the rage of Antichrist. To this devoted host the tyrant now directs his attention. Anticipating an easy victory over his last enemies, either by suddenly cutting them off from their ships or by compelling them to re-embark, and with proud exultation looking forward to the uncontrouled empire of the civilized world, he leaves Jerusalem, and advances with his whole army to Megiddo. Between this town and the sea we may suppose the troops of the maritime power and the Jews to have taken their position, hopeless probably of victory from their vast disparity in numbers to the huge hosts of their enemy. But the battle is not always to the strong, nor the race to the swift. At this anxious moment, the glory of the Lord is suddenly manifested in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jehovah himself becometh a wall of fire around her. The Almighty Word of God: goeth forth, like a man of war, in the greatness of his strength; and all his saints, the innumerable armies of heaven, are with him. His awful commission is from the Most High. For, after the manifestation of the glory, the Lord of hosts sendeth him unto the nations that have spoiled his ancient people: that he may shake his hand over them, that they may become a spoil unto those whom they had made their servants, that they may know that the Lord of hosts hath sent him, that they may learn by bitter experience that he who toucheth Judah toucheth the apple of his eye. The tremendous vision halts for a moment moment on the mount of Olives; which, like Sinai of old, acknowledges a present God, and with a mighty earthquake cleaves asunder in the midst. It then advances to the valley of Megiddo, and hovers over the heads of the palsied troops of Antichrist. The Divine Word displays himself to the assembled nations. The faithful look up with awful wonder, knowing that their redemption draweth nigh. Every eye seeth him; and they also, his kindred after the flesh, which pierced him, now behold him in his glory. He cometh with clouds; and all the kindreds of the Latin earth wail because of him. He descendeth in his wrath he treadeth the winepress in the fury of his indignation: his garments are sprinkled with the blood of his enemies *. 6. It appears from comparing various prophecies together, that the overthrow of the Antichristian confederacy will be effected partly by supernatural and partly by natural agency. Christ will indeed tread the winepress alone, for to his sole might * After a long and attentive examination of the subject, I rest in Mr. Mede's opinion that there will be some preterna tural manifestation of the Messiah, though I cannot think that he assigns to it its proper place in the succession of events. He supposes, that it will be the cause of the conversion of the Jews: whereas, according as matters appear to me, they will be previously converted; and Christ will be revealed, not to turn them to the faith, but to execute judgment upon his enemies. See Isaiah lviii. 1-6. Dan. vii. 9, 10, 11. Joel iii. 16. Zech. ii. 8-11. xiv. 3, 4, 12, 18. 2 Thess. ii. 8. 11-21. Rev. xix. will will the victory be owing: yet will he likewise use the instrumentality of others. While he miraculously smites his enemies with a dreadful plague, so that their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth; he will send likewise among them a great tumult from the Lord, so that they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. Judah also, summoned to the dreadful task of vengeance by his God, shall take an active part in the destruction of his enemies for, in that day, the Lord will make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left. Thus will Antichrist come to his end, and none shall help him. Thus will the beast now under his last head be taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both will be cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone: but the remnant will be slain with the sword of that Al-mighty Conqueror who sitteth upon the white horse, even with the sword of the word that proceedeth out of his mouth. They will be spiritually slain as his enemies, but they will be converted to the the profession of genuine Christianity* Nevertheless, as some punishment of their rebellion, they will be deprived of their substance: all the fowls will be filled with their flesh †. 7. Since the Jews are to be restored in the midst of war and bloodshed, or, as Daniel expresses it, during a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, we may reasonably suppose that great numbers of them will perish. Accordingly we find, that their return from the countries of their dispersion is expressly compared by Ezekiel to their ancient exodus from Egypt. As God pleaded with their fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt; so will he likewise plead with them, causing them to pass under the rod, and purging out from among them the rebels. It is probable indeed, that only a small part of the first generation of those that are restored will quietly sit down under their own vines and under their own fig-trees. One whole generation of the Israelites, that were brought out of Egypt, perished in the course of forty years in the wilderness and there is reason to think, that the * This remnant I take to be the third part of the Antichristian army, which, according to Zechariah, will be spared and converted. Their being slain by the sword is analogous to the Roman beast's being slain by the sword when the empire was converted to Christianity in the days of Constantine. Sec Brightman in loc. and Bp. Lowth on Isaiah xlix. 2. + Thus the flesh of the whore is said to be eaten by the ten kings in Rev. xvii. 16. conversion conversion and restoration of Judah, and the expedition and destruction of Antichrist, will occupy a period of not less than 30 years. The swift messengers of the great maritime power will begin the work of converting the Jews, that is to say such Jews as are scattered through the countries subject to their influence. Antichrist meanwhile will collect the unconverted Jews from those parts of the isles, or the regions of Europe *, which are under his immediate controul, for the purpose of bringing them back in an unbelieving state to their own country: but whether he, or whether the maritime power, will absolutely begin the work of restoring the ancient people of God, cannot, I think, be certainly gathered from Scripture f. His plan By the isles of the Gentiles the Jews understood all those countries which they could not reach from Palestine except by sea. Hence the name was given to Europe, in contradistinction to Asia, which to them was strictly continental. See Mede's Works, Book i. Disc. 49. p. 272. That the maritime power, mystically termed by Isaiah the ships of Tarshish, will be the first, or (as the original expression is rendered by the LXX and in the Latin translation of the Arabic version) among the first, to attempt the conversion of the Jews; and that they will afterwards bring back to Palestine such as shall be converted by their instrumentality, seems to be revealed with sufficient plainness: but it is no where, I believe, positively declared, that they shall begin the work of restoring the Jews. Since part of them are to be brought back by Antichrist in an unconverted state, and part by the maritime power in a converted state, it certainly is possible that Antichrist may begin to restore the one division previous to |
