Time has proved that the anticipations of the Author of Eureka in regard to the return of Christ were premature. And this reveals that with all its value Chronikon Hebraikon fails to provide a satisfactory chronology of the Scriptures in relation to the time periods of the future. Those time periods seem to introduce consecutive epochs of time, rather than specific datings. The Author above made the mistake of interpreting the periods of 1260, 1290 and 1335 of Daniel 12 as beginning at different times and terminating at the one epoch (see Elpis Israel). In the Preface above he anticipated judgment being poured out upon the Papacy at the termination of the 1260 period (1868-70), and believed that the Lord would return about the same time. The first part of his prognostication was fulfilled. A few years after Eureka volume 2 was published, the Papacy experienced a measure of judgment at the hands of the revolutionary forces that swept Europe at that time, so that between the years 1868 and 1870 the temporary power of the Papacy was taken from it, and the Pope became a prisoner in the Vatican. This state continued until in 1929 the temporal power of the Papacy was restored. When Eureka was published the Popes ruled and still rule the Roman Catholic Church from the Vatican. Until 1870 they were also temporal rulers of the Papal States. In that year these states became part of the unified Kingdom of Italy. Papal territory was then confined to the palaces of the Vatican, and the Lateran and Villa of Castel Gandolfo, and the temporal power of the Popes was suspended until 1929. In that year papal sovereignty was recognised by the Italian government under Mussolini, so that the Popes, who had previously been virtually prisoners in their own splendid dwellings, today travel the world on diplomatic missions or for propaganda purposes.
In 1929, the Vatican was but a city; today it is a city-state; and in order to increase the political prestige and influence of the Papacy, Popes have visited many parts of the world, including Europe, Israel, Africa, USA, and so forth. This is in full accord with the requirements of The Apocalypse, for at the epoch of its destruction the Papacy is represented as boasting: “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow” (Apoc. 18:7). The Papacy is rapidly reaching that moment of boastfulness at the present time.
Meanwhile, let us make this point. The anticipations of the Author of Eureka regarding the return of the Lord, assisted in charging his comments with greater urgency and appeal, so that his expositions lose nothing in vigour and interest with the passing of time. His earnest desire for the Lord’s coming probably influenced his timing in that regard, illustrating that he was of the company of those who “love the Lord’s appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8). The enthusiasm he displayed is something that “the servants of Deity” can emulate today as they witness in the earth the signs that enable them to anticipate Christ’s appearing with every confidence.
— HPM