Latin powers, and it will be their apparent interest to coalesce with France, making a political convenience of the Pope. He will induce them to attack Russia in and for Jerusalem. These are the [final] great words of the little horn." The recent war, urged on by Jesuit influence, is an example of the same influence urging on the three powers to this attempt. In so doing, they will be the beast, and the Pope the false prophet of Revelation xix. 20, as well as "the king of the south" of this place. Their end is described in that passage of the Apocalypse. It is overlooked here, probably, in order to fix our attention entirely on the king of the north.

He comes like a whirlwind against "the beast and the false prophet," and so fulfils Ezekiel xxxviii. 9: "Thou shalt ascend, and come like a storm: thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou and all thy bands, and many peoples with thee."

"The king of the north" comes with chariots and with horsemen, and with many ships. It is significant that "the Eastern Question" at this moment is the desire of Russia to have ships of war in the Black Sea. "He shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over," i.e., beyond them. Russia shall enter into Turkey and Persia and other lands, and go onwards to Palestine, here called "the land of the Roe," as we have already seen. "Many countries shall be overthrown." They are subsequently unwilling confederates in going into the Holy Land, and this explains why it is said, Be thou a guard unto them," i.e., Be on thy guard against them (Ezek. xxxviii. 7).

66

D

Edom and Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon escape out of his hand. The probable cause is twofold: he will be occupied in Egypt and the coast of Africa, and so will neglect the unattractive lands east of the Jordan; also British influence shall spread from India, as we shall see in Ezekiel xxxviii. 13. He shall go westward of Palestine; for Egypt, with her precious things, shall fall into his hands, and also the Libyans and Ethiopians, i.e., the north coast of Africa and both sides of the Red Sea.

Russia will thus be in apparently irresistible power, France, with her Latin allies, including the Pope, completely crushed, and the unwilling nations compelled to accompany her into Palestine. Just at this moment the Russian emperor will be troubled by tidings out of the East and out of the North. The nature of these is explained in Ezekiel xxxviii. 13. It is the challenge of Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish, with all their young lions. England, with her forces both from the North and from the East Indies, in common with her offshoots in her colonies and her descendants in the United States, shall threaten Russia. Instead of yielding, Russia will hasten to Palestine with greater fury. Her emperor shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas (i.e., between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea), in the glorious holy mountain (the holy mountain of the Roc).

This is the siege of Jerusalem of Zechariah xiv. 1, where we learn the measure of success which he shall have. "Half of the city shall go forth into captivity," &c.

"He shall come to

There, however, his success ends. his end, and none shall help him." The manner of this is given in Ezekiel xxxviii. 21; "Every man's sword shall be against his brother." It was so in the days of Midian, and Isaiah predicts the similarity of this day, chap. xi. 4, 5. As Midian fell by the cry, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon," so this king of the north shall fall by the sword which proceedeth out of the mouth of Him that is seated upon the horse (Rev. xix. 21).

When one looks by the light of God's Word at the present political struggle amongst the nations, how awful is the folly of human wisdom! Russia has her designs in the East, Prussia in the North, France in the West, the Jesuits and the Italians in the South, English Romanising and democratic politicians—all striving and planning and plotting and warring for what is within twenty-five years to be as the chaff upon the threshingfloor! Such also is every individual who lays himself out for anything short of this-How may I be like Christ, and in everlasting companionship with him?

GOG.

THE preceding papers are upon the times of the Gentiles as given in the Book of Daniel, omitting those parts which belong more especially to the restoration of the Jews. Let us now come to the aspect of the same subject presented to us in the 38th chapter of Ezekiel.

"And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of Roos, Meshech, and Tubal.”

Ezekiel was amongst the captives of Chebar. To the north of him, at no great distance, was the ancient Scythia, here called the land of Magog. He was commanded to look towards it, and to address its king, who was seen by him in vision, as if it were a living reality.

“Say, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the prince of Roos, Meschech, and Tubal.” The LXX translators, followed by the Vulgate, take UN as a proper name, and not as an adjective, "chief." The Greek spelling is also Mosoch and Thobol. These are the native names for Moscow and Tobolsk. It is remarkable that in the third century before Christ the LXX should have taken Roos for a proper name. At that time no human sagacity could have foreseen what an important part in the world's history the Roos were to play as the predominant tribe in the Russian empire, the ancient Muscovy. The prophet goes on to say, “And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company, with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords."

This is the king of the north of Daniel, and the northern army of Joel ii. 20. His power is to compel unwilling nations to go with him.

“Persia, Ethiopia, and Lybia with them; all of them with shield and helmet.”

The geographical distribution here is instructive.

Persia was conterminous with Scythia in its northern parts, and with Ethiopia in its southern. Ethiopia extended to both sides of the Red Sea, and on its African side was conterminous with Phut, or Lybia, running round the southern and western borders of Egypt, and along the northern coast of Africa.

We then have :

"Gomer, and all his bands, the house of Togarmah of the north quarters and all his bands, and many peoples with them."

There is, for our present time, a solemn uncertainty about all the bands of Gomer. The Crimea was probably called from him. His descendants settled along the south-western coasts of the Black Sea. They also spread extensively westwards. Denmark, or rather Jutland, was anciently the Kimmerian Bosphorus. All the bands of Gomer will probably include Prussia, and perhaps all the German Empire in this confederacy. The Welsh people also are called Cymry, from Gomer, but happily we are enabled to exclude them, as they belong to England as Tarshish.

There seems here to be an intimation of Germany uniting with Russia in this eastern invasion. Togarmah is Armenia, and all his bands include Georgia, Kurdistan, &c.

Such is the world-wide confederacy here seen in vision by Ezekiel. He dares Gog to the attempt: "Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them." In this last admonition there is implicitly