YET this is not all. The angel did not end his discourse here. No, no. He continues: “And at that time [when Turkey shall come to his end] shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time; and at that time Thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.” Daniel 12:1, 2.BEST June 15, 1896, page 179.1

Whether the Turkish power shall leave Constantinople, and when? whether it shall be wiped out, and if so, when? these are great and interesting questions, and multitudes are anxiously studying these questions. Yet great and interesting as these questions are in many ways, there is yet beyond all these the infinitely greater question of what comes when these things are done,—of what shall come at that time?BEST June 15, 1896, page 179.2

The Word of God is that “at that time” there shall be such a time of trouble upon the earth as never was since there has been a nation. This very thing we have seen by positive and highest proofs, is the very thing which the great nations are dreading; and against this universal woe of world-wide war and tumult, these great powers are holding the Ottoman power as long as possible as a bulwark, knowing that when that bulwark shall have been broken down this appalling torrent must spread over all. In this matter the word of God and the word of the great powers of the world, are in exact and perfect accord.BEST June 15, 1896, page 179.3

Who is ready for this “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation”? Who? Whoever on the earth is not ready for the spreading over all nations of such a time of trouble as never was since there was a nation—whoever on earth is not ready for this, is not ready for the wiping out of the Ottoman power. Therefore instead of churches and pulpits and religious papers calling for war, and urging the wiping of the Turkish power off the earth, they would better, far better, be preaching the gospel of peace, which they profess, and which they are so basely perverting; and by the sincere preaching of the gospel of peace be preparing to stand in peace and quietness in God when this time of trouble shall break upon the world at the time of the ending of the Ottoman Empire. Who is doing this work? Who is ready for the time of trouble?BEST June 15, 1896, page 179.4

For this is not simply a great time of trouble by war amongst the nations; it is even more than this. It is a time of trouble caused by this, and also by the judgments of God upon the earth, and the coming of the Lord, the resurrection of the dead, and the end of all things. This is emphasised by the other portion of Scripture which treats of the Ottoman power. In the sixteenth chapter of Revelation from beginning to end is the Lord’s record of the seven last plagues in which “is filled up the wrath of God” to be poured upon the earth, and which in itself is the greatest element of this time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.BEST June 15, 1896, page 179.5

THE PLAGUES OF GOD’S WRATH

IN this chapter, the story of the sixth plague is this: “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.”BEST June 15, 1896, page 179.6

Now as for the real flowing river Euphrates, which rises in the mountains of Armenia and empties into the Persian Gulf, kings both of east and west have crossed and re-crossed it at will from the days of Chedorlaomer until now, without its ever having to be dried up that they might pass. This expression therefore cannot refer to the water of the literal river. What then? In the next chapter, verse 15, it is stated that “waters are peoples.” The water of the Euphrates then, being dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared, is clearly the ending of the power and people that occupies the country of the Euphrates. What power is this?—The Turkish power alone.BEST June 15, 1896, page 179.7

This, then, is another plain declaration of the word of God announcing the certain ending of the Turkish power. And according to this scripture, what comes at the ending of that power? What are the kings of the east going to do when the way for them shall be thus prepared? Read on.BEST June 15, 1896, page 179.8

“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 that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they we his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.BEST June 15, 1896, page 179.9

“And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings: and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.”BEST June 15, 1896, page 180.1

NEED FOR WATCHING AND PRAYING

WE have now considered the three portions of Scripture which treat of the Turkish power. We have seen that in all three of them the end of that power is announced by the sure word of God. We also see that in all three places not only is the end of that power marked, but with this, and following swiftly upon it, there is also marked in unmistakable language universal world-destroying trouble, the coming of the Lord in glory, and the end of all things of this world.BEST June 15, 1896, page 180.2

This cannot be denied. It may not be believed; but it cannot be denied. No man therefore is ready for the ending of the Ottoman Empire who is not ready for the end of the world. And who is ready for this? Oh! let every one who names the name of Christ turn his whole attention to this. Let all such be sure that they themselves are ready for all these things, and then let them never rest, let them never hold their peace, till the warning of it is sounded to all people that whosoever will may come, whosoever will may be ready also, and that all may be watching and praying always “that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:36.BEST June 15, 1896, page 180.3

We see that the sure word of God announces that upon the ending of the Ottoman Empire there comes—“at that time”—a time of universal war, woe, and trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. We see also the great powers of earth—the very ones which have this question constantly to deal with—expecting and dreading the “appalling danger” of this very thing, and in their uneasy expectancy doing everything in their power to hold back as long as possible the tide of woe which they know must come.BEST June 15, 1896, page 180.4

There is yet one other element to be noticed in this connection. And that is that the Turks themselves expect this very thing also. The Turks themselves expect to be removed from Constantinople. They expect then the seat of their power to be in Jerusalem. They expect then that the nations will come even there to war against them, and that then the end of all things comes.BEST June 15, 1896, page 180.5

In Constantinople in September and October last, I met a reliable Christian man, who told me that in a conversation which he had with a Turkish judge, the judge told him that they expected as the outcome of the dealings of the powers that they would be dispossessed of Constantinople; that after that their capital would be Jerusalem; that against them there at last they expected the “Christian nations” to come to light; and that then Messiah and Mahomet would come. With the exception of Mahomet, this explanation as stated by the Turkish judge is precisely the thing that is spoken of this same time in the Scripture of truth. And the time of trouble thus brought as described in the word of God, is precisely the “appalling danger” that is dreaded by the great powers, and against which they agree in holding the Ottoman Empire as a bulwark.BEST June 15, 1896, page 180.6

When the word of God three times declares it; and when the Turks themselves, as well as all the other powers concerned, are expecting and dreading it; is it not high time that all the people should believe it? May the Lord in His mercy help all the people to hear it, to believe it, and then to proclaim it to earth’s remotest limits that the world may be prepared and fully ready for that which by every evidence on the question is hanging ready to burst in fury upon a devoted world!BEST June 15, 1896, page 180.7

A. T. JONES.

June 8, 1896

June 22, 1896