tion of that conspiracy of federal kings, of which he openly avows himself the head; and which, after the effusion of the sixth vial and the overthrow of the Ottoman empire*, will begin to be gathered together by secret diabolical agency to their destruction at Megiddo. We need only look to what is passing on the great stage of the Latin empire; and we shall require no comment on the predicted confederacy of the beast under his last head, the false prophet, and the kings of the Roman earth. St. John teaches us to expect such a confederacy after the sounding of the third woe-trumpet, after the horrors of the bolical harvest, while the blazing sun of military despotism is scorching with an intolerable heat the degraded Latin empire, in the last days of blasphemous infidelity; and we now see the commencement of its formation. sym While the faithful maritime power is engaged in converting one great division of the Jews, with a view perhaps to their ultimate restoration; the Antichristian confederacy will take under its protection another great division of the Jews, and will prepare to direct its arms against Palestine, in order to restore them in an unconverted state (and that for mere political purposes) to the country of their forefathers. Daniel has given us a wonderfully minute account of the progress of this Antichristian confederacy to Palestine; which, as might naturally be expected from the circumstance of the maritime power commanding at sea, is plainly by land. Antichrist, in his attempt to invade the holy land from his empire in the West, must necessarily pass through Turkey. In whose hands Greece and Asia Minor will then be, no one can *That the exhaustion of the waters of the Euphrates means the subversion of the Ottoman empire, is sufficiently manifest from the analogy of the apocalyp tic language. If the issuing forth of the four angels from the Euphrates with an innumerable body of cavalry, under the sixth trumpet, denote, as it plainly does, the rise of the Turkish monarchy; then, unless we suppose St. John to be utterly inconsistent with himself, the exhaustion of that same Euphrates must denote its subversion. But see my Dissert. on the 1260 years, Vol. 11. p. 344 et infra. (2d. edit. p. 381.) It is possible, that the maritime power may at first attempt to convert the Jews without any specific design of restoring them. Its restoration of them may be undertaken in consequence of Antichrist's project of restoring the unconverted Jews. But respecting such points as these we can at present merely conjecture. at present with certainty determine: but this we know, that the Ottoman empire itself will have been previously overthrown at the beginning of the effusion of the sixth vial. In this attempt, Antichrist will meet with some opposition from a king of the south, and with a most determined and formidable resistance from a king of the north, who will come against him like a whirlwind with chariots and horsemen and many ships; with the last, most probably to prevent his crossing into Asia. Yet, in spite of all their attempts, he shall enter into the countries, overflowing them like a resistless torrent; and, the prophet specially adds, shall pass over; meaning, perhaps, over the streights which divide Asia from Europe, and which the northern potentate shall vainly attempt to block up with his ships. This great northern power I have already conjectured to be Russia*: and, the more I have since thought upon the subject, the more I am inclined to adhere to my first opinion. What state is meant by the king of the south, we have not as yet, I think, sufficient grounds to determine. Antichrist, having now passed over the streights, rapidly advances into the glorious land or Palestine, overthrowing and pillaging many countries by the way. Such then being his route, he must necessarily enter into the holy land from the north: accordingly this dreadful invasion is more than once described as proceeding from the north. Like a vast flight of locusts, his armies cover the face of the whole country, devouring and wasting, with their accustomed rapacity, all the productions of nature. Unsated by victory, he still meditates new conquests. After placing his allies, the unconverted Jews, in Jerusalem and its vicinity, he now directs his steps towards Egypt. Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon however, escape out of his hand. For this they have to thank, not his moderation and clemen cy, but merely their local situation. A map will best explain the reason of their security. The districts, which those nations formerly occupied, lie so far to the east, as * See my Dissert. on the 1260 years. Vol. 1. p. 356. (2d. Edit. p. 400.) to be entirely out of the way of any army which is passing from Judea into Egypt. But over other countries, more closely adjoining to Egypt, he will stretch forth his hand: and, while Egypt is unable to escape his marauding rapacity, those, whom Daniel calls the Lubim and the Cushim, shall be compelled to attend his steps, and probably either augment his armies * or perform the most menial offices in his camp. In the midst of his African conquests, he is troubled by tidings out of the east and out of the north. What these tidings are, Daniel does not positively determine : but the subsequent context shews, that they must relate to the approach of some new enemies, and to some disagreeable intelligence respecting Jerusalem. From these data, and by the assistance of other parallel prophecies, we may form no improbable conjecture at least respecting those tidings out of the east and out of the north, which are described as so grievously troubling Antichrist. We left the great maritime power, preparing to bring by sea its allies, the converted Jews, as a present to the Lord of hosts, to mount Zion. Now, in whatever part of the world this power may be situated, whether far beyond the eastern or the western Cushean streams, it is plain that its navy can only approach Palestine by the way of the Mediterranean sea. Such then will indisputably be its course. The maritime expedition at length reaches Palestine: but the converted Jews, and their naval protectors, find themselves opposed by the unconverted Jews, and the troops which Antichrist had left behind him to garrison Jerusalem and other strong-holds. Apparently after no trifling bloodshed, and (if I judge rightly from some prophccies) when the converted Jews had suffered very considerably, the eyes of their unconverted brethren will unexpectedly be opened; they will look upon him whom they had pierced; and, throwing off the base yoke of Antichrist, they will cordially join such of their nation. as had embraced Christianity, and had allied themselves * We have already beheld the tyrant take into his pay, as body guards those foreign mercenaries, the Mamalucs. to the faithful maritime power. At the period when these events happen, and that they will happen is revealed with sufficient clearness, we may suppose Antichrist to be in Egypt and Libya: for to what other time, in the course of his whole progress, can we with equal propriety ascribe them? Thus situated, he would plainly receive the intelligence from the north and from the east. From the north and the north-east he would learn, by means of some light vessels, first that the navy of the maritime power was approaching, and afterwards that it had safely reached the coast of Palestine: from the east he would learn, by means of his own fugitive troops which had been stationed in Judea, that the maritime power had completely succeeded in its first attempt, that it had brought back a large body of converted Jews, and that those who had been restored by Antichrist in an unconverted state had suddenly embraced the faith of protestant Christianity, and had revolted from him to their already believing brethren *. Unless we admit, that either this, or something like it, will be the case; we shall find it no easy matter to account for the fury with which Antichrist is represented, as returning into Judea which he had already subdued, and as besieging Jerusalem which he had already given to his allies the unconverted Jews. For, that certain unbelieving Jews will be converted in Jerusalem, is plainly asserted by Zechariah : and, that the city will afterwards be besieged and taken, is asserted both by Zechariah and Daniel. But all those Jews, who are restored by the maritime power, will return in a converted state; as is manifest from the language used by Isaiah and Zephaniah. By whom then can the unconverted Jews have been restored, except by Antichrist, who will make himself master of the whole land of Palestine? And why should he afterwards besiege them in Jerusalem, except on account of their conversion mentioned by Zechariah, and their revolt from his cause? For, if they had not revolted from him after * A map will explain, how to any person in Egypt news from Palestine must come from the north and the east. their conversion, no reason can be assigned why he should so bitterly attack them. Troubled with such unpleasant tidings from the east and from the north, Antichrist hastily quits Egypt and Libya, and retraces his steps to Judea. Going forth in the height of his fury, he threatens to destroy all such as should oppose him: and, calling in the aid of Popish bigotry, he sanctifies his expedition by representing it as a holy crusade against heretics; and, with banners blessed by the false prophet who (as we have reason to believe from the Apocalypse *) will be his attendant †, he devotes many to utter extermination under the blasphemous pretext of religion. His wonted success at first attends him. He besieges Jerusalem now occupied by his enemies, and takes it. Here he exercises his usual barbarity; a barbarity, increased ten-fold by the defection of his late allies. The houses are rifled, and the women are ravished, by his licentious soldiery. Half of the inhabitants are made captive: but the other half are per-. mitted still to remain in the city, under the control most probably of a strong garrison. Thus does he plant the curtains of his tents between the seas in the glorious holy mountain and thus is Jerusalem, now for the last time, trodden down of the Gentiles. During these disasters, the troops of the maritime power appear to have retreated towards the sea-shore, in order that they may be able to regain their ships, if all further resistance should prove fruitless. Here they would doubtless be joined by the great body of their allies, the first converted Jews, and by such of those that were afterwards converted, as were able to effect their escape from the rage of Antichrist. To this devoted host the tyrant now directs his attention. Anticipating an easy victory over his last enemies, either by suddenly cutting them off from their ships, or by compelling them to re-embark, and with proud exultation looking forward *See Rev. xix. 19, 20. Mr. Whitaker conjectures, that the seat of the Papacy will be finally removed to Jerusalem. (Comment. on Rev. p. 443.) I think his conjecture by no means improbable. The remarkable passage, contained in Rev. xix. 19, 20, seems at least to favour the belief, that the power of the Papacy, no less than that of Antichrist, will be broken in Palestine. |