentions present-day experiences : “Very many of the witnesses of Jesus have been executed in our days in Italy, Spain, France, Brabant, Flanders, England, as well as in Germany and elsewhere. They were rarely considered worthy of a burial, but perished by fire, water, or in the open air. The tyrant in the Netherlands at present roasts and stews them on stakes, builds fires around them, and forces them to walk in chains until they suffocate. ... No crime is punished worse than the pure
342 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
and open confession of Christ.״ Then he refers (p. 368) to /the many faithful witnesses during the Interim. He
ein the woman of Revelation 12 the true Church that on in Kef lay ’memBefs,'4'persecuted by the papal ^Church as heretics, such as the Waldenses, the Poor of Lyoné,~Th־e ־Picards, the Hussites and the Lutherans (p. Vÿf¡' The first beast of Revelation 13 is the Roman Empire, continued in the German-Roman Empire,” the g^3SSCt^’TaPal monarchy. As to the mark of the beast ·Be gives this clear explanation: Λ11 the papal cere-monies, orders, works, and usages, which are outwardly visible and are invented by the pope and his people as essential to salvation constitute the mark of the beast.” “ Whoever as a true Christian obeys only Christ’s voice,
^holds to the Gospel and the right sacraments, remains !by the pure apostolic doctrine, and rejects all human ordinances, can neither buy nor sell, so that he is forbidden water and pasture, exiled and condemned as a heretic, excommunicated and cut off from God’s grace ” (p. 459).
} “ The three angels in Revelation 14 all signify evangelical ^reachers^mf1!hîs‘1âst time,'”bej^HÍHg with the preaching ►of Luther until the end.” Flying in the midst of heaven ^igmïïes*^tKr^rgency and great speed of the revived ו ^gospel in this last time. For as soon as Luther’s sermons and writings appeared, they were found quickly in all lands among friend and foe ”.	“ Wherever one goes in
Germany, Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France, England, Scotland, Wales, Spain, etc., f there are found true Christians, who through the voice of this messenger and his associates have recognized the truth and forsaken the Antichrist. For this there is no proof ^needed, facts tell” (Id. pp. 477-480). As to the hour of God’s judgment being at hand, “ one finds inJLutEer’s ; writings how he has handled this poifitTTiowTiT\vith all í other learned men has rendered this good service to us by \ computations and explanations and thoroughly proven ■jthat the time of the judgment is near, the signs are past, .?the Antichrist revealed, the fig-tree of the Scripture ״■becomes green and blossoms, the Avorld lives in security, I wickedness increases, all arts have reached their climax, ; and scarcely one among a thousand believes that the end
343
SARDIS
\
is near ” (Id. p. 484, 485). The third angel symbolizes “ those preachers ot Thegospel7whon^Ttef Luther*5 "death and especially during the Interim, hâve so bravely con-tended by word and pen against the decreed union of the Roman and evangelical churches and still with great urgejxcy^varn against it ” (Id. p. 487). In his exposition of Daniel (if¡94) he laid special stress upon the faTT^hat as^^^pfopnct had so clearly fixed the time of the first advent, so, too, had he done concerning the second advent, although day and hour would not be known. Yet “ so "much Instruction and cause for further consideration and^ computation were given in his different numbers, that one will notice, perceive and nearly grasp the fact that the last day be not far off He remarks on Daniel jy “ the name and manner of Antichrist fits the pdpè far better י than the Turk ” (p. 242). As to Daniel 8 and o^hgascribes |this'TTttIë horn also to the papacy^and the 1Xgoó^^s are 1 ׳so manv years until the end of that terribleaDSmmation înTîî^ét:d^ ״ If we should count 2,300 years from thè time of this vision, then there are now 2,120 years past;N and only !80 left) after which all the abominations of the Turks and popes must cease, and the temple of God be cleansed. But we hope for something quite different,v namely, ,,jjjiat the end will come sooner ” (p. 286 f.). On/ Daniel 12 : n,he pointed out three idolatrous abominations^ ־—that of Antiochus, that of Caligula and, finally, that of the pope. The papal one involved the open idolatry of v Christendom, i.e. the mass, the adoration of and the honouring of images. “ Then the/3aily sacrifice
11" '|%1י . ן . . . ן° ך ו ■i
must be understood m a spiritual sense, i.e. The preaching
of the holy gospel and the right use of the sacraments pointing to the^sole sacrifice of Christ ” (435 f.).
rinus
saw m the ¿£Q¿and 1,33$ days of Daniel 12 also year days, beginning with fhenmtroduction of all sorts of falsc| doctrines and the mass, until now when the antichristian > kingdom, smitten by the breath of Christas word and by^ the preaching of the Gospel in all the world, begins to wane \ away, “ so that there wOuld be scarcely 200 yeqrs^e¿?? h
(p· 437)·	...—־״■■■-
Toward the end of this very sixteenth century, Roman-
ism arose like a wounded giant, to reconquer the lost
344 ™E IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
territory at home, and to make even fresh conquests in far-off lands. A new,or¿g¡L.áífíse...under the skilful leader-£hip of Ignatius	a Spanish nobleman,
the founder ot the Jesuits (1540), the professed aim of which was “ the greater glory of God ”, but really aiming at the promotion of the world-wide dominion of the Roman Church, with the pope as its infallible head. To this end Loyola drilled his faithful troops, inspired them w1 thjhjg yjsjjflns, and the most gifted Jesuits spent a life-time in the search of new methods of revealing the weak spots of their opponents and of re-establishing the papal supremacy. They urged their way into the universities as teachers, into royal courts as counsellors, into the pulpit as orators, among the people as confessors, and into the heathen world as missionaries. By small tracts ^fs well as by means of thick folios they soon gained the ׳leadership of gublic^opinion. In T'(§4,‘thc Jesuits brought ^for5¿^^¿^me 330 theses in a pubfe״d1scussior1 atjfcy^ice
the pope’s being Antichrist. Tfrey mentioned^lgrinug^bv name, and thcrefOiwt^TeTt xaTTeT upon to remfWneir theses in a large work entitled “ The Thorough Revelation of Antichrist”. In their ^theses	being Antichrist because
jlc lacked the istinct^^rO	Revelation 13,
land tKemfQj^jhey, rej get eat he interpretation oT^Tlmlet But Nigrinus Tatîcd‘ tlicir attention^amw ¡jo hi^npeSffion, namely, that the oath of the Catholic aity and the gnointing Chrisnt>on hand and forehead at the ordination olthe clergy constituted th/mai־^ their own authorities had admitted this inextinguish^Wç mark, and !that it conveyed to their clergyjwc{LDivine power (Biel pist. 6. quest. 2 sent. 4 ; also Council of Trent, sess. viii. :4). Then, in a special appendix, Nigrinus treated the means wdiereby the papal Antichrist had gained his authority in the empire. In closing (pp. 95-97) he made the following significant statements : “ Luther and his doctrine, being the pure, true, old gospel, were so opposed by pope, bishops and princes, that he, with all his following, would be entirely rooted out : notwithstanding he and his doctrine remained invincible : for it was not his doctrine, but that of Christ, w׳ho sent him out to strike down^ntiçhrisL as
345
SARDIS
was foretold in Revelatio^f* 14 : 6, This is the sum and Γ(5πΤ^ήΤΤ3Γ<3ÏÏ¿TfíTñTS g3 fffifl1 TîkT'Rom^rrÂn^ÏÏnsÎ and his îdoTatry, as ail our sermons and books testify, where-ufttDittisrrtiiTtTenarrn^t^	the other angel·, who
crics aloud to all_thcy;o^	is .fallen. Again
in Revelation 1ft : ^ ff., John sees the evangelical angel come down from heaven, having great power ; and the earth is lightened with his glory. Then follows the descrip-tion of present conditions at Rome and of the Curia and churches. Whatever does not suffer to be enlightened by this angel, that is and remains of the devil. 2 Corinthians 4: 4. Thereby we have , heard also openly, the voice of th<r־tfc1^j^^	voice,,etc. (Rev. 14 :
aJ1gd is surely, neededia Jthese times, 1 1T whlclftne κηοwledge of the truth has been spread ahd ' tfíer<TaneTííáTíy yet who״offàTcôtffiTof honour and goods still adhere to the papacy against their own consciences.” “ Truly this is the time forctpld of our Lord in ^Matthew 24 :14, whçrein the. gospel must be
Tffi^f?hcd to all nations as a witness against them,” and all‘ other sTgns ’	Antichrist
has surely gathered a large army of prelates, as Gregory the Great said in his time : they unite, counsel, devise, try, concentrate all their art, wit and power, to hinder, dampen and extinguish the light in its breaking forth. This has our own experience taught us during the last sixty years.” “ There is no doubt that the consummation of this world is very near, and much nearer than the pope and his Jesuits suppose, as one can well see from their own words and works.” The unfolding of the rich treasures of the prophetic word fully entitled Nigrinus to begin his com-mentary on Daniel with these lines :
Who learns Daniel well to know, Of Antichrist no fear will show, Adapted to all time and trial, Steadfast and wise escape Belial.׳
34^ THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
LVIII
Jesuits’ misinterpretation lauds the roman church
AS THE NEW JERUSALEM
,״^	׳־־■י*λ.,
R^Bcllarminei descended from the old Italian nobility, becametKfe' jtjâster of the Jesuit defence. After he had ,acted as head 0FthelJmversity of Lpuvain he took charge of the Jesuits’ college at Rome, where he gave his famous ^lectures tcTIarge audiences (1576-1589). These lectures, Entitled “ Polemic Lectpres Concerning the Disputed Points of the Christian ,Belief against the Heretics of . this Time”, were published (158.L-X5.93). Until the present jïïay, Three of his folio volumes remain the most detailed ¡apology of the Catholic faith, which have called forth from renowned Protestant writers innumerable counter-waitings. About the,same time (1588-1607) the Eccles-; iastical Annals of Baronius appeared as a counterpoise to the “ Magdeburg Centuries Bellarmine and Baronius ’were created cardinals^ for^their dogmatic and historical 'Çroclüctions^hacTlilled the annojirv of Rome with most elective weapons.	!	\	^ \
tyjcaiuxy. ne' mot only seaJ^TO^tmr^cnptures and the/J fathers, but apparently the whole range of Protestant commentators, for he mentions them by name, states their[ viewrs, and tells wherein they differ from each other.j He thinks a prophetic time could only denote “ an unit ”, as a day, a year, a millennium, and if it denoted the latter,
347
SARDIS
then the ji.~ times would amount, to. 3,500 years ! The‘ seventy weeks were year-weeks because of the specific Hebrew word. Then, the Jews had not been converted by Elijah, and the Gospel had not been, as yet, proclaimed £t¡p alLth^ world. Again, the Antichrist still had tojjbolish ph^aily^sacrifice of the mass “according Το'ΤΚ^ΓιϊΤΤΓ J^wfflSthe
^mpTre"wás also still in existence in the German Empire, flf there were to be 1,260 year-days, then one could fix] the^^ct'yeaT 0FtKe"enTT^Tlr^	cowpti'ta-J
1 tîons" oTthe	gears'Offered sojgreatly. The ^îrituaîj
jule of the pa^prcy'had^T^t^Tonger than the 1,260_yearsJ IkncT tl1q^^uIa¿alsaJa11ger■ than/666years. The numerical! lvalue oiEüther would also amount tqoofc. In his preface,ן Mie interpreted the fifth trum^^To^^^Etither, who had: fallen from the celibacy of a monk“ "to matrimony, and from light into heresy. However, in his ^tlybook, Bellar-mine abandoned the claim of Boniface VIII to the tern-poral sword, for Christ did not possess a worldly kingdom, and so Sixtus V put this book on the.Index. And as,~inj vlîîs appendix, the cardinal had quoted many earlier ad-missions that the pope was the predicted Antichrist, the book was for a long time disliked in Italy.
Bellarmine’s efforts to free the Roman Church from the stigma of being the .predicted Antichrist were seconded. 1byother Jesuit commentators, who assigned the symbols ofthe* Apocalypse either to dîstantftrturë times—the*
y>-'■ *S- -	¿·ך—*-	·	.V	י- ן	i
gujturist schema or to the tar-aistanf^^Rt—the pie-f^ensTscheme. Both schemes, opposite in their very nature,! pursued" just one purpose, namely, t0(^jiminaie^ from the Apocalypse as far as possible all reference to the long; <gapak apostasy.	=
The Jesuit, F: Ribeira« of the University of followed the futurist sTneme, and ,assigned the nrst few^ prophecies to Tohn’s own time, and the (es£ to ^31 years’ reignjai Antichrist just before the second advent. Revela-tion 12 he made to refer to the persecution of the Church/ by Antichrist when she would flee into the wilderness י during the very last 3^J£§rs,of time (Apoc. p. 325-351). He^with Bellarmine, believed that at that time papal Rome would be overthrown because oí her sins, but that
THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
8־34
**the elect would be delivered to reign with Christ in Heaven Ijfor 1J000 vears~KéíóreTHe general resurrection. He^pcnl^. re^^ateS TSaif^	in this "Vale
tearsJי	. .
In 1599, the commentary of Blasiusffiiegas¿ containing'' ^894 quarto pages, passed the censor. 111ise11 Portuguese Jesuit (Apoc. p. 199 f.) claimed that the Jesuits áre"-the VJÜCXlÿredicted.hy^.Jqaçhiin ; among the signs of future ־׳things, given by Abbot Joachim, is that of thcJPhila-Æelphian angel, who typifies a new order in the Church, j tnaForder’which Jesus indicated, being more lovely and «״glorious than many orders that were older. . . . Some ^ think Joachim’s prophecy referred to the Society of Jesus, being aware that Jesus indicates this order by His own name in accordance with Joachim’s prediction. Others may understand by the angel of Philadelphia (brotherly love) the firm bond of love which entwines our brotherhood because of its common rank among all nations—to the amazement of all people. Others may apply the beautiful title to the address wherein Christ characterizes Himself as 4 the Holy One ’, 4 He that is true ’, to our Society, and believe that this sacred institution, which contends for holiness and truth not only among Catholics, but also among heretics and infidels unto the farthest ends of the earth, was thereby reminded of its duty. Others mav consider that the door into all lands for the conversion of the nations is opened by Him, who holds the key of David, to this order by a special act of grace.” Having thus, in a round-about way, given his own reasons as to why Joachim might have had the Jesuit order in mind, like Rihjra,she attempted to limit the main sphcuLuLapoca-dyptic prophecy to the short space of p¿ years. He inter-pxyted Daniel 8 : 13^ 12 : 11 to the abrogation of the mass. Jf, accord	15 jfe	rc year-days then
mey might exteTHffo the judgment,._but if literal days of course the query would arise as to how' the. Jews could be ,converted in so short a time (p. j6y f.). (Viegas disapproved Ribeira’s exposition of the ten kings, trat most of all of tfie 1TQgg	How coulJ ־disembodied souls reign with
Christ during these years as .victors over Antichrist if Antichrist did not arise till the very end ? Hey sought
349
SARDIS
tQ solve this difficulty by referring the fulfilment of Revel a-tion 20 : 46־ to the endless reign of the saints (p. 859). In 1604 there appeared in Rome “ Seven Books Concerning tbc.,,A1ttídl£Íst ”, composed by the. Jc.arqtfi, ^Spaniard,¿ (ΐϊι. Malvenda¿ considering all former statements oi| tnis subject, and freely criticizing Ribeira’s. Juturis _scheme. .
The works of
putatio־ especially ms;

ated׳:
d Ribemk. caused at once tt T^ela mo us 5_d to write a commentary,
Revelation of the.Apocalypse He dedi-
it to the ~ΊΗοϊν".of Brittanyl Germany and France ”, and on account of its forcibly ityTe îrhecame so popular that Jour editions were issued 16001644־). In printing it he msertea־^pp.j6126;24־) no css than sixteen chapters to refute “ that counterfeit Antichrist. whonLBellarmine describeth After Bright:־ man, moved, by pity for all those “ who still worship that1 papal Antichrist as God ”, and in order to save them had “ set a clear torchlight of truth before them ”, in his comments, he also carefully reviewed every one of the sixteen objections urged^bv^.Bellarmine, amL.then,.at the last moment, Ribejra’s workjel].into his hand—a commen-tary on the Apocalypse by a Jesuit ! This^ roused Bright-jail’s indignation against the Jesuits*. thus mdTcaJed in his preface: “For when I had perchance lighted'upon Ribeira, I said: It is even so, do the papists take heart again, so as that book which of a long time before they ,would scarce suffer any man to touch, and are now to jtake in hand to intreat fully upon it ? What ? was it [but a vain image or bug, at the sight whereof they were yvont to tremble a few years since even in the dim light, that now they dare be bold to look wishly upon this glass in this clear sunshine, and dare proclaim to the world, that, any other thing is pointed at in it, than their pope pf Rome ? Ojye sluggish and lazy creatures,mf we suffer jta” He continues on Revelation 1 : 3 (pt jk$>f־his com-inents) “ Indeed Ribera thrust his whole prophecy almost in these straights,'“ wi5־ely'lrídéed to save his pope’s head, but as touching the truth exceeding perversely. For why were men that lived by the space of these 1,^00
350 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
years which are now past since the writing of the Apoca-lypse, altogether devoid of that felicity ? ”
7 He interpreted the j>even Ghurches as so many ,periods, ,applying Thyatira to the Roman Jezebel, Sardis to the Lutheran, Philadelphia to the “ Reformed Church of Helvetia, Suevia, Geneva, France, Holland, Scotland”, and Laodicea to the Church of England, beginning from 1547” (P* 109125 י)· On Revelation 13 (p. 420) : “This beast has a double place, whence he ariseth, one out of the sea, and another out of the earth ; he hath a double power, also, civil and spiritual. . . . Which double tyranny is most clearly to be seen in the pope of Rome alone, so that he is both the beasts.” He fully believed that the papal Antichrist would utterly perish in 1586 or thereabouts. As to the image, he thought that the papacy, in making itself like God, made itself an image of God, and demanded that it be worshipped as god, and whoever did not worship the papacy and receive the mark of his servitude, should be outlawed (pp. 456460־). The three messengers of Revelation 14 : 6-12 were first, Wyclif, then Huss and Jerome, and last Luther “ who began to traduce the Antichrist openly in 1517, \vho detested this execrable plague of the world in a more sharp and rigorous manner. ” (pp. 47.7480־
Brightmànי re|g^g^th¿Jd,e^.4h^4 r6j^^were so man) years, and quoted Numbers 14 : 34, and Ezekiel 4 : 6 as proof־״Ter־־■the yëaf-day', which" he applied accordingly throughout., peculiar to him is the idea of a^ double millen-nium, the(fir£& from 304-1304, and the second since. The first rHufnrction “ belongeth only to those who, forsaking TKe Romish synagogue of Satan, become the true citizens ·of the reformed Churches ” (p. 823).
'	*he Jesuit Wkasar^. another Spaniard, made a
.new afFempt to interpret* the Apocalypse on the ^reterist ’scheme, writing a folio of 800 pages. However, he had Something greater in view. Hofmanft had iaterpretecL the New Jerusalem as the Baptists; Brightman intimated it jjdTe'''îKë‘'"Rëforn1ed Church, and why should not a Jesuit npply it to the Roman Church, and thus subvert the very ;testimony used by adversaries against the Church and its head ^to a testimony in its praise and glory ? This
351
SARDIS
Alcasar attempted ^.accomplish. The very title, “-Detec-tion ofjLheJ^den.Sensem the Apocalypse ”, is significant. In the preface he states that the Spirit wished “ to bring a choice conundrum to light ”—the glory of the primitive Christian Church and its two-fold war and victory over the Jewish synagogue and paganism. Theise^>rdggcribed the progress of the Gospel until the rescueof the Christians from Jerusalem, the ptiTfipgtft the judgments on fallen Judaism, and the tvvo^rffffes^'are^symbols of Christianity arîsîngwith newgi^ry arrd'cdnverting many Jews. Accord-ing to ;]tercié	ÇJkttrçh was to
bring forth" thé'Géntile-Christian, especially that at Rome, which stirred up Æé dragón^ 'wrath the most. The first' beast of Revelation i\ revealed thepersecuting spirit נ of
the great vaunt
־TjTwTncKTTI^	KSF^ationlY referreT’tcTa
“ mystical burning ofiT^me ” ;	18 to the joy
evinced at its conversion to the Catholic faith, and Revela-tion 20 to the long millennium of peace since the days of Constantine. In fulfilment of Revelation^¿ the Roman Church would, after the fall of Antichrist, be manifested as “The New Jerusalem״, the bride of the Lamb״, “ the New Rome ”, “ the Queen ״, to which all Churches, would subject themselves. Thus a wonderful light was breaking forth out of the dimness of the Apocalypse, also revealing the deep hidden and correct sense of job, the Song of Solomon, and the Psalms concerning the great-ness and glory of the primitive Church and its primate at Rome. Seeing that Rome, the ancient head of pagan idolatry, had by a wonderful vicissitude been changed into the glorious metropolis of the Roman Church and of its head, and should always remain in the height of honour, he humbly dedicated this “ Detection ״ of this secret sense to_ her and to her pope, Paul V.
alcasar himself admitted (p. 5) that the Jesuits j'SalmeroiTand Henteniua formerly held that the Apocalypse י [ described the defeat of the synagogue and pagajuaej, but (nhad bppW it was writteiybefo^the ^estrucdqn^of Jerusalem. Alcasaf^who placed the'wnting 101 Revelation afterward, wasTully^aware that in contesting ־the “application of Revelation 13 to the Antichrist, he^
352 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
2a&ana^yb< over it.
contradicted the. Fathers, differeddrom¿
׳and Le hadjl. sharp battle Ayith ]V^y^ndfh^ prophetic jimçjrieaiit to him^,!fiuTnr^ûî,..tin1c ” (p. 657). PigQjj^rmnpg·	^ w4LflQ Ribeira’s and Vicgas’
conception of the^hrst resurrection,' he made it,a mystic ; representation of m^‘ttîW?^fî^r^the Church “ which was l àîîGgT)f	^e ffefêtTed’t 6 that fîmc when idoTatry w as
I swept from the orb ” (p.
^ Another Jesuit, Tuan d^Æariana^Ninterpreted the fifth yumpet^tp^ pe^ptF^r^tK^two'whiîésses to be Peter and ^auT, during the Neronic persecution, and the healing of the wound of the beast the myth of the revived Nero^
î(gousset, p. 94). The Jesuits, who had laid.¿pejci^l stress; iuponTne difference odstin^	expositors,ï
|diffêfcd^anci , w.ajxed, ampngl.vil^mÎSves. JMalyenda’sj xritiasm in his enlarged edition (1621) on “ Antichrist ” (1,333) best illustrates how AJcasar’s “ Detectionיי impressed him : “ This is that excellent and wonderful product out .׳of the Revelation, jieywit&weJL.before, seen or Jicard of,‘ my.ented by״.himseli anO^visAd».,created and. formed in' ^r^*or more years : a mighty, gigantic commentary, ·poorly expounded, supported upon very many pillars,’ which often of themselves tumble down or through w hich interpretations of various prophecies of the Apocalypse accepted with almost universal accord arc frustrated. 0 father Alcasar, delight thy soul with it, for, I do know, that you will certainly not convince me.״ Malvenda ^ rejected his misinterpretations of the beasts in Revela- י t.ion 13 to-pagan Rome, and would not even discuss his jpiost absurd babblings about the first resurrection ancLthe fécond death
Γη i^27,d^ornelir^xiJLapide^ne of the-most-pLalific Jesuit wTitersTaJsojmbli^	on Revelation,
fοΤΓολ^ίΓκΗΈ	en a and Viegas^ He* too, censured
Alcasar, jor asserting without npj£&L, and making use of the sffleeoricai interpretation to evade historical- truth. · To hkirrin^Ta considerable part of the seals, trumpets and vials belonged rather to the future than to the past. The first beast of Revelation 1.3 was indeed Antichris^.nnd,the se£fmd hk^assUtant. Alcasar’s explanations were cunningly devised, but did violence to and distorted the text. Love
353
SARDIS
and reverence for the papal chair were probably the motives that prompted this misinterpretation. But whilst “ I laud its spirit and aim, I cannot laud the matter itself nor the means employed ” (Comm, pp. 810־).
Notwithstanding all this, Alcasar's “ Exposition of the Apocalypse,” in spite of its defects, and the criticisms of famous Jesuits, has asserted itself because it lauded the Church and its primate. And, in spite of the many Protestant protests,
foothold among Protestagts^Boussei (p. 94) even asserting i “ With Alcasar begins thesaentmc* exposition of the' Apocalypse.״	i
LIX
JAMES I (WHO PRIOR TO 1603 WAS JAMES VI 0F SCOTLAND) SENDS^^KIS EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE TO THE EUROPEAN RULERS
Queen Elizabeth had a great deal of trouble, not only with the Catholics, but also with strict Puritans, who, like most of the Scotch, looked upon the privileges of the bishops and the ostentatious liturgy of the state Church as remnants of the Antichrist, from which the country; needed to be purged. The Scotch Confession of Faith (1581) declared : “ We expressly detest the sacrilegiously assumed authority of that Roman Antichrist against the holy Scriptures, the Churches, the political magistrate, and men’s conscience.״ In this persuasion did the Scotch rear and train their young King James, born of Mary Stuart (1566). To assure to himself the throne of all Britain, he formed an alliance (1586) with the childless Elizabeth against Spain and married a Danish nxmcess.
In í¿88 James I wrote his paraphrases^
“ The’Ëpistle to the"ChürcîTffiîitant ״. He foundliteYthe grasshoppers were the different orders of monks, their kiftg, the pope. “ The pope is the plague for breaking the 6m table ; the Turks for breaking the second ״ (Opera, i. 26). Révélai ian^	« explained: “ The pope’s., jisjjagí-
caused the ruin of the.fgurik^Qiiarghy,״ and he rules the' worGTFy his legates (p. 39). Then, on Revelation 1 *ןj fi The faithful praise God for the pope’s destruction, and
A3
354 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
ijieir deliverance.״ Revelation 18 :“The pope by his pardons juahCrS merchandise of the souls of men. Heaven and the saints rejoice at his destruction ״ (p. 57). In his “Fruitful Meditation״ upon Revelation .20 : 7^,8, he declared that “ Satan, having been restrained Jor a long space by the preaching of the gospel, at last is loosed out of ) hell^ by tjie raising up of so many new errors and. notable : evil instruments, especiálly the Antichrist and his .clergy, TwKo not only infect the eàfth'ânew, but rule over the whole 12 Thess. 2:11, f., p. 75). The papal Antichrist is signified v by the pale horse* by the king of the locusts, by Babvlon, -■&) the beast out of the sea, and by the woman clad with scarlet״ (p. 77).	“ The pope, calling himself universal
bishop, usurps Christ’s office, plays the part of Apollyon, he has ruled these many centuries, and sent out lately Jesuits, his last and most pernicious vermin, to stir up the princes of the earth, to league them together for his defence and to root out all who profess Christ truly.” “ Whereas the Turk was under bloody wars with the pope ever before, is there not of late a truce among them, that the faithful may be the more easily rooted out ! ״ Are not the enemies in France, Flanders, and Germany presently assembled against the saints ?	“ And what is prepared
against this isle ? Do we not daily hear, and by all appear-anee and likelihood shall shortly see ? Now may we judge if this be not the due time for the revealing of this prophecy ״ (p. 78).
In 1599 he based his instructions to his son in his “Royal Gift” on Psalm 127: 1, but declared that the Puritans were the sum and substance of all evil. “ What more befitting method of executing them can be invented for them who despise obdurately kings and laws, and thus would rob the wT0rld of the sun, as the giants fight with God ? ״ During the God-wrought Scotch Reformation, many things were done by popular tumult. “ Some fiery spirited men in the ministry got such -a guiding of the people ״ that they made a democratic form of govern-ment and “ leading the people by their noses, bore swTav of all rule ״. As a preservative against such poison his son should elevate godly men to bishoprics and cherish them, but hate none more than the proud Puritans, “ very pests in
355
SARDIS
the Church and Common-weal, making their own imagina-tions the square of their conscience The great diseases of the Churches were “ pride, ambition and avarice— they wrought the overthrow of the Popish Church in this and divers other countries” (p. 159, f.). On account of ^this last statement the pope placed the book on the Index.
James, as King of Great Britain (1603-25), favoured the Anglican Church, suppressed the Puritans and disappointed the Catholics. Some Catholics, instigated by the Jesuits, conspired to blow up the ruler and parliament (Nov. 5, 1605). This “ gunpowder plot”, frustrated at the last moment, implanted a deep antipathy toward Rome in the hearts of the English people. James adopted drastic measures, and forced the Catholics to take the oath of allegiance, denying the pope the right to dethrone kings and to absolve subjects from their obedience. Blackwell, the Catholic arch-priest of England, yielded to this oath, but Paul V condemned the oath in two breves (16067־), and Bellarmine in a third document accused Blackwell of having denied Christ just as Peter did.
Upon this “ triple-knotted trunk ” James at once placpcUhk-“ ,triple wedge ” (Opera i, 237341־).'
\Bellarmine ansvYeied^lhe. joyal refutation under the pseudonym “ Tortus ”compared the king to Julian thr^appsiate^ and made fun of his awful Latin. Jantes,■ malang short work of it, sent his~ ^Trcmomnon ” ( 16001 to Emperor Rudolph and all the rulers 01Christendom, through his legates, and addressed thexn “ as our loving brothers, cousins, allies, friends ”.	a tGermanj;ranslation ap- ’
peared. As defender of the true Christian faith, sealed with the blood of many holy bishops, he urged them to action :
“ The cause is general and concerneth the authority and privileges of kings in general, and all supereminent temporal powers.” “ Awake then while it is time, and suffer not, by your longer sleep, the strings of your authority to be cut one by one, which by your united forces would rather make a strong rope for the enemy to hang himself on, with Ahitho-phel ” (Opera, i. 287292־).
In the past, kings had installed and removed popes, but meanwhile they had introduced pernicious doctrines, exalting themselves as sovereigns of the world in the place
356 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Λ)ΐ Christ. Time!. seat, andjperson _ 0L thia .Antichrist arc *the chief ^esrio^	we ,!differ, nnd concerning
'thèsè-w£ ffius^-eeftreh the Scriptures for our resolution.
Thessalonians_2 ; Revelation 13 ;	17 ;,18^^^ doth
clearly^and undeniahly declare that Rome is, Tn^alFbe, the seat of^that^ Antichrist ”, which, in fulfilment of Revelation I !.has become a second Babylon, Sodom and Jerusalem through the spirit of Tts ^pef§־êlCUtion. The prophetic times of Antichrist arejjikn jhe seventy weeks, flcn extended period, so that thoLi^c¡ davk {Wwa,1־n ^the very^end of the world. vWSnan Rome became sprrupted^into an^Ardicîînffîân. That deadly wound, which the Goths and Vandals gave Rome, shall be cured in that head or king, the Antichrist, who shall reign for a long space. Rome was to,have, according to Revelation
י KingsA ..tonaufe,
fdictators? *decemviri and 5military tribunes were past in Uohn’s time, ^emperors ruled, and there followed after their !removal to Constantinople an ecclesiastical rule of the r bishops for the space of 276 years. Yet, this was but short ¿in comparison to..the long reign of Antichrist (not yet expired). The ¿mhth form is the Antichrist by his absolute-ness, and yet the seventh, because he seemeth but to succeed to the bishop in an ecclesiastical form of govern-''ment, though by his greatness he shall make Babylon’s empire in glory like to the magnificence wherein that great city triumphed when it most flourished (p. 319). This Antichrist ms plainly describediaurrim£St in Revelation- -6; 9;	13; 17· After the wounding of this head by
Goths and Vandals, this head had newly arisen as the beast out of the earth, in the corrupted papacy. The mark in the forehead was the outward profession and acknow-ledgment of their subjection unto the pope, the mark in the right hand the actual implicit obedience to him, who they think cannot err, though he should command them to rebel against their natural princes—like that blind obedience whereunto all Jesuits and Romish priests are sworn. The pope also taught one should not believe a heretic nor keep the faith with him, but “ to have one thing on your tongue, another in your heart ”. The numbex.666> i.e. Lateinos was well suited to the Romish ,✓׳faith and to its Latin service.
357
SARDIS
Revelation 16 : 13 ff. was being fulfilled now. “ These spinTCmdeed, thus sent forth by this threefold authority for the defence of their triple-crowned monarch, are well likened to frogs ; for they are amphibious, and can live in either element, earth or water ; for though they be churchmen by profession, yet can they use the trade of politic statesmen ; going to the kings of the earth, to gather them to the battle of that great day 01 God. What massacres have by their persuasion been wrought through many parts of Christendom, and how evilly kings have sped that have been counselled by them ; all the unpartial histories of our times do bear record. And whatsoever king or state will not receive them or follow their advice, rooted out must that king or state be, even with gun־ powder ere it fall. And these frogs have reason indeed to labour to become learned, thereby to dissipate that gross mist of ignorance, wherewith the reign of Antichrist was plagued״ (p. 324). As to the ten kings^jA,.^^^igl 7 and Revelation 17, the certain number stood for an un-certain one. “ Therefore I take these ten kings to signify all the Christian kipsA.mdircg princes,, even you to whom 1 consecrate these my labours, and that of us all he prophesieth, that although our first becoming absolute and free princes should be in one hour with the beast ; and at the very time of the beginning of the plant-ing of the Antichrist there, and that we should for a long time continue to worship the beast, having one mind in obeying her, and kissing her feet, drinking with her in her cup of idolatry, and fighting with the Lamb in the persecution of His saints, at her command that governeth so many nations, yet notwithstanding all this, we shall in the time appointed by God, converted by His Word, hate the whore, and make her desolate, and make her naked, by discovering her hypocrisy and false pretence of zeal ; and shall eat her flesh ^jæeH^urn her with fire ” (p. 325 f.).
The learned Jesuit^^^ig^ urged by the pope, wrote a large work'( 16i 1Al3efend1n^ne supreme rule of. the pope over kings, and exposing the errors of the Anglican Church. The pope praised his work, but James had it publicly burned. Cardinal Peronnc also stood up for the papal rights in Paris (1615). Then James defended in new counter-writings the royal rights.
35^ THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Quite a number of exposition \yere dedicated to the royal commentator. Lord John NapieKafter a five years’ study dedicated “ A plain Discovery ot the whole Revela-tion ” to James I (1jjj3). He prayed that the king do justice to his^godly subjects, and reform the universal enormities of his country, first of all in his own family and court. Several editions of this appeared, and it was fltalso translated into French, German and Dutch. He believed that*the sixth trumpet Began in12^S with Othman.. _At the comme^ncemenf 0T^g.^ynth.(1.541) Q6ïï'"stîrred 1׳lip Luther. Calvin, etc., and in this seventh age of the spirit, the three ,messages began to ,bt^.gomded (p. 178). Xhc.,paf^xjyould fall in 1639,
(ÿftg^d to sound ; the end of the wobld would come about ^688jaccording to lohm and about 1700 according to Daniel,after thpjbjrd angel had^p^jg^its work.
In 1605 the^owiss^heologian^ K. Graseÿ, dedicated his “ Royal Plague JJ (referring to the^slxTh vial) to James I. tven in the title page he emphasized that this most !ysterious prophecy had been fulfilled in the sudden fall of the Roman Church, and was daily fulfilling in the most striking manner. It was the solemn^jhit.y ,.of the Church, imperilled by the raving Aptichrist, to call attention to the destructive powers symbolizedin the vials, and since the evil had reached its height, the w׳orld was ripe for this plague, and the Revelation was the only effective remedy ! for it. The Jesuits, imagine^^a^ jhe^ Roman Church, reformed by them, w׳as the fifth'monarchy of the saints (Dan. 7 : 27) but m reality it was only the beast which had ! come up dïïfof the earth. The false prophet, and the Jesuit fighting-spirit only hastens the day of wrath. He then tried to show from Daniel and Revelation through a dialogue between Daniel and Eusebius that the three powers predicted in Revelation 16 : 13 f.—the dragon, the beast out of the sea, and that one out of the earth—were notv on the stage of action, and that the Jesuits were their host (Plague, ^2,38).
In 161 ς, théjrench theologian, M. Cottiére, dedicated his continued and demonstrative “ Exposition of Revelation ” to James I. He believed that.Satan wra.s w7hen the restored truth of the Scriptures dispelled the dark
359
SARDIS
mist of lies, and when the witnesses were raised up. Ex-tending the millennium from that time and onward, he reprimanded those expositors who placed the end so near.
Bishop WL Cowper of Galloway published (1623) a commentary '^]3atmos 77, in which he declared (p. 991) that the Bishop of Rome, as the opposite to Christ, sought all means to close the book which Christ (Rev. 10:2) had opened, as the papacy had kept the Word in a tongue unknown to the common people, and cruelly killed those who possessed it. He mentions an interesting fact that John^4^G^^U§^resented his discourses to the King of Spain (1610) and by advice then had them published in Amsterdam (1616). In his preface to his works, the bishop comforts King James I : “ Let Abaddon, the king of locusts, that Romish usurper, rage ; unto the Lord belongs the issue of death.״ The Apocalypse, at first depreciated even by some of the Reformers to their own hurt, had, after its evident fulfilment had caused it to be better understood, become a most effective weapon in their hands. The Jesuits, on the other hand, tried their best to turn this testimony of Jesus into the favour of the Roman Church. Hidden and disregarded for a long time, its prophecies now not only resounded among many tribes and peoples, but one of the most powerful of the kings of earth esteemed it his solemn duty to circulate his inter-pretation of these prophecies among the other courts as a most opportune message. The cry of alarm, sounded by the royal commentator at the growing danger of the Jesuits, had become an increasingly strong stimulus to other able writers to sound the warning still more loudly, far and near.
LX
THE CHURCH MILITANT OF CHRIST AND THE HOST 01־ ANTICHRIST
Under this heading an unknown Lutheran artist pictured the sharp contest that wras raging and splitting the world into two hostile camps towrard the end of the Reformation century (1606). ¿,Droysen’s “ History of
360 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Λ11 e Counter-Reformation ” reproduced it (Onctan, W.G. jlii. 3a. p. 432).
Í*' In the upper right-hand corner of the picture is Christ, juoting Matthew 28 : 1830 : 12 ; 20־ ; John 10 : 11 f. ;
ke 22 : 29. On the side are the words : “Few are :hosen,” and below, “ The way to heaven is narrow.” nder the superscription, “ The Host of Antichrist ”, s picpur^jjie^ppe^wit^ the trij^^crow^ ana the ^sceptre jare brota	pulling him by
a chain into jfc^Qpçn hell,.below. The pope, too, quotes |Matthew 28 : 18, but out of his mouth go the words : |T,Lan1 the vicar of the absent Christ,” “who does not !gather with me, he is banished and leaves the land.” ¡ “ I will grant you the kingdoms and the treasures of this world.” “ I am the good shepherd, I kill and devour the sheep.” On the side the words are : “ Many are called,” and below, “ The way to hell is broad.”
Then, there are two standard-bearers. To the right ׳us Michael, with Luke 12 : 32 quoted, and his flagstaff encTsTiTa cross displaying the words, “ In hoc signo vinces”. On the banner and above their heads are the names of patriarchs, prophets and apostles, and then Huss, Luther, jMelanchthon, Bugenhagen* Osiander, Clwtraeus^N^rinus,
etc· Sátan*, half 'mont ana Tialf ¡knight, beare the other banner, behind him are the words : “ My name is legion, and I resist the small flock.” His flagstaff ends in a spear, called “ lancea Longini ”, the supposed name of the Roman soldier whose spear was thrust into Christ’s body on the cross. Behind the banner , are the wOrds, “ The false Roman and apostate church ”. UUpon this banner are the names of the apostates of the !Bible, of the Pharisees, Nero, the names of the Roman Orders of monks and nuns, and then the leading Catholic writers, such as Bellarmine, Baronius, etc.
Bejgw^aut of thelnouths 0Ta number of Fathers, come counter-statements against papal sayings. THusTGregory I is quoted : “ Whosoever calls himself universal bishop is the precursor of Amtichrist,” above the papal claim [“ The pope is the universal bishop of Christendom ”. Still |more striking are some of the counter sayings above. ¿Moses : “ The Lord is God ; there is none beside Him.”
SARDIS
361
Bellarmine : “ The pope is God.״ Daniel and Paul : “ The jjope is the Antichrist,״ “ he shall think to change times and laws.״ Catholic writers : “ The- Antichrist is yet to come,״ “ the calendar had to be changed.״ On the papal side monks are everywhere represented as locusts in accordance with the then current Protestant exposition of Revelation 9.
In this çontestJûLthe pen, untold volumes were filled r¿or^xLjd^agnin^t.the^xhamg■ tha t^the p3jp?r_)^	the -pre־־<
dieted Antichrist, ,]^^¿d^neauj a . French^ theologian,־ reviewed all the propheciesconcerning AwtTchrist (then 15^4, 1583) and pointed out their exact fulfilment fn his answer to the Jesuits. He di^ nffi^feckon the rnilleñ-, mium jrom^Qhj^t, and then ^^^g^yçars. but he bega$
1־^t .Saxam wquI¿ be loosed jז תand tFat tjip papary would then fall (“ De! Antichristo,״ pp. 98, 108).
" ־The-g^tThoroug^ refutations of the Tesuitic, writings came frorQ.^g^QSfikiqi the Htiaelberg University. The Huguenot» Fr.du jpu» Jwhose Father suffered martyrdom, often preacnea tne Gospel in Belgium by the light of the flames in which the martyrs of the Reformed cause met their death. In 1573 he accepted a call to Heidelberg. Here he published.YApocalypse ”, “ with a brief and methodicalexpositimrupon every chapter by way of a short treatise, applying the words of St. John to our last times ״. By means of well-arranged tables he demonstrated the harmonious structure of the book. JH.e computed the 1,260 years from 321292־, the 1,000 years
'loose witïT^f'ÏGM^־ brand (Apoc. pp. 125, 257). In his dedication to Henry IV he asked his assisfancer iff' the great contest: “ Alas ! we see how afflictions fall upon the wOrld in heaps, and, more particularly, how they overflow the kingdom of France with terrible violence like pernicious inundations.״ In 1598, Henry IV restored to the Huguenots their civil rights. In 1603, they declared at Gap, in Art. 31, of their Faith : “ Since the Bishop of Rome has erected a monarchy in Christendom, claiming for himself dominion over all churches and pastors, exalting himself to be called God, wishing to be adored, boasting to have all power ... we
362 THE IMPELLING EORCE OE PROPHETIC TRUTH
r____________________________
!believe and maintain that he is the vcrj^nddirist.and the ! son of perdition, predicted in the Word oí GoiTunder the emblem of a harlot, clothed in scarlet, seated upon the seven hills of the great city, which has dominion over the kings of the earth, etc.” The Bohemian articles declared (1535), Art. 8 : “ Farther they teach that Anti-:christ, that wicked one, is seated in the temple of God, i.e. the Church, of whom prophets, Christ and also the apostles prophesied ”	Confessiones, p. 798).
Art. 80 of the Irish Confession (1615) reads: “ The Bishop of Rome is so far from being the supreme head of the universal Church of Christ, that his words and doctrines do plainly discover him to be that man of sin foretold in the holy Scriptures.” Finally, Westminster Confession (1647) : “ XXV. 6. There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ ; nor can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof ; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth him-self in the Church against Christ, and all that is called God, etc.”
ץ	one of the great lights of the Heidcl
[ berg-Unifro!1uX$84 and attracted many students even iromToreign lands. While this attack was being made ׳on	various writings he summoned all
Protestants to m_ejtda nger. At the first centenary anniversary of the Reformation (1617) he pul forth the thesis : “ Every one in order to be saved must ahove all flee the Roman papacy.” In thirty theses he demonstrated that the papacy clearly bore all the marks which Daniel, Christ, John and Paul gave to Antichrist. For thirty years the Apocalypse formed his chief stud) before he published the results of his study and lectures (1618) in a Latin commentary (again 1622, 1642 ; ¿English, !1644). Starting with Tope Gregory’s affirmation-that “that priest should,, be An tichxist. who styled himself universal ” Pareus declared (Preface, p. 2)· “ that as truth is the best thing, this truth that Antichrist doth now reign at Rome can scandalize none but evil-minded men. Where-fore, thou, 0 Pope, hear this truth and repent, before the hand of the heavenly Conqueror lay hold on thee. . . . Neither let parasites deceive thee, who from the Revelation
363
SARDIS
promise thee the whole empire of the world : one while denying that thou art the man (Ribeira׳) ; another while
who
God’s vicegerent^ yea a God
they feign thee ^
(Alcasar) paint out thychurcn gloriously sitting on a thro^ (Rev. 18), treading under her feet the Protestant heretics with their Bibles. Hearken to Clemanges, a man of ancient creeds ; he showeth what the ^Revelation promiseth thee ” (De corrupt. Eccl. Statu, c. 26) : “ What thinkest thou of thy prophecy, to wit, of John’s Revela-tion ? dost not thou at least think that in some part it belongs unto thee ? ” “ Thou hast not so lost shame as to deny these things . . . read the condemnation of the great whore. . . . Hath not Paul sufficiently noted that thou art he that sitteth in the temple of God as god ? why then shouldest thou not suspect all that thou dost and hast ? Thy two lamb-like horns, keys, swords in thy hand ; the triple crown on thy head ; the mystery in thy forehead ; the image which thou causest the inhabit-ants of the earth to worship, killing them that refuse to do it ; the name and its number : the mass and Latin liturgy : the whorish woman sitting upon seven moun-tains : now oughtest thou not to suspect all these ? ” Then Pareus exhorted the kings : “ 0 ye unwise kings : when will ye understand whom to serve and what ye should do ? when will God put it into your hearts to do his will, i.e. to make Rome, the whorish woman, desolate ? (Ps. 2). He hath begun to put it into the hearts of diverse good kings to do this willingly.” He charged them to beware of the deceitful song of the sirens who denounce as harsh the state-ments “ that so many princes war against the Lamb, follow the beast, are Antichrist’s vassals, that the greatest part of the empire consists of xAntichrist ”. Even if one believes their fiction that at any hour the Antichrist may arise out of Dan, “ what do they but threaten an utter destruction both to the emperor, the Roman Empire and to all Christian kings ? ” “ Now tell me who they are that cast reproaches upon Christian kings ? set their crowns away and menace them with eternal damnation ? ”
He divided the course of predicted history into four periods : 1. The Church, flourishing and groaning under־ Roman tyrants until the peace brought in by Constantine ;
364 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
2.	The Church reigning and rioting under Christian emperors until the rise of the Western Antichrist in Boni-face III, and of the Eastern in Mohammed, six years after ; of this period Jerome said, “ in power and riches she became greater, but less in virtues ” ; 3. The Church, especially the Western, oppressed by Antichrist until the measuring of the temple which began to be accomplished by the two witnesses, Huss and Jerome, and then until Luther, 1517; 4. The Church reformed from popery, to endure till the end (papacy declining).
On page 17 he denounced the “ new stratagem of the upstart interpreter ” Alcasar as “ most idle vanities ”, that vanish when the touchstone (the text of prophecy) is applied to them. On page 216 he declared that only a “ mad man ” could assign the task to the feigned Anti-christ out of Dan to be accomplished during the 31 years : be acknowledged as the Messias by all the Jews, sit in the rebuilded temple, kill three kings and subdue seven others, repair the ruins of Rome, burned by those ten kings, chase the pope from thence, sit there as monarch, blot out the Christian religion from the world, and, in short, subdue the whole world.
As to ,};}1e_leasts of Rev. 1$, he concluded (p. 287) : /“ Tlusjioubl^b^	living both on
'Jaud^nd j^^sigiufied by both beasts, is none other but the Rnmi<dj	clothed with the spoils of the Roman
monarchy anapretended vicarship of Christ, and armed with the sword of Paul and the key of Peter, i.e. with both powers : the temporal to set up and put down emperors, etc., the spiritual to give law’s both to them in heaven, on earth, and under the earth : that Anti-christ . . . doth here come forth on the theatre, who, one while, is clothed in pontificials, another while, comes armed into the council with imperial ensigns, saying, I amCæsar.”
Thc-I^óovears extended from 6061866־, but might be shortened.	ί^οοό ended in 107^. “ at which time
׳^Gregory VII, a"SîïïtTolicaPJuggler, invaded the papacy by ! most wicked arts ”. Of Rev. 20, he said (p.. 506), “ The Lmore I think upon it, the less I find how to untie the knot rthat hath troubjéd¿o many ”.
In 1611, R/ Eglin,;who had lectured on the Apocalypse
SARDIS
365
in Zurich (1597-1602), published his “ Clear and Apt Solution r . He dedicated it to the King of Norway. He was fully persuaded that the last day predicted in it would be nearj^Ll^e^end of the 1.260 years. 16j "
J.^Winkelmann, court preacher infiçsse, refuted Bellar-miners'1arguments in his Apocalyptic Commentary ,of 1592 (also 1606, 1615). Only a blind man would miss seemgtne papacy in Rev. 17 (Apoc. p. 392). While the Jesuits pointed totheir great missionary activity in Asia and America, he could refer merely to a few emigrants in Brazil. His only comfort was that if the Jesuits converted the heathen to Antichrist and Baal, their converts would at least be baptized (p. 182, f.). On the centenary of the. Reformation he preached that Rev. 14 : 6, f. was fulfilled in the preaching oï^^
failed^ thisK everlasting Gospej wpuld.be proclaimed until
ChristT advent^	not far off ”·
The noted poet¿Th. Nicok^, chief pastor in Hamburg (d. 1608), wrote a “Tfiftírtofy Óf Christ’s Kingdom ”, setting forth the persecutions of the Church and how long they were still to last according to the prophecies of Ezekiel, Daniel and John. It was published in Latin (1557) and a( German translation.... appeared, .simultaneously inj^gveral phTces." He found that a new spirit was given therlmage״ of the beast as it lauded the progress of the Roman Church in America, India, Japan, China and the islands of the sea as “ divine testimony and miraculous work This had t lately been done by Maffáus of Rome to the Bishop of Augsburg. No one was tolerated by the inquisition, in this virgin soil, who did not have the mark of the beast (Rome) (Kingdom, i. 119). His computation of the time for the Lord to come 16,70)־) he based on the fact that th^ 1,260 years from the burning of Rome ,by. d^ÜQith¿. .would end at that date. The^oopxçgrsjheg^	:
, £20, ended in,1j2Q,VTrSatan was then let loose in the large [swarmZnLIocusts (to whom the Calvinists belonged) for י , five months, or 150 years, ending in 1670. In Rev^-1j_ it was stated three times that in one hour God’s judgmej^-had come. . The first hour had cornel^ ISO tfitn tne iiesÎïuc^
_______________
tion gLtheSpanish Armada!, and the Second in 1629״wmtíd probably bring a great persecution to th^^
366 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Through Rome, and tho^fiqal hour would end the world, tpicolai.ako mention^Lusa^ computatimi ^thcyXubilecs as proof that the ena wôïïWxome aboutaoTgw The papal Antichrist would perish by the Spirit of thcWord proceed-,ing from the mouth of jesús ; Islam would perish by fire. “ What mightier arm could have been invented against the papacy than the art of printing, which alone made this .literary contest possible ? The flash of powder and the great noise of its explosion surely typified lightning and thunder. Germany as the inventor of both arts shall surely with God’s help overcome the abominable Moham-medans by powder, as it settled the proud papacy bv the aid of printing.” He did hope that Germans might, in the main, fulfil Rev.17 : 16 concerning Rome (Id. ii. 333, f.).
AfteiJhe-had written his thesis for the doctor’s degree— “ On the Two Chief Antichrists, Mohammed and the Pog¿”, he wrote (1609) a large work about. Antichrist, in reply to the attacks of a Jesuit.
Fully convinced that Daniel’s prophetic periods marking the time of the end were expired, that the midnight hour of God’s judgments had come when “ time should be no longer ”, Nicolai composed the “diamond” of advent hymns, his alarm call :
“.Awake! awake! the call is flying,
From watchmen on the ramparts crying, Awake ! awake ! Jerusalem !
While midnight hour is prevailing,
These voices clear all souls are hailing : Virgins, where are ye, virgins pure ?
The Bridegroom comes ! awake !
The wise their torches take !
Halleluja !
Haste to prepare The feast to share ;
The time has come to meet him there !
Zion hears the watchmen singing,
Their hearts with joy and rapture springing, She wakes, she boundeth from her gloom. Comes her Friend from heaven all-glorious, In grace, how strong ! in truth victorious ; Her star ascends, her Light is come !
Appear, thou crowned One,
Jesus, God's only Son !
Save us, O Lord !
We follow Thee Till heaven we see,
And at Thy banquet sup with Thee."
367
SARDIS
LXI
“ TRUTH CRUSHED TO EARTH SHALL RISE AGAIN ”
The long war of the pen concerning the fulfilment or non-
Í !fulfilment of prophecy jihgut An^chnst finally gave vent Ito the most destructive religious war. the world had ever !witnessed. This war Tasted frοm,-*6T?Tr5^8v It trans-[formed Germany into a desert, an&^he-ewarcffTamine, and [pestilence reduced its population by more than half. In *this armed conflict between the Evangelical Union and, the Catholic League the former succumbed because the Lutheran Elector of Saxony, over-persuaded by .th!< pernicious influence of his court chaplain^M. H0^v joined ; the imperial army. Although Hoë in a püferriï treatise against the Roman Antichrist had strongly emphasized that the jyope met all the predictions of Rev. 13, yet his 4 hatred of the Calvinists led him to find ninety-nine points of similarity between them and the Arians and JjTurks, and so he preferred communion with Rome to thatí |Qf the Reformed. This man had worked for thirty years! Ion his commentary on the Apocalypse, and its 1,000 folio( c pages breathe such violence tLuLevên Profestants termed^ it “ the classic writing of the holy war against the popes ”. In the preface he expresses his indignation that the Jesuits had denounced James I as a heretic, for he had given a very excellent exposition and revealed the nakedness of the harlot to the whole world. But how ihe progress of the Jesuits in the far East had enlarged his vision is seen from / his comments on Rev. 16 : 12 (Apoc. ii. 36) that “ the Jungs¿ of the Eást}5י wereprobably those kings of Japan and other Asiatic 'countries who, deluded by the Jesuits and drunk of the cup of Babylon, would support the papacy and its, lamb-dragon religion. On Rev. 20 (ii. 281) Hoë described the terrors of the “ modern war ” as so terrible that onlyN demons and warriors of Antichrist could have invented them.
Nicolai’s premonitions from the prophetic word that the Lutherans would suffer terrible tribulations about 1620-29 had come true by the unhappy turn of the war ;
368 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
“ once more did German Protestantism seem lost ”. But in the darkest hour a bright star appeared in the North and the Catholic armies were dispersed before the powerful blows of Gustavus Adolphus. In the first Danish exposi-tion (Aabenbaring, p. 150) of the Revelation, N. Michelsen of Aalborg enumerated (1627) Sweden as one of the ten kingdoms and declared (p. 129) that the whole conflict in England and on the Continent turned on the one great ^ question as to,^idiether the pope was Antichrist or not.
In 1622^ A Prd, of Stolpe. dedicated his thirty lectures on “ Babylon״ (Rev. 1719־) to Gustavus, “ the king of the Swedes, Goths and Wends ”. Facts prove that your Majesty and your Lutheran forefathers are “ one of the ^׳most noble and prominent ” among the ten horns that should fall away from the seven-headed and ten-horned papacy and hate the European Babylon and expel it from its countries. Since the angel (Luther) had, according to ¡ÍReV. 14 : 6, been flying in the midst of heaven preaching ^*he eternal Gospel, the Lord had given the king an obedient heart to believe the restored Gospel, abolish all idolatry and worship God alone. The message, “ Bahylon is .fallen ”, ^had then been rapidly fulfilled in all churches of the Swedish ^kingdom. During the reign of Charles IX the locusts from the abyss had flown over the sea to devastate the Swedish churches, growing and thriving in evangelical purity and truth, and to subjeçt-them to the power of their angel Abaddon. But^t]# seal of God was on the foreheads of the ^evangelical Churches, ue. they _held ״tQ the word a.¡]¿ feacraments of God’s Lamb. The Lord didTtherelore^remove [S:he vermin, that none was left. The Lord had put it into *nhe heart of the king, descended from a pope-hating house, to fulfil Rev. 17 : 12. “ We have seen with our eyes how the dragon opened wide his mouth to devour everything, ^how the harlot boasted that all churches had been forced to fall down before her, to worship her, and to receive her mark in their hand or in their foreheads : yea, how even ran entire kingdom and many glorious principalities were 1Torced to apostatize.” For according to Dan. 11 : 40 ,^Antichrist should for a time invade and conquer the best ^t1£S__c£-the.land. “ But we in Pomerania have experienced one victory after another and must give God the honour,
369
SARDIS
Who was Himself the commander-in-chief and used Gustavus Adolphus as His noble staff.” Athaulf, king of the Goths (410-415), had wanted to level Rome to the ground and erect a new city, Gotia. Only the intercession of his wife, Placidia, saved the city, because, according to prophecy, the harlot should make that city her seat until in the end of time she should be burned by the ten horns (“Babylon,” p. 173, f.). Bengel records (É.O. p. 682) that ybjGraskr of Leipsic preached* scveraT sermons before and afteTÂÎLe^Battle of Lut 7m (1.632) in which Gustavus lost his own life in gaining his glorious victory over the papal army, and sent them to the Chancellor Oxenstierna. They were entitled “ The Impending Fall of the Papacy”. In 16^^, E. Megf^pt^also presented to the Chancellor his own work “The "Final Sentence from the Prophets Daniel and Ezra and John concerning the Fateful Transformation of the Roman Empire on account of the Ecclesiastical States, and concerning the Imminent Happiness of the Evangelicals clearly Explained by Bible texts ”,
As late as jó^^Gerhard.Graven of Hamburg tried to influence the Swedish commahdefin-chief, Count Konigs-mark, by an exposition of the Apocalypse dedicated to him. He described ancient Babylon and its so closely predicted fall and comparedTf^WTtKaT'Foretold of Rome־׳ as the Neo-Babylon. The Jesuits were sparing no efforts to prop ־ up their decaying Babylon, and Alcasar had even comforted the pope that the predicted burning really signified'her conversion and that the harlot would finally be changed into the spouse of the Lamb. The Jesuits were sensing keenly that the Holy Spirit was, as it were, pointing with the finger to the city of Rome and painted it as the seat of Antichrist—in the most natural colours. The Teuton and Gothic tribes under Theodoric, Vitiges, and under Totila in 547, had destroyed Rome on account of her sins, and likewise would the present Rome probably be destroyed as the seat of Antichrist, by the Goths and their allies. Gustavus Adolphus, king of the Goths and Swedes, was a descendant of these ancient Goths. The fortitude of the Roman generals was symbolized inJDainjjJ.^ by the iron claws and teeth, but this might even more rightfully be "said oTthe strong'Horthern Lion. Graven then inter-
370 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
preted the beast out of the bottomless pit (Rev. 11:7) to be the papacy, which had fought against the evangelical Church for a long time and had done its best to spiritually kill the two witnesses—the true Gospel doctrine and the right use of the sacraments—i.e. to abolish and cast them under his feet. In this the pope had succeeded when through violent wars the papists had conquered evangelical kingdoms, many countries and towns. Soon after they had abolished the preaching of the Gospel and the right use of the sacraments, had driven the evangelical teachers and preachers and other staunch believers from their homes and into misery, and had forced many Christians to deny the true religion and to accept the papal super-stition. While great sorrow had prevailed among the Evangelicals on account of the trampling down of the two witnesses, the papists had been filled with joy as was sufficiently demonstrated in the book they published at Dillingen—“ The Conclusion of Peace ”. As to Rev. 11 : II, f., John had looked forward to 1630 when the Lord had awakened the Lion of the North, who had been Divinely aided to clear the evangelical countries and towns of their enemies and also to bring into subjection various lands and towns of the Catholics. In this way the two witnesses had been restored to their former position and had regained their life, strength and practice (Expos, p. 136, f.). Although the papal woe had lasted for cen-turies, yet its cruel effect had become fully manifested in this thirty years of warfare and it would not cease until the antichristian tyrannies of pope and Turk reached their ^end (Id. p. 141). Graven also believed that in 1670 the ] Lord would çome, and he saw in the unconcern of the great j , masses regarding the fulfilment of Daniel, Ezekiel and John j ; the realization of the word found in Dan. 12 : 40 that “ none ;
; of the wicked shall understand ”.
In Octgbe!:^l648x.the Peace of Westphalia was signed, in spite of the fulminations of the papal nuncio against the Catholic signers ; the pope denounced the treaty, in a bull, as in granting heretics the free exercise of religion it was prejudicial to the Catholic religion, to Divine worship, and to the Roman See, he declared it perpetually null and void. Catholic, Calvinistic and Lutheran princes agreed
SARDTS
371
to tolerate eaeh other within carefully defined limits, and to persecute the Baptists and other dissenters. Suppressed evangelical truth had at least triumphed over its worst foe, the papacy.
During the long conflict of pen and sword prominent evangelical theologians bravely faced the charge of heresy and began to discuss a future millennium as a possible source_of hope in such dark hours. The Calvinist, J. T^icat^ who founded the theological school (1592) at HBSSftí, to which great numbers of students flocked from v,all Reformed countries, wTas impressed with the ideas
inter-Rev.
2022־ to jhe^utuye triumphant Church. He saw in Rev^ 20 : 3 the cessation of "all war during the millennium { in v. 46־ the jesurrection of the martyrs at its beginning^ and in v. 79־ the great judgment day after the resurrection of the wicked. Here three things were plainly foretold : -I. The happiness of the faithful who shall live on the earth !for a thousand years unmolested by the wicked after the !־downfall of the papacy ; 2. The singular happiness of the *risen martyrs with Christ in heaven; 3. The miraculous deliverance of the saints from the last persecution at the end of the millennium and the final destruction of the
^bcit^o¿Hesse had advanced in 1528, and lii his Station of the New Testament (1613) he referred
wickecLbv fire fCom. N.T, p.Jkhh
J«Alstead%of Herbôrn,"a ïamous teacher and a most prolinc""^RFîÎer,' adopted and verbally quoted Piscator’s three propositions in his “ Prophetic Theology ” (p. 860) in 1622. Three years later he computed the prophetic times in his “ Triumphus ”, which came out in English ^^1642) entitled “ Beloved City or the Saints Reign on Earth aTnousand Years ”. He" examined sixty-five texts which Tie thought asserted this truth, and answered thirty-five
objections raised against it, and mentioned many authors in favour of it. On page 1 he stated : “ Every prophecy '"bHpre it is fulfilled is a riddle. But when fulfilled, it hath ^típlain exposition and understanding of itself.” The,seals : .he ended in 606, the trumpets in 1517, the vials in 1694 ah y the' beghming ’of the thousand years. The 1,290 years he ' made reach from 69 to 1359, and the 1,335 from 359א ־ 1694 (P* 19)· He died m 1638.
37 2 TUL■: IMPELLING TORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
The Lutheran. G. Heyland. explained the symbols and times of John, Daniel andEzekiel in his “ Historical Inter-pretation ” (1623). Basing the. Jist resurrejaioa^RQO the order established in I Cor. 15 : Ti^rttfiihess. 4 : 15 he Quoted also John 5 : 25 ; 6 : 40, 54 ; Luke 14 : 14 ; Isa. 24 ; Zech. 14 : 5. “ Who can grasp it, do so ” (“ Enerratio,” p. 142). Pointing to all the terribky strife going on during ^the ^fi^ose^j minenniuirr"oT^ugustme, ne interpreted ^Rev. zoto speafe 0TÏÇ no s^uJar^êàHËI^’ca^al kingdom, bun of ¿"1divine,	;׳teelp and -presence
>f His offlïïîpôÎënce, grace, salvation, protection and reign f His saints, which resemble the glorified body of Jesus and His exalted state and majestic glory ”. Since Μάϊΐ:Ύγ': 51, 1. teaches that many of the saints came forth from their graves at Christ’s resurrection, it is neither j absrmd~TiT^i^	that at the time of the
!greatest miraculous event the holy martyrs and other loyal ¡[servants of God come back into life according to the letter f: 0FtKe“texY, appear transfigured to the living saints, and thus aid in the conversion of all Israel (p. 146). Heyland, influenced by Brightman, applied Thyatira and Philadelphia to the evangelical Churches, and Laodicea to the lukewarm Church during the Interim (p. 10).
In England, A^rexham’^ “ Chronological Talent ” “declared in harmony wTtTT: “ From this current year 1622 until 1694 there vaîloegin the preparation for 0k<L Idoou^^IypticaTyears. After they elapse, the war of (50g and Magog begins, and the Lord’s advent to judg-׳ment ” (p. 146^.).
the prince of the Millenarians ”, jpubïisïïecL ms ^1TlavTs in Apocalyptica ” in 162j, and his j Commentâry in 1632. The Clavis (Key) pointing out ythnmutual relationship of the several parts of the prophecy and to the internal evidence which developed the “ syn-chronisms ״ (events coincident in time), and the Com-mcntáry_íün1ishe'd''the historical explanations confirming !these synchronisms. “ He wasjooked up to, and written lofi as a maiialmost inspired for the solution 01 Apocalyptic mysteries ” (Ë.1T.A71v748^JT^Í)r.l^sse^prolocuto7in the ^7cstmmster Assembly of Divines, said in the preface, quoting Dan. 12 : 4 and Prov. 31 : 29 : “ This increase of
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373
knowledge, which the latter times brought forth, appears in nothing more remarkably than in the interpretation of this mysterious book. Many interpreters have done excellently, but Medc surmounteth them all.” “ First do I observe God’s direction of him in the course that he hath taken,” “ by drawing together the homogeneal parts of it, dispersed here and there, yet belonging to the same time In a preface to the Reader, the translator^J^ore, remarked that Mede’s opinion “ grounded upon *jlcw. 2&י howsoever it be not received as orthodox, yet is delivered with that moderation and subjection to the censure of the Church, that it can displease no man ; nor is it contrary to the analogy cf the faith”. His exposition of the seven Trumpets) as Divine judgments in wdiich God made "usFo'fi jthc Goths, Huns and Vandals to destroy the corrupt Western Rome in 476, and of the Saracens and Turks to overthrow th^till-mei^-catrupt Eastern empire in 1453 ו j 0\ י־η7 He counted the five month¡ 830980־ ; and the prophetic tim allotted to the Turks fromQâvis,” p. 104, m).\ He interpreted the first beast of Rev. ז t to be the papal^ secular empire, and the second, the ecclesiastical rule. His' name and number, Lateinos. He counted the1,260 years from the Gothic desolations of Rome. He was/origina his explanation of the three angels, Rev. 14 : tne^rrsf' the early ׳iconoclastic emperors, the second, the Wàîdenses, andj the'third, Luther. In the( vials he saw the (judgment^
■ already in.,prnc.ess of execmion־against the papaTTïïT christ by Wyclif, Luther, Queen Elizabeth, and the fourth vial against the German Emperor, the chief luminary in the papal dominion. While I wnite, says Mede, news is brought of a prince from the North (Gustavus Adolphus) gaining victories over the German emperor, in defence of the afflicted German Protestants. But the most significant is the experience he had in trying to interpret Rev. 20 as given by Worthington in his biography (p. 17). When he first applied himself to the study of	Mede’s mind
was-ftlled with prejudice against the Chiliastic view* of a fuüarc'^MiIlénniúm, and, holding Constantine in great veneration, he tried all wrays imaginable to place it there or elsewhere. But he found himself forced to yield to the
374 THE IMPELLING torce of prophetic truth
light and evidence by the irresistible law of Synchronism 'to place^fârthe end^as״the final conclusion of the world’s; , history^s' the early Fathers had done. He well perceived! ן the contradiction of calling the time' during which'the Mohammedan and papal antichristian cruelty raged against the saints a millennium of peace. He regarded the first /esurrection as the literal resurrection of the saints, fulfilled at Christ’s coming and Antichrist’s destruction ^before it.
Mede’s “Clavis” was translated intoEn^lisEby ffiloim one of the burgesses of the English Parliament, which published it (1641) and thus set its own seal upon the historical, anti-papal interpretation of prophecy and upon this valuable tfwork. Mede first established the important principle that, afor the correct understanding of the Apocalypse it is neces-J^ry._ to/Fx 'tKe oriol ! of the principal visions from the‘ !position they occupy with reference to one another. Their A&mtual relations once proved from the text serve a most valuable clue to their significance. Many theologians adopted his views. Τ11Γ G(5ódwih^ one of the patriarchs of independence, advocated (1639)	and said,
^of the 1a3Ji*lcars that they would reach to the time “ of the futT ana nnat end which shall be the great resurrection |and the thousand years reign of Christ ”. He believed that ^^n״'fh'é''Lófd would reign ׳־with His saints in a world specially prepared, “ called the world to come ” (Taylor, p. 176).'
The Scriptural truth of a future millennium and a literal first resurrection of the saints had risen to new life after some 1,300 years, and it became a canon of exposition in England and was advocated by noted German theologians, in spite of false creeds. Indeed, here, also, the words of the poet came true :
“ Truth crushed to earth shall rise again, The eternal years of God are hers ! ”
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LXII
Cromwell’s “ fifth monarchy of the saints ”
When persecution broke out in the Netherlands (1576) thousands of ־Ontrh F.vap^eiirais and Mennonites found a refuge in England. Here they spread their principles of a truly regenerate Church, baptism of believers only, a democratic Church government under the leadership of Christ their Head, and separation of Church and State. I Under Charles_l__(16251049־) the English government became more oppressive ; this caused the solid opposition. of the English Puritans and the Scotch Covenanters. The King called the Long Parliament; it soon took the reins of government into its own hands, and decided on “ the extirpation of popery, the prelacy . . . superstition, heresy, schism, profaneness and whatsoever shall be found contrary to sound doctrine and the power of godliness”. The Westminster Assembly met with the avowed aim to enforce ; ab^íute*	throughout Great Britain. It*
denounced tolerance as “ the last and strongest hold of Satan ”. While the strict Puritans were quarrelling about proper Sunday-keeping, some Baptists began the observance of the Saturday Sabbath. In order to stop the. ¡rapid growth of the Separatists, the Presbyterians denounced immersion as murder, and religious tolerance as the liberation of demoniacs with firebrands.
A few examples will illustrate the sort of spirits that were at work : H. Burton, rector of a London church, v^as exiled on account of his protest against new innovations. In prison he wrote “ The Sounding of the Last Twro Trumpets ”, explaining (p. 8) the Catholic League as Babylon on the Euphrates, and the Evangelical Union, composed of Sweden, Germany, France and Holland, as the four angels loosed to smite Rome. When, after three and a half years of imprisonment, he was set free by the House of Commons, Burton saw in their unanimous vote the great voice, saying, “ come up hither ”, and preached before Parliament “ On England’s Bondage and Hope of Delivery”. In 1642, H. Archer tried to prove in his
376 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PR(51*TÆtÎc ™TRUTH
“ Personal Reign of Christ upon Earth ”, that Jesus with His saints “ shall visibly.. possess a monarchical state and /kingdom in this	He stated (p. 17) that at His
coming ORrisTvYOuld raise net only the martyrs “ but 1-.ll saints who have died in the faith This kingdom would
;·be set uj^^gj^ar^f t e^	cd
j3apal 'powegr^< Now let us reckon jt ^gó,. .and 1260 and fot maketh\J666,_which as the 1qqo.,jor^shortness’ sake ¡¿enerally^îBipPoÏÏrin such statements, wouTTtJien answer jo 666 in^Rey. y ”״(fl·,46¿ f.|.^ “ The sev^eth^rumpet may ¡¡kegm^pTesémly liter tne ruin of Rom^666^Jand bring in a pure state of churches,” and yet Chmt Wns not to come [and begin the 1,000 year§^tiLjL2Q0Xp. 54). The popular feeling is well illustrated by “ The Glory of Christ and the /Ruine of Antichrist” (1647), signed 13/^t7 0>י It is a dialogue between a minister and an inquiring Christian. The first beast of Rev. 13 is	power, the second
from thg "earth is the Presbyterian Synod ”. Raised up by Parliament, the Synod came out of the earth, and “ there is nothing to be found in his mouth but Gospel Reformation, as if he were Christ indeed ”. Yet he breathes the spirit of the dragon through his persecutions and creates nothing but the image of the papacy by compelling people (pp. 6668־). When popery and prelacy fell, the beast was not, but is again, acting under another form and persecuting. The locusts are the black guard of priests and Jesuits. The ruin of Antichrist would take place before 1700, when with
jjie first resm	.kipg^oms of the earth shall
^ecomc^T!^^^4p>>.73). There was also circulated a germon by Master Th. Goodwin some years ago, “ proving ■that the saints shalThave a "kingdom here on earth, which, *is yct~to come, after the fourth monarchv is destroved bv nheesword of the saints, the followers of the Lamb ”.
Oliver Cromwell formed his army of “ Ironsides ” from men who^wênrpious, resolute, inspired with the ideas of independence and longing to see ushered in the age of Christ’s kingdom : they were men of prayer who smote the royal armies in the name of the Most High. These sturdy warriors astonished the world by their prayer-meetings and preaching services, through their strict discipline, and by singing psalms on sentinel duty or in the throes of battle.
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By 1648 the leaders and most of the officers of the Parlia-mentary army were Independents and some Baptists. The Presbyterians vainly protested against the tolerance exercised in the army, “ the great Diana of the Indepen־ dents and all Sectarians Cromwell properly replied : “ The State in choosing men to serve takes no notice of their opinions ; if they be willing faithfully to serve it, that satisfies.״ Since the Presbyterians carried on secret intrigues with the King, he was taken into custody, the army occupied London, expelled the Presbyterian members from the parliament and the Rump Parliament voted the execution of Charles. CiomweH-^aw “ an appeal to God ״ in every battle, and in every victory a “ judgment of God ”, who ha^.a^pt^^the ’zeal of the Independents as “ thatj3ïj^^	rejected the King whose head fell
in January, 1649.
Λ Republic was declared and CromwflLbecame.Lord Protector ; but he was soon troubled by the “ Levellers ”, who insisted on an equal distribution of power and property, and disclaimed all dependence and subordination.
A petitiomyvas also presented to the Council of Officers, fesking for the establishment of the fiTtK *monarchy, i.e.1 the reign of Christ and His saints^-which, according to ; !Dan. 7: 27,w^ td^perFeTe'The 'fbttr mottarchiesHDf the^ [ancient world CGardine|w i. J2V"־ihT6ç3־ Cromwell dissolved i [the Rump Pa?Uamei1F ana created a new one from the| !Independents, “ who considered themsQlY^s.,<as.J;he s^ixitsl 1called of God to^stabfeh^His kingdom ״. Its sessions' W'cre begun with prayer, and many speeches that were 'enriched with Bible quotations resembled sermons. Crom-well reminded them at the Opening of Parliament of their high calling : “ Why should we be afraid to say or think that this may be the door tc usher in the things that God has promised, which have been prophesied of ; winch He had seT the hearts of His people to wait for and expect ? Wè até "at the threshold and have thought, some of us, that it is our duty to endeavour this way ; not merely to look at the prophecy of Daniel, ‘ and the kingdom shall not be delivered to another people ״ י (Carlyle, iii. 65, f.). ,Lord (c<Beacon Lights,” iv. 99) thus characterizes Cromwell :
\ His favourite doctrine was the second coming of Christ
37^ TlIE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
I and the reign of His .saints¿ the elect—to whom he of course belonged, rfe had visions and rhapsodies, and believed in special illumination.״
The parliament itself declared : “ If we do not err, the whole people of God expects in great suspense mighty changes, which can only be compared with that period, preceding the birth of Christ.” But trouble ensued in this “Little Parliament” when (1653) a majority of its members set themselves under the leadership of General Harrison to carry out a great number of reforms, prepara-tory for the Divine reign¿..	7: 27. “These
preparations, however, which were to go the length of dissolving universities, confiscating church tithes, and superseding all other laws by the law of Moses, were interrupted by Cromwell’s dissolution of the Parliament. ·BuFTKe^preachers of the party kept up its excitement and expectation long after its political hopes had been thus summarily extinguished, the chief of them being Feake and Powell.” The substance of their teaching was “ that Christ was setting up a fifth monarchy in the world ; that a spirit of prophecy had been communicated to the saints ;whereby they were enabled to describe future events ; and that the design of Christ was to destroy all anti-Christian ‘ forms ’, including ‘ established churches, together with their clergy \ Powell is said once to have broken out while preaching into the ejaculation, ‘ Let as go home and pray and say, fC Lord, wilt Thou have Oliver Cromwell or Jesus Christ reign over us ”.’ These visionaries were also strong supporters of the Dutch war, believing that God had given Holland to the English as a c landing place of the saints, whence they should proceed to pluck the whore of Babylon from her chair, amj^establish the kingdom of Christ on the Continent’ (Stougjitori, E.H. ii. 65, 72). But ; the strong hand of Cromwell prevented any attempt to bring about the fulfilment of their hopes, and after the arrest of Feake and Powell, the ‘Monarchy Men’ con-tinued their agitations in a more private manner ” (Blunt, Diet. p. 160).
Roger Williams well characterized General Harrison, a fellow-Baptist : u He is a very gallant, most deserving, heavenly man, but most high-flown for the kingdom of the
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saints, and the fifth monarchy now risen, and their sun never to set again.”
In a long speech Cromwell reprimanded the Monarchy Men and the Levellers for planning to overthrow the TJovernmënVwhïïe~swàrms of Jesuits were overrunning the fcTfîcLto regain it for the pope. Harrison had to retire, but even in the new parliament Cromwell’s dictatorship met, strong opposition. The Monarchy Men did not hesitatej to call him a usurper, the last of Christ’s enemies whose usurpation of the government w7as the only hindrance to the reign of Christ.
Among the questions discussed at about this time wras ' t]^4fiterpretation of Dan. 7 : 8 and Rev. 13. In4654, J. HVfore ;issued two treatises on the two soundings cf the ' tttflBpet, or the “ great mystery of the two little horns ' unfolded, being a candle set up in the dark lantern of Darnel7^. ^ piverse.ixiQJKi^the Roman little horn cf Dan. 7, Were the two English-horns־־of Rev. 13, and, as they had begun to	LÍW appointed time of
refreshing would surely begin the moment they had finished. “ Rex ” added to Cromwell’s .title of “ Lord Protector^’i-wOuld give exactly 666. More striking is the story ofyE§âte, told by himsejTTTT5^6 in the preface to “ John Tïïïïnghast’s Last Sermons יי : *I have been twice imprisoned by the man whom the people call their Lord" Protector. The first time I was apprehended for giving two general observations and nine particular characters of the little horn, £ that day wherein he was proclaimed \ Being called by Cromwell to task, I freely told him that I had not applied them. He accused me that I was an enemy of the Government. I then showed him that I preached against the episcopal, royal, Presbyterian Govern-ment, and so did he. When I heard him vilify those impulses of other saints as from the devil, I kept silent, but was set free after three and a half days. The cause of my second imprisonment was for bearing my testimony publicly against the notorious abominations of the times, wherein the general and his army are so involved. I have been now some nineteen months in Windsor Castle and know not when I shall come to trial.” Feake was confident that this world’s kingdoms were near their end. “ Our
380 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
David ” was about to appear, take the kingdom, and give it to Him whose right it is. “ With what consternation will the proud Nimrods of the world flee before the Lamb and His followers, when the mighty hunters shall be hunted from mountain to hill by the little handful of those who arc redeemed from the earth ? And whither will ye run for shelter, 0 ye tyrants ? Who shall be your Lord Protector in the day when Jehovah’s fury shall be poured out like fire ? ״
The recently arisen “ Children of Light ”, “ People of God ”, created even more general trouble throughout England by their impetuous testimony which they ascribed to the power of the Spirit. George Fox 06241691־), a weaver, after having himself foundpeace oTmind and come to believe that he enjoyed special revelations, began to teach in 1649 that every man naturally has a portion of Divine light in him■—the gift of the Spirit—and that if he would follow this, he would attain unto perfection. He would force himself into the churches, interrupt the services, and when brought before the magistrates, he would deliver his testimony there. He was often beaten and imprisoned, the chief charge being contempt of court, since he regarded it as a deadly sin to uncover his head before men. In 1650 a judge nicknamed him “ Quaker ” and in 1652 one of hie earliest tracts is entitled : “ A Discovery of Truth and Falsehood . . . written from the Spirit of the Lord, by one wrhom the Prince of the World calls a Quaker, but is of the Divine Nature made a partaker.”
About that time Fox joined hands with James Naylor. However, the latter’s fanaticism reached such a height in 1655 that Fox repudiated him and his friends. In the Exeter gaol Naylor had allowed himself to be addressed “ the Prince c-f Peace ”, and when released, he w’ent in triumphal procession into Bristol while his followers strewed his path with their clothes and shouted hosannas. Only Cromwell saved him from capital punishment. Fox had quite a lengthy interview with Cromwell, wiio tried to shield him all he could.
Cromwell had sought to teach the people the principle of religious tolerance, and although it was endangered for a time after his death, yet it finally prevailed. His last
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381
prayer was : “ Go on, 0 Lord, to deliver thy people and make thy name glorious throughout the world.” An old engraving tersely illustrates his grand aim : to seek God’s glory above all else, to pilot the ark between Scylla and Charybdis in safety tc mount Ararat, to tread the Baby-Ionian error under his feet, and to introduce the millennium of peace on earth. He failed in accomplishing that last-mentioned, just as the fifth monarch)׳ men had been unable to fulfil Dan. 7 : 27 on a sinful earth.
The right hand of Cromwell was his secretary, John Milton, world-renowned through his poem, “ Paradise Lost He was a Baptist. When the Presbyterian Parliament decided “ that no book, pamphlet, or paper shall be henceforth printed, unless the same be first approved and licensed by such as shall be thereto appointed ”, Milton made his great speech for freedom of the press. He first reviewed the history of the past, referred to how the Roman emperors and popes had their censorships, branding books as heretical and burning them, and then he uttered what could well be termed a prophecy : “ Methinks, I see in my mind a noble and mighty nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks : Methinks I can see her as an eagle renewing her mighty youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full midday beam ; purging and unsealing her long-abused sight at the fountain itself of heavenly radiance, while the whole noise of timorous and flocking birds with those also that love the twilight, flutter about, amazed at what she means, and in their envious gabble would prognosticate a year of sects and schisms.” He then declared that a freely used press was only “ a lively and cheerful presage of our happy success and victory ”. What a vigorous flow of blood to “ the body is ; so when the cheerfulness of the people is so sprightly up as that it has not only wherewith to guard well its own freedom and safety, but to spare and to bestow upon the solidest and sublimest points of controversy, and new invention, it betokens us not degenerated, nor drooping by fatal decay, but casting off the old and wrinkled skin of corruption to outlive these pangs, and wax young again, entering the glorious wavs of Truth and prosperous Virtue, destined to
382 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC ״TRUTH
become great and honourable in these latter ages ” (Mise. Works, i. 141161־).
In 1655 . a wholesale slaughter of the Waldenses set in. Cromwell interceded in their behalf, and Milton wrote his noble sonnet :
" Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold :
... in thy book record their groans Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold Slain by the bloody Piedmontese that rolled Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans The vales redoubled to the hills, and they to heaven.”
How the number 666 also played quite a role in Russia is illustrated by a striking example. When Patriarch Nicon of Moscow revised the Holy Scriptures and the old ntufgîes^Çâfebut !664), and when Peter the Great, later on/changed the beginning of the year to January instead of September, and favoured cutting the beard, many orthodox Christians believed them to be the predicted Antichrist. They saw in these changes evidept5׳igns “ that the prophecy, which began to be fulfilled idj^66^was now completely realjflgd...ip,,Peter	The Czar wFSPfiT â demi-
god, had the presumption to claim the dignity of the patriarch was surely the Antichrist, and Moscow was the Babylon of Satan. Multitudes of terrified people fled into desert regions. The writer, Talitzki, tried to prove from the Apocalypse by words, symbols, and figures that this view was correct and the Bishop of Tambow shed tears of joy over this explanation. Jaworsky, the vicar of the patriarch, refuted this view in his “ Signs of the approaching Antichrist ”, and Talitzki perished at the stake ( Brückner, p. 277).
LXIII
A REFUGE OF “ PROVIDENCE ” FOR THE SANCTITY OF CONSCIENCE
Chattering birds—that love the twilight—threatened the newly acquired liberties of New England on whose virgin soil a mighty and a noble nation was indeed taking its
3^3
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rise, choosing the eagle with his undazzled eye as a fitting symbol of her vision. In 1620, before the Pilgrim Fathers in Holland boarded the “ Mayflower ” for the rock-bound shores of New England, Robinson, their pastor, said : “ Luther and Calvin were great and shining lights in their times, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel of God. I beseech you, remember it, ’tis an article of your church covenant—that you be ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known to you from the written word of God ” (Bancroft, i. 241).
Although the Puritans had fled from persecution into Holland, and thence had sailed to the newly discovered shores of North America that there they might more freely worship their God, yet they turned persecutors themselves, in their effort to establish a Puritan theocracy in New England with the Bible as their civil code and the enjoyment of civil rights dependent on the profession of the accepted religion. Their preacher, John Cotton, wrote to Holland : “ The order of the Churches and the common-wealth is now so settled in New England by common consent, that it brings to mind the new heaven and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness ־״(Id. p. 293).
There had arrived, before Mr. Cotton came, a young minister, lovely in carriage, godly and zealous, and possessed of precious gifts. He had pleaded in vain with James I, and, as a fugitive from English persecution under Charles I, he had carefully considered the nature of intolerance. He had reached the only effectual remedy— a recognition of the sanctity of the human conscience. No sooner had he landed in New England than he declared that “ the magistrate might not punish a breach of the Sabbath, nor any other offence, as it was a breach of the first table ”. He could not join the Church in Boston, for while it regarded the hierarchy and parishional assemblies of the English Church as a part of the abominations of Antichrist, yet it permitted its members during their stay in England to commune with it. He gladly accepted the invitation of the Church at Salem to become their pastor. However, Cotton did not rest until Williams was banished from the colony in the midst of winter.
After terrible privations, Williams received from
384 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRÜTÍÍ
friendly Indians the grant of Rhode Island, where, with eleven like-minded friends, there was established in 1636 the new settlement, “ Providence ”, ever to be a safe “ refuge of distressed consciences ”. He believed that the “ apostasy of Antichrist hath so far corrupted all, that there can be no recovery of that apostasy till Christ shall send forth new' apostles to plant churches anew He rejected infant baptism and became the founder of the first Baptist Church in America (1639) י later on became a “ seeker ” for truth.
In 1643 the fast prospering colony sent him to England to obtain a charter. During his stay he published his immortal book (1644) " The bloudy Tenent of Persecution for cause of Conscience discussed in a Conference between Truth and Peace ”, giving neither author nor publisher. “'It wras the most telling exposure of the enormity of efforts to force conscience that had ever been made.” It was addressed to both Houses of Parliament and laid down twelve propositions concerning the sanctity of the conscience and the evils of persecution.
Their main intent is : “ All civil states ... are proved essentially civil, and therefore not judges, governors or defenders of the spiritual, or Christian, state and worship ” (p. 1). It is God’s will and command that a permission of the most paganish, Jewish, Turkish, or antichristian consciences and worships be granted to all men in all countries : and they are only to be fought against with the sword of God’s spirit, His Word. Israel is no pattern or precedent for any civil State in the world to follow', and no Government has the right to enforce uniformity of religion, for it confounds the civil and religious, denies the principles of Christianity and civility, and that Jesus is come in the flesh. He continues : “ When the prophets in Scripture have given their coats of arms and escutcheons to great men, your Honours know the Babylonian monarch hath the lion, the Persian the bear, the Grecian the leopard, the Roman a compound of the former three, most strange and dreadful (Dan. 7). Their oppressing, plundering, ravishing, murdering, not only the bodies, but the souls of men, are large explaining commentaries of such similitudes.” “ Soul yoke, soul oppressions, plunderings, ravishings, etc.,
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385
are of a crimson and deepest dye, and I believe the chief of England’s sins—unstopping the vials of England’s present sorrows.” “ All former parliaments have changed these yokes according to their consciences, popish or protestant. It is now your Honour’s term at helm, and as your task, so I hope your resolution—not to change : for that is but to turn the wheel . . . but to ease the subjects and your-selves from a yoke . . . which neither you nor your fathers were able to bear ” (pp. 35־). The whole earth is made drunk with the blood of precious souls, hence these cries “ that men fling away the spiritual sword ... in religious causes, and rather trust, for the suppressing of each other’s gods, conscience, and religion, as they suppose, to an arm of flesh and sword of steel ”. “ God needeth not the help of a material sword of steel to assist the sword of the spirit in the affairs of the conscience.” “ I find the beast and false prophet, whose rise and doctrine is not from heaven, but from the sea and earth, dreadful and terrible, by a civil sword and dignity (Rev. 13:2). I find the beast had gotten the power ... of the kings of the earth (Rev. 17: 13). But the Lamb’s weapons are spiritually mighty ” (2 Cor. 10 : 4 ; Rev. 1 : 16). “ Anti-christ by the help of civil powers, hath his prisons to keep Christ Jesus and his members fast : such prisons may well be called bishops’ prisons, the pope’s, the devil’s prisons. These inquisition-houses have ever been more terrible than the magistrate’s ” (pp. 35f., 170, 226, 236).
Williams based many of his strongest points on the prophetic word and was very clear about its fulfilment. ;There were three great competitors for the crown of Christ: I. The pope, as “ the arch-vicar of Satan, the pretended vicar of Christ on earth, who sits as God over the temple of God, exalting himself not only above all that is called God . . . but over the holy Scriptures, yea, and God himself (Dan. 8: 11 ; Rev. 17; 2 Thess. 2). He claims not only the ministerial power of Christ, to preach, baptize, etc., but challenges the monarchical or absolute power, also, being full of self-exalting, blaspheming, think-ing to change times and laws (Dan. 7 : 25 ; 11 : 36 ; Rev. 13 : 6) ”. “He is the son of perdition, arising out of the bottomless pit, and comes to destruction (Rev. 17 : 2).”
C3
386 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
2.	The civil magistrates, whether emperors, kings, or inferior officers of state, “ who are made to believe by the false prophets of the world, that they are the antitypes of the kings of Israel and Judah, and wear the crown of Christ ”. Three great factions shelter themselves under the wings of the civil magistrate : prelacy, presbytery, and the independent.
3.	The Separatists, separated from the first two. “ Of these, they that go furthest profess they must yet come nearer to the ways of the Son of God : and doubtless, so far as they have done, they bid the most, and make the fairest plea for the purity and power of Christ ” (pp.
.(302־300
“ We find in the tyrannical usurpations of the Romish Antichrist, the ten horns—which some of good note conceive to be the ten kingdoms into which the Roman empire was quartered and divided—are expressly said (Rev. 17 : 13) to have one mind to give their power and .strength unto the beast; yea, v. 17, their kingdom . . . until the works of God shall be fulfilled. Whence it follows, that all those nations that are gilded over with the name of Christ, have under the mask or vizard . . . per-secuted the Lord Jesus Christ, either with a more open, gross and bloody, or with a more subtle, secret, and gentle violence.” All records prove that this great harlot “ hath robbed the kings and nations of their power and strength, and, Jezebel like, having procured the kings’ names and seals, she drinks [herself] drunk (Rev. 17:6) with the blood of Naboth ” (p. 288, f.).
Williams sailed about the time his book appeared, and it was perhaps as well that he did, for in August the Commons ordered the book to be burned by the hangman. Also Sion College manifesto (1647) condemned it. His “ Christnings make not Christians ” was published anony-mously in 1647. New England Puritans not only banished persons for noncompliance with the state religion, but they promulgated a law (1644) that any one opposing infant baptism “ shall be sentenced to banishment ”. A poor man was whipped for refusing to have his child sprinkled (“ Tenent,” p. 18).
In 1647, John Cotton of Boston, the main instigator
3 *7
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of religious intolerance in the colony, attempted a reply to Williams, entitled “ The Bloudy Tenent washed, and made white in the Bloud of the Lambe : being discussed and discharged of bloud-guiltiness by just defense When Williams returned to England (1551) he made it one of his first acts to press a vindication, entitled “ The Bloudy Tenent yet more bloudy by Cotton’s endeavour to wash it white in the Bloud of the Lambe He associated with Milton, and with General Harrison. He returned to America in 1654, was electcd governor, and died in 1683. Attacked by Puritans and Independents at home and abroad Williams could testify (p. 35) of the good effect of his writings : “ These images and clouts it had pleaseth God to make use of to stop no small leaks of persecution that lately began to flow in upon dissenting consciences, and to Mr. Cotton’s own, and to the peace and quietness of the Independents, which they have so long and so wonder-fully enjoyed.”
Within thirty-five years he realized his noble conception of a community in which liberty of Conscience was a fundamental law : “ Here, all over this colony a great number of weak and distressed souls, scattered, are flying from Old and New England, the Most High and only Wise hath, in His infinite \visdom, provided this country and corner as a shelter for the poor and persecuted, according to their several persuasions ” (p. 25).
The conclusion of the Magna Charta of Rhode Island is in these memorable words : “ All men may work as their consciences persuade them, every one in the name of his God. And let the saints of the Most High walk in this colony without molestation, in the name of Jehovah their God, for ever and ever.” Rhode Island’s coat of arms is a bundle of arrows, with the inscription, “ Strong in Love ! ”
Many of the early ministers of the New World were firm advocates of the year-day interpretation of prophecy, and the near advent and the “ millenarian doctrines were, beyond all dispute, favourite doctrines v/ith the ,Fathers of New England ” (Spalding, p. 254).
Their fir£t4^p]^	was probably that of
Ephraim'Huit of Wincfsor, Conn., in 1644, “The Whole
388 THE IMPELLING i^ÓRCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Prophecy of Daniel Explained ”. He taught that the little horn “ intends the Turkish state ”, the three and a half times being 350 years from 13001650־ (p. 187). Dan. II : 37, f. describes the papal Antichrist; their wafer in the mass he denounced as “ the pope’s breaden God He ended the 1,290 years in 1650, the 1,335 m ^95· “ The which time is the same for the end with Ilev. 9:15, amount-ing to 395 years, each day being put for a year, both which add forty-five years to the three and a half times in Dan. 7. Now that these days are to be understood of the prophetical days, each being put for a year ; besides the consent of the tvholc (Ezck. 4 : 6).”	“ A great deal of
happiness attends the Christians at the Jews’ conver-sion ” (p. 355).
“ John Eliot, the celebrated and indefatigable evangelist among the Indians, and the translator into the Indian tongue of the first Bible ever printed in America, held similar views with Huit. He ,was pastor at Roxbury (1631-1689) (Taylor, p. 296).
In 1655 there appeared an “ Exposition of Rev. 13 by John( Cottm teacher of Boston ”, but which was apparently wrítteír׳earlier. For on p. 13 he remarked: “If you reckon from 395, add 1260 years, they will expire 1655.
1	will not be too confident, but about 1655 there will be then such a blow to this beast and to his head, the Pontifex Maximus, as that we shall see a further gradual accomplish-ment and fulfilling of this prophecy here.” He inter-preted the two beasts of Rev. 13 to be the pope ; the first “ as he had sovereign authority in temporals, the second as he had supreme power in spirituals ” (p. 225). Cotton evidently carried the year-day principle through in the 1260 year period, wherein Huit had failed, but both believed that the very last events before the end in about 1695 were due.
Thomas Parker of Newburyport published an elaborate volume on Daniel in 1646. “ He argues for the consecutive-ness and literality of the five universal monarchies in Dan.
2	; 7.” By placing the millennium in the past, he taught that at Christ’s appearing in 1859 the eternal kingdom would fill this earth (Taylor, p. 301, f.).
W. Aspenwell endeavoured in his “ Brief Description
389
SARDIS
of the Fifth Monarchy or kingdom that shortly is to come into the world” (1653) to prove that Charles I was the little horn. Later he went to America. י
W. Hooke of Newr Haven, who later became Chaplain to Cromwell, wrcte between 1640 and 1681 eight works on Prophecy. He observed that hallelujah is never sung in the prophetic strains till the final fall of mystical Babylon, which, according to his “ Discourses on the Gospel Day ” (1676) would take place near the termination of the 1,260 years of papal rule and at Satan’s incarceration (Taylor,
310 f.)·
E. Cheever, patriarch of New England schoolmasters, who wrote “ Scripture Prophecies Explained” (1657) declared in his last will that he died “ in hope of a blessed part in the first resurrection, and glorious kingdom of Christ on earth a thousand years ” (Id. 308 f.).
Increase Mather, the first doctor of divinity in the New World, published in 1668 “ The Mystery of Israel’s Salva-tion ”, in which he defended chiliastic doctrines by a vast number of Scripture citations and by reference to 258 learned authors (Id. 319).
From “ Williams to Washington the path exhibits a continual ascent to the lofty level of freedom attained by the American people. The discovery of the New World was the prelude to the Reformation ; and the completion of the edifice of civil and religious liberty in the New World has been the crown of the new era ” (Guinness, History, p. 164).
When the apostle of religious liberty was driven forth into the fierce snowstorms of a rigid winter to skulk many weeks amid the intricate wilds of virgin forests, to sleep in hollow trees, to be protected by savage Indians and fed by the ravens of the wilderness, it was in grateful remembrance of the protecting providence of God that he named his first settlement Providence, and wrote these expressive lines :
" God's providence is rich to His,
Let none distrustful be ;
In wilderness, in great distress,
These ravens have fed me."
390 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
LXIV
PALMONI OR THE TRUE NUMBERER IN DAN. 8 :	13, I4
The_jnos^ influeryidi׳״'Wi^r of the fifth Monarchy movement was Tohn/Tillinghastj After he emBrachcLthcse Measand was	his living at Trunch in
Norfolk and came to London that he might preach the near_advent in thatjdty, and visit many of like faith who filled the prisons at that time. He died ¿lmrtiy_after (16ςς). The pn^edmg year there appeared from his pen the “ Knowledge of the TimeSy ~ar .the Resolutior^ of jhc Question, How Long it Shall be unto the End of Wonders ”, quoting Darnel 2T8-10 ;	7: 21, f. This treatise was
dedicated to the faithful witnesses of Christ within the commonwealth of Great Britain.
Referring to Mede, Alsted and Archer, Tillinghast argued that the 1,260 ve^rg^could not have commenced with Constantine¡ T>ut iií^gCírom the rise of the papal horn of Dan^. ^ This littleTiorn could not be Mohammed or Charles I, “ but ¿¡s indeed the Roman Antichrist”. ^n explaining the^^æ Uays he declared (p. 130, L) that as they stand “ for..mlhy_ days ” they must Be/a longer epoch than the 1,260, 1,290, or 1,335 days, being 2,300 ‘c years_c0papïetedL The 70 weeks as a lesser epoch werej also comprehended witHirTfhe 2,30ό years as the greater.¡] As was quite natural, in his chronological table he began this period (p. 319) with the first decree of Cyrus, but in error placing"This'"date at 600 b.c., they were to end about 1700. He then assumed the time of Julian the AposSte'Tor the commencement of the 1,290 and 1,335 years, and placed the rise of the papacy about 30 years later, expected the 1,260 years to end about 1656, and the blessed time of the millennium to begih about 1700. Since, he, jJLong with many others, lookëcî lof tfrê^ïplcy to fall in 1656, he wrote :	“ A few days will resolve this
]question anamany more. Should not this consideration ithat the set time of our redemption is at hand work up our hearts to all things, and beget in us noble resolutions to hazard whatever is precious to us in this world, for the
391
SARDIS
sake of Christ, and His now despised cause, which though trampled upon at present, yet shall suddenly arise with power and great glory, and then shall all its enemies melt away before it, as the snow before the sun ; then shall the armies of heaven march forth with the Lord in the lead of them, and the princes shall be afraid of His ensign, whose fire is in Sion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.״
״r	■issued in thrçÆ_jiLm his .“Jzgngration
I Work ,wherein he showed that God had assign I work to spccial^enerations, what the workoHnsg^erationl was, and how each saint might find out what his special! part to Wás,: so־ that he might be industrious to per-* : form it. To this was added a “ Keyto unlock the mystical numbers of Daniel and the KeveTatîon^^ ^téiiHirig t0/ solve the great question of Dan. 12 : 6. On page 151 he declared :	“ The 2300 days of Daniel are the best and
Surest chronology■* of the number 0F the. worlds. y.Q.ars that have passed since the first of Cyrus until the present $ay. The harmony that is betwixt all those m^sücal iumbers we have passed through, is a‘thing very glorious and admirable l^o^ehold.”
ן In 1656 Jeake) printed Tillinghast’s eight “ Last sermons^on Christ, the only foundation, his dom^*the signs of the times,. IpQk to.your anns"an3״ends, etc. In hisv “ Signs ”, Tillinghast gave ejght reasons “ to prove, thaFthe civil and military power is to be in j the hands of the saints, with which they are to break the great image, to overturn the thrones of kings, and to turn their kingdoms to hate the whore, make her desolate and naked and fulfiJ_Rev. 17: 16”. Important is his explanation of. thd^ieg^ars as the longestv pxopjig¿(; -3eriod, including all others, and ending with.the 1,335
4-4;־ייf	ל ־ ־^;·
1656*t!!^e appeared in London “ The sealed Book opened or a clear explication of Revelation, intended chiefly for the discovery to all of that Roman Antichrist, and that Rome’s final destruction is surely at hand, by that blessed work of reformation happily begun in the several countries of Europe ”, by Wm. Guild, D.D. He declared: “Satan was never so bu§y as now, knowing his time is short ; so likewise are his emissaries, those
392 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
locusts (Rev. 9), those croaking frogs (Rev. 16), seeking by all means to uphold their tottering Babel, which notwithstanding is jso jigâx: .tQ^her-final, ruin, that Revela-tion 14 : éJ^JJBab^loñ.i>T.falle^lwilLhe..true.?? On page ;30cpKe remarksTHat tFe reign of the^&aiçts will not be jdn this earth, but in heaven. ^L^dSurham^gnnister at Glasgow, in his “ Commentary	1658) יי),
remarked regarding....tEUheast of Revelation 13 : 18 :
“ He that hath all the characters of Antichrist’s doctrine, and hath a name which, in the numerical letters, makes ap the 666, he is the Antichrist ; but to the pope both ’ these do agree.” His fall had begun at the end of the [,260 years, about 1560, and the vials were carrying on ay steps his casting down and would bring on the flourish-
ing of the Gospel during the 1000 years (p. 727).
Joseph /Farmer¿ of England, wrote (1660) : “ A sober InquiryT ortliTfsrs reign״with his saints, modestly asserted from the Scriptures.” It was republished up 4^45, by J. ^Lillie of Y^k- and praiseaai^^lm, candid and ^CiïrTstlan ”. He says on p. 115 that “ the resurrection ^of the just will, take place .in, the morning of the day of judgment, or beginning of the 1000 years, and is called ‘ this resurrection that the first ’ in the Greek, a singular emphasis to denote some first resurrection known and spoken of in the writings of the prophets and apcstles ”.
The Baptists, having received ample assurance of toleration from Charles II (1660-1685), zealously laboured for the restoration oí the Stuarts. · In their confession, handed the king in 1660, they laid special stress (paragraphs 20-22) onjhe speeci v return of Jesus Un glory (Acts 1 : 9 f.) as King of kings (Rev. 19 : 16), King over all· the earth" (Zech. 14: 9), and ^ we ־shall reign with Him on the earth (Rev. 5 : 10 ; Dan. 7 : 27) ”. “ Though now many men be scarce content that the saints should have so much as a being among them ; but when Christ shall appear, then shall be their day ” (Taylor, pp. 201 if.). In spite of the good assurances of the king, the intolerant spirit of the churchmen, restored to power, soon gained full control of his feeble mind, wdiich was greatly prejudiced by the frantic uprising of thc^.fifth monarchy men in 1661. Under the leadership of׳ Venner
393
SARDIS
they marched, through. Loudon,. carrying.a. banner in-
scribed with	JLIhe LQrd..GQX^n¿.pideon ”,
and shouting “ Long live King_Jesus ”. Their sudden attac^TT^eTpowere'd the city guard, But in the following
struggle many _were..hilled or executed, and thus the
proj ectedJ^fthJ^^	^aaLjend>^|io less
tha!TT,obo dissenting minsters were . driven from their parishes (Γδ&2), and m 1664 the severest punishments were mfliciêd upon"״those attending unauthorized religious meetings.	JohçL --^UByan»־־·· the .xex1Qwned. .^thQr-.-.cf
“ Pilgrim’s Progress’^ which h^d , 2^8 English editjons, arrd-lTar Been Ixai^	twelve
years lh^nsonT^Concerning the millennium, this Baptist ! “TrlncJ of ^l^^iners ” wrote :	“ God’s blessing the?
ÍSabbath day, and resting on it from all His works, was a type of that glorious rest that saints shall have when the six days of this world are fully ended.” The rest remaining in Hebrews 4, “ will be the seventh thousand of years ”. “ God hath held this forth by several other shadows, such as the Sabbath of weeks, the Sabbath of years, and the great Jubilee” (Works, vi. 301). The Sabbatarian preacher James was draggeddram íüs pulpit to Newgate (1661) and some weeks later in a hurdle, after the manner of traitors, to the place of execution. “ His closing exhortations were remarkably solemn and im-pressive, reminding the people of the days of the old martyrs. His quarters were placed over the city gates, and his head was set upon a pole, opposite the meeting-house, in which he had preached the gospel ” (Cramp,
P· 3Ι3)·1
During all these persecutions prophetical research was, continued and resulted in greater.light, as the various^ 1treatises published from Wm. ^Sherwin between ΐ66ς-! »676, prove. Sherwin was appointea’Ttrthe sequestered■ living at Wallington (1645), lectured on tha prophecies, was ejected (1662), and died about 1687. In 1665 his: “ IrenicQii ” appeared, “ a peaceable consideration of־ Chnsrspeaceful kingdom to come upon the earth during the 1000 years”. But many hundred copies were burnt fand lost since 1666, as stated in the reprint of his “ Prod-romos ” or “ Fore-Runner ” (Mai. 4 : 5 ; Matt. 17	11)
394 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
of this kingdom in 1674. In 46^1 and onward his atten-Aion was evidently mrected to the^ 2,390 years as the ^ longest and most decisive period. In his "Scheme of! [ the whole Book of Revelation with a summary loFDafiîers! I visions for the right understanding of the parallels”, he ? explained (p. 6) how Palmoni, or the true numberer, informed the prophet in DameT8 : 13 f., that the sanctuary and host should be trodden under foot during 2,300 years. They were evidently :many_yea‘H> 'f fom the statements in the text, also in Luhe Sr ¡^24. “and Rev. 11 : 2, so that they wouldalso the 1,335, years would encf, counted fronT5&3״? In his “ Saints Rising ” (Jnastasis) he further "says ’(p. 22) : “ This computation of the 2300 years was from the destrj££í¿an..of the temple, and then*the carrying of the Jews captive to Babylon, to their great restoration in Christ’s appearance.” The 70 weeks he commenced to count from the 20th year of Artaxerxes, 150 years later, ending them in thé autumn 'of À.T). 33, which would give him 1,666 years, the 066 in Revelation . 13	18, and the st^p<?§£a omitted 1,000
·years until 1700. From his “Everlasting Gospel” and his “ True News of the good New World ”, we learn that he submitted these statements to the king, “ to Jbç a special alarm to this world ”, which was to last only 20 years longer. He set forth the blessedness of the first resurrection “ decyphered by Christ in Rev. 20 : 5, in a special treatise,” also “ Two personal Comings of Christ ” one at the beginning of the 1,000 years and the other after the little space when the 1,000 years are ended. Sherwin seems to have searched the prophetic word with 1 the aid of Tillinghast’s writings, and obtained still further light on the 2,300 years. The few lines of poetry pre־ sented by H. P. to the little remnant of Revelation 12 : 17 were evidently heeded :
“ London, thou hadst him last in thee He came to die, and dost thou see What pearls of price he left behind ?
O have them, have them still in mind His books thou hast before, and here His pulpit breathings, just so near As broken pen could take them.
Go little book and give a taste (To all that love the Tillinghast)
Of sweetest truths ; and blest let be To Sions' sons his memory."

SARDIS
395
LXV
The gifted bishop, Amos A brethren, as a student had listenec [lectures of ^ste^ at HerhoTn^anc I persuaded thatT the blessed Miîlennîi ' He was ordainec
of the Moravian to the convincing .ad become fully i^uldbegiiyi.li.Qut,
____ ^í-óló. At
Tn^*outbreak of the Thirty Years War his house was pillaged and gutted, his valuable books and manuscripts burned, and he fled to Brandéis, where he wrote his classical allegory, “ The Labyrinth of the world and the
ancTthe piety of the Brethren. Full cf anguish he cried out : “ Almighty God, what is happening ? Must the whole world perish ? The world of justice has ended, the reign of pillage begun.” Some of the brethren “ were cast into the fire, some were hanged, beheaded, crucified ; some were pierced, chopped, tortured with pincers and roasted to death on grid-irons ”. Praying that God would preserve a hidden seed in the old home which would one day form a tree, Comenius set-out with his. flock in 1627, singing hymns on the toilsome way to Lissa, Poland. His new methods made his grammar school there a modeT for the world. This great sense-realist did not teach his students so much about words, but about things by the use of object lessons. To him education was the road to knowledge, character, fellowship with God and to eternal life. The Parliament invited him to England (1641), and later he was invited to Sweden and to Tran-sylvania.	״
Meanwhile,.;Drabik\had found refuge in Transylvania with Prince RakoczyT As he was given to drink and commercial speculations, the Brethren discharged him. Brought to his senses, Drabik pretended to have visions indicating that the house of Austria would be destroyed. Kotter of Sprottau and a Polish woman had had similar visions before. Comenius fell completely under the influence of Drabik, and his study became the centre
396 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
for all the political intrigue in the interest of the Pro-testant cause. There Rakoczy’s agents received instruc-tions to bring about a union between Sweden, England, and Holland in the common cause. Charles X advanced to Warsaw ; in retaliation, the Poles burned Lissa and the valuable library of Comenius, while the revelations of Drabik were preserved in their hiding place.
Meanwhile there appeared anonymously at Elbing [(1664.) " The Opened Revelation ”, the author of which !was recognized to üe ^on^epins. Three periods of suffer-Wg were described : 1. uñder the Roman dragon, 33395־ ; 2. Under its antichristian Vicar, 3951655־—during 1,260 yearn ; 3. Under the third woe"amT the seventh plague, causing the overthrow of the Roman Empire and the binding of Satan, and bringing as a natural result “ a ¿lasting peace ”. The author quoted j^yland, Nicolai ¡·and Mede, and (enHed all periods in ■l6¿?(Ρ·'"ΐ38)· The¡ Hapsburg House, as'the tenth horn, in fulfilment of! ;Revelation ii, had been fighting the evangelical witnesses since 1598, but the war would soon close. Many strangers, seeing the great loss of life and of religious liberty, would take the part of the exiled brethren, return them, and even grant them greater honours. Germany would become evangelical, Rome and the Turk fall, and the Jews converted. Then the papal forces would arouse for their last struggle, to be overthrown by the Lord *as He would appear to deliver His own. Inasmuch as [the author had dared teach a future millennium Lutherans [and Catholics denounced his book as heresy and its author ^as a “ would-be prophet, a will-o’-the wisp ” who was Fso afraid of the light that he did not reveal his name.
1 When, however, Rakoczy opened his campaign against Poland (1657) 'm response to Drabik’s prophetic appeals, Comenius published in Amsterdam a book “ Light in !Darkness ”, similar to the “ Opened Revelation ” but he OTT to this work the visions of Kotter, Poniatowsky and Drabik.^Jt was soon in everybody’s hand : “ One meets it on the ship, in the conveyance, in the inn, and everywhere it is being discussed and its contents judged. It was an open secret that the publisher was A. Comenius, the last bishop of the Moravians, although the book gave
.~1ΨΓ
SARDIS
neither the author’s name nor the place of publication ”
(Kleincrt, p. 649). The contents of the book, so well the spirit of its times, and the world-wide reputation of the great pedagogue who wrote it, explain the tremendous stir it created. In 1659 there appeared a continuous commentary on the contents of “ Light in Darkness ”, in an historical report. In 1663 an extract ancT in 1665 a second edition appeared. Rakoczy was beaten and lost his throne and his life at the hand of the Turks. Drabik, under oath, declared that his revela-tions were of God, and he now applied them to the new prince. Comenius died in Amsterdam (1670). The follow-ing year the Austrians seized Drabik and he lost his head at Pressburg (Id. p. 677).
A yet greater influence was exercised by the writings of cobblerc nohme, - of Silesia. He declared that light had been revealeato him that rapt him into a state of ecstatic rest and thoughts too high to communicate. His “Aurora” appeared (1612) and was followed by similar writings. His ideal description of the returning paradise with its eternal youth and fulness of bliss awakened new hopes and many were influenced to seek the true know-ledge and bliss. One of his followers, P. Felgenhauáfer; in his “ Chronology ” and in his “ Lootó^|fe:OÍ5svW^TI1e !Times ” (both appearing in 1620)ג calculated that the six thousand years were about to end: “I firmly believe !that the world will not last 43 years longer y its end has fqjjfie.” The destruction of Babylon was impending ; the evangelicals boasted of their pure Gospel but denied ;its power so that they were indeed Laodicea ; their ,preachers had one foot in the pulpit and the other at the court of princes or in the town hall. He exhorted all the world, including the cabalistic Rosicrucians with their mystic letters FRC, to seek the Philadelphian uùity.
r agitations also disquieted the people of Great
n.	The nearer lhe"ominous yea1f^0^ycame*^Wï?n; ¿9s ruin was to occur,	t^^calçïidâfS ״àftd]
prognostics affirm that great armies would gather around¿ the^rity whose name read the reverse of amor *(love)—j Roma—amor—and would frighten it with their cannon,¡ although nothing would be accomplished until the Lord
398 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Himself would rain fire from heaven and consume it. The Quaker, Fox, reports in his Journal (1,314) 0L1656: “ While I was in prison here, the Baptists and the^TFiFth Monarchy men prophesied ‘ that this year Christ would come and reign upon earth a thousand yearsIn 1665 there appeared in London a tract, “ Jome’s last rRuinai 66^>and the end of the world 45 yearTTate^ TSpîzeT^T2 f.). That ÿeW(ï555JT t^rnble fire destroyed ^Targe pârt"0Î London arid '¿TdiSSeftTmg minister preached : “ Citizens of London ! Give me leave to sound another trumpet in your ears, and to forewarn you of a ten thou-sand times more dreadful judgment at the second appear-ing of Christ, who will most certainly and very quickly be revealed from heaven in flaming fire ” (Taylor^ p.
95 נ)·	...	.
Roger Williams hit upon the real evil : “ It hath bee¿׳׳ England’s sinful shame to fashion and change their gar-ments and religions with wondrous ease and lightness, as a higher power, a stronger sword hath prevailed ; after the ancient pattern of Nebuchadnezzar’s bowing the whole world in one most solemn uniformity to worship his golden image, Dan. 3. An unbelieving soul being dead in sin, although he has changed from one worship to another, like a dead man shifted into several changes of apparel, cannot please God, Heb. 11 : 6. ” Whatever such persons act “ in worship or religion, is but sin ”
. . . preaching, praying, breaking of bread among the unbelieving is “ sin ; yea, as odious as the oblation of swine’s blood, a dog’s neck, or killing of a man, Isa. 6 : 3 Without living faith, such blind souls “ shall lie fast asleep—and the faster, in that a sword of steel com-pels them to worship in hypocrisy—in the dungeons of spiritual darkness and Satan’s slavery” (Tenent, 108, 109).	“ Until of late years, how few of God’s people
knew any other church than the parish church of dead stones or timber ? It being a late marvellous light, re-vealed by Christ Jesus, the Sun of righteousness, that his people are a company or church of living stones, 1 Pet. 2:	9 ” (R 40, 44. _ _
Even Bishop Æomenius was compelled to admit in his “ First Love ” tpRR7Id9) : “ That we have gone astray
399
SARDIS
is shown by the_jn^nishment wherewith Christ chastises us because of our departure from the first love : the very act testifies to it. Who cannot see it, can grasp and feel it. Oh, should a Lasytski, Luther, Melanchthon, Bucer, ,etc., arise from the dead, what an entire different form 1 si this (Reformation) Church would they behold ! ” In ' ψ last booklet, written when he was seventy-seven,
This One Thing Necessary ”, he declares that the great desire of his life had been to lead the human race into closer fellowship with their God, as he had stated 30 years before in his “ Vanguard Near his death in Amsterdam at the age of about eighty he asked his Saviour : “ Restore to Thy church the bond of union and the beauty of good order, but if this last world will not be bettered, then end its career and begin Thy kingdom ! ” The Lord had promised to reveal His whole council in the last days (Zech. 14 : 7 ; Jer. 30 : 24). Therefore it was no presumption to occupy one’s mind with these important matters. Rather the blessedness of that time in which some understood this study was to be praised. Then he continued (p. 329365־): “I live in the^ blessed hope\ that the destruction of BabylorfiTs nigK and tliat that mighty angel of Revelation TffTs^now to lighten the earth witlr his glory. It is alone by the will of God that I have I been*״ led into an unusual labyrinth through publishing the divine revelations, ‘ Light in and out of Darkness Ί I commend it all to God. Jer. 51:6 is sufficient for me to send the recorded plagues of Babylon to Babylon. If some revelations have not been fulfilled, I will not be angry about it as	was Jonah.	They	are at	liberty	to
do so who do not	want God’s	counsel	in Amos 3 : 7	to
stand any longer. Let them laugh at the old fool. I will say : Good night,	luck, luck,	I have	found	the Port.
Away you vain idols, I have	found	Christ.	Phil.	3 :
־ ך־
what^ great,. things had the Reformation promised at neF start f With what joy haatne ne^^^pfïifted ^WS^é^ff'ÍTálled by^ffi^nations, witlTwE^Tzeal wasTf searched for the living truth ! Gifted men, full of faith, fearlessly testified of Christ, even princes made noble confessions before emperors and kings, many saints sealed
400 THE IMPELLING F0RcÈN)F PROPHETIC TRUTH
their faith with their blood! The mystery.of iniquity,ן predicted in Daniel 8: 814־; iTT'Jl ; 2׳ These; was ;unclosed־, the taking away of the continual lamb-offering [and the casting down of truth was fully recognized in :the perversion of the Gospel, in the substitution ofjthe idolatrous mass and other idols iñHtKe "plaTe^oT tK'e true worship of Christ as the only sacrifice and as the only high priest. Only the eternal God as the creator of all things was to be worshipped in spirit and truth and His Son as the only Redeemer of mankind. His everlasting Gospel was sounded once more world-wide in its purity, righteousness by faith only boldly declared, God’s judg-ment hour against mystic Babylon was loudly proclaimed ! Whole nations heeded the call to come out, refused to worship the secular and papal Roman power, or to accept their mark, warned to beware of Pope and Turk and asserting liberty of conscience even in the face of death. A new world, God opened for his persecuted saints. ¡Though Lutherans, Reformed, Baptists, Brethren, Sab-Ibatarians otherwise disagreed, yet one conclusion they! all reached unanimously: Clear^as the midday sun had« shone the light, that Rome, impeTÍaí^nT^apaT^waT^the preJicted'AnCr^HsL J£3¡|1sL wiiona the. threefold message of Revelation 14 : 6-12 must be preached and through* its pro'^mtToh a people must he gathered out, who in]
only rule of faith, 1
put their sole trust in Christ and walked in His foot-steps, as He walked in His Father’s commandments. But, ¡similar to all previous periods, the first love grew cold, [the tdîfëêfbM*iTO^	A Sardis, about
ffo die, had to give way to a live Philadelphia. The |first signs of the Aurora, of the renewed resurrection power [appeared, when the persecuted Moravian brethren, having to leave their homes, clung to their Kralitz Bibles as their chief treasures, rejoiced in the prophetic light, and their gifted leader could truly exclaim : “ Awav you vain idolsfre^ddiid Christ.”
PHILADELPHIA—The Mission Church of Brotherly Love
LXVI
“ THE GLORIOUS CONSUMMATION OF THE PHILADELPHIAN CHURCH MUST BE AT HAND ^
T h E 1^	ejoçL 1n si unifies a new and vigorous
periô^m^^Me^C^rÆ m God. It is a time when the real and primary condition of church membership is not the dead letter of a creed, but rather regeneration through the Spirit. Brotherly love exists ; truth is searched for ; sanctification is striven after ; the blessed advent hope is cherished ; and the Gospel of the kingdom is carried to the ends of the earth. To such a band of Gideonites, small in number and limited in means but rich in the faith that accomplishes great things for Him, God grants an open door into the mission fields cf the world. A gem such as this that retains its brilliancy in the midst of the severest and most fiery trial, shall be kept of God in the hour of temptation (Rev. 3, 7 f.). That for which the Paulicians, Waldenses, Spirituales, Mystics, Brethren, Baptists and Reformers of various hues have striven for, in a more or less imperfect manner, is to be realized in the regenerated, spirit-filled, active, united Philadelphian Churchy
í The^a^atiftn and unregenerated life of the evangelical ;State cMpteHgj
t ist§a n ^Met ho dis t si The barriers of the formal Churches háa to	down, and the Baptists,
lihctâlfy^^tnfïïded ffierr were·	-aver־^
come their intolerance. The Bible and mission societies came into life to aid in tKT IpCTTFifin^rîinæê■ regions beyond. The advent hope illumined by ‘ the prophetic Word had to be aroused*. refiaedj, and nourished
401	"	..... D*
402 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
by the voice and pen of men of repute in th^^arious countries of earth. That which the ReformedQ^^pro-moted in his “ Ir^jtonents to a pious Walk of Life, andj the Lutheraa^^enen did for the inner man with his' “ Pious Desires1*, and ^enn provided for the outer man (by founding Philadelphia) was scattered world-wide by such standard-bearers of missions as 3¿iújgg¿0rf, Ziegenbalg, Wesley¿JS>^^	. The, increase
i'n'the nnrler& ta12 : 4, 10; Rev. 18:	1) during the last days corresponds
with the “ Age of Enlightenment ” recorded in the history of the last two centuries, when the impetus for greater knowledg^apyl* research for^the truth enhanced each other to an unusual intensityy’ (Heussi, C.H. p. 441). “The Orthodox ïaîtîT^^tîie hxed^^ffgiSn was no longer the great drive-wheel of the great movements of the nations, but the human spirit took a freer and a more absolute tendency toward the essence of things ” (Ranke, W.G. ixb, 156).
This “ breaking of the day ” brought fraternal, zealous Philadelphia, or, as	it, “ the silver age
;of the church ”. RougemopjL^(p. 172 f.) fitly recognized æîphia Λ In the invisible communion of all !Christians who since the days of Spener, Zinzendorf, ¡Wesley opened their hearts to the sanctifying influence: fof the gospel ... in whose souls the belief of Christ’s return, the word of His patient waiting revive and with whom the prophecies again become the topic of serious research ”.
/ Philip lacob. Spener^ well educated in Strasbourg by Luthqrfnm^R^^TOight in touch”with Reformed and Waldensian influences at Geneva, as well as with Labadie, became first of the Frankfort clergy while only a youth (1666), was superior court preacher at Dresden later (1686) but fell into disgrace because of his zeal as a confessor, and was finally appointed provost at Berlin (1691). “He was deeply impressed with the conviction that practical piety was in danger of being lost in the conformity to the outward letter of Christianity. By devotional ex-planations of the Scriptures, and Christian conversation in private meetings (termed Collegiants of piety) a high
4°3
PHILADELPHIA
degree of religious earnestness was awakened. Spener’s ‘ PiousDesjres 1675) י) encouraged the hope of restituí-anct^ even^ompletin^.. thu, JRef ormaiion ” (Hase, C.H. par. 409). Spener insisted on regeneration and a living dynamic faith, enaBI^	(jod’s com-
mandments and to reahze sanctification. But his efforts *Wëre "denounced as heretical innovation, for in infant baptism the required regeneration was said to have taken place, the gift of the Holy Spirit said to have been im-parted, the Lutheran symbolical books were regarded as identical with Divine truth, the Church was considered so perfect that it was above the possibility of reforma-tion.	^ -w
Wheni |Tancke, followed Spener’s example and in-j stituted private meetings ' for ffibTë" study and devotion,] although other professors of the University of Leipsic were associated with him, and many of the students and citizens of the city attended, yet disturbances arose, and their gatherings were nicknamed “ PktjgLd?. so that the leaders were finally forced to leave tKplace on account of the threats of violence. The newly founded University of “Halle numbered (in 1694) about a thousand students, and Francke’s seminary was attended by approximately one hundred noblemen, among whom was Count Zinzen-¡foyf. JJalle. with its university, orphanage! 6ill3ïe,lÎT0use and missionary zeal became the “ salt of the earth ”.
..fipener’s_ desire to search the prQpJiecies found ex-pressmnm his 'choice of Revelation " Q:	as the topic
for his thesis which he wfoltr״m^^1^mg his doctor’s degree (1694). In his preparation for his thesis he read sixty.,comitientaries^an.d, tabulated their contents (Grim-! berg, i. 153J. Many treatises and sermons testify of Lis attitude toward the,pTapaqi, in which he saw pagan-ism jglosseí‘over, and "tdkrc1i־ed with Christianity. He was fully convinced that Rome was Babylon, and, be-cause of his seven-fold abominations, the pope and his | clergy the predicted Antichrist. Catholicism abused common sense, maídng^^résümptive claims on the credulity c׳f its members, and led thinking people to disregard religion altogether and to fall a prey to atheism (p. 482). Constantine’s recognition of a Catholic state
404 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
.Church had caused thnjuiner apostasy, and, as it were, the conception of;^J^£hrjg¿in.the popes who had mounted the papal throne between 600 and oocLand create,¿, the dark ajgsffSpener praised the martyrdom bf	-myetkkm-«..of Tauler, calleH^the
ן efcrmation.ike Jbks§gd period, but^ laraeateLtliatinêîeadj !^progressing it had, come to ^fn^^and was even, retrod gradings But few who had snal Icen off the papa^fyotcel ^^Tconcerned to advance still further in the light. Tjpo ^much jpf the Babylonian leavep ^gj^jn forced its wav, ; into the Church, and a f newa^; needed j
׳(p. 516 f.).	_	-y׳ -■־־
^ Thus the inner and the outer bearings of Pietism were fixed.' Spenef e^	Lutheran Church
would Be visited with severe judgments for “having absorbed so much wickedness from old Babylon״; but jthe Church would arise more glorious. Papal Rome would be the scourge, and the revival of its power and persecuting spirit were the beginning, although they would reveal Rome’s ripeness for judgment. Spener also entertained great hopes for the conversion of the Jews, and missionary effort was inaugurated among them with good success. Expecting the speedy fall of the papacy and the conversion of the Jews, he expressed in his “ Pious Desires ” (16?Sl the hope of better times. His brother-in-law, T£TT later senior pastor in Ham-burg, seized upon the thought with such ardour that he asserted it as an obligatory article of faith, necessary to the maintenance of a live piety (RitschL ihj&2).
Sjgej^ij’fi | predecessor at Dresden, |	devoted
,many years of research, read a number orrommentaries, (and spent five.years in preparing his two hundred sermons j|on the A^ocalypse^pubhshed (1670) in a ponderous folio. (He believe¿ tîiat the 1,260 days are so many literal years, Tevised all former compufa^n?‘3 and began them^Mth He int^pr^ted,^v^tiggj□ of the pope piflSme Catholic clergy, and sawnTtKe'rnark ’of the beast ?the confession of the Roman religion, especially the par-
!taking of the sacraments (p. 829 f.). The tj^ge messages of Revelation 14 were fulfilled in the preaching and teaching of Luther^ Flacius^and Chcmnitius (Off. p. 881)·
4°5
PHILADELPHIA
He dated the Millennium from the days of Constantine, ahd~ m his interpretation qf	re-
ferred to Augustine as authority.
^Amon^S^^T^m^^converts were J. W. Petetseni a gifted theologian and poet, and Johanna Eleonora voni Merlau, a lady of the court to whom he was married fi^?op This lady claimed that in a special revelation she saw the date 1685"% golden letters and heard a voice informing her thát great events would then transpire. In 1683 the Turks besieged Vienna, Methodius’ spurious Apocalypse was again circulated, and Drabik’s prophecies which had escaped the inquisition wer^Tpurchased for gold. However, the Polish king, Sobiesky, relieved the city, and the papacy arose to new power. Nevertheless, both the Petersens arrived at the firm conviction that the predicted first resurrection would soon take place and then the saints would commence their millennial reign upon earth. They revealed their new light tobSpener^but he .could not share their view of the first resurrection because it presented too many ^ difficultiesיי (Ritschl, ii. 233). 'WHen Petersen (from 1688 superintendent in Luneburg) began to present his views in the pulpit, he was called to account and forbidden to discuss the matter further, i In reply to this, he published his “ Scriptural Explanation ן ;and Proof of the 1,000 years and of a~ précèdent First Rcsun'ÇrfTôn A far greater sensation arose when several j SvoTOTTt "tlsrimcd to have revelations, visions, dreams,| Frances, the most famous being a young lady, von~Assc.n־| burg, who had visions from her seventh year. Petersen^ took her into his own home, and called attention to this wonder by a circular letter (1691). She soon gained considerable influence over Petersen by confirming his i ideas of the millennial kingdom and a first resurrection 1 through her visions (Grünberg, i. 272 f.).
Now the air was sufficiently charged for the breaking of a storm against Spener and Petersen. The latter, deposed in 1692, was so well supplied with means that ne could buy an estate and defend his views in many treatises against the writings of his opponents—abun-dantly proven in the seventeen volumes of the “ Acts of the Pietists ”. Spener was assured of Petersen’s piety,
406 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
sincerity and good intentions. He said :	“ I for my
part do agree with him on the millennial kingdom only so far that I also believe in a further glorious state of the church on earth, and consider this demonstrable by many texts.״ The round number of one thousand years applies certainly to the future better times promised in Isaiah II ; 5966־ ; Ezekiel 37 ; 40 ; Daniel 2 ; 7 ; Revelation 20.	“ The glory of this kingdom will be neither earthly,
heavenly nor purely spiritual.״ It would be a time of refreshing, though not all suffering would cease. Christ would reveal Himself to His own, not in person, but accord-ing to His majesty.. This strange amalgamation gave his opponents the greater opportunity to denounce it as a more subtle kind of Chiliasm, “ tempered down with 1׳{phrases ״, but in reality subject to the condemnation of Art. 17 in the Augsburg Confession. Spencr, on the mther hand, asserted that this article condemned merely ^the gross, sensual Chiliasm. Petersen published (1696) mis “ Cloud of Witnesses ״, filling three volumes with the 'sayings of one hundred leading men concerning the glorious future kingdom upon earth. He quoted from ״Cusa, and then many of the more recent authorities, iTTCtlîding Bohmc, Weigel* the Rosicrucians, etc. Mrs. J. E. Petersen published that same year her “ Key to a thorough understanding of the Revelation ”, and attached a table of the subjects and times contained therein. On p. 52 she discussed the Phijadelphian^ period, begun in Luther’s day, and relapsing into a new papacy, whilst the truth had become a matter of petty scholastic quarrels. Now new light was rising out of the darkness, and the Lord was setting an open door before them. Honest hearts, sighing for the re-establishment of brotherly love, were strengthened in their hope “ that the glorious con-summation of the Philadelphian Church must be at hand ״. The Reformation had been but a prelude to this greater one, so clearly predicted in Revelation 3 : 7 f. Later, influenced by the writings of Mrs. Leadc, Petersen pub-lished (1700-1710) his “Mystery of the Restitution of all things ״. He lauded this as the “ eternal hope ״. Spener had warned him not to do this, and it only added new fuel to the fire already raging. Petersen emphasized
PHILADELPHIA
407
it also in his “Key to the Revelation1718) ״). When he died (1727) he left eighty printed and one hundred unprinted treatises on these controverted subjects.
Spener did not warn !^
computations. “ There	in the 1260,
1200	. . wherewith saT^tribj^Uons
were , tp end.... . . Now if we knew the beginning of such daysor years, we would also know the time when Baby-Ion’s end must come. I do not doubt^that the nearer
sqmç_ will h? abk., tg--™rerefly.
(“ Behauptunfo” p. 384 f.). His natural feefing? could not be reconciled with the doctrine of an eternal torment. Spener at first expected the dawn of better days before the expiration of his generation ; but in his New Year’s Sermons (1701) he put off Babylon’s fall somewhat far-ther : “ How much will take place in this new century I do not know . . . but I do dare to say the things are rather nearer than farther off ” (Griinberg, i. 420, 473).
Pietism also furnished the world with more correct, portraits of the earlier beliey^rs, irrespective of their church membership. G^'Arnola, who, from his most\ tender years, felt himseIrÏffiRÇÎÏahd led by the Divine Hand, published his “ True Picture of the First Christians in Faith and Life ” (1696). Then, urged by many friends, he collected (1700) statements from earlier witnesses of Jesus for his “ Impartial History of the Church and of | the Heresies ” in three large volumes. Thus he preserved to posterity many valuable documents in which the history of pious dissenters appears in an altogether differ-ent light. Arnold, who esteemed truth more than favours, or the Church, declared : “ Diligently, cun-ningly and happily ” had the false Church always and everywhere “ trodden down, covered up and patched up the testimonies and footprints of all the righteous ”. Hej was an able poet, and sang “ Babylon’s Dirge ” to everyf state church. In a short time three editions and a Dutch¡ translation appeared.
History repeats itself. For centuries the papal Church opposed every effort of sincere men within her ranks for her reform, laying more and more emphasis on her Divine
408 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
origin and infallibility in doctrine. Luther? Zwingli, Calvin־anH Knox"were raised up of Gpâ t^În^^a^ouf the~nee^|^^	replacing Christ as the only
foundation and head of the Church, and His word as the only""rule of sound doctrine. Where theyן failed_ in the appIí¿atíon“ oir correct principle’^'^n^^uMa^nt^s^^the fflSé&es , óT'^OT^fpTlQwérs, instead of being led by "these correct TunSamentals, b^g|n to emphasize the Divine call οΤ3Γ^Ο^^	their symbols.
Sp^hVzeaTfor true regeneration and sanctificatiolTwas misrepresented and oppose¿! by men boasting of their orth-odoxy “ as a perversion of sound doctrine ”. And even from his moderate hopes of a future millennial kingdom his opponents found no difficulty “ in drawing invidious inferences ” (Hagenbach, H.D. iii. 94, 228).
, The era of brotherly love and. missionary zeal mingled ;with ar stronger ^advent hope set in with the Pietist move-mcnWj^the Leipsic poet, Feller, states what sort of peopîe théáe Pietists were :
“ Renowned is now the name of Pietist in all the town.
What is a Pietist ? God’s word he comes to study,
A sanctified life to lead he is full ready.”
LX VII
THE CHURCH OF THE WILDERNESS :	“ RESIST ! ”
In harmony with the papal pattern and the maxims advocated by Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin, Louis XIV (16431715־) endeavoured to unite in his ownjperson the [ secular and the ecclesiasticaljower, declaring, “ I am \the stated At first, when the king at the national council (1681) had the liberty of the Gallican Church pronounced in four articles and confirmed by royal law, the absolute! monarchy collided with the unlimited papal power, and; .the pope had the document burned by the hangman.' fro enforce religious conformity among_all his subjects, Louis supprè^edThe^^1^m^>and quartered~bîs~dragoons )¡on the Huguenots, - wfi^iw^ÏÏeprîved of all their rights ׳by theΓ6diet of τ68ς, The French dragon may signify either dragon or dragoon (cavalry) so that these soldiers
PHILADELPHIA
409
had for the Huguenots a very bitter after taste as the ׳ brood of the dragon. More than half a million olthe most learned and industrious citizens of France found refuge inTFngTanch Holland, Brandenburg, the Palatinate, and Hesse. Many thousands, whose flight was frustrated 'bj^the government, died by the hand of the hangman, or in dungeons or on the galleys.
In Jbme, 1681, a terrible law, authorizing the whole-sale conversion of all Huguenot children from seven years of age, struck dismay to the hearts of their parents. Priests and monks had the right to ensnare these little ones into a confession of the Romish faith : a word ex-pressing admission of some popish doctrine was sufficient totear thëchild away from its parental roof and confine it in a nunnery until its “conversion” was complete. fTT was Pierref^ |tn?euS their foremost theologian, who guttered his flamW^protest against this outTàge'Tir his ;1“ tasT Efforts of Afflicted Innocence״, and then had to. flee, to Rotterdam.
AST the parents and older brothers and sisters still clung to their faith they must also be brought into sub-jection—through the “ booted evangelists ” commissioned to convert them. These dragoons could stable their horses in Huguenot parlours, break up their furniture, devour their provisions, tie the fathers hand and foot, and violate their wives and daughters. They “ pinched, prodded, hung them up by ropes, tormented them in a hundred ways, until their unhappy victims scarcely knew what they were doing ”.	“ Keep up this fiendish treatment
day and night, for what right have these cursed heretics to resist the absolute royal will of the almighty pope ? ”
In f 1685 the Edict of Nantes was revoked, all the gatheringsTof the Protestants forbidden on^pain of death, their ministers had to leave or were sent to the galleys, all children hereafter born of Protestant parents must be baptized by Roman priests, none of the flock dare follow their exiled ministers, on pain of the galleys for the mem and of imprisonment for the women. All_JProtestant^ churches were puffed down.
/ One of their ministers, influenced by Tapftftpg com-mentary, had just completed (Aug. 1685) his “ New
410 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
System of Interpretation of the Apocalypse ”, when the dragoons plundered and burnt his house, leaving him only the manuscript of his book. It was then anony-mtfSsIy printed in Hamburg and an English translation pf if "way ־made in T688. The unknowh^uthOTVxhbVre"d tfe^e^rto ''come out 01 Babylon, not to attend the n^a§|, as that	־*■rWbfsEip the beast and his image.
ÍTwenfyrfive^ySfs"^'éfore7 the' *Roman clergy and the Jesuits had taken the field, and had since besieged all the Reformed Churches by a terrible battery of edicts and declarations. First they assaulted the Protestant minis-ters, and then the annexes, the church-bells, the burials, the tender children and the mid-wives. In fulfilment of Rev. II, the Huguenot suffered spiritual and civil death (p. 218, f.). The soldiers would compel them to abjure their faith, saying :	“ Stand out as long as you
please. When we have devoured you to the bone, you must at last obey. The king will not suffer himself to be contradicted. Having taken Cambray and Luxemburg, will he be withstood by a Huguenot dog ? Say only, I do obey the king, and for the rest you may believe as you will. The king’s purpose is to reform the church of France as soon as he hath united all his subjects. Do ye know what he hath done already against the court of Rome ? ” Thus gentle blasts and tempestuous storms ^scattered and overthrew the Reformed Churches (pp. h 95-202). Revelation 17 was thought to be the “ papal rympire or RPitfán" Church, which is the empire of Antichrists׳־^ Ffance k one of the ten horns formed out Of the'Tïïffis of the Roman Empire, According to Daniel, and beginning at the same time as the papal beast, accord-ing to John.” “ France is the most beautiful and glorious of ■th£se ten kingdoms, and the papists "do 'so account' it, calling the king of France the most Christian king and the eldest son of the church. Even in St. John’s time, France was by the way excellently styled ‘ the province ’ ” (p.234). Counting the 1,260 ^ears from 445, that year “ being the soonest and also'í1:ÍÍel,!9WSf? ffOlit^Whhffrwe are to fix the fatal epoch of the birth of the antichristian empire, and consequently we may hope to see the end of it. hi *While Sardis had a resemblance of the Ref^meTTmifrcJi
411
PHILADELPHIA
degenerating, Philadelphia is “ a portrait of that period of the church when she shall be perfectly reformed ; when Sion shall be perfectly re-established . . . during the time of the millennial reign ” (p. 286, f.).
On his way to Hamburg tjiç.^unknown author just above quoted saw a copy ofÇJÿr“Accomplishment of the Scripture Prophecies or tneAppmacKing^De-IrveTancF"óf 'the Churcïï^^JusT from the press^ancP'Was excee'díngly pleááed'tó'find that Jurieu also looked upon Revelation 11 “ as promisgj^Qf. the re-establishment of the Reformed Church	/Turieu^sCommentary was transa
lated into -English/ in ^ 16y7!^€Íech^^ted to the Jews^and' expressed' Sfe-Jw^e' tKat the' jews would come back to their own land and rebuild Jerusalem. Jurieu had been led to study the prophecies by the terrible persecutions of his time and by the concurrence of so many prophecies foretelling the speedy deliverance of the Church, especially by the prophecies of Usher and Comenius. Jurieu thought of Cotterus’ predictions as having “ such majesty and grandeur, that those of the ancient prophets have hardly more ”. The great persecution in France “ confirmed me ”, he says, “ in the belief that we were in the last times of the period of the 1260 years, i.e. the last persecution spoken of in Revelation 11 He avowedly took “ Mede as his^master in Apocalyptical interpretation ; except in the parts of his latest application ”. ism was born about ^£0 ; ” it would	^ _
]ïïsU1^2fo years after its J)irth. It might happen sSS&f״^ but could not reacirTartKer than 1714. All Christians will unite, putting aside uapal idolatry at the end of the^i^zgo years, about f740J At the end of the jyears (178ς) “ shall comeS^ glorious reign of ^ Christ on hhc earth ”. In tkese fortylivc years tne |ews wîîî be ’^converted and “ shall finish the conversion of the infidel hâtions ” (ii. 57, ff.). Although he favoured the view bf the literal first resurrection, yet he placed it among the things “ doubtful ” (ii. 395).
Louis Xiy^ decreed jnost stringent measures for the extirpation oFtKUlTuguenots, “ seeking the foolish fame of being the last to submit to his religion ”. For this Louis was lauded with high-sounding praises and fine
Antichristian die about? 1710..
4JZ/v*׳rtîE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
׳medals as the second Constantine who had forever crushed the head ofthedragon ot heresy and seduction. Loud wails ascended to heaven from the many thousands of Huguenots in France, tormented by the dragonnades, loud wails went up from the poor Protestants of the Palatinate over the conflagration of their homes ; but the highly elated pope wrote the king (1689) : C< With wdiat glowing tenderness of paternal love we have followed thy plans and still follow them, the true God, the searcher of hearts, only knows. A strong incitement to our prayers was the zeal, which cannot be praised too much, where-with you have set yourself the exalted aim of propagating the Catholic religion and of protecting it so energetically from heretical attempts, in all of which we shall gladly ־join you ” (Romer, K.G.W. pp. 356, 357).
For a whole century the French government and the papac^jomecTtheir mighty forces to crush the apparently ^ow^fîéssTSTdiL TKeTTuguenots^caTTed themselves, re־] perring^toTîuvelation 12T^ the cc Churchof the Wilder^ !ness ”, for their meetings had to be heldin desolate places
caves and dense forest^ rrThis name, was a stock ^phrase in that time ; ” baptismal and matrimonial cer-tificatës, even petitions, were dated from the wilderness. The whereabouts of the shepherds and of the meeting-places were kept secret ; for the government had set high prices for the apprehension of the preachers. Cease-lessly they must wander from place to place ; watched by spies they had to change their headquarters every night ; provided with a small wage their only reward was martyrdom ; often separated from their families for years, their only hope of meeting them was in the days of eternity with their Lord. Royal favours and a vol-uptuous life at a licentious court deluded many Protestant noblemen. Lucrative positions and support from the royal “ conversion-treasury ” attracted many of the poor. Inflamed by the predictions of their prophets, the in-habitants of Cevennes finally defended themselves in their natural fortresses against “ Babylon drunken with the blood of the. ,saints ”.
In j7!g Louis XIY declared the Reformed Church extinct. But the courageous preacher of the Church
4*3
PHILADELPHIA
in the Wilderness.lAnton Court) preached from Revelation }Z\ 15 : “ Are there any other reasons needed for tears, when wre see our sanctuaries cast down, our meetings disbanded, our worship condemned to eternal silence, our heroes in narrow dungeons and on galleys, and we ourselves only glowing wicks, threatened by the flood, which the red dragon cast out of his mouth to drown the woman who hath a place prepared for her in the wilderness.״ While the sensual king was rotting away like Herod of old, the youthful hero of faith gathered his little flock and in order to check the pernicious influence of the fanatical prophets had it reasserted that the Holy Scriptures were “ the sole source and rule of faith ״. He held his first national synod in 1727.
On the shore of the Mediterranean Sea the old tower of “ Constance ״ rises above the fortress “ Aigues Mortes ״ (Lamentation of Death). Countless numbers of Hugue-nots were imprisoned there, and-some women languished l fifty years m its dungeons. When I visited this tower \ some years ago, there one could still see engraved with the scissors in the hard stone just below the skylight the word an aged Huguenot heroine had written in her de- / fective spelling “ recistez ״—resist—characteristic of these/ heroes and heroines of faith, who resisted unto death :
“ At Versailles gallant and sensuous Louis jokes and laughs.
Here behind Constante's tower, faith in prayer guards !
There the king’s will dictates to heretics murder and flame :
Here faith writes in silence:—'resist' as its fame.”
LXVIII
NEWTON :	“ TO REJECT DANIEL^ PROPHECIES, IS TO
REJECT THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION ״
During the reign of Charles II and James II of England, the religion of Rome had become fashionable at court, and these kings covertly or openly avowed it. Moreover, the sufferings of the Episcopal clergy under the Puritan rule made them consider the latter their chiefest enemy and to look toward popery for friendly approximation and union. This feeling had its evil effect on the current
414 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRU'pff*^
view of Daniel and Revelation, and inclined the ex-positors to adopt the praeteristic views of Grotius and Hammond. But in 1688 the English Revolution marked the end of papal supremacy and William of Orange and Mary took the throne in 1689. Clearer and stronger demonstrations were brought forward to stem the tide and to show the veracity of the Protestant interpretation. ç The Swiss theologian, F.^Turretn^ had in his “ Theo-logical Institutes ” produced	such stro.n^JtJguments
lor the identification. o^he,Church of Rome with idolatrous *Babylon andT gf the pope with the “ man of sin” or ■Antichrist (iii. 148, f.), that they were^printcd as late as B847 in Scotland^־ and manuals from his works are still In use.	1 he reasons for this	in England were
pointed out quite fully by:J^Cr^ssener)in the preface, oí his “demonstration of	the j
Protestant”Applications o£׳ tiuT,Apocalypse.,’’ addressed1 to Queen Mary : “ Nothing was more the doctrine of our [Church to the end of the reign o^Jayes^riian the charge 1of Babylon and Antichrist upon the Roman Church, but it seemed something too rude a charge both to church and court, when the queen became concerned in it.” “ After this time this doctrine of the Homilies came to be more out of fashion : eTtKer to Be civil to the marriages of the succeeding reigns, or to take away all the advan-tages that the Separatists might have from thence against the necessity of uninterrupted succession and ordination in every lawfully-constituted church.” The present age is_so generally prepossessed with the interpretations of Groti^ Hammond and some other great names that it is ïîe'èessary to femind the approvers that these are great hovelfics in' our' doctrine. “ The inquiry into these matters is so out oTïasKîon, and lies under so general a prejudice, that I found the press everywhere affrighted from under-taking the charge of this publication.” In his preface, p. viii. f., he put these ponderous questions : “ Wherever pvas there an empire since the writing of the prophecy, fcut that of the Roman. .Chuffd^ י If or ,.126a.,yeai&»stog^ther,,as to have all that dwell upon |the earth to w70rship it l Wha^ ruling...power but that, 0 ancient, as to have the blood of prophets and saints

PHILADELPHIA
to be found in it ? What rule but that, had ever so long a duration in the world, as to continue set upon seven hills, for so great a space of time (1260 years), or so as to answer the whole length of the Saracen and Turkish empires in the first two woes ? None but that was ever so eminently conspicuous for so long a time for the succession of his bishops under one supreme patriarch, as to be the living image of all the civil dignities of the empire, where it was under one supreme church-head, exercising all the power of the civil head (imperium in imperio). Nor did ever an enemy of God’s Church act for so long a time like the red dragon in its bloody contest against the followers of the Lamb ; and yet so far agree with the primitive Church in fundamental doctrines, as to answer the character of a false prophet with the horns of a lamb (Christ), but speaking like the ^ed dragon to his followers, as the Church of Rome has done ” /?ref. viiLl
He then demonstrates incontrovertibly in a jeries; of connected propositions against	and :Eellarmim^,
^ha^thc^Apocalyptical Babylon is
vôrîd"“ as TGEeïra ahc^	rted ; but Rome^
papalT ŸSF'fâF*'âf^Ts^Tnsrt-^fls Rome antichristian as
wlës tna^ris_______
connected with the Roman empire under Us lasVheaâ ; in^otheT^wôYds,״îfonPthé hreakmg^up* of the old empire (into ten kingdoms, until Christ returns to take the king-|dom. That the	the Catholic faith , aqd
ipopes dates Tfou¡^Iustm1anj|u	(p. ;
I307) : ^nHusün1an^ u^Onnis reuniting the
most con-
L JV if*	tifttniilli I Γ*13 M VAA A1AU A V V4AAA	WilV iAlv V W
siderable parMof *t Rew!' T:B;e Eástcrn, was in a very,Jii^degigiUif an universal uniformity to the worship of the Ron3tgwa..ChtUch ; he' Wid^'accordingly lay TTold 0Γ that advantage, and by his laws, and the execution of them, did^very effectually compass his design.״ Also the	contributed
their assistance to him so fully “ that at the end of that age, there was no considerable appearance of any other faith and worship in public all over the extent of the old Roman empire, but only that of the Roman Church ״.
In his 44 Judgment s_^of.God .upon,the, Roman. Catholic
THE *IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRÜTH
416
Church1689) ״), dedicated to the king, he held forth the prospect of a “ speedy revival of the Reformation where it had been extinguished ”, and hailed the English Révolu-tion as “ the first opening of the glorious scene ״. On ^ pagetfrarfre made this reírfáffcáble forecast : “ If^^^first time of tKe beast was at Justinian’s recovery of thg city of^Rüirtë^Îhen	it end till r little beforgfi80q
BFtwëen 17S0- 1J{00"TE^me will be !destroyed, and soon
Roman Church, ecclesiasti-cal and civil, or the imperial Roman power and the papal will be destroyed.״ On the strength of Revelation 9 : 15 he apprehended that the second woe would end within a few years : “ There will be neither a general peace with the Turks, nor the ruin of their empire before about
״.1790
That this old earth must undergo a thorough change by fire ere the saipts of God could dwell upon it was well substantiated in the large work of Bishop Th*.Burnet, The^ Sacred Theory of the Earth ״. -Tt waTT^ued^n* ■Latin"	and by. 1759 had passed through seyçn
“ The scenes of the golden age ״

_____	in
paradise would be renewed on the new earth after it had tffln^ïts^race of,prescribeg year^ the creation davs being Ffaang the Mille nnmm~l^
Before its renovation haa anciently brought the millen-nial doctrine into discredit and decay, and he could never persuade himself that the kingdom of Christ would be on this present earth, and in y^in^had it been dated from the ^y^qf ^Qhji^^jXoQ^tantine. This millennial age ✓׳was stiïl itîTe bumen of sacred song, the complement βί every grand vision, and the life and strength of the whole system of prophecies in the Apocalypse. Only ! those_ changfji	the^first^.resurrection would take part!
in It 711204 ־, flQ, Speaking of its nearness, he said:! tïïa^ aoes not err above a century, in calculating
the last period of time, from what evidence we have at present, hath in my opinion, cast up his accounts very well.״ But the scenes toward the evening of the long day will change rapidly, “ and when the sun is near setting they will readily compute how far he hath run ״.
Burnet* the king’s chaplain, was not the only one. to
4Γ7
PHILADELPHIA
confirm the fate marked out in p{־ppfo£cy. fgr_jkis old < world by science and the Bible—^1r IsaaçJ^ewtom famed0 for his mathematical, scientific, historical and chronologi-cal researches spent years in prophetic study. “ Hiss skilful tracing of the most intricate subjects, accuracy of statement, clearness of demonstration and far-reaching comprehensiveness of view have never been surpassed.״ InjL6&7 his renowned “ Principia ״ solved many scientific problems of the greatest importance and yet in the midst! of all that work, from 1690 onward h£..a^r.espondeA.with^ .Locke, on ,questions relating to the! interpretation of ^prophecy (“Diet, of Biography,״ xl.jj 361). !Newton’s “ Observations ״ made in his research" of Daniel and Revelation were not p^J^shed until 1.734, after his. Heath; This greatest genius of his own time spoke ΐΚΰΓ concerning Daniel: “Amongst the old pro-| phets, Daniel is most distinct in order of time and easiestjj to be understood ; and therefore in those things which! relate to the last time he must be made the key to thej rest ” (p. 15). Daniel was in the greatest credit among1» the Jews till the reign of “Hadrian: and to reject his
pr0£h££jgJxj£—.ths .ÇLrisi^iaii religiQfi,.!7 (p. 25J.־!
The little horn, to come forth among the ten kingdoms ׳ of tETLatin Timpire, differs from them, for by his eyes he must be a seer, and by his mouth a kingr—tjfig Church of Rome. “ A seer—episcopus, is a bishop in the literal sense of the word, and this church claims the universal bishopric. With his mouth he gives laws to kings and nations as an oracle ; and pretends to infallibility, and that his dictates are binding to the whole world ; which is to be a prophet in the highest degree ״ (p. 75). On p. 123, f. to Daniel 8 : 1^3, f. Newton demonstrates that this prophecy was never fulfilled in Antiochus, but in the Roman Antichrist. He concludes : “ The sanctuary" an(T^oslTwcre trampled under foot 2300 days ; and in Daniel’s prophecies days;
fanation of the temple in the reign of Antiochus did not last so many natural days. These were to last till the >dme of the end, till the last end of the indignation against nie Jews ; and this indignation- is not yet at an end. They were to last till the sanctuary which had been cast
418 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
1
Ndown should be cleansed, and the sanctuary is not yet cleansed.”
In his “ Observations ” on the Apocalypse he rightly observes that the great success of late interpreters proves that the last age of opening these prophecies is now approaching, and that Daniel 12 : 4, 10 is fulfilling, for there “ is scarcely one of note who hath not made some discovery worth knowing, and thence I seem to gather that God is about opening these mysteries. The success of others put me upon considering it “ The folly of interpreters has been, to foretell times and things by this prophecy, as if God designed to make them prophets. £By this rashness they have not only exposed themselves, ✓Lut brought prophecy also into contempt.״ Let time be the interpreter ! (p. 250, ff.).
On p.'255'267־ Newton shows on the strength of Buxdorf. (Syn. Jud. c. 18, 21) how certain features of the atonement day are reflected in the final day of judgment. The Jews tell us in their Talmud that already on the first day of the seventh month three books are opened in judgment : the book of life, containing the names of the perfectly just ; the book of death, containing the names of the very wicked, and a third book contained the names of those whose judgment is suspended till the day of atone-ment. Until then the Jews fast and pray, that their sins may be remitted and their names written in the book of life. Returning home on this tenth day, they say to one another : “ God, the creator, seal you to a good year.״ For they conceive that the books are now sealed up. The same is signified by the two goats, upon whose fore-heads the high priest lays two lots inscribed; “God’s lot signifying the people who are sealed with the name of God in their foreheads ; and the lot of Azazel, represent-ing those who receive the mark and the name of the beast, and go into the wilderness with the great whore. See also Ezekiel 9.״ By this fitting comparison one must not overlook that the real day of atonement extends from Christ’s death until the very judgment. After Christ had shed His blood as the real atoning sacrifice, He went with it at His ascension into the most holy place, and remains at the right hand of God as the mediator of all
419
PHILADELPHIA
saints until the judgment. As He leaves the most holy place, the temple of God is opened, the ark of His testament as the instrument of judgment is seen, the day of wrath has indeed come and the time to reward the saints, when all those bearing the seal of Christ will be changed, and all those bearing the mark of Antichrist will be doomed.
Peculiar to Newton is his interpretation of the lamb-like beast of Revelation 13, as the “ Church of the Greek JEmpireA’-(p. 283). The Saracen woe he extended over twice a period of five months or 300 years from 637936־, and the Turkish woe from 10631453־.
The greatest genius of his time thus confirmed the sure word of prophecy.
LXIX
A FORECAST OF THE *SILVER AGE OF THE CHURCH״
י י v ^
* kphn Crocius^wrote his “ Syntagma ” in 1635. In his
introduction to that work he ' discusses the prophetic nature of the seven churches^ and their ' application to the seven different pçno^	dispensation.
He*T5elieved that Ephesusv corresponding to the white horse, pictured the Apostolic jChurchJn its “ golden age ” ; Smyrna, the martyr CÏiurcîi, tried by persecution, answered to the red horse ; quarrelsome Pergamos, the Church of the" emperors when hypocrisy and tyranny flourished, produced the black horse ; devant ׳Thyatka.x^tënded tó'Otarles V, when the papacy, as Jezebel of old, mani-fested itself openly and wilfully in the Hildebrand spirit, symbolized by the pale horse. By Sardis he understood the political Church of the Reformation"under Luther,' Melanchthon, Zwingli, Calvin and others, which Church dícTnot suffer the caprice of bishops but rather that of the princes. He sawtheJba¿e*aaiJPhil^	as
the_b|^.king of the day, emerging from the ho.ut—■of temptation into the “ silver age of the church ”, with a return of the first love. He expectedthç. lukewarm or “ leaden age ” to last about thirty years, during the last periocr 01 the future time of judgment. He then dis-cussed the reason for applying Sardis to the Church of
420 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
the Reformation (p. in, f.) : Alas, Lutherans and Calvin-ists had bitterly warred against each other, and when-ever a ruler changed his faith he had compelled his subjects to do the same. Consequently the Jesuits had assumed control of Heidelberg immediately after the taking of the town, as had also been done in Prague. In 1622 the pope canonized two Jesuits, Loyola and Xavier, so Crocius thought of that year as the end of the 1,290 years. y The increased light on this and other prophetic ques-tions caused Satan to bestir himself to enshroud them in darkness once more. From the earliest times the Christ-ians, though they may have differed in other respects, were unanimous in applying to the pope of Rome the prophecies concerning Antichrist. The learned Hugo Gixyriun of Holland caused the first fatal change in 1640. A^mattorney in the Hague he ז aëfën'ffeî'ffhe prime minister who was executed in 1619, and saved his own life by escaping in a book-chest to France. His excellent book “ Concerning the Rights of War and Peace ” (1625) made him famous as the founder of international law. jHis “ On^ the Truth of ^^^hnsdan^Religion ” (1627)
¿tremely liberal in his views,' was the friend of the Jesuit Iretavius, and he made it one of his aims to bring about p union between ..Catholics and. Protestants. He used ?all his diplomacy towards this end while acting as Swedish ambassador at Paris.
His anonymous “ Commentary on all the texts where Antichrist is mentioned in the New Testament ”, first ׳,published in ióqo^sought tq remove the greatest stumbling^ ¿lock to such a union. He followed the Jesuits so fully ^in explaining alTthese texts (pp. 7, 31, 46) that he found^ the pope was not necessarily referred to in any one of 4:hem. As his authorship was detected, his best Calvin-*ísticT friends at once turned against him. TVfanjsms. a Œelgian theologian, in Jiis^reviuw.^1640) declared"tnatjiot [only did the united Belgian Church believe the pope to 1 jbç^j^ntjeh^st, bul" all־ the Reformed in all the yyorld fDiss. p. 4). Grotius, afraid to mention his name,, had 'misapplied the prophecy in 2 Thessalonians 2 and in the Revelation to Caligula, Domitian, Trajan (out of his
421
PHILADELPHIA
first name Ulpius he had vainly tried to construe 666), Simon the Magician, Barcochba, etc. TJicTG'roÎîüs^reâW Relieve that the fathers had been deluded in their fear that the great Antichrist would cause the 7alT of the Church aiteT^TTe'o^rlïïrmr	’the
Pf" allowed jtheir application of-i Antichrist to the Roman Bishop to cause them to Break ;off communion with him lest they follow his idolatry ?j »Popes WOuld surely shed crocodile tears that men calling themselves Protestants were preparing for war against the Reformed and leaning toward the possible victor. The arrogance of PuuLV might be seen from the fact that most books published in Rome or Bologna give under his picture the wrords : “ Paulo V Vice Deo (Vicegod), to the most invincible monarch of Christianity and to the most zealous preserver of papal omnipotence.״ But in PaVLo V VICe Deo might be found the number 666 (Diss^p. 1861. ^
^misinterpretation ,stirred up Jafrspk Coccclus¿ of Bremen, to write a commcnm^^OT^nTnepmîpffmTO pertaining to Antichrist, which״'wontor^1m'a:1‘the0T0gtctl׳ professorship in	.He had studied in Holland and
taught at Franeker. In his preface he expressed regret that holy texts, in which Antichrist was so vividly desr cribed that he could be recognized by all in the world,' had been lately so glossed over by commentaries that the less highly instructed might think some other wicked person and not the pope was symbolized by them. This seemed to him only the fruit of some satanic device wdiich the learned author, building on knowledge and wisdom, had produced inadvertently, as he hoped. He had since called him to account. Cocceius himself had often, in answrer to the requests of others“xplained to them the texts concerning Antichrist. In closing he pointed out the harmony between Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 (Opera
_ 1e beast out of the sea to ,the ,״papacy, rather than to ^ohammeST* His	^^elatloh
flowing the lead ofJoachim* divided lÿstoïî^^g^^n ages, outlined by the Churches,, seals, ana trumpets. During the fourth age, after Rome’s division into ten
422 THE IMPELLING TORCE OT PROPHETIC TRUTH
kingdoms, the pope had appeared, styling himself God, and, being the predicted Antichrist^had established his kingdom outside of the tru^Oiurch."' While commenting 6n Revelation 14 : 12 he lays stress on the fact that not all members 01'the ReioTmeî Church were of the company of true believers (“ Cogitations,” p. 181). His œmputa-tions make 1622 and 1667 the. final dates of th^^^Zftand
1,335	years. He refuted Bellarmine in one hunareameses pMvinjfThat the pope was" indeed Antichrist (Op»eraTvi.
..	,	" ·(287־1
/£ A./ Calo.^ithrough whose influence the Wittenberg 4Jniveraty״^ained a new hold on life, wrote his “ Ex-gained Bible ” (1672) with the sole purpose of combating Grotius, quoting most of the comments of the latter in full. In his introduction to Daniel (V.T. ii. 588, f.) he ¡¡(denounced Grotius’ alliance with Porphyry the pagan,¡ ^vho, in his human wisdom, had tried to white-wash the fpnganism which God intended to destroy. Grotms^Jhad ; preferred-ie-follow this enemy of Christ in favouring ,Antichrist. Grotius had himself shown to what extent ■one could follow Porphyry’s tricks in doing away with prophetic authonfym'nif^wor¿ij*ün the Truth of the Christian Religion ”. And now the learned were all ^tft-prised that. Grotius should suddenly permit himself to be ensnared by Porphyry. All expositors, for the best of reasons, apply the fourth kingdom to the Romans, and even Jewish writers interpreted the fifth to be the Messianic kingdom. The authority of a pagan had evidently more weight with Grotius than the grey hairs of the fathers, ^and that especially since Antichrist was abetted thereby. “ With us it is a religious duty to close our eyes to such light, since we see in the clear light that the prophecies concerning Antichrist have been already established by what has happened ” (V.T. ii. 702). Calov then enumcr-atedauthors who had written on the Apocalypse;, but he felt they were all surpassed ;by Tuther the divine instrument, who reached the right ,goaf in his explanation. Others might praise their Calvin, Bullinger, Collando, etc., “ but I claim that they are all indebted to Luther for the good things they had ” and they would have done well not to have “ strayed
423
PHILADELPHIA
so far from the path pointed out ” (N.T. ii, 1716). Calov, like many of his successors, clung to Luther as canonical ; consequently their commentaries more and more lost the vigour of new life. Finally. .Calov mentioned /^lcasar j J(p. 1718) whom Grotius had followed as a well paid י Attorney of the Roman pope. Even the Jesuits them-Vei^s^Kad riot ^rced"wîîh such an exposition.	^
ammond^an^English theologian, followed Grotius ״fils “ Paraphrases and Annotations ”, upon/ "the New Testament, although he did not name him.* 1 * * * * * Clericus, who translated them (1698) into Latin, says the name was omitted that Hammond might have a more ready hearing. At first Hammond tried to avoid ex-*pladning the Apocalyps^Jmt he fmaTTy attempted Tt7 [taking as hteEretensf 2g^fhe words, “ which must י ~"tlv
shortLTcome to pass,7'. Grotius] fame, as he wrote under : t!1e*^1asT^qF^a_P ro.tsstaiit* made^rלΈun:3,־^cTpTes3n_d [his misapplication had greater effect among Protestants tKan~Keworks of J esuîts¡ ^TTo^on^hTfelî 'T fiFpTcîen s t system.
*TKeTialse flag of liheral,thought and superior knowledge hoisted by	marr^ Protestant expositors
intQ.r־’cKangingerT^ey TveYe' awarc^of TT^iê^^^ .j^p^t:treacher011s ,rocks by the swift aarrent pfthepagan, Porphyry and of the Jesuit
Alsasau־
LXX
BEVERLEY S SCRIPTURE-LINE OF TIME ELUCIDATING THE 2,300 YEARS
¿ The consideration of the^2^00^ years. begun Cusa'^
]and carried forward by Nigriq^s. Tilhnghast, and^y ___
I was again taken up byEeverley frmniQTa .and-.on ware
He fully believed that they extended from Cyrus, the
typical restorer of Jerusalem,^ ״ QuisL	New
■Jerusalem as the great antitype. These thoughts he
¡fully developed in his ‘VScripture-Line of Time ”, issued
in 1684. His title page shows his idea of the two pro-
phctTc lines : “ Blessed is he that waiteth, and comcth
424 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
to the i335 '"days,Laí^,the last of the 2300.” He first ’ffiscusseSTEe. 2,300.. years as “ that grand prophetic line of, time ״ which is, by the admirable contrivance of the Divine wisdom, given first “entire and then the parcel or collateral linea
These 2,300 years, begin with the ^Persian monarchy, because the Persian Cyrus found the temple fallen and the .daüy-eerviœ of *the Jews taken away, and	he
who proclaimed the restoration. The word i^hmeea or “ continual ” should not be, limited in its application to the Jewish daily )sacrifice, as the latter word, “ sacrifice ”, ^supplied, tahmeed being the only word used, and applic-able ,either to sacrifice or to service and worship in general. These 2,300 years were “ a line of so great comprehension, asjrom literal to mystical Babylon’s fall, from the restora-tion of literal Jerusalem to the New Jerusalem, as may be argued from several extraordinary notes of honour /apon this line, and the vision of it ”. “ Cypher or short-hand was of old in prophetic use ; a week for 7 years, 40 days for 40 years, 7 ears of corn for 7 years, 7 times for 7 years. God declared and promulgated it as the law of interpretation of grpgjiçtic time ” (Ezek. 4). Accord-ingly 390 and 40 days are so many years, 70 weeks are 490 years, r,260 days and 2,300 days are so many years,
׳ .which “ is very august and speaks a divine zeal to grasp that great end of putting down of all rule, authority and power, and Christ taking his power to himself and reign-ing ”. Besides, “ this great number is given by the divine ¡numberer, Christ, having the peculiar title Palmoni ; and Gabriel, the heavenly envoy upon all declarations of the kingdom of Christ, is employed in its exposition ” ’¡(pp. J.-20J. Similar to the visions in Daniel 2 and 7 this ^?vision runs also to the end, and chiefly aims at revealing ׳׳ the Roman power as the great antichristian one, con-tinuing to the end, whilst Antiochus, as a type, continued for only a short time. Daniel, who had known the Daily which was taken away during the long captivity, and foresaw the Roman desolating wing of abomination, became so faint, sick and astonished because there was revealed to him the so strange, unaccountable, foul, lingering, apostasy of Antichrist resting for such a long
425
PHILADELPHIA
time on the so excellent religion of the Gospel, eclipsing the kingdom of Christ. Full of the most pernicious effects, this apostasy is “ deservedly astonishing to angels and men, captivating the many, the wise and the great, contrary to all Scripture, reason and even common sense This vision, taking in the whole antichristian apostasy until the end and covering the longest period of prophetic tiine^met in the main its real and complete fulfilment in the Roman Antichrist ; Antiochus was but typically referred to in Daniel, his history was found only in the apocryphal records—thus proving that it was of no great account with God. Lastly, the very term u evenings-mornings״ not used in Scripture from the very'first Scripture in Genesis till now, leads us to the tiew creation, and, signifying full days in the^beglnnjng, it would now, a,s complete year-days, lead us to the restitution of all tteigs (pp. 21-23־y־LI
The vision is one entire vision. It is ten times called
vision, although it consists of several members ; how-, ever they may be distinguished in the vision, and divided up into their respective events. The several parts of the vision have, indeed, several spaces of time cut out of the whole space, proper to themselves. But all these several parts are but as the parts of the same body, lines of the same image, parcels of the one
y proceeded to the consideration of the seventy weeks as to “ line that must, however sub-. ordinate and collateral, yet set out at the very same| instance with the 2300 evemngs-mornings, 1.J7 of the j word going forth Though it must be evident «that this' WOrd went forth with the proclamation of Cyrus “ yet it is‘ moist manifest, it did not here attain its effect ”. For we find it stopped, contradicted, and renewed in the succeeding reigns, “ so that Artaxerxes, called by his-Jorians, Longimanus, illustrated his seventh year with the word completely goingjorth'”.
The original and supreme "commandment was God’s: the subordinate and ministerial was of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes (Ezra : 6 : 14). The last was “ the per-fectivc, conclusive, terminative decree”. Beverley׳
THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
426
allotted 75 years to this going-forth time, while in reality jCyrus sent forth his decree 532 years and Artaxerxes 453)years before Christ. He ended the half week with "Christ’s death, when, as the Lamb of God, He offered the true, antitypical sacrifice, everlasting or continual in its effect. “ The corrupting and annulling that supreme point of Christian religion, and the service founded on it, and regulated by it, according to its own purity, simplicity and transcendency, free from idolatrous de-filements, is a cardinal point of Antichristianism, and a most proper sense of taking away theulaily.” Sealing the prophecy and the vision “ is not onlysthrT־atification and confirmation of all prophecy by finishing it, as Christ declared, it is finished . . . but signifies also the sealing of the prophecy at that present time It runs through the time of the seven seals, the 144,000 sealed, until all sealed prophecies of the glorious kingdom of Christ are confirmed and the words go forth, “ It is done ” (Rev. 16: 17; 21 : 6,pp. 2£331
Ending the 75 years of hindrance and the 490 years in a.d. 33, he allotted 400 years for the period of the [seals, commenced the 1,335	in 433 and ended the
ΛΜ00 and tKe1,3,3.;.years in !772,/when, with the glorious ־appear 1 n^Sf^rist, the sanHul?y would be cleansed and 5the blessed time of the saints would begin. From 437, %£ also computed the 1,260 and 1,290 years ; the first [three times of the 1,260 years he ended with the Reforma-'tion,	^ last	1^973° י years of
!the 1,290 that were beyond, in 1727, and the 45 years Instill of the 1,335, in'■ 1772'.- In his calendar the year 1772 I answers to the year 5759 from creation, and he considered Lthe lacking 241 year¿" as the predicted shortening of the time for the elect’s sake. “ After this follows new time, ^or, the Sabbatism of the creation.” In his second part ,Beverley explained the 1,260 days of the witnesses, the woman in the wilderness, the forty-two months of the beast in Revelation 13, which he counted as lunarjnonths, lasting from the fall of the Western empire in ,;457, till 11697, when the papal Babylon was to fall.
"*]Turing the reign of William III, the bill of toleration !granted all Protestant dissenters in Great Britain liberty
427
PHILADELPHIA
and tranquillity. From 16871701־. JB ever ley .published over twenty treatises, emphasjzing,,xhç ^^ndof^timc. In hi^*^Command of God to His people to come out of ftabylon (Rev. 18 : ^ demonstrated to mean the coming but oT thejpresent papal^y(5tTTie	(1688), he earnestly
teuglit to ~p erStraS?^	e out, for the papacy would
surely fall within ten years. In his “ Patriarchal Line of Time ” with its sabbatical aspects, he allotted to the-Philadelphian period seventy-five years from 16971772־, |vhen tKemlÏÏennial Sabbath wOuld commence, ’arTd*lS9f9tl" Be loosed in 7000. The following year he published several works. First, the “ Pattern of the Divine Temple״,, neasuring it according to ïzeîeiH^r^ He1 a^tredThatj ;his templ(^in Heaven would be open at the end of the Aapal apostasy in 1697, and there should be^daily pre-)aration in conformity to. it, yntil it comes dowm from ienven^in 1772.. He also addressed one treatise to the* Ecclesiastical Commissioners at Westminster, wherein he applied the first six churches by two’s to the pagan, papal ^(,nd reformed periods. His “ Kingdom of Christ entering! its succession in 1697 ” to William and Mary cc by special grace of God, according to prophecy, king and queen 01 Great Britain, also to the high court of parliament. God enabled him, though the most unworthy, for the last five years to search and to understand by books the num-ber of years, when He would set up His kingdom and cleanse His sanctuary. Let us therefore hasten to the Philadelphian state of purity, love and peace ! ”
Through some great miscarriage of justice he became a prisoner in the Fleet (1691), and in his petition to the^ High Court of parliament he avowed “ that he is not ,a person, seduced by fanaticism or phantastry, but that, God had in an ordinary way summoned his mind to )tsftntemplate that great prophetical frame and scheme of (tnc grand futurities ”. Tde declared that after the fall: iof Western Rome the papacy rose gradually to supremacy,! dethroning even emperors in fulfilment of its number! 666. Then God’s vengeance arose against it and was executed by the ^amcens'־ and Turks who were inspired By fhc~false prophet Mano^mct.^^^tiChrist, set up by God in wrath, counter to the Pseudo-Christian, false
428 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
prophet and Antichrist, the pope. Constantinople fell and the Reformation followed^ Protestantism prevailed in Great Britain and the persecuted Waldenses now stood on their feet : “ All this is a great preparation for a Re-Reformation, and a change to a Philadelphia, to which the prelatism and ceremonialism of the Sardisian pompous church shall bow. For besides the change in nations and governments there shall be a pouring down of the spirit from on high in all its miraculous gifts and graces, a return to the apostolic times of the truly primitive Christian Church, a preaching of the everlasting gospel in all tongues and languages, and then a sudden appearance of the kingdom of Christ.״
The four wheels of Ezekiel had come to their last turn, i.e. the French antichristianizing power, concern-ing which Beverley heard according to Ezekiel 10 : 13, “ O Wheel, mene Tekel ״. Set free, Beverley dedicated (1691) the “Catechism of the Kingdom of Christ ״ to all .Christians and bishops. On g#ge :2 he correctly inter-preted Revelation 20 as the saints, the children of the ‘resurrection who “ sit on thrones and judge angels and ¿the world with Christ ; and reign with Him a thousand 1years, not upon earth, but over the earth ״. In his 1696 edition he laid stress upon the fact that “we must be in the 2223rd year, just two years before the fall of mystical ?־Babylon ״. In his “ 1 ooo^^^j^ingeiom. of Christ ״, Jie called himself “ a Forerunner of the everlasting gospel ״V that kingdom near toBe^prcached יי (Rev. 14: 7). On ,the occasion of the terrible earthquakevv®cn shook Jamaica and was felt in England, Beverley dedicated (1693) his treatise “ Evangelical Repentance unto Salva-tion 2) ״ Cor. 7 : 10) to the royal pair, exhorting them in his preface : “ 0 that at such a time as this, general Reformation by both might be tinctured with the knew-ledge of the kingdom of Christ ; when by the sure word of prophecy (deeply to be searched), it is so near ; how great honour would be returned from hence ! ״
Beverley’s preaching and writing had a telling effect [-upon inquiring minds on the Continent. K.(BriisskenJof [Offenbach, a court-chaplain, during a visit/Ep^nglajid, TÍad lieard Beverley preaclTto jhousands, j^na was nim-
429
PHILADELPHIA
self so deeply Jmpressed, that after; a with him, he published a selection frc 1 ’ 1	1 /τ
686}ן). The title page of his second edition is added and also a^Earfcshowmg plainly the seventy weeks as a .part I of the^T^ooyears. On this page Brüsskeri'fëlts' us that I Beverley is"" an excellent, pious divine, a diligent searcher of the prophetic word, who in its exposition is a real wonder of a man ”. Giving a survey of Beverley’s ideas (p. 15, f.) he declared: Although Christianity, cleansed from papal filth and supported by such strong arguments, had accomplished so little* yet-according to Revelation^ 10 : 7 he expected withiiysix yea¿k the complete resur-rection and exaltation oí t!1e"'two witnesses* and the fall of the papacy and of the Turk. Then the great voÏcê^Tif heaven would be heard that the kingdoms of this world are Christ’s, and the^ high Protestant clergy would b& abased to PhiladHp^B.'equality, the Holy Spirit woulcN be poured out, and the 144,000 sealed. “ I expect the Irue evangelical Philadelphian Church, of which the !church at Jerusalem was a brief, prophetic guarantee land seal, also the proclamation of the eternal gospel, s l^the general gathering of the heathen tc Christ and of all |^the converts, in general termed Israel.” His bright hope was the first resurrection of all saints and the Edenic transfiguration of all survivors, but with it the sitting of the judgment, causing the plagues to fall and the great tribulation during the forty-five years. If the sixth millennium were not shortened, no flesh would be saved. In his “ Grosse Wghjvoche ’’ (1696) Brüssken maintained that this wotÎcPs age is reflected in the seven days of ere a tig¿;. ״ He heard only good reports’’about" Beverley, and he was by no means a Quaker. The seventh ¿ millennium would bring the Sabbath-rest, the^rue^yearw eejTonged for by the entire creation (Weltwoche, ' p. 54). Jungmann’s claims that Daniel 8 : 14, f. refer to Antiochi^BTfissicen refuted in a “ Key ” to “ Scripture Line ”.
imputations of Alsted and Wrexham stirred cjohn Maso¿^minister at Water-Stratford, who was greatly־ appreciated for his piety and learning. His sermon, “JThe Midnight-Cry ” (1691), tersely gives the signs of
430 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH ( ,
the times : “ The nations are shaking ; envy is broiling ; the devil is warring ; the papists are raging ; the Turks are falling ; the elect are crying ; the virgins are sleeping ; and the Lord is coming.״ God speaks this to the Protes-tant lands : “ There will be a midnight cry and all will be ·awakened. So it will be in England” (Rev. 3 : 3). Sardis represents the Protestant churches and particularly this : “ I will come unto thee like a thief.” He believed himself to be as John, a harbinger of Christ in the Spirit of Elias, who would finish his testimony within three and a half years and then he would behold the Lord without seeing death. His followers, who thought themselves the true Philadelphia, performed only the most necessary work, and gave their time to witnessing and warning that time was no longer. Mason dieck*694 (Mason, p. 3).
Beverley:Jived_,on and was the^firstjto clearly demon-ft!rate the close relation between the 2,300 years ancT the 490, and^Làt ~	of the word'tîô^'üild'’'
marked the beginning of both. He correctly began the 70 weeks with ,the, third. decxee»-^4^״,years befóte the real ^ birth of Christ,, but.he left it xU lUter Interpreters to" reach the final conclusion that this also marked the commencement of the 2^00 ^years, He also shed con-siderable light on fhe^right interpretation of the word “ tahmeed ”. He eagerly watched for the time when the prophetic Song of Solomon, composed during the typical reigns of David and Solomon, would be realized by his singing in the kingdom of Christ—as set forth in an “ Exposition ” (1687). Meanwhile he sang (p. 72) :
“ Though not in Babel’s land, but Babel’s times,
’Tis Sion’s song I sing ; as its sweet chimes,
I skill not to tune high.”
LXXI
PENN’S PRAYER : “ THOU, PHILADELPHIA, NAMED BEFORE THOU WAST BORN ”
While pious diyineadn^England jmd^onjthe Continent were trying to create a regenerated, zealous^Philadelphia ready to meet the Lord, the Quakers sougfiTTo reach
PHILADELPHIA
ז 43
the sam^oaliiLtheh way. Fox went to the West Indies and to (North America to establish a world-wide king-dom of GocF William Penn, son of a noble admiral, received crown-lands on the Delaware in satisfaction of his father’s claims, and here he realized his “ sacred attempt ” to found a state in his forest lands (Penn-sylvania), whose fundamental law granted every settler the God-given right to freely confess his convictions, and to worship according to the dictates of his own con-science. In 1683 Penn named the city Philadelphia (“ Brotherly Love ”) in direct reference to Revelation 3 : 7,T His parting" letter proves this : “ And thou, Phila-delphia, the virgin settlement of this province, named before thou wast born, what love, care, service and travail hath there been to bring thee forth and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee ! My soul prays to God for thee, that thou mayest stand in the day of trial, that thy children may be blessed of the Lord and thy people saved by His power. ” (Appleton, Cyclo.
iv.	714).	_	_	.----7)
In English circles of/Bohme^followers, “The Phila-delphian Society for tne~T?3vancernent of Piety and Divine Philosophy” was formed in 1695. It originated with the prophetess Jane Leade. who had studied Bohme’s works for many years, and who was quite a writer her-self. The physicians Prodage, Lee, Fisher and Bromley assisted her in founding Philadelphian companies in England and on the Continent in various tongues. The jmystical piety of this Society affected the early stages ‘of Methodism in no small degree (Blunt, p. 425). Its 'sëcretary. ljeichma^/Phil. Societát, p. 57, f.), pointed to the great prophetic period in Daniel 8 :	14 as the\
“ first motive power that Christ’s presence in the might! ^of His Spirit was at hand ”. He determined that the
2,300	years, begun in Daniel’s time, would end about; 170cP-in round numbers—and likewise the 6,000 years,'! cut short for the elect’s sake. The cleansing of the sanctuary was the “ restitution of the church to its pure state”. The Philadelphian alarm was now sounding in their message to the world and would continue to sound “ until the revived Church of Jerusalem would be
432 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
bound together in Philadelphia by the indissolvable ties of brotherly love as a strong city ״ (Id. p. 61). Jane Leade herself, claiming in her “ Ascent to the Mount of Vision ” (1699) to have seen many things, wrote : “ Hither-to the diabolical spirit and the worldly spirit have had 1the superiority ; but it has been signified unto me that the time of the reign of the beast and of the dragon is very near expiring : when Christ will bring down his court and all powerful government here upon earth. . . . There was already a seed of light sown, and an united golden grain of faith, which would assuredly put forth their hands, that the time of the lily may be known. One full circle of a 1,000 years is already run out, and when the full point of the 700 years shall be superadded to it, then the thrones and dominions here below shall begin to bow and stoop to that reign and kingdom, which shall (by the spirit of the meek and holy souls) be set afoot ״
(p· 13)·
The influence Jane Leade exerted upon Lutheran circles in Germany thíougTTthe writings of Petersen has already been noticed. In reformed circles Labadie formed (1668) a fraternity of regenerated Christians who, sseparated from Babylon, awaited the spirit-filled, millen-״T^ial kingdom. The reformed theologian, H. Horch^, a friend of Spener, was frequently attacked for voicing his views on the Millennium in his Bible studies given while *fie acted as court chaplain at Herborn. Having his atten-^iion called to Beverley by Br^ssken, Horche studied Beverley’s works, and published an “ alpha amd omega of the chronological computations of the Scriptureיי (1697). On pp. 163181־, he discussed in detail the 2,300 Jyears as “ the guide to the entire succeeding chronological ^order of the Scriptures up to the glorious kingdom of ^Christ, Rev. 20״. He placed the beginning at 510 b.c., When building was stopped, and their end in 1790. He applied^Sa'rdis to the Church of the Reformation, to which :clung some of the dead works of the synagogue of Satan that would disappear in the Philadelphia period (p. 188, f.). According to his reckoning the Saracenic ^locusts swarmed from 62^772 ; and the Turks ruled from 1057-
¿É&ÍP· 206י
433
PHILADELPHIA
Horch¿ was suspended in .1698, and f01u1d_ çinploy-meñT'atffiffenbach. Nevertheless, he preferred to itinerate in the country. He was arrested several times. He visited Holland and England and came in contact with the Philadelphian Society, with Petersen and some of the pious ladies of the Berleburg nobility. His sixty German and Latin works testify of his Bible knowledge. In his “ Patmus ” (1709) he interpreted the Apocalypse ; later the Song of Solomon and Ezekiel. “ Philadelphia, i.e. Brotherly Love in a Righteous Faith ”, appeared in 1712; 1715 the “ Philadelphian Hour of Temptation” in which he refuted the doctrine of the restitution of all things. “ In our days, by God’s providence, dear Phila-j dclphia is breaking up the Sardisian night as the moon! and the aurora of morn.” The doctrine of the restitution was by no means the open door, but belonged “ to Satan’s special temptations in the time of the end, to which several had already fallen a prey ” (p. 5). His “ Prophetic Time-PointÆL. of■ -the Mohammedan .Realm ” was first printed“ Tn 1717, and republished with his portrait in \ךך\ at Zurich.^ Assisted by L. Scheffer, inspector at Berleburg, he published the “ Mystic and Prophétie. Bible ” at Marburg (1712).
In the notes on Daniel. 12 it is stated that there “ was "given to Daniel a line of time (2300 years), which extended from his time to the end, when the sanctuary would be rededicated at Christ’s appearing ”.	“ The 70\veeks
marked their beginning, which with the adJecT70 "years j of interrupted building ended in the fourth year after! the death of Christ ; ” the 2,300 years themselves would* J?ftá?í77c¡L. In his notes to..he interpreted the red drag&n as pagan Rome, wddch surrendered its seat to the pa^aLAlltichrist. The lamb-like beast	the
speaking image of the beast are the decrees of the councils. “ Whoever has not received in the confirmation the anointing upon the forehead or has no rosary in his hands, and is therefore not a Roman Catholic, he is denied pasture and water.” Then on Revelation 14 he inter-prêts the preaching of the everlasting Gospel to all nations as the Philadelphian open door, that the full harvest might be gathered in after the first-fruits have been
434 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
h^vesFe^k^Jfciopch^/carried on some correspondence with J. Heidegger, a theologian of Zurich, who published (1687) K1S " Investigations of the apocalyptic prophecy epneerning Babylon/ tfieGreatThese two volumes,
containing 1,200 pages, pn)ve3 the fulfilment of prophecy in the reign of the pm3acv\ wh°se " persecutions sur-passed the old pagan in their greater variety, the greater number of persecutors and the greater cruelty toward the suppliants ” (ii. 228). Horchqf founded a number of Philadelphian churches, and remained loyal to his funda-mental views concerning the corruption of the Church and the necessity of its reformation until he died, 1729. That God really aroused this desire to create a Phila-elphia, is best seen from the fact that this movement prang up at the same time in different countries and ifferent religious bodies, even among pious Catholics, 'he pope’s favourite and Rome’s most popular confessor, Ihe Spaniard Molinos, led thousands to a deeper meditation by his ^SpiritualJGuide ” ; and the Jesuits, who sharply tombated this so-called “ Quietism ”, gave themselves no rest until in 1697^^Múlmo¿"Sí3e3 his career in prison, and some 200 prominent persons had been arrested by ínc inquisition. Among these was also the pious lady, ¡Guyon^who suffered imprisonment several times in spite " protection from the famed Fenelon. Her ex-pôeition of the Bible filled thirty voTumcs and greatly p$fluenced later evangelical literature. Pietism, Quietism, ansenism, Quakerism, Mysticism quickened by^ the advent .ope, aimed at the one goal—to realize the Philadelphian iod.
nong the many believers who, according to the TUsted/reckoning, expected the Ml^nmm in 1694 was Pastor J. J. Zimmermann. He was a profoundly !earned Astronomer, cabalist and mathematician. He used the high church steeple of Bietigheim as an observatory in his endeavours to prove his conjectures from the stars and ^rom the Bible. During a dangerous fever he was treated hyf the celebrated Brunnquell—a great admirer of Bohrne £-who convinced his charge of the correctness of Bohme’s /Speculations. Under the pseudonym of Shemann de Caminicz (1684) Zimmermann in his “ Mundus Coper-
435
PHILADELPHIA
niz^.ns ” pointed to the autumn of 1694 for the beginning of Christ’s kingdom. In this work ne desired written íñíÓ^^ffónL^Trom* the Consistory upon the downfall cf Babylon in Europe, the millennium of the pious and universal conversion, the existence of true prophets now, and certain points of doubt concerning the Augsburg Confession. As the reply was not to his liking, he de-nounced (1685) the established Church as Babel in his “ Almost entirely revealed Antichrist ” (Sachse, pp. 463-
471)*.	.	״:'-·־־
־ Zimmermann was discharged as a heretic, and the war forced him to abandon his professorship at Heidelberg, so he came to Hamburg, where he wrote a number of works. Later he founded at Erfurt a “ Chapter of Per-fection ” composed of forty like-minded theologians, who, as Elijah of old, wanted to serve the world as the true witnesses of the Spirit, and to behold the Lord as per-fected saints, without seeing death. The number four represents the perfect Deity ; 40, which is its decade, is known as the number of perfection. God granted three times 40 years respite for the repentance of the ancient world ; 40 days and nights it rained ; 40 days the waters subsided ;	40 days and nights Moses sojourned upon
Sinai ; Israel wandered 40 years in the wilderness ; 40 days and nights wrere spent by Elijah in fasting and prayer ; 40 days w'ere granted Nineveh for repentance ; 40 days and nights Christ was tempted ; 40 days after His resurrection He showed Himself to His disciples ; and 40 years later Jerusalem was destroyed (Sachse, p. 38-42).
The Pietist chapter was suppressed at Erfurt. Fra^pke was expelled, 1691, and the eyes of all the new fraternity turned toward the New World. “ Asia is fallen, and its lamp gone out. For Europe the sun has set at bright midday. America sees a lily blooming whose perfume will spread unto the heathen. The light of the evening ' shall send its brightness even unto the morning, and bring again the end unto its beginning, whereat Jacob shall be glad, and Israel rejoice” (“ Chronicon,” jp. 13). One of the promoters of this emigration was ^etgrsren who with his wife was a member of the FrankfortLand Company, under whose auspices Pastorius had bought
436 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
from Penn (168^) a large strip of forest near Philadelphia, ?upon which thirteen families Pietists and Quakers from [Crefeld founded the flourishing settlement of German-town. Zimmermann wrote the Quaker, B. Furley, a rich merchant of Rotterdam, to assist their Chapter “ to depart from these Babylonian Coasts, to those American plantations, being led thereunto by the guidance of the Divine Spirit ”. He forthwith fitted them out with a ship from London, and assigned to them 2,400 acres at a small rent. Zimmermann died shortly before they sailed, and his Deputy, Master Johannes Kelpius, a native of Transylvania, was chosen as the Magister of the Chapter. During their stay in London the leaders of the party had considerable intercourse with the “ Philadelphists ”, and Kelpius kept up correspondence with them. Their ship, Sarah Maria, was driven against a sandbank, but Kelpius told the Captain upon a “ third inward prompting ” that the Lord had promised them a safe arrival. They had a sharp encounter with a French frigate, but after a four months’ journey they safely landed, and their first act was to thank the Almighty upon their bended knees for having carried them “ as on eagle’s wings such an immense distance through all the gates of death ” (Sachse, p. 12).
Finding the settlers in a low spiritual state and with-out Bibles, -JCoster, Kelpius’ assistant, ordered some /Bibles from London at his own expense, and looked after ^their religious needs. Kelpius secured the “ Ridge.” near Germantown, romantically situated between the Wissahickon and Schuylkill. Upon the highest point they built a log-house forty feet square and true to the cardinal points of the compass. It contained a large room for their religious and musical services, in addition to a schoolroom and the separate cell-like rooms for the recluse disciples. Surmounting the roof w7as an , observatory in which some of the scientific members ן were “ continually at the lookout for celestial phenomena i —so that in case the Bridegroom came in the tniddle:._pf I the night their lamps would be found to be filled and !trimmed’’. Surmounting this structure was the Rosi-crucian Symbol. A small natural cave, near which flowed a spring, was claimed by Kelpius, and after it had been
437
PHILADELPHIA
made habitable, Kelpius was wont to retire thither for contemplation—this he did till the time of his death. In vain did the settlers try to persuade them to forsake their solitude in the wilderness ; the brethren insisted that they must live apart from the world to be prepared for some immediate revelations. Besides giving public instruction to the little children, they erected and main-tained the first charitable institution for religious and moral instruction within the state. That they might be able to render aid to the sick they gave considerable attention to the cultivation of medicinal herbs in their large garden. Kelpius distributed among the settlers his short “ Method ” for inward prayer to inspire them to real piety, and the songs and music of the fraternity cheered all visitors of the tabernacle. As the “ Contented of the God-loving Soul ” this fraternity desired to live without a special name, striving to unite all men as a true Philadelphia in the love of Christ and in the blessed hope of the speedy return of our Lord. Kelpius dated his letters from “ the wilderness ”, and the brethren often referred to Revelation 12 in their exhortations, hence outsiders termed them “ The Society of the Woman in the Wilderness ”. When Kôster with a small party withdrew, forming a new settlement nearby, his com-munity was known as “ The True. Church of Philadelphia ” (id., pp. 8087־).
few married, and others died, thus diminishing the perfect number. D. Falkner was sent to Europe to secure new recruits. In response to repeated appeals from the Swedish settlers on the Delaware, Charles XI sent three pastors, and one of their first calls w^as on the Fraternity, with whom they formed a close friendship. Among the first to communicate with Kelpius were the %bbatarians. Mumford had founded (1671) the first Seventh-day Baptist Church in Rhode Island, and their leaders in Pennsylvania called on the Fraternity and later hai jhgir books printed there. According to Ephrata manuscripts, the fraternity began to keep the Sabhath, as-well, as the Koster. party and the Swedish pasior, Aurén (pp. 83, 126). Aurén actually engaged in missionary work among the Indians, preaching to them the Sabbath and Gospel truth, upon
438 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
the identical ground on which K. Beissel from the Pala-tinate formed the Sabbatarian community Ephrata thirty years later. As early as 1668 ,peiStcaited Sabbatarians in London had sent Rev. 12 : 17 as their greetings to the^^Temnant in Rhode Island In 1699 Kelpius wrote Mumford : “ You as a remnant of her (‘ the woman in the wilderness’) seed, long to sec your mother and groan for the manifestation of her children.״ He addressed him as brother “ in fellow-fighting in that free Spirit which ״strives for the prize of the first resurrection when in this midnight cry the Bridegroom’s coming is sounded forth among the virgin waiters for the preparation of the temple He informed Mumford of the many millions of Pietists or Quietists and Chiliasts or Philadelphians in Europe, whose fame is spread in all the four quarters of the Christianity of their day, and who are trimming their lamps and adorning themselves with white, silky holiness and golden righteousness to meet their Bride-groom (pp. 129-136). The concern that Quaker Furley felt for civil and religious liberty is shown in the clause granting the Sabbatarians an exemption in the Sunday laws, and in the anti-slavery clause (p. 444 f.).
Penn’s asylum for the good and oppressed of all nations attracted emigrants from every part of Europe. His colony developed, more rapidly than New England ; in three years Philadelphia had more inhabitants than New York got in fifty. Teachers and printing-presses had begun their work. In 1706 Kelpius gave a striking des-cription of the threefold wilderness state. Barren was that state of unbelieving Israel which experienced God’s great miracles, and yet lusted after Egypt until it perished in the wilderness. Fruitful was the state of believing Israel, who, with Joshua and Caleb, had their faces turned toward Canaan, and prepared to possess the goodly land. But most glorious was the state of Moses. As the elect of God he was permitted to see God’s glory on Sinai, as did Elijah, John the Baptist, and the Apostle John on Patmos. “ Oh ! that we may behold our Beloved always, standing behind the wall, looking forth at the window, showing himself through the lattice, saying, Rise up, my love, my fair one and come away ” (Sol. Song, 2 : 9,
439
PHILADELPHIA
f.). Kelpius, ever working, preaching, prophesying, writ-ing, and ruling by the right of moral and mental pre-eminence, succumbed to consumption (1708).
Thus there was formed on the virgin soil of the New World a fraternity full of missionary zeal, brotherly love, and stirred by a bright advent hope, a peculiar light among men, for a time, because of their holy lives. Enjoy-ing the weekly Sabbath-refreshing, they laid the foundation for the Philadelphia of the Spirit. During my visit (1922) to Germantown—now a part of Greater Philadelphia city—I found it had best preserved its German quaint-ness. The cave of Kelpius and the spring are still hid away in the forest solitude on a private estate. Past “ Hermit Spring ”, “ Hermit Lane ”, “ Hermit Run ”, now a part of Fairmount Park, thousands dash along in their fine cars who hope to find their golden age in this world, unmindful of the musings of the famous Whittier in Pennsylvania Pilgrim ” (pp. 360-369), spoken of Kelpius and his virgin band, awaiting their glorious/ reward at the first resurrection :
" Or painful Kelpius from his hermit den By Wissahickon, maddest of good men,
Dreamed o’er the Chiliast dreams of Petersen.
Reading the Books of Daniel and of John,
And Behmen’s (Bohme’s) Morning-Redness, through the stone Of Wisdom, vouchsafed to his eyes alone.
Whereby he read what men ne’er read before,
And saw the visions men shall see no more,
Till the great angel, striding sea and shore,
Shall bid all flesh await, on land or ships,
The warning trump of the Apocalypse,
Shattering the heavens before the dread eclipse.”
LXXII
REALIZED FORECASTS AND PERVERTED MILLENNIAL EXPECTATIONS
Basing his calculations on Revelation 9: 15 Bright-man had at the very beginning of the century declared tKfTTurkish woe “ shall expire at last, about 1696 ”. The great chronologer, Bishop, Lloyd, who spent above twenty years in diligent and exact study of the Revelation, proved from it the peace made between Turk and emperor in
440 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
1698 long before the peace tvas concluded (Newton’s !Dissertations, p. 495). Cressenér foretold thejsame a few years before it happened. Since the fall of the Turk should ' be^TTie^prelude to the fall of the pope and‘the ushering in of the Millennium, the general expectation ran high,. When the success of the English Resolution was assured by the peace of Ryswick (1697), and Prince *Eugene gained several victories over the Turks, Bgxçilgy dedicated “ A Review of what God has been pleased to do this year according to prophecy ”, to the Lord Mayor, showing the fulfilment from Revelation 9: 15 (p. 11). ׳ Elated over the pr09pects that the next pope would fall, he declared (1699) 1n " Good Hope through Grace ” that the “ jubilee of the kingdom of Christ shall come upon the counterfeit jubilee of Rome before the end of 1700 ”, fulfilling Revelation 18 : 19. In the peace of Carlowitz (1699) f°r the fifSt time Turkey lost quite large territories in Europe, and from that time the expulsion of the Turk ^from Europe was urged. William V^^tah. the successor pf Newton in the chair of mathematics at Cambridge, but best known as the translator of Josephus, in “ An Essay on Revelation” (1706)..laid special stress on this 1forecast fulfilment. As an astronomer, counting 365 days to a year, he states on p. 187 regarding the second woe :	“ Ottoman’s reign is to be dated from May igth^
JE.J0I.” “ To this epocha therefore let us add the ”Tore-mentioned number 396 years and 106 days, and we shall come to September 1697. And it is well known that the last and concluding victory which the Christians under Prince Eugene of Savoy gained over the Turks, and which put a final period to the last war, was that very year, and that very date of the year, also.” Next year followed the famous treaty of Carlowitz. “ An accuracy not elscwLcrc to be observed in the prophetic writings.” When Prince Eugene visited London (1712) Whiston printed a new dedication of his Essay, pointing out that the prince had fulfilled some of the apocalyptical prophecies, and sent it to him. The prince replied that he wras not aware of having been known to John, but sent Whiston fifteen guineas (Diet, of Biography, lxi. 11, f.).
God lets wTise men err wdien they begin to think them-
PHILADELPHIA
441
V
selves wise, especially above what is written. Whiston was apparently greatly influenced by Bishop Lloyd in his interpretations fixing the end at 1716. He heard Bishop Lloyd “ thank God for being *laBIíT^to read the prophecies as he read history ”. That Bishop Lloyd himself was convinced can be seen from his having gone to the queen to prove to her (June, 1712) “ out of Daniel and Revelation that four years hence there would be a war of religion ; that the king of France would be a Protestant and fight on their side ; that the popedom would be destroyed by it, etc., and declared that he would be content to give up his bishopric if it were not true ” (Id. xx^iiL 437)· Accordingly, Whiston fixed the end of theM,260? years at 1718 : “The epocha of the anti-Christian státe is most probably to be fixed 455/56 and so its conclusion at 1715/1716 or at the utmost its epocha must be fixed 476 and so its conclusion 1736, which indeed seems to me the very latest time possible when we can suppose the end of the prevailing tyranny of Antichrist and the date of our Saviour’s glorious kingdom to be expected ” (Essays p. 210.
On p. 235 he then remarks respecting the 2,300 years, that “ we owe the observation of this famous period in Daniel 8 : 14 to our great chronologer and interpreter, the Lord Bishop of Worcester ” Xypyd). In a footnote he^.aJ3s Ï “ And^ëtTreffîarlcSBle are the words of cardinal Cusanus full 250 years ago relating to this matter.” ■*Counting the 2,300 Chaldean years as 2,267 Julian, Whiston; ^concludes : “ This vision, which determines the period,; of the church’s pollution to 2300 years from the time it! was seen, does most exactly and surprisingly agree with the computation above,0^37	”16־)· Adding
1,290 to 70—date of Jerusalem’s destruction—-he ends it with Wyclif, and i^jjlvould end with Λ Concerning Vthe emergence oLTdirtwo-horned beast, he finds a great consent among the commentaries that it began in 606, and if we add to it the still unexpired 1*110 years, they would end in 1716 (Id. 239245־). As to the beasts in Revelation 13, he remarks that we have here a plain account of the rise of Antichrist, i.e. the pope of Rome and his hierarchy. “ He requires greater submission
442 THE״ !MILLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
to his decrees than the supreme temporal power expects. He is the common centre and cement which unites all those otherwise distinct kingdoms, and by joining with them procures for them a blind obedience from their subjects ; and so he is the occasion of the preservation of the Old Roman empire in some kind of unity, name and strength ” (Id. 239245־). As an astronomer of some renown, Whiston went about lecturing in reference to eclipses and earthquakes, connecting them with the fulfilment of prophecies. In these lectures he used models of the tabernacle, for he believed that the restoration of the Jews was fast approaching. When ajl the dates had passed he published a revised edition (1744)' in which ^he'announced that the Millennium would begin in 1776^ whefiTthere would be no more infidels in Christendom (Ε.Ή.Α. iv. 522). Whiston’s astronomical computation of prophetic times made his system so elastic that only his death ended his fixing new dates.
Another forecast is found in 4ifi«^Apocalyptical Key” by the Scotch minister,,R^^leming,Sfirst printed 1701, and, because oî .ts strikffîgïWfiïmenf, republished m 180Q. In this “ extraordinary discourse on the, ike and falL-af-.the papacy ” the author stated (p. 18, f.) That cl ust1ma1¿r conquests laid the foundations TóFTÍfe [pope’s rise‘ and pavecT the way for his advancement.^ [Shortening the 1,260 years by eighteen years on the ^calendar scale, he dated them 6061848־. In his exposition of the fourth vial upon the sun, he expressed the hope (p. 53) that the French monarchy, as the chief supporter of the papal Antichrist, “ be considerably humbled about that thnu: that whereas the present French king takes the sun for his emblem, and for his motto, ‘ And no un-equal match for many antagonists ’ (Nec pluribus impar), he or his successors and the monarchy itself (at least before 1794) may be forced to acknowledge that inTespect to his neighbouring potentates he is even an unequal match for one (singulis impar).” The decay, oi. the papacy would occur between 1848—2000, when the 6,000 years !end, and the millennium begins.
After a long and persistent controversy, Protestant interpreters hud succeeded, in. .fixing the Millennium in
443
PHILADELPHIA
its right place once more—after the destruction of Anti-christ at the appearing of our Lord and in connection with the first resurrection.
The attitude of Bishop Lloyd and Sir Isaac Newton on the 2^00 days of Daniel 8 : 14 as year-days was welcome to W. "Ldwth 1n his cc Commentary on the larger and lesser Prophets ” (iv. 385) :	“ But since it is generally
agreed, that the persecution of Antiochus was a type, or an imperfect representation of a greater desolation which Antichrist should make in the church of God ” (cf. v. 13 with ch. 12: 11) “it is the gpinion of some learned men, that these 2300 days are a line of time that is to be‘extended to the end of the time of Anti-christ ; taking each day for a year, according to the genius of the prophetical writings מ (KTum. 14 : 34 ; Ezek. 4 : 6). According to this sense the three and half years (Dan. 7 : 25) and the seventy weeks are explained by most inter-preters. According to his opinion, these 1,260 days will be commensurate to the 1,290 or 1,335 prophetical days or years, mentioned in Daniel 12 :11, f., “and then the sanctuary will be thoroughly cleansed, and God’s indignation will come perfectly to an end This com-mentary, passing three editions and being also translated into Dutch, was incorporated into Bishop Patrick’s com-mentary on the Scriptures.
Whiston’s computation of the i%260 years was adopted as late as 1720 by Ch. Daubuz in his ponderous “ Perpetual Commentary jVp. ^35 ΓΤΧ
Governor ^Burnet of New York set forth the dates of the three periods of Daniel 12 in an “ Essay an Scrip-ture Prophecy” (1724). He said: “All these passages (Daniel and Revelation) compared with one another give so full and plain an account of the popes of Rome, from first to last, that a very moderate knowledge of history serves to satisfy us that they are meant of them, and cannot be applied to any other time.” Counting the three times from 4551535־, when the Reformation was at its height, he ended the remaining half time in his own days (1715). Both Daniel 12 : 11 and 8 : 9-14 treat the same subject. The man clothed in linen is our Saviour, who is the High Priest in His own tabernacle, and the
444 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
daily belongs very naturally to His tabernacle (p. 129). The abomination of desolation belongs to a spiritual service on the golden altar with the prayers of the saints, where Christ is High Priest, while the sanctuary is His Church which the papists have polluted by setting up a man to be worshipped, and to be a vicar of God with power to dispense with God’s laws, as confirmed in Dan. II : 37, ff. ; 2 Thess. 2 ; I Tim. 4 : I, f. (p. 141). He dated tj¿e	years from 455, when “ the western empire
ended ,under Valentinian III. These 1,290 would expire in 1745, and he felt that the 2,300 days would end at the same"?îfne, having begun in W־g b.ç. The 1,335 years were to extend till 1790, wEen tne n'rst resurrection would bring the blessed time (p. 155). In conclusion Burnet declared (p. 167) : “ If therefore I have made it probable, that the first period is come to pass, we may be justly entitled to hope, that the rest wdiich end in the kingdom of God, are nigh at hand, even at the door.”
LXXIII
THE PHILADELPHIA OF ZINZENDORF’s BRETHREN AND OF BERLEBURG
Great minds at the beginning of the eighteenth century yfere diligently searching the prophetic word which was opening its treasures to Tnquiring believers ever more and more, and men, wromen, and children of all ranks within and outside of the Church who believed themselves to be spirit-filled were urged on to proclaim the hope of better things in the coming dawn they were expecting as imminent. In November, 1701, Çevennes alone could reckon with some 200 prophets, aruFTn 1702 it was estimated that there were 8,000 inspired people in Langue-doc. Children three or four years of age began to preach repentance in good French. These inspired fugitives carried their predictions 0F woe and their visions of peace with them throughout large sections of Europe, leading others to enthusiastically follow their example. For instance, in Silesia several times a day children of four
445
PHILADELPHIA
to fourteen years would gather together hundreds of people in the various towns and villages, form a circle, fall down, sing, pray, read a portion of scripture, and exhort. Attempts to check this movement were made in vain.
1 "'״*The fraternal band of forty who left these Babylonish coasts to find the desired solitude in the wilderness of the New World, left many more equally ardent followers behind them troubled by Babylon on all sides. One of these, Hochmann von ,Hohqgau, converted at Halle¿ laid all upon the altar of Christ and carried the good news of the approaching redemption throughout the larger part of Germany, even as far as Prague, although bitterly persecuted (1697-1711). He was a very humble man, he practised what he taught, his remarkable enthusiasm and his stirring speeches in the vernacular of the people enabled him to win the hearts of all with whom he came in contact. Everywhere companies of earnest Christians were formed who waited for their Lord (Gobel, ii. 809־ 855). Through his efforts the widowed Countess of Wict-genstein was converted, and she, in turn, was the means of her son Casimir’s conversion. After he had become of age, the mother retired into the “solitude1712 ,״, to witness still more freely for her Master. Hochmann led the theologian Hofmann to Christ (1710) and, in turn, Hofmann was used to bring Terstegen to the Saviour —Terstegen so famous for his piety and influence.
“ Under the pious Count Casimir and his physician Carl, Berlcburg and its Philadelphian community of believers became the centre and fountain head of a mighty revival, which extended all over western Europe from the Alps to the sea ”, gathering together the scattered believers, and sending them the water of life far and wide. (Gobel, iii. 101). The most telling work of this Philadel-^hia was. the publication ‘	,^';ble. It'
¡appeared in eight large volumes (17281742־). The learned ¿theologians Haug, Schefer, Seebach, Edelmann, and Uolther furnished a translation, noted for its exactness, **ancTedifying comments. In accordance with the express wish of the count many of the comments were taken from Madame Guyon, intended to convey the spiritual
446 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
and mystical sense. Thc'2,300 days of Daniel 8 : 14 were 'explained as so many yeaf^S¥8*t0־ Dan1TI ץ2~ץTfttrcom— ment reads : “ On the whole Daniel is undoubtedly in-formed here concerning the commencement of the great line of time—the 2300 years—how this would be com-posed of 70 year-weeks reaching to the death of the Messiah and would result in very blessed effects.״ Com-mencing with the time of the vision they were to end in J748. T0 J)amel 12 the^ expositors fixed the commence-ment of the 1,260, 1,290 and 1,335 at <110, so that the last would end about the same time asj:hc 2^300. Much stress was laid upon the	־ ,years as “ a future
golden and blessed age as never before״ and the first resurrection was considered a special prerogative, which is called in Luke 14 : 14 the resurrection of the just, and in Hebrews 11 : 35 “ the better one״. Beginning with 1730 there appeared in Berleburg the spiritual “ Fama ״. It was full of news and reports of Divine revivals and leadings, deeds, ways and judgments, pertaining to the kingdom of God.
One of these Philadelphians, lohri . Seitz» who had visited Holland and England, zea 1 oust^jfavo c a t e d in various \vritings (1716-1735) the examination and com-putation of the prophetic times. According to his “ Un-sealed Revelation״, the^260^years extended from 400-1660, the 1,290 to 1690, tíie' 1,335 t0 1735י the 2,300 from 5S9.S*^<t^¿Í¿SÍP· 159» f·)· In his treatise “ Lord^Hmv long ! Isa. 0711 1718) ״) he computed the 2,390 years more precisely from	He also published
a “ Thorough Investigation*^" as to ivhether the ,,2»3Q0 days should really be looked upon as so many literal days during the time of Antiochus or rather so many years, representing “ the entire periods of the church, struggling and suffering under the prince of this world and his realm of darkness, from the days of Daniel until the end ״. In his “ Short Outline of the Apocalyptic System 1719) ״) he emphasized : “ The Philadelphian period, but recently commenced, has not only greater light and knowledge in all secular and spiritual affairs, but also more zeal and earnestness in the impartial truth and unfeigned piety ״ (p. 20). The last period of the Church “ the seventh, will
PHILADELPHIA
4+7
precede the final sentence upon Christianity.״ In 1723 he sent his “ Exhortation and Summons to all teachers of religion to study the most important book of Revela-tion with more earnestness, zeal and diligence and to present its true meaning with ample reasons and proofs for conviction ״, adding 150 apocalyptical questions.
Count ZfnzaTdoTf endeavoured and effected the fuller j realizatrqn 01 R^elation 3:7 f., in the revived “Unitasi Fratum ״ (United Brotherhood). The reading of Comenius’ I “ Ratio Disciplinae ״ (Account of the principles and practices \oi the Brethren)‘“led him to the conviction that his life-work was to consist in re-organizing this ancient brother-hood and leading it in a great missionary enterprise. >jAt the seminary in Halle he was thoroughly aroused to jjthc duty of carrying the Gospel to the heathen. In the : jktate churches he saw only an enforced nominal Christi-(anity. While still counsellor of justice at Dresden (1721-> 1726) he conducted public meetings “ to build up the Philadelphia Church ״. In this brotherhood should be manifested “ the hitherto invisible church of believers scattered throughout all religions״ (Ritschl, iii. 210, f.). His desires took definite shape in the Moravian Brethren, who fulfilled “ the hopes of Comenius and his brethren in an unexpected manner half a century after his death in the founding of Herrnhut, where their church was revived״ (Levering, p. 31). This “ Lord’s Watch״ was established by them on Zinzendorf’s estate at Berthelsdorf. The church constitution which he proposed to them was accepted in 1727, and in a very short time their missionaries, urged by the Spirit of God, wandered forth among the .heathen, opening missions on three continents. Years before Jünzendorf went out, the. Sabbath of the fourth :commandment was fixed as the day ־of rest and prayer, ¡the Gemeintagy on which they celebrated the Lord’s !Supper. Bishop Levering gives a reason for this, which “ was that rest of body and mind on the seventh day kept the Divine example and ordinances sacred, which were older than the Mosaic law. It was argued therefore that they could be thus applied to man and beast without any thought of Old Testament legalism ״.
The land of Penn, with its broad and liberal charter,
4+8 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
was the particular region which the people of Herrnhut ^had in mind when (1727) they began to think of sending men to America. When the Moravians founded their settlement in the forks of the T3elaware, according to the custom they had adopted;׳־tftgy;Tirst celebrated the Lord’s Supper on Saturday (July 8, 1741). Upon Zinzen-dorf’s visiting them (1742) not only did he speak to them for the first time on Sabbath, June 23, but that afternoon he gave them “ an exposition of the various church-types !presented in the Seven Churches ” (Id. p. 129). What could have been more fitting in the land of Penn than to have recognized the period of Brotherly Love not alone in the establishment of the city of Philadelphia, but also by the development of a spiritual brotherhood, whose missionaries should carry the everlasting Gospel to the ends of the earth. The very next day “ there was a thorough discussion of the question as to what course they should pursue, both as a principle and as a matter of expediency, in reference to the observance of the first day and the seventh day”. Bishop Levering (p. 129) continues : “ The Sabbath question, in this sense, was a more conspicuous one among the religionists of the country, both German and English, than is now com-monly known.” Zinzendorf experienced most blessed Sabbath gatherings at Bethlehem, but tried in vain to unite the various other beliefs into one harmonious Philadelphia. “ Old Matthâi ”, the successor of Kelpius, wandering about Germantown with his long staff, and respected by everybody, became an intimate friend of the count’s. But few of his members were left even when Beissel, with some companions, arrived in 1720 to join the chapter and to found a new settlement, called Ephrata. In 1738 this flourishing company of Sabbath-keepers was able to erect not far from the old hermitage a large stone house, still known as the “ Monastery ”. Ere Matthái died, the Moravians brought to him as their first-fruits three converts from the Indians. Dr. Witt survived all of the Elijah disciples, and, until his death (1765), he was beloved and sought after by all for his medical skill and his rare botanical knowledge.
In 1739 the editors of the Berleburg Bible commented
449
PHILADELPHIA
on Revelation 3 : 7, f. : “It might be well said that there has been in Óür days a beginning and a foreeast of Philadelphia, where none need fear the other : with many *there was but one heart and one soul. But this cannot ?be said now, for to our shame we have backslidden. . . . ¿The name of Philadelphia has become a byword in the ; Gratings of ma^jgojjers.”
*Even the pentecostaí days of Jerusalem were of short duration, and in the later days the Lord had to raise up men with advanced light, for new blessings and revival. But a Berleburg Bible carried across the wide ocean by a PhUad^phiaa-hrother worked like a mighty leaven in the New Worldy_as, the following inscription on it in the ,museum atTfermantown, stillJp^tp.keRS : “ This Berleburg Bible, once the property of Samuel Mechlin, who brought the book with him from Germany, caused Christian Sauer to print his Bible.״ Long before an English Bible was \printed in the New World, Sauer printed the first German :Bible issued in America, at Germantown (1743). The .famous Jung-Stilling (born 1740) testifies that during ¡his childhoOa," when he and his father belonged to the Berleburg Philadelphia, “ the spiritual Fama has ever caused him the most joy״. As late as 1812 he testified in his “ Grauem Mann ״ (Werke, viii. 393, f.) concerning this blessed time : “ There is no time in all church history, wherein the expectation of the advent of the Lord was so urgent and general, as during the first half of the present century : the Halle revivals preceded, the renewal of the Brethren through Zinzendorf followed on its heels ; then the mystic (Philadelphian) Society at Berleburg, the fruit of the Berleburg Bible. ... In short during 17201730־ the expectation of the kingdom of our Lord was so strong and general that it might well be said, the virgins went out to meet Him ; but the bridegroom tarried, he came not, the virgins became sleepy and fell asleep ״ (Gobe.1, iii. 101, f.).
Thus at the beginning of the Philadelphian period the living advent faith appeared in close connection with a zealous missionary spirit, an united brotherhood and a faithful observance of the Divine law and of an earthly Sabbath as the foretaste of eternal bliss.
450 THF, IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
LXXIV
BENGEL FIXES “ THE GREAT YEAR ” ACCORDING TO HIS “ GOLDEN llNE^OTTriME ”
Í pietism assumed a really popular form in Wiirtem-ipergT^wliere it tooTTÎrm root among theologians, towns--pFtffftr and farmers, whose hope for better things was founded upon and kept alive by earnest Biblical re-search. Its greatest light was the pious and learned Ben gel Í1687-17 C2T of whom it was well said : “ Wurtem-berg has never seen a better man than this divine.״ While ].A. Bengel attended college, God was his best teacher, tÏÏcTGrëïïlf^New Testament his chief lesson book, and the works of Sgener, Arndt, and Francke his choice literature ¡oí edification. Bèïofe he entered upon his responsible ®office of educating future theologians (1713) he visited the most important German schools. He acquired a thorough knowledge of the original text, was well versed I in history, thoroughly acquainted with the best com-mentarles, and by 1724 he had explained to his. students the entire New Testament 6ix times, and his u Guarnen” *was nearly ready. From his correspondence during 172526־ it appears that the terrible slaughter of Protes-tants at Thorn instigated by the Jesuits mightily con-firmed him in the conviction that the pope was the pre-dieted Antichrist. It became evident to him also from the very facT^that the Scriptures speak to us of something additional, as counting of numbers, signs of times, years, months, days, hours, and even half hours, “ that it does become us to inquire into what God has set before our Qyes in the sacred writings, that we may profit withal. Many have undertaken to discover future events which they promised should transpire before now, thereby exposing their own ignorance ; while many have pre-dieted great things for times still future, who will likely be found as ignorant as the former. Still, I think the reason why mistakes of this sort have been made by sanguine and pious minds will itself be gradually elicited by their very errors״. As early as 1727 he was con-vinced that the doctrine of the “ millennium will become
PHILADELPHIA
an article of faith, and people will be ashamed of their opposition to it ” (Burk, Memoir״, pp. 431, 432437־).
~ KengeT~wrote many Latin and German works, some of which passed a number of editions and were translated into other tongues. His “ Gnomen ” is still a treasure-house for theologians. His expositions on the Apocalypse (1740, 1747, 1758, 1834) and his Sixty SermonVtm the book (1747, 1788, 1836, 1874) f°und a very hearty response at home and abroad. They were circulated in extracts, in tract form, and worked over into verse and prose, and are still being republished.
Concerning Rey elation,.. L3 : 1 _ Bcngel positively de-glares in nine propositions : The beast rising out of the Ipca is the Roman papacy, as it Las been raised up six ècnturics ago*” since Hildebrand, is still standing, and will remain yet for a time. In the tenth he declared : “ From the truth of this exposition neither foe nor friend shall be able to move us.” Then, later on: “ Thqjittlfc jhorn of Daniel becomes with John a special beast and points chiefly to his latter times ” (¿¿j^^^££׳,Jי 24-437־ S442). He positively^ rejected every attempt to weaken this testimony, or to interpret it of some future or some past antichrist, saying : “ Hence in these times of great temptation, when we are needing every means of spiritual health, one important specific remedy wdiich God has given to promote it, is deprived of all its peculiar virtue ; and the Divine testimony against popery is overlooked or nullified, at the very period wdien such a testimony is more requisite than ever” (Burk, Memoir, p. 321). Respecting the beasL^put^of the earth, wdiich supports and defends the doctrine of the papal powrer in the most forcible manner and yet in its own interests, he judged that it had not yet arisen, and therefore its ascent could not be manifest (Erkl. Offb. p. 458). Qn. Jievelation y4 he commented that the three angels signify three messages, and also the instruments whereby they are ,given. “ These instruments are men, though they likely Lave the secret aid of angels. The first is probably Arndt, whose writings, translated into many languages, have been spread far and wide and are diligently used by earnest Christians, The second angel is Spener, through
452 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
whom the study of New Testament prophecies has come into vogue again. The third angel is not far distant ; his commission will consist of warnings and threatenings ! of the severest punishments against honouring the beast i with any Spiritual or external reverence ” (Burk, p. 287).
In the hope of avoiding the mistakes of the past he tried to create a golden middle way by explaining the A Apocalypse as a continuous history, by replacing the ' full year-day by one shortened artificially, and by adopt-£ a two-fold millennium—one in Heaven and the other earth. Bengel was misled into his complicated system Ot computing prophetic time by the papal misapplication : i the number 666, followed by Luther. While preparing I a sermon (Dec. 1724) the thought came to his mind: “ Whilst there is no time-limit set, when the kingdom of God will be completed, is it not possible that such a time-limit is set for the preceding tribulation, which is the way to this glory ? If such be the fact, then will. not only the ^2_ months of the beast’s blasphemy, hut likewise the number of his name 666 contain a precise and definite period of time, and these two expressions Údenote the same identical period ? ” (Burhv,Memoir, V» 283, f.). In trying to harmonize 666 with 42 prophetic months, he created his complicated system of computation ¿Based upon the Greek word chronos “ time ” found in Revelation 10: 6. The 666 years were to run from 1143 to 1809; the 3I times from 1209 to June 18ץjCon-Tlcerning the computation of the “ great year ” Bengel admitted :	“ Even though within 5 years the beast’s
' chronological number shall still remain unexpired, such a failure in our apocalyptical calculations is no more than a crack on a pane in the window of a large edifice. Still let the remainder stand, especially the grand termina-tion which I anticipate for 1836. Should 1836 pass away (without any such remarkable change in public affairs as I have anticipated, some fundamental mistake must be sought after” (Burk Memoir, p. 316). JJuinness ^(Hist. p. 192) well says: “ BengeTs mistake. remm3s~us of the fact that there is commonly au element of truth in that our errors are often half truths ; and therefore
error
453
PHILADELPHIA
not to be wholly rejected, but rather corrected by the separation of their dross, or the addition of omitted elements.״ The Quitted element was the (־year-day so
Sly taught in t11?B1BI^^	; Jiis
truth was that 1836 was so 1ί?3γι84344־ when the י נ days actually ended. His attention had been d to it by Princess Frederica, who diligently read âiis writings. Thinking for herself and extremely desirous lío see her Lord come soon, she wished to know whetheis fthe ''2.300 davs were pot to be counted as years (!750· ·She had read in Kônig’s commentary that the Lord was ' to be expected in 1750 at their expiration. Bengel replied that truly the seventy weeks disclosed the time of the first advent, and Simeon had known the definite time, so it might be more reasonably expected that we should be able to know definitely about the time of the second advent, but the 2,300 days if counted from Cyrus’ decree would end in 1744 (Ekk Off, p. 733, 739). Bengel over- j looked that the decree ot ־Cyrus was merely the first of j ,the three decrees, and that the Lord was not to come W the end of the time, but that His sanctuary should be cleansed.
Bengel’s intuition, instructed by the prophetic fore-casts, led him to understand that as the fulfillment t something extraordinary must happen soon. The power of tÏÏc"papary must be broken 7 the' frfëbbprics Imïï abbeys secularized, the French empire created and_ the Germañ-Roman Empire dissolved. Ere “ Rev. 17: 12 is fulfilled, great changes must take place with the kings and states of Christendom. The globe will have a different aspect and the old charts must be supplied by new ones”. 1“ The three hellish bolts : Turca (Mohammedanism) ^?apa (pope) Apap (subjection of the church to the state) ftiust be removed.” “ Since the Reformation the evan-gblical truth is being transmitted from generation to generation, and its wine rests upon the dregs. But now for some time extraordinary things are happening . . everything is shaken and stirred.” “ Ours is a miserable frigid, slumbering age, which needs an Awakener ; and surely an Awakener is coming.” “ The spirit of our age turns more and more into scepticism and naturalism. The
454 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
Holy Scriptures are held in painful contempt, and often those who still regard the Scripture are maltreated, so that many take offence and go astray. This scepticism and unbelief has already taken hold of the common people.” “ Now it takes much pain and time to convert heathen ; but they will yet come in great numbers, even whole nations. Rome has held this up long enough.” “ Those who will exercise faith in waiting for Christ will not be wanting, but their number will be small in com-parison to the great multitude of those who have departed from the faith.” After the greatest darkness men like Waldo, Wyclif, Huss, Luther, Arndt, Spener arose, but this was only the cockcrow at dawn until the seventh perfect one may come, “ until finally the pure gold will come forth out of the melting pot ”. “ The most impor-tant thing surely remains true : within a hundred years the great change must come ” (Burk, p. 296302־)^
Bengel sowed the wheat, and yet his forecast that Satan would sow tares of infidelity to reap a much easier and more plentiful harvest' was realized only too soon. Sir Isaac Newton had already made the sagacious con-gecture that the prevalence of infidelity would in all !probability be an instrument in the hands of God to Overthrow the tyranny of Rome. Whiston added in 1744 This seems to be the very means that is now working jn Europe for the same good and great end of Providence ”. Within a few years (1751) there appeared the Encyclopedia of Diderot and d’Alembert, attacking both faith and superstition in the name of science. Diderot, had been a Jesuit, and now was hostile to the CJ external existences yand to every supernatural endeavour” and his Encyclo-1 ׳pedia, regarded by many as a second Gospel, spread Its poison far and wide in abundance. Voltaire’s 70 volumes, being “ one continual sneer at all that men do hold, and all they ought to hold sacred ”, undermined religion. Reared under the tutorship of the Jesuits and ;honoured at the courts of princes, he saw in the Bible but a book full of contradictions and in part responsible for the inquisition ; he hoped to set it aside shortly by a religion of reason. Protestant theologians, infected by this spirit of infidelity, questioned the inspiration of
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455
the Scriptures, and s^w in the prophecies the worst stumbling-stone. Abj/auzit of Geneva was the( first to attack the canonicity of the Apocalypse in his “historic Discourse on the Apocalypse1730) ״). Later theologians *limited the vision of this book to the destruction of Juda-ism. Wettstein imagined Gog and Magog to be fulfilled in Bar Cochba. Sgjglgr^ of Halle declared that most of the Old Testament and some of the New Testament, especially the Apocalypse, was not inspired. The latter was full of “ Jewish-chiliastic fanaticism ” produced “ in the workshop of the Montanists, who had brought the rhapsodies of Papias and the Apocalypses into Gallic (Neue Unters. p. 216). He also published the work of Oeder, “ A Free Investigation into the so-called Apocalypse of John 1665) ״) which “ denied not only its apostolicity, but also its literary beauty, and maintained that the real author was Cerinthus ״. Significant is the following from Ltiderwald in his perface to. his “ Endeavours ” to explain the Apocalypse (1777): “ I have seen the time when this book was highly respected.׳ I have also beeii a witness of the many storms and attacks stirred up against it in recent times. But considering all this I have found no cause to join in its rejection.״
How many theologians of the time looked with con-tempt upon any serious exposition of this book, Eichhorn, of Gottingen (Offb. S. 5) plainly states : “ Whem^n^i^I I TeTF a desire to try my luck on the Revelation, this book had with the more learned of the theologians such a bad odour that it really took courage as an expositor to make an earnest effort to interpret it.״ When, after successfully lecturing on it, he finally dared undertake the task, he recognized John the Apostle as its author, but along with so many .Protestant theologians of his time, he adopted the preteiiakscheme of the Jesuit Alcasar. Another attempt to lead the Protestant exposition astray was made by Bishop Wal^sl^ Under the fictitious name of Pastorini he launched îiis “ General History of the Christian Church from her birth to her triumphant state in heaven1771) ״). Translations were made into Latin, German and French. He divided the New Testa-ment era into seven ages, answering the seven seals,
456 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
trumpets, and vials. The fourth age from 620-1520 is marked by the rise of Mohammedanism, the Greek schism, and, as a judgment on the latter, the fall of Constantinople. The fifth age begins with the apostasy of Luther, and the Protestants, locusts, are to last five prophetic months or 300 years (p. 186). The sixth age is still in the future, and will probably end in 6000, and the seventh thousand will comprise eternity.—
Immanuel Swedenborg believed himself the recipient of celestial rev^ations^which he published as “ Arcana Xoelestia ” (174756־) in Latin. His last work is entitled j The true Christian Religion ; or the Universal Theology 'oí the New Church foretold by the Lord in Daniel 7 : '13, f. and Revelation 21 : 1, f.” He claimed that the last judgment .took place in 1757, when the “ Old Church ״, or Christianity in its hitherto received form, passed away and" all things became new 1n the founding of the “ New [!Jerusalem Church ”. The Bible, difficult of comprehen-*S¿on, had to be superseded and in part rejected by a new ׳־revelation that its spiritual meaning might be apprehended by all readers. He thought that after their departure men became good or evil angels according to their lives /here, and so there is no need of a resurrection, nor has there ever existed a fallen angel or a real devil. With ;ï757 began “ the time of the second advent of our Lord,
i'wjiich is a coming not in person, but in the power and 'glory of His holy word ״. “ This new or second Christian Church, which will be the crown of all churches, and will stand for ever, is what was representatively seen by John, when he beheld the Holy City ” (Blunt, pp. 57983־).
^ As many events confirmed the forecasts of Bengel, his system of interpretation also ma^e.^sAgoj... Prelate Oetingei,. regarded the system of ms great teacher as Virtually inspired: “The whole Revelation of John is now made more intelligible than ever by the help of that man of God, Bengel, and now all that is necessary may be understood very comprehensively as a symmetrical build-ing.” The pious pastor Rjeger of Ludwigsburg felt con-strained to explain the Revelation in his sermons that he might warn his poor people, many of whom were Catholics, against the papacy (Claus. W.V., ii. 123). Closely
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allied to him was prelate Roos, who followed Bengel ml his exposition of Daniel Çv/jo). He believed himself in' duty bound to warn against the papacy as an anti-Christian power (Ausl. p. 139). In 1774 (republished 1857) there appeared his excellent “ Introduction into Biblical Histories ”. The more serious the times became the more attention he gave to questions pertaining to the last days. In his “ Observations ” (1779), m his “ Guide ” (1790), and in his “ Examination of the Present Time in the Light of the Apocalypse ” (1786), he warned every־ body against submission to the antichristian Roman Church. Even children might be told, when a speaking image is set up and a certain mark is to be enforced as a sign of confession to a new religion, that they should “ consider this as the last and most dangerous master-work of Satanic deception ”, and that they should rather be willing to let everything go than to have any part in it. To enable everybody to understand the Revelation, he published his plain “ Exposition of the Revelation ”, which was incorporated into the new summaries of the New Testament to be read in the churches of Württem-berg. In his preface (p. 40) he observes that the text in Revelation 20 did not say that the risen saints should dwell upon the earth ; rather “ the risen saints shall reign with Christ in heaven, where his abode is ”. He also stated (p. 155) that since 1740 the pope had ceased to exercise the power he had assumed in 1073, and the beast had “ begun to sink into its non-existence
Hagenbach (K.G. vi. 364, f.) well expresses Bengel’s merits and his lasting influence : “ Resting upon the two pillars of the historic contents of Scripture on the one hand and on the prophetic-apocalyptical word on the other hand, he looked down from his sure tower upon the storm, raging in his days, and uttered mighty words, which though to many seemed somewhat puzzling and! mysterious, yet they died not away in the storm, but; rather left a deep effect and later found their full apprécia-tion and justification.”
45^ THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
LXXV
FULFILMENT A “ GROWING EVIDENCE OF THE CERTAINTY OF DIVINE REVELATION ”
Through FrancJ^âîid Spener many streamkx^oi life flowed from the Pietisl, university at Halle, (Wesley) and Whitefield were fully converted by the Brethren of Halle and Herrnhut, and became the instruments of a still rri0re~ià'sting revival, which extended to the American !continent and passed on to succeeding generations. During ¡¡their“ education at Oxford they had formed the “ Holy Club ”, the methodical religious exercises of which gave the name to Methodism. Crossing the Atlantic repeatedly they did a glorious work of evangelization in both hemi-spheres. A remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit was also manifested in connection with the work of Jonathan Edwards in New England. In open air meet-ings these evangelists often addressed more than 10,000, and thousands were converted. Bengel, who had looked after the fountain head by preparing a better original text, furnishing a sound exposition of its meaning, placing the prophetic word anew on the candlestick and making it the great stimulus to missionary effort, also exercised a strong influence-over Wesley.
In m3־ Wesley was going to write his “ Explanatory Notes o^Ke^New Testament ”, designing, as his preface states, ce to write down barely what occurred to my own mind, consulting none but the inspired writers. But no sooner was I acquainted with that great light of the !Christian world, ·Bengelius, than I entirely changed my1 [design, being thoroughly convinced it might be 'nf’nnOrc service to the cause of religion, were I barely to translate his Gnomen New Testament, than to write many volumes upon it. Many of his excellent notes I have therefore translated, many more I have abridged, omitting that part which was purely critical, and giving the substance ¿f the rest ” (p. iv. v). In his notes on Revelaton 10 : 6 ne, with Bengel, comments :	“ The non-chronos here
mentioned seems to begin 800 and end in 1836.” The
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same date he also affixes to Revelation 12 : 16 and adds : “ The Turkish flood. Yet this flood still reaches the woman in her place ; and will, till near the end of the half time, itself be swallowed up, perhaps by means of Russia, which is risen in the room of the Eastern empire.״ Revelation 13 : 5 : “ ThevbeastMs the Romish papacy.״ jîp Ie¿ ״Out of the eartfp^Sut of Asîà־. But ne is not yet come ; though he cannot be far o^^Tor he is to appear at the end of the 42 months of the first beast.י5>1 134 ״: “ 666 ^ear§. S 0 hmg^shâJl .he endure from his. firs£,appear-jhg^^o : 3, 4 : “ These thousand years bring a new, Fun and lasting immunity from all outward and hward evils and an affluence of all blessings. But such a time the church has never seen. Therefore it is still to come. They lived—their souls and bodies being reunited, and reigned with Christ-^otT*on.With Bengel he also taugfit the*aouDlem^nrnmnT^ It mus| be observed that two distinct thousand years are men^ tioned throughout the whole passage.״ In his “Ex-planatory Notes upon the Old Testament1765) ״) he commented on Daniel j ; 24^ <É This seems to,me.&LLthe Romish antichrist.״ Cfn the other hand, it would appear from his notes ״on 2 Thessalonians 2: 3 that he still expected the real man of sin : “ But the man of sin, the son of perdition—eminently so called, is not yet come. However, in many respects the pope has undisputable claim to those titles. He is in an emphatic sense, the man of sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the son of perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers, destroyed innumerable souls, and^iiii^ himself perish everlastingly.״
^ TohnÆjlL/'an eminent theologian and orientalist, was [fully pei^TTSaed that at the end of the ^oqq years the ¡millennium would j:ome. In his commen*taryon the ¡Old Testament (1747) he explains the Uttle horn of Daniel 7 : “ The pope of Rome or Antichrist ; who" came to this power as universal bishop, and as a horn or temporal prince, after the above kings were established, as it was proper they should first be, since they were to give their strength, power and kingdom to the antichristian beast, by which
460 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
it became a horn or temporal power (Rev. 17 : 13 ) ” (Vol. vi. 326). On Daniel JSj 14 (p. 334) he says : “ Indeed as Antiochus was a type of Antichrist, and his persecution of that desolation made by the Antichrist in the Church, these 25jog_day&v inay he ^pxisidered as so many years,¿ whichjwili.bring it down to the end of the sixth millennium| or thereaboutwhen it may be hoped there will be a| hew^lace of things upon the sanctuary and Church 0/ God, and a cleansing of it of all corruption in doctrine, discipline, worship and conversation.” Daniel 12: 11 : “ The daily sacrifice, z.¿. the doctrine of atonement and satisfaction for sin by the Sacrifice of Christ ; the antitype of the daily sacrifice under the law ; this was taken away by Antichrist, ,when he got to his height, when he estab-| lished the doctrine of works, and opposed the merits of \ men to thelnents of Clirist, and his own pardons, indul-gences, penances, etc., to the satisfaction of Christ : the abomination that maketh desolate ; image worship, the abomination of the mass, and other acts of idolatry and superstition ” (vi. 373, f.). The Roman Antichrist should jpnd 1866,/and during the next thirty years the Jews |houT3 be converted, and then at the end of the 1,333 ^ears or in !341 the blessed time would come. During these forty-five years, the vials would have destroyed all the enemies of Christ’s kingdom, and made clear a way for its setting up “ in a more visible and glorious manner On Revelation 12, he finds the red dragon ** the devil, though not in person, but the heathen Roman empire or emperors, acted, influenced, directed, and presided over by him ”. The seven heads are seven successive forms of government. By the beast of Revela-tion 13 : 1“ is meant the Roman empire, when divided [into ten kingdoms and united in the papacy ”. Upon his horns are ten crowns, which distinguish Rome papal from Rome pagan, where the seven heads have imperial crowns (iii. 780-790). fijll was a strong defender., of a corpof^J^rst resurrection	saints.
In 1754 Tfiomas ״Newton’s “ Dissertations of the prophecies wrhicl^'ïïavé"Têmar^^ been fulfilled and at this time are fulfilling in the world ”, came from the press, and met with such a response that a number of editions
'A	PHILADELPHIA	46 ί
----x״ ־׳	-	-	-	_
and also^^t^nslat^ns were demanded. As early as 1757 it appeareTnitKe (jerm^n. In his introduction Newton sets forth “ the one great excellency of the evidence drawn from prophecy for the truth of religion, that it is a growing evidence ; and the more prophecies are ful-filled, the more testimonies there are, and confirmations of the truth and certainty of divine revelation ”. Newton believed that thqjMOodays were to be taken “ without dqaht,-.agreeably" to the sïÿle of Daniel in other places, not for natural, but for prophetic days or years.” reaching down to the cleansing of the sanctuary, which was still future and consequently also the expiration of these 2300 years. “ When jfrese years shall 1pe exphed: then tKeir end will clearly show^JErom whence their beginning îtAvas dated from the vision of the (he-goat or Alexander’s invading Asia in 334 b.c., then the 2300 years will draw toward the conclusion of the sixth millennium. The calamities of the Jews under Antiochus had been of small extent and of short duration in comparison with what they suffered under Nebuchad-nezzar and his successors, but those they suffered from the Romans were greater and worse than the evils brought on them by Nebuchadnezzar. And ‘ the transgression of desolation’ hath now continued these 1700 years. They expect, and we expect that at length ‘ the sanctuary will be cleansed ’, and that in God’s determined time His promise will be fully accomplished” (Diss. pp. 286288־). To Daaid״JLI.-^4£״ Newton explains between the seas to be the “ Holy Land ”, and thinks the fight will be between the Turk and his northern neighbours, the Greeks and the Russians. It is quite a current tradition among the Turks that the Russians will destroy their empire, and the Greeks have an esteem “ for the Muscovites, as for those whom ancient prophecies mentioned to be designed by God for their avengers and deliverers in after ages ” (Id. p. 355). The beast in Revelation 13 Newton identifies with the little horn of Daniel 7 because “not only the same images, but almost the same words are employed ”, and he refers to the decree of Justinian in	declar-
ing the pope to be the head of aÜ the Tmírch^sv In the two-horneg. beast he saw the Roman hierarchy, the regular
462 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
and secular clergy. “ The symbol and profession of faith in the church of Rome, as subserving to superstition, idolatry, and tyranny, is called ‘ the mark ’ or ‘ char-acter of the beast Newton then quotes a number of laws and canons in fulfilment of Revelation 13 : 17. William the Conqueror would “ not permit any one in his power ‘ to buy or sell’ anything, whom he found dis-obedient to the apostolic see ” (Id. pp. 612-620). As fulfil-ment of Revelation 14 : 612־, he points to Charlemagne, ¿JValdo and Luther and their followers, saying : “ I can hardly'fr^e7 even’ in’ imagination, any events which can answer more exactly to these proclamations of the ^three angels, than the three. principal effgrts toward ;rpfqiDiatid. p. 632). In closing, he declares, “ You have the great esr־ and" most striking of miracles in the series of scripture prophecies accomplished ... in the present state of almost all nations, the Africans, the Egyptians, the Arabians, the Turks, the Jews, the Papists, the Protestants, Nineveh, Babylon, Tyre, the seven churches of Asia, Jerusalem and Rome. And this is not a transient miracle . . . but is permanent, and pro-tracted through the course of many generations ”. “ It is not a miracle exhibited only before a certain number of witnesses, but is open to the observation and con-templation of all mankind ; and after so many ages is still growing, still improving to future ages ” (Id. 724).
In Luther’s days the mathematician ^Stiefel demon-strated the mathematical perfection of '3״tlie prophetic daíés ; in 1754^ the Swiss astronomer, M. de Chesaux, ^covered^Tnen astronomical value and p^ffS@t%n*an3 "published in it his “ Memories ”. He proved that 1,260 ;and 2,300 are soli-lunar cycles of remarkable perfection and accuracy, whose excellence was entirely unknowm to astronomers until, guided by the prophetic word, he dis-covered and demonstrated them to be such. “ And further, the difference between these two periods, which is 1040 years, is the largest accurate soli-lunar cycle known.” This astronomer fitly asks : “ Is it possible, considering all these points, to fail to recognize in the author of the Book of Daniel, the Creator of the heavens and all their hosts ? ” T. R. Birks, commenting upon
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these astronomical findings, observes :	“ When we re-
fleet that the celestial periods by which these cycles are determined, are themselves fixed by the law of attraction which gives the minutest atom an influence on the planet-ary motions, what a combination appears in these sacred times of the most contrasted elements of Omniscient wisdom ! Human wisdom sinks exhausted at the very threshold of this temple of divine truth.” “ Every one of the passages in Daniel thus.yields distinct.evidence in favour, jpf the year-day system ” (Elements, p. 372).
V	^ropRecy^ is a growing evidence of the truth of
the Christian religion. The more prophecies we can point to as being already fulfilled, the more testimonies are multiplied witnessing to this fact, and by their ever-increasing number do they make the certainty and truth of Divine revelation continually more and more manifest· The great poet, Charles Wesley, who composed some 6,500 hymns, many of which have become classics in song, added this testimony to that of his brother, John (“ Hymns,” ii. 123) :
"Yes, we know our Lord will come—
Smite the Antichrist of Rome ;
All his plagues and judgments pour,
Earth must, accurst, with fire devour.
But the curse shall soon remove ;
And the incarnate God of love,
Sitting on His throne, shall show Earth renewed is heaven below.”
LXXVI
THE CORRECT SOLUTION OF THE BEGINNING OF ^־'״j^THe 2,300 YEARS FOUND
What the great and wise sought for and searched after all in vain was finally revealed to the humble minister aby&eckbach; now a suburb of Frankf urt-oa-Main, when helSSffS^out that the seventy weeks in Daniel 9 solved the beginning of the £*3go years in Daniel 8. This servant of God was ^Fhihp^È^trjborn at Schlüchtern in Hesse (1718). Finishing nfè^roeological studies at Halle and Marburg, he was called to act as a Reformed pastor at
464 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Seckbach, where he served the needs of his small flock from 17461792־. In a pamphlet issued at the bi־centennial jubilee of the Seckbach pastorate, we find these words (F^sts^rift,^ 29) : “ He (Pétri) was a zealous shepherd
and...sefious minister who was diligently engaged in a
thorough study of the Revelation and the prophetic books ■of the Old Testament, and published an exposition of the Apocalypse which was well liked and much read by the earnest Christians of the Hanau region.” According to his own statement, it was the spread of the Seven Years’ War over all Germany and the serious state of the Church of Christ that prompted him to study the definite num-bers of Daniel and Revelation till he had a clear understanding of them. The writer possesses fourteen pamphlets written by this man, containing from 24 to 212 pages each. All of them are on prophetic and de-votional subjects.
The first is a 24־p>age treatise entitled “ Disclosure of jthe Numbers of Daniel and of the Revelation of John, ’based alone upon the divine Word, without any assistance ;of human computation The initials of Petri are given at the end. The preface, commencing with Revelation 18 : 20, emphasizes : “ This is the goal of these prophetic jmimbers, and the common objection that the last day !could not be determined is superfluous. For it was yet ■far beyond all the dates mentioned here, and I know of but little use to know it or to try to conclude it. But what profit, and what soul-refreshing comfort one ex-periences in humble investigation of these periods without which Daniel and Revelation and other prophets remain obscure books, only he who experiences it can believe (Dan. 12 : 4).” Then he mentions twelve prophetic periods in Daniel and Revelation, most of which pertain to the
1,260	years. However, he begins with the 2,300 days of Daniel 8 : 14 : “ Because this number is thé largest and included all the rest.” “ The key to its beginning is in the 70 !weeks.” He next gives five reasons for beginning the seventy weeks in 457 b.c., and ending them a.d. 33, forming the basis of the beginning of the 2,300 days: “ 1. God’s Word is always sufficient to explain itself; thus, doubt-less, also here. 2. This is the only period which has be-
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come so infallibly verified, in the beginning of Christ’s office as Mediator, in His death, and also in His birth, that one can fix it as surely as Christendom now reckons the years from the birth of Christ. 3. Because with the 70 weeks Gabriel made the still obscure vision of the 2300 days so clear that Daniel was satisfied (cf. Dan. 8 : 16, 17, 26, 27 with 9 : 2123־). As dearly as Daniel per-ceived in the 70 weeks the actual time of Christ, so clearly did he now understand the beginning and the end of the 2300 days (and we can understand it still more clearly as we have its complete fulfilment before us)., 4. Gabriel set forth the jothj^jr, of Christ, or the 483rd year of the 70 weeks, and, consequently, the 453rd year as the Ibirth-year of Christ. This gave him the correct explana-jtion of the obscure vision of the 2300 years, as well as rthat the 453 years expired with the birth of Christ. Adding 1847 to 453, we have the result, 2300. 5. The four visions 'Daniel 712־ still more fully elucidate these reasons when carefully considered according to their literal and spiritual meaning and in their connection.”	calcula-
ftions were sound and brought the correct solution to the be^nning and ending of the 2,300 years. He further conclïïdeT'that the removárbf“{He abomination of desola-tion coincided with the cleansing of the sanctuary, which would be fulfilled by the removal of the Mohammedan power about 1843. Both the 1,260 and the 1,290 years were to expire at that time. Only the 1,335 years he extended forty-five years beyond, as “ preparation time, ordained to bring about the blessedness of the people of God uppn^arth ”. He closed with Revelation 1 : 3.
In 1769.die furnished his promised “Disclosure of the »Tljrec Visions ofpanieL and of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream ”. 'j. ' D.^Michaelis reviewed both pamphlets in the May number of the “ Gottingen Literary News ”, and de-manded some clear information from Petri regarding the thousand years. In reply, Petri published (1769) his exposition on Revelation ^>23, “ The Millennial Reign of Christ and the Succeeding Reign of the Father, or the Future Paradise upon Earth”. The preface declared that as Revelation 119־ describes the controversy between Christ and Satan and fix its duration in numbers, so like-
466 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
wise there is in Revelation 20-22 a description of^the ^victory, the duratto1rn3f~WfflclT1s^^	1,000
!years. The'endToT the former numbers is tTie T^nmhg Ipi the latter number, for the end of the controversy marks fthe beginning of the victory. He strongly emphasizes las their special prerogative the. literal saints. In 1774 he explained Revelation 1-19 in his pamphlet, “ The Revelation of Jesus Christ by John In this he applied Philadelphia to the Moravian Brethren. He maintained that the 1,260 years of the woman’s flight into the wilderness had not yet expired, for the “ flight of the Salzburger Huguenots and other Protestants lately furnish fresh examples of its continuance ” (p. 52).
In his “ Thorough Proof that the Return of Christ to the earth and the End of Antichrist coincide” (1778) .Petri demonstrated that there could be no golden time ^before the second advent, for the promised good times |vere yet to come and could be expected only in, with, "and after the coming of Christ to this earth. This thought was still further developed in his pamphlet “ The glorious Kingdom of Christ shortly to be expected to arise out of Obscurity” (1784), refuting the false ideas of a kingdom of Christ on a sinful earth. The same year he published the “ Thorough Proof of the Disclosure of the Visions and Numbers in Daniel and Revelation ”. He shóWéíb~a YîpeTunderstanding and endeavoured to do full justice to Dr. Michaelis’ demand, demonstrating in this 62-page /pamphlet more in detail that the seventy weeks were *the root and surety in the solution of the 2,300-day period, as the two periods began at the same time, and he stated ithat all prophetic times were to be explained within' the duration of this great period. In closing he very fittingly declares : “ Christ is the nucleus and the star in all the prophets, but especially in Daniel and Revela-tion.”
In his last pamphlet Petri gives us an exposition of John 17: “The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus Christ.” This is a splendid exposition of Christ’s mediatorial work, of the power of His resurrection, and of the true righteous-ness that is found in Him, producing the fruits of the Spirit. After a much blessed ministry amidst his beloved
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467
little flock, Petri died at the age of eighty־four, expecting to see Psalm 126 realized in his own experience at the first resurrection.
While the solution of the beginning of the 2,300 years was found in Germany as early as 1768, .or seventy-five !years before their expiration, English authors stiff con-: tinuea to figure from the date of the vision as Tong-as; it was “áT all'possible. The Scotch theologian, L^TaylojJ 313‘TIiîs lh'ah^TEssay on some important passaged Of TIÍ3 Revelation compared with Daniel ”. He, with many! others, saw in the cleansing of the sanctuary the removal of the Turks from Palestine and declared that the over-throw of the Turkish empire by the Christian powers must be near, as then (1770) .already 2,299 years were past
(p· ״<■·״ '׳-־ . ■(¡¿ה···
î ' Iñl775 ^ saintly Tohnfcletcher gave increased light on י !the real nature pf ,.^¿]¿Igans^T^^nd its vital importance lor the ^Church of God. Born at *Ñyon, Lake Geneva, pletcher was converted about 1775 in England, and£ joined the Methodists. He settlecTdown at Madeley as ¿ minister. He exerted a wonderful influence, changingv the whole neighbourhood. Wesley, who had him in mind as his own successor^, always thought of his being too bright a light to be hid in a village pastorate, declaring that he had “ no equal in holy tempers and holiness of j conversation ” (Seed, p. 34). Fletcher, himself a close ;student of prophecy, made the acquaintance of a “ great ;and learned divine, who was a master of the oriental ·languages and spent 50 years in the study of the prophetic ;word and had conferences with Sir Isaac Newton and others on this subject ”. Fletcher often conversed with him, read his printed and unprinted writings and became fully convinced of their intrinsic value. So in his “JLetter on the Prophecies ” of November 29, 1775 (Works, ix. 43150־) Fletcher wrote a long account to Wesley : ^ According to that Divine’s opinion, we are come to the/ last times. The grand catastrophe of God’s drama draws! near apace ; He shall soon be avenged ... in a few years He will purge His floor and burn the chaff.” Every Christian ought then to prepare himself for that day and to labour for a living faith. Here follow some of the
46s TUL· IMPELI N G FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
reasons on which his opinions are founded : The four kingdoms oLDaniel 2 are all gone : the feei_0j11y.1cn1ain, which* being .made of clay and iron, express plainly the remains of the Roman monarchy. Among the ten horns of Daniel 7 another came up±j.e. the pope, who aggran-dized 'lïîniSfêîFat the expense of the other kings. Under Constantine and his successors the bishop of Rome lifted himself up above the other bisfcffpsy. stamped upon kings :and emperors, took away the |laily sacrifice, abolished or quite disfigured the true worsSjf^^God and Jesus, cast , the* truth to the ground with his army. In Daniel 8 : 13, 14 there is a number given by which we may know that we are come to the very time the Spirit of God had in view. Let us take notice of it : 1. The.sanctuary shall be cleansed in such a measure as to deserve to be taken jiotice of by the Spirit of God at the end of the 2,300 days, !proved to be prophetic days signifying a wholt^year for jfeach day, by the *seventy weeks, etc. 2. As to the time ^ôfTtsT^mnîhgVTtTs'evident that it must be at the time of the vision. 3. This vision was given about 530 which, subtracted from 2,300, would give the year 1750^ Tor the cleansing of the sanctuary, or for such a tolerable progress in the cleansing of it as may be taken notice of by all who are waiting for the cleansing of God’s Church.
4.	As to what happened in 1750, “ I would answer that God was working at that time and still works such a work as never was seen since the apostles’ days, and He has sent some chosen servants of His, both in these king-doms and abroad, who by the manifest assistance of His Spirit have removed the filthy doctrine of justification by works, and the outward Christian performances of moral duties, which pollute the sanctuary and make it an abomination to God. The Holy Ghost is given and the love of God shed abroad in the hearts of the believers as in the days of old. I own the cleansing is but begun, but this first revolution may, in all probability, be the forerunner of a greater”. 5. According to Torniel, this event was twenty-one years later, which would put the cleansing off to 1770. “ Chronologists may be mistaken in a few years, but cannot err upon the whole and as God is true and faithful, so it is manifest that the prophecy of
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the 2,300 years must be fully accomplished in our days, or thosèTof the next generation.6 ״. To set the argument drawn from the number 2,300 in a clear light, it is neces-sarv to prove that the cleansing was not performed bv Judas Maccabeus and his brethren in removing the pol-lution of Antiochus, nor by Christ and his apostles, who freed the Church from pharisaical hypocrisy and Sadducean profaneness ; nor lastly by Luther and the other reformers, who cleansed the outside and washed the sanctuary white, but were not able to remove the filth of unbelief thatjemained within. Many arguments might be drawn 'from the number itself which agrees with no cleansing before, consequently only with one in these last days ; but it will be easier to draw them from the general drift of the prophecy and from the context. Observe first, these words : At the time of the end shall be the vision, where the word end signifies plainly the catastrophe of God’s drama, the last act of the wicked tragedy men have been acting nearly 6,000 years. Also. v. 19 ; then v. 26/ In Daniel 11 many particulars arc given of those things that shall soon come upon us, and of that time of trouble ; which shall be matchless and unheard of, then thy people shall be delivered, which neither has been then nor hitherto. 7. As to other prophetic times, they must be reckoned from the time the bishop of Rome showed himself plainly to be the head Antichrist, set himself up as a God in the temple of God, but this was not in a very remarkable manner until the end of the fifth century. Add then 500 to 1,260, and you will see that in a few years these plain prophecies concerning the preaching of the two witnesses, the flight of the woman into the desert, the duration of the Antichrist reign will be accomplished.
After giving this account of the prophetic periods as a foundation, he builds up the superstructure from the prophecies of Christ, Paul and John, and adds: “This system docs never appear in a better and clearer light than when it is compared with the writings of all the prophets and apostles, in a word, with the whole Bible.”
Fletcher, having adopted his friend’s viewrs, asks Wesley to give him leave to conclude with some reflections that naturally flow from what has been said on that
470 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
system. He asks whether it be probable that God, who so clearly foretold the time of the deliverance from Egypt, and from Babylon, and the date of the birth and of the death of the Messiah, should yet be silent concerning the time of the setting up of His kingdom for winch wre daily pray, “ Thy kingdom comç ! ״ Discarding all know-ledge of the hour, day, or even year of the second advent, yet God will not delay, “ the day is fixed, it is foretold ; and though the vision was to be after many days, yet it may be fulfilled in a few years for us who live in the last days.״ “ It is remarkable that more books have been written upon the prophecies the last hundred years than were ever known before. ... I know many have been grossly mistaken as to the years ; but because they were rash, shall we be stupid ? Because they said ‘ to-day ’ shall we say ‘ never י ? and cry, c peace, peace ’, when we should look about us with eyes full of expectation ? ״	“ If
these things happen to our children (as they most certainly will) is it not our business to prepare ourselves for them, to meditate on them, and to warn as many people as we can prudently, lest their blood should be required at our hand, w^ere they to fall, because of a surprise ? Let us pray to God more frequently, that for the elect’s sake He would still more shorten the days of tribulation, and add daily to the true church such as will be saved.״
Fletcher had surely shed light on the nature of the cleansing. It remained for English authors to find the solution for the beginning of the 2,300 days, as Petri had found it in 1768. This light also dawned in Great Britain when Hans Wood of Ireland, published (1787) under the initials M.D., the “ Revelation of St. John considered as alluding to certain services in the Jewish temple״. He very clearly established the connection between Daniel 8 and 9. Commenting on Daniel 8 : 14 (p. 382) he says : “The angel did not at this time answ7er the question according to the conditions, or make the required dis-tinction of the parts, that was reserved to another vision.״ Then on p. 384 he comments on Daniel 9 : An angel instructed him concerning the re-establishment of the national polity in Jerusalem for the space of 70 w7eeks of years. “ It wras in effect to lay open that which wras
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not distinguished in the foregoing chapter : the portion of the 2,300 years, which was marked in this vision for the continuance of the daily sacrifice.” He next favours the count of Prideaux beginning the 490 years with the commission of Ezra, and then he comments on Daniel 9 : 23 (p· 387, f.) : “ There is no vision in this chapter besides the appearance of Gabriel, who, in the acceptance of Daniel’s prayer, was sent professedly to explain, there-fore the explanation is to be referred to such parts of the preceding visions as Daniel had not understood. The visions of the 7th and 8th chapters were explained at that time ; the latter by this angel Gabriel, except in the declaration of the 2,300 days : he is now come to instruct the prophet in them also. The discourse which follows can be well apprehended only in the reference to the long time of years, which was the matter Daniel was now to be made to understand, and the vision he was to con-ceive. The date from which the years become current is here set down ; the portion of them (490 years) allotted for the residence of the Jews in their land is assigned; the remainder (1810) years is attributed to the desolation.” But making the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 the focus where these two periods are to meet, he begins the 2,300 years 420 b.c., and ends them in 1880. Deducting from 1880 the 1,290 years, brings him to 590, at the accession of Gregory the Great, whose ordinances in the Church closely correspond to what Paul in Timothy explained as the substitution of the true worship by a false one. Deducting 1,260 from 1880, the remainder will give the year of the expulsion of the Jews from Palestine under Heraclius. He located the death of the witnesses in the middle of 1847, their spiritual revival in 1850, “ the 30 years remaining of the dispersion of Israel may be distinctly conceived as employed in gathering the Western powers to the place of Armageddon ” (p. 477, f.). Within the forty-five years remaining of the‘^7T3$V *lie enemies of truth shall be suppressed, the kingdom of Christ es-tablished in the fulness of peace, and in the perfection of righteousness. “ Blessed is he who shall approach to that festival of dedication, see the returning glory, and live in that season of universal tranquillity and holiness ” (p. 480).
47?׳ THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
During more than 300 years—from Cusa to Petri— the light that the 2,300 days were year-days marking an important event with the cleansing of the sanctuary had been steadily increasing, until the key was found in the fact that Daniel 9 furnished the sought-for solution. Beginning with CusaJf. alh guided by positive statements of the Bible, stressed that with the end of the 2,300 years the Lord did not set the definite date for His coming, but the beginning of the special preparation for that event. To vindicate the polluted sanctuary was not only to remove all the idols, including the idolatrous mass, but also to purge the professing Church members by the blood of Christ and to sanctify them by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Thus the knowledge of this time-prophecy reached its saving zenith in the statement made in Daniel 12 : 10, that the understanding wise ones “ shall be purified, made white and tried
LXXVII
“ THAT THAT IS DETERMINED SHALL BE DONE ” DAN. II : 36
The names Providence, Philadelphia and B^jJhlehc^ are eloquent witnesses to the important part prophecy played in the settlement of the northern half of the New World. The Church in the wilderness had been driven by oppressive rulers and state churches of the Old World to seek a refuge on the virgin soil of the recently dis-covered vast territories across the Atlantic. In the struggle for independence and civil liberty the guarantee of freedom to worship according to the dictates of con-science came in for due consideration. In the great awakening of the New England churches during the middle of the eighteenth century considerable stress was also laid on the prophetic word, as is evident from the “ History of Redemption ”, written by Jonathan Edwards, the chief instrument in that great revival. It first appeared in the form of sermons preached by him in 1739, and published in 1773, fifteen years after his deatnT To Edwards the histories and prophecies of the Bible were
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but histories and prophecies of redemption. What Daniel, Christ, Paul and John had predicted, that, history sealed with its unerring testimony, that, innumerable saints and martyrs consecrated with their witness, and, upon that, the glorious work of the Reformation was based. ־ The self-evidencing light of these prophecies was such that they afforded an unanswerable argument for the inspira-tion of the Scriptures, doubly needed in these days of scornful deistic unbelief and threatened darker infidelity. These prophecies read as history in his luminous ex-position. The two great works wrought by the devil against the kingdom of Christ are the Roman Antichrist as his masterpiece, and the Mohammedan kingdom, both together swallowing up the ancient Roman Empire. Not until their utter destruction will Christ’s kingdom be introduced. It is certain that the 1,260 years did not commence before 479 ; because if they did, they would have ended, and Antichrist would have fallen before now (p. 299, f.). At the close, however, Edwards advocated the new Whitbyan view—a figurative first resurrection, a temporal millennium, introduced by terrific outpour- ; ings of Divine judgments on the antichristian powers and the wicked world.
Into such a soil was planted “ that sapling which hast since grown into the mighty tree of the United States off America. The American Declaration of Independenccf in 1776 marks one of the most important stages in th(J New Era of civil and religious liberty which broke on the world. . . . The hand of a Higher Power is here seen, guiding events to nobler issues than had been contemplated by even the best of men. . . . The discovery of the New Woñá was the prelude to the Reformation ; and the completion of the edifice of civil and religious liberty in the New World has been the crown of the new era in-augurated by the doctrines of the Reformers, and the deeds of the Puritans” (Guinness, Hist. p. 164). For the first time the separation of state and church was realized in the very interest of true religion.
The English revolution sprang from faith, but the French Revolution, which followed its wake, from a super-ficial religion and superstition. France was not virgin
474 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
soil, sought and cared for by pious witnesses for the truth, but an old soil overgrown with tares : “ Court, nobility, magistrates had retained of religion only the outward shell, a formal religion without living conviction ” (Hergenróther, K.G. iv. 266). The Huguenots and Jan-senists, striving to effect a reformation, had been expelled and־ crushed. Pope and king stood triumphantly with their feet planted on the necks of a prostrate people, whose bodies and souls they enslaved. “ Superstition made men infidels ; tyranny made them rebels.” Numer-ous works of avowed Deists and infidels undermined the government and religion. Through the popular press there was poured forth a flood of infidelity ; under its influence the old bonds were loosened ; the old land-marks swept away, and a terrible harvest was ripening fast.
The decline of the papal power at the end of the 4,260 years was so plainly determined and predicted by God, that during the terrible persecutions of the Huguenots in the seventeenth century students of prophecy like Launoi, Jurieu and others in France pointed to the Divine determination as their great consolation. As early as 1:701, R. Fleming of London announced on the title page of'his “ Apocalyptical Key ” “ predictions respecting the revolutions of France, the fate of its monarch ; the decline of papal power”. At its expiration, that, which is deter-mined, must take place “ at least before the year 1794. . . י The reason of which conjecture is this, that I find the pope got a new foundation of exaltation, when Justiniail, upon his conquest of Italy, left it to a great measure to the pope’s management, being willing to eclipse his own authority, to advance that of this haughty prelate י (p. 53). When this was actually realized^Tçrryun London k simply "republished in 1793 the original Ίχίιΐίοη as the [best evidence, whi^
Gradually the papacy had reached its supremacy, gradually also its power declined. As early as 1737 the Venetian envoy already reported : “ There is something unnatural in the sight of all the Catholic governments united in a body, in a hostility to the Roman court, so violent as to leave no hopes of any reconciliation which
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would not injure that court in some vital part . . . this much is certain that the kings of Europe are making rapid progress in stripping the Roman See of all its temporal rights and privileges״ (Ranke, H.P. iii. 130).
As to France, its stoutest supporter, Lord Chesterfield, wrote Christmas, 1753 from Paris: “ All the symptoms I have ever met with in history, previous to great changes and revolutions in government, now exist and daily in-crease in France ״ (Carlyle, i. 17).
As a prelude to the doom of another strong supporter of the papal power the inquisition building and the fine college of the Jesuits fell at the first shock of the mighty earthquake of ■־feisbofi, 1755. In 1759 the Jesuits were expelled from Portugal, then from France, Spain, and ] Naples. On July 21, 1773 the Pope decreed : “ Inspired as we humbly trust, by the Divine Spirit, urged by the duty of restoring the unanimity of the Church, convinced that the company of Jesus, can no longer render those services, to the end of which it was instituted, and moved by other reasons of prudence and state polity, which we hold locked in our breast, we abolish and annul the Society of Jesus, their functions, houses and institutions.״ Ranke, (H.R, iii. 145, f.) adds: “ This^was a step of infinite moment.״ Cardinal Hergenrôther (K.G. iv, 186) com־; ments upon this decree : “ A common wafi oFprotection? of all authority had fallen ; the papal chair itself had, léceived a fatal wound.״ As early as 1775 pastor Ch.1 Thube declared in a sermon before the Duke of Mecklen-Tmrg, that a great revolution would within fifteen years break out in France, accompanied with terrible cruelties and also a complete apostasy from the Christian religion (Daniel p. 180). On conditions existing before the out-break of the French Revolution, E. Smith, in his “ Key to Revelation״ (p. 213), throws considerable additional light. He claims that a second flight of the true Church was predicted in Revelation 12 subsequent to the Reforma-tion, fulfilled by the Pilgrim Fathers. The terrors of !this literal wilderness of America, united with the other :trials, dangers, deaths, and privations, which our fathers here experienced, most strikingly exhibit to us the features and the strength of the figure, that this flight should
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״,1׳L	.
be to a wilderness.^ As to the threatening flood the execra-ble scheme of Voltaire^took effect in old Catholic countries like fire touched to a rail of powder. Their noted watch-words were, ‘ Crush the wretch !£1 Strike deep, but bk the hand!’ Lodges of illunaininoh were/earl¿] planted fin our statesj^íícy spread with a rapidity, which nothing ^3ut fact could have induced any sober mind to believe. /Before 1786 they were established in great numbers through Germany, Sweden, *Russia, Poland, Austria, Holland, France, Switzerland, Italy, England, Scotland, and America.”
The hostile elements, gathering deep under the surface against the papal tyranny, produced the most terrible judgment in France. The new Constitution declared the universal rights of man and swept away all the special privileges enjoyed by the Catholic Church. In vain did the pope’s bull denounce it and prohibit its acceptance by the clergy. The Jansenists beheld with satisfaction that Babel’s power, as they termed the Roman Church, received a. mortaL.blow, and that the very clergy which had so cruelly persecuted them was completely over-thrown. In 1792 the Directory declared concerning the papacy : “ This old idol-image must be destroyed ; we shall leave the Dalai Lama without a successor ; it is our will that his religion be buried with him ” (Hase, Pol. 154). As some 40,000 priests refused the oath of allegiance, they were expelled, and rank atheism became »mgj^and more apparent. Zurich’s eloquent preacher, ?Lava teto, declared in the firm conviction of the near end ΤηT792, that France’s irréligion was “ the head, the middle and the tail of it. No nation had ever so impudently challenged religion. 0 France ! Example without ex-ample ! wilt thou not warn us ? teach us, to what in-humanity a nation sinks, which in the belief that it has gained the highest summit of enlightenment turns the oath, conscience and religion into a senseless mockery ? ” (Rev. Aim. 1794, pp. 35-39).
In November, 1793 atheism in France reached its zenith. The Paris municipality issued a decree ordering the immediate closing of all the churches. 24,000 priests were massacred, the churches turned into stables and
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,׳Notre Dame in Paris was converted into the “ Temple 0Γ'Reason״. Licentious fêtes of the new' system were 'performed by actresses ; on the recurring tenth days a revolutionary leader ascended the pulpit, preaching athe-ism, the atrocious Marat was deified and even the instru-ments of death were sanctified as the “ holy guillotine ”. After setting up the incarnate reason, everywhere the cry was heard, “ war against fanaticism ”, “ crucify the Wretch”, whereby the worship of the true God was understood and punished as a serious crime. Tom Paine declared in the convention that when the revolution against kings was finished then he would inaugurate a revolution in heaven. Only too many of the clergy denied God in the hour of temptation. “ Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”, had been the catch-wwds with which the European nations were at first attracted and even the noted poet Klopstock imagined “ the war was now chained, the power of the people was the coming giant, the morning sun of their liberty had arisen in the glowing example of France ”. But when Danton, Marat and Robespierre well nigh annihilated the wiiole intellect and virtue of France, when, during the reign of terror, the streets of Paris ran with blood, and when the guillotine wras un־ equal to the work, thousands were butchered in prisons and drowned in rivers, then this poet recognized in the Jacobins the beast out of the abyss, the poisonous and largest serpent and exclaimed : “ Alas, the delight of the golden dream has vanished ! ” (Werke, v. 417, 432). The contemporaneous English statesman Burke char-acterized the French proceedings as the “ epidemic of atheistical fanaticism ”, “ the malignant French dis-temper ”, “ the plague ” causing “ the corruption of all morals ”, “ the decomposition of all society ” (Works, v. 140, f. ; vii. 40, 169, 176).
That the guilt of the Roman Church received only its due judgment was the conviction of all students of prophecy. As early as 1775 Fletcher (Works, iv. 449) wrote to Wesley : “ 1 know, that a good part of an hundred thousand Protestants, scattered in France, expect some great revolution, that will turn at last for their good, and reunite them to the children of the above two hundred
478 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPÏIETftf TROTH
thousand of their brethren, that were either expelled from the kingdom or forced to leave, because they would not take the mark of the beast in their hands nor on their foreheads.” When Fleming’s “ Key ” was re-published in March, 1793 there was noted (pp. 140, 141) under the “ Frontlet of the Beast ” as a singular circum-stance, that the title Vicarius Filii Dei (Vicar of the Son of God), which the popes have assumed, exactly makes the number 666, when the numerical value of its letters is deciphered. As early as 1150 this title occurs verbatim in the papal decretals, reported by monk Gratian (pars i. Dist. xcvi.) : “ Blessed Peter seems to have been ap-pointed vicar of the son of God on earth ! ” /Roos)testified 1794 in his “ Elucidation of the present great events by the prophetic Word” (Bel. S. 5, f.) : “ The lewd arts of the Roman Church have served their time. Its measure of guilt is full : its fall commences. Thus it stands to-day. The disgrace of the Roman hierarchy is being exposed orally and with the pen. Its flesh is being de-voured, i.e. its great treasures are being confiscated. From the present signs it must be recognized that we live in the time when ‘ the beast is not ! ’ ”
Also in 1794 Bicheno, a dissenting minister of London,, began to write ic The Signs of the Times, Qr_the over-throw of the papal tyranny in France, the prelude of des-truction to popery and despotism, but of peace to man-kind”. By 1806 it had reached six editions, constantly revised. He saw God’s righteous judgments in the terrible blows inflicted on the papacy. He believed Revelation 12:4 symbolized the tyranny of pagan Rome, continued under the Germanic Roman empire and the papacy accord-ing to Revelation 13 as civil and spiritual or ecclesiastical ־^tyranny (p. 8, L). He placed the beginning of the 1,260 years “ in^flifs Wery year 529 when the Justinian code was first published, by which those powers, privileges and immunities were secured to the clergy ”, and ended them in 1789 with the French Revolution (pp. 5961־). He extended the 1,290 years to 1819, when the complete overthrow of the papacy was to be expected. During the next forty-five years the Gospel would be preached into all the world, according to Matthew 24: 14, for the
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PHILADELPHIA
conversion of the heathen and the Jews, so that at the end of the 1,335 years the blessed time would begin. He found 666 in LVDoVICVs, or Louis, the name of sixteen French kings. He expected still more light from the continued fulfilment. He did not have to wait long for further developments. The French Directory, making a boast of its denial of God, became in His all wise counsel, the very executioners of the judgments predicted by Him against the papacy. When the pope fell ill (1797)
“ Napoleon gave orders that in the event of his death ן no successor should be elected to his office, and th^X-thç I ,papacy should be discontinued ” (Pater Rickebyfi c Modern. Papacy^L|U_l)· The French invasion was^ prevented in 1797 only by the payment of thirty millions of francs. The French ambassador at Rome wrote Napoleon :	“ The payment has totally exhausted this
;old carcase ; we are making it consume by slow fire ” (Alison, iii. 548). The desired occasion was offered by the murder of General Duphont by a Roman mob. Pius VI, eighty years old, while seated on his throne and receiving the congratulations of his cardinals on his anniversary as pope, tasted the bitterness of the antipapal spirit. A band of French soldiers burst into the hall, tore away from his finger his pontifical ring, rifled his palace, hurried him to the camp of the infidels, then from prison to prison, and finally carried him captive to Valence, where his name and office in the keeping of the rude soldiers of the infidel commonwealth was but a mockery and byword. Enormous contributions were levied on the papal state, and the Vatican was stripped to its naked walls. When the news reached Paris, Director Merlin declared that “ mankind demanded for 14 centuries the destruction of a power so opposed to society ”, In the council of the Ancients, Bordas held “ a funeral oration of the papacy” (Hbg. Korr, Mar. 14, 1798). All the cardinals were also involved in the same indiscriminate proscription. Eight were imprisoned, several renounced the Roman purple, and the rest hastened to seek, at a distance from Rome, some safe asylum. “ Hardly was the new govern-i ment formed when there no longer existed a trace of the ;old.” In the French biography of Pius VI, written after
480 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
he had breathed his last in August, 1799, this significant statement occurs : “ This mongrel ruler, half God, half man, to whom the highest homage was once paid in emulation both of the sceptre and of the^ censer, has disappeared for ever ” (Pius VI, p. 635). YRickeby (Mod. jvj· 0 asserts : “ No wonder that half ËïïFdpe tfiuught Napoleon’s veto would be obeyed and that with the pope the papacy was dead.״ KanKè (H.P. iii, 153) testifies: “ In fact it seemed as if the papal power was now forever at an end. The spirit of hostility to the Church . . . seemed now to have acquired sufficient strength to en-courage it to aim at no less a result.״
Surely remarkable is the exact fulfilment of the 1,260 days couhfed^s^sVhYany years, beginning with the eleva-tion of the usurper Vigilius as pope in 538 by the arms of General Belisarius and the gold of the Empress, and ending in 1798 with the dethronement and captivity of Pius VI by the sword of General Berthier. The govern-ment of France, which as the first Catholic supporter of the Roman Bishop gained its power under Clovis 508, was after 1,290 years the very government which deposed the Dalai Lama or pagan idol at Rome. Surely that vdiich wras determined in the days of Daniel to be done at the end of the 1,260 and 1,290 years, expiring in 1798, was indeed done, and that by infidel France, that sneered at God’s sure word of prophecy.
LXXVI1I
“ HISTORY ASSUMES THE GREATEST DIGNITY ” AS INTERPRETER OF PROPHECY
When, without successor in sight, Pius VI died in French captivity, the outlook for the continuance of the papacy, as far as human foresight could determine, justified G. Trevor’s statement (Rome, p. 440) : “ The papacy was extinct, not a vestige of its existence remained ; and ;among the Catholics not a finger w״as stirred.” But the ;same sure word of prophecy, wdiich in Revelation 13: >10 foretold its captivity, also foretold in Revelation 19 :
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20 that this false prophet together with the beast would be cast “ alive ” at the appearance of Christ in glory “ into a lake of fire John’s clear predictions, that the papacy, though ^apparently extinct, would revive again, caused Pastor ^hubejko write on New Year’s Day, .1797, when he had frntafaftrhi^, exposition “ The most remarkable thing ds־ftl1at the French forced the pope to make peace under the most oppressive conditions. The prophecy of Revelation 13 : 14 ... is now being fulfilled. This wound shall sooner or later be healed again.” When the popular expositor of the Apocalypse, J. H/átilling, commented, 1798, on Revelation 13:18 (SiegesgescK, S. 404, 487), he thus cYfidoFsecTd^crrgd’-s forecasts: “The history of the current year 1798 has justified Bengel’s computation.” “In 1132 Innocent II, already called emperor Lothar the bondman of the ו pope. . . . Yet 1132 and 666 are 1798. How holy and reverend !—How true is this prophecy ! ”	“ Whether a
new pope will reign upon this head that we cannot know.” But what expectations were current even in Catholic circ}esv, the noted Swiss historian and statesman John v^Müller, states in a letter from Vienna, written March 4, '1797 (Werke, xxxi. 187): “To me it also appears that religion is soon to depart from the earth. ·In 1782 a prophecy found at Genzano was current, of which I had a copy. In it there was foretold a French campaign into Italy, the spoiling of the church of all its splendour, the death of the pope caused by grief, a short schisma, then the elevation of a pope bearing the name angelic, who would restore the original purity, simplicity and uni-versality of the church.” The attitude of English writers ■during· such extraordinary events is well expressed bv Ή. Kett/in his preface to his “ History the Interpreter of Proph'écy ” (pp. vi. vii.), which passed through five editions ׳from 1801-5 : “The evidence derived from prophecy in support of revelation is a progressive and an accumulating evidence, which shines with increasing brightness as time advances in its course, and collects strength from each succeeding age.” Then after referring to the “ ex-traordinary events now passing before our eyes ”, he justifies a summary view of the prophecy as particularly
13
482 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
suited to appeal to the minds of the present generation, tvho seek in vain for any other adequate explanation of occurrences so deeply interesting to themselves. “ His-tory, which constitutes a material branch of our education, assumes the greatest dignity of character when she becomes the companion of religion, and the interpreter of the oracles of God. Her volumes present the most wonderful discoveries and reflect the image of the pro-phetical part of the Bible. The works of the writers of all ages and countries—whether pagans, Christians, Jews— ancient or even modern infidels—whatever their opinions, prejudices or designs—unfold the mysteries of prediction, show the fulfilment of the divine will, and in reality advance the interest of revelation.” Kett mentions (ii. 223, f.) the interesting fact that Voltaire’s bones were placed on the high altar, incense offered to them, and “ the infatuated multitude bowed down before the relics of this arch-enemy of Christ in silent adoration ”.
Also Vicar Richard pointed out in the noted Bampton Lectures (1800) on the Divine origin of prophecy (p. 68) the recent fulfilment of the 1,260 years as the most striking example of prophetic exactness. “ The time fixed for the continuance of the papal usurpation is still more extraordinary, because it is so much more extended. The most able interpreters of the sacred Scriptures have limited it to 1260 years upon the concurring testimony of Daniel and St. John. The severe shocks which it has received, and the weakened condition in which we now behold it, justify the supposition, that the period of its duration, no less than the characteristics by which it has been distinguished, will be found faithfully to coin-cide with the descriptions of the prophets.” In the same year the pious searcher after prophetic truth, Archibald Mason, published his first prophetic treatise under the significant title : “ Christ the Mediatorial Angel, Casting the Fire of Divine Judgments into the Earth.”
The rise of atheistic France not only confirmed former forecasts, but it also called forth new schemes of in-terpretation. During 1802-3 J. Galloway published: I. “ Brief Commentaries upon such parts of the Revelation and other prophecies as immediately refer to the present
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times.2 ״. “ The prophetic or anticipated History of the Church of Rome, written and published 600 years before the rise of the Church, in which the prophetic figures and allegories are literally explained, and the tricks, frauds, blasphemies, and dreadful persecutions of the Church of Christ are foretold and described. A Pill for the infidel and atheist.״ In the Commentaries, on pages 2, 3, he enumerates the following * principal characters :	“ The Dragon, the powers of paganism.״
“ The great sensual apostate, Mohammed, in the East, and the great idolatrous apostate, the pope in the West, the contemporary destructive enemies of the church. The Beast of the bottomless pit, or the beast of the earth, or the powers of atheism, established by revolutionary France ; another agent of Satan, and yet greater enemy of God and man. Babylon the Great ... a mighty power to be formed hereafter by Satan, to consist of a confederacy of all the before-mentioned enemies of the word of God, and church of Christ.״ On page 75 Galloway sums up the fundamental decrees of the French Republic against God and Christ : “ That the free will of man is unrestrained by any law. That death is only an eternal sleep. That the ancient Sabbath ought to be abolished and the times of the year calculated by decades. That tutelary gods, even dead men, may be canonized, con-secrated and worshipped. That Christ was an impostor. That human reason is the only supreme God. The wisdom and power of the people are one, indivisible, infallible and sovereign.״ Comparing the policies and powers exercised by the Church of Rome with those of the French Republic, he concluded that infidel France is the beast out of the abyss and out of the revolutionary earth—the real man of sin. The two witnesses, the Old and New Testament, were slain in the streets of the great city of Paris, “ which had long been the residence of the most corrupt and abandoned court upon earth ״. The three and half days were to be dated from September, 1792, to March, 1796, when no trace of religion was found^m Paris [p. 102).
Whèît Vicar G. Stanley Faber wrote during 1804 his first edition of his “ Dissertation on the Prophecies ״, he
484 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
added to this title the following particulars, “ That have been fulfilled, are now fulfilling or will hereafter be ful-filled, relative to the great period of 1260 years ; the papal and mohammedan apostasies ; the tyrannical reign of Antichrist or the infidel power ; and the restoration of the Jews ״. He fully realized that he was living in a time when “ the hand of God is stretched forth over the earth in a peculiar and remarkable manner ” and as the fulfilment of prophecy was so readily seen, “ know-ledge in the interpretation of prophecy ״ must be un-doubtcdly “ progressive ״. The famous period of the
1,260	years comprehended in his estimation “ the tvranni-cal reign of those three great opponents of the Gospel, popery, mohammedanism and infidelity. Its expiration had been marked by a signal display of the judgments of God upon his enemies Rev. 13 : 10 had been singularly fulfilled (ii. 241, f.) : “ We have beheld then in France the descendant and successor of those, whose ׳memory has been rendered infamous by the diabolical crusade against the Protestants of Provence, by the blood-stained eve of St. Bartholomew, by the perfidious revocation of the edict of Nantes, himself led into captivity and slain with the sword. We have beheld numbers of his papal clergy crowded together into gaols and put to death. We have beheld the sovereign pontiff, that man of sin who had led so many thousands captive, himself go into captivity.״ The mark of the beast was “ the cross. This symbol has been abused by the papists to the purpose both of the most infernal cruelties and of the most childish superstition.״ The two beasts of Revelation 13 were the revived Roman empire and the papacy ·as a spiritual .power, both rising in 606. The three messages of warning ]against these had been sounded by tKeLutherans, Calvin-lists and Anglicans. The season of the vintage (Rev. 14: 19) had been ushered in by the horrors of the French Revolution, and its immediate consequences had been felt to the remotest parts of the Roman empire (ii. 190, f., 316, f., 342, 348). Faber in his later editions, one appearing in U.S.A., changed his dates and views somewhat, but he exercised quite an influence upon later English com-mentators, who as a rule asserted that the fall of the
PHILADELPHIA
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papal, Mohammedan and infidel powers would bring about the restoration of the Jews and the millennial reign of Christ.
Important political events changed the general aspect so quick, that Faber, whilst preparing his second edition in 1806, acknowledged that he could not keep pace with them. The papal vacancy had been filled during the absence of young Bonaparte in the East. This new genius of power flashed in the political sky like a comet. First bent on becoming emperor of the East by the over-throw of the Turkish power and the conquest of Con-stantinople, he launched the Egyptian campaign and overran Palestine, but failed at Acre. The reverses of the French armies in Italy during his absence made it possible for Pius VII to be elected in 1800, and the Roman LRepublic to be overthrown by a Russo-Turkish army, ,·transported on English ships. Thus heretics, schismatics and Mohammedans combined to restore the temporal ,power of the Catholic pope ! Napoleon, now bent on ‘Betüîïïifig thé' ’ etfiperbr of the West and seeing in the Catholic Church a fit instrument of support, made a con-cordât with the pope in 1801, which restored this Church in France, though it almost ignored the Roman Curia. The Pope protested in vain. He was commanded to attend the coronation of Napoleon as emperor (1804), although Napoleon placed the crown on his own head.
During all this upheaval the Dominican Lambert of Southern France wrote his “ Expositions of the Predictions and Promises made to the Church for the last times of the Gentiles”, completed 1804 and published in. 1806 at Paris. He stated that corruption and infidelity even among professed Catholics had reduced Christianity to a mere “ phantom ”. Although he himself was a Roman-1st, yet to him Apocalyptic Babylon symbolized Papal Rome and its corrupt priesthood ; in its growing cor-fü'ption it might well answer to the prophetic indications. The prince of Tyre (Ezek. 28) typified the papal Anti-christ, sitting in God’s seat, and in the Church as the holy mountain, anointed with the holy anointing and adorned with precious stones like the Jewish High Priest.
486 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
He would usurp God’s honour, worship and prerogatives ; and then, abandoned to avarice, becoming a merchant, would give himself up to the amassing of gold and silver. At length it would be a Roman pope, at the head of the consummated apostasy of Gentile Christendom, who, in heart an atheist, would as God or God’s delegate, or God’s Christ, sit in professedly Christian churches or God’s temple, exacting Divine honours from men on the pain of death (Expos, ii. 295, 311, f.). One great help would be his false miracles. One signal warning of this coming doom Lambert saw in the horrors of the French Revolution. One of the two witnesses, Elias, w^ould not be slain in Rome, however, but where the truth and Christ had been so remarkably crucified—in Paris. Thereupon apostate Gentile Christendom wOuld be destroyed by fire, and the sceptre revert to Jerusalem and converted Israel, when the new heaven and new earth wOuld be realized (Elliot, H.A. iv. 530-36).
About the same time the Jesuit;T^euMB,, (born in Chile 1731, died 1801) wrote his large wôfk, “ The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty ”, under the assumed name of Ben-Ezra. This book w7as first published at Cadiz, Spain (1812), and another edition appeared under the direction of the agent of the Buenos Ayres govern-ment in London (1816). Lacunza believed that Anti-christ meant the embodied principle, power or moral body, wrhich dissolved Christ in the Church (i. 197). In the false prophet he saw the corrupt body of the priest-hood. The apocalyptic harlot symbolized apostate Rome, Christian and Papal ; drunken at length in vain carnal self-security, when on the very eve of utter destruction , (i. 248-253). Before Lacunza similar testimony had been j borne by Bishop Noë of Lascar (France). Thus in Catholic 1 countries, like France, Spain, Italy and South America, the remarkable fulfilment of prophecy concerning the papacy even stirred up Catholic writers to call attention to the predictions of Daniel and John and to sound the warning again, after having been so long silenced by force.
One of the most prolific English interpreters of that time was W. Cuninghame of Scotland, who from 1801-49
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made “ truth his principal concern ” and whose great joy was “ to see these sacred prophecies truly interpreted, though the correction of my mistakes should lay the foundation of so desirable a superstructure ” (A Disserta-;tion, p. vii.). Because of Faber’s changes, he engaged (from 1807 onward) with him in quite a controversy, under the pseudonym of Talib. His papers were pub-fished in the “Christian Observer”. He emphasized the fact that since 1792 more had been done to evangelize^ I the heathen and the Jews than for 100 years before.¿] I June ii, 1806, it was stated at Hermhut that the success J iof the missionary and Bible societies “has uniformly ;been such that all intelligent Christians agree that with 'the eighteenth century a new era had commenced in the Church of Christ ” (Obs. viii. 348). He declared him- , self fully in accord with Bicheno and Mann, that the
1,260	years should be dated from Justinian’s decree in
533-34·
In recording the deeds of the French Revolution, some historians called attention to the wonderful fulfilment of important prophecies. History then rose to her most exalted dignity as the interpreter of prophecy. In her light, Protestant and even Catholic commentators recognized that the current terrible judgments were the evident fulfilment of prophecy, that the 1,260 years of papal supremacy had indeed expired, and that in view of the glorious day of jubilee the everlasting Gospel must be preached in its purity world-wide and that the three-fold message must be sounded louder than ever as a warning. The prevailing conviction thus produced is well expressed by Cuninghame : “ It seems to me we have entered into the last period of awful expectation.”
LXXIX
“the ancient of days sits in judgment”
The democratic revolution, denying God, was succeeded by the military despotism of Napoleon, who aimed at the world’s rule and courted Divine honours. God’s
488 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
judgments were indeed abroad in Europe, when this resistless conqueror crushed successfully all the Catholic countries which had warred against the Reformation. The Holy Roman Empire and the Holy Catholic Church were prostrated by the tornado ; the imperial and papal powers, which had for a 1,000 years hurled ban and ;interdict against the Protestant heretics and had forced I their mark and worship under the most dreadful penalties , upon them, were abolished. Thrones were indeed cast down ; not less than 83 ecclesiastical rulers and 46 free cities vanished from the map. When in 1806 Napoleon invaded the eternal city, the historian tyliiller (xxxix. 391) made this striking statement in a letter, dated Berlin, July 1, 1806 : “ Events in the world indeed take a turn beyond all political calculation ; there remains no glimpse of human help ; God must remove one or awake a greater one. The scene becomes too solemn. The Ancient .of Days sits in judgment ; the books are opened, and the nations and their rulers are weighed in the balances. What will be the end ! A new order of things is in pre-^ paration, altogether different from what blind instru-\mcnts have any conception.״
That under such auspicious circumstances Çengel’s forecasts _ about the end of the world in 1836 w*ere much ; discussed,	attests in a letter fxxxiii. qq!V written
: from Berlin, August 11, 1806: “ Of the things that are ' to happen־ in 1836 I heard of late much discussion, but I have trouble to believe the prediction ; should we know more than the angels, and even than the Son of God ? There is much talk of uniting the supreme secular and spiritual power in one head. Horrible is this epoch. ; This matter lies beyond all human calculation, and be-j longs to God’s secrets. All we can do is to hold fast to ; our principles, be ready for what is coming, and live in j hope. I believe that the Apocalypse and Matthew 24 I so combine the end of the Jewish state with the end of 1 the world as if they were of the same type.”
The rank and file ^ of prophetic students . w:ere. .greatly Ï stirre3^T)y"^mgcl^progri0stics, wdiich w^ere read far and livide. 'BêsicieS^T^er since 1740 the wrritings of the so-called 'Fugitive Friar ”, pointing to 1806 as the probable time
PHILADELPHIA	489
of the end, were freely circulated. For years these views had been made palatable to the devout country people, and pictured out in detail during their social hours (Stunden), led by gifted pious peasants, of which each region furnished its leading mind. These gatherings were held outside the regular church service and were forbidden. “ Oppressive measures of the fallen church ” estranged many minds and drove them to open resistance and emigration. The latter was promoted by the hope of the millennial reign, which was astir in a special manner about 1800 (Wurtt. Fathers, ii. 354). As early as 1785 the pietist J. G. Rapp, separated and being oppressed, left with 700 adherents for North America, founding “ harmonies ” in several eastern states. As Napoleon was considered by many Pietists to be the predicted Anti-chnstV'many in order to escape from his tyranny looked to the East and the Holy Land for a place of refuge. To Palestine had Pastor Friedrich pointed in 1800 in his pamphlet, entitled “ The Look of Faith and Hope, cher-ished by God’s People”. Bengel himself had rather pointed in his comments on Revelation 12 : 15 to Russia : “ The flood causes her waves to rise more and more ; but the earth also does her part. By the earth, Asia might be understood, inasmuch as Persia, and Russia which extends into Asia far beyond Persia, swallow up the flood. . . . The flood will not reach the woman in her hiding place. God will help the earth until the flood is entirely swallowed up. This will happen before the end of the 3 \ times (their last half to be from 17251836־) ; and Russia, which arose indeed out of the Eastern Empire that was overcome by the Turks, might yet render ex-cellent help to the woman.” Again on Revelation 19 : 15 : “In this mighty and wholesome ruling of all nations, Russia, because of its great bulk, might exert also in its day a great influence upon other nations.”
According to j. Prinz (Beitrag, pp. 912־) Bengel’s teachings of the millennial reign exerted an uncommon educational influence upon the country people, working like a mighty leaven. It became common belief that the millennial reign would be immediately ushered in, and this alluring prospect so mightily affected the minds of
49° THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
the peasants that they courageously cut loose from their native soil and launched out into the wide world. These ideas were “ the real background, the deeper root, out of which this strong desire for emigration grew ”. The Pietists who left the state Church were called Separatists, and when a new liturgy and hymn book were forced upon them, they decried the Church as the fallen Babylon which could not be healed. They considered themselves as suffering for Christ’s sake, looked upon the Church as the persecuting dragon, while they were the woman clothed with the sun, whose duty it was to flee into the wilderness for shelter. They believed (Beitrag, p. 1961־), based upon Isaiah 2, in a religious regeneration of Christen-dom, accompanied by better social conditions. “ Russia was regarded as the place where the future Church of Christ would be gathered ” and there “ should be in-augurated the glorious arrangement by which the way for the coming kingdom of Jesus would be prepared. The mighty stronghold of religion was the Russian emperor and his mighty empire the ark of safety for all Christen-dom ”.
New omens were not lacking to favour Bengel’s prog-nostics and to confirm them more and more in their convictions. First of all his statements were well re-membered (Reden, p. 532) : “When we write 1800, the goal is not far off.” “ The Second period of popes would last from 1743-1803, then would Babylon fall and the beast would cease to exist ” (E.O.. p. 708). One of the most ardent believers, G. W. Hoffmann, excelled not only as chief magistrate of Leonberg, enjoying even the confidence of the king, but also as a mighty evangelist. He with many was fully convinced that they would live to see Christ’s advent in glory, and he would have gladly laid down his life for this conviction. When he with his friends returned from Rieger’s Sunday sermon in Stutt-gart, and had prayed in the forest for their Saviour’s speedy return, they cried out : “ 0 Lord, if thy coming was only here already ! ” (Württ. K.G. ix. 593)· Yet they never set a definite day. The remarkable things happening increased steadily the confidence of the Pietists in Bengel’s prognostics. Napoleon, at the height
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PHILADELPHIA
of his fame, sought to unite all power in his own hand, annexed Rome, and when the pope protested he had him imprisoned and even denied him pen and ink. When, after the terrible disaster in Russia, Napoleon had finally to abdicate, the pope returned. Czar Alexander I was very religiously inclined; the Pietist Lady von Kriidener exercised quite an influence over him. He had the Bible printed and circulated in his vast domain, granted Stilling, the most prominent expositor of Bengel’s views, quite a gracious interview, and promised to assist German settlers in Southern Russia, assuring them exemption from military service, and according them, besides religious liberty, a number of privileges. When the new King of Württemberg finally granted permission to emigrate to Russia, thirty families started at once. So-called “ har-monies ” were formed in different towns of Württemberg to facilitate the emigration. In some, all things were held in common, in others, the poorer Separatists were assisted by their wealthier brethren to emigrate. In 1816 alone 1,400 families sought refuge in Russia, some going as far as Tiflis in Asiatic Russia, where they formed flourishing colonies, others founded colonies around the Sea of Azof.
When so many thrifty subjects prepared to leave Württemberg, the king, becoming alarmed, sought the counsel of G. W. Hoffmann and approved of his plan to found a colony in Württemberg, where these Separatists full of the advent hope could enjoy religious liberty. Though Hoffmann had to make great financial sacrifices himself, yet he undertook in 1818 the task of founding the colony Kornthal near Stuttgart. Soon over 800 families had occupied all the available sites and a second colony had to be founded. Pastor Friedrich, the real soul of the emigration, was induced by Hoffmann to act as preacher and teacher at Kornthal until his death, 1827. Hoffmann, as the head of Kornthal, founded homes for the deaf and the dumb, for abandoned children, for widows, and schools for girls and boys. He improved every opportunity to show from the current events that the blessed time was nearing and that it was high time to prepare for the Lord’s coming. “ No one left the meetings without taking with him a most touching, heart-
492 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
felt and winning impression” (W.V. ii. 371). Kornthal became also noted for its great interest in heathen missions.
Stilling also did his utmost to keep the advent hope brigKTTIirough his popular writings. When in 1805 a pious head teacher, L. H. Kelber, dedicated a pamphlet to him, containing Thoughts ,1^concerning the Creation and Duration of the World”, he had it printed 1805 at Nuremberg. He referred to Roos and Petri, counted the
2,300	days as so many years,IduTended them in his early publications in 1793, when “ the hour of temptation began ”. He clung to Bengel’s and Stilling’s calculation that the millennium of rest would begin about 183536־. How ardently true Philadelphian¿*^ Continent were awaiting their Lord’s return, ÆtillingP tells us, 1810, in his “ Grauen Mann ” (Stiick, xxnIJT^‘ During your life-time or that of your children God’s counsel concerning mankind will surely be executed, and that which the prophets anciently predicted will be exactly fulfilled. As sure as the Lord liveth this will happen. The great controversy between light and darkness will be fought out during the first part of this century, and the so long desired kingdom of God will begin.” Ere his death 1817 Stilling praised the approaching day of jubilee in four songs, entitled “ Chrysaeon ” (golden age). While view-ing this glorious time, so near in sight, he felt that heavenly light overcame him like a flood (Works, ii. 399).
But Stilling also became instrumental in spreading the advent hope among pious Catholics. Pious Catholic priests, influenced by the founding of the British Bible Society in 1804, formed a Catholic Bible Society at Regensburg, which quickly distributed 60,000 New Testa-ments. Goszner’s New Testament had also a most rapid sale and by 1818 257,000 copies of L. v. Esz New Testa-ments had been circulated. As Goszner, Feneberg, Boos, Lindl themselves had accepted righteousness by faith, their spirit-filled sermons attracted thousands, a great revival started in Bavaria and Austria, and many Catholics found real peace in Christ. In the winter 1812-13 Lindl spent about ten weeks with Stilling, and the Apocalypse became the book most dear to him of all. As many as
15,000	Catholics from fifty miles around flocked to his
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PHILADELPHIA
powerful sermons, setting “ all the hearts on fire ” and it was said, “ if they do not hang him, all the world will go after him” (Dalton, p. 159, f.). Some of the priests were imprisoned, some had to hide. In 1817 Pius VII !abolished the Catholic Bible Society. Already in August, |18143 hehad re-established the Jesuit Society and under 'their influence he issued a bull declaring Bible Societies “ a fiendish instrument for the undermining of the fornida-tion of religion”. Bicheno recorded in 1817 the facts in a book, entitled “ The fulfilment of Prophecy farther, illustrated by the Signs of the Times ”, in which (pp. 12, 23, f., 40, 113) he made the following significant state-ments : “ That mental ferment also which at present agitates all Europe . . . ought to act as a motive to induce us to watch and be sober ; for in all probability the day is not far off when the ‘ cup of fury 5 will come round to us. The people of the Continent found them-selves cheated by Bonaparte and they let him fall : they found themselves also cheated by the Congress of kings at Vienna : who, wholly occupied in apportioning the nations among themselves as so many herds of cattle did nothing for the ·people.” “ This machine assumes [an imposing misnomer. It is called the Holy Alliance between Austria, Russia and Prussia.” “ True, the beasts of civil and religious tyranny, the pope and his armies of priests and monks are revived and again put into action the old dynasties, which for ages have been the murderers of the people of God and ‘ the destroyers of the earth ’ are again restored to power ; but humanity has the consolation in Rev. 19 : 20, that the beast and the false prophet are cast alive into a lake of fire.” “ Alive, observe, i,e. in a state of vigour. They had been as dead—the Bourbon dynasty at least—the great spokes-man of the papacy ; and the papacy itself was at the last breath, but they are- raised again to life.”
First Goszner was removed to Münich and then, 1819, he accepted a call to Düsseldorf as teacher. On his journey he preached to 15,000 in Lindrs parish, then as his journey proceeded through Württemberg, “ at every stopping place he was surrounded by brethren. Every-where the question was put to him concerning the near
494 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
advent of Christ, which at that time so greatly stirred the Württemberg Christians” (Katli. Zeugen, p. 231). Lindl, driven out of Bavaria, was called in November, 1819 to St. Petersburg by the Czar, and as he was to become the leader of the Pietists in Southern Russia, Goszner was called 1820. From here he wrote: “Here I have now found my nest, in which I expect to remain, until the hellish hunter, or my heavenly Father shall drive me away. It is good to be here : a fertile soil, a great, vast field, an open door, yea so great, that it nearlv opens the entrance into, a whole continent” (p. 235, f.). Quite a number of influential Protestants were called to im-portant positions by the pious secretary of religion, Prince Galatzin. But Prince Metternich, the Austrian minister, did not rest until Lindl in 1824 had to leave Russia. Russian priests then did not relax until Goszner also had to leave, Prince Galatzin was removed, and the Russian Bible Society was dissolved.
But wonderful indeed are the ways of Divine Provid-ence ! The greatest empire, covering half of Europe and Asia, had the everlasting Gospel in its own tongue, and heard the glad tidings of the near advent. The Lord, foreseeing that in course of time the Russian borders would be virtually closed to his faithful messengers, put it into the hearts of the thousands of German Advent believers to seek shelter there, ere the great storm would burst upon the world. In their “ Stunden ” (hours) of prayer and Bible study, where this blessed hope was nourished, their Russian helpers were converted and filled with the same longing. This formed the beginning of the great Stundist movement, which exerted its in-fluence over alLRtlSsia and even into far-off Asia.
־ French Atheists boasted of the victory of infidelity and even challenged the Most High. Napoleon appeared like a comet and the world trembled at his power. He found his master in the Russian Czar, who in order to humble him completely had to come West, where the influence of the Gospel and the advent hope could be brought to bear upon him. He felt impressed to grant these oppressed German believers a refuge in his vast realm and even invited some of their most powerful
495
PHILADELPHIA
Witnesses to his own court. Through the Bible Societies 1the word of God went forth like a little leaven to leaven the whole lump, and where the power of this world indeed failed it furnished the only sure foundation. Surely, the Ancient of Days did sit in judgment and whilst casting down the thrones, even of mystic Babylon, He established His own. Kelber’s booklet,VT?17; is fittingly introduced with this verseT^ ^	"
“The hand of the clock now points to the twelfth hour; \
The goal is reached for the fall of Babel’s tower ;	)
\ No prop can help her—there has come the great day, /
\ Which God’s servants saw long ago in holy lay.”
v LXXX
“ THE SANCTUARY CLEANSED FROM POPISH ABOMINATIONS ”
2 Chron. 29 : 1519־
More_ta.xentury, and an eventful one at that, passed ere the clear light, which had shone througl^Pem; on the Continent concerning the computation of the l ;1,300 years, led to	results m Great Britain and
x^íórth America; '1,But wnen it Broke forth^In the British *sles, it was not confined to a smaU cy:cle, but quickly became the prevaÏÏmgTdea among Teaching minds. That the prophetic period in Daniel 8 : 14 symbolized year-days¡ as well as the periods in DanieLt2, there was no question. [ But the great question was, (when to begin them andw|fëre4 to"]en3ytnem, and whereby this justification or cleansing would-be fulfilled. Besides, some like Whitaker (General View, p. 27277־) rather favoured the false reading of ,the Vatican copy of the Septuaginh 2400, He tried in vain to harmonize the 1,260 days wSfr^fnis number by halving it. ^c^eno (Signs, 1794, p. 58) counted the
2,300	years from 481 b.c.% to 181Q when the sanctuary and host were no longer trodden under foot, i.e. Palestine is to be freed from the foes of the Jews and with their, restoration the Church be freed from the antichristian abominations. Finally the noted chronologist, W. Hales; signing himself “ the Inspector ”, took this question Tap in one of the leading English theological journals, “ The
49^ THE IMPELLING FORCE OF TROPIIETIC TRUTH
Orthodox Churchman’s ..Magazine ” (Vol. iv.-vi. 1803/4) under the heading “ Sacred Criticism ” (Nos. xi117 xv. xvii.). In Vol. iv. 143, f. he declared that Gabriel was ¡graciously sent to‘enable the prophet “ to understand the oracle and discern the vision (the grand prophetic period of 2300 days) in the famous prophecy of the yo_ [weeks In Vol. vi. 75 he testified that “ there is no other number in the Bible, whose genuineness is better ascertained than that of the 2300 days Then on page 81, f. he stated that of the different hypotheses, he adopted that of Wood brought forward five years ago in “ the In-spector ” (p. 259) “ that most sagacious conjecture ״ “ that the period of the 2too days begins also with that of the seventy weeks. The latter branch of 1810 days is distinguished by three remarkable periods of 1260, 1290 and 1335 days not running in succession, like the former, but partly synchronizing or coalescing with each other״. The same fact Hales confirmed again 1830 in his “ New Analysis of Chronology״ (ii. 517): “This chronological prophecy (70 weeks) was evidently designed to explain this foregoing vision, especially in the chronological part of the 2300 days.״
What Hales had settled, G. W. Faber, 1807 (Diss. i. 225), rather questioned again (“ 2300^200 or 2400 days, whichever of these three be the proper reading **)־. In pthe footnote he stated that the sanctuary to be cleansed u was the spiritual sajictuary of the Christian Church ״, and the cleansing would consist in the overthrow of the papal little horn in Daniel 7 and the Mohammedan in Daniel 8. Likewise H< Frere3 1815, accepted in his “ Com-bined View of the Tropheaes ״ (p. 247) the reading 2,400 rather than 2,300 and beginning them with the time of the vision, ended them 1847 of our era. The one advantage was, that the time 1843 and 1847 nearly coincided. But W. Ettrick. whose “ Second Exodus ״ or reflections
I'	*
relating to the great Roman beast appeared in 1812 and again 1814 in three volumes, argued (iii. 68) that the
1,260	years would be fulfilled by the abolition of the papal throne and the Germanic Roman Empire. The
1,335	and 2,300 years would extend seventy-five years beyond, at which time there should begin with the first
PHILADELPHIA	^
resurrection the general conversion of all the nations and universal peace: ׳
But W.Cunirghame, 1817 (Diss. ρ^260), straightened out the whole question again, by showirigTfcit the reading 2«4.00 in the Vatican edition is a “ typographical error ” : crIn two papers in the Christian Observer, 1 have sñown, that there is no support given to this various^ reading [either by the genuine principles of scriptural^criticism, 0Γ by any other : edibon , dTVthe Seventy ; for they all, with the exception of the Vatican edition, agree with the Hebrew text.״ On pages 2ςι-ςς he gives am excellent exposition of Daniel 8 : 901 ,12־ wKlch this is the substance : The Roman horn waxed great, when Pompey (63 b.c.) took the city, slew many priests and en-tered the Most Holy Place. It magnified itself against the prince of the host, by crucifying the Lord of glory. When Titus destroyed the temple, “ it took away the literal daily sacrifice of the Levitical worship and cast down the place of his sanctuary”. But when there no longer remained a literal temple or'daily sacrifice, these objects must be interpreted in a symbolical sense. The temple in the New Testament signifies symbolically the Church of Christ, and applies in 1 Corinthians 3 : 16 to the spiritual Church of true Israelites or “ in 2 Thess. 2 : 4 to the visible external, professing church. The daily sacrifice of the visible church is a form of sound words suited to the pure worship of the Father, through Jesus Christ, the only mediator ”. “ The daily sacrifice is taken away, wdien the form of sound words is corrupted by worship addressed to other mediators ... as to the Virgin Mary and the saints,” and it then “ becomes an abomina-tion in his sight ”. “The host which is said to be ‘ set : up against the daily sacrifice ’, must mean an antichristian i priestly power, established within the church, and exer- \ cising its authority against the pure worship of God, casting down the truth to the ground, and practising and prospering against it. Such was the papacy.” “ The pope: and his clergy exercised their authority against the daily sacrifice or the pure worship of God ; they cast down the truth to the ground and cruelly persecuted the 6aints, and thus practiced and prospered. This power
Hi
49א	THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
was set up in the church by the Roman emperors of [the East, and therefore in all respects answers the des-?cription given.״ In 1817 Cuninghame still dated the
2,300	days from the time of the vision.
The full light concerning the correct dating of the 2,300 years was chiefly due to Archibald Mason (17531831־) of Scotland. Dr. A. Symington testifies ' in !his biography concerning Mason : “ It was the very delight of his soul to preach Christ in the character of mediator.״ “ His addresses were correct, earnest, solemn, premonitory.״ “ So particular and solemn often were his addresses, that one would think if men did not hear, the very stones would cry out of the wall and the beams cry out of the timber against them.״ “ His prayers were the utterance of the heart.״ “ In the course of his ministry among you, he expounded the Book of Revelation.״ “ Faithful to his own convictions and true and steadfast in the pro-fession he had seen it his duty to make, he cherished love to all the saints of God and sighed for the peace and prosperity of Zion and looked and longed for the glory of the latter day.״ “ In his deportment he was an ex-ample to the flock.״ His Christian character and his ;¡writings on prophecy prompted the College of Schenec-jitady* New. York, to confer upon him in . 1831 the degree 1‘of Doctor of Divinity. In five sermons he set forth in 1818 “ The Church’s Happy prospect and the Christian’s Present Duty ”, a second edition appearing in ,1821. What prompted him to write, he thus states in his preface : ‘ The author was unexpectedly led to the consideration of this subject by irresistible inducements which, as they can be satisfactory to none but himself, he deems it im-proper to detail.” Among the signs of the near advent he enumerates : The Bible translated into many Ian-guages since 1804; the Gospel preached to the heathen and Jews; the efforts to promote a rapid and universal education of mankind ; the prevalence of public opinion in favour of true, rational Christian liberty, and the counter-acting measures of the papal court against Bible Societies and schools ; God’s judgments abroad ; the tottering state of the papal throne and his kingly sup-porters. The pope had been recently dethroned and
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compelled to live in solitude and degradation, as also the larger number of the kings who had ruled the Roman world. As the tenth sign he mentions “ the uncommon exertions which have lately been made to turn the atten-tion of men to the Scripture predictions which relate to the Church’s deliverance and to the fall of Antichrist ” (p. 90). Besides the liberality toward missions, he, refer-ring to Daniel 12:4, stresses “ the very general expecta-tion which has been entertained by Christian professors of the speedy coming of Christ’s kingdom and its millennial glory ” as a sign that “ it is at hand ” (p. 92). In this pamphlet he dated the 1,260 years from 533 and the 1,290 and 1,335 he ended 30 and 45 years after 1792.
Β But in '1820 his third pamphlet, “ Daniel’s^^ph.Q,tic Number of 2300 Days ”, brought the long-sought-for light to English readers. He refers in it to.j^oos. Bicheno and Ifeaaá then speaking of a small pamphlet written |by W. JJavis^ first published in America and republished 1818 at ivmtfñmgton, England, testifies: “ The author asserts that the 2300 days commenced with Daniel’s 70 weeks. In this opinion I am constrained to concur.” Availing himself of the idea suggested he continues : “ The connection Between the two visions is so strong ¿that the first is an introduction to the second, and the second an explanation of the first. . . . The 2300 days fhù5r״hâvè commenced after the fall of the Babylonian Empire when the Medes and Persians ruled.” “ Neither the first nor the fourth beasts are mentioned in this vision. The number must have begun after the fall of the former and before the appearance of the latter.” “ The 70 weeks ן began at the going forth of the commandment to build Jerusalem.” “Besides, the sanctuary desolation which Daniel bewailed, and the sanctuary purification for which he prayed, when he received the vision of the 70 weeks, were eminent and special types of that profanation of the sanctuary and of that cleansing of it, that were re-vealed to him, in the vision of the ram and he-goat. This consideration forms another connection between the two visions.” “ The 2300 years began 490 years before the ו death of our Lord Jesus Christ and 457 years before his birth. If we subtract 457 from 2300, the remainder will
500 THE IMPELLING EORCE OE PROPHETIC TRUTH
give us that year in the Christian era when the 2300 years will expire. By this simple operation we find that this number will end in 1843. In that year the Lord’s sanctuary shall be cleansed, the church and the nations delivered from the abominations of the mother of harlots, and popery will perish from the earth” (p. 20, f.). On page 22 he quotes as a fitting example of this very cleansing 2 Chron. 29 : 3, 15, 1719־. On page 27 he meets the objection, which would naturally rise from the fact that 1843 was so near: “One great difficulty, which opposes our belief of those calculations, arises from the shortness of the time that remains for accomplishing those great operations, which may be expected on the earth, before the church can enter into her millennial state. It must be acknowledged, the time is short.” From Jeremiah 32 : 17, 27 he then shows that for the Lord “ there is nothing too hard”. In a second essay “ On the Christian Duty to inquire into the Church’s Deliverance ” he uses this very shortness of time as prompting reason to seek Christ and to promote His kingdom. In view of the fact that in 1843 the sanctuary shall be cleansed from all popish abominations, he on page 59 exclaims : “ Watch-man, what of the night ? Let us renew׳ the call and w׳ait for an answer. Let us be assured that the morning shall come upon the church, and the night upon her enemies.” Of both a second edition was printed in 1Ji21_ at Newberg, and also a fifth pamphlet “ Fall of Babylon ”. Through his publications Mason was brought in close ׳contact with all the lovers of the prophetic word and exerted a moulding influence.
Another importantjactor in the British Advent move-^ent w׳as Lewis _Wayy who, while travelling through the ׳׳vastjteppes of Russia׳, was led to meditate on the coming return of the Messiah, and even held a Bible study with the Czar on Isaiah 44, stressing the restoration of the Jews. This munificent patron of the Jewish Society then published in the “Jewish Expositor” 182022־ a ?series of articles on the “ Expectations of the Christian ׳Church ”, signing himself Basilic us. In these articles appeared as a separate pamphlet, taking up the glorious
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Epiphany, the first resurrection, the end of the world and the necessary preparation. He also published two editions of “ Latter Rain ”, wherein he emphasized from Zechariah 10 : 1 the importance of praying for the Holy Spirit. In 1822 his sermon, preached before the Conti-nental Society of London in April, “ Flight out of Baby-Ion ”, appeared in print. Taking Jeremiah 51 : 6 as text, He showed, on the ground of scripture analogy, the great importance of this call, especially for ContinentaLEuropc aêjthc theatre “ on which the catastrophe of the apocalyp-j] tic drama is to be manifested in the fall of mystical Baby־| Ion and the final establishment of redeemed Israel—ex¿ pressions which we would by no means restrain either to papal Rome ‘ sitting as a queen ’, or to ‘ Jerusalem in bondage with her children 9 ;—but understanding them in a more extended and equally just appropriation to all who partake of the spirit of the one, or claim the privileges of the other ; to all, who, in any sense, receive the mark of the beast or worship the image Then on page xviii he continues :	“ The lamp of the Reformation, once
shining with such lustre amidst the darkness of popery, is well nigh gone out for the lack of the oil. The tenets of Socinus have supplanted the doctrines of Calvin in the school of that Reformer. Luther is rather an idol than an example to his present followers. The most spiritual members of that community, which bears his name . . . are establishing themselves in Christian col-onies under circumstances more favourable, as they conceive, to the maintenance of their faith ; a measure which thev have been led to adopt from the apprehension of future persecution and in expectation of an approach-ing manifestation of the Redeemer to those who look, for and love his appearing.” How seasonable under all these conditions is the call to flee out of Babylon and to deliver vour soul in this acceptable time !
What purifying effect this increased knowledge con-cerning the sanctuary, the nature and import of its cleans-ing and the nearness of that event, brought forth by Mason, Cuninghamc and others had upon the English-speaking people and how it electrified the world-wide
502 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
proclamation.· of the everlasting Gospel, is fittingly ex-pressed by Way (1824) in his poem “Palingenesia, the World to &me*7״.-î06, 264) :
"The book unseal’d and open! Many run Already to and fro—and many turn To righteousness; the wise will understand,
The wicked never—the end shall be !
!How often is this ancient creed condemned [For innovation ! tho, as old as time !
;At least as old as Enoch! and he lived Seventh from Adam—possibly thereby Prefiguring that in the seventh age Or Chi hast—in the Sabbath of repose !
Six working days accomplished—men like him Would walk with God, and sweet communion hold.
The everlasting Gospel, tidings glad
To ev’ry nation, kindred, people, tongue,	.
For all shall hear, tho few should heed the call	\
Of that swift messenger on eagle wing Flying thro midst of heaven ! warning thus A world that lieth in the wicked one !
“ Fear God ! and give Him glory ! for His day Of judgment is at hand ! O ! worship Him Maker of all things, heaven, earth, and sea !
The righteous Judge, the King for evermore,
Sitteth between the Cherubim ! his words Are true and faithful : spoken thus to John : ikdiold ! and write thou ! I make all tilings new ! ’’
' LXXXI
U THE TRUTH OF HIS Son’s GLORIOUS ADVENT ΜΛΚΕΤΙΙ WINCED SPEED”
Able and influential writers in Great Britain had searched with intense interest the prophetic word, had reached most important conclusions in their own minds concerning the near future and the duties involved, and' it was but desirable that they should do their utmost to liave tÏÏeir numbers	and all join hands in an
united effort. Besides L. Way, the wealthy secretary/ :.of the London Mission Society, one of the ardent pro-moters of this prophetic research was the rich London banker H, Drummond, who excelled already in his youth as a memÜeT'׳'of parliament, and who had through his extended travels become well acquainted with the spiritual wants of the world. In order to raise the spiritual standard on the Continent, he founded the Continental^Society
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in 1821. He also furnished Dr. Joseph Wolff with the necessary means to make an extensive tour of explora-t10h^Tήfόדיn^J^Àsiau>from 182125־. Wolff was the gifted son of a Bavarian Rabbi, who first turned Catholic and attended the School of Propaganda at Rome, then turned Anglican, continuing his studies at London. Wherever he went, he proclaimed the coming Messiah and con-verted quite a number of Jews. cFrere’s, greatest acquisi- ^ tion was in winning Edward Irving, The^ mbsFTelêBrate'd ] ,evangelist in 'LomFohT^His prophetic study with Frere j seemed to him like a new revelation and it became soon the central theme of his thoughts, speech and writings. vWhen he was asked (182Q to give the anniversary address of the Continental Society, he chose as his subject ‘HBaby-flon and Infidelity, foredoomed of God ”, proving from |Daniel and* John that since^i^ God’s wrath \vas indeed [poured out and that the Beginning^oF tRë~MïÏÏennmm Vas ¡ nigh. He then published his convictions in a large work, 1dedicating it to Frere, stressing the idea that it is the dutv of the Church, to look “ steadfastlv unto the sure word of prophecy, which God had given as the fixed polar star to guide her through the anxious night, till the day dawn and the day-star arise ”. His deductions (“ Babylon,” pp. 29-J8) are very striking : “ The papacy no sooner arose out of the bishopric of Rome, than the true Church at once recognized it to be the beast of the Apocalypse, and testified against it, with a more uniform consent than in these accommodating days we are willing to do. And now7 that the downfall of that powrer is hard at hand, vrhich is the next great event of revelation, there is beginning to prevail a great consent among the exact interpreters of prophecy concerning the same, and a constant expectation amongst the spiritual, of the second coming of the Lord, which is to follow.” “ In the apostolic council of Jerusalem, James brought the question to an issue, by the quotation of a prophecy, and the demonstration of its fulfilment. And it seems to me, that, in like manner, the assemblies of the church in these times, should be filled with prophetic knowledge, in order to deliberate with wisdom and effect.” Following Frere, he regarded 2,400 as the right reading, dating from
504 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
the time, when the vision was given until ^847. He applied Daniel 8 to the Mohammedan superstition, which “ b\r GotPs:^rmîssion prevailed in the east, as the papacy in the west״. Then this power shall he dried up and the true 'worship of God shall be restored. “And if true [worship be restored at Jerusalem at that time, we know¡ [that the^fews, as a people, must have been restored before ! that time, and not only restored, but converted.״ As -to the'1,335 days he believed they would end 1867, when :the resurrection of the righteous shall have taken place ״ (pp. 208, 415). Peculiar to Irving as a Britisher is his lengthy argument (pp. 489577־) to prove that the British nation is sealed as the Israel of Revelation 7 : “ From [all which premises I draw this conclusion, that the nation 'of Britain should guard against popery on the one hand, as a ship in the Sicilian Strait guardeth against Scylla ; and on the other hand, the rock to be avoided as Charybdis, is no other than infidelity.״ “ In all which is past, the Lord hath had particular respect to us as a nation ; and sealed us, because as a nation, we have cast off the suprem-acy of the pope, and established the supremacy of Christ in our churches.״ This narrow idea of limiting the sealing work or the threefold message to the very last days, to a special nation, rather than to a progressive work going on throughout all the time whilst the antichristian beasts are on the stage of action, has always been the greatest obstacle in understanding their true application. Whilst Irving clung to the idea, that about 1847 the Millennium would commence, Cuninghame on the other ?hand endorsed e^riy^in 1826 in his “ Scheme of Prophetic Arrangement ״ ((p. 80) Mason’s computation of the 2,300 years, fixing iS^p^s the right date: “ Now should it ¿urn to be . ל', that the 2300 years end at the complete cleansing of the sanctuary in the day of Armageddon,
I am not aware of any more probable era, which can be selected for their commencement than that which had been chosen by some recent writers, who suppose this period to have begun at the same time as the 70 weeks of Daniel, or in 457, and consequently that it will terminate 1 ;in 1843.״ As authority he refers to Mason?s Essays on Daniel. But his endorsement called forth another claim
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of priority, , raised 1827 by ¿A. T. Browft in the preface to “^Thy/Jew the Master-Key;J'^?r0£Êeci_es ״ (p. vi.) :
; “ Where ^es ־Tuninghanie fin d־ the api gin ns of . such authors expressed, save in the ‘ffiven-Tid#? and in a fugitive paper, penned 14 years ״ago by tnc same author, 4n which that circumstance was 'particularly ‘stated.״ rBrowçt,had already invj^yLXçcognized the close conncc-tion between Daniel & ana 9, and identified the com-(mencement of the 2W300 days with that. oLthe 490 years.
he in two large volumes set forth the “ Even-Tide ״ or last triumph of the King of kings as the de-velopment of the mysteries of Daniel and John. In its ^preface (p. xlii.) he stressed the fact that the 2,300 years !commencing in 45^3. c. would end in 1844. Believing that they syncfiMSizeT whE TsTaeFs^ommge and dis-persion, he expected this cleansing to be fulfilled by the overthrow of “ the desolating Mohammedan abomina-tion a.d. 1844 and in the restoration of the Jewish polity״. Einaljy in the autumn ofvi 826 Drummond, encouraged
b)(L.Waÿ, invispe ci aTTetteΫΊΓlulmEerΕΓmuuste1\s ana laÿïïiéîî to his villa at Albury Park, all promoters of ■prophetic study, “ tKâî^tfté^ mïgïit ascertain how far they coincided in understanding the mind of the Spirit on these momentous subjects ״. About twenty accepted the invitation to meet on the first day of Advent, ftjaggji had also been invited, but he declined on account ofriis advanced age and the long journey. He wrote out his thoughts "however, on the various topics submitted to him for discussion. There were present Lord Mandeville (later Duke of Manchester), Lord Riley, Dodsworth, Marsh, Frere, Simons of Paul’s Cray, Haldane Stuart, Cuninghame, Irving, Wolff, and Drummond. They spent six days together under the moderation of Rev. McNeil, “ the star of London ״, in close examination of the Scrip-tures concerning the times of the Gentiles, the present and future condition of the Jews, the system of the pro-photic visions, the numbers of Daniel and the Apocalypse, the near Advent of the Lord and the duties of the Church arising out of all these questions. All agreed “ that the 1260 and 1290 days of Daniel were accomplished, and the remaining 45 (1335) begun, at the conclusion of which
506 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHÊflC TRtfTH
the blessedness will be fully arrived. And that during this judgment, which may open upon us any day, we are to look for the second advent of the Lord in person, to raise the dead bodies of his saints, and with them to reign 'on the earth. All agreeing that in view7 of these things, there was required of us the greatest vigilance at our several posts, and the most fearless constancy in affection-ately warning and preaching righteousness to all ״ (“ Comings of Messiah,״ i. clxxxix. f.). Irving testifies, in this preface that “ the sweetest spot was the council-room where I met the servants of the Lord, the wise virgins waiting with oil in their lamps for the bridegroom, and a sweeter still was a secret chamber, where I met in the spirit my Lord, whom I hope soon to meet in the flesh״.
. Some questions they left open, whether 2,300 wras the right number and 1843 Of 2,4.00 and 1847, which later became quite an issue. But Wolff’s own report of that conference is very suggestive as to his own convictions, ¡as well as to general convictions at that time. Ever since the Reformation English commentators had set up a mighty barrier against the Romish apostasy by apply-mg^th'e prophecies of DarjLxeh Paul and John to the papal] AiTtichnst. But from	onward three Anglican
theologians, Maitland, TSácT and J. H. Newman, tried Λ0 break down"Æ1s* barne'Thy word and pen. New׳man ;later earned the red hat, by claiming that “ the man of Ιβ\n was an infidel yet to arise and sit for 1260 literal days I in a literal temple, prpclai mi^"hdnTfte1 f to be god״. In *his report (“ Travels.r2 34-237^ Wolff states he is “ happy to observe that the	numKeV of the believers in
the" personal reYgrToF T^rîsThàvë renounced the belief thanterpcrprÍsAhe Antichrist^ and he is with them, firmly convinced that the Antichrist is still to come He men-tions then that even CathoILc.priests are believers in the personal reign of Christ and that he believes that the ¿great' Newman, whose lecture entitled, “ The Turk ״ had ><affó"fded so much delight to him, will become a powerful .defender of that doctrine. He further claims that at that conference two errors were corrected, “ that miracles were , to cease when the apostles died ”, and secondly he “ threw
PHILADELPHIA	507
out the hint, that Protestants undervalued tradition too much ”.
This and later annual conferences of this nature gave a mighty impetus to a great advent movement in the English-speaking world. Irving with his glowing cn-thuSÎasm״'aïï(l· great eloquence attracted large congrega-tions to his chapel. Of his successful labours since 1826 ץ the “ Morning Watch ” (i. 540) thus testifies : “ Irving has been indefâtigably employed in spreading the good news of the kingdom, and has been the honoured in-'^trument in bringing thousands and tens of thousands into a state of joyful waiting for the coming and kingdom óf their Lord.״ Taylor (p. 348) supplements this : “ He · wrote a dozen books on prophecy, and discoursed with : rare eloquence to audiences estimated at 6,000 and even
12,000	in the open air, in towns of Englanî^anTSœtland.” !
The development of the Advent movement in Britain was־ well set forth byj. Pratt in· his address as secretary of the London M i s sΊο ττ״ £ro£fe t y "on May 29, 1827 (Christ. Review, 1828,^ pp. 382-7): Soon ' àftêT the political struggle in U.S.A. and France, a day of religious, excite-ment “ began powerfully to display itself. A revival of religion, both in and out of the Established Church, had been for years in progress and now received a sudden and rapid extension. The spiritual wants of our own country and of the whole world began to be felt as thev were never felt before ”. The Established Church, the Moravians and later the Wesleyans had laboured in the heathen world, but now “ one community of Christians !excited the other ”. There sprang up in London the jBaptist, Wesleyan and Church Missionary Societies, and also the British Bible Society. “ The flame crossed the Atlantic, and was soon felt among Protestants all over !the world.” Prophecy had also an important part in Connection with" tW5T; if rightly interpreted and used, it “ supplied perpetual incentives to duty ”, grounded in Christ’s plain command to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
By word and pen the glad tidings of the near advent spread throughout the land. McNeil and Irving thundered the message from their pulpits in great London. J. H.
^08 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
'Stewart and J. Eggleston of Huddersfield had their -׳profitable and practical" sermons on the second advent printed in 182?,., The latter (Epistle, p. 77) exhorted his church to circulate the sermonear and wide. “By this means you may become witnesses for the truth and co-operate with your minister to awaken thoughtless mortals from the dread delusive slumber of these days of peril. 0 let us cry, while opportunity lasts to every¡ friend, to every foe, the day of the Lord is near—the Judge^.-etemaLJs coming ! Prepare to meet thy God.” i E. T. 'Xgughan¿ Vicar of Leicester, chose in September, 182,7 ,?He Church’s Expectation” (pp. 52-61) as an anniversary sermon " for the propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts. He confessed that his own eyes had been holden for years from the explicit brightness of the testimony in Matthew 24, “ but now it shines forth with midday lustre Referring to Fry’^C£ Epocha and Kcyj9 he stated that the 1,260. years'^htrîïïd be dated fromthc “nefarious and sacrilegious transaction in 537 to end inj.7,97¿ when “ the sovereignty of the popes wras then to alt'appearance abolished for ever”. The,2,300 years plainly pointed.,to 1843, when the sanctuary should be (cleansed, i.e. “ the aâivering of the Jewish ciiv and ^temple from Gentile into Jewish hands”. ($/* Mas.oa (“ Remarks,” p. 10) proved, that the 6th vial symbolized the fall of the Turkish Empire : “ The Turkish firman and the popish bull breathe the same spirit and speak the same language.” “ The Turkish Empire must fall before the man of sin shall go into perdition. The pre-׳ dictions of the 6th vial must be, in a considerable measure, accomplished before the judgments under the 7th will be inflicted on Babylon, the Great. The pope of Rome must stand, till the grand Seignior shall be dethroned.” Likewise Curate J. HoogeKof Westbury stated 1828 in his sermon on Ham 2 : 3 (p. 36) : “ About 18 years from the present time the sanctuary will be cleansed, and during the intervening period ” the following events were j tp occur : The drying up of the Turkish Empire, the Restoration o-TTsrael, the total 'Hesti'UCtiofl of־־Babvlbn the Qreat, including that^of the"”’*Roman"""Empire.	The
glorious manifestation therefore of the Son of man cannot
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be far distant ! and the awful judgments which are invariably spoken of throughout the prophets, as pre-ceding His advent may be daily, yea, hourly, expected.״ All these sermons positively pointed to 1843 as t^le great /terminus, when only those who were ready"would meet \their Lord with joy.
^Irving^ in closing his report of the Albury Conference, January 17, 1827 (“ The Coming.״ p. cxciii.), remarked: “Now !־”must conclude my labour by entreating thee, courteous reader, to weigh well such an unanimous voice of various divines ; and to,consider well ere thou scornest : unheard,־^or, unexamined, dost reject the sum and sub-ן stance_of the great doctrine of the second advent. . . .
ן The doctrine maketh winged speed, Γ perceive, among the babes who are simple-minded, and among the strong men who are content to be accounted fools for Christ.״ But that it indeed made winged speed, the noted historian, Macaulay (Crit. Essays, i. 303), 1829 .attested¿ when he used its progress in Great Britain as positive evidence that the Jews who also believed in the coming Messiah should be granted emancipation :	“ Many Christians ׳
, believe that Messiah will shortly establish a kingdom on the earth, and reign visibly over all its inhabitants. Whether this doctrine is orthodox or not, we shall not j here inquire. The number of people who hold it is very¡ much greater than the number of Jews residing in England. | Many of those who hold it are distinguished by rank, wealth and ability. It is preached from pulpits, both of the Scottish and of the English Church. Noblemen and members of parliament have written in defence of it.״ More than ever it could be said of Britain : “ the truth, ! of His Son’s glorious advent maketh winged speed in aU/ 1 the churches.״
LXXXII
“ SO GREAT A FIRE MAY ONE SPARK KINDLE ״
The unity of spirit concerning the nearness of the pre־millennial advent, be it 1843 or 1847, manifested among leading, prophetic students during the annual
510 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Albury conferece¿..did bear rich fruits indeed, as Taylor thus (p·.״ (347״testifies :	“ Few were watching for the
Coming One ; most of the pulpits were silent on the־ theme, and there was but little pre-millennial literature in circulation. But henceforth the Lord’s advent was to take a front place on human lips, and in thoughtful hearts ; a great cry went forth that was never to cease. Pulpits rang with the alarm, pens were busy, the awakening was wide and great. In 1829, 1^033^ י1^1 י an(l ^34י no less than ·six prophetical journals were established Γη'TTondon, Dublin and Edinburgh, conducted" by able' pëns^aïïd cultured^minds. between 182834־ some 40 or 50 different volumes on prophecy wereTissued in Great Britain^ Besides these over 30. well known and godly m^fmt forth full bg WPXk§ .in defence of the pre-millennial advent. The agitation of tffe grand question was intense.” As an immediate effect there appeared in London from <1829-1,832 five volumes of the “ Morning Watch”, a quarterly journal of prophecy, in which the sacred numbers were freely discussed. Thus we read in vol. v. 276, f. ^ “ The numbers of Daniel are all given Tvith pecuüaíT solemnity, denoting the depth of the mystery they con-tain. The angel who reveals them is called Palmoni, or ‘ the numberer of secrets ’, or ‘ the wonderful num-berer ’ (Dan. 8: 13), who is no doubt c the wonderful Counsellor and mighty God ’.” Concerning the 490 and
2,300	years this statement is made : “ Both these num-íbers must have the same commencement, for the second [is declared to be given to enable Daniel to understand [the meaning of the first.” “ From 453 b.c. to a.d. 1847 lis this period.”	־־־־—־־־
JTWTBfooks, the author of Abdiel’s Essays on. the “Advent and Kingdom of Christ”, edited from 183136־ a valuable prophetic monthly, “ The Investigator and Expositor of Prophecy ”. In Vol. H, p. 400, he points to the 2,300 years as the important number, which must furnish the exact date when the sanctuary was to be ;cleansed, and then proves that they with others ended ^1844. His “ Essays on the Advent and Kingdom of Christ ”, which he dedicated to his friend Bickersteth, ran from 183443־ through four editions. In his “Ele-
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,ments of prophetic Interpretation’’^18^ he remarks {pp.10.1־j) ; “ It cannot be denied that the attention 01 Christians had been greatly excited of late toward the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ ; inasmuch that the circumstances of the church resemble much that of ‘ the virgins in the parable awakened by the cry : ‘ behold the Bridegroom cometh and arising and shaking them-selves from slumber. ... All the periodicals which have arisen that have been exclusively or chiefly devoted to prophetical subjects (as The Jewish Expository The Morning ■Watch, The Christian Herald, The ^Investigator, The Christian Witness, Thev Christian Record, The WatchmanΎ The Expositor of Prophecy) advocate primitive mille-narianism.” Brookshimself lectured in a number of cities on the near advent.
Wi Ouninghamp set forth his views in seventeen works. He considered 15Γ1833־ “The Apostasy of the Church of( Rome״, and examined (1826) critically the scheme of Jthe prophetic arrangement of Irving and Frere, endorsing j jfanew Mason’s computation, that the 2,300 years ended 11843. Tn'T'828T his “ Summary View of the Scriptural] *Argument for the glorious Advent ” and “ The Millennial Advent ” appeared ; in 1834 “ The Jubilean Chronology in 183739־ “ the Fullness of Time ” ; in 1838 “ A Supple-ment to his Dissertation ” ; in 1841 “ The Season of the End ”, etc.
Of all the publications, issued at that time, there were none so popular and produced so much good as those of that beacon light, R. Bickersteth, the efhcient secretary of׳ the London Mission Society^. His writings filled fifteen volumes', and some of his works reached from 102־ editions. As editor of the “ Christian Family Library He prepared “ Scripture Help ”, which from 1820 onward ran through about twenty-five editions. His “Guide to Prophecies”, appearing 1823, gave the trumpet a certain sound and had niije* "editions. In his Journal (Memoir, i. 5254־) he writes, Janïïaîy 1832: “ My mind has lately been much directed to the coming of Christ. The signs of the times are such as may well lead Christians to a more serious and thoughtful consideration of that ^glorious event. 0 may I be found ready, when He comes,
&■
ξΐΐ THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
.;to give up my account with joy. Prophetic truth, deeplv but humbly studied, does not weaken our hold of anv saving doctrine of Revelation, but rather enlarges the )mind to'fuller views of divine righteousness and godli-jngSsJ... The same year, after preaching four sermons on *the subject, he had them published entitled “ Prepared-ness for the Day of Christ ”. In June he received from *Cuninghame a copy of his work and spent a few days with him. In December he began “ a course of sermons on the coming of the Lord”. March~2^ 1834״ he writes: I have found the doctrine of the personal coming of Christ before the millennium quickening and profitable to my soul ; and believing it to be divine truth, I pray that I may see it with greater clearness and power, hold it more firmly, confess it more boldly, and live in its joyful hope, as well as in its awakening and stirring in-'fluence.” In his chronological Table, “ Scripture Help ” JEd. 16th. p. 287, 290), he has these twcTentries 'Ezra obtains a commission to restore and settle the statej of the jews—Ezra vii. 7. Just 70 weeks before the death¡ of Christ. Daniel ix. 24. Commencement of 2300 years.”1 i“ 533 the digests or pandects of Justinian published.\ Supposed commencement of the 1260 years.” In “ Sect.' vi. Chronological Prophecies ” (pp. 170-79) he accepts throughout the year-day principle ; concerning the 391 years he remarks: “ This period is reckoned by Mr.׳ Habershon from the capture of Constantinople, when artillery was used (Rev. ix. 17) with such success by Mahummud II, in 1453 ; the termination of the Turkish woe would thus be brought down to 1844.” In conclud-ing this section he says : “ The precise time is hidden from us ; but the signs of the times are to be discerned, and the approach of the time may be expected to be known. . . . From whatever dates we reckon, we can-not but consider that the time of the end is drawing near, and that awful events of judgment and of mercy are before us.”
Booklet after booklet appeared by different authors, some having two and three editions, so only few can be ׳mentioned. W. Andersen set forth in “Apology for Millen-nial Doctrine ” (1830 and 1831) the scriptural and historical
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proofs and on pages 38-41 entreats his readers : “ Oh ! let not a guilty world delude itself in security, especially ;light-visited, but light-abjuring Europe. At the opening of the, sixth seal, theL Jrencti-JRevolution commenced its work of terror. But in the midst of the desolation the ! elements are marvellously ordered into a calm untill the servants of God have been sealed. The suspension of the storm we enjoy at present.״ “ Conscious of being sealed ourselves, let us see that our friends and as many of our neighbours as is possible, be sealed quickly . . . presently the season of peace shall have closed, for the recording of the names of those who shall be J1eirsj3Ltfae first resurrection ! ”
J. A. Begg of Paisley derived his earliest acquaintance [with unfulfilled prophecy from A. Mason and adopting jhis views wrote considerably himself. By 1830 the second !edition of his “ Connected View of Scriptural Evidence of the Redeemer’s speedy personal Return and Reign on Earth with His glorified Saints during the Millennium ” appeared. Another prolific writer, G. T. Noel of Rich-wood, wrote “ The Day at Hand ” and “ Brief Inquiry into the Prospects of the Church of Christ in connection with the Second Advent”; editions appeared^.^28. and 1830. “Thoughts on Millenarianism ” by W.^Rym had from 1828-31 three editions and in his “Word oÍAVarn־ ing ” (p. 45), seeing its second edition 1835, he concluded : 1“ that if the 70 weeks begin 453 years before the incarnation I of Christ, the 2300 beginning at the same time, we ascertain their termination merely by deducting the years before the incarnation, which leaves 184,7 as the time when the [sanctuary shall be cleansed Τη a the vision be accom-plishcd : the last end of the indignation.”
The hunger after prophetic light is best seen by the fact that when A. Keith wrote his able work “ Evidence of the Truth of the Christian Religion, derived from the ljxcxal fulfilment of prophecy”, it ran from 1831 through
editions and .published in a number of other ; tongues. In his “ Signs of the Times ” (5th ed. already Í834) he applied theq^ear-day_ta^.pr^^	The
2,300	years, counting them from Xerxes, he ended_1820 and asked (ii. 281, f.) : “ May we not look again to the
5I4 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
times and the seasons that are passed, and sec whether the period may not be commenced for the cleansing of the sanctuary as well as of the sitting of the judgment ? We have seen how, after a time of previous repose, un-interrupted and accumulating calamities have beset the Turkish Empire, ‘melted away its armies’, ‘drained’ its population, and depopulated its cities, since 1820.” He applied the mighty angel of Revelation 10 to the Reformation. Pagan Rome, which made idolatry “ the very test ”, is the first beast and after its being wounded, was followed by papal Rome, which again made idolatry “ the very test ’-(ii. 6887־).
Vicar F. Nolan in “Time of the Millennium” 1831 laid special stress on the fact, that Paul in Hebrews îîlüs-trates “ the sacerdotal function of our Lord by the entrance of the typical high priest into the Holy of Holies, with the offering of blood”. John in the Apocalypse explains it “ by the entrance into the same place, and on the same day with the oblation of incense. Further the sounding of the 7th trumpet answered to the proclamation of the year of jubilee (pp. 10823־) ”. Though Faber in “Sacred Calendar of Prophecy” 1S26 now followed the reading 2,300, yet he (p. 180) arbitrarily began them 784 B.c.T^sîmply to end them 1517, the beginning of. the Reformation. The noted commentator A. Clarke re-marked (1836) on Daniel 8 : 14 : “I think the prophetic day should be understood here . . if we date these years from the vision of the he-goat, b.c. 354^300 years from that date will reach to 1g66/’ G.fjCroly, whose commentary on the Apocalypsenad 1828 "its second edition, remarked on Revelation 13: 17, “The power was the Dominican order. The image of the papacy, erected under its influence, was the inquisition. The order is subsequently named ‘ the false prophet ’.”
IrL 2y“ Circular Letter on the Revolution in Europe ”, by. Amici) of which in 1S^1 three editions had been circu-lated, the author (pp.'2,	23) stated: “The cry has
gone forth, Fear God, etc., and many have attended to the warning.” “ The whole of Europe is one vast theatre of these conflicting spirits of absolute rulers, and men’s hearts seem conscious of some indefinite change
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about to happen, some mighty crisis near at hand, which I shall alter the features of society and develop some momentous era in the history of the world. In this awful crisis, 0 reader, do we now stand ! All is ripe, all is ready, what hinders the bursting of the cloud so charged with heavy vengeance ! a voice of warning, of short moment ! We are now arrived at the termination of fulfilled prophecy and everything predicted Ti^ldwth rëmâîhs to Be accomplished ! ” “ To conclude, I feel happy in acquaint-ing you that about 100 Protestant ministers in Ireland^ are proclaiming His coming, and perhaps there are half 1 as many in England, but oh ! how few in Scotland !J ]May they be greatly increased ! Amen.”	'
But Avhat greatly strengthened the confidence in the surety of the prophetic word was the manifest fulfilment of the forecasts, made by expositors concerning the drying up of Mahometan power. Ever since the days of Lnihgr it had'Îçèh pointed to as a prominent sign, and ever since(Mede the number in Revelation 9:15 was explained י to signify 391 years, but their application was to a much, earlier date. However Charles JJuck, whose Theological Dictionary saw many editions in London and Phila.־ ׳׳delphia and was highly regarded, ever since L&1Q:under' “ IV Mahometanism, subversion of” (p. 334)136!ןד this definite statement : As Mahometanism “ arose as a^ scourge to Christendom about the time that Antichrist; obtained a temporal dominion, so it is not improbable¡ that they will have their downfall nearly at the samej ]period”. “ This period (hour, day, month, year) in the! language of prophecy, makes 391 years, which being; !added to the year when the angels were loosed, will bring, jus down to 1844, or thereabouts, for the final destruction lof the Mahometan. Empire.” J. Park made the same comment (Concise Expos, ii. 26) in 1825 : “ This term 391 years, if the appointed period of Mahometan dominion over the Greek Empire, will extend from its extinction in 1453 to 1844.” As so many commentators stressed ηίβο the fact that at the end of the 2,300 years the cleans-ing of the sanctuary pointed also to the abolishing of the Mahometan power in 1843-44, it was very natural, when J. W. Brook (Investigator, ii. 441) thus in 1832 י
516 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH" V
synchronized both : “ Hence, if we set down the time before the birth of Christ (namely 456), there will be required to complete the number in the vision 1844 years, making a total of 2300; consequently we may expect , the sanctuary to be cleanse¿about the year 1844. Again! frwnj^Jppji^	faur, angels bopnd in the.great(׳
river Euphrates (Rev. 9 : 14, 15), which is supposed to have taken place at the fall of Constantinople in 1453, :0 the close of the Turkish woe (which was to be for an 10ur, a day, a.month and a year),.thjere will be 391 years : which space of time will tcOTijQnjte. im.1844.” When by a remarkable fatality the English, French and Russian navies suddenly co-operated in September, 1827 to deal thejteathrhlmwto the Turkish navy in about four hours, ^this event, “ unexampted־־irT the history of nations ”, ^directed in the words of Rv Vaughan “ The Church’s ^Expectation ” (pp. 5261־) more than ever to events in the ¿£ast : “ Who has not his heart fret with anxiety by the blow struck without hands at the battle of Navarino, "and his neck stretched out to discern the first courier who may announce a Christian possessor of Constantinople ? Howbeit I do not look for the sign till 1843.” When the Russian army indeed threatened, 1829, the immediate investment of Constantinople and only great losses of territory saved Turkey, the expectation increased. But /when the great Egyptian pasha. Mehemet Ali, asserted his independence, attacked Syria in 1832, defeated in/ itjiree battles the Sultan’s armies and annexed Palestine, ^then Cuninghame (Suppl, p. 74). thus testifies to the effect lupon^the Advent movement :	“ But that the Lord’s
/warning was in reality heard, and that á^nce "did," at that very time, go forth in the Church, as to the nearness of the advent, is undeniable. It may be safely affirmed, that from the year 1828-33, namely, from the beginning of the last war between Russia and Turkey, to the cession j of Palestine to Egypt, a greater number of tracts and \ works, on the subject of the Advent, and declaring its j^earness, went forth to the public, and were advertised in the leading religious journals of the day than had previously appeared in any whole century, in the whole period that had elapsed from the age of the apostles.”
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As proof'־'he gives a list of publications issued during the síx^^rs/^íVhat feeling in 1828 pervaded the whole East,
: trying (“ Babylon/’ p. 446) thus states : “ Not only 1 among the Turks in Europe, but all over the East the Mahometan power is wasting away, and, like all doomed things begins to be conscious of its approaching end ; insomuch, that they say, the Ottoman power is p^xal^zed
with prophecies of its speedy end.” Alfred__________
his large volume “ Heaven Opened ”, being an exposition of Daniel and Revelation, clearly showed that the 2*300
f ears would end with the cleansing of the sanctuary with he Jewish year, on March 20, 1844.
But what makes the might of the prophetic word still more apparent, is the very fact that Mehemet Ali ״ himself was prompted by the Word to attack Turkey. The very instrument, .used by God, to côïïvê‘v_thfs~'Trght to him, ׳Rajpflçl Gobât) a native of French Switzerland, who ]later became" the first Protestant bishop of Jerusalem, Sums elf *Tela tes the circumstances in his biography. Early !converted, he spent from 1821-2j_ in missionary training at Basle, Paris and London and "during that time became intimately acquainted with such prominent men as Prof. Gaussen of Geneva, Bishop Wilson of Calcutta, Pratt, m y/a"nd many others of England. After his ordination, he was called to Abyssinia, but was detained three years iat Alexandria, where he held Bible studies. During the !winter of 182829־, when Boghos Bey, the prime^ mjn i s t er I of Egypt, attended, they were discussing prophecy with \ each other “ and thought to have discovered that the [Turkish Empire was soon to be destroyed. I looked at these prophecies with a theological eye—he, from the jpólitical point of view ; so that, although we seemed toliave the same idea, we did not fully understand one another. After leaving Alexandria I thought little more about it, till five years later, on my return from Abys-sinia in 1833, I called on Boghos JJçy. Hearing I was at the door/'he came~ smiling to me, and said at once,
‘ do you remember that evening when we conversed upon prophecy ? A few days afterwards I communicated our views to Mehemet Ali, and read the prophecies with him. The consequence was that he immediately resolved upon
518 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
attacking the Sublime Porje ; and this, is the origin of our conquest of Syria’ f (Gobat, p. 94). Gobat adds, ^sô’gréât a fire may one spark kindle” and that one spark came, indeed, from the sure word of prophecy, according to which God disposes the affairs of this world, whilst rulers often suppose that they are directing every-thing according to their wisdom.
LXXXIII
“ WHAT MAY I DO FOR THE LORD BEFORE HE RETURNS ”
During(! 8284^־JGreat Britain was stirred by a mighty advent movement, impelled oil the one hand by the ÂÎbury prophetic conferences, on the other IBy'lhe realizatTon of ׳prophetic forecasts, Palestine being liberated from the Turkish yoke and emancipation of the Jews opening the way fot their restoration. However during the same period there were some developments going on within this movement which clai!îr^$Tatten1^h. IryinjgTiad laid ־gréáT stress on the restoration of the offices of the I Spirit and that bodily disease, as the direct infliction of !Satan, was to be healed by faith and prayer. He was therefore greatly interested in the formation of the brother-mood, organized 1827 by H. Steward for united prayer that there might he'a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. During 1828^29 Irving made two extensive tours through-out Scotland, his native country, chiefly to proclaim the near advent and to urge the necessary preparation. During his lectures at Edinburgh he won over the three Bonar !brethren, Horatius Bonar then being a youth of twenty-lone years. Speaking generally those pre-millennial “ views were strange and unwelcome to the Scottish churchman of that day. A certain stigma, as of heresy, was fastened on all who received them : for many years the ‘ pre-millenarians ’ were regarded within God’s heritage as speckled birds ”—as enthusiasts who were going out of their minds. But Horatius “ was not quiet about it. By voice and pen he disseminated this doctrine ; for a number of years he was editor of the quarterly journal of pro׳־ phecy ; and his poetical anticipations of the Lord’s return
9ז5
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are so numerous and so fervent that he has been styled thaJiyj^ist of the advent ” (Memoirs, p. 45, f.). During ^Irving’s .first tour in Scotland some young ladies were« ^healed by prayer. Later on they claimed to have the ,gift of'Txmgues. Three men from Irving’s congregation ;went up from London 1830 to investigate. Their report jcàïïsëct' the ' organization of meetings to seek the revival of the gifts and in 1831 the first utterances of the gift ?of tongues were heard in London. Later in 1832 Irving repOTtect the restoration of the apostolic gift in Baxter. Irving, being expelled from the Scottish Church for s"ome( supposed unsound opinions concerning Christ’s inheriting a sinful nature, preached for a time in streets and fields, until a temporary chapel was secured. He himseirLegan 1.to claim supernatural enlightenment for these gifts, and from !Æu^onwards the Albury and the “Jjornmg fWatcfr77 Conferences came under Irvingite control. In BepTember 1832 he made in it (p. 18) this statement : that no one will mistake or'misuse these interpreta-׳¥ions, as if they were altogether avouched by the Holy Spirit of God, placed beyond the region of doubt, and not to be questioned ; whereas though the light came from heaven direct, it hath been refracted_through the prism
of my own fiïïnd, and thereFy assumed the form .of_______my
own understanding, as well asjdie Htterance of my fallible IpsF UuningKame (Diss. ^pTxxxiv.) took Irving to task
dr seeking to make people believe that his interpretations were “ in the main avouched by the Spirit ”. But ere long Irving himself began to realize what this claim concerning the spiritual gifts meant. “ By a word spoken supernaturally by the apostle,” Irving was informed to suspend his ministry until his re-ordination in 1833^ B^axtqr, Drummond, Bayford, Owen_were by the gift of prophecy made apostles» Irving only an angel. His fine, intelligent congregation forsook him. One of his best friends, H. McLain, left him and decided that the pre-tended gifts were not of God. The last five years of Irving’s life threw a gloomy shadow around him and he died broken-hearted 1834 m Glasgow. To prefer the
spurious reading 2,400 was as early as iSjlTalready the characteristic faith. of the Irvingites, as their first־tract
520 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
“Prophetic Dates״ (p. 12) proves: “If we reckon 2400 days from the time Daniel had this vision, viz. 553 b.c., it brings us down to 1847, at which period the sanctuary shall be cleansed, i.6. Jerusalem and the holy land shall be delivered from the oppression of the Turkish power ... by the restoration of the Jews to their own land, and by their worship therein of the true God.״ In 1835 they appointed twelve apostles, who were to announce throughout Europe that the day of judgment and the Millennium were close at hand, and their sealing work was the immediate preparation for the advent.
Dr. J. $V01ff, financed by the Irvingite apostle Drum-mond, also^ook up with the idea, that 2,400 was the right reading, though he remained an Anglican parson until his death 1862. Through his naturalization and : marriage with Lady Walpole, Earl of Orford’s daughter, j 1827, he gained free access to the English nobility and I became noted through his trip to inner Asia. He claimed : that in 1830 he had a vision of the New Jerusalem, seeing j the apostles walking aboufAvith crowns on their head and : Paul telling him that he should also have such a crown,
: “ but not such a glorious one as I have ״ (“ Travels,״ p. 381). On the title page of this book, wdiich he dedicated ״to the statesman B. dTsraeli, he boastingly compares himself with Paul : “ I have preached the Gospel, not only from Jerusalem, round about unto Illyricum, but also from the Thames to the Oxus and the Ganges and the New World ! ״ In a message sent from Cyprus, Decern-ber 21, 1829, t0 the Jews of Alexandria, he informed them that the Messiah would return 1847 and that he was the chosen instrument of God to convert them (D. Biogra-phie^ xliv. 39). Reaching Alexandria, he issued a printed call to the Mohammedan grandees to turn to Christ, for the Mohammedan power would fall in 1847, and sent a copy to the governor. But Mehemet Ali ordered him at once to leave the city (“Travels,״ p. 266)1 Though Brooks (Investigator,.y* 88) testifies that “ ησ individual perhaps has given greater publicity to the doctrine of ״ the advent,
, than has this well-known missionary, yet he censures 1 him for fixing “ upon the precise year 1847 for the coming of the Lord ״, thereby leaving “ the plain and beaten
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track of exposition ״. He mentions as an interesting fact that when Wolff had a long controversy with the learned ן Emir Seyed Ahmed at Lucknow, this Mussulman re-proved mm, that to fix time was contrary to the words of Christ in Matthew7 24 : 36 (Investigator, v. 88, yi). Accord-ing to his own journals Wolff proclaimed the speedy advent in Palestine, Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, through-out the Ottoman Empire, Persia, Turkestan, Bokhara, Afghanistan, Cashmere, Hindostán, Thibet, Abyssinia, Caucasus, Crimea, Cyprus, Malta, St. Helena, etc. He had preached to Jews, Turks, Parsees, Hindus, Chaldeans, Yeezeedi, Armenians, Syrians, Sabeans, to Pashas, Sheiks, Shahs, kings and queens. During his visit 1837 .in U.S.A. he preached in the Eastern cities, lectured before both Houses of the Congress and dined with President ן van Burén. After his return he was ordained as Episcopal 'priest, and Dublin University conferred the LL.D. upon him. He settled down however as a parson Ίη small villages, declared that as long as Antichrist has not come, the words of Acts i. 7 are still in force (“ Travels,״ p. 250), and ceased his efforts for the Jews.
But the/Albury conference gave start to another similar hnovement,\ undertaken by Lady Powerscourt after her! (\etufh to Oublin. The clergyman f. ^ Darby was wont during her efforts in 1830, and as a prophet (5r3temear advent he untiringly proclaimed the everlasting Gospel through-out Great Britain, on the Continent, in North America ?and even in Australia. He really became the founder of I the “ Plymouth (Brethren ”, who are sometimes also called j “ Darbyrtes^r They are strong Millenarians and style themselves “the assembly of God ”, gathered to Jesus ,by ~Thè~TT0îy Ghost In his “ Studies on Daniel ״ j(Etudes, p. 146) Darby admitted, that he at first also ]fixed the date for the advent to be 1844, saying : “ There ^are excellent brethren in all countries who have sought |to calculate these dates . . . some have fixed 1844, others ji 847 ; I myself have made severaj calculations in the ftimes past, ancT in the same sense/* Cuninghame in 1832 !stresses the fact in his preface (p. xxix.) to the third edition of Dissertation that at thaTTime “ new׳ systems ; of interpretatioii 3ye1;c springing up like funguses" around
522 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
us. Every anonymous tyro, thinks himself qualified to set aside the labours of centuries and exalt his own crude lucubrations Into a system of apocalyptical interpreta-tion ”.
But in spite of all these obstacles, the pious and promin-ent leaders of the Anglican and Free Churches, who sought ^the right solution in the 2^300 years and 184344־ as the !eventful date, started their own journals on prophecy, jfgreatly multiplied their literature on this theme, warned ,against the papacy as the predicted Antichrist and sounded ] the Advent message far and wide. A new able defender 81י the 2,300 years encjiing 1844־ as we^ as the 391 years war'afqused in M.^Habershon, noted as architect for church buildings. Tn tKe preface (p. xvii.) to his " Histori-j cal Dissertation on the-Prophetic Scriptures ”, he stresses ן the remarks of Mr. v£helwall, that “ the continual fulfil-ment of prophecy before our eyes, in the progressive development of the purposes of God according to his word, is a standing miracle, still testifying from age to age the Divine inspiration and authority, not only of those prophecies themselves, but of the whole volume which contains them ”, His work contains a valuable chart on which he ends the 2,300 years as well as the 391 in Y 1844^màïlang the extinction of the Mahometan power.
I His peculiar feature is, to extend the 1,335 years 75 years ; beyond that time. From page 136 onward he discusses as a most remarkable sign of the times “ the present expiring condition of that once formidable power, which,
^ for so many centuries, has been in possession of the Jews’ ״land; of that land which is emphatically termed— Immanuel’s land (Isa. 8 : 8).” As proof he quoted the statement of Mr. de	made January 8, 1834,
in the French Chamber: “You see that the breath of . life which animated it—religious fanaticism—is extinct ;
י you see that its fatal and blind administration has de-Lfoured the very race of conquerors, and that Turkey is; } perishing for want of Turks ! ” Though the warning i voice waned somewhat after 1834, yet what impelling !power it still possessed is best illustrated in the life of (\George Müller, the founder of the Bristol orphanages.
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5*3
Born near Halle, while studying theology he was converted by the pietist family Wagner. In 1829 he accepted a call from London to labour among the Jews. Having partially recovered from a serious illness, he went to Teignmouth, where from Plymouth the fire of the blessed hope had just reached this town also. During 1830 Müller became greatly affected by a sermon of Henry Çraik» the leader of the Advent band, and learned (durnTgr"fKe ten days he spent with him) in searching the Scriptures for a few hours more about Bible truth than he had learned in months before. He found not the least warrant for his former belief that the world must be converted before Christ’s return, and he became convinced that His advent and not death was the hope of the apostolic Christians. ' Of all the predicted events, he found none that must, but may, take place before it, “ so that there is nothing to prevent its taking place any hour. In realizing this point ” he apprehended the practical importance of this subject, as the scriptural motive for watchfulness and devotedness, as a consolation under present afflictions and sufferings, as a stimulus to love, forbearance, patience, suspension of our judgment. “ Having seen this truth, the Lord also graciously enabled me to apply it, in some measure at least, to my own heart and to put the solemn question to myself—what may I do for the Lord before He returns, as He may.s_Q.Qn. come ? (Narrative, pp. 4446־!. He also saw from the Scriptures, that bíffievOrs only are the proper subjects for baptism, and that immersion is the only scriptural mode (Acts 8 : 36 ; Rom. 6 : 3.). After being immersed, he separated from the London Society, and united with the Plymouth Brethren ; his inmost soul moved with compassion for perishing sinners and for the slumbering world around him, he began to labour in Bristol in 1832. There he, with others of like faith, | founded the “ Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad ”. But nearest to his heart were the orphan homes, the value of which he learned to appreciate while at Halle. In this work, especially, he w^as used of God in a wonderful manner to demonstrate the power of prevailing prayer. Beginning in_p836 in a rented dwelling,
524 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
he had erected before his death five large buildings with sufficient room for 2,000 orphans and the necessary per-sonnel. In the schools supported by the Scriptural Knowledge Institution there had been until 1897 over
127,000	students taught. The distribution of the word of God was also his great burden, and until 1897 two million copies had been distributed by his agencies in var-ious languages. From 183497־ he had also aided mission־ aries to the extent of £250,000. After his son-in-law took over the burden of the orphanage in 1873, Müller carried the glad tidings of the Gospel to most countries of the world during the next twenty years. Honoured by all evangelical bodies, he testified to many thousands of the blessed hope. According to Pastor Kolfhaus (R.E. xiii. 516), Müller’s life sealed his own saying by which he characterized Christianity : “ Christianity is life and reality.״ After Müller became inspired with the blessed hope in 1830, the prompting motive for all his deeds had been : “ What may I do for the Lord before He returns ? ״ In the memoirs of that noble lady, M. J. Graham, by the Rev. Bridges, which passed through many editions about that time, this statement is found : “ I have heard with inexpressible pleasure that these enquiries into the prophecies have already been useful in thinning the ranks of infidelity. The coincidence between prophecy and its fulfilment is in these latter days grandly conspicuous. It is such that ‘ he who runs may read ’. The winding up of the whole seems to be near at hand. The last pro-phecy must ere long find ‘ her mate ’ in the last event of humanity. Prediction is almost swallowed up in accom-plishment. Happy are those, wTho with reason enlightened by the ray of Divine intelligence, can trace the wonderful coincidence which subsists between what God has foretold and what He has done ; whose thoughts stretch in awful, yet fearless anticipation of what He is about to do.”
The grand thought of what I may do for the Lord before He comes pervaded the whole atmosphere of the true Christians in Great Britain, urging them forward to found missionary and Bible societies, orphanages, schools with the great object before them to prepare the world for the great advent. Habcrshon quoted fittingly
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PHILADELPHIA
in the beginning of his Dissertation the words of Cowper’s ‘‘Task
“ Knock at the gates of nations ! rouse their fears !
Say, wrath is coming, and the storm appears.
But raise the shrillest cry in British cars."
LXXXIV
“ AN END IS COME, THE END IS COME ! ” EZEK. 7 : 6
That the so long desired kingdom of God might soon be u&hôicd in, was the ardent desire of the large school tof'Bengel,־ the influence of which was felt not only all 'over the Continent, but also in distant lands, to which pious German colonists, filled with this blessed hope, emigrated. As long asTiis forecasts seemed to be realized, publications favouring his calculations continue¿.,.״.to appear and to keep the interest alive. Thus ·Alienstern discussed 1820 “ The djscovered very near M^ifestation of the Antichrist” ; 'Leutweij) in 1821 considered “ The approach of the universal nour of Temptation ” ; and
F.	Norkc, “ What must we fear concerning 1836 ? ” [How the thought of the near millennial kingdom affectecLeysn pious nobl<¿0&enr phe following speech of the Hessian Landgrave־ Charles before the Sleswick-Holstein Bible Society in 182Q : “ Can we express our astonishment when we look at the past time so utterly irreligious ; in which the Bible especially as the only true foundation of the Christian religion was derided, ridiculed, and almost entirely rejected ; and at the excellent use now made of the Divine Book, to scatter the light of the gospel over the whole earth ? Can we fail to perceive in it the wise direction of Providence ? Does not the thought enter your mind—Is not His second coming spoken of by our Lord to His disciples very near, since the sign appointed by Him has appeared?” (Matt. 24: 14).	“ In Rev.
20 : 4 an account is given ... of a first resurrection of those who had lost their lives for the witness of Christ, and these, adds John, 4 lived and reigned a 1000 years’. From this, has been taken the idea of a millennium.” “ The Christian Instructor” (June 29, 1830), in reporting
526 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
this speech, well adds : “ In the expectation of the second advent, he is very sincere, talking of it as at once certain and near.”
As to the date ^836, which Bengel had conjectured on the supposition that1566 marked the years of the papal supremacy, many of his followers, as is generally the case, '(tare much more sanguine, to fix the days, hours and future events, than the master ever intended. Already Stilling; (Siegesgesch, p. 6, f.), although he believed that Benge! hack no equal as expositor, yet questioned why he taught a duplex millennium, and why he had denied the prophetic character of the epistles to the seven churches ? Jf many of his followers had since fixed dates and events so positively, as if there could be no doubt as to the correctness of his conjectures, this was indeed question-able and dangerous. If in the near future all this might not be exactly fulfilled, “ then the suspicion of incorrect-ness might fasten itself to Bengel’s whole system, or even to the Apocalypse itself”. When Pastor Sander, another ardent follower of Bengel, in (Í829 publisÎe3*Tus u Attempt to Explain Revelation ”, Ee îêlt fully entitled to change Bengel’s conjecture, that the 666 ,years were to'be counted from 11701836־; instead they began 1177 andLêndad.,.^843, on the strength of the following state-ment of Bengel in “ Ehrenrettung ” (pp. 66,	195):
“Whether the 666 commence with Gregory VII or Alexander III or with any other between, that I have never fixed with certainty.” “ Long ago I have ques-tioned, when the time of the beast, mentioned twice in Revelation 13, really did commence, and I have abstained from all positive settlement.” “ Of this precaution I avail myself more and more. Thus without being positive this time can be begun with Gregory VIJ^־^kh the cru-sades ... or with Alexander III.” : Sander,! then (p.
116) adds: “If Bengel, the great Calculator . . . does/\ abstain from all definite fixing of dates, then we should I do it also, and the author of this attempt cannot tell j it loud and clear enough, that he, though he has put ' up one or the other conjecture concerning the apocalypti-cal periods, especially the one mentioned in Revelation 12 and 13, and also suggesting the year 1847, in no wise
PHILADELPHIA	I527	׳‘/ ־׳
wants to have this looked upon as definite fixing of time.״ In his preface (p. ix.) Sander mentions that he derived considerabTef"light from a booklet, ״“ ^Reminder of Some statements of Daniel ״: by C. G. Zobel^and also from a *booklet of Pastor i/Lindl>and_j^£U,_frQm English works, which in the main agree with Bengel : “ For especially׳ of Jatehas ther^beenawakeited in England a great zeaΓ for/tne study of prophetic theology, as the newest works (7 pamphlets by Irving, Drummond, etc.), and by Noël concerning the prophecies demonstrate.״ He also s'ÜÏTSr as his solemn conviction :	“ The great political and
religious convulsions of the Christian world since the ibnd of the past century—the great apostasy, the reign ' fof jnfidelity—the successes of the protestant missions, the Bible Societies—the movements among Israel, the
^convulsions.of the main bulwarks of Mahometanism—
hll these signs taken together permit no doubt that, the last time is at the door, and the great catastrophe, whereby the kingdoms of this world shall become Christ’s ;kingdom.״ Referring to the efforts of Suenen Francke, Zinzendorf and the Moravian brethren, ofWeslev and י Whîteïïèld to revive true faith in Christ, to bind true! believers closer together, he recognized in all this the true Philadelphia, to which God had given an _open door ¿ocarry the glad tidings to the very ends of the earth, and no one would be able to stop the final victory (pref. pp. vi.-ix). That Sander’s caution about setting definite dates on the strength of Bengel’s statements- was in place fis evident from the fact that C. F, Rohrborn^as late as 1832, in his “ Most Important Prophecies , maintained that during 183034־ the false prophet and two witnesses were to arise, Rome be destroyed and that between March ,293־GJ^36 Christ would probably appear. On the other hand, Prof. J. F. Wurm of Stuttgart questioned in two pamphlets in 1832 wïïetïier Bengel was justified in re-garding 666 as so many years, and that about October 14, 1832 Revelation 17: 12, 13 would be fulfilled. On page 14 he testifies : “ The circumstance is also remarkable, that many Christians, who thus far abstained from all reflection concerning the future, begin, excited by the latest developments, to believe, that we live in the last
528 THE IMPELLING F^RC^'bF^PROPHETIC TRUTH
time and to occupy themselves with apocalyptical in-vestigations. Though we have sufficient evidence to convince us, that we are very near to the time of the end . . . yet we are in no wise justified, to set a month, or, much less, a day, when this or that, what the unfailing word of prophecy has foretold, might take place.” But Ithç ,;close contact: between the British..	. Cgniinental
[AdŸ^-'ffiovëifient was not only demonstrated by the [references óf Sander to English writers andby-synchroniz-ing with their elutes, but in j820L a translation of the «׳English tract, “ The Lord is at hand, or^he last Trump ”, ;was printed in Zerbst, and also of Way’s “Thoughts1 on Scripture Expectations ”^1830, at Tlamburg. On the otKeFHand, Bengel’s expositions, whicK Wesley had propa-gated by his translation of the Gnon^o^found as late as 1833 another supporter in W. A^fiolme^ who in his “ Tjme^of the End ” tried to end the	years, as^arly
as_j8j6A by beginning them with the strange marriages of the 113 m£Eu(Ezra 10 : 1844־), some nine years before 45U'£- Hoffmann, however, when in 18^4 a new edition of Bengel’s '“ Apocalypse Explained יי" was called forth, altered the wrong date of Frederick’s humiliation from 1170 to	thus ending the 666 years in 1843..
When L.^çlhcx-in 18ςς published a new edition of “ The End is Comuvhc stated already on the title page that “ prelate Bengel had failed by 7 years in fixing the final fycar ; for 1843 is the goal, when the great battle between׳ ¡Light and darkness" wîîî be fought out and the long-desired peaceful reign of Jesus will begin upon the earth”. On page 52 he narrates the sad experience with his Lutheran pastor, who in 18^2jlemanded that henceforth he should not “ mention the name of Antichrist in the school nor ^touch upon this subject in any form whatever ”. As the aged schoolteacher felt constrained by the terrible warning of Revelation 14 : 911־ to continue, he was simply dismissed without pension after having faithfully served for forty-four years. This led him to write his last pamph-let, “ The Antichrist and Who is He, i.e. the Roman Pope”. In this pamphlet (p^o) he stated that 1843 was the real goal, but in the preface already stresses the fact that the most trying time of the last battle has
PHILADELPHIA	'	ζ2ί)
begun, that lie, who does not bow his knee to worship
I the lamb, but rather bows before the image of the beast, shall perish. Though this faithful witness died 1838, yet by 1842 not less thanT^jr edjBôüs of this as well as “ tKe End JLSQ3B&’ ca r ned_^
tTar* and wide. I n this Tatter pamphlet (pp. 2124־VKelber took up Petries argument jpn Daniel 8 and 9, deHaring' tEe advent of Christ would tof tarry “ beyond 18^7. But it might even come sooner, !because our era is three years and three months too short, and^accofding to ChnsPs ássufáhce" the days shall be,¡ shortened (Matt. 24 : 22) ”. When 1836 passed without bringing the Millennium, Kornthal’s pastor, Kapff, tried /to strengthen the believers’ weakening faith Dypomting^ [ them to the parable of .the ten virgins : the tarrying time S^vas now fulfilling ^Erinz^; p. 78)., As late as 1840 the ,popular commentary bfTÎ.·"Richter, missionary secretary of the Rhenish Society, wasTnfTuenced by Petri’s calcula-tion of the 2,300 days. In his introduction.;.Λ° -Daaiel· (iv. 749, f.) he states, that the book 'of this “ statesman contains as forerunner to the Apocalypse the process of development of the militant kingdom of God from his time until the very end of this militant state in great out-lines ; but especially the draft of the peculiar destinies1 of his own people, of the holy city and the glorious land (during the long period of probably 2300 years) and the following purification, blessedness and return of Israel, wherewith the militant kingdom ends”. To Daniel 8 : 14 he states that others again see in the 2,300 so many year-days, which began with the seventy weeks. If j4§3 years of these had elapsed at the beginning of Christ’s !ministry, and were deducted, “ there remained 1817 !years after the 30th year of Christ or 1847}after Christ’s birth”. In his notes on Revelation"ΉΡ H he dates the beginning of the 42 months in 587, quoting the very words of Petri “ in ¿87 the treading underfoot set in very !severely”, and then on Revelation 12 : 6 he mentions ¡Ϊ847 as the terminus of th^^6û,.vyeaxs. On Revelation '13 fie gives (vi. 1081) a general “ survey over the whole process of development of Antichrist, ascending in worse epochs and periods until the highest summit. The first
530 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
beast denotes the religious secular universal dominion of Antichrist; the seconcf thTTaFef''added ecclesiastical as servant״. On page 1089 he also thus corrects Bengel :
“ If we Begin to date the 1260 years (which Bengel con־ tracted into 666) of supremacy from 1177, then they would end in.x84^’^Thus the advent movement of the 1 continent found, even bTfore^ffie״passing "of 1836, its icom^ctjbasè in harmony with the British movement onj ,the strengtifof Petri’s calculation in 1768.
What difficulties the advent believers on the continent had to overcome, not only Kelber’s case illustrates, but also Tindl.’s and many others. One of the participants,
G.;Schache of Silesia, who laboured many years on behalf! of the mission of Gossner, and founded a number of' temperance societies, assured the writer in 1891, that “ after the year 1836 had passed, bookdealer Sommerfeld of Schweidnitz advertised H^^Kelbe^’s- booklet, dealing with glorious events, to take place in 1843. We bought the ;booklet and with a number of interested persons read it jpehind locked doors between 1838״40־. Another in-stance is furnished by the experience of G. Müller of Bristol, when he in 1840 tried to plant the blessed hope in the hearts of his countrymen. During the last decade a small company of advent believers had banded together in his own home town, Sandersleben. Their leader, Krolj^ had been fined several times for conducting such meetings. Though forbidden, the meetings were carried on in secret. When Müller visited the place, he found some thirty persecuted believers crowded together in a small room of a weaver, to listen to him. The only furniture in the room consisted of a chair, besides the weaver’s loom. In Stuttgart, where Müller could preach more freely, he founded a church of the Plymouth Brethren, waiting for their Master’s return.
Ben^ePs, writings had their effect upon pious pastors and l^men in	Austria, the Baltic
provinces and Russia, besides pious emigrants in America. ÏT Heintzpeter of Holland had his attention called to ¿he Blessed Hope by an impressive dream. His first pamphlet on the advent appeared 1 8k) ; two others followed 1822, and in 1841 “ The GrootxTWcreldgebeuten-
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)531
essen ”, on page 30 of which he endorses Petri’s^calcula-tion of the 2,300 years. Dr. Wolff visited ^olían?1 in | April, 182277^ccture<^ ‘m t^le Athenaeum of ÆSÎsîerdam and the universities of Leyden and Utrecht, and made the acquaintance of the famous Isaac da Costa and Dr. Kappa-dose ; both of them sincere converts from Judaism ta Cj^jáüajiity (“ Travels,” p. 239). The Swedish pastor, ^char^aUf diligently read the works of Bengel and Roos, 's3ra"־feTerred to Bengel’s calculation on the Apocalypse, when explaining that book. Many (Piétîsts in Sweden iso diligently read in the prophecies thaflhey were nick-I named “ Læsare ” or “ readers ”. When some of them began to raise their warning voices in view of the impend-ing advent, they were called “ ropare ” (criers). On account^ of their zeal to warn and convert tneir neighbours, some /of them were imprisoned at Orebro. What had happened! hi Silesia in former days now became manifest in Sweden־ —cfflS?ln who had never learned to read gave expositions of lines of prophecy and exhorted--to-repentance in view oi-the,soon-coming Saviour. Q. Boqiiist, who, with Erik |Walbom, had, as a lad, taken'part, testified that both, ]seized as it were by a heavenly power, commenced to ispeak to the people, and to proclaim with a loud voice ¡that the judgment hour had come, referring to Joel 2 : ,32־28׳ ; Rev. 14 : 6, f. Taylor (p. 415) states, that in !Norway “ charts and books have been circulated exten-sively, and the-doctrinc received by many”.
Little Switzerland also heard the warning voice, and several of her sons, besides Gobat, acted a noble part. A. Nicole, a lawyer near Nyon, in a tract quoted in the ^Morning Watch” (i. 35053־), advocated in 1829 the commencement of the 2,300 years consonant with the beginning of the 70 weeks : “ If we after the most generally, approved chronology admit that the 20th year of Artaxer-xes corresponds with the year 454 b.c., then the expira-, tion of the 2300 years would fall in the year 1846-47 of/ our era. It seems therefore that the believers can hope that about that time the cleansing of the sanctuary would tâka.,place.” One of the most zealous advocates of the[ soon coming of Christ was L. Gaussen, professor of theology at Geneva. When rationalistic ’ professors caused his
532 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
removal from the pulpit, he went to London, where lie came in contact with the best Christian Society and really became its centre. Around him a circle of the élite, not only as regards religious excellence, but also intellectual culture, used to meet for mutual improvement and edification” (Gobatj_.p._43״). Later, during his visit to Rome, everything at the papal court impressed him that Antichrist was indeed reigning there. Called to a professorship in the newly opened theological seminary at Geneva, he gave considerable attention to the exposition ipf prophecy, and as a result his “ Leçons sur le prophète ,Danielיי appeared in three volumes during 1844-47. He ^pointed out the absurdity (ii. 136, f.) of explaining the prophetic dates as natural days, the 2,300 were surely
When Wolff during 1825 passed through the Caucasus die “ made acquaintance with the German colonies of Elisabethal, Kornthal, etc. They were all believers in the personal reign of Christ, and believed themselves to be the woman who was to fly into the wilderness, until Christ should come in glory ” (“ Travels,” p. 226). The strong influence exerted by these colonists is evident from the fact that the Molokans, a Russian sect, who call them-selves Gospellers, firmly awaited the promised millennium about that time. A certain1 Terenti Balioreff, knowing of their belief, imposed upon them in 1833^ T3y claiming to be the promised Elias. He “ announced the advent of the millennium within 30 months, the immediate cessa-tion of all business, and the community of goods ” (Blunt, p. 284). He ended in prison.
In Southern Germany the Irvingite apostles, Caird and Carlyle, carried on quite a successful propaganda. Several Catholic priests were won, also a number of LutHerañ^astors in Northern Germany, several professors of theology in Marburg and Geneva, and the able editor of the “ Kreuzzeitung” in Berlin. With the aid ofjdiese able men they established a number of churches. Bemisch (R.E. iii. 8¿2) states, that “ in Württemberg, especially iKTornthalTalso in the Wupper Valley, etc., the Millennium pecame for a time a fundamental of Christian belief, which !!vas most zealously considered in the writings of the
533
PHILADELPHIA
pastors, in the pulpits and in private meetings.״ Bengel’s. ;and Petri’s writings had toward the end of the^^oo; ¡years ancf the Beginning of the supposed millennium created*־ :a strong adveau.mov.ement over all the continentand . wRefcver Tî e'r m a n Pietists had settled. FillecT witB this ^Blcssed^ope^ th^y not only prepared to meet their Lord themselves, but spread the glad tidings far and near. "Suck (W.V. iii. 165) pays this splendid tribute to their 1Tiving faith : The mission “ is the beautiful fruit of the thoughts and hopes of the coming kingdom, which Bengel and his disciples have proclaimed and which during the time of the frigid condition of the state churches have only been the more nursed by the free religious com-munities. As early Christianity was spurred on to extend the Gospel in the world by the hope of the speedy return of Christ, thus, in like manner, the high-tensioned ex-pectation of the near end resulted, a hundred years ago, in deeds of saving activity for the heathen. On the re-verse, the soul-saving work of the ,missions re-affected the Christians in the homelands, arousing them to in-creased activity ”. Pietists, filled with the advent hope, created the first evangelical mission societies in spite of. the opposition of the state churches. When the sigp (Matt. 24: 14) had appeared, then, the advent had truJ/V neared, Faithful Kelber testified :	■'
“ ' An end is come, the end is come ׳
Behold, it ׳waketh against thee,
Oh man, do awaken quickly.	x
But thou, 0 Lord, help graciously,	\
Make us reflect, what benefits,
' An end is come, the end is come.’
LXXXV
“ THE DAY-jST^g^OF RETURNING LIGHT TO THE AMERICAN CHURCHES ”
The blessed hope of the near advent (kindled during the eighteenth century) was in the New World so stimu-lated by the startling events in the Old World early in the nineteenth century, that the prQj^ç&c^ works. of Newton, Fleming, Priestley, Bicheno, etc., had to be I
534 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Tcprint e^ ÊnjdicJk^	the growing demand.
the flame ״ of the advent movement jb^n^hi the Old World, “ crossed the Atlantic ” to the jNewWorld, and not vice versa, and furnished a founda-ition to point to, was acknowledged in 1841 by the two ¡leading writers, Himes and Litch, in their preface to their ireprint of J. Spalding’s “ Sentiments concerning the ¡Coming and Kingdom. .QÍ. Christ ”, first issued at Salem, ÇVlass.j'iy^C. As Spalding restored the neglected pre-iniÏÏSmaî hope to its old credit again, Himes and Litch felt impelled to reprint it, testifying that they “ look upon this publication as the day-star of returning light to the American Churches on the subject of the near doming. . . . During the French Revolution and onward through the reign of Bonaparte, an interest was excited in'*the fulfilment of prophecy such as had never before jbeen felt since the apostolic age. Very many of the most !eminent divines of the eastern states believed the coming I of Christ near, and that the great wars of that day were ¡either the battle of Armageddon, or precursor of it ; and not a fewr were drawn forth to write upon the subject”. “ From the close of the last century up to the present time, there has been a large and increasing number who have advocated the doctrine of the millennium near. . . . jjBut for the last ten years, the doctrine of the Saviour’s IpersonaT reign h.a.s been perseveringly and ably advocated ‘by some of the ablest pens of Great Britain ; and through ,their labours a great body of Christians have been aroused to love and look for the Saviour’s return. . . . In our own country . . . until within a few years but little has either |been said or wrritten.	״”	" Tim work of
'MrT ^aI3Tng^^ho we v e r, is an exception. Few writers, of any" age’ were more clear on the doctrines of Christ’s second coming and kingdom, the two resurrections and the millennium between them, than he. But in his views he was violently opposed by his compeers in the ministry.” After his time “ some came forward to take up and wear his fallen mantle, and advocate distinctly and boldly from the pulpit and press, the doctrines he held . . . until W. Miller commenced his career, almost ten years since.” William Miller, in his youth a Deist, served as
535
PHILADELPHIA
captain during the war of 1813, and on his return bought a large farm at Low Hampton, Vermont. When accord-^ng to Miller’s own testimony (White, Sketches, p. 108), “ du£Ígg^j¿jt6^.xnoxe. people were converted to the faith pf Jesus than had been for 30 years before ”, he also was tKe’4Baptists. “ Almost every town n these states was visited with a shower of mercy and lundreds and thousands, yea,, tens of thousands, were! porn into the kingdom. . . . This has Jasted in a great! measure for 20 ygâ£S.” Meanwhile, Miller, searching hiS E1bïe־féâched ift ÎS18'the solemn conclusion, that in about twenty-five years the present affairs of this sinful world would be wound up. That Miller really was well acquain־, ^ted with the British advent movement is proved by his ruse of Fabe^s^acred.-Calcadar^and his-remarks (“ Evid-i £nce;” p!/230^ in 1834 : The Midnight cry (Matt. 25 : 6) “ has beetf'fulfilled in the most remarkable manner. One or two in every quarter of the globe have proclaimed the news, and agree in the time”. He mentions ^01ΑΛ Irving, Mason^JTgvjs, aft,^yj^jenca... of- this. For over nine years th^woras of Ezekiel 3 : 17, f. kept constantly ringing in his ears, but finally, 1^1831., he yielded to the Divine call. ;His quiet convincing talks on the prophecies created genuine revivals, as he himself reports : “ Churches were thrown open everywhere, and I lectured to crowded houses through the western part of New York and in Canada east ; and powerful reformations were the result of my labour ” (Idem, p. 81). Miller was now fifty years old, had eight children and enjoyed the esteem of his fellow citizens. According to his views he did not dream of a golden millennium on a sinful earth, when Jews and Gentiles would be converted, but rather believed in a millennial reign of the risen saints with Christ on a renewed earth. His lectures first appeared in print, in May, 183^3, in the Vermont “ Telegraph ”, in 16 articles, later as a pamphlet, then 1836 as a booklet, entitled “ Evidence from Scripture and History of the Second Coming of Christ, About the Year 1843 ”. At the end of the 300 pages there was a chronological table, according to which the 6,000 years expired in 1843. In the preface Miller declared : “ If I have erred in my exposition of
536 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
the prophecies, the time, being so near at hand, will soon expose my folly ; but if I have the truth on the subjects treated on in these pages, how important the era, in which we live ! ”	In , conformity with the British movement
Miller and his_,as§ociates saw irp the beginning of the 70 year-weeks¿ 457 b.ç., al§ç> the, beginning of the 2,300 years, and ended Thè71j־tterr in 1843, But .where Miller utterly >י failed was in applying the term “4Jai]y” t0 paganism, instead of applying it to the continual lamb offering, as irwas'rightly "applied already in 1530>:(see pp. 293, 294). Not finding the term “ daily ” explained m Daniel, and [ ,not knowing from Hebrew, that “ TahmeedJ’ was the standing term for the continual lamb offering, he sought the explanation in the next phrase “ taken away ”. Finding in 2 Thessalonians 2 : 7, 8 that before'theTeveal-ing of the man of sin something must be taken away, he rashly concluded : “ Well, what is it which hinders fpopery from being revealed ? Why, it is paganism ; well, then, the ‘ daily’ must mean paganism ” (Adv. Manual, p. 66). Arrnrdinglv he m2d^th¿^ pñ^TvevcíatTon ij^^jpaganism and w papacy. Paganism desecrated*tKe* sanctuary with its idols 666 years,״ ïrom iffi V.c.־a.d. "¿08 ^ then Bein^ wounded to death, the papacy^iTthe image beast did the same thing for
1,260	years^ 5381798־.	Philadelphia began with the
ReiormatTon^nmTeffing process was going on ever since 538, Laodicca was to last from 17981843־, then after these foF?y-five years at the end of the 1*3.35. Christ would cleanse ■this earth with fire and then the blessed time would begin (ITc!^7 76-83).
After the Baptists in 1833 granted Miller a licence to preach, he served without wage and met his οντη ex-penses. His many converts were at liberty to join any denomination. In 1838 Charles Fitch and Josiah Pitch, able pastors of Boston, joined Miller, and the latter published reviews of Miller’s lectures entitled “ The Midnight Cry ” and “ The Probability of the Second Advent about 1843”. In 1839 J. V. Himes, another able pastor of Boston, invited Miller to give a course of lectures in his chapel, and in February, 1840, Himes began the publication of the “ Signs of the Times ”. In this chapel
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the first prophetic conference in the New World was held on the 14th and 15th October, Captain Bates being one (?litó, promoters. Miller, detained by sickness, sent a dissertation on the judgment. H. Dana Ward, the chair-man, and the followmg^ircular address stressed the fact, that though the advent was very nigh, yet no definite date should be set : “ Although in some of the less im-portant views of this momentous subject w7e are not ourselves agreed, particularly in fixing the year of Christ’s second advent, yet we are unanimously agreed and established in this all-absorbing point,—that the coming of the Lord to judge the world is now specially nigh at hand. We are also agreed and firmly persuaded that the popular theory of a ι,οορ years or more of the spiritual and invisible reign of Christ in this present evil world, is altogether unscriptural. We are also agreed, that at the very com-mencement of the Millennium, the Lord will come in the glory of His Father, and all the saints with Him ” (Taylor, p. 351). According to Taylor the influence of this con-perence w7as “ marked and w7ide ” : “ Hundreds of ministers |wefe "brought to the faith of the pre-millennial and near ^coming, several weekly journals were established in different ?cities, advocating the doctrine, and in a few7 years there [were not less than 1,500 preachers and lecturers in U.S. |and Canada, who were giving publicity to the theme”. Between 184044־ a number of prophetic conferences w7ere held in the largest cities, some in the largest halls, as also in large tents during the summer. Between 183244־ Miller himself gave “ 3200 lectures ” as far west as Ohio and into Canada. In 1842 Litch published his “ Prophetic Expositions ”, setting fortFTm two volumes of 450 pages a “ connected view of the prophecies concerning God’s kingdom and the time of its establishment ”. He makes 1this striking declaration (i. 141) : “ Because I believe God’s word, therefore, and only for that reason, I believe that in 1843 the Lord will appear in His glory, justify His sanctuary, deliver the host and build up Zion. On this ¡subject I have no misgivings, and nothing to conceal. T feel myself bound, by every possible means to warn the world and persuade my fellow7 men to prepare to meet God.” In 1842 Ch. Fitch designed a chart to
538 THE IMPELLING F01*CE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
illustrate the prophetic symbols, computing also their times. Of these 300 ,were at once lithographed for the lecturers. In 1843 “The Bible Examiner” by G. Storrs, “ Daniel’s visions harmonized and explained ” by N. Hervcy and “ The Second Advent Doctrine Vindicated ” by S. Hawley emphasized that the Lord would come in 1843·
Butj^gonents began to bestir themselves. Since 1830 Joseph Smith on the strength of newly discovered “ golden tablets ” founded Mormonism (more-mon) “ better belief ”. In fulfilment of prophecy a new Zion was to be built up in the wild West, whence the renewal of the earth to its former Edenic state would emanate. In May 1834 *he formal title of “ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” was adopted, th& first foreign mission was dis1־ patched to England 11^837. By 1844 their number had ,increased to over 20,0óó/f Smith^evgn^affixed,himself .as [a candidate for the presidency of Tj.S.A. But he landed in ¡;prison and by June a mob shot the Smiths and severely ן wounded their companions. But not only the Latter-day ! Saints rapidly increased, but also Darby and .Irvingite, messengers visited^he'Nçw World and gained converts. J *י In 1842 N. S. Folsome in his “ Critical and Historical1 Jpterpretafion ' ôTTflë" Prophecy of Daniel ” pointed out *some of the differences existing between the prominent writers of the advent movement. Some were fixing 1843, others 1866jj1s the right date. Those ^agreed ...0x1^1843 “ were Hn^ded^ as to the meajning^of the ward Λ sanctuary ’ in Dan. 8: II—some affirming it means ‘ Paganism’s slmÏÏiïàry'*,M‘ (Litchis Address, p. 81), others that it means “ the Jewish sanctuary ”, while these last affirm,
I inconsistently enouglipflSDlIi Dan. 11 : 31 it means the j city of Rome (Miller Lect., p. 40, f.). All of them take the ! word^'SamcPuary ” in Dan. 8 : 14 in a different sense from that in Dan. 8 : 11, 13, while they also differ from each i other in the meaning of the word in verse 14, some affirming ! that it means the Christian Church (Litch, p. 83), Miller, !Fitch, etc., contending that it means the earth. G. Bush, jone of the leading professors on Hebrew, freely admitted ·(Ad. Herald, March 6, 1844) in a letter to Miller that the prophetic year-day was sustained by the soundest exegesis,
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also that the great periods of Daniel and Revelation “ do actually expire about this age of the world ”, but he added “ your error lies in another direction than in your chrono-
iportant for future developments are the facts that in spring, 1844, a Seventh Day Baptist, Rachel Preston, accepting belief in the near advent, prevailed upon about forty Adventists at Washington, N.H., to observe the seventh day. The S.D.B. had increased to about 4,000 and were then quite active in disseminating sabbath teaching (S.D.B., i. 186). About that time G. Storrs published “ Six Sermons on Future Punishment ”, taking the position that immortality is not inherent in man, but a gift of God, received by faith in Christ, also that the dead are unconscious and that the final judgment of the wicked is their second death in the fires of Gehenna.
On all the prophetic charts^ 1843 stood out boldly as the terminus of the 2,520, 2,300 and 1,335 years* As to the 391 ')years, Miller was well aware (Lect., p. 295)" that the Commentators counted them from 1453 ; he expected their completion 1839, remarking : “ the power of the Turks has diminished more rapidly within fifteen years, than any politician could have anticipated.” Miller, being well aware of what Christ had taught and the difficulty exact chronology presented, left the definite date open for the
2,300	years until Dec. 1843, when he expressed himself more positively that the Jewish year in view of the different beginnings might extend to “ sometimes the 21st March, 1844”. Litch_ also (P.E. ii. 127) commented on Matt. 24 : 333 י¿Tthat Christ taught His disciples by this “ that the time would come, when the wise . . . would know, not indeed the day or hour, but the near approach of it But also, in this case, as with Bengel, that the master was more cautious than his disciples, is very evident from Miller’s ״Apology and Defence”, dated Aug. 1, 1845: ן“ In all my published lectures, it will be seen on the title י page ‘ about the year 1843 י : In all my oral lectures I invariably told my audiences, that the periods would terminate in 1843, if there were no mistakes in my calcula-tion. In 1842 some of my brethren preached with great positivencss the exact year, and censured me for putting
54° THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
in an if . . . In Dec. 1842 as I could see no error in my reckoning, I published my belief, that sometime between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844, the Lord would come. Some had their minds fixed on particular days, but I could see no evidence for such. The time passed on, and the 21st of March went by without our witnessing the appearing of the Lord. Our disappointment was great, and many walked no more with us.״ “ Previously to this, in the fall of 1843 some of my brethren began to call the Churches Babylon, and to urge that it was the duty of Adventists to come out of them. With this I was much grieved, as not only the effect was very bad, but I regarded it as a perversion of the word of God—a wresting of Scripture. But the practice spread extensively, and from that time, the churches, as might be expected were closed against us. It prejudiced many against us so that they would not listen to the truth. This was a result which I never desired, nor expected.״ “ On the passing of my published time, I frankly acknowledged my disappoint-ment to the exact period, but my faith was unchanged in any essential feature.״ “ I therefore continued my labours principally "'*in the Wu$t, during the summer of 1844, until ‘the Seventh Month Movement ’ as it is called. I had no participation in this, only that I wrote a letter eighteen months previously, presenting the observances under the Mosaic Law, which pointed to that day as a probable time when the advent might be expected. This was written because some were looking to definite days in the spring. I had however no expectation that so unwar-ranted a use would be made of those types that any should ^regard a belief in such mere inferential evidence a test of salvation. I .therefore had no fellowship with that move-ment until about two or three weeks previous to. the 22nd of Oct.״
Miller disclaiming to be the author of the definite-day-movement, the question naturally arises, who was ? In August 1844 a certain S^S. Snow came forward at the Exeter Camp 4 Meeting, claiming to'Tiave received new light. Confounding the justification of the Sanctuary in Daniel 8 which Mason 1820 rightly saw described in 2 Chronicles 29, [with its annual cleansing on the day of aTonement^'״S"ñ0\v contended that as the 22nd of October 1844 coincided with
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the typical atonement day, Christ would leave the heavenly sanctuary on that day. He simply set aside the teachings of Miller, Litch, etc., that the definite day could not be known, by perverting Christ’s positive declaration in Mark 13 : 32. In a paper, published Aug. 222 184^ which he entitled “ The True Midnight Cry ”, he on the strength of some English version, rendered this verse simply : “ No man maketh known, neither the angels . . . neither the Son, but the Father.” He argued that Christ surely did know in glory, but overlooked entirely that Christ dis-claimed such knowledge while on earth. According to Himes “ at first the definite time was generally opposed ”. But the parable of the ten virgins was adduced as proof, the months of discouragement between spring and fall answering to the tarrying time. From August onward, .while Miller and Himes were away in Ohio, Snow’s influence ■caused the cry : “ Tenth day of the seventh month, year of Jubilee ! ” “ It became a sort of slogan among believers as well as unbelievers.” “ Among the faithful it stirred emotions such as they had never experienced before.” When Miller and Himes arrived September 14th from Ohio, everywhere this cry met them “ Tenth of the seventh month, year of Jubilee ! ” Miller, exhausted by lecturing, illness and advanced years, was “ agitated and troubled ”, Himes “ was worried ”. Clara E. Sears (Days, p. 155) t'fuly says : “ It was easy enough to see that during their absence the reins had been shifted into the hands of those who were now driving the Millerite chariot down a steep descent at breakneck speed. With practically only a month to wTait before the arrival of the expected final day of the earth, many were giving away their property, or selling their farms and possessions.” But the party to be blamed for all the excesses committed, is not Miller, but S.״S. .Sxiow’, whose true character is revealed in two tracts published by him in May, 1848: 1. “ The Over-flowing Scourge, S. S. Snow, Premier of King Jesus.” 2. a By the Special Ambassador and Minister Plenipoten-tiary of Jesus Christ a Proclamation. Be it known 6,000 years—are ended. As his Prime Minister I demand of all Kings, Presidents, Magistrates and rulers, civil and ecclesiastical, a full surrender of all power and authority unto my hands on behalf of King Jesus, the Coming
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One.” In a large work “ The Voice of Elias ”, published 1863, he claimed to be the third Elias.
By October, 1844, some 50,000 believers in the immediate advent had been gathered out of all denomina-tions, many also from the ranks of infidelity, all expecting within a few weeks to meet their Lord. Storrs wrote on Oct. 3rd : “ I take up my pen with feelings such as I have never before experienced. Beyond a doubt in my mind the tenth day of the seventh month will witness the revelation of our Lord. . . . Awful moment to those who are unprepared, but glorious to those who are ready ! ” Himes wrote in the issue of Oct. 12th : “ We have arrived at a most solemn and momentous crisis ... we feel that we are making our last appeal.” Miller, broken in health and his hopes stirred by the general rally, wrote, Oct. 12th : “ Christ will come in the seventh month and will bless us all. Oh, glorious hope ! Then I shall be like Him and be with Him forever ! ” The appointed day passed, Christ did not come, but there came over the thousands the most bitter disappointment. The love of many died out as quickly as it had been inflamed. Snow’s perversion of the plain injunction of Christ created untold prejudice against the fostering of the blessed hope. Had Miller stuck to his “ about ”, had stressed in conformity with many of his brethren in the Old and New Worlds the end of the 2,300 years and the justification of the sanctuary as the inspiring motive to live a holier life and to devote all energy to the worldwide proclamation of the everlasting gospel, then indeed would “ the day-star of returning light to the American Churches on the subject of the near coming of Christ ” have arisen in its full splendour, bringing joy and light rather than disappointment and darkness.
LXXXVI
THE PROGRESS OF “ THIS VOICE NO HUMAN POWER CAN fs	ARREST ”
I When Cuninghame in 1832 published his much en־ ן larged third" ëdTtîoh of huT **’ Dissertation on the Seals I and Trumpets ”, he stressed on page 368, that to the
^ξψ' /^543׳
genera^ preaching of ,the -everlasting Gospel, there had since 1812 “ been¡ added the voice oí .,Prophetic Exposition which has gone forth' in these kingdoms with a power unknown in former ages of the Church : and it has an-nounced with unfaltering testimony, and in louder and yet louder sounds, that the hour of God’s judgments is come, and that the Lord is at hand. This voice still continues its progress, and no human power can,arrest it”. That ^this voice was heard even in.far-g^i^ia. the anonymous pamphlet, published in Madras il^rprobably by Bishop Wilson, proves. On pages 919־ the author calls “ it j3er-fectly absurd that the 2300 are only days ”, “ To enable Daniel to understand the vision he 1sT first told to separate 70 weeks as a portion of the 2300 days of the preceding chapter. The 70 weeks begin 453 years before the incarna-tion, the 2300 beginning at the same time, we ascertain their termination merely by deducting the years before the incarnation leaving 1847, as the time when the sanctu-ary will be cleansed and the yisiou accpmplished.” “ The konce mighty empire of the Turk is fast falling to pieces, but would before this time be overturned but for the jealousies of the European powers, while the little horn of the West, whose seat is in Rome, beholds all things preparing for the judgment which shall come upon the papal powers.” “ The whole period will be accomplished ^efore 1847, it may begin in the course of the present j^ear, for all the preparatory signs are around us.”
Book after book appeared in Great Britain to stimu-^te the interest~m prophetic study. Fromri^^^^^^s pen there came in 1835 “ Guide to the. Stuay**3t"l"fhe' Chronological Prophecy”, and in 1842^44 editions of P Historical Exposition of the Revelation ”. He visited Jerusalem 1842 to arrange for the erection of the Anglican Cathedral and on his way home the King of Prussia conferred on him the great gold medal for science and literature. Eminent ministers and leading journals [urged on a new awakening, as the “ English Quarterly Review (p. 406, f.) in its April issue 1840 testifies : Ύζ We are living in times, when the Christian and the infidel,
? the statesman and the divine, seem to agree in the ex-;peq'tation that some great crisis is at hand. The public
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;mind, both at home and abroad, is held in the calm of a !feverish suspense. Amid these thick clouds all eyes are fixed with an eager gaze on the dark and coming future.י It is here that the wisdom of the world stands rebuked, every effort of human pride to decipher the solemn hand־ writing proves utterly in vain. Divine prophecy is the only light that can remove this impenetrable darkness. There God himself reveals to His servants the great out-lines of His providence and enables them by a patient search to trace through the past and the future the gran-deur and the majesty of His counsels of love. In two short books of Scripture all nature is laid under contribu-tion for rich and" varied emblems, whereby to express the mighty course of God’s providence through 2000 years., Let the church be aware of loosing the firm anchor-hold ^oftEe'word'of prophecy.”
in the “Christian Guardian” for 1841 (p. 32834־) mighty revivals began to set~1n : “ The extraordinary revival of religion which took place , recently at Kilsyth, and in some other parishes in Scotland, [has naturally excited considerable attention.” “Among ■the many ministers who have assisted from time to time, and especially in the autumn of 1839, ^ may mention ‘ Macdonald, Cumming, Bonar of Larbert, Bonar of Kelso, and Sommerville ’.” Besides the Bonar Brethren, John vÇu.rt1ming was the latest acquisition to the advent movement and became most widely known by his many books on prophecy. His first publication was a sermon on the “Sixth Vial”, delivered April 14, 1843. In it (p. 32) he testifies: “Never was there so thorough a ,stirring up of the very depths of the church and state H—never clearer evidence of the approach of the day of î the Lord. Synods and assemblies—thrones and they khat sit on them—are not at ease. We feel and hear : creation groaning and travailing, waiting for the manifesta-tion of the sons of God. Behind the lowering cloud, how־ ever, there is a glorious apocalypse. The twilight that closes in darkness shall be followed by a twilight that will be merged into the eternal day.” Biçkerstçth’s. Memoir contains some interesting entries during 184243־ (ii. 216, 217). Thus on November 5 it states that his sermon,
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“ The Divine Warning ”, “ speedily obtained a very wide circulation, attracting more than usual interest with thoughtful minds. His text was Revelation 16 : 13-15. He viewed these words in the imagery of the sixth vial, as a description of recent and passing events ”. On Decern-, ber 24, 1842 : “ The whole world is now at peace. It ?loolcTlite ^u1e~calm before the storm—the pause before ¡the judgment.” Again on March 9, 1843 : " Neveh did M live in so awakening and trying a time. The church of Scotland is shaking to its foundations, and the church of England is so inwardly divided, that schism seems inevitable.” His “ Historical Exposition of the Prophecies of St. John ” saw its second edition in 1844. His son-in-law, T. R.J^jrks: published in 4843 his “ First Elements of Sacrea rrophecy ”, to sustain the year-day theory. On page 1 of this work, noted for its clearness and cogency of argument, he remarks, that since the Reformation the following maxims of interpretation “ have been generally received by the Protestant Churches : 1. That the visions of Daniel commence with the time of the prophet. 2. That the events predicted in the Apocalypse begin from the time of the prophecy, or within the first century.
3.	That the fourth beast denotes the Roman Empire.
4.	That Babylon in the Apocalypse denotes Rome. 5. That
the little horn in Daniel 7 denotes the Papacy. 6. That the man of sin relates to the same power. 7. That the prophecy in I Timothy 4 is fulfilled in past events. 8. That Babylon denotes, at least inclusively, Rome Papal. The three following have also been received by the most learned and able commentators of our own country, from the time of Mede down to the present day. 9. That the two woes relate to the Saracens and the Turks. 10. That the two beasts in Revelation 13 denote the civil and ecclesiastical Latin Empire. 11. That a prophetic day denotes a natural year, and a prophetic time 360 natural years”. From pages 35660־ Birks then proves that the year-day also applies to the 2,300 days as so many years, ending 1843 or 1880.	/
How eminent clergymen co-operated in the unity of the spirit to make the advent message effective Tor the salvation of souls, is well illustrated by the fact that
546 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
during Lent 1843 twelve speakers lectured on the certainty, nature, time, signs, first resurrection, pâïïgmenT of the living ând^oï^tlîé“deâd, tTie danger of delay and the duty of p1־ïÿeF'"anî’ watchfulness. Their excellent sermons filled a book of 474 pages, to which Bickersteth wrote the preface, whence vee quote (p. vi. f.) : “ The exact periftd'tff* That coming is more veiled from us m the in-tended hiddenness of prophecy (Matt. 24 : 36). Yet ou^ Lord has directed us on this very account always to watch and has warned us against the peril of saying, my Lord delayeth. He has also led us to hope that the words of the book are Only shut and sealed to the time of the end, when ‘ many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased’. The darkness seems increasing, the conflict thickening, the dangers of mistake multiplying ; all are in perplexity : Oh that it might please God in these perilous times, to lead His people to take and follow the light, which dispels the present darkness and cheers them with the approaching beams of heavenly day ! The signs of the times, apart from all prophecy, are com-pelling every one’s attention. It is clear that everything is shaking, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Spiritual, holy, heavenly things cannot be shaken. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. May we follow after these things ! ” No definite day for the coming of the Lord was fixed, f but the fact was stressed that it was very near, and many, many thousands felt impelled to prepare their hearts for )that great event. It was from March 19, 1844 that R. .f-Winterand F. Gunner published “ The Second Advent· Harbinger,” in tKe~mterest of the Miller, and, later, the ! Snow movement in Maidenhead, England. But apparently /without making much impression. When they closed the paper in January 9, 1845 they gave as the reason that ' as no one assisted^ahd^BT rested mainly, with two or ! three persons ”, “ it is not our intention to continue the i publication beyond this number ”. Bickersteth made in the j84£_edition of “ Practical Guide ” (p. 431) this com-\ ment on the Miller movement : “ Many large books have been published in America on the Second Advent, and a large interest excited, by the followers of Mr. Miller.
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¡They rejected generally the literal.restoration of the Jews, and peremptorily fixed times and seasons, which having fpassed without their hopes being realized, have occasioned undue prejudices against the whole subject. Yet it is ! to be'hoped that it will ultimately call for the fuller in-vestigation and attention.״ In his “ advertisement to th¿ Seventh Edition ״ of this Guide, he wrote on Septem-ber 24, T844 : “ Five eventful years have passed since the last Edition. . . . The victories, and then the sub-jugation of the Egyptian Pasha, and the restoration of Palestine to the Porte (Nov. 27, 1840), the Afghanistan, Chinese . . . Scinde wars, the events which led to the appoint-ment of a Bishop at Jerusalem (Gobat) by Prussia and England and the Disruption in the Scotch Church have shown the disquieted state of the world. But the signs of the times respecting the Mahomedan world, are the most remarkable. The feebleness of the Turkish Empire has occupied much of the attention of the European Powers, in various diplomatic efforts^tojaphold it.״ In his sixth edition, April, 1839, Eiiexsteth-declared con-cerning the 2,'300 : “ There are two things in this number, the restoration of the daily sacrifice and the time of desola-tion. The restoration of the daily sacrifice was to be cut : off (Daniel ix. 24) from the 2300 years, to the completing | of the perfect sacrifice of Christ.״ “ The desolation, or the remaining part of the 2300 years after the ceasing of ן the sacrifice, would bring us to 1843, the beginning of j the sacrifice restored.״ Then on the 390 years, he re- ‘ marked, that if taken onward from the fall of Constanti-nople, “ it will bring us to 1843-44, the time of the Turkish Empire ceasing to be a woe״. Now four years later, he could on pages 221-23 repeat the same statements, but add as fulfilment of his forecast : “ It is remarkable ffhat the Sultan was compelled to alter the Mahomedan !!system of putting to death those who apostatize from [the Mahomedan faith, at the beginning of 1844.״ In Appendix ii. p. 384-394...he demonstrates from the official documents, which passed between England and Turkey from August 1843 until April 19, 1844, what difficulties had to be surmounted, before the Sultan yielded. The Grand Vizier stated in August, 1843 that the Koran
548 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
demanded the capital punishment of any one, who, asr a Mussulman, or who, after having embraced Islam, is convicted of having renounced that faith. Again in Febru-ary, 1844 the Foreign Minister intimated, “that a law prescribed by God himself was not to be set aside by any human power״, and that the Sultan in attempting it might be exposed to “a dangerous responsibility ״. The Foreign Office pressed the Porte, that “ the Christian Powers will ■not endure that the Porte should insult and trample on their faith by treating as a criminal any person who embraces it״. Finally on March 21 the Sultan yielded; “ The sublime Porte engages to take effectual measures to prevent henceforward the execution and putting to death of the Christian who is an apostate ״. The next day he assured the English ambassador : “ Henceforward neither shall Christianity be insulted in my dominions, nor shall Christians be in any way persecuted for their religion.״ But now comes the most remarkable of Bicker-steth’s observations. From Ezra 7 : 9 he proves that Ezra started out “ on the first day of the first month —the new year-day 457 b.c. ״ Then from Ezra 10 : 17 he proved that it took exactly until New Year 456 b.c. or one full year, until the daily sacrifice was restored and the people cleansed. Ezra 3 : 335 : 8 ; 15 : 7 ; 5־. This restoration “ continued with slight exceptions, to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, since which Jerusalem has been trodden down of the Gentiles, to the period of March 21, 1844; this period according to the Jewish year, ending "March 20, 1844, makes 2300 years; arid-on "the first of Nisan, 1844, the power of the Mahome-dans to persecute Christianity passed away, and liberty is given for Christian worship, the true cleansing of the sanctuary. This is the more remarkable also as this is the 1260th year of the Hegira (the date fixed by the Mahomedan Antichrist as the rise of this branch of the apostasy), and so the closing year in Mahomedanism of that remarkable prophetic period, 1260 years״. “An-other material point connected with this event is the passing away of the Turkish woe.״ “ We have in this event a most remarkable feature of the ending of that woe. The importance of this fact will be seen by the
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prophecy (Rev. 11 : 1418־), and immediately associated with this is the coming of God’s wrath, and the time of the dead that they shall be judged. We are therefore clearly on the verge of these great events.” Thus in a very convincing manner could Bickersteth September 24, 1844 demonstrate the beginning of the fulfilment of the justification of the sanctuary and the cessation of the host being trodden underfoot both in eastern and western Rome. In his Appendix vii. p. 41519־ he could also perfect his chronological table. Ezra’s commission he dates 458 b.c., then immediately follows the beginning of the 70 wTeeks and of the vision of the evening and morning with the restoration of the daily sacrifice. The full cleansing, according to Nehemiah 12, he extends even to 433. In a.d. 70 the literal abomination fulfils Daniel 11 : 31 ; 476 the seventh head falls ; in 533 the mystical abomination, Daniel 11 ; 31 ; 12 : 11, begins; in 637 the Saracen woe ; 800 the seventh head revives ; “1844 the Turkish Sultan obliged to relinquish the practice of executions for apostasy ” Jewish new year,
2,300	years after the restoration of the sacrifice, also the ceasing of the Turkish woe. “ Yet to come ” the seventh seal, trumpet, vial, the fall of Babylon, the restoration of the Jews, the sign of the Son of man. Though not all had been fulfilled, that had been expected by the pro-moters of the British Advent Movement, yet some very remarkable events had sealed the proclamation, that in 184344־ the vision of the continual sacrifice would end, and the transgression of desolation would cease. Mission-ary activity had been wOnderfully increased, the Bible circulated constantly in new7 tongues and in millions of copies, love of the study of the prophetic wT0rd had been aroused in innumerable hearts, the blessed hope had been kindled anew, according to Mourant Brook (Adv. Tracts, ii. 135), not less than 700^ministers of the Church of; England proclaiming it, and surely many more of the■ free Churches. From Great Britain the everlasting Gospel! had been evangelized and the announcement of the judg-j ment hour had gone out through missionaries and publica־^ tions to Australia, India, South Africa, the many colonies * ■—in fact to the wTidc world. The prompting motive was
550 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
well stated by one of the promoters in far-off India as early as 1836 : “ Though we know not the day, nor the hour, the time for watching and waiting is come ; every-thing we see speaks in the plainest terms—Prepare to meet thy God ! ”
Fromlftfée' centTes. Great Britain, Germany and New England, "the everlasting Gospel and the glad tidings of the near advent had been sounded far and wide during the entire Philadelphian period, growing louder and mightier, as time went on. The hearts of untold thousands of earnest believers had been filled with new hope and fresh zeal to live a holy life in the pmver of God and to embrace every opportunity to witness for Christ. Many unbelievers had been persuaded in the homeland by the wonderful fulfilment of prophecy to rest their hope of eternal life in Christ and His sure word, and many heathen had been led to see the clear light of the Gospel. Mighty ruléis had been persuaded to give heed to the sure word of prophecy, and to grant liberty to their subjects who desired to follow Christ. This voice, that the Lord is at hand, started in the Philadelphia period, “ still con-tinues its progress, and no human power can resist it”. The finale of the Philadelphian period is a regenerated Church, full of brotherly love, in all the world, whose most earnest aim is to preach the Gospel of the kingdom to all the world as a witness, to hasten the end, and whose intense prayer was thus significantly expressed by Haber-shon, 1844 :
“ Look up, my soul ! and join that cry—
The Spirit and the Bride say, Come !
■ Lord haste ! fulfil Thy prophecy—
Lord, take Thy sealed people home ! ”
LA0D1CEA—The Lukewarm Church at Christ’s Return
LXXXVII
LAODICEA THE FINAL PERIOD OF THE CHURCH
As surras Ephesus, the first church of the seven, is a symbol 'of the desirable state of the Christian Church during the apostolic age, and Thyatira, of the middle Church, marks the down-trodden Church of the Middle Ages, so must Laodicea, the last of the seven, answer to the lukewarm period at the time of the end. That we are now in the seventh and last age of the Church, and that the testimony concerning the Laodiceans applies to our time, all expositors of note freely admit. In Lange-Schaff’s Commentary (x. 141) Craven tersely asks with reference to Laodicea, “ the outwardly prosperous, but lukewarm church ” : “ Has not this period already begun ? ” That this is a day of unequalled outward prosperity for the Church is acknowledged by all. Is it not also a period of lukewarmness even in Protestant lands ? The Anglican Minister, E. L. Langston, declared before the London “ Prophecy Investigation Society”, 1921 (Aids to Proph. Study, No. 22, p. 46, f.) : “ There is no doubt about it, we are in the condition of the Laodicean Church. We have beautiful Cathedrals, and magnificent Churches, an intellectual ministry, trained and well-paid Choirs, great and marvellous organizations to reach men ; yet. there is no doubt about it, we cannot get away from the fact, organized religion is an utter failure. Men are not impressed. The Church of to-day is Laodicean in spirit.” The North-American pastor, J. A. Seiss (Rev. 1. 189), testifies :	“ Can any man scrutinize narrowly the pro-
fessed church of our day, and say that we have not reached the Laodicean age ? ” The Lutheran commentator, Dachsel (Offb. p. 32), writes : “ We have here the picture of a church at a time, which already has begun to take
551
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shape.” The Catholic Ration (p. 179, 186) comments:
“ The forecast of the Laodicean age is of great eschato-logical value, for it is a prediction of the last stage of the church militant.” “ One of the surest signs of the seventh and last age of the Church will be a wide-spread denial of the divinity of Jesus Christ, and that, too, apparently, by persons calling themselves Christians. Even now there are ominous signs that the work of ‘ dissolvingי Jesus has begun.” The Lutheran, E. Mühe (p. 17), sums up before a large ministerial convention at Berlin in 1889 in these words : “ It is generally supposed that we now live in the seventh state of the church, in the time of the luke-warm church Laodicea ; with the seventh state, the time of the church does end indeed.”
The name, Laodicea, composed of the Greek words, laos —people and dikee—righteous judgment, judicial punish-ment, answers to the last age, when judgment is to begin on the house of God, and also will be poured out upon the existing Babylon and all the living wicked. At the very time when Christ is at the door and the Church should be wide awake, and full of contrition, should hunger and thirst after righteousness and more light, its mem-bers are, according to the most solemn testimony of Jesus, full of spiritual pride, self-contained wTith outward pros-perity, asleep in carnal security, feeling themselves in “ need of nothing ”. At the very time when the Gospel of the kingdom is to be preached in all the world for a witness, “ the love of many shall wax cold ” (Matt. 24 : 12-24). The very Laodiceans, who should prize the privilege of proclaiming the everlasting Gospel in its purity, to call attention to the worship of the Creator in spirit and in truth, to warn against the fallen Babylon, against the worship of the beast and the acceptance of its mark, are pronounced lukewarm—a great paradox indeed !—The knocking of Christ at the door of their hearts is the last attempt to arouse them from their lethargy and lukewarmness to their great task, ere the judgment overtakes them and it be for ever too late. Christ’s exhortation harmonizes with the words in James 5 : 9 : “ Behold, the judge standeth before the door.” Also with the picture of the ten sleeping virgins at mid-
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night ; who were aroused out of their slumber by the cry “ Behold the Bridegroom ! ” The Son of man cometh indeed at an hour that even His disciples in Laodicea think not (Luke 12 : 40), and when the world is sunk in carnal security, as were the antediluvians in the days of Noah, “ Christ, the Amen, the faithful and true Witness ” gives to this Church the most solemn counsel, but also the most glorious promise to the overcomer.
LXXXVIII
“ I AM THE VOICE—THE VICAR OF CHRIST ”
The samepowers	which tried to break
Itlie force of the Reformer’s.viewsof the papal Antichrist by assuming a future infidel Antichrist, were again alert to weaken the force of the* great evangelical advent move-ihents, by^imilar assumptions. Protestant expositors,
1 some-prompted hy their rationalistic ideas, others leaning I toward Rome, joined hands with the Jesuits in this attempt. The so-called “ Tractariap m0V£gxeat of the Anglican Church, whereby 90 tracts were scattered by the million to favour Rome and to disprove~the Protestant idea of a papal Antichrist, is a fair example. In 1840 J. H. New-JHâü_oi -Oxford asserted, that “ the man of sin was an infidel yet to arise and to sit for 1260 literal days in a ·literal temple proclaiming himself to be god”. In his “ Protestant Idea of Antichrist ” he stated this alternative, “ Has Christ or has He not left a representative behind him ? ” According as the pope has this authority or has it not, “ so is he most holy or most guilty. . . . There is no medium between a Vice-Christ and Antichrist”. Guinness (H.U.P. p. 292) makes this comment : “ Well and memorably said ; and this is the sin of Rome and the papacy. As destitute of warrant in the Word of God, the bishop of Rome claiming to be the vicar of Christ, is Antichrist.” By tho^e numerous tracts Newman and his party then proceeded to demolish also the doctrinal barrier, which separated the Anglican Church from Rome, and he with many left in 1845-46 Oxford for Rome. The
554 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
great aim of all this Jesuitical propaganda was to restore the Holy See in England and in fact in all the Protestant countries again. But did the Papacy meanwhile recall its assumptions or rather increase them ? When in 1848 thrones and dynasties fell like trees before a hurricane, the pope had to flee to Naples and only French republican bayonets enabled him to return in 1850 to Rome. In 1849 Pius-JX sent this Encyclical to his bishops: God has vested in the most holy Virgin the plenitude of all good, so if there be in us any hope, grace, salvation, “ we must receive it solely from her, according to the will of Him, who would have us possess all things through Mary”. Some 600 prelates approving, the pope, Decern-ber 8, ;1854 promulgated as dogma, “ that the most blessed Virgin^Mary, in the first instance of her conception . . . was kept immune from any contamination of original sin ”. This dogma “ has been revealed by God, and therefore must be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful ”. As Schaff well puts it : “ Her worship even overshado\vs the worship of Christ. . . . She is made the fountain of all grace, the mediatrix between Christ and the believer, and is virtually put in the place of the ;Holy Ghost ” (see Newman, Manual ii. 504, f.). The pope had promulgated this new dogma at the instigation of the Jesuits, who at his return to Rome started in 1850 “ The Civilta Catholica The aim of this journal was to reconstruct society in harmony with the Catholic idea, and a solitary conspiracy, a holy crusade set in to bring it about.
How the Catholics viewed the fulfilment of the coming Antichrist, Cardinal Manning, set forth 1861 in four lectures, entitled “ The Present Crisis of the Holy See, tested by Prophecy”. In his first lecture, based on 2 Thessalonians 2, he stated that the antichristian movement, being at work even in the days of the apostles, “ has wrought ever since in manifold forms and various times, and with most diverse, and even contradictory develop-ments ”. It has a greater power than ever before and “ has attached itself to the pride of governments by nationalism, and of individuals by philosophy, and, under the forms of Protestantism, Civilization, Secularism, it
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has organized a vast Anticatholic power in the East, North and West of Europe. As a matter of fact, Catholic and Anticatholic describe the two arrays. I am afraid I must add, Christian and Antichristian “ In the present array of the popular opinion of Europe against the Holy See and the vicar of Jesus Christ, may be dis-cerned the Antichristian instinct” (p. 19, 20). In the next lecture he calls the interpretation, that “ Antichrist is held to be a spirit or system, and not a person, and next, to be the Catholic or Roman Church, or the Vicar of the Incarnate Word ”, “ the masterpiece of deceit ” (p. 22). He being a Jew will supplant the true Messiah and will work false miracles. Then he continues on page 28, f. : “ Here I cannot but perceive a wonderful change which has passed upon the world. Half a century ago the man who rejected Christianity derided a belief in j witchcraft as superstition, and in miracles as foolishness, j But now the world has outstripped even the faith of the ! Christians by its credulity. Europe and America are deluged by spiritualism. The age is ripe for a delusion. . . . A successful medium might well pass himself off by his preternatural endowments as the promised Messiah, and ‘ signs and lying wonders י in abpndance may be wrought by agencies which are already abroad in the world.” According to the Fathers, paganism is to be restored in the end of the world. The hindrances which withheld the full revelation of the Antichrist were the secular power of heathen Rome and the spiritual power in the Church of Rome. During the French Revolution Divine revelation was set aside and the worship of reason and Ceres took its place. The democracy in America resolved all law “ into the will of the multitude ”. In his fourth lecture Manning criticized Bishop Bossuet for applying all the Apocalypse excepting the last chapters to the first six centuries. Already the seven churches represented “ as a constellation the whole church ”. According to the Apocalypse the three chief agents were the Church, the ]ews and as a persecuting power pagan Rome (pp. 50-64). Daniel saw in chapter 8 and 9 three signs, the taking away of the continual sacrifice, the occupation of the sanctuary by the desolating abomination and a casting
556 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
down of some stars. As fulfilment the Mahometan super-stition holds for its mosques a multitude of Christian churches, in which the continual sacrifice is already taken away. In the Western world the continual sacrifice has been taken away in the Protestant churches, which were once Catholic and where the holy sacrifice of the mass was daily offered. The characteristic mark of the Reforma-tion is the suppression of the ^continual sacrifice. “ What Is the great flood of infidelity, revôîtrtion'ànd anarchy, which> is now sapping the foundations of Christian society, not only in France, but in Italy, and encompassing Rome, the centre and sanctuary of the Catholic Church, but the abomination which desolates the sanctuary, and takes away the continual sacrifice ? ” As to the casting down of “ the prince of strength ”, i.e. the Divine authority of the Church, and especially of him, in whose person it is embodied, the vicar of Jesus Christ, the whole world aims after this, and it stands in arms to take Rome from him in order to have no place to put his head. “ The dethronement of the vicar of Christ is the dethronement of the hierarchy of the universal Church, and a public rejection of the presence and reign of Jesus . . . the direct tendency of all the events we see at this moment is clearly this, to overthrow Catholic worship throughout the world.” Then he closes on page 91, by defining Anti-christ to be “ the direct and mortal enemy of the one holy Catholic and Roman Church, the unity from which all schism is made ; the sole organ of the divine voice of the Spirit of God ; the shrine and sanctuary of the Incarnation and of the continual sacrifice ”.
It is very apparent from these statements that the papacy does not change in its belief, that Protestantism with all its Bible and Mission Societies is nevertheless antichristian, fulfilling 2 Thessalonians 2, and that by setting aside the mass, it answers to the power, described in Daniel 8 : 11-14 ; 11 : 31. But as the “ climax of papal self-exaltation”, Pius IX, urged on by Jesuits, promul-gated 1870 the infallibility of the tiara-crowned high Pontifex Maximus, declaring that “ when he speaks from the chair, i.e. when performing the function of pastor and teacher of all Christians by virtue of his supreme
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LAODICEA
apostolic authority he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals as to be held by the universal church, through the divine assistance promised to him in the blessed Peter, possesses that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer wished his church to be equipped . . . and that therefore such definitions ... are irreformable of themselves and not from the consent of the church. . . . But if any one should presume to contradict this our definition : let him be anathema ”. Gladstone (Vatican-ism, p. 92102־) made this comment : “ Whatsoever was formerly ascribed either to the pope or to the council, or to the entire governing body of the church, or the church general and diffused ... all this is now locked within the breast of one man, opened and distributed at his will, and liable to assume whatever form he may think fit to give it.” “ The Civilta Catholica ” (Ser. vii. viii. p. 259, f.) declared : “ The pope is a power altogether Divine. He is the propounder and teacher of the lawr of the Lord in the whole universe. He is the supreme leader of the nations, to guide them in the wrays of eternal salvation.
. . . The treasures of Revelation, of truth, of righteous-ness, of supernatural graces upon earth, have been de-posited by God in the hands of one man, who is the sole dispenser and keeper of them. The life-giving work of the advent and incarnation, of wisdom, of love, of mercy, is ceaselessly continued in the ceaseless action of one man, thereto ordained by providence. This man is the pope. This is evidently implied in the designation itself, the Vicar of Christ, for if he holds the place of Christ upon earth, that means that he continues the work of Christ in the world ; and is in respect of us, what Christ would be, were He here below Himself visibly governing the Church.” Pius IX said of himself : “ I am the Voice, for though unworthy, I am nevertheless the Vicar of Christ, and this voice, wThich now sounds in your ears, is the voice of Him whom I represent on earth ” (Guinness, H.U.P. p. 325). On July 18th, 1870, the papal infallibility was decreed, on the day previous was signed the declaration of war against Germany, and as its result imperial France and the papal power fell together. The papacy lost its temporal sovereignty, held for 1,000 years, in the very year
558 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PRÓPHETIC TRUTH
of its highest exaltation, and Rome became the capital of united Italy. But this in no wise lessened the arrogance of the pope, who, when the Belgian deputation presented him with a costly tiara, styled it a fit symbol of his threefold dignity, in heaven, upon earth and in purgatorv.
Special weight attaches to Catholic exposition of prophecy, for some of the writers claim to have Divine information given holy men and women in visions. A fair example are the “ The^ Prophetic Voices”, collected by Chief Priest W. H. L(pjq£f.t, -later revised by Clericus, which from 1869-1922 had five editions, all having the usualי Ecclesiastical approbation. On pagejjxj.the. fact is referred] to that the Lateran council forbade fixing a date for ther 'day of judgment, but this by no means meant that everyl humble reflection concerning this time in general waJ| obnoxious. Honert’s list of about twenty-five prophets begins with Hildegard, Emmerich, Bridget, also B. Holz-Musex (1613-58). Already as a boy he saw Christ, Virgin Mary and in the heavens a fiery cross ; later as his fame ^increased, he became counsellor of the elector of Mayence. jHis exposition stops with Revelation 14 : 4 on account of his early death, but the Church honoured his merits by placing him among the “ venerable servants of God ”. His exposition appeared in Latin 1830; De Wuilleret published, 1856, a French translation, supplying comments on the lacking chapters. Some of the expositions present a forced contrast to the Protestant, thus that the period of affliction (Sardis) begun 1517, when Luther as the sixth angel (Rev. 9 : 1421־) sounded his heresies with a mighty voice into all the world and when in fulfilment of verse 20 the whole generation became materialistic. The mighty angel of Revelation 10 arises from the bosom of the Catholic Church, when an “ angelic ” pope and a mighty universal ruler will usher in the Philadelphian age of “ comfort ”. It will result in the return of the lost son (Protestants), when the religious, political and social consequences of the apostasy from the Church in the sixteenth century have been emptied to the dregs. Under the next pope, symbolized by the “ shepherd and navigator ”, the Church will have a wonderful revival, exert an unlimited influence and develop a great world-wide mission activity in fulfil-
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ment of Matthew 24: 14. Its zenith the Church is to reach under a third pope, symbolized by “ the blossoms of blossom ”, called by Hildegard the golden age, i.e. the Millennium. How on the other side such prophets now and then give credit to the right Protestant exposition, Holz-hauser demonstrates by declaring that this millennium had been sought for in vain in the past or present time, but its proper place was only at a future stage. Furthermore, he applied the year-day to the 1,260 days in Daniel and Revelation. In a note Clericus (p. 119) endorses this: “ This explanation is based upon the holy Scripture itself where, for example, in Numbers 14 : 34 ; Ezekiel 4 : 6 ; Daniel 9 : 2427־ surely days are spoken of as years, yea of weeks, year-weeks.” He also adds that a noted Catholic his-torian, Rohrbacher-Hülskamp (U.H. iii. 53), has made use of Holzhauser’s conviction in his exposition of Daniel, by declaring “ that the 1,260 days of Daniel and John were to be taken as years, to denote the duration of the anti-Christian empire founded by Mohammed and extending until our days ”. Wuilleret (ii. 76) in his comment on Revelation 13 applies not only the 1,260 years in Daniel and John to the duration of the Mohammedan power, but sees in 666 so many months of Antichrist’s existence. Born in 1855, Antichrist will with the false prophet, the Antipope, persecute Christianity, exterminate during the last three-and a half years the Church, but in 1911 Christ shall kill the son of perdition by the breath of His mouth and the days of Mahometanism will be accomplished. To preserve the authority of Holzhauser, who still is quoted in recent Catholic commentaries it is now, according to a more correct reading, recently discovered (Canisiusstimmen 1916, p. 264 ; Honert, p. 119) claimed that he assigned 1954 as the year for the arrival of the Antichrist. It is interesting that the Catholic commentator, G. Palmer, in his Latin commentary on Daniel, published in Rome 1874 (pp. 46, 142), not only conjectures the numbers 1,260, 1,290, 1,335 t0 be year-days, but also adopts the incorrect reading of the 2,400. F. Diisterwald in his excellent work “ The Kingdoms of the World and the Kingdom of God ”, in which he, with many leading commentators, proves that the fourth universal kingdom is Rome (p. 31), makes this statement concerning
560 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
Palmer :	“ Starting from the incorrect reading of the
LXX, Palmer (p. 46) reckons the 2400 days as prophetic years. . . .” As the beginning term he takes either the war preparations of Xerxes, 488, or adding the thirty days in Daniel 12: 11 the decree of Artaxerxes, given to Ezra 458 b.c. and finds thus as end-term either June, 1880, or better, February 16, 1910. He calls these “ conjectures ”, to be verified by the event.
Thus we see that Catholic commentators speculate with the prophetic year-day; the only difference is they apply such dates to Mahometanism and a final Antichrist. That the Church allows them ample liberty, as long as they do not apply the prophecies to the papacy, Leo XIII (“ Brief Vigilante,” 30th October 1902) thus demonstrates : “ Let Catholics cultivate the science of criticism, as most useful for the right understanding of Holy Scripture. They have our strenuous approval. Nor do we disapprove if the Catholic interpreter, when expedient, avails himself of the work of non-Catholics. There are a few things con-cerning which Holy Church has yet made no certain and definite statement.” That this includes the Apocalypse, the testimony of Dr. Barry in his “ Manual for Priests ” (p. 198) published 1906 proves : “ No view of the date, compilation, or literal meaning has ever been sanctioned by authority.” The prevailing idea about the Millennium is thus stated in the Douay version, prefaced by Cardinal Bourne, 1914: “Chap, xx., verse 2. For a 1000 years; i.e. for the whole time of the New Testament ; but espec-ially from the time of the destruction of Babylon or pagan Rome, till the new efforts of Gog and Magog against the Church, towards the end of the world. During which time, the souls of the martyrs and saints live and reign with Christ in Heaven, in the first resurrection, which is that of the soul to the life of glory ; as the second resurrection will be that of the-body, at the day of the general judgment.” J. J. L. jlattoiy who, after publishing expositions of the Apocalypse, 1906 and 1908, dedicated, 1912, his com-^mentary on the Greek version to Cardinal Bourne, makes (p. 363) this statement : “ The millennium consisted in the peaceful development of the Catholic Church throughout !the world from the sixth to the sixteenth century. The
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LAODICEA
various nations were converted one after another to the faith. . . . The whole of Europe acknowledged one faith, one altar, and one Church until the sixteenth century/’ Ration, who frequently refers to H. B. Swete’s commentary on the Apocalypse (1906), also quotes his statement (p. 266) to the same effect. In his general outline of the Apocalypse, Ration, after applying the seven churches ta seven different periods, calls Revelation 4-\1 “ The J ewish Theme ”, and Revelation J2-1Ç “the Roman Theme/’. He ends the first with the persecutions oTthe pagan emperors, the second with the overthrow of Rome by the barbarians, \he millennium he ends witk_the Reformation, “ the great ^׳and wide-spread revolt against the Church ”, which in its essence consisted in “ Caesar worship and its propaganda was by bloody persecution ”. The intervening period “ until the day of judgment is compressed into this one symbol of the Gentiles coming up against the Church from every quarter of the world” (p. 368-71). Interesting are yds remarks (p. 114, f.) concerning the relation between Daniel and Revelation : “ John’s plan was to write the Book of Revelation as a continuation of the prophecy of Daniel, from the point where it broke off, and was closed and sealed.” “ This abrupt and tantalizing ending of the prophecy of Daniel (12 : 9) had prepared the apostles for another prophecy, breaking the seals, when the time appointed should arrive.” “ The reader will find loud echoes of these prophecies of Daniel reverberating through the Revelation.” Dr. Swete (p. liii.) says of John : “ He refers to the book of Daniel in some forty-five places . . . and the books of Isaías, Ezechiel and Zacharias are used with almost equal frequency, while other prophets, the psalter and the pentateuch are often in view.” Though Ration adopted Holzhauser’s view of the seven churches, yet he (p. 45) in other respects followed “ a fanciful exegesis and the Antichrist tradition ”. Jesuit 0. Cohausz, finding during well-attended lectures, which he held in the cities of Germany, howr an exposition of the Apocalypse met the spirit of this age, published 1927, “ Prophetic Views upon Patmos He felt greatly obliged to Swete and to the best Catholic expositor, E. B. Alio, “ L’Apocalypse ” (Paris, 1921). He applied Revelation 13 to the adoration of
02
562 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
pagan emperors and the image to the Mithras religion (p. 177). In his explanation of Revelation 20, he states that the Catholic Church had thus far left this point open, so he with new expositors rather favoured an application to events transpiring in Heaven and reflecting upon the Church militant upon the earth just before the end of the world ” and without lasting necessarily 1,000 years (p. 224-28), Priest K. Elser in his “Revelation of S. John1923) ״) follows Holzhauser, but quotes also Protestant authors, places the Millennium in the near future and expects the end of all things “ at the close of the millennium toward the end of the thirtieth century after the birth of Christ ״ (p. 186). Thus Catholics differ, as well as Protestants, in their prophetic exposition, but as a rule the coming of Christ lies to them more in the dim future.
LXXXIX
“ BEHOLD, I HAVE SET BEFORE THEE AN OPEN DOOR ״
God had placed before Philadelphia an open door to provide the word of God in ^lILtongues and to proclaim the Gospel in all the world. Hitherto Papacy and Islam had ample,_power to keep this door shut within their large f territories, but at the end of the 1,260, 391 and 2,300 years their power so waned that this was no longer possible. Mighty movements, kindled by the advent hope, constrained ';by the love of Christ and emboldened by the realization V>f the sure word of prophecy, had appeared at the end of these periods, to heed God’s signal and to usher in the great century of the worldwide evangelical mission move-ment. What Philadelphia had so nobly begun, Laodicea was to finish. Would Philadelphia’s great motto “ Expect great things of God and do great things for God ”, be also Laodicea’s motto, would it be alert to its task and give the ^trumpet of warning a certain sound ?
ר Following thç,-school of the Jesuits, .two schools of interpretatiorE!1,uturísfc and Preteriste arose “In opposition i to the almosr^ünbroken harmony of the Reformed \Churches ”, both having the same object, to deny and
5¿3
LAODICEA
refute the historic and truly Protestant exposition. Cun-inghame (Guinness, H.U.P. p. 283, f.) thus characterized the Futurist : “ The truths which the Futurist desires to subvert ... are of primary and vital importance—truths which martyrs have sealed with their blood, and which] every genuine Protestant would still be ready to bearj witness to, even unto death . . . The Reformers, like the prophets of old, were to bear witness for the truth of Godi This they did in their Confessions of Eaith. But in the! second place, as the ancient prophets were witnessed against Israel, so were the Protestants set as witnesses against papal Rome, the great corrupter of the truth,j and the slaughterer of the saints.” “ Now from the last? part of this testimony, it is manifest that the Futurists have entirely fallen. . . . No-one, who^r ejects the Principles of interpretation affixing on Rome papal and pieFF^hop the characters of Babylon and the Man of Sin, ' ]is truly a Protestant, seeing that he has denied that which Λ&11 the Reformers held to be the testimony of the Spirit .against that idolatrous Church.” Then followed in ffilr CB.irks’ masterly work “ First Elements of Prophecy , which was a ^powerful hammer against the reveries of the Futurists. From 184462־ not less than five editions of ΕΓ B. Elliot’s 4 Horæ Apocalypticæ ” appeared in four volumes, giving in some 2,500 pages 10,000 refer-enees to ancient and modern works bearing on this subject. In his last preface he testifies that the chief prompting motive for this work 44 was the increasing prevalence among Christian men in our country' of the futurist system . . . which involved the abandonment of the opinions held by all the chief fathers and doctors of our Church respecting the Roman Popes and Popedom as the great intended anti-Christian power of Scripture prophecy ”. Spending a lifetime in investigation, he trusted,44 that we might see God’s mind on the question ”, and 44 whether indeed in His view Popery was that monstrous evil, and the Reformation a deliverance to our Church and nation as mighty and blessed. . . . Even yet more does the importance of the work strike me at the present time, when infidelity has become notoriously prevalent among our educated men ” and even some of
564 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
our ministers begin to question the inspiration of the Christian Scriptures (i. p. v. vi.). Elliot abundantly proved that the papacy answered to the description given in Revelation 13 and 17, and that by the organization of the secular and regular clergy it had become the two-horned beast, also that through the general councils from 1123 onward the image of the beast had been created, pronouncing death upon every opposer. Like-wise Islam, arising almcst simultaneously with the papacy, had inflicted the first two woes. By an elaborate chart (i. 119) Elliot tried to reconstruct some dates. 1793/8 and 1843-44 had only realized the beginning of what was expected at the end of the 391, 1,260 and 2,300 years, therefore later^dates were assigned for the final fulfil-ment. Since 'tellarius’â days (45^5) some commentators counted the 1,260Tróm the decree of Phocas in 606, ending them 1866. When this date had passed, Elliot added . in September, 1868 a postscript to his preface, calling attention to the fact, that as there were several decrees from Cyrus to Artaxerxes to mark the beginning of the seventy weeks, also several events marked the beginning of the seventy years of the Captivity, so there might also be several beginnings and endings to the 1,260 years and this the more so, because there existed an actual difference of seventy-five years between 1,260 and 1,335 (p. xxii. postscript). As the interval between the decrees of Cyrus and Artaxerxes “ served to excite and keep up that lively expectation ” of His first advent near at hand, so also these seventy-five years of difference between the decrees of Justinian and Phocas concerning the near-ness of His second advent. Thus the final end of the papacy and Mahometanism, designated by the 1,260, 1,290 and 1,335 years, might “ end about 1866, 1896 and 1941 respeqtively ” (iv. 112). Thus Cuninghame, Bicker-steih, Birks, Elliot strengthened the foundation, laid by the Reformers, that the papacy was the fulfilment of Antichrist. But they also confirmed the year-day .tlieory, by demonstrating the beginning and progressive realization of the events to take place at the endingpi’thosejpénods.
: Thus they proved themselves as true “ Continuists ”, “ to keep up that lively expectation ” of CErlst’s^adieii¿
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LAODICEA
in glory. What they had bej^n^maay״-ahle ,disciples kept up by voice anapen. Jïabershqnpupon whom the Klng^Tfüssia conferred the great gold medal for science and architecture, could still point in __18^5 to the pro-gressive fulfilment of foretold events and proplietic periods, and close his “ Shadows of the Evening ” in view of the fulfilling signs of the Lord’s speedy return, with the exhortation :	“ Such are the shadows of the evening
stretched out and such the beacons of approaching danger ! True, it is hard to look beyond the present halcyon scene and realize such a crisis ! But faith, the evidence of things not seen, takes its stand on God’s word ; and assured that everything there revealed . . . will at the appointed time come to pass, follows~m-.the paths of those recorded in Hebrews ii.” A., Bonat defended at the same time in the most able manner me nearness of the pre-millennial advent in “ Redemption Drawing Nigh In “ Prophetical Landmarks ” (pp. 336-9) H. Bonar declares in 1848 : “ I regret most deeply the con-duct of some writers on prophecy, who seem so engrossed with a future Antichrist as to forget, nay, to deny, the present. . . . They are so occupied with the picture which they have drawn of the Man of Sin, as yet to be revealed, that they refuse to see any resemblance at all to him in the Church of Rome. They scruple not to palliate the atrocities and to apologize for the doctrines of popery, in order to be able to deny the likeness.” “ Nothing can be more perilous for the Church. It throws her entirely off her guard.” “ Thus she is soothed into a false and most fatal security ; she unfastens her armour under the persuasion . . . that her great adversary has not yet arisen.” Bonar’s works were translated in quite a number of languages. The pulpits in Great Britain still resounded during Lent from lectures on such themes as “ The Hope of the Apostolic Church ”, “ Good things to come ”, “ The Light of Prophecy ”, as the many printed sermons of most able clergymen prove and they gave the trumpet its certain sound. J. Cumming’s “ Apocalyptic Sketches ”, delivered during 1847-48 in Exeter Hall, London, saw in print eleven editions in two years. In the preface (10th ed. vii. viii.) he could state that 1848 “ had presented
566 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
a visible commentary on the predictions of the Apocalypse, and proved by terrible facts, how just and true are the principles of interpretation so ably and conclusively established by Mr. Elliot In 1850 there followed his “ Prophetic Studies ״ on Daniel, confirming the surety of “ ¿acrad.Arithmetic ״ and Divine foresight. Altogether ו J. gumming.- published about twenty different works on j pro^ecyand some of these were translated. In 1848 ! A.ydislop published “ The Red Republic : or the scarlet-! coloured beast of the Apocalypse ״ ; in which he ably pointed out (pp. 13744־), h°w successfully the papacy pursued the course, foretold by prophecy, amidst all the political changes : “ That power is felt at this hour in Great Britain . . . and the queen of the nations, after 300 years of defiance of Rome, is now preparing to give up the contest in despair. . . . That power is making large and rapid strides in republican America and bids fair, at no distant period to have the liberties of that boasted land of freedom entirely in her keeping. . . . That power is rising rapidly in infidel and republican France.״ “ She (Rome) can pander to every passion. She can suit herself to every taste. She can lead democrats and aristocrats alike in triumph at her chariot wheels. The union therefore may be easily effected : ' and when it is, then shall the great crisis come. Then shall per-secution be waged in the name of liberty and equality. Then shall the woman calling herself the bride—the Lamb’s wife, be seen drunken with the blood of the saints.״ “ Popery in its first phase was ‘ baptized paganism9 ; in its last, it seems destined to appear as ‘ baptized atheism 9 \ 99 Later he wrote his valuable work “ The
Two Babylons ״ or the papal worship proved to be the worship of Nimrod and his wife, which had four editions by 1871. On page 2, f. he remarked : “ It has been j known all along that Popery was baptized Paganism ;
but God is now making~1F manifest, that the Paganism j which Rome has baptized, is, in all its essential elements, i the very Paganism which prevailed in the ancient literal Babylon.״ “ If it was a Church of Christ that was con-vcned on that night, when the pontiff-king of Babylon, ‘ praised the gods of gold, and of silver, and of wood,
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and of stone ’, then the Church of Rome is entitled to the name of a Christian Church ; but not otherwise.״ When “disbelief of Daniel had become an axiom in the unbelieving critical school ״ and S. ׳Davidsoji- ques-tioned Tts authenticity in his “ Introduction ״ E. B. Pusey^contributed (1864) his lectures on Daniel before the Divinity School of Oxford as his “ contribution against that tide of scepticism ״. He answered not only every objection, but proved from the very fact that Christ had put His seal on Daniel as prophet, the belief as to his prophecies “must be part of my religious being״ (p. 7). But the best evidence, how even among the leaders of religious life in Great Britain the advent hope deepened and with it the study of the prophetic word, are the large conferences of believers in the_near advent. At the conference, held From May 5187 ,10־^ in London, there were no denominationirimes recognized, the Anglican-Church was largely represented by many of her most able and pious divines ; the Earl of Shaftesbury was in the chair, stating “ that this subject has been upon my heart for years and years ; it has been much upon my inmost soul . . . often every hour of the day ; and I may say, that in reference to the state of the times and the signs which are around us, I cannot see any remedy or solution but that suggested by the assured hope of the second coming of Christ ״. Already in June another conference was held in London, Admiral Fishbourne being the chairman. But the most notable conference was held in February, 261878 ,28־. The call was extended to all Christians alid the^object stated was “for united prayer and for bearing testimony to the second coming of our blessed Lord as the proper hope of the Church ״. Noted ^writers like Auriol, Bonar, Mackay, ,Fremantle, etc., read papers and gave Bible readings on the personal and pre-millennial advent, which were published entitled “Our God shall come״ (Taylor, p. 35255־). Earl ^Shaftesbury charged the clergy to tell the vast masses that the Redeemer might come at any moment.
The continuation of the expositions put forth by Cuninghame, Bickersteth, Hab'ershdn, ' Biffe was really effected through the influence which Birks exerted upon
568 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
H.	Grattan Guinness through his writings and personally. Guinness, being pressed with the foundation of the East London Institute for Home and Foreign Missions, left “ the papers connected with the astronomic measures of the prophetic times for some years ” with Birks, until Guinness could complete “ The Approaching End of the Age ” viewed in the light of history, prophecy and science in JÇ&7& After Birks had read the first 400 pages, he wrote to Guinness : “ I fully agree with almost every sentence. May God give an abundant blessing to your work, which I think to be one of great importance and interest to the Church, from the amount of precious and important truth which it unfolds ” (App. End. p. vi. 74). Guinness as a true “ Continuist ” first considered “ Pro-gressive revelation arrd interpretation ”, then in patt Ï1T. ^Torêtold- and Fulfilled”, how the apostate Church of Rome in every instance answered the description given by Daniel, Paul and John. But the next 270 pages are devoted to an “ inquiry into the divine system of times and seasons, natural and revealed ”, Guinness making extensive use of De^Cheseaux’s calculations with reference to the cyclical character of the prophetic times. Between a dozen'apparently dissimilar and incongruous periods mentioned in prophecy, there exists “ a variety of beauti-ful and harmonious relations ”. By counting solar and lunar years, Grattan Guinness demonstrates the exact fulfilment of the 490, 1,260 and 2,300 years. He gives special attention (p. 43040־) to the sanctuary cycle of
2,300	years, showing from Bickersteth’s statements how exactly the solar cycle of this complete number ended 1844. his Appendix he devotes pages 580-672 to a “ Calendar of the Times of the Gentiles ” and at the date 4157 b.c. thus verifies the beginning : “ Commencement of th^70־ weeks, thence 2300 solar years to the 1260th year of the Hegira.” At 1844 he testifies : “ Decree of Religious Tolerance wrung from the Ottoman Government, dated 21st March (1st Nisan), 1844. (New moon, March 20.) In the 1260th year of the Hegira. Exactly 2,300 solar years from the new moon of March 20, 457 b.c., the com-mencement of the ‘ 70 weeks ’, and 391 years after the rise of the Ottoman Empire, as dated from the capture of
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Constantinople, and end of the Eastern Roman Empire.” Under 1793 he writes : “ Termination of ‘ time, times and half a time \ From the rise of the papal power connected with the decree of Justinian, March 533, to the central year of the French Revolution, 1793, 1260 solar years.” Guinness stresses in his preface (p. x. xiv.) that his investi-gation “ deals not with theories but with facts ... it con-sists in a collection of facts, and of inferences drawn from those facts”. “ Those who have carefully looked into this subject, solemnly and with good ground believe, that the 4 word ’ we are commanded to 4 preach ’ is full of evidence that the long predicted and long delayed judgments on the Papal and Mohammedan powers, which are not only already begun, but arc fast accomplishing before our eyes, are to issue, and that speedily, in such a burning of 4 Babylon the Great’, as will light up all Christendom with its lurid glow,—the immediate precursor, if it be not the accompaniment, of the glorious advent of the King of kings. With all earnestness and sobriety of mind they assure their brethren that it is their deep conviction that this is the testimony of sacred Scripture.” This work had eleven editions. “ Light for the Last Days”, published in 1886, had by 1893 already seven editions. Guinness afterwards wrote a number of im-portant works such as “ The Divine Programme of the World’s History ”,	“ History Unveiling Prophecy ”,
“ Romanism and the Reformation from the Standpoint of Prophecy”, etc. T. R. Birks wrote as late as 1880 “ Thoughts on the Times and Seasons of Sacred Prophecy ”, and he well stated as his farewell message on page 106 : “ The exact season of the end, it is true, may have been often antedated, and distant events foreshortened in the prospect, but still, the practical benefits were secured. . . . By these prophetic seasons, and by these only, the balance has been restored between opposite graces, the patient waiting for Christ, and earnest and assured hope in the approach of his blessed kingdom.”
But though Birks and Guinness passed away, yet the historic system was perpetuated. In 1898 there appeared 44 Daniel and Revelation : The Chart of Prophecy and our Place in it ”, which owed its origin to papers, read
570 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
by J. Tanner of Oxford before the Prophecy Investiga-tion Society, meeting twice a year in London. He could still emphasize in his preface (p. xv.) : “ The marvellous way in which the mysterious foreshadowings in the book of Daniel, and especially in the Revelation, of some of the chief events of this dispensation, have been fulfilled, is one of the strongest evidences that the Bible has been inspired by Him who knows the end from the beginning.״ On page vii. he testifies : “ On all sides, and in almost all schools of interpretation, there is to-day a widespread expectation of the nearness of the Lord’s return. Five great signs are evident in the world. . . . The temporal power of the Pope has gone, and the dominion of Moham-medan rule in the East 1s going fast. . . . Joined to the latter sign is, further, the ever-growing stream of Jewish immigration into Palestine, making ready the way of the Lord’s return. Whilst in the living Church of Christ are two other tokens : the increasing zeal for missionary effort throughout the world, side by side with earnest pursuit after growth in holiness, both of them marks that the Bride of Christ is being gathered out of all nations, and is making herself ready for His coming.” On page 514 Tanner thus comments on Daniel 8: “ The great restoration of the Jewish polity from the degradation and defilement inflicted by the power of Babylon, a restora-tion carried out by Ezra and Nehemiah under the sanction, and with the assistance of the power of Persia, constituted a remarkable cleansing of the sanctuary. But since that epoch there have been great defilements and down-tread-ings of the Holy Land, such as those inflicted by Antiochus, and, on a greater scale, by the Romans after the des-truction of Jerusalem, and for a still longer period lasting to the present day, by the Mohammedan power, in the capture of the Holy City by Caliph Omar and the erection of the Mosque of Omar upon the site of the temple. Each step in the downfall of Turkey is a step towards that final cleansing. Like the drying up of the Euphrates, this prophecy indicates the exhaustion of the Turkish power, and points to a time when that blighting rule may be expected to be removed from the Holy Land.” Tanner had started originally on Futurist lines, but he
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“ soon became convinced that the long succession of writers, including names of the highest intellect and piety, who, from the time of the Reformers onward, have developed the truth of Historical exposition, were on the right lines of interpretation—a conviction that has only been deepened by further study and experience ” (p. xi.). What these men had so nobly carried through, others took up, as the many publications of the Prophecy Investigation Society until the present time amply demon־ strate. Advent Testimony Handbooks, booklets and tracts appeared and Advent Testimony Addresses were annually delivered, to keep the interest alive. E. P. Cachemaille of Cambridge, author of “ Present-Day Papers on Prophecy”, edited and revised in 1917 Guinness’ “ Light for the Last Days ” and it had within three months three impressions. The chart in the beginning is abundant evidence that the historic interpretation is adhered to, also the sanctuary cycle to which chapter 12 (p. 21334־) is devoted. In closing, Cachemaille (p. 309, 321) remarks : “ It has pleased God to order the révolu־ tions of history in harmony with that law of completion in weeks, by which He has ordered many of the revolutions of nature, and according to which He arranged the typical ritual service of the Jewish people. The Gentile dis-pensation of the four great empires ... is a great week, beginning with the rise of the typical, and ending with the fall of the antitypical Babylon, and bisected by the rise of the Papal and Mohammedan Powers. This great dispensational week and its sections are measured from the different crises of the commencing era on the different natural scales, the longest of which, the solar, alone is final . . . the parallel with nature is too exact to warrant objection.” “ The moral and political history for the last twenty-five centuries has been working out a pro־ gramme divinely revealed beforehand to Daniel in Baby-Ion.” “ With united voice history, chronology, astronomy and Scripture endorse this solemn conclusion, and bid the Church lift up her head, because her redemption is now close at hand.”
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xc
IN THE LAND OF THE REFORMATION THE GOOD, “ OLD PATHS ” ARE FORSAKEN
When the much expected millennial kingdom was not. set up during 183647־, Bengel’s fears that in the land : of the Reformation the Divine testimony against the papal Antichrist would cease at the very time when it was most needed, were realized. Rationalistic theologians, bolder than ever, claimed that sucET"âTÏÏîng^as Divme propïïec^ 4ic^Jl£t :e3dst, that the Book of Daniel was vmfterT by' sorne^Jew at the time of the exile and the Apocalypse by some presbyter, John. That Luther’s and Zwingli’s adverse judgments on the Apocalypse still furnished pretexts, is apparent from F, Spitta’^ state-ment in his commentary on page 545. He~contests the right of the positive theology to condemn his position that the Apocalypse was simply “ a Christian book, provided by a later Christian editor with his own and some Jewish additions ” as a disgrace, by referring to the state-ments of Luther and Zwingli and asserting that he esteems the book much higher than they did. But how the re-volution era affected commentators in forsaking the good old paths, which the Reformation had restored, is well illustrated by De Wette’s Introduction (p. vi. f.) to the Apocalypse, written June, 1848: “ As anarchy was on the increase and dark clouds hovered over nations and governments . . . the thought, what might befall our Church accompanied every penstroke. I could not refrain from beholding the Antichrist, described by John, in our own time, though under changed exterior and with darker features. The self-deification of the Roman Antichrist appeared to me like child’s play against the atheistic, infidel, insolent egoism of our day, casting off all restraint. ... In my study of the Apocalypse I have not learned to prophesy, and John’s vision did not reach down to our time. If Christ was indeed our life, how was such an apostasy possible ?... Our theology since the Reforma-tion has been moving too exclusively within the sphere
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of knowledge and at the best of emotional edification and has not learned to step into actual life.” But where he stood, his comment on Revelation 14 : 812־ demonstrates that “ Babylon according to all specifications is not papal Rome, but pagan ” and that “ Protestants touched the wrong key, when they in connection with their false historical interpretation of Antichrist tried to authenticate the three angels in their history”. Rather than follow the Reformers, De Wette pointed to Corrodi’s critical History of Chiliasm, which is devoid of historical and religious conception, as the given path to the right inter-pretation (p. 171). De Wette, Bleck, Ewald, Lücke, Reuss, Zeller, etc., saw in the seven emperors, ending with Nero, the fulfilment of John’s Antichrist and his seven heads. In the same wake of the preteristic views followed Diister-dieck 1859 m Meyer’s critical commentary of the New Testament and his successor W. Bousset (p. 1046־) termed as late as 1906 this renewal of Jesuit modes of interpreta-tion “ the approach to the right understanding of the Apocalypse ”. As modern adherents he mentions also three Catholics, the German Allioli, the Italian Cerese and the Frenchman Rohrbacher. Significant is Bousset’s judgment of the English literature of the “ Continuists ”, that in it a there still dominates the phantastic wild exegesis of times past”. In what uncertainties these modern German expositions end, is manifest from the preteristic exposition of Th. Zahn, 1926, who rejects all attempts to find the fulfilment of Antichrist or Babylon in pagan emperors or papal Rome, but rather expects yet a universal ruler according to the Greek type like Alexan-der the Great and a persecutor like Antiochus Epiphanes (ii. 552,556).
All sorts of new ways were sought also by the more positive theologians, some substituting a universal infidel ruler for pagan or papal Rome, who would yet arise in the very last days, and of whom the “ red re-public ” was the precursor. O. V. Gerlach expressed this in 1852 in his commentary on the New Testament to 2 Thessalonians 2 : “ During the latter part of the Middle Ages and the Reformation this text has often been applied to the pope in Rome and this interpretation had quite a
574 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
considerable show of truth in its favour.” “ But in our days there are lying forces aroused which are far greater and point more decidedly to a much nearer fulfilment of this apostolic prophecy. The deification of mankind, closely allied with the general dissolution of the ecclesi-astical and social ties of the Christian faith—these are all signs of the manifestation of the Antichrist, as they never existed at the time, when the papacy was at its height.” Another new way was sought by E. W. Heng-stenberg, the leader of Lutheran orthodoxy in 1855, in his voluminous commentary. His preface begins :	“ The
Apocalypse wras for a long time a shut book to me. That it was necessary here to lay open a new path ; that neither the course pursued in the older ecclesiastical, nor that of the modern rationalistic exposition was to be followed, I never entertained a doubt.” “ During a heavy season of affliction looking about for a rod and staff that might comfort me, I lighted on the Revelation, and pondering on it day and night one dark point after another became light. The troublous times of 1848 but furthered my work.” Though Hengstenberg followed Bengel con-siderably, yet he protested (ii. 63, 67) against the applica-tion of Daniel 7 : 25 and Revelation 13 to the papacy on the ground that the concessions which Luther made in his statements “ to the papacy loudly contradict the supposition that by the beast the papacy is to be under-stood. So also does the fact that the Evangelical Church recognizes the baptism of the Roman Catholic Church. A Church, whose centre is the vicegerent of Satan, can have no true sacraments”. “The interpretation which considers that the papacy is represented by the beast, belongs to a time long since gone by, when ungodly and God-opposing elements of the papacy came prominently out, and the proper, the capital enemy of Christianity had almost entirely vanished from the field. At such a time this interpretation was natural, and in a sense neces-sary. But now ; in quite altered circumstances in the presence of another, far worse and far more formidable enemy . . . That ignoring of the Christian elements in the papacy, which lies at the bottom of this interpretation, and against which the feelings even of the earlier in-
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terprctcrs sometimes loudly exclaimed, carries with it no small degree of criminality. . . . There have been times in which the papacy has looked very much like the beast.״ Hengstenberg also rejects Bengel’s view of a future millennium and is so fascinated by Augustine’s false application, that it seemed to him a consoling thought, that the 1,000 years, coinciding with the German ascendancy, was in the past (ii. 289, 292). An entirely different position did J. H. Ebrard 1853 take in Olshau-$en*s commentary of the New Testament. Influenced by the English “ Continuists ” he firmly adhered to the old view that the Roman empire, secular and ecclesiastical, is symbolized in Revelation 13 and 17, but referring to Hislop he thought that the secular power would yield to an infidel Antichrist finally and desolate the papal chair (p. 623), as he experienced 1848. Accordingly he stated in his introduction (p. 23) : “ It was evidently reserved to a later time to divine what antichristian pow'er was symbolized by the scarlet coloured beast.” How some of the Bengel school in the midst of the révolu-tion still defended his ten positive theses, that the papacy fully met all the requirements of the prophecy, is evident from J. F. E. Sander’s “ The Beast in the Revelation ”, which passed through three editions in 1848-49. A pro-nounced adherent to the English “ Continuists ”, and even to the year-day principle, was Prof. L. Gaussen of Geneva, who, in his lectures and in his exposition ofTDaniel since 1843, pointed to the papacy as the real Antichrist. Boldly he stresses the questions : “ Who could believe, that this long time (2300 days) meant natural days little more tjlâîl.sjx years ? Who again could believe this, illjdie .!21h chapter where, Daniel, speaking of the most signal events of the last time, puts an important differenQv.h־e־ tween what is to happen at the end of 1260 days, thenof 1290, then of 1335 days ? Who.could believe, that: .in the,eyes_of the prophet of Babylon 3000 years beforehand, 30 days of 24 hours, and then 45 more days of 24 hours, should fill so great a place in’ this future of the last times ? ” (ii. L3.6). Firmly he believed and taught his students that the Roman Empire was mortally wounded 476, that this wound was either healed by Justinian or Charlemagne,
¡;76 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
that the 1,260 years designated the time of the papal supremacy, that the Saracen woe ended with the founda-tion of Bagdad and that the 396 years referred to the Turkish woe.
The real cause why some Protestant commentators on the Continent departed from the good paths of days gone by, is well stated, 1854, by C. A. Auberlen in his preface to Daniel and Revelation :	“ The real source
from which the present mode of treating Daniel and the Apocalypse springs is, that the critic is not in possession of the key which opens a deeper understanding of pro-phecy and, consequently, he divests the sacred books of everything, which in divine sublimity transcends his own horizon, of the fulness of its superhuman contents, in order to bring it within the narrow circle of traditional or self-invented conceptions and presuppositions.” “ At an early period the church began to see only indistinctly the view which the Bible gives of the kingdom and she lost it in proportion as she conformed to the w'orld.” “ Of a theology, moreover, wdiich has its vital roots in the world and is akin to it according to its distinctive pecularity, we cannot expect it otherwise, but that it will be perfectly incompetent to enter into the depth and height and breadth of the divine plan of the kingdom. Such a theology finds it necessary to assume the un-genuineness of Daniel ; but let it not be denied or ignored, this necessity is not a historical, but a dogmatic one.” “ The manner in which modern critics have treated this book furnishes us with a striking specimen and illustration of that unevangelical relation, in which these theologians stand to Holy Scripture, and which we may regard as the very central seat of the disease of our Protestant theology.” Auberlen, stressing with Hofmann the de-velopment of the kingdom of God in its different epochs until it culminates in the Millennium, believed that “ in the last days, all these God-opposing powers, wdiich have succeeded each other, shall co-operate and raise each other to the highest, most terrible and intense power of their nature ; the false prophet causes men to worship the beast and the beast carries the harlot ” (p. 314)■ Babylon symbolizes not alone the pagan city of Rome,
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also not alone the Catholic Religion, but “ fallen Christ-ianity as a whole in its diversity of Churches and sects, which claims to be Christian and has neither Christ’s mind nor spirit Chr. Luthardt, a prominent Lutheran theologian, made, 1855, some very significant statements concerning existing conditions in his Church and the influence the writings of Bengel, Darby and the Irvingites exerted. Science knew but little in the past how to deal with the prophetic word. But formations outside of the Church had always bestowed special care upon it : this was really a sign that the Church had neglected it. Irving-ism and Darbyism reminded the Church forcibly of its neglect. “ In Bengel the conscience of the Church did raise a grave accusation against the long neglect of the Apocalypse. Since his day there extends a chain of eschatological investigation down to our days ” and more attention is paid to its study now than ever, even by theology. Eschatology is of eminent practical value, to solve present problems and “ the prophetic word is really the high watchtower of the Church ” (Lehre, pp. 422־). Yet Luthardt openly declared, that the Antichrist was still future, and that “ the more ancient teachers of the Church wrongly applied this prophecy of the Antichrist to the pope”. It must be admitted that there is an antichristian element in the papacy notwithstanding all the piety of some of its representatives. No one could tell if this element had been overcome, or whether it would develop even more. Perhaps the latter is the more probable. “ But to call the pope the Antichrist is to wrong him and be unjust to the apostolic word.” “ It is now generally recognized, that the apostle speaks not of a plurality of Antichrists, but of a single person, who belongs to the very end of history” (Lehre, p. 155). Accordingly he thus commented on Revelation 13 : 15 : “ As Nebuchad-nezzar had those killed, who refused to worship the image erected by him as the symbol of the unified empire, as Antiochus Epiphanes demanded under penalty of death, that the idol upon the altar of burnt offerings be wor-shipped, also the Roman emperors their own statues, because this cult was considered as fulfilment of the duty to the state : thus the last universal empire shall also have
P 2
578 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
a religious symbol of its unity and he who refuses to worship it, will be considered a rebel” (Lehre, p. 212). The historian, A. Hase, in his noted handbook of Contro־ versy with Rome (p. 244), having four editions after 1862, made this fatal concession : “ It showed a narrowness of view, to be accounted for by the mutual fanaticism of the conflict that our orthodox ancestors in all serious־ ness held the pope to be the Antichrist.” Th. Kliefoth in his exposition of Daniel and Revelation also contends that the real Antichrist is still future and in his “ Escha-tology ” 1886 (p. 22325־) states that the old dogmatists would not have arrived at the conclusion that the pope was the Antichrist, “ if it had not been otherwise already settled ”, so that they really had to read this doctrine into the text and were forced to demonstrate, that their view had to agree with those texts in spite of it all. His final conclusion is : “ Our opinion is far from this, that we would not pass, what our confessions and our dogmatics denote as antichristian in the papacy as such, or that we would from all this try to barter anything away. Rather what they called antichristian in the papacy and rejected as such, we also call thus and reject. But this we main-tain, that though much and grave matters were anti-Christian in the papacy, yet according to the word of prophecv finally another one shall arise, who shall surpass it.” From 1861 onward quite a number of Lutheran writers chose the good “ old paths ” again of their fore-fathers, though with some this idea of a final infidel anti-christ still lingered. Sabel (1861), Gartner (1863), Harms (1865), Rougemont (1869), Dàchsel (1862-80), Kratzen-stein (1892), Prager (1901), and in the most positive manner Zorn (1910), gave the trumpet the old certain sound again. Some attempted in a general way to point to a more definite time. Thus Gartner (p. 552) referred to the end of the past century as the realization of the blessed hope. A. Dàchsel (vii. 97) believed that the ripening of the Antichrist set in as a result of the close association of the papacy with France in 732, and would culminate in 1992 in the 3^ year reign of a Napoleon, so that the end would coincide with the end of this century. In the last edition these dates are left out, G. Stokmann
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in his “ historical method ” of interpreting Daniel and John says (p. 218) on Revelation 12 : 5, that “ though the thought seems rather difficult, that the world history should be nearing its end, yet this should not hinder us to maintain, that everything freely and easily fits into each other, if 732 be considered as the beginning date for the 1260 years”. Rougemont (p. 139) supposed that “ the Lord shall appear near the year 2000 ”. As to the later approximate date, nearly all positive Protestant authors agree that this represents the most extreme limit, as E. Miihe (Ende, p. 20) stated at a large pastoral conference at Berlin in 1889: “Almost all believing prophetic voices of our days agree that the next century is the last one of this secular and ecclesiastical time.” This he again repeated during the Pentecostal Conference at Gnadau in 1892: “As the Saviour was born at the end of the fourth millennium, so we now live at the eve of the world’s Friday and His return can at the most be only 100 years in the future ” (Bibl. Lehre, p. 20).
It is surely sad, that in the very land where the Reformers first of all with such positiveness and with such wonderful success pointed to the papacy as the real Antichrist, so many eminent Lutheran and Reformed writers have allowed themselves to be turned aside from the good “ old paths ”, even if it be but modified, as Prager (ii. 207, f.) stated it in 1901 in his exposition of the Apoca-lypse : “ So greatly as the Reformers and the Lutheran theologians erred, when they saw in the pope the Anti-christ, but he is to exercise secular and not ecclesiastical power, even so greatly do we harmonize with them in this, that they declared the pope to be at the same time head of the false teachers and prophets and also recognized a symbol of the papal Church or spiritual Rome in the second beast of Revelation 13.” But it is also a matter of joy, that some have persevered in the old paths, and that of late many feel encouraged to turn to the well beaten path again. What Luthardt said of his days, that the writings of Darby, the Irvingites and especially Bengel had their effect upon a neglectful Church, may have also helped in our days. Some of the excellent works of Cummings and Bonar were translated into German, and
THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
from Guinness 1889 “Das Nahcnde Ende1892 ,״ “Das Licht für die letzten Tage ״ and 1901 “ Schliissel zu der Apokalypse ״. The writer of this book also had a modest share, as his expositions of Daniel and Revelation have had since 1898 over a dozen editions, and a circulation of over 200,000 copies each. He with the English Con-tinuists, with Guinness and Tanner, shared the merits of having clung to the old standardized expositions that the pope is the Antichrist par excellence, that the advent is premillennial that all the prophetic times have been verified in the past, and that now indeed we live in the time when prophetic time is “ no longer״ (Rev. 10 : 6), also that the only task remaining is to watch, pray and work as the most fitting preparation, seeing that soon the Master shall appear in all His glory.
XCI
“ ALMOST IN SIGHT ! INCREASING MULTITUDES ARE LOOKING FOR IT ״
North America is the land of unlimited possibilities and whatever engages public attention there, is pursued with great energy. This often leads to extremes, but in due time it results in a healthy development. Many of its earlier settlers had to leave their homes in the old world on account of their evangelical faith. All such looked upon the papacy as the predicted Antichrist and their chief endeavour was to create a land of liberty, where no Roman Catholic president would coerce their consciences again. Chief and uppermost remained their longing for Christ’s everlasting kingdom, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Many sincere Christians, though highly cherishing the blessed hope, kept aloof from Miller and still more from Snow’s “ Midnight Cry ”, because they were fully persuaded that the fixing of a definite day or year was contrary to the express statement of their Master. Dr. G. Duffield, in his able “ Dissertation on Prophecy ” (p. 824), gave a clear expression of what many thousands of evangelical Christians in the new world believed ;
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“ Human language is utterly incapable of being inter-preted on any fixed and definite principles whatever, if it be not a literal personal manifestation and coming. But this takes place at the time, and for the express purpose, of the destruction of Popery or Antichrist, which it is conceded must take place before the Millennial day of prosperity. It follows, therefore, that Jesus Christ comes in glory to judge the world before the Millennium.” But that by this time there were also able writers, who patronized the preterist system, is evident from the fact that already in 1843, Duffield had to publish a defence in his book, “ Millenarianism ”, against Moses Stuart, the eminent pro-fessor of the Andover theological school, \vho, with Robin-son and Hackett tried to combine German and American theological views. Stuart’s lectures took final shape 1845 in his commentary on the Apocalypse. Maintaining that this book was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, its prophecies up to chapter 19 were to apply chiefly to that event and to the overthrow of paganism. The first beast in Revelation 13 symbolized the Pagan Roman Empire, the second the Pagan Priesthood ; the deadly wound the death of Nero and the restoration the belief in his reappearance. Though he saw in this a type of all later history in a general sense, yet in this great gap between the overthrow of paganism and the end of the wrorld there was every direct application to the papacy entirely wanting. Stuart maintained that the suffering Christians in John’s time could not be expected to take much interest in remote future events and therefore John withheld from them the entire course of the eventful voyage, through which the Church had to pass. But Stuart took the same preteristic position also in his com-mentary on Daniel and “ Hints on Prophecy ”. Accord-ingly the little horn in Daniel 7 and 8 referred solely to Antiochus Epiphanes and the 3¿ times, the 1,290 and
1,335	days were to be taken literally, fulfilled during his desecration of the temple. Even regarding the 70 year-weeks he stated (“ Hints,” p. 104) that no interpretation as yet published will stand the test of thorough gram-matico-historical criticism, and that a candid and search-ing and thorough critique here is still a desideratum.
582 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
On the other hand, he, contrary to the Preterists in Ger-many, demonstrated that Daniel of the Captivity wrote this book. Besides Duffield, Elliot also (iv. 56584־) de־ voted considerable space to refuting “ the German /Neronic Preterist Apocalyptical Counter-Scheme ”, includ-mg'Stuart’s. The noted Presbyterian commentator Barnes in like manner stressed (1851 on p. 31734־) that the papacy was indeed symbolized by the little horn in Daniel 7 and that 533, 606 and 752 were possible dates for the rise of this persecutor. “ If we add to them the prophetic period of 1260 years, we are now in the midst of scenes, on which the prophetic eye rested, and we cannot, as fair interpreters of prophecy, but regard this mighty domina-tion as hastening to its fall.” The 1,290 and 1,335 he also considered as years, their end being still future. Only the 2,300 he applied literally to the desecration of the temple by Antiochus, though he admitted that the days would not exactly correspond. In answer to Stuart, Barnes gave on pages 371416־ a full explanation of the seventy weeks and their wonderful fulfilment. In his comment on Revelation 13 Barnes sees in the two beasts secular and papal Rome. “ The image of the beast symbolizes the civil government strongly resembling the old Roman dominion, which the spiritual power of the Papacy caused to exist, depending for its vital energy on the Papacy, and in its turn, lending its aid to support the Papacy.” Another able defender of the old paths was David N. Lord, who, in his commentary 1859, main-tained that tHe'^'Rainbow angel was a symbol of the Reformation, for it “ is the only great movement of the kind, not only during the last 400 years, but in the career of the church, and has been the cause of all the subordinate excitements and revolutions that have followed it ” (p. 245). “ All the characteristics of the two-horned wild beast are found conspicuously in the hierarchy of the Italian Catholic church within the papal dominions ” (p. 401). This hierarchy induced the nations “ in the most direct and formal manner, to offer homage ” to Rome imperial, “ by persuading them that the forged edicts ascribed to Constantine, was the work of that emperor ”. “ This vast hierarchy was thus, in all its great features,
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a counterpart to the imperial rule under the Christian emperors, and is most appropriately denominated an image of the wild beast that received the death-wound and lived.” “ The popes thus exalted to supreme power over the church of the ten kingdoms, caused that as many as would not worship the hierarchy of which they were the head, should be put to death. Dissent from the faith and worship of the Catholic Church, and a denial of the right of the pontiff to legislate over the laws of God were made by the popes and councils capital offences, and all who were convicted of them were delivered to the civil magistrates and punished, if incorrigible, with death ” (pp. 432-4). “ To have the name of God and of the Lamb written on the forehead, is to be brought to a public and decisive manifestation of allegiance to the Most High, and Him alone, as of title to religious homage and right to impose religious laws ; and of faith alone in Christ as Redeemer ; in contradistinction from those who sanction the impious assumptions of civil rulers and apostate prophets, that claim dominion over the right and laws of God ; make themselves, and demons, and idols objects of homage ; and supersede the Redeemer by other mediators and other grounds of reliance” (p. 447). To the point is the comment of Lord on Revelation 14 : 6 : “ The Gospel is everlasting, as it is the Gospel unchanged which Christ and the apostles preached—not the new and antichristian Gospel inYcnted and proclaimed by the false prophet.” Lord went too far only when he applied the year-day to the Millennium, implying that Christ would reign 360,000 years with His risen saints. On page 21 he rebuked Stuart for calling the Apocalypse “ an epopee ” (an epic poem), as it bears less resemblance to it than to any other species. Such attempts were derogatory to God and the Apostle John.
The vitality of the Advent movement in North America is evident from the fact that at their Mutual General Conference, held at Albany, New York, April 29, 1845, they declared as their principles, “ that the second coming is indicated to be now emphatically nigh, even at the doors, by the chronology of the prophetic periods, the ful-filment of prophecy, and the signs of the times. And that
584 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
this truth should be preached both to saints and sinners ”. “ That there is no promise of this world’s conversion. That the horn of Papacy will war with the saints and prevail against them, until the Ancient of Days shall come, and judgment be given to the saints of the Most High, and the time come that the saints possess the kingdom. That the Man of Sin will only be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming.” They strongly con-demned as a cry “ of peace and safety ” the doctrine of a spiritual Millennium, first preached by Daniel Whitby, declaring : “ If we do not pause with wonder, astonish-ment and with fear at the strong delusion that has gone over the Protestant churches ; and if we do not withdraw instinctively from this ‘ new light ’ doctrine, and enquire for the good old paths to the heavenly bliss our fathers trod, and to the true Millennium through Jesus and the resurrection, no word of exhortation from this humble source could move or persuade us ” (Taj/lor, pp. 4329־). At their conferences in 1847 they expressed their full ;sympathy with their advent brethren in Great Britain : and that they felt “ in view of the increased call for the L truth in reference to the second advent the importance *of missionary labour at home and abroad”. Their large organ, still edited by Himes, amply advertised the works of Bonur, EJhott^ (humming» etc., and pointed to the ·great'"worK carried on by these men, especially JVLcNeil, “ the Papacy is a favourite theme with them ”. Significant for their historic position are three articles from the pen of S. Bliss in April and May 1852 regarding Revelation 14 : 6-12. He maintained that the preaching of the three angels must be “ at an epoch having a considerable period between it and the end ”.	“ These considerations point
to the epoch of the Reformation, when the midnight dark-ness of the dark ages began to be scattered, before the uprising and onward progress of truth and knowledge. Then appeared a body of religious teachers, aided by the then newly discovered art of printing, who so brought the Scriptures out from their obscurity, opposed the pretensions of the Papal hierarchy, and by the clear teaching of the word so secured the spread of the Gospel light and liberty, that they might appropriately be sym-
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bolizcd by an angel coming down from heaven, and enlightening the earth with his glory. The descent from heaven of the angel w7ould then symbolize the heavenly origin of the doctrines then promulgated. His mighty power and the strong voice . . . would symbolize the greatness and earnestness of the movements and mighty results which were effected by it. And it could only be fulfilled by some great and mighty movement like the Reformation.” In 1851 the Congregational Journal admitted that “ in various ways the leaven of Millenar-ianism is working in the community, some in nearly all denominations being its advocates ”. That this was indeed the case the long list of eminent waters, mentioned by Taylor (pp. 41621־), demonstrates. The. great Con-ferences in England in the spring of 187$ reacted on the new' w'orld, as the call for such a conference, being sent out on June 17, proves : “ It has seemed desirable that those who hold to the personal, pre-millennial advent of Jesus Christ, and who arc looking for that blessed hope, should meet together in conference, as our honoured brethren in England have recently done, to set forth in clear terms the grounds of their hope, to give mutual encouragement in the maintenance of what they believe to be a most vital truth for the present times.” “ In reply to the invitation, no less than 122 responses were sent in from bishops, doctors of divinity, theological professors, pastors of churches, editors of religious journals, and prominent clergymen, who endorsed the call.” The spacious Trinity Church at New’ York tvas crowded, Dr.
S.	H. Tyng stressed in the opening address : “ Union with Christ, living in Christ, following Christ, looking forward to the promised coming of Christ, and to an everlasting dwelling with Christ, have made up the character, the joy, and the hope of true believers in every age.” “ But little more can elapse before wre shall sec the Lord in His glory. As a fact in our personal history, it has become almost in sight. But some of us also believe that, as a fact in the history of man, involving consequences of an immense, outspread extent and of vast relative influence in the welfare of earth and in the eternal consequences, wThich are to follow7 individual experience, this great
586 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
manifestation standeth at the door ; and while many sleep, the Son of man will come.” Among the excellent resolutions passed, the most significant ones are, that “ the Scriptures nowhere teach that the whole world will be converted to God, and that there will be a reign of universal righteousness and peace before the return of our blessed Lord By a rising vote it was passed “ that the doctrine of our Lord’s pre-millennial advent, instead of paralyzing evangelistic and missionary effort, is one of the mightiest incentives to earnestness in preaching the Gospel to every creature, until He comes ”. Over
50,000	copies of the proceedings were “ sent to all parts of the globe ” (Taylor pp. 35564־).
Many strong believers in the pre-millennial advent at the same time came to favour a modified futuristic view, teaching that though the papacy was a type of the final Antichrist, yet he himself was future, and conse-quently also the final warnings. The Lutheran commenta-tor on Daniel and Revelation, J. A. Seisz, declared (Stim-men, p. 240, f.) that the real Antichrist would exercise his power not beyond seven years. In a general sense Papacy, Mohammedanism, all unbelief, all heresies, all magistrates, who are opposing the truth of God and Christ, as the only Lord and Saviour of men, are Antichrists. Yet they are not the Antichrist, except in spirit, as type, in milder and yet not fully developed form. In a similar manner did E. R. Craven in 1874, as editor of the American edition of Lange’s Commentary, express himself on Rev-elation 13 (p. 272): “ The many coincidences brought to view by Elliott and others, forbid the thought that in this section there is no reference to the Church of Rome, but, on the other hand, the circumstances of the vision, together with the manifest fact that the fulfilment claimed in the past is to so great an extent shadowy and incom-píete, compel the conclusion that the consummate fulfil-ment is yet future.” Throughout his own notes he made a selection and gave abstracts of views of the following representative authors, viz. Moses Stuart, Elliott, Words-worth, Lord, Alford, Barnes, and Glasgow. As late as 1923 Prof. S. J. Case of Chicago advocated in “ Millennial Hope ”(pp. 148-53) the prcteristic view, though he admitted
5^7
LAODICEA
that John wrote in the time of Domitian : John pictures as beast “ the arrogant Roman emperor and the priest in charge of his cult ”. The latter in his zeal demands a certificate of all, that they have taken part in the im-perial cult, and those who do not shall be punished. John points with 666 to the numerical value of the Greek letters in Nero Cæsar. He informs the Christians, suffer-ing under Domitian, that after the brief reign of another emperor, “ the demonic Nero returns to set up his Satanic dominion, enduring just 3־i years. Hence John must have expected the end to come early in the second century After the overthrow of Rome “ the souls of those who have died for the faith are restored to earth where they spend 1000 years of bliss with Christ ”. Then follows the complete triumph in the new earth. Entirely dis-regarding the fact that millenarians do teach that the fulfilment was then at hand (Rev. 1 : 3) but continued right on, Case blames them for disregarding this “ warn-ing, distorting his language to suit the flights and flighti-ness of their own imaginations ”.
A great revival of religious life, an increased desire to understand the prophetic word, and a greater zeal to proclaim the Gospel world-wide were the blessed results of the Advent movement 1843-44, thus demonstrating its Divine origin. But Irvingism had already proved to be a strange child, its prophets claiming that the twelve' apostles created at their instigation would live to see their Lord return. Strange also was the Snow movement, asserting that on the 10th day of the 7th month (October 22), 1844, as the antitypical atonement day, Christ would leave the Most Holy Place, shut forever the door of mercy, and cleanse this world from unbelieving Babylon. With the passing of that day thousands renounced Snow’s * “ new light ”, as did the band of Adventists at Portland, Maine, and among them Ellen G. Harmon, then seventeen ;years old. But this girl exactly two months later began to relate a vision, in which she beheld the Advent people travelling on a narrow path, illuminated by “ a glorious light ”, to the holy city. This light “ an angel told me was the Midnight Cry All the way along Adventists, disregarding this light, fell off down to the wicked world
588 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
below and “ it was just as impossible for them to get on the path again, as for all the wicked world Finally the voice of God “ gave us the day and hour of Jesus coming (Ezek. 12 : 25 ; Mark 13 : 32) ”, pouring out the Holy Ghost, sealing “ by this time the 144,000”. At their happy state the enraged wicked would “ rush up to lay hands on us ”, but at the stretching forth of our “ hand in the name of the Lord, the wicked would fall helpless to the ground ”. Mark 13 : 32 seems a strange proof that God would yet reveal the day and hour of Jesus coming, but a document, printed by James White, May 30, 1847, who married Miss Harmon in August, 1846, and republished this vision with lengthy comments of his own, makes it idear. He not only endorses on page 5 Snow’s misinter-pretation of this text, but encouraged by it, he with many others “ were expecting the Lord to come at the 7th month 1845 ” (p. 22).	“ Ellen saw a few days before the time
passed, that we should be disappointed and would have to pass before through ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’.” On February 7, 1846 O. R. L. Crosier printed in his paper, “ Day Star ”, a lengthy exposition of the sanctuary, claiming that the 7th month movement was correct in the date, but wrong in the event : Christ having on the 22 October, 1844 shut the holy place and entered the Most Holy Place. J. Bates recommended in “Opening Heavens ” on May 6 Crosier’s article as “ superior to anything of that kind extant ”. Mrs. White testified, April 21, 1847, that more than a year ago God had shown her “ that Br. C. had the true light on the cleansing of the sanctuary and that it was His will, that he should write out the view”. J. White reprinted it as late as 1853 as “ excellent. The subject of the Sanctuary should be carefully examined, as it lies at the foundation of our faith and hope ”. The so-called “ door shutters ” main-tained that the door of mercy was “ shut ” since October, 1844 for the wicked, and that Christ was performing His service in the Most Holy Place according to the levitical order. Therefore it was consistent for them to expect that Christ could in accordance with the levitical high priest remain but a short time in the Most Holy Place. When He had tarried nearly seven years,.J..Rates main-
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taincd in 1850 in “Typical and Anti-typical Sanctuary”, that “ the seven spots of blood on the golden altar ” (Lev. 16:19)“ represent the duration of the judicial proceedings of the living saints in the most holy, even seven years ”, [The last six months Jesus will be gathering in the harvest. !“ Thisjsjhe ,duration of the third angers, message.” Mrs. White, who had thus far confirmed in visions what J. Bates had w'ritten about the seventh-day Sabbath being the seal of the living God, endorsed it in her vision of June 27, 1850 on the “Mark of the Beast” (E.W. pp. 547־) : “ Those who of late have embraced the third angel’s message, must get ready, get ready, get ready. . . . Some of us had time to advance step by step. . . . But now time is almost finished, and what we have been years learning, they will have to learn in few months.”. But when October 22, 1851 was nearing, the editor, J. White (Aug. 19, p. 13), stressed that the proof presented for the seven years was not sufficient and that “ the message of the third angel does not hang on time On page 32 of the Review he announces that “ Experience and Views” is ready, and in it the most positive ״state-ments of “the shut door” were omitted.. In May, 1851' J. N. Andrews gave his first detailed Expo^ÔîToURev-elation 13, claiming that the papacy had received^tí.e deadly wound 1798, and that about that time the United States, symbolized by the two-horned beast, arose. “ An image to the [papal] beast must be another church clothed with civil power and authority to put the saints of God to death. This can be nothing else but the corrupt and fallen protestant church” (Review, No. 11, p. 84). Andrews terms it “ little short of downright folly, to apply these messages to the church in the wilderness ”. As strong proof that Luther never proclaimed the judg-ment hour, he adduces a	statement “ that he
placed the judgment some 300 years in the future from his days ”. U. Smith in his elaborate exposition of Daniel· ׳and Revelation, which from 1883-1921 went through many editions, declares (p. 554) on the same grounds that no record whatever can be found in the writings of the Reformers of any such proclamation. Mrs. White (G.C. pp. 303, 356) twice makes this statement, refers to Taylor,
590 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
page 134, as authority, and, yet, Taylor positively closes page 135 with: “A mighty voice began three centuries ago to ‘ proclaim the hour of God’s judgment at hand It waxeth louder and louder. The Lord cometh ! ” All this is being done to limit the threefold message to Miller, Snow, and Seventh Day Adventists, and to deny its existence at the very time when the papacy at the height of its power during the 1,260 years actually in fulfil-ment of Revelation 13 : 1517־ killed untold numbers, because they chose to worship Christ instead of idols. But will the U.S.A. Government at some future day really slaughter S.D.A. and carry out the prophecy ? U. Smith (p. 542) thus interprets “ he causes all to be killed ” “ that is, he wills, purposes, and endeavours to do this. He makes such an enactment, passes such a law, but is not able to execute it ; for God interposes in behalf of His people ”. Mrs. White (G.C., p. 631) writes concerning the saints in the time of trouble : “ The swords raised against them break and fall as powerless as a straw. Others are defended by angels in the form of men of war.” The writings of Mrs. White are in so far unique that she claims for her many volumes of Testimonies special inspiration ( Test. iv. 148 ; v. 661) : “ In ancient times God spoke to men by the mouths of prophets and apostles. In these days he speaks to them by the Testimonies of his Spirit.” As late as 1931 F. M. Wilcox, the chief editor (Div. Revelation, p. 28), asserts of her : “ She filled the position of a great teacher in Israel, as did Samuel ; of a great reformer, as did Elijah ; of a special messenger of God, as did John the Baptist.” “The same as this movement answers to the fulfilment of prophecy, so her work meets the divine prediction that the spirit of pro-phecy would be connected with this movement (Rev. 12:17; 19: 10).” When the great prophetic con־; ferences were held in the old and new world, the S.D.A.' were yet in their infancy, and when the great missionary:, century closed, they were about awakening to their duty; to preach the Gospel to the heathen.	י
But another outgrowth of the Miller movement calls" for consideration. The wealthy American, C. T. Russell, set aside §42,000, to freely distribute 1,400,000 copies
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591
of his “ Food for thinking Christians His six volumes of “ Millennial Dawn ” have been scattered far and wide. Russell (ii. 234) claims in them “ that in the spring of 1878 all the holy apostles and all overcomers of the Gospel Age, who slept in Jesus, were raised spiritual beings ”. His alluring power consists in his “ Highway of holiness ” (i. 215), which only then began. It “ will be an easy way, the stumbling-stones shall all be gathered out ”. In-numerable ones will find the Lord during the millennium. Russell ended the 1,260 years in 1799, the 1,290 with the beginning of the Miller movement and the 1,335 ended 1874 with the beginning of the Millennium. As forty years played quite a role in the history of Israel, so also in the Israel of the last day from 18741914־. When 1914 had passed and the mystic Babylon still flourished, probably 1933 would be the wonderful year ! Since Russell’s death J. F. Rutherford has distributed some ninety-four millions of booklets. So notwithstanding the Laodicean character of our times (Taylor, p. 359) what H. Tyng stressed 1878 in his opening address, is more true than ever : “ Know-ledge and interest in connection with this great event on earth have vastly increased, and increasing multitudes are looking for the Lord’s appearing with enlarged under-standing, with new convictions, with constantly brighten-ing hopes. . . . But little more can elapse before we shall see the Lord in His glory. As a fact in our personal history, it has become almost in sight.”
XCII
“ THE GOSPEL MUST FIRST BE PREACHED UNTO ALL THE
NATIONS ”
What are the present prospects and what are the general expectations ? Catholicism, pointing to Matthew 24 : 14, aims to win the world to its creed. Its barefooted monks have expected, for centuries already, an “ angelic ” pope, who, assisted by an universal monarch, will ex-terminate all heretics and thus clear the way for Catholic missionaries to convert all nations to render obedience
592 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
to the pope as the vicar of Christ. Time plays with them no role. The Jesuit Konkina tor (p. 31, f.) thus puts it : “ In the latter days~Kome as '£ the mountain of Jehovah’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains and all nations shall flow unto it ’, fulfilling Isaiah 2: 2, f. ; Micah 4: 1, f. ; Matthew 24: 14.” The success and immense attendances at the Eucharistie] congresses, the establishment of a small papal state around] the Vatican and Lateran, the ever-growing influence of :Jesuits in Northern Europe, Austria, Great Britain,] [Poland, North America and the large gain in the mission-fields raise their hopes.
The rest of the world seems to labour in one way and another under the delusion, foretold in Isaiah 8: 9-15, the great cry being the same as that which caused the building of the tower of Babel. “ Confederation ״ or a “ Conspiracy ״ is the great slogan of Laodicea. Countries are girding themselves to bring about a confederation of all the world, but they shall be broken to pieces. “ They shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay (Dan. 7 : 43, 44). ” Nations take counsel to-gether, so that there is no end of congresses, conferences, ententes cordiales, leagues without number, and, yet, their counsel is constantly brought to naught. The slogan “ confederacy ” is on the lips of everybody, and, yet, it does not seem to stand. The world’s conditions, in spite of all the united efforts, are getting worse. In the very land of the Reformation pamphlets have been circulated with the ominous title “ At the death-bed of the Evan-gelical State-Church ”. During and since the world war it has been broadcasted that modern Christianity is bank-rupt. The Bolshevists with their world-wide propaganda against any and every belief in the Almighty God and in Christ as the only Redeemer of the fallen world confidently expect to succeed. The papacy ever since the days of Leo the Great has been planning to concentrate all forces under its sceptre and thus establish a visible kingdom of Christ under the rule of His supposed vicar at Rome. Protestantism has its great ideals, to be realized in a grand federation, and G. C. ]¿orimer (“ Christianity,״ p. 620) thus foretells what Christianity in the twentieth century
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593
will accomplish :	“ She cannot stand still ; she must
progress. Gradually she is approximating toward the realization of a sublime ideal ; and conditions favouring the day may not be far away, when the world shall cease to be distracted by such solecisms as the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Catholic Church ; and when from all denominations there shall emerge the final Christi-anity, The j£hristian -Catholic Chwchy holding to the universal Fatherhood of God, the universal brotherhood ; of man, the universal atoning priesthood of Christ, all wrought together through the universal Eternal Spirit into the universal kingdom, on whose boundaries the sun shall never set, and against whose power the gates of hell shall never more prevail. Yes, it is coming ! All signs point to its approach, and however the hearts of men may falter and fear . . . the instructed ear cannot be deaf to the sweet promises sounding in the closing hours of the nineteenth century concerning the spiritual unfold-ing of Christianity in the twentieth.״
In full harmony with God’s prophetic word the sober statement of the great evangelist Moody about final conditions offsets all such speculations about future prospects : “ I do not find any place where God says the world is to grow better and better . . . the world is to grow worse and worse, and at length there is to be a separa-tion. Luke 17: 34, 35.” “ Let me tell you that the most of the spiritual men in the pulpits of Great Britain are firm in this faith. Spurgeon preaches it. I have heard Newman Hall say that he knew no reason why Christ might not come before he got through with his sermon.” “ We live in the day of shams in religion. The Church is cold and formal ; may God wake us up ! And I know of no better way to do it than to get the Church to looking for the return of our Lord.” “ I look on this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a life-boat, said to me, ‘ Moody, save all you can ’. . . . This world is getting darker and darker ; its ruin coming nearer and nearer ; if you have any friends on this wreck unsaved, you had better lose no time in getting them off ” (Taylor, p. 527, f.).
The prophetic word knows no futurist speculations ;
594 THE IMPELLING force of prophetic truth
it docs not predict the world’s conversion ; nor any union of Church and state that must yet be made ; no law or enactment of persecution that must be made in the United States or elsewhere ; no antichrist who has yet to arise ; no plagues which must yet be poured out ; no hour or day of Christ’s coming, which God has yet to announce. Life is to go on in its usual way, eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, building, preaching. The ten virgins represent the Church, five heed the word of prophecy, know that the Lord will tarry, and provide themselves with plenty of oil, to keep their lamps burning during the long night of waiting. The unwise expect Him so quickly, that they take no extra supply of oil with them. All ten fall asleep during the weary watch, and suddenly in the very depth of the night a cry is heard, “ Behold, the bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him ”. The wise, who had provided sufficient oil, were ready, and went in with Him to the marriage. Suddenly, as a thief in the night, Christ cometh to Laodicea. Watch therefore, be ready :	“ in such
an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
But must not the Gospel of the kingdom according to Mark 13 : 10 and Matthew 24 : 14 be preached in the whole world for a witness ? Most assuredly, and with it must all those ominous signs be fulfilled, which are stated in closest connection with this world-wide preach-ing. False prophets there are, surely enough, and they all have their large following. Iniquity does surely abound, and on account of it the love of many Christians waxes cold. As to the sign of all signs, the preaching of the Gospel in all the world, it is a fact, that the Bible as a whole or in part is published in over 900 tongues and dialects, circulated more than any other book and also searched more. Tens of thousands of evangelical missionaries are proclaiming the everlasting Gospel in every land under Heaven. Already in 1900 J. R. Mott, one of the most enthusiastic missionary leaders of Protestantism, made Matthew 24 : 14 his slogan and book title, “ The Evan-gelization of the World in this Generation ”. He urged that the most should be made of all Protestant mission forces by a closer co-operation of all evangelical mission
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LAODICKA
societies. Great numbers of evangelists should proclaim the glad tidings in all the world to hasten Christ’s advent. In 1910 Mott emphasized in his “ Decisive Hour of Christian Missions ” (pp. 146, 378, f.) : “The time is short ; the hour of our opportunity is limited.” “The evangeliza-tion of nations, the christianizing of empires and kingdoms is the object before us. The work has to be done now.” “ The missionary possibilities of the Christian Church to-day are boundless.” “ It is the decisive hour for the non-Christian nations.” In 1912 he wrote in the “ Challenge of the Century ” (p. 22) :	“ The work that centuries
might have done must crowd the hour of the setting sun.” The slogan “ the evangelization of the world in this generation ” was seized by Protestant students of North America with great enthusiasm and in the “ Lay-man’s Mission ” produced a mighty factor to accomplish the task. Great things are expected, some are illusions, but, in the main, all these efforts help to accomplish the great object of our Lord’s prophecy: “The Gospel must first be preached unto all nations ” : “ then shall the end come ”. But with the evangelization of the everlasting Gospel, and its proclamation “ to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people ”, there must also be heard a voice waxing louder and louder, “ Fear God, and give glory to him : for the hour of his judgment is come ”. “ Babylon is fallen, is fallen,” and God’s fearful judgments against her must be announced, that those may come out of her, who are seeking for truth and light. It is the historic method of explaining the prophetic truth, which has gradually been fulfilled, that “ must ” of God’s eternal purpose. Already, in Tychonius’ days,
(it caused the Donatists to preach the everlasting Gospel and to warn, in the very words of the threefold message, [׳:against the bishop of Rome. At the time of Waldo it "inspired people to write the booklet against the Roman antichrist and thousands sealed the testimony of their faith in Christ and His Word with their own blood. Even jthe spiritual monks pointed to the everlasting Gospel : in Revelation 14 : 6 and its warnings against the corrupt papal See. Because this prophecy stresses the preaching \of the pure Gospel, and links it with the warning against
596 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
the antichristian power, which is proclaiming a false perverted Gospel, Wyclif and Purvey felt impelled to give the word of God to the English, in their mother tongue, and to write an exposition of the Apocalypse, even in ·prison, and thus cause the Lollard movement, and indirectly also the Hussite movement. Bishop War-burton said (“ Works,״ p. 488) :	“ On the principle,
that the man of sin could be no other than the man that fills the papal chair,״ was “ the Reformation begun and carried on ; on this the great separation from the Church of Rome was conceived and perfected ”. The prophetic word laid the Reformers “ under the obligation of a com-mand, to come out of the spiritual Babylon”. In order to achieve their great task the Reformers had again to preach the everlasting Gospel in its purity, condemn the perverted Gospel of the papal See, and announce God’s judgment upon fallen Babylon. Accordingly hjjjgrinus with many writers of the sixteenth century attests riot only the fulfilment of Revelation 13 : 1517־ on the part of Rome, so that whoever “ remains by the pure apostolic doctrine can neither buy nor sell ” and is condemned to death as a heretic, but also of Revelation 14 : 68־, for “ this is the sum and content of our doctrine against the Roman antichrist and his doctrine ” (see pp. 344, 345). Taylor in 1881 (Reign p. 135) testified : “ A mighty voice began three centuries ago to ‘ proclaim the hour of God’s judgment at hand ’. It waxeth louder and louder. The Lord cometh ! ”
Of the prevailing power of the Reformation, even Gibbon had to testify : “ The imitation of paganism was sup-planted by a pure and spiritual worship of prayer and thanksgiving. . the popes, fathers and councils, were no longer the supreme and infallible judges of the world ; and each Christian was taught to acknowledge no law but the Scriptures, no interpreter but his own conscience.” What the Reformation prospered by, and Laodicea now needs, Guinness (Romanism, p. viii.) well states : “ The Reformation of the 16th century, which gave birth to Protestantism, was based on Scripture.” “ It taught the Scriptures, it exposed the errors and corruptions of Rome by the use of the sword of the Spirit. It applied The
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LAODICEA
/η
,Prophecies, and accepted their practical guidance. Suchi Reformation work requires to be done afresh. We have* suffered prophetic anti-papal truth to be too much for־^ ^gotten, inis generation is dangerously latitudinanan— mdîffëfênt to truth and error on points on which the Scripture is tremendously decided and absolutely clear.״
I The ,historic interpretation 1 of prophecy made the! ^Reformation ; the preterist and^ futurist method of inJ terpretation Éy _thç Içsürts. tne’OoIjmda'ii- *WHâT gréai difference there is between these three methods and their effects, Guinness (H.U.P. pref. xvii. f.) sets forth in a ma¿j¿¡d£,manner : “ The fanciful interpretations of the ÿfeterists\vho falsely conceive the Apocalypse t,0 bear jaTSHS5E".date, and to be Neronic in its references, have never been a practical power in the history of the Church ; the vague interpretations of a modern school, German and English, which ignoring the clearly defined order of the Apocalyptic Visions, their synchronisms and successions, their system of prophetic times, fixed ,and absolute, and sure as the times of the celestial luminaries, reduce the prophecy to a nebulous mass of anticipations of things in general in human history, have wrought no victories, have accomplished no reformations, have sustained no martyrs, and arc self-refuted by their impotence, and unworthiness as expositions of the last great revelation of Jesus Christ concerning ‘the things’ which were to ‘ come to pass The same may be said of the reveries of the Futurists; barren of practical and worthy effects, they have^denied accomplishments, recognized by the great mass of prophetic interpreters in the past ; they have invented future fulfilments, as unsubstantial and impossible as the dreams of those who mistake bizarre imaginations for sober realities ; they have forsaken the great trend, the main path, the well trodden highway of Apocalyptical interpretation, based upon divine ex-planations of prophetic symbols, and unquestionable historic facts, for empty speculations about the future ; !unprofitable speculations as to the coming, universal !dominion of a short-lived infidel antichrist, to be seated fin a literal temple to be erected by the Jews in Palestine, who in the brief space of three and half years is to fulfil
59§ THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
all the woadeis-of*-the־ Apocalyptic drama, and exhaust! the meaning of the majestic prophecy, which the Churchf of God has "been blindly misinterpreting and misapplying! throughout all these ages.”
The historic interpretation of prophecy has had a wonderful record in all the many centuries of the Christian era and has been indeed a prevailing power, as this very work demonstrates. The Church fathers have testified to its verity, the Montanists, the Donatists*. the PauUciaas, the Waldenses, the Albigenses, the spiritual Franciscans, the Lôïïàrds, the Taborites, the Moravian Brethren, the ; Lutherans, the Reformed, the Baptists, the Puritans,
! the Pietists, the Methodists, and finally the many thou-; sands of true believers in the near advent of Jesus since .the days of the French Revolution. From Justin Martyr '.onward, there is an unbroken line of eminent expositors .untir The * present day, making it indeed a continuous method of Interpretation. Modern historical interpreters are indeed in good company, standing with the Church fathers, the confessors, the martyrs of pagan and papal persecutions, the pre-Reformers, Wyclif, Purvey, Huss, as well as later undaunted Luther, vacillating Melanchthon,
\ learned Zwingli, iron Calvin, liberty loving Roger Williams,
I and with them untold thousands of Baptists, Puritans,
: Huguenots, guided^^	by these prophecies and
ז their convincing interpretations, recognizing the Divine ; “ must ” as the all-prevailing power at the very time when its fulfilment was due. Millions have thus been always ready to seal the fulfilment of prophetic truth with their own blood.
XCIII
BEHOLD, THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDA . . HATH PREVAILED TO OPEN THE BOOK ”
Only the Son of God, Who is one With. His Father and has shared His glory from all eternity, could fathom the infinite love, to be revealed in the scaled counsels held in the right hand of Him, seated on the throne of
599
LAODICEA
the universe. As it pleased the Father that all fulness of Divine wisdom and power and love should dwell in His Son, Jesus not only became The Creator, but also The Redeemer of the world. In order to redeem fallen mankind He must become one with it, and, as the promised seed of the woman, as the Lion of the tribe of Juda, and as the Root of David, bruise the serpent and thus for ever set the captives free. But He was to gain His victory not in the mighty power of earthly kings, but by a life of triumph over sin, by suffering, and by His victorious resurrection after dying as the Lamb of God on Calvary. Therefore the Revelation of Jesus reveals Him again and again as the Lamb slain from the very foundation of the world. And thus the way of the Cross is also the only way of salvation to every overcomer.
Withstanding all the temptations of Satan, Jesus prevailed against him, His sinless life and His patient suffering, even unto death, being the light from heaven, to condemn Satan’s course, which is darkness, and to seal his doom (Luke 10: 18; John 12: 31). As the prince of this world could produce “ nothing ” against Jesus, his precious blood as “ of a lamb without blemish and without spot ” is the ransom that frees the believer for ever from Satan’s power. He Who in accordance with the prophetic word had prevailed against Satan and had paid the ransom, was, indeed, as the Lamb of God, the only Son of man, or, even angel, who could break the seven seals and open the book, which shows forth the victories of the everlasting Gospel, “ conquering and to conquer ” a sin-fallen world for Christ. It went forth in the power of the Holy Ghost, using fulfilled prophecy in the death and resurrection of Jesus as the mighty sword, until not only the number of sealed ones of every tribe of Israel was complete, but also of every nation and tongue of the Gentiles, a countless multitude of victors who had the name of the Lamb—in whose blood they were washed and had prevailed—written on their fore-heads.
At the beginning of the vision of the seven seals, John beheld around the throne of God twenty-four elders upon twenty-four thrones, clothed in white raiment and on their
600 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
]leads crowns of gold. He heard four living creatures saying without rest :	“ Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” But when Jesus took the book to break the seals, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders, who have harps in their hands and golden vials full of odours, being the prayers of saints, now fall down to worship the Lamb. This is the substance of their new song :
“ Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof : for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests : and we shall reign on the earth.” Countless angels join in this new song, saying with a loud voice : “ Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength and honour, and glory, and blessing.”
John then hears all creatures in the universe saying :
“ Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”
At the conclusion of the new song the four living creatures testify to the truth of this universal tribute to the Lamb with their Amen.
The Lamb of God has, indeed, opened the book, has broken the seals, and nineteen centuries of the Christian era testify to the wonderful triumphs of the everlasting Gospel in all the world. Christ, who spoke the word “ Let there be ” at creation “ and it was so ”, has also spoken as the Redeemer, that the Gospel “ must ” be preached in all the wo rid as a witness, and the prevailing power of prophetic truth is seen in the untold millions of believers in the name of Jesus, and in the millions of martyrs. The powers of Hell could not prevail against the creation of the Christian Church, and the erection of the spiritual house. At Christ’s coming the grave will have to give up all the bodies of the martyred saints wLo are then for ever glorified unto life eternal (Matt. 16 : 18).
By faith, the saints, quickened together with Christ, raised up together with Him, also sit “ together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. By faith in the prophetic word
LAODICEA
601
the saints have come unto Mount Sion, unto the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable angels, to the general assembly and the Church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, to their Father and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, Whose blood assures eternal perfection in Him (Eph. 2 : 46־ ; Heb. 12 : 2224־). Already, the Man clothed in linen, above the stream of time, swore to Daniel that though the enemy would succeed in scattering the power of the holy people for three and a half times, yet, after their expiration “ all these things shall be finished In like manner the angel, clothed with a cloud, a rainbow upon his head, his Face shining as the sun, swore that “ in the day of the voice of the seventh angel, then is finished the mystery of God according to the good tidings which He declared to his servants the prophets ” (Dan. 12: 7; Rev. 10: 17־, R.V.). In the glorious light of prophecy, the saints behold, by faith, a new heavens and a new earth, where the throne óf God and of the Lamb shall be, then all the glorified saints “shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads, and they shall reign for ever with him ”.	“ .These sayings are faithful
and true : and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly come to pass.״
God in His infinite love has in His secret counsels laid down the things which must be done for the salvation of His children. The Lamb of God who by His death and resurrection is alone worthy to break the seals, has opened the book, the whole universe giving thanks to Him for so doing. The scenes unfolded have during the last nineteen centuries been verified more and more by the records of history as Divine truth. In spite of the most terrible persecutions, the everlasting Gospel, based on fulfilled prophecy in the Son of man, has gone forth “ conquering and to conquer ”, has been proved to be the greatest of all great powers, is being proclaimed to-day in all the world and published in many tongues. Every fulfilment of prophecy has added to its lustre, and made the fulfilment of the remainder equally sure. The count-less numbers of believers arc the evident fruit foretold and foreseen by the prophets, their very growth attesting the
602 THE IMPELLING FORCE OF PROPHETIC TRUTH
prevailing power of the prophetic truth. As in times of old, the prophetic word given by God was the great challenge to the heathen, so to-day, the fulfilled prophecy, which, as the supreme miracle of Divine foresight, and of saving grace, is the greatest condemnation of the un-believer, but brings the greatest of all blessings to those who do believe in the precious name of Jesus Christ— even eternal life in which to behold for ever the most wonderful of fulfilments, in their own salvation.
** Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein : for the time is at hand."—Rev. i. 3.
״ He which testifieth these things saith, surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."—Rev. xxii. 20.
INDEX OF AUTHORS
PAGE
455
98
Discourse on the Apocalypse, 1730
7
the twelve visions explained,
Abj/auzit of Geneva :
D'Achery : Spicelegium, Paris, 165567־
Addis, Alfred : Heaven Opened, or,
London, 1829	517
Adso : Concerning the Origin and Time of Antichrist 950, M.P.S.L. 141-142 Advent, Herald, Boston, March, 1844, (G. Bush)	\	538
Alc.asar, L. of : Vestigatio arcani sensus in Apocalysin, Lyons, 1618/350352־ Alison, Arch. : The History of Europe since Louis XVI, Edinburgh,
1854”	479
Alio, E. B. : L'Apocalypse, Paris, 1921	562 ,561 ׳
Alsted, John : Theologia Prophetica, Hannover, 1622	371
Ambrose (340397־)	:	Opera,	M.P.S.L.	84
----: Wace and Schaff, Nicene and Post-nicene Fathers, Oxford, 1893	84
Amici : Circular Letter on the Revolution in Europe, 1831	514, 515
Amianus Marcellinus :	Rerum	Gestarum Libri Leipzig, 1874	78
Amsdorf, Nic. v., Bishop : Fiinf vornehmliche und gewisse Zeichen aus
der hi, Schrift, so kurz vor dem jiingsten Tag geschehen sollen,1550 313, 314 Andersen, Wm. : Apology for Millennial Doctrine, Glasgow, 1830513 ,512 31־ Andrew of Caesarea, Archbishop : Commentary on Revelation, M.P.S.G.R.	129
Andrews, J. N. : Advent Review (The Three Messages), 1851	589
Anonym (Bishop D. Wilson) : On the Numbers of Daniel Madras, 1836	543
Anspert of Gaul, Abbot: M.P.S.L., about 768138	73־
Apostolic Fathers, Edinburgh, 1867	35, 37
Appleton : Cyclopaedia	of American Biography, New York, 1894	431
Aquinas, Thomas (1226-74) : Concerning the Coming of Antichrist,
Opera omnia, Paris, 1876	97» 178, 179
Archer, H. : The personal Reign of Christ upon Earth, London, 1642 375, 376 Arethas, Archbishop of Caesarea : Commentary on Revelation,
M.P.S.G.R.	133
Arnold, G., Historian : Wahre Abbildung der ersten Christen, Schafïhausen, 1740	66, 407
Aspenwell, W. : Brief Description of the Fifth Kingdom, 1653	388, 389
Athanasius (295373־) : Wace and Schaff, Nicene and Post-nicene Fathers, Oxford, 1893	67, 68
Atzberger, L. : Geschichte der Christlichen Eschatologie, Freiburg i. Br., 1890
Μ
603
604	list 0F authors
I’AÜL
Auberlcn, C. A., The Prophecies 0Γ Daniel, a Revelation, Edinburgh
185h	576, 577
Augustine (354430־) : City of God, Edinburgh, 1881	9295־
----: M.P.S.L.	95, 96
Aventinus (Thurmaier) Joh. : Annales Boiorum Frankfurt, 1627
(Historian, 1477-1534)	168-170
Bacon, Roger, Monk, 1267 : Opus Majus, London, 1733 (see Dôllinger,
Prophecies)	183
, Baluze-Maosi, Miscellanea, Paris, 1678	152, 165
Barnes, Albert : Notes on Daniel, New York, 1855	582
-----: Notes on the Book of Revelation, London, 1852	582
Bancroft, G. : History of the United States, London, 1876	383
Bardenhewer, O. : Des hi. Hippolytus von Rom Kommentar zu
Daniel Freiburg i. Br., 1877	72
Barnabas Pseudo: Apostolic Fathers, Edinburgh, 1867	35
Baronius, C., Cardinal : Annales Ecclesiastic!, Paris, 1864	109, 119, 120,
140, 34r>,
Barry, Dr. : Manual for Priests on the Tradition of Scripture, 1906	560
Bates, Joseph, Captain : Opening Heavens, New Bedford, 1840	588
---- : Typical and Antitypical Sanctuary, 1850	589
Beatus, Monk (776) : in Apocalypsin ed. H. Florez, Madrid, 1770	138
Beda, Monk (735) : The explanation of the Apocalypse, Oxford, 1878	137
Begg, J. A. : Connected View of Scriptural Evidence of the Redeemer’s
Speedy Personal Return, Paisley, 1830	513
Bellarmine, Robert, Cardinal : De Controversiis Cologne, 1605	346, 347
Bengel, J. A. : Gnomon Novi Testamenti, Tübingen, 1855	450, 457
■---: Erklárte Offenbarung, Stuttgart, 1834	330, 340, 369, 451,
489,490, 528
----: 60, Reden, Hamburg, 1772	451, 490
Berleburger Bibel : edition 1728-42	248, 445, 446, 448,449
Berthold, Bishop of Chiemsee : Onus Ecclesiæ, 1530	241
Beverley/ Thomas, Minister : Scripture Line of Time, London, 1684 423-426
•---: Command of God to come out of Babylon	427
----: Patriarchal Line of Time with its Sabbatical aspects, 1688	427
----: The Pattern of the Divine Temple, Sanctuary and City of
New Jerusalem, Comhill, 1689	427
----: The Catechism of the Kingdom of our Lord in the 1000 Years	428
----: Evangelical Repentance upon Salvation, 1693	428
----: A Review of what God has been pleased to do this Year accord-
ing to Prophecy in London, 1698	440
----: Address to the High Court of Parliament, 1691	427, 428
----: The Good Hope through Grace, London, 1700	440
Bezold, F. : Geschichte der deutschen Reformation, Berlin, 1890 (Ó.A.G.)	259, 30r
Bibliander, Th., of Zurich: Ratio fidelis, 1545	316317־
Bicheno, J. : The Signs of the Times, Londoner7941	478. 4(15, 498
----: The Fulfilment of Prophecy, London, 1817	93ן	׳
605
LIST OF AUTHORS
Bickersteth, Edward: The Works, Seely, London, 1853	511, 312, 544,
5 \()-5Φ, 549
-----: A Scripture Help, London, 1835	511, 512
Birks, T. R. : First Elements of Prophecy : London, 1843 31, 403, 545, 503 —■— : Thoughts’ 01 the Times and Seasons of Sacred Prophecy,
London, 1880	569
Bliss, Sylvester, Signs of the Times, Boston, 1832	584
Bh¿nL״ J· H. : Dictionary pf Sects, London, 1886	378, 425, 431, 456, 532
Bohrne, Jakob of Silesia : Aurora, 1612	397
Bonar, Horatius¿31emoResby^iphant, 1909	519
·׳'Bossuet, Jf7^hop(refuteî^Kr1eu) : L'Apocalypse avec un explica-
tion, Paris, 1690	4η, 621
: Die Offenbarung Johannes, Gottingen.^iyoOj
164, 182, 339, 352, 353, 573 Bonar, Horatius, of Kelso : Redemption drawing nigh, London	565
-----: Prophetic Landmarks, London, 1848	565
Bower, A.: History of the Popes, Philadelphia, 1844	116
Brandes, T. : John Knox, Elberfeld, 1862	335337־
//Bratke, E. : Das vierte Buch des Daniel-Kpmmentars. Bonn, ,1,891 51,7-* Bridges, Ch. : Memoir of Miss M. J. Graham, London, 1832	524
Bridget, St. : Revelatio (see Hase)	558
Brightman, Th. : Apocalypsis Apocalypseos, London, 18j2	349, 35°
Brocardus, J. : In Apocalypsin, Lyons, 1580	339, 340
Brooks, J. W. : The Investigator, London, 1831520 ,516 ,515 ,510	36־
-----: Essays on the Advent and Kingdom of Christ, London, 1834-43 510-n
-----: Elements of Prophetic Interpretation, 1836	511
Brown, J. A. : The Jew the Master-Key of the Prophecies, London, 1827	505
-----: The Even Tide, or Last Triumph, London, 1823
Brown : Ease. Rerum Expect.
Brückner, Alex. : Peter der Grosse, Berlin, 1879 (O.A.G.)
Brück, H., Bishop :J Lehrbuch der Kirchengeschichte, Münster, 1902 Bruszkeim.K./ Courtpreacher : Die grosse Weltenwocjie^ Frankfurt a/M, 1669	Cf·**	*spr
-----: Ein Schlùssel über Beverley's Zeitregister, Frankfurt
a/M, 1697	429
Buck, Charles: Dictionairy, Theological, London, 1810	515
Buck, Fr. (Wurt. Vater) : Calw, 1905	533
Buisson, Ferd. : S. Castellio, Paris, 1892	331
Bullinger, H., of Zürich : A hundred Sermons upon the Apocalypse,
Ipswich, 1561	✓־»*־ ^	*teÈS 319324־
-----: Daniel Expositus Homiliis, 66, Zürich, 1556	322
Bunyan, John : Works	(see	Taylor)	392
Burk, J. B. : A Memoir of the Life and Writings of Bengel (translated by Walker), London,	1837	45°452־
-----: J. A. Bengels Leben und Wirken, Stuttgart, 1831	13, 14, 453, 454
Burke, E. : Works, London,	1790	477
Burnet, T. : The Sacred Theory of the Earth, London, 1759	416
Burnet, Governor of N. Y. : Essay on Scripture Prophecy, 1724	443, 444
Burton, H. : The Sounding of the Last Two Trumpets, London, 1641	375
Buxdorf, J. I. : Synagoga Judaica, Basle, 1641	418
505
203
382
109
429
LIST OF AUTHORS
606
Cachemaille (see Guinness, Light for the Last Days, London, 1917)	571
Cajjov, A. : Biblia Illustrata, Frankfurt, 1678	422, 423
Calvin, John : Institutes of the Christian Religion, Edinburgh, 1851 324-328
----: Meditations upon Daniel, London, 1370	328
----: Commentary on Thessalonians, Edinburgh, 1851	326, 327
Carlstadt, Andreas: Von dem Sabbath, 1524, Basle	285
Carlyle, Th. : The French Revolution, London, 1837	475
----: 0. Cromwell’s Letters, London, 1897377	1903־
Case, Sh. Jackson: The Millennial Hope, Chicago, 1917	97, 58b, 587
Cellarius (B01*Èf5î1s), M, : Apocalypsis i.e. patefactionis Joh. expl.
Basle, 1551	280,339,341
Charles, Landgrave of Hessia : Christian Instruct0j^q&31	525, 52G
Chaucer, Godfrey: Works, 1804218 97־ Cheever, E. : Scripture Prophecies Explained, 1057	389
Chelcicky, P. : Netz des Glaubens, München, 1923	230
Chesaux, M. de : Memoirs Posthumes, 1754	462, 568
Christian Guardian, London, 1841	544
Christoffel, R. : Huldreich Zwingli, Elberfeld, 1857	230, 269
Chronicon Ephratense, Lancaster,_P^_x889	435
Chrysostom : The Homilies, A Library of Fathers, Oxford, 1843	85
----: Opuse. De S. Babyla	78
Chytraus, David : Explicatio Apocalypsis, Wittenberg, 1575	339
Clarke, A. : Commentary, London, 1836	514
Claus, W. : Württembergische Vàter, Calw., 1888	436, 488, 491, 492
Clement of Alexandria : ANchrist, Library, Edinburgh, 1869	16, 33, 74
Coccejus, J. : 'Cogitationes de Apoc. Joh., Lüttich, 1665	421, 422
----: Opera omnia theol., Frankfurt, 1689	421, 422
Collado, N3r׳ Methodus facillima, Morges, 1531	341
Comenius, A. : (Anonym) Die geófínete Ofienbarung, Elbing, 1664	396
Licht in Finsternis, Amsterdam, 1665	396
Das Einige Notwendige, Frankfurt,	1753	399
Erste Liebe der Vermahnung zur brüderlichen Einigkeit 398400־ Conybeare, F. C. : Key^of Truth, Oxford, 1898	132, 133
Conradi, ‘Js. A';’ óf Mantua : In Apocalypsin, Basel, 1574	341
Conradi, L. R. Prophetischer Ausblick, Hamburg, 1918	580
----:	Die Weissagung, Daniel, Hamburg, 1897	580
Coran, The, Sal^, G4״J^ew York, 1880	130
Ç0j£e(.ips,	Geschichte des münsterschen Aufruhrs, Leipzig,
288־286 ,284 ,278 ,271	1855
Corrodi : Kritische Geschichte des Chiliasmus, Frankfurt, 1781	340, 573
Cottiere, Matth. : Apocalypse J. Chr. expl. Samur, 1615	358, 359
Cotton, John, of Boston : The Bloudy Tenent washed white, London,
1647	38b
----:	Exposition of Revelation 13, London, 1655	388
Cowper, W. : Poetical Works, Task, 1785	525
----:	Bishop of Galloway, Pathmos, London, 1623	339
ך60
LIST OF AUTHORS
FAGli
Cramp, J. M. : Éaptist History, London, 1868	393
Çressener, D. : Demonstration of the Protestant Applications of the
Apoc., London, 1690	414, 415
—■—: The Judgments of God upon the Roman Catholic Church,
London, 1689^	,	415, 416
Crocius,^[. : Syntagma S7 Theologiæ, Bremen, j6¿$^	402, 419, 420
Croly, J. : The Apocalypse of St. John, London, 1868	514
Crosier, O. R. L. : The Sanctuary, in Advent Review N.Y., 1850	588
Cumming, John : Apocalyptic Sketches, London, 1850	565, 566
־---:	Prophetic Studies on Daniel, London, 1850	566
—— :	Sermon on the Sixth Vial, London, 1843	544
Cunninghame, W. : Dissertation on the Seals and Trumpets,
London, 1832	487, ^97, 498, 5^J, 521> 522, 542, 543
----:	Christian Observer, 1807 under Talib	487
—— : The Jubilean Chronology of the 7th Trumpet, Glasgow,
1834	.	51»
Scheme of Prophetic Arrangement, 1826	504 '־־־־
The Apostacy of the Church of Rome, 1818	-	511
A Supplement to a Di<^erfafinr>1 T-nnrlnn, 1838	511,516
Cusa, Nie., Cardinal: Opera. Basle, 1740	233,234
Cyprian of Carthage : ANchr. Library, Edinburgh, 1869	52-54
----: to Fortunatus, Corpus Scriptorum Eccl. Latin., Vol. iii, Vienna,
1868	54
Cyril of Jerusalenj^^ichr. Library, Edinburgh, 1869	68, 69
Czerwcnka,B*? Geschichte der evang. Kirche in Bohrnen, Bielefeld,
228־226	1870
Dàchsel, A. : Die Bibel mit eingeschalteter Auslegung, Leipzig,
1855	55b 578
Dahn, F. : Urgeschichte der germanischen und romanischen Vólker
(O.A.G.), Berlin, 1881	109, no, 117
Dalton, H. : Johannes Goszner, Berlin, 1848	492, 493
Daneau, L, : De Antichristo, Geneva, 1576	361
Dante, A. : Divine Comedy, London, 1910	00, 105, 187, 188, 191194־
'Darby, J. N. ; Etudes sur Daniel, Vevey, 1857	521
Daubuz, Chr. : A perpetual Commentary on the Revelation, London,
1720	443.
^avis, W. E. : Pamphlet Charleston, S.C., 1808	499
-----: Reprint Worthington, England, 1818	499
Deichmann : Der Philadelphia Societàt Zustand, Amsterdam, 1698	431, 432V!
Denifle, H. : Archiv fiir Literatur u. Kg. des Mittelalters, Berlin,	^
177	89־1885
Deutsche Biographie	520
Dgllinger, J. J. von : Christentum und Kirche, i860	101^
■----: Prophecies and the Prophetic Spirit, London, 1873	159, 165, 172,
241 ,236 ,235 ,206 ,202 ,201 ,199 ,189־187 ,183 ,181 ,79ן ,175
LIST OF AUTHORS
608
205, 206 189
235
140, 141 560
Berlin,
361־359 580,581
392
Freiburg
560 ׳559
Dcyji_nger, j. J. von : Das Papsttum, München, 1892
------: Beitrage zur Sektengeschichte, München, 1890
■-----: Kleinere Schriften, Stuttgart, 1890
------: Lebrbuch der Kirchengeschichte, 1838
Douay : Version of the Bible, London, 1914 ,DtaySSihGeschichte der Gegenreformation (O.A.W.), i «93
Duffield, G. : Dissertation on Prophecy, 1842 Durham, J. : Commentary upon Revelation, London, 1658 Düsterwald, Fr. : Die Weltreiche und das Gottesreich, i/Br., 1890
Eagleton, John : An Epistle to his Church, London, 1S29	508
^Ebrârd, JΓΤΓ A. : (Olshausen), Offenbarung Johannes, Kônigsberg,
1«53	575
Eck, Dr. : Enchiridion, Cologne, 1600	285
Edwards, Jonathan : The History of the Work of Redemption, New
York, 1786	472, 473
Eglin, R. : Expressa et solida totius Apoc. Epilysis, Hannover, 1611 364, 365 Ehrle (see Denifles Archiv)	195
Eichhorn, J. G. : Johannes Offenbarung, Hannover, 1816	455
Einhard : Vita Caroli Magni in Monumenta Germanise Histórica,
Hannover, 1830	136
Elliot, E. B. : Horæ Apocalypticæ (E.H.A.), London, 1862	63, 80, 159,
~	~~	166, 318, 372, 442, 486, 563, 564, 582
Elser, Karl : Die Offenbarung, Memmingen, 1925	562
English Quarterly Review, April, 1840	543, 544
Epiphanius'oT'Constantia : M.P.S.G.R.	44
Ettrick, W. : The second Exodus or Reflect on the Prophecies,
Sunderland, 1814	496, 497
Eusebiusjff Csesarea : Histórica Ecclesiastica (Cruse), London, 1847	33, 35,
75 ,73 ,63 ׳63 ׳57 ׳44
63 ׳64 ׳14 66 ״65
The Life of Constantine, Wace and Scliaff Oration in Praise of Constantine ,,
J<pKa,n׳irv. {.$<¿0
Faber, G. F. : Sacred Calendar of Prophecy, London, 1828514	׳
-----: Dissertation on the Prophecies, London, 1804496 ,486 ,484	7־
Fama, geistliche : Berleburg, 1730449 ,446 35־ Farmer, J. : A Sober Inquiry, 1660	392
F'elgenhauer, P. : Speculum temporis, 1620	397
^Festschrift zum 200 jahrigen Jubilaum der Gem. Seckbach !<¿10	464
Flacius, M. : Magdeburger Zenturien, Basle, 1570	338
-----: Glossa Compendarii in Novum Testamentum, Basle, 1570	33S
-----: Catalogus testium veritatis, Basle,	338
LIST OF AUTHORS
60Ç
ΓΑΟΕ
Fleming^R. : Apocalyptical Key, London, 1809	442-474, 478
Fletcher** John : Works, London, 1826	467-470, 477, 478
Folsome, N. S. : Critical and Historical Interpretation of the Prophecy of Daniel, Boston, 1842	538
Fox, George : A Discovering of Truth, 1632	380
-----: Journal, 1O56	398
F'oxe, J. : The Acts and Monuments, London, 1844	172,215-217,218,225
Frgidk F. : Exegese der 70 Wochen, Graz, 1883	70
Frere, H. : Combined View of the Christian Prophecies, London, 1815	496
Funck, Johann : Anleitung zum Verstand der Apocalypse, 1572	339
\
Gallandius: Ma^pa Biblia, vet. Pat. Cologne, 1818	144
Galloway, J. :*Brief Commentaries upon Revelation, London, 1802	482, 483
-----: The Prophetic or Anticipated History of the Church of Rome,
London, 1802	483
Gardiner, S. R. : History of the Commonwealth, London, 1894	377
Gartner, J. M. : Erklàrung des Propheten Daniel und der Offenbar-
ung, Stuttgart, 1863	578
/Gaussen, L. : LeÇons sur le Prophet Daniel, Geneva, 1844575 ,532 ,531 47־ Geffken, H. : Church and State, London, 1877	205
Gerhoh of Reichersberg, Antichrist, Migne	P.S.L.	151
Gerlach, O. von : Die hi. Schrift mit Anmerkungen, Berlin, 1847-53	573
Gfrôrer, A. F. : Allgemeine Kirchengeschichte, Stuttgart, 1841-46	145
Gibbon, Edw. : The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire, London, 1897	77-79, 108, 116, 117, 134, 135, 596
Gieseler, C. L. : Ecclesiastical History, Edinburgh, 1856	145, 168, 169,
239 ,235 ,226 ,205 ,198 ,196 ,185 ,175־173
Gill, J. : Commentary on the Old and New Testament, London, 1810 459, 460 Gladstone, W. E. : Vaticanism (see Guinness, History)	557
Gobat, Samuel, Bishop: Life and Work, London, 1884	517, 518, 532
Góbel, M. : Geschichte des christlichen Lebens in der rhein. Kirche
Koblenz, 1849449 ,445 ,	60־
Grâtz H. : History of the Jews, London, 1891	58, 77, 112
Graser, K. : Plaga regio, Zürich, 1610_	358
Gratiani decretum : about 1150	478
Graven, J. : Kurze Auslegung der gottlichen Ofíb., Hamburg, 1657	369370־
Gregory, I. : Epistles (Wace and Schaff)	122128־
-----: On the Morals on the Book of Job, M.P.S.L.	227
-----: Dialogues on the Lives and Miracles of Saints, M.P.S.L.	127
Gregory of Nazianzen : Contra Julianum, M.P.S.L.	78, 79
Gregory of Tours: Historiæ Frankorum, Hannover, 1884	109, no
Grosseteste, Robert, Bishop of Lincoln. See Neander	171, 172
Grotius, H. : Commentarius ad loca quædam de Antichristo, New
Testament, Amsterdam, 1640	420
-----: Annotata ad Vêtus et Novum Testamentum, Amsterdam,
423	46־1644
: On the Truth of the Christian Religion, 1637	420
K2
LIST OF AUTHORS
610
TAGE
Grünberg, P. : J. Spener, Gottingen, 1893	403-405, 407
Guardian Christian, 1841	¿	597, 598
,/Ouild, Williams-The sealed Book opened, London, 1656	391.392
Guinness, H. Grattan: History Unveiling Prophecy (H.U.P.), London,
1905	3^9. 452, 453. 473. 553. 557. 5H 5<>9. 597. 598
----:	The Approaching End of	the Age, London, 1882	568,	569,	580
----:	Romanism and the Reformation, London, 1887	569,	596,	597
----:	Light for the Last Days,	London, 1917	14-16,	569,	580
----:	The Divine Programme of	the World’s History, London,	1892	22, 569
H
Habershon, M. : Historical Explanation of Revelation, London, 1841	512
-----: Historical Dissertation on the Prophetic Scripture, London,
1842	522, 524, 525
-----: Historical Exposition of the Revelation, 1842550 ,543 ,248 44־
—— : The Shadows of the Evening, 1845	565
Hagenbach, K. R. : A History of Christian Doctrine, Edinburgh,
1880	.	408, 457
-----: Kirchengeschichte der ersten 6 Jahrhunderte, Leipzig, 1869	84, 144
Hahn, Chr. U. : Geschichte der Ketzer im Mittelater, Stuttgart,
166 ,158־156	1845
Hahn, T. : Tyconius Studien, Leipzig, 1900	83
Haimo, of Halberstad Migne, P.S.L.	138
Haldemann, I. M. : Coming of Christ, New York, 1906	248
Hales, W. : Sacred Criticum in Orthodox Churchman Magazine,
1803-4	495, 496
-----:	A new analysis of Chronology and Geography,	London, 1830	496
Hamburger Correspondent, 1798, March 14th	479
Hammond !Paraphrases and Annotations upon the New Testament,
1653	v	423 . ־
Harnack, A. : History of Dogma, London, 1905	75, 95, 128, 130, 139,
,<147 ,146	״ג-TJ9, 180, 267, 288
-----:	What is Christianity ? London, 1923	104
Hase, K. : A History of the Christian Church, New York, 1855	204, 463
Hase, K. A. : Handbuch der protestantischen Polemik, Leipzig,
1878	476, 578
-----:	Kalhaim-Y.on, Siena, Xeipzig^ jl864	204
Hastings, J. : Encyclopaedia of Religious Ethics, Edinburgh, 1905	no
Hauck, A. : Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands (K.G.O.), Leipzig, 1912	136,
144, 150-155. 171
Hauszleiter: in Theolog. Literaturblatt, 1898	55, 56
Hecker, J. F. : The Epidemics, 1859	199
Hefele, J. : History of the Councils, Edinburgh. 18y_	n6, 117, 131,
135. 147. 155. 181
-----: Konziliengeschichte, Freiburg i/Br., 1873	186, 240
Heidegger, J. H. : De Babylj^a magna.,di^tribe, L^yden,1687	434
611
LIST OF AUTHORS
PAGE
Heintzpgter, H. : De groote Wereldgebeurtenissen, 1842	530, 531
Hengstenberg, F. W. : The Revelation of St. John, Edinburgh, 1851	574
Hergenrôther, J., Cardinal: Handbuch der allgemeinen Kirchenge-schichte, Freiburg i/Br., 1924	140, 151, 173, 202, 206, 218, 310, 475
Herzog-Hauck : Realenzyklopàdie (R.E.) für protestantische Théologie und Kirche, Leipzig, 1897	150, 2^0, 2%7> 524532 י
Hesychius, Bishop, Migne P.S.L.	99
Heussiu . iyompendium ^der...Kircheng^hiçhte, Tübingen, 1913	402
Heyland, G. : Enerratio chron. hist. Apoc., 1623	372
Hilary of Poitiers, M.P.S.L.	69, 112
Hilten, John (R.E.)	235
Himes, J. V. : Reprint of Josiah Spalding’s Lecture, 1841	334
Hippolyt : Anchr. Library	47, 49, 51, 71
Hislop, A. The Red Republic or the Scarlet Coloured Beast of the Apoc., Edinburgh, 1849	566
-----: The two	Babylons, London, 1907	566,	567
Hoe, M. : Comm, in Apocalipsin,	Leipzig, 1671	367
Holmes, W. A. : The Time of the End, London, 1833	528
Holzhauser, B. :	Interpretation in Apocalypsin, Vienna, 16j0_	31,	121
Honert, W. H. :	Prophetenstimmen, Regensburg, 1922	558,	559
Hooper, John of Westbury : The Doctrine of the ii. Advent, London,
509 ,508	. ,	30־1829
Horch^, H/: Das A und 0 der Zeitrechnung der h. Schrift, Leipzig, 1697	432
-----: Patmos, Hoc est Apoc., Marburg, 1709	433
-----: Die Philadelphische Versuchungsstunde, Marburg, 1715	433
-----: Mystische	und Prophetische Bibel, Marburg, 1712	433,	434
-----: Prophetischer Uhrzeiger des mohammedanischen Reiches,
Zürich, 1774	433
Huit, E. : The whole Prophecy of Daniel expl., Windsor, 1644	387, 388
I
Iremeus : Axchr., Library	3942־
Irving, E. : Babylon and Infidelity foredoomed, Glasgow, 1828 503, 504, 517 י-----: (translation) Lacunza : The Coming of Messiah, London, 1827	509
J
jâger, C. F. : Andreas Bodenstein von Carlstadt, Stuttgart, 1856	263264 י
James I. of Great Britain : His Works, London, 1616	353357־
Janusr The Pope and the Council, London, 1873 (Dollinger) 198, 203, 205 Jerome : Wace and Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Oxford,
1893	·	86-91
-----■	:	Opera, M.P.S.L.	71,87,91
Joachim of Floris : Admiranda expositio in librum Apocalypsis,
(See Elliot IV), Venice, 1521	4	159, 160, 162-164
י---:	Psalterium decern chordarum, Venice, 1527	159
י---:	Liber concordiæ novi ac veteris Tes ta menti,	Venice,	1519	159^162
י—ו—	:	Vaticiana sive JProphetiæ cum imaginibus, Venice,. 1510	1,90191־
612	LIST OF AUTHORS
PAGE
Jones, W. : History of the Christian Church, New York, 1824	153
Jou, Fr. du : The	Apocalypse,	Cambridge, 1596	361
Jud, Leo : On the	Apocalypse,	London, 1552	318
Juliani Opera : see Cyril of Alexandria against Julian, M.S.G.R., lxxvi, Book 10	77
Julius Hilarianus :	On the World’s Age, S.P.S.L.	112
Juncker, Christian : Das goldene und silberne Ehrengedachtnis Luthers, Leipzig, 1706	3J5
Jurieu, P. : The Accomplishment of the Scripture Prophecies, London,
1678 fV : r' r	409, 411
—— : Last Efforts	of Afflicted	Innocence, 1081	409
Justin the Martyr:	Library of the Fathers, Oxford, 1861	3338 ,36־
Keith, A. : Evidence of the Truth of the Christian Religion, 1832	513
----: Signs of the Times, 1834	513, 314
Kelber, L. H. : Verniinftige und schriftgemasze Gedanken, Nürnberg,
1805	,ΐι^Λ	492
----: D^s Ende kommt ! Nürnberg, 1835	495’ ■528533 5291 י
----: Der Antichrist, Weimar, 1841	~ J	528, 529
Keller, L. : Ein Apostel der Wiedertaufer, Leipzig, 1882	284
Kett, H. : History the Interpreter of Prophecy, Oxford, 1799	481, 482
Kleinert : Theologische Studien und Kritiken, Jahrg, 1898	397
Kliefoth, Th. : Christliche Eschatologie, Leipzig, 1886	578
Klopstock, F. G. : Werke,	Berlin	477
Knox, John : History of the Reformation, Edinburgh, 1732	334336־
Konzinator, Jesuit	592
Kopp, Wilh. : Katholische Zeugen ev. Wahrheit, Calw., 1887	494
Koran by Sale	130
Kostlin, J. : Martin	Luther,	Elberfeld, 1875	294
----: Theology of M. Luther, Philadelphia	256, 261, 308
L
Lactantius : ANchr. Library	5761־
Lacunza (translated by Irving) : The Coming of Messiah, London,
1827	486, 505, 506, 509
Lambert, F. of Avignon : Exegeseos in sanctam Divi Joannis Apocalyp-sim, Marburg, 1528	*	279, 280
Lambert, the Dominican : Exposition des predictions, Paris, 1806	485, 486
Lange -Schaff : Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Edinburgh,
1874	30, 5055 ׳L 586
Langston, E. L. : Aids to Prophetic Study, No. 22, London, 1922	551
Lapide, C. de : Comment, in Acta et Apocalypsin, Antwerpen, 1629 352, 353 Leade, Jane : The Ascent of the Mount of Vision,^London, 1699	432
3 ז6
LIST OF AUTHORS
I eo I. : Wace and Schaff, Oxford, 1893	104107־
Leo XIII : Vigilante, Oct. 30th, 1902	560
Lee's Dictionary of National Biography, London, 1909	417, 440
Levering, J. M. : A History of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Pa., 1903	447, 448
Linden, F. O. zur : Melchior Hofmann, Haarlem, 1885	2<,6, 297
Litch, Josiah : The Probability of the Second Advent about 1843,
BostomjiSjSA	־״־V	536
m Prophetic Expositions, Boston, 1842	J	537.539
Lord David N. : An Exposition of the Apocalypse, New York,
1859	582, 583
Lord J. : Beacon Lights, New York, 1885	63, 106, 107, 308, 310, 331,
377. 378
Lorimer, C. O. : Christianity in the nineteenth Century, Philadelphia,
1900	592, 593
Loserth, J. : Wiclif and Hus, London, 1884	225
Lowth, W. : A Commentary upon the Larger and Lesser Prophets, London, 1730 [Continuation of Bishop Patrick]	443
Lucius, J. A. : Die Offenbarung Johannes, Dresden, 1670^	404
Liicke, Fr. : Versuch einer vollstàndigen Einleitung in die Offen-barung, Bonn, 1852	319
Lüderwald, J. B. : Bemiihungen zur griindlichen Beurteilung der Offenbarung, Helmstadt, 1777	455
Luthardt, Chr. : Die Lehre von den letzten Dingen, Leipzig, 1861	577
Luther, Dr. M : Werke (E.Aj^J^ri^n^en, 1826	247, 250, 252, 258, 259
,302 ,301 ,294 ,292 ,291 ,289 ,288־280 ,278 ,275 ,275 ,268 ,266 ,265 ,261
304. 307
---: Opera latina (E.A. ad), Erlangen, 1829257־253 ,249 ,246 ,244	86־,
261, 280
---: Werke, Jena, 1555-65	253
---: Briefwechsel, Dr. E. L. Enders, Frankfurt, 1884246 ,245 1911־,
247, 250, 251, 257, 264, 295 ---: Werke, Wittenberg	301
M
Macaulay, Th. B. : Critical Essays, London, 1829	509
Malvenda* Th^: Libri Septem de Antichristo, Rom, 1604	352
----: Libri Novem de Antichristo	349
Manning, H. E., Cardinal : The present Crisis of the Holy See,
London, 1861	554556־
Mansi, G. D. : Sacr. conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, Florenz,
1759-98	108, ni, 112, 141
Maresius, S.^ttssertatio de Antichristo, Amsterdam, 1640	420, 421
Marlorat, A. : T. Cath. expl. Eccl., Geneva, 1570	322
Marsilius of Padua : Defensor Pacis, 1324	196, 197
Mason, J. : The Midnight Cry, London, 1691	429, 430
Mason, Arch. : The Church's Happy Prospect, Glasgow, 1818	498
LIST OF AUTHORS
614
Mason, Arch, : Two Essays on Daniel’s Prophetic Number of 2,300 Days and on the Church’s Duty to inquire into the Church's Deliverance	499, 500, 504
----:	Remarks on the 6th Vial,	Glasgow,	1820
----:	Christ the Meditorial Angel, 1800
Mather Increase : The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation, 1668 Mayer, F. : Der apokalyptische Luther, 1677 Mede, Joseph : The Works, London, 1664 ----:	Clavis Apoc., 1627
----:	Comment, in Apocalypsin,	Cambridge,	1632
Meier, Sebastian : In Apocalypsin, Joh., Zürich, 1603 Melanchthon, Philipp : Corpus Reformatorum (C.R.)
540
508 482 389 316
374־372 374־372 372
315
,292 ,289 ,128 304,307,314 ,293,301
294 ,293 ,233
259
V 289, 290 der Schrift,
300, 301
----: Apologie, London, 1536
—: Loci communes, 1521
----: Daniel, 1529	.! .־ *׳ ־*	.׳
Menno Simons : Ein ganz deutlicher Beweis aus Elkhart, Ind, 1881
־*7
4
3^9
337
368
1633
Meerbott, H. : Das Endurteil aus dem Prophetcn Daniel,
M’Crie, Th. : The Life of John Knox, Edinburgh, 1S18 Michelsen, N. : S. Joh. Aabenbaaring, Copenhagen, 1627 Migne, J. P. : Patrologiæ cursus completes. Series Latina (M.P S.L.J,
Paris, 1844-64	—	.... j	'׳'׳ j jg
----: Patrologiæ cursus compîetus Series Graeca (M.P.S.G.), Paris
1857-1912	74
Miller, William : Evidence from Scripture and History of the Second Coming of Christ about the Year 1843, Boston. 1842	535, 536
----: Lectures	(Υΐν^υ ^	53g
----: Advent Manual	536
----: Miller’s Apology and Defense, Boston, 1847	539, 540
Milman, H. : The History of Christianity, New York, 1851	96, 140, 151
Milton, J. : Miscell. Works, London, 1738	381, 382
Mirbt, C. : Quellen zur Geschichte des Papsttums, Tübingen, 1924	135
Môhler, J. A. : Kirchengeschichte, Regensburg,	1867/70	241
Môller, W. A. : Osiander, Elberfeld, 1871	276, 278, 310, 312
Monachi Patavini Chronicon	179
More, J. : The Two Soundings of the Trumpet	379
Morning Watch, London, 1829-32	507, 510, 519, 531
Mosheim, J. L. : Ecclesiastical History, London, 1774	143
Mott, J. R., The Evangelization of the World in this Generation	594
-----: The Decisive Hour of Christian Missions, London, 1910	595
Mühe, E. : Die biblische Lehre von den letzten Dingen, Berlin, 1889 552, 579
-----: 1st das Ende nahe ? 1889	579
Müller, George : Narrative of some of the Lord’s Dealings, London,
4 Vol. 1837	522-24
Müller, J. T. : Evang. Concordienbuch, Giitcrsloh, 1871	305
Müller t John von : Samtliche Werke, Stuttgart, 1834	481, 4818
Müller, K. : Der Kampf Ludwigs des Bayern mit der rôm. Kurie,
Tübingen, .1879	196, 198
615
LIST OF AUTHORS
N
Oecolampadius, Joh.: In Danielem Proph., Basel, i^go.^.	316
Oeder, A. : Freie Untersuchung der sogennannten Offb. Joh., 1765	455
Olshausen, H ; (Ebrard, Offenbarung) : Biblischer Kommentar, Kônigsberg, 1853
Oncken, W. : Allgemeine JBBtgeschichte (O.AjG.), Berlin, 1885-90 Origen : ANchr. Library',TidmFurgfi,' "1859
-----: Commentary on Matthaus, M.P.S.G.
Qsiander, A. : A Wonderful Prophecy of the Papacy	277, 278
-----: The Conjectures οΓΐίΓβ End of the World, .1584	310, 312
Osiander, Luke : Biblia latina, Tübingen, 1572-86	339
Orosius : Against the Pagans, M.P.S.L.	99
Orthodox Churchman's Magazine and Review (W. Hales), 1803-4	496
575
170
74
74
Palacky, F. : Geschichte von Bohmen, Prag, 1845	229
Palmer, G. : Commentatio in librum Danielis, Rom, 1874	559, 560
Pareus, D. : Commentary on the Revelation, London, 1644	362-364
Nachemoger, A. : Geistlichc Practica von der Welt Nahe und Garaus,
1584	(	2^0
Napier, J. : A plain discovery of the whole Revelation, Edinburgh,
1593	^	, Tn - ^ ״:-,r *	f iQ Ô	358
Neáncfer, A. : ^History of the Church, Edinburgh, 1855	150, 151, 156,
159» 171» 177, 219, 222-225
Nepos of Upper Egypt : Refutation, see Eusebius : Historia ecclesi-astica	74
Newman, A. H. : A Manual of Church History, Philadelphia, 1902 no, 132, 164, 188, 220, 232, 267, 268, 270, 310, 312, 554 Newman, J. H. : Protestant Idea of Antichrist	553
New System of Interpretation of the Apoc. (Anonym), Hamburg.
1688 6 ׳-¿	) ־r· /33[( /ק72׳, /?¿ijffcSrïu
Newton, Isaac : , Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel and Apocalypse, London, 1733	/> · . .	· r ׳ ׳ ׳v 4X7419־
Newton, Thomas : Dissertation on the Prophecies, London, 1826	460462־
Nicolai, Ph. : Historie des Reiches Gottes, Hamburg, 1826	365, 366
Niemeyer, H.	A. : Collectio confessionum, Leipzig, 1840	362
Nigrinus, :	Apocalypsis, Ursel,	1573	341343־
----: Daniel, i. des hi. und allerweisesten Propheten, ,Frankfurt, 1594	343
----: Antichrist's Griindtliche Offenbarung, 1586	344, 345
Noel, G. T. of Richmond: The Day at Hand, 1818	513
Nolan, F. : Time of the Millennium, London, 1831	514
Novellæ Justinianæ, Leipzig, 1881	116
LIST OF AUTHORS
616
PAGE
Park, J. : Concise Exposition of the Apocalypse, London, 1825	515
Pastor, L. : The History of the Popes, London, 1891	205, 240
Pastorini (Bishop Walmsley) : General History of the Christian Church, London, 1798	455, 456
Pestalozzi, C. : Heinrich Bullinger, Elberfalde, 1558	318, 323
Petersen, J. E. : Anleitung zum griindlichen Verstàndnis der Often-
barung, Frankfurt, 1696	406
Petersen, J. W. : Schriftgemasse Erklarung der 1,000 Jahre, 1690	405
------ :	Wolken von Zeugen, 1696	406
-----:	Das Geheimnis der Wiederbringung, Frankfurt, 1700	406
-----:	Schliissel zur Offenbarung, 1718	407
Petrarch : Epistulas sine titulo Opera, Basel, 1621	203
■—— : L'v^ra Babilonia (see Dollinger’s Prophecies)	202
l/Patri, J.· B. : Atfíschlusz der Zahlen Daniels und der Offb., Offenbach,
1709	¿7״ם j	464
-----:	Das nahe tausendjahrige Reich Christi, Offenbach, 1769	465
,·---:	Griindlicher Beweis, dass die Wiederkunft Christi auf
Erden und das Ende des Antichrists zu einer und gleichen Zeit geschehen, Offenbach, 1776 r
-----:	Die Offenbarung Jesu Christi, Offenbach, 1776
-----:	Griindlicher Beweis zur Auflôsung der Gesichter und Zahlen
Daniels und der Offenbarung Offb., 1784
-----:	Das herrliche Reich Christi in der Nâhe und Kiirze zu erwarten,
Offenbach, 1714
Philaret : Geschichte der Kirche Russlands, Frankfurt, a. M. 1892 Pipping, H. : Arcana Bibl. Thomanæ, Leipzig, 1703 Piscator, J. : Comraentarius, New Testament, Herborn, 1658 Pius VL und sein Pontifikat, Hamburg, 1800 Prager, L. : Die Offb. Joh., Leipzig., 1901 Pratt, J. : Christian Review, 1828 Prëssel, Th. : Nic. v. Amsdorf, Elberfeld, 1862 Prinz, J. : Die Kolonien der Briidergemeinde, Moskau, 1898
466
466
4r>5
466 238 302
371
480
570
507
314 ׳313 529 ,490 ,89^ 369 ,368 520 100
Prol, A. : Babylon, Leipzig, 1632 Prophetic^Dates (Anonym.), 1830 (Irvingite) iProsper Àquitanus : M.P.S.L.
----: On the Promises and Prophecies of the Holy Scriptures :
M.P.S.L.	101-103
Purvey, John : Commentary on the Apocalypse (Ante Centum Annos), Wittenberg, 1528	212-213
Pusey, E. B. : Daniel the Prophet, Oxford, 1876	70, 567
R
Ranke, L. V. : The Popes of Rome, London, 1866	64, 474, 475, 480
----: Weltgeschichte, Leipzig, 1883	149, 279, 402
----: History of the Reformation in Germany, London, 1845	279
Ration, J. J. L. : The Apocalypse, London, 1913	31, 2^8, 552, 360, 561
617
LIST OF AUTHORS
Riezler, S. : Die literarischen Widersacher des Papsttums, Leipzig,
1874	197
Revolutionsalmanach, Gottingen, 1794	r	!	476
Rjbeira, F. : In S. Joannis Apocalysin, Antwerpen, 1623	347, 348
Richard, G. (Bampton Lectures) : The Divine Origin of Prophecy illustr. and defended, 1800	482
Richter, H. : Erklarte Hausbibel, Barmen, 1839	529, 530
Rickeby, S. J. : The modern Papacy,Cath. Truth Society, London 479, 480 Ritschl, A. : Geschichte des Pietismus, Bonn, 1880	288, 404, 447
Rôhrbom, C. T. : Hôchst wichtige Weissagungen, Stuttgart, 1832	527
Rohrbacher-Hiilskamp : Universalgeschichte der christlichen, Kirche 559 Rômer, C. : Kirchliche Geschichte Wiirttembergs, Stuttgart, 1865	412
vftoos, M. F. : Auslegung Daniels, Leipzig, ijTjr.	■'>r^	, *>M57
ל: -^יי7ך Deutliche Erklàrung der Ofïenbarung, 1789	w7#V457
•------: Beleuchtung der gegenwartigen grossen Begebenheiten durch
das prophetische Wort, 1794	478
----: Einleitung in die bibl. Geschichten, Stuttgart, 1857	457
Rougemont, F. : Die Ofïenbarung Johannes, Gotha, 1869	402, 579
Russel, C. T. : Millennial Dawn, London, 1891	590, 591
Rym, W. W. : Word of Warning, London, 1831	513
----: Thoughts on Millenarianism, London, *829-31	513
Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich., 1851	589
8
Sachse, C. : D. B. Hubmaier, Berlin, 1914	270, 287
Sachse, J. F. : The German Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, 1895	434-438
Sackur, E. : Sybillinische Texte,	Halle, 1898	131
Salimbene (Monachi Historia)	179
Salvian, Monk of Gaul : God’s Government, London, 1700	100, 101
i Sander, )L : ^eisiLph einer Erklàrung der Ofïenbarung, Stuttgart,
527 .526	’“29?1״ '
----: Das Tier in der Ofïenbarung Johannis, Elberfeld, 1849	575
Savanarola, G. : Life, London, 1843	236, 237
Schaff, Philip : History of the Christian Church, Edinburgh, 1889
(1) Ante-Nicene Christianity,	33, 38, 39, 42, 46, 47, 54, 70
(2) Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity.	76, 85, 96, ιού, in, 120, 125
(3)	Mediaeval Christianity	in, 123, 126, 142, 143, 173
(4)	German Reformation 247, 251, 232, 257, 258, 260, 262, 274, 279
(5)	Swiss Reformation	327, 329, 331
Schmidt, C. : Ph. Melanchthon, Elberfeld, 1861	264
Schrôkh, J. M. : ChristUçhe^J^chengeschichte, Leipzig, 1779	130, 167, 168
Schulthess, J. : Huldreich Zwinglis Werke, Zürich, 1S2S-42	269, 270
Schwenckfeld, Caspar : Vom christlichen Sabbat, 1539	285
Scofield, C. J : Reference Bible, Oxford, 1917	31
Scotch Confession of Faith, 1581	353
Sears, Clara, E. : Days of Delusion, 1924	541
Second Advent : Harbinger (R. Winter), London, 1844	546
LIST OF AUTHORS
618
467
586
44fi
551
Seed, T. A. : John and Mary Fletcher, London Seisz, J. A. :, The .Apocalypse, London, 1882 ■׳׳Seitz, J Entsiegelte Offenbarung, 1716
: Griindliche Untersuchung, ob die 2300 Abend-Morgen Dan. 8,
14, so viele eigentliche Tage oder so viele Jahre, 1718	* 446 :;:יי
- ---: Jes. 6, ii: Hen־, wie lange? Dan. 8, 13, 14, 1718	446
-*־--: Kurzer Entwurf des apocalyptischen Systems, 1719	446
-----: Ermahnung und Aufforderung an den geistlichen Lehrstand,
447	. ס^וץ 1723
Selnecker, Erklarung Daniels, 1567	340
Semler, J. S. : Neue Untersuchungen über die Apocalypse, Halle,
177b	455
Servetus, Michael : Restitution of Christianity, 1553	328, 329
Seventh-Day Baptists in Europe and America, Plainfield, N. J., 1910	539
Shenvin, William : Irenicon, London, 1665	393
—	: Ftodro.mQS, .London, 1674	393, 394
394
394
394
394
40
47f)
-----: A Scheme of the Holy Book of Revelation, 1671
-----: A Plain and Evident Discovery of the Two Personal Comings
of Christ
-----: The Saints Rising ... at First Blessed Resurrection, Lon-
don, 1674
-----: The Everlasting Gospel, 1671
Sibylline Oracles, London, 1813, translated by J. Floyer Smith, E. : Key to the Revelation, New York, 1833	475
Smith, Uriah : Thoughts on Daniel and Revelation, Battle Creek,
Mich., 1887	589,	590
Snow, S. S. : True	Midnight	Cry,	1844	541,	542
Socrates : Ecclesiastical History, London, 1853	78
Sozomen : History of the Church, London, 1846	103
Spalding, Joshua:	Sentiments,	1796	387,	534
Spence, William ; .	1,	239
Spe&ef, P. J. : Fromme Wiinsche, 1675	403
-----: Behauptung der Hoffnung besserer Zeiten, Frankfurt,
Spitta, Fr. : Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Halle, 1880 Spitzel, Th. : Examen Vaticinii, Augsburg, 1665 /Stiefel,-M. : Vom Ende der Welt, Frankfurt ^
Stilling, Jung- : Die Siegesgeschichte, Nürnberg, 1799
-----: Grauer Mann, Werke, Stuttgart, 184142־
-----: Chrysaeon, Werke, 1817
Stokmann, G. : Reichsgeschichtliche Auslegung der Giitersloh, 1919
Storrs, G. : Six Sermons on Future Punishment	539
-----: MicUfight Cry, 1844	536, 542
Stoughton,^: Ecclesiastical History, London, 1867-74	378
Strindberg, Aug. : Historische Miniaturen, München, 1898	144
Strobel, G. Ï£. : Neue Beitràge zur Literatur, Nürnberg, 1790	260
Stuart, M. : Hints on the Interpretation of Prophecy, Andover, 1842	581
■----: On the Apocalypse, 1845	281
Sulpitius Severüfc : Sacred History, Wace and Schaff	9&, 99
1693
4°7 572 398 302 481, 526 449, 492 492
Offenbarung,
57s. 579
619
LIST OF AUTHORS
PAGE
456
456
56I
Swedenborg, Immanuel : Arcana Celestia, 1747
----: The True Christian Religion
Swete, H. B. : Commentary on the Apocalypse, 1906
Tanner, J. : Daniel and Revelation. The Chart of Prophecy and
our Place in it, London, 1898	570, 571
Tatian of Assyria : ANchr. Library	38
Taylor, D. T. : The Reign of Christ on Earth, Boston, 1883	239, 337, 374,
596 ,593 ,591 ,386־584 ,567 ,537 ,531 ,510 ,398 ,392 ,389 ,388
Taylor, L. : Essay of some Important Passages of the Revelation
Compared with Daniel, Edinburgh, 1770	467
Tertullian : ANchr. Library	4246־
Theodoret : Ecclesiastical History, Wace and Schaff	65, 77, 78
Theophilus of Antochia : ANchr. Library	38
Thube, Ch. : Das Buch des Propheten Daniels, Schwerin, 1797	475, 481, 486
Tillinghast, John : Knowledge of the Times, London, 1654	390
-----: Generation Work. A Key to Unlock the Mystical Numbers
391
379, 380, 391 480, 481 414 546
114 ,83־80

190
284
of Daniel and Revelation, London, 1655
----: Last Sermons, 1656
Trevor, G. : Rome, London, 1869
Turrctin, F. : Institutia theol. Eleucticæ, Geneva, 167985־ Twelve Clergymen's Lectures at Bloomsbury, 1843 Tychonius, On Revelation, see Elliot, H. A.
,	* ■'	u
Ubertino di Casale : Arbor Vitæ crucifixæ, Venice, 1585 Uhlhorn, G. : Urbanus Regius, Elbcrfcld, 1861
V
Vaughan, E. T. : The Church’s Expectation, Leicester, 1828	508, 516
Vaughan, R. : The Life and Opinions of John Wyclif, London, 1882	209, 508
Victorinus, Bishop of Petau : In Apocalpsin ANchr. Library	5456־
ViegasJBlasius : Comment, exeg. in Apocalpsin, 155() f ^ ^ ^348, 349 Vitringa, C. : AnaJcnsTs "Xpocï, '״WeissÊhfelS,' 1721	'	621
Vogt,' C. A. T. : Johannes Bugcnhagcn (Pommcranus), Elberfeld,
'iSfjf'’'	315 »314 / ך״
W
Walahfried Strabo, Glossæ, M.P.S.L.	139
Warburton, Bishop, Works	305, 306, 596
Way, L. : Thoughts on the Scriptural Expectations of the Christian
Church, London, 1820	500
י---: Flight out of Babylon, London, 1822	501
—— : Latter Rain, London, 1822	501
LIST OF AUTHORS
620
PAGE
Way, L. : Palingenesia The World to Come, Paris-London, 1824	502
----: Thoughts, German Translation, Hamburg, 1830	528
Wesley, Charles : Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy
Scriptures	463
\Vesley, John: Explanatory’ Notes on the New Testament, London,
1755	458, 459
----: Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765	459
Wette De : Erklárung der Offb., Leipzig, 1848	572, 573
Wetzei und Welte : Kirchenlexikon, Freiburg i. Br., 1882-1903	96, 97, 117
Whiston William : Essay of Revelation, 1706	440, 441, 443, 454
Whitaker, E. W. : General View of the Prophecy, 1795 White, Ellen: Experience and Views (E.W.), Battle Creek, Mich.,
1894
----: Great Controversy (G.C.), Mountain View, Cal., 1911
White, James: A Word to the Little Flock, Brunswick, Me., 1847 Whittier, J. G. : Works Wyclif, J. : Trialogus
----: Sermons
•----:	The Wickett
-----:	Dialogues
----: De veritate Sacræ Scripturæ Leipzig, 1904
----: On Antichrist
----: Last Age of the Church, Dublin, 1890
:Wijigand, J. : Danielis Prophetæ Explicatio, Jena, 1571 *	Λ
Wilcox, F. M. : Divine Revelation, Takoma Park, D.C., 1931 Williams, Roger : The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, London,
398 ,386־384	1644
----: The Bloudy Tenent yet more Bloudy, 1551	387
- Wilson, Bishop of Madras	543
Winkelmann, J. : Comment, in Apocalypsin, Frankfurt, 1615	365
W.ittig, Joseph : Das Papsttum, Hamburg	136, 137
Wolff, Joseph : Travels and Adventures, London, 1861 506, 520, 521,531, 532 Wood, Hans (under M.D.) : The Revelation of St. John, London,
495
589
590
588 439 209 212 209 211 208 211
״WO
59O
I787	47O, 47I
Workman, Η. B. : John Wyclif, Oxford, 1926	210, 211
------- : The Dawn of the Reformation, London, 1901	212
Wrexham: Chronological Talent '	372
Wuilleret De : Apocalypse, Paris, 1856	558, 559
Wurm, J. T. : Ueber die Beweisgriinde, Stuttgart, 1832	527
Wiirttemberger Kirchengeschichte	490
Wylie, J. A. : The Great Exodus, London, 1862.	331334־
573
49, 50, 573
Zahn, Dr. Th : New Testament, 1907 ----: Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Leipzig, 1924
621
APPENDIX
Bishop J\ Bossuet, a highly educated Jesuit, who, as an accomplished [ courtier, layrifil· the -revocation of the privileges of the Huguenots as the I best use of royal rights, employed his skill in writing a commentary on Revelation (1688). On pp. 303487־ he sharply attacked Jurieu’s alleged ',fulfilments. The Protestants he stated had desecrated the Apocalypse by declaring that they found the Antichrist in the saintly popes, and the error , of his idolatries in the Divine Catholic worship. In.his opinion Pag^n Rome haifulfiiled these predictions. The Catholic Church, he declared, had brought about the Millennium, but the Albigenses, numerous as Gog and Magog, had besieged the Catholic Church, i.e. the New Jerusalem. The papal Anathe-mas were the fire from heaven by which these heretics were consumed
(P· 254)·
J. Marchius of Holland had issued (1689) a large commentary on the Apocalypse, defending the Augustinian idea of the Millennium.
C. Vitringa, his successor in the reformed theological school at Franecker attracted by his fame many students. In his " Anakrisis Ajpocalypseos ” he (1705) interpretated Revelation 19 to be a spiritual conflict and a victory over mystic Babylon, the Roman Church. In the two beasts of Revelation 13 he saw the pope and his hierarchy, the image being the inquisition, the mark the obedience yielded to this false faith. He quoted many papal decrees for-bidding trading with the heretics to prove the exact fulfilment of Rev. 13 : 17 (pp. 616624־). The three messages had been preached in the three stages of the Reformation (pp. 655660־). Up to 1721 three Latin and a Dutch translation of Vitringa spread the idea of a spiritual millennium ~ brought ¡ about by a complete victory of the Reformed Church.
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