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Turkey in Prophecy

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 28, 1911

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 88, No. 52.

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Turkey in Prophecy

By J. L. SHAW

J. L. SHAW
BABYLON, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome have each been spoken of in prophecy. Their rise and fall have been predicted, and each and every prophecy has been fulfilled. The Most High still rules in the affairs of men, and it is not too much to suppose that Turkey, a nation conspicuous in the history of Europe for several centuries, should also be considered in the Word of God. So important has been this nation that in three different chapters in the Scriptures we find prophecies dealing with the Turkish power; namely, Dan. 11:40-45; Revelation 9; and Rev. 16:12-14. We shall concern ourselves at this time with the prophecy found in the eleventh chapter of Daniel, and although Turkey is not referred to until the fortieth verse, it is necessary to look at the chapter as a whole in order to understand the very important predictions made of the Ottoman empire in verses 40-45 inclusive. We shall therefore briefly outline the chapter.
Chapter 11 differs from the other prophecies of the book of Daniel in that it is a literal prophecy. Chapters 2, 7, 8, and 9 all deal with symbols, and are therefore known as symbolic prophecies. But not so with Daniel 11. Symbols are not used; the prophecy is literal, and is for that reason in some respects easier to be understood. Naturally, the prophecy begins with Daniel’s time, and the angel says:—
“Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia [Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius Hystaspes]; and the fourth [Xerxes] shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.”
The Xerxes here referred to led an unwieldy army of five million men against Grecia. The remaining history of Persia is then omitted, and concerning Grecia the angel says:—
“And a mighty king shall stand up [Alexander the Great], 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, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.”
The notable triumphs of Alexander, making Grecia a dominant world power, came to an unexpected termination by his untimely death, and there was confusion among his generals for about twenty years. As pointed out in prophecy, the kingdom did not go to his posterity, but was divided as the angel said, among his generals, “toward the four winds of heaven.”
The division of the kingdom was as follows: Cassander had Greece and the adjacent countries that lay to the west; Lysimachus held Thrace and Bithynia, or the north territory, of which Byzantium was at that time, and Constantinople is now, the capital; Seleucus had Syria and Babylon, toward the east; while Ptolemy was given Egypt. But the original division of the territory did not long remain. The territory given to Cassander and Lysimachus was soon annexed by Seleucus, and the remainder of the prophecy concerning Grecia, found in Dan. 11:5-13, concerns itself with two kingdoms, “the king of the north” and “the king of the south.” It is of paramount importance, therefore, in understanding the whole prophecy of Daniel 11 that it be definitely fixed in mind that the northern and southern divisions of Alexander’s kingdom remain as the kingdoms of the north and the south unto the end, and whatever powers occupy these geographical areas will be the kings of the north and of the south. Later on in the chapter a definite period of time is spoken of, known as “the time of the end,” at which time the king of the north is again mentioned in the prophecy. The power therefore which at that time occupies the territory of Thrace and Bithynia, formerly held by Lysimachus, will as surely be the king of the north as was Lysimachus himself.
As one writer has said: “And as Constantinople is the center of the territory originally held by Lysimachus, the first ‘king of the north,’ and the power (Turkey) that now reigns in Constantinople holds the identical territory held by Lysimachus himself, it is plain enough that this power is ‘the king of the north’ of the last verses of the eleventh chapter of Daniel and of our day.”
Looking farther into the prophecy we find that in Dan. 11:14, “the robbers of thy people” (the Roman power) are mentioned; and because of the prominence of Rome in history, verses 14-31 are devoted to the prediction of events which have since been filled in Roman history. Reference is made to Cæsar, Pompey, Mark Antony, Cleopatra, Augustus Cæsar, “a raiser of taxes,” and Tiberius Cæsar, “a vile person.” The Vandals under Genseric are spoken of as “the ships of Chittim,” which wrought such havoc upon Rome during the Arian controversy.
Verses 32-35 deal with the Reformation, while verses 33-39 undoubtedly refer to France during the time of the French Revolution, when France as a nation turned from Roman Catholicism to infidelity and agnosticism. From the words of the prophecy, we quote: “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.” Marriage, or “the desire of women,” was called “the sacrament of adultery.”
In verse 40 the king of the north, which we now know to be Turkey, is again introduced into prophecy. The angel says:—
“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south [Egypt] push at him [France]; and the king of the north [Turkey] shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships.”
Just such a triangular warfare as this was engaged in by France (under Napoleon), Egypt, and Turkey in the year 1798, which, according to previous prophecy in this same chapter, marks the beginning of a definite time known as the time of the end. See Dan. 11:35. Napoleon in his ambitious brain cherished the dream of a world empire. He therefore thought to humble England by subjugating Egypt and obtaining possession of Hindustan, and though Egypt pushed at him as indicated in the prophecy, yet with his trained army he soon took possession of Alexandria and Cairo. This was sufficient to arouse Turkey (as Egypt was a tributary of the Turkish power), and, aided by England, she well met the prophecy in rushing at France “like a whirlwind,” and in the end gained more than she had lost.
We next come to the Crimean war as spoken of in the forty-fourth verse: “Tidings out of the east [Persia] and out of the north [Russia] shall trouble him [Turkey]: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.” The world looked on in amazement to see a government like Turkey, which had been called “the Sick Man of the East,” rush with such impetuosity into the conflict with Russia. An American writer in describing the Turkish soldiers said they “fought like devils.”
So far, Daniel 11 deals with prophecy which has been fulfilled: forty-four verses are a statement of history in the past; but the last verse of the chapter tells of two events that all Europe is constantly expecting to see, and which will surely take place. One is the expulsion of the Turk from Constantinople, and the other is the end of Turkish power. Notice carefully this last verse:—
“And he [Turkey] shall plant the tabernacles of his palace [the seat of government] between the seas in the glorious holy mountain [Jerusalem]; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”
“Between the seas in the glorious holy mountain” can be no other place than Jerusalem. While Constantinople is between the seas, Jerusalem only can be spoken of as being in the glorious holy mountain. We may therefore confidently expect that Turkey will be driven from Europe, and will establish her seat of government at Jerusalem. Since 1840 the Turkish power has existed only because of the sufferance of the great nations of Europe. Constantinople is the strategic point of southern Europe, and no nation is willing that any other should control the Bosporus, lest that nation have the balance of power in Europe. Therefore, up to the present, notwithstanding the unseemly conduct of the Turk, it has seemed best to hold him in Europe, lest the whole continent be plunged into war in an eager attempt to get his territory, should he withdraw.
But prophecy has said, and it must be so, that Turkey will leave Europe, and, more, the Turks themselves look for this very thing. They expect to be driven out from Constantinople, and that the seat of their government will be Jerusalem. When that takes place, the remaining part of the chapter will be fulfilled: “Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” This expression indicates that this power has previously been helped, and so it has been. “In the war against France, 1798 to 1801, England and Russia assisted the sultan. In the war between Turkey and Egypt in 1838 to 1840, England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia intervened in behalf of Turkey. In the Crimean war in 1853-56, England and France supported Turkey.” But when Turkey leaves Constantinople, there will be no political reasons for European powers to assist him, and he will then certainly come to his end, and “none shall help him.”
But of what value is it to know that Turkey will leave Europe and come to his final end? The angel tells us in the first verse of the next chapter.
“And at that time shall Michael [who is Christ, see Jude 9; 1 Thess. 4:16; John 5:28] 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.”
What will be the outcome of the present war we do not know. When the Turk will leave Europe and when the Ottoman empire will be finally wiped out, are great and interesting questions. But of greater moment than these is the question, What will then take place?
To this question the prophecy plainly replies, “At that time” there shall be such a time of trouble as has never been since there was a nation. Reader, are you ready for the time of trouble which is to usher in the coming of Christ? While men are talking peace, nations are getting ready for war, and this preparation, greater than ever before in the history of the world, is surely preparing the way for fulfilling God’s Word in the great battle of Armageddon.
The end of the Ottoman empire is the end of the world, and only he who has his peace fully made with God is ready for that stupendous event. May God incline our hearts to listen to his Word, to watch the mile-posts of prophecy which are rapidly being passed, and to put away all our sins and give ourselves wholly and fully to the accomplishment of his blessed will, that we may have our names retained in “the book of life,” and be delivered from the holocaust of war soon to break forth upon the earth.
Lucknow, India.