In the Scriptures the contestants are pointed out, as they rally under the standards of the dragon, the beast, and Anti-Christ on one side, and on the other, under the standard of David, will be the called, the chosen, and the faithful; or, in other words, the Ten Lost Tribes as found chiefly in the Saxon race, with all who sincerely believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
In another sermon we pointed out to you the plain fact of the existence of David’s throne and David’s seed as found and seen specially in the throne of England. We there see how faithfully God has kept His promise to David and His people. For God frequently told David that his throne should be established unto all generations, and of David’s seed there should never be wanting a man to sit thereon. It is the permanence, the grandeur, and progressive character of this throne and people that make it a fitting type of Christ and His Church. Nay, more, it is on this throne that Christ now sits, so far as this world goes; and it is through this people that He reigns, and He will and must reign until He has conquered a universal peace. It is a delusion too long entertained by the Church to think that David’s throne and seed have not now, nor for centuries had, an existence. It is a delusion that we should not entertain for a moment to think that the Ten Tribes of Israel are lost for ever, or that their work or mission is fulfilled. As surely as the Two Tribes, Judah and Levi, now exist, fulfilling and filling in the outlines of prophetic history, so surely are Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh in existence, answering the purpose of an all-seeing Providence.
Who are the kings of the East spoken of in the Scriptures? We answer, They are the royal ones of the House of David. The word king, both in Hebrew and Greek, means such. This seed God chose, and made them royal by that very selection. They have been away from their own land, Palestine, wandering and dwelling in the West. But God in Providence is preparing a way for their return. In connection with the pouring out of the sixth vial upon the great river of the Euphrates, or upon Turkey, as most writers agree, the waters are to dry up—that is, Turkey is to decay, to be absorbed. And why? “That the way of the kings of the East might be prepared” (Rev. xvi. 12).
These kings have been away from the East, and their return is assured, and the preparation for such return is to be seen at this time and in connection with the decay of Turkey. If Turkey, as symbolised by the river Euphrates, is drying up, then these kings must be advancing Eastward; and so they are.
The crownless king, Disraeli, who, like many other men God has raised up, is for these times an index finger pointing out the way of Providence. He is a receptive agent of Divine force, to the intent that he may interpret a Divine purpose. He may know, or he may not know, that he is so directed of heaven. The prophets of old were seldom permitted to interpret or understand their own prophecies. If they asked, like Daniel, the meaning, they were told to “go their way,” for oftentimes the words were “closed up and sealed until the time of the end.” No wonder this man, against all England nearly, and to the amazement of all the world, proclaims the Queen of England the Empress of India, for the way of the kings of the East must be prepared.
Napoleon Bonoparte’s grand idea was to prepare the way of the kings of the East and make himself and his descendants these kings. “Conquer England and the world is ours,” he said. But when his secret and well-prepared assault on England was revealed and frustrated by a chain of providential events, he hit upon another plan to get possession of Palestine. Seventy years ago he invited all the leading Jews of the world to a secret council in Paris; he wished them to aid him in getting possession of Palestine. He pretended to want their return. He gave them certain privileges and laboured to procure more from the other nations; he did much for the Jews in enlarging their liberties and taking away from them the curse of society. The one idea that is distinctly Napoleonic, is to possess Palestine. The late Napoleon had his idea, and in his day this idea had become a part of France; so much so, that France thought herself to be then and now the real protector
of Palestine. It was for this idea that she allied with England and Turkey in the Crimean war. It was to keep Russia back from possessing the holy places. Not till France was weakened could England advance on her way East rapidly; so Germany was used to destroy her prestige and cause her to stand aside till England proceeds on her way homeward.
It was a comely sight, some five years ago, to see two Jews closeted together making a secret bargain—one had power, the other had money. The man of power asked the man of money to lend him twenty million dollars; it was done. At once the man of power purchases with this twenty millions part of his fatherland back again—the Suez Canal. This very canal is on the boundary of the land of Palestine as given to Abraham centuries ago. By this very route the old patriarch entered the Promised Land. It was fitting, indeed, that this should be the first piece purchased back. No one knew save those directly interested. England murmured and France protested, but the thing was done. Poor France, bleeding and divided, could do but little; for Disraeli and Rothschild had done the work. The way of the kings of the East must be prepared. So on they go. A man who executes a Divine purpose is always strong. Abraham Lincoln, in the history of our country, was so chosen and led of God. The politicians, and statesmen, and generals, and many of the people were against him at first; but the Lord was with him, so he marched on to victory, the country following in the wake. And though dead, not forgotten, the country and the civilised world are marching on after him, and now they have nearly overtaken him. Lincoln’s ideas and the country’s are nearly equal. A man led of God is generally a good distance behind, and the people led by such a man are equally as far behind him as he is behind God. But this nation and Abraham Lincoln are now one, and in those things in which they once were divided they are a unit, with more than the honoured Lincoln; for they are a unit with God and providence.
Thus follows the English nation in the wake of Disraeli, and the world is coming on behind, and the day will come when all will be a unit. It does not shock our idea of human honesty much when we learn that this crownless king played a double game with Russia and Turkey. It is intensely Jewish, but if it were only Jewish, then it would be very detestable; it is more, it is Divine in part. “Had the princes of this world known, they would not have crucified the Prince of Glory.” Had the princes of the late Berlin Congress known the double game being played by one of the quietest of their number, they would not have done as they did. Turkey in Asia was given over to England’s protection, aye, yes, that included Palestine. The island of Cyprus is given over entirely—surely the way of the kings of the East is being grandly prepared.
Why did not the Congress hand over to England’s protection Turkey in Europe? For reasons good and sufficient. Turkey in Europe will be the cause of much strife, of several wars, and of strange alliances; hence it would not have done for Israel-England to be mixed up with it. Constantinople alone, of European Turkey, England will keep. Israel is to be much preserved from war, until the great battle of Armageddon comes on. Against that time she will have to husband her strength and resources. It is marvellous now to think that what the Congress settled as belonging to England, none dispute—all is peace. But Russia’s share and Austria’s are in arms. Servia, Greece, Roumania, and all the Turkish provinces rebel and are in a state of disquietude, that portends war and strife again in a few years. But England will have nothing to do with it, excepting that Russia and Austria, with the consent of Germany, Italy, and France, are to set a precedent for England, which in a few years she will need. It is plain that if Russia and Austria can force by arms the conditions of the Berlin Congress, England will be at liberty to do the same without any