Part IX
The old testament prophecies make frequent reference to the day when Yahweh will rise up and take vengeance upon those who are beseiging Jerusalem and we are used to connecting these references with the Battle of Armageddon. It is difficult to separate Armageddon from the final conflict. Ezekiel 38 and 39 are well known to us as descriptions of Armageddon, and here the magnitude of the conflict is demonstrated by the statement that it will take 7 months to bury the dead, and 7 years1 to burn up all the wood in the weapons of Israel’s enemies.
The Indignation
If you open your concordance, and look up all the passages where the word “indignation” occurs in the A.V. of the Old Testament, you will find that ten or a dozen probably refer to the period when God sets out to destroy his enemies. Most of these could be associated with Armageddon, or they could equally refer to a later worldwide war of conquest. The Indignation is definitely at the era when the resurrection takes place—it does not refer to some event in the past: for example, see Isa. 26. 19, 20. The Jews had a custom of reading the scripture in the synagogues in Hebrew first, then, because only the priests could understand it, it was translated into the common language—Aramaic2. In Isa. 10. 27, where the A.V. reads “because of the anointing”, the Jews (in the “Targum”) used to read, “because of the Messiah”, and this is at the time of the “indignation”3.
It would be quite reasonable to suppose that the “Indignation.’ covers the whole of the Divine warfare from the beginning of Armageddon until the end of the conquest of the world.
Bro. Thomas, firmly convinced that our Lord would return about 1868-1870, seems to have “saved time” by telescoping Armageddon and the final conflict into one. He therefore visualized Russia as the head of the armies of the world fighting against Jesus, and therefore expected Russia to take Constantinople and thus fit herself into the “Apocalyptic” scheme, the final stage of the dragon thus being representative of Russia. Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, he thought, would stand up as a temporary Fifth universal kingdom of men, the Russian phase. However, we are now doubtful of this interpretation.
Armageddon
Armageddon, we may repeat, appears to be essentially brought about by a northern Russian-inspired invasion of the land and concerns Israel particularly; therefore it naturally occupies a prominent place in Old Testament prophecy. The following conflict takes places outside of Israel; it is therefore not so important to Israel, but represents the winding up of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, and therefore occupies a very important place in the Book of the Revelation. In addition to Ezekiel, Zechariah describes Armageddon in some detail, without using that name. His twelfth chapter speaks of the Lord defending his people, who find themselves looking upon him “whom they have pierced” and in his thirteenth chapter they examine their Saviour’s wounds; chapter fourteen recounts the siege of Jerusalem more vividly, and leads on to the final establishment of the kingdom.
As already indicated, Dan. 11. 40 to chapter 12. 1 appear to refer to Armageddon, but in Dan. 11. 36 “the indignation” refers to the final end of the Roman, not Russian power.
Incidentally, Megiddo itself is sixty miles northerly from Jerusalem, so that we have the choice of assuming either, as already suggested, “Armageddon” is a symbolic name only or else the northern host is not only besieging Jerusalem, but his lines extend to Megiddo, where the initial blow falls. However, the result is the same; the destruction of the northern Russian-inspired hosts, with Jesus revealed as the champion of Israel, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Nevertheless, we are still unsatisfied because, according to the Revelation4, “all the kings of the world.’ (N.E.B.) were gathered at Armageddon.
Rome As Babylon
In Rev. 17 we are given a picture of the end of the Roman Woman, mounted on a scarlet coloured beast, which had seven heads and ten horns. We are told that the seven heads are seven hills upon which she sits; they represent also seven kings or forms of government, and the ten horns are also ten kings—whom we recognise as the ten-toe kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. Verse 18 leaves no doubt that Rome is the scarlet woman.
In John’s day the “ten kings” had not come into existence: he was told (N.E.B.), “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not begun to reign, but who for one hour are to share with the beast the exercise of royal authority; for they have but a single purpose among them and will confer their power and authority upon the beast. They will wage war upon the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and his victory will be shared by his followers, called and chosen and faithful”.
We think that this implies that following the defeat of the Russians in Palestine (Armageddon) Jesus reveals himself to the world. But the Papal system cannot tolerate a rival dictator; we thus see the reconstitution of the beast of the abyss Charlemagne’s “Holy Roman Empire” supporting the Papal image, and taking the field to destroy the One who challenges his claim to be God. Thus we see fulfilled Paul’s prophecy5: “That day cannot come before the final rebellion against God, when wickedness will be revealed in human form, the man doomed to perdition. He is the Enemy. He rises in his pride against every god, so called, every object of men’s worship, and even takes his seat in the temple of God claiming to be a god himself.” But as Daniel was told, at the time of the “indignation”, “he will come to his end”.
Thus we see the final conflict: the fulfilment also of Isaiah 24. 21 (R.S.V.) “On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on earth.” And so there will be established the “new heavens and the new earth” referred to by Isaiah, Peter and Jesus in the Revelation. Perhaps this is the third world war, the third of the frog-spirits, proceeding out of the mouth of the False Prophet. Perhaps there will not be a third world war before Jesus returns. Whichever it may be, let us be on the watch, ready to read the signs of the times, as they are Fulfilled before our eyes.
Warning Lessons
We began this series with the intention of setting forth a few of the basic principles of prophecy; but we find that we have gone beyond first principles and considered the Revelation somewhat more deeply than we first contemplated. Perhaps we may be excused on the grounds that those of you who have followed this series through are no longer “beginners”, but able to appreciate the more complicated problems. If this be the case, the writer will feel well rewarded.
However, it would be wise for us to conclude with some lessons, warnings to all would-be interpreters of prophecy.
First, let us emphasize the hazards of trying to predict the future in detail.
We have pointed out that the disciples,in their eagerness to see the kingdom established, overlooked the very simple fact that Nebuchadnezzar’s statue showed that, before this could take place, Rome must be divided, first into two leg-empires, then into ten toes. Their task would not be made any easier by the fact that Daniel’s “legs were of iron”, but not the portion of the body immediately above. Hence, a believer in the days of the third kingdom (Greece) would have confidently predicted that, when the fourth or Iron Kingdom came, it would be a dual kingdom—whereas in fact it did not become dual until nearly 500 years later.
Further, a disciple just after the days of Constantine would have asserted that, because Nebuchadnezzar’s statue must have had legs of equal length, the toe-state would be reached simultaneously in both the Eastern and the Western empires—that is, Constantinople and Rome; whereas, as we have seen, the historic fulfilment makes the east leg about 1,000 years longer than the west, before the toes are seen. Let us therefore be very cautious in our predictions, but rather be wise in looking back.
On the other hand, we must realize that there have in the past been some remarkable examples of men who correctly interpreted the nature of future events, although their timing may have been out.
Bro. Thomas in his preface to Vol. 3 of “Eureka” points out that Mede in 1627
deduced that the drying up of the river Euphrates represented the evaporation of Turkish power—which did not begin until 200 years later. Jurien, in 1685, recognised the death of the two witnesses as having been fulfilled in that year. Sir Isaac Newton recognised the “hour, a day, a month, a year” to be 391 years ending with the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The French revolution, too, was anticipated in a general way, by students of prophecy.
Dr. Thomas himself, as we well know, correctly (in Elpis Israel) predicted the British occupation of Egypt, and Britain,s sponsorship of Zionism. But even he did not foresee that the establishment of an independent Israeli state would not take place until 80 years after the date he fixed for the return of the Messiah—and that it would come about through Britain’s withdrawal, not Britain’s support.
Nevertheless we owe a great debt for the way Brother Thomas has sifted the interpretations of those who went before, rejected what was unsound and accepted what was good. We in our day must continue where he left off, recognising that he was not infallible, but that God might give us a small measure of the wisdom which he bestowed on him.
“Even so, come Lord Jesus”.
References
1—Ezek. 39. 9, 12, 14.
2—Neh. 8. 7, 8.
3—Isa. 10. 25.
4—Rev. 16. 14.
5—2 Thess 2. 3 (N.E.B.).
Daniel The Prophet – (Part 3)