OUR paraphrase was discontinued at the end of the
thirty-fifth verse of the eleventh chapter of Daniel. It left Antiochus
Epiphanes, the king of the north, at war with the Jews under Judas Maccabaeus,
who were fighting against fearful odds for their very existence as a nation.
The prophecy about the Little Horn king led our
attention off from events in the
But is the
But when and how shall the
I say that "the cleansing of the sanctuary
is the cleansing of the
But, if the 2,400 years terminate at the time of
the end, when do they commence, that we may know when the time of the end
begins?
The solution of this problem will be found in Chronikon
Hebraikon appended to this edition. It is there shown that the "evening-morning"
period of Dan. 8:14, should read 2,400 instead of 2,300; and that the reed or
rule by which the beginning of this time of the vision should be ascertained
is, that the time of a vision must be computed from the first event
foreshadowed in the vision; inasmuch as it cannot be perceived that there
is any valid reason for the exclusion of any of the events of a vision from its
time. My suspicion was not awakened with regard to the correctness of the reading
of this text on the publication of the former editions of this work. I am,
however, now satisfied that 2,300 is a corruption of some of the Hebrew
manuscripts in the hands of Western Jews, from which it found its way into
modern versions.
In this vision of Dan. 8, the first event the
prophet sees is the last horn of the Ram Power overtopping the first -—
vs 3. This event came to pass B.C. 540, when the Persian Dynasty of the Ram
represented by Cyrus superseded the Median at the death of Darius the Mede. Can
any good reason be given why this coming up of the higher horn last, should not
be included in the 2,400? I can see none. I accept it, therefore, as the
beginning of the vision's evening-morning time. Hence the question, "How
long the vision of the Daily and of the transgression making desolate, to give
both the Holy and the Host for a trampling?" -- must be understood as an
inquiry, "How long shall it be from the Persian Horn overtopping the
Median Horn to the Time of the End, when the Holy and the Host shall no longer
be given over for a treading down?" -- for "to the time of the end
shall be the vision" -- verse 17. The answer to the question reveals the
terminal epoch. So long a time was to elapse before "THE DAY OF VENGEANCE"
came.
The 2,400 would not include the day of vengeance,
but would conduct to that terrible epoch, concurrent with the end of the Sixth,
and all the quadragintal period of the Seventh, vials; that is, an epoch
commencing with the opening of the third section of the Frog Sign in which the
advent occurs, and continuing in all the period of the Seventh Vial, in which
the Seven Thunders utter their voices, and ending with this last vial, which
occupies the forty years of Israel’s Exodus testified of in Mic. 7:15.
Now, if my computation be correct, namely, that
the 2,400 years terminated in 1860, and that this was the beginning of the time
of the end, we ought to find on the political map a "king of the
south," a "king of the north," and the Little Horn of the Goat,
all contemporary. Besides this, we ought to find the king of the south making
war on the Little Horn, and the
These are the things which ought to be, but what
do we find? The answer is just what the prophecy requires. There is the
reigning king of
Very soon after the Russian war, which ended in
1829, Mehemet Ali established himself as king of the south. He attacked and
conquered
Such are the important events which mark the end
of the 2,400 years, and the approach of the time of the end. They are
evidential of the time soon arriving to which the Lord refers, saying, "I
will remember my covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will
remember the land" (Lev 26:42). Mehemet Ali claimed the land as his
for ever; but Jehovah hath said, "The land shall not be sold for ever; for
the land is mine." If, then, the Lord would not permit the Israelites to
alienate it from one to another for ever, He would be far from permitting
Mehemet to possess it, or the Allies to grant it to him, for ever. The hand of
God may be clearly discerned in the events of this epoch. He hardened the king
of
The eleventh chapter of Daniel is therefore
fulfilled as far as the first colon of the fortieth verse [See Note 1 at end of
chapter]. The things which remain to be accomplished in the time of the end are
briefly outlined in the remaining part of the chapter. The king of Egypt having
pushed at the Little Horn, as we have seen, the next event of the prophecy is
an attack upon him by the king of the north, as it is written, "And the
king of the north shall come against him like a whirl-wind, with chariots, and
with horsemen, and with many ships" that is, the Russo-Assyrian autocrat
shall attack Constantinople by sea and land, and with such whirlwind
impetuosity that the Sultan's dominion shall be swept away. The whirlwind
nature of the attack implies, I think, not only its overwhelming character, but
that when it is made, the allies of the Sultan will be off their guard; that
is, by the Autocrat's assurances of peace and moderation for which they will give
him credit, Constantinople will be left unprotected, and it will fall into his
hands before they can come to the rescue. To "push at him,"
and to "come against him" are phrases which imply more than
simple invasion; they indicate likewise the direction that invasion is
to take. In the case of the king of the south, when he "pushed at
him," he directed his course towards
It is not to be supposed that the Autocrat would
attack the Porte without some provocation, real or pretended. It is therefore
the mission of the Frogs, as we have seen in a former chapter, to bring about
such a state of things as will involve the Autocrat and Sultan in war. The
reader will perceive, then, that the operation of the Frog-power comes in
between the attacks of the king of
Of the horn-kingdoms, it is predicted, saying,
"These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome
them" (Rev 17:14) and again, "The Beast and the kings of the earth,
and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse,
and against his army. And (these) the remnant were slain with the sword of him
that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth; and all the
fowls were filled with their flesh." (Rev 19:19,21,17,18) Now, this field
of battle is to be the valley of Megiddo in the land of Israel. In view of
this, has the question ever occurred to the reader, what possible inducement
could there be for the rulers of Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, etc., to
march their armies into Palestine? What inducement was there for the kings of
Europe to meet Napoleon at Dresden, and to march their armies into Russia in
1812? It was compulsion, and not inclination. A similar cause will operate on
them again. When the king of the north "overflows and passes over"
their countries, they will become subject to him as their emperor; and when his
autocracy shall attain the extent marked out for it in the Word, his dominion
will be fitly represented by Nebuchadnezzar's Image, of which they will be the
toes. They must exist as regal parts of a great dominion until Christ comes:
because they are to war with him in person; and because God will set up His
kingdom in their time; and, having broken to pieces the power of their imperial
ruler on the mountains of Israel, by that same kingdom He will "break in
pieces and consume all theirs."
The overthrow of the Sultan will not be
contemplated by the British Government with indifference. They have already
beheld continental Europe to the confines of Russia subject to the will of one
man, and they are destined to witness it again. They will unquestionably adopt
all possible measures to circumvent the Autocrat. England's Indian Empire, and
its contiguity to Asiatic Russia, make her his natural enemy. It will be her
policy to prevent him from taking possession of Egypt and the Holy Land; for if
he were to do this, he would intercept all communication between England and
India by the Red Sea. Hence, while she is the natural enemy of the Autocrat,
she is also the natural friend of Egypt and the Jews. The triumph of Russia in
the west will cause her to strengthen herself in the east; and, as I shall
show, she will take possession of Sheba, Dedan, Edom, Moab, and part of Ammon;
colonize Judea with Israelites, and form an intimate alliance of offence and
defence with Egypt. Thus the Red Sea will become a British lake; and by holding
Gibraltar, Aden, and some commanding position at the entrance of the Persian
Gulf, she will be enabled to retain for a short time longer her commercial and
maritime ascendancy.
But these measures of the British will be the
means of luring on the Autocrat to his destruction. Having fulfilled the
mission of his "sacred Russia" to put down rebellion, to plant the
Greek cross on the dome of St. Sophia, and to prostrate Europe at his feet, he
will next address himself to the work of establishing his dominion over the
east. The prosperity of Egypt and Judea will tempt him to seize them for
himself; for, as the prophet saith, "He shall enter also into the glorious
land, and many shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand,
even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon." He will have
proclaimed war against the east; and at the head of his vassal kings and their
armies have invaded Syria. The war will be bloody, and his hosts, like a cloud
to cover the land. Having over-run Syria and Persia, he will invade Egypt,
Libya, and Ethiopia. For it is written, "He shall stretch forth his hand
also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall
have power over the treasures of gold, and of silver, and over all the precious
things of Egypt; and the Libyans and Ethiopians shall be at his steps."
This subjugation of Egypt arouses all the indignation of Britain. England's
interference [See note 2 at end of chapter] troubles him; for "tidings out
of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth
with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many." Judea will now
feel the weight of his power. He will lay siege to Jerusalem, and take it for,
"He shall pitch his palatial tents in the glorious holy mountain,"
"Yet," though thus far triumphant, "he shall come to his end,
and none shall help him." As a further elucidation of this portion of the
book of Daniel, I shall now proceed to speak of the prophecy in relation to
GOGUE AND MAGOGUE
These names occur together in two remarkable
prophecies, the one delivered through Ezekiel,(Ezek. 38:2-3; 39:6) and the
other through the apostle John (Rev 20:8). No portion of scripture has been
more mangled, perhaps, than these; yet there is none, as it appears to me, more
easy to be understood. An illustration of popular opinion on the subject may be
seen in Guildhall, or in "the Lord Mayor's Show," where two huge
giants appear, whom the wise men of Gotham have rhantized "Gog and
Magog!" Interpreters have enlightened the public upon this subject about
as much as the wooden giants themselves. They generally confound the Gogue and
Magogue of Ezekiel with the Gogue and Magogue of the Apocalypse; but if the
reader carefully examine the two testimonies, he will find that they have
reference to different times exceedingly remote from each other. The
Apocalyptic Gogue and Magogue are the nations and their leader, who rebel
against the government of Christ and his saints, 1,000 years after the binding
of the Greco-Roman Dragon is finished. They are the then existing nations
outlying the land of Israel on the north, south, east, and west; who, being
seduced from their allegiance, revolt and invade Canaan, and lay siege to
Jerusalem, but are destroyed by fire from heaven. They are styled Gogue and
Magogue because the confederacy is similar to that of Ezekiel's prophecy; being
a combination of the posterity of the same populations to invade the same land,
and take possession of the same city, and for the same purpose -- namely, to
seize the sceptre of universal empire, which has been the matter of contest
since God first put enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the
woman.
If the reader compare the two prophecies, he will
discern the following diversities, which prove them to be confederacies
belonging to different epochs.
The prophecy of Ezekiel concerning Gogue evidently
relates to a power that is to arise hereafter; for the Lord says in his address
to its chief, "In the latter years thou shalt come into the land
that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people,
against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is
brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of
them." In another verse of this chapter, the "latter years" are
termed "latter days," as it is written : "And thou shalt come up
against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in
the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land." This
testimony shows that there will have been a gathering of the Jews to some
extent before Gogue invades their land; and that this gathering is subsequent
to a long desolation of the country. Hence, those acquainted with Jewish
history will perceive directly that the prediction has not been fulfilled; but
is yet in the future, and belongs to "the time of the end," which is
synchronous with "the latter days."
The prophecy of Gogue synchronizes with the
events set forth in the forty-first verse of the eleventh chapter of Daniel. In
short, Ezekiel's prophecy of Gogue is an amplification of Daniel's concerning
the king of the north. That these two powers are the same will be manifest from
the following considerations:
Here, then, are six particulars, which clearly
establish the identity of Gogue with the king of the north. The multitudes they
are destined to lead into the Holy Land are the "all nations" which
Zechariah has predicted the Lord will gather together against Jerusalem, to
destroy them in battle with a small exception, (Zech 14:2) and whose slain are
"the carcases of the men that have transgressed against the Lord, whose
worm shall not die, nor their fire be quenched; and who shall be an abhorring
to all flesh," (Isaiah 66:24) who pass through "the valley of the
passengers on the east of the sea" (Ezek 39:11); for the consumption of
their bodies by the worm will commence while they are yet standing alive upon
their feet;(Zech 14:12) so that the stench of their consuming bodies will
"stop the noses of the passers by."
ROSH, MESHECH, AND TUBAL.
The prophet Ezekiel is addressed by Jehovah as
the type, or representative, of Him, who is to vanquish Gogue on the mountains
of Israel. Hence, He says to him, "Son of Man, set thy face against
Gogue, of the land of Magogue, the prince of Rosh, Mesheck, and Tubal, and
prophesy against him" (R.V.). In this title to the prophecy, the
antagonists are indicated-namely, the Son of Man on one side, and Gogue on the
other. But, while it is quite clear who the Son of Man is, it is but little
understood what power is represented by Gogue. It will, therefore, be my
endeavour in the following pages to identify this adversary of Israel and their
King; so that the reader may know which of "the powers that be" is
chosen of God to personate the serpent's head when it is crushed by the woman's
seed.
The jews appointed by Ptolemy Philadelphus, king
of Egypt, to translate the Old Testament into Greek, gave a different rendering
of the title to that which appears in the Authorized English Version. They
rendered the original by Gogue, Prince of Ros, Mesoch, and Thobel; so
that the difference of the two translations turns upon the Hebrew word rosh
being regarded as a proper, or a common, noun. The Seventy were sensible that
in this place it was not an appellative noun, but a proper name; and
they rendered it accordingly by Ros. But Jerome not finding any such
proper name among the nation-families mentioned in Genesis, rather disputed the
Septuagint reading, and preferred to consider the word Ros as a common
noun; and his interpretation, established in the Latin Vulgate, has universally
prevailed throughout the west. Jerome, however, was more scrupulous than the
editors of later versions, who have unqualifiedly rejected it as a common name;
for although he inclined to the other rendering, he did not feel authorized to
reject altogether one so ancient, and he has therefore preserved them both,
translating the passage thus -- "Gogue, terram Magogue, principem
capitis (sive Ros) Mosoch, et Thubal."
But the question between the phrases "the
chief prince," and "the prince of Ros," has been long set at
rest by the concurring judgment of the learned, who have adopted the primitive
interpretation of the Alexandrine Jews. And although the common English version
has not the benefit of their decision, yet the title of the prophecy has been
generally received among the erudite portion of the western nations for nearly
200 years, according to the ancient Greek interpretation; that is to say, as
uniting the three proper names of nations, Ros, Mosc, and Tobl.
By the insertion of vowels, or vowel-points, the Hebrew words have been made to
assume the different forms of Meshech, Mesoch, Tubal, and Thobel;
but, as the meaning of Hebrew words depends not on the points, but upon the
radical consonants, or letters, it may be as well to express these names by the
forms and elements of the original words, for by so doing we keep nearer to the
original idea, and are less likely to be mystified by hypothesis.
"Ros," says David Levi, "is not an appellative as in the common
translation of the Bible, but a proper name. The word "chief"
ought, therefore, to be replaced by the proper name Ros, or Rosh.
But what nations are signijied by these three
proper names? This question has been long since determined by the learned.
The celebrated Bochart, about the year 1640, observed in his elaborate
researches into Sacred Geography, that Ros is the most ancient form under which
history makes mention of the name of RUSSIA; and he contended that Ros and Mosc
properly denote the nations of Russia and Moscovy. "It is credible,"
says he, "that from Rhos and Mesech (that is the Rhossi and Moschi), of
whom Ezekiel speaks, descended the Russians and Moscovites, nations of the
greatest celebrity in European Scythia." We have, indeed, ample and
positive testimony, that the Russian nation was called Ros by the Greeks in the
earliest period in which we find it mentioned, as, "the Ros are a Scythian
nation, bordering on the northern Taurus." And their own historians say,
"It is related that the Russians (whom the Greeks called Ros and sometimes
Rosos) derived their name from Ros, a valiant man, who delivered his nation
from the yoke of their tyrants."
Thus, then, we discern the modern names of Russia
and of Moscow, or Moskwa, in the ancient names of Ros and Mosc, or Musc. It is
not difficult to recognize in Tobl, Tubi, or Thobel, a name which naturally
connects itself with them; and which, in conjunction with them, tends, in a
very remarkable manner, to determine and fix the proper object of the
prediction. The river Tobol gives name to the City Tobolium, or Tobolski,
the metropolis of the extensive region of Siberia, lying immediately eastward
of the territories of Moscovy, or Mosc. Tobol and Mosc are mentioned together
by Ezekiel who characterizes them as nations trading in copper (Ezek. 27:13); a
metal which, it is notorious, abounds in the soil of Siberia; a region which
includes all the northern part of Asia which borders on Russia to the west, on
the Arctic Ocean to the north, on the Pacific Ocean on the east, and on Central
Asia to the south. And thus the three denominations Ros, Mosc, and Tobl, united
in prophecy, point out, with equal capacity and conciseness, those widely
extended regions, which, at the present day, we denominate collectively THE
RUSSIAN EMPIRE.
Gogue is styled the "Prince of Ros, Mosc,
and Tobl," that is, Autocrat of the Russians, Moscovites, and
Siberians, or of "All the Russias." But he is also styled" Gogue
of the land of Magogue," as well. There is something important in this. It
affirms that he is sovereign of Magogue as well as prince of all the Russias;
for there, at the time of the prophecy, is his proper dominion. "Whoever
reads Ezekiel," says Michaelis, "can hardly entertain a doubt that
Gogue is the name of a sovereign, and Magogue that of his people; the prophet
speaks of the former, not as a people but as AN EMPEROR." Let us,
then, now inquire, where is the region styled Magogue: that we may be
enabled to ascertain of what people besides the Russians Gogue will be the
Emperor. And as Gomer, and Togarmah of the north quarters, are represented as
being connected with him, we shall also endeavour to find out what modern
nations will answer to these names.
MAGOGUE AND GOMER.
We know from the Hebrew scriptures that Magogue
and Gomer were the names of the two sons of Japheth: and it is to ancient
Hebrew authority alone that we can resort to learn where, accordmg to the
common repute of the Israelites, the nations which descended from these two
heads of families, and which long retained the proper names of those
heads, were spread and established. Josephus says, "that Japhet, the son
of Noah, had seven sons; who, proceeding from their primative seats in the
mountains of Taurns and Amanus, ascended Asia to the river Tanais (or Don); and
there entering Europe, penetrated as far westward as the Straits of Gibraltar,
occupying the lands which they successively met with in their progress; all of
which were uninhabited; and bequeathed their names to their different families,
or nations. That Gomer founded the Gomari, whom the Greeks, at that time,
called Galatae and that Magogue founded the Magogae, whom the Greeks then
called Scythae." It only, therefore, remains for us to ascertain which
were the nations that the Greeks, in the time of Josephus, called Scythae, and
which they then called Galatae; and to observe whether the geographical
affinities of these nations are such as answer to those which are plainly
required by the prophecy for Magogue and Gomer.
Herodotus, the most ancient Greek writer
accessible, acquaints us "that the name Scythae was a name given by the
Greeks to an ancient and widely extended people of Europe, who had spread
themselves from the river Tanais, or Don, westward along the banks of the
Ister, or Danube." "The Greeks," observes Major Rennel,
"appear to have first used the term Scythia, in its application to their
neighhours, the Scythians of the Euxine, who were also called Getae, or Gothi;
and were those who afterwards subdued the Roman empire: and from which original
stock the present race of people in Europe seem to be descended." And
again, "the Scythians of Herodotus appear to have extended themselves in
length from Hungary, Transylvania, and Wallachia, on the
west-ward, to the river Don on the eastward." Thus the testimony of
Herodotus and Josephus is in perfect agreement concerning the progress of
Magogue and Gomer. In these same regions the Scythae continued many ages after
Herodotus, and even long after the time of Josephus; for Dion Cassius, who
lived 150 years after Josephus, and above 200 after Christ, relates, that
Pompey, in his return into Europe from Asia, "determined to pass to the
Ister, or Danube, through the Scythae; and so to enter Italy." These were
the original Scythae. But Herodotus states further, that a portion of the same
people, in an after age, turned back upon the European seats of their fathers,
and established themselves in Asia; and from these sprung the Asiatic Scythae,
who, in process of time, almost engrossed the name to themselves.
Since the name of Scythae, i.e., Magogue,
is to be considered not by itself, but in geographical connection with Galatae,
or Gomer, we have only to inquire, whether any geographical affinity is really
ascribed by the Greeks to the Scythae and Galatae; and to ascertain to what
regions of the earth those names, so associated, were applied. If we can
discover these two points, we ought thereby to have discovered specifically the
Magogue of the prophecy, which is to be associated with the region, or people
of Gomer.
Diodorus Siculus, who lived about a century
before Josephus, traces them much further into Europe than the Danube; even to
the shores of the Baltic, and to the very confines of the Galatae of the Greeks.
In speaking of the amber found upon the shores of that sea, he there places the
region expressly denominated, " Scythia above, or north of, Galatia."
In which description we at length find the Scythae, or Magogue, in the
immediate neighbourhood of the Galatae of the Greeks, or Gomer.
Galatia is the common and familiar name used by
all the earlier Greek historians for Gaul, the Gallia of the Latins; and
Galatae is the common Greek name for Gauls, or the Galli of the Latins. Thus,
"all the Galate" (or Gauls), says Strabo, "were called Celtae by
the Greeks"; and the converse is equally true: "the Celtae were
called Galatae by the Greeks, and Galli by the Latins." To inquire, Who
were "the Galate of the Greeks"? is, therefore, the same as to
inquire, Who were the Galli of the Romans? A colony of these Galate, or Galli,
indeed, in the third century before Christ, emigrated from Gaul and established
themselves in Asia Minor; where they were ever after called by their Greek name
Galatians. Diodorus' "Scythia above Gaul extending towards the
Baltic," accurately describes that large tract of Europe above the Rhine,
or northern boundary of Gaul, through which flow the rivers Elbe, Ems, and
Weser. Here, and in the countries immediately adjoining, were the
SCYTHAE bordering upon the GALATAE on the north; that is to say,
a considerable part of MAGOGUE, geographically associated with GOMER.
("Gomer, ex quo Galatae, id est Galli" that is to say, "Gomer,
from whom proceeded the Galatae, that is, the Gauls" –- Isidor., Origin
lib. ix. He wrote about A.D. 600) Diodorus elsewhere describes the northern
part of Galatia, or Gaul, as confining upon Scythia. "The
Greeks," says he, "call those who inhabit Marseilles and the inland
territory, and all those who dwell towards the Alps and the Pyrenean Mountains,
by the name of Celts; but those who occupy the country lying to the northward,
between the Ocean and the Hercynian mountain, and all others as far as Scythia,
they denominate Galate; but the Romans call all those nations by one collective
appellation, Galate; that is, Galli." These geographical affinities unite
in the name of Celto-Scythae, mentioned by Strabo. "The ancient
Greeks," says he, "at first called the northern nations by the
general name of Scythians; but when they became acquainted with the nations in
the West, they began to call them by different names of Celts,
CeltoScythae"; and again, "the ancient Greek historians called the
northern nations, collectively, Scythians, and Celto-Scythae"; which
latter name plainly denoted the most western portion of the Scythae, adjoining
Gaul; of the number of whom were the Scythae on the north of the Galatae.
In this general description may easily be discerned
that extended portion of the West of Europe, comprehending ancient Gaul,
Belgium, and the countries bordering upon them, which curious coincidence that
Louis Philippe paid bis visit to England in the Gomer. When th is vessel
was thus named, did they adopt it allusively to their country being originally
peopled by the descendants of Gomer? "Scythia above Gaul," or Magogue
above Gomer, or to the north of it, through which flowed the Elbe, Ems, and
Weser, was the country from whence proceeded principally that renowned people,
who, in the early ages of Romanism, formed an extensive confederacy with their
kindred nations upon the Rhine, which had migrated successively thither from
the regions of the Danube; and who, under the common denomination of FRANKs,
overran Gaul, and subdued it; and finally establishing their power and
population in the conquered country, permanently superseded the name of Gaul by
that of FRANCE. "As for the seats of the Franks," says the
"Universal History," "it appears from their constant excursions
into Gaul, that they dwelt on the banks of the Rhine, in the
neighbourhood of Mentz. All historians speak of them as placed there till their
settling in Gaul. Their country, according to the best modern geographers and
historians, was bounded on the north by the Ocean; on the west by the Ocean and
the Rhine; on the south by the Maine; and on the east by the Weser."
These, therefore, were the Celto-Scythians, or
Scythians on the northern confine of Gaul; that is, Magogue in contiguity with
Gomer. The Chaldean interpreter applies the name of Magogue to the Germans;
in short, all the ancients looked for the Magogue of scripture in the West. The
Scythae of Asia, who, as we have seen, were only a partial emigration, or
reflux, from their ancient stock in Europe, cannot, with any soundness of
criticism, be taken account of in this argument.
"Togarmah of the north quarters, and
all his bands," is also to form a part of the Gogue's confederacy against
the Holy Land in "the time of the end." There is little said about
Togarmah in history beyond conjecture. He was a son of Gomer, therefore his
posterity would migrate originally from the same locality as Gomer's other
descendants-namely, from the mountains of Taurus and Amanus; but, instead of going
westward with their brethren, they diffused themselves over "the north
quarters," that is, relatively to Judea. Ezekiel says, "The house
of Togarmah traded in the Tyrian fairs with horses, and horsemen, and mules."(Ezek
27:14) Hence doubtless they were a nomadic people, tending flocks and herds in
the pasture lands of the north, where nature favoured their production with
little care and expense. Russian, and Independent, Tartary are the countries of
Togarmah, from which in former times poured forth the Turcoman cavalry,
"which," says Gibbon, "they proudly computed by millions."
Georgia and Circassia, probably, are "bands of Togarmah's house."
These, then, are the regions which are to supply
the numerous and formidable armies with which their arrogant and mighty
Emperor, prophetically denominated Gogue, is hereafter "to ascend as a
cloud," against the Holy Land, not long after he shall have gone, like a
whirlwind," against the Little Horn. Let us now consider, as briefly as
possible, the applicability of this word to the Prince of Ros, Mosc, and Tobl.
"Gogue of the land Ma-gogue," that is,
styling the ruler of Magogue by the latter syllable of the name of the country
over which he rules. We have seen that Magogue is the region extending from the
Ros, or Russia, to the Rhine, comprehending Wallachia, Transylvania, Hungary,
and Germany. Of course, the prophecy must be future, because the Prince of the
Ros is the Gogue of Magogue; and as yet no Emperor of Russia has been also
Emperor of Germany, etc. But why is the future autocrat of Gomer, Magogue, Ros,
Mosc, Tobl, and Togarmah, styled Gogue?
There is no name in the Bible which has more
puzzled the critics than this of Gogue. The depths of Hebrew etymology have
been explored in vain, and the versatile efforts of ingenuity in vain exerted,
in the search for a mystical sense which might attach to this name. But Gogue
is a Gentile, and not a Hebrew name; and Michaelis has correctly remarked,
"that the origin of a barbaric, or foreign name, ought not to be sought
for in the Hebrew, nor in any of its kindred tongues, as many have erroneously
done." An early nineteenth century writer, who very incorrectly applied
the name to Napoleon, refers to Fredegarius' History as the only satisfactory
account of any person of the name of Gogue. Without adopting his application of
it to the French Emperor, I will give the substance of what he says concerning
it.
It is a proper name well known to continental
history: and borne in one notable instance by an ancient ruler, which answers
immediately to the Magogue of the scriptures Gogue was the proper name of the
Major Domus Regiae, or chief of the palace, who, after having been exalted by
the voice of the nation to the highest authority, fell by a violent and
sanguinary death. The name of this personage appears in the history which is
written in Latin under the double form of Gogo (-onis) and Gogus (-i);
these different terminations and inflexions having been suffixed to the
original name. But although modern authors have followed those Latin forms, the
name has nevertheless been preserved in the vernacular tongne, with its
genuine, original, and simple enunciation of Gogue.
About sixty years after the death of Sigebert,
King of Austrasia, A.D. 575, Fredegarius undertook to write the history of his
reign; in which he gives the following account of Gogue: --
"When Sigebert (grandson of Clovis) saw that
his brothers had contracted marriages with women of inferior condition, he sent
Gogue on an embassy to the King of Spain, to demand his daughter, Bruna, in
marriage. The King sent her, with great treasures, to Sigebert; and in order to
add greater dignity to her name, it was changed to Brunechildis. Sigebert
received her for his consort, with great rejoicings.
"Prior to this event, and during the infancy
of Sigebert, the Austrasians had made choice of the Duke Chrodinus, to be Major
Domus Regiae, or chief of the palace; because he was a man of vigorous conduct
in affairs, fearing God, endued with patience and possessing no quality but
what rendered him dear both to God and men. Chrodinus rejected the honour
proffered to him, saying, 'I am unable to establish peace in Austrasia, for all
the nobles and gentry of Austrasia are allied to me by blood; and I have not
the power of enforcing discipline amongst them, or of taking away the life of
any man. They will all rise against me, to follow their own superstitions; and
God forbid, that their actions should draw me into the condemnation of hell.
Choose ye, therefore, from among yourselves whom ye may approve.'
"When they could find no one they chose
Gogue, the tutor of the prince, by the advice of Chrodinus, to be Major Domus
Regiae. And on the following morning Chrodinus repaired the first to the
dwelling of Gogue, and placed his arm upon his neck which the rest perceiving,
they all followed his example. And thus was the government of Gogue prosperous;
until he brought Brunechildis out of Spain. But she soon rendered him odious to
Sigebert, who, by her instigation, put him to death."
The high authority of Gogue while he held the
reins of the Austrasian Government, is strongly marked in the complimentary
poems addressed to him by Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers, a distinguished poet
of that age; from one of which the following passage, translated from the
Latin, may be worthy of selection, on account of its geographical references,
so remarkably connecting the proper name of Gogue with the Rhenish section of
Magogue.
TO GOGUE HIMSELF.
Ye clouds whose course the northern winds impel,
Of my lov'd GOGUE some grateful tidings tell!
Say, with what health his valued life is blest;
What peaceful cares engage his tranquil breast.
If on the banks of Rhine awhile he stay,
Where the rich salmon yields itself a prey.
Or where Moselle through vineyards guides her stream,
While gentle breezes cool the sultry gleam.
Or flowing waters mitigate the heat
And with fresh waves the bowery margins greet.
Or where the Meuse in murmurs soft is heard,
Mid threefold wealth, of vessel, fish, and bird.
Or where the Aisne through grassy banks is borne,
Whose waters nourish pasturage and corn.
Or if by Oise, by Sare, by Cher, or Scheld.
Somme, Sambre, Saur, the loitering Chief beheld,
Or when the Seille, with mouth expanded. laves
Merz' stately bulwarks with her copious waves.
Or if in forest shades he seeks his prey,
With toil, or spear, to capture, or to slay.
Or if on Ardenne's wild, or Vosge's height.
The echoing woods res,ound his arrow's flight.
Or if, return'd beneath his PRINCELY DOME,
Their lord, a zealous people welcome home.
Of the origin, or family, of Gogue, the first Maire
du Palais, or Dux Francorum, of the kingdom of Austrasia, no mention is
made in history; but it is plainly to be collected from the words of Chrodinus,
that he had no consanguinity with either the nobles or the gentry~the
"primates," or "liberi," of that kingdom; and it seems
equally implied in the words of Fredegarius, that he was not a native of the
kingdom, since he was elected to his dignity, because the Austrasians could
find no one among themselves.
Thus, it is evident that Gogue is an historical
character, and that he was Regent of a part of Magogue. Now, it is probable
that, because of certain peculiarities in his history in relation to Magogue,
God selected his name as the prophetic title of one who should rule over the
same country in "the time of the end." The resemblances between the
historical and prophetic Gogues may be stated as follows. I shall distinguish
them as Gogue I and Gogue II.
With these premises before us, I have no doubt
that the following paraphrase will present the reader with the true import of
the exordium to the prophecy of Ezekiel concerning Gogue.
"Son of Man, set thy face against Gogue, the
Emperor of Germany, Hungary, etc., and Autocrat of Russia, Moscovy, and
Tobolskoi, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I
am against thee, 0 Gogue, Autocrat of Russia, Moscovy, and Tobolskoi and I will
turn thee about, and put a bit into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth from
the north parts, and all thine army, horses, and horsemen, all of them accoutred
with all sorts or armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all
of them handling swords: among whom shall be Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans,
all of them with shields and helmet: French and Italians, etc. ; Circassians,
Cossacks, and the Tartar hordes of Usbeck, etc.: and many people not
particularly named besides. Be thou prepared; prepare thyself, thou, and all
thy company that are assembled unto thee; and be thou Imperial Chief to
them."
From these premises, then, I think, there cannot
be the shadow of a doubt that the Autocrat of Russia, when he shall have
attained to the plenitude of his power and dominion, is the subject of the
prophecy contained in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth of Ezekiel. This
personage at present is only "Autocrat of All the
Having proved as I think, that the phrase
"Gogue of the land of Magogue" signifies Emperor of Germany,
and that the particular emperor referred to will also be the " prince of
Ros, Mosc, and Tobl" -- that is, that at some time hereafter, and that not
far off, a Czar of Russia will be both Emperor of Germanv and Autocrat of All
the Russias-I proceed to remark that, although the Son of Man is his
conqueror., he is to be antagonized by another power before he comes to fight
his last battle, in which he loses both his life and crown. Ezekiel informs us
that Gogue's earthly adversary occupies the countries of Sheba, Dedan, and
Tarshish; and that when the Autocrat (for Gogue is an autocrat, ruling by
his own will) invades the Holy Land for the purpose of spoiling the Jews,
the Lion-power of these countries assumes a threatening attitude, and dares him
to execute his purpose. "Art thou come to take a spoil? Hast gathered thy
company to take a prey?" Thus it speaks to Gogue as much as to say,
"Thou shalt not spoil
The prophet Daniel, however, shows that the only
effect of these threatening tidings is to make him furious; for he says,
"Therefore shall he go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to
make away many. ' But furious as Daniel represents him, Ezekiel testifies that
he meets with one more potently furious that himself. But this is not the Lion-power
of Tarshish, but the Lord God himself, "whose fury comes up into his
face" when He beholds the extortioner and spoiler (Isaiah 16:4) ravening
upon his prey. The lion-and-merchant-power of Tarshish will not be permitted to
usurp the glory of the Lion of the tribe of
But what is the lion-power of which Ezekiel
speaks? To ascertain this we must direct our attention to the countries named
in connection with "the young lions." Of these,
As to Tarshish, there were two countries of that
name in the geography of the ancients. Jehoshaphat built ships at Ezion-geber,
a port of the
But there was also a Tarshish to the north-west
of
But, in corroboration of this, I remark further,
that the lion-power is represented also as a merchant power, in the
words, "the Merchants of Tarshish shall say unto Gogue." Having ascertained
the geography of Tarshish, it is easy to answer the question, Who are its
merchants? This inquiry will admit of but one answer, namely, the British
East India Company, which is both the merchant and the ruler of the
elephant-tooth country of the east. (The prophet says "all the young lions
thereof." The whole
But the lion-power of Britain has not yet
attained the limit marked out for it by the finger of God. The conquest of
Persia by the Autocrat will doubtless cause England to conquer Afghanistan, and
to seize upon Dedan that she may command the entrance to the Persian gulf, and
so prevent him from obtaining access to India either by land or sea. Possessing
Persia and Mesopotamia, the apprehension of his pushing still further
southward, and perhaps establishing himself on the north-eastern coast of the
Red Sea, and so taking them in the rear and gaining access to India by the
straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, will also be a powerful motive for the merchants of
Tarshish and its young lions to take possession of all the coast from the Gulf
of Persia to the Straits, and thence to Suez, by which the lion-power will not
only become the Sheba and Dedan, but also the Edom, Moab, and Ammon, of
"the latter days" ; for in speaking of the events of these days, the
prophets refer not to races of men, but to powers on territories
designated by the names of the people who anciently inhabited them. Hence, for
instance, the Lion-power planted hereafter in the ancient territory of Moab,
becomes the Moab of the latter days so that when the countries before-named are
possessed and settled by the British, they will be men of Dedan in Muscat, men
of Sheba in Aden and Mocha, and Moabites, Edomites, and Ammonites in their
several territories. Thus, the prophecies concerning those countries in their
latter-day developments have regard to the power to which they then belong, and
which, I have no doubt, will be the British; which, together with the
Autocrat's, though henceforth always rival dominions, will endure until both
powers be broken up by the Ancient of Days.
It may be as well in this place to recall the
reader's attention briefly to the vision of the four Beasts (Dan. 7). The Lion,
the Bear, and the Leopard, the symbols of the Assyrian, the Persian, and of a
greater dominion than that comprehended in the four heads of the Leopard, or
horns of the Goat; therefore, I will call it Alexandrine (Dan. 11:3,4): these
three Beasts are represented in the vision as out-living the destruction of the
Fourth Beast, or Roman Dragon. Speaking of this, the prophet says, "I
beheld till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to
the burning flame." Having seen his violent death, he goes on to say,
"As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away;
yet a prolonging in life was given them for a season and a time." The
meaning of this is, that at the consummation of the judgment, the territories
comprehended in the dominions of the four beasts to their full extent will be
divided between two independent dominions of the Latter Days -- namely, that of
Gogue and that of the Lion df Tarshish. Gogne's will include so much of the
territory as to entitle his dominion to be represented by Nebuchadnezzar's
Image. Assyria proper, Persia, Asia Minor, Armenia, and Mesopotamia; Egypt,
Italy, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Naples, Lombardy,
Bavaria, Hungary, and Greece -- countries all included in the catalogue given
by Ezekiel in his prophecy of Gogue -- are symbolized by the head, breast,
body, thighs, legs, and toes of the Image. These are at the crisis united
together in one dominion, which is broken to pieces as the result of the battle
of Armageddon. Gogue's yoke being broken off the neck of these nations, Assyria
and Persia resume their independence; but they do not retain it long, for it is
"taken away," yet they continue separate states for 1,000 years, only
ruled by the saints, whom the Lord may appoint over them.
The Lion of Tarshish is Alexandrine in its
dominion, and will then possess much of the territory represented by the
Unicorn Goat and the Leopard-all, indeed, not included in the Image. Alexander
the Great extended his conquests over