initial commit of ebook 39307HEADmain

1 files changed, 2548 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/39307-0.txt b/39307-0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9bf23a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39307-0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2548 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Rome, Turkey and Jerusalem, by Edward Hoare,
+Edited by John Hume Townsend
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Rome, Turkey and Jerusalem
+
+
+Author: Edward Hoare
+
+Editor: John Hume Townsend
+
+Release Date: March 29, 2012  [eBook #39307]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROME, TURKEY AND JERUSALEM***
+
+
+Transcribed from the November 1914 Chas. J. Thynne edition by David
+Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org
+
+
+
+
+
+                               ROME, TURKEY
+                                   AND
+                                JERUSALEM.
+
+
+                          BY THE REV. E. HOARE,
+
+               SOMETIME VICAR OF TRINITY, TUNBRIDGE WELLS,
+                    AND HONORARY CANON OF CANTERBURY.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                              _NEW EDITION_.
+                          (_Fourth Impression_.)
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                              EDITED BY THE
+                        REV. J. H. TOWNSEND, D.D.,
+
+           LATE VICAR OF ST. MARK’S, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, AUTHOR OF
+          “EDWARD HOARE, M.A., A RECORD OF HIS LIFE.”  &c., &c.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                 LONDON:
+                             CHAS. J. THYNNE,
+                    GREAT QUEEN STREET, KINGSWAY, W.C.
+                           _November_, _1914_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+                              PAGE
+ROME:—
+   THE OUTLINE                   1
+   THE CONSUMPTION              18
+TURKEY:—
+   THE EUPHRATES                36
+   THE FROGS                    54
+   THE ADVENT                   69
+JERUSALEM                       89
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                               NEW EDITION.
+
+First Impression       December,       1912.
+Second ,,              April,          1913.
+Third ,,               June,           1913.
+Fourth „               November,       1914.
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD TO FOURTH IMPRESSION.
+
+
+Those of us who have been watching political events from the prophetical
+standpoint, have seen during the last thirty years the steady drying up
+of that overflowing river which once flooded Europe.  Turkey’s fate we
+knew to be certain, but there were fluctuations so we had to be patient.
+
+Two years ago when writing the Foreword and notes to the first reprint of
+this little book, I drew attention to the “amazing collapse” of Turkey’s
+power “during the last few months.”  Half a year later it seemed as if
+only a thread of littoral would be left to Turkey in Europe; then came a
+certain apparent return of vigour as when the ebbing tide sends back a
+wave that seems to claim once more part of the dominion it had lost; just
+in the same way Turkey regained some of the territory wrested from it
+during the Balkan War, and we who were watching wondered for how long
+this would be.
+
+One year and a half has passed and now it really seems as if the clock
+had struck.  Only a few days ago the daily papers told the world that
+Turkey, deluded, or bribed, or both, had thrown in her lot with Germany.
+In a leading article dated Nov. 2, “The Times” summed up the matter
+thus—“Whatever may be the immediate consequences of Turkish intervention,
+there is a general consensus of opinion throughout the world that it
+means the end of Turkey.”  Bible students grasped the situation at once
+recognizing the immense significance of the event, and on the same day at
+the C.M.S. Anniversary at Exeter I pointed out the overwhelming
+importance of this intelligence, in connection with Missionary work, the
+future of the Jewish Nation and our Lord’s Return.  I have heard from
+Jerusalem of the keen excitement of the Jews there, and of the hope often
+expressed that England would take action on their behalf.  The secular
+press in many quarters is already suggesting that the Allies at the
+conclusion of the War might well establish the Jews in Palestine as a
+buffer-state; this is exactly what some of us have for many years pointed
+out, from the study of prophecy, as a likely solution of the near Eastern
+question.  Perhaps, it may be so—God’s promises unfold very quickly when
+the time for their appearance is ripe.  Our business is to watch and
+pray, giving the Lord no rest till He establish and until He make
+Jerusalem a praise on the earth, and above all constantly sending forth
+the cry of His waiting Church—“even so, come Lord Jesus.”
+
+                                                                  J. H. T.
+
+_November 20th_, _1914_.
+
+
+
+
+FORWARD
+
+
+It is now thirty-six years since these remarkable sermons were preached
+by the late Canon Hoare.  Published at the time, they had a very large
+circulation and passed through several editions.  An earnest desire
+having been manifested for their re-issue with the addition of some
+footnotes bringing them up to date, I have consented to undertake that
+simple office.  With happy memories of work under the beloved Vicar long
+ago (1877–81) there is, to me, something indescribable in being permitted
+once more in this unexpected way to unite with one who now within the
+Veil walks not by faith but by sight and who instead of knowing but in
+part now _knows_ even as also he is known.
+
+It is a great tribute to the sagacity of the preacher, his deep knowledge
+of Scripture, and his keen prophetic instincts, that these sermons need
+no alteration, and only the necessary additions demanded by the history
+of passing years.
+
+The advance has been all along the exact lines which he as a diligent
+student of the prophetic Scriptures was able to lay down.  “The wise
+shall understand” (Daniel xii. 10) is a promise which we see here
+strikingly fulfilled.
+
+Could the venerable preacher have seen the extraordinary developments
+that have taken place in Jerusalem and the Holy Land during the last few
+years, or the amazing collapse of the Mohammedan power which Europe has
+witnessed in the past few months, how his heart would have rejoiced at
+the fulfilment of Scriptural predictions, and how earnestly would he have
+proclaimed afresh His Master’s Words—“When ye shall see these things,
+know that He is nigh, even at the doors.”
+
+                                                         _December_, 1912.
+
+
+
+PUBLISHER’S NOTE.
+
+
+It is a source of pleasure to the Editor, the Publisher, and all those
+interested in the re-issue of this book, to know that a further edition
+is so soon called for, and to receive so many testimonies to its
+usefulness as a Guide to the Prophecies of Holy Writ.
+
+                                                          _April_, _1913_.
+
+
+
+
+ROME.
+
+
+I.
+THE OUTLINE.
+
+
+It is impossible to imagine anything more delightful than the prospect of
+the promised return of our most blessed Saviour.  How do the father and
+the mother feel when they welcome their long-absent son from India?  How
+will many an English wife feel when she welcomes her husband from the
+Arctic Expedition?  And how must the Church of God feel when, after her
+long night of toil and difficulty, she stands face to face before Him
+whom her soul loveth, and enters into the full enjoyment of the promise,
+‘So shall we ever be with the Lord?’  There will be no tears then, for
+there will be no sorrow; no death then, for there will be no more curse;
+no sin then, for we shall see Him as He is, and shall be like Him.  Then
+will be the time of resurrection, when all the firstborn of God shall
+awake to a life without decay and without corruption; and then the time
+of reunion, when the whole company of God’s elect shall stand together
+before the Lord, never again to shed a tear over each other’s grave; and
+then will be the time when those who have loved and longed after Him, as
+they have journeyed on alone in their pilgrimage, will find themselves on
+the right hand of His throne, and hear His delightful words, ‘Come, ye
+blessed children of my Father: inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
+the foundation of the world!’
+
+No wonder then that the people of God are waiting with anxious hearts for
+the Advent; and no wonder that many are ready to say, ‘Lord, how long?’
+and to ask, What hope is there of His quick return?  Have we, or have we
+not, any reason to look out for it soon?  To this inquiry I would
+endeavour to draw your attention this morning; and in doing so, I do not
+intend to examine into what are usually called ‘the signs of the times,’
+but to study the great prophetic sketch of the world’s history as given
+to us by the prophet Daniel.  This may be termed the backbone of
+prophecy, and almost all the great prophecies of Holy Scripture fit into
+it at some point or other; so that, if we wish to understand them, we
+must begin by studying it.  I fear I may not interest those who aim
+simply to have their hearts warmed by the ministry.  But they must
+remember that the real study of God’s Word requires work, and that work,
+though it lays the best possible foundation for feeling, does not at the
+time excite it.  To-day, then, we are to work, and I hope the Lord may so
+bless His Word, that through work we may be led to feel.
+
+Our business, then, is to endeavour to discover whether the great
+prophetic sketch of history, given through the prophet Daniel, encourages
+the blessed hope that the coming of the Lord may be near.  Daniel gives a
+prophecy of the history of political power from his own day till the time
+when ‘the Ancient of Days shall sit,’ and describes a succession of
+events which must take place in the interval.  It is clear that our
+business is to ascertain how many of these events have taken place, or,
+in other words, how far we have advanced in the series.
+
+In the study of our subject we have the advantage of looking at two sides
+of the picture, for it has pleased God to give us the same series as seen
+in two different aspects.  In the second and seventh chapters you will
+find predictions of the same events under different figures.  In the
+second chapter the prophecy is given as a vision to a proud, idolatrous
+monarch.  So the different kingdoms about to arise appear to him as the
+several parts of a mighty image, with himself as the head of gold.  It
+was given in just such a shape as should coincide with his idolatry and
+his pride.  Whereas, in the seventh chapter, the vision is given to one
+of God’s people, and he sees in all this glory nothing better than a
+series of wild beasts coming up one after another to devour.  How
+different is the estimate of the world from that of God!  The world
+regards Babylon as the head of gold, the summit of glory and greatness,
+while God looks on it as a savage beast, to be dreaded by His saints!
+The same difference of character may be observed in the visions of the
+coming of the Lord.  To the great king it appeared as a triumphant
+kingdom, to the captive prophet as a manifestation of the Son of man.
+The one saw a kingdom, the other a person; the one, the overthrow of
+power, the other, the advent of the Lord of Glory.
+
+But now let us look at the series.  In both prophecies there is a
+description of four kingdoms which should in succession be supreme in
+political power, and which should fill up an interval between Daniel and
+the Advent.
+
+1.  There is the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar’s image, the same as the
+lion in the vision of Daniel.  The most precious of metals corresponding
+to the king of beasts.
+
+2.  There is next the breast and arms of silver, corresponding to the
+bear of Daniel.
+
+3.  After that the belly and thighs of brass, representing the same
+nation as the leopard of the prophet.
+
+4.  And following them is the last kingdom of the four, represented to
+Nebuchadnezzar as the ‘legs of iron, and the feet, part of iron and part
+of clay,’ and to Daniel as a beast, ‘dreadful and terrible, and strong
+exceedingly.’
+
+It is interesting to observe how the same iron character is attributed to
+this last power in both visions.  In the one we read of it, chap. ii. 40,
+‘The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh
+in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all things,
+shall it break in pieces and bruise.’  And in the other, chap. vii. 7, it
+is said to be ‘strong exceedingly, and it had great iron teeth: it
+devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of
+it.’
+
+Such is the series of kingdoms that were to hold the chief political
+power of the world, and fill up the whole interval between the date of
+the prophecy and the advent of the Lord.  Now the remarkable, and I
+believe I may say the indisputable, fact, is that, according to the
+prophecy, all these four kingdoms have arisen.  They have followed each
+other exactly as it was predicted.  Babylon was the head of gold, or the
+lion.  The Medes and Persians were the breast of silver, or the bear.
+Greece, always called ‘the brazen armed,’ in classic poetry, was the
+belly and the thighs of brass, or the leopard.  And then the mighty power
+of Rome, far exceeding all the others in its terrible strength, with the
+legs of iron in the royal image, and the teeth of iron in the prophetic
+beast.  Thus far there is an agreement almost unanimous among the
+students of prophetic Scripture; and the conclusion certainly is, that we
+have already been a long time under the last of the four successive
+empires of the world.  So far then as those four empires are concerned,
+we are encouraged to entertain the strong hope that, as we have reached
+the last kingdom in the succession, we may begin hopefully to look out
+for the end.  We have passed the last station on the line, so now we may
+begin to prepare for home.
+
+But again.  There is one remarkable difference between the fourth kingdom
+and the other three, viz., this, that its history is divided into two
+periods, during the first of which it appears as an undivided power, and
+during the second split up into ten.  In chap. ii. 41, it says, ‘the
+kingdom shall be divided.’  In this divided period it is represented by
+the ten toes on the image, and the ten horns on the beast.  The ten toes
+are described as kings, or kingdoms in chap. ii. 44; and so are the ten
+horns in chap. vii. 24, where it is said, ‘The ten horns out of this
+kingdom are ten kings that shall arise.’  So then the prophecy teaches us
+that when Rome had overpowered Greece it would go on for a time as one
+mighty undivided empire, but that after a time it would break up into a
+cluster of kingdoms, and that this cluster would retain amongst them the
+supremacy of the world.  It does not describe any fresh shift of
+political supremacy to any new kingdom that should arise, or the loss or
+decay of that supremacy.  But it teaches that there would be a division
+in the kingdom, that the parts should fall asunder, and that, while the
+iron of the fourth kingdom would remain amongst them, there should be so
+much clay mixed up with it, that it should never again be united under a
+single head.
+
+Now this is exactly what has happened.  In the days of the Cæsars united
+Rome was supreme in the pomp of the iron empire.  Its body was Europe,
+and its heart was the emperor.  It was one as much as Babylon had been
+one under Nebuchadnezzar.  But look at it now.  There is all the old
+power; for Europe and its races practically govern the world.  It has not
+lost its iron.  But there is no one kingdom that embodies all.  The power
+is vested in a cluster of independent nations.  Many attempts have been
+made to combine them: some by conquest, as in the case of Napoleon; some
+by negotiation, as in the case of the Spanish marriages.  But all in
+vain, for the toes are irrecoverably divided, and whatever is done,
+though as an aggregate they retain their power, as individual nations
+they are always distinct.  I have no time to enter into detail, but I
+regard this division as a most remarkable fulfilment of the prophetic
+word. {10}  More than five hundred years before the coming of the Lord
+there was a captive in Babylon, and God so directed that man’s mind, as
+through him to communicate to the world even then the present position of
+modern Europe.  With such a fact before us who can doubt the inspiration
+of the prophet, or the statement of St. Peter, that ‘holy men of God
+spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost?’
+
+But, without stopping to consider the wonders of the prophecy, let us
+learn the lesson which it teaches us with reference to the nearness of
+the Advent.  We have already found that we have long since reached the
+fourth kingdom of the series; and now we are led a step further, and find
+that we have long since reached the second period of that kingdom.  It is
+difficult with accuracy to assign a date, for the transition was gradual;
+but we shall be sufficiently near if we say that it practically took
+place between twelve and fourteen hundred years ago.  And when we reflect
+on such a promise as that in Daniel ii. 44, in which God assures us of a
+kingdom that shall be set up in the days of these kings, and never be
+destroyed: when we consider that those kings have already been reigning
+through that lengthened period, it is surely time that we begin to look
+out for that which is to come; for the happy and blessed day when we
+shall welcome the kingdom which shall never be moved, and when Christ
+Himself shall reign in glory.
+
+But this is not all, for, although we shall learn no more from the vision
+of the king, we may gather much more from that of the prophet, for in it
+we find a most important additional prophecy.  I can perfectly understand
+why it was given by the prophet, and not by the king, for I believe it to
+refer to the religious history of Europe, and the king of course had no
+concern with that.  He did not care for religion, or for the saints of
+God.  I allude to the prophecy of the little horn rising in the midst of
+the other ten.  I have no time to discuss arguments, and can merely state
+conclusions.  All, therefore, that I can do now is to express my own
+convictions on two points:
+
+1.  That the little horn diverse from all the rest is the Papal power.
+
+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 {19} 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.
+
+Now it is not my object to study the details of these prophecies, and
+there is only one point to which I invite your careful attention—one most
+important point common to all three, viz., that the final overthrow will
+be preceded by a consuming process.  It will not be a sudden destruction
+in the height of prosperity, but will be the final act after a period of
+wasting and defeat.  If these three passages refer to Rome, as I fully
+believe they do, then Rome will be first consumed and then destroyed.
+
+In Daniel it says (vii. 26), ‘The judgment shall sit.’  It seems clear
+from the context, that this does not mean the great day of judgment, but
+the commencement of judgment on her sins here upon earth.  ‘And they
+shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end.’
+There is, therefore, a consuming process before the end.  The word here
+rendered ‘consume’ conveys the idea of a gradual process, and not a
+sudden blow; and teaches us that there will be a wasting before the final
+overthrow.
+
+In 2 Thess. ii. 8, exactly the same process is described, and in almost
+the same words: ‘Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
+mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming.’  He will first
+consume him by His word, and ultimately destroy him at His advent.
+
+It is just the same in Rev. xvii.  There you meet with the old beast, the
+ten-horned beast of Daniel; and ten horns still representing ten kings;
+and when we reach the close of the chapter we find these ten kings all
+turned against the woman: so that, instead of being ridden and governed
+by her, as they were when she was riding on the beast, they are now
+turned against her, and agree in consuming her.  ‘The ten horns which
+thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and make her
+desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.’
+(Verse 16.)
+
+Without stopping to look into the detail, which it is impossible to do in
+a short lecture, it appears clear that all these passages agree in
+predicting a period during which the Papacy will be consumed before its
+final fall.  This will be brought about partly by the power of truth, and
+partly by the change of mind in the kings.  But whatever be the agency,
+the result is the same.  ‘They will take away his dominion, to consume,
+and to destroy unto the end.’  And this you mark is the last great
+process before the coming of our Blessed Saviour, for the final
+destruction will be by the brightness of His coming.
+
+And now comes the question, Has this consuming process begun?  Is it, or
+is it not, in progress?  I know that some fainthearted people will say,
+‘Oh, no!  Rome is making dreadful progress, and must soon triumph.’  But
+surely that opinion is contrary to fact.  Surely it may be proved, from
+the great facts of European history, not merely that the consumption has
+begun but that it has been going on during the last few years with
+peculiar and unexampled speed.
+
+Let us look at a few great European facts, not at little things that
+happen to fall within our own observation, but at great facts that are
+conspicuous before the world.
+
+Rome has always claimed, as she does still, dominion over all the
+kingdoms of the world, and she used to exercise it over all those of
+Western Christendom.  Her claim even went so far that, by the common
+consent and advice of his barons, the King of England once ‘resigned
+England and Ireland to God, to St. Peter and St. Paul, to Pope Innocent,
+and his successors in the Apostolic chair: and agreed to hold these
+dominions as feudatory of the Church of Rome, by the annual payment of
+one thousand marks.’ {26}  Imagine any one standing up amongst the barons
+of England, and making such a proposal now!  That dominion of the Papacy
+is taken away, and taken away, as I believe, for ever.
+
+When the dominion was gone he made concordats, or compacts, with the
+different states; in which, with varying conditions, it was agreed that
+he should uphold them by his spiritual power, and they uphold him by the
+secular arm.  It is a most remarkable fact, that within the last fifteen
+years almost all of these concordats have been brought abruptly to a
+violent end: those with Naples, Tuscany, and the Italian Duchies in 1858;
+that with Austria, including Venice, in 1866; with Spain in 1868; with
+France in 1870; and with Bavaria in 1873.  There may be others remaining
+in force, but I know of none.  According to the best information I can
+obtain all are dissolved.  The Papacy has lost all its political power.
+The ten kings have shaken off his government, and there is not one left
+that submits to his authority.
+
+But more than that.  The Pope of Rome used to be king over a considerable
+portion of Italy.  But he is now deposed.  The States of the Church are
+incorporated with united Italy, and the Pope is king no more.  They have
+taken away his dominion.  His sovereignty is at an end; it has received
+its death-blow, and shall we not acknowledge that the consuming process
+is begun?
+
+But further still.  The Church of Rome used to have vast estates.  The
+convents which used to swarm through Italy were richly endowed with
+landed property.  But as soon as the kingdom of Italy was well
+established, those convents were broken up and their property
+confiscated.  And now that the Pope has been dethroned in Rome, a similar
+measure has been passed for all those within the city, and on the 20th of
+October, 1874, they received notice of their dissolution.  It looks very
+much as if the kings were eating up the flesh of the woman.
+
+But some will say, ‘Ah, but in religious matters Popery is making
+progress, for it is winning so many perverts to its errors.’  I know
+there are perverts, and I am deeply grieved at it, but I doubt whether
+Rome’s progress is as great as many think.  It has been calculated that
+in the year 1801 there were in Great Britain and Ireland twenty-seven
+Romanists out of every hundred of the population, but that in 1869 there
+were only eighteen.  The proportion, therefore, had actually diminished
+from twenty-seven to eighteen per cent. {28}
+
+But take a wider range, and look at the great facts of European history.
+At the Lateran Council in 1513, after all the so-called heretics had been
+silenced or burned, it was proclaimed, ‘No one now opposes, no one now
+objects,’ and then the orator addressing the Pope said, ‘The whole body
+of Christendom is now subjugated to one head, even to thee.’  But it is
+calculated that there are now more than 95,000,000 Protestants in Europe,
+and 67,000,000 members of the Greek Church, making together 162,000,000
+who reject the Pope’s authority, against 157,000,000 who profess to
+submit to it.  Putting all these facts together, I may ask any reasonable
+man, any one who looks at great facts instead of minute details, Is there
+not reason to believe that the consumption has begun?  What else is it
+that has taken away his dominions, broken up his concordats, overturned
+his throne, stripped him of his property, and above all has set
+95,000,000 in Europe alone free from his yoke?  What else is it but the
+fulfilment of the prophecy, ‘Whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit
+of His mouth,’ preparatory to the time when He shall ‘destroy him with
+the brightness of His coming?’
+
+Now there are many lessons that we might learn if we had but time from
+this subject; _e.g._, I might well spend all the time that remains in
+pressing on you the importance of keeping clear of all alliance with
+Rome.  If God is consuming her, God’s people must have nothing to do with
+her either in politics or religion, for if they do, they will find
+themselves drawn into the vortex into which she must infallibly sink.
+The message to them is, ‘Come out of her, my people, that ye be not
+partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.’
+
+But this is not my point in this lecture.  I am anxious rather that we
+should look on the whole subject as an encouragement to faith.  Surely
+some amongst us are too fainthearted about the truth.  It really seems as
+if they could trust the Lord Jesus for their own souls, but not for His
+church, or for His truth: as if they had forgotten the text, ‘Are not
+thine eyes upon the truth?’  They value their Bible, and are ready to
+contend for it even unto the death; but still, they do not above half
+believe it.  They are ready to go forth to battle, but they are not ready
+to begin, like Jehoshaphat, with the hymn, ‘Praise the Lord!’  They would
+rather chant some plaintive lament, and go into the battle with the
+doleful expectation of defeat.  But this is not faith.  This is not trust
+in the Lord Jesus.  Ah! but one says he cannot rely on government, and
+another that he does not trust in bishops.  But what has this to do with
+it?  No one asks you to trust in rulers either in Church or State, for
+the Scripture says, ‘Put not your trust in princes.’  What we ask you to
+do is to trust the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of God.  Trust
+Him, and all will be right, though all other objects of trust fail you.
+
+Now take this great subject as a help to your trust.  See how it exhibits
+Him in His own time and His own way, working out His own predicted
+purpose.  It was utterly impossible for any man by private interpretation
+to calculate the course that things would take.  But He foresaw all, and
+more than two thousand years ago He actually foretold what He would do.
+And now, after all these centuries have passed, after great empires have
+risen and fallen according to His prophecy, after every species of effort
+has been made in vain to silence God’s Word, after every available means
+have been employed—political influence, religious influence, priestly
+assumption, and fiery persecution—to stamp out God’s truth, we see the
+Lord Jesus with a mighty hand fulfilling His word, carrying out His
+purpose, and preparing the way for victory.  And is that the time to
+distrust Him?  If we are so fainthearted now what should we have been
+before the Reformation?  What should we have been after John Huss was
+burned, and when the Lord’s own people were like the seven thousand
+hidden ones in the days of Elijah?  If we cannot trust Him now that we
+have experienced that ‘His counsels of old are faithfulness and truth,’
+what should we have done if we had lived before any prophecies had been
+fulfilled; if we had had to trust to His bare naked word before it was
+confirmed by history?  But now that we have this great confirmation, and
+now that we see the putting forth of His hand, this is not the time for
+faintheartedness or misgiving; this is not the time to distrust Him whom
+God has made the ‘Head over all things to His Church.’  It is true that
+
+    ‘God moves in a mysterious way
+       His wonders to perform;’
+
+but it is certain that He is riding on the storm and will perform His own
+wonders, so that we may add, as in the next verse of the same hymn,
+
+    ‘Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
+       The cloud ye so much dread
+    Is big with mercies, and will break
+       In blessings on your head.’
+
+And not only so, but we may reverently hope that it will not be long
+before we behold His triumph.  When the disciples were on the lake the
+night was dark, and the winds were contrary, but He came to them in His
+own good time, and all was rest.  So we may meet with rough weather, but
+there will be a great calm when He comes, and I cannot but hope He will
+soon be here.  We have long since known of Him on the mountain-top, but
+now we can almost see Him walking on the waves.  It is high time,
+therefore, that we act on His own words: ‘When these things begin to come
+to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption
+draweth nigh.’  He does not say, ‘Wait till they have all come to pass,’
+but ‘look up as soon as they begin.’  Now they most undoubtedly have
+begun, and for a long time have been in progress.  It is high time,
+therefore, that we begin to look up in faith and hope, waiting for
+Christ, looking for Christ, longing for Christ, and meanwhile trusting in
+Christ; so that when He comes we may be found pardoned through His blood,
+accepted in His covenant, clothed in His righteousness, and with loving
+hearts waiting for His appearing.
+
+
+
+
+TURKEY.
+
+
+III.
+THE EUPHRATES.
+
+
+The condition of the Turkish Empire is one of the greatest interests of
+the day, and is engaging more than any other public subject the grave
+thoughts of thinking men.  The capitalists of England are deploring the
+loss of many millions of money through its bankruptcy.  Those who rejoice
+in religious liberty are watching with the deepest interest the noble
+struggles of the men of Herzegovina to free themselves from the fearful
+yoke of Mohammedan oppression.  And the politicians of all the great
+states of Europe are at their wits’ end to know what is to become of
+Turkey.  Nor is this a state of things that has come on suddenly.  It is
+not the transitory effect of any sudden calamity, but the result of a
+steady decay that has been going forward with irresistible power for
+certainly not less than fifty years.  France and England combined in the
+Crimean war to endeavour to maintain the Turkish power, but it was all in
+vain.  That power has been steadily on the wane ever since, till now the
+crisis of bankruptcy has arrived, and ‘the Sick Man,’ as the Turkish
+empire has been called, appears on the very point of his dissolution.
+{37}
+
+Now I am quite aware of the difficulty of preaching on such subjects, and
+I have no doubt that in your mind as well as my own there is a preference
+for those portions of the Word of God which bear directly on our
+spiritual experience; but still ‘all Scripture is given by inspiration of
+God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
+instruction in righteousness’; and, moreover, there is a special blessing
+on the congregational study of this Revelation of St. John, for it is
+said, chap. i. 3, ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the
+words of this prophecy.’  I propose, therefore, to consider three
+questions: (1.) Has the present state of Turkey been foretold in
+prophecy?  (2.) Does it teach us any lessons respecting our spiritual
+position?  (3.) Does it throw any light on our hope of the coming of our
+Lord?  I pray God that He may fulfil to us the promise attached to this
+wonderful book, and that both they that hear and he that readeth may
+alike enjoy His blessing.
+
+With reference to the first question—Has the present state of Turkey been
+foretold in prophecy?  I have not the least hesitation in expressing my
+own conviction that it has been foretold in a most remarkable manner, and
+that the present state of things is nothing more than the fulfilment of
+what God predicted little less than 1800 years ago.
+
+It is impossible in a short lecture to give all the reasons for this
+opinion.  I can only attempt the barest outline.  But we may gain some
+idea of the subject if we consider what is meant by the Euphrates; what
+by its overflow; and what by its drying up, as described in Rev. xvi. 12:
+‘And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates,
+and the waters thereof were dried up.’
+
+I.  The Euphrates.  By this we must not understand the literal river, for
+the whole book is symbolical.  The river, therefore, stands as the symbol
+for something else.  It is this that makes the subject so difficult, for
+the symbols are like hieroglyphics, and therefore, though full of
+meaning, peculiarly liable to be misunderstood.  The question then is,
+What is the power of which the Euphrates in this verse stands as a symbol
+or hieroglyphic?  Of course, in the answer to such a question we must
+distrust ourselves, and I dare not speak on it with the certainty with
+which we ought to speak of the plainly revealed facts of Scripture.  All
+I can do is to express my own very confident conviction that by the
+Euphrates is symbolized the Ottoman, or, as it is frequently called, the
+Turkish Empire.
+
+For this I give two reasons:—
+
+(1.)  It is the one great empire existing in the world that originated on
+the banks of the river Euphrates.  It was in the district to the east of
+that river that the Turk, who originally came from Turkistan, became a
+formidable power, and from thence that the Turkish hosts were let loose
+against Roman Christendom.  For we must remember that the Turks, or
+Ottomans, do not belong to the soil of Turkey.  The French are the
+natives of France, and the Italians of Italy, but the Turks are not the
+natives of Turkey, but invaders from Asia.  They hold the country by
+conquest.  The head-quarters of the empire are now in Turkey, on the
+shores of the Bosphorus; but its birthplace was on the Eastern bank of
+the Euphrates.
+
+(2.)  There are two series of prophecies in the book of Revelation, the
+one given under the figure of seven trumpets, the other of seven vials,
+and they appear to be linked together by a very remarkable connexion as
+to the subject of the prophecies.  You will see the correspondence
+clearly if you compare the account of the trumpets in chapters viii. and
+ix. with that of the vials in chapter xvi.
+
+When the first trumpet sounded the judgment was on the earth, viii. 7;
+and so the first vial was poured on the earth, xvi. 2.
+
+When the second trumpet sounded, the judgment was on the sea, chap. viii.
+8.  So the second vial was poured on the sea, xvi. 3.
+
+When the third trumpet sounded, the judgment was on the rivers and
+fountains of waters, viii. 10.  So the third angel poured out his vial on
+the rivers and fountains of waters, xvi. 4.
+
+When the fourth trumpet sounded, the judgment was on the sun, viii. 12.
+So the fourth angel poured out his vial on the sun, xvi. 8.
+
+When the fifth trumpet sounded, the judgment was on those men who had not
+the seal of God on their foreheads, ix. 4.  So the fifth vial was on the
+seat of the beast, xvi. 10.
+
+The correspondence is not at first sight so apparent in this as in the
+other vials; but if we bear in mind the prophecy that all shall worship
+the beast whose names are not written in the book of life, we shall see
+the same reality in the coincidence.
+
+And, lastly, when the sixth trumpet sounded, there was a mighty host
+loosed from the Euphrates, ix. 14; and when the sixth vial was poured out
+it fell on the Euphrates, and the Euphrates was dried up, xvi. 12.
+
+Surely, then, we may come to the conclusion that this prophecy in chapter
+xvi. relates to the same great power as that referred to in chapter ix.;
+and as I believe that it has been proved that the trumpet prophecy
+predicts the invasion of Christendom by the Ottoman empire, so I am
+persuaded in my own mind that that under the vial foretells its
+exhaustion and decay.  The Ottoman empire I believe to be the subject of
+both the prophecies.
+
+II.  The overflow.  There is no actual mention in this passage of the
+symbol of an overflow, but as that figure is elsewhere employed in Holy
+Scripture to represent invasion, we may regard it in this instance as
+descriptive of the invasion by the Ottomans as predicted under the sixth
+trumpet.  If you turn to Jer. xlvi. 7, 8, you find an invasion by Egypt
+described by an exactly similar figure.  The invasion by Egypt is there
+compared to an overflow of the Nile.  ‘Egypt cometh up like a flood, and
+his waters are moved as the rivers.’  So in Isa. viii. 7, 8, the invasion
+of Palestine by the Assyrians is foretold under the figure of an
+inundation: ‘He shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his
+banks: and he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over.’
+And so here the invasion by the Ottoman or Euphratian horsemen appears to
+be represented by an overflow of the Euphrates.
+
+Now consider the result of the recent floods in our own country.  When
+the Trent rose above its banks, what happened?  The waters spread far and
+wide on both sides the river, till, instead of fields and homesteads, you
+saw a vast inland lake.  As you passed by in the train you might have
+seen the whole country under water.  Just so it was when, according to
+the symbol, the Euphrates overflowed its banks; or, according to history,
+the Ottomans invaded Europe.  The invading waters rushed on in every
+direction.  On the east they reached the borders of China; on the west
+they soon reached Palestine, and all the heroic efforts of the Crusaders
+failed to check them.  They then spread out in two branches.  On the
+south they crossed into Africa, and spread over the greater part of the
+northern portion of that vast continent.  In the north they spread
+rapidly over Asia Minor, crossed the Bosphorus, conquered Greece, and
+spread over Europe till they reached the shores of the Adriatic, and even
+Venice. {45}  Thus when they had reached the height of their power, the
+whole of south-east Europe, the greater part of north Africa, and the
+whole of west Asia, were flooded by the vast inundation.  Their dominion
+extended from the shores of the Adriatic on the west to the borders of
+China on the east; while in Africa it reached very nearly from the
+Atlantic to Suez.  Accordingly we have been taught from our childhood of
+Turkey in Europe, Turkey in Asia, and Turkey in Africa.  But I am not
+sure that we are all aware that the Turks, or Ottomans, are Asiatic
+invaders who obtained their dominions by conquest.
+
+III.  So much for the overflow.  Let us now turn to the drying up, as
+predicted in the prophecy.
+
+Think once more of the illustration of the river, and consider what would
+be the effect on the overflow if the waters were to subside in the river.
+The inundation would gradually recede, and one field after another would
+be left dry, until after a time the whole country would be free.  If,
+therefore, the interpretation of the prophecy be correct, we should
+expect to see the Ottoman power gradually dying out, and the various
+nations that were overrun by conquest one by one shaking off the yoke.
+And this is exactly what has been taking place ever since the year 1820.
+There is a remarkable prophecy in Daniel believed to refer to this same
+Ottoman power, and from it some of the best students of prophecy in the
+course of the last century named that year as the probable commencement
+of the decline of Turkey.  Up to the spring of the year all appeared to
+prosper; but then the waters began rapidly to recede.  That very year the
+Greek insurrection began.  The flood receded from Greece, so that in 1827
+the present kingdom was established.  In that same year the inundation
+went back so far that Servia was left dry.  In the same year Moldavia and
+Wallachia, and the territory north of the Danube, were set free from the
+Ottoman yoke; and now there seems to be every hope that Herzegovina and
+Bosnia will succeed in shaking off the invader.  Indeed, the whole
+Turkish empire is in such a condition that if the statesmen of Europe
+could agree as to who should possess Constantinople, the whole Ottoman
+Power would in all probability be driven out of Europe before another
+year is over. {47}
+
+As for Africa, the flood has already left it almost dry.  Morocco is an
+independent state.  Algeria has been taken by the French, while on the
+east, Egypt has asserted its independence, and with the one exception of
+an annual tribute, is entirely free from the Turkish yoke.  For some
+years this process had been going on, till at length, in 1866, the Pasha
+assumed the title of ‘Khedive,’ which means king, proclaiming thereby an
+independent monarchy.  The only possession remaining to Turkey is the
+little province of Tripoli, containing considerably less than 1,000,000
+inhabitants.  Turkey in Africa has almost ceased to exist. {48}  Turkey
+in Europe may last a little longer, but is going fast.  As for Turkey in
+Asia, it has ceased to be a power to any great distance east of the
+Euphrates; and I fully believe that on the west of the river the
+drying-up process will be steadily continued till the floods recede from
+Palestine, and that beautiful land shall be set free from the blight of
+Turkish misgovernment, and handed over to be once more a land flowing
+with milk and honey to its rightful possessors, the seed of Abraham, the
+nation to which God has given it.
+
+Such are a few of the leading events with reference to the decline of the
+Ottoman empire; and there is only one further remark that I would make
+respecting it.  The decline has not been the result of external conquest,
+but of internal decay.  The Turks have not been brought down by any great
+defeats, but by their own want of life.  The powers of Europe have not
+attacked them, but, on the contrary, have done their best to uphold them,
+as, _e.g._, in the Crimean war; but, notwithstanding all that France and
+England could do, the Turkish power is falling to pieces of itself.  The
+Sick Man is dying, and the physicians cannot keep him alive.  Their
+energy seems gone, their exchequer is exhausted, and their population is
+so much diminished, that there are now only 2,000,000 Turks, or Ottomans,
+left in Europe. {50}  In other words, the Euphrates is drying up, and the
+inundation cannot long remain upon the land.
+
+Now I can quite understand the feeling of those who have experienced a
+certain amount of disappointment in hearing this morning about the
+Turkish empire, instead of something bearing more directly on their own
+personal salvation, and I should myself have preferred to have preached
+on some such subject.  But I have taken this subject on principle.
+
+1.  Because, as I have already said, ‘all Scripture is given by
+inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
+correction, for instruction in righteousness.’  No portion, therefore, of
+God’s word, whether it be prophetic or historical, ought to be set aside
+by those who really desire to know God’s truth.  If we wish to know the
+whole mind of God we must be prepared to study the whole of the Holy
+Scriptures which God has given us.
+
+2.  But, besides that, we must remember that our whole faith depends on
+Holy Scripture.  All that we know of the Lord Jesus Christ, of His great
+high-priesthood, of His atoning blood, of His free salvation, of the gift
+of the Holy Ghost, of the new birth, and of the coming Advent, all our
+hope for the future, and all our rest for the present, depend simply and
+entirely on the Word of God.  In it we find all; without it we have
+nothing.  When, therefore, we see a great prophecy of Holy Scripture
+fulfilled in our own day, within reach of our own observation, traceable
+on our own maps, and included within the range of our own memory, we
+ought not to pass it by, but should accept it with thankfulness in these
+days of rebuke and infidelity, as a most blessed confirmation of our
+faith.  Let any one who has the slightest doubt as to the inspiration of
+Scripture look at the facts.  Two thousand four hundred years ago there
+was a prophet, the prophet Daniel, by the river of Ulai, and he foresaw
+in a vision the rise and progress of a mighty power, telling us at the
+same time how long it was likely to continue.  Six hundred years after
+him there arose another prophet, who described what appears to be the
+same power, and gave a graphic picture both of its progress and decay.
+Students of Holy Scripture have since been diligently occupied in the
+study of these two prophecies; and by comparing Scripture with Scripture
+were long since brought to the conclusion that in the course of this
+century the decline of the Ottoman Empire would take place.  And now we
+see it going on.  Just when the students thought it would begin, then it
+began, and just as the prophet described its decay, so it is decaying.
+The prophets themselves could have known nothing about it when they
+prophesied, for the empire did not arise till many centuries after they
+had foretold its fall.  But God knew all, and a thousand years were to
+Him as one day.  These prophecies, therefore, did not arise from any
+private interpretation or human calculation of probabilities, but ‘holy
+men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.’
+
+Now what should be the result on our minds?  What effect should such
+facts have on ourselves?  Should they not strengthen faith and confirm us
+in a simple, childlike, unquestioning trust in the inspired word of the
+living God?  Who but God Himself could have foretold either to Daniel or
+John the rise and decay of the Ottoman Empire?  It is God’s own word,
+then, with which we are dealing when we study Holy Scripture.  There may
+be things in it completely beyond all power of human calculation, as the
+history of the Ottoman Empire was utterly beyond the human calculation of
+either Daniel or John.  But God’s truth does not depend on our power of
+calculation.  It is beyond us altogether, infinite, eternal, divine; and
+our part is, whether we can fit it together or not, to receive the whole
+as God has given it, and as weak, ignorant, short-lived, and
+short-sighted creatures, to receive His will as He has revealed it, into
+our hands, and hearts, and say, ‘I believe God, that it shall be as it
+was said unto me.’
+
+
+
+IV.
+THE FROGS.
+
+
+In opening our subject in the last lecture, I said that there were three
+questions to be considered: 1.  Has the present state of Turkey been
+foretold in prophecy?  2.  Does it teach us any lessons respecting our
+spiritual position? and 3.  Does it throw any light on the blessed hope
+of our Lord’s return?  The first of these questions we examined in the
+last lecture, and surely it was proved that in the symbol of the drying
+up of the Euphrates we have a most remarkable symbolic prophecy of the
+exhaustion of the Ottoman power.  To-day we are to pass on to the second
+question: Is our own spiritual position affected by the exhaustion of
+Turkish power?  Now I can quite understand the thought that has no doubt
+occurred to many of you, that the two things can have no possible
+connexion with each other, for there seems to our mind to be no possible
+connexion of even the most remote character between the Turkish Empire
+and our own spiritual life.  We may well say, ‘What have we to do with
+the Turks, or the Turks with us in our own daily, private walk with God?’
+It may surprise some of you when I say that, although no man can explain
+the reason of the connexion, I believe it to be very intimate, and that
+the religious life of modern Christendom is in a most remarkable manner
+bound up with the decline of the Turkish Empire.
+
+To understand this we must remember that the great prophecy in the book
+of Revelation is arranged in periods.  Each seal, each trumpet, and each
+vial, represents a period.  So there is one particular period of history
+foretold under the figure of the sixth vial, and all the events predicted
+under that vial we should expect to appear at about the same time in
+history.  Whether we can trace any connexion or not, the events of each
+vial are linked together in respect of time; so that if there are two
+events under any one vial, when we see the one we ought to look out for
+the other, and when one takes place we have every reason to believe that
+the other is at hand.  Now there are two events, apparently quite
+distinct in themselves, which are thus connected with each other under
+the sixth vial—the drying up of the Euphrates, and the appearance of
+certain most dangerous and seductive spirits, going forth to gather men
+together for the battle of Almighty God.  If, therefore, it be a fact, as
+I firmly believe it to be a fact, that the Euphrates is now being dried
+up, then it follows as a sure and certain consequence that the unclean
+spirits are soon, if not already, going forth to do their deadly work.
+The two things go on according to the prophecy within the same prophetic
+period, and therefore if we see the one, as believers in the word of God,
+we ought to be on the lookout for the other.  We are thus brought to the
+conclusion, that whenever the Euphrates shall be drying up, there will be
+a time of great spiritual seduction; or in other words that the
+exhaustion of the Turkish Empire will be accompanied, or quickly
+followed, by a remarkable development of mischievous spiritual power.
+This, then, must be our subject in this lecture, and we will study (if
+God permit) first the danger, and then the caution.  May God grant that
+the result may be that we may be like those few men of Sardis who had not
+defiled their garments, and who will walk with the Lord Jesus in white,
+for they are worthy!
+
+I.  The danger.
+
+This is described in Rev. xvi. 13, 14.  ‘And I saw three unclean spirits
+like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of
+the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.  For they are the
+spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the
+earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great
+day of God Almighty.’
+
+All students of prophecy are well aware how much has been written in
+exposition of these two verses, and what different explanations have been
+given of these three seductive spirits.  I have not time this morning to
+discuss any of them, but there are three things perfectly clear, and it
+will be sufficient for us to study them.
+
+(1.)  The subtlety of the danger.
+
+The passage does not describe three empires, or three churches, or three
+great societies, or three organizations of any kind whatever, but three
+spirits.  Now a spirit is something subtle and unseen.  Its presence is
+not perceived; its voice is not heard; its touch is not felt.  It comes
+and goes, but it leaves no footsteps in the sand.  It seems, therefore, a
+great mistake to explain this prophecy by different systems that are
+conspicuous to the eye, and we must be careful lest, by so doing, we
+should be thrown off our guard with reference to our real danger.  There
+may be no false system presented to us, and we may be perfectly safe with
+reference to any definite form of evil, such as infidelity or popery, but
+there may be any one, or indeed all three, of these deadly spirits
+imperceptibly breathing poison into our souls.  It is this subtlety of
+spiritual action that makes it so pre-eminently dangerous.  If it were
+all open and before the eye we should know how to avoid it.
+
+(2.)  The variety.
+
+There is not one spirit only, but there are three acting together.  We
+are taught, therefore, that at the time of the drying up of the Euphrates
+we must be prepared for subtle and seductive power of various forms and
+characters.  If there were only one spirit the danger might assume only
+one form: but as there are three spirits acting together we should be on
+our guard against every possible combination.  We are not merely to look
+out for three distinct and separate forms of error, but, as all three act
+together, they may combine in every conceivable variety.  One may act on
+one mind, two on another, and all three on a third, and so produce the
+most remarkable and inconsistent combinations.  Suppose, _e.g._, that the
+first was Infidelity, the second Worldliness, and the third Popery.
+Remember, I do not say that they are, but suppose they were.  In some
+cases you might have avowed Atheism; in some, a life so absorbed in the
+world that a man does not even take the trouble to be an infidel; and in
+others pure and unadulterated Romanism.  But, besides that, you might
+find every possible combination.  Sceptical opinions might be combined
+with Romish ritual, and high ceremonial with worldliness of life.
+Indeed, there is scarcely any form of seductive error that you might not
+develop by combining in different proportions those three most dangerous
+spirits.  Thus it follows that, though a person may be well on his guard
+against one, he may be gradually entangled by the other two; and though
+he may be on the watch against all in their distinct and separate forms,
+he may be drawn out of a straight path by a beautiful combination of the
+three, in which according to St. Paul’s illustration, Satan has
+transformed himself into an angel of light.
+
+(3.)  The result of the action of these spirits in conflict.  Verse
+14—‘For they are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth
+unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the
+battle of the great day of God Almighty.’
+
+Their special object appears to be to gather together the kings to the
+battle of the great day of God Almighty: and in studying the prophecy it
+is impossible to forget the political difficulties that have already
+arisen from the decline of Turkey.  But we must not limit the prophecy to
+kings, for the warning voice of verse 15 clearly applies to us all.
+Kings are not the only persons who find it necessary to watch and keep
+their garments.  These spirits then, are predicted as gathering men
+together for battle.  When they are abroad, truth and error will be
+thrown into antagonism.  The Lord Jesus Christ will be collecting His
+forces, and Satan his: there will be on both sides the mustering of the
+host.  Those that are on the side of the Lamb will rally round His
+banner, ‘called, and chosen, and faithful’; and those that are under the
+influence of any of the seductive spirits will throw themselves into the
+ranks of open opposition.  The characteristic of the day will be, not
+sloth or indifference, but zeal, eagerness, and conflict.
+
+Now no one can have watched the progress of men’s minds during the last
+half century without observing that this has been most remarkably the
+case.  There cannot be a doubt as to the fact that, while the Turkish
+power has been declining, the powers of good and evil throughout
+Christendom have been awakening into life.  The two processes have gone
+on side by side.  Turkey has been drying up, and almost every state in
+Europe has been aroused to religious conflict.  Many amongst us have been
+able to trace the vast change that has taken place during our own
+lifetimes.  I can see myself an immense difference between the state of
+things when I first commenced my ministry, forty years ago, and the state
+of things now.  Then the characteristic of the day was stagnation, but
+now it is conflict.  Then our warfare was against cold, dull, dead,
+stolid indifference; but now error in every shape is in full activity,
+and we require to be armed at all points against every species of attack.
+Then all that unconverted men desired was to be left undisturbed in the
+deep sleep that had settled down on their souls.  But they are all awake
+now, and the cry is, ‘To arms!’  Many, alas! are on the wrong side.  Far
+too many have fallen under the fatal influence of these seducing spirits;
+but, whether on the wrong side or the right, they are awake.  They are up
+and hurrying to their post.  The time for sleep is over; the bugle has
+sounded, the ranks are forming, the struggle has begun, and the time is
+come when those who know their Saviour must be prepared to stand with a
+holy decision on His side.
+
+II.  And now you can see the overwhelming importance of the warning of
+this verse: ‘Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest
+he walk naked, and they see his shame.’  You can see that the exhaustion
+of Turkey is a conspicuous signal from God to arouse all Christendom to
+watchfulness.  We cannot see the three unclean spirits coming forth, but
+we can see Turkey decaying; and that is God’s visible signal that the
+invisible spirits are at work.  If ever, therefore, there was a time for
+especial watchfulness it is now.  If ever there was a time when our young
+people require to be cautioned, and warned, and helped, and guided, it is
+now.  And you will observe that the warning is given to those who have
+some garments.  It is not spoken to the heathen, or unconverted
+worldlings; but to those who have, what I may term, some sort of
+Christian clothing.  I have not time to discuss what that clothing is.
+It may be their baptismal robe, that which they put on when they were
+baptized into Christ.  It may be the robe of their Christian profession,
+that which they wear habitually in daily life; or it may even be that
+spotless robe washed white in the blood of the Lamb, in which alone they
+can stand before God, the wedding garment of the perfect righteousness of
+the Lord Jesus Christ.  In whatever sense we understand the expression,
+the solemn and sacred warning from God to every one of us, both old and
+young, is the same; viz., that we watch and keep our garments, lest we
+walk naked, and they see our shame.  We see the Euphrates drying up, and
+therefore we know that the evil spirits are abroad.  We know, _i.e._,
+that there are subtle, deadly influences all around us, of various kinds
+and characters, whose object is to draw us away from the simplicity that
+is in Christ, to strip us of our garments, and to enlist us on the wrong
+side of the struggle.  We may not be aware of their stealthy approach;
+and we are not likely to be so, for we are certain not to see them.  We
+need not necessarily be shocked by their suggestions, for, though they be
+unclean spirits, they can clothe their temptation in the form of beauty.
+But whether we detect them or not, we may be sure they are at work, and
+in full activity.  They are moving with stealthy steps in the midst of
+us.  They are approaching our minds in secret, disturbing prayer,
+suggesting doubts, weakening faith, poisoning thought, alienating love,
+and so labouring by subtle, mental influence, to detach us from Christ.
+And only think what the result would be if they were to succeed; nothing
+less than this, that we should walk naked and they would see our shame!
+It is not clear who is meant by the ‘they’ that are to see the shame.  It
+may be the world at large, or it may be the very spirits that have done
+the mischief, looking on with a fiendish smile on the misery and
+nakedness of the poor wretch whom they have ruined.  But it matters not
+who sees it; that will make very little difference.  To be naked before
+God, that is enough.  He is sure to see it, and the dreadful horrors of
+such a position far exceed any power of human imagination.  You remember
+how St. Paul spoke of it in 2 Cor. v. 3: ‘If so be that being clothed’
+(clothed, _i.e._, with the resurrection body) ‘we shall not be found
+naked.’  Clothed, but yet naked.  Risen, but not covered.  Alive with all
+the realities of the body, and all the faculties of the mind, memory, and
+conscience; but with the poor soul naked, without a claim, without an
+excuse, without an atonement, without a plea, without a Saviour, without
+any hope for all eternity of either concealment or forgiveness.  The
+thought is too dreadful to be borne.  Oh, may God in mercy grant that not
+one of us, and not one whom we love, may be found naked in that day?  And
+oh! what an inexpressible joy it is for the child of God, however weak,
+however unworthy, however unable to cope with all the seductions of those
+wicked spirits, to fall back on the sure promise of his blessed Saviour:
+‘They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My
+hand.’  He can keep us, and we may be sure He will.  Let us throw
+ourselves then into His hand to be clothed, to be kept, to be watched
+over, to be held fast, that so, preserved in Christ Jesus, and clothed in
+His spotless robe, we may never be found naked, but may when He comes be
+presented ‘faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding
+joy.’ {69}
+
+
+
+V.
+THE ADVENT.
+
+
+I trust there are many amongst us who are able to say, from the very
+depths of their longing hearts, ‘I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait.’
+The long-expected coming of the Lord is the blessed hope on which their
+hearts rest in eager and earnest expectation, and they can add their
+unqualified ‘Amen’ to the last prayer of Scripture, ‘Even so, come, Lord
+Jesus.’
+
+I am persuaded that all those who are thus looking for the coming of the
+Lord must feel the greatest possible interest in the last of the three
+subjects proposed for our consideration with reference to the exhaustion
+of the Turkish Empire, as symbolized by the drying up of the Euphrates.
+We have seen that the exhaustion which is now attracting the anxious
+attention of all the politicians of Europe was foretold more than
+eighteen hundred years ago in this remarkable symbolic prophecy.  We
+found also in the last lecture that the internal decay of Turkey is a
+warning to us all to be on the watch against the seductive spirits of the
+latter days; and we now have to examine whether there is any connexion
+between that decay and the glorious advent of the Lord Jesus; whether, in
+other words, the decline of the Ottoman empire is not like the cry which
+aroused the ten virgins in the parable, ‘The Bridegroom cometh.’  There
+are two questions which will clearly require our careful study.  (1.)
+What light does the decline of the Ottoman Empire throw on the near
+approach of our Lord’s return?  And (2), if it does throw such a light,
+how are we to understand His declaration that He will come as a thief?
+May God Himself, who has inspired His own word, be graciously pleased to
+direct us in the study of it; and to lead us, every one of us, to be
+perfectly ready, waiting for the Lord Jesus!
+
+I.  What light, then, does the decay of the Ottoman Empire throw on the
+prospect of the near approach of our Lord’s return?  Has it any bearing
+on our Christian hope? and may we regard it as a signal from God that the
+time is come when we may soon expect the Advent?
+
+In order to answer this question we must examine:—
+
+(1.)  The position of the prophecy in the general structure of the Book.
+The prophecies of this wonderful book are arranged on a divinely ordered
+plan.  There are some chapters to which it is difficult to assign their
+place; but it is easy to see what may be termed the backbone running
+through the whole.  To use a very homely illustration, there is the main
+line of rail conspicuously running through the whole, and you may trace
+that clearly, though you cannot always trace the branches.  Now in this
+outline there are three great series of prophetic periods—the seven
+seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven vials; and these three series
+appear in a remarkable manner to follow each other.  First there are the
+seals, as in chap. vi.; and when the sixth seal is opened, and the
+seventh about to follow, there appears a general expectation of the
+coming of the Lord.  But when the seventh seal is actually opened,
+instead of our coming to the end, as apparently was expected, we find a
+second series developed.  The seven trumpets were wrapped as it were in
+the seventh seal (viii. 1, 2), so that when it was opened they appeared,
+and a fresh series commenced, and the trumpet-angels one after another
+blew their blast.  At length the seventh trumpet is sounded, and again it
+appears as though you had reached the end.  But like the seventh seal,
+it, too, is found to contain within itself a third series.  The seven
+vials are wrapped within it, and when that last trumpet is blown they are
+poured forth in awful succession on a wicked world.  Thus the seventh
+seal contains all the trumpets, and the seventh trumpet all the vials.
+Now if this be the case it is clear that the sixth vial must come very
+near the end.  The trumpets are none sounded till the six seals are
+passed and the seventh seal is opened.  The vials do not begin till the
+six trumpets have completed their blast and the seventh has sounded; and
+of the vials six must have been poured out already, so that there can be
+nothing remaining but the seventh, or the last.
+
+To take the very homely illustration of a railway.  Suppose a series of
+stations on a line, the seventh being a junction; suppose that on the
+branch from that junction there was another series of stations, the
+seventh again being a junction; and from that second junction there was
+another line of seven stations, the last being your home.  What would you
+think of your position when you had travelled the whole length of the
+main line, and the whole of the first branch, and when you had gone so
+far along the second branch that you had actually reached the sixth
+station on that last line?  You would say, surely, that you were near the
+end of your journey, close to home.  Now whenever the Church of God
+reaches the sixth vial that will be its position.  All the seals will
+have been opened, all the trumpets blown, and six of the seven vials
+poured out.
+
+But that I believe to be our position now, and that we are at this
+present time living under the sixth vial.  I believe that the great
+public, political event of the sixth vial, is the drying up of the
+Ottoman Empire, and that we can all see to be in progress.  There can be
+no doubt about the great, public, political fact.  It is confirmed by
+every newspaper, and is forced on the attention of England by the sore
+distress brought on many families through the Turkish bankruptcy.  But if
+this be the fact predicted by the symbol of the drying up of the
+Euphrates, then it follows that we are living under the sixth vial, and
+that the seventh vial is all that remains of the great prophetic series.
+
+(2.)  But consider next the contents of the seventh vial.  The seventh
+seal contained the series of seven trumpets, and the seventh trumpet the
+series of seven vials.  May there not be some similar series wrapped up
+in the seventh vial?
+
+Such a question would be perfectly reasonable, but the only answer that
+we can give is that we do not find any such series described in the
+prophecy.  On the other hand, everything in it looks like the end.  When
+the seventh angel poured out his vial there came a great voice out of the
+temple of heaven from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’  It certainly did
+not look like the commencement of another series, but taught us rather to
+look out for the great winding up of the whole and the final close of the
+great prophetic plan.  So in the account of the seventh vial you may see
+four things plainly revealed—the fall of Babylon, which I believe to be
+the fall of Rome, chap. xvi. 17, to the end of xviii.; the marriage
+supper of the Lamb, chap. xix. 1–9; the triumphant victory of the Son of
+God, chap. xix. 11, 12; and, last of all, the millennial reign, chap. xx.
+Surely, then, this vial brings us to the end.  Surely when it is poured
+forth we shall have done with the politics of the world, and shall cease
+to look for the gradual development of history.  All thoughts will then
+be occupied by the unspeakable blessedness of the marriage supper of the
+Lamb.
+
+It seems clear, then, that the seventh vial is the close of the series,
+and that under it we are to expect the final victory of the Lord Jesus
+Christ.  The conclusion, therefore, is plain, that if the exhaustion of
+the Ottoman Empire is the event symbolized by the drying up of the
+Euphrates, it is high time that we awake out of sleep: for the sixth vial
+is already begun, and we must soon expect to behold Christ Himself, with
+all the joys of His kingdom and all the terrors of a crushing victory.  I
+say ‘soon,’ not ‘immediately,’ for it does not appear that this passage
+teaches us to expect it any day or hour, for it describes certain great
+political events which have not yet taken place.  The Euphrates is
+drying, but not yet dry.  The kings have not yet passed over from the
+East, and the battle of Almighty God, whatever it may symbolize, has not
+yet been fought.  All, therefore, that we can say is, that we appear to
+have reached what Daniel terms ‘the time of the end’; that now it is high
+time to awake out of sleep, for we already begin to see the first streaks
+of morning dawn.  We have already witnessed some of the great events that
+must very shortly precede the Advent, and we may begin to look out full
+of hope for the actual return of the Lord Himself.
+
+(3.)  This conclusion is confirmed by the words of our Lord Himself.  I
+need not stop to prove that He is the speaker in this passage, but we
+must carefully observe His words.  What does He say when the sixth vial
+is poured out, and the Euphrates is drying up, and when the three evil
+spirits are gone forth through Christendom?  What is the warning voice
+which He Himself then gives out with reference to His coming?  What
+lesson would He have us learn from these great events?  Of what are they
+His signal?  Does He not teach us to be looking out for His coming?  Does
+He not say, ‘Behold, I come as a thief?’ {79}  Does He not call us to a
+double watchfulness, and teach us not merely to watch against the
+seductive influence of these foul spirits, but to watch also for His own
+appearing, and for the bright hope of joyfully meeting Him?  But if this
+be the case, and if the prophecy of the sixth vial is really being now
+fulfilled, as we believe it to be, by the drying up of the Turkish power;
+then every fresh symptom of decay in that power, every loss of territory
+by the Turks, every fresh insurrection, and every proof that the empire
+is reduced to hopeless bankruptcy, is like a clarion blast of the trumpet
+of God ringing through the ears of Christendom; and proclaiming, with a
+distinctness which cannot be mistaken, ‘Watch, therefore, for ye know
+neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh!’
+
+II.  But if this be the case, it behoves us carefully to examine our
+second question.  If such a warning is so clearly given, how can He be
+said to come as a thief?  He Himself teaches us perfectly clearly that
+the meaning of the illustration is that, as the thief comes without
+giving notice, so He will return without previously giving any such
+notice of His approach as will arouse the sleepers.  The thief does not
+tell you when he is coming; and when he comes, he neither knocks at the
+door nor rings the bell.  But he comes quietly.  He does nothing to
+disturb those that are asleep, and his object is to enter unobserved.  So
+our Lord teaches us, that when He comes He will do nothing to startle the
+world.  There will be nothing to prevent men eating and drinking,
+marrying and giving in marriage, right up to the very end.  The men of
+the world will find Him in the house before they have the least idea of
+His approach.  That this is the meaning of the words is perfectly clear
+from what He said (Matt. xxiv. 42–44): ‘Watch, therefore; for ye know not
+what hour your Lord doth come.  But know this, that if the goodman of the
+house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have
+watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
+Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son
+of Man cometh.’
+
+But, you may say, how far is this consistent with what has been said of
+the probability of His return following quickly on the exhaustion of the
+Ottoman Empire?  If there be a prophetic series in the book of
+Revelation, and we have already reached the last station on the last
+branch of the line, how is it that He can be said to come upon us without
+notice as a thief does?  Has He not given us notice in this prophecy?
+
+In answer to that question we must observe the clearly marked distinction
+between His own believing people and the unbelieving world.  To His own
+people He will not come as a thief, for we read in 1 Thess. v. 4, 5, ‘But
+ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake _you_ as
+a thief.’  _You_ are in the light, _i.e._, for you can see Him coming; so
+_you_ will not be found asleep.  So He Himself taught us distinctly in
+the very passage in which He uses the illustration; for He there shows
+that His own disciples are to expect His coming when they see the
+predicted signs, just as they expect the summer when they see the budding
+of the trees in spring (Matt. xxiv. 32, 33).  Nor are they to wait in
+their expectation till they see these signs fully developed; not to wait,
+_i.e._, till the young branch is fully grown; but they are to watch
+beginnings, and learn from them.  They are to draw their conclusion when
+the branch is yet tender, without waiting till it is fully ripened; as He
+Himself taught us in Luke, xxi. 28: ‘When these things _begin_ to come to
+pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth
+nigh.’  If, therefore, you be amongst the people of God, you need never
+be taken by surprise.  We do not know the exact time, but we may study
+the predicted signs, and, having them before us, may look out for the
+second advent just as Simeon and Anna looked out for the first.  We may
+be like the servant of Elijah, going up again and again to the hill-top
+to watch for the coming rain; or like the loving servant watching for the
+footsteps of the master whom he loves, and perfectly ready, whenever he
+returns, to open the door, and welcome him to his home.  The Lord came
+suddenly to His temple, but He did not come suddenly to Simeon; and the
+Lord will come as a thief to the world, but if you hold fast to His own
+word He will never be as a thief to you.
+
+As I have already said, it is the _world_ that will be found asleep, and
+to whom He will really come as a thief.  But some man may say, ‘If there
+be these signs beforehand, will they not arouse the world as well as
+believers?  Will they not awaken society?  Will they not compel men to
+prepare?’  I answer that by another question, Do they?  There are certain
+signs already given; do they wake up society?  Have they produced such an
+impression as to arouse the great mass of worldly men?  There are the
+Jews preserved as a separate people, in fulfilment of a prophecy given
+more than three thousand years ago; what effect has such a fulfilment of
+God’s word had in the City?  There are all the politicians of Europe at
+their wits’ end because of the decay of Turkey; how many even of
+yourselves have been led thereby to look out for the near approach of our
+blessed Saviour?  There is Rome stripped of its temporal power in
+fulfilment of great prophecies given, some of them, more than two
+thousand years ago; how many are there that have been led by that
+fulfilment to look out even for the fall of Babylon?  The simple fact is,
+that these great fulfilments, though conspicuous to the eye of those who
+study them, completely fail to produce the least impression on the deep
+sleep of the unconverted world.  The prophecies are not read; the facts
+are not compared with them; the lessons are not learned; and the soul is
+not aroused to preparation.  How many are there even in this very town on
+whom the fulfilment of God’s prophetic word has never produced the
+slightest effect?  They are living just as they would have lived, or
+rather sleeping as they would have slept, if there had been no prophecy
+to give the warning, and no history to confirm its truth.  Can you
+wonder, then, that the Lord Jesus should come upon such persons as a
+thief?
+
+But I trust, dear brethren, that He may not come as a thief to you, but
+that you may be found in the light and awake, not in darkness and asleep;
+or, to use the illustration of this text, that you may not wake up naked
+to your everlasting shame.  I am sure you desire when He comes to be
+found awake, looking out, ready to welcome Him.  You wish to be found
+clothed.  Oh, think what it would be to be found naked, when all the
+saints of God are standing around you in their resurrection robe!  We
+have lately read of poor people startled in the night by shipwreck, and
+rushing as they were to the deck, utterly unprotected against the bitter
+blast of the winter’s snow-storm.  Think what it would be to be suddenly
+aroused from your own deep sleep, to see all that you have in the world
+wrecked around you, and to find your poor soul quite naked, while the
+terrible storm of God’s most just judgment beats upon you, and breaks
+down every hope of escape!  Oh, dear brethren, may it never be so with
+you!  May you be amongst those who can peacefully look for His appearing,
+because you are clothed in His righteousness!  May you be kept walking in
+the light, and cleansed from all sin through His most precious blood!
+Then you will have nothing to fear, but everything to hope for, in the
+thought of His coming.  Then He will never come as a thief to you, for
+you will be ready at any time to open the door and welcome Him.  As the
+bride delights in the bridegroom, so will you delight in Him.  Your trial
+will consist, not in the dread of His coming, but in the difficulty of
+patiently waiting for His return, and when He comes you will find no
+language to bless and praise His holy name for His boundless and
+unmerited love in having redeemed you by His atoning blood; in having
+called you by His sovereign grace; in having forgiven you through His
+finished atonement: in having sanctified you by the Holy Ghost; and in
+having preserved you in His own unchanging faithfulness, till He shall
+have finally presented you spotless and faultless before the throne of
+His everlasting glory.
+
+
+
+
+JERUSALEM.
+
+
+There is no city in the whole world which fills so important a place in
+the Word of God as Jerusalem.  There are several others which are more
+prominent in the world’s politics, but in the great economy of God, as
+revealed in Sacred Scripture, Jerusalem stands out pre-eminent above them
+all.  We Englishmen think of London, with its vast population and
+enormous wealth, as the leading city of the world; but except in so far
+as it is the capital of one of the isles of the sea, it has no place in
+prophecy.  The French look upon Paris as the most beautiful city of
+Europe, and the centre of European influence; but, unless it is the
+predicted seat of the Beast, which some persons are disposed to consider
+it, it is literally nowhere in the Word of God.  And Rome, which all
+regard with something of awe and veneration, as being associated with the
+most thrilling histories of the past, is described in the Prophetic Word
+as the seven-hilled city on which is seated the mystic Babylon, the great
+whore of the Apocalypse.  But the whole of Sacred Scripture abounds in
+allusions to Jerusalem.  History, poetry, and prophecy are all full of
+it.  It is described as ‘beautiful for situation,’ and ‘the joy of the
+whole earth.’  The people of God are taught to pray for it, and the
+promise is given that those who love it shall prosper.  The sacred feet
+of the Son of God trod the pavement of its Temple, and we are assured
+that it will never disappear from God’s great dealings with mankind,
+until the New Jerusalem shall descend from heaven from our God, and there
+shall be new heavens and a new earth at the coming of the Lord of Glory.
+
+It was the sight of this beautiful city, with its magnificent Temple
+crowning the heights of Mount Moriah, that drew from our blessed Saviour
+the remarkable prophecy contained in the 24th of St. Matthew and the 21st
+of St. Luke.  The disciples had pointed out to Him the buildings of the
+Temple; and afterwards, as they sat together on the Mount of Olives, on
+the opposite side of the valley, He taught them the vanity of all earthly
+strength.  He told them that of the beautiful Temple not one stone should
+be left upon another.  And He also taught them that there would be a
+lengthened period of desolation and humiliation; for that Jerusalem
+should be ‘trodden under foot of the Gentiles until the times of the
+Gentiles should be fulfilled.’  Jerusalem was to be not merely beaten
+down, but kept down, until a certain predicted period should expire.  But
+while the words distinctly predict a long period of desolation, they no
+less clearly imply the assurance of an ultimate restoration.  They teach
+that Jerusalem is not to be trodden down for ever, but only till the
+times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled; implying, as clearly as words
+can, that when those times are expired, the Holy City shall rise again in
+its beauty.  The words predict a desolation for a limited period, and at
+the close of that period, restoration.
+
+I have not time to discuss what is meant by ‘the times of the Gentiles.’
+Suffice it to say that I believe it to be this present Gentile
+dispensation; this time of Gentile power and Gentile opportunity; this
+time during which God is gathering out His elect people from the Gentile
+world, and is employing a Gentile Church in the sacred ministry of the
+Gospel of His grace.  It seems to be the time of the ingathering of the
+Gentile Church, for it is to last, according to St. Paul, ‘until the
+fulness of the Gentiles be come in’; and it is clearly the time of the
+exercise of Gentile power, for they are Gentiles by whom Jerusalem is to
+be trodden under foot.
+
+But I do not wish to occupy time in any discussion of this period, but
+rather to invite your special attention to those Gentile powers which
+have trodden Jerusalem under foot.  Which are they? and how do they now
+stand?
+
+What, then, are the Gentile powers which have trodden down Jerusalem?  In
+the course of the eighteen hundred years of her humiliation there have
+been times during which there have been short interruptions in the sway
+of the ruling powers.  But, looking at the period as one great whole, and
+fixing our attention on the conspicuous outlines of history, we find that
+there are two powers which stand out conspicuous above all the rest as
+the great oppressors of the Holy City.  These are Rome and the successive
+forms of that Mahommedan power of which the present head is Turkey.  Rome
+trod her down at the siege of Jerusalem, and Turkey holds her down now.
+Rome cast her to the ground, and when she was down Turkey set its foot on
+her neck.  Rome hurled her to the dust, and Turkey now tramples her in
+the mire.  Rome destroyed God’s Temple, and actually ploughed up the
+sacred ground on which it stood.  Turkey maintains on the sacred site the
+mosque of Omar; and on that holy hill where Abraham offered Isaac, where
+David offered the oxen of Araunah, where Solomon built his Temple, and
+where the Lord Jesus, the Son of David, cast out all that was unholy;
+there, by Turkish authority, now stands a Mahommedan mosque; and there no
+Jew is permitted to set his foot, the only privilege allowed him being to
+kneel in the Street of Wailing outside the enclosure, and there weep for
+the desolation of Jerusalem.
+
+There is something very remarkable in this fact, because these are the
+two powers especially connected with the two great predicted apostasies,
+Popery and Mahommedanism; Rome being the seat of the Popedom, and the
+Sultan of Turkey the recognised head of the Mahommedan apostasy.
+
+But I have no time now to examine that connexion, nor is it my present
+object to do so.  The one fact I desire to leave perfectly clear on your
+mind is this, that Rome and the Mussulman power of which Turkey is now
+the head, are the two Gentile powers which for the last eighteen hundred
+years must be charged with having trodden down Jerusalem.
+
+And now what is the present position of these two powers?  And how do
+they stand in Europe?  What is the condition, and what the prospect, of
+these two great oppressors of Jerusalem?
+
+As for Rome, as a political power it has ceased to exist, for I need not
+say that the modern kingdom of Italy has nothing to do with it.  It is
+not built on the old lines, but is altogether a new creation, an
+extension of the kingdom of Sardinia.  Now there can be no doubt whatever
+that the vast, iron-footed, undivided Roman Empire, of which Titus was
+emperor at the time he trod down Jerusalem, has long since passed away.
+Different historians may assign different dates to its dissolution, but
+no one doubts for one moment that it is dissolved.  The power that
+trampled down Jerusalem is broken up into ten kingdoms, and the Imperial
+head is no more.  There is no successor to the throne of Titus, and the
+throne itself is in fragments.
+
+It is very remarkable also that the Papal head which succeeded the
+Imperial has within the past few years come also to an end as a political
+power.  After the division of the undivided empire the ten kingdoms were
+to a great extent held together by the Papal head which succeeded the
+Imperial.  The Pope claimed to be the sole authority from which the kings
+derived their power, and before the Reformation, all Europe acknowledged
+his claims.  He was supposed to hold all the crowns of Europe in his
+hand.  But that is all over now.  The kings have taken away his dominion.
+As a political power the Papal head has followed the Imperial.  According
+to Sir G. Bowyer, in the _Times_ of Nov. 10, 1874, ‘The Pope has been
+dethroned, and all his dominions and property have been reduced to a
+palace, a church, and a garden,’ it does not seem, therefore, very
+probable that Rome in either shape will ever again tread down Jerusalem.
+We may safely say that the first of the two oppressors is no more.
+
+But what shall we say of the second? of that Turkey which is the only
+power now treading down Jerusalem?  I would meet this by another
+question.  Is there any politician in Europe who has the least
+expectation of Turkey remaining in its present position for another ten
+years?  Whatever little political power it retains is dying out as fast
+as it can die.  Its exchequer is bankrupt.  Its credit is gone.  Its
+character for good faith is at an end.  Its armies are unpaid.  Its
+subject populations are rising against the intolerable burdens of its
+injustice and oppression; and the Turks themselves have lost heart in the
+melancholy conviction that their days are numbered.
+
+Thus of the two powers that have trodden down Jerusalem, one is already
+extinct and the head of the other at its last gasp.  The foot of the Sick
+Man is the only foot now remaining on the neck of Jerusalem, and the Sick
+Man is dying.  Surely it is not unreasonable to ask the question, ‘When
+he dies, why should not Jerusalem arise and be free’?
+
+The result is that, without dwelling on any minute detail, we are brought
+by the great, long-continued facts of European history, to the most
+important conclusion that, in all probability, we are approaching the
+time when Jerusalem shall no longer be trodden down of the Gentiles, and
+when therefore, the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled.  It is only
+reasonable to suppose that when the oppressors are taken out of the way
+the oppression will come to an end; and, therefore, as one of those two
+oppressors is already fallen, and the other falling so fast that all the
+powers of Europe seem unable to keep him in his place, there is surely
+good reason to hope that before long the captive will be free, and that
+the time may not be far distant when we shall hear the cry, ‘Shake
+thyself from the dust; arise and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself
+from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.’
+
+And it certainly is a most remarkable fact that, simultaneously with the
+consumption of Rome and the decay of Turkey, there has been a wonderful
+awakening of interest in Jerusalem and the Jews.  The explorations in
+Palestine are very like a fulfilment of the prophecy, ‘Thy servants take
+pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof’: and if they are,
+there is good reason to hope that ‘the time to favour her, yea, the set
+time, is come.’
+
+But the interest in the people is more remarkable than that in the
+country.  Before the great Evangelical revival at the commencement of
+this century no one seemed to have any idea that the Jews had any part in
+their own Messiah.  They were treated as an outcast people, and as for
+their conversion, no one seems to have thought of attempting it until the
+formation of the Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews, in
+the year 1808.  But now there are Christian missionaries labouring
+amongst them in most of the principal towns of Europe, and, indeed, in
+almost all the leading centres of their scattered population.  The New
+Testament has been translated into Hebrew, and very nearly twenty-five
+thousand copies are being annually circulated amongst the Jews.  The
+state of feeling towards them has passed through a complete revolution,
+so that of England it was said not long since by a learned and
+influential Italian Jew, ‘God has blessed, and will bless, England;
+because her great men, both in Church and State, take an interest in the
+children of Jacob.’  Such facts are most important in themselves; but
+when it is borne in mind that this interest in Jerusalem has been
+awakened just at the time of the consumption of the political power of
+Rome, and has been going on side by side with the decay of Turkey, it
+certainly ought to lead all students of the Word of God to consider
+carefully whether the times of the Gentiles may not be drawing to a
+close, and the day of redemption may not be beginning to dawn on
+Jerusalem.
+
+But some may be disposed to say, How are we concerned with Jerusalem, and
+what does it matter to us whether Jerusalem is trodden under foot, or
+free?  I fear this is a very common feeling throughout society, and that
+there are thousands and tens of thousands of professing Christians who
+are perfectly indifferent as to the condition of Jerusalem.  But it ought
+not so to be, for if it be a place cared for by the Lord, it ought to be
+also cared for by His people.  Besides which, even on selfish principles,
+we should take an interest in Jerusalem; for, as our position as Gentiles
+in Christ Jesus is most intimately connected with the fall of Jerusalem,
+so our brightest hopes in Him are bound up with its recovery.  In proof
+of this I would ask you to turn to Ps. cii. 16, where you read, ‘When the
+Lord shall build up Zion he shall appear in glory!’  The return of the
+Lord is, therefore, connected with the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and,
+whenever we see His hand restoring the city, we should begin to look out
+in confident hope for the glorious and happy day when He Himself will
+come to take the Kingdom.  As a student of the Word of God, I should be
+very much surprised if He were to come before Jerusalem is raised from
+the dust; but when it is raised, it seems clear from Scripture that there
+will be nothing in the great prophetic series any longer to delay His
+appearing. {102}
+
+So in our Lord’s discourse, as recorded by St. Matthew and St. Luke, we
+are taught the same thing.  The object of the discourse is not, as has
+been sometimes thought, to confound the taking of Jerusalem with the
+Second Coming, but to distinguish them, and to warn the disciples against
+the danger of mistaking the siege of Jerusalem for the coming of the
+Lord.  It is the restoration of Jerusalem, not the fall, which is
+connected with the Advent.  Our Lord, therefore, distinguishes between
+the fall and the recovery and describes the various signs that shall
+precede each.  So up to Luke xxi. 24, we find the description of the
+desolation, concluding with the prophecy, ‘Jerusalem shall be trodden
+down of the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.’  But
+in ver. 28 we find the promise of the glorious recovery in those sacred
+words, ‘When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift
+up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh.’  The 24th verse
+describes the desolation, the 28th the restoration, and the whole long
+period described as the times of the Gentiles, with the signs of the
+latter days, intervenes between the two.  Now look at the account of the
+redemption.  It includes clearly a release from the captivity and the
+rise of Jerusalem, when the time of its treading down shall have come to
+an end.  But that is not all, or nearly so.  The redemption there
+described is identified with the return of the Lord Himself; for in ver.
+27 we read, ‘Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with
+power and great glory.’  Those then who pray for the peace of Jerusalem
+will rejoice for Jerusalem’s sake in its recovery.  Those servants of God
+who take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof, will have
+their hearts gladdened when they see her rebuilt.  But that is not all,
+or nearly all, for whenever that happens, the whole Church of God, and
+every member of it in every nation under heaven, may look up and lift up
+their heads, for the Lord Himself will soon appear.  Once more, then, are
+we taught our deep interest in the decay of Turkey.  When Turkey falls
+there is every hope that Jerusalem will rise; and when Jerusalem rises,
+the next thing for us to look out for will be the Advent of the Lord.
+All Christians, therefore, should rejoice in the decline of the Ottoman
+Empire, for the fall of the Mussulman is the hope of the Jew, and the
+return of the Jew will be the blessed harbinger of the triumphant advent
+of her glorious King.  Rome beat down Jerusalem, and Rome, as a political
+power, is no more.  Turkey is now treading her down; but its decay is
+begun, and its days are numbered: so that we may earnestly hope it will
+be but a little while, possibly a very little while—within the lives of
+many present—when the great promise of God shall be fulfilled, and,
+according to the prophecy, ‘The moon shall be confounded, and the sun
+ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in
+Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.’  God grant that all the
+readers of this little book may be found looking for His appearing, and
+ready to welcome Him with their lamps burning brightly, when the cry is
+heard, ‘The Bridegroom cometh!’
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                 LONDON:
+                   Printed by MERRITT & HATCHER, LTD.,
+                             Moor Lane, E.C.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+Works on Prophecy and the Second Coming of our Lord
+Published by CHAS. J. THYNNE
+
+
+Armageddon; or, A Warning Voice from the last battle field of nations
+proclaiming by the mouths of Prophets and Apostles that the close of the
+times of the Disciples and the second personal Advent and Millennial
+reign of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ are nigh at hand.  3 vols.,
+demy 8vo., averaging 600 pages each volume.  Cloth gilt, 15s. net.
+
+Rome, Turkey and Jerusalem.  By the Rev. Canon E. HOARE, sometime Vicar
+of Holy Trinity, Tunbridge Wells.  New Edition (Fourth Impression),
+edited by Rev J. H. TOWNSEND, D.D.  Small 8vo., cloth, 1s. net.
+
+New Testament Millenarianism; or, The Kingdom and Coming of Christ, as
+taught by Himself and His Apostles.  (Bampton Lecture).  By SAMUEL
+WALDEGRAVE, D.D., sometime Bishop of Carlisle.  Second Edition.  Cloth,
+gilt, 8vo., 4s. net.
+
+CONTENTS.—The Right Order of Scriptural Inquiry concerning, the
+Millennium—The Kingdom of Heaven as now Existing—The Kingdom of Christ as
+now Existing—The Ingathering and Glorification—The Judgment of Quick and
+Dead—The Recompense of Reward—The Thousand Years—The True Burden of Old
+Testament Prophecy—Appendices.
+
+Prophetic Studies; or, Some Present-day Facts as Seen in the Light of
+Prophecy.  By the Rev. J. ELLAM, formerly Rector of Weston Turville,
+Bucks.  Crown 8vo., cloth, 1s. net.
+
+CONTENTS.—Introductory—The Western Little Horn—The Eastern Little
+Horn—The Present Outlook—The Future Outlook.
+
+“The Night is far Spent, the Day is at Hand”; or, Lessons on Unfulfilled
+Prophecy.  By the Rev. GEORGE LOVELY.  Small 8vo., cloth, 9d. net.
+
+CONTENTS.—The Present Dispensation—The Restoration of the Jews—The Man of
+Sin—The Pre-Millennial Advent—The First Resurrection—The Millennium—The
+Reappearing of Elijah—The Day of Judgment—Signs of the Lord’s Coming.
+
+
+
+Works by the Rev. Canon Samuel Garratt.
+
+
+A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, considered as the Divine Book
+of History, in which God has delineated what is now Past, Present, and to
+Come.  Third and Cheaper Edition.  lxxii. and 520 pp.  8vo., cloth, gilt,
+5s. net.
+
+CONTENTS.—The Book of Revelation—Chart—Principles of
+Interpretation—Outlines of the Apocalypse—Opening Visions—The Seven
+Seals—The First Four Trumpets—The Last Three Trumpets—The First Sign—The
+Second Sign—The Third Sign—The Fourth Sign—The Fifth Sign—The Sixth
+Sign—The Seventh Sign—Closing Visions—Indices.
+
+Veins of Silver; or, Truths hidden beneath the Surface.  Second and
+Cheaper Edition.  Cloth, gilt, 2s. 6d. net.
+
+CONTENTS.—Inspired Words and Unfolding Truths—God’s Dealing with the
+Heathen—The Punishment of the Wicked—Appendix.
+
+Eastern Horizon, The; or, The Present Crisis in the Church and the World.
+Being the Third Edition, revised and enlarged, of “Signs of the Times.”
+Crown 8vo., cloth, gilt, 2s. net.
+
+The Purposes of God.  Last Advent Addresses on God’s Purposes.  (1)
+Respecting the World.  (2) Respecting the Israelites.  (3) Respecting
+Judah.  (4) Respecting His Church.  Crown 8vo., cloth, 1s. net.
+
+The Second Coming and the Fiery Trial.  Cloth, 9d. net.
+
+Coming Conflict of the Church; or, Present Truth for the Present Day.
+Cloth, 9d. net.
+
+That Blessed Hope.  1d.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Ominous Days! or, The Signs of the Times.  By Rev. E. L. LANGSTON, M.A.,
+Secretary of the London Jews Society.  Second Edition.  Crown 8vo.,
+cloth, 1s. net (postage 3d.).
+
+    “The country is now confronted with one of the greatest crises in the
+    history of the British Race.”—_Times_, July 27, 1914.
+
+    “This book tells us where we are in the stream of time according to
+    the inspired Word of God.  It will be a blessing to Bible Students,
+    such as every child of God may be and should be . . . how few there
+    are who seem to see from the study of Scripture the intensity of the
+    days in which we are now living.”—_Christian Herald_.
+
+The Church of Rome.  A standing Testimony to the Truth of Prophecy of
+God’s Word.  By Rev. WILLIAM LOCKETT, formerly Rector of Littledean.
+Crown 8vo., cloth gilt, 2s. 6d. net.
+
+CONTENTS.—Part I.  Identification of the Church of Rome.—Part II.
+Doctrines of the Church of Rome.—Part III.  Claims of the Church of
+Rome.—Part IV.  Who founded the Church of Rome?—Part V.  The Real Founder
+of the Roman Church.—Part VI.  Rome’s charges against Protestants.
+
+The Triumph of Grace; or, Scriptural Proofs that God will exempt His
+People from the Judgment which shall Condemn the World.  By the late Rev.
+A. H. SYNGE.  Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 1s. net.
+
+A Warning and an Encouragement to England.  Current Events long ago
+Predicted.  A popular Epitome of Fleming’s “Apocalyptical Key.”  By M. D.
+Leatherette.  1s. net.
+
+The Rejected King.  The Story of the Dispensations of God, from the
+Garden of Eden to the Great White Throne.  By AN OLD DISCIPLE.  Crown
+8vo., cloth, gilt, 2s. 6d. net.
+
+The Last Parable of Ezekiel.  An Exposition of the Prophet’s Vision of
+the Temple of God.  By E. FRANCES BEVAN.  With 6 Lithographic Plans of
+the Temple shown to the Prophet.  Crown 8vo., cloth, gilt, 2s. 6d. net.
+
+The Chain of Ages.  Traced in its prominent links by Holy Scripture, from
+the Creation of Adam to the close of the First Century of the Christian
+Era.  With notices of Contemporary Gentile Chronology and careful
+investigation of the Evidence from the Original Sources.  By the Rev. W.
+B. GALLOWAY, M.A., sometime Vicar of St. Mark’s, Regent’s Park.  720 pp.,
+demy 8vo., cloth, 4s. 6d. net.
+
+    “It can be said without hesitation that this book is the best Bible
+    chronological history and commentary in existence.”—PRESS EXTRACT.
+
+Isaiah’s Testimony for Jesus.  A Series of Lectures on the Scope, Spirit
+and Leading Connection of His Prophecies.  With an Historical Appendix.
+By the Rev. W. B. GALLOWAY, M.A., sometime Vicar of St. Mark’s, Regent’s
+Park.  620 pp., demy 8vo., cloth, 4s. 6d. net.
+
+Egypt’s Record of Time, to the Exodus of Israel, critically investigated.
+With a comparative survey of the Patriarchal History and the Chronology
+of Scripture; resulting in the reconciliation of the Septuagint and
+Hebrew computations and Manetho with both.  With Chronological Chart—&c.
+By the Rev. W. B. GALLOWAY, M.A., sometime Vicar of St. Mark’s, Regent’s
+Park.  560 pp., demy 8vo., cloth, 4s. 6d. net.
+
+When will our Lord Return?  Prophetic Times and Warning Events.  By
+HAROLD NORRIS, Author of “The Millennium—When?”  Crown 8vo., cloth, 1s.
+net.
+
+The conclusion drawn by Mr. Norris from a study of Holy Scripture,
+particularly of the Book of Daniel, and of recent historical events and
+epochs is that our Lord’s Return is nigh at hand.
+
+Things Pertaining to the Kingdom of God.  By T. W. BRADBURY.  6d. net.
+
+Prophecy made Easy.  By L. S.  6d. net.
+
+Christ the Saviour, Christ the Judge.  By BROWNLOW NORTH.   6d. net.
+
+The Rapture.  Who will be taken?  2d.
+
+The Advent Watchword.  By Bishop E. BICKERSTETH.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+
+
+By Bishop J. C. Ryle.
+
+
+Watch.  A Word in Season.  1d.
+
+“Scattered and Gathered.”  1d.
+
+Our Gathering Together.  1d.
+
+The Signs of the Times.  6d. per doz.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+What Prophecy says on Romanism, &c.  The First Seal.  By E. H. GARBETT.
+3d.
+
+What Prophecy says on Romanism, &c.  The Second Seal.  By E. H. GARBETT.
+2d.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                         LONDON: CHAS. J. THYNNE.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+
+
+WORKS by the REV. J. H. TOWNSEND, D.D.,
+Late VICAR OF ST. MARK’S, TUNBRIDGE WELLS.
+
+
+SPIRAL STAIRS.  Sunday Readings from Advent to Whitsuntide.  With Preface
+by the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Durham.  HODDER and STOUGHTON, 3s.
+6d.
+
+    “The attractive exterior of the book is more than justified by the
+    attractiveness of the contents.  May it have a wide
+    circulation.”—_The Churchman_.
+
+    “A volume of which it is impossible to speak too highly.  Dr.
+    Townsend has a cultured and refined style, and the chapters show
+    considerable depth of reading. . .  We heartily recommend this volume
+    particularly to the younger clergy.”—_Record_.
+
+    “Dr. Moule’s recommendation appears, from our examination of the
+    book, to be well deserved.”—_Guardian_.
+
+STILL UPWARD.  Sunday Readings from Trinity to Advent.  MARSHALL BROS.,
+3s. 6d.
+
+    “I like this volume even better than its predecessor.”—The late Right
+    Hon. Judge Warren.
+
+    “There is a robustness of tone which pleases us much.  It is with
+    considerable pleasure that we welcome another volume of Devotional
+    Studies from this Author.”—_Record_.
+
+A BRIGHT TO-MORROW.  Long 12mo.  MARSHALL BROS., 1s.  This little book on
+Prophecy has had a remarkable career, having passed through some 18
+editions.  It has been circulated in every quarter of the globe, and has
+been translated into French, German, Japanese and Cingalese.
+
+WATCHING FOR THE DAWN.  Long 12mo.  MARSHALL BROS., 1s.
+
+    “A calm and thoughtful little treatise on our Lord’s
+    return.”—_Record_.
+
+    “Another volume that will endear itself to those seeking religious
+    comfort.”—_Daily Mail_.
+
+
+
+WORKS by the Rev. J. H. TOWNSEND, D.D.
+
+
+THE BRIGHTENING EAST.  New Series.  MARSHALL BROS., 1s.  The prophetic
+outlook up to date.  This little book is attractively got up, and is
+selling rapidly.
+
+    “The teaching in this little book is sound and should prove a help
+    and comfort to many.”—_Record_.
+
+    “We have little doubt that this book will receive as hearty a welcome
+    as the Author’s previous volumes.”—_Life of Faith_.
+
+THE TWO CLIMBERS.  A True Story, being the Author’s own experience.  S.
+W. PARTRIDGE & Co., 2d.
+
+    “It was read to me by a friend . . . and was by God’s grace the means
+    of showing me the way of salvation.”—L. E. B. in _Life of Faith_.
+
+PEN PICTURES OF BIBLE HISTORY.  MARSHALL BROS., 1s.
+
+    “Dr. Townsend has certainly given us a new method of Bible Study . .
+    .  We heartily recommend it for use in the family circle.”—_Life of
+    Faith_.
+
+AFTER THIS I WILL RETURN.  MARSHALL BROS., 1s.  Warmly reviewed by the
+Press.
+
+THE RETURNING KING.  MORGAN AND SCOTT, 1s.  Appreciative notices by
+English and American Press.
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF A BIBLE.  R.T.S., 1d.  This little booklet has been
+sold by hundreds of thousands, translated into French, German, Italian
+and Spanish; it has had a wide circulation on the Continent of Europe and
+in South America as well as U.S.A., and was published in the columns of a
+secular newspaper in Manila.
+
+
+
+BY THE SAME AUTHOR. {0}
+
+
+GREAT PRINCIPLES OF DIVINE TRUTH.
+
+
+Papers and Sermons on important subjects collected and edited by the Rev.
+Canon J. Gurney Hoare, M.A., Vicar of Aylsham.—2nd Edition Crown 8vo.,
+with portrait and view of Holy Trinity Church.  CLOTH GILT, 2/6 NET.
+
+CONTENTS: I.—The Source of our knowledge of Divine Truth; II.—Christ and
+the Sinner; III.—The Holy Spirit; IV Worship.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+
+SANCTIFICATION.
+
+
+Parochial Sermons exhibiting the doctrine of Sanctification as revealed
+in Holy Scripture, as embodied in the teaching of the Church of England
+and taught by Evangelical Clergy.—Fifth Edition enlarged, 16mo.  CLOTH
+GILT, 2/6 NET.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+THE PROPORTIONS OF TRUTH.  Price 2d.
+
+THE BREADTH, FREEDOM AND YET EXCLUSIVENESS OF THE GOSPEL.  Price 2d.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                         London: CHAS. J. THYNNE.
+
+
+
+
+Footnotes
+
+
+{0}  In the printed book the “By the same Author” (i.e. Edward Hoare)
+section is at the start of the book, before the title page.  It has been
+moved to the end for clarity in this Project Gutenberg eText.—DP.
+
+{10}  For further developments on this point, the reader is referred to
+“The Returning King,” pp. 25–29 (Morgan and Scott, 1/- net.)
+
+{19}  R.V. “He.”
+
+{26}  Hume, ii. 67.
+
+{28}  According to the census of 1911, the population of the British
+Isles was 45,365,599, of which number five millions were Romanists, so
+that clearly the proportion is still diminishing.  But it must be borne
+in mind that her leading false doctrines and non-Scriptural claims are
+being increasingly taught in this country.
+
+{37}  Thirty-six years have elapsed since these words were penned, and
+although Turkey has been upheld by the European Powers, and has herself
+made one or two brave efforts on the battlefield and in the matter of
+constitutional reform, the process of decay has been rapidly advancing;
+yet even so who, at the beginning of the year 1912, could have foreseen
+the catastrophe which in a few short weeks has almost wiped Turkey from
+the Map of Europe?
+
+{45}  And actually the very walls of Vienna.
+
+{47}  Now in April, 1913, the four Balkan States and Greece in a brief
+but bloody campaign have brought Turkey apparently to her last gasp, and
+it is still a matter of speculation whether she will be allowed to retain
+possession of Constantinople and with it the merest thread of the
+littoral of Europe.  This has now taken place, and _The Times_ of May 30,
+in a leader upon the signing of the Treaty of London, uses these
+epoch-making words—“The Ottoman Empire in Europe has now ceased to
+exist.”  June, 1913.
+
+{48}  The word “almost” may be removed, as Turkey in Africa has ceased to
+exist.  The war with Italy in 1912 deprived Turkey of Tripoli, and thus
+the very last spot in Northern Africa emerged from the once overflowing
+waters of Mahommedan power by which it had been overwhelmed many
+centuries ago.
+
+{50}  The number is rapidly diminishing, and day by day streams of
+Turkish refugees are pouring across the Bosphorus to the Asiatic side.
+
+{69}  If the faithful preacher whose clear foresight is recorded here
+were to witness what we now see, would he not say, like St. Paul—“as we
+also forewarned you and testified?”
+
+When this book was published, Spiritualism, then recently imported from
+America, was only beginning to make itself felt, the destructive Higher
+Criticism, whose dry rot has now spread its subtle influence on all
+sides, had not landed on our coasts from Germany; the very names of
+Modernism, New Theology, and its offspring the Liberal Christian League,
+were non-existent; Christian Science had not then been imported to
+America from its Eastern home; and several other heresies and imitations
+(2 Timothy iii. 8), which under the guise of deep spiritual teaching are
+now crippling true spirituality and doing the Devil’s work, were still
+unborn.  But they are with us now, and they have come to stay.  Let us
+recognize their _source_ and their _significance_.
+
+{79}  The significance of this clarion note of warning in connection with
+the events now taking place is of the greatest possible importance.
+
+{102}  It would be simply impossible in a brief note even to enumerate
+all the recent amazing changes in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.  Since the
+fulfilment of a prophetic epoch a few years ago, pointed out at the time
+by the writer as an indication that the “Times of the Gentiles” had
+virtually ceased, Jerusalem has for the first time in her history been
+“inhabited as towns without walls” (Zechariah ii. 4), the dwellings
+having spread outside in rapidly increasing suburbs, which make it more
+like a modern city than the Jerusalem of old.
+
+Jews are permitted to hold magistracies and to perform civic functions;
+they are also allowed to practice in medicine and in the legal
+profession.  Elementary and secondary schools are established in which
+only the Hebrew language is used; banks and various institutions are
+flourishing, and a new Hebrew university is about to be founded.  Jewish
+agricultural and manufacturing colonies in large numbers are at work in
+different parts of the land, and a recent number of the _Jewish World_
+gives a long account of a visit a few weeks ago to these colonies by the
+newly appointed Governor of Jerusalem.  The visit was an official
+inspection, and the result one of the greatest possible importance to the
+Jewish nation.  Amongst many other things, the Governor (himself an
+Albanian) stated that he was directed by the authorities in
+Constantinople to grant to these colonies the right of electing their own
+councils and appointing their own mayors, fixing rates, retaining some of
+the Government taxes for their own use, enrolling their own police, whose
+uniform and ammunition should be supplied by the Turkish Government,
+granting title deeds for land, permits for building, besides other
+privileges of considerable importance.  I submit that it can no longer be
+said of the city or of the land that it is “trodden down of the
+Gentiles.”
+
+How startlingly significant are these facts in connection with our Lord’s
+words regarding His Return!
+
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROME, TURKEY AND JERUSALEM***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 39307-0.txt or 39307-0.zip *******
+
+
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/9/3/0/39307
+
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://www.gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+