

Transcribed from the 1876 H. Colbran edition by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org





                              ROME, TURKEY,
                                   AND
                                JERUSALEM.


                                * * * * *

                          BY THE REV. E. HOARE,
                    VICAR OF TRINITY, TUNBRIDGE WELLS,
                    AND HONORARY CANON OF CANTERBURY.

                                * * * * *

                            _SECOND EDITION_.

                                * * * * *

                                 LONDON:
                          HATCHARDS, PICCADILLY.
               H. COLBRAN, CALVERLEY ROAD, TUNBRIDGE WELLS.
                                  1876.

                                * * * * *

                                 LONDON:
                       Printed by JOHN STRANGEWAYS,
                         Castle St. Leicester Sq.




CONTENTS.

ROME:—                        PAGE
   THE OUTLINE                   1
   THE CONSUMPTION              18
TURKEY:—
   THE EUPHRATES                36
   THE FROGS                    54
   THE ADVENT                   69
JERUSALEM                       87




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