Rome and Turkey in Connexion with the Second Advent

by Edward Hoare

2. That the time, times, and dividing of a time, which is to be the limit of its power, stands in prophetic figure for 1260 years.

If this be correct it gives some idea as to the duration of the second division of the last kingdom, for it shows that it must last at least 1260 years. Still more, as the Papacy is to be destroyed at the approach of the Ancient of Days, if we could only ascertain the date of its commencement we might calculate the date of the Advent. But here is the difficulty, for who can say when a horn begins to grow? and who can determine the date of the first swelling of Papal pride? It is impossible to make any such calculation, and I believe it would be wrong to attempt it. But we may still be led by the great outline to hope for the approach of that most blessed day. The horn has been growing a long time, and it is impossible to read European history without believing that the 1260 years cannot be very far from its close. Everything therefore looks like an approaching end. We have long since reached the fourth kingdom; long since reached its second, or divided period; and, though we cannot say when it took place, we have long since seen the commencement of the 1260 years of the little horn. Surely then it is high time that we be looking out for the coming of the Lord, high time that we be watching with our loins girt and our lamps burning, and we ourselves as those that wait for their Lord.

With these facts before us, I may fairly ask any thinking person, whether there is not good ground for the hope that the coming of the Lord draweth nigh? You observe I have not dwelt on minute and isolated points. I have taken the great outline of the world’s history, and compared it with the great outline of the word of prophecy. I see that the two exactly correspond. I thank God from the bottom of my heart for the evidence given of the inspiration of Scripture, for no such prophecy could have had its origin with man; and, while I thank God for such a confirmation of the faith, I cannot resist the conclusion that we have nearly reached the end of the series, that we are living in the last part of the last period of the last kingdom, and that the next great event of this prophecy is nothing else than the sitting of the Ancient of Days, the glorious kingdom of the Son of Man.

But do we all desire it? Are we all looking out with loving and longing hearts for the appearance of our beloved Redeemer? I fear that many would be very far from glad if they thought it would come to-morrow. Their own consciences tell them they are not ready; and in such a case how can they desire it? You might say to them, as in the words of the prophet, ‘To what end is the day of the Lord to you? the day of the Lord is darkness and not light.’ I believe it to be impossible for any man really to desire the coming of Christ as his king until in his own soul he is personally acquainted with Him as his sin-offering or atonement. Thus I believe that you will find very few really desire the Advent who have not practically and experimentally drunk in the great doctrine of justification by faith. If you are reconciled through the precious blood of Christ; if you are justified in the righteousness of Christ; if you are preserved and sanctified by the loving Spirit of Christ, then of course you will be ready to say, ‘Even so come, Lord Jesus; come quickly.’ But if you are still living for the world, content with the world’s gifts and the world’s enjoyments; or even if you are still toiling, and struggling on to reach Him you know not how, and know not whether you may trust Him to place you on the right hand of the throne or not, how is it possible that you should be happy in waiting for Him? Never rest, therefore, till you stand accepted in Him; till you have good reason to believe that you are safe, and not safe only, but beloved. Then you may wait for Him, then you may welcome Him, then He cannot come too soon to please you; and if His sign is seen even to-night you will be able to say, ‘This is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.’

II.
THE CONSUMPTION.

I endeavoured in the last lecture to bring before you the blessed hope of our Lord’s return, and to show, from the great outlines of prophecy, that there is enough to justify the expectations of those who humbly trust that we shall not have much longer to wait. I purposely avoided any reference to what are called the ‘signs of the times,’ and confined your attention exclusively to what may be called the great backbone of prophecy, i.e., to the prophetic history of the four mighty kingdoms which were foretold as holding the empire of the world. From that outline I endeavoured to show that these four great kingdoms were to arise in succession, one after the other, and that they would fill up the interval between the time of the prophecy and the sitting of the Ancient of Days. I hope, also, I made it plain from history that three of those kingdoms have long since fallen, and that, as far as the predicted periods enable us to judge, we must be drawing near to the close of the fourth. The great outline, therefore, leads to the hope that the time of the glorious kingdom of our blessed Lord may be near. But, though we did not study the signs of the times then, I do not think we should undervalue them, for our blessed Saviour foretold certain things that should take place, and added, ‘When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.’ If, therefore, any of these things are now taking place, it is clear that we ought to study them; and that we should not be really carrying out the teaching of the Lord Jesus if we were to neglect them. I propose, therefore, in obedience to His words, to bring before you in this lecture what has long appeared to me one of the most conclusive signs that the time is not very far distant. I allude to the present position of the Church of Rome, and I earnestly hope that God has directed my thoughts in the study of it, and that whatever in what I may now say is according to His word, may be written in all our hearts and minds by the teaching of the Holy Ghost.

There are three great historical prophecies, which, in the opinion of the majority of our best expositors, predict the rise, the progress, and the fall of the Church of Rome.

The first of these we briefly noticed last Sunday. It is the prophecy of the little horn rising amidst the ten horns of the beast, or the Papacy rising in the midst of that cluster of European kingdoms which succeeded the power of the undivided Roman Empire.

The second is the prophecy of ‘the man of sin’ in 2 Thess. ii. And I cannot forbear the mention of one illustration of a verse in that prophecy which I saw myself in Rome. Many people think that the description in the fourth verse is too strong for Popery: but there is a curious illustration of it in St. Peter’s. You may there see what they call the altar in the usual place at the end of the chancel, and above it, surrounded by an elaborately decorated reredos, is what is called the chair of St. Peter, or the Pope’s throne, the seat of Papal power. On the altar below, according to their own teaching, is the living person of the King of Glory, perfect man and perfect God, and in front of that altar may be seen men worshipping the wafer because they call it God. But above it is the Pope’s chair, and if he were to occupy it he would sit there with that which they call God, and worship as God, beneath his feet. Can anything be a more exact fulfilment of the words, ‘Exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped?’

The third is the prophecy of the woman in Rev. xvii. The application of this to the Church of Rome is less disputed than that of either of the other two, for the seat of the woman is decided by the 9th verse to be the seven-hilled city, which is almost universally admitted to be Rome.