The United States in the Light of Prophecy.
by Uriah Smith.
Preface.
If we read the signs of the times aright, events are soon to transpire of such a nature as to preclude the necessity of any apology for the publication of what is contained in the following pages. The numerous rays of light now shining from the book of prophecy, seem to find their focal point in our own times. The present age is illuminated in this respect above all others. Here we find the most emphatic touches of the prophetic pencil. The events to transpire, and the agents therein concerned, are brought out in a vivid and startling light.
The question naturally arises, what part the United States has to act in these scenes; for it must seem reasonable and probable that a nation which has arisen so suddenly as ours, made such unparalleled progress, and attained to such a pinnacle of greatness and power, must be a subject of divine prophecy, or at least of divine providence.
To this question the following pages undertake to give a brief but scriptural, and so a reasonable and conclusive answer; and to such only as do not believe that G.o.d ever foretells the history of nations, or that his providence ever works in their development and decline, can the subject fail to be one of interest.
That this little treatise is exhaustive of the subject is not claimed; but some facts are presented which are thought to be worthy of serious consideration, and enough evidence, we trust, produced in favor of the position taken to show the reader that the subject is not one of mere theory, but of the highest practical importance; and so enough to stimulate thought and lead to further inquiry.
If the position here taken be correct, this subject is to be one of continually-increasing interest, and information respecting it is necessary to an understanding of our duties and responsibilities in the solemn and important times that are upon us. It is in this light that we especially commend it to the serious consideration of the reader.
U.S.
BATTLE CREEK, Mich., June, 1874.
The United States In The Light Of Prophecy.
Chapter One.
Probabilities Considered.
The United States--what are they? Two hundred years ago, this question could not have been answered; it could not even have been asked. Now it can be answered by the dwellers in every quarter of the globe. Then a few small settlements of earnest men, flying from the religious intolerance of the Old World, dotted a narrow strip of coast line on our New England border. Now a mighty nation, with a vast expanse of territory stretching from ocean to ocean, and from regions almost arctic on the north to regions equally torrid on the south, embracing more square leagues of habitable land than Rome ruled over in its palmiest days, here holds a position of independence and glory among the nations of the earth.
And the sound of this new nation has gone into all the world. It has reached the toiling millions of Europe; and they are swarming to our sh.o.r.es to share its blessings. It has gone to the islands of the sea; and they have sent their contributions. It has reached the Orient, and opened as with a pa.s.sword the gates of nations long barred against intercourse with other powers; and China and j.a.pan, turning from their beaten track of forty centuries, are looking with wonder at the prodigy arising across the Pacific to the east of them, and catching some of the impulse which this growing power is imparting to the nations of the earth.
Less than one hundred years ago, with three millions of people, the United States became an independent government. It has now a population of thirty-eight and a half millions of people, and a territory of three and a half millions of square miles. Russia alone exceeds this nation in these particulars, having forty millions more of people, and four millions more square miles of territory. Of all other nations on the globe whose laws are framed by legislative bodies elected by the people, Brazil, which has the largest territory, has not quite three millions of square miles; and France, the most populous, has not probably, considering her late reverses and misfortunes, a greater number of inhabitants than our own country. So that in point of territory and population combined, it will be seen that the United States now stand at the head of the self-governing powers of the earth.
Occupying a position altogether unique, this government excites equally the astonishment and admiration of all beholders. The main features of its history are such as have had no parallel since the distinction of nations existed among men.
1. No nation ever acquired so vast a territory in so quiet a manner.
2. No nation ever rose to such greatness by so peaceable means.
3. No nation ever advanced so rapidly in all that const.i.tutes national strength and capital.
4. No nation ever rose to such a pinnacle of power in a s.p.a.ce of time so incredibly short.
5. No nation in so limited a time has developed such unlimited resources.
6. No nation has ever existed founded on principles of justice so pure and undefiled.
7. No nation has ever existed in which the conscience of men have been left so untrammeled and free.
8. In no nation and in no age of the world, have the arts and sciences so flourished, so many improvements been made, and so great successes been achieved, as in our own country during the last fifty years.
9. In no nation and in no age has the gospel found such freedom, and the churches of Christ had such liberty to spread abroad their principles and develop their strength.
10. No age of the world has seen such an immigration as that which is now pouring into our borders from all lands the millions who have long groaned under despotic governments, and who now turn to this broad territory of freedom as the avenue of hope, the Utopia of the nations.
The most discerning minds have been intuitively impressed with the idea of the future greatness and power of this government. In view of the grand results developed and developing, the discovery of America by Columbus, not four hundred years ago, is set down as the greatest event of all secular history. The progress of empire to this land was long ago expected.
Sir Thomas Brown, in 1682, predicted the growth of a power here, which would rival the European kingdoms in strength and prowess.
In Burnaby"s Travels through the middle settlements of North America, in 1759 and 1760, published in 1775, is expressed this sentiment:--
"An idea, strange as it is visionary, has entered into the minds of the generality of mankind, that empire is traveling westward; and every one is looking forward with eager and impatient expectation to that destined moment when America is to give the law to the rest of the world."
John Adams, Oct. 12, 1775, wrote:---
"Soon after the Reformation, a few people came over into this New World for conscience" sake. Perhaps this apparently trivial incident may transfer the great seat of empire to America."
On the day after the Declaration of Independence, he wrote:--
"Yesterday the greatest question was decided which ever was debated in America, and a greater perhaps never was, nor will be, decided among men."
In 1776, Galiani, a Neapolitan, predicted the gradual decay of European inst.i.tutions, to renew themselves in America. In 1778, in reference to the question as to which was to be the ruling power in the world, Europe or America, he said:--
"I will wager in favor of America."
Adam Smith of Scotland, in 1776, predicted the transfer of empire to America.
Governor Pownal, an English statesman, in 1780, while our Revolution was in progress, predicted that this country would become independent, and that a civilizing activity beyond what Europe could ever know, would animate it; and that its commercial and naval power would be found in every quarter of the globe. Again he said:--
"North America has advanced, and is every day advancing, to growth of state, with a steady and continually accelerating motion, of which there never has yet been any example in Europe."
David Hartley wrote from England in 1777:--
"At sea, which has. .h.i.therto been our prerogative element, they [the United States] rise against us at a stupendous rate; and if we cannot return to our old mutual hospitalities toward each other, a very few years will show us a most formidable hostile marine, ready to join hands with any of our enemies."
Count d"Aranda, one of the first of Spanish statesmen, in 1783 thus wrote of this republic:--
"This Federal Republic is born a pygmy, so to speak. It required the support and forces of two powers as great as Spain and France in order to attain independence. A day will come when it will be a giant, even a colossus formidable in these countries."[1]
[1] These quotations are from an article by Hon. Charles Sumner, ent.i.tled, "Prophetic Voices about America," published in the _Atlantic Monthly_ of September, 1807.
Of these prophecies, some are now wholly fulfilled, and the rest far on the road to fulfillment. This infant of yesterday stands forth to-day a giant, vigorous, active, and courageous, and accepts with dignity its manifest destiny at the head of powers and civilizations.
Such, in brief, is the answer to the question proposed at the opening of this chapter. Another question immediately follows: Does the prophetic pen which has so fully delineated the rise and progress of all the other great nations of the earth, pa.s.s this one by unnoticed? What are the probabilities in this matter? As the student of prophecy, in common with all mankind, looks with wonder upon the unparalleled rise and progress of this nation, he cannot repress the conviction that the hand of Providence has been at work in this quiet but mighty revolution. And this conviction he shares in common with others.