MORE than once do we read in the prophetic Word, that the last troubler of the Jews will be a northern power, one coming from the North. (Joel ii:20; Micah v:5, 6; Daniel xi; Ezekiel xxxviii and xxxix); other passages make this fact known. The Assyrian, so prominent in the first part of Isaiah's vision, typifies that great northern one coming upon the Jews in the very last days.

Can it be determined at this time which is that northern power? We do not hesitate at all to answer this question in the affirmative. The great land of the North must be Russia. There are several reasons for it.

1. Nearly six millions of Hebrews live in Russia to-day, and as nowhere else they are bitterly persecuted. Russia is the greatest enemy of the Jews among the nations in modern times.

2. It is an open secret that Russia is striving to lay hold of Jerusalem and Palestine. Jerusalem is to become the great capital of the Greek church.

3. From certain prophecies we can easily learn that Russia must be the northern power. For instance, in Ezekiel xxxviii:2 we read, correctly translated, "Son of man set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal." Gog and Magog occupied in ancient times the territory which belongs to Russia now. Rosh reminds us of Russia; Meshech of Moscow and Tubal of Tobolsk. And this prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, brings a great multitude with him (Ezek. xxxviii:5, 6). Russia has conquered and amalgamated many nations, including a good part of Asia.

Very marked indeed are the designs Russia has on the Holy Land. Not very long ago, a very detailed account of Russia's influence and diplomacy in Palestine appeared in one of the London papers. We give a portion of it:

"The full importance of the German Emperor's trip to the Holy Land, a visit made ostensibly in the future interests of German commerce, was appreciated clearly by Russian statecraft; for it led to renewed efforts under the guise of missionary zeal on the part of Russia. The rapid increase in the number of Russian churches and schools in Syria and Palestine of recent years did not escape the notice of M. Constans, the French Ambassador at the Porte. Three years ago that diplomat made the following remarks when addressing the teaching staff of a French Jesuit school in Constantinople: 'We have to meet terrible opponents— rivals who wish to undermine our influence, and to drive us forth from Palestine. The Protestants spend a great deal of money without success, but the Russians alone are dangerous to us. Three years ago 9,000 children attended the Russian schools in Syria, and now their number is 15,000. If this increase continues, then perhaps in ten years Russia will have given French influence there its coup de grace.' These remarks were justified, to-day there are 155 Russian schools in Syria and Palestine. A Russian squadron, under Rear Admiral Krieger, and consisting of one cruiser, two gunboats, and one torpedo-boat, appeared off Jaffa early last March. The vessels anchored for a week, while the admiral and the greater part of the crews went to Jerusalem by rail. This visit was really an object-lesson for the crews, who could thus carry back to Russia glowing accounts of the "New Jerusalem," which Russia is creating, and which one day may become of immense political importance. Among all the foreign Christian communities, Russia has taken the lead throughout the Holy Land, and especially in Jerusalem, in buying land and in building and establishing missions, schools, hospitals, and monasteries. The Russian 'New Jerusalem,' with its fine modern buildings, forms a little town of itself; in fact, it is a fortress that commands Jerusalem. It consists of a mission house with a school and hospital, of a pilgrims' shelter, of dwellings for clerical and lay officials, of the palace for the future Patriarch and the Consul-General, and of two churches, one of which, the cathedral, towers above the whole of Jerusalem. All these buildings are surrounded by a fortress-wall. Russia has bought one-third of the Mount of Olives, and enclosed it and the Gethsemane church by a wall; while from beyond the Jordan there can be seen the lofty Russian tower built on the summit of the Mount, and close to the Church of the Ascension.

"It is a marked feature of Russian statecraft that it looks with no favoring eye upon individual effort, except and in so far as such effort may be turned to account in the interests of the Empire. The Russian Palestine Society has existed nearly a quarter of a century, and it plays a very important part as the tool of Pan-Slavism in Syria and Palestine. Its president is the Grand Duke Serge, and among its members are the powerful leaders of the Pan-Slav movement. For many years the Russian Government refused to grant its protection to the Society; but, when the stealthy advance of Russia had brought it practically within striking distance of the Euphrates Valley, and when Teuton activity in Palestine began to show signs of becoming a factor to be reckoned with, then did the Russian-Palestine Society succeed at last in gaining the ear of Russian officialism. The main object of the Society seems to be that of maintaining Russian schools in the Holy Land; in fact, the education of the children of Syria and Palestine attracts a vast amount of attention and money that could be spent to far greater profit in European Russia. Some portion of the vast sums of money raised in Russia by the Palestine Society is used in maintaining the schools referred to; another portion, however, is used for political purposes. For example, in the recent election of the Patriarch of Antioch there was no stint of Russian money to secure the election of a native instead of a Greek. In fact, Russia's aim is to combat Greek at every point in the Holy Land.

"Russia is sparing no expense in the task of educating the native children; thus, the leading scholars attending the schools for natives are sent to Russia, where they remain for two or three years in a seminary; then, as a rule, a Russian wife is found for them, and they return to Palestine as teachers. This fact explains the strong Russian leanings possessed by the Arabian teachers; and thereby Russia's influence in Syria and Palestine increases daily. The growth is slow and almost imperceptible, but it is none the less sure.

"But France is not the only nation which foresees the gradual destruction of its interests in Palestine by Russia's untiring activity, for the latter is aimed chiefly at the Greek church authorities who know well that the Russian Greek church is waiting only for the right moment to come when it can lay its hands upon the Greek Sepulchre and monasteries in Jerusalem. At present the Russians have no share in the Church of the Sepulchre; but the Palestine Society is undermining the influence of the Greek monastery with a view to become owners of the Sanctuary, which is at present in the hands of the Greeks. The Porte offers no resistance to Russia's secret plan of campaign, and owing to the lack of adequate support by the Turkish Government, the Greeks lost the Grecian Patriarchate in Damascus, and thereby Russia obtained another tool of great service in furthering Russia's desire to become the Protector of the Orthodox church in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. As the Greek monks are nearly all Turkish subjects, they can look only to the Porte for protection and support, for they have no official claim upon Greece. The Greek church in Jerusalem is quite independent and self-governing, and it is connected with the other Orthodox Greek churches only by the bond of dogma. For centuries the Greeks living in Moldavia, Wallachia, and South Russia have left by will large tracts of land to the Greek monastry in Jerusalem. Recently Russia has seized all the land thus left to the Greek church, and it keeps three-fifths of revenue, or about £13,000, while only two-fifths are sent to the Greek Patriarch in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the stream of pilgrims from Russia is increasing steadily under favoring auspices of the Russian Government, and the fanatical, credulous moujiks carry back to Russia wonderful tales of the work that is being done by Russia in the birthplace of Christianity. Russia's activity in Palestine has not attracted a great deal of attention so far among the Powers that cannot fail to be affected thereby sooner or later. Still, if once the holy places fall into Russia's hands, then the consequences will be grievous alike for the Greeks and for all the other nations who are interested in 'the peace of Jerusalem.'

"Viewed from a political standpoint Russia's ulterior motives speak for themselves. Not only does the Holy Land possess a seaboard that could be turned to excellent advantage by Russia, but the old highroad leading from Asia Minor into Egypt runs down through Syria across the battlefield of the Old World; moreover, if Russia can succeed in getting a strong footing in Syria, then she will have outflanked the Bagdad Railway, which threatens to stem the stealthy and ceaseless advance of Russian 'civilization.'"

In connection with this we quote from A. Burton's "Russia's Destiny":

"In view of the rapid and surprising advance of Russia's influence, both in the West and East, it may be of interest to our readers to give a few extracts from the will of Peter the Great, who died in 1725 A. D. This ambitious tyrant had formed schemes of conquest which of late years have been assuming shape and have been tending towards accomplishment. We copy from Russia, in Bohn's Standard Library:

"'(1) The Russian nation must be constantly on a war footing, to keep the soldiers warlike and in good condition. No rest must be allowed, except for the purpose of relieving the State finances, recruiting the army, or biding the favorable moment for attack. By these means peace is made subservient to war, and war to peace, in the interest of the aggrandizement and increasing prosperity of Russia. . . .

"'(3) No opportunity must be lost of taking part in the affairs and disputes of Europe, especially in those of Germany, which from its vicinity is one of the most direct interest to us. . . .

"'(8) We must keep steadily extending our frontiers— northward along the Baltic, and southward along the shores of the Black Sea.

"'(9) We must progress as much as possible in the direction of Constantinople and India. He who can get possession of these places is the real ruler of the world. With this view we must provoke constant quarrels at one time with Turkey and at another with Persia. We must establish wharves and docks in the Euxine, and by degrees make ourselves masters of that sea as well as of the Baltic, which is a doubly important element in the success of our plan. We must hasten the downfall of Persia, push on into the Persian Gulf, and, if possible, re-establish the ancient commercial intercourse with the Levant through Syria, and force our way into the Indies, which are the storehouses of the world. Once there, we can dispense with English gold.

"'(10) Moreover, we must take pains to establish and maintain an intimate union with Austria, apparently countenancing her schemes for future aggrandizement in Germany, and all the while secretly rousing the jealousy of the minor States against her. By this way we must bring it to pass that one or the other party shall seek aid from Russia, and thus we shall exercise a sort of protectorate over the country, which will pave the way for future supremacy.

'"(11) We must make the House of Austria interested in the expulsion of the Turks from Europe, and we must neutralize its jealousy at the capture of Constantinople, either by pre-occupying it with a war with the old European States or by allowing it a share of the spoil, which we can afterwards resume at our leisure.

"'(12) We must collect round our house, as round a centre, all the detached sections of Greeks which are scattered abroad in Hungary, Turkey, and South Poland. We must make them look to us for support, and then, by establishing beforehand a sort of ecclesiastical supremacy, we shall pave the way for Universal Sovereignty.

"'(13) When Sweden is ours, Persia vanquished, Poland subjugated, Turkey conquered—when our armies are united, and the Euxine and Baltic are in the possession of our ships, then we must make separate and secret overtures, first to the court of Versailles, and then to that of Vienna, to share with them the dominion of the world. If either of them accept our propositions, which is certain to happen if their ambition and self-interest are properly worked upon, we must make use of one to annihilate the other; this done, we have only to destroy the remaining one by finding a pretext for a quarrel, the issue of which cannot be doubtful, as Russia will then be already in absolute possession of the East, and of the best part of Europe.

"'(14) Should the improbable case happen of both rejecting the propositions of Russia, then our policy will be to set one against the other, and make them tear each other to pieces. Russia must then watch for and seize the favorable moment, and pour her already assembled hosts into Germany, while two immense fleets, laden with Asiatic hordes and convoyed by the armed squadrons of the Euxine and the Baltic, set sail simultaneously from the Sea of Azoff and the harbor of Archangel; sweeping along the Mediterranean and the Atlantic they will overrun France on the one side, while Germany is overpowered on the other. When these countries are fully conquered, the rest of Europe must fall easily and without a struggle under our yoke. Thus Europe can and must be subjugated.'"

This is the aim of Russia. Politicians of to-day may smile, yet many tremble at Russia's aggressiveness. Napoleon I. foresaw what many are waking up to in our day, and gave expression to his thoughts, while a captive at St. Helena, in the following terms:

"In the course of a few years Russia will have Constantinople, part of Turkey, and all Greece. This I hold to be as certain as if it had already taken place; all the cajolery and flattery that Alexander practiced upon me was to gain my consent to effect that object. I would not give it, foreseeing that the equilibrium of Europe would be destroyed. In the natural course of things Turkey must fall to Russia; the Powers it would injure, and who would oppose it, are England, France, Austria, and Prussia. Now, as to Austria, it would be very easy to secure her assistance by giving her Servia and other provinces bordering on the Austrian dominions, reaching near to Constantinople. The only hypothesis that France and England will ever be allied with anything like sincerity will be to prevent this; but even this alliance will not avail. France, England, and Prussia united cannot prevent it. Russia and Austria can at any time effect it; once mistress of Constantinople, Russia gets all the commerce of the Mediterranean, becomes a great naval power, and God knows what may happen. The object of my invasion of Russia was to prevent this, by the interposition between her and Turkey of a new State which I meant to call into existence as a barrier to her eastern encroachments."

We attach no importance to the mere opinions of men, however great they may be. There is One "who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will." Man, though rebellious in heart against God, is but the tool in His hands to accomplish His purposes. God's purpose is "in the dispensation of the fulness of times"—that dispensation so near at hand when Christ shall reign in righteousness and peace—it is His purpose "to gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him" (Eph. i:o-12).

Christ, and not Russia, is to have "Universal Sovereignty," and Russia, as Ezekiel xxxviii puts beyond a doubt, together with the pomp of rebellious man (see Ezekiel xxxii), will "go down into the pit." "Asshur (i. e., the Assyrian) is there, and all her company ... all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living" (Ezekiel xxxii .22, 23).