Short historical notes on the Apocalypse, commonly called the book of Reveltions

Preface

From internal evidence and the additional light of history this book was written between 64 and 68 A. D. in the reign of the emperor Nero. He committed suicide in 68, and being the last in the male line of the Julius Caesar dynasty, a peace which had lasted nearly a hundred years was broken by civil war about who should succeed him. The second seal, chapter 6, opens the conflict.

Beginning in 68, the fortunes of Christianity are followed, in connection with that of the nations with whose history it is interwoven, to the end. As prophecy is history, spoken or written in advance, its truth and fulfillment must be found in the recorded acts of the people to whom it refers. As might be expected, the book is written on a clear and systematic plan, just as an able and well-informed historian would chronicle the same events, after they had become accomplished facts. The latter refer to men, institutions and occurences by names that are generally known. The former has a nomenclature of its own, but its usage is uniform and is either explained expressly or by the clearest implication. In other scriptures and in secular writings, when dwelling on great and exciting themes, the imagery employed is not altogether unusual. As Christ and the

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first preachers were born, lived, labored and died in pagan Rome naturally the great crises in the church connected with its career are first noticed. Pagan Rome ends and Christian Rome begins at the end of chapter 8. Then great events in Christian Rome are described in chapter 9. Chapter 12 is in part a review of the persecutions and sufferings of the church, inflicted by pagan Rome and pagans from about 300 A. D. up till about 750 when the German empire rose to a great power on the ruins of the Western Roman empire. That empire appears in chapter 13 and also the rise of the papacy to be a great temporal and spiritual power is noted. From this point on to the end of time the thread of history is followed, gradually widening in its sweep until all the nations of the world are involved in the mighty political and religious convulsions which overthrow the evil institutions of men and usher in the general judgment when many rise into eternal day, while others are doomed to everlasting night. It will be asked as it has been often asked before, "How do you know these prophecies mean what you say they do?" It might take more space to tell you how, than it has to show you that I do know. And then you might be as much a doubting Thomas respecting the proofs as you are about the conclusions. How do you know anything you profess to know? "Well, you thought it seemed or sounded like something you heard, saw or felt before, which someone else told you was true,' 5 That's just the way prophecy is understood. It seems and sounds so much like the acts of men as recorded by many high authorities and being like nothing else, we just conclude that's the place the prediction was fulfilled. Do you know of any better way how to know? Although it is sup-

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V posed proofs are found in the pamphlet of the conclusions reached. They are necessarily brief, space being limited, and possibly imperfect— the reader is the judge. Yet it may be useful to give here a brief sketch how, in all probability, some people at least, may know something about the strange things depicted in the book.

As a preliminary, one should know that the four great ancient empires, Rome being last, are represented in scripture and often in history, as ruling the Earth, World or every people under heaven. In keeping with this usage Rome, in the prophecy, is called "the earth." Now when you find the name earth in such a connection read u Roman empire," or in later prophecies, Italy the most ancient part of the empire. Next, it is quite a help to know that Christ, his disciples and all the first preachers were, as we understand the word, citizens of the Roman empire, were born, lived, labored and died in it. And also that the Gospel was not preached to any considerable extent outside that empire, or the territory originally embraced in it, up to the fifteenth century. John, who wrote the book, claims to have been a personal follower of Christ and witness of his acts, therefore the book was written in the first century, and what was written are said to be u The things which must be hereafter." They were at the time made known all in the future. That this information respecting the future was communicated on the pictorial and symbolic plan, is readily seen. The features and make-up of many of the beast pictures are not found in any single known animal, but they are an adaptation in form and nature to the political history, divisions, constitution and general traits of the kingdoms, empires, periods or religious institutions they

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symbolically represent. To the informed eye these pictures speak volumes, to the opposite nothing but confusion. The dramatic revelations made by angels and other actors on the theater of heaven, have a general resemblance to the earthly drama, with this difference, the former imitate in their acts, movements, attitudes and proclamations future scenes and characters, which would in future history appear as leading actors among men on earth, though as yet mostly unborn and unknown except in the mind of God, while the latter are confined to the reproduction of characters and things past or present. It is important to note this peculiarity in the method of describing future acts of men and institutions. And it proves a great help to get a glimpse of the meaning of these movements and pictures, to have a general acquaintance with all scripture and all history, ancient and modern, sacred and profane, with which the prophecy deals. If not how can you know when, where or how fulfilled? As well think to measure the distance of the planets without the knowledge of the higher mathematics. Something else is important. It should be known that all those countries and great cities, where the center of the bloody battles raged between truth and falsehood for many centuries, and is still waged, are distinguished by fixed symbolic names. By learning these names the angels or stars tell you where the bolt from heaven strikes and where the prophecy became a historical fact. The context informs you of the general nature of the crisis by pictures of seas and waters turned to blood, or in other forms in keeping with the period. Generally, also it gives the reason for the Divine displeasure thus manifested. With these qualifications coupled with an honest purpose and a sound discrim-

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VII inating mind, it is more than probable you may learn something of the meaning of these prophecies. But if you should not for lack of qualification it is not failto conclude no one else can; as it would be a misnomer to call that a revelation which nobody could understand. The pictorial and dramatic method of describing character or occurrences are the shortest, truest, most forcible and attractive. Probably this is one of the reasons why the drama attracts greater crowds than the pulpit — it is life like. Look for illustration at the four angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds that they blow not on the earth nor on the sea, nor on any tree." Another angel having the seal of the living God cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, "Hurt not the earth neither the sea nor the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." This is the way the prophecy describes the period referred to. Now let us look how the historian tells it. He says, "After the period of anarchy between 260 and 284 Diocletian reigned alone in the empire for two years, when he associated with himself Maximian who was assigned the west half, with his capital at Milan. Six years afterward these two associated with themselves two more. Diocletian chose Galerius his son-in-law who was assigned the north corner of the earth or empire and Maximian selected Constantius, who was given the west corner on the Rhine. Thus after a long period of anarchy the four in the four corners of the empire each in command of a large army held the storm in check, co-operated, repelled Barbarian invasions, suppressed internal revolts, impartially executed the laws and maintained the integrity of the empire. But in 302

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at a time of general peace aud returning prosperity, Galerius and Maximian conspired and persuaded Diocletion to join them in making one more effort to stamp out Christianity, which resulted in the most general and cruel massacres of the believers, who refused to abjure their faith in Christ in the history of pagan Rome and it not only hurt the empire as well as the people generally, but ruined the three persecutors, and shortly after resulted in the overthrow of pagan rule in Rome forever. The figurative language understood, the analogy between the angelic actors and the emperors is complete as far as the prophecy goes into details. That is true of all the prophecies in the book. But it may be asked as it has been asked, may not many occurrences in the history of nations be so much alike, any given prophecy might be applied to any one of them, with equal probability? They may be applied by persons of different intelligence proceeding on different religious theories and plans of interpretation, as is proven by the conflicting opinions on the book, but all these views cannot be applied with equal certainty any more than three or four score of religious sects, all assuming to be founded on the scriptures are with equal certainty founded on what is taught in these scriptures. Some of these sects adopt the literal declarations of Christ as their creed, while the great majority rest on human formulas, usages and traditions not found in the scriptures. The differences and difficulties are found in men and conflicting creeds not in the book. From the time the prophecy was given to what is called the general judgment is apparently about three thousand years. There are twenty-one distinct prophecies on an average one hundred and fifty years apart, relating to different races of men,

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IX different nations and empires, different actors under widely different circumstances with institutions different, motives different, beginnings different, histories, and endings different. No two men's pictures are alike; how much more unlike are great crises, revolutions and the rise and fall of empires? More than this the prophecy tells in every case the country or city which is thus visited. Also the context gives an outline of the effect of the visitation in question, often stating the . reason for it. Further, the prophecies follow the natural line of history one great event logically following the preceding in the same order as found in the history of that nation. If men are too indifferent or warped in their judgments, to notice these features, and fall into a historical and doctrinal muddle, it is their fault not the fault of the prophecies. Do you find the symbolic pictures in substance or detail alike or nearly alike? No. Four angels holding the four winds of the earth is nothing like a star falling from heaven and opening the bottomless pit. Neither is the angel flying through the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to all nations, anything like the strong angel, with a great chain in his hand, to bind tne dragon devil and it is equally different with all the rest. And the difference is still more marked as far as fulfilled in human histoiy because the latter go into all the details of the event and period. For instance the most striking outlines of the French Revolution is given in seven verses in chapter n, whereas Thomas Carlyle makes a book of 419 pages in telling the same story, in all its details. The best that can be done with any question outside the exact sciences is to furnish proofs which amount to what is called a moral certainty. Yet, admitting you have mastered the language

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of the book, with its pictures and symbols in one hand and the history of the period in the other, it is not only possible, but often easy to discover the original. What skillful detective would exchange a good picture of a rogue that was wanted for a verbal description of him even with his name? None. He might disguise himself, pass under numerous fictitious names but the picture with great certainty would identify him unless concealed from sight. So with these prophetic pictures, no two are alike and all are true to life in general outline and detail as far as they go. The book of Revelations is a rogues' gallery of the first class. Blasphemous, religious and political monsters whom church or state historians or biographers laud to the heaven are brought to the foot lights in all their native ugliness and fiendish attributes as a startling object lesson to men and angels and finally cast into a lake of fire and brimstone while those they had persecuted, tortured and murdered because refusing to receive their loathsome mark or worship their image, are crowned with immortal laurels.

As in modern usage the name German is generally understood to refer to the people of the German empire, a word of explanation may be proper. In the remarks German or German nations means all those states, kingdoms or empires ruled over by Germans whether Latins, Germans, Celts or Slavonians predominate in their respective populations. Old Germany is only one of the horns or kingdoms prophetically called the beast. It is one of the oldest and biggest of the ten, but only counts one. The name "sea" given to Germany in the prophecy seems to be founded on philological reasons. Deutcher, the ancient and proper name of the Ger-

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XI mans, means, people, and 4 "waters" in the prophecy means people. The sea is the greatest body of water and fountain of waters as Germany is the fountain of many nations and people, called "the father-land." All the names of cities, countries or characters in the prophecy are seen to be founded on their history, nature or conduct, either actual or in popular belief. Jerusalem is called the holy or beloved city from Bible tradition; Vienna, around which raged the thirty years religious war and seven years war with Frederick the Great in which millions of men and animals were slain, and where in the prophecv "blood reached even to the horses' bridles", is called The City. Paris, in view of its actual and traditional wickedness and religious darkness is "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt." Rome is called Babylon the Great the mother of all abominations of the earth . Her Caesars were unmitigated tyrants who like those of old Babylon reveled in luxury and vice were gross idolators and set themselves up as gods as did their ancient prototypes. When the papacy made it the seat of temporal and spiritual authority it became more a babel than ever — a babel of idolatry, of religious nonsense mixed with God-like pretensions of the old pagan Chaldeans. The Roman empire is called the Earth because of its great extent and power. Great events in Asia Minor are located by mentioning the famous and most anciently known river Euphrates which runs through it. And the then little known regions in northeastern Europe and central Asia, from whence the barbarians issued that overthrew and occupied the western Roman empire, is called the Bottomless Pit evidently for reasons given elsewhere. Some think the bottomless pit is the synonym of Hell. That notion is absurd. Locusts,

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great armies of foot and horsemen, many nations, kingdoms and empires are represented as ascending out of the pit. Hell is a very unlikely place for so many people and nations to emigrate from into the Roman empire. Yet truth sounds stranger than fiction in many ears. A. B.

A FEW ERRORS.

On page 10 the words and "lo a black horse," are dropped out of the text.

At the beginning of a paragraph page 14 read "future history" in place of past history.

In chapter 11, page 38, sixteenth line read "Eastern" empire instead of "Western" empire.

Besides these, overlooked in proof-reading, a few unimportant errors are noticed but as they do not seriously impair the meaning intended, it is not worth while calling attention to them — perfection, especially in such matters, is the rarest thing on earth. , These can all be corrected in getting out a new, enlarged and illustrated edition for which the present one paves the way. All things considered, it is thought the printer has done his or rather her work very well. The author is perfectly willing to shoulder all defects.

Index

Note. — Th'e following Index gives the chapters and pages where found, and when there is more than one prophecy in the chapter where it begins is found on some part of the page shown in the Index. The title of each is the same as in the text.

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