TURKISH OUTRAGES IN ARMENIA-THE EASTERN QUESTION.
In our previous paper we spoke of the threatening condition of affairs in the East, and how, even from a human point of view, war seems inevitable. Since then nothing has transpired to relieve the strain-quite the reverse; so that the new year has opened with war possibilities in almost every quarter of the globe :the misunderstandings of England and the United States ; England and Germany, with France and Russia as possible allies; Cuba's continued fight for separation from Spain; the perpetual unrest in the South American republics:-all these show how vain is the thought of universal peace, as man now is.
Even if the threatenings of war do not materialize; even if much has been exaggerated by the papers, – ever ready for sensation,-does it not all show the desire, the expectation of the world for war? We know, for Scripture tells us, what the heart of the natural man is; and "who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" Man's heart is full of murder and hatred ; it is selfish and violent; and until born again we can expect nothing but evil from it.
The world-wide disturbance has drawn the attention somewhat from the East; but further news confirms all that had been previously said of the havoc wrought in Armenia. We pass, however, from the page of present history, as it is being written, in darker and darker lines, to that of prophecy in the inspired word of God. which foretold all this, and much more; and which, beyond the dark, shows the light of a "morning without clouds" soon to dawn upon this world. Surely every godly, thoughtful mind will turn from the dark and unsettled present to the bright future that lies beyond. How and when is the era of peace to begin ?
Our first answer has already been given :not by the gradual spread of the gospel, and the corresponding uplifting of the nations of the world. We might as well expect to see the sinner gradually improve until his nature is changed, as to expect the same in the world. It is strange that those who are clear enough as to immediate conversion, the necessity for regeneration, etc., should be believers in an opposite doctrine when conversion on a larger scale is the subject. No, the coming of the Lord is the proper and only hope of the Church-to take His beloved people out of the world, to be forever with Himself.
When the Church is thus taken up, there will be left behind a vast mass of profession which will soon cast off even the name of Christian. "For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie " (2 Thess. 2:10). Evidently from this mass there is no hope for the regeneration of the world, only the proof that it is ripe for judgment a judgment which takes place "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty an-gels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 1:7, 8).
What we are to expect, then, after the taking up of the Church, is a period of confusion, apostasy, and violence, closed only by the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ in judgment, who will then set up His kingdom in power, and all the blessed fruits of the millennial reign will be manifest. "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. . . . For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. . . Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened. . . . And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matt. 24:7, 8, 21, 29, 30). "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all the kindreds of the earth (tribes of the land, Gk.) shall wail because of Him " (Rev. 1:7).
Thus will the events of the last days be introduced. It is a scene of awful judgment inflicted upon enemies by the Lord in person. (See, also, Rev. 19:ii-21.) "Clouds and darkness are round about Him:righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne. A fire goeth before Him, and burneth up His enemies round about" (Ps. 97:2, 3). "Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach Thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies. . . . Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever" (Ps. 45:3-6).
As to the results of these judgments and the glories of the Lord's kingdom, Scripture is beautifully explicit. "He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass :as showers that water the earth. In His days shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth " (Ps. 72:6, 7). "With righteousness shall He judge the poor, . . . and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. . . . The wolf also shall dwell with the. lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. . . . They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain :for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea " (Isa, 11:4, 6, 9). "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. . . . The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon:they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God" (Isa. 35:1, 2).
But we must turn from the fascination of quoting these precious scriptures to fill in a few details, for which we trust the reader is now prepared, and which, drawn from the same inspired source, give us a complete view of what shall take place on the earth in the last days.
The first important point of detail is that this kingdom of Christ on earth will be at Jerusalem, with Israel as His chosen people. "Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion " (Ps. 2:6). " Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, . . . the city of the great King" (Ps. 48:2). "Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem " (Isa. 2:3). This will take place after Israel has been scattered as a nation, and then recovered. "In that day, saith the Lord, I will assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; and I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation; and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever" (Mic. 4:6, 7). See, also, Isa. 11:10-16; Ezek. 36:24, etc.
But we find from the prophecies as to the last days, that only a remnant will be faithful, while the mass of the nation, even after the restoration to the land, will abide in unbelief, even while they have the temple and their religious worship. It is this apostasy of the mass of the nation which opens the way for their reception of the antichrist-the man of sin, the false prophet, who comes in his own name (2 Thess. 2:3-10; Rev. 13:11-18; John 5:43.) It is the persecution of the antichrist and his followers that calls forth the prayers and causes the exercises of the remnant who do turn to God, so frequently before us in the book of Psalms (Ps. 10:, 11:, 12:, etc.), and which is terminated by the bright appearing of the Lord to judge for the meek, and to deliver them from the oppressor, as we have already seen.
This, in briefest outline, is what the prophetic word puts before us. The reader is earnestly requested to examine the subject at length,* and to prove the truth of what we have said. *Elementary instruction on the subject will be found in " Papers on the Lord's Coming," and other excellent tracts; while more extended discussion will be found in " Plain Papers on Prophetic Subjects," to be had of the publishers of this magazine.* It is a matter of deepest interest to us that the beginnings of this are already taking place. The Jews are returning in great numbers, and, alas ! in dark unbelief, to their land. The hatred of them in Russia and Germany is too well known to need more than a passing allusion ; while the possibility of their national rehabilitation is being discussed by men who know little of and care less for prophecy. We need hardly say that the longing for their "pleasant land" is deep in the hearts of multitudes, and their faces are "toward Jerusalem." Even the wealthy,-and the wealth of the world is largely in Hebrew hands,-if not personally desirous of going there, have a national pride, and would liberally aid the returning multitudes ; while the nations of Europe, in hatred or love, would hasten their departure from their midst as in Egypt's day of old. (Isaiah, eighteenth and sixtieth chapters.)
Meanwhile Turkey's hold is fast relaxing; and in the speedy dismemberment of that empire, what is more likely, even to the man of the world, than that the Jews should come into their own again? All seems to hang upon a thread which, when it snaps, is well-nigh sure to bring about what we have been considering. And when we turn to the sure word of prophecy, we see, not speculation, but divine certainty, as to the facts of the future. As to the manner of their introduction, we cannot dogmatize ; as to the facts, they are in the eternal word of God.
But, beloved fellow-Christian, where shall we be when these events take place ?-toiling, suffering on the earth ? Nay, but in that glory with our blessed Lord, for whom we wait (i Thess. 1:9, 10). Before He lets loose His judgments, and resumes definite dealings with His earthly people the Jews (enemies for our sakes-Rom. 11:28), the Church will have been caught away, forever with and like the Lord. How bright the prospect! and as we look forward to it, and think, too, of a groaning earth, may not each heart cry, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus"?
It remains for us to see the place the nations occupy in the page of prophecy, and to gather from that inspired source, light to examine the events now happening. We offer no apology for treating in an elementary way these most important themes. They are discussed primarily for the sake of those unacquainted with prophetic truth, while the most deeply-taught ever delight to have their minds turned afresh to God's precious truth.
(To be continued.)