Our Day Part 46

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THE EASTERN QUESTION

MODERN HISTORY IN THE LIGHT OF ANCIENT PROPHECY

Not alone of the history of ancient nations does the "sure word of prophecy" bear witness. Political events of our own and coming days are described.

The nations of the latter day are pictured as preparing war, gathering their forces for the great Armageddon, the battle of the day of G.o.d.

As a signal of the last great struggle, the fall, or "drying up," of the power ruling the territory watered by the river Euphrates is foretold.

Rev. 16:12. The Euphrates in all modern history has been suggestive of the dominions of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire. And Armageddon, designated as the meeting place of armies in the last clash of nations, is in Palestine, which, through all modern times, has been in possession of the Turkish power.

The index finger of prophecy points, therefore, to this region of the eastern Mediterranean as the pivotal point in the closing history of nations; and with Turkey's fate is wrapped up the fate of all the nations of the world.

All this adds deepest and most solemn import to the study of what is known as the Eastern Question, a question that has been to the fore in international politics much of the time throughout this generation. Wars have been fought over it, cabinets have wrestled with it, and still it holds its place in the first rank of living issues of today.

As every one knows, the Eastern Question involves the dominion or supremacy in the Near East. This region was a pivotal point in the struggles of the nations in ancient times--the meeting place of East and West. Maspero, historian of ancient empires, says of it:

"Some countries seem destined from their origin to become the battle fields of the contending nations.... The nations around are eager for the possession of a country thus situated....

From remote antiquity Syria was in the condition just described. By its position it formed a kind of meeting place, where most of the military nations of the ancient world were bound sooner or later to come violently into collision."--_"Struggle of the Nations," chap. 1._

It is not strange, therefore, that one of the great outlines of historic prophecy should deal with events centering around this pivotal region.

The prophecy of Daniel 11 does so, outlining the course of history from ancient times to the final solution of the Eastern Question amid the scenes of the end.

Rise and Fall of Ancient Empires

The prophetic outline of Daniel 11 begins with Persia, in the third year of Cyrus, the conqueror of Babylon. (See Dan. 10:1.) The angel of G.o.d appeared to Daniel, and in the longest and most detailed single prophecy in all the Bible, told the story of events connected with this region of the Near East for the centuries to come, until the end. Putting the word of prophecy and the record of history side by side, we see how exactly history has fulfilled prophecy; and we may know certainly that the brief portion of the prophecy yet unfulfilled will surely come to pa.s.s.

Persia

_Prophecy._--"Now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia." Dan. 11:2

_History._--The three kings following Cyrus were (1) Cambyses, (2) Smerdis, (3) Darius; the fourth, Xerxes, was "far richer than they all."

He had the treasures of his father, Darius, who was called the "merchant" or "h.o.a.rder" by his own people, and Xerxes gathered stores of wealth in addition. When Xerxes was on his way to invade Grecia, a Lydian named Pythius entertained the whole Persian army with feasts, and offered to aid in bearing the expense of the campaign. Xerxes asked who this man of such wealth was. He was answered:

"This is the man, O king! who gave thy father Darius the golden plane tree, and likewise the golden vine; and he is still the wealthiest man we know of in all the world, excepting thee."--_Herodotus, book 7, par. 27._

"Richer than they all," Xerxes, "through his riches," was able, as the prophecy had foretold, to "stir up all against the realm of Grecia."

Forty-nine nations marched under his banners to the attack. The Greek poet, aeschylus, who himself fought against the Persians, wrote of Xerxes' mighty host,

"And myriad-peopled Asia's king, a battle-eager lord, From utmost east to utmost west sped on his countless horde, In unnumbered squadrons marching, in fleets of keels untold, Knowing none dared disobey, For stern overseers were they Of the G.o.dlike king begotten of the ancient race of Gold."

--_"Persae," Way's translation._

Xerxes boasted that he was leading "the whole race of mankind to the destruction of Greece." But his invasion ended in the total rout of his forces by land and by sea. It was an advertis.e.m.e.nt to the world that Persia's might was broken. The prophecy treats it so, and deals no further with Persian history.

aeschylus at the time celebrated the pa.s.sing of Persia's prestige in the lines,--

"With sacred awe The Persian law No more shall Asia's realms revere; To their lord's hand At his command, No more the exacted tribute bear.

Before the Ionian squadrons Persia flies, Or sinks engulfed beneath the main; Fallen! fallen! is her imperial power, And conquest on her banners waits no more."

--_"Persae," Potter's translation._

The next great world change was to be the rise of Grecia to dominion.

So, although a number of kings followed Xerxes in Persia, the prophecy pa.s.ses from his disastrous invasion directly to the coming of Grecia under its "mighty king," Alexander the Great.

Grecia

_Prophecy._--"A mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity." Dan. 11:3, 4.

_History._--Alexander the Great stood up and ruled with great dominion, over a kingdom stretching from India to Grecia, with kings yet farther west sending emba.s.sies to Babylon to make submission. But in the height of his power, as the prophecy suggests, he was suddenly cut down by death. All his posterity perished, and out of the struggles of his generals for supremacy came (301 B.C.) the division of the empire toward "the four winds," as the prophecy had declared so long before. Rawlinson, the historian, says:

"A quadripart.i.te division of Alexander's dominion was recognized: Macedonia [west], Egypt [south], Asia Minor [north], and Syria [stretching eastward beyond the Euphrates]."--_"Sixth Monarchy," chap. 3._

The Kings of the North and South

Next, a rearrangement of these powers is noted; and it is this that gives us the key to the study of the closing portion of the long prophetic outline dealing with events of our own day. The narrative continues:

_Prophecy._--"The king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes ... shall be strong above him;... his dominion shall be a great dominion." Verse 5.

_History._--The history testifies that the king of the south (Egypt, under Ptolemy) was strong; but one of the four princes was "strong above him." Seleucus, of Syria and the east, pushed his dominion northward, subduing most of Asia Minor, and extending his boundary into Thrace, on the European side, beyond the Dardanelles. Henceforward, as Mahaffy says,

"there were three great kingdoms--Macedonia, Egypt, Syria--which lasted, each under its own dynasty, till Rome swallowed them up."--_"Alexander's Empire," p. 89._

Thus Seleucus took the territory of the north, and the Syrian power became king of the north, its empire extending from Thrace, in Europe, through Asia Minor to Syria and the Euphrates. The seat of empire was removed from the east, and Antioch, in northern Syria, "once the third city of the world," became the famous capital.

The prophecy next foretold in remarkable detail the contests between these two strong powers, the king of the north (Syria and Asia Minor) and the king of the south (Egypt). The conflict raged back and forth till the coming of the Romans. The Holy Land was the frequent meeting place of the contending armies. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes it:

"Palestine was as of old the battle field for the king of the north and the king of the south.... The history of these times is lost in its details."--_Ninth edition, Vol. XV, art.

"Macedonian Empire," p. 144._

We shall not follow the details of this contest as foretold in the prophecy, nor yet the outline of events after the coming of the Roman power ended the rivalry between Syria and Egypt. It is necessary only that we fix the events and geographic terms of this early portion of the prophecy. Then we shall have the key to the closing portion, dealing with events of the last days, when the king of the north again appears.

The Modern King of the North

In the last verses of the chapter we find the king of the north a chief actor in this same region, "at the time of the end." Verse 40. And we are told that when this power comes to its end, it is the signal that the great day of G.o.d is at hand. (See Dan. 12:1.)