BARNES REFERENCE LIBRARY

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THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN
THE DIVINE.
THE

REVELATION OF ST. JOHN
THE DIVINE.

WITH NOTES CRITICAL AND PRACTICAL.

BY THE REV. M. F. SADLER,

RECTOR OF HONITON AND PREBENDARY OF WELLS.

 

LONDON :
GEORGE BELL & SONS, YORK ST., COVENT GARDEN,

AND NEW YORK.

1893.
P
‘
CHISWICK PRESS :—C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT,
CHANCERY LANE.
INTRODUCTION.

We. must examine the authenticity of the Apocalypse in the
same way as we have that of other books of the rest of
the New Testament. The authenticity of any book which entitles
it to form part of the Sacred Canon depends upon its recep-
tion by the Church from the first. With respect to the book
of the Revelation we have Justin Martyr (about a.p. 140) writing
as follows: “‘ And further, there was.a certain man with us whose
name was John, one of the Apostles of Christ, who prophesied, by
a Revelation that was made to him, that those who believed in our
Christ should dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem, and that
thereafter the general, and, in short, the eternal resurrection and
judgment of all men should likewise take place” (“‘ Dialogue with
Trypho,” sect. 81). Now it is very remarkable that this is the
only place in which Justin mentions an Apostle by name. Through-
out his works which are extant he constantly refers to the Apostles,
and the companions of the Apostles, but does not name any one of
them; and this is the solitary place in which he refers to an
Apostle by name.

Now the ecclesiastical memory of Justin Martyr must have
reached to the times of St. John himself. If he was martyred—
say in or about 150—he must have conversed with many middle-
aged or old men who were contemporary with the Apostle in his
later years; so that it was impossible for him to have been mis-
taken as to the authorship of a work attributed to the Apostle.

Then we have Irenzus, about A.D. 170 or 180, that is, he lived
within less than a century after the time to which early writers
assign the date of the Apocalypse. J have now before me an
index of his quotations from, or references to, Scripture, and from
this I gather that he refers to the Apocalypse thirty-one times. I
have examined each of these, and some of the results are as
vi INTRODUCTION.

follows. In by far the greater part of these places he. not only
refers to the book, but quotes it as the work of the Apostle John.
“John also, the Lord’s disciple, when beholding the sacerdotal
and glorious advent of His kingdom, says in the Apocalypse, ‘I
turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I
saw seven golden candlesticks,’ ” &c. (Irenzeus, “‘ Against Heresies,”
iv.11). ‘On this account also does John declare in the Apocalypse,
‘ And his voice as the sound of many waters’”’ (“‘ Against Heresies,”
iv. 14). Again also, ‘But when John could not endure the sight
(for he says, ‘I fell at his feet as dead,’),” &c. (iv. 11). Also i. 26,
“The character of these men is very plainly pointed out in the
Apocalypse of John as teaching that it is a matter of indifference
to practise adultery and to eat things sacrificed to idols. Where-
fore the Word has also spoken of them thus: ‘This thou hast,
that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also
hate.’” (Also v. 10, 2; iv. 20,3; iii. 11,8; iv. 20,11; iv. 17, 5;
v. 80, 2; iv. 18, 6; ii. 31, 3, &c.)

But Irenzus himself may be reckoned a contemporary of St.
John, being acquainted with his (John’s) disciple Polycarp:
thus: “But Polycarp also was not only instructed by Apostles,
and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also by
Apostles in Asia appointed Bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom
I also saw in my early youth” (Ireneus, ‘‘ Against Heresies,” iii.
3, 4).

Melito, Bishop of Sardis about a.p. 171, is mentioned by
Eusebius as having amongst many other works written one on
the Revelation of St. John. Also Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch,
as having written “ against the heresy of Hermogenes,” in which
he makes use of testimony from the Revelation of St. John, be-
sides certain other catechetical works. And speaking of Apollo-
nius, in the end of Cent. ii., Eusebius says, ‘‘He quotes also the
Revelation of John as testimony.”

Tertullian.—The references to the Apocalypse in the writings
of Tertullian are exceedingly numerous. It will suffice to give
three or four. Thus, “If thou doubtest this consider what the
Spirit saith unto the churches. To the Ephesians he imputeth
that they have left their first love: those of Thyatira he re-
proacheth with fornication, and the eating of things sacrificed to
idols. The Sardians, he accuseth of works not perfect,” &e. (“On
Penitence,” chap. viii.) Again (‘‘ Prescription against Heretics,”
INTRODUCTION. vii

xxxiii.), “But John in the Revelation is commanded to chastise
them which eat things sacrificed to idols,” &. Also in “On the
Crowns,” xv., ‘To him that overcometh, saith he, I will give a
crown of life. ... The angel also receiveth a crown of victory,
going forth on a white horse to conquer. And another is adorned
with a rainbow encircling him like a meadow in the heavens.
The elders also sit wearing crowns,” &e.

Clement of Alexandria, ‘“‘ And although here upon earth he be
not honoured with the first seat, he will sit down on the four-and-
twenty thrones, judging the people, as St. John says in the Apoca-
lypse ’’ (“* Miscellanies,” vi. 13). Again, ‘ The Apocalypse says also

‘that the Lord Himself appeared wearing such a robe. It says
also, ‘I saw the souls of those that had witnessed beneath the
altar, and there was given to each a white robe” (‘‘ Instructor,”
ii, 11). Again, ‘Thus the Lord Himself is called Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end” (‘‘ Miscellanies,” vi. chap. 16).

Origen, ‘‘ Once more John, in teaching us the difference between
what ought to be committed to writing and what not, declares that
he heard seven thunders instructing him on certain matters, and for-
bidding him to commit these words to writing ” (“ Against Celsus,”
vi. chap. 6). Again, “‘ He will more worthily transfer all the saints
from a temporal to an everlasting Gospel, according to the desig-
nation employed by John in the Apocalypse, of ‘an everlasting
Gospel,” (“‘ De Principiis,” iv. ch. 1).

Cyprian, “Also in the Apocalypse, ‘And I saw in the right hand
of God a book written within, and on the back, sealed with seven
seals.’” In an index to the Scripture passages quoted in Cyprian’s
works I find sixty-four references to the Revelation.

It seems useless to load pages with more instances of the Old
Fathers quoting the Apocalypse as Scripture. The reader will
find in Alford, and the “‘ Speaker’s Commentary,” quotations from
many others, as Hippolytus, Victorinus, Ephrem Syrus, Epipha-
nius, Basil, Hilary of Poitiers, Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa,
Didymus, Ambrose, and Augustine. Altogether there is no book
of the Bible which has more decisive testimony in its favour than
this one.

We have now to come to testimonies on the opposite side, those
which impugn its authenticity—that it was not the work of the
Apostle St. John.
Vili INTRODUCTION.

The first of these was an obscure sect called the Alogi, whose
principal characteristic was that they opposed the Montanists.
They are not mentioned by Eusebius, and what we learn about
them is from Epiphanius. In their zeal against Montanism they
denied the existence of spiritual gifts in the Church, and rejected
the Revelation as being not the work of St. John, but of Cerinthus.
But by far the most important testimony against the Revelation
is from Dionysius of Alexandria, about 240 a.D., described as the
most influential as well as the ablest bishop of thatage. Eusebius,
who himself desired to show that the Apocalypse should not be
considered the writing of John, the son of Zebedee, though he
acknowledged its inspiration, gives a lengthened extract from
Dionysius as follows: ‘‘ Some, indeed, before us, have set aside and
have attempted to refute the whole book, criticizing every chapter,
and pronouncing it without sense and without reason. They say
that it has a false title, for it is not a work of John. Nay, that
it is not even a revelation, as it is covered with such a dense and
thick veil of ignorance that not one of the Apostles and not one
of the holy men, or those of the Church, could be its author. But
that Cerinthus, the founder of the sect of the Cerinthians, so called
from him, wishing to have reputable authority for his own fiction,
prefixed the title. For this is the doctrine of Cerinthus, that there
will be an earthly reign of Christ; and as he (Cerinthus) was a
lover of the body, and altogether sensual in those things which he
so eagerly craved, he dreamed that he would revel in the gratifica-
tion of the sensual appetite, in eating and drinking and marrying.
... For my part I would not venture to set this book (of the
Revelation) aside, as there are many brethren that value it much;
but having formed a conception of its subject as exceeding my
capacity, I considered it also as containing a certain concealed and
wonderful intimation in each particular. For though I do not
understand, yet I suspect that some deeper sense is enveloped in
the words, and these I do not measure and judge by my private
reason; but allowing more to faith, I have regarded them as too
lofty to be comprehended by me, and those things that I do not
understand I do not reject, but I wonder the more that I cannot
comprehend.”

After this he examines (these are the words of Eusebius) the
whole book of the Revelation, and after proving that it is impos-
sible that it should be understood according to the obvious and
INTRODUCTION. 1x

literal sense, he proceeds, “The prophet, as I said, having com-
pleted the whole prophecy, he pronounces those blessed that should
observe it as also himself. ‘For blessed,’ says he, ‘is he that
keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book, and I John, who
have seen and heard these things.’ I do not therefore deny that he
was called John, and that this was the writing of one John, and I
agree that it was the work, also, of some holy and inspired man.
But I would not easily agree that this was the Apostle, the son of
Zebedee, the brother of James, who is the author of the Gospel
and the Catholic Epistle that bears his name. But I conjecture,
both from the general tenor of both and the form and complexion
of the composition, and the execution of the whole book that
it is not from him. For the Evangelist never prefixed his
name, never proclaims himself, cither in the Gospel or in his
Epistle.” /

A little farther he adds, “ But John never speaks as of himself
(in the first person) nor as of another (in the third), but he that
wrote the Apocalypse declares himself immediately in the begin-
ning: ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ which he (God) gave unto
him, to show to his servants quickly. And he sent and signified
it by his angel to his servant John, who bare record of the word
of God and of his testimony (of Jesus Christ) and of all things that
he saw.’

‘* Besides this he wrote an Epistle, ‘John to the seven churches
of Asia: Grace and peace to you.’ But the Evangelist does not
prefix his name even to his general Epistle, but without any intro-
duction or circumlocution begins from the very mystery of the
Divine Revelation : ‘that which was from the beginning, which we
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes;’. .. . but neither
in the second nor third Epistle ascribed to John (the Apostle),
though they are very brief, is the name of John presented. But
anonymously it is written the presbyter. But the other did not
consider it sufficient to name himself but once, and then to proceed

‘in his narrative, but afterwards again resumes: ‘I John, your
brother and partner in tribulation, and in the kingdom and
patience of Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, on account of
the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus.’ And likewise at the
end (of the book) he says, ‘ Blessed is he that keepeth the words of
the prophecy of this book, and I am John, that saw and heard
these things.’
x INTRODUCTION.

“That it is a John that wrote these things we must believe him
as he says it; but what John it is is uncertain. For he has not
said that he was (as he often does in the Gospel) the beloved
disciple of the Lord, neither the one leaning on his bosom, nor the
brother of James, nor he that himself saw and heard what the
Lord did and said. For he certainly would have said one of these
particulars, if he wished to make himself clearly known. But of
all this there is nothing, he only calls himself our brother and
companion, and the witness of Jesus, and blessed on account of
seeing and hearing these revelations.

‘“‘T am of opinion there were many of the same name with John
the Apostle, who for their love and admiration and emulation of
him, and their desire at the same time, like him, to be beloved
of the Lord, adopted the same epithet, just as we find the
name of Paul and of Peter to be adopted by many among the
faithful.

“ There is also another John, surnamed Mark, mentioned in the
book of the Acts... .. But whether this is the one that wrote the
Apocalypse I could not say... .. I think, therefore, that it was
another, one of those in Asia. For they say that there are two
monuments at Ephesus, and that each one bears the name of John,
and from the sentiments and the expressions, as also their compo-
sition, it might be very reasonably conjectured that this one is
different from that. For the Gospel and Epistle mutually agree.
They commence in the same way; for the one says, ‘In the
beginning was the Word;’ the other, ‘ That which was from the
beginning.’ The one says, ‘And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt (tabernacled) among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as
of the only-begotten of the Father ;’ the other says the same things
a little altered, ‘That which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have
handled of the Word of life, and the life was manifested.’ These
things, therefore, are premised, alluding, as he has shown in the
subsequent parts, to those who say that the Lord did not come
into the flesh. Wherefore also he has designedly subjoined,
‘What we have seen we testify, and declare to you that eternal
life,’ &e.

‘‘But the attentive reader will find the expressions, the life, the
light, frequently occurring in both; in both he will find the expres-
sions, fleeing from darkness, the truth, grace, joy, the flesh and blood
INTRODUCTION. xi

of the Lord, the judgment, forgiveness of sins, the love of God to us,
the commandment.given to us to love one another, that we ought to keep
all the commandments, the conviction of the world, the devil, of Anti-
christ, the promise of the Holy Spirit, the adoption of God («e., the
adoption made by God) the faith to be exhibited by us in all matters,
the Father and the Son, everywhere occurring in both, and alto-
gether throughout, to attentive observers, it will be obvious that
there is one and the same complexion and character in the Gospel
and Epistle. Very different and remote from all this is the
Apocalypse ; not even touching or even bordering upon them in
the least, I might say, not even containing a syllable in common
with them. But the Epistle, to say nothing of the Gospel, has not
made any mention or given any intimation of the Apocalypse, or
does the Apocalypse mention the Epistle, whereas Paul indicates
something of his revelations in his Epistle, which, however, he
never recorded in writing.

“We may also note how the phraseology of the Gospel and the
Epistle differs from the Apocalypse. For the former are written
not only irreprehensibly, as it regards the Greek language, but are
most elegant in diction, in the arguments, and the whole structure
of the style. It would require much to discover any barbarism or
solecisms or any odd peculiarity of expression at all in them. For,
as is to be presumed, he was endued with all the requisites for his
discourse, the Lord having given him both that of knowledge and
that of expression and style. That the latter, however, saw a reve-
lation, and received knowledge and prophecy, Ido not deny. But
I perceive that his dialect and language is not very accurate Greek,
but that he uses barbarous idioms, and in some places solecisms,
which it is now unnecessary to select: for neither would I have
anyone suppose that I am saying these things by way of derision,
but only with the view to point out the great difference between
the writings of these men” (Eusebius, “Eccles. History,” vii. ch. 25,
Cruse’s Translation). ‘

I have given this place in full, because it is the first and only
passage worth speaking of in the Ante-Nicene Fathers which ques-
tions the Apostolic origin of this book. Now it is to be remarked
that Dionysius entirely confines himself to certain internal con-
siderations, ignoring the testimony of those who preceded him,
to the external and ecclesiastical testimony for the Apostolic
authorship. To begin with, what value can we attach to the
xii INTRODUCTION.

surmise that if St. John wrote the book he could not put his name to
it because he did not put his name to his Gospel or his Epistle. What
right has anyone to push aside the authenticity of a well-accredited
book for such a reason. Is an author bound never to vary in his
node of asserting the fact of his authorship. Now when I say an
author I must in a way correct myself, and ask, who is the real
author of this book? Evidently not John, but Jesus. ‘The
Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him..... T
John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation.
.... And I turned to see the voice that spake with me....-
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like uuto the Son of
man..... Write the things which thou hast seen. .... Unto
the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he
that holdeth the seven stars. .... Unto the angel of the church
in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last,” and
so on with each Epistle the real author is the Lord and St. John is
only the amanuensis.

After the third chapter the writer begins the relations of vision.

“T looked, and, behold,adoor..... I was in the spirit... .. I
saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne... .. I saw
four angels. .... I saw the seven angels..... I saw another

mighty angel.” Then he speaks of what he himself had to see, but
it is equally mysterious, in the spirit, equally transcendental,
equally inexplicable. Then the great wonder in heaven; then the
beast rising from the sea; then seven angels having the seven last
plagues; then the harlot; then the fall of the harlot; then the new
heaven and the new earth. Then the conclusion, which so un-
hinged the blessed Apostle that he was on the point of com-
mitting an act of idolatrous worship. Then at last the Lord
resumes, “ Behold, I come quickly. ...I am Alpha and Omega.
....I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these
things.”

Such were the things which the Apostle was made the instru-
ment of communicating. We know that they for the moment so
unhinged his mind that he was twice on the very eve of forgetting
his first duty to God. How can we—how can Dionysius of Alex-
andria—possibly lay down rules as to what he was (if he was the
true John) to begin it all with? Why must he exclude his own
name? Why must he say to himself before he began, ‘‘ I must not
begin with my own name,” and yet—though he does use his own
INTRODUCTION. xiii

name—yet all that he says is in another’s Name? Willanyone dare
say he has added a single word from himself out of his own moral
consciousness to anything which he has been commissioned to
reveal ?

Now this seems to me to put altogether out of court all argu-
ments, drawn from diversity of vocabulary, of idiom, and such
things, respecting the authorship of the Revelation and the Gospel
as compared with one another. The one—the Gospel—is the
most matter-of-fact book ; the other—the Revelation—is the most
visionary book in the whole Bible. I say the most visionary per-
fectly reverently, because it is a book entirely occupied (except
chaps. ii. and iii.) with visions of the most transcendental character
to which no two expositors have given the same meaning. How
can we assert that a communication of such things must be in
such or such a form ? If the visions are such as they are described
as being it is certain that the narrator would be intensely affected
by them, and if so he would express them more in the style of his
native Hebrew or Aramaic than in the Greek, which he had
acquired later in life by pains and labour.

But there are a considerable number of remarkable similarities
of expression which are to be found in the language of the Gospel
and Apocalypse which are not to be found elsewhere in the New
Testament. The first of these is that in both books (and to this
we may add the Epistle of St. John) the term Logos is applied to
our Lord. In the Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was made flesh; in the Apocalypse xix. 13, ‘‘ And his
name is called The Word of God.”

It is very remarkable that a word denoting His humiliation and
sacrifice—the term Lamb—is only applied to our Lord by St. John
in his Gospel and in the Revelation. One would have thought
that it would have been applied to Him multitudes of times, but it
isnot. Itis not applied to him in the Hebrews where we should
have most expected it; only in the Gospel, “‘ Behold the Lamb
(apvoc) of God,” and in the Revelation under the diminutive
(apviov). Itis true that the word auvo¢g is applied to Him by the
Baptist, not by the Evangelist, and is only recorded by the Evan-
gelist. But it is not recorded by any other of the Evangelists
(Matthew, Mark, Luke), and the fact that St. John records it be-
tokens his love for it, for the idea underlying it. St Paul comes
near to it when he says, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us ; 2
xiv INTRODUCTION.

but he seems to have been restrained from using the name of
“Lamb,”

The word “to tabernacle” (ccyvéw) is only used in the Gospel of
John (i. 14) and in the Apocalypse (xxi. 3), and if the use of mere
words can be cited as implying identity of authorship this should
be, for in its associations it is a remarkable word. Then the word
adnOwoe, “ that which is true,” has been noticed as being Johannine,
being used in the Gospel and Epistle thirteen times, in the Apoca-
lypse ten times, and only once in all the rest of the New Testament.
Then ‘to overcome,” r«¢y, is also almost exclusively Johannine. It
occurs once in St. Luke xi. 22, three times in Romans, one of
which is a quotation from the Old Testament, six times in the first
Epistle of St. John, and sixteen times in the Revelation.

And what is to me most significant of identity of authorship, the
piercing of the Messiah, prophesied of in Zechariah, is quoted or
alluded to both in John xix. 87, and in Rev. i. 7, and in each
case with the same verb, é&exévrjcey, which is not the same as that
used by the prophet in the Septuagint, carwpyncavro. This seems
to me far more decisive in favour of identity of authorship than
having in common any number of mere verbal agreements,

There is another remarkable coincidence between the Gospel and
the Apocalypse which I have not seen noticed in any expositor. In
the Gospel and in the Apocalypse, alone of the books of the New
Testament, does the Lord promise to give to the believer His
Spirit under the figure of living water; in the Apocalypse as the
water of life, but evidently alluding to the same Spirit. Thus in
St. John, speaking to the woman of Samaria (iv. 14): “If thou
knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me
to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have
given thee living water ;”’ and again, verse 14, ‘‘ Whosoever shall
drink of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; ’’ and
again, “If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink; ” “ But
this spake he of the Spirit,” &, Now it is very remarkable that
this figure of the Spirit under this refreshing aspect, as given by
Christ, is never used elsewhere in the New Testament except in
the Revelation; one would have supposed that so very obvious a
figure of the refreshing Spirit would have pervaded the New Testa-
ment, but it is confined to the Gospel of St. John and the Revela-
tion. Thus, ‘‘ The Lamb that isin the midst of the throne shall
feed them, and lead them unto living fountains of waters; ” again
INTRODUCTION. xv

(xxii. 17), “ And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will
let him take of the water of life freely.” And again, ‘‘ He shewed
me a pure river of water of life ... proceeding out of the throne of
God and of the Lamb” (xxii. 1). :

There is another remarkable doctrinal and also verbal corre-
spondence between the Gospel and the Apocalypse. In the Gospel the
existence in the past eternity of the eternal Word is described by the
imperfect nv. Thus, ‘In the beginning was (7v), the Word and the
Word was (jjv) with God, and the Word was (iv) God, the same was (7)
in the beginning with God,” zy 7d pac 7d adn Owwor. ty re Kdopy iv, &e.

Now in the Apocalypse a most anomalous form is used to express
the past eternal existence of God, ““I am Alpha and Omega, the
Beginning and the End, saith the Lord, which is and which was
(6 dv ede 6 Hv), and which is to come.” Such a use of ny is strictly
Johannine. Nothing approaching to it is to be found in any other
inspired writer.

The time and place of writing is next to beconsidered. There is
very satisfactory evidence for this also, and that by Ireneus, who
writes (v. 30), ‘‘As to the name of Antichrist, if it were necessary
that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it
would have been announced by him who beheld the Apocalyptic
vision ; for that was seen no very long time since, but almost in
our day, towards the end of Domitian’s reign.”

Clement of Alexandria writes: “After the death of the tyrant,
John went from the isle of Patmos to Ephesus,” and he also adds
that “‘ John remained with the Presbyters of Asia till the time of
Trajan.” Clement also says, “After that the tyrant was dead,
coming from the isle of Patmos to Ephesus, he went also, when
called, to the neighbouring regions of the Gentiles,” &c. (Eusebius,
“ Hecles. Hist.,” iii, 23).

To these we may add Origen, who writes, ‘‘ And the King of
the Romans, as tradition informs us, condemned John, when bear-
ing witness as a martyr in the isle of Patmos on account of the
word of truth;” and John himself informs us concerning his own
martyrdom, not telling us who it was that condemned him, but
using these words in his Apocalypse, “‘‘I John your brother and
companion in the tribulation, and kingdom, and patience of
Jesus, became a sojourner in the isle that is called Patmos, on
account of the Word of God.’”

Victorinus (a.D. 380), also wrote a comment on the Apocalypse,
Xvi INTRODUCTION.

in which he says, “ When John saw this he was in the isle of
Patmos, condemned to the mines by Domitian Caesar.” In two
other places he mentions the same time and place, so that we have
no greater certainty respecting the writing of any book of Scripture
as to author, time, or place, than we have for this.

We have to consider, in the next place, For what purpose was
the Apocalypse given? This is told us expressly in the first verse,
“to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to
pass.” Now this has been most mischievously understood, as if
the ‘shortly ” meant during the lifetime of the Apostle, or in the
reigns of Nero, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, whereas it must be
understood in that very mysterious, but most certainly revealed
sense, that the Lord when He comes the second time will come
quickly, suddenly, as in a moment, taking both the world and the
Church by surprise. Thus He says (ii. 5), “I will come unto thee
quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of its place.” And
again, to the Church of Pergamos, “‘ Repent, or else I will come to
thee quickly” (ii. 16). And again (iii. 11), ‘‘ Behold, I come
quickly; hold that fast which thou hast.” Again, in the last
chapter, verse 7, ‘Behold I come quickly: blessed is he that
watcheth,” and again (12), ‘“‘ Behold, I come quickly, and my reward
is with me.” And in verse 20, ‘‘ He which testifieth these things
saith, Surely I come quickly.” How then can He be said to come
quickly, seeing that there are twenty chapters of visions which
must be accomplished before He comes? No, it is not so, for
these visions-are not a continuous history of the Church. On the
contrary, they are constantly broken by intimations of the actual
coming of the end, and we have apparently to begin again, and
then the end comes a second time, and we begin again, and the
end comes a third time, and again we begin with another vision,
and again the end comes.

Now we will enumerate some of these ‘‘ comings of the end,”

(1.) At the end of the sixth chapter we read: ‘“‘ And I beheld
when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo there was a great earth-
quake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the
stars of heaven fell unto the earth . . . . and the heavens departed
as a scroll, and the kings of the earth .... and every bond-
man, and every freeman hid themselves in the dens, &.....
hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and
INTRODUCTION. xvii

from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is
come” (vi, 12-17).

There is not throughout Scripture a sublimer description of “the
end ;” but itis only under one aspect—in its aspect of terror to the
wicked. Any attempt to explain it as the defeat of the heathen in the
time of Constantine seems to me absurd, as well as blasphemous.

(2.) At the conclusion of the next chapter there is as evident an
account of “the end,” but only as it bears upon the reward of the
righteous. They are ‘ before the throne of God, and serve him day
and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell
among them. They shall hunger no more. ... For the Lamb
which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead
them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes” (vii. 15-17). If the reader turns to the twenty-
first chapter, he will find that these are all the descriptions of the
final blessedness of the true people of God. Let him look to verses 3
and 4 of that chapter and he will find that they are anticipated here.

(3.) “At the sounding of the trumpet of the seventh angel’’
(xi. 15-18). This is undoubtedly a description of the consummation,
‘*And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in
heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms
of our Lord, and of his Christ ; . . . Thou hast taken to thee thy great
power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy
wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the pro-
phets, and to the saints.”

(4.) In the fourteenth chapter there is undoubtedly a vision of
the end: ‘And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the
cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden
crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. . . . Thrust in thy sickle
and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of
the earth is ripe” (xiv. 14).

(5.) In the sixteenth chapter there is another vision of the
end: “A great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the
throne, saying, It is done. . . . There was a great earthquake. ...
And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the
nations fell... . And every island fled away, and the mountains
were not found ” (xvi. 17).

(6.) In the nineteenth chapter there is a vision of an appearance
of the Son of God: “‘ And I saw ae opened, and behold a white
xviii INTRODUCTION.

horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and
in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a
flame of fire.” This may not be a vision of the final catastrophe,
for though in a sense He comes to judge, yet it may not be the final
judgment, but it is an appearance of Jesus Christ in glory.

(7.) The end is described in the next chapter, the twentieth,
verse 11: “I saw a great white throne. . . . I saw the dead, small
and great, stand before God, and the books were opened... . and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in
the books, according to their works.”

So that this book of the Revelation is not a continuous historical
vision, leading to the final consummation, but the consummation
bursts upon the world six or seven times—the final judgment, and
Second Coming, or what seems equivalent to it, comes seven times.
How are we to account for such a thing? Now it is clear that this
is in strict accordance with what the Lord teaches us respecting
the suddenness of His Second Coming, and that we are to be on the
watch for Him, and to welcome Him whenever He appears. He
leaves the time of His coming uncertain, that we may be always
on the watch. This is described in His discourse in St. Mark xiii.
32; “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the
angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is:
For the Son of man is as is a man taking a far journey, who left
his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man
his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye there-
fore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at
even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.”

The first of the things of immeasurable importance “which must
shortly come to pass” is the Second Coming. That is the thing to
be looked for, whatever be the significance of each successive vision.

Now the imminence of the Second Adventis impressed upon us by
some words interjected, as it were, in the account of the pouring
out of the sixth vial. After describing the unclean spirits like
frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and the beast, and
the false prophet, the Lord is represented as saying suddenly,
‘‘ Behold I come as a thief, Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth
his garments” (xvi. 15-17), This is said apparently without con-
nection with what goes before, and with what follows.
INTRODUCTION. xix

So that to impress upon believers the imminence of the Second
Advent is one of the chief purposes of the Apocalypse.

But, besides this, we are taught that all things which affect the
nations of the world are not due to mere natural causes, though God
may employ natural causes according to His will, but to the personal
will of God. He sees that nations require correction; that for the
sake of others they require to be made severe examples of His
wrath, and He acts accordingly. He uses natural means to effect
this, just as iron, and the substances which compose gunpowder,
are used by men to exercise their wrath upon one another, but
it is all His doing. The famines which accompany the rider on
the black horse, and the pestilences which follow the rider on the
livid horse, may be due to natural or secondary causes; but the
primary cause, no matter how remote, is the will of God alone,
who foresees wickedness, and pre-ordains and prepares punishment.

It is the impression produced by this view of the judgments of
God, as attributable solely to His will, and brought about solely by
His power, which constitutes the value of this book to believers. A
man may not understand the historical significance of any one of
the visions, and yet may be deeply impressed with the significance
of one and all of them, that all are from God.

A godly man of great intelligence, by no means a fanatic, said
to mea in the middle of the Franco-Prussian war, just after the
invasion of France: ‘“ The great hail, sir! the great hail!” Now
this man’s judgment might be wrong, but his heart was right. His
judgment might be wrong respecting the interpretation of Rev. xvi.
21; but his heart was right in leading him to acknowledge the
hand of God in it all.

Another lesson which we get from the Revelation—a lesson
which is palpably on its surface—is, that God has a world of
active, powerful, and holy intelligences which He employs in His
government of the universe. It teaches us as no other book of the
Bible, except the book of Daniel, does, that He has constituted the
services of angels, as well as those of men, in a wonderful order.
Do the angels only act mechanically in sounding the trumpets, or
pouring out the vials? No; we may be sure that under God they
help to inflict the judgments which come upon the earth at each
sounding of a trumpet, or each emptying of a vial. At one time I
was tempted to think that the book itself was given to us simply to
teach us, that whilst God does all things by His own power and by
xx INTRODUCTION.

His own will, He does all things by the interposition of angelic
beings, so that the universe, in every department of it, is not
ruled mechanically, but by willing and obedient agents.1

Another lesson which the Apocalypse teaches us abundantly is,
that the Church, like her divine Master, cannot attain to her
glorified state, her eternal rest, except by passing through tribula-
tion. Every one of the visions, as far as I can remember, implies
tribulation. Itis true that in certain visions the instruments of
evil are not allowed to touch or to harm those who have the seal
of God on their foreheads; but the general impression produced
by the whole book is that the righteous, the forgiven, the accepted,
the sanctified, are those who have come out of “the tribulation,”
the great one, who by their own co-operating, have washed their
robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.

The judgments of God are upon the earth, and seem to be
upon the righteous and the wicked alike. This is certainly to be
gathered from the words of Christ. ‘In those days shall be
affliction, such ag was not from the beginning of the creation
which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except
that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved:
but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened
the days” (Mark xiii. 19, 20).

So that any unlearned but devout Christian who does not under-
stand the historical sequences of any one of the visions, will yet
gather from the book itself these four truths.

1. That the Coming of Christ is ever imminent.

2. That God orders all things by His ever-watchful providence,
which alike controls the revolutions of empires and the fall of
sparrows.

3. That God acts in all things by His angels, so that there is no
mere mechanical direction of events in the universe.

4, And that the normal state of Christians—that by which they
are disciplined for a happy eternity—is by suffering and distress.
All these blessed lessons, I repeat, are totally independent of the

“historical significance of the visions. They are, as it were, on the
surface, and seem to impress the devout reader, whether he be

 

1 Sir Isaac Newton declares that he cannot conceive any power or force residing
in one ball of matter to attract to itself another ball of matter at a distance from
it, having no connection with it, and he implies that such attraction is due to a
spiritual force, that is, the force exercised by spirit, not by matter.
INTRODUCTION. xxi

learned or unlearned, with some of the highest truths respecting
God’s government of the world.

It will be now necessary for me to make a few remarks
respecting :

1. The numerals used in the Apocalypse.

2. The times noted during which certain events are to take
place; and

8. The references in the Apocalypse to the Old Testament
prophecies,

1. The numbers. There can be no doubt that the numbers in
the Apocalypse, especially 3, 4, 7, and 12, are to be taken symboli-
cally. But what do we mean by this? Do we mean that the fact
that they are symbolical makes them uncertain, so that 3 may
mean some other number than 3, or 4 than 4? By no means.
Each numeral signifies the number which it represents, and no
other. The symbolical reference or meaning is the reason on
account of which it is chosen. Thus in the Trisagion, the thrice
holy of ch. iv. 8, the three refers to the ever-blessed Three. They
chant Holy three times, because of the three Persons of the Trinity.

Archdeacon Lee (in “‘Speaker’s Commentary”) writes well:
“Tt is but natural, indeed, that the essential character of the Triune
God, as He has revealed Himself, should be impressed upon His
works. And so in the record of Revelation three is the numerical
‘signature ’ of the Divine Being, and of all that stands in any real
relation to God; ¢.g., three angels appear to Abraham (Gen. xviii.
2). The priestly benediction in Numbers vi. 24 is threefold.
Each year God’s people must appear before Him three times
(Exod. xxiii. 14,17). Above all, there is the Ter Sanctus, the Holy,
Holy, Holy, of Isaiah vi. 3.”

Again, with respect to Four, “ Four is the signature of nature,
of the created—of the world .... as Kosmos, as the Revelation
of God, so far as nature can reveal Him. In Scripture the four
rivers of Paradise, the four winds, the four corners of the earth,
the four cherubim.” Though I cannot agree with those who make
the four living ones, the Zoa of Rev. iv., to be only symbolical ;
their number may be symbolical in a sense, but they themselves
are real existences.

7. The number seven, 3 + 4, is the most mysterious and sym-
XXil INTRODUCTION.

bolical of all numbers. ‘Lee speaks of it as the note of union
between God and the world. There are the seven days of crea-
tion, the seven days of the week, the seven years of plenty and
famine, the sevenfold compassing of the doomed city; and still
more in the New Testament, where we have the seven words from
the Cross, the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, the seven
disciples of John xxi. 2, the seventy disciples of Luke x. 1, the seven
deacons, &c.; but the mystical use of “seven” is far more con-
spicuous in the Revelation than in any other book, witness the
seven Spirits before the throne, the seven Churches and their
candlesticks, the seven angels, the seven seals, the seven trumpets,
the seven vials, and so throughout.

The half of seven. Three and a half is used in the Old Testa-
ment to signify a time of tribulation; and, though the number
is not specifically mentioned, in the Book of Kings (xvii. 1) as indi-
cating a time of famine, yet it is mentioned by our Lord as such in
Luke iv. 25. ‘The witnesses lay dead three days and a half.”
This is the same as the time, times and dividing of time of Daniel
vii. 25, and the period of the nourishment of the woman in the
wilderness is the same, Rev. xii, 14.

The number twelve, being the number of the Patriarchs and the
number of the Apostles, is most sacred. Lee speaks of it as the
number of the Covenant people in whose midst God dwells, and
with whom He has entered into Covenant relations. The introduc-
tion of twelve as a factor of other numbers is also to be noted.
There are twenty-four courses of the priests, twenty-four elders,
forty-eight (12 x 4) cities of the Levites.

The length and breadth of the city (12 x 10 x 10 x 10) 12,000
furlongs.

The height of the wall of the city was 144 cubits (12 x 12).

The number of the sealed was the square of 12 multiplied by the
cube of 10, .¢., 144,000.

I have next to consider, as closely following upon this, the times
prophesied during which certain events are to take place.

The first of these is the five months in which the locusts like
scorpions were to hurt men (chap. ix. 5-10).

The second is the hour, day, month and year in which the
angels loosed from the river Euphrates were to slay the third part
of men (ix. 15).
INTRODUCTION. XXiil

The third is the forty and two months in which the holy city
should be trodden down of the Gentiles (xi. 2).

The fourth is the one thousand two hundred and threescore
days in which the two witnesses are to prophesy clothed in sack-
cloth (xi. 3).

The fifth is the three days and a half in which the dead bodies of
the witnesses shall be unburied, at the end of which the Spirit
of life from God shall revive them (xi. 9 and 11).

The sixth is the time in which the woman was fed in the place
which God had prepared, one thousand two hundred and threescore
days (xii. 6).

The seventh is, perhaps, the same as the last, where the woman
is nourished in her place a time and times and half a time, 860 +
720 + 180 = 1260 (xii. 14).

The eighth is the power to continue, given to the first beast, forty
and two months (xiii. 5).

The ninth is the one hour in which the ten kings have received
power with the beast (xvii. 12).

The tenth is the thousand years of the reign of Christ with his
saints (xx. 6).

In glancing over these the reader will see that the third, the
fourth, the sixth, the seventh, and the eighth are the same, for forty
and two months are 1,260 days.

A great question which has arisen amongst expositors is this: Are
we to understand by these, actual days or years? are we to take a
duy as in prophetic language standing for one year ? I think the two
proofs alleged from Scripture, viz., the years of the wanderings of
the children of Israel as corresponding to the time of the spying out
of the land (Numb. xiv. 34), and the days in which Ezekiel was com-
manded to lie on his side (Ezekiel, iv. 4-6), are no proof at all that
in the language of prophecy a day is to stand for a year. For
neither of these places are prophetical. The one occurs in a strictly
historical book, and the other in some historical verses of a pro-
phetical book. The reader, of course, must be aware that the use
to which these numbers are put is in order that we may know the
times and the seasons which the Lord Himself tells us that the Father
has placed in His own power (of course in His own power alone), but
if so we must know the date at which these years begin ; but there is
not a date in the Apocalypse which we can even so much as approach
to identify with any date in history. Are we to suppose that the third
XxiV INTRODUCTION.

(Rev. xi. 2), the treading down of the Holy City, the fourth, the
testifying of the two witnesses, the sixth, the time of the feeding of
the woman, the eighth, the continuance of the beast, are all the
same, starting from the same point of time. No expositor has taken
any such view. If the date, apparently given in xi. 2, the com-
mencement of the Holy City—the actual J xrusalem—being trodden
under foot be a.p. 70, then we ask, did anything approaching to the
conclusion of this occur about seventy years after A.D. 1260, 7.e., 13830?
Did anything which we can identify with the termination of the per-
secution of the woman, or the discontinuance of the therion oceur at
this time. For as far as I can see this is the only date in history
which synchronizes with any date in the Apocalypse, and it leads to
nothing, fixes nothing, settles nothing, for no historical change
took place in 1330.

T cannot help reproducing the following words of Dean Alford on
this subject in his Introduction or Prolegomena to the Revelation :
‘*T have not pretended to offer any solution of those periods of time
so remarkably pervaded by the half of the mystic seven.’ I am
quite unable to say who the two witnesses are; quite unable, in
common with all Apocalyptic interpreters, to point out definitely any
period in the history of the Church corresponding to the 1,260 days
(chap. xii. 6), or any in the history of this world’s civil power which
shall satisfy the forty-two months of chap. xiii. 5. As far as I have
seen every such attempt hitherto made has been characterized by
signal failure. One after another the years fixed on for the con-
summation by different authors have passed away, beginning with
the 1836 of Bengel ; one after another the expositors who have lived
to be thus refuted have shifted their grounds into the safer future.
It is not my intention to enter the lists on either side of the vexed
‘year-day’ question. I have never seen it proved, or even made
probable, that we are to take a day for a year in Apocalyptic pro-
phecy ; on the other hand, I have never seen it proved or made
probable that such mystic periods are to be taken literally, a day
foraday. It is a weighty argument against the year-day system
that a period of a thousand years (xx. 6, 7) does occur in the pro-
phecy (to which the year-day system is never applied by its advo-
cates, as it would make the length of the millennium three hundred

 

£= 3h, which, according to the year-day system, is 360 + 720 + 180 = 1260 = 4
months of 30 days each.
INTRODUCTION. XXV

and sixty thousand years). It is hardly a less strong one against
literal acceptation of days, that the principles of interpretation
given us by the seer himself (xvii. 17) seem to require for the reign
of the beast a far longer period than this calculation would allow.
So that in the apparent failure of both systems I am driven
to believe that these periods are to be assigned by some clue of
which the Spirit has not yet put the Church in possession.”

It will be necessary now to say something respecting the
references in the Apocalypse to the Old Testament prophecies.

These are very numerous: I can only notice three. The first
shall be Rev. xi. 3, 4, “And I will give power unto my two wit-
nesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and
threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive
trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the
earth.” Now the prophet Zechariah saw in a vision a candlestick
with a bowl on the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and
seven pipes to the seven lamps, and he saw also two olive trees by
it, which apparently supplied the candlestick. There can be no
doubt but that the Apocalyptic seer alludes to this vision of
‘Zechariah, but he introduces many features not in Zechariah,
particularly that the two witnesses shall prophesy a thousand two
hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth; that if any
man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and
devoureth their enemies; and they have power to shut heaven,
and to turn waters into blood. Now it is to be noticed that the
explanation given by Zechariah is only for the encouragement of
Zerubbabel, but the power given to St. John’s two witnesses and
olive trees is for much more; it is for vengeance upon their
enemies—or rather upon God’s enemies—to smite them with the
plagues of Egypt, and at the end of their testimony the beast, i.e.,
according to the most approved expositors, the ‘‘ world-power,”
shall destroy them. So there is a reference to the prophecy of
Zechariah and very much more.

This prophecy of Zechariah then seems to have had a very
limited fulfilment, and that it waits for a far completer fulfilment
in the latter days.

The next must be xx. 8, where the nations that are deceived by
Satan are Gog and Magog. This appears to refer (and no doubt
does) to Ezekiel xxxviii. 2, 3, ‘Son of man, set thy face against
XXVi INTRODUCTION.

Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal,
and prophesy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord God;
Behold, I am against thee, O Gog... . and I will turn thee
back, and put hooks into thy jaws. ... Thou shalt ascend and come
like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou,
and all thy bands, and many people with thee.” Then, after
describing that Gog and his hosts would desire to come up to the
land of unwalled villages to spoil them, he says, ‘“‘ Art thou he of
whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of
Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would
bring thee against them?”

Now it is quite clear that no such invasion of the land of Israel
has taken place in historic times. As I have shown in the com-
mentary, on pages 257 and 258, there was an invasion of northern
nations (Scythians) on their way to Egypt which seems not to
have affected the interior of Palestine. This prophecy then re-
mains to be fulfilled in its completeness, and it will be fulfilled at
the time of the end. It seems to postulate that the Jews or
Israelites will have been restored to their land, and that all the
nations will be gathered against them—rather against the Lord
and against His Christ—and that they will be destroyed by super-
natural means. It seems as if they would be under the direction
of Antichrist—the Antichrist—and shall be consumed by the Spirit
proceeding from the Lord’s mouth, and destroyed with the bright-
ness of His coming (2 Thess. ii. 8).

The last of the three shall be xxii. 1, &c., “And he shewed
me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of
it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which
bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month:
and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” In
this place the seer has unquestionably in his eye the vision in
Ezekiel xlvii..where the prophet is said to be shown that the
waters that issued from the threshold of the Lord’s house which
sprang from the south side of the altar—then the prophet saw the
waters forming a river up to the ancles; then he measured another
thousand cubits, and the waters were to the knees; then another,
and the waters were to the loins; and then further, and the river
could not be passed over (“ waters to swim in”). Then he is brought
back and he sees on the bank very many trees on the one side and
INTRODUCTION. XXVU

on the other ; then in the 12th verse, ‘“‘ Then by the river upon the
bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for
meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be
consumed : it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months,
because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the
fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine”
(‘‘and the leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations”).
Now what is the relation between these two passages? The pro-
phecy in Ezekiel is much fuller and more circumstantial, but the
Apocalyptic vision, without losing altogether its earthly character,
is much more spiritual—much more in accordance with the ex-
ceeding blessedness of the New Jerusalem as the eternal habiiation
of the people of God. I believe then that the Apocalyptic vision
is the fulfilment, and more than the fulfilment, of the older
vision. There never has been any fulfilment as yet of the Ezekiel
vision in the Old Jerusalem, but there will bein the New. There
has been a spiritual fulfilment, when the Holy Ghost descended
and a flood of light and truth spread over all nations, but God
Who has created us body and soul and will renew both, promises a
time when the outward glory will correspond to the inward
sanctity. The tree of life disappeared after Adam’s fall: it will
reappear when the effects of that fall are undone, when, as the next
verse (in the Apocalyptic vision) tells us, “there shall be no more
curse.”

It will be necessary now to say a few words on the systems of
interpretation of the Revelation. They seem naturally to divide
themselves into three.

1. The preterist interpretation.

2. The continuous historical interpretation.

3. The futurist.

1. The preterist. According to this scheme the Apocalypse was
written to forewarn the contemporaries of the Apostle of what was
to take place in his own lifetime. Of course such a scheme of
interpretation would apply principally to the destruction of Jeru-
salem and the distress and afflictions which would befall the
Jewish nations, and also Rome during the reigns of the Emperors
Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, and perhaps Domi-
tian. Under this mode of interpretation the Revelation is scarcely
a prophetic book. The horizon of a prophet’s vision does not
XXVili INTRODUCTION.

extend, it is assumed, beyond his own lifetime, so that all the
things revealed in it are the account of well-known events occurring
in Italy or Palestine, which for some reason or other were veiled
under the most mysterious enigmatical forms. Of all the suggested
interpretations of this book this one appears to me the one most
unlikely to be true. According to this view, after the Apocalypse
was published its interest for Christians wellnigh ceased. Its
only interest to us is that of a book of enigmas, in interpreting
which we have to hazard all manner of guesses to explain away
awful preternatural figures which after all signify the plainest
things; thus, the sounding of his trumpet by the second angel,
followed by the burning mountain cast into the sea, and the
waters becoming blood, and the third part of the sea becomes
blood, and the third part of the fish die. This is explained as
the inundation which devastated the coasts of Lydia, and the
destruction of fleets, and the waves reddened with the blood of
men as at Joppa and on the coasts of the Dead Sea and on the
lake of Galilee. But why should such dreadful but plain his-
torical events be wrapped' up in the language of extreme mystery,
as a burning mountain cast into the sea and turning the third part
of the sea into blood? There may be, I allow, certain things which
needed to be shrouded in mystery, such as the name of Neron
Cesar, which in this nineteenth century is discovered to be the
name of Nero Cesar, taking the value of the letters of his name as
written in Hebrew, but of the greater part of the events hidden
under the Apocalyptic figures there was no need whatsoever of
shrouding them under visions.

For this and many other reasons I reject altogether the preterist
scheme, and I cannot conceive how any persons of ordinary com-
mon-sense should have accepted it as it is usually stated except for
for some strong reason in the backgrownd.*

The next scheme to be noticed is the historical, or rather
continuous historical scheme, This scheme is principally occupied
with the Papacy, and with the events which preceded it, and the
events which have followed it and greatly modified its power; such
as the French Revolution and the French Empire under Napoleon.
By far the most elaborate, and, we may say, exhaustive exposition

 

1 Alcasar, a Jesuit, seems to be the first of such expositors. After him Grotius,
Hammond, Bossuet, Wetstein, Moses Stuart, F. D. Maurice.
INTRODUCTION. Xxix

of this view is Elliot's “ Horw Apocalyptice ” in four thick volumes.
I have constantly referred to this work, giving specimens of its (I
really must say) outrageous expositions to show the reader how
little reliable a system can be which has to resort to such expedients
to maintain its continuity.

But the thing which appears to me to discredit utterly this con-
tinuous historical view is the way in which it is forced, in order
to maintain itself, to get rid of the intimations of the Second
Coming of Christ. It seems scarcely credible that such a vision as
that of the opening of the sixth seal should be explained by Christian
expositors as foretelling the conquests of the Christian Constantine
over his heathen antagonists, but so it is. Read the prophecy:
“The heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and
every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And
the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the
chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every
free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the
mountains ; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and
hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from
the wrath of the Lamb ; for the great day of his wrath is come; and
who shall be able to stand ? ” (vi. 14-17).

Now it is inconceivable to me that this can be applied by any
Christian man to any event but one, but the exigencies of the con-
tinuous historical scheme demand that its fulfilment should be at
the beginning of the fourth century, and something must be dis-
covered then to suit it no matter how absurdly inappropriate.’

3. The futurist scheme lays down that as yet the reality of none
of the Apocalyptic visions is accomplished, but they all wait for
their consummation to the times immediately preceding the Second
Advent. This scheme of exposition seems to me mainly to rely on
the obscurity of the visions—on the fact that scarcely any two
interpreters have given the same meaning to any one of them.
Still, if the book is given to us to bid us look for and expect
“things which shall be hereafter,” then there are many things

 

1 The principal expositors of this scheme are Berengard, the Abbot Joachim, the
Reformers, as Wickliffe, Luther, Bullinger, Bale, Fox, Brightman, and many others.
In more modern times by Mede, who, however, makes many of its visions synchro-
nous, Jurieu, Cressener, Vitringa, Sir Isaac Newton, Whiston, Bengel, and Bishop
Newton, and in our times Faber, Elliot in ‘‘Hore Apocalyptice,” and Bishop
Wordsworth. Isaac Williams and Dean Vaughan take a spiritualistic view of the
whole book. .
XXX INTRODUCTION.

which have occurred since the rise of Christianity which seem
worthy of a place in such a book of prophecy, as, for instance, the
submission of the Roman Empire to receive Christianity; the rise
and progress of the pretensions of the Bishops of Rome; the extra-
ordinary rapid success of the religion of Mahomet; the Reformation,
as it is called, and its—one might almost say—collapse ; the French
Revolution, culminating in the Empire of Bonaparte, its collapse—
all these as affecting the Church and a partially-Christianized
world seem worthy of a place in prophecy, and if our eyes were
opened we should find that they have, or had, a place; but as far as
I can see God has as yet not given to us a principle of sequence in
which these things find their place.*

It will be necessary for me now to point out what sort of scheme
of interpretation seems to point towards the true one.

First I must take it for granted that any scheme of interpretation
must take into the fullest account the intimations throughout the
book of the Lord’s Second Coming. Now, as He has not come yet
and the opening of the first six seals covers the ground between His
First Coming to proclaim His Salvation, and His Second glorious
and terrible Advent, the present time in which we live must be
under the opening of the seals. I do not say under the opening of
one of the seals, for, as I have shown in the exposition, all the horse
riders run together—the white horse Rider, the Gospel, is now
progressing : there has been a time of continuous war—of scarcity
sometimes bordering on famine, and of pestilence, not universal,
but in divers places—as if a fourth part of the earth was affected.
The opening of the fifth seal evidently betokens what takes place
in the unseen world, so we can say nothing about it as regards its
effect on this lower world; we are evidently living in the seal-
opening period.

The sealing period of chap. vii.is not vistble in this world, so that
we can say nothing about it.

The trumpet soundings of chap. viii. and ix. may be going on now
for we are not told, nor have we the least hint given to us, whether
the effect of the first trumpet sounding ceases altogether before the

 

1 The founder of the futurist school seems to have been the Jesuit Ribera. To
it, according to Alford, belong the respected names of Dr. Todd, Maitland, Burgh,
Isaac Williams (?), and others. The reader will find in the fourth volume of Eliiot’s
‘*Hore Apocalytice” a most exhaustive history of Apocalyptic interpretation from
Victorinus to Bishop Waldegrave in our day.
INTRODUCTION. XXx1

second trumpet is blown, so that what is meant by the mountain
cast into the sea may be synchronous with the hailstorm mingled
with fire of verse 7, and the wormwood star of verses 10 and 11, and
partial darkening of the sun, moon, and stars of verse 12.

If the effects of the fifth angel-trumpet be the rise and progress
of Islamism, and the sixth the rise and progress of the Turkish
power, then this may be taking place now and a large portion of
mankind may be affected by it.

The vision of chap. x., that of the mighty angel, seems to take
place in the unseen world, and its effects on this outer world
have not, as far as I can see, been revealed to us.

There is nothing in the history of the world, or of the Church,
in the least degree corresponding to the witnessing of the two
witnesses. I humbly think that it takes place (or took place) in
the unseen world. If the reader desires to see the futility of
explaining it of what took place in this lower world, ie., of the
persecutions of the pre-Reformation Protestants, or of the wit-
nessing of the Old and New Testaments, he has only to look to the
extract I have given from Mr. Elliot and Bishop Wordsworth in
pp. 140-148 in this exposition.

If the vision of chap. xii., of the woman bringing forth the man
child, and persecuted by the dragon, refers to the world-long
conflict between the serpent and the seed of the woman, intensified
by the Incarnation, then of course we are living in it.

If the two theria of chap. xiii. be the fierce and ferocious world-
power, and the milder and more cultured world-power of Bishop
Boyd-Carpenter and others, then of course the warfare is going on
now, and we are living in it.

The events of the first part of chap. xiv. seem to take place in
the unseen world.

The two visions of the Son of man on the white cloud, and the
angel reaping the vintage of the earth, of course refer to the end
and the end only.

Respecting the pouring out of the vials I can say nothing. If
they are synchronous they immediately precede the Second
Coming. Two or three seem to correspond with the effects of
the seven trumpets.

Respecting the vision of Babylon, the great harlot of chaps. xvii.
and xviii., if it betokens either a particular fallen. Church, or the
fall of universal Christendom, or the collapse of modern commerce,
XXxii INTRODUCTION.

as some have thought, it is probable that we are now living in the
times indicated. It seems to me certain that no voice answering
to that of xviii. 4 (“‘ Come out of her, my people,”) has been heard
by those most nearly concerned, that is, by godly Romanists.

The vision of chap. xix. seems to take place in the unseen
heavenly world.

With respect to the vision of what is called the millennium, in
chap. xx., Christ has certainly reigned ever since “ all things were
put under his feet ’’ at His Ascension. He has reigned in order to
discipline His elect, that they may be ready for Him when He
comes at the last; and His saints may have reigned under Him,
not visibly, but effectually—effectually for the purposes far which
He has ordained their reign. One thing, however, seems to me to
be certain, that Satan at no time or period since the Coming of
Christ has been restrained from deceiving the world, unless in ways
which God has not revealed to us.

The MSS. of the Apocalypse are as follows:

ss. Codex Sinaiticus.

A. Codex Alexandrinus.

B. Codex Vaticanus 2066, not the celebrated Codex B., but
another uncial altogether. It is an uncial copy of the end of the
eighth century; the Codex Vaticanus B. of the Gospels and
Epistles not containing the Apocalypse. A full account of it for
general readers will be found in Scrivener’s “ Introduction to the
Criticism of the New Testament.”

C. Codex Ephraemi.

P. Codex Porphyrianus. <A palimpsest, containing the Acts,
all the Epistles, the Apocalypse, and a few fragments of Mac-
cabees iv. of the ninth century. It was found by Tischendorf in
1863 at St. Petersburg, in the possession of the Archimandrite
(now Bishop) Porphyry, who allowed him to take it to Leipsic to
decipher (see p. 162 of Scrivener’s “ Introduction,” 8rd edition).

There are 111 Cursive MSS. of the Apocalypse described or
noticed in Scrivener’s ‘‘ Introduction,” pp. 273-278.
A COMMENTARY.

THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE.

CHAP. I.

HE Revelation of Jesus Christ, * which God + John iii. 32,
: : & viii. 26. é&
gave unto him, to shew unto his servants xii. 49.

1. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” That is, the Revelation
given by Jesus Christ to St. John.

It does not seem to mean the Revelation of the Person and Work
of Christ, but of that reality of future things which Christ received
of the Father to make known to His people.

“The Revelation.” Apocalypse means the uncovering of what is
before concealed. It is a word of very frequent use to express
much more than such glimpses of the future as are contained in
Daniel and this book. Thus, in Rom. ii. 5, we have: “ After thy
hardness and impenitent heart treasurest to thyself wrath against
the day of wrath and apocalypse of the righteous judgment of
God.” By many modern authors it is confined to books of visions,
such as Daniel, Zechariah, and parts of Ezekiel.

“Which God gave unto him.” In the words of Christ pre-
served to us in the Gospel of St. John, the Lord carefully sets
before us the Father as the fountain of all knowledge. “I have
called you friends; because all things that I have heard of my
Father I have made known unto you” (John xv. 15); and
again: ‘‘ The Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment,
what I should say and what I should speak” (John xii. 49), This
the Lord said lest in declaring His Divine Nature and Attributes

B
2 ALL THINGS THAT HE SAW.  [REVELATION.

things which »must shortly come to pass; and °he sent and

» ch.iv.1. signified i¢ by his angel unto his servant John:

© ch. xxii. 16, 2 %4Who bare record of the word of God, and

ch os, eo, Of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things

V7. ver.9. = that he saw.
e1Johni. 1.

f Luke xi. 28. 3 ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that

ch. xxii. 7.

2. “And” (ze) omitted by x, A., B., C., P., fifty Cursives, Vulg., Copt., Syr., Arm. ;
retained by few Cursives.

He should in the slightest degree seem to speak or act independently
of the Father.

“To shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to
pass.” ‘Shortly ” (é rdye), does this mean that the things to be
revealed will shortly come to pass in the usual sense of ‘‘shortly,”
or that we are to understand this in the light of 2 Pet. iii. 8: “One
day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as
one day”? The former rendering is relied upon by the preterists,
the latter by those who look upon the series of visions as em-
bodying a continuous history from the Ascension to the Second
Advent.

“And he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant
John.” This seems to mean that the whole revelation was given
through angelic mediation, though only here and there does the
angel actually appear as in ch. xvii. 1. This seems analogous to
the giving of the law. God speaks on Mount Sinai, and yet the
law was “ given by angels in the hand of a mediator” (Gal. iii. 19).

“Servant John.” The Apostle selected in the wisdom of God
to be the instrument of revealing the deepest mysteries of the
kingdom.

2. “* Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony
of Jesus Christ.” This has been supposed to allude to the Gospel
record which was of ‘the Word of God and of the testimony of
Jesus Christ,’ as God manifest in the flesh.

Most, however, consider the words to allude to the revelation of
God’s purposes in the book now opening.

Of all things that he saw,”’ 4.¢., in vision.

8. “Blessed is he that sensei, and they that hear the words,”
&c. It is supposed that by “‘he that readeth” we are to under-:
Cuap. 1] THE TIME IS AT HAND. 3

hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which

are written therein : for # the time is at hand. g ve xiii.
é ‘i 3 11. James v.
4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: a 1 Pet. iv. 7.
“ 5 ch. xxii. 10.
Grace be unto you, and peace, from him " which 5 gxod. iii.14.
ver. 8.

stand the public reader in the Christian assembly, inasmuch as he
is alluded to in the singular number, and his hearers in the plural.

“And keep those things which are written therein: for the
time,” &e. They who keep the things which are written in this
book habitually remember that it especially predicts aggregations
of evil men, or embodiments of evil principles, acting in concert
against God and Christ with the ferocity of evil wild beasts, and
so their duty to God is to keep themselves from al] union in sin,
and to lay to heart the judgments of God against sinners.

4. ‘“* John to the seven churches which are in Asia.” How is it
that the number seven is used here? There were far more than
seven churches in proconsular Asia. There was Colosse, to which
an Epistle was sent by St. Paul; there was Hierapolis, and
Miletus, and Troas, where St. Paul raised Hutychus from the
dead. There can be, I think, no doubt but that seven was chosen
as a mystic number, signifying the whole and perfect Church of
Christ. Seven is chosen in order that it may indicate at once the
definite and indefinite. The Church is an infinite body, but in
contemplating it we must not lose ourselves in infinitude, but con-
sider it as embracing a definite number of smaller bodies, each one
known to God and regarded by Him as if there were none else but
Himself and it to share His regard.

“Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which
was, and which is to come.” §t. John has been said to have been
guilty of a fault in grammar—a grammatical solecism—because he
has treated the most sacred name as an indeclinable noun, d7é (row)
6 ay kat 6 Fv Kau 6 épxdpevoc, which, following the strict rules of
grammar ought to have been (after azo) in the genitive; but it is
no more a solecism than Moses was guilty of when he sent this
message from God to the children of Israel: ‘‘I am hath sent me
unto you.” The immutability in the words by which the Name of
God is expressed has been well set forth by Archbishop Trench as
setting forth the immutability of Him Who is the same yesterday
4 , THE SEVEN SPIRITS. (REVELATION.

{Johni.1. is, and ‘which was, and which is to come; ‘and

k Zech. iii. 9. a : :
&iv.10. ch. from the seven Spirits which are before his

iii. 1, & iv. 5.
& v. 6. throne ;

14g vii 14-5 And from Jesus Christ, 'who is the faithful

a witness, and the ™ first begotten of the dead, and
20. Col. i, 18.

and to-day and for ever, so that it is expressed in this absolute
resistance to change, or even modification, of the very name; and
Wordsworth expresses it as bespeaking the indeclinability of the
Divine Essence ‘‘ with whom is no variableness or shadow of
turning ”’ (James i. 17).

“And which is to come.” This is not to be taken as signifying
the same as “shall be,’”’ but as signifying that though He is with
His people now He is ever ‘‘coming” to them in some new mani-
festation of grace and goodness.

‘‘ And from the seven Spirits which are before his throne.” This
no doubt refers to the Holy Ghost; the One Spirit in His Essence,
and yet the Manifold in His operations. The place is parallel to
ch. v.6. The lamb “having seven horns and seven eyes, which are
the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.’ An infinite
Spirit, the Spirit of God, confronts each personality with His most
searching and loving presence, as if there were none in the uni-
verse except Himself and the man whom He observes. In the
most ancient form of Liturgy, the Clementine, God is said to be
One, and yet exceeding all number, avapiOunrog, as being absolutely
One, and yet One to each intelligence whom He has created. Here
the Spirit is seven because there are seven churches, in each of
which He dwells wholly and separately.

It is impossible to suppose that these are seven created spirits as
angels, because grace and peace cannot come from them, but must
come from the Adorable Three in One.

5. “ And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the
first begotten.”’ He is the faithful Witness because He witnesses—as
none other can do—to the absolute truth of God. In the Gospel the
Lord constantly refers to His office of Witness. This is a Johannine
expression. We may safely say that no scripture writer would
have applied this term to our Lord except the beloved disciple.

“ And the first begotten of the dead.” He is, as St. Paul says,
Cuap. I.] UNTO HIM THAT LOVED US. 5

"the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him = Eph. i, 20.
°that loved us, ?and washed us from our sins in wee bane

his own blood, ae car

6 And hath ‘made us kings and priests unto moe roar

1 John i. 7.

4 1 Pet. ii. 5,
9. ‘ch. v. 16.
& xx, 6,

5. “Loved.” XN, A., B., C., forty-five Cursives read, ‘‘loves”; P., and a few Cur-
sives read as in Authorized Translation.

“Washed.” So B., P., most Cursives, Vulg., Copt., &c.; but X, A., C. read,
“loosed us,” the difference only one letter.

‘become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Cor. xv. 20); and
again, in Coloss. i. 18: “The first born of the dead.”

“ And the prince of the kings of the earth,” “All power is given
unto me in heaven and in earth.” ‘‘King of Kings and Lord of
Lords.” In these three sentences the glory of the Lord Jesus is
declared. He is the faithful Witness to God and His truth. He is
the Author of Everlasting Life, being the first born of the dead.
He is the Wielder of all power. Fear not your persecutors, even
though they may be emperors, for Christ rules them all, and makes
each one accomplish His purposes, not their own.

“Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins,” &c.
Better, perhaps, ‘‘him that loves us,” in the singular. His love
in past time continues in the present, and will last for ever.

‘And washed us from our sins in his own blood.” Perhaps the
true reading is Avcayri, not Aotcavr, ‘“‘ Who has redeemed us by
His Blood.”

6. ‘And hath made us kings and priests.’’ Rather, perhaps,
“has made us a kingdom—even priests to God.” This, with the
alterations, is the exact counterpart of Exod. xix. 6: ‘‘ Ye shall be
unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

In what does the universal priesthood of all Christians consist ?
Mainly in intercession. There are in all churches, and always
have been, certain ministers set apart to minister certain functions,
such as Baptism, the Consecration of the Eucharist, Ordination,
&e.; but the priesthood of the laity must, of necessity, consist
principally in Intercession, and it would be well if they were more
frequently reminded of this their sacerdotal duty. They are con-
stantly bid to assert their priesthood as against the ministerial
6 HE COMETH WITH CLOUDS.  [REVELATION.

Heb it at 16 God and his Father; "to him be glory and

ee iv.11. dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
vil .
*Dan.vi.is, 7 *Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every

Bee ak eye shall see him, and ‘they also which pierced

Acts i. 11.

t Zech. xii. 10.
John xix. 37.

7. “With clouds.” ‘‘ With the clouds.”

brethren ; but their principal function they are scarcely ever re-
minded of. A layman who never intercedes for his brethren is
worse than an ordained minister who neglects his sacred function
of presiding in the congregation.

“To him be glory and dominion.” This doxology, addressed
to God the Son, is one of the innumerable places where the God-
head of the Son is most surely asserted by implication. It is
addressed to One Who shed His Blood, and so is a creature, and
yet it would be the height of blasphemy to apply it to a mere
creature.

7. “Behold he cometh with clouds.” Thus in Daniel: ‘‘ One
like the Son of man came in the clouds of heaven.” Thus in St.
Matthew xxiv. 30: ‘‘ They shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven,” and ‘‘ Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man
sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of
heaven” (xxvi. 64). How is it that such marked stress is laid on
His coming in the ‘‘clouds” ? Evidently to show that His coming
will not be a spiritual, but an open, visible appearance, as that of a
judge coming to his assize. But may it not be, as Professor
Milligan asks, that these are not the mere clouds of the sky, but
those clouds of Sinai, of the Shechinah, of the Transfiguration, of
the Ascension, which are the recognized signs of Deity ?

“And every eye shall see him.’’ Not merely the eyes of the
living, but those who have been dead for ages, because the Evange-
list goes on to say, ‘‘and they also which pierced him.” This will
be true of those who actually pierced the Lord on Calvary; then
it will be true of all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—as Zechariah
says; then of those who have pierced the Lord with their sins, as all
have, for if He died for all, then all have a part in His Death, both
in the guilt which brought it about, and the atonement consequent
upon it.
Cuapr. 1] I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA. 7

him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.

Even so, Amen. u Isa. xli, 4,

& xliv. 6.
8 "Iam Alpha and Omega, the beginning and xiv 2 a
the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which 8’ xxi. 6.&
was, and which is to come, the Almighty. ae ah
iv. 8, & xi. 17,

XV1. 9.

8. “The beginning and the ending” omitted by Xe, A., B., C., P., forty-five Cur-
sives, Syr., Arm., Aith. ; but retained by X*, a few Cursives, Vulg., Copt.
“Saith the Lord.” xdpios 6 Oeds. SoN, A, B., C., P., fifty Cursives.

The words “they also which pierced him” are taken from
Zechariah xii. 10, and it is much to be remarked that both here
and in John xix. 87 the New Testament writer does not adopt,
as usual, the Septuagint reading, which runs, “ because they
have mocked me” (dv@’év karwpynoavro), but “whom they have
pierced.” This, as Alford, and Lee in the “Speaker’s Commen-
tary ” remark, is almost a demonstration of the common author-
ship of the Apocalypse and the Fourth Gospel. This and John
xix. 87 are the only places in the New Testament where this
prophecy is alluded to.

‘“* And all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even
so, Amen.” The tribes or kindreds of the earth are those who are
of the earth earthly, who are not reconciled to God through His
Merits, and have not taken Him as their Master and Lord.

8. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord.” The title “‘ Lord” is almost always given to the
Lord Jesus; and all the words from the beginning of verse 5
relate solely and entirely to Him, so that if we believe in His
Essential Godhead we must suppose that these words are spoken
by Him of Himself, as undoubtedly they are in xxii. 18.

““Which is, and which was, and which is to come, the
Almighty.” ‘Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such
is the Holy Ghost. The Father Almighty, the Son Almighty, and
the Holy Ghost Almighty.” Archbishop Trench gives a remark-
able passage from Clement of Alexandria: ‘“‘ For He is the circle
of all power, rolled and united into one unity, wherefore the Word
is called the Alpha and Omega, of whom alone the end becomes
beginning, and ends again at the original beginning without any
break” (‘‘ Miscell.” iv. 25) ; and another from Tertullian: ‘‘ So, too,
8 THE ISLE CALLED PATMOS. [REVELATION.

ioe La 9 I John, who also am your brother, and ’ com-
i. 8. panion in tribulation, and *in the kingdom and

en patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is
os ee called Patmos, * for the word of God, and for the
vi. 9. testimony of Jesus Christ.

the two letters of Greece, the first and the last, the Lord assumes
to Himself as figures of the beginning and end, which concur in
Himself, so that just as Alpha rolls on till it reaches Omega, and
again Omega rolls back till it reaches Alpha, in the same way He
might show that in Himself is both the downward course of the
beginning on to the end, and the backward course of the end up
to the beginning ; so that every economy, ending in Him through
Whom it began, through the Word of God that is, Who was made
flesh may have an end corresponding to its beginning” (“On
Monogamy,” ch. v.).

“The Almighty.” ‘ Whatsoever things the Father doeth, these
also doeth the Son likewise’ (John v. 19).

9. ‘I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribu-
lation,” &e. ‘‘ Who also am your brother,” ¢.e., in Christ. The three
following words are to be taken together, “‘ and partaker with you
in the tribulation, and kingdom, and patience which are in Jesus.”
“ Let us not fail,” says Trench, “‘ to observe the connection and the
sequence, tribulation first and the kingdom afterwards ;” on which
Richard of St. Victor well remarks, “he rightly puts first, ‘in tribu-
lation,’ and adds afterwards, ‘in the kingdom,’ because ‘if we suffer
with him we shall also reign with him’” (2 Tim. ii. 12).

As yet, however, the tribulation is present, the kingdom is only
in hope, therefore he adds to these, as that which is the link between
them, ‘‘and patience of Jesus Christ.” Still it is possible that the
kingdom may be the present kingdom of grace. ‘‘ The kingdom of
God is among you.”” When our Lord, during the great forty days,
spoke of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, He most pro-
bably meant the means of grace and the ministry of the Church.

‘Was in the isle that is called Patmos.” A rocky island, con-
sisting of three peninsulas joined together by very narrow
isthmuses, said to be just visible from Miletus; ‘‘was” is rather
“came to be.”
Cuap. 1] I WAS IN THE SPIRIT. 9
10 °I was in the Spirit on °the Lord’s day, » Actsx. 10.

= 2 Cor, xii. 2

and heard behind me “a great voice, as of a ch,iv.2.&
xvii. 3. & xxi.

trumpet. 10.

11 Saying, *I am Alpha and Omega, ‘the first 4mm T
and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a 1 Cor xvi 2
: a iv. 1. &
a ‘ver. 8.
f ver, 17.

11. ‘Iam Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and,” omitted by ¥, A., B., C.,
fifty Cursives, Vulg., Copt., Syr., Arm., 4ith. ; retained by only a few Cursives.

“For the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Some moderns, against all ancient authority, say that he went there
to preach, but almost all ancient writers who refer to this sojourn
say that it was a banishment to an island to which with others on
the coast of Asia criminals were transported by way of punish-
ment.

10. ‘I was in the Spirit.” “I was wrapt in mind in a state
of spiritual vision or an ecstasy,” so that he was in a fit state to
receive impressions from the invisible world. St. Paul describes
such a state in 2 Cor. xii. 2, as being one in which he did not know
whether he was “ in the body or out of the body,” and was ‘‘ caught
up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which it was not
lawful or possible for one to utter.”

‘*On the Lord’s day,” i.e., on the day of the Resurrection. The
weekly Christian festival and day for the Eucharistic celebration.

‘** And heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.” “Not
merely,” says Professor Milligan, “one with a clear and strong
sound, but with a sound inspiring awe and terror, and correspond-
ing in this respect to the distinguishing characteristics of the Lord
in the further details of this vision.”

11. “ Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and,
What thou seest.” There can be no doubt that the words, ‘‘I am
Alpha and Omega, the firat and the last,” do not form a part of the
original text, but have been inserted, together with the following
clause, at a very early period, perhaps to take off from the abrupt-
ness of commencing the word of the Lord with ‘What thou
seest,”’ &c.

‘‘ What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven
churches,” &¢. He is bid to write it that it may be in a permanent
10 I TURNED TO SEE. [REVELATION.

book, and send 7é unto the seven churches which are in Asia ;
unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and
unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia,
and unto Laodicea.

12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me.

8 ver. 20. And being turned, *I saw seven golden candle-
Exod. xxv. 37.

Zech. iv.2. Sticks ;

form. It is to be remarked that this command to write is given
twelve times (i. 11, 19; ii. 1,8, 12,18; iii. 1, 7,14; xiv. 18; xix.
9; xxi. 5).

He is told to write not what he hears, but what he sees. This
must refer, not to the verbal messages sent to the churches, but to
the visions which he saw rising before him in succession.

“And send it to the seven churches [which are in Asia]; unto
Tiphesus.” There can be no doubt but that the number seven is to
be taken mystically—the writing or Epistle is sent to the perfect
Church, the universal, the Catholic Church.

“To Ephesus.” Ephesus, being the most important, is placed
first, also as being the seat of St. John’s own ministry.

“And unto Smyrna,” Eight miles to the north of Ephesus.
Polycarp, the disciple of St. John, was afterwards its Bishop.

“And unto Pergamos,” or rather, “ Pergamum,” was a city of
Mysia, and the most northerly city of the group.

“ Thyatira ’ was in Lydia on the river Lycus. It is mentioned
as the city of Lydia in Acts xvi. 14.

“Sardis.” The city. of Croesus and the ancient capital of the
Lydian kings, situated to the south of Thyatira.

‘* Philadelphia,” a city of Lydia, to the south-east of Sardis.

“‘Laodicea,” to the east of Ephesus. It is the most southern of
the seven, so that these cities all lay as it were within a stone’s
throw of one another. They were all within what may be called
the archdiocese or province of the Apostle. They could not have
been all the cities over which he had apostolic oversight, so their
reduction to the number of seven must have been, as I have said,
for some mystical reason.

12, ‘And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And
being turned,” &c. How is it that he did not see the Lord
Cuap.I.] ONE LIKE UNTO THE SON OF MAN. 11

13 * And in the midst of the seven candlesticks » ch. ii. 1.

‘one like unto the Son of man, * clothed with a pl%k,i 26

& x. 16. ch.
xiv. 14.

k Dan. x. 5.

first, as His countenance was ‘‘ as the sun shining in his strength.”
No doubt he saw the candlesticks first, and then the form of the
Lord appeared among them.

The candlesticks should rather be rendered lamp-stands. The
figure was taken from the seven-branched candlestick or candela-
brum in the temple, but with this difference, that in the temple
it was one lamp-stand with seven branches, here there were
seven candelabra, or it could not have been said that the Lord
was in the midst of them. Some commentators suppose that
each lamp-stand had seven branches, but this seems hardly
likely.

The candlesticks or lamp-stands signify light-bearers. They hold
the oil of the Spirit which alone illuminates.

13. “ And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the
Son of man.” Why is the Lord said to be in the midst of the
candlesticks ? As the great priest whose duty it is—like that of His
type—to see to the candlesticks, that they are supplied with the
oil of Divine grace, that they are trimmed, and that nothing
be wanting to them which would hinder them from giving their
light.

“The Son of man.” This is the only place except Acts vii. 56,
where the Lord is called the Son of man by another than Himself.
Not only in His Divine Nature as the Son of God, but.as the Son
of man He is present in or among the churches. He mediates be-
tween His Father and them, through His human Nature, “for there
is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus” (1
Tim. ii. 5).

“ Clothed with a garment down to the foot.” The word in the
original is zrodjpy which afterwards became, in ecclesiastical Latin,
poderis. It seems a mistake to suppose that it is exclusively
an ecclesiastical garment; it is rather a garment of supreme
dignity, which is signified by its length, which indicates a garment
for those who are above the sphere of labour: those who had to
labour were obliged to have garments which could be tucked up or
girded (‘‘your loins girt about”). Thus, in Isaiah vi. 1, it is said
12 wIS EYES AS A FLAME OF FIRE. [REVELATION.

garment down to the foot, and 'girt about the paps with
‘ch.xv.6. a golden girdle.
™ Dan.vii.9. 14 His head and “his hairs were white like

fone wool, as white as snow; and "his eyes were as a
xix, 12. flame of fire ;

respecting God that ‘‘ His train,” 4.¢., the skirts of His robe, “ filled
the temple.”

“ And girt about the paps with a golden girdle.” His girdle, that
is, implied higher dignity than the girdle about His loins, by which
the lower garments of those engaged in manual work were girded
up.

14. ‘‘ His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as
snow.” This is the description of the Ancient of days, that is, of
God the Father, in Daniel vii. 9. “‘The hair of his head like the
pure wool.” “It has been said that this whiteness signifies age—the
ages of eternity ; but this isimpossible, for white hairs are the sign
of declining bodily strength—the blood does not circulate through
the extremities, and therefore not through the hairs, or they would
retain their colour. It is rather a part of the transfiguration in
light of the glorified Person of the Redeemer, a transfiguration so
complete that it reaches to the extremities, to the very hairs of the
head ” (Trench).

“ And his eyes were as a flame of fire.” This is taken by Trench
and others not as indicating the piercing power of His glance search-
ing men through and through, but as the sign of Divine vengeance.
His very glance consumes the sinner. ‘‘In the symbolism of
Scripture fire is throughout the expression of the Divine anger, and
—seeing that nothing moves that anger but sin—it is the expression
of Divine anger against sin.” I question, however, whether all this
is not carried too far ; St. John, the beloved one, saw His eyes as a
flame of fire, and throughout the Apocalypse, particularly in the
latter chapters, He looks upon men with compassion as well as with
wrath. Fire is the source of light and warmth, without which
nature could not be. When the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost
in the likeness of tongues of fire this was not the symbol of ven-
geance in any way.

15. “And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a fur-
Cuap. 1.] SEVEN STARS. 138

15 » And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they 9 Ezek. i. 7,

burned in a furnace; and ” his voice as the sound a tk Xe.

of many waters. a Daa 2

16 4 And he had in his right hand seven stars: Shiv. &

and ‘out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged Ho @i, ah

Y Isa. xlix. 2.
Eph. vi. 17.
Heb. iv. 12.
ch, ii. 12, 16.
15. ‘‘ Like unto fine brass.” Various meanings given below. The xix. 15, 21.
precise meaning of the word is quite unknown (Alford).
“As if they burned in a furnace.” emvpwutvo read in B., P., and most Cursives : R
but remupuévw with N, a few Cursives, Vulg., Copt., Sah., Syr., Eth.

nace.” “ Like unto chalco-libanus.” A word apparently exceedingly
difficult to explain. Some have rendered it as mountain brass, some
as brass of Mount Lebanon ; some, taking the latter part, libanus, in
its meaning of frankincense, as brass of the colour of frankincense—
than which nothing can be more unlikely. Trench, after noticing
all threeand other explanations, renders it “the glowing brass.” This
conclusion is much strengthened by the apexegesis ‘‘as if they
burned in a furnace,” words of explanation immediately added by
St. John as probably knowing the difficulty which his readers would
find in the unusual term.

‘* And his voice as the sound of many waters.” This is taken
from Ezekiel xliii. 2: ‘‘ Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came
from the way of the east: and his voice was like the noise of many
waters.” “This comparison,” says Trench, “is not to be under-
stood of the far and wide publication of the Gospel (‘ this sound is
gone out into all lands’) but to the terribleness of the voice with
which He will rebuke His foes both within the Church and
without.”

16. “And he had in his right hand seven stars.’ The seven
churches are here said to be in the hand of Christ, because He has
all power over them and He protects them, “‘ no one can pluck them
out of my hand.” Trench supposes that He holds them as one
would hold a wreath.

“And out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword.” This
indicates the word, but not, we are told, the saving word so much
as the avenging word. ‘‘The whole feeling, the whole sense of the
passage with which we have here to do, requires that we should
14. +I FELL AT HIS FEET AS DEAD.  [REVELATION.

oe =i sword: *and his countenance was as the sun
t Evek. i.28. shineth in his strength.

emis. «17 And ‘when I saw him, I fell at his feet as

& x. 10

ea ii 4 dead. And “he laid his right hand upon me,
xiviit, 12. ch. saying unto me, Fear not; *I am the first and
13. ver.l. ,.the last:

17, and part of 18. ‘‘I am the first and the last, and the living one, and I was
dead.”

take this sword from the mouth as expressing rather the punishing
than the convincing power of God’s word” (Trench).

‘“* His countenance is as the sun shineth in his strength.” Thus
He appeared to St. Paul on his way to Damascus. “I saw a light
from heaven, above the brightness of the sun ”’ (Acts xxvi., 13).

It is doubtful to me whether this signifies the unendurable bright-
ness of one appearing in vengeance, or the (I was going to say)
natural brightness of the Revelation of the Deity.

17. “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.”? It wasno
other than St. John, the beloved disciple who had lain in the bosom
of Jesus, who was then utterly prostrated by the extremity of his
fear. Whenever the supernatural is revealed the natural quails
before it; much more must this be true of the Lord of spiritual
existences. When but a created angel appeared in glory to Daniel
there remained no strength in him, for his comeliness was turned
in him to corruption, and he retained no strength (Dan. x. 8).

“And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear
not; I am,” &c. The right hand which held the stars. The
right hand, whether of God or man, is contemplated in Scripture
as that by which the power of God and man is put forth.

“Fear not, I am the first and the last.” ‘ This,” as Trench
says, ‘‘is the expression of Absolute Godhead.” It is three times
applied to Jehovah, in Isaiah xli.4: ‘I the Lord, the first, and
with the last; Iam he;” xliv. 6: “‘I am the first, and I am the
last ; and beside me there is no God;”’ and in xlviii. 12: “I amthe
first, I also am the last.” That the Lord should thus assume it is
the most convincing proof that in substance, power, and eternity
He is One with the Father. Trench quotes a remarkable passage
from Richard of St. Victor: ‘‘Ego sum primus et novissimus
Cuap. LJ I AM ALIVE FOR EVERMORE. 15

18 °I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, 7I
am alive for evermore, Amen; and “have the » Rom. vi.9.

keys of hell and of death. ee ie
19 Write >the things which thou hast seen, a a

“and the things which are, “and the things which » ver. 12, dc.

shall be hereafter ; ine < ae

18. ‘‘Amen” omitted by a*, A., C.; retained by Ne, B.
19. ‘‘ Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and what things they are, and
the things which shall be after these.”

Primus per creationem, novissimus per retributionem. Primus qui
ante me non est formatus Deus; novissimus quia post me alius
non erit. Primus quia a me sunt omnia, novissimus quia ad me sunt
omnia; ame principio ad me finem. Primus quia Ego sum causa
originis ; novissimus quia Ego Judex et Finis.”

18. ‘*I am he that liveth and was dead ; and behold, I am alive
for evermore.” There should be no break between this and the
last clause of the preceding verse. It shouldrun: ‘I am the first,
and the last, and the living one, and I became dead, and behold I
am alive for evermore.”

‘I am the living One—the One who is essentially Life. As the
Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have
life in Himself.”

‘‘And I became dead.” ‘“ For a very brief space I allowed death
to have dominion over me: but it was to redeem man from death
by my death.”

“And now I am alive for evermore, having the keys of hell and
of death.” “‘ The possession of the keys exhibits the permanency of
my victory.”

“T open, and no man shuts, I shut and no man opens.” By far
the more important MSS. invert the order of our Authorized, and
read Death and Hell (Hades). This is the natural order, for it is
death which peoples Hades.

19. “ Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which
are, and,” &. I cannot but think that “the things which thou
hast seen”? includes more than the Vision of the Redeemer set
forth between the 12th and the 18th verses. It seems to cover all
the visions in this book of visions.

‘The things which are.” This must allude to the things now at
16 THE SEVEN GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS. [REVELATION.

© ver. 16. 20 The mystery °of the seven stars which thou

ver. 12, sawest in my right hand, ‘and the seven golden

& Mal. ii. 7. :
ch iac. candlesticks. The seven stars are ® the angels of

this present time occurring. But is it possible to limit these
‘“‘things which are” to the delivery of the messages to the seven
churches? I cannot think so. We cannot say what the time is
which is indicated by the ‘ are” in the phrase “ things which are.”
It may be a day or it may be a thousand years.

‘* And the things which shall be hereafter.” ‘“‘ The things which
shall come to pass after these things.” The time here indicated
depends upon the meaning of “ these things.”

20. “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my
right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks.” Upon what do
these words depend? It is supposed that they depend upon the
word “write.” He is to write, or explain, or enunciate the mystery
of the stars and candelabra. This he does either now in the latter
part of this verse, or in the succeeding two chapters. If the former,
then he writes simply the fact that the stars in the Lord’s right
hand are the angels of the seven churches, and the candlesticks
are the seven churches, thus distinguishing between the angels of
the churches and the churches themselves. If the latter, then
the mystery of the seven stars and churches is the account of
their character and of their dangers, and of God’s dealings with
them.

But what are these angels? They can scarcely be angelic beings
or guardian angels, because letters or epistles would not be sent
to them by God, neither can they be, as some have supposed, im-
personations of the churches, because the church would not require
personating, as each church was itself in turn arraigned at the bar
of Christ. They must be the chief ministers, or presidents, of each
church. When it is said that this Apocalypse was written at a
date in which the episcopacy of latter times was not in operation,
we answer, that St. John himself had lived in a city, Jerusalem,
which was as much under episcopal regimen as any city now
existing, and St. Paul had put the first of these churches, Ephesus,
under a man who in his absence exercised very stringent episcopal
rule over it.
Cuap. IL.] THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS. 17

the seven churches: and "the seven candlesticks ae iv. 2.
att.

15,
which thou sawest are the seven churches. Phil. ii 16,

The most serious thing as regards bishops is that the stars or
angels are held responsible for the religious character of each
church, as if the bishop was capable by the example of his holiness
of moulding the church, and by his prayers and exertions of keep-
ing it from declension and heresy.

CHAP. II.

NTO the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These

things saith *he that holdeth the seven * ch. i. 16, 20.
stars in his right hand, °who walketh in the ”°™+™
midst of the seven golden candlesticks.

1. “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These
things saith he that holdeth the seven stars.” Ephesus is placed
the first because of its importance. The Apostle St. Paul had
exercised in it a ministry lasting over three years. He had during
his absence committed the oversight of it to his first disciple, and
St. John, according to the united testimony of Christian antiquity,
presided over it for many years. It was very natural then that it’
should occupy the first place in his thoughts.

The Lord begins His message to each church with one of the
titles He assumed in this address, or with one of the Divine or
supernatural marks by which He had made Himself known to the
Apostle. In the words to the Church of Ephesus it is, “‘ These things
saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, and
walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.’ As Trench
notices, there is a significant alteration. Itis not ‘‘ He that hath,”
but “‘He that holdeth the seven stars,” and it is not ‘‘ He that isin
the midst,” but‘ He that walketh in the midst.” He holdeth the stars
so that no one can pluck them outof Hishand. He walked in the

c
18 I KNOW THY WORKS. [REVELATION.

eas “6 ver. 2 °I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy

iii. 1,815. patience, and how thou canst not bear them

midst of the candlesticks; He sits not inertly, He walks up and
down amongst them, expressing His unwearied activity, beholding
the good and the evil, evermore trimming and feeding with the oil
of grace the golden lamps of the sanctuary.

“T know thy works.” The Lord begins each of His messages
with the same ‘‘I know thy works.” Whatever these works are—
whether good or evil—whether open and manifest, or carried on
only in the most secret recesses of the soul, works of repentance,
hope, love, adoration, or of envy, covetousness, or evil thought, He
knows all.

“ And thy labour.” I cannot forbear giving some very practical
words of Archbishop Trench on this word. ‘Indeed this word
kéroc, Signifying as it does not merely labour, but labour unto
weariness, may suggest some solemn reflections to everyone who
at all affects to be working for his Lord, and as under his Great
Taskmaster’s eye. This is what Christ looks for, this is what
Christ praises in His servants. But how often does labour, which
esteems itself labour for Him, stop short of this; take care that it
shall never arrive at this point: and, perhaps, in our days none
are more tempted continually to measure out to themselves tasks,
too light and inadequate than those to whom an office and ministry
in the Church has been committed. Indeed there is here to them
an ever-recurring temptation, and this from the fact that they do
for the most part measure out their own day’s task to themselves.
Others in almost every other calling have it measured out to
them; if not the zeal, earnestness, sincerity which they are to put
into the performance of it, yet at any rate the outward limits, the
amount of time which they shall devote to it, and often the definite
quantity of it which they shall accomplish. It is not so with us.
We give it exactly the number of hours which we please; we are
for the most part responsible to no man; and when labourers thus
apportion their own burdens, and do this from day to day, how
near the danger that they should unduly spare themselves, and
make their burdens far lighter than they should have been.”

“And thy patience.” This patience may be the endurance of
persecution. It may be perseverance in the Divine life, or it may
Cuar. II.] AND HAST BORNE. 19

which are evil: and ‘thou hast tried them * which say they

are apostles, and are not, and hast found them @1Johniv.1.

1 5 € 2 Cor. xi. 13.
liars: 2 Pet. ii. 1.

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for
my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast ‘not ‘Gal. vio.
: Heb. xii. 3, 5.
fainted.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee,
because thou hast left thy first love.

3. “And hadst patience, and didst bear for my name’s sake, and hast not been
weary” (Revised and Alford).

be, a8 Bishop Wordsworth suggests, that while the angel is praised
because he exercises godly discipline in censure and correction of
errors, he yet preaches Christian patience and forbearance towards
the “erring.”

‘* And how thou canst not bear them which are evil.” This does
not mean that they are to persecute them, or render to them the
same evil which they have done, but that they should do their
utmost to counteract their evil, and bring them by prayer and re-
monstrance to a right mind, and, if need be, put them out of the
Church lest they contaminate others.

‘And thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not,
and hast found them liars.” St. Paul speaks of heretical teachers
who claimed to be Apostles. “Such are,” he writes, 2 Cor. xi. 13,
‘* false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the
apostles of Christ.” Tertullian relates a story of a presbyter who
forged an Epistle of St. Paul, was found out, and was removed from
his office ( ‘‘On Baptism,” ch. xvii.). This must have occurred,
one would think, whilst St. John was absent from them enduring
imprisonment.

8. “ [And hast borne], and hast patience, and for my name’s
sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.” The first clause should
be omitted, and the whole is in the Revised, ‘‘And thou hast
patience, and didst bear for my name’s sake, and hast not
grown weary.” Apparently greater praise could not have been
bestowed upon them. And yet the Lord proceeds to say :—

4, “ Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou
hast left thy first love.” There is nothing in the original answer-
20 DO THE FIRST WORKS. [REVELATION.

5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and

ifn xxi. repent, and do the first works; “or else I will

come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

5. “Quickly.” So B., most. Cursives, Syr., Arm.; but omitted by x, A., C., P.,
Vulg., Copt., &c.
ing to the “‘ somewhat ” of our Authorized. It should be read ‘I
have against thee that thou didst leave thy first love.” How
terrible a charge when taken in connection with the immediately
preceding words of praise, “thou hast patience, and didst bear for
my name’s sake, and hast not grown weary.” ‘Terrible.I say to
us in these days when love has grown cold. Who is sufficient for
these things, who is sufficient for keeping up the love of Christ in
the soul of man? Itis not enough that there should be good
works. It is not enough that there should be labour. The works
must be works of faith : the labour must be labour of love. There
must be a constant endeavour on our part to keep up the warmth of
the love of Christ in the soul. Let us think of His Wounds. Let us
recount His words on the Cross. let us be diligent in receiving
the Sacrament of His love, and let us be diligent in preparing for it
aright.

5. “ Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen.” Com-
mentators with one consent remind us of God’s remonstrance with
fallen Israel in Jeremiah ii. 2: “Thus saith the Lord; I remember
thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when
thou wentest after me in the wilderness,”

“‘ Repent.” A decline from the first fervour of love to Christ needs
to be repented of. Constantly need we to pray, “Graft in our
hearts the love of thy name.”

‘And do the first works.” The later works of verses 2 and 3
seem to have been works against adversaries of the truth, which it
is most needful to contend for, and so, perhaps, these first works
are works of charity and brotherly love, and private devotion and
religion, which, in their zeal for the truth, they had grown some-
what slack in performing. “ But,” as Trench says, “not the
quantity, but the quality of the works was now other and worse
than once it had been.”

“Or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy
Cuar. {.] THE DEEDS OF THE NICOLAITANES. 21

6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of
“the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. h ver. 15.

7'He that hath an ear, let him hear what the «Vt ‘ona
Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that (ii’s ts”
1 22. & xiii. 9.
candlestick.” This threat means, “I will remove thy light.
Thou shalt no longer shed forth the light of my truth, but I will
give thy privileges to others who will make a better use of them.”
It is terrible to think of a church like that of Ephesus, planted by
St. Paul, and a generation afterwards watered by St. John, be-
coming extinct. ‘‘How awful for Ephesus the fulfilment of the
threat has been every modern traveller who has visited the
ruins of that once famous city has borne witness. One who
lately did so found only three Christians there, and these sunken
in such ignorance and apathy as scarcely to have heard the names
of St. John and St, Paul”’ (Trench).

6. ‘* But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nico-
laitanes, which I also hate.’ It is not merely the opinions, or
the heresies, but the deeds of the Nicolaitanes which are hateful
to Christ. As there is much difference of opinion respecting
these heretics I shall give an account of them in a note at the end
of this chapter.

7. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches.” He that hath an ear—an opened ear—a cir-
cumcised ear, and this springs from a circumcised heart. The
heart alive to the things of Christ will make the ear attentive and
ready to receive the accents of the Divine Word. Notice also how
that such an ear will hear what “the Spirit saith.” Christ
speaks but by the Spirit. The working of the Son and of the
Spirit is never separated. It is the Spirit of the Son proceeding
from His human nature. ‘He shall not speak of himself,” the
Saviour foretold, “but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he
speak.” What a mystery is the Unity of the Trinity, the ever-
blessed Three having each His part in every divine act.

“To him that overcometh.” This is repeated at the close of each
of the seven epistles. In each case its signification is somewhat
different, because each church has a different form of temptation.
It is the reproduction of the Lord’s promise, “He that endureth
to the end, the same shall be saved,” and of that which He gave
22 | THE TREE OF LIFE. [REVELATION.

x ch. xxii. 2, overcometh will I give *to eat of 'the tree of life,
1 Gen. ii.9. Which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

through His servant, St. Paul, ‘‘ Fight the good fight of faith; lay
hold of eternal life.”

“Will I give to eat of the tree of life.” Mark, it is the Son of
God, the Saviour and Judge, who assigns to each one the reward,
as if He be—which He is—the Supreme Arbitrator. The gift of
God is eternal life, but here it is the gift of Christ. So that as it is
the Spirit Who sends the messages, so the reward is that of the
Son; and yet no word is sent, no gift or grace given without
or apart from the Father.

‘Will I give to eat of the tree of life.” In the “ tree of life’ there
is a manifest allusion to Gen. ii. 9. ‘‘ The tree which disappeared
with the disappearance of the earthly paradise reappears with the
reappearance of the heavenly, Christ’s kingdom being in the highest
sense the restitution of all things” (Acts iii. 21). Whatever had
been lost through Adam’s sin is won back, and that, too, in a
higher shape through Christ’s obedience. The term, “tree of
life,” seems often put to indicate the highest blessing. Thus
wisdom is said to be a “ tree of life to them that lay hold upon her”
(Prov. iii. 18), and “the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life”
(Prov. xi. 80; also Prov. xiii. 12; xv. 4).

“In the midst of the paradise of God.”” The word paradise is
employed in the Septuagint to denote the Garden of Eden; then
in the New Testament it is used by our Lord to signify the good
side of Hades, where the souls of the blessed dead shall await the
Resurrection; and in one place in the epistles it signifies the third
heaven into which St. Paul was caught up and heard the unspeak-
able words (2 Cor. xii. 3, 4). ‘We see eminently in it, what we
see in so many other words, how revealed religion assumes them
into her service, and makes them vehicles of far higher truth than
any which they knew at first, transforming and transfiguring them,
as in this case, from glory to glory”’ (Trench).

What is this tree of life? Is it an actual tree, or is it some
spiritual power or grace. One holy man says that it is the Cross;
another that it is Christ Himself. But in order to overcome, each
soul must have previously partaken of the Cross—must have par-
taken of Christ.
Cuap. II.] THE FIRST AND THE LAST. 23

8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write;
These things saith ™the first and the last, which ache 1

was dead, and is alive; n yer. 2.
9 *I know thy works, and tribulation, and | Make xt. 21.
poverty, (but thou art °rich) and I know the a mn
om. ii. 17,

blasphemy of ?them which say they are Jews, and 28, 29. & ix. 6.
are not, abut are the synagogue of Satan. Pedi.

9. “Thy works, and.” So x, B., most Cursives, Syr., Arm.; but omitted by A., C.,
P., Vulg., Copt., 2th.

8. “‘And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write.”
Smyrna, it is said, is the only one of the churches which re-
mains. The Church now ministers half of the population of
160,000.

“These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and
is alive.” The title thus assumed by the Lord from i. 17, 18,
seems to be assumed by Him in speaking to those who were on
the eve of suffering a severe persecution. ‘‘I am the first and the
last, so that I shall outlive all thy persecutors, to reward thee,
and render to them according to their deeds of cruelty and in-
justice. As Iwas dead and am now alive, so shall I raise thee
from the dead.” :

9. “(I know thy works], and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou
art rich).” ‘Thy tribulation,” ¢.¢., from the persecutions of the
heathen, in whose midst they dwelt, instigated most frequently by
the Jews.

“And poverty.’ Poverty, both because the Church was prin-
cipally recruited from the lower grades of society, and what goods
these poor Christians had they were despoiled of by their
persecutors.

‘But thou art rich.” Rich in faith, rich in good works, rich in
treasures laid up for them in heaven.

“ And I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews,
and are not.” St. John’s brother Apostle had said, ‘‘ He is not a
Jew which is one outwardly... . but he is a Jew which is one
inwardly.” Till Christ came and gave His own name to the New
Church, no appellation could be more honourable than that of
“ Jew.” He was the elect of God, the heir of His promises, the
e
24 FEAR NONE OF THOSE THINGS. [REVELATION.

10 "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: be-
" Matt. x. 22, hold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison,

10. ‘‘None of.” So N, P., most Cursives, Vulg., Syr.; but A., B., C., read “not”
(‘fear not”),

guardian of His law, but when he rejected Him to Whose Name he
was specially chosen to be a witness, nothing could exceed the
depth of his fall. He became naturally, as it were, a blasphemer,
for for a Jew there was no medium between accepting Christ and
blaspheming Him. He must either acknowledge Him to be the
Christ, or brand Him as a blasphemer. And so the unbelieving
Jew belied his name, his traditions, his prospects, his worship.
He repudiated everything to which God had chosen him, and so
literally and truly his synagogue was no longer the sacred
assembly of the people of God, but the school and camp of God’s
enemy.

10. ‘Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold,
the devil shall cast some of you into prison.” Here the persecu-
tion of Christians is ascribed to the agency of Satan. Wesometimes
assume that Christians were persecuted because the truths for which
they bore witness offended the pride, the prejudices, and the pas-
sions of men; and this is most true, but we have not so reached
the ground of the matter. There is nothing more remarkable in
the records which have come down to us of the early persecutions,
and in this point they singularly illustrate the Scripture before
us, than the sense which the confessors and martyrs had that
these great fights aud afflictions through which they were called to
pass were the immediate work of the devil, and no mere result of
the offended passions, prejudices, or interests of men. The enemies
of flesh and blood, as mere tools or instruments, are nearly lost
sight of by them in a constant reference to Satan as the invisible
but real author of all. And assuredly they were right. Who
that reads that story of the persecutions of the Saints at Lyons
and Vienne, 4.p. 177, happily preserved to us by Eusebius
(H. E. v. 1) in the very words of the survivors, that wondrous tale
of persistent, inventive cruelty on the part of the heathen, over-
matched by a superhuman patience on the part of the faithful, but
must feel that there is infinitely more hére than a conflict of bad
men with good. There is rather on the one side an outbreak from
Cuap. II] BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH. 25

that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten
days: *be thou faithful unto death, and I will : s Matt. xxiv.

give thee ta crown of life. : ae 2.
11 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what (V0) a

the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that over- iii. 9.

cometh shall not be hurt of *the second death. ean

the bottomless pit—the might and malice of the devil making war
against God in the person of His saints; on the other a victory,
not over evil men only, but over Satan, so transcendent, that it
could only have been surpassed when Christ Himself beheld him
with the Spirit’s eye, fall as lightning from heaven (Luke x. 18).

“Ye shall have tribulation ten days.” It is impossible to say
what is meant by these ten days. Whether they were only
ten days or ten years, or whether they betoken a longer time or a
shorter one. Some have imagined that there is a covert allusion
to the ten persecutions of the first three centuries.

“ Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of
life.” There has been some difference of opinion whether this
“crown” isa kingly or a victor’s crown. Commentators mostly
incline to the former, though the word used is not diadema but
stephanos; but it appears that kingly crowns took rather the form
of the latter. The Lord was evidently intended to be crowned in
mockery with « regal crown. The other references in the New
Testament are to the crowns of victors, thus 1 Cor. ix. 25, but it is
to be remarked that there are no other illustrations taken from
heathen customs in this book.

‘*He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”
The reason for this promise seems to be of this sort: though
their bodies may be slain by violence and torture, yet they will
not be hurt by that death which is really death (Matt. x. 28). By
death they will enter into life.

An interesting question arises as to who the angel of the Church
of Smyrna was when this letter was addressed to it. It is not at
all improbable that it was the famous Polycarp. If Polycarp suf-
fered martyrdom in the year a.p. 168, and he had been, as he
asserts before the governor, eighty-six years a Christian at that
time, he was probably baptized into Christ about a.p. 82, and
26 THE CHURCH IN PERGAMOS. [REVELATION.

12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write ;

ychite These things saith ‘he which hath the sharp
sword with two edges ;

* ver. 2. 13 *I know thy works, and where thou dwel-

® ver. 9. lest, even * where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest

fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even

13. ‘Thy works, and.” So B. and most Cursives, Arm., and Syriac ; but omitted
by 8, A., C., P., Vulg., Copt.
“Even” (xai) omitted by &, B., P., many Cursives ; but retained by A., C.

could have been the Bishop of Smyrna in a.D. 96, when this letter
was written. Tertullian distinctly tells us that he was consecrated
Bishop of Smyrna by St. John. As early as a.D. 108, Ignatius, on
his way to his martyrdom at Rome, found Polycarp the Bishop or
Angel of the Church at Smyrna. Still more is this within the
bounds of probability if we adopt Bishop Pearson’s calculation
that he suffered about a.p. 147.

12. “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write ; These
things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges.”
Pergamos, rather Pergamum, a city noted for its idolatry. In
particular it had a magnificent temple, dedicated to Aisculapius,
the ruins of which yet remain. The Lord describing Himself as
the One Who had the sharp sword with two edges, is supposed to
be consonant with the severity of His rebuke of this Church.

13. ‘‘I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where
Satan’s seat is.’ Various conjectures have been hazarded as to
what is alluded: to in the Lord saying that Satan had his seat in
Pergamum. One is that Aisculapius was worshipped there under
the figure of a serpent, another that Pergamum was more given to
idolatry than any of the other cities, but this can hardly be true of
it as compared with Ephesus. Trench confesses his inability to
explain the matter, and writes: ‘All that we can conclude from
this language is, that from one cause or another Pergamum enjoyed.
the bad pre-eminence of being the headquarters in these parts of
the opposition to Christ and His Gospel.”

“ And thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith,
even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr.” It
is asingular fact that nothing is known respecting Antipas and
Cuap.II.]  ANTIPAS MY FAITHFUL MARTYR. 27

in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who
was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou
hast there them that hold the doctrine of »Balaam, » Num. xxiv.

who taught Balac to cast a stumbling-block before Saxe 16
the children of Israel, °to eat things sacrificed Jade i.
unto idols, “and to commit fornication. » Se
15 So hast thou also them that hold the doc- eee
trine * of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. e Cor. vi. 13,
© ver. 6.

15. “Which I also hate” omitted by most MSS. y, A., B., C., read, spots, in
like manner.”

his martyrdom through early tradition, though he is thus honour-
ably mentioned by Christ Himself. Later traditions make him to
have been Bishop of Pergamum, and by command of Domitian to
have been enclosed in a brazen bull, which was made red hot.
Tertullian, in his ‘“ Scorpiace,” simply cites this place, but gives
us no further information respecting him.

14. ‘‘ But I have a few things against thee .. . to eat things sacri-
ficed unto idols.” The early converts were bound to abstain from
things offered to idols, because if they were seen to do so they
were held to have partaken in the idolatrous worship ; and so the
Nicolaitanes, who are here alluded to, enticed them to take part
in the idolatrous feasts, and so to all intents and purposes in the
idolatry itself. It was at Balaam’s instigation that the Israelites
were invited to the sacrificial feasts of Numbers xxv.; and so these
seducers are said to hold the doctrine, «.e., the iniquitous teaching
of Balaam.

“And to commit fornication.” Fornication was almost a part
of worship. In Corinth an immense number of prostitutes were
priestesses of the temple of Aphrodite; and, in fact, the characters
of the principal gods were such that it could hardly have been
otherwise.

15. “So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the
Nicolaitanes.” In speaking to the angel of this Church the Lord
does not say that He hated the doctrines of the Nicolaitanes, for
which thing He commended the Church of Ephesus; rather He
28 THE HIDDEN MANNA. [REVELATION.

16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and

fIsa.xi4 ‘will fight against them with the sword of my
2 Thess. ii. 8. .
ch. 3, 16, & ix. mouth.

B ver, 7, 1. 17 © He that hath an ear, let him hear what

the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden
manna, and will give him a white stone, and in

z Ee te the stone * a new name written, which no man
knoweth saving he that receiveth i.

blames the angel for tolerating those who hold the doctrines in
question.

16. “ Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight
against them.”’ He will come to the angel quickly, unless he
repents, and will fight against them, that is, those that hold the
doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. Milligan writes: “The Lord will
come to war against the Nicolaitanes, not against the Church.
Against His Church, even in her declension, He cannot war. Her
threatened punishment (and is it not enough!) is that the Lord
will make war upon His enemies without her, and that not taking
part in His struggle she shall lose her part in the victory.” Most
commentators take no notice of the difficulty.

“The sword of my mouth.” This sword seems to signify His
punishing and destroying power. He has but to say the word,
and they are overwhelmed.

17. ‘“‘He that hath an ear... to him that overcometh will I
give to eat of the hidden,” &. The hidden manna seems un-
doubtedly to refer to that which was hidden inthe ark. But what
is the reality of this hidden manna; it must be some aspect of
eternal life; it must be the interior knowledge of Him Whom to
know is eternal life.

“ And will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name
written.” White is the colour of victory and of purity. The

rider on the white horse goes forth conquering and to conquer; | .

the elect are clothed in white robes. With respect to the stone
there is more difficulty. The word really seems to some to signify
the white pebble cast into the urn as the token or vote of
Cuap. IL] THE CHURCH IN THYATIRA. 29

18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write ;
These things saith the Son of God, ‘who hath | ch. i. 14,15.
his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet
are like fine brass ;

19 *I know thy works, and charity, and ser- * ver. 2.
vice, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works ;
and the last to be more than the first.

19. ‘* And thy last works to be more than the first.” So, A., C.

acquittal after a trial. This is, with some reason, objected to, as
this book is altogether Jewish in its symbols, and seems to
exclude all illustrations drawn from the practices of the Gentiles.
Trench, who devotes three pages to it, supposes it to contain an
allusion to a white stone, in all probability a diamond, enclosed
in the breastplate of the high priest, and on which was written
the most sacred name of God, the rerpaypapparoy, and so this was
the Divine acknowledgment that he who received this stone was a
high priest to God.

What the new name is most expositors do not even attempt to
conjecture. Can it be the name by which Christ knows His own
sheep? Can it be a name of God? Can it be a well-known
name to which Christ attaches a new significance, differing in the
case of each believer ?

18. ‘And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write;
These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto
a flame of fire, and his feet,” &c. It is to be noticed that here
only does the Lord call Himself the Son of God. No certain con-
nection can be established between the words by which the
Lord here describes Himself (the same as those in i. 14, 15), and
his reproof of this Church. It would be idle to mention the
conjectures.

19. “I know thy works, and charity [love], and service [or
ministry], and faith, and thy patience, and thy last works to be
more than the first.’’ This is the opposite of what is said of
Ephesus. The love of the Ephesian Church had grown cold, but
that of Thyatira had advanced, as was evinced by its works being
increased.
ik

30 THAT WOMAN JEZEBEL. [REVELATION.

20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, be-

ae xvi, cause thou sufferest that woman ' Jezebel, which
. XX1, *
2 Kin. ix.» calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to

ib iceay, ~seduce my servants ™to commit fornication, and

Pe ia. Cor. to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
14.

aun 21 And I gave her space "to repent of her for-
n Rom. ii. 4.
ch, ix, 20. nication; and she repented not.

20. “I have a few things against thee.” Rather, ‘‘I have (this) against thee, to
teach and seduce my servants. And she teacheth and seduceth.”

20. “‘ Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because
thou sufferest that woman [or thy wife] Jezebel.” It is scarcely
possible to suppose that this Jezebel was the actual wife of the
bishop or president of this Church. If she had been he would
scarcely have been allowed to retain his position of chief teacher.
We are to remember that though there is every reason to believe
that the angel was the president of the Church, yet that he also
was treated as its representative, so that the sins of which the
Church as a body was guilty were accounted to be his, as he had
not sufficiently purged his Church from them by the exercise of
godly discipline and reproof.

Jezebel, no doubt, was a name given to her because of her sin,
so closely resembling that of Ahab’s wife, who was the leading
introducer of idolatry of the worst type among the ten tribes.

“To teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication,
and to eat,’ &e. To partake in the meal offered to idols was,
when it was done knowingly, to partake in the idolatry itself. See
notes on 1 Cor. viii. 9, 10. :

21. “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she
repented not.” This could only be said of one who had known the
truth, and had been outwardly at least in the pale of the Church.
Tt seems to imply also that the Great Head of the Church had
brought His grace to bear upon her so as to convince her of her
sin, and yet without effect.

 

1 A remarkable account is given of a form of idolatry in Thyatira in Smith’s “ Dic-
tionary of the Bible,” which is supposed by the writer (Dean Blakesley) to throw
light on this reference to Jezebel :—‘‘ Another superstition of an extremely curious
character which existed at Thyatira seems to have been brought thither by some of
Cuap. II.] EXCEPT THEY REPENT. 31
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them ° 1Sam. xvi.

f ; : 7. 1.Chron.

that commit adultery with her into great tribula- xxvii, 9. &
: . xxix. 17.

tion, except they repent of their deeds. 2 Chron. vi.

23 And I will kill her children with death; 3%. si

xvii. 10. & xx.

and all the churches shall know that °Iam he je. ‘John ii
24, 25.’ Acts
i. 24. Rom.
viii. 27.

22, “Their deeds.” So A. and two or three Cursives; but x, B., C., P., most
Cursives, &c., read, ‘‘ her deeds.”

22. “‘Behbold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit
adultery with her,” &. ‘‘A bed,” that is a bed of sickness, perhaps
of death.

‘*And them that commit adultery with her into great tribula-
tion.” This adultery is in all probability spiritual adultery, i.e.,
idolatry ; and “ with her’ means, not that they committed actual
adultery, but were followers of her leading, and instruments of
seducing others into idolatry.

23. “And I will kill her children with death.” Her children
here must be distinguished from those who commit adultery with
her of verse 22, and must be those seduced by her and her
accomplices.

“And all the churches shall know that I am he,” &c. This
prerogative to search out and try the hearts and reins is the

 

the corrupted Jews of the dispersed tribes. A fane stood outside the walls dedi-
cated to Sambetha, the name of the Sibyl who is sometimes called Chaldzan,
sometimes Jewish, sometimes Persian, in the midst of an enclosure designated the
Chaldean Court (rot x Adaiou mepiforos). This seems to lend an illustration to the
obscure passage in Rev. ii. 20, 21, which Grotius interprets of the wife of the Bishop.
The drawback against the commendation bestowed upon the angel of the Thyatirean
Church is that he tolerates ‘that woman—that Jezebel, who, professing herself to
be a prophetess, teaches and deludes my servants into committing fornication and
eating things offered to idols.’ Time, however, is given her to repent: and this
seems to imply a form of religion which had become condemnable from the admix-
ture of foreign alloy, rather than one idolatrous ab initio. Now there is evidence to
show that in Thyatira there was a great amalgamation of races... . But amalgama-
tion of races in pagan nations always went together with a syncretism of different
religions, every relation of life having its religious sanction. If the Sibyl Sambetha
was really a Jewess, lending her aid to this proceeding, and not discountenanced by
the authorities of the Judzo-Christian Church at Thyatira, both the reference and
its qualification becomes easy of explanation.” This is curious and interesting, but
the Lord would scarcely speak of such an one as a pretended Sibyl, one outside of
the Church, as having space given her for repentance.
’

32 THE DEPTHS OF SATAN.  [REVELATION.

which searcheth the reins and hearts: and ?I will give unto

P Ps, Ixii. 12. every one of you according to your works.
Matt. xvi. 27. Jy y 8 y

Rom. ii. 6. & 24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in
xiv. 12. 2 Cor. ‘ : :
v.10. Gal. vi. Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and

§ chxx- 12 hich have not known the depths of Satan, as

24. “But unto you I say, and.” ‘‘ And” omitted by y, A., B., C., P., most Cur-
sives, &c. No authority for retaining it.

especial one of God, and God only. Thus the Psalmist, “The
righteous God trieth the hearts and reins” (Ps. vii. 9). By
assuming to do this Christ most unequivocally asserts his proper
Godhead.

“T will give unto every one of you according to your works.”
No truth of God is asserted in such plain terms as this, and I
think none so frequently, and yet there is none so much lost sight
of. Some, if they do not deny it, keep it in the background,
because they have an idea that it is contrary to or superseded by
justification by faith, but the great Apostle, who especially insists
upon salvation by grace through faith, as persistently insists upon
judgment according to our works; thus Rom. ii. 6, “ Who will
render to every man according to his deeds;” thus 1 Cor. iii. 8,
“Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own
labour.”

24. ‘* But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many
as have.’ The conjunction “and” must be omitted, otherwise the
Lord seems to speak to two sets of persons, whereas He only
speaks to one.

‘As many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known
the depths,” &. The Gnostics pretended to initiate their disciples
into the deepest mysteries of the Divine Nature or workings, inter-
posing successions of 2ons between God and the universe which
He has created. These the Lord characterizes here not as the
deep things of God, but as the depths of Satan. Trench, however,
supposes that it was a more subtleand ensnaring delusion. “They
taught that it was a small thing for a man to despise pleasure, and to
show himself superior to it, whilst at the same time he fled from it.
The true, the glorious victory was to remain superior to it whilst
tasting it to the full; to give the body to all the lusts of the flesh,
Cuap. IL] HOLD FAST TILL I COME. 33

they speak; 91 will put upon you none other 2 Acts xv. 28.
burden.

25 But *that which ye have already hold fast © ch. iii. 11.

“ § John vi. 29.
till I come. 1 John iii. 23.

26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth *my 5.Matt, xix.

28, Luke xxii.

t * = S 29, 30. 1 Cor.
works unto the end, *to him will I give power Ser ee Re

over the nations : 21. & xX. 4.

and yet withal this to maintain the Spirit in a region of its own,
uninjured by them, and thus, as it were, to fight against pleasure
with the weapons of pleasure itself; to mock and defy Satan even
in his own kingdom and domain.”

‘JT will put upon you none other burden.” This burden which
they were bearing manfully could only be the burden of keeping
themselves from the sins to which they were tempted by this
Jezebel and her associates ; not to join in the smallest approach to
idolatry and its ever-attendant abominations of lewdness and im-
purity. In a nominally Christian state of society like ours we
have no idea of the difficulty of keeping from these enticements.
Let us imagine the case of one Christian in a family of heathen,
and his brothers or sisters continually reminding him that every
piece of meat on the table had been offered to an idol, and so in
conscience he was bound to abstain from it (1 Cor. x. 27). We
can see from this how full of snares to weak Christians was the
commonest domestic intercourse.

25. “But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.”
“That which ye have already””—your works, charity, ministry,
faith, patience—“ hold fast till I come.” Mark how the reward
and final establishment in righteousness is not at death but at the
Second Coming. We gather from this that the Lord expected,
and yet expects, each church to watch and wait for Him—no
matter how long His Coming may be delayed.

26. “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the
end, to him will I give,” &c. Whatever Christ has, that He shares
with His people, even to sitting with Him on His throne
(iii. 21).

“Over the nations.” That is, over the Gentiles, over the
heathen.

D
34 THE MORNING STAR. [REVELATION.

27 «And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the

« Ps. ii.8,9. vessels of a potter shall they be broken to
& xiix. 14. : é

Dan. vii. 22 shivers: even as I received of my Father.

xix. 15. 28 And I will give him * the morning star.

ot id® 29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what

ch. xxii. 16.
7 ver. 7. the Spirit saith unto the churches.

27. ‘And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels
of a potter,” &c. Here the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew is
followed ; the Hebrew being, ‘Thou shalt bruise or break ;” the
Septuagint, ‘‘ Thou shalt tend them like a shepherd, thou shalt
rule them.” How and at what time this will take place we
know not. Such a passage as xx. 4, if taken in the terms in
which it is expressed, seems to give ample time and scope for it.

What is the significance of ‘‘as the vessels of a potter shall
they be broken to shivers?” It may refer to the breaking up of great
empires, as the Roman; it can scarcely refer to the destruction
of individual offenders.

28, ‘* And I will give him the morning star.” The Lord speaks
thus of Himself at the end of this book (xxii. 16), ‘‘I am the root
and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” It
seems then that in this He promises in some way to give Himself
as the Harbinger of everlasting day. St. Peter speaks of the day
star having arisen in our hearts ; but this must have been anterior
to what is promised here.

CHAP. III.

a ch. i. 4 16., ND unto the angel of the church in Sardis
Saar write; These things saith he * that hath the

1. “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write.” Sardis,
once the capital of Lydia, and the kingdom of Creesus, now abso-
lutely deserted.

“These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God.” I refer
Cuap. IIL] BE WATCHFUL. 35

sever Spirits of God, and the seven stars; >I know thy

works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, » ch. ii.2.

“and art dead. ioe ne :
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which

the reader to what I have written on chap.i. 4. The Spirit of God is
absolutely One, and yet infinitely manifold in His operations.
He is One, and yet, in dealing with the infinite number of souls on
whom He operates, is as if He were sevenfold: sevenfold in the
sense of perfect distribution of Himself to each one. See also
v. 6. This place asserts two great theological truths. That the
Son is Lord and God, and that having the Holy Ghost in His
absolute fulness within Him, that Holy Spirit proceeds from Him
as well as from His Father.

‘“And the seven stars.” The seven stars are the angels of the
seven churches. We must see in this combination (between the
Spirits and the churches) a hint of the relation between Christ as
the Giver of the Holy Spirit and as the author of a ministry of
living men in His Church; this ministry of men resting wholly on
their gifts. As Trench, and also as Dean Plumptre writes, “‘ He is
able to bring together the gifts of life and the ministry for which
those gifts are needed. If those who minister are without gifts
it is because they have not asked for them.

“T know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and
art dead.” I know thy works that they spring not from a living
faith in me. ;

“That thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” A name—
that is, a reputation. The Church of Sardis was to all appearance
a spiritual church, but not so in the sight of the Searcher of hearts.

“And art dead.” Thus St. Paul speaks of one who lived in
pleasure as being dead whilst she lived (1 Tim. v. 6). So also the
father of the prodigal says: “‘My son was dead and is alive
again.”

2. ‘Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that
are ready to die.” Watchfulness is the necessary preliminary
before there can be any real Christianity, because without constant
watchfulness we do not know our own state, and so shall be ever.
deceiving ourselves.

“Strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die.”
36 HOLD FAST, AND REPENT. ([REVELATION.

a remain, that are ready to die: for I have not
im. 1. 2

ver, 11. found thy works perfect before God.
ae am 3 *Remember therefore how thou hast received

42, 43. & xxv. and heard, and hold fast, and ° repent. ‘Tf there-
. Mark xiii.

33. Luke xii. fore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as
39, 40. 1 Thess.

5 2 & 2 Fel. a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will

xvi. 15. come upon thee.

2. “Before God.” w, A., B., C., most Cursives, Vulg., Copt., Syr., 4th. read,
“ Before my God.”

How ? by prayer, by applying to Him Who has the Spirit without
measure to give him that Spirit.

“ And strengthen the things which remain.”’ According to some,
the parts or members of the Church which remain ; according to
others, the graces not yet extinct.

‘¢ For I have not found thy works perfect before God.” Perfect
rather means fulfilled. ‘‘ I have found no works of thine fulfilled
before God, none of them have come to maturity.”

3. “ Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and
hold,” &¢e. The charge against Sardis is not a perverse holding
of untruth, but a heartless holding of the truth, and therefore the
Lord is graciously reminding her of the heartiness, the zeal, the
love with which she received the truth at the first.

“ And hold fast.” Hold it fast in heart and soul, ponder over it,
make it again thine own by renewed faith.

“And repent.” Repent of thy slackness, of thy declension in
faith, and of the coldness which has crept over thee.

“Tf therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief.”
This is what the Lord constantly impressed upon the Apostles, even
whilst He was with them before His Crucifixion and Ascension.
They were ever to be looking for Him, so as to be ready to open
the door to Him the moment that He knocked (Luke xii. 36).

But this is said to all the world. Would He come in any sense
separately to Sardis, inasmuch as He addresses her as if His Coming
would be to her alone? There is a coming of the Son of God to all
the world at once, and there is a coming in judgment to each one
whose sins call for it, just as there is a coming in mercy when the
soul is truly converted.
Cuap. IIL] THEY ARE WORTHY. 37

4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which ¢ Actsi. 15.

have not ® defiled their garments; and they shall °°,

walk with me*in white: for they are worthy, Yi. & vit.

5 He that overcometh, «the same shall be * ch. xix. 8.

clothed in white raiment; and I will not ‘blot 32°3% 33

out his name out of the ™book of life, but a iv. 3

ch. xiii. 8. &
xvii. 8. & xx.
12. & xxi. 27.

4. “Even” omitted by 8, A., B., C., P., most Cursives, &c.
5. ‘The same” (otros). So Ne, B., P., most Cursives; but NX”, A., C., Vulg., Copt.,
&e., read, dtrwe (“thus”).

4. “Thou hast a few names (even) in Sardis which have not
defiled their garments,” &c¢. Who have not defiled their gar-
ments? It is always assumed that those who are admitted into
the Christian Covenant are ‘“‘ washed, sanctified, justified in the
Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God,” and what God
imposes upon them is that they should keep this—that they should
abide in the state into which they have been admitted, and keep the
cleansing or washing once accorded to them. However difficult
this may be to realize in this our day, there is absolutely no other
principle of addressing the baptized in the New Testament. In no
case is there the slightest recognition of an invisible church within
the visible into which the members of the merely visible church are
to enter if they would be saved.

‘They shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.”

5. ‘He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white
raiment.” White is, of course, the symbol of purity. That they
should “walk in white” and ‘be clothed in white garments”
seems to signify that their internal purity and holiness shall be
openly manifested ; in this world it has been hidden; they have
shrunk from any display of it—but in the eternal world it shall be
manifested in the splendour of their white attire, and in their shin-
ing forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.

“And I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.” No
meaning can be given to this assertion of the Lord’s unless it is pos-
sible for those whose names once have been in the book of life to
have their names blotted out of that book. Such a fall and such a
doom is terrible to think of, but it seems to me that there is no use
in arguing against it; but the one thing laid upon us is to pray that
38 OPENETH, AND NO MAN SHUTTETH. [REVELATION.

2 will confess his name before my Father, and before his

n Matt. x.32. angels.
Luke xii. 8.

© ch. ii. 7. 6 °He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
v Actsiii. 14. Spirit saith unto the churches.
4 1 Johnv. 20.

yer.14. chi, 7 And to the angel of the church in Phila-
xix. delphia write; These things saith Phe that is

Luke na. = holy, *he that is true, he that hath "the key of
oe David, *he that openeth, and no man shutteth;

8 Matt. xvi.
2 and *shutteth, and no man openeth ;
t Job xii. 14.

7. “Shutteth.” x, A., B., C., most Cursives read, ‘‘shall shut.”
“Openeth.” XW, B., read, ‘“‘shall open,” also most Cursives; but A., C., P., Vulg.,
Arm., Syriac read, ‘‘ openeth.”

God would “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”
—‘from the evil one,’ as one of the old Liturgies has it, “and from
all his devices and snares’’—and that’ He would make us perfect,
establish, strengthen, settle us.

“T will confess his name before my Father, and before his
angels.” “‘ He has confessed me in the midst of ridicule and opposi-
tion, and persecution, and I will confess his name before my
Father, and before His angels.” Let souls under scorn and opposi-
tion remember this and they will be nerved to undergo all that is
laid upon them. Let them remember that the ridicule and scorn is
but for a moment, and the honour of the confession before God
and good angels is for ever and ever.

7. “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write.”
Philadelphia, a comparatively modern city, built by Attalus Phila-
delphus, King of Pergamos, who died B.c. 138. In the reign of
Tiberius it was nearly destroyed by an earthquake.

* These things saith he that is holy, he that is true.” ‘ He thatis
holy.”” Christ is spoken of in Daniel ix. 24 as ‘‘ the most Holy.”

‘*He that is true.” Not merely as meaning that He adheres to
His promises and will fulfil them, but that He is truly what He
represents Himself or is represented to be. For instance, if He be
God Heis true God ; if He be man Heis true man; if He be Mediator
He in all respects answers to the truth or reality of Mediatorship be-
tween God and man.

“ He that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man
Cuar. IIL] AN OPEN DOOR. 39
8 “I know thy works: behold, I have set be- » ver. 1.

fore thee *an open door, and no man can shut it: 5 est

1

shutteth.” “The key of David” means authority over the house of
David. Here is a reference to the removal of one of the king's
ministers (Shebna), and the substitution of another (Eliakim) in his
place, which we find in Isaiah xxii. 20-24: “Itshall come to pass in
that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:
and I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy
girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he
shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house
of Judah. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his
shoulder ; and he shall open and none shall shut; and he shall shut
and none shall open.”

It is quite clear that in this passage there is a far greater than
Eliakim in the mind of the Prophet or of the Spirit Who inspired
him, even the exaltation of the true Steward of the mysteries of
God Who shall be faithful in all His house. But has not Christ
Himself committed the keys of the kingdom of heaven to His
ministers? Yes, but so that in any turn of those keys His own hand
should be paramount. His ministers turn the key, but the turning
of the key admits only those whom He desires to admit, and
excludes those whom He desires to exclude. Trench has two appo-
site illustrations. ‘‘ It' was in faith of this that Huss, when the
greatest council which Christendom had seen for a thousand years
delivered his soul unto Satan, did himself confidently commend it
to the Lord Jesus Christ; and many a faithful confessor that at Rome
or Madrid has walked to the stake, his yellow San benito all painted
over with devils, in token of those with whom his portion should
be, has never doubted that his lot should be indeed with Him Who
retains in His own hands the key of David, Who then should open
for him, though all who visibly represented here the Church had
shut him out, with extreme malediction, at once from the Church
militant here on earth and the Church triumphant in heaven.”

8. “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open
door,” ¢.e., a door of usefulness and an assurance of success. This
figure of an open door for the successful preaching of the Gospel is
constantly used by St. Paul; thus 1 Cor. xvi. 9: “A great door and
effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.”
40 THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN. [REVELATION.

for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and
hast not denied my name.
¥ ch, ii. 9, 9 Behold, I will make ‘them of the synagogue
of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not,
eee but do lie; behold, 7I will make them to come
and worship before thy feet, and to know that I
have loved thee.
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my

‘For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and
hast not denied my name.’’ Many expositors omit the article
in the English, “thou hast little strength.” But, notwithstanding
this, no one can shut the door which I have opened before
thee.

“And hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.” The
merit of the Church of Philadelphia seems to have been its stead-
fast adherence to the faith once delivered to the saints. The
heresies against which they had to contend involved apparently
the denial of the very Name of Jesus as the Christ—the only and
veritable Son of God.

9. “Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say
that they are Jews,” &. The same adversaries must be described
here as in chap. ii. 9. It must refer, one would think, to those who
said that there was no salvation to those who would not conform to
Judaism—those against whose machinations St. Paul’s whole life
was a contention—whose teaching, as I have shown in my notes on
the Galatians, involved a real denial of the Divine Nature and
eternal Sonship of Christ.

‘Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy
feet.” This seems a reminiscence of the prophecy in Isaiah xlix.
‘23: “They shall bow down to thee with their face toward the
earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet,’ &c.

10. “ Because thou hast kept [or didst keep] the word of my
patience, I also will keep thee,” &. This seems to refer (as Mr.
Blunt conjectures) to some past trial of faith which the Church of
Philadelphia had gone through. This appears to have been con-
nected with the doctrine of a suffering Messiah which was denied
both by the Jews and the Gnostic sects, as the Docetex.
Cuap. III.] HE SHALL GO NO MORE OUT. Al

patience, *I also will keep thee from the hour of «2 Pet. ii.9.

temptation, which shall come upon Pall the . ae

world, to try them that dwell‘ upon the earth. 4 Phil. iv.5._
ch. i. 3. & xxii.

11 Behold, “I come quickly: ‘hold that fast 7, 12, 20.

which thou hast, that no man take ' thy crown. chek a

12 Him that overcometh will I make ® a pillar aoe 10.
in the temple of my God, and he shall go no 21. Gal ii. 8.

i : : h ch, ii. 17.
more out: and "I will write upon him the name Sia

4.

“T also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall
come upon all the world.” Under what circumstances they were
kept we are not told. This promise seems look farther than the
deliverance of a particular church. It seems to have to do with the
deliverance of those who bore certain characters. They had
already made their calling and election sure, and their trial had
been sufficient.

11. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast,” &e.
They are like runners in arace; one may gain a prize which another,
through weakness or slackening of his speed, may fail to win though
it seemed almost within his grasp. But Archbishop Trench seems
to give a different turn : ‘‘ Let no man,” Christ would say, ‘ deprive
thee of the glorious reward laid up for thee in heaven, of which
many, my adversaries and thine, would fain rob thee; but which
only one, even thyself, can ever cause thee to lose.”

12. “* Him that overcometh will Imake a pillar in the temple of
my God, and he shall go no more out.” This has been supposed to
refer to the two pillars set up by Solomon in the Temple of
Jerusalem, Jachin and Boaz—the first signifying “he shall esta-
blish,” and the other, “in it is strength ’’—described in 1 Kings vii.
15-21; but, as Trench says, these were set up notin the Temple but
in the porch. The allusion rather is to the candlestick which may
be removed out of its place, whereas the pillar cannot. He who is
made a pillar ‘‘ goes no more out.” God says respecting him, “ This
my son shall be in danger no longer,” and he has final perseverance
assigned to him, for owing to his steadfastness he has won it.

“And I will write upon him the name of my God.”” This is in
allusion to the name of Jehovah engraven on the plate placed
42 MY NEW NAME. [REVELATION.

of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is

i Gal. iv.26. ‘new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven
Heb. xii. 22. 3 a é
ch. xxi. 2,10. from my God: "and I will write upon him my
k ch. xxii. 4,
new name.
1 ch. ii. 7. 13 'He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches.

POY dna: 14 And unto the angel of the church || of the

WCCO.

on the forehead of the High Priest. All true Christians being
priests of God.

“ And the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem.”
The name of the glorious city described in Ezekiel as taking
the place of the old Jerusalem is Jehovah Shammah—the Lord is
there. The Name of God being written on any one by the Saviour
means that that man belongs to God. The name of the Holy City,
new Jerusalem, being written on him, implies that he is free of
that city. He can without hindrance enter through the gates into
the city.

‘“Which cometh down out of heaven from my God.” In
chap. xxi. 2 we have a vision of the descent of the Holy City
from heaven—not taken up to heaven, but coming down from God
out of heaven. The reader will notice that some of the last
Revelations of this book are here anticipated—as the writing of
God’s Name on men’s foreheads, and the descent of the new
Jerusalem,

“And I will write upon him my new name.” In chap. xix. 12
it is said of the rider on the white horse—that is, of the Lord—that
He hath a name written that no man knoweth but Himself; but
in the next verse that His Name is called the “ Word of God.”

The new name is not “the Word,” by that He was known from
everlasting ; neither is it ‘‘ King of Kings and Lord of Lords,’’ but
it is some name of mystery, bearing upon the eternal relation of
Christ to His Church, which is not yet made known, but which
we shall know when we have it written upon us.

14, ‘And unto the church of the Laodiceans write.” Laodicea
was a city of Asia Minor, situated 115 miles east of Ephesus. The
Church was planted by St. Paul, and to it he sent an Epistle which
is either lost or was the same as that to the Ephesians with the
Cuap. III.] I WOULD THOU WERT COLD OR HOT. 43

Laodiceans write ; ™ These things saith the Amen, "the faith-
ful and true witness, °the beginning of the creation ™ Isa. Ixv. 16.

of God ; wea & at
15 ?I know thy works, that thou art neither Se
cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. P ver. 1.

14. “‘ Of the Laodiceans ;” or, ‘‘in Laodicea.”

words “in Ephesus ” at the beginning omitted (see footnote in my
notes on Epistle to the Colossians, p. 78). Some suppose that
Archippus, mentioned in Coloss. iv. 17, was yet its bishop, but
‘that is uncertain, for it would imply an episcopate of thirty-three
or thirty-four years. It is now utterly destroyed, and in a small
hamlet raised near its ruins only three or four Christians could be
found.

“These things saith the Amen.” From a root signifying “to make
firm,” and taking a neuter signification, ‘“‘to be firm,” and so to
be believed, to be relied on. Here equivalent to the faithful One.

‘The faithful and true witness.’’ He witnesses to the truth of
God. ‘I say unto you,” he says, ‘we speak that we do know,
and testify that we have seen” (John iii.). Being a person of the
ever-blessed Trinity He witnesses as no one else can do to the-
absolute truth of God.

“The beginning of the creation of God.” This is true in two
ways, but in two different acceptations, whether we look to the
Lord’s Divine or to His human Nature.

If we look to His Divine Nature He is the beginning of the

_ereation, because He is its origin. He began it in the sense of
bringing it into existence. ‘

But inasmuch as He took upon Himself our full human being
“perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh,” He was, as
to His lower nature, a creature of God, and so He said to Mary
Magdalen, ‘‘I ascend unto my God and your God.” In this
nature, being conceived by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the
Blessed Virgin, He is the beginning of the creation of God, being
the first creature in the sense of being the greatest, the foremost,
the principal of all that can call upon God the Father.

15. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I
would thou,” &¢. Archbishop Trench considers ‘‘‘ cold’ to mean
44 NEITHER COLD NOR HOT. [REVELATION.

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold

nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Hod ol 8. 17 Because thou sayest, 1I am rich, and in-
creased with goods, and have need of nothing;

one hitherto untouched by the powers of grace; ‘lukewarm’ to
mean one who has tasted of the good gift ... . but one in whom
that grace has failed to kindle more than the faintest spark.”

Bishop Boyd-Carpenter well remarks: ‘‘ An intermediate state
between these is the lukewarm; such as one neither earnest for
God, nor utterly indifferent to religion. They are perhaps best
described as those who take an interest in religion, but whose
worship of their idol of good taste or good form leads them to
regard enthusiasm as ill-bred or disturbing; and who have never
put themselves to any inconvenience, braved any reproach, or
abandoned any comfort for Christ’s sake, but hoped to keep well
with the world, while they flattered themselves that they stood
well with God.”

““T would thou wert cold or hot.” So, then, because thou art
lukewarm, thou art neither fervent in faith, nor entirely unbe-
lieving. But if thou wert still unbelieving there would remain to
thee the hope of conversion, whereas now, in that thou doest not
the will of God which thou knowest, thou shalt be cast forth from
the bosom of my Church.

17. “ Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods,
and have need of nothing.” Whatis meant by ‘‘Iam rich, and
increased in goods, and have need of nothing?” Is the allusion
to spiritual satisfaction or abundance of temporal goods? The
first appears to be most in accordance with the general contents
of these Epistles, which have to do with spiritual rather than with
worldly things, but inasmuch as the worldly prosperity of Laodicea
was remarkable, for when she and other cities in her neighbour-
hood were destroyed by an earthquake, her citizens undertook of
themselves, without any assistance from the Imperial treasury, to
rebuild their city, which they did in far more than its original
magnificence; and when, along with this, we take into ac-
count that temporal prosperity is always assumed by the New
Testament writers to have a deleterious effect on the soul’s true
spirituality, it is very probable that we must join the two. The
Cuap. III] WRETCHED, POOR, BLIND, NAKED. 45

and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and

poor, and blind, and naked : neatly Me
18 I counsel thee *to buy of me gold tried in &xxv.9.° ~

the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and * white “oa

raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that Xf) ©

17. “Wretched,” &c. With article, ‘the wretched and miserable.”.

temporal wealth begat self-consequence and pride, and this entered
into the domain of the Spirit, for pride in one thing prepares the
way for pride in another. If a man looks with self-satisfaction at
his own outward surroundings, he will look with the same satis-
faction at his supposed spiritual endowments, and this will ruin
all.

“And knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and
poor,” &c. There is an article before wretched (4 rahaixwpoc) which
may be understood before each of these adjectives as emphasizing
them. ‘The wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked one.” None are so wretched as those who in spiritual
things know not their lost condition. Their whole condition is
one of self-deception, and on account of this, theiz spiritual blind-
ness, they imagine they have no need of the great Divine Redeeming
Remedy.

18. “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou
mayest be rich.” We should have thought that the Lord would
have rather said, “‘ask of me,” rather than “ buy of me:” but in
our zeal for the doctrine of free grace we must not conceal from
ourselves the fact that there must be.a certain zeal and earnestness
in the asking. It is not the careless asking—the asking anyhow—
but the asking followed by the importunate seeking, and the still
more importunate knocking.

What is this ‘‘gold’’? Trench explains it as meaning faith, and
refers to the prayer of the Apostles: ‘‘ Lord increase our faith ;”
others as love, without which faith is of no account. But ought
we to limit it? Must it not mean that grace in which the soul is
poor or deficient?

“And white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed.” White
raiment is the symbol of forgiveness and of purity. The robes
must be washed and made white in the Blood of the Lamb, and
46 AS MANY AS I LOVE, I REBUKE. [REVELATION.

the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine

pJoby.17, eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
TOV. 1, y
12. Heb. xii. 19 ‘As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten :

5,6. James
il 12. be zealous therefore, and repent.

the soul or spirit must be clean in the sight of Him that searcheth
the hearts. And yet these two whitenesses, these two purities, are
in the sight of God but one. He that hath righteousness imputed
has it also imparted, or the imputation is useless.

“And anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
We are here reminded how that the Lord on occasion of restoring
sight to the blind man, ‘made clay of the spittle, and anointed
the eyes of the blind man with the clay ” (John ix. 6).

But what is this anointing which gives or restores sight to the
spiritually blind? It seems that it can be only the Holy Spirit,
the Illuminator. ‘Ye were sometime darkness, but now are ye
light in the Lord,” and the Word of God, which is His instrument.
‘‘ When thy word goeth forth it giveth light and understanding to
the simple.” So that if we are to use the Divine eyesalve we
must diligently pray for the Spirit, and we must diligently study
the Word.

19. ‘As many as I love, lrebuke and chasten: be zealous there-
fore, and repent.” This is often repeated in the sacred scriptures.
Thus in Job. v.17: ‘“‘ Behold, happy is the man whom God cor-
recteth; therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.”
Thus Ps. xciv. 12: “‘ Blessed is the man whom thou chasteneth,
O Lord, and teachest him in thy law.” Thus Prov. iii. 11-12:
‘My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord . . . . Whom the
Lord loveth he correcteth;” thus Heb. xii. 6, quoting Prov.
iii. 10.

“IT rebuke and chasten.” “I rebuke,” so as to bring them to a
sense of their sin and to repentance. ‘‘I chasten,” I discipline
them after their repentance by adversity and grace.

“Be zealous therefore.” Shake off thy coldness—kindle thy
lukewarmness into earnestness and love.

“And repent.” Not only sin, but coldness and lukewarmness
in the service of Christ have to be repented of if we would be
restored to the favour of God.
Cuap. IIL] I STAND AT THE DOOR. 47

20 Behold, "I stand at the door, and knock: » Cant. v. 2.

’ : x Luke xii. 37.
“if any man hear my voice, and open the door, } symci ss

*T will come in to him, and will sup with him, * Matt. xix.
. 28. Luke xxii

and he with me. 30. 1, Gor. vi.
s ” : i ‘im. ii.

21 To him that overcometh * will I grant to sit 12. eh. Hl 26,

20. “ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear
my Voice.” ‘‘ We have a right, so far as we may venture to dis-
tinguish between the two, to see in the voice the more inward
appeal, the closer dealing of Christ with the soul, speaking directly
by His Spirit to the spirit of the man: in the knocking, those
more cutward gracious dealings of sorrow and joy, of sickness and
health, and the like, which He sends, and sending uses for the -
bringing of His Elect, in one way or another, by smooth paths or
by rough, to Himself” (Trench).

“*T will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with
me.” §o John xiv. 23: “My Father will love him, and we will
come to him and make our abode with him.” Compare the words
of the bridegroom, Canticles v. 2: ‘It is the voice of my beloved
that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love.” In
another aspect it constantly recurs in the Pauline Epistles. Thus
Coloss. i. 27: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” “ Prove your
own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ
is in you, except ye be reprobates? ” (2 Cor. xiii. 5).

21. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on my
throne, even as I also,” &c. This is a promise far exceeding that
to the twelve: “‘ Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel.” It is to be remembered that the throne
of eastern kings is not a mere two-armed chair, but a large and
wide seat that will hold many persons, intended to seat those
whom the great king delights to honour by placing them close
beside himself.

This is the highest reward which Christ has promised to any of
the churches; and the reader will notice that it is given to the
Church lowest in spiritual attainments—to one which the Saviour
had threatened to cast out of His mouth. “ The highest place,’ as
Trench remarks, “‘is within reach of the lowest; the faintest spark
of grace may be fanned into the mightiest flame of Divine love.”
48 THE ANGELS OF THE CHURCHES. ([REVELATION.

with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set

down with my Father in his throne.

@ ch. ii. 7. 22 *He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches.

“Even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father
in his throne.” What is the difference between Christ’s throne
and God’s throne? for a difference there is, and must be under-
stood and acknowledged. Christ’s throne is His Priestly or Media-
torial throne, to which He exalts those who have been made by
Him priests to God. If they are priests in any real sense it can
only be by, in some inferior sense, sharing His Priesthood; but
God’s throne is the throne of Almighty Power and Grace, and can
only be shared by One who is equal with God in Nature and
Attributes.

NOTES TO THE SECOND AND THIRD CHAPTERS.

THE ANGELS OF THE CHURCHES.

1. There can be, I think, little doubt but that the angels of
these churches are their chief ministers. They cannot well signify
angelic beings, for we never read of such having the care or over-
sight of churches. Such functions God has assigned to men only.
But in looking upon them as chief ministers, or bishops, « great
mistake has, I am persuaded, been made by some of our best
expositors, in that the words of praise or blame in which the
angels are addressed by the Lord are supposed to be said to them
as individuals, and not as representing their respective churches.
The difference between the two is very apparent in the Epistle to
the Church at Thyatira, to whom the Lord says: ‘“‘ Unto you
(spiv) I say, unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this
doctrine,” &¢. This is evidently addressed not to the president
_ but to the whole Church. Again to the Church of Smyrna: “ Fear
none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold the devil
shall cast some of you into prison,” &. Here also is a distinction
made between the angel and the persons composing his flock.
Cuap. IIL] THE ANGELS OF THE CHURCHES. 49

This is a matter of considerable moment. The address to
each church is undoubtedly in an important sense personal (for the
churches are not addressed merely as aggregates as in St. Paul’s
Epistles), and yet the church is represented as a whole, having,
notwithstanding its numbers, a particular character pervading it.
So that besides the individual responsibility of each angel, and the
individual responsibility of each individual member, each church
has a character of its own. Now this corresponds with the way in
which in this our day we speak of congregations, or even of dioceses.
We constantly speak of a congregation being in a backward or
a forward state; of a congregation being generous or niggardly ; or
of a diocese or congregation being imbued with certain right or
wrong principles ; but by His addressing the angel rather than the
church, and blaming or praising him, the Lord holds him, in a
very marked degree, responsible for the moral or spiritual state of
the church. If he had been thoroughly alive to his duty, and
courageous in fulfilling it, each church reproved would not have
been so much to blame as it is.

So that in these addresses of Christ to the churches we have a
very high view indeed of ministerial responsibility. The ministers
are—God only knows to what extent—answerable for the sins of the
people, as they are answerable for their freedom from heresy or
false doctrine, and on the other hand they equally share in their
praise here and shall share in their reward hereafter. As St. Paul
says of the Thessalonian Church, ‘‘ What is our hope, or joy, or
crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord
Jesus Christ at his coming?” (1 Thess. ii. 19).

2. It may be well to devote a few words to what has been called
the Historico-Prophetical interpretation of these seven Epistles,
According to this scheme they are supposed to be not seven actual
churches existing eighteen hundred years ago in Asia Minor, but
asseven periods of the world’s history in which that character was
predominant which the Lord praises or blames in His message to
each several Church. Thus Brightman—an English divine of the
reign of Elizabeth, born 1557, died 1607, a man of great learning and
piety—sees in the Church of Ephesus the Apostolic period between
A.D. 30-100; the Church of Smyrna, a.p. 100-382 ; Pergamum, 382-
1300 ; Thyatira, 1800-1520 ; in Sardis the Lutheran, in Philadelphia
the Reformed, and in Laodicea the Anglican Church.

E
50 THE ANGELS OF THE CHURCHES. [REVELATION,

Sir Isaac Newton considers that the Church of Ephesus pre-
figures the condition of the Catholic Church from St. John to
the persecution of Diocletian, a.p. 302; the Epistle to Smyrna,
from A.D. 802 to that of Licinius; the Epistle to Pergamnm, the
Church under Constantine and his sons, a.p. 824-340 ; the Epistle
to Thyatira, the Church under the divided rule of the sons of Con-
stantine, a.D. 340-350; the Epistle to Sardis, the Church under'the
sole rule of Constantius, a.p. 350-861 ; the Epistle to Philadelphia,
the faithfulness of the Church under Julian, a.p. 361-363 ; the Epistle
to Laodicea, the lukewarmness of the Church under Valentinian
and Valeus, A.D. 363-376.

Stier in his ‘‘ Words of the Risen Saviour,”’ sees in these Epistles
the spirit of prophecy embracing in a parallel scheme the times
and the histories of the Old Testament and of the New in their
entire development. 1. The primitive world and primitive Chris-
tianity (Noah—Constantine). 2. The preparation of God’s people
and the European peoples (Moses—Charlemagne). 3. Israel in
its decline and the Romish Church as the tolerated transition
(Nebuchadnezzar—Hildebrand). 4. The Babylonish period and the
Papal-worldly period (Zerubbabel—Luther). 5. The Persian-Greek
period and the Protestant-political age (Alexander—Napoleon).
6. The Greek-Roman period and the Second Reformation. 7. The
Advent of Christ and the Millenial Kingdom. These threeI owe to
Archdeacon Lee’s note in “* Speaker’s Commentary.” In Lange’s
Commentary there is a scheme by a Romanist—Holzhauser: 1.
Ephesus: end of the Apostolic age. 2. Smyrna: time of the
Martyrs. 3. Pergamos: confession of faith; time of the great
Church Fathers from the fourth to the sixth century. 4. Thyatira:
laudable condition ; time of the Church’s domination from Jus-
tinian to Charlemagne, warring against worldliness—Jezebel. 5.
Sardis: semblances of Christianity: the prevailing condition of
the Church at the present time. 6. Philadelphia: destitute ‘of
exterior power, yet witnessing a good confession: perhaps our
immediate future. Laodicea, ¢.e., people’s judgment. The end.
The same may be said against interpreting the seven churches
as seven periods which may be said against the continuous his-
torical interpretation of all the rest of the book. No two learned
men can agree upon it. It is open to the same objections which
lie against all interpretations which demand long periods, that the
Divine Inspirer of the Apocalypse recognizes no lapse of time
Cuap. IIL] THE NICOLAITANES. 51

between the Ascension and the Second Advent. A very good
examination of it is to be found at the end of Archbishop Trench’s
“Commentary on the Epistles to the Seven Churches.”

THE NICOLAITANES.

The first account of these heretics is in Ireneus i. 26: ‘‘ The
Nicolaitanes are the followers of that Nicolas who was one of the
seven first ordained to the diaconate by the Apostles. They led
lives of unrestrained indulgence. The character of these men is
very plainly pointed out in the Apocalypse of John as teaching
that it is a matter of indifference to practice adultery, and to eat
things sacrificed to idols. Wherefore the Word has also spoken of
them thus: ‘ But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the
Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.’ (Rev. ii. 6).

Tertullian in a tract entitled ‘“ Against all Heresies,” not the ‘De
Prescrip. Hereticorum,” says: ‘‘A brother heretic emerged to light
in Nicolaus. He was one of the seven deacons who were appointed
in the Acts of the Apostles. He affirms that darkness was seized
with a concupiscence (and indeed a foul and obscene one) after
light; out of this permixture it is a shame to say what fetid and
unclean combinations arose,” &. A reference is given to the third
book of the Miscellanies of Clement of Alexandria in Eusebius,
‘“‘Eecles. Hist.,”’ iii. 29, but I have not been successful in verifying it.
The passage from Eusebius is as follows: ‘‘ About this time also,
for a very short time, arose the heresy of those called Nicolaites, of
which also mention is made in the Revelation of John. These
boasted of Nicolaus as their founder, one of those deacons who
with Stephen were appointed by the Apostles to minister unto the
poor,.... I have ascertained, however, that Nicolaus lived with
no other woman than the one to whom he was married, but that
his daughters continued in the state of virginity to advanced life :
that his son also remained uncorrupt. This is very inconsistent
with the tradition that he was the founder of animmoral sect.” A
curious attempt has been made to identify the heresy of the
Nicolaitanes with the doctrine of Balaam, denounced by our Lord
in ii. 14, on the ground that Nicolaus is the reproduction in o
Greek word of Balaam in the Hebrew, but it appears to me that
there is no ground whatsoever for the alleged identity. If Balaam,
52 THE NICOLAITANES. [REVELATION.

or rather Bilam, means anything, it means one who devours,
Bala being a common word signifying “he ate up,” or “‘ devoured,”
but there is no part of it answering to “‘ people”’ if it is thus taken.
Gesenius makes it signify ‘‘ one not of the people,” that is, a stranger;
but Balaam would have his name given years before he was sum-
moned by Balak to curse Israel. Nicolas was a common Greek
proper name, and signifies conqueror of the people, that is, of
the people against whom he fought, as we must suppose, his
enemies.

T do not attempt to deny that the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes was
the doctrine of Balaam, but still I hold it upon grounds very diffe-
rent from this absurd derivation of their respective names.

CHAP. IV.
AN FTER this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in

1. “‘Opened.” It stood open—he did not see it opened.

1. “ After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened,” &c.
It may be well to say a few words in introduction to our remarks
on the visions in these fourth and fifth chapters. They are visions,
but if sent by a God of truth they must represent realities. What
are the things which St. John now saw? Are they spiritual hiero-
glyphics, having no reality in themselves but only to be under-
stood as representing other things ? Take, for instance, the ‘“‘ sea of
glass.” The great MSS. omit “as it were,” and read simply “ and
before the throne a sea of glass.”’ Did St. John see before him
what appeared to him, and what he could not distinguish from
‘*a sea of glass,” clear as crystal, or, did he see any of the things
which are said to be signified by this sea of glass? Thus Ebrard
thinks “that as the stormy sea represents the godless nations, so
here the pure and calm sea represents creation in its true relation
to its creator.” De Burgh sees here, andin chap. xv. 2, a reference
to the molten sea or great basin of brass in Solomon’s temple
(1 Kings vii, 23-26, 38) now introduced in order to typify the puri-
Cuar.IV.] A DOOR OPENED IN HEAVEN. 53

heaven: and *the first voice which I heard was * ch.i.10.

fication in baptism of all who are made kings and priests. Now
this vision takes its place with those in Isaiah vi. and Ezekiel i. as
a vision of God. God, Who fills all things (rather in Whom are
all things), is here pleased to localize Himself asit were. The in-
finite Deity, for His own all-wise purposes, represents Himself as
a great king holding a court. If He does this it is only natural
that He should not appear alone in absolutely solitary majesty,
but that He should be surrounded with those to whom He has
assigned places very near to Himself. Now He chooses to repre-
sent Himself not as filling all space, if such a thing is imaginable,
but as sitting upon athrone; before this throne there is a space, and
this space the Evangelist sees filled up with this glassy sea. What
the spiritual or typical meaning of it is we are not told, but St.
John saw it as there. It afterwards appears as affording a place
for the whole army of the conquerors over sin and evil, so that they
may celebrate their triumph in the most immediate presence of
God (Rev. xv. 2).

This then will illustrate what I think is the nature of these
visions. They describe the court of God—His immediate Pre-
sence—the heavenly Holy of Holies, as they would appear to
one who from his holiness and purity was able to bear the sight.
Whether these were phenomena only, behind which there were
certain realities, certain noumena, we cannot inquire. We take
them as St. John saw them, for it is evidently intended that we
should do so. If it be objected that some of the things repre-
sented are below the dignity of the immediate court or presence-
chamber of God, we say that it is impossible for us to assert any-
thing of the sort. It is quite possible that St. John, in seeing
these things, might have his sense of space annihilated, just as in
describing other things in this book he had his sense of time
taken away. No one, not even Raphael, has been able to put on
canvas the forms of the four living ones; but this does not undo
the fact that creatures so near to God would be beyond all concep-
tion beautiful, majestic, terrible to eyes of flesh and blood.

1. “After this I looked [or I saw], and behold a door was
opened in heaven.” Not in the act of being opened, but stand-
ing open.
54 I WAS IN THE SPIRIT. [KEVELATION.

as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, »Come

»ch.xi12. up hither, ‘and I will shew thee things which
© ch. i. 19. &

xxii. 6. must be hereafter.
che 0.& ~~ 2 And immediately “I was in the spirit: and,
a cae behold, *a throne was set in heaven, and one sat
Jer, xvi, 42, on the throne. :

_ 1, Dan. 3 And he that sat was to look upon like a

3. “And he that sat was.” ‘‘ Was” omitted by x, A., B., P., some Cursives, Vulg.
Syriac, &c.

“ And the first voice which I heard was, as it were, of a trumpet
talking with me.” That is, the voice was not like the still small
voice which Elijah heard, but loud, clear, sonorous, penetrating.

‘“ Which said.” Who said? The One Who caused His voice to
be heard as a trumpet—no other than the Lord.

“Which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things
which,” &¢. This is the message in the Apocalypse—not the
things then oceurring, not the destruction of Jerusalem, not the
foundation of the Christian Church, but the things which needed
one to whom the future was naked and open to reveal.

2. ‘And immediately I was in the spirit.” That is, the Spirit
of God. “So exalted and permeated by Spirit, that I saw with the
eyes of my spirit what the Spirit of God saw within me.”

This constituted his ascent, as it, were, in obedience to the
call ‘“‘ Come up hither.”

‘And behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the
throne.” Mark, the throne first appears, and then One Whose
appearance is not described Who sat upon it.

8. “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a
sardine stone.” He that sat must be God the Father, for the
Lord had said, ‘‘I have overcome, and am set down with my
Father on his throne.” According to the truth of the imagery of
this book it cannot be God the Son, for in the next chapter He
comes forward to take the roll book out of the hands of Him that
sat upon the throne.

It has been made a question whether He that sat upon the
throne was the Father, or the Triune God. But the Godhead of
,

Cuap. IV.] A JASPER AND A SARDINE STONE. 55

Jasper and a sardine stone: ‘and there was a rainbow round
about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. * Ezek. 1. 28

4% And round about the throne were four and «¢ ch. xi. 16.
twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and

God is in the Father, and is by Him communicated to the Son
and the Holy Ghost. ‘

3. “And he that sat (was) to look upon like a jasper and asardine
stone.” What does this mean? It is impossible to suppose that
the Evangelist compared the Personal Appearance of the Almighty
to a jewel, no matter how set, no matter how bright. The fact of
course is, that, like the children of Israel of old, he saw no
similitude ; what was before his eyes was that “light which no
man can approach unto” in which God dwelt. But this light must
appear to his eyes as pure white light, as of the stone here called
the jasper, or as having some other colour, as the sardine stone,
very probably the brightest red. These colours may have been
mixed, or their rays might be separated, but the light which
proceeded from the Deity was, in the sight of St. John, in some
sense two.

“ And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like
unto an emerald.” The rainbow is the sign of God’s covenanted
mercies, but it is also the most beautiful thing in nature; so that,
quite apart from its typical meaning, if God intended to convey to
a mortal yet in the flesh some idea of the outward material glory
with which He chose to surround Himself, He would encircle His
throne with the rainbow.

“In sight like unto an emerald.” Thisis generally takenas ifthe
brightness of the emerald predominated. Alford says: ‘“‘ The form
is that of the covenant bow, the colour even more refreshing and
more directly symbolizing grace and mercy.”

4, “And round about the throne were four and twenty seats
[thrones]: and,” &. Notice that here again the thrones are seen
apparently before those who sat upon them. It seems as if the
thrones were there and had to be won by the foremost conquerors
in the war with sin and evil.

** And upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting.” Did
they compass the throne in a circle (it is quite possible), or were
“56 FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS. [REVELATION.

» ch. iii 4,6. twenty elders sitting, +clothed in white raiment;
9, 18, 14, & ° ‘and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

{ ver, 10.

4, ‘They had” omitted by x, A., B., P., most Cursives, Vulg., Arm., Syriac.

they placed in front in a half-circle, twelve on each side, and who
were the occupants? It seems agreed on all hands that in some
way they represent the Catholic Church in its two divisions—that
of the Old and that of the New Dispensation. But I trust that it
may be lawful to inquire into the likelihood of this.

It is supposed that the twenty-four consist of the twelve
Patriarchs and the twelve Apostles; but are the twelve Patriarchs
the actual Patriarchs, the sons of Jacob ? Is it possible that Reuben,
the first of the Patriarchs, was on a throne close to the throne of
God; and in this case what place is left for such men as Enoch,
Noah, Melchizedec, Abraham, Moses, Joshua ?

Again, taking the second twelve to be New Testament saints, is
it possible to assign them to the twelve, leaving out St. Stephen,
St. John the Baptist, St. Paul, St. Barnabas ?

Must we not apply to all such lists of names the words of the
Lord, “ Many that are first shall be last ; and the last first’ (Matt,
xix. 30), particularly since He said this immediately after His pro-
mise of one of twelve thrones to each of the twelve ?

All seem to be agreed that these twenty-four are not angelic
natures but human beings, but they must have been human beings
who occupy these thrones not by creation, much less by mere favour,
but because they have won places so near to God by holiness and
self-endurance.

**Clothed in white raiment.” As if they were priests to God—the
white raiment being the vestment of priests.

“And they had on their heads crowns of gold.” This may
signify that they were kings as well as priests. But it may also
signify that they had gotten a victory and were each rewarded with
a bright and imperishable crown.

That these were real intelligences and not merely emblematical
figures is plain from what is said in the next chapter, where, in
verse 5, we are told that one of these elders consoled St. John when
he wept because no one was worthy to open the book,
Cuar.IV.] THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD. 57
5 And out of the throne proceeded * lightnings i ob, vill. 6.

xvi. 18.

and thunderings and voices: 'and there were seven 1 Ex. xxxvii.

lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are 35; ‘ssa.

in 5c 13. Zech, iv. 2.
the seven Spirits of God. ch i4é

6 And before the throne there was "a sea of til. &v. 6.
n Ex. xxxviil.
8. ch. xv. 2.

5. ‘* And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings
and voices.” Out of the throne, from God Himself proceeded these
voices of God, which were His decrees to His angelic messengers
who, when they heard them, proceeded to carry them into execu-
tion. These are the voices heard from Mount Sinai; there were
“thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and
the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud”’ (Exod. xix. 16). These
were the voices of Psalm xxix.: ‘* The voice of the Lord is upon the
waters: the God of glory thundereth. The voice of the Lord is
powerful: the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.” The thunder-
ings and lightnings were not the utterance of God in anger, butmeant
to impress those who heard them with His irresistible power. God
here surrounds Himself with the features of the natural world
which are grandest and most appalling ; unless he has utterly har-
dened his heart, nothing strikes a man so much with his own help-
lessness as the lightning and the thunder of God’s power. Insome
way unknown to us the lightnings and thunders appear to be the
natural accompaniments of God’s presence.

“ And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne,
which are the seven Spirits of God.’ These seven Spirits are the
One Spirit in His sevenfold operations, and seven being the com-
plete, the perfect number, it signifies that the presence and opera-
tions of the One Spirit are as if He were present in His absolute
fulness and entirety to each one of those with whom He has to do.
He is not divided amongst those upon whom He acts, but He acts
upon each one indivisibly as if He were a separate person con-
fronting each one (see notes on i. 4).

6. “ And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto
crystal.” I have noticed this sea of glass in the introductory re-
marks (p. 52). I believe that the Apostle saw it as he describes it, and
if the throne of God and the four-and-twenty thrones were there, so
was this “sea of glass like unto crystal.” Various explanations have
58 THE FOUR LIVING ONES. [REVELATION.

glass like unto crystal: °and in the midst of the throne, and
° Ezek.i.5. yround about the throne, were four beasts full of
P ver. 8. eyes before and behind.

been given as to what it typifies—nearly all different ; I have given
two on p. 52. One commentator thinks that it represents the
waters of baptism: “It may be that the standing upon the sea of
glass mingled with fire (xv. 2) signifies that the whole spiritual life,
even to its final glory, stands upon the foundation given in baptism
of water and of the spirit.” Another, ‘‘ That as the waters on which
the scarlet woman sits, represent the unguided, unreasoning, and
unprincipled thoughts of men, so the calm glass-like sea, which is
never instorm but only interfused with flame (xv. 2), represents the
counsels of God, those purposes of righteousness and love often
fathomless but never obscure; always the same, though some-
times glowing with holy anger.”

“And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne,
were four beasts [living ones] full of eyes before and behind.’”’ Now
here again I must recall the reader to that which, beyond all con-
troversy, the Evangelist describes ; he describes the court of God.
Now, inasmuch as between God and all created things there is
a gulf profound, impassable, illimitable, he might have been led to
describe the throne of the Almighty as existing in a boundless void,
which would aptly represent His essential separation from all crea-
ture existences ; but, instead of this, he is led to describe God as
bringing certain created intelligences very near to Himself. There
are three occasions in which God is pleased to reveal to men the
court of His immediate presence, Isaiah vi., Ezekiel i., and this
place; and in each of these He represents Himself as bringing cer-
tain created intelligences close to His throne. I firmly believe, then,
that no matter what these living ones typify, they represent them-
selves; they are existences who have won a place very close to the
throne of God.

“Full of eyes before and behind.’ If this means anything it
signifies that their power of vision is infinite. They were seen by
the Evangelist as if they were all eye, all observation, they re-
ceived knowledge, not as we do, slowly and imperfectly, but
from all parts of God’s universe at once—-nothing could be hidden
from them. In this they were as near as possible to Him to
Cuap. IV.] THE FIRST WAS LIKE A LION. | 59

7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second

beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face 5 Nom a 2,
as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying 10, &%, 1d.

eagle.

oe the Psalmist said: “The darkness and light to thee are both
alike.”

7. “And the first living one was like a lion, and the second living
one like a calf [it may as well be translated ox], and the third living
one had a face as a man,” &c. It has generally been assumed that
these living ones represent all animated nature uniting in glorifying
God, “All thy works praise thee, O Lord,” but there is, to me at
least, one insurmountable difficulty in this, which is that the third
living one has the human countenance. Now, if his praise corre-
sponds to his appearance, his must be the only intelligent praise
offered to God by any of the four creatures, the idea of which is not
to be entertained for a moment.

The meaning, if it is lawful to express it in words, seems to
be something of this sort. The creatures had not each of them
a human face, one had; and this fact shows that they were different
from the rest of the angelic host who all come to us in the likeness
of man.

Now we must carefully remember that St, John in this and
in all the rest of this book describes things as they appeared to him.
Only one of these countenances appeared to him human. The rest
of the faces were more like the creatures mentioned by him. There
is an infinite variety in the human face as manifesting the interior
character; the human face may exhibit the character of a good
angel, or that of an intensely evil spirit. Now there is a certain
nobility in the countenances of each of the three non-human crea-
tures here described, which nobility no doubt was, to the seeming
of St. John, its characteristic, its feature, and its grandeur and
beauty. We acknowledge this when we say that such an one has
the face of a lion or the eye of an eagle. If we said this, as we do
every day, we should say it in praise, not in disparagement.

I believe then that these living ones whom God Himself has
placed so near to His throne are all intelligence, all activity,
all grandeur and beauty. They have been called representatives
of creation. It may be that they are rather types of.it which the
60 FULL OF EYES. [REVELATION.

8 And the four beasts had each of them ‘ six wings about

‘Isa.vi2 him; and they were full of eyes * within: and
5 ver. 6,

+Gr they Tt they rest not day and night, saying, * Holy,
have no rest.

t Isa, vi. 3.

noblest of earthly countenances are formed upon. I have written all
this because I believe these creatures to be real, and it requires very
great care in making them out to be representations or types lest we
destroy their reality.’

8. ‘And the four living ones had each of them six wings about
him.” How these wings were affixed to their bodies we know
not. The living creatures in Ezekiel i. had but four, but the sera-
phim in Isaiah had, like these, six; and it is very remarkable that
of their six wings they employed four in adoration, ‘‘ with twain he
covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain
he flew.” Whether these similarly used their wings we are not told,
but it seems to me very probable. It is to be remarked that these
only of angelic beings are said to have wings. The wings of course
represent their power of progression to obey the behests of God,
just as the eyes in every part of them represent their powers of
observation and intellect.

‘‘And they were full of eyes within.”’ Alford takes cuc\é0ev with
ZowGev, and says upon this, “ the object of St. John being to show
that the six wings in each case did not interfere with that which
he had before declared, viz., that they were full of eyes before and
behind. Round the outside of each wing, and up the inside of each
(half-expanded) wing, and of the part of the body also which was
in that inside recess, they are full of eyes.” But surely this is too
elaborate. One commentator explains the eyes within as doubling
the contemplative concentration and unity of the Divine Om-
niscience ; another, the never-resting, wakeful activity of organic
life. Most commentators, however, pass it over without notice.

“And they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.’ This is

 

1 For instance, their reality is utterly destroyed if they are assumed to be figures
of the four Gospels. Are they the books of the four Gospels, or are they the writers?
If the former, then they are very imperfect, for they give but a very small part of
the words and deeds of Christ. When we are amongst the blessed in the unseen
world, we shall learn from eye-witnesses a hundred times more than we have learnt
from the Evangelists. John xxi. 25.
Cuap. IV.] HOLY, HOLY, HOLY. 61

holy, holy, *Lord God Almighty, * which was, and is, and
is to come. uch is.

9 And when those beasts give glory and honour *°**
and thanks to him that sat on the throne, ’ who » ch.i.18.&
liveth for ever and ever, eee

9. ‘Give”—‘ shall give.”

the Trisagion adopted into its Liturgies by every branch of the
Church of Christ, its use reaching far back into a time when there
was no central authority to compel, or even to recommend, obedience
in the Church, so that its use dates from the origin or first planting
of each church, which was generally by an Apostle or Apostolic
man, a companion of an Apostle. It is the highest act of praise
offered to God by those that are nearest to His throne, and yet it
is the simplest.

The threefold repetition of “‘Holy”’ has always been held to
point to the. mystery of the ever-blessed Trinity, and for this
reason this chapter has been chosen for the Epistle for Trinity
‘Sunday. There is a difference between the concluding words in
Isaiab and in the Apocalypse. In Isaiah it is ‘‘ the whole earth is
full of his glory.” Here it is ‘‘ which was, and is, and is to come.”
Mr. Blunt remarks that inasmuch as the older form in Isaiah is
adopted in the oldest type of Liturgy—in that of St. James, used in
Jerusalem—it is probable that the main body of this Liturgy was
settled before the Apocalypse was written. So that at every cele-
bration of the Eucharist we are permitted to join in the highest
worship of angels.

The root idea of holiness is separation. The consecrated or
hallowed person or thing is separated to the service of God. Thus
the tabernacle and its vessels, and the robes of the priests, and the
altar were all hallowed, as separated, by the very fact of their
dedication, from all profane uses. So that the creatures nearest to
God proclaim in their ceaseless anthem the infinite separation in
essence between themselves and God; so that, so close as He has.
put them to Himself, He is yet infinitely above them.

9. “And when those living ones give glory and honour and
thanks.” ‘“ Give” is in the future tense, ‘*shall give,” and implies
62 THOU ART WORTHY, 0 LORD. [REVELATION.

10 *The four and twenty elders fall down before him that

* ch. v.'8, 14. gat on the throne, * and worship him that liveth for

aoe e ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the
throne, saying,

¢ ch, v, 12, 1] °Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory

4Gen.i1. and honour and power: ‘for thou hast created
Acts xvii. 24. .
Eph. iii. 9. all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were

ch. x. 6. created.

10. Fall down ”—‘‘ shall fall down.” ‘‘Sat”—‘‘sitteth.” ‘* Worship ”—“ will
worship,” X, A., B. ‘And cast ”—“ will cast.”

the eternal repetition of the act; whenever they give praise then
their praise is seconded by the elders, for we read:

10. “The four and twenty elders [shall] fall down before him
that sat [sitteth] on the throne.” Note the lowliness of the adora-
tion of these exalted ones. They fall down, that is, they prostrate
themselves.

“And cast their crowns before the throne.” Tacitus (“ Ann.,”
xv. 29) tells how Tiridates cast down his diadem (insigne regnunt)
in homage before the effigy of Nero; so also Dion Cassius (lib.
xxxvi.) tells how Tigranes cast down his diadem before Pompeius
(Archdeacon Lee in ‘ Speaker’s Commentary”), so that this was
not an unusual sign of homage to the supreme power.

11. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and

power: for thou hast created all things.” This is an act of praise
to God the Creator. In the next chapter the praise is to the
Redeemer. In the succession of time creation comes before re-
demption, for things must have existed and been brought into
being before they could be redeemed.
_ “And for thy pleasure they are and were created.” x, A., &e.,
read ‘“‘they were,’ meaning they existed and were created. This
seems to mean, “No sooner didst Thou will their being than they
were, and by the contemporaneous act of creation they took forms
and were manifested.”

Such was the act of praise to God as the Creator. And now the
book of God’s providence is unrolled.
CHap. V.} SEALED WITH SEVEN SEALS. 63

CHAP. V.

ND I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the
throne *a book written within and on the » a Ezek. ii. 9,
backside, ° sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a
loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and
to loose the seals thereof ?

’ ee xxix. 11.
Dan. xii. 4.

1. “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne.”
The appearance or form of Him that sat on the throne is not de-
scribed by St. John. Of course, because it was unlawful to make
any image or figure of the Father, and so there could be no
description given of Him. Still, out of the excess of light in which
God was, His right hand was to be seen, and on this (not in it)
lay a book or roll written on both sides—both within—that is, in
the usual place of writing, and without, on the back side; so that
every part of the book was covered with writing.

“Sealed with seven seals.” This implies that the roll or scroll
was made up of seven pieces of parchment. The outer one the
first, the innermost the seventh.

Were, then, all the seven seals visible? It would seem that
they were; and so there was a thread—or something of such a
kind— which was sealed in each seal, and the end of which reached
to the outside of the whole roll, so that one could immediately
tell where each part of the roll began.

What were the contents of each part of the roll? We cannot
tell. It may have been the events that occurred at each opening
of the successive seals, or, which is more probable, the interpreta-
tion of their mysteries.

2. **And I saw a strong angel.” Supposed to be Gabriel, be-
cause his name signifies mighty or strong God; but if it was so
well known a messenger of God I think his name would have been
recorded as that of Michael is.

‘“Proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the
64 I WEPT MUCH. [REVELATION.

3 And no man ‘in heaven, nor in earth, neither under
© ver. 13. the earth, was able to open the book, neither
to look thereon.

4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to
open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold,

4, ‘And to read” omitted by ¥, B., P., forty Cursives, Vulg., Copt., Syriac, Arm.,
4&th. ; retained by only two or three’ Cursives.

book, and to loose,’ &e. Who is able to make known the myste-
ries of God’s providence? Who is able to unfold the book of His
secret counsels P

3. ‘And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the
earth,” &. ‘No man,” ¢.e. no one; man is not expressed.

“Was able to open the book.” This seems to mean ‘ was
worthy.” No created intelligence, no mere creature was worthy.
This is one of those almost innumerable places which set forth the
Divine Nature of the Eternal Son, and, so far as that Divine Nature
is concerned, the gulf between Him and every creature. No living
creature, no elder on his throne, no angel, no saint, had virtue
enough to open the book.

4, “And I wept much, because no man was found worthy,” &c.
It has been supposed that St. John wept because of the contents
of the roll, which in some unexplained way he was supposed to
know before the book was unrolled; but if cannot be so. He
wept because the mystery of God’s dealings was apparently not
capable of being disclosed. Amongst creatures in heaven, in
earth, and under the earth, there was no one who could unfold
the Divine secrets.

5. “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not.” Was
St. John then permitted to be close to the throne of God, in the
very circle of the elders, so that one of the elders could speak
to him, as to one standing close to him? ‘We are to remember
that in such a vision of God as this, the Apostle is raised above
the limitations or conditions of space and time. All that ap-
peared before him was vast and illimitable, and yet he was close
to all.
Cuap. V.] THE ROOT OF DAVID. 65
‘the Lion of the tribe of Juda, *the Root of 4 Gen. xlix.

a a 9,10. Heb.
David, hath prevailed to open the book,*tand to vii. 14
loose the seven seals thereof. wo Bu, C

6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the (vi 16,
throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of = 1. ‘aie
. ¥ & Isa. lin. 7.
the elders, stood 8a Lamb as it had been slain, Johni. 29, 36.
1 Pet. i. 19.
ch. xiii. 8.
ver. 9, 12.
5.' “To loose” omitted by A., B., P., fifty Cursives, Vulg. (Amiat.), &c. ; retained

only by 8.
6. “Stood a Lamb as it had been slain.” Lit:, ‘‘a Lamb standing as slain.”

“The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David.” The
figure of the lion is taken from Jacob’s prophecy respecting Judah
in Gen. xlix. 9: ‘* Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son,
thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as
an old lion who shall rouse him up?” The lion represents the
force, the activity, the courage of the Messiah, whilst the root (‘Root
of David ’’) signifies the source of life—the all-sustaining grace—
the richness of the Second Adam. ‘ The name Root of David pro-
claims that Christ is more than a Branch or Rod from out of the
stem of Jesse (Isaiah xi. 1); it declares that He is the origin of
David; He is the Rod or Branch because He is man; He is the
Root because He is God ” (Wordsworth).

‘Hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals
thereof.” How did He prevail? What was His weapon? He
prevailed by weakness. His weapon was submission to death,
and so the Evangelist goes on:

6. ** And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the
four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had
been slain” (or, a Lamb standing as though it had been slain).
“Standing,” as being alive, and ‘‘as it.had been slain,” with all
the marks of death. Standing as the great High Priest, as it had
been slain, as the all-sufficient Victim; standing as ready to open
the books, and as slain, to sanctify and bless with His all-pre-
vailing Atonement; standing as life-giving, slain as reconciling.
The most wonderful association—one might almost say identifica-
tion—of life and death conceivable. There seems to me that there
is no such figure embodying the two great opposites in all Scripture.

The “Lamb” (diminutive, little Lamb) is the Lord Jesus—“ as it

F
66 SEVEN HORNS AND SEVEN EYES.  [REVELATION.

having seven horns and "seven eyes, which are ‘the seven
i Zech. ii. 9 Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

i ch. iv. 5.

had been slain” refers to the wounds in His adorable Body, from
which the blood flowed which redeemed the world, purchased the
Church, and washes from sin each soul who applies for its cleansing
virtue.

During the remainder of this book the usual name given to the
Redeemer is the Lamb.

Now may it be permitted to us to ask why the Redeemer is
presented to us under the figure of a Lamb? He appeared, after
His Resurrection, to His disciples as a man. They recognized His
form and features. They were sure that He was not a spirit be-
‘cause of the wounds in His hands and feet and side. Why should
not St. John have seen Him and described Him as when he saw
Him on the day of His Resurrection? It must be because He
‘mediates through His past Death. His Sacrifice, though once for
all endured, is eternal in its Divine Efficacy. We have to look
upon Him as our Passover; His Sacrifice is not a thing of the
past. It was endured but once, and cannot be repeated ; but it
-abideth ever, as His Priesthood abideth ever. In heaven He pre-
sents it because He presents Himself a Lamb standing as slain,
and this corresponds to His memorial on earth. Both in heaven
and in earth His Sacrificial memorial is not a whole Body, but a
broken Body, a wounded Body.

“Having seven horns and seven eyes.” The horn of a living
creature denotes its strength just as the eye signifies its observation
and consequent knowledge. That the Lamb has seven horns
implies the perfection of His power—in fact, that He is Almighty ;
-and the seven eyes the perfection of His knowledge, which He has
‘through the operation of the Divine Spirit Who is first in Him,
and these proceed from Him conveying to Him the truth of all
that exists and takes place,

The question now presents itself—did St. John see the Lord
‘under this figure under which he describes Him here, or did he
see the Lord as he saw Him on the first Easter Day, as the Risen
Jesus with wounds in His hands and His side? Unquestionably
the former : because it was the will of God that His Church through-
-out all ages should look upon His Son not as the Eternal Word
Cuar. V.] HE CAME AND TOOK THE BOOK. 67

? And he came and took the book out of the right hand
* of him that sat upon the throne. * ch. iv. 2

8 And when he had taken the book, ! the four + ch. iv. 8, 10.
beasts and four and twenty elders fell down be-
fore the Lamb, having every one of them ™harps, ™ ch. xiv. 2.

& xv. 2.
and golden vials full of || odours, "which are the | Or, incense.
prayers of saints. ch vie 3,

only, nor as the Mediator simply, but as the Mediator through His
Past Death, the power of which Death is never separated from Him,
and abides with Him as if it were a part of His Essence.

If it be objected that it is impossible thus to represent the Lord,
we answer that it may be impossible to us thus to represent the
Lord in picture or in marble, but that does not undo the fact that
St. John, for God’s purposes, saw the Lord under this appearance,
and though we may not be able to represent the Lord thus, or even
to imagine Him like this Lamb, yet being in the midst of the
throne it must have been an image of surpassing glory and beauty,
just as the four living ones are of inconceivable grandeur, and yet
unimaginable by us who are not in the Spirit. The figure com-
bines innocence, patience, sacrifice, life in death, death in life,
omnipotence and omniscence all combining in One Person to
unfold the counsels of God.

7. “ And he came and took the book out of the right hand,” &c.

8. ‘And when he had taken the book, the four living ones, and
four and twenty elders.’ He took the book, it was not given to
Him by the hands of Him that sat on the throne. He took it out
of the open hand as being worthy to take it, as if it were His
own.

As soon as He had done this He received the worship of the
highest existences in heaven ; ‘they fell down before Him as they
would before God ; they took their harps wherewith to accompany
their hymn of praise, and they took golden censers full of incense ;
an act of worship offered to God in the most holy place.

They could not go beyond these things in worship, for they
prostrate themselves, they sing His praise to Himself with the
music of harps, and they burn incense to Him,

‘‘ Which are the prayers of saints.” Does this mean that the
68 THEY SUNG A NEW SONG. ([REVELATION.

yess 9 And °they sung a new song, saying, ? Thou
P ch. iv.11, art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals
a om - thereof : for thou wast slain, and * hast redeemed

Rom. iii 24, us to God by thy blood * out of every kindred, and

& vii. 23. Eph. nd le, and nation ;
i. 7, Coli. 14. hong, ane. people, 4
Heb. ix. 19.

1 Pet. i, 18, 19.

are z 9. ‘Redeemed us to God.” “Us” omitted by A., but retained

ch. xiv. 4. by x, B., P., and most Cursives.
8 Dan. iv. 1.

Gi. 2's incense actually is, or that it signifies, the prayers of
& xiv. 6. saints? Wecannot‘say absolutely. The prostration,
the hymnody, the instruments of music must be taken literally,
and it would seem that the incense must be also. How could
the actual prayers of saints be burnt as incense ? but the heavenly
incense might be taken to represent the prayers of saints in two
particulars—their sweetness and their acceptableness to God.

We must remember that there is a revelation of heavenly things
throughout this book, but how far this revelation of such things as
the living creatures, the elders, the songs, the incense is, so to
speak, objective or material we cannot say. I think we must
accept it, if possible, in the sense in which St. John discloses it,
for in most of these things no two human expositors are agreed
as to what their inner or spiritual significance is.

9. “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy,....
for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed (us) to God.” ‘“ A new
song,” for whereas the old song of iv. 11 only contemplates the
glories of creation, this is a song of praise to the Lamb for the
Redemption wrought by His Sufferings and Death.

There is a remarkable difference of reading in this and the next
verse, for whereas the Authorized Version reads, “And hast re-
deemed us unto God by thy blood,” the Revised reads, ‘‘ Thou hast
redeemed (men) unto God by thy blood out of every kindred,” &c.,
and in the next verse, instead of “hast made us... . kings and
priests,” it is read “ and hast made them unto God .... and they
shall reign.” and B., however, support ‘‘redeemed us” in verse 9,
The difficulty is that if the four living ones are angelic, or super-
angelic natures, they should join in the song of those redeemed by
the Blood of Christ ; but we are to remember the words of the Apostle
where he says that God “‘has by Christ reconciled all things to
Cusp. V.] . WORTHY IS THE LAMB. 69

10 ‘And hast made us unto our God kings and priests:

and we shall reign on the earth. t Bx. xix. 6,
11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of ‘il ee XX.

many angels “round about the throne and the uo o 6.
beasts and the elders: and the number of them

was *ten thousand times ten thousand, and thou- * Ps. Ixviii.
17. Dan. vii.
sands of thousands ; 10. Heb. xii.

12 Saying with a loud voice, ’ Worthy is the Pon et,

Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches,
and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory,
and blessing.

10. Us.” The preponderance of authority by far is for reading ‘them.” So &,
A., B., most Cursives, Vulg. (Amiat.).
‘Kings and priests.” ‘A kingdom and priests.” So, A., Vulg., Copt.

himself, whether things on earth, or things in heaven ” (Coloss. i.
20, also Ephes. i. 10). So that in some way not fully revealed all
creation participates in the Atonement.

10. ‘And hast made us [them] unto our God kings and priests.”
Rather, ‘‘a kingdom and priests.” The elders seem to have exer-
cised the office of priests, for they were clothed in the white sacer-
dotal garment, but how we are not told. It must be by the
priestly act of intercession, for such sacrifices as those of the law
cannot be thought of, and the Eucharist seems only to be till the
Lord comes (1 Cor. xi. 26).

‘“‘And we shall reign [or they shall reign] upon the earth.”
This seems to refer to the millennial reign. It is said by some that
it should rather be translated ‘‘over the earth’””—their place of reign-
ing being not on earth, but in heaven. Pious attempts are made
to get rid of this. It is said, for instance, that they shall reign
over themselves which, it is added, is the best of all rules—but can
the writer of this believe that such is the meaning of these words
of the song ?

11. “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round
about the throne and [round about] the four living ones and the
elders.”

12. “Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was
slain.” Here is the whole angelic host joining in the worship of
70 EVERY CREATURE. [REVELATION.

13 And “every creature which is in heaven, and on the

2 Phil. ii.10. earth, and under the earth, and such as are in
ver. 3,

21Chr. xxix, the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,

Seer "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be

i fim. vi 16. unto him ? that sitteth upon the throne, and unto

&y iL ch. the Lamb for ever and ever.

ae 14 * And the four beasts said, Amen. And the
ech. xix.4. four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped

4 ch. iv.9,10. him “that liveth for ever and ever.

14. “Him that liveth for ever and ever” omitted by ¥, A., B., C., P., most Cur-
sives, most Versions. No authority for retaining these words,

the Lamb, but, it is to be remarked, not on the ground of His
essential Godhead, but on the ground that in the human nature
which He had assumed He had suffered an All-atoning Death. So
that He is worshipped as man, as the Sinless Sufferer as well as
the Son of God. God and man is one Christ Who thus receives
the worship of angels.

13, “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth,”
&e. This is the song of all creation—in heaven, i.c., the angels ;
on the earth, 7.e., men; under the earth, i.c., in Hades, or the
unseen place; in the sea, t.c., whose bodies are in the deep, or it
may be in ships, for it is on the sea.

“ Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, to him that sit-
teth upon the throne.” That is, God the Father, and to the Lamb,
Who here receives the same united praise which allcreation renders,
betokening His essential equality in Nature with the Father.

14, * And the four living creatures said, So be it.” Some MSS.
have the article—the Amen—as if it were a recognized part of the
ritual of both heaven and earth.

‘‘ And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped.”
The concluding words, “ him that liveth for ever and ever,” have
no Greek authority. The more sublime ending is “ fell down and
worshipped,” leaving it to be inferred that they prostrated them-:
selves before God and the Lamb.
Cuap. VI.] THE LORD AT HAND. 71

CHAP. VI.

We now enter upon that part of the Revelation which has been
called the historical (vi.-xx.). It is supposed by the preterists (see
Introduction) to describe the events immediately following upon
the Coming of Christ, or the imprisonment of St. John in Patmos.
By those who hold to the continuous interpretation all this part is
supposed to be a series of visions describing the continuous fortunes
of the Church from the New Testament times to the Second Coming,
and by the futurists it is held to be events which are yet future,
and which will immediately precede the Second Advent. Before
entering upon the exposition of this part—if that may be called
an expgsition of a book, or large portion of a book, of which
I verily believe that God has not given to any man the key to its
interpretation—I desire to put on record the enunciation of a
great principle, which is this: that from the departure of our Lord
at the moment of His Ascension to the moment of His Second
Advent, it is not lawful for us to assume that any definite lapse of
time intervenes. At the moment after our Lord’s disappearance at
His Ascension, two angels in white apparel appeared to the
Apostles, who were straining their eyes heavenward, with this mes-
sage from God: “ Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into
heaven, this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
If we did not know the history of the Apostolic Church we
should, I think, gather from this that the return of the Lord was
to be expected in the life-time of the Apostles. And this the Lord
Himself assumes when He bids the Apostles watch and wait for
His second appearance: thus in Mark xiii. 33: ‘Take ye heed,
watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. Forthe Son
of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house and
gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and com-
manded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore : for ye know not
when the master of; the house cometh, at even or at midnight,
or at the cock crowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly
he find you sleeping.” Now reading this it is impossible to
72 THE JUDGE AT THE DOOR.  [REVELATION.

suppose that more than 1,800 years were to be counted upon by
the Church as intervening between the disappearance of the
Lord and His reappearance. We know that such time has inter-
vened, but it was not to be counted upon. On the contrary, any
day between the Ascension and the Second Coming might, as far
as man could know, be the last. All through this long series
of ages the Judge was standing at the door as He is now, and it
is 4 part of our probation to be watching and waiting for His
appearance.

But are we not compelled by the succession of visions in the
Revelation to suppose that a long time must intervene? No,
we are not; for it is a most noticeable fact that in these appa-
rently successive visions there are no less than seven visions of
the end, or of the consummation, and they are these :

1. At the end of the vision of the opening of the seals, at the
opening of the sixth seal there is a catastrophe which from the
description of it, compared with the description of the Last Day by
the Lord Himself, can only be that of the end. The sun becomes
“ black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon as blood ” (Matt. xxiv.),
the stars of heaven fall, and all the wicked of every degree
call on the mountains to fall on them, and the rocks to cover
them (Rev. vi.).

2. At the end of the next chapter there is a vision of the glories
and beatification of the elect, as occurring then, which is precisely
parallel to the visions of the end in the last chapter, see particularly
xxi. 4.

3. At the sounding of the seventh trumpet in chap. xi. we read:
“Thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned

. and the time of the dead, that they should be judged,” &c.
(xi. 18).

4, At the end of chap. xiv. there is a vision of the last judg-
ment under the image of the Son of man seated on a white
cloud reaping the earth, and immediately succeeding it a vision of
the reaping of the vine of the earth.

5. In xvi. 17 there is another vision of the end at the pouring
out of the seventh vial, where a great voice out of the temple of
God says, ‘“ Itis done ” (yéyove), and every island fled away, and the
mountains were not found.

6. In xix. 11 the Son of man appears again on the white horse
and ushers in what, from the judgments on the beast, and the false
Cnap. VL] A WHITE HORSE. 73

prophet, and on all the people of the world who fought against God,
we cannot but account to be a vision of the end.

7. And the final vision, after the millennial period as it is called,
when the great white throne appears, and the dead were judged
out of those things which were written in the books.

So that these visions from chap. vi. to chap. xix. cannot form one
continuous history, for the Lord cannot come seven times to such
final judgments as are here described.

CHAP. VI.

ND *I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals,

and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, rae v. a 6, 7.
cn. lv. 7.

> one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. © Zech. vi. 3.
i h. xix. 11.
2 And I saw, and behold °a white horse: “and {'p. sivas.
LXX.

1. ‘One of the seals.” N, A., B., C., and most Cursives, Vulg., Syr. 45th., read,
“one of the seven seals.”

“Come and see.” ‘‘And see” omitted by A., C., P., Vulg. (Amiat.), Arm., &c. ;
retained by &, B., and many Cursives.

1. “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and
I heard, as it were .... Come.” ‘It is not said which of the four
living ones thus cried, so that it is beyond measure futile to guess
that it must have been the one with the face of the lion or of the
man.

The preponderance of authorities is in favour of reading simply
**Come,” and omitting ‘‘see.” In this case the living creature must
be supposed to address, not the Evangelist, but the horse-rider, bid-
ding him come, for all is ready for His work.

2. ‘And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on
him had a bow,” It is difficult to believe how any commentator,
unless he has some continuous system to maintain, can fail to inter-
pret this as the Son of God riding forth in the power of His Gospel.
The colour of the horse, which in each of these visions of the horse-
riders is especially noticed, is the same as that on which the Word
74 CONQUERING AND TO CONQUER. [REVELATION.

he that sat on him had a bow; °and a crown was given
¢ Zech. vi.11. unto him: and he went forth conquering, and

ch. xiv. 14.
to conquer.
f ch. iv. 7. 3 And when he had opened the second seal, ‘T
beard the second beast say, Come and see.
8 Zech. vi. 2. 4 ® And there went out another horse that was
3. “Come and see.” ‘‘ And see” doubtful, as before.

of God—the King of Kings and Lord of Lords—appears in chap.
xix. It is always throughout this book considered as the emblem
of purity and holiness. The bow is the instrument of the warfare
of the Messiah, as in Ps. xlv.: ‘“‘In thy majesty ride prosperously
because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right
hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in
the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under
thee.” This exactly describes the conquests of Christ: the arrows
of His Word reach first one and then another; it is not so much
a warfare of one mighty host against another, but as one in which
a single warrior picks out first one and then another from amongst
his enemies, and by his sharp wound, piercing each one’s heart, sub-
dues him to Himself.

“A crown was given to him.” This is given to Him in token that
He shall rule over those whom He has subdued. So far from their
being destroyed, a new life is given to them, even an eternal one.

‘* And he went forth conquering and to conquer.”’ There will be
no cessation of His conquering progress till He has put all enemies
under His feet. He is going forth conquering, and to conquer now
not in the same parts as those in which He first won His conquests,
but in other regions where He displays His subduing powers quite
as conspicuously. Now if this be so, seeing that He has begun His
career of victory, must there not be a reign of universal blessed-
ness. If the Prince of Peace has set forth on His career of spiritual
conquest what place can there be in future for war and its attendant
miseries? ‘We shall see.

3. ** And when he had opened the second seal.... Come.” The
words “ and see” are doubtful as in verse 1.

4, ‘And there went out another horse that was red: and power
was given to him that sat,” &. We are not to suppose for a
Cuap. VI.] THEY SHOULD KILL ONE ANOTHER. 75

red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take
peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another :
and there was given unto him a great sword.

moment that the rider of the first horse had finished His career of
conquest ere the second horse rider had begun to ride. On the
contrary, the interpretation which I shall present is that all the four
ride simultaneously. :

Now this vision of the second—the blood-red horse—corrects the
idea which we might have entertained from the fact that the Prince
of Peace had begun His reign. We should have supposed that the
progress and triumphs of the Gospel would at least have assured
to the earth a deliverance from the miseries of war, but it is not so.
Since the time of the first preaching of the Gospel to the present
moment there has not been twenty years of continued peace
amongst the nations and people with which, as we suppose,
the various visions in this book have to do. And this history of
war is not occupied with the wars of Christians against heathen,
but with the wars of professing Christians against one another.
Before the so-called Reformation, when all the Christians of Europe
professed to belongto one Church, there was a constantstate of warfare
amongst them. Since then the state of war has been quite as con-
tinuous—not Protestants with Papists only, but Protestants among
themselves. Thus in this country on the murder of Charles I.
an ultra-Protestant republic was established, and the very first
thing it did was to go to war with the only Protestant republic
then existing—the Dutch. In our own time also we have seen the
most powerful republic in the world, a republic more Protestant or
Evangelical than any other, engaged in a long and sanguinary civil
war. So that we have before us this most remarkable fact, that for
1,800 years the Gospel of Christ and the Demon of War have ridden
sideby side. °

For the rider on the red horse does not himself war or fight. He
is apparently engaged in stirring up strife in which he personally
takes no part. He is no human tyrant or general, but, as it were,
the embodiment of the Spirit of War, who has power given to him
to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one
another.
76 A BLACK HORSE. [REVELATION.

5 And when he had opened the third seal, "I heard the

h ch. iv. 7. third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld,

i Zech. vi.2, and lo ‘a black horse; and he that sat on him
had a pair of balances in his hand.

6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four

5. “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third
living one say, Come. And I beheld, and lo a black horse ; and he
that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.” The black
horse rider is universally taken as betokening scarcity. The
balance in his hand is for the purpose of weighing corn.

Now corn, #.¢., wheat and barley, would even in times of only
moderate plenty be measured by the bushel, but in times of very
great scarcity, verging on famine, it would be measured by weight
as if it were a drug; thus in Ezekiel iv. 16: ‘Son of man, behold,
I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall
eat bread by weight and with care,” &c.; and so in the next

' -verse,

6. “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living ones
saying, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures
of barley for a penny.” The measure of wheat mentioned here is
that which would just suffice for the daily sustenance of a common
labourer ; and the penny (the denarius), ranging between 9d. and
11d., would be his day’s wages, so that the whole of his day’s wages
would be taken up in procuring one day’s food. This would be
severe scarcity, almost reaching famine, but if the lower price of the
chenix of barley be taken into account matters would be much
altered for the better, for he would get three times the amount of
food though of a coarser quality. The barley bread would be that
which vast numbers of the poor fed upon (witness the miracle
of the five barley loaves and two fishes), so that this horse-
vider would by no means betoken famine, but rather poverty,
and, as far as I can judge, not grinding unendurable poverty either.

The vision has been explained in two ways, naturally and
spiritually, and either yields a tolerably good signification.

Both explanations are consonant with what we gather from the
rest of the seals, which is, that much in the time of the Messiah’s |
triumphal progress is not such as we should have expected.
Cuap. VL] A MEASURE OF WHEAT FOR A PENNY. 77

beasts say, || A measure of wheat for a penny, || The word _
cheenix signi-
Sieth a mea-
sure contain-

For instance, we should have expected that the Art, Sea thd
times of the Gospel would have been times of almost ch of
universal prosperity. It was prophesied that in the
future thus it should so be. Thus Ezek. xxxvi. 80: “ And I will
multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that
ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.”
Thus Hosea ii. 22: ‘‘And the earth shall hear the corn, and the
wine, and the oil,” &. And Joel ii, 19: “ Behold, I will send
you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith.”

And we should the rather have expected this because the preach-
ing of the Gospel does much to discourage many vices which
occasion distress and ruin in this world, such as intemperance,
drunkenness, wastefulness (John vi. 12), gambling, immorality,
and such things. But it has not been so. From the first preach-
ing of the Gospel there has been just the same hard struggle for
sustenance as there was before. Of.course there have been coun-
tries in which the poor have not suffered from comparative scarcity,
as in newly-planted colonies, but the tendency of things has been
always to bring about, sooner or later, the universal struggle for a
bare subsistence.

But the riding of this horse-rider has been interpreted spiritu-
ally to mean this, that in the day of Christ’s power there has not
‘been, nor will be, that plentiful supply of the wholesome and
nourishing Word of God which we should have expected. The
more thoroughly we examine the history of religion, I do not mean
of the Church, but of individual religion, the more we shall discover
the truth of this.

For for wellnigh 1,500 years the Word of God— meaning the
Book—has been altogether out of the reach of the vast majority of
Christians: Till the invention of printing each copy of the Word of
God had to be written fully and fairly out. And look also at the
comparative fewness of those who if by chance they possessed a
copy could read it.

But we must not for a moment limit this scarcity of the whole-
some nourishing Word to the scarcity of Bibles. The nourishment
of the vast body of the Church is through teaching and preaching,
and there may be a vast circulation of Bibles, and yet these Bibles
78 HURT NOT THE OIL AND THE WINE. (REVELATION.

and three measures of barley for a penny; and “see thou
« chix.4. hurt not the oil and the wine.

unread and their contents undigested. Now it is the first duty of
the ministers of the Church “ rightly to divide ” the Word of Truth.
If the bread of life is what God intends it to be it is very multi-
form. ‘There is first of all the life and example of the Lord Him-
self; His teaching, His parables, His miracles, each one an acted
parable. There is the teaching respecting the mystical body of
which the Epistles of the blessed Paul are so full—there is the
teaching of grace—and the responsibility laid upon us for using
that grace and growing init. There is the doctrinal teaching re-
specting the Incarnation and the Atoning Death, and the teaching
of Sacramental truth so intimately connected with it. There is
the teaching of good works, what they are and the Spirit which
they spring from. Now all these must have their places if
the bread of life is to be the good wheaten flour, and not the
barley chaff, husky and unnourishing. So that very seldom indeed
has the pure Word been doled out compared to the unnourishing,
unwholesome teaching. Preaching may be so-called Catholic and
yet devoid of almost all the leading features of Catholic truth.
Preaching may be so-called Evangelical and yet devoid of some of
the leading good tidings which God designs for the edification and
consolation of believers.

“And see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” On either
principle of interpretation, the natural or the spiritual, this is a
very difficult clause.

If interpreted naturally it would seem to signify that the same
supernatural power which condemned mankind to “ eat their bread
by weight,” still kept the wine and the oil from being injured, so
that all through the dark years of scarcity the vineyards and the
oliveyards yielded their wonted crops.

We are to remember that oil and wine are necessaries, or at
least bordering thereon; thus God gives “ wine that maketh glad
the heart of man, and oil to make him a cheerful countenance, and
bread to strengthen man’s heart,” and the widow who was com-
missioned to sustain Elijah had a handful of meal in a barrel, and
a little oil in a cruse wherewith to bake the bread.

The voice from amidst the four living ones appears to have
Cup. VL] A PALE HORSE. 79

7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, 'I heard the
voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. t ch. iv. 7.

8 ™And I looked, and behold a pale horse: ™ Zech. vi. 3.
and his name that sat on him was Death, and

spoken in mercy when it said, “‘A chenix of wheat for a penny,
and three chcenices of barley for a penny.” It was a restraining
voice, restraining the evil genius of hunger and scarcity within
bounds, and so God did not add to the miseries which afflicted the
earth by diminishing that which contributes to the gladness and
cheerfulness of man.

If, however, this place is to be taken spiritually, it may point to
avery remarkable fact in the history of spiritual things, which is
this, that the consolations of religion have been {in the darkest
times preserved to the (true) people of God. Thus in what we call
the dark ages, that which is the most comforting doctrine to the
(true) people of God, that God has chosen them to be His servants,
and will uphold them in the ways of true religion, was proclaimed
by men like Thomas Aquinas, Anselm, Peter Lombard, Brad-
wardine, St. Bernard, and many others, and no doubt was exten-
sively preached to those who could not read by the friars, who in
their early days, before they become corrupted, were the evange-
lical preachers of those times. Then some of our sweetest hymns
came from those ages, or were used all through them, and such a
work of devotion as the “‘ Imitatio Christi ” comes from a time when
the barley-meal, rather than the nourishing wheaten bread, was
the food of the multitude.

This may sound fanciful, but there must be some adequate inter-
pretation of “See thou hurt not the oil and the wine,” and if any-
‘one can suggest one more likely, by all means let him do so.

7. “ And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice
of the fourth living one saying, Come (and see).”

8. ‘* And I looked, and behold a pale horse : and his name that
sat upon him was Death, and Hell [Hades] followed with him.
And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,
to kill with sword, and with hunger ... death ... . beasts of
the earth.” The great difficulty to me in the interpretation of this
seal is this, that under the second and third seals men are slain
with the sword and (as is supposed) by famine, and here the two
80 HELL FOLLOWED WITH HIM. [REVELATION.

Hell followed with him. And power was given || unto them
|| Or, tohim. over the fourth ‘part of the earth, *to kill with
a *Y  sword, and with hunger, and with death, Pand
pou’: xvi with the beasts of the earth.

first evils are repeated, and the fourth horse-rider slays with the
sword, and with hunger, and added to these with death, in all
probability meaning pestilence, and with the beasts of the field.
The latter seems to be the effect of the want of population occa-
sioned by the former three, the land becomes uncultivated, and is
covered with jungle or brushwood, the haunt of wild beasts. Now
in the destruction or desolation occasioned by the united effects of
these four plagues, it appears to me, is the interpretation of the
fourth horse rider, It cannot be through accident that the means
by which the fourth horse rider destroys men are the same exactly
as the four sore judgments which God threatens by the mouth of
Ezekiel (xiv. 2), which teach us that the holiness of great saints,
such as Noah, Daniel, and Job, will not exempt the sinners
in the Church from the severest judgments which God can inflict.
It will be true of the greatest saints of apostate Christian times
that such holy men shall deliver neither son nor daughter, they
shall only deliver their own souls in their righteousness. So that the
famines and plagues and pestilences and desolating wars of a fallen
Christendom are not due to mere natural causes, but to the anger of
Almighty God upon those who break the new and the better covenant.

And if the threatening of Almighty God in bringing upon
Christendom these desolating plagues is to be received and accepted
by His faithful ones, so is the consolation in the very words of the
old prophet : ‘‘ Yet behold therein, in these darkest times of terror
and desolation, shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth,
both sons and daughters: behold they shall come forth unto you,
and ye shall see their ways and their doings, and ye shall be com-
forted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem,
even concerning all that I have brought upon it. And they shall
comfort you when ye see their ways and their doings, and ye
shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done
in it, saith the Lord God.”

Death shall mow down his victims as if he had a commission
to destroy mankind, and Hades shall follow him as his hearse, or
CHap. VLJ I SAW UNDER THE ALTAR. 81

9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw gh, vill. 8. &
under ¢the altar "the souls of them that were 18 sat

slain ‘for the word of God, and for ‘the testi- ; nae a

mony which they held: ‘2 Tim. i 8,
» xn. 17,
xix. 10.

death cart, wherein to receive the slain, but the gates of hell shall
not prevail against the Church; on the contrary, ‘‘ when thy judg-
ments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness ’’ (Isaiah xxvi. 9).

9. ‘And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the
altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and
for the testimony,” &c. What is this altar, and what is the mean-
ing of the souls of the martyrs being under it? It has been said
that the altar is the altar of burnt-offering, and that by the souls
under it we must understand the “ blood which is the life’ of these
martyrs which is poured out at tle bottom of this heavenly altar,
just as in the Jewish tabernacle the blood of the creatures which
were slain was poured out at the foot of the earthly altar. It is
just possible that there may be some allusion to the blood of Abel,
the first martyr, crying for the vengeance, but we must endeavour to.
see whether there cannot be an interpretation consonant with that.
of the first four seals, which is this: the first seal betokened the
triumphant progress of the Gospel. From this we should have
anticipated a millennium of peace and plenty, both temporal and
spiritual, but it has not been so. The progress of the Gospel has
been accompanied with a state of almost continuous war, and a.
scarcity of the means of subsistence, and even at times the four
sore judgments of the prophet seem to be let loose upon the earth,
and now under this seal the just vengeance of God upon those who
have persecuted His Church, and poured out like water the blood
of His saints, is suspended till the time of the end.

The key to the interpretation of this seal seems to be the Lord’s

words in Luke xviii. 7,8: ‘“ Shall not God avenge his own elect,
which ery day and night unto him, though he bear long with
them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.” We should
have thought that the blood of the martyrs would have been
avenged on the ungodly at once, seeing that the rider on the white
horse has gone forth conquering and to conquer; but it is not so.
The triumphant progress of the Gospel seems to be the occasion of

G
82 HOW LONG, O LORD. [REVELATION.

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “ How long,
See Zech.i. O Lord, ‘holy and true, *dost thou not judge
x ch. i. 7. and avenge our blood on them that dwell on

Jy ch. xi. 18. “th 2
peed the earth!

fresh martyrdoms, for each martyr in his sufferings and death is
a most acceptable offering to God.

The triumph of the Gospel then has not done away with martyr-
dom. On the contrary, in every age of the Church there have
been martyrs as true to Christ, and as heroic in their endurance
for His Name, as in the first ages. In our own day-—and late in our
own day, even as it were as yesterday—there have been men like
Bishop Pattison and Bishop Hannington, and Romanist martyrs
in Cochin-China, and Congregationalist martyrs in Madagascar,
and many who have lived martyrs’ lives, as well as those who
attained to a martyr’s death, as Father Damien amongst the lepers ;
so that every age from the first to the nineteenth has contributed
some martyrs to the noble army.

10, ‘“‘And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O
Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood,”
&c. The Prince of martyrs when He was nailed to the Cross
prayed for His enemies. His protomartyr prayed with his last
breath: ‘‘ Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” How is it that
the souls of the martyrs call for vengeance? We are to remember
that there are two ways of looking at a martyrdom. It isthe
greatest triumph of Divine grace, and yet it is the greatest of
erimes in those who inflict this death. If any crime deserves to be
punished this does, for they who put the martyrs to a cruel death,
inflicted this death because of their goodness. The goodness and
holiness of their lives was never, I think, taken into any account
by way of mitigation. Their persecutors hated goodness itself, so far
as it could be embodied amongst men, as the Lord said: ‘* Now
have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.”

Then there is another way of looking at this. They who are in
the unseen world throw themselves into the mind of God, so that
they say their Amen to every intimation of His will, When His
will is for an extension of mercy they pray accordingly, but when
His time for vengeance has come they acquiesce. Venerable Bede
hhas an admirable comment on this place. “The great cry of the
Cuar. VL] WHITE ROBES. 83

11 And ‘white robes were given unto every one of them;
and it was said unto them, “that they should = ch. iii 4,5.
rest yet for a little season, until their fellowser- en 40.
vants also and their brethren, that should be ‘ * ™
killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

12 And TI beheld when he had opened the sixth

souls is their great desire for those things which they know that
the Lord wills todo. For it is not right to suppose that they wish
for anything against the good pleasure of God when their desires
are dependent upon His will. They ask not ‘How long?’ in
hatred of their enemies, for whom they made supplication in this
life, but in a love of justice in which, as they who are placed near
to the Judge Himself, they agree with Him; they pray for the
coming of the day of judgment when the reign of sin will be de-
stroyed, and the resurrection of their lifeless bodies will ensue. For
we also in the present time, when we are commanded to pray for
our enemies say, nevertheless, when we pray to the Lord, ‘ Thy
kingdom come.’”

11. “And white robes were given unto every one of them ; andit
was said unto them.” What signify these white robes? Some com-
mentators who say that these martyrs lived and suffered only in
the Old Dispensation, say that this signifies a fuller and more
perfect justification than that which was accorded to sinners under
the Old Law, but we have no warrant for restricting the suffer-
ings of these souls to Jewish times. The white robes are prob-
ably robes of priesthood, and betokened that they would do far
more than call down vengeance on their enemies, but would inter-
cede for the Church, and the progress of the cause of God.

“Rest yet for a little season.” This seems to me to set forth the
significance of the opening of this seal. Some of these martyred
brethren are not called upon to suffer till near the time of the con- '
summation, and till these be perfected they are to rest and wait.
It may be a long time, and yet it is but a little season compared
with the eternity of bliss in store for them.

12. “‘And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo,
there was a great earthquake.” There seems to be but one inter-
pretation of the opening of this seal possible, which is that it is a
84 A GREAT EARTHQUAKE.  [REVELATION.

» ch. xvi 18. geal, ® and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and

¢ Joel ii. 10, :
31. @iiiis’ °the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and

Matt. xxiv. 29.
‘Acts i 30, the moon became as blood ;

prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ to judgment. Thus Christ
Himself describes it: ‘‘ Immediately after the tribulation of those
days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her
light, and the stars shall fall from heaven ... And then shall
appear the sign of the Son of manin heaven: and then shall all
the tribes of the earth mourn ” (Matt. xxiv. 30).

It has been said by interpreters of opposite views, some of whom
(the preterists) desire to make out that all the Apocalypse was
fulfilled 1,800 years ago; and others, as Mr. Elliot, that it is now
being fulfilled in the present course of things—that we need not
understand these signs as precursors of the Second Advent. Thus
one says, ‘“‘There is not one of these metaphors which is not
found in the Old Testament prophets, and in them they refer
in every instance to the destruction of cities, and the establishment
of new covenants, or to other earthly revolutions ;” and another
says that we cannot understand this of the Second Advent because
many things which will certainly occur then are not mentioned
here. But, in answer to the latter, we can only say that there
are seven references to the Advent and final consummation in this
book, in not one of which do we find collected together all the great
and terrible things which will accompany it, and with respect to the
former, the Second Advent will gather up into itself a number of
partial fulfilments. It will be the day of days. Other days may have
been days of judgment, of wrath, of vengeance on God’s enemies,
of triumphs to those on His side, but all these were but small,
partial, and insignificant, compared to the terrors of the great day.

This expression, “ calling on the mountains to fall upon them, and
the rocks to cover them,” was, no doubt, proverbial, and really
meant that the destruction which accompanies the wrath of the
Lamb will be so great and terrible, that every other form of
destruction will be welcomed by the wicked in comparison of it.
They would rather be crushed to death than that He should look
them in the face.

“There was a great earthquake.” See xvi. 19, which identifies
the latter as revealing the time of the end, or its very near approach.
Cuapr. VI.] THE STARS OF HEAVEN FELL. 85

13 “And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even
as a fig tree casteth her || untimely figs, when age vail, 10,

she is shaken of a mighty wind. \| Or, as
14 °And the heaven departed as a scroll when 2%. 4. 4,
it i 4 f i Isa. xxxiv. 4.
it is rolled together; and every mountain and 77% 0-45.
island were moved out of their places. f Jer. ii 28.
iv. 24. ch.

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great xvi. 20.
men, and the rich men, and the chief captains,
and the mighty men, and every bondman, and
every free man, *hid themselves in the dens and & Isa. ii. 19.
in the rocks of the mountains ;

‘And the moon.” According to the best MSS. “ the whole moon
became as blood,” which she would do if she were partially deprived
of the light of the sun.

13. “ And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth.” Which they
would appear to do if the earth were suddenly stopped in her orbit
round the sun.

14. “ And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled to-
gether,” This seems (looked at from a human point of view) to be
a reproduction of Isaiah xxxiv. 4.

“And every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”
Alford here has a most suggestive remark. ‘The whole earth is
broken up by a change as total as any of those previous ones which
have prepared it for its present inhabitants. If geology teaches us
any one fact it teaches us that there have been catastrophes on
the surface of our globe which have extinguished all animal forms
then existing, and the earth has been re-peopled with new forms of
life, none of them exactly of the old types.”

15. * And the kings of the earth, and the great men, .... every
bond man, and every free man.” Pains are taken by the writer of the
Apocalypse to include all classes of men unreconciled to God; the
kings, the powerful magnates, the generals, the rich, the powerful,
and every slave, and every free labourer, all will be overwhelmed
with terror, all will call for annihilation. Death in its most
terrible form will be chosen rather than a life of punishment in
which they will be rewarded according to their deeds.
86 THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. [REVELATION.

16 "And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and

» Hos.x.8. hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the
Luke xxiii. 30.

ch. ix. 6. throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb :
ufo’, 17 ‘For the great day of his wrath is come;

14, &c- ch. and who shall be able to stand ?
k Ps, Ixxvi. 7.

16. ‘‘ The wrath of the Lamb.” Thisis, perhaps, the most fearful
saying in all Scripture. ‘The wrath of the Lamb ” is the wrath of
Incarnate Mercy. “He is our only refuge in heaven and on earth
against all other wrath. Be it either the wrath of evil spirits lying
in wait to destroy us, or of good and holy beings, drawing back
from us: or of the Most Holy God Who is of purer eyes than
to behold and bear with our iniquity; Christ crucified for us,
and joining us to Himself, is the one only shelter and help
against it. He binds the devil and his angels that they may not
tear us to pieces, as they long to do every moment. He fills the
angels and saints in heaven, and all good Christians here in His
Church on earth, with tender, anxious care for His sinful creatures,
causing them to pray for us more and more earnestly, and obtain
for us those blessings which in a mysterious and wonderful manner
He has made to depend on their prayers. And what is more than
all He in His Own Person intercedes with the Father for us. He
stands at the right hand of God to succour all who mourn earnestly
for their sins ” (Pusey).

CHAP. VII.

ND after these things I saw four angels standing
on the four corners of the earth, *holding the four

a Dan. vii. 2.

1. “And after these things I saw four angels standing,” &c.
“ After these things” may have one of two meanings. It may
mean after the events which are signified by these visions, or it
may mean “after these visions had been displayed before me I saw
other visions,” which he proceeds to describe. I believe the latter
to be the true meaning, because the last vision is evidently a vision
Cuap. VIL] THE WIND SHOULD NOT BLOW. 87

winds of the earth, °that the wind should not blow on the
earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree, > ch. ix. 4.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having

ofthe end. Only at the time of the end will it be said, ‘“‘ Hide us
from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the
wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come.” —

I believe that there is no time allotted to the world or to the
Church between the disappearance of Christ on Mount Olivet and
His return. During the whole of these 1,800 years and more He
might have been expected at any moment; so that I think that it
is not permitted to us to make the history of the events which have
occurred since the visions of the Apocalypse to be the subject of
these visions, so that s0 many centuries should elapse between the
time in which St, John saw them and the present time. Where
there appears to be visions of successive events it is only in
appearance. This I haveshown to be the interpretation of the seal-
openings; the four horse-riders do not succeed one another, but ride
together. All the time during which the first rider rides conquering
and to conquer, the second rider pursues his career of bloodshed,
and the third his career of scarcity or famine. It is to be remem-
bered that but one such vision can appear at one time to any
human being, so that if St. John is bidden to recount such visions
he must recount them as coming into his horizon successively,
though they are in reality simultaneous.

‘‘T saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth.”
That is, at the four points of the compass, north, south, east and west.

‘Holding the four winds of the earth.” That is, a destructive
storm, it may be of human opinion, threatening the entire desolation
and destruction of society, or it may be of causes issuing in deso-
lating wars, or it may be even of physical calamities which God
treasures up in the store-house of His vengeance with which to
overwhelm a world which has braved His wrath to the uttermost.

“That the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea,
nor on any tree.” This looks to the perfect restraint under which
these powers of vengeance are kept. So far from overwhelming
the earth they do not even lash into fury the sea, they do not even
agitate the trees.

2. ‘ And I saw another angel ascending from the east,” ¢.¢., from
88 THE SEAL OF THE LIVING GOD.  [REVELATION.

the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice
to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth
and the sea, ‘

¢ ch. vi. 6. & 3 Saying, ° Hurt not the earth, neither the sea,

ix. 4, 3 :
d Ezek. ix, 4, nor the trees, till we have “sealed the servants of

oS , our God °in their foreheads.
f ch. ix. 16. 4,'And I heard the number of them which

the quarter from which light comes, i.e., the most glorious quarter
of the heavens.

“Having the seal of the living God.” Who is this angel and
what is his seal? Some say that it can be no other than the Lord
Jesus Himself; some the Holy Spirit. But it cannot be the latter,
for He is the seal which is impressed upon the souls of Christians ;
according to the words of the Apostle, “ Grieve not the holy Spirit
of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption”
(Ephes. iv. 30). Neither, according to the teaching of this book,
ean it well be the Lord Himself: for the characteristic of this book
is that God works all the workings of His providence through His
servants the angels. Itseems to me to be one of the main designs
of this book to bring out the universality of angelic ministrations.
If men are commissioned to seal their brethren either in Baptism
or in Confirmation with the Holy Spirit, and yet it is God alone
Who baptizes, and God alone Who confirms, why should He not,
if he chooses, seal through the ministration of angels? Whatever
the means which this angel or his fellows employ, it is God Who
uses their hands and directs them in making every single impres-
sion of the Divine Seal.

3. “Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees,”
&e. Why is the loosing of the four winds and their all-destroying
influence postponed till after the sealing of the elect ? We cannot
tell. Perhaps the calamities will be such that it requires a special
putting forth of the power of God in each individual case to preserve
the faith of the elect from being in danger.

4, ‘And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and
there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all
the tribes,” &. A large number of questions arise out of this to
which I ask the reader’s devout and prayerful attention.
Cuar. VIL] THE NUMBER OF THE SEALED. 89

were sealed: and there were sealed *an hundred and forty
and four thousand of all the tribes of the chil- ¢ ch. xiv.1.
dren of Israel.

5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of
the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the
tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

Were these the whole number of the sealed? It is not said to
be so by any means, only that these were sealed (out) “of all the
tribes of the children of Israel.”

When, as related in verse 9, the Apostle saw a great multitude,
which no man could number, out of all nations, had these been
sealed in the same way as the one hundred and forty-four thousand?
surely this must have been if they were amongst the number of the
saved, if they had made their calling and election sure, if they had
washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the
tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand.” ‘Who then were
these one hundred and forty-four thousand? Were they actual
Jews, or were they of the spiritual seed of Jacob only according to
the words of this Apostle respecting some who said that they were
Jews and were not, and as another Apostle witnesses, “ He is not
a Jew which is one outwardly”?

Now it is quite possible that, no matter what the seeming
improbability, they might be Jews by birth. The difficulty is that
so many belong to what are called the lost tribes. But though
these tribes are lost to us are they lost to God; can we limit the
knowledge of God? cannot He keep in His eye every soul of the
descendants of the Patriarchs, and preserve him or his posterity
till the sound of the Gospel comes to him with power ?

Let the reader remember that this sealing of each one may be —
a profound secret, known only to God and the soul whom He
seals.

The reasons given why we are to understand this one hundred
and forty-four thousand as being the spiritual Israel seem to me
very absurd. One is because the tribe of Dan is omitted ; but we

- have abundant reason to believe that this tribe had become extinct ;
another that Levi is included ; another that the tribe of Ephraim is
90 SIMEON-—LEVI—ISSACHAR. [REVELATION.

6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of
the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the
tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed: twelve thousand. Of
the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe
of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

put down as the tribe of Joseph, but why should not this be, for
God gave Ephraim the right of primogeniture ?

I do not, however, say that these were actual Jews by descent,
but that it is quite possible they may be such; we know that in the
Prophets there are many predictions of the restoration of the tribes
of Israel as distinguished from Judah. The subject is of course
mysterious, but nothing like so mysterious as many others of God’s
providential dealings.

Two other matters require a very short notice.

If this one hundred and forty-four thousand signify the spiritual
seed of Abraham, why should they be classed under the names of
the twelve tribes? Simply to emphasize the fact that the spiritual
seed, the seed of faith, enters into the inheritance of all the
promises,

If, however, they signify Israelites by descent then it may be
that they are specifically mentioned here in order to console the
remnant of Jacob by assuring them through the mouth of the
Apostle that God has not cast away His people ‘‘ whom he fore-
knew.” :

And now we ask, when did this sealing take place, and what was
it in its reality? It is impossible to suppose that such a thing as
the sealing of the elect body. takes place at but one definite period,
for it pertains to each faithful soul in every age that he should be
sealed. It appears to me that the two things represented in these
two visions, these sealed ones and the palm-bearers, describe what
is taking place throughout the whole time covered by the opening
of the seals. Notwithstanding the judgments with which God will
afflict the world by wars, famines, and pestilences, there will go on
without intermission the sealing of the elect and their gathering
into paradise. The horse-rider judgments will in no respect
hinder this. During the centuries of woe and judgment, of war,
Cuapr. VIL] ZABULON—JOSEPH——BENJAMIN. 91

8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of
the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

famine, and pestilence, God has been accomplishing the number of
His elect, and after they are fully prepared they are drafted one
by one into paradise, and take their place amongst the spirits of
just men made perfect.

But what is the actual sealing? It is, of course, the work of the
Holy Spirit, perhaps rather a work of God by the Holy Spirit ; but
what is it, what does it accomplish in the soul ? Iam thankful that
other words which I have found, and which I will give to the
reader, will express this far better than any of my own, “ On whom
did St. John see the angel impress the seal of the elect? on the
servants of God; that is, on those which were found faithful, each
one in his place fulfilling his Master’s work. The parable of the
talents is a key to the name ‘servant.’ It is the title of those
who having received the grace of their Lord to lay out in His
service, use what is entrusted to them with care and diligence ;.
it describes the state of the regenerate, and the law of their
probation.”

After years well spent in faithful service, when the will and
heart are ripened by trial into steadfast faith and love, then, in His
mercy, God bestows a crowning gift upon His servants, the gift of
perseverance.

There is an interior ministry of the Spirit, ever working, sealing
by an inward and Divine Seal the proved servants of Christ, not by
a capricious or mechanical predestination, but by an election
founded on the moral attributes of God, and on the moral nature
of man. What is the seal of the living God but the image of
God renewed in the soul by the power of the Holy Ghost; the
likeness and the mind of Christ stamped upon us by a perfect
regeneration ; the inward reality of a saintly spirit wrought in us,
either by a life of steadfast obedience or by a true repentance, by a
persevering grace, or by a perfect conversion ?

This work of grace is now, by the ministry of the Church, fulfilling
all around, and will work on unseen unto the end. Then, when
the mystical number is accomplished, and every soul foreknown
has received the seal of God, the seventh and last seal of the book
92 CLOTHED WITH WHITE ROBES.  [REVELATION.

9 After this I beheld, and, lo,"a great multitude, which
» Rom. xi. 25. no man could number, ‘of all nations, and kin-
a dreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the

* ch, iii. 5,18. throne, and before the Lamb, “clothed with white
& iv. 4. & vi. y é
11, ver.14. robes, and palms in their hands ;

shall be opened, and the scourges of God, long pent up, come down
upon the world. Ask yourselves, therefore, whether or no you are
of this secret number, or whether or no you have received the seal
of God.

What else is worth living for ? Though you should have all and
not this what shall it profit in the day of judgment? Though you
have nothing else but this alone, what shall you then desire?”

9, “ After this.” I think immediately following it, because in
some of its principal features in strong contrast to it.

“T beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could
number.” Mark the contrast. The number of the sealed was a
great number, but it could be numbered; it was quite within the
power of man to count it though multiplied many times over, but
this was innumerable; only within the ken of that God Who
numbers the grains of sand and the drops of dew.

“Of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.” Mark
the contrast here also. The former vision was of one nation, the
people of Israel; one tongue, the Hebrew, though they might
speak different dialects all holding one language to be their mother,
their national, their sacred tongue.

““Stood before the throne, and before the Lamb.” Are these
supposed to be in paradise or in heaven? It is no matter. If they
have not yet attained to the highest bliss—that of the Resurrection
‘state—they are sealed for it and are as certain of its possession as
if they had passed the judgment.

“ Clothed with white robes.” That is, white robes signifying spot-
Jess innocence: not natural innocence, of course, but innocence in the
twofold sense that no former sin which they may have committed
shall be imputed to them. It is all forgotten through their repen-
tance, and their true faith in the atoning power of the Blood of Christ.
And innocence in another sense, that no stain is left on their souls;
the memory of past sin only remains to keep alive in them the sense
Cuap. VIL] SALVATION TO OUR GOD. 93.

10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, ' Salvation to our

God “which sitteth upon the throne, and unto | Ps. ifi.s.
Isa. xliii. 11.

the Lamb. Jer. iii, 28,
Hos. xiii. 4.

Il “And all the angels stood round about the ch. xix. 1.
throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, } $."
and fell before the throne on their faces, and
worshipped God,

12 °Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and ° ch. v.13, 14.
wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power,
and might, be unto our God for ever and ever.

Amen.
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What

10. ‘And cried with a loud voice.” “And they cry with,” &c. No X&, A., B.,
C., &e.

of the greatness and thoroughness of their redemption. They are.
not tormented with the evil lusts which it has left in them.

‘*And palms in their hands.” In token of victory which they
have achieved (John xii. 13), not because they are keeping the feast:
of tabernacles, which they are not.

10. “And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God
which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” “ Salvation to.
our God,” Who orders all things, and brings about all that is in the
council of His will.

“And unto the Lamb.” As the Instrument, the Victim, the High
Priest, the Mediator. That salvation should be thus ascribed to
God and the Lamb, shows how the Lamb fully shares in the glory
and honour of God. ;

11, 12. ‘And all the angels stood round about the throne ...
and fell before the throne on their faces . . . . and might, be unto-
our God for ever and ever. Amen.” The angels are our fellow-
worshippers, and in some sense partake of the blessings of Christ's
Redemption, for it is written, “‘ by him to reconcile all things unto
himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things
in heaven ” (Coloss. i. 20).

13. “And one of the elders answered, sayingunto me.” It may
be that he read the thoughts of the Seer respecting whom these
94 WHENCE CAME THEY ? [REVELATION.

are these which are arrayed in ? white robes’ and whence
P ver. 9. came they ?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest.

aah we And he said tv me, 1These are they which came
rIsa.iis, out of great tribulation, and have ‘washed their

Bay robes, and made them white in the blood of the

ch. i. 5, See

Zech. ii.3, Lamb.

ae 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple: and

14. ‘Sir, thou knowest.” Rather, ‘‘My Lord, thou knowest.”

white-robed ones might be, and so gave him an opportunity of
asking the question: anyhow the repetition of the account of the
vision shows its importance.

14. “These are they which came out of great tribulation.”
Literally out of ‘‘the tribulation the great one.” Does this mean
out of some specific tribulation, or that the whole period in which
Christians have suffered from the enmity of the world is from the
time of St. John to the present one of great tribulation, as it is said
in the Acts, “‘ that we must through much tribulation enter into the
‘kingdom of heaven.’’ The great and last tribulation is that of the
last days—the time of the end—foretold by our Lord in Matt. xxiv.
21, “Then shall there be great tribulation, such as was not since
the beginning of the world.”

It is impossible to say. The words in the Greek seem to imply
a particular tribulation, to the time and circumstances of which we
have no clue, but all Christians should remember that all suffering
borne patiently for the sake of Christ is accounted to be suffering
with Him, and it is a faithful saying, “If we suffer with him, we
‘shall also reign with him ” (2 Tim. ii. 12).

“And have washed their robes, and made them white in the
blood,” &c. See on verse 9.

15. “‘ Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him
day and night,” &c. ‘‘ Therefore,” i.c., because they have endured
patiently, and in the power of Christ, the great tribulation, and
have been cleansed and quickened with the Blood of Christ.

‘“‘And serve him day and night in his temple,” ¢.e., as His
Cuar. VIL] THE LAMB SHALL FEED THEM. 95

he that sitteth on the throne shall * dwell among * Isa. iv. 5, 6.
them. ch, xxi, 3.

16 * They shall hunger no more, neither thirst ¢ Isa. xlix. 10.
any more; “neither shall the sun light on them, Ps. exxi. 6.
ch, xxi. 4.
nor any heat.

17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the x p, xxiii 1.

throne ‘shall feed them, and shall lead them {23%v1 8.

priests. How is it that they are said to “serve God in his temple”
and yet in the final vision St. John sees no temple in the New
Jerusalem ? Because the temple of God is everywhere. Where
God and the Lamb are there is the temple.

“He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.”
Propérly shall tabernacle them, shall spread His tabernacle over
them. He shall be so visibly overshadowing them that they shall
not need a temple.

16. “ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more.”’ This
implies a totally different condition to that in their present state.
The fear of hunger is now the incentive to industry. Men labour
for their bread, and by that labour are kept from almost infinite
moral evils. Then the curse will be removed and other motives
will keep them in the most incessant and yet the most blessed
employment.

“‘ Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.” This is
taken almost verbatim from Isaiah xlix. 10, “‘ They shall not
hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them:
for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the
springs of water shall he guide them.”

17. “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed
them.” Is this a reason why they shall neither hunger nor thirst ?
We must look somewhat higher. Apparently all finite creatures
require food ; and that with which the Lamb supplies these blessed
ones abundantly, is suited to their glorified frames or to their
intellectual nature.

Mark, it is the Lamb which does this, and yet throughout the
Old Testament it is God Who is the One Feeder of the people, “I
the Lord will feed them.”
96 LIVING FOUNTAINS OF WATERS.  [REVELATION.

unto living fountains of waters: Yand God shall wipe away

y Isa. xxv. 8 i
hee all tears from their eyes.

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” The
memory of past grief shall not be painful. They shall only
remember what they have passed through in order evermore to
glorify God for having brought them through all.

CHAP. VIII.

ND *when he had opened the seventh seal, there was
silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

seh Vaile. 2° And I saw the. seven angels which stood
b Matt. xviii.

10. Luke i.

19.

1. “‘ And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence
in heaven about the space of half an hour.” What is this silence ?
who is silent? The last sounds we have heard is the cry with a
loud voice of the great multitude, ‘“‘ Salvation to our God,” and the
worship of the angels. “‘ Amen: Blessing and glory ... - be unto
our God.” Can it be that these are hushed, and the voices of the
living ones which cry incessantly, ‘‘ Holy, holy, holy.”

I think it must rather mean the silence of expectation. The
breathlessness of the creatures in expectation of the fearful judgments

: that are impending; or, inasmuch as there is to be an incense- offering
in the sight of all heaven, it may be a silence answering to that of
the worshippers when the priest was offering his incense before the
veil, and the people were all in prayer till he came and gave the
blessing, when the full choir of the Temple burst out into song and
music. Some have even thought this silence was what fulfilled
the opening of the seventh seal, but this cannot be, almost all (as
Williams says) speak of it as an awful interval, the dead silence
which precedes the thunderclap.

2. ‘ And I saw the seven angels which stood before God.” ‘I am
Gabriel,” says one of these angels at the time of the Incarnation,
Cuar. VIL] MUCH INCENSE. 97

before God; ‘and to them were given seven ¢ 2 Chron.
Xxix. 25-28.
trumpets.
3 And another angel came and stood at the

altar, having a golden censer; and there was

given unto him much incense, that he should ee

|| offer it with “the prayers of all saints upon °the ¢ ch. v.8
e Exod. xxx.

golden altar which was before the throne. 1. ch. vi 9.

‘“‘that stand in the presence of God.” Almost all commentators with-
out exception refer to certain words in the Apocryphal book of Tobit,
“Tam Raphael, one of the seven holy angels which present the
prayers of the saints.’ Why should there not be mighty angels
before God, and why should they not be seven in number, and why
should not God Who made them and placed them where they are,
employ them when He sees it fit so to do ?

‘And to them were given seven trumpets.” Trumpets sound to
the battle and must signify something very different to the opening
of the seals of a book. Almost all expositors explain the visions
which succeed the sounding of these trumpets as betokening some
outpouring of the wrath of God upon His enemies. They cannot
well signify the use of trumpets in calling to solemn assemblies or
festivals, for the visions which take place are the opposite of these.

8. ‘‘And another angel came and stood at the altar.” Literally,
above, or over it, so that his form appeared above it; but the
Vulgate translates ante, before it.

“Having a golden censer; and there was given unto him,” &c.
‘** Golden,” corresponding with the golden altar of incense.

‘That he should offer it with.” Rather, taken literally, give it to,
that is, I suppose, add it to. Incense is not prayer, but is assumed
to be added to prayer to make it acceptable: so that, if any thing
earthly can do, it typifies the merits of Jesus Christ.

It is not improbable that this offering of incense with the prayers
is the principal thing for which we have this particular vision
vouchsafed to us. There must be something along with our
prayers to make them acceptable. ‘“‘No man cometh unto the
Father but by me.” ‘What are these prayers—what is their
subject matter? It would seem that we must go back to chap. vi. 10,
“They cried with a loud voice, How long, O Lord, holy and true?”

H
98 THE ANGEL TOOK THE CENSER.  [REVELATION.

4 And ‘the smoke of the incense, which came with the
‘Ps, exli.2 prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out
Luke i. 10.

of the angel’s hand.
ihe au 5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it

s ch. xvi18. with fire of the altar, and cast i¢ || into the earth:
h S ii * <,

a Rigs “and &there were voices, and thunderings, and
ay lightnings, "and an earthquake.

Is then the sounding of these trumpets and the consequent judg-
ments an answer to their calls for vengeance? It would seem so;
but we must remember that God’s vengeance is not only for punish-
ment, but as a call to repentance (ch. ix. 21).

4. “And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers
of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.”
Implying that on account of the incense mingled with it the
prayers of the saints ascended because accepted. The incense of
course contained no element of merit in itself, but typified that
which has abounding merit.

5. “ And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the
altar.” It has been made a matter of dispute whether there were
two altars, that of burnt-offering and that of incense. I believe
there could be but one; the function of the altar of burnt-offerings—
which was the showing forth of the One all-sufficient Atonement
by bleeding and dead victims—was over and out of place in the
presence of the all-atoning Victim; whereas the function of the
altar of incense—the perfuming of the prayers with the incense
of the infinite merits of the Mediator—was always necessary.

“* Filled it with fire of the altar [7.e., of incense] and cast it into
the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings,”
&e. Of what was this casting of fire upon the earth a figure? It
seems to be one of coming vengeance, not postponed, as in chap.
vi. 11, but close at hand.

May it be permitted to say a word respecting the sacerdotal
action of this angel. He conducts or presides over the ritual of
heaven. Now, allowing to the utmost that what he does in this
sublime worship is spiritual or figurative, unquestionably the
outward form of it is very distinctly ritual. He does not content
himself with standing or kneeling and offering up silent prayer.
Cuap. VIII.] HAIL AND FIRE WITH BLOOD. 99

6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets
prepared themselves to sound.

? The first angel sounded, ‘and there followed i Ezek,
XXXVili. 22.

hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were
cast * upon the earth: and the third part ‘of trees * ch. xvi. 2.

1 Isa. ii. 13.
was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. aa

7. “The first angel.” ‘ Angel” omitted by x, A., B., P., four Cursives, Syriac.
“‘Mingled with blood.” “In blood” in &, A., B., P., forty Cursives, Vulg., &c.
“And the third part of the earth was burnt up.” So, A., B., &e.

He uses, in the face of the inhabitants of heaven itself, symbolic
ritual. Would he have been permitted to do this if outward forms,
such as the use of an altar, standing at that altar and mingling
incense with what betokens prayer, were abominable in the sight
of God and were indications of the worship of Antichrist or of the
beast rather than of the worship of God. The whole principle of
ritual worship seems to me to be involved in such action of
heavenly beings in the presence and before the throne of God.

6. ‘*And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets pre-
pared themselves to sound.” As if they waited for the signal from
the Almighty, knowing well that on the sounding of their trumpets
terrible judgments would fall upon the earth.

7. “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire
mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the
third part of trees was burnt up.” I confess that I write upon these
plagues following on these first four sounding of trumpets with much
reluctance. I had hoped to have found something analogous to the
opening of the first four.seals which seem to usher in influences or
states of the world not successive, but contemporaneous. Thus the
first seal, introducing the Rider of the white horse, sets forth the
preaching of the Gospel of the Prince of Peace; and the second,
introducing the rider of the blood-red horse, a continuous state of
war side by side with the proclamation of the Gospel—thus pre-
paring the Church for what it would not naturally have expected.
I cannot find, however, anything in human history which can with
any probability be identified with the four visions at the sounding
of the first four trumpets, so I must content myself with giving the
100 A GREAT MOUNTAIN. [REVELATION.

8 And the second angel sounded, “and as it were a great

m Jer. li 25. mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea:
Amos vii. 4.

ch. xvi.3. "and the third part of the sea ° became blood;

© Ezek. xiv.
19

interpretation of various expositors, not one of which I ean accept
as the undoubtedly true meaning.

Expositors of such opposite views on Church questions as Elliot
and Wordsworth consider that these four first visions (or at least
the two first), were fulfilled in the breaking up of the Roman
Empire under successive incursions of the Goths, Huns, and
Vandals at the beginning of the fifth century. Elliot interprets
the first trumpet vision as the invasion of Italy, and taking and
sacking of Rome by Alaric; the second, the conquest of the maritime
provinces and the islands by the Vandal Genseric, ‘‘ Invited by
Count Boniface, governor of the province of Africa, he transported
thither his Vandals from Spain across the African sea.” But the
correspondence between Genseric and his Vandal hordes, and such
an infliction upon the sea as could be symbolized by a burning
mountain cast into the sea, and a third of it becoming blood, and
a third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life,
dying, is, to me, beyond measure slight and unsatisfactory. Now this
third part consists of the whole of the Mediterranean between Italy
and Spain. Were the whole of the fish destroyed in it? Let the
reader notice that the creatures in the sea and the ships, as distin-
guished from the creatures inhabiting the sea, are destroyed. The
only account of destruction of ships is that of the Roman navies in
the harbours of Carthagena and Bona, which were set on fire by
fire-ships driven in amongst them. With all this is mixed up an
eruption of the mountains of Auvergne, very far from the sea, in
the middle of France; and in a note the account of an eruption of
Etna which covered the sea near that part of Sicily with small ashes,
not a thousandth part of the area of the west of the Mediterranean.

I will reserve remarks on Hlliot’s third and fourth trumpet vision
till I have noticed Bishop Wordsworth on the first two seals.

He makes them both to refer to the Gothic or Hunnic invasions
from the north, without taking, apparently, any notice of the
extraordinary difference between a hailstorm mingled with blood
destroying the land, and a burning mountain cast into the sea
and turning it into blood. He makes the mountain cast into the
Cuap. VII] THE THIRD PART OF THE SHIPS. 101

9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the
sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the P ch. xvi3.
ships were destroyed.

sea and turning it into blood to be the uprooting of Rome,“ the
great imperial mountain,” by the assaults of the Goths, Vandals,
and Huns, and ‘the mighty empire dismembered and decomposed,
and its solid mass dissolved and melted away into a swelling sea
which was long agitated by the winds and waves of revolutionary
storms and political hurricanes.”

Mede also explains these two first trumpet visions of the incursions
of barbarians breaking up the Roman Empire, the first trumpetvision
relating to Alaric; the second of Goths and Vandals to Genseric.

Bengel says, “‘ The trumpet of the first angel befittingly assails
the Jews, and comprises the Jewish wars under Trajan and Adrian,”
and of the second trumpet vision he writes, ‘“A mass of barbarian
nations is meant, concerning the migration and irruption of which,
attended with the greatest injuries from the third century, history
is so full that it is needless to quote particular authors.”

The above remarks will suffice for the historical interpetations.

Alford, Williams, Bishop Boyd-Carpenter, Lee, in ‘“ Speaker’s
Commentary,” and Milligan, deprecate our understanding any his-
torical fulfilments, but none of them seem to be agreed what
mystical, or allegorical, or symbolical, or spiritual, or moral
fulfilment is to be given to any one vision.

Cornelius 4 Lapide cites Ireneus and Lactantius as agreeing
with Aretas and Ribera that these predictions are to be understood
literally, but that they will only be fulfilled at the end, “‘inchoa-
bunt et fieri incipiunt ante judicium et ante Antichristum.” I
have not been able, however, to verify the reference to Irenzus.

Archdeacon Farrar, as representing the preterists, says, “The
language is obviously that of daring symbolism. Taken literally,
the fall of the burning mountain resembles no event ever seen or
known in the history of the world. Taken metaphorically, it may
be meant to depict great calamities connected with the sea and
ships, deaths by drowning and massacre which ‘incarnadine the
multitudinous seas.’ The times of Nero furnished abundant
instances. Such were the inundations which devastated the
102 WORMWOOD. [REVELATION.

10 And the third angel sounded, ‘and there fell a great

4 Isa, xiv.12. star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp,
ch. ix. 1. : a é .
rch. xvi4, “and it fell upon the third part of the rivers,

and upon the fountains of waters ;
* Ruth i. 20. 11 * And the name of the star is called Worm-

coasts of Lydia, and the destruction of fleets, and the waves
reddening with the blood of men, as at Joppa and on the coasts of
the Dead Sea, and on the lake of Galilee.” ‘‘ At Joppa the sea was
bloody a long way, and the maritime parts were full of dead
bodies, and the number of dead bodies that were thus thrown out
of the sea was four thousand two hundred.” A large number, it is
true, but scarcely enough to warrant the third part of the sea as
turned into blood and all the fish dying.

With respect to this third part which is referred to in each
trumpet vision, Elliot understands it of the western part of the
Roman Empire and its adjacent seas, and gives a map describing
exactly what he means by the third part, which comprises Britain,
Gaul, Spain, Italy, and the parts of Africa opposite to Spain and
Italy. But Alford responds that all special interpretations seem
to him utterly to have failed, and of these none so signally as that
of Mr. Elliot, as he says, and apparently rightly, that it is not said
that the hail, &c., was cast upon a third part (of the earth), but that
the destruction occasioned by them extended to a third part of the
earth on which they were cast, and he would take the third part
(ré zpirov) as signifying ‘‘ that though the‘judgment is undoubtedly,
as to extent, fearful and sweeping, yet that God in inflicting it
spares more than He smites—-two-thirds escaping in each case.”

10-11. “ And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star
from heaven, burning as it were alamp,.... and the name of
the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters
became wormwood.” This is interpreted historically by Elliot,
Mede and Wordsworth. Elliot considers it to have been fulfilled in
Attila, whose campaigns were principally by the banks of rivers.
‘««The Huns,’ says Gibbon, ‘ were masters of the great rivers.’ But
itis specially the river-frontier of thesame western third of the empire,
to which the other trumpets refer, that I suppose is chiefly intended
in the present. Accordingly, about a.p. 450, in fulfilment of a
Cuar. VII.] THE THIRD PART OF THE WATERS. 103

wood: ‘and the third part of the waters became xed oy

15. & xxiii. 15,
treaty with Genseric, he moved against the western provinces
along the upper Danube, reached and crossed the Rhine at Basle,
and thence tracing the same great frontier stream of the west
down to Belgium, made its valley one scene of desolation and woe,
burning the cities (of which Strasburg,gSpires, Worms, Mentz,
Andernach, Treves, Tongres, Maestricht, are specially particu-
larized), massacring the inhabitants and laying the country waste.
After sustaining a severe defeat at Chalons, he fell on another
destined scene of ravage, the European fountains of waters, in the
Alpine heights and Alpine valleys of Italy. Then Aquileia, Pavia,
Verona, Mantua, Milan, Turin felt his vengeance. ‘From the
Alps to the Apennines,’ says Segovius, ‘all was flight, depopula-
tion, slaughter, slavery, and despair.’ But what of his course of
devastation. Surely with all Italy defenceless before him one
might have expected that, like his predecessor, Alaric, it would have
continued on to Rome. Instead of this, behold an embassy from
the Western Emperor Valentinian, accompanied by the venerable
Romish Bishop Leo I., was successful in deprecating his wrath,
and having granted them peace, he repassed the Alps and retired.’
Wherefore a result, humanly speaking, so unlikely ? Methinks we
see the reason. The prediction had expressly marked the term of
Attila’s devastating progress. Already Attila had made bitter the
river line of the upper Danube and Rhine and the Alpine fountains
of waters.” Butsurely all this is very unsatisfactory ; to massacre
the inhabitants and burn the cities on the banks of a river is not,
I should think, to make the waters bitter; to sack Pavia, Verona,
Mantua, Milan, is not to make bitter the fountains of their rivers
in the far off Alpine heights. _

Mede interprets the third trumpet of Odoacer, but, unlike Elliot,
with little or no attempt to account for the connection of the vision
with fountains of waters becoming bitter.

Wordsworth interprets the falling star and the embittering of
the waters as being heresies; and certainly if the Scriptures be
the fountains of the water of life, then, in a sense, the reception of
heresies makes bitter the very fountains of life, for he who has
received the heresy turns the Scriptures themselves into bitterness.
Instead of receiving them submissively he puts his own interpre-
104 MANY DIED OF THE WATERS.  [REVELATION.

wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they
were made bitter.

tation upon every place which does not suit his views. This is
particularly the case with the first of the great heresies, the Arian.
The man who holds it goes through the New Testament, systemati-
cally giving a low and inadequate interpretation to every place
which sets forth the Divine Nature and Attributes of the Eternal
Son.

I cannot help saying that this appears to me far more consonant
with the figures in this vision than the interpretation connecting
it with the ravages of Attila by the banks of certain rivers.

Bengel also interprets it of heresy. “The name of the star is
called Wormwood ’’—Arianism, ‘full of bitterness.”

Williams, ‘‘ The star may include Arius, Eutyches, Apollonaris,
Sabellius, Nestorius.

Bishop Boyd-Carpenter seemingly interprets it of the fall of the
great ones of the earth before the advance of the Gospel, but he
adds, “‘ their fall will bring misery to mankind.”

Alford avoids any particular or historical interpretation, but as
an illustration notices the evils arising from the use of ardent
spirits.

So also apparently Cornelius 4 Lapide, “ Vocatur absinthium:
quia amaricabit aquas, idque in penam scelerate voluptatis ac
presertim gule et crapule impiorum, ut qui biberunt vina dulcis-
sima et sapidissima iisque ventrem ingurgitarunt, jam bibant ab-
sinthium, eoque crucientur et enecentur.”

Milligan interprets it spiritually. “ They represent the bitterness
of that water with which, instead of the water of life, the world
seeks to quench the thirst of its votaries.”

Archdeacon Farrar, as representing the preterists, ‘‘ As stars are
the images of rulers, and fallen stars of rulers flung down from
heaven, the symbol may dimly express the bitterness and terror
caused by the overthrow of Nero, and the ominous failure of the
Julian line. The details of the image may have been suggested
by the wicked habit of poisoning the waters of which an enemy
was to drink. The Romans excused their cruelty at Jerusalem by
asserting that the springs and fountains had been poisoned by the
Jews.”
Cuap. VIIL] THE THIRD PART OF THE SUN. 105

12 “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part

of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the \ Isa. xilt 10.

 

 

12. “‘ And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the
sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part
of the stars .... and the day shone not for a third part of it, and
the night likewise.”” The sun, moon, and stars constantly in the
language of prophecy are taken to represent sovereign princes,
emperors, and kings. In accordance with this Elliot interprets
this as the extinction of the Roman emperor in the west, 1.e., in the
third part of the Roman empire (according to the boundaries traced
out in the map to which I have before alluded). ‘‘ The glory of
Rome had long departed . . . . little remained to it but the vain
titles and insignia of sovereignty; and now the time was come
when these, too, should be withdrawn. Some twenty years or more
from the death of Attila .... Odoacer, chief of the Heruli—
a barbarian remnant of the host of Attila left on the Alpine
frontiers of Italy—interposed with his command that the name
and office of Roman emperor of the west should be abolished: the
authorities bowed in submission to him. The last phantom of an
emperor, whose name Romulus Augustus (or Augustulus) was
singularly calculated to bring in contrast the past glories of Rome
and its present degradation, abdicated. ... Thus of the Roman
imperial sun that third which appertained to the western empire
was eclipsed and shone no more. The senate, however, still
continued to assemble; the consuls were appointed yearly.
Odoacer himself governed Italy under a title (that of Patrician)
conferred on him by the eastern emperor: and as regards the
more distant western provinces, or at least considerable districts of
them, the tie which united them to the Roman Empire was not
altogether severed. There was still a certain, though often faint,
recognition of the supreme imperial authority. The moon and the
stars might still seem to shine in the west with a dim reflected
light. In the course of the events, however, which rapidly followed
one on the other in the next half century, these, too, were extin-
guished. Theodore the Ostrogoth, on destroying the Heruli and
their kingdom at Rome and Ravenna, ruled in Italy from a.p. 493
to 526 as an independent sovereign. Soon after the senate and
consulship were abolished.”
106 THE THIRD PART WAS DARKENED. [REVELATION.

moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part
of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third
part of it, and the night likewise.

fete Gs 13 And I beheld, *and heard an angel flying

& xix. 17.

18, ‘An angel.” x, A., B., thirty-five Cursives, Vulg., Copt., Syr., 4th. read,
“eagle.” Only P. and a few Cursives read, ‘‘ angel.”

Mede considers that the fourth trumpet vision was fulfilled in
the ravages of Totilas, whereby Rome received its last desolations.

Bengel has a very short note: ‘“‘ That [the smiting of the sun,
moon, &c.] was done in the fifth century, when Italy and Rome,
the seat of empire, were occupied and obscured by foreign nations.”

Wordsworth remarks: ‘‘ Here we see a prophecy of a great
prevalence of errors, defections, apostasies, and confusions in
Christendom such as abounded in the seventh century.”

Of non-historical interpreters Alford gives us not the least hint
of what he thinks it means.

Bishop Boyd-Carpenter suggests the chaos which precedes the
new creation.

Milligan gives no word of definite meaning.

Williams remarks: ‘‘ These emblems [sun, moon, stars] under the
sixth seal betokened the fall of Jerusalem, but now the defection of
the Christian Church ; yet only partial, in eclipse, not fallen, for
they are still in heaven.”

Archdeacon Farrar, representing the preterists: ‘‘In accordance
with the recognized imagery of Apocalypse and Prophecy, ruler after
ruler, chieftain after chieftain of the Roman Empire and the Jewish
nation was assassinated and ruined. Caius (Caligula), Claudius
Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius all died by murder or suicide. Herod
the Great, Herod Antipas, Herod Agrippa and most of the Herodian
princes, with not a few of the leading high priests of Jerusalem
perished in disgrace, or in exile, or by violent hands. All these
were quenched suns and darkened stars.”

Cornelius 4 Lapide, citing Ribera, refers to the Lord’s prediction
that at the end “‘the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not
give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven,” &c., but the
Lord seems to set forth a far more terrible infliction of darkness
than is here signified.

13. “ And I beheld, and heard an angel [one single eagle] flying
,

‘

Cuar. IX.] A STAR FALL FROM HEAVEN. 107

through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, ’ Woe,

woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason S ch. Ud 12.
xi. .
of the other voices of the trumpet of the three

angels, which are yet to sound !

through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe,,
woe, woe,” &c. I cannot help thinking that this angel or
eagle makes a marked difference between the preceding and the
succeeding visions, and seems to indicate that compared to the
inflictions impending under the three last trumpets, the past-
inflictions were as nothing. Now taking these four trumpet visions.
to signify the breaking up of the old Roman Empire by various
incursions of Goths and others, it is quite certain that though
certain parts of Italy were rendered desolate, yet the remainder
must have been pretty nearly the same as they always were..
Supposing that an immense invading army crossed over a large
country, France, Spain, Germany, it could, as far as I can see, ravage
or render desolate a comparatively small part, and in the remainder
the operations of agriculture must go on as usual. And then an
effete empire would be displaced by several strong smaller kingdoms
which, even taking into account fierce wars between them, must
have been an immense advantage to the western Roman world.

CHAP. IX.

N ND the fifth angel sounded, “and I saw a * Luke x. 18.
«VIL, .
star fall from heaven unto the earth: and ©

1. “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from
heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the
bottomless pit.” Respecting the interpretation of what took place
under this fifth trumpet there is unanimity among expositors who.
usually do not agree with one another. Mede, and after him
Elliot, Bishop Wordsworth, Williams, explain it of the rise and
108 THE KEY OF THE ABYSS.  [REVELATION.

quake vii. 31. to him was given the key of ’the bottomless

xx. 1. ver. 2 1
BS 1 pit.

early progress of Mahomedanism; Elliot devotes to it above eighty
pages; Mede more space than he gives to apparently far more
important visions ; Wordsworth one of his longest notes.

I will first take the twelve verses seriatim.

“T saw a star fall from heaven.” Rather, “fallen (werrwxéra)
‘from heaven.” This more grammatical interpretation is far more
difficult, Was the star lying on the ground? The Lord says, “I
saw Satan like lightning fall from heaven.”

“Star” by some is interpreted as a ruler dethroned; by others
as a Christian teacher fallen from the true faith into heresy, and
those who uphold this opinion say that it was through the divisions
of Christendom, occasioned by the heresies, that Mahomedanism as
a military power was able to make such rapid progress. Elliot,
however, shows that Mahomet was by birth of the noblest tribe in
Arabia. ‘‘Mahomet was by birth of the princely house of the
Koreish, governors of Mecca. Originally the principality had been
in the hands of another tribe. But one of the Koreish had bought
from them the keys of the Caaba, and that which went with the
‘keys, the principality of Mecca, which from him descended lineally
to Mahomet’s grandfather, and was in fact in his hands at the time
of the grandson’s birth. Now this principality and government
was one of no small eminence among the Arabs.”

Some, however (as Mede) seem to think that this star was Satan
himself, and no doubt both the errors of Mahomedanism and its
ferocity were alike the work of the enemy of mankind.

““And to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” By
whom we are not told, and, in fact, it is idle to inquire, for the pit
was not, of course, a local pit existing somewhere on the surface of
the earth; but the vision teaches us that an evil influence from
hell, which had before been restrained, burst out now on the earth.
Mahomedanism is from beneath: its denial of the essential Father-
hood of God alone would prove this. The bottomless pit is literally
the well of the abyss—the abyss is the abode of the powers of evil—
in which the devils cast out hy our Lord prayed Him that they
should not be shut (Luke viii. 31).

2. ‘* And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke
Cuap.IX.] A SMOKE AROSE OUT OF THE PIT. 109

2 And he opened the bottomless pit; ‘and there arose a.
smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great © Joel ii. 2, 10.
furnace ; and the sun and the air were darkened
by reason of the smoke of the pit.

3 And there came out of the smoke “locusts 4 Exod. x. 4.

7 Judg. vii. 12.
upon the earth: and unto them was given power,
“as the scorpions of the earth have power. © ver. 10.
f ch. vi. 6. &

4 And it was commanded them ‘that they vi.3.

out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the
air were darkened.” This betokens some evil teaching darken-
ing the light of heaven. It could not have been any natural dark-
ness, for any obscuration of the natural heavens such as this has
never taken place in the world’s history, though we are assured on
the authority of Christ Himself that there will be such before the final
catastrophe.

3. “And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth.”
Assuming for the time that this trumpet vision refers to Maho-
medanism, then the imagery is parallel to that in the book of Joel,
where immense armies desolating all in their progress are com-
pared to flights of locusts. The spread of the Gospel and of Islamism
are in the greatest possible contrast ; the one was by the preaching
of the Gospel, and the conquests of its soldiers were by preaching ;
the other was by the sword, for there was, comparatively speaking,
little or no proselytism by word of mouth.

It has been noticed that the locusts did not come out of the
abyss itself, but out of the smoke which arose fromit. This was.
what engendered them, as it were. In the case of every other
irruption of destroying men, it only need be said that they came
out of some region or other at the instigation of their own blood-
thirstiness or love of plunder, but not so with the Mahomedan
Arab hosts. They came out of the obscuring smoke of false doctrine,
which itself came from hell. Without it they would have had no.
impelling, no overpowering fanaticism, which was the real secret of
their success.

“ And unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth
have power.”

4, “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the.
110 THEY SHOULD NOT HURT THE GRASS. [REVELATION.

should not hurt *the grass of the earth, neither any green
& ch. viii.7. thing, neither any tree; but only those men
Seley? which have not "the seal of God in their fore-
23. Hizek ix. 4. heads

grass of the earth, neither any green thing.” They have power,
not as the natural locusts, whose power is to ravage the crops
and green fields, but as the scorpions of the earth ; that is, they
have power of poisoning by their stings. As Williams writes:
“They are ‘as scorpions,’ not merely as an armed multitude,
‘put leaving behind the insidious poison of the second death in
that ever-enduring part of man, the soul. ... Not devouring only,
but they had tails like unto scorpions, and stings in their tails,
planting after their déevastations a sting worse than death, as found
in the undying spirit of man, which in vain, when bitten by that
‘serpent, wishes to die; for this scorpion again is no scorpion, but
partakes of the undying worm. Thus clear it is that this plague
cannot be merely of devastating armies, nor of any spread of
infidelity alone, but must be of both combined, and that too
under very peculiar circumstances, such as attended the progress
of the prophet-conqueror of Islam.”

“But only those men which have not the seal of God in their
foreheads.” A question arises upon this, ‘“‘ What is the signification
of this hurting?” It would seem that it is injury in » moral or
religious point of view, for such is the hurting which is ascribed to
these scorpion locusts. Their hurting as locusts, i.c., by ravages of
the countries which they conquer and overrun, is very subsidiary
indeed to their hurting as scorpions. It is clear that this scorpion
injury must be taken as symbolical of soul-poisoning, and if so,
then the sealed of God were preserved from it by the impression of
the Divine Seal. But such irruptions as those of the Saracens
must have been attended with much human physical misery, and
were the elect of God preserved from this? Alford lays it down
that they could not have been so preserved, and he adduces this as
the reason why we are not to understand the fifth trumpet vision
of the irruptions of the Saracens, which he assumes to have been
perfectly general in their injurious ravages—affecting good and
bad alike. But surely God, Who could preserve His own from the
evil represented by the scorpion stings, could equally preserve them
Cuar. IX.] THE TORMENT OF A SCORPION. 111

5 And to them it was given that they should not kill
them, ‘but that they should be tormented five Sohal
months: and their torment was as the torment
of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

from the evils signified by their mouths armed with formidable
teeth.

5. ‘And to them it was given that they should not kill them,
but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment
was as thé torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.” This
has been interpreted, with some show of reason, that the Christians
were not to be massacred, but put under tribute, and if they sub-
mitted to this and some other signs of subjection they should have
the free use of their religion.

The following were, according to Elliot, the degrading condi-
tions under which they were granted life. ‘‘ Deprived of the use of
arms, like the Helots of old, and with tribute enforced as their
annual life-redemption tax; with a different dress enjoined them
from their masters, and a more humble mode of riding; an obliga-
tion to rise up deferentially in the presence of the meanest Moslem,
and to receive and gratuitously entertain for a certain time whoso-
ever (Moslem) of them when on a journey might require it. They
were prohibited from building new churches, or chiming the bells
in those retained by them, and to refuse no admittance into them
to the scoffing Moslem.” I can scarcely think that such conditions
can be described as men seeking death and not finding it.

‘‘That they should be tormented five months.” This place has
given much difficulty to expositors. Taking the interpretation of
the vision to be the Saracenic inroads, it would seem that the
infliction on each person stung would be five months of acute pain,
because this five months’ torment is evidently contrasted with death.
Those punished were not to be killed, butto be tormented five months.

What were these five months? Were they five months’ pain to
individual persons under the wrath of God, or was the duration of
the plague from first to last five months? It could not be so
short a time or it would scarcely have been worthy of such a place
in this book of prophecy, and so it has been explained, as by
Elliot, on the year-day principle, i.e., three times five prophetic
days, or one hundred and fifty years.
112 DEATH SHALL FLEE FROM THEM. [REVELATION.

6 And in those days “shall men seek death, and shall

r Jon itl a1, not find it; and shall desire to die, and death
» le i.

Jer. viti. 8. shall flee from them.

ree ¢ And ‘the shapes of the locusts were like unto

ty Nahum iii, horses prepared unto battle ; ™and on their heads

6. ‘Shall flee.” So B. and most Cursives. A. P. read, “‘fleeth.”

But the baleful ascendancy of Mahomedanism must have been
longer than this. In fact, when can it be said really to have ended ?
The degradation and persecution of the Christians was carried on
by the Turks professing the same religion.

It has been said that the “five months” is to be explained by
the fact that the period of locusts is five months, and after that
they perish, but this isno explanation whatsoever, though each ex-
positor duly records it. The fact that a natural locust only exists
five months does not undo the fact that every year they are re-
newed, and fresh myriads succeed them in their depredations.

6. ‘And in these days shall men seek death, and shall not
find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”
Notice is drawn by many to the article, the “‘men shall seek
death,” &c., 4.e., the men who have not the seal of God on their
foreheads, but inasmuch as such have been in all ages, to all appear-
ance, the great majority, it seems that it is best to understand
this of men in general, the plague will be almost universal on the
godless world.

7. ‘And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared
unto battle.” Elliot gives an ingenious picture illustrative of the
appearance of these locusts, which, however, can by no means be
made to agree with the account given by the Evangelist. He
draws a locust with a man’s head and a scorpion’s tail, but the
two most salient points, the appearance of the horse ready to battle
and the lion’s teeth do not appear. A single glance at the picture
and at the Apocalyptic description is sufficient to prove the futility
of any such attempt. Every part of the description must be taken
as symbolical. The horse prepared unto battle betokens vast
armies of cavalry such as would be furnished by Arabia—said by
naturalists to be the native country of the horse.

“ And on their heads were as it were crowns of gold.” This has
Cuap.IX.] THEIR FACES THE FACES OF MEN. 113

were as it were crowns like gold, “and their faces were as the

faces of men. n Dan. vii. 8.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and
° their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9 Joel i. 6.

9 And they had breastplates, as it were breast-
plates of iron; and the sound of their wings was
Pas the sound ‘of chariots of many horses running ? Joel ii. 5,
to battle. ae

been said by Mr. Elliot to be the turbans of the Arabs, but a turban
cannot possibly be put for a crown. Wordsworth, with more likeli-
hood, understands these crowns as betokening victory. They were
not kingly diadems.

‘“‘ And their faces were as the faces of men.” That is, they were
not unreasoning creatures, whether locusts or horses, but had all
human intelligence which is expressed by the human countenance.
It may also mean that, though warlike and rapacious, they were
not devoid of human feelings, they did not destroy or massacre
indiscriminately.

8. “ And they had hair as the hair of women.” This may imply
effeminacy. It is, however, actually true of the Arabs. The
Arabians and Saracens are described by ancient writers as wearing
their hair “long and flowing, and sometimes plaited, like women”
(Ammian., Marcellin., xxxi. 18), where Valesius says “such was
the costume of the Saracens, wearing their hair long and braided,
hanging down on their backs, ‘crinitis vittatisque capitibus’ ”
(note in Bishop Wordsworth).

‘“‘And their teeth were as the teeth of lions.” It might have
been supposed that having been likened to locusts they would
devour the crops, as do locusts, but, on the contrary, they have
teeth wherewith to ravage and destroy all living things. They are
withheld, it is true, from hurting those who are sealed with the
seal of God, but all others which are not thus miraculously pro-
tected they may slay without mercy.

9. “And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron.”
That is, they were fully armed with defensive armour as well as
with offensive weapons.

“ And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of

I
114 STINGS IN THEIR TAILS. [REVELATION.

10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were
4 ver. 5. stings in their tails: sand their power was to.
hurt men five.months.
* Eph. ii. 2. 11 *And they had a king over them, which is
8 ver. 1. *the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in

10. “And there were stings in their tails.” Perhaps, ‘‘ And stings, and in their
tails is their power,” N, A., B.

many horses running to battle.” This is a reminiscence of Joel
ii. 5, “Like the. noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall
they leap.” It seems another indication of the hosts of cavalry on
which this scourge of man would mainly rely.

10. ‘And they had tailslike unto scorpions, and there were stings,”
&e. They not only slew and ravaged, but they left a poison behind
them. This must have been some infidelity or heresy, for there is
nothing in the outward or physical world that at all resembles it.
Now in this the Saracenic irruptions were in contrast with others.
The ravages of the Goths, for instance, were those of professing
Christians, or who shortly became such, but the Saracens imposed
their false religion on those whom they conquered (always excepting
those who had been sealed by God). And their spiritual venom
was the denial of the Divine Nature and Sonship of Jesus, and the
Fatherhood of God. Worse errors could not be ; Ynrist as a prophet
was, in their eyes, very inferior to Mahomet, and the future hopes
of men were fixed on a sensual paradise.

“And their power was to hurt men five months.” Here again
we have the five months’ injury. I confess I have seen no explana-
tion in the least degree satisfactory.

11. “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the
bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon. ...
Apollyon.” In contrast with the natural locusts these multitudinous
hordes have a king, and the king has the name of an evil angel.
This is not said, as far as I can remember, of any other marauding
hosts; showing that these hosts are not simply plunderers, but
under demoniacal control, agents of the evil one, Antichrists,
supernatural in their evil work, for that work is, if Mahomedanism,
the denial of the Son of God.

‘““ Whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon.’ In the Greek
Cuap. IX.] ABADDON. 115
the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek || That is to

tongue hath his name || Apollyon. mega

“Apollyon.” This seems to fix his personality as one well known.
If, as we gather from the book of Daniel, various angels of God
have committed to them the guardianship of different kingdoms,
it seems only natural that so marked an agency of evil as Maho-
medanism should have its directing and informing evil spirit.

With respect to other interpretations Bishop Boyd-Carpenter,
without speaking confidently, seems to lean to the same interpreta-
tion as that of Elliot, and Mede, and Wordsworth.

Alford seems to consider these locusts as something in the future:
“The most that we can say of their import is that they belong to a
series of judgments on the ungodly which will immediately precede
the Second Advent of our Lord: that the various and mysterious
particulars of the vision will no doubt clear themselves up to the
Church when the time of its fulfilment arrives: but that no such
clearing up has as yet taken place a very few hours of research
among histories of Apocalyptic interpretation will serve to convince

‘any reader who is not himself the servant of a preconceived
system.”

Milligan writes: ‘‘ All application to the host of the Mahomedans |
may be at once dismissed. The woe fell upon the whole world,
not merely upon a part of it, and it is not permitted to affect the
redeemed Church. At the same time it cannot find its fulfilment
in mere war, or in the calamities which war brings. The woe is
obviously spiritual. It issues from the abyss of hell; the smoke
of it darkens the air; the torment which accompanies it is not one
that brings death, but that makes the soul weary of life. These
circumstances point to a great outburst of spiritual evil which
shall aggravate the sorrows of the world; make it learn how bitter
is the bondage of Satan, and teach it to feel, even in the midst of
enjoyment, that it were better to die than to live.”

Archdeacon Farrar, as representing the preterists, is very vague as
to whether in this general picture of the hosts of hell swarming out
of the abyss there is any direct allusion to the Idumeans, Zealots,
and Sicarii stinging themselves to death with untold anguish, like
scorpions encircled by a ring of fire; or again, in the tumults, blood-
shed and agonies of Rome, the frequency of: suicide, and the many
116 TWO WOES MORE HEREAFTER. [REVELATION.

12 ‘One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes
t ch. viii. 13. more hereafter.

18 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from
the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

18. ‘‘ Four.” So B. ; but omitted by xe, A.

tales of those who seemed to long for death in vain, cannot be
affirmed. ‘The description of the scorpion-locusts evidently recalls
the Egyptian plague, and the language of Joel, and the fanciful
allusions to locusts which abound in the songs and proverbs of the
East. The five months may point to the summer period, which is
the time of locust plagues. But two circumstances seem to show
that we are here dealing not with human avengers but with
invisible demons of the air. One is, that the leader is the Demon
Destroyer; the other is, that Christians, and Christians only, are
expressly exempted from their power to hurt.”

12. “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more
hereafter.” By these words there seems to be signified that the
incursions of the Arabs and their devastations have come to an
end; but there is this difficulty about this interpretation, that
though the Arab or Saracen conquests have come to an end, their
tyranny over the subject races continues as before.

13. “And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the
four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the
sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels,” &e.
There is a great contrast between the first effects of this sixth trum-
pet and that of the fifth. In the fifth a star falls from heaven, to
whom is given the key of the abyss. This seems altogether an
evil agent, whereas here the voice from the four horns of the altar
which is before God must be holy and good.

And it commands the angel which sounded the sixth trumpet to
“Toose the four angels which are bound.” Mede, and after him
Elliot, explains this as the Turkish woe following close upon the
Saracenic.

Mede considers that the four angels are four Turkish sultanics,
Bagdad, Cesarea, Aleppo, and Damascus, between which the
Turcoman power was at first divided. Elliot, however, holds that
there was no such fourfold division acting for evil on the Greek
Cuap. IX. LOOSE THE FOUR ANGELS. 117

14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet,
Loose the four angels which are bound “in the » ch. xvi. 12
great river Euphrates.

15 And the four angels were loosed, which
were prepared || for an hour, and a day, and a | 0r, at.
month, and a year, for to slay the third part of
men.

Empire, but that the action of the angel in loosing these four is to
be considered as one; no reason being assigned for the angels
loosed being numbered as four except, perhaps, as representing the
four quarters of the globe, north, south, east, and west.

He considers that the Turcoman power dated its commencement
from the time that the Caliph of Bagdad called Togrul Bey to his
assistance in quelling some intestine factions, and from this time
the Turcomans took the lead as the head of Mahomedan powers,
superseding altogether the Arabians or Saracens. He endeavours
to show that from this time to the taking of Constantinople the
Turks may well be represented as one people, united in one para-
mount design of humbling Christendom.

15. ‘‘ And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for
an [the] hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the
third part of men.” ‘This hour, day, month, and year are calcu-
lated on the year-day system (a year for a day, 365 years + 30
years) to constitute a period of about 395 years (roughly) ; I say
roughly, because there is a difference amongst expositors whether we
are to take the year to be 860 or 3651; and the period between
this assumed commencement of the Turkish power and the taking
of Constantinople is about 395 years. The siege began on January
18th, a.p. 1458, and the city was taken May 29th of the same

ear.
- “To slay the third part of men.” This seems to me to upset, or
to render beyond measure uncertain, the whole of the preceding
calculation ; for how could the taking of Constantinople, even if every
human being in it was massacred, be the destruction of the third
part of men. Elliot falls back upon the division I have before
alluded to, of the Roman Empire being divided into three parts,
the Eastern empire constituting one of them; but surely one must
ask, “ Was Constantinople inhabited by a éhird of the whole Greek
118 1 HEARD THE NUMBER OF THEM. [REVELATION.

16 And the *number of the army ’ of the horsemen were
x Ps. Ixviii.17. two hundred thousand thousand: *and I heard
Dan. vii. 10.
y Eze. xxxviii, the number of them.
. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision,
and them that sat on them, having breastplates of

toe a fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: *and the

® ch. vii. 4,

part of the Roman Empire?’’ We have no right to say or to assume
anything of the sort.

16. ‘‘And the number of the army of the horsemen were two
hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.”
Two hundred thousand thousand would be two hundred millions,
There is now not an army in the world, except, perhaps, the.
Russian, that reaches a million. There must be some mistake in
the figures if it is a human army whose numbers are asserted to be
so great, for the population of the world was far less then than it
is now.’

17. “ And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat
on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone:
and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions.” Were
these what is usually understood by breastplates? It would seem
so from the Apostle’s account; but Mede, and those who follow
him, understand by these breastplates of fire, smoke, and brim-
stone the mouths of the huge cannon which were brought to bear
upon the devoted city of Constantinople, by which breaches were
made in its hitherto impregnable walls, and the Turks entered

 

1 Elliot, citing Danbury, thinks that there may be probably an allusion also in
the form of expression to the Turcoman custom of numbering by tomans or myriads,
For though not unused among other nations, yet there is probably none with whom
it has been from early times so prevalent as with the Turcomans and Tartars. Thus
in the Seljukian age, if I remember right, the population of Samarcand was rated
at seven tomans because it could send out 70,000 horsemen warriors. Again, the
dignity and rank of Tamerlane’s father and grandfather was thus described : ‘‘ that
they were the hereditary chiefs of a toman of 10,000 horse.” So that it is not without
his usual propriety of language that Gibbon speaks of the myriads of the Seljukian
Turks; Turkish horse overspreading the Greek frontier from the Taurus to Erze-
roum ; or of the cavalry of the earlier Turks of Mount Altai “having both men and
horses proudly computed by millions,” But all this is beside the mark, for St. John
says that he heard the number as 200,000,000, and afterwards repeats it as it were,
* And I heard the number of them.”
Cuap. IX.] FIRE, SMOKE, BRIMSTONE. 119

heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of
their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by
the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which
issued out of their mouths.

19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails:

19. ‘‘For their power ;” or, ‘‘the power of the horses,” N, B, C.

through the breaches and took the city. These of course poured
out of their mouths fire, smoke, and brimstone.

‘** And the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions.” Elliot
notices that some of the first Turkish leaders or generals took the
very name of lions, thus “‘Oluf (or Olf) Arslan” signifies valiant lion;
but taking such a name scarcely seems a fitting accomplishment of
the prediction, “‘the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions,”
we should rather look for an analogy in the account of the preced-
ing woe-trumpet, “‘ their teeth were as the teeth of lions.”

“ And out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.”
Not, as in the preceding verse, jacinth and brimstone, but smoke
and brimstone ; but the jacinth seems to indicate the blue flame of
the sulphur. ;

Such is the meaning of this vision according to the historical
interpreters, at least the principal, as Mede and Elliot. I cannot
help regarding it as exceedingly unsatisfactory. For consider, the
four angels unloose an army of two hundred millions of horse-
men somewhere near Bagdad. Their mission is to take the city
of Constantinople. They make use of artillery which vomits fire
and brimstone at this siege, not during the four hundred years of
their previous ravages. So that this figure of the horsemen and
these riders is only true of the last days of their career (I mean so
far as the Apocalyptic vision is concerned). They thus fulfil their
commission in destroying the third part of men; but is it likely
that the city of Constantinople should symbolize the third part of
men?

19. “‘ For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for
their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads.” If this refers
to artillery, then the tail is that part to which the fire is applied,
and the head is, of course, the orifice from which the ball is
120 TAILS LIKE SERPENTS. [REVELATION.

“for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and
» Isa. ix.15. with them they do hurt.

propelled by the fire and brimstone, but this is exceedingly unsatis-
factory.

‘“‘ For their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads,” &c.
T confess that I do not see in the least what this means. Looking
to the analogy of the last plague (locusts with the poisonous
stings of scorpions in their tails), it would seem to indicate some
moral or religious poison ; and if the Saracens diffused the poison
of false religion, so would the Turks, rather much more.

I cannot gather from Bengel’s ‘‘ Gnomon” what are his views.
The only clue that I can find is that the hour, day, month, and
year is “a period of about 207 years, from a.p. 629 to 886, or
from a.p. 684 to 840, that is from the last time of Abubeker to the
death of Motassem.”

Williams, without giving anything definite, rejects the usual
historical interpretation: ‘Indeed the mere number (two hun-
dred millions) would preclude any private interpretation, for it
could neither be the early persecutors, with Berengardus, nor the
Roman army, with Dr. Hammond, nor the Turkish, with Mede.
‘T heard their number,’ says St. John, as he had also that of the
Redeemed, but that number is put for what is almost without
number, two myriads of myriads.”

Bishop Boyd-Carpenter makes some good, but very general re-
marks: ‘‘ We have these horses, which are mighty, malicious, and
relentless, and which are bidden forth against mankind for their
sins and worldliness (see verses 20-21). It is not once only in the
history of the world that such powers have been let loose. The
desolations wrought by invading hordes; the force and ferocity of
Turkish power establishing itself in Europe, and threatening the
powers of Christendom; the widespread terror and slaughter pro-
moted by the outbreak of the spirit of unrestrained violence in
France, followed by reckless war, may illustrate such a vision as
the present ; but the main teaching of it is the never-failing truth
that the spirit of worldliness provokes its own punishment, wher-
ever it may exist; and its retribution is in a form which serves to
reveal what latent power of destruction lurks behind every sin,
Cuar. 1X.] BP. WORDSWORTH’S EXPLANATION. 121

and what hidden spiritual foes there are to intensify human
passions and to increase human misery.”

There is nothing definite in the remarks of Alford or of Milligan.
Todd, however, has a remark that deserves notice: ‘Again it
must be observed that the four angels are said to have been bound
at or in the river Euphrates, and we are therefore probably to look
to that region as the scene of this great judgment; inasmuch as
the prophecy seems distinctly to assert that from thence shall issue
the great multitude of horsemen who are to be the instruments of
the predicted massacre, wherein the third part of men shall be
slain. This conclusion is in exact conformity with the inference
to which, in a former course of lectures, we were led from a con-
sideration of the prophecies of Daniel, namely, that the countries
in the region of the Euphrates, once the seat of such mighty
empires, are destined at some future period to recover their poli-
tical power, and to become the scene of the last great struggle
between the princes of the world and the people of God” (pp. 151,
152).

I have reserved to the last what appears to me by far the
strangest exposition, and that by one of the most learned and
godly of commentators, Bishop Wordsworth. Comparing this
vision of the sixth trumpet with the opening of the fifth, he says
that the comparison necessitates that this trumpet-vision should
be from God, not in the same way in which all things are from
God, the good directly from Him, and the evil controlled by Him
so as to bring about the fulfilment of His purposes, but from God
in the seuse in which the preaching of the Gospel itself is from
God. He compares the fifth woe-trumpet as involving evil, or,
indeed, diabolical agency, being a star fallen from heaven, and
opening the mouth of the bottomless pit with this trumpet-vision,
which is inaugurated by a voice from between the four horns of the
golden altar which is before God commanding these angels to be
loosed. The angels which were bound he considers to be the Word
of God (represented by the four Gospels), each angel representing
a Gospel, which was bound by being shut up in dead languages.
He holds the unloosing to be the translation of the Scriptures into
all the languages of the known world, and its diffusion (as it might
be by the agency of the Bible Society, though he does not mention
such an agency). He answers the objection that an army from
God could not be represented as killing men by fire, and smoke,
   

‘

122 THE REST REPENTED NOT. [REVELATION.

20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by
gppeut. xxi these plagues “yet repented not of the works of
a Lev. xvii.7. their hands, that they should not worship ‘ devils,

Deut. xxxii. ‘ «
1. Ps. evi. °and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and
37, or. X.

20. stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor
© Ps, cxv. 4,

Gexxxv1g. hear, nor walk:

Dan. v. 23.

and brimstone proceeding out of their mouths to destroy men, by
citing the words of Ps. xviii.: ‘‘ There went up a smoke out of his
nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled
by it.” When it is objected that the Word of God could not well
be compared to a serpent, he appeals to the fact that Moses’s rod—
which might well be taken to represent the. Bible, Moses having
written its first five books—was changed into a serpent: “The
very badge of office of the Hebrew legislator, the instrument by
which Moses wrought his miracles, by which God punished His
enemies and delivered His people, was changed into a serpent.
This was its first appearance, and it is added ‘ Moses fled from
before it’ (Exod. iv. 3). But God commanded him to take hold of
it by its fail [the italics are Bishop Wordsworth’s], in which is the
serpent’s sting (? ?), and which is noted in this vision as noxious to
God’s enemies (v. 19) ; and Moses * put forth his hand, and caught
it, and it became a rod in his hand.’ Thus it was shown that God’s
faithful servants (Heb. iii, 2-5, ‘Moses was faithful in all his
house’) can take hold of and handle that which is destructive to
his adversaries, and that they can work wonders with it. This
was a very significant emblem of Holy Scripture, the first books of
which were written by him who bore the rod of power which
became a serpent.”

And with respect to the trumpet being a woe-trumpet, he adds,
‘“‘This vision inculcates an important religious and moral truth.
It reminds us that the present diffusion of the Scriptures may be
a terrible woe to those who do not attend to them.”

20, 21. ‘‘And the rest of the men .... nor of their thefts.”
These verses show that this second woe must take place before the
time of the end, because after it had been inflicted there was time
for repentance, which, however, was not acted upon: those
plagued continuing as impenitent as ever. This woe of the
Cuap. X.] NEITHER REPENTED THEY. 123

21 Neither repented they of their murders, ‘nor of their
sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their £ ch. xxii. 16.
thefts.

Turkish invasion was one inflicted on the East, and yet Mr. Elliot
considers that it was intended for the West, because the thefts
were the robbing of men by religious delusions such as the sup-
posed sanctity of the bones of saints, and the miracles falsely
supposed to be performed by their means.

CHAP. X.

ND I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven,
clothed with a cloud: *and a rainbow was + Ezek. i. 28.

1, ‘Anda rainbow.” W, A., B., C. read, ‘‘ And the rainbow.”

We are yet under the sixth trumpet, as the account of the
seventh trumpet sounding is in verse 15 of the eleventh chapter ;
but the tenth and the first part of the eleventh chapter contain
two episodes, as they have been called, rather they should have
been designated intermediate visions—the mighty angel holding
the little book, and the two witnesses. ,

The first of these has been described as the inauguration of St.
John to deliver prophecies of a (supposed) more sacred character,
having to do more especially with the fortunes and conflicts of the
Church, and not judgments on the outer world.

1. “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven,
clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head.” Very
many expositors (perhaps the majority)-consider this angel to be
the vision of the Lord Jesus Himself. They say how can such
glories as are here ascribed to Him be said without blasphemy of
any creature.

“Clothed with a cloud.” Reference is made to the cloud of the
Shechinah ; to the words of the Psalmist, ‘* clouds and darkness are
round about him;”’ to the Lord appearing to the Israelites under
124 HIS FACE AS THE SUN.  [REVELATION.

upon his head, and “his face was as it were the sun, and

b Matt. xvii. ¢ yj i :
2 tie ° his feet as pillars of fire :

© ch, i. 15.

a pillar of cloud by day; to the Lord on His Ascension being
received by a cloud out of the sight of the Apostles.

“ And a rainbow was upon his head.”’ ‘Can any created angel,”
they ask, “have such a thing about his head seeing that the
throne of God is said to be encompassed with a rainbow like unto
an emerald ?” (iv. 8). :

And again, ‘‘ His face was as it were the sun.” They remind us
of the Transfiguration, when the Lord’s face shone as the sun, but
they forget what the Lord said of the glorious appearance of His
people in the future state, “Then shall the righteous shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. xiii. 43).

‘And his feet as pillars of fire.” We are reminded of Rev. i. 15,
“And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace.”

But, notwithstanding all this, I cannot conceive that this is a
vision of the Lord, for could He possibly be designated as another
mighty angel. It may be conceivable that He should be desig-
nated as an angel in the words, ‘‘ The angel of the covenant,” but
not as another angel—one out of many. Then there is, to me,
another overwhelming reason. When St. John in the first vision
of this book saw the Lord, it is said that ‘‘he fell at his feet as
dead”’ (i. 17), though he had lain in His bosom, but nothing of
this extreme awe is hinted at here. Without the least intimation
of fear the Apostle goes up to this angel and asks him for the
book in his hand, which is given him to eat. Alford rightly, I
think, says, “Such a supposition (that the Lord Himself was the
angel) entirely breaks through the consistency of Apocalyptic
analogy. Throughout the book ... angels are the ministers of
the Divine purposes, and the carriers out of the Apocalyptic course
of procedure, but are everywhere distinct from the Divine Persons
themselves. In order to this their ministry with such symbols
and such delegated attributes as beseem in each case the particular
object in view ; but no apparent fitness of such symbolic investi-
ture to the Divine character should induce us to break through
the distinction. When St. John means to indicate the Son of God
he indicates Him plainly, none more so.”

There is, however, much to be learnt from what is said of this
Cuap. X.] A LITTLE BOOK OPEN. 125

2 And he had in his hand a little book open: ‘and he
set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot jest eaaail
on the earth, :

3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion
roareth : and when he had cried, “seven thunders « ch. viii. 5.
uttered their voices.

angel. His appearance and attributes seem to be Divine, but
after all he is but a creature, and, as other holy creatures do, he
swears by his Creator. In such a vision as this we learn the
power, of God. What creatures He can make to serve His purposes.
In the almost seeming Divine attributes of this exalted being there
is but a faint reflection of the attributes of God. No matter how
Divine all about him seems, he is at an infinite distance from
God.

2. “* And he had in his hand a little book.” Why a little book ?
This book is a little one (so many hold) as compared with the
sealed rollin the hand of Him Who sat on the throne, It contains
only a part of what is written therein, which St. John had now to
make known (verse 11).

“And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the
earth.” That is, as one taking possession of the whole globe—sea
and land. Bishop Wordsworth writes: ‘‘ His feet are fully planted
in the sea, the third element, denoting nations in a state of turbu-
lence and agitation, for He will tread beneath His feet the swelling
surge of human pride and passion as He walked on the waves of
the sea of Galilee in the storm; and His feet are set on the earth,
the emblem of worldly power opposed to the kingdom of God.”

8. ‘And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth.” As
it is not recorded what the purport of this loud cry was, it has been
supposed, with some appearance of reason, that his cry, like the
sound of the trumpet, was a summons to the thunders to utter their
voices.

The thunders seem to utter their voices in response to the voice
of this mighty angel.

The article should be translated, “‘The seven thunders uttered
their voices,” as if they were seven well-known thunders, or as if
they were part of the consecutive visions of this book (seven seals,
126 WRITE THEM NOT. [REVELATION.

4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices,
I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven
f Dan. vil. 26. saying unto me, ‘Seal up those things which the
xii. 4, 9. ~
seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the
& Exod, vi.8 sea and upon the earth *lifted up his hand to
Dan. xii. 7.
heaven,

4. “Their voices” omitted by X, A., B., C., P., Cursives, and most versions,
5. “His hand.” w, B., C., P., most Cursives, &c., read, ‘‘his right hand.”

seven trumpets, seven vials), only what they uttered is not
recorded.

4. “And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I
was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto
me, Seal up those things,” &c. That these thunders were not like
ordinary thunders, but voices uttering articulate sounds, and com-
municating to the Apostle a revelation, which was perhaps a
necessary part of his preparation for the prophetic office, is evident
from his having been about to write what they made known unto.
him, and from the voice which said unto him, ‘‘Seal up those
things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.”

They were intelligible because St. John was on the point of
writing them, but he was forbidden by a voice from heaven to
write them because men were not prepared to receive them: And
yet they are not lost. They are sealed up now, but the seal will
_be broken in God’s good time, and they will then be revealed.

It seems incredible to think what a devout Christian man has
written about these thunders: that they were the anathema of the
Pope Leo X. in Luther’s time; that they were sevenfold because
Rome is the city built upon the seven hills, and he even draws
attention to the seven thunders uttering their own voices (rd¢
éavrév gwvdc) as being their own and not God’s, It seems
wonderful to me that any man should have written such an inter-
pretation, then having written it should have corrected the impres-
sion, and then published five or six editions of it.

5,6. ‘And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the
earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for
ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are,”
Cuap. X.] TIME NO LONGER. 127

6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, » who

created heaven, and the things that therein are, * eae siz £
and the earth, and the things that therein are, xiv

and the sea, and the things which are therein,

‘that there should be time no longer: i Dan. xii. 7,
ch, xvi. 17,

? But *in the days of the voice of the seventh « ch. xi. 15.
angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery
of God should be finished, as he hath declared to
his servants the prophets.

7. “The mystery of God should be finished.” Rather, “Then is finished the
mystery of God.”

&e. This oath has been supposed to refer to what was said to the
souls of the martyrs, that they should ‘rest fora little season ” (vi.
11). But why should it be given to the angel to take this solemn
oath ? Perhaps for this reason, that the consummation had been
long delayed, but now it was near at hand; an end was to be put
at last to the weary conflict between sin and evil on the one side,
and between righteousness and truth on the other.

The angel seems to swear as the representative of the Divine
Being. He recounts the mighty empire of that Being, heaven and
all that is therein, angels, principalities, and powers; the earth and’
all that is therein, its kings, generals, armies, senates, every bond-
man and every free ; the sea which seems to swallow up all that are
engulfed in it, but they are all known to God, and the sea shall
give up its dead.

“That there should be time no longer.”

7. “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel.’ This has
been explained by some as if he sware that time was coming to an
end, and eternity now beginning to sét in; but we should rather
understand it as if there should be no more delay, but in the days
of the seventh angel the mystery of God should be finished. The
account of the sounding of the seventh trumpet is undoubtedly the
account (or rather one account, for there are seven in this book) of
the final consummation (see xi. 15).

“The mystery of God.” Everything that God is, not only His
existence as a Trinity in Unity, but His Omnipotence, Omniscience,
His Omnipresence, and all His doings, His plans, His toleration of
128 TAKE IT, AND EAT IT UP. [REVELATION.

8 And ‘the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto
1 ver, 4. me again, and said, Go and take the little book
which is open in the hand of the angel which
standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto
him, Give me the little book. And he said unto

m Jor. xv, 16. me, ™Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make
iii 1,23. thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth

sweet as honey.

evil, His making evil which He hates work out His own purposes
of grace—all are mysteries; but inasmuch as it is said here that
when the seventh angel sounds the mystery of God shall be
finished, it is more than probable that the mystery of God here is
His toleration of evil, and His making it subservient to His
purposes.

As He hath declared unto His servants the prophets, particularly
we may say in Daniel xii., where the ‘‘man clothed in linen....
held up his right hand and his left unto heaven, and sware by him
that liveth for ever, that it shall be for a time, times, and an
half,” &c.

8. “And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me
again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the
hand of the angel,” &c. This little book is open, not sealed, as was
the roll of ch. v. 1, which seems to show that its contents were
known to the Apostle. We shall afterwards have to consider what
it contained.

9, 10. “ And I went unto.the angel, and said unto him, Give me
the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and
it shall make thy belly bitter... .my belly was bitter.’ There is
but one place in Scripture parallel to this, Ezekiel iii. 1, but there is
this seeming difference, that in Ezekiel the prophet, as he is com-
manded, eats the roll, and tastes only its extreme sweetness, but
here the Apostle finds it sweet in his mouth but bitter in his belly,
but it has been noticed that when the prophet went forth to fulfil
his commission he went “in bitterness, in the heat of his spirit”
(Ezek. iii. 14).

It seems agreed upon by most commentators that the contents
Cuap. X.] SWEET AS HONEY. 129

10 And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and
ate it up; "and it was in my mouth sweet as ” Baek. iii. 3.
honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly © Bzek. ii.10.
was bitter.

of this little roll in the angel’s hand are the succeeding prophecies.
St. John is commanded to eat them; that is, to make them his
own, to thoroughly digest them, to assimilate them, as the modern
expression is.

But how is it that the after-effect of the words eaten is bitter,
though at first sweet. Bishop Boyd-Carpenter seems well to express
this. “The flaming zeal to emancipate mankind from thraldoms
to other and ruinous sins may stir the soul with a holy joy, but
there come moments when men are almost tempted to turn back,
and to think that they have undertaken a hopeless task, when they
find how slow is their progress, and what new and unexpected
difficulties arise. Such was the bitterness which Moses felt. ‘ Why
is it that thou hast sent me, for since I came to Pharaoh to speak
in thy name, he hath done evil to this people, neither hast thou
delivered thy people at all.’ The most enthusiastic souls, who love
their fellow-men, and who feel how sacred and high is their calling,
perhaps feel most of this bitterness. Their very love makes all
failures bitter to them, yet it is through this martyrdom of failure
that the noblest victories are won.”

We have now to consider an interpretation of this vision widely
differing from any I have mentioned—which is that of Mr. Elliot.
He interprets this vision of the mighty angel as predicting the
Lord Himself appearing at the time of the Reformation to make, as
it were, a new beginning of Christianity. He considers the little
‘book in His hand to be the Bible, or, at least, the New Testament,
which began then, as he (Mr. Elliot) supposes, to be studied for the
first time. He considers the Apostle St. John to represent the
Reformed Ministry, especially Martin Luther, the head of it all. He
looks upon Luther in prison in a lonesome castle of the Wartzburg
forest as the fulfilment, as it were, of St. John’s imprisonment in
Patmos. “Indeed, Luther himself has unconsciously, and in a
somewhat singular manner, marked the resemblance. In his
correspondence, the appellation by which he was wont to designate
this his place of imprisonment and exile was that of his Patmos.”

K
130 THOU MUST PROPHESY AGAIN.  [REVELATION.

11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again
before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

11. ‘He said.” &, A., B. read, “they said” (aéyouciv).

It follows, ‘‘‘ And the voice said, Go, take the little book out of the
angel’s hand.’ This signifies that the chief occupation of Luther
during his year of exile was the translation of the New Testament
into the vernacular German.”

But, further than this, Mr, Elliot considers that the angel having
the little book in his hand, and giving it to St. John, was a sort of
presentiment of the change made in the Office of Ordination at the
period of the Reformation. He allows that in the pre-Reformation
rite the volume of the four Gospels was given in the Ordination of
Deacons, but this seems to be undone by the delivery at the Ordi-
nation of Priests of the chalice and paten into the hands of the
person ordained. This being now superseded in the Reformed
bodies by the delivery of the Bible, marks the significance of the
change between the Old and the New Ordination. Christ personally,
under the appearance of the angel, sets aside all mere Apostolic
succession, and now Himself ordains the Reformed ministers, just
as He ordained the Apostles at the first. In fact the Reformation
was not only a new departure, but a supersession by Christ Him-
self of all historical Christianity, everything before Luther's time
having become Antichrist: not only Antichristian, but Antichrist
himself.

I do not think I have misrepresented the views of Mr. Elliot. I
have compressed, and I think without exaggeration, the substance
of what he writes respecting this vision in vol. ii. of his ‘‘ Hore
Apocalyptice.” I shall further on treat at some length the
reference of the Apocalypse to medieval Christianity.
Cap. XL] MEASURE THE TEMPLE OF GOD. 131

CHAP. XI.

ND there was given me*a reed like unto a rod: and
the angel stood, saying, ° Rise, and measure » Ezek. x1. 3,
= &c. Zech. ii.

the temple of God, and the altar, and them that 1. ch. xxi. 18,
worship therein. » Numb. xxii.

1. ‘“‘And there was given me w reed like unto a rod: and the
angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the
altar, and them that worship therein. But the court... .
tread under foot forty and two months.” We are now entering
upon what has been pronounced by many expositors, as Alford, to
be the most difficult vision of this book. The details of the pro-
phetical revelation are so circumstantial that I do not see that,
having reverence for the Word of God, they are to be expounded
in a general way, as if they meant general moral or evangelical
truths, and yet nothing has hitherto occurred in the history of the
world or of the Church which seems in the least degree to cor-
respond to them. I will, God helping, take three expositions
which make a fair attempt to particularize the various incidents
in the vision, as relating to things which may occur, or have
occurred, in this outward world of time and sense, and set them
before the reader.

The first is that of Dr. Todd in his ‘ Donnellan Lectures,”
preached before the University of Dublin.

The second that of Bishop Wordsworth in his commentary.

The third that of Mr. Elliot in his “‘ Hore Apocalyptice.”

Dr. Todd considers that the interpretation of this vision (xi.
1-15) lies in the future, and before I had read his lecture I had
made up my mind that such a view was most probably the true
one, because much in the vision indicates that its fulfilment will
take place “near the end,” as immediately upon the conclusion of
this vision the end comes, and is said to come quickly (i.e. “ the
third woe cometh quickly ”).

The vision is founded upon one in the prophecy of Zechariah,
132 MEASURE IT NOT. [REVELATION.

g See sty, 2 But °the court which is without the temple +
+ Gr. cast out, leave out, and measure it not; ‘for it is given
toe, 21- unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they

: ae viii.10. tread under foot ‘forty and two months.
ch. xiii. 5,

which it may be well to give in full (Zech. il. 1), “ I lifted up mine
eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in
his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? ‘And he said unto
me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and
what is the length thereof. And, behold, the angel that talked
with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him.
And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jeru-
salem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude
of men and cattle therein. For I, saith the Lord, will be unto
her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst
of her.” ;

Now this remarkable vision teaches two things. First, that
Jerusalem shall not be circumscribed by walls, that is, it shall be
illimitable. There are to be no hindrances to its extending itself on.
every side, as a circumscribing wall would be, and yet it will be
infinitely better protected without walls, for “the Lord will be
unto her a wall of fire round about.” If we are to be guided by |
this vision, then the part measured will be also immense, capable
of holding all that will take refuge in it; in fact, in the highest
sense Catholic, and yet, notwithstanding this, there will be a part
unmeasured by the Apostle, because profane; it is given to the
Gentiles. And so the holy city will be trodden under foot.

Now what is this Jerusalem, and what are the Gentiles which
will tread it under foot. It has been supposed to be the Church
with its two kinds of members, sincere Christians who have
through faith access to the presence of God, Who dwells in the
Holy of Holies between the Cherubim, and have access to the
altar at which through the same faith they offer up spiritual sacri-
fices of praise and intercession, but who in the latter days will be.
afflicted by the persecutions of false apostate Christians who will
be under the rule of Antichrist: or it has been supposed to be the
vestored temple and altar which we have reason to believe will be
rebuilt in Jerusalem itself before the Second Advent and the con-
Cuap. XI.] MY TWO WITNESSES. 133

3 And |jI will give power unto my two ° wit- | Or, F awill
nesses, “and they shall prophesy ‘a thousand two two witnesses

: that they ma
hundred and threescore days, clothed in sack- prophest:

& ch. xx. 4.
cloth. » ch, xix. 10,

4 These are the ‘two olive trees, and the two ‘| ch. xii.6.

candlesticks standing before the God of theearth. je xtié

Zech. iv. 3,
xi. 14.

4. “God.” &, A., B., C. read, ‘ Lord.”

summation, and in this case, %.¢., on this explanation, the court
which is without, which is to be left unmeasured, will be the court
of the restored temple, which will be under the power of Anti-
christ.

If the vision had ended with verse 2, I think we should have
unhesitatingly classed this description of the temple and its
measuring with those many intimations of Scripture which speak
of the divided state of the visible Church, but the difficulty is in
the remainder of this vision, beginning:

3. “I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall
prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, [forty and
two months] clothed in sackcloth.’’ Now these two witnesses have
not been mentioned, and yet they are brought on the scene as if
they were well known (rote duci paprvoi pov). But we are imme-
diately referred for some account of them to another part of the
prophecy of Zechariah: ‘“‘ These are the two olive trees and the
two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.’’ When we
turn to Zechariah iv., we find that he sees a “candlestick all of
gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon,
and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top
thereof. And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the
bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.’’ And, when he asks
the meaning, a message is sent to Zerubbabel, “ Not by might, nor
by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” And when
he further asks the meaning of the two olive trees, and the two
olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the
golden oil out of themselves, he is answered, ‘‘ These are the two
anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth”
(Zech. iv. 14).

It is clear, then, that we must look to the older prophecy in
134 POWER TO SHUT HEAVEN.  [REVELATION.

5 And if any man will hurt them, ‘fire proceedeth out

ie Biles i. of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies:
, 12. Jer.

ito. &v.14 ™and if any man will hurt them, he must in
Ezek. xliii. 3. : i
Hos. vi. 5. this manner be killed.

oonum- xv «6 These "have power to shut heaven, that it

wetings eg Fain not in the days of their prophecy : and ° have

ae = . power over waters to turn them to blood, and to
o Exod. vii. ‘i 3
1. smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they

will. :

Zechariah, and we get no assistance from it to enable us to
identify the persons, if they are persons, here mentioned; but
we are taught this, that these two witnesses are not two earthly
witnesses, but two heavenly ones which enlighten the innermost
Church with supernatural light. The olive trees which stand
alongside of these two candlesticks are evidently supernatural
beings. They supply the candlestick which lights the sanctuary
of God with a never-failing supply of that which by means of the
candlestick gives light—evidently enlightening grace. And they
do this in a way evidently miraculous. Who ever heard of an
olive tree yielding its oil without the intervention of the olive
press. So that the power by which these witnesses instruct, or
enlighten, or edify the Church, is in the highest sphere of the
supernatural,

‘In this respect they are not ordinary witnesses, even such as
St. John the Baptist, or an Apostle might be

But we now proceed to what more distinctly witnesses to their
supernatural place as instruments of God.

5. “If any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their
mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt
them, he must,” &e. We are here, of course, reminded of Elijah,
whose voice called down fire from heaven, and destroyed the mes-
sengers of the idolatrous king.

6. ‘‘ These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the
days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them
to blood.” Here we have another power which Elijah exercised
—the power of stopping the rain from heaven, and bringing on a
long and grievous famine ; and another power exercised by Moses,
Cuap. XI.] THE BEAST SHALL KILL THEM. 1385

¢ And when they shall have finished their » Luke xiii.
testimony, ‘the beast that ascendeth * out of the aan xiii, 1,
bottomless pit *shall make war against them, and rae ate -

shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 Dan. vii. 21.
Zech. xiv. 2.

the yreatest of Jewish prophets, over waters, to turn them into
blood, ‘‘and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they
will.”

No prophets since the times of Moses and Elias have so acted in
the power of God. These were works of protection or of vengeance,
but the mighty works done by the Apostles were not of this kind,
or done with this intent. They were all done for the purpose of
commending the Gospel to men’s notice by mighty deeds exem-
plifying the power of the Gospel to heal and restore rather than
to destroy its enemies, or to deliver its preachers out of the hands
of those that sought their lives.

I repeat, no witnesses of God have had such powers for such
purposes, and the explanations given of the exercise of these
powers have been utterly inadequate. They have been more or
less rationalistic. When it is said, for instance, in the Apocalypse,
that “fire proceedeth out of their mouths and destroyeth their
enemies,” and that this only means that God will visit with the
fire of His anger those who neglect His word by whomsoever
spoken, it is clear that there is nothing peculiar in the enforce-
ment of this threat more than what accompanies any threat
against those who disobey the Word, written or preached. All
men, everywhere, who resist the Gospel, do it at the peril of their
eternal well-being. We proceed:

7. * And when they shall have finished their testimony.” This
surely cannot mean their testimony to the truth of the ordinary
Gospel proclaimed by its thousands upon thousands of preachers.
It must, I think, be some message peculiar to these two prophets.
Hitherto their lives have been by God’s special power preserved
in the midst of a society or kingdom very hostile. Now they seem
to be deprived of the special miraculous protection, and take their
place for a very short time amongst the ordinary servants of
God.

“The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make
136 SODOM AND EGYPT. [REVELATION.

\ eh. xiv. 8. 8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street
& xvii. 1, 5, . 7 es a
&xvii.io. of tthe great city, which spiritually is called

2th wii, Sodom and Egypt, “where also our Lord was

24. i
crucified.

war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.” That
so fearful an evil power as the wild beast—the ‘‘ therion ’—should
make war against these two witnesses, as if they were two mighty
kingdoms, shows their extremely high place in the spiritual
world.

8. “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great
city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our
Lord was crucified.” What is signified by the ‘‘ dead bodies” of
these witnesses? It must be that which was once instinct with
life—a life worthy of being the life of two such witnesses for God—
but now deprived of it. In this they are in contrast with the first
martyrs, whose remains were eagerly sought and treasured up, and
perhaps in later times entombed in the altars of churches. No
explanation has been given of all this but that which is utterly
inadequate, as we shall see when we come to the two other exposi-
tions which I have promised.

‘Tn the street of the great city,” 7.e., in the broad street or broad-
way.

“The great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt.”
Sodom on account of its debasing wickedness, and Egypt because
of its oppression of the true people of God.

‘Where also our Lord was crucified.” This seems to identify
the city with Jerusalem. If the crucifixion is the literal crucifixion,
then, of course, no other place can be meant; if, however, we are
to interpret this place in the light of that saying of St. Paul where
he says of fallen Christians, “that they crucify the Son of God
afresh,” then, wherever in the whole world there are churches
which contain mere nominal Christians as well as true ones, our
Lord is there crucified. It is in this sense quite as true of London
as it is of Rome, or any Jerusalem which may be built on the site
of the old one.

9. ‘And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and
nations shall see their dead bodies.” This enumeration of “ people
Cuap. XI.] THEY STOOD UPON THEIR FEET. 137

9 * And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and
nations shall see their dead bodies three days * ch. xvii. 15.
and an half, and shall not suffer their dead » Ps. Ixxix.

bodies to be put in graves. sa

10 *And they that dwell upon the earth shall 4 ch. xii. 12
rejoice over them, and make merry, “and shall = Esth. ix. 19,
send gifts one to another; ’because these two Pes xvi. 10,
prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

11 *‘ And after three days and an half “the © ver. 9.
Spirit of life from God entered into them, and sievll', 9,

they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell eee
upon them which saw them.

9, “ Shall see”—“ shall not suffer.” x, A., C. read in the present tense—‘“‘ see ”—
“do not suffer ”—‘‘ rejoice ”—“‘ send gifts.”
“Three days.” ‘The three days,” A., B., C.

and kindreds and nations ” looking upon these dead bodies seems
to imply more than the dwellers in a single city, but we must
remember that the great city of the prophecy may be a sort of
metropolis, and that if the fulfilment of this prophecy is in the
future, and that the means of transit go on improving, one city may
contain representatives of all tribes of the earth.

‘‘And shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.”
This was done evidently by the special providence of God, that the
actual death and resurrection of these witnesses might be known
by all their enemies.

10. ‘‘ And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over
them . ... and shall send gifts one to another ; because these two
prophets tormented,” &c. They spoke so plainly to the consciences
of ungodly men, and foretold such terrible things of their future
doom, that they could not abide their presence and warnings.

11. ‘And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God
entered into them, and they stood upon their feet.” These three
days and a half could not be a time of great length, for, if so, the
greater part of those who had seen these prophets would have died
or been dispersed, and it seems a part of the teaching of the vision
that their death and resurrection should be seen at once by all ; for
138 COME UP HITHER. [REVELATION.

¢ isa, xiv. 18. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven

fTsa.Ix.8, saying unto them, Come up hither. ‘° And they
ote 4, ascended up to heaven ‘in a cloud; *and their

1, 5, 7. enemies beheld them.

it is said “ great fear fell upon them which saw them,” and that
this fear was beneficial and so inspired by God for purposes of
mercy is evident from the last clause of verse 13, “‘ and the remuant
. .. gave glory to the God of heaven.”

12. “‘And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto
them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a
cloud; and their enemies beheld them.” In these witnesses we
see a fulfilment—if so it may be called—of what happened to the
Lord Himself. As He was crucified, killed, raised again, and
called up to heaven, so were they, but there is this difference
between their resurrection and that of the Lord, that the Lord’s
Resurrection was seen by no one, and His Ascension only by His
friends and faithful followers, and the ascension of these witnesses
is seen by all, especially by their enemies.

I will now give Dr. Todd’s futurist explanation. ‘‘ The act of
measuring the temple denotes its restoration to the worship of
God and to the offices of Divine service. The testimony which
this prophecy, literally understood, has given us is clearly this,
that, at the time predicted, Jerusalem shall be inhabited again, and
the temple rebuilt; that after this restoration the city shall be
taken and sacked by the Gentiles, the outer court also of the
temple seized and profaned, but the sanctuary itself and aremnant
of them that worship therein graciously preserved in the midst of
the surrounding desolation, which desolation shall be of very limited
duration, three years and a half.”

Now it is to be remembered that all this may be if God continues
in the future to take an interest (to use a very inadequate expres-
sion) in Jerusalem as He has done in the past. As Dr. Todd says
“There is nothing impossible, nothing inconsistent with faith or
reason, nothing which can furnish the smallest justification to us
for departing from the natural meaning of the words.”

And now we turn to the prophecy of the two witnesses. These
have been supposed or pronounced to be the resuscitation of Enoch
Cuap. XI} MOSES OR ENOCH. 139

and Elijah, or of Moses and Elijah. The explanation of our Lord
in answer to the Apostle’s question (‘‘ How say the scribes, that
Elias must first come? ’”’) by no means limits the reappearance of
Elijah to the mission or person of the Baptist as His forerunner.
We must remember that the Second Coming much more naturally
accords with the words “‘the great and terrible day of the Lord”
than the First Coming, and that if before the First Coming there was
un antitypical forerunner, much more before the Second Coming
may there be a forerunner who may fulfil to the letter the very last
words of the Old Testament.

With respect to the other witness it has been supposed to be
Enoch, because he was “translated without seeing death ;” but it
appears much more likely to have been Moses, for the miracles
which one of the witnesses performed were those which Moses:
alone performed—he turned the water into blood, and he smote the
earth with all plagues—which is more true of Moses than of Enoch or
Elias. Dr. Todd writes: ‘‘ There is therefore nothing impossible,
nothing inconsistent with faith or reason in supposing that, under the
great affliction which is foretold, the same miraculous powers will be
committed to the two witnesses: that, like Elijah when the Jewish
Church was groaning under the tyranny of her idolatrous kings,
and like Moses when Israel was bowed under the bondage of
Egypt, they shall be sent for the support of the Church in that
bitter day of trial in which the Holy People shall be delivered over
into the hand of him who shall speak great words against the Most
High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High” (p. 186).

‘In the ancient Church the opinion was almost universal... .
that in the times of Antichrist two prophets should appear with
miraculous powers. .... On a subordinate question, viz., who the
two prophets will be who are foretold under the name of the
witnesses, some discrepancy certainly prevailed. Many thought
that Moses and Elias would again be sent... .. But by far the
greatest number of the ancient Christians were of the opinion that
the witnesses are Enoch and Elijah, who having both been received
into heaven without tasting death were believed to be reserved for
this very purpose, that they may come again in the end of the
world to prepare the Church for the Second Advent, and being now,
and ever since their translation, in the presence of God, they may
fitly be described as the two olive trees and the two candlesticks
which stand before the God of the earth.” With respect to what
140 TENTH PART OF THE CITY FELL. [REVELATION.

aes Hae, 13 And the same hour "was there a great
Gusane earthquake, ‘and the tenth part of the city fell,
amen ch. and in the earthquake were slain + of men seven

ae oe viJ9. thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, * and

xv. 4, gave glory to the God of heaven.

is alleged respecting the difference between Enoch and Moses in
that Enoch was translated without seeing death, and Moses
actually dying and being buried by God Himself, it is to be
remembered that we are led to infer that because Moses appeared
with Elijah his body was in the same condition as that of Elijah
in order that he might be seen by mortal eyes on the Mount of
Transfiguration.

And now a word or two respecting the resurrection and ascension
of these witnesses. We gather from the whole passage that it:
occurs at a time when God will have resumed that supernatural or
miraculous action of His which has been long suspended. During
the periods in which He has thus acted He has raised the dead at
the prayers of His servants, and more particularly at the time of
His Son’s First Advent, when He raised Him from the dead and
called Him up to sit at His Right Hand.

If these events, the measuring of the temple and the testimony
of the two witnesses, occur just before the Second Advent, at which
everyone will be raised again in his body, then it is only an
anticipatory miracle of what will occur to all mankind, and may be
intended to prepare them for it in a way that no mere preaching or
teaching could possibly do.

13. ‘“‘And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the
tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men
seven thousand.” God in His judgments remembers mercy. Of
this great and apparently wicked city only a tenth part was
destroyed, and only seven thousand perished.

2. Bishop Wordsworth explains the vision of the measuring and
the witnessing as signifying what is now and always going on in
the Church. The rod or measuring reed is the canon of Holy
Scripture, and the two witnesses are the Old and New Testament.
The measuring reed is put into the hands of St. John because he
was the last of the Apostles, and as being such he is supposed to
Cuap, XI.] ‘THE CANON OR REED. 141

close the canon of the books of the New Testament. The canon is
supposed to measure the church in the sense of dividing or separat-
ing the wheat from the tares—the bad from the good—the true
members of the Church from the hypocrites or false members. This
is true of the contents of Scripture, but not of its canon. The canon
is the list of books which are held to be canonical, but the word is,
as far as I can ascertain, never applied to the contents of such
books as means of measuring the faith of the members of the Church,
or dividing the good from the evil. The Bishop writes, ‘‘ The reed
—the Hebrew Kaneh, or reed, whence the word canon is derived—
represents the canon, or rule of Holy Scripture, completed and
sealed by Christ. This reed is said to be like unto a rod—the rod
of iron irequently mentioned in the Apocalypse. Holy Scripture,
though it measures as a reed, yet is not frail and quivering as
areed. It is notshaken by the wind of vain doctrine (Matt. xi. 7;
Ephes. iv. 14). It is not, as some Romish writers have ventured to
call it, a Lesbian rule, or rule of lead, which may easily be bent and
twisted in different ways. . . . No, it is a rod of iron, which cannot
be bent or broken, but will break all its foes to pieces like a potter’s
vessel. And yet by this reed Christ is said, vromaivey, to do
the work of a shepherd (Rev. ii. 27; xii. 5) for by the pastoral staff
or reed of His Word all faithful shepherds under him ... . guide
the sheep of His pasture.”’

“The court outside the sanctuary is given to the Gentiles and
they will tread down the holy city forty and two months. This
vision, therefore, represents a corrupt state of Christianity. The
outer court of the temple is given to the Gentiles and they will tread
the holy city. Many enemies of God will domineer there. And
the line of demarcation between them and the true worshippers
is to be drawn by the measuring reed like untoa rod. The reed of
Holy Scripture measures the Church and it draws the line between
true Israelites and those who in the Divine Eye are like heathen
men and publicans.”

Bishop Wordsworth explains the two witnesses as being the
two divisions of the Word of God—the Old and New Testament.
This seems scarcely feasible, for the reed is, according to him, Holy
Scripture. It seems not right to explain the reed and the two wit-
nesses a8 being the same thing.

He explains the fact of fire coming out of their mouths and de-
gtroying their enemies as the woes that fall upon all who despise
142 THE SCRIPTURES ARE A BOOK. (REVELATION.

the Seriptures. “They can shut heaven, like Elias, and exclude
all who reject them. The dews of Divine Grace are withheld from
all who scorn them. The heavens are brass and the earth is iron
under their feet. The waters of salvation become blood to revilers
or scoffers of Scripture. To them the blessing is a bane, the Scrip-
tures @ scourge, preaching a plague, the Word a woe.”

Now it is to be remembered that the Scriptures are a book, and
so cannot act personally. Persons, ¢.e., personal preachers, may
denounce woe against those who do not believe the Scriptures and
obey the words contained in them, but even they can do nothing in
carrying out these threats. God must do it in all cases according
to His good pleasure. But the words of the Apocalypse have to do
with persons who themselves (of course by the power of God) shut
heaven and turn the waters into blood. Bishop Wordsworth en-
tirely ignores the signs of distinct personal action inherent in this
vision. Then it is said that the beast out of the bottomless pit shall
make war upon them, but has he not always done so in the sense of
instilling infidelity into the minds of men so that they should not
believe the testimony of the Scriptures.

And what meaning can possibly he attached to the dead bodies of
the Scriptures lying unburied in the broad street of the city; but
only for the very limited period of three days and a half. Have not
the Scriptures in the very nature of things always been a dead
letter to unbelievers, and a living life-giving thing to believers ?

Then, has there ever occurred anything in the history of the world
answering to the dwellers in the earth rejoicing over the death of
Scripture, and the Spirit of God, after a very brief space of time,"
entering into the dead body, or bodies, of Scripture again, and
making it in the sight of the whole unbelieving world stand on
its feet, and then being called to ascend into heaven in the sight
of their enemies: so that by the very fact of this removal the two
Testaments cease to bear witness in the world where they are most
wanted.

As far as I can see, the good Bishop gives no explanation of the
murder of the witnesses or of their dead bodies lying exposed

 

1 I say a very brief space of time as compared with other periods of time men-
tioned in the Apocalypse. This three days and a half must, if words have any
meaning, be very short compared to the forty and two months of verse 2 of this
chapter, and the thousand two hundred and threescore days of verse 3.
Cuap. XI] LUTHERAN REGULATIONS. 1438

in the street, or of their resurrection, or of their ascension. The
only reference that I can find is the following: ‘‘ Something of the
Spirit described in this vision is seen in those of the Church of
Rome who, on the plea of obseurity in Holy Scripture, withhold it
from the people, and so virtually kill it, and when they have done
so will not allow it to be committed to those enduring monuments
of literature, such as editions and vernacular translations by which
its words'may be engraved on the memory of man ‘in perpetuam
rei memoriam.’ ”

But the excellent and learned Bishop seems to have some
doubts of the soundness of his exposition of this vision when he
writes the words: “‘The complete accomplishment of this part
of the prophecy seems to be reserved till the last days of the world,
for it is said, ‘When they shall have finished their witness’ (v. 7)
which will not be till the eve of the end, and this prophecy is im-
mediately succeeded by the third woe or Last Trumpet, the Trum-
pet which will call all men to judgment.”

Mr. Elliot explains the measuring of the naos of the temple and
the non-measurement of the outer court to be when “ Luther and
his fellow reformers would, as the sequel of their resumption of
prophesying or Gospel preaching, be directed to the regular con-
stitution of the Reformed Church (that which might now alone be
rightly deemed Christ’s Church visible, for the measuring implies
the edification and constitution of what is measured” (vol. ii.
_p. 517). ‘The difficulty of providing for the instruction and edifica-
tion of the Lutheran Churches began to be more and more ap-
parent. It was not possible that public worship, and the adminis-
tration of the Sacrament could be conducted decently and in
order without some plan of ecclesiastical discipline. The great
personal authority of Luther seemed to be the only cement
among those that loved the Gospel” (p. 519). ‘‘The accounts
follow in history of the execution of this most important commis-
sion assigned them, of measuring or ecclesiastically constituting
what was called the Evangelic Church, the mystic temple; of the
authorization and introduction throughout the Saxon Churches of
new formularies of public worship drawn on Evangelic principles
by Luther and Melancthon; of the removal from the Church and
Church worship of Romish images and superstitions; of the ap-
propriation of the ecclesiastical revenues of the Electorate to the
support of the Reformed parochial clergy and schools; and of the
144 THE REED LIKE A ROD.  [REVELATION.

ordination, independently altogether of the Romish Hierarchy, of a
fresh supply of ministers of the Gospel. All this was effected in
the autumn of 1525” (p. 521).

Strange interpretation indeed, and altogether unlike, what the
measuring line of Ezekiel or Zechariah can possibly mean
(Ezek. xl. 3; Zech. ii. 1,2). ‘* The reed like unto a rod,” Mr. Elliot
makes to signify the temporal power of the German princes on the
side of the Reformer, and the Reformers themselves exalted to high
positions as magistrates in the civil government. Now when one
reads the history of these times it is absurd, indeed, worse than
absurd, to identify the measuring of the temple of God and the
altar, *‘ and them that worship therein,” with the favour or protec-
tion of God accorded to Lutherans as the true saints of God. I mean
as a body, for there was from the first the same difference to be
found in them as in all other professing Christian bodies. The
many, the bulk, were but nominal Christians. Luther himself
bewails the fearful spread of immorality from the very first
amongst those professing his doctrines, and no wonder, when we
read his Epistle to the Galatians. For in his earnest zeal to com.
mend the atoning merits of Christ, he preaches at times the grossest
Antinomianism, and this, notwithstanding his protests, was taken
to the letter by his hearers, “‘ Pecca fortiter”’ was taken in fearful
earnest.

And now we pass to his (Elliot’s) exposition of the meaning of
the two witnesses. There was a large number of sects who, in the
times before the Reformation, protested against the prevailing
superstitions of the dominant Church. Mr. Elliot classes these
under two heads. He is bound to make two, because the Apostle
says, speaking in the Name of Christ, ‘‘ I will give power unto my
two witnesses.” And how does he make out the two? Why by
taking certain as of Hastern, and certain others as of Western
origin. He takes the origin of the Hastern witnesses to be the
Paulicians who were the disciples of an Armenian named Con-
stantine, who named his followers Paulicians because they pro-
fessed to derive their teaching wholly from St. Paul’s Epistles.
They were afterwards headed by a teacher named Sergius, and in
the year 970 they were removed in a body by the Eastern emperor
across the Bosphorus, and their history from that time, as Mr.
Elliot tells us, is European. He traces the sect down the middle
ages to their persecution at the Council of Orleans, when two of
Cuap, XI.] TWO LINES OF WITNESSES. 145

the canons of Orleans were converted by them and afterwards
burnt alive. He connects the celebrated name of Berenger with
them, and Peter de Bruys, whose followers were known as Petro-
brussians. He considers that some reputed heretics who were dis-
covered and burnt at Cologne in 1147 were their successors.

He considers that the witnesses of Western origin, the Waldenses,
though they are named after Peter Waldo, a merchant of Lyons,
A.D. 1160, had existed, as protesters against the dominant supersti-
tion, long before in the remote valleys of Dauphiné and Piedmont,
and so there were from very early times Protestant sects in the
valleys of the Cottian Alps who derived their evangelical teaching
from the disciples of Augustine. He takes great pains to prove
that the Waldensian protest existed from very ancient times,
because unless it did there could scarcely be accounted two lines
of witness existing through the middle ages till the time of the
Reformation. Mr. Elliot’s account of the testimony of these two
lines of witnesses is exceedingly interesting. Nothing can be
conceived more heroic than their endurance in the face of
massacre, imprisonment, and the stake; but what I want the
reader to understand is, that it altogether fails in the matter of its
likeness to this Apostolical prophecy in the most conspicuous
feature of that prophecy, which I am sure every one will agree
with me to be that “fire proceedeth out of their mouths and
devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must
in this manner be killed.’’ In this these witnesses differ from all
other martyrs, that they have supernatural power given them by
God wherewith to defend themselves and slay their enemies; but
this was not the case with Mr. Elliot’s two witnesses (or lines of wit-
nesses) during the period of their testimony. They suffered death
under the same forms of persecution as the martyrs of New
Testament times and of the succeeding ages underwent. Mr.
Elliot in the whole 220 pages and more of his account does not
attempt to give even the most far-fetched fulfilment of this part of
the prophecy. In p. 698 he speaks of Saxons and Lombards,
Saracens and Seljukian Turks; but in no way were these con-
nected with the mouths of the witnesses, nor in fact were they
scourges inflicted on the men living in the neighbourhood of those
witnesses, but upon those living at a vast distance. No instance
is given of God withholding rain from heaven at the word of these
witnesses, and it surely is impossible to suppose for a moment that

L
146 THEIR ASCENSION. [REVELATION.

the servants of God, as these witnesses were, would pray that God
would withhold the rain of His Spirit from those who had hitherto
rejected their testimony.

The death of these witnesses Mr. Elliot accounts to be the entire
cessation of all witness for Christ during the few years preceding
the Reformation ; their bodies lying unburied he holds to be the
denial of Christian burialin later Papal times to heretics ; and their
resurrection to be the revival of Gospel preaching by Luther and
his associates.

But the most marvellous of all is Mr. Elliot’s exposition of the
ascension of these witnesses. The heaven of Mr. Elliot is not the
holy heaven of God into which Christ ascended but (what does the
reader suppose ?) why the heaven of political power! I will give
his explanation in his own words. “ After the defeat of the Protes-
tants at Miihlberg the Protestant cause was itself in jeopardy
throughout Germany. But in this case, as so often in others,
through God’s gracious overruling, the epoch of depression did only
precede and introduce that of more conspicuous elevation. New
and unexpected agencies were now brought into operation. The
betrayer of the Protestant cause in the war just ended, Prince
Maurice, was led to espouse it (let it be remembered that it is with
the political bearing of the subject that I am now dealing). Then
followed the surprise of the Emperor Charles at Innspruck, and the
.consequent Peace of Passau, concluded August 12th, 1552, that
celebrated peace confirmed in 1555 at Augsburg, whereby in the
fullest measure toleration was accorded to Protestantism ; and Pro-
testants, equally as Romanists, admitted to sit as judges in the
Supreme Imperial Chamber. In short it was the fulfilment of the
Apocalyptic figuration of the witnesses’ ascent into the political
heaven in Germany— Germany the originating locality, under
God, of the great revolution .... ‘ And their enemies beheld them.’
This pre-intimated the presence of enemies, on occasion of the
witnesses’ ascension, just as before of their resurrection: as if the
result would be accomplished in the face of their enemies, and in
spite of them. And soit was. At the passing of each decree by
which the Protestants rose into ascendancy their enemies were
present in the Diets and Councils ” (page 141).

13, ‘And the same hour was there a great earthquake.” This
predicted the great schism occasioned by the preaching of the Re-
formed doctrine by Luther and others,
Cuap. XL} THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE. 147

‘* And the tenth part of the city fell.” This is interpreted by Mr.
Elliot as the falling away of England from the Papacy.

‘And in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand.”
This is interpreted of the falling away from the Papacy of the
seven united Provinces, é.¢e., Holland.

“And the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of
heaven.” “Penal enactments were passed against the Romanists
not in Spain, Italy, France, and Austria, but in the very limited
part which includes England and Scotland, and (I suppose)
Holland.”

I would conclude the account of the exposition of Mr. Elliot with
two remarks :

1. I have hitherto not noticed that the witnesses for God, at
least the Eastern branch of them, undoubtedly were deeply tainted
with the Manichean heresy—the error of holding two co-equal
principles, one light and the other darkness. The reader will see
ample proof of this in a pamphlet written in 1845 by the late Rev.
T. K. Arnold, in which he quotes largely in proof of this from
Giessler, a Lutheran ecclesiastical historian. I have not noticed
this for this reason, that granting that the Paulicians were as good
and holy and orthodox men as Mr. Elliot would have them to be,
this does not in the least degree undo the fact that they in no
respect correspond to the most characteristic feature of these two
witnesses, which is, that they were supernaturally protected by
God from being slain—which, on Mr. Elliot’s own showing, they
were not. All through their career they suffered as ordinary
martyrs for the truth till the beast made war upon them, and
then their dead bodies were exposed unburied for a comparatively
short time.

2. The second remark shall be this’: that the key to the Apoca-
lypse is not to be found in its protest against Romish corruption.
No matter how gross such corruptions are, the Apocalypse was
not written specially to oppose them, but other forms of evil as
well,

18. ‘* And the same hour there was a great earthquake, and the
tenth part of the city fell. . . . Thesecond woe is past ; and, behold,
the third woe cometh quickly.” The 13th verse, then, evidently
relates what is supposed to be an awful calamity, as an earthquake
in all circumstances must be, buf if the tenth part of the city
falling, and the seven thousand men perishing means the passing
148 THE SEVENTH ANGEL SOUNDED. (REVELATION.

1 ch. viii, 13. 14 'The second woe is past; and, behold, the
& ix. 12. & : :

xv. 1. third woe cometh quickly.

ie era 15 And ™the seventh angel sounded; “and
1. ch. xvi there were great voices in heaven, saying, ° The

° ch. xii.10. kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms
ean of our Lord, and of his Christ; ?and he shall
as reign for ever and ever.

5 eee 16 And «the four and twenty elders, which sat

wk
y. 8, & xix, 4.

15. ‘The kingdoms of this world.” X, A., B., C. read, ‘The kingdom” in the
singular.

over of England and the seven united Provinces to the side of the
Reformation, then, according to the ultra-Protestant view, the
being shaken to pieces by this earthquake and the consequent
destruction was the best thing that could possibly have happened
to those that were involved in the ruins. In such absurdities does
the anti-papal historical view land us.

“The third woe cometh quickly.” For the woeful nature of this
woe we must look to chap. vi. 15, 16, where the fearful side of
the Second Advent appears. Here, as we shall see, it is described
only on its glorious and happy side—as it will be experienced by
the righteous.

15. “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great
voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become
the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.’”’ This is no doubt the
general judgment and the consummation (‘‘ He shall reign for ever
and ever’’). As I have said, there are no less than seven accounts
of the general judgment in this book. The account in chap. vi.
12-17 describes it as the exhibition of the wrath of the Lamb.
Here it only appears as the Advent of His glory, and the final de-
liverance of His elect ones. Its terrific side being passed over at
present.

He shall reign in every kingdom, in every family, in every
heart.

16. ‘‘ And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God....
fell upon their faces .. . . Saying, we give theé thanks, O
Lord God Almighty .... because thou hast taken to thee thy
Cuap. XI] THY WRATH IS COME. 149

before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and wor-
shipped God,

17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
"which art, and wast, and art to come; because “ch. i. 4,8
thou hast taken to thee thy great power, ‘and ane

hast reigned. eae
18 ‘And the nations were angry, and thy wrath + ver. 2, 9.

is come, “and the time of the dead, that they « Dan. vii. 9,

should be judged, and that thou shouldest give PRE ior

reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the

17. ‘‘ And art to come” omitted by X, A., B., C.

great power.” They thank God that he has put an end to the
weary warfare between sin and holiness. The mystery of God (as
the great angel swore it would be at the blast of the seventh angel)
is finished. ‘‘ Thou hast taken (to thee) thy great power,” that is, to
exercise it in the restraint or abolition of evil, and the establish-
ment of truth and righteousness. “ We give thanks to thee” re-
minds us of the words in the Gloria in Excelsis, ‘‘ We give thanks
to thee for thy great glory.”

“And hast reigned.” This is put in the past tense, as if it were
already accomplished. What God has begun may be considered
as already done.

18. “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath iscome.” Itis
unfortunate that the translation of ‘‘ anger” is not the same in
both clauses. ‘ The nations were angry, and thine anger is come,”
or “the nations were wrath and thy wrath is come.” The two
wraths are in contrast—the one, that of the nations, impotent;
the other, that of God, irresistible.

“And the time of the dead, that they should be judged.” Not
only the living, but the dead—-those in Hades. This shows us
very plainly that this is the time of no inferior, but the general
judgment. “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God ”
(xx. 12).

“And that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the
prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small
150 THE ARK OF HIS TESTIMONY.  [REVELATION.

saints, and them that fear thy name, *small and great; ’ and
«ch. xix.5. shouldest destroy them which || destroy the earth.

¥ ch. xiii. 10.

& xviii. 6. 19 And ‘the temple of God was opened in

I ao ee heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark

ach. viii.5. of his testament: and *there were lightnings, and
& xvi. 18. : . b
» ch. xvig1, Voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, °and

great hail.

and great.” As in Rev. vi. 12-17, under the sixth seal there was a
revelation of punishment, so here of reward.

‘And shouldest destroy them which destroy [or corrupt] the
earth.” This is the only intimation of ‘‘ woe” in this vision of
judgment, but it is a very terrible one. All the tribes of the earth
mourn.

19. ‘‘ And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was
seen in his temple the ark of histestament.” The ark of the cove-
nant was the most remarkable type of Jesus Christ. It contained
the tables of the Law—in Him is the law of perfect righteousness. It
originally contained the pot of manna—in Him is the true manna.
It contained Aaron’s rod of the priesthood—in Him is the succession
of the true priesthood. Perhaps it may mean what Hengstenberg
says: “The ark of the covenant is made visible in order to signify
that the covenant has received its most signal accomplishment.
God has now remembered His holy covenant, and His people
may now serve Him without fear.”

“And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and
an earthquake, and great hail.” This, in substance, occurs twice
in this book, once in chap. viii. 5, when “the angel took the censer
and cast it into the earth,” and once in xvi. 18, when the seventh
angel poured his vial into the air, ‘“‘and there were voices, and
thunders, and lightnings, and there was a great earthquake.” As
Alford writes, *‘ The solemn salvos, so to speak, of the artillery of
heaven, with which each series of visions is concluded.”
Cuap. XII] THE GREAT WARFARE. 151

CHAP. XII.

In this chapter we seem to have an account of the great warfare
between good and evil in the world. The key of it seems to
be the primeval prophecy, “I will put enmity between thee and
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed.” All the visions
in this book of the great struggle between the two antagonistic
forces have their root in this original enmity. They are not
natural developments of evil so much as the actual conflict between
the author of evil and the good which has been introduced into
the race by the coming amongst us of the Son of God.

1. ‘And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman
clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon
her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child
cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered... . And
she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a
rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his
throne.” Who was this child thus brought forth, thus destined to
rule all nations, and caught up unto God, and to His throne. It
seems blasphemy to suggest any name but One, and that the Name
of Jesus. But who then is the woman ? He had but one mother,
and that a lowly virgin, but richly endowed with the highest grace
which God can bestow—that which shone most conspicuously in
His own Son—the grace of humility. It was a great thing for her
to be clad with the sun, to have the moon under her, and to be
crowned with twelve stars; but what was all this, multiplied ten
thousand times over, to what God brought about in her that she
should have the unspeakable glory of being the bearer in her womb,
as being His mother, of the Only Begotten Son of God. In her that
took place to which the creation of the brightest sun was as nothing.
In her the Word was made flesh. In her sin and evil were
already conquered, for if God had begun in her so wondrous a
mystery of grace He would bring all to a glorious conclusion. It
is a great thing to be clothed with the sun; but is it not said of
all the righteous, that they shall shine forth as the sun in the
glory of their Father? But does this agree with a later part of the
152 SHE SEEMS TO DISAPPEAR.  [REVELATION.

vision; for after her Son is raised to the throne of God she seems
to disappear, and her place—not only her place, but her very person
to be taken by the Church. ‘Well, this is the fulfilment of the
prophecy, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed.’”” The enmity was not to cease when
the woman was delivered, neither was the enmity to cease when
the woman was removed by death. It was then to be directed
against the Church. Now what is the Church? It is called the
body of Christ. It is called the bride of Christ. It is the Lamb’s
wife. But is the Church anything to the Virgin? Is the Virgin
anything to the Church? The answer is, that if the Incarnation
had not taken place in this blessed woman, the Church would
have been non-existent. The Church was not an offshoot of the Law
nor of the Jewish Church—which, in comparison with Christ’s, was
no Church at all—but the Church was the offshoot of the Incarna-
tion. All the good in the Church which God regards with
unspeakable favour is the product of the new nature of the
second Adam, which began to exist in the womb of this blessed
woman, and which came forth when He was born, and which was
renewed when He received life again from the dead that He might
communicate it to us. But is not the Church the creation of the
Holy Spirit? Certainly; but that Holy Spirit uses means for the
diffusion of the new Nature of the Virgin-born. He works not
only in the written or preached Word, but in the Sacraments,
which have rightly been called extensions of the Incarnation.

There are multitudes of good men, good women—true children
of God, true followers of Christ—but where does all this goodness
come forth? From Him Who was born of the Virgin Mary. If it
had not been for the Incarnation there would have been no holi-
ness, no goodness in the Church. But was there not true holiness
and goodness in the elder Church? Yes, but it pleased God that
there should be a new beginning in the Second Man, “ conceived
by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary.”

But does not the supposition that this woman is thus crowned
with glory, and resplendent with light tempt us to worship her.
Only those I answer who are “ inexpressibly foolish.” In this vision

not only the woman but the dragon are represented as they are in
the moral and spiritual universe; the one all resplendent with
grace, the other all fearful and hideous, because the author and
sustainer of all evil, all enmity to God, all hatred to the image of
Cuap, XII.] THE CHURCH IN THE INCARNATION. 153

God in man. The Virgin, then, rightly represents the Church in
its origin as founded in the Incarnation, but she does not continue
to do so, because she does not continue in the world. And so the
Church, which is in a sense derived from her, takes her place and
flees into the wilderness.

We shall know at sometime or other that the enmity of the
dragon to the woman is because of the Incarnation—because of
the infinite grace of God displayed in it and communicated to us
through it; so that the enmity of the dragon to the woman is
enmity to God in the highest form of His grace, and so the per-
secution of the woman is continued to the Church, to those in it
who bear the fruits of grace. Now, these as long as they are in
the world are always in the wilderness, and in them is fulfilled
the Apostolic word, ‘“ All that will live godly in Christ Jesus must
suffer persecution.” Such are the true brethren of Christ, born
again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible.

CHAP. XII.

ND there appeared a great || wonder in 1 0r, sign,
heaven; a woman clothed with the sun,

1. ‘And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman
clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet.” In the
introductory remarks I showed that it was but right to understand
this literally of the most favoured of the human race, even of her
in whom “the manhood was taken unto God.” The glory surround-
ing her is beyond measure transcendent, but it is far below that
which took place in her. If we only try to realize how God magni-
fied her by making her the human channel and means in which
the Eternal Word was made flesh, we shall not think it strange
that she was arrayed in such splendour.

“In heaven.” It has been said by those who consider this woman
to represent primarily the Church (excluding all thought of the
Virgin) that she is seen in heaven because heaven is the home of
154 A CROWN OF TWELVE STARS. [REVELATION.

and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of

twelve stars: &

Eee tee 2 And she being with child cried, * travailing
in birth, and pained to be delivered.

II Or, sign. 3 And there appeared another || wonder in

the Church, but when the woman is persecuted by the dragon
she evidently is seen on earth. Why should she be represented as
descending to earth to be persecuted ? Must we not rather under-
stand that St. John being in the spirit sees all things in heaven.
Heaven is the scene before him in which all takes place. Thus in
the fifth chapter he sees what goes on in heaven, and in the sixth
he sees what goes on on earth at the opening of each seal, without
the least hint of any change of point of view.

“And the moon under her feet.” It has been explained as if
the woman were above the changes in this sublunary state, but
may it not be by way of addition to her glory?

** And upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” By those (and
there are such) who explain the woman to be the Jewish Church,
the stars are the twelve patriarchs or twelve tribes. By those who
represent her as signifying the Christian Church, they are of
course the twelve Apostles. But may they not be simply additions
to her glory.

2. “‘And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and
pained to be delivered.’ This has been applied to the Jewish
Church, which existed in constant expectation of the coming of the
Messiah. It cannot be referred, except in a most circuitous way,
to the Christian Church after the time of Christ, It can only be
primarily so applied by a tacit ignoring of the coming of Christ
into the world “ born of a woman.” To say that the Church is the
mother of Christ, and bears Christ, is only true in a very secondary
sense, and there must be an antecedent mystery, which is that the
Son of God is born of a Virgin. Unless Christ had been thus born
no human being could have had Him within him either mystically
or spiritually.

8. “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold
a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven
crowns upon his heads.” This is the old serpent who deceived
Cuap. XII] SHE BROUGHT FORTH A MAN CHILD. 155

heaven ; and behold °a great red dragon, “having » ch. xvii. 3.

. ‘
seven heads and ten horns, ‘and seven crowns jo" *""®
upon his heads. 4 ch, xiii. 1.

4 And ° his tail drew the third part ‘of the stars ¢ 2 sale 8.

of heaven, * and did cast them to the earth: and the = Dan. viii. 10.
dragon stood " before the woman which was ready » ver. 2.
to be delivered, ‘for to devour her child as soon : Ex. i. 16.
as it was born. k Ps, ii. 9.

5 And she brought forth a man child, ‘who oe Cie .

Eve, and to whom God said, “I will put enmity between thee and
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed.”

“‘Having seven heads.” Seven being the number of perfection
denoted his almost superhuman, infinite intelligence.

“And ten horns.” Denoting the greatness of his power.

** And seven crowns upon his heads.” Denoting his almost uni-
versal dominion as the prince of this world, I am well aware, of
course, that the wild beast of the next chapter has seven heads and
ten horns, and seven crowns, but these heads and horns, and
crowns cannot have, it appears to me, the same significance as
they had when attached to the therion. Satan could not have had
them originally, because if they were dynasties or monarchies he
existed long before them.

4, ‘And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and
did cast them to the earth,” Williams (and many others) suggests
that “the third part of the stars ” are the angels whom Satan drew
down with himself into perdition. In fact if seems by far the
most likely interpretation.

“And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to
be delivered.” Almost all, even those who ignore the reference in
the star-crowned woman to the Virgin, interpret this part of the
vision as of Herod endeavouring to destroy the Lord as soon as He
was born; and certainly no act of wicked men was ever more

fiendish, more worthy of the direct inspiration of Satan, than
this.

5. “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all
nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God,
and to his throne.” This can be only true of the Lord: for though
156 WAR IN HEAVEN. [REVELATION.

was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child

-was caught up unto God, and éo his throne.

1 ver. 4, 6 And ‘the woman fled into the wilderness,
where she hath a place prepared of God, that

™ch.xi3. they should feed her there ™a thousand two hun-
dred and threescore days.

eee 7 And there was war in heaver: " Michael and

the Lord promises that to him that overcometh He will give
power over the nations to rule them with a rod of iron, yet this
would only be true of His people who should overcome, because it
was true of Him, and no one was received up to God’s throne but
Himeelf.

6. ‘*And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a
place prepared of God.” Does this in any way signify or allude
to the flight of Mary into Egypt, which, compared with the worship
of the true God in Jerusalem, might be called a wilderness. It
took place at the time when Herod, at the instigation of Satan,
attempted to destroy the life of Jesus; and the flight, and the
place to which the Holy Family fled, was prepared by God: but
there is this against it, that according. to the received chronology
the sojourn of the Holy Family in Egypt was only a few months,
not three years and a half; and this also, that the flight of the
woman into the wilderness is assumed to be posterior to the
Ascension.

7. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.”
When did this take place? Under the guidance of Milton (a very
unsafe guide indeed) we are to imagine it took place before the crea-
tion of the world, but according to our Lord’s words it seems not to
have taken place till immediately before the Crucifixion (John xii.
31). And, according to St. Paul, Satan and his hosts had in some
sense access to heaven many years afterwards (Ephes. vi. 12,
“ wicked spirits in heavenly places ’’).

It may be that it was a part of the triumph of the Divine Inter-
cessor that about the time of His Ascension the accusers were
cast out. :

“Michael and his angels fought against the dragon,” &. Who
Cuar. XI] THE GREAT DRAGON WAS CAST ouT. 157

his angels fought “against the dragon; and the dragon
fought and his angels, © ver. 3.
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place ee
found any more.in heaven.
9 And Pthe great dragon was cast out, athat p Luke x. 18.
John xii. 31.

old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, "which 4 Gen. iii. 1,

deceiveth the whole world: *he was cast out into * 2% *

the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. * ch. ix. 1.

8. ‘Neither was their place found.” ‘And not so much as their place was
found.” Sox, A., B., C.

is Michael? He is assuredly only the archangel, he is not the Son
of God. The Son of God not having taken upon Him the angelic
nature would certainly not be called angel or archangel. How
could there be war in heaven? If there were two characters in
heaven; if there were in heaven good and evil spirits, then
assuredly there would be war. Would this war be physical or
spiritual only ? Ifthe good spirits have physical power, and if the
evil ones lost not their physical power when they fell, then there
assuredly would be war something like the war which men wage
one with another in any place in which they could meet with
one another.

8. “Neither was their place found any more in heaven.” Alford
renders, ‘“‘nor was ever their place found any more in heaven.”
This implies that they had access before to heaven which they now
ceased to have. Thus Job i. 6 and 1 Kings xxii. 21.

9. “*And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called
the Devil, and Satan.” What old serpent? that ancient serpent, so
designated because at the beginning of the human race he de-
ceived Eve; called “the devil,” 7.c., the accuser; and “Satan,” ¢.e.,
the adversary.

‘“‘ Which deceiveth the whole world.” Which he did once for all
in our first parents, and which he has done ever since in his attacks
on the faith of individual souls.

“He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out
with him.” Whatever the reality of this was it certainly signifies
that through the Incarnation and Ascension of Jesus Christ the
evil lost the place of power which he once possessed. Thus St.
158 REJOICE YE HEAVENS. [REVELATION.

10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now is
Sa pane salvation, and strength, and the kingdom
oa of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the

“Jobi 9. & accuser of our brethren is cast down, “which
i. 3. ech. 5
iii. 1, accused them before our God day and night.

x Rom. viii. 11 And * they overcame him by the blood of
33, 34, 37, &

xvi, 20, the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;

y Luke xiv.26. Yand they loved not their lives unto the death.

x Ps. evi, H. 12 Therefore * rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that

ch. xviii. 20. well in them. * Woe to the inhabiters of the
a ch. viii, 13.

& xi. 10. earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down

12, ‘‘To the inhabiters.” &, A., B., C. omit.

Paul speaks of a great triumph of Christ at His Ascension over
Satan, “‘ Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show
of them openly, triumphing over them” (Coloss, ii. 15),

10. “ And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come
salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the
power of his Christ.” We should have thought that a single word
from God would have annihilated all the power of Satan, but it is
not so. The free will of man must be respected. Men must use
their own will and the means which God has given them. The
Blood of the Lamb must be pleaded by them, and the power of His
Word received by them must be manifested in their holding not
their lives dear unto them. We cannot say how all this actually
took place. It would seem as if the war in heaven depended not
merely on the prowess of the angels, but on this being followed up
by the pleading of the Cross by men and the manifestation of God’s
Word in the life of men. Perhaps these two things went before the
angelic warfare and victory.

12. “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.”
It seems as if the inhabitants of heaven receive an addition to their
bliss by the casting out of Satan, and consequentfy there is greater
danger to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea (we should
think those who dwell in the isles of the sea) because,

‘The devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because
he knoweth that he hath but a short time.’ In what way does he
Cuap. XII] HE HATH BUT A SHORT TIME. 159

unto you, having great wrath, » because he knoweth that he
hath but a short time. » ch. x. 6

13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast
unto the earth, he persecuted °the woman which © ver. 5.
brought forth the man child.

14 ‘And to the woman were given two wings pe _ ‘.
of a great eagle, °that she might fly ‘into the t ch. svii.3.

14, “Two wings.” A. and C. read, ‘‘the two wings.”

show his wrath? Is it by the greater violence and subtlety of his
temptations? This can scarcely be, because he has always from
the first been able to tempt men. May it not be because he has now
more power to persecute? thus he acts now through the beast re-
vealed in the next chapter, giving him ‘‘his power, and his seat,
and great authority.” It appears, both from our Lord’s words and
other intimations of Scripture, that the persecutions and woes
when the end is approaching will be far more bitter than ever
before.

13. “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth,
he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.”
Here the original woman, Whose Child was caught up to the throne
of God, seems to disappear. Is then all between verses 7 and 12 by
way of episode, and does the action of the 18th verse follow on that of
the 7th ? Is the account of the war in heaven interjected, as it were,
to account for the further fury and violence of thedragon? I think
so. The woman now appears as the Church, and properly so, if,
as we all believe, the Church is the product of the Incarnation. It
is not mere virtue which Satan hates and would destroy, but the
holiness which results from the New Nature. The dragon at first
would destroy the New Nature itself; now, as he cannot do that, he
seeks to destroy that Church which communicates it.

14, “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle,
that she might fly into the wilderness.” I think that there is here
a manifest allusion to Exod. xix. 4, ‘‘ Ye have seen what I did unto
the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought
you unto myself.’ We are not to look into any circumstances of
history to explain the meaning of these eagle’s wings, but simply
to see in them the power of God in bringing His Church into a
160 THE EARTH HELPED THE WOMAN. [REVELATION.

wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished * for a time,
i Ban vit 2. and times, and half a time, from the face of the
serpent.

"Isa, lix.19. 15 And the serpent "cast out of his mouth
water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her
to be carried away of the flood.

16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened
her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon
cast out of his mouth.

state of safety. To convince us of this we have only to look at
some of the explanations of expositors. Wordsworth, for instance,
considering them to be the two Testaments; Mede explaining
them as the Roman Empire under its two successions of Cesars,
Eastern and Western, protecting the Church; Elliot as the two wings
of the Roman Empire united under Theodosius.

“Unto her place,” z.c., not so much a local place as a state of
comparative safety.

“ A time, and times, and half a time.’ This is the same period
as the thousand, two hundred, and threescore days of verse 6. I
shall advert to these and other periods in an excursus.

In no case do we know at present when these periods begin.

15. “And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood [or
river] after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away
of the flood.” There has been considerable unanimity among
commentators that the river or flood signifies the incursions of
hostile nations, which, in some cases heathen (as the Assyrians or
Babylonians), or, in later ages, the Goths and Vandals, threatened
the existence of the Church. This shows that the dragon had
power not only to tempt men to heresy and sin, but to stir up
strife among nations, excited, of course, by the love of plunder and
desire to enlarge their territories.

16. “And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her
mouth,” &c. This is remarkably true of the incursions of the
barbarians at the time of the extinction of the Western Empire,
for the invading Gothic hordes, instead of uprooting Christianity,
were themselves with marvellous rapidity converted to the religion
of those whom they subdued.
Cuap. XIL] THE DRAGON WAS WROTH. 161

17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, ey ii. 16.
Xi

‘and went to make war with the remnant of her xiii. 7.

Thus Lange (quoted in Lee), ‘“‘ The earth, 7.e., consolidated
ecclesiastical and political orders, devoured the stream (of the
German nations) and amalgamated with itself the wild tribes.”

17. ‘‘ And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to
make war,” &c. Hitherto the dragon had persecuted the woman only.
Now, for the first time, her seed appears in fulfilment of the original
prophecy, ‘‘ between thy seed and her seed.” Apparently the
woman is now in safety and her seed only is exposed to the wrath
of the dragon. I cannot give any explanation in the least degree
satisfactory of the woman being safe, or disappearing from view, and
her seed being exposed to the fury of the dragon. Owing to the
earth helping the woman she undoubtedly appears now to be in
safety, and yet her best and truest children, “the remnant of her
seed which keep the commandments of God” are made war upon by
the dragon. Here, apparently, the true believers are considered as
separate from, i.e., as not identical with, the Church.

Alford has a sinpalnr way of getting over the difficulty. He
considers that the woman represents the true visible Church, which
in the contentions and declensions and false doctrine of the middle
ages disappears from view. What then is the seed of the woman—
to what body do they belong? I am afraid that Alford would have
said that this is quite a secondary matter—if worth attention at all.
My own opinion respecting the difficulties of this place is that they
will be greatly minimized if we look upon the whole as given to us
to impress upon us that the whole conflict, from beginning to end,
in the Church itself as well as in the world, arises out of the original
enmity which reaches its culminating point in the attempted destruc-
tion of Jesus Christ, as soon as He was born, by Herod, the instrument
as well as impersonation of the dragon ; and in the latter part of the
vision the seed of the woman takes the place of the Virgin and of the
Church, which she represents, and culminates with the godly seed
only suffering the brunt of the enmity.

Why is the woman, the Virgin, brought in at all? Because she
was the means by which God brought about the Incarnation. Why
does she afterwards appear as the Church, or rather disappear in
her offspring? Because the enmity continues to the end, and will

M
162 A BEAST RISE OUT OF THE SEA. [REVELATION.

® ch. xiv.12, seed, * which keep the commandments of God,
ies ‘10. and have ' the testimony of Jesus Christ.

ch. i. 2, 9. &

vi. 9. & xx. 4. ———_—-

be found at the last to be an enmity not against human virtue but
against the true reconciliation to God, and the diffusion of His
grace by the renewal of His image in mankind which was in Christ
in virtue of His having been ‘“‘ conceived by the Holy Ghost and
born of the Virgin Mary.”

CHAP. XIII.

a Dan. vii. . ND I stood upon the sand of the sea, and
nt saw *a beast rise up out of the sea,

1. “And I stood.” So B., P., and most Cursives; but &, A., C., two Cursives,
Vulg., Syriac, Arm. read, ‘‘ he stood.”

1. ‘And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise
up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his
horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”
We now enter upon by far the. most difficult vision of the Apoca-
lypse—the vision of the beast having seven heads and ten horns
(usually called the first beast). But with this beast is inseparably
joined by the Apostle a second beast, of a somewhat different
character in appearance, ‘‘ another beast coming out of the earth”
(the first comes out of the sea) verse 11; the second had “ two horns
like alamb,” but he was in fact of the same evil character as the first
beast, for “ he spake as a dragon.” This second beast is never alone,
but always acts with reference to, and in the sight of, the first.

The interpretations which it will be necessary to take notice of
are three or perhaps four, and are the following:

Ist. The historical—these of Bishop Wordsworth and My. Elliot
—that the first beast is the Roman persecuting or anti-Christian
power, at first heathen, then transformed into nominal Christian,
under the ecclesiastical rule of the Popes. The second or lamblike
Cuap, XIII.] SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS. 163

b : » ch. xii. 3. &
having seven heads and ten horns, and upon se te

beast being the Papal clergy as laying themselves out to uphold the
authority of the Papal See.

2nd. That of Dean Alford, who considers the first beast to be the
secular persecuting power, in fact heathen Rome, and then merging
into secular Christendom; and the second, sacerdotalism, first in
heathenism and then in Christianity.

3rd. Bishop Boyd-Carpenter, and, I think, Dr. Lee, of Dublin,
explain the first beast as the brutal world-power, and the second
beast as the refined, intellectual, cultured world-spirit which, just
as much as the former, is antagonistic to Christ.

“T stood upon the sand of the sea.” The authorities are in
favour of “I stood” (éoré@nv). Those who adopt the reading tord0y
suppose that this refers to the dragon of the last vision who stood
on the sand summoning the first beast to whom he might give his
power and authority to persecute the seed of the woman.

“The sea.” According to Wordsworth, “From a confused and
tumultuous element.” The power of the beast is thus represented
as due to a confused and restless condition of civil affairs and as
emerging therefrom.

“A beast rise up out of the sea.” The word for beast is Onpiov,
a wild beast, savage and ferocious; an apt illustration of a
kingdom regardless of human life, and advancing by sanguinary
wars.

“* Having seven heads and ten horns.” In the explanation given
of this in chap. xvii. 10, by the angel, the seven heads are seven
mountains, and then immediately following, as seven kings, “five
are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come.”

These seven kings are explained by Elliot, who says that he adopts
with the most entire satisfaction “that generally received Protestant
interpretation which, following the authoritative statements of Livy
and Tacitus, enumerates kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, and
military tribunes as the five first constitutional ruling heads of the
Roman Empire; then, as the sixth, the imperial head commencing
with Octavian, better known as Augustus Cesar.” Now if tho
reader will turn to any Roman history written for children, or to
any respectable dictionary, he will find, which probably he learned
when in his grammar school, that the dictators and decemvirs were
164 THE NAME OF BLASPHEMY. [REVELATION.

IL Ors narnes, his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the
"|| name of blasphemy.

in no sense heads as the kings or consuls were, because they were
only temporary governors elected for particular emergencies.

Bishop Wordsworth does not commit himself to any such a
notion, but directs attention to the seven hills which, as he thinks,
are absolutely decisive as to the fact that Rome is meant; but Con-
stantinople—the new Rome, the rival of Rome—is built upon seven
hills, and these hills I believe far more defined, far more con-
spicuous than those of old Rome. Bishop Wordsworth explains
the seven heads as meaning kingdoms which the last one—the
Roman—absorbed into itself: 1, the Babylonian; 2, the Medo-
Persian; 8, the Greek or Macedonian; 4, the Syrian; 5, the
Egyptian; 6, the Roman Heathen Imperial. This seems more
likely than the former exposition.

‘And ten horns.” These horns are explained by the angel in
chap. xvii. 12 as ten kings. Bishop Wordsworth does not say who
these ten kings are but refers his readers to chap. xvii. On turning
to this place, however, we find no list of these kings, only that
they were Papal at the first and yet gave their power to the beast,
and then turned upon the harlot and:hated her and ate her flesh.

Mr. Elliot describes these horns as ten kingdoms which the
Gothic invaders created, who all became the subjects or vassals of
the Roman See. He gives two lists. One between a.p. 486 to 490,
Anglo-Saxons, Franks, Allemans, Burgundians, Visigoths, Suevi,
Vandals, Heruli, Bavarians, Ostrogoths. Then in a.p. 582, the list
of kingdoms still remained ten, Anglo-Saxons, Franks of Central
Alleman, Franks of Eastern, and Burgundic Franks of South-
eastern France, the Visigoths, the Suevi, the Vandals, the Ostro-
goths in Italy, the Bavarians, and the Lombards, ten in all,
and he adds, “‘ At certain long subsequent epochs of time . . . the
number ten will be found to have been adhered to from time to
time as that of the Western Roman or Papal kingdoms.” Now I
cannot see how with any truth this can be asserted: take the
Reformation period. The kingdoms then were England, Scotland,
France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, three (Naples, Roman States, .
Savoy), Switzerland, Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Poland,
CuAp. XIII] HIS MOUTH AS OF A LION. 165

2 ° And the beast which I saw was like unto a © Dan. vii. 6.

u
leopard, ‘and his feet were as the feet of a bear, | >°™ aay

“and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and ‘the ‘ ch. xii. 9.

Russia, in all fourteen. And why is Turkey to be excluded? If it
was anti-Papal so were England and Scotland.

‘‘And upon his horns ten crowns.” Rather “ten diadems.” Bishop
Wordsworth takes no notice of the diadems on these heads, whereas
Elliot makes very much of them. He asserts that the Gothic
kings who divided the old Roman Empire between them received
at their investiture not the crown, but the diadem which had been
worn from Diocletian’s time by the emperors, thereby asserting
their absolute sovereignty.

“‘ And upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” Perhaps ‘“‘ names
of blasphemy.” If this describes the beast in his heathen state the
name (or names) of blasphemy consist in the divine titles and con-
sequent idolatrous worship which was accorded to the emperors,
the heads of the heathen Roman state.

2. “ And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his
feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a
lion.” This seems to identify this fourth beast as the great world-
power which Daniel saw in the likeness of three beasts which are all
united in this beast. The first, the Babylonian, was like a lion;
the second, the Persian, like a bear; the third, the Grecian, like a
leopard; but the fourth one, ‘dreadful and terrible and strong
exceedingly,” was not likened’ by the prophet Daniel to any
particular wild beast; but the ten horns out of his head seem to be-
token identity with this Apocalyptic beast.

Now it will be necessary to note that’ this description of St.
John’s therion as following so closely upon that of Daniel can only
refer to a great heathen world-power, or a world-power which, though
nominally Christian, was entirely heathen in its antagonism to God
and Christ. We cannot for a moment suppose that this describes a
nominal Christian power rising up out of the sea. We shall have then
to look carefully to this, how a beast, not only originally heathen but
the evident successor of certain idolatrous world-powers, becomes
Christian without losing its character as a therion, becomes the
successor of Daniel’s three beasts, or rather four beasts. ‘The
heathen Roman Empire may be the embodiment of these four
166 HIS DEADLY WOUND WAS HEALED. [REVELATION.

dragon gave him his power, “and his seat, “and great

& ch. xvi. 10. authority.

b ch, xii. 4. . .
monte. 3 And I saw one of his heads ‘as it were

t Gr. slain. + wounded to death; and his deadly wound was

3. “I saw” omitted by XN, A., B., C., P., forty Cursives, most versions.

beasts of Daniel, but a Christian, or even professedly Christian
power, I think, cannot. If the originally heathen beast becomes
converted to Christianity, some mention would surely have been
made of so surprising a change.

“ And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat [throne], and
great authority.” The dragon (that is the devil, “that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan ”’) “‘ gave him (the beast) his power, and
his seat, and great authority.” When did this take place? Taking
the beast to be the Roman Empire, it might have taken place when
the Roman state was first founded, in which case the evil one must
have had some sort of prescience that the new-founded civitas
would be in its whole career inimical to God; or was it given when
the ten Gothic kingdoms came into being? but they came into
being as kingdoms within the bounds of the old Roman Empire
when they Christianized themselves : in such a case this enormous
difficulty would have to be met, that when these ten kingdoms
became Christian they would be fitter to be the instruments of
Satan than in their heathen state.

8. “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;
and his deadly wound [the wound of his death] was healed.” This
is explained somewhat diversely by the two historical, or anti-Papal
commentators. Wordsworth represents it as signifying this: “The
head that was first wounded, after the age of St. John, was the
imperial head of Rome. It was wounded in a.p. 476, when Romu-
lus Augustulus, the last Roman emperor, abdicated the imperial
dignity, and the Roman Empire ceased to be. It is not said in
this prophecy that the head was restored, but that the wound of
the death of the beast was healed, and he lived.” The Bishop
considers that the life was restored, and so the wound of his death
healed in the Papacy.

Elliot considers that the deadly wound was inflicted by the sup-
pression of the heathen worship, especially by the action of the
Emperor Theodosius, who would not allow even toleration for the
Cuap. XIII.] WHO IS LIKE UNTO THE BEAST? 167

healed: and ‘all the world wondered after the ¥ ch. xvii. 8,
beast.

4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave
power unto the beast: and they worshipped the
beast, saying, ' Who is like unto the beast ? who | ch. xviii, 18.
is able to make war with him ?

4. “Which gave power unto the beast.” Sox, A., C., P., several Cursives, Vulg.
(Am.), Syriac, 4ith., &e.

heathen worship. ‘We read that in a full meeting of the Senate
the Emperor proposed, according to the form of the Republic,
whether the worship of Jupiter or that of Christ should be the
religion of the Romans; and that, on a regular division, Jupiter
was condemned and degraded by a large majority ” (Gibbon quoted
in Elliot). And then we read that “the Bishops of Rome began to
be a new head of empire to it, and that in the rise of the Papal
superstition to supremacy the deadly wound of its last ruling
pagan head was healed.”

Wordsworth quotes the words of Bishop Andrews. ‘The seven-
headed beast is the Roman power in its different successive forms,
first as it was under the pagans, and next as it is under the Popes.
That power received a deadly wound in the Empire, and revived
under the Papacy.”

“‘ And all the world wondered after the beast.”

4. “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto
the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto.
the beast, who is able,” &c. Bishop Wordsworth, who is anxious
to show that this refers to the Papacy, quotes several passages in
which zpooxcvvey is used in a lower sense than as indicating the
worship due to the Supreme Being amongst men (Matt. iv. 10),
but it is quite evident that St. John is describing what he considers
a very great sin for which no palliation or excuse can bemade. It
is evidently worship of the most idolatrous character which is here
offered to the dragon, and knowingly and of set purpose, because
“he hath given his authority to the world-power.” The very
words in which this worship is embodied are given: ‘‘ Who is like
unto the beast,” reminding us of the words of Micah (vii. 18, “ who
is a God’’) and to the words of the Song of Moses in Exodus,
168 A MOUTH SPEAKING BLASPHEMIES. [REVELATION.

5 And there was given unto him ™a mouth speaking

eo 8, great things and blasphemies; and power was

t Or, to see given unto him ||to continue "forty and two
n a xi, 2.& months.
xii. 6, 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy

““Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?” (Exod.
xv. 11).

‘* All the world wondered after the beast . ... and they wor-
shipped the dragon,” &c. No worship of the evil one has as yet
occurred like this in any part of the world known to us. No men
that we have ever heard of have ever worshipped the evil one be-
cause he has set up another power of evil to whom he has made
over his own power and authority. It reads like a worship of evil
as such, and of this the Church of Rome has not been guilty,
neither has heathen Rome, whose worship, we are taught, sprung
out of that of the powers of nature, as the sky, the sea, the powers
of reproduction.

5. “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to con-
tinue forty and two months.”

6. “ And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God .
and his tabernacle.” If these blasphemies are what are usually
called blasphemies, that is, words impugning the majesty, the
sovereignty, the goodness of Almighty God, and if to “‘ blaspheme His
tabernacle (and) them that dwell in heaven ” be to speak evil of the
departed saints and the angels, then assuredly no dynasty, or epis-
copal succession, or any kingdom, or any ten kingdoms, singly, or
united, or divided, have done this. The Turks who took Constanti-
nople, and put an end to the Greek Empire, may have done some-
thing like this with respect to Jesus Christ, when they affirm, as
all Mahomedans do, there is no God but the one God (Allah, the
representative of the Hebrew Elohim) and Mahomet is his pro-
phet: but there was no blasphemy of the name of the Supreme
Being as such till the time of the French Revolution. If the beast
represents the pagan Roman Empire then, as I said, the Name of
Jesus may have been blasphemed, in comparison with Gods
supposed to represent the various functions of nature, but after this,
CuaAp. XIII.] BLASPHEMY AGAINST GOD. 169

against God, to blaspheme his name, °and his tabernacle,

and them that dwell in heaven. e Aone My 14.

when the Empire became Christian, there was no blaspheming of
the name of the Trinity, or of any Person in the Trinity; but the
words of St. John imply with certainty that there was. Bishop
Wordsworth attempts to draw a distinction between PAracgnpeiv
mpoc roy Gedy and Pracgnpety roy Gedy, but both are used in this very
passage.

What can be blasphemy against the name of God, but blas-
phemy against Him as the Author of good, or the Father of the
Son, or the Judge of all. Mr. Elliot accuses the Bishop of
Rome of blasphemy because he claims to be the Vicar of Christ.
But surely if we read the New Testament we shall see that Christ
evidently desires very strongly that His ministers should consider
themselves as representatives of Himself. “He that heareth you
heareth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me.” ‘As
my Father sent me, so send I you.”’ Now the Bishop of Rome in
assuming to be the perpetual representative of Christ may be
very wrong, but exaggerating certain features of Christ’s own
Christianity is not blasphemy. In page 362 of his third volume of
“ Hore Apocalyptice,” note 3, Mr. Elliot gives us a specimen of
the blasphemy of certain atheists at the time of the French Revolu-
tion. “Three of the leaders of the municipality,” says Alison
(ii. 18) “‘ publicly expressed their determination to dethrone the
King of Heaven, as well as the monarchs of the earth. The
comedian Monort cried in the Church of St. Roque: ‘God, if you
exist, avenge your injured name. I bid you defiance. You remain
silent. You dare not launch your thunders. Who after this will
believe in your existence ?’” Now if it be blasphemy for a man to
assume to represent Christ, even as a perpetual Apostle, what name
can be given to this?

It appears to me that St. John in his words in verse 6, desires to
express no modified form of blasphemy, but the very extremity
of it.

«And power was given to him to continue forty and two months.”
If forty and two months be actual months, 4.¢., three years and a
half, then, in God’s infinite mercy, such a scourge of men has but a
comparatively short time, but if it means, on the year-day system,
170 OVER ALL KINDREDS. [REVELATION..

7 And it was given unto him ?to make war with the

P Dan. vii, 21. saints, and to overcome them: ‘and power was
ch, xi. 7. &

xii. 17. given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and
4 ch. xi. 18, .
& xvii, 15, nations.

1,260 years, then the history of European religion, at least of Western
Europe, has been, at least during the greater part of it, one continued
blasphemy against the name of God and His saints and His angels,
if the body followed at all the leading of the head. I for one do
not believe this.

7. “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and
to overcome them.’’ Who are these saints? According to the
New Testament meaning of saint they are those who are baptized
into the Church of Christ, and continue in its fellowship and make
a credible profession, but, according to Mr. Elliot, they are the
Paulicians, the Waldenses, and Albigenses, who were destroyed as
heretics. In fact it was improper, indeed sinful, to give the name
of saints to any persons in communion with the Church of Rome.
The most godly self-denying priest, if he was in communion with
the Church of Rome, and upheld the Papal supremacy, was a
follower of Antichrist. St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Anselm, St. Ber-
nard were none of them saints of God, the adherence to the Papal
system turned their religion into blasphemy. The war with the
saints meant the persecutions of those who, in the middle ages,
opposed the corruptions of the Church of Rome. Now I would desire
to give every honour to these noble-hearted men who, even though
they held some errors, and were imperfect in their Church organiza-
tion, and their views of the Sacraments, protested in the name of
God against the Papal tyranny, but it seems to me absurd to the
last degree to confine the term “‘ saints ” to them, good men though
they undoubtedly were, and cruelly treated, not for their goodness,
but for their opposition to the pretensions of the Papacy.

“ And to overcome them.” If by “them” is meant the oppo-
nents of the’Papacy, then that was by no means all through the
period of its domination. At and after the Reformation, in many in-
stances, the Protestants asserted their rights and liberties, and
overcame the Papists, as in this country and in the United Pro-
vinces, and in a large portion of Germany, Switzerland, and else-
where.
CHAP. XIUI.] ALL SHALL WORSHIP HIM. 171
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall wor- ee sari

é ‘ ¥ s an. xii.
ship him, "whose names are not written in the a ae z 3.
. ey ch. ii. 5.
book of life of the Lamb slain ‘from the founda- xx. 12,15. &
a xxi. 27.
tion of the world. 8 ch. xvii. 8.

“And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and
nations.” Mr. Elliot is very particular in impressing upon us that
the Papal domination must be sought for only in the area of the
kingdoms of Western Europe, which are supposed to be represented
by the ten horns of the beast. His words are: “ It seems reason-
able to me that we should seek the ten kingdoms on the territory
not of the whole Roman Empire, but of the Western only [italics
Mr. Elliot’s]. For the separation of the Roman world into Eastern
and Western—a separation first sketched out and prepared by Dio-
cletian’s formation of the beast’s seventh head, and one by which
the latter division came alone to be attached to the capital of the
Seven Hills—I say this separation and division was effectually
carried out in the interval between the first wounding of the
seventh head, and the rise of the eighth, or Papal. Further it was
over this part only of the Roman world that the Gothic flood swept
away the old imperial government, and made room for new king-
doms to arise.”

But surely it is manifestly wrong to interpret the power
‘ over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations’’ as power over ten
only. And from these ten we are told we must exclude Constanti-
nople, and Ephesus, the seat of St. John’s Apostleship, and Judza,
where he was born, and the great historical kingdoms of Egypt and
Persia and Mesopotamia and Arabia.

8. “ And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose
names are not written,” &e. By worship we suppose (if the allu-
sion is to the Bishop of Rome) is meant reverence to his sacerdotal
powers, but are we really to suppose that the acceptance or denial
of the Papal pretensions is in every human being a test of the
secret and eternal election of God. Surely no man, unless he is
utterly blinded by Orange partizanship, can say such a thing.

“The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” In the pur-
pose of God, Who designed to save all men that would be saved by
the Blood of the Lamb, slain first in type in the sacrifices ordained
in the first family, and in due time immolated on the Cross.
172 I BEHELD ANOTHER BEAST. [REVELATION.

¢ ch, ii. 7. 9 ‘If any man have an ear, let him hear.
«Is. xxxii.1. 10 "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into

Nee. captivity : * he that killeth with the sword must be

ych. xiv.12. killed with the sword. Y Here is the patience and
the faith of the saints.
a ch. xi. 7, 11 And I beheld another beast *coming up out

10. The readings here are very confusing. Alford reads and translates, ‘‘If any
is for captivity into captivity he goeth: if any to be slain with the sword he must
be slain with the sword.” I adhere to the sense contained in the Vulgate, ‘‘ Qui in
captivitatem duxerit in captivitatem vadet. Qui in gladio occiderat, oportet cum
gladio occidi.”

9. “If any man have an ear, Jet him hear.” Taking up the
words so often uttered by the Lord, that besides the outward ear
there is a circumcised ear, the organ of an understanding heart.
Is it possible, then, that a man may have his ear spiritually opened,
and turn a deaf ear? It may be possible.

10. ‘‘He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he
that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.” There
is a reference to, or rather quotation from, Jeremiah xv. 1, &c.:
“Then said the Lord unto-me, Though Moses and Samuel stood
before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast
them out of my sight, and let them go forth, And it shall come
to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou
shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; Such as are for death, to
death ; and such as are for, the sword to the sword.’ But this is
a declaration of vengeance, and seems not to be applicable in this
place. It seems to me that the key to it is in the Lord’s words to
Simon Peter, “ Put up thy sword into its sheath, for all they that
take the sword shall perish by the sword.’’ The saints are not to
resist with carnal weapons. If they take the sword they seem at
this juncture to lose their patience in following the footsteps of
Christ, and their faith in the protection of God (Matt. xxvi. 52).

11. “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;
and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.”
This beast is called elsewhere the false prophet, thus chap. xix. 20,
where he is, as here, described as doing miracles in the sight of the
first beast.
Cuap. XIII] HE SPAKE AS A DRAGON. 173

of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he
spake as a dragon.

12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before
him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to
worship the first beast, “whose deadly wound was * ver.3.

» Deut. xiii.
healed. 1, 2,3. Matt.

18 And °he doeth great wonders, “so that he Sit 9.

h. xvi 14,
maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth $Y ii, <vii
i ; 38,2 Kin. i.
in the sight of men, ae

His horns like a lamb betoken that he does not exhibit the same
ferocity as the first; but his speaking as a dragon implies that he
dissembles and deceives like the old serpent, or dragon, who
deceived Eve through his subtleties. It does not imply ferocity of
speech so much as malignity and plausibility.

12. “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before
him [that is, in the presence of the first beast], and causeth the
earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose
deadly wound,” &. Apparently this second beast exists only for
the sake of the first. There has been as yet no separate institution,
or monarchy, or dynasty, in the history of the world which has
acted thus, and so it has been taken by ultra-Protestant expositors,
as Wordsworth and Elliot, to signify the Papal clergy, but there is
to me an enormous objection to this in the very nature of things,
for the Papal clergy are part and parcel of the system of the
Papacy. They are an integral and necessary part of the same whole.
A bishop is powerless without the clergy of his diocese. A metro-
politan cannot be such without the bishops and clergy of his pro-
vince. I cannot believe, then, the Apostle intended to make two
institutions of what is palpably but one.

18. “And he doeth great wonders [onpeia peydda, the words
used by the Lord in Matt. xxiv. 24], so that he maketh fire to
come down from heaven,” &c. Are these false or true miracles ?
Are they mere jugglery or imposture, or are they real miracles
done by evil supernatural power? The Lord’s words in Matt. xxiv.
24 certainly imply that the miracles done before the time of the
end will be real. They will deceive, if possible, the very elect.
And I cannot help thinking that the widespread denial of the
174 DECEIVETH BY THOSE MIRACLES. [REVELATION.

Bo” 14 And ‘deceiveth them that dwell on the

¢ 2 Thess. if, earth ‘by the means of those miracles which he

reality of the miracles of the Bible will prepare the way for the
ready acceptance of the:e miracles of Antichrist. Men will have
given up all idea that what they call the laws, but which they should
rather call the routine of nature, can be set aside or interfered with.
They find that it is set aside, and they fall down and worship him
who by the power of the evil one sets it aside, even Antichrist.

. It is absurd to suppose that such miracles as we read of in
the ‘‘ Lives of the Saints” can be the fulfilment of such a pro-
phecy as ‘‘ He doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire to come
down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.” Mark these
words, “in the sight of men.” Mr. Elliot considers that this refers
to Transubstantiation, which he likens to calling down fire from
heaven, but how can this be said to be “‘in the sight of men.’
Transubstantiation is a hidden thing. Though a fanatic (as
Loyola) may have imagined that he saw it, no congregation has
ever seen the change take place. Elliot also refers to the ceremony
of an excommunication, of lighting candles and casting them down ;
but he must be playing with the understanding of his readers in
putting such a thing in writing as the fulfilment of this prophecy.
' There is not, that I am aware of, any miracle of the agents of the
Papacy which has found its way into history, and has been treated
by respectable chroniclers as serious enough (on account of the
evidences for it) to be gravely discussed.

Alford, in noticing an allusion of Victorinus to some lying
wonders permitted to the pagan priests to try the faith of God’s
people, writes» ‘‘We cannot help, as we read, thinking of the
moving images, and winking and speaking pictures so often em-
ployed for purposes by their far less excusable Papal successors.
But any serious thinking upon this point would convince us that
such follies cannot be mentioned as the onpueia peydda of our Lord
and St. John, or of the anomos of St. Paul, whose coming is after
the energizing of Satan, ‘in all power, and signs, and wonders of
falsehood’ ”’ (2 Thess. ii. 9).

14, ‘“‘And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth.” Those that
dwell on the earth cannot well be only the ten kingdoms, of which
three were irretrievably lost to the Papacy. Those that dwell on
Cuap. XIII] AN IMAGE TO THE BEAST. 175

had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them
that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to
the beast, which had the wound by a sword, ‘and £2 Kin. xx. 7.
did live.

15 And he had power to give t+ life unto the ¢ Gr. breath.
image of the beast, that the image of the beast

the earth, are not to include, we are told, such empires as Turkey
and Russia, and the enormous bodies of men in Asia, India, China.

“Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make
an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did
live.” This image is interpreted by Elliot as signifying the work of
the general councils held under the Papacy. Itis difficult, however,
to see how this could be. The general councils when assembled upheld
or asserted the doctrines of the Papacy, and initiated proceedings
against heretics, but this is a very indirect way of describing the
making an image of the Papacy and making men worship it. To
say that the Papal councils were themselves an image of the Papacy
seems still more wide of the mark.

Bishop Wordsworth has a very different interpretation. ‘‘ The
first beast is the Papacy, and the eieay or image of it, is the
personification of the Papacy in the visible form of the Pontiff for
the time being.”’ But every succession of rulers, whether in Church
or State, must be represented by the ruler for the time being, or
it would as a power, either of the world or of the Church, cease to
exist. The second beast, in Papal matters, does not make an
image of the first. By election the succession is continued, and
each Pope inherits the powers and prerogatives of his predecessor.

15. ‘“‘ And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast,
that the image of the beast should both speak,” &. Wordsworth
remarks on this: “ The Papal hierarchy first consult together and
frame decrees, or prepare rescripts, either in councils summoned
hy the Pope, or by some other means prescribed by him, and when

‘this preliminary process has been gone through, then they submit
their decrees to the Pope, and desire him to ratify their verdict by
his authority. This is supposed to be the fulfilment of the prophecy
‘that the image of the beast should speak.’ Till, therefore, these
formalities have been gone through he is supposed to be speechless.”
176 A MARK IN THEIR RIGHT HAND. [REVELATION.

should both speak, ®and cause that as many as would not
g ch. xvi. 2 worship the image of the beast should be killed.
xxX.4, 16 And he causeth all, both small and great,
eee % rich and poor, free and bond, " f to receive a mark
fue ois in their right hand, or in their foreheads :

them. 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he

ich. xiv.11. that had the mark, or ‘the name of the beast, * or

« ch. xv. 2.
the number of his name.

1 ch, xvii. 9. 18 'Here is wisdom. Let him that hath under-
16. ‘To receive a mark” —“ that they give to them.”

‘*And cause that as many as would not worship the image of the
beast should be killed.” This implies an almost universal massacre
of those who, if this second beast is the Papal clergy, do not acknow-
ledge the Papacy.

16. ‘“‘And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor,
free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their
foreheads.” Bishop Wordsworth explains this mark as the pro-
fession of the Papal Creed, particularly the articles appended at the
Council of Trent to the Nicene Creed. Mr. Elliot applies it to the
cross which Crusaders against heretics were to wear on their
vesture. He also explains it as the sign of the cross on their fore-
heads received at confirmation, as well as attendance at mass, &e.

17. * And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the
mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” If
this is to be taken literally, then in the domain of the Papacy it
has been very laxly observed indeed. Mr. Elliot cites the decrees
of but two or three councils or synods, one the third Lateran, a synod
at Tours, and a decree of the Constance Council. Certainly it has
made no mark in the commercial history of this country. If it is
to be taken spiritually that no one is to teach or to administer the
Sacraments but those who have received the Apostolical succession,
then it is true of all countries possessing the Roman obedience,
but I need scarcely say that buying and selling is a very unlikely
way of describing spiritual intercourse.

18. “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count
the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his
Cuap. XIIL] THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST. 177

standing count ™the number of the beast: "for it is the
number of a man; and his number is Six hun- ™ ch. xv. 2.
dred threescore and six. Ae

number is Six hundred threescore and six.” An immense number
of conjectures have been hazarded as to the significance of this.
All readers capable of understanding a treatise on the Apocalypse
know that in Greek and Roman times the letters of the alphabet had
each a numerical value, and these values of the letters of any particu-
lar name when added together make the number of the name. A
number of names have been expressed in Greek letters, and their
letters added up, Mahomet, for instance, Napoleon Buonaparte,
and even Luther. A Father of the Church (Ireneus), living within
one hundred years after the writing of the Apocalypse, mentions
three names. He says: “The name Evanthas (Evay@ac) contains
the required number, but I make no allegation regarding it. Then
also Lateinos (Aarevoc) has the number six hundred and sixty-six,
and it is a very probable solution, this being the name of the last
kingdom (of the four seen by Daniel). For the Latins are they
who at present bear rule.” He gives, however, but hesitatingly, the
preference to the word Teitan. Taking the Roman Empire to be
the fourth beast of Daniel, this name Lateinos is by far the most
likely of all. The solution is as follows:

30
1
300
5
10
50
70
200

666

tol

noe tT myeR YH
i}

I

It will now be necessary for me to recapitulate my reasons for
not believing that these two beasts are two different aspects of the
Papacy: the one, the first, the individual for the time being holding
the Papal See, and the other, his clergy.

In order to this let us go back to the former vision (in chap. xii.)

N
178 THE BARBARIAN FLOODS. [REVELATION.

the vision of the woman bringing forth the man child, then this
‘woman, as representing the Church, fleeing into the wilderness,
and there being persecuted by the dragon who casts out of his
mouth floods of water to destroy her.

In this is described the origin of the Church. The Church of the
New Testament has its origin in the Incarnation, at least so far as
this, that it would not have existed unless the Son of God “ for us
men and for our salvation had come down from heaven, and had
been incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and had
been made man.”

The origin of the Church was not out of the sea. It did not come
into existence because “the four winds of the heaven strove upon the
great sea.’ Nor, as Bishop Wordsworth says, “‘ From a confused and
tumultuous element—a confused and restless condition of civil
affairs.” It was the kingdom of heaven upon earth. Its birthday
was the day of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost worked in men the
new nature of the God-man. When it established itself upon earth
it attracted to itself the fiercest enmity of the evil one. When it
existed only in its Head he stood ready to devour it, and when it
had increased and multiplied, and had subdued to itself the great
world-power by Christianizing the Empire, there was a second
crisis brought on by the dragon which (humanly speaking)
wellnigh annihilated it. The dragon cast out of his mouth floods
of water, which almost all interpreters agree as signifying the
incursions of northern barbarians which overwhelmed as by a flood
the western part of the Roman Empire. It did not destroy
Christianity, however, as it threatened to do, for the barbarians
were absorbed in the populations of the various countries which
they overran, and became Christians and even orthodox Christians.’

 

1 “But God had his own means of preserving the Church visible, and within it His
true Church—the Christian. The Trinitarian faith had been so inwrought into the
national minds and habits, as well as institutions and laws, especially from the
effects of Theodosius’ reign, that to sweep Christianity away it needed to sweep
away the Roman population itself .... Superstitious and earthly though the Roman
population had become, yet thus far they did service to Christ’s Church in her
present exigency. In those continuous and bloody wars, of which the Western
world had been the theatre, the barbarous invading population was so thinned, so
absorbed as it were into the land they had invaded, that it needed their incorpora-
tion as one people with the conquered to make up the necessary constituency of
kingdoms. ... At first indeed it was for the most part Arian pseudo-Christianity.
Such was their profession in France, Spain, and Africa, But after a century or
Cuap. XIII.] THE BLASPHEMY OF THE BEAST. 179

These Gothic conquests became the ten kingdoms into which we
learn the Romano-Gothic Empire subsided. Now these (according
to the anti-Papal interpreters) constituted the body of the first
beast. We are told very expressly that we are to look for them in
Western Europe, and we are expressly told nowhere else. But if
this be so, then unquestionably the bringing forth the body of the
beast out of the tumultuous sea of nations was the act of God. It
was because these ten kingdoms adopted orthodox Christianity that
the Papal beast (or beast in its Papal aspect) had existence. The Pope
being considered to be the head of the Church in Western Europe
would be accepted as such along with all the other parts of Latin
Christianity, as the confession of the Trinity, and the Incarnation; so
that it is astounding to think that the greatest misfortune to the
Church was the conversion of these nations to Christianity, for if they
had continued either heathen or Arian, the greatest evil that ever
befell Christianity, the rise of Antichrist, would not have been.

Verse 4. There has been hitherto no such thing in history as
this united worship of the evil one and of the beast. All men, by
a sort of straining of words, may be said to worship the author of
evil when they commit any sin whatsoever, but this worship is
described as something very different from following ordinary sinful
inclinations. It is saying ‘‘ Who is like unto the beast? Whois able
to make war against him?” It seems as if those who said this had
deliberately chosen evil to be their good. They desired in so many
words the downfall of good and the future triumph of evil.

Verse 6. “And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against
God.” What would be blasphemy against the name of God?
Surely it could. only be to deny His Attributes, His Eternity,
‘His Goodness, His Justice, His Eternal Fatherhood, as being the
Father from all eternity of one Eternal Son. The pretensions of
the Bishop of Rome have been quite different from this. They
have been, in so far as they or some of them are evil, in a different
sphere of evil so to speak.

Verse 7. “And power was given him over all kindreds, and

 

more of the flux and reflux of the invading flood, this too was abandoned for the
more orthodox Trinitarian Christianity. The influence of the Roman See, which
was gradually more and more operative with the barbarians, powerfully tended to
this result.”—Elliot, vol. iii. p. 63. The candid reader will readily acknowledge that
this was a good work for the See of Rome to do, on the very eve of its becoming
Antichrist.
180 THE ANTICHRIST OF ST. PAUL. [REVELATION.

tongues,” &. No words can more fully describe the aggregate of
all human beings inhabiting the surface of the earth, and yet we
are strictly enjoined (by Mr. Elliot) to limit this expression to the
inhabitants of ten kingdoms—some of them very small ones; the
sphere of the ministrations of the Apostle not being among them,
but 500 miles away. from the nearest.

Verse 8. ‘All that dwell upon the earth,” ke. So that there is,
according to this statement, no elect Christian amongst those who
accept the Papacy. Every evil man will sooner or later adore
him,

Verse 12. ‘And causeth the earth and them that dwell therein
to worship.” This can only have even a semblance of fulfilment
in history by making one institution into two, and accounting
the Church or Bishop of Rome to be the first beast, and its clergy the
second. The worship here, too, is not worship as used in verse 4 of
this chapter, but simply an acknowledgment of Papal infallibility in
matter of doctrine.

Verse 18. “And he doeth great wonders,” &. No one
since the Apostle’s time has performed the semeia here described.
The supposed miracles, such as the liquefaction of the blood of St.
Januarius, have been obstacles in the way of the hearty reception
of Papal pretensions rather than commendations of them.

We have now shortly to consider what anti-Papal interpreters
consider the strongest point in the proof of the identification of the
Papacy with the Antichrist. They lay down that the beast of
Revelation xiii. is the man of sin of St. Paul, and one of their main
points is this, that there is a certain let or hindrance, foretold by
St. Paul, to the appearance of the man of sin which must be taken
away before he is permitted to appear, and this they affirm to be
the Roman Empire, which in its western phase disappeared with
the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, when the Western Empire
fell to pieces and the Gothic kingdoms, Franks, Burgundians, and
others took its place. The Fathers almost universally understood
that this hindrance (rd «aréyov) was the Roman Empire, and that
when that Empire would be destroyed they conceived that the
hindrance to the development of the anomos (lawless one or man
of sin) would be removed, and that he would immediately be
revealed.

Now what was the hindering principle in the Roman Empire,
Cuar. XIIL] THE PAULINE ANTICHRIST. 181

and when was it removed? This is important, because upon the
answer to this depends whether the restraint exercised by the
hindering power was an arbitrary matter, as if, for instance, a
certain dynasty continued in the world till another dynasty .of
much the same character as itself took its place, or whether the
restraining power embodied a principle which naturally, as it
were, restrained the outbreak or revelation of a contrary principle.
No doubt the latter. If the man of sin, the Antichrist, be the
lawless one, what must restrain him except law (nomos). Now
this was the spirit of the Roman power. It was law—cruel, iron,
inflexible law, but still law so far good that the Apostle could speak
of those who ministered it, even though they persecuted him and
his fellow-Christians, as the minister of God to men for good
(Rom. xiii. 4).

And the due consideration of this will serve to show that the
cessation of any Roman dynasty need not at all be the cessation of
Roman rule, considered as a principle.

“When was that which ‘let,’ or ‘hindered,’ or ‘restrained,’
taken out of the way? If this restrainer be any dynastic succes-
sion of Roman emperors, it must have been removed at one of two
times. The Roman Empire in the east collapsed in 1453, and the
Empire in the west nominally ceased under Romulus Augustulus -
in 476, and was succeeded in part by such an empire as that of
Charlemagne, which was afterwards divided into the German and
French Empires. Now I have nothing to do with the history of
these or any other divisions of the great Roman Empire except this,
that these empires and kingdoms maintained law. None of them
for a moment attempted to act the part of an Anomos—least of all
that bishop whom so large « portion of the Protestant world has
united in dignifying with this title. Granting fully that during this
period, whilst the old Roman Empire was breaking up, the Bishops
of Rome gained temporal sovereignty over the middle of Italy, and
consolidated a system of ecclesiastical supremacy over the Western
Church, this may have been very tyrannical and bad, but to say
that such a Papal system was the fulfilment of the prophecy of the
Apostle, that it was the revelation of the man of sin who opposeth
and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or worshipped, and
who is to be revealed suddenly, not by a gradual progress of growth,
and is to be destroyed, not by a lingering atrophy, but as in a
moment by the brightness of the Lord’s Coming, seems to me an
182 THE RESTRAINING POWER. [REVELATION.

interpretation of a prophecy as opposite to the terms of the pro-
" phecy itself as any two things can be.”’

The above is taken with but little alteration from an excursus on
the Anomos, or Man of Sin, at the end of my remarks on the
Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. Alford makes some good ob-
servations: “The caréyor and caréywy, the one the general hindrance,
the other the person in whom that hindrance is summed up, are in
this view very plain. All the Fathers understood them of the
Roman Empire and Emperor, standing and ruling in their time,
repressing the outbreak of sin and enormity; so have we been
taught by history to widen this view, and understand them of the
fabric of hwman polity, and those who rule that polity, by which the
great upbursting of ungodliness is kept down and hindered. I say
we have been taught this by history ; seeing that as often as these
outbursts have taken place their course and devastations have been
checked by the knitting up again of the fabric of temporal power ;
seeing that this power, wherever the seeds of evil are most plen-
tiful, is strictly a coercive power, and that there only is its re-
straining hand able to be relaxed where the light and liberty of the
Gospel are shed abroad; seeing that especially has this temporal
power ever been in conflict with the Papacy, restraining its preten-
sions, modifying its course of action, witnessing more or less against
its tyranny and its lies” (Alford, “‘Prolegomena to 2 Thessa-
lonians ”’).

CHAP. XIV.
2 ch. v. 6 ND I looked, and, lo, 7a Lamb stood on the
» ch, vii. 4. mount Sion, and with him °an hundred

1. “ And I looked, and, lo, a [the] Lamb stood on the mount Sion,
and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s
Name [His and His Father's Name] written in their foreheads.” I
think we may safely give to this vision an exposition analogous
to that of the 144,000 who were sealed, of which we read in
chap. vii. 4-8. We explained this as referring to the fact that
Cuap. XIV.] A NEW SONG. 183

forty and four thousand, °having his Father’s name written
in their foreheads. © oh. vil 8 &
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, ‘as the at ch. £16. &

voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great ™*®
thunder: and I heard the voice of *harpers harp- ° ch. v.8.
ing with their harps:

3 And ‘they sung as it were a new song TM Se Soot
before the throne, and before the four beasts, and

1, ‘‘His Father’s name.” Rather, ‘“‘ His and his Father's,” X, A., B., C.

during all the troubles indicated by the vision at the opening of
each seal, the work of the sealing of the elect would be going on
without intermission. During these ages of war, famine, persecu-
tion, and pestilence, the work of God in perfecting the number of
~his elect would not be intermitted ; and so with this vision. Not-
withstanding the tyranny of these two wild beasts, and their
massacre of all who would not worship the image of the beast,
the work of God would proceed. Whilst the beast was impressing
his name and mark on the children of the world, the Lamb was
impressing His on the children of the kingdom.

The Lamb was standing on the mount Sion, not sitting to re-
ceive worship, but standing to help and defend.

“The mount Sion.” As the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews
says: “Ye are come unto the mount Sion.” The mount Sion is the
Church of the Living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem. It signifies
the Church in its heavenly aspect, and these 144,000 have not only
come to it, but are abiding in it.

“Having his Father’s name.” The best MSS. read, “ His name
and his Father’s.”

“ And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters.”
Whose is this voice? From chap. i. 15 we should judge it to be
that of the Lamb Himself. ;

“And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps.”
These were inhabitants of the mount Sion who accompanied the
song of the 144,000.

3. ‘‘And they sung as it were a new song before the throne,
and before the four living ones.’”” A new song, because of the
victory over Satan, and over the wild beast to whom he had
184 THEY ARE VIRGINS. [REVELATION.

the elders: and no man could learn that song * but the
g ver. 1. hundred and forty and four thousand, which
were redeemed from the earth.

h2Cor.xii%2 4 These are they which were not defiled with
viinia women; "for they are virgins. These are they

Tak were Which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.

ee x These + * were redeemed from among men, ' being
cn. Vv. 9.

1 Jamesi.is, the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

given his power and authority. The new song is new because
of the new deliverance.

“And no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty,”
&e. Does this signify that they were the most holy souls of the
whole company of the redeemed, or that they had had a special con-
flict with the evil one, and had achieved a special victory. I can-
not help thinking that it means the latter.

4, “These are they which were not defiled with women; for
they are virgins.” Is this to be taken literally, that they are in
the actual sense virgins, or are they pure and holy though they are
or have been in the holy estate of matrimony? I think the fact
that they are specifically mentioned as virgins indicates that they
were like the Apostle, and had continued unmarried (1 Cor. vii. 8). If
they lived in chaste wedlock there would be no need to mention
them, for all Christians, by the mere fact of their being true Chris-
tians, are assumed to have their hearts ‘‘ purified by faith.”’

Bishop Wordsworth explains the fact of their not being defiled
with women as meaning that they were not corrupted by the spiri-
tual harlotries of Babylon, the false Church which is seated on the
beast, i.e., the Church of Rome. They have not defiled themselves
with any spiritual fornications, such as that of the woman Jezebel,
the false teacher already described (Rev. ii. 20-22). But such an
interpretation should be energetically protested against.

“ These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.”
“Tf he goes to Gethsemane they follow him thither; if he goes to
Calvary they take up their cross and follow Him thither; and,
therefore, since He is gone to heaven, they will be with Him there
also.”

“These were redeemed from among men, being thefirstfruits unto
Cuap. XIV.] THEY ARE WITHOUT FAULT. 185

5 And “in their mouth was found no guile: oa
for "they are without fault before the throne of n iiph. v. 97.

God. Jude 24,

6 And I saw another angel ° fly in the midst of © ch. viii. 18.
heaven, ” having the everlasting gospel to preach 1 a
unto them that dwell on the earth, 4and to every +?

nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, ee Re

5. ‘“*No guile.” ‘‘No lies,” &, A., B., C.
“For” omitted in some MSS.

God and to the Lamb.” These were redeemed, not to be ordinary
followers, but as firstfruits. This does not mean, of course, that
they were the first converted, but they were redeemed to be the
choicest of the fruits of redemption.

5. ‘* And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are with-
out fault (before the throne of God).” The Apostle has here in his
mind the words of Psalm xv. These 144,000 were on the mount
Sion, and the Psalmist describes the character of those who shall
sojourn in God’s tabernacle, and shall dwell in His holy mountain.
“ He that walks blameless, who hath not spoken craftily with his
tongue ” (Hlopevdpevoc duwpoc “Oc otk 2ddwoav tv ykdooy avrod).

6. ‘And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven,....and
tongue, and people.” Here it may be asked what is the significance
of these three angels, one proclaiming the everlasting Gospel, the
second the fall of Babylon, and the third the judgment of those
who have the mark ofthe beast? We are to remember that at the
conclusion of this chapter there is another revelation of the end,
and before that “‘ end” comes the Gospel must be preached to all
nations. ‘‘ This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the
world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come”
(Matt. xxiv. 14). Before the end, immediately before, is the fall
of Babylon (xviii. 2 and 21), and immediately after is the judg-
ment on the beast and the false prophet (xix. 20).

Elliot supposes that this was fulfilled somewhere at the be-
ginning of this century, when the Church Missionary Society, the
Wesleyan Missionary Society, the London Missionary Society, and
the Bible Society took their beginning, and older societies, as the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, received new life; but it
186 BABYLON IS FALLEN. [REVELATION.

ir aie 7 Saying with a loud voice, "Fear God, and

gem da give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment.

& cxxiv. 8. & is come: ‘and worship him that made heaven,
cxlvi. 5, 6.

Acts xiv.15. and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of
& xvii. 24.
t Isa. xxi.g, Waters.

ees 8 And there followed another angel, saying,

oe re ‘Babylon is fallen; is fallen, "that great city,

re a al, because she made all nations drink of the wine
Da Vili.

8 10 18, 21. of the wrath of her fornication.
es Es

8. “Another angel.” Rather, ‘‘ Another second angel.” So xe, A., B., C,
“City” omitted by ¥, A., B., C.
“* Because she made ”—“‘ which made.”

is probable that this vision points to a far more universal diffusion
of the Gospel than has yet taken place.

7. “Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him.”
Remarkable this proclamation of the angel, “‘ Fear God,” as if there
could be no proclamation of the true Gospel which would not re-
sult in the fear of God.

“And give glory to him.” The acceptance of the true Gospel
must give glory to God in the life and conversation of all who
embrace it.

“And worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea,
and the fountains of waters.” This is a call upon all men to
worship God as the Creator Who has made all things at the first
to be ‘very good,” and will, on the completion of His redeeming
work, restore them to their original goodness. It has been noticed
that the seas, and the rivers, and the fountains of waters are distin-
guished. Peculiar judgments or plagues have been inflicted upon
them, and now every curse shall be removed, and all God’s works
shall glorify Him.

8. “ And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen,
is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the
wine,” &c. We shall see what this Babylon is when we come to
chap. xvii. I would notice that there is nothing whatsoever said
of the punishment of her inhabitants, or of her citizens, or of those
connected with her.
Cuap. XIV.] THE THIRD ANGEL FOLLOWED. 187

9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud
voice, *If any man worship the beast and his * ch. xiii. 14,
image, and received his mark in his forehead, or ”
in his hand,

9. ‘And the third angel.” ‘ Another third,” xc, A., B., C.

9-11. “ And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud
voice, If any man worship the beast and hisimage . . . . The same
shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God . . . . and he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels
- - . « And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and
ever,” &c. I said that there is no punishment said to be inflicted
on those who are seduced by the harlot, that is by Babylon, but
here the most tremendous punishment which God can inflict is
pronounced not only against the beast, but against those who have
anything to do with him in the way of receiving his mark. It
seems to me clear from this that they who have received the mark
of the beast have committed the sin against the Holy Ghost. And
a little consideration will make this clear, so far as it can be made
clear. The sin against the Holy Ghost is ascribing the works of
God, or Christ, to Satan. It can scarcely be committed in its ful-
ness except by those who are not what are commonly called
infidels, for these do not believe in Satan, but by those who
knowing what Satan is, the author and director of moral evil,
choose Satan to be their God, who say to evil, ‘‘ Evil be thou my
good.” Nowitis said in chap. xiii.4, that all the world who wondered
after the beast ‘‘ worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the
beast.” What is this but a part of the same intensely evil mind
which ascribes the adorable works of Christ to Satan. The wor-
shipping, then, of the beast is worshipping him because he is evil,
and the active representation of him who is the author of evil
(xiii. 2). If it can be asked how can such things take place in this
world of God’s, we answer that that is the very thing against which
the Book of the Revelation is written to warn us. Not against
some form of evil which can be held with some acknowledgment
of the Incarnation and Atonement, but against an incarnation of
the evil one to which all other powers of evil are as nothing.

Another word upon this. The second of these angels proclaims
the fall of Babylon, and the third the punishment of those who
188 THE PATIENCE OF THE SAINTS. [REVELATION.

10 The same ’shall drink of the wine of. the wrath of
Toil God, which is “poured out without mixture into
Jer. xxv.15. “the cup of his indignation; and "he shall be

* ch. xvill. 6. toumeanted with fire and brimstone in the pre-

a ch. xvi. 19. ‘
bch. xx. 10. gence of the holy angels, and in the presence of
© ch. xix. 20.

the Lamb:
@ Isa. xxxiv. 11 And ‘the smoke of their torment ascendeth
10. ch. xix. 3.

up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day
nor night, who worship the beast and his image,
and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

© ch. xifi, 10. 12 ° Here is the patience of the saints: ‘here
pe ays they that keep the commandments of God,
and the faith of Jesus.

12, ‘‘Here are they” to be omitted with x, A., B.,C. ‘Here is the patience of
the saints who keep,” &c.

worship the beast and receive his mark. Now taking it for granted
that the Babylon is the harlot sitting upon the scarlet beast, the
harlot and the scarlet beast cannot both be Romanism, because the
rider and the animal ridden cannot possibly be the same. Ultra-
Protestant commentators, as Wordsworth and Elliot, and to a
great extent Alford, take no notice of this extraordinary incon-
gruity. They all interpret the beast, and the two-horned beast,
and the harlot as Romanism. One of them also (Elliot) interprets
one of three frogs as the Romanist spirit. Well, if the Apocalypse
is written with one purpose, to warn men against the errors or de-
lusions of the Church of Rome, then they are right; but if it be
written to warn men against a far more stupendous evil which is
yet to come, then they fail utterly in making a corrupt church. The
Antichrist, and those who listen to them are not warned.

12. “ Here is the patience of the saints : here are they that keep
the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’ ‘He that
endureth to the end the same shall be saved.’ ‘ Companions of
those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The
patience of the saints is their patience under temptation and in
tribulation.

There are two marks of their perseverance. They keep the
Cuap. XIV.] THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW THEM. 189

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying & Eccles. iv.

z ‘ . 1,2. ch. xx. 6.
unto me, Write, ® Blessed are the dead ® which die 1'1 cor. xv.

in the Lord ||from henceforth: Yea, saith the jg 7"
Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labours; {0% frm

and their works do follow them. pes the
spirit, Yea.

i 2 Thess. i. 7.
Heb. iv. 9, 10.
ch. vi. 11.

13. ‘And their works.” x, A., C. read, ‘for their works.”

commandments of God, as for instance, that under no pressure of
persecution they should worship the beast—that under no tempta-
tion should they swerve from the faith once for all delivered unto
the saints.

The saints have two marks—not one only—they keep the com-
mandments of God, and keep the faith of Jesus.

18. “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write,
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea,
saith ’ &e. Nothing can be plainer than this enunciation, nothing
more comforting, and yet scarcely any commentators agree as to
what is meant—what time, that is, is indicated by the words “ from
henceforth.” Some suppose it to refer to the time of judgment
now about to be ushered in, but death will cease at judgment, and
apparently these words seem to imply a continuance of death. The
words seem to teach a change in the condition of those who now
pass into the unseen world, but as to what the nature of that
change of condition is we are told nothing. Some conjecture that
it dates from the time when our Lord offered up His Sacrifice ; but
why should the fruit of that Sacrifice be represented as if it were
something new ?

Perhaps the words may betoken some very severe tribulation im-
pending which would make death preferable to life. The words,
however, are true of all times, and so they are embodied in our
Service for the Burial of the Dead.

“In the Lord.” That is in union with Him; in union with His
Body.

‘‘ Even so saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours; and
their works,” &c. The words “what the Spirit saith unto the
churches ” are frequent in the first chapters. Underlying all the
words of angels in this book there is the word—the Revelation of
190 IN HIS HAND A SHARP SICKLE. [REVELATION.

14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon

Be ioe the cloud one sat ‘like unto the Son of man,
. Vil. .

ch. i. 13. ‘having on his head a golden crown, and in his
"eh-vie2 hand a sharp sickle.
™ ch. xvi. 17. 15 And another angel ™ came out of the temple,

crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the

the Holy Ghost. They die that they may enter into rest from
their labours; no more weariness, no more painfulness, no more
watching against enemies, no more conflict either within or with-
out. And yet the time spent in labour and conflict is not lost.
‘“Their works follow them,” not precede them as the ground of
their justification, but follow them—not merely in memory, but as
adding to their bliss. The cup of cold water only, in the name of a
disciple, shall not lose its reward.

14. “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the
cloud one sat like unto the Son of man.” This is another of the
visions of the end or last judgment, which teach us that this book
is not a book of consecutive history. It is not a connected history
of events from the First to the Second Coming, but the Apostle
throughout it reiterates the teaching of his Master, that He is to
be expected at any time. He comes at the end of the vision of the
seals; at the end of the witnessings of the two witnesses; and now
at the end of the times of the beast and false prophet.

“Behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud.” We are constantly
told that He will come in the clouds of heaven. Thus Matt.
xxiv. 30: ‘‘ They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of
heaven.” ‘* Behold He cometh with clouds.”

This vision, rather these two visions, set forth the judgment as
an act of reaping, as the harvest of the world, just as Rev. vi. sets
it forth in its aspect of terror and vengeance, and Rev. xi. 15, as
the commencement of the eternal kingdom and personal rule of
God.

15. “ And another angel came out of the temple, . . . . Thrust
in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap,” &e.
At first sight it seems somewhat strange that the Son of man
should receive His commission to reap, that is, to judge the world
through an angel, but it is in strict accordance with what we learn
Cuap. XIV.] THRUST IN THY SICKLE. 191

cloud, " Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come

for thee to reap; for the harvest °of the earth is * Joel iii, 13.
i Matt. xiii. 39.

|| ripe. © Jer, li, 33.

16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his “ * ”.

II Or, dried.
sickle on the earth ; and the earth was reaped.

17 And another angel came out of the temple
which is in heaven, he also having a sharp
sickle.

18 And another angel came out from the altar,
? which had power over fire; and cried with a loud » ch. xvi.8.
ery to him that had the sharp sickle, saying,
‘Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the 4 Joeliii.13,
clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes
are fully ripe.

elsewhere, that the Son of God knows not the moment when He is
to come to judge, but receives the intimation of it from His Father.
As Wordsworth writes: ‘‘The angel is only the bearer of the
message. The commission comes from the vade of God—that is
from the inner shrine of the heavenly temple—from the oracle of
the heavenly Holy of Holies, in which the Godhead dwells in in-
effable glory, aud it comes to Christ as Son of man. ‘The Father
judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son ; and
hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is
the Son of man’ (John v. 22.) And the howr appointed for the last
judgment is determined by the Father.”

Because of the use of the word iZepdv6n (translated “is ripe ”’) it
has been supposed that both these acts of judgment are on the
wicked, but inasmuch as the second act of judgment is upon the
wicked, it is not likely that this is too. All grain that is fully ripe
is withered in appearance. If it had any green colouring it would
not be fully ripe.

17, 18. ‘And another angel came out of the temple which is in
heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came
out from the altar, which had power over [the] fire.... Thrust
in thy sharp sickle,” &c. There is a remarkable difference between
this second vision of judgment and the former one. In the former
192 THE ANGEL THRUST IN HIS SICKLE. (REVELATION.

19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and
gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into "the great

" ch. xix. 15. winepress of the wrath of God.

et 20 And ‘the winepress was trodden * without

* Heb. xiii. 12. itv i "
oats the city, and blood came out of the winepress,

one the Son of man only performs the function of judgment. In
the latter He does not appear personally, but an angel having, as
He had, a sharp sickle, seems to take His place. In our Lord’s
explanation of the procedure at the general judgment, in Matt. xiii.
39, He says distinctly that the reapers are the angels. As then
in the first vision the Son of man alone seems to reap, yet this is
not to exclude the subordinate agency of the angels, so here angels
alone are mentioned, though the Son is all the while sitting on the
throne of His glory. None of the visions of this book describe the
whole procedure of what is going on, only certain features which
God requires us to take notice of.

The angel which had power over the fire seems to be the same
as the one in chap. viii. 5, which filled his censer “ with fire from
the altar and cast it upon the earth.” He was the angel of
vengeance, and so here he takes part in the judgment of wrath.

19. ‘‘And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered
the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the
wrath of God.” The treading of a winepress is in one of the most
remarkable of Messianic prophecies associated with the vengeance
of the Redeemer: ‘‘ Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and
thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have
trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none
with me: for I will tread them in mine an ger, and trample them in
my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments,
and I will stain all my raiment” (Isaiah lxiii. 2, 3).

By the ‘‘ vine of the earth” one cannot help being reminded of
the true vine, Jesus Christ, of John xv., which bears fruit not to
sin or to Satan, or to the world, or to self, but to God.

20. “And the winepress was trodden without the city, and
blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by
the space,” &e. This is an exceedingly difficult place, both theo-
logically and otherwise. It seems to be a vision of the. final
Cuar. XIV.] UNTO THE HORSE BRIDLES. 193

“even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand
and six hundred furlongs. 4 ch, xix, 14,

judgment and condemnation of the wicked, and answering to the
gathering in of the righteous into the garner of God of the former
vision; but there are two features of this last vision which almost
forbid us to think that it indicates an eternal recompense of woe.
First the winepress is trodden without “ the city.” No place could
well be mentioned by St. John as “the city,” except as meaning
Jerusalem, the earthly rather than the heavenly. And, secondly,
the vengeance seems to be confined to the slaying of the bodies of
those judged, so that their blood should be shed in appalling pro-

~fusion. Now this, though very terrible, seems very different to
being shut up for ever in the lake of fire. We have the same
difference in the account of the judgment on the beast and on the
false prophet and their followers in chap. xix. 20, 21, “And the
beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received
the mark of the. beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brim-
stone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that
sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth, and
all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” This last, inflicted on
the followers or army of the beast, is very different indeed from
that inflicted on the beast himself, and is strictly analogous to that
inflicted in this second vision of judgment.

Scarcely any commentators agree upon the meaning of these
furlongs or stadia. Some, as Bishop Wordsworth, take it as
emblematical of all space. Others, who have respect to the city
being Jerusalem, consider it to be approaching to the length of the
Holy Land; others, having respect to Rome as ‘the city, notice that
it is about the breadth of Italy.
194 A SEA OF GLASS. [REVELATION.

CHAP. XV.
* ch. xii. 1, 8 ND *I saw another sign in heaven, great and
one marvellous, >seven angels having the seven
ech. xiv.10. last plagues ; *for in them is filled up the wrath of

God.

a ch. iv. 6. & 2 And I saw as it were ‘a sea of glass ‘mingied
XX1.

© Matt. ii, With fire: and them that had gotten the victory

1. “And I saw another sign in heaven great and marvellous.”
As the former chapter ended with two visions of the last judgment,
one the reaping of the good, the other of the wicked, it is clear
that the Apostle here goes back to some former point, and com-
mences afresh with judgments affecting the whole earth, concluding
with another vision of the time of the end (xvi. 20).

“ Another sign in heaven great and marvellous,” &c. There was
something which we are not told which must have constituted the
marvellousness of this vision. Perhaps it was the majesty of these
ministering spirits ; perhaps the severity of their appearance; per-
haps that, on beholding them, the fearful nature of the infliction of
which they were about to be the instruments was manifest.

“ Having the seven last plagues.” This should rather be rendered
the “seven plagues, the last ones,” for in them, as being the last, is
finished (because filled up) the wrath of God.

2. “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire.” This
has been taken by most expositors as betokening mingled mercy
and judgment : mercy signified by the beautifully clear sea, un-
ruffled by any agitating winds, and yet mingled with fire, as
betokening the wrath of God as yet not finished.

Mr. Elliot’s explanation is very singular. He supposes that
‘* Rome will be destroyed by a volcanic outburst from beneath—that
the glassy sea, mingled as it were with fire, which was presented
to John’s eye in vision, being a flood of vitrified rock and lava,
spreading in destructive inundation over the territory of the anti-
Christian beast, and with the fire that fused it breaking forth con-
Cap. XV.] HAVING THE HARPS OF GOD. 195

over the beast, ‘and over his image, and over his hi ith 15,

mark, and over the number of his name, stand on ¢ ch. v.8.
xiv. 2,

the sea of glass, * having the harps of God. nepe oe
3 And they sing "the song of Moses the servant Deut, xxxi.30.
of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great i Deut. xxxii,

4. Ps. cxi. 2.
& cxxxix. 14.

2. “ And over his mark” omitted by ¥, A., B., C., &ec.

tinually from the mass, as from the glowing lava of Vesuvius,
whilst the harpers, escaped triumphantly from out of his Egyptian
domination, stood with their harps unharmed upon its edge”
(p- 471, 8rd vol.).

‘And them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over
his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name.”
If the beast is the embodiment of infidelity, or of superstition, we
can understand what is meant by getting the victory over him;
but what is meant by getting the victory over his image, and over
his mark, and over the number of his name? God has not as yet
revealed it to us. :

‘“ Having the harps of God,” the harps consecrated to the praise
of God, and of Him alone.

8. “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and
the song of the Lamb, saying.” Thesong of Moses is doubtless that
which was sung by the Israelites on the shores of the Red Sea when
they saw their enemies overwhelmed in the sea. It has been asked
whether they sang the very words. Why should theynot? The
words, understood spiritually, are appropriate enough. They lend
themselves to the glorification of a greater deliverance than that of
the passage of the Red Sea. In fact, a very large portion of the
Psalms are used by us Christians in a higher sense than that in
which they were first composed. When we repeat them we under-
stand by David the Spiritual David; by the enemies with which He
contends, and over which God gives Him the victory, our spiritual
enemies; by Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the Jerusalem
which is above, which is the mother of all believers.

“ And the song of the Lamb.” What is this song of the Lamb?
Must it not be that of chap. v. 9, “Thou art worthy to take the
book and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us unto God by thy blood out of every kindred and
196 WHO SHALL NOT FEAR THEE ? [REVELATION.

x Ps. au, 1. and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Al-

ch.xvi.7. mighty; “just and true are thy ways, thou King

|| Or, nations,

or, ages. of || saints.
ei ee 4} Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify
ade thy name? for thow only art holy: for ™ all nations

m Tsa. Ixvi. 23.

8. ‘* King of saints,” or ‘‘ of nations,” or ‘‘ of the ages,” &*, C.

tongue and people and nation. And hast made us unto our God
Kings and Priests, and we shal] reign upon the earth.”

“Saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God
Almighty ; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints ” (or,
thou King of the nations or of the ages). These words do not ex-
clude the words of such a song as that of the four living ones
and of the elders to the Lamb; they rather supplement them.
One writes: “ The song is one and the same, and the expression
which characterizes it betokens, as do so many other notices and
symbols in this book, the unity of the Old and New Testament
Churches.” All very well, but why should not Redemption by the
infinitely precious Blood be particularly mentioned? And it is if
we consider that by the song of the Lamb is meant the song sung
by the living ones and elders when He took the book and began to
open the seals.

4, **Who shall not fear thee,O Lord?” This question is asked in
Jeremiah x. 7, in a similar context.

“For thou only art holy.” This is not to be taken as denying
holiness in the creature, but such holiness is derived, whereas the
holiness of God is one of His essential attributes. In the “ Gloria
in excelsis” the Church ascribes this to Christ: “Thou only art
holy: Thou only art the Lord.”

“For all nations shall come and worship before thee, O Lord.”
This is also taken from the Old Testament, from Isaiah lxvi. 23,
and from Psalm lxxxvi. 9. It seems as if before the infliction of
the plagues there is a declaration that, though the plagues will be
very terrible, they will be partial in their operation: ‘ All the ends
of the world shall remember themselves, and be turned unto the
Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him”
(Ps. xxii).
Cuap. XV.] THE SEVEN ANGELS. 197

shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are
made manifest.

5 And after that I looked, and, behold, ® the n ch, xi. 19.
temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven goo
was opened :

6 °And the seven angels came out of the temple, ° ver. 1.

having the seven plagues, ? clothed in pure and agai
white linen, and having their breasts girded with xiv, os
golden girdles. ora

7 4And one of the four beasts gave unto the 4 ch. iv. 6.

6. ‘‘Clothed in pure and white linen.” Some (A., C.) read, “stone,” adov, instead
of Awvoy, “linen.”

“For thy judgments are made manifest.” This may be said in
anticipation of the effect produced by the pouring forth of the
vials, or by the preaching of the gospel to every nation and kindred
and tongue and people (xiv. 6).

5. “And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the
tabernacle of the testimony,” &c. The temple here is naos, and sig-
nifies that the monument, shrine, or dwelling-place of God (“‘ Thou
that dwellest between the cherubims”) was opened. This was not
as betokening very full access to God for all, but rather that the
impending judgments came direct from God,—more s0, perhaps,
than any previous judgments.

6. “And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the
seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their
breasts girded,’”’ &c. This is not said of the angels which bore the
trumpets, nor indeed of any of the heavenly ministering spirits
except these, and it is much emphasized if we adopt the reading
of A. and C., stone, Ai@ov, t.¢e., their garments were arrayed,
ornamented, with stones most costly, adding to the shining and
glistening nature of their appearance.

‘“ And having their breasts girded with golden girdles,” as our
Lord Himself was when St. John saw Him in the opening vision of
this book.

7. ‘And one of the four living ones gave unto the seven angels
seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and
198 SEVEN GOLDEN VIALS. [REVELATION.

seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God,
ee who liveth for ever and ever.

6. 8 And *the temple was filled with smoke * from
iEa vit io, the glory of God, and from his power; and no

ic.",1* man was able to enter into the temple, till the

*2Thess.i.9. seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

ever.” This plainly indicates that the Zoa were not impersonations,
but real beings instinct with life, They were nearer to God than
the seven angels, and so they gave the vials from God to these
angels.

“Seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for
ever and ever.” These vials were not what we commonly call
vials, but rather censers in which incense was burnt; but now
instead of incense they were full of its opposite, for with respect to
those on whom their contents were to be poured the time of
acceptance denoted by the sweet-smelling savour of the incense
was over, and the time of judgment was come.

8. * And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God,
and from his power ; and no man was able,” &c. This is evidently
a reminiscence of Exod. xl, 34: ‘‘ Then a cloud covered the tent of
the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation
because the cloud abode thereon.” Also 1 Kings viii. 11. So also:
“Clouds and darkness are round about him, righteousness and
judgment are the habitation of his seat.” Wordsworth remarks,
“The vials are to the empire of the beast what the trumpets are to
the whole body of God’s enemies, with this difference, that the
trumpets announce judgments, the vials execute them.” |
Cap. XVI.] A NOISOME AND GRIEVOUS SORE. 199

CHAP. XVI.

ND I heard a great voice out of the temple saying *to
the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour ® ch. xv.1.
out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. 42.7" 1
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial ° ¢b- vii. 7.

F is a Ex, ix. 9
“upon the earth; and ‘there fell a noisome and 10,11. |’

grievous sore upon the men *which had the mark 4," “4 ™
of the beast, and upon them ‘which worshipped ‘ ¢h. xiii. 14.
his image.

1. “ And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the
seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of
God upon the earth.” As no one, 7.e., no living being, was able to
enter into the temple because of the smoke of God’s wrath, this
must have been the voice of God Himself, and such is in accord-
ance with all the awful circumstances of these visions as coming
more directly from God Himself than any previous inflictions.

2. “ And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth.’
As I believe that the fulfilment of these visions are all in the future
I will not attempt to explain them. The explanations of other
commentators will serve to convince the reader of the futility of
suggesting guesses, some of which, I am afraid, bring the book
itself into contempt.

“ And there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which
had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his
image.” Taking, as all the anti-papal historical commentators do,
these that had the mark of the beast to be Roman Catholics, no
plague or infliction has ever come from God by which they have been
sinitten, and from which the Protestants living along with them or
among them have escaped uninjured. Elliot considers that this sore
or boil (Acoc) was the spread of infidelity among the Romanists in
Spain, France, and Italy; but surely the men who continued
Romanist escaped this, and the people who disavowed Romanism
were thus punished.
200 THOU ART RIGHTEOUS, 0 LORD. [REVELATION.

3 And the second angel poured out his vial * upon the
g ch. viii. 8. sea; and "it became as the blood of a dead man:
2 “1 tand every living soul died in the sea.
= ie TED 4 And the third angel poured out his vial
* ch. vii. 10. “upon the rivers and fountains of waters; ‘and
ernest they became blood.

5 And I heard the angel of the waters say,
™Thou art righteous, O Lord, "which art, and

3.
i wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.

ch. xv.
ch. i. 4,
v. 8. & xi

m
n
&1
17,

5. “O Lord” omitted by &, A., B., C., P.
“And shalt be.” &, B., C., read “holy.”

8. “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea ; and it
became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in
the sea,” In interpretation of the plagues of this vial, Wordsworth
writes: ‘The sea in the Apocalypse represents nations in a restless
state, tossed about by winds and storms of passion like the sea to
which the wicked are compared by Isaiah: ‘ The wicked are like
the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire
and dirt,’” &c. (lvii. 20); but this is universally the case, and what
we want is some direction as to the time when this particular in-
stance of judgment occurred. Alford believes that these vial
plagues will occur shortly before the final consummation, and so
does not profess to give any explanation. Elliot explains the sea
turned into blood of the naval victories of England under Lord
Nelson, by which the maritime power of the nations continuing
attached to the Papacy—Spain, Portugal, and France—was utterly
destroyed. It is hard to see how such victories as Trafalgar
brought about that every living soul should die in the sea. Words-
worth takes the word soul (Jwy7) to designate the carnal mind,
and the word living is added to show that while alive in name they
are in fact dead. He quotes the saying of Christ to the Church of
Sardis: ‘‘Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead”
(iii. 1).

4-6. “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers
and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard
the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord,....
because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of
Cap. XVL] THEY ARE WORTHY. 201

6 For °they have shed the blood ? of saints and ° Matt. xxiii.

35. ch.
prophets, 4and thou hast given them blood to xiii. 16.”
drink ; for they are worthy. & evil 20"
q Isa. xlix. 26.

6. ‘For (they are worthy).” ‘‘For” omitted by A., B., C., P., forty Cursives.

saints and prophets,” &c. Alford, considering the fulfilment of
this vision as yet in the future, gives no explanation. Wordsworth
writes: ‘‘ The rivers and wells are the channels and springs of the
prosperity and health of the power which is here punished. The pro-
phecy contained in this vial has also already been in part fulfilled.
It foretold calamities to be inflicted on the resources of the Papacy,
and announced that those very things which were once tributary
to it, and supplied it with the means of greatness, would be turned
against it, and become occasions and instruments of its suffering
and shame.”

Elliot refers back to his explanation of the fulfilment of the third
trumpet. He supposes that the third trumpet was fulfilled in the
ravages of the Goths and Huns on the banks of certain rivers, notably
the Upper Danube and Rhine, and that the embittering of those
waters by the ravages predicted under the star Wormwood was the
desolations on the banks of these rivers by the barbarian forces, and
that afterwards Attila desolated the mountain valley from which
the rivers of the valley of the Po took their rise. Now under this
vial poured on the rivers he sees “ the commencement of the judg-
ment of war and bloodshed on the countries watered by the Rhine
and Danube, and on the sub-Alpine provinces also of Piedmont and
Lombardy.’’ He says that on consulting the chronicles of the French
revolutionary wars we shall not fail to discover the fulfilment of
the prediction, which fulfilment he supposes begun by the declara-
tion of war by the French National Assembly against the German
Emperor; on the September following against the King of Sardinia;
and ere the close of that year it resulted that both the Rhine began
to be noted as one fateful scene of the outpouring of this vial of
blood, and that advance was made by the French towards a second
scene destined to suffer under it, the Alpine streams of Piedmont and
Lombardy. Three pages are taken up with notices of the desolating
wars on the banks of the Rhine and Danube, and two more (386 and
202 POWER TO SCORCH MEN WITH FIRE. [REVELATION.

7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so,
"ch. xv.3. Lord God Almighty, *true and righteous are thy

sch, xiii, 10.
&xiv.10,& Judgments.
a 8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial

es SS ‘upon the sun; “and power was given unto him
ch. 1X,

18. &xiv.18. to scorch men with fire.

887) with the reasons for these desolations, in the horrible massacres
and cruelties inflicted on the Protestants, or rather upon all those
who denied or resisted the extreme claims of the Church of Rome.
To these the angel of the waters and the voice of the altar are sup-
posed to allude when one said, “‘ They have shed the blood of saints
and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink;” and
when the other said, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and
righteous are thy judgments.”

This may have been so. We are to remember that the profes-
sion of an imperfect form of Christianity does not put men out of
the pale of humanity; that if a Protestant holding low views of
the ministry and sacraments is murdered, God will most assuredly,
sooner or later, require his blood at the hand, not of the generation
perhaps, but at the hand of the nation which murdered and tor-
tured him.

I have not the least belief that the ravages of Napoleon on the
banks of the Rhine and Danube were, as Elliot thinks, the fulfil-
ment of the pouring out of this vial on the rivers and fountains,
but it may have been, notwithstanding, the judgment of God on a
guilty people who had murdered in times long past their fellow-
citizens.

8. ‘And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and
power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.” This is the
exact contrary to the painful effect of the sounding of the fourth
trumpet. By it men were deprived of the third part of the light
of the sun. Here, under the fourth vial, whilst nothing is said of
the light, the heat is intensified so as to become insufferable.
Alford, as was to be expected, gives no suggestion. Wordsworth
writes that this has been already partly accomplished: “‘ The tem-
poral splendour of the Papacy has already had an effect similar to
that which is here described. The earthly grandeur of the Romish
Cuap. XVI] THEY REPENTED NOT. 203

9 And men were ||scorched with great heat, || Or, burned.
and *blasphemed the name of God, which hath + ver. 11, 21.

y Dan. v. 22
power over these plagues: "and they repented 9s. ‘ch. ix. 20.
not *to give him glory. ioe

10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial

hierarchy, its profuse expenditure in pompous pageantries and in
sumptuous edifices, its prodigal profusion in the aggrandizement of
Papal families, and in their luxurious affluence of palaces, equipages,
pictures, statues, demesnes, and gardens, have made themselves
felt by those under its sway in galling exactions and oppressive
burdens entailed upon them for the maintenance of the solar splen-
dour of that brilliant magnificence. The meridian glory of this
spiritual empire has scorched the people of the Romagna and of
Italy by the glare of its rays.”

Elliot, still more anti-papal, takes a different view. He holds
the Emperor of Austria, as the inheritor of the glories of the old
Roman empire, to be the sun, and he looks upon the total eclipse of
that sun to be the despoiling of the Emperor of Austria of his pres-
tige as the heir of the dignities of the old Roman empire by
Napoleon. In 1806, the year after the battle of Austerlitz, we read
of the German Emperor’s solemn renunciation, on Napoleon necessi-
tating it, of his title of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and of
Germany. But how an empire which was, if one may use the ex-
pression, snuffed out, was empowered to scorch men we are not
told. Later on, however, it appears that Mr. Elliot considers it
not unlikely that the scorching men as with fire is an allusion to the
artillery used by the French Emperor to an extent beyond all
former example in military annals. So that the sun on whom the
vial is poured has nothing to do with the scorching of men, but they
are scorched by an altogether different agent raised up for the
purpose.

9, “And they repented not to give him glory.” This is the first
intimation which we have that these plagues were not designed for
vengeance only, but to bring men to repentance.

10, ‘‘ And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the
beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed
their tongues,” &c. The last angel, the fourth, had poured his vial
on the sun, but instead of being darkened, his rays were made more
\
204 THEY GNAWED THEIR TONGUES. [REVELATION.

ch. xii,2. ‘upon the seat of the beast; *and his kingdom

ech.xi10. was full of darkness; ‘and they gnawed their
tongues for pain.
4 ver, 9, 21. 11 And ‘blasphemed the God of heaven be-
a ver. 2. cause of their pains and ° their sores, ‘and repented
: not of their deeds.
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial

Bch.ix.14. 8 i ; "and th
Pee. Papen the great river Euphrates; *a e

38. &1i. 36. water thereof was dried up, ‘that the way of the
Isa. xli. 2, . f
25, kings of the east might be prepared.

12. “The kings of the east,” literally, ‘‘the kings which are from the rising of
the sun,”

insupportable. Here, however, under the fifth angel, there is dark-
ness upon the throne of the beast, which seems to imply the with-
drawal of the sun’s rays.

Now what is this darkness? It may be either a natural or a
spiritual. There is a precedent, as it were, for a natural darkness
in God’s dealing with Egypt, when there was a thick darkness
in all the land of Egypt three days (Exod. x. 22). A spiritual
darkness would not occasion pain, it would rather be the bonumb-
ing of men’s spiritual faculties.

Elliot explains this darkness of the spoliation of the Popedom of
all its temporal power under Napoleon, but how can this be pro-
phesied of as an infliction of darkness. The teaching of Catholic
doctrine, with little intermission, went on in each diocese, one may
say in each parish, much the same as ever. No one single act of
Napoleon made the Church in the least degree more or less scrip-
tural or more or less evangelical, 4.¢., according to Mr. Elliot’s view
of matters.

12, ‘And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river
Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the
kings of the east,” &c. There is here a manifest reference to the
taking of Babylon by Cyrus, when the waters of the Euphrates,
which passed through it, were diverted by canals and the Persian
army entered under the gates. It is impossible to say what this
manifestly unfulfilled prophecy refers to; and the same may be said
Cuap. XVI.] THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS. 205

13 And I saw three unclean * spirits like frogs * 1John iv.
come out of the mouth of 'the dragon, and out of 1ch. xii. 3, 9.
the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth ™ ch. xix. 20.

& xx. 10.
of ™ the false prophet.

of the remainder of this chapter. The most opposite opinions are
entertained by expositors.

Thus, Bishop Wordsworth considers the kings from the sun-rising
to be the army of Christ. Bishop Boyd Carpenter, on the contrary,
explains “ the kings of the east” or of the sun-rising, as the forces
of rude and open evil which have been long restrained. As the
four barbarian tyrant kings (Gen. xiv. 1-24) from the east invaded
the land of promise in Abraham’s days, so the leaders of open and
violent hate of right, purity, and Christ have the way of their advance
prepared.

Alford also considers it a prophecy of evil. ‘‘ Tosuppose the con-
version of eastern nations, or the gathering together of Christian
princes to be meant, or to regard the words as relating to any
auspicious event, is to introduce a totally incongruous feature into
the series of vials, which confessedly represent the ‘seven last

’ plagues.’ ”’

Elliot considers the drying up of the Euphrates to be the
wasting away of the Turkish power in the former part of this
century.

18, 14. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the
mouth of the dragon .... For they are the spirits of devils,
working miracles which go forth unto the kings,” &. What these
spirits are it isutterly impossible to say. Alford writes: ““We can
only explain the similitude from the uncleanness and the pertina-
cious noise of the frog.” Bishop Wordsworth: ‘‘ They are called
frogs and unclean spirits. They are strangers to the clear light and
fresh streams of divine truth, and dwell in the slime and quagmire
of sordid cogitations, loving the slough of debasing lusts, or the
misty glimmerings of false philosophy and worldly policy, and yet
are puffed up with pride, and speak swelling words, and come forth
in the evening of the world’s existence and make it ring with their
shrill discord.” Bishop Boyd Carpenter writes: ‘“ We must con-
sider their origin. The world-power would have us worship the
things seen. It sends forth the spirit of earthliness; the spirit
206 I COME AS A THIEF. (REVELATION.
»1Tim.iv.1. 14." For they are the spirits of devils, * working,

James iii. 15. : a
ghee miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the
11s eat, 20. earth Pand of the whole world, to gather them to
4 ch. xvii. 14. the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

& xix, 19. &

XK 8. iv 15 "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he
43, 1 Thess. that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, * lest he
ith 10. ch. walk naked, and they see his shame.

8 2 Cor. v. 3.

ch. iii. 4, 18.

14. ‘‘Of the earth and of the whole,” omitted by ¥, A., B., &c.
That great day,” ‘the great day,” X, A.

which works in the voluptuous, the ambitious, and the avaricious ;
‘ the spirit which makes earthly things its end’ (Phil.iii. 19), The
world culture (lamb-like beast) sends forth its spirit of intel-
lectualism, which denies the spiritual nature of man, and substi-
tutes taste and culture for spirituality. The dragon sends forth the
spirit of egoism, of proud self-sufficient independence, which culmi-
nates in an utter hatred of the Creator.”

“Spirits of devils, working miracles.” No doubt the miracles
of the latter days effected by the power of Satan, ‘so as to deceive,
if possible, the very elect.” Many prophecies converge to assure us
that, before the second coming, Satan will be permitted to put forth
all his power as the prince of evil spirits.

It is to be remembered that these evil beings come forth, not to
reign over men, but to gather them against the good and the right
in the final conflict.

Elliot, who alone gives or attempts an historical explanation,
holds that this going forth of evil spirits took place in the former
part of this century, and considers them to be the spirit of revived
infidelity, of revived Romanism, and of sacerdotalism, having its
origin in the Tractarian movement.

15. “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth,”
&e. This interjection by our Lord Himself of the suddenness of
His second Coming, and how it will find the world, nay even the
Church, unprepared, is in remarkable accordance with all the rest
of this book, in which, in the midst of its visions, there are so many
intimations of the sudden Coming of the Lord. The second Coming
—at least, the intimation of its very near approach—are not to be
Cuar. XVI] ARMAGEDDON. 207

16 ‘And he gathered them together into a ¢ ch. xix. 19.
place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial
into the air; and there came a great voice out of

found once at the end of the whole series of visions, but all through
them, so that the student of the book never knows how close he may
be to the consummation (see particularly page 72, where these inti-
mations are enumerated), It is to be remarked and remembered
that six times does our Saviour say that He will (when He comes
again) come as a thief (Matt. xxiv. 43; Luke xii. 839; 2 Thess. v.
2; 2 Pet. iii. 10; Rew. iii. 3, xvi. 15).

16. “And he gathered them together into a place called in the
Hebrew,” &c. This place is celebrated in the Old Testament as the
scene of various conflicts and defeats. It is the place where
Gideon and Barak conquered the enemies of Israel. At Megiddo
two kings of Judah, Ahaziah and Josiah, were slain. It has been
questioned whether this Armageddon is a locality. Whether the
war or battle waged here was not a war of principles. ‘“ The pro-
gress of the spiritual struggle in individual men must lead us the
same way to a mountain of decision, where the long wavering heart
must take sides and the set of the character may be determined.
But may it not be both together? The principles are good and evil,
and at this last period of the world they do not fight only and merely
by harangues and debating, but by actual warfare. Why may not
a war of principles issue in fierce and bloody engagements? It has
been so—witness the wars of the French Revolution—and it will be
so again.”

17. “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air.”
This has been supposed to have taken place, because Satan is called
‘the prince of the power of the air” (Ephes. ii. 2).

It may, as some have supposed, be because the air encompasses
every thing, and so the vial which is poured upon it is not local in
its infliction, but, affects everything, and so it is immediately
followed by a great earthquake which shakes to pieces every
city. ‘

a And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from
the throne, saying, It is done.”
208 IT IS DONE. [REVELATION.

« ch. xxi.6. the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, " It

is done.
aoe 18 And *there were voices, and thunders, and
on 7 lightnings; ’ and there was a great earthquake,
2 Dan. xiii, “Such as was not since men were upon the earth,

«ch xv.8 so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

ote 19 And *the great city was divided into three
a Sens: parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great
xiv.10. Babylon >came in remembrance before God, * to

17. ‘‘ Of heaven,” omitted by x, A., &.
*

“Tt is done.” It is doubtful to what these words—evidently
spoken by God Himself—refer. They may be an anticipation of
the end of all things, which is certainly imminent: or they may
refer to the conclusion of the seven plagues. I cannot help think-
ing the latter. The word is again spoken by God in chap. xxi. 6,
where it refers to the conclusion of the great contest.

18. ‘‘ And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and
there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men,” &¢. Was
this an actual earthquake, or a shaking to pieces of the foundations
of human society ? We are tempted to explain it as the latter; but
we are to remember that we gather from our Lord’s predictions of
His second coming, that external nature itself will give evidence of
the near approach of the personal presence of its Creator. The earth
will be moved, the heavens will be rolled up as a scroll, and, as we
read (v. 24), “the very islands will be as if they took to themselves
wings. The mountains will disappear and will not be found.”

19. “ And the great city was divided into three parts.” What
city this is we are not distinctly told, but the last verse of the next
chapter seems to imply that it is the harlot—the mystical Babylon.
It may allude to some great centre of human society, and not
a eity of walls and towers. At the first French Revolution all the
bulwarks and foundations of human society were, as it were, razed
to the ground.

‘“‘ And great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give
unto her.” This would seem as if great Babylon were an actual
city; but it is clear that she will incur punishment, not as a mere
Cuap. XVII] EVERY ISLAND FLED AWAY. 209

give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his
wrath.

20 And “every island fled away, and the 4 ch viu.
mountains were not found.

21 ° And there fell upon men a great hail out ¢ ch. xi. 19.
of heaven, every stone about the weight of a
talent: and ‘men blasphemed God because of £ ver. 9, 11.
®the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof’ s see Exod.
was exceeding great. cee

city of walls and stones, but as an active centre of evil diffused
throughout the world, or that part of it which is the scene of the
Apocalyptic visions.

21. “ And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every
stone about the weight of a talent,” &¢. A plague of hail similar
to this occurred at Beth-horon, when the children of Israel were
warring at Gilgal (Josh. x. 11).

It seems also that this last of the plagues of the seven vials was
sent, if possible, to reclaim sinful men, but without effect, for,
instead of turning to God Who manifested Himself in so terrible an
infliction, they blasphemed God. So that this crowning judgment
was ineffectual. It seems rather to have hardened those who sur-
vived. So that no judgment, no matter how severe, will cause
men to repent unless God bruises and breaks the heart with the
sense of sin.

CHAP. XVII.

ND there came *one of the seven angels * ch. xxi. 9.
which had the seven vials, and talked with » ch, xvi. 19.

; : : ara
me, saying unto me, Come hither; °I will shew ig" aM

1. “And there came one of the seven angels which had the
seven vials,” &c. This chapter and the next form one episode, and
should be taken as one. For this angel says to the Apostle

P
210 THE GREAT HARLOT. (REVELATION.

j hahaa, Unt thee the judgment of ° the great whore ‘ that
a Jer, 1.13." gitteth upon many waters:

ech. xviii. 8, 2° With whom the kings of the earth have
ch, xiv 8.& committed fornication, and ‘the inhabitants of the
XVIII. 3.

*(Come) hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great
harlot.’ But the judgment of God inflicted upon her because of
her sins forms the subject of the eighteenth chapter, to which the
seventeenth is preliminary. The question arises, when did the
things described in this vision take place? We are told that one of
the angels which had the seven vials called the Apostle aside—
Seipo, hither, come hither. Which of the angels it was we are not
told, and it is evidently not intended for us to know. We cannot
but gather, however, that he had poured out his vial, whichever it
was, and was now standing ready to fulfil any behest of God, and
he could hardly have given such an account to the Apostle except
at the express command of God.

The great harlot had been mentioned twice before as Babylon ;
once in xiv. 8, “ And there followed another angel saying, Baby-
lon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all
nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,” and
again xvi. 19, ‘‘ And great Babylon came in remembrance before
God.”

“That sitteth upon many waters.” This is the first description
of the harlot—that she sitteth upon many waters. The many
waters. These can scarcely be explained as meaning about five or
six kingdoms, two of them small ones.

2. ‘* With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornica-
tion.” This seems to forbid us to interpret the harlot as pagan
Rome—the Rome of St. John’s time—for there were no kings then
existing, except at Parthia, reigning at the outskirts of the
Empire.

“Have committed fornication,” i.¢., they must have been se-
duced by her into some idolatry, or some other form of declension
from God. This can scarcely mean that they “ fell away of their
own lusts and were enticed.” It must mean something which in-
volved their religious belief or practice.

“* And the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk,” In
ancient Rome there was a remarkable connection between
Cuap. XVIL] THE WINE OF HER FORNICATION. 211

earth have been made drunk with the wine of her forni-
cation.

3 So he carried me away in the spirit ® into the ¢ ch. xii. 6,
wilderness: and I saw a woman sit »upon a ch. xi. &

scarlet coloured beast, full of ‘names of blas- i ch, xii 1
. ver. ¥.
phemy, * having seven heads and ' ten horns. 1 ver. 12,

drunkenness and fornication ; the low pothouses were in very many
cases kept by depraved women, to which no doubt there is here
(as well as in verse 4) a covert allusion.

3. “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness.”
What wilderness is this? The only wilderness which has as yet
been mentioned in this book is that into which the woman of
chap. xii., when pursued by the dragon, fled. Now it is not impos-
sible that these wildernesses may be the same; for if the woman,
though at the first representing pure religion, declines from God,
then, in the language of the prophets, she becomes an harlot. Thus
Isaiah i. 21, “* How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was
full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers ”
(also Jerem. ii. 21).

“T saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names
of blasphemy.” This is, no doubt, the first beast of chap. xiii., for
though this one is distinguished by his colour, scarlet, yet there is
not likely to be in one book of visions two beasts each with seven
heads and ten horns. He is supposed to be coloured scarlet because
of the blood which he has shed.

‘Full of names of blasphemy.” Of the beast of chap. xiii. it is said,
“upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” Here he seems to be
covered with these names. What arethey ? They would seem to
be blasphemous titles, by the use of which he arrogates to him-
self the names and attributes of God. Alford gives as specimens of
this blasphemy such names as “ most Christian and most faithful
king,” given to Louis XIV. and Philip II., or “defender of the
faith,” given to Charles II. and JamesII.; but surely this is trifling
with a most serious matter. It is to be remarked, and we shall
have more than once to repeat the remark, that these names of
blasphemy are not upon the woman, but upon the beast on which

she rides.
‘“‘ Having seven heads and ten horns.” This the angel explains
212. HAVING A GOLDEN CUP.  [REVELATION.

ee 4 And the woman ™ was arrayed in purple and

+ Gr gilded” scarlet colour, "and tdecked with gold and
cit precious stones and pearls, ° having a golden cup

Pch.xiv.8 in her hand ?full of abominations and filthiness of
q 2 Thess.

ii 7 a her fornication :

xiv. 8 & xvi. 5 And upon her forehead was a name written,
1052, : 1MYSTERY, BABYLON ' THE GREAT, ‘THE
8 ch. Xviil, 9,

& xix. 2.

in verses 9, 10, and 11. We shall reserve our remarks till we come
to these verses.

4, “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,

and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls.” Assuming
that the woman represents a fallen Church, are these—this purple
and scarlet and gold—to be accounted parts of her fall. Are they,
that is, unlawful, and constitute the Church which uses them, un-
faithful to Christ? Why, we find that they were enjoined in the
ritual of the Old Testament (not to mention a vast number of other
things) that they should be in the breastplate of the high priest. It
is impossible to suppose that, if devoutly used, they could help to
make the Church which so uses them a filthy harlot. Then, too, as
has been noticed, the foundations of the walls of the New Jerusalem
were of precious stones, so that their sacred use is claimed for God,
and if it is lawful to use any ornament in the service of God, such
should be as rare and costly and beautiful as can be procured. We
may be sure that the Lord who accepted costly offerings from the
Magi would not spurn such things, however He might inspire His
servants the prophets to warn men lest they put the slightest trust
in them.
- “Having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and
filthiness,”’ &c. This, as I said before, alludes to the brothels
being kept by abandoned women who sold wine. They were, in
fact, low taverns as well as what are now designated as houses of
ill-fame. What was the abominable mixture in the cup? It may
have been the worship of saints and angels; and it may equally
have been Antinomianism, or denial of the Incarnation, or some
aspect of infidelity.

5. “And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery.
Babylon the great.” Here there seems an allusion to the words
Cuap. XVII.] THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS. 913

MOTHER OF || HARLOTS AND ABOMINA- |) Ot feta
TIONS OF THE EARTH.

written on the plate on the forehead of the high priest, which was,
‘Holiness to the Lord,” but here it is ‘“‘ Babylon the great, the
mother of harlots,” &e.

“Mystery.” ‘*The name is ‘mystery.’ Not a mere figure or
allegory, but some deep device of Satan, that cannot be understood
or explained, in corrupting the Church of God” (Williams,
p. 825). ; :

“Mystery.” As someone has well said, this seems to forbid us
to explain this woman of heathen Rome, for wickedness was, as it
were, natural to her, being a heathen city. It was only natural to
her to inherit the name of the great heathen city which preceded
her in ruling the world and persecuting the people of God.

“ Babylon the great.” As I go on IJ shall answer, or at least take
notice of, questions which are suggested by the text. Now here
with respect to Babylon. It is very remarkable that the term
harlot in the Old Testament is not applied to heathen cities, but to
such cities as Jerusalem and Samaria, once worshipping the true
God, and then fallen from Him into idolatry. Thus Babylon is
actually called in one place a virgin, “ Come down, and sit in the
dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon ” (Isaiah xlvii. 1). .

“The mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” ‘ Har-
lots.” Are these harlot churches, or are they actual harlots?
If harlot churches, which are they? Are they the national
churches of France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Austria, which in-
voke in worship the mother of the Lord, and His foster-father, and
St. Peter and St. Paul? But take the eastern churches. They
are involved in the same saint-worship, and yet they are not
usually accounted part of Antichrist, and the Church of Rome can
scarcely be said to be the mother of them, for they invoked saints
at least as early as she had done. But the Apostle may allude to
a totally different state of things, not a religious one, which most
certainly, from the luxury which it has caused, may be the mother
of those vices which luxury never fails to engender.

Again, as Williams remarks, ‘‘ The generation [His own genera-
tion] against which our Lord testified as ‘ adulterous,’ had no idol
worship, but was worse in His sight than that of their forefathers,
214 THE WOMAN DRUNKEN. _ [REVELATION.

t ch. xviii. 24. 6 And I saw ‘the woman drunken “ with the

&xvi.6. | blood of the saints, and with the blood of *the
&xii 11."

which had been called adulterous by the prophets on account of
actual idolatry.”

6. “ And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints,
and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” No church or body
‘of Christians has persecuted with such rancour, with such bitter-
ness, on such a scale, with such determination to stamp out all that
she characterizes as heresy, as the Church of Rome. Now in what
I say I trust that it will not be taken in palliation, for there cannot
be the shadow of palliation for such an institution as the Inquisi-
tion, but the question must be asked, how is it that the Church of
Rome stands out amongst all churches as the persecuting church ?
I answer, simply because she has had the power. She has been, in
time past, the directress of certain despotic governments who have
regarded all differences of opinion in religious matters as dangerous
to the state, as dividing it, and so weakening it, Besides this, abso-
lute monarchs, such as those of France and Spain, regarded those
who differed from the established religion as differing from them-
selves, and this of course they would not tolerate ; but it is to be
remembered that every body of Christians has persecuted when it
has had the power. The religious history of this country has, for
a century and a half, if not more, been a history of persecution.
The Church persecuting Puritans, then when they got the power,
Puritans persecuting the Church.

Let the reader get any biographical dictionary and glance over
the lives of Calvin, Servetus, and Grotius, and he will get some faint
idea of how Protestants could persecute one another.

With respect to this matter of religious persecution, especially at
the hands of the Inquisition, Llorente, who wrote with calmness,
and had access to the archives of the tribunal, gives an approximate
estimate of the number executed under each inquisitor-general,
from which it results that the total amount in Spain is about 32,000
persons burnt, either alive or after being strangled, 17,000 burnt in
effigy, and 291,000 condemned to various terms of imprisonment,
to the galleys, or subjected to other penalties. During the eighteen
years of Torquemada’s inquisitorship alone, about 8,800 persons
were burnt. This calculation does not include the Spanish colonies,
Cuap. XVIL.] I WONDERED. 215

martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with
great admiration.

nor the Islands of Sicily and Sardinia which were long subject to the
Spanish Inquisition.

It is to be remembered, however, that by far the most cruel
tribunals were those of Spain, and it is to be remembered also that
in many cases the atrocities perpetrated were not done by the
authority of the Pope, but even against his will.+

 

1 A very remarkable instance of this is to be found in the famous trial of Carranza,
Archbishop of Toledo, in the reign of Philip II., who had attended Charles V. in
his last moments, and whom neither the briefs of the Pope, Pius IV., nor the remon-
strances of the prelates assembled at the Council of Trent, could save from being
confined in the prisons of the Spanish Inquisition for more than seven years without
a termination of his trial; and when at last the Pope, Pius V., demanded of the
Spanish inquisitor and of the king, under pain of excommunication, that the arch-
bishop and the papers of his trial should be sent to Rome, all sorts of obstacles were
thrown in the way of his departure and his final acquittal by the Pope. After the
death of Pius V. new proceedings were set on foot in Spain to prove him guilty of
heresy ; and on the information being transmitted to Rome, Gregory XIII., who had
succeeded Pius V., was, though with evident reluctance, induced to declare on the
14th of April, 1576, that the Archbishop of Toledo was strongly suspected of believing
sixteen propositions qualified as Lutheran. He was then sentenced to five years
confinement in a Dominican convent and other canonical penances. A few days
after this sentence the archbishop, who was then seventy-two years of age, was
taken dangerously ill, and before receiving the sacrament, on the 30th of April, he
solemnly declared, in presence of several witnesses, ‘‘ that he had never fallen into
the errors with which he had been charged ; that his expressions had been distorted
to express meanings totally different from his own; that he, however, humbly sub-
mitted to the judgment pronounced by the sovereign pontiff, and heartily forgave all
those who had taken part against him in the trial, and would pray for them before
the throne of grace.” On the 2nd of the following May the archbishop died in the
convent of La Minerva at Rome, in which he was detained and where he was buried.
An inscription was placed over his tomb by order of Gregory XIII., in which he
was described as ‘‘a prelate illustrious for his birth, his life, his doctrine, his
preaching, and his charity.” Llorente gives a copious account of this celebrated
trial in chapters xxxii., xxxiii., and xxxiv. of his ‘‘ History of the Inquisition.” :

The above is from an article entitled ‘‘The Holy Office,” in Knight’s (Penny)
“Cyclopedia.” I give another short extract from the same article showing that the
early Church till the end of the fourth century was exceedingly adverse to temporal
punishments for heresy. ‘‘The first person on record who was juridically con-
demned and put to death for heresy is Priscillianus, the leader of a sect in Spain
in the latter part of the fourth century. Two Spanish bishops, one of whom was
called Idacius, accused Priscillianus, with two other priests or bishops, before a
Council held at Bordeaux, A.D. 385. Priscillianus appealed to the Emperor Maximus,
who had assumed the imperial purple in Gaul, and who was then residing at Treves,
whither Priscillianus and his friends were taken, being iollowed by their persecutor,
216 WHY DIDST THOU MARVEL?  [REVELATION.

7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou
marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of
the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and
ten horns,

8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not;

xii,” and Yshall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and
vee 2690 into perdition: and they that dwell on the

But the question arises, could the cruelties and murders on behalf
of Catholicism be said to be a fulfilment of the words, “ drunken
with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus?’’ Were the multitudes condemned by the Inquisition and
other tribunals martyrs in the sense in which the original Apostles
were martyrs? They might not have been; but their deaths were cer-
tainly foul and cruel murders, and have to be repented of and con-
fessed; and, if not, the wrath of a just God must abide on any system
which vindicates and upholds them, no matter on what plea.

It is said that when St. John saw the harlot drunk with the blood
of saints and martyrs, he was astonished with a great astonishment.
He could not have wondered at the blood of saints shed by Domi-
tian, for he was accustomed to that, but to see a Christian Church
shedding blood so as to be drunk with it, that was so contrary to
all his ideas of the institution of Christ, that his astonishment was
unbounded.

7. ‘* And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel ?
I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that
carrieth her.... The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and
shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition.”
Why does the angel apparently reprove the Apostle for mar-
velling? It may be because the Apostle marvelled at what was
plainly a mystery, which, though human nature prompts us to
marvel at it, yet is to be accepted at the mere word of God.

 

Idacius. Martin, Bishop of Tours, interceded on their behalf, but after his depar-
ture from Treves, Maximus entrusted Evodius, the prefect of the Preetorium, with
the trial of the accused; and upon his report Maximus condemned them to be
beheaded. This cruelty was generally censured, and Ambrose and Martin of Tours
strongly reprobated the part which Idacius had acted, and which they characterized
as unbecoming the episcopal character. The consequence was that Idacius was
excommunicated, and died in exile.
Cuap. XVIL] IS NOT, AND YET IS. 217

earth * shall wonder, whose names were not written in the
book of life from the foundation of the world, : cs oe
when they behold the beast that was, and is mPa
not, and yet is.

8. ‘ The beast that thou sawest was, andis not; and shall ascend
out of the bottomless pit.” The only plausible interpretation which
is given by commentators is this: ‘‘ The beast is not so much the
Roman Empire as the world-power underlying and acting through
all the succession of empires which have in turn dominated in the
world and oppressed the people of God. This world-power first
was unloosed in Egypt, then in Assyria, then in Babylon, then in
Persia and Greece, and lastly in Rome.”

But when Rome became Christian, then as a world-power con-
trary to God it became as if it were not. ‘Its peculiar power and
essence seem suspended while the empire is Christian by profes-
sion. The beast (though he is not) is not actually put out of
existence, but has only received a deadly wound which shall
be again healed.” This is the only plausible explanation of the
‘‘ was, and is not,” but the reader will observe that this Christian
phase of the beast takes place at least two hundred years after St.
John’s time, two hundred years after the angel has told him that
the beast is not. So that the “is not” is in the comparatively far
future. This, to me, is exceedingly unsatisfactory, but I have no
other explanation to give.

Some explain as if the deadly wound which was healed was
the destruction of the beast’s power by the Death and Resurrec-
tion of Jesus Christ. Thus the Lord says, “of judgment because
the prince of this world is judged,’ and again, “now is the
judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast
out.”

“« And shall ascend out of the abyss.” This may be when, as we
read in chap. xiii, the beast rises out of the sea, and apparently
there and then the dragon “ gave him his power, and his seat, and
great authority.”

‘* And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names
were not written in the book of life,” &c. This wonder means the
wonder of admiration. They aré, in the great warfare between sin
and holiness, secretly on the side of the beast, and their wonder is
218 THERE ARE SEVEN KINGS.  [REVELATION.

9 And °here is the mind which hath wisdom. ‘The seven
¢ ch. xiii.18. heads are seven mountains, on which the woman
4 ch. xiff. 1. gitteth.

10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,

aptly expressed in the words of chap. xiii. 4, ‘‘ Who is like unto the
beast ? who is able to make war with him ?”

9. “ And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads
are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.’’ Almost all
expositors of this book consider this passage as undoubtedly identi-
fying the city (verse 18) with Rome. Thus Horace is quoted, “ De
quibus septem placuere colles ;” and Propertius (iii. 10), ‘‘ Septem
urbs alta jugis, que toti praesidet orbi.’”” Another writer, ‘‘ No one
acquainted in the slightest degree with ancient literature can doubt
that Rome is the place to which this description points. The seven
heads of the beast denote, with regard to the woman, that her
capital is the city of the seven hills” (Dean of Llandaff in loco).
But may I, notwithstanding such confident assertions, be permitted
humbly to ask this question: If it undoubtedly fixes the beast to
the city of Rome, why should St. John have prefaced what he is
about to say with the words, ‘‘Here is the mind which hath
wisdom,” whereas it requires no divine wisdom to see the city
of Rome on the seven hills, for it is described as such in some of the
best-known heathen authors, as will be seen in such commentaries as
those of Alford and Wordsworth ?

Evidently by the words, ‘‘ here is the mind which hath wisdom,”
the Apostle must allude to something more secret and more
mysterious. Now the numeral seven is itself a deeply mysterious
one, and may signify here divine completion and may indicate
something far more extensive than Rome. The “ many waters ” are
not literal waters, but, as explained in verse 15, “ peoples, and mul-
titudes, and nations, and tongues,” and so the seven hills (mountains
they are not, but mere elevations) may signify something more
approaching to the signification of very widespread dominion than
we have been led to suppose. Thus, in Isaiah ii. 2, “ It shall come
to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall
be established in the top of the mountains,” &c.

10. ‘*And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and
the other is not yet come.” These kings are explained as not indi-
Cuap. XVIL] HE IS THE EIGHTH. 219

and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he
cometh, he must continue a short space.

11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the
eighth, and is of the seven, “and goeth into per- © ver. 8.

dition. Ton vii. 20.
5 ech. i, 18, 19,
12 And ‘the ten horns which thou sawest are 21. ch. xiii.1.

vidual kings, but seven empires in which the wild beast (represent-
ing the power of the world as opposed to Christ and God) is, as it
were, incarnated. The first, by Alford and others, is supposed to
be Egypt, the second Assyria, the third Babylon, the fourth Persia,
the fifth Greece—these five have fallen, fallen from their high estate
as leading kingdoms of the world-power—one, that is Imperial
Rome, is, and the other is not yet come. When'he comes he will
not be one kingdom, but ten, which will exercise a sort of
joint dominion, but all as one world-power opposed to Christ.

“ And when he cometh, he must continue a short space.” Short,
that is, compared to the duration of the whole world-power, though,
in reality, perhaps many centuries. If, however, this king is Anti-
christ, then he may continue but an actual short space; being
destroyed by the appearance of Christ, Who shall destroy him with
the spirit of His mouth.

11. “ And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth,
and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.” He is not the
seventh, but the eighth, coming after the reign or power of the
seventh is finished. This seems as if the world-power in its last
stage would not act through some empire, but directly through
Antichrist himself.

‘* And is of the seven.” Meaning not one of the seven, for he is
expressly declared to be the eighth, but “of” in the sense of from
them—derived from them—concentrating in himself all their power
and all their evil.

And goeth into perdition.” He does not simply fall like
Egypt or Babylon fell, by losing power and place among the
nations, but his perdition is described in chap. xix. 20, ‘‘ And the
beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought
miracles before him. . . . . These both were cast alive into a lake
of fire burning with brimstone.”

"12. “ And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which
220 THESE HAVE ONE MIND.  [REVELATION.

ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but
receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and
strength unto the beast.

13. ‘Shall give ;” rather, “give,” x, A., B.

have received no kingdom as yet.” These, taken roughly, seem to
be the ten kingdoms into which, so far as western Europe is con-
cerned, the western Roman Empire was broken up by the incursions
of the barbarians. The exact number of ten, as I have noticed,
cannot be made out. If we take them to be independent kingdoms
there are more than ten, in fact nearly double that number.'

‘No kingdom as yet,” ¢.e., in St. John’s time, had appeared,
much less ten.

‘But receive power as kings one hour with the beast.” If this
refers to the modern kingdoms of Europe into which the Roman
Empire was divided, it is a very awful prophecy respecting them.
They share power with him to whom Satan has given “ his power,
and his seat, and great authority.” Are they then utterly godless ?
Apparently in the eyes of God they are. Is England one of them?
Well, we must remember that her amazing works, missionary,
philanthropic, Christian, these are not the works of the nation, but
of a very small minority of the nation. When God looks down
upon London, and regards the mind of that enormous multitude of
human beings, can He regard them as on His side? What is the
spirit of the vast mass? Is it holy, just, and good, or is is money-
making, pleasure-seeking, carnal, sensual, earthly? We cannot
answer: He only knows.

13. ‘*These have one mind, and shall give their power and
strength,” &c. What is this mind ? what is the meaning of their
having one mind? Is it one mind upon Romanism or Protestantism ;
upon the rule of faith and the ministry and the Sacraments? or is
it one mind upon self-interest, upon the accumulation of wealth,

 

1 Take the time of the Reformation: 1. England; 2, Scotland; 3. France; 4.
Spain; 5. Portugal (always distinct from Spain); 6, 7, 8. Italy (Turin, the States
of the Church, South Italy and Sicily); 9. Switzerland ; 10. The United Provinces;
11, Germany; 12. Austria; 13. Poland; 14. Hungary; 15. Turkey; 16. Russia,
then beginning to be a power; 17. Scandinavia and Denmark.
Cuap. XVIL] THE LAMB SHALL OVERCOME. 221

14 ® These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb

shall overcome them: "for he is Lord of lords, g ch, xvi, 14.
and King of kings: ‘and they that are with him : Deut. x17.
are called, and chosen, and faithful. ahiewig 1k,

15 And he saith unto me, * The waters which aoe

thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, ' are peoples, <a Tellell:

and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. eb

above all upon the permanency, may we not say on the eternity,
of the present course of things ? Have they not all one mind, or
are getting to have one mind upon such things as a superintending
Divine Providence; upon the Second Coming, and upon the
judgment of all men according to the deeds done inthe body? On
these things they have one mind, they believe in the world. And
so naturally they give their power and strength to the world-power,
7.¢., to the therion.

14. “ These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall
overcome.” What the nature of this warfare is we cannot tell.
There is always a state of war between Christ and the world,
between Christ and Satan, and He always overcomes, because all
power is given unto him in heaven and in earth. Even when his
forces receive a reverse or a check, it conduces to the ultimate
victory of the truth.

It seems incredible that men should gather themselves together
and fight against Christ Himself appearing personally; but men
opposed Him when He came the first time. He gave them every
proof, consistent with His continuing in a state of humiliation, that
He was the Christ, and yet they rejected Him and crucified Him.
Why may they not go a step further and fight against Him when
He rides on the white horse leading the armies of the saints ?

“And they that are with him are called, and chosen, and
faithful.” He does not conquer without allies. In whatever war-
fare He is engaged, whether simply spiritual or more outward
and visible, He will have His saints with Him and will lead them
to victory.

We are called, and chosen, let us see to it that we are faithful.
Let it be our one business to make our calling and election sure.

15. “And.he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest,
222 THESE SHALL MAKE HER DESOLATE. [REVELATION.

16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,
neal ™these shall hate the whore, and shall make her

12. desolate "and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and

n Ezek. xvi. a
37-44. ch. °burn her with fire.

Mie gvit.s. 17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil

P 2 Thess. ii

u, * his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom

16. ‘‘ Upon the beast.” wx, A., B., &., read, “and the beast.”

where the whore sitteth.” These seem to comprise the multi-
tudinous inhabitants of the whole world. It seems to me next to
impossible to understand them of the four or five nations which
have hitherto supported the pretensions of the Papacy. Can Italy,
Italy which has made Rome the capital of its secular kingdom:
and can France be reckoned amongst these people, and nations,
and tongues ? hardly, for a whole century past. The thread which
seems to bind her to the Church of Rome is of the slenderest,

Connected with this prophecy there are questions which I cannot
answer. Thus the harlot is said (verse 3) to sit upon the scarlet
beast, and yet she sits upon the waters. Has the beast thrown
her off? The seven mountains are, in verse 9, expressly said to be
the seat of the woman, but here she sits upon the waters of peoples
and tongues. Her original seat seems to be on the waters. Then
she apparently temporarily sits on the beast, then she sits on the
seven hills, but five of these are fallen. It is clear that God has
not yet revealed the key to all this.

16. ‘‘ And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these
shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and
shall eat,” &c. By anti-papal interpreters, such as Wordsworth,
this is said to mean the despoiling of the papacy of her temporal
possessions. But the words of the prophecy require a more severe
interpretation hy far, ‘‘ shall eat her flesh,” followed by “ burn her
with fire,” imply her utter destruction. This destruction seems to
be at the hand of man, though it undoubtedly takes place through
the providence of God, Who, as we read in the next verse, puts it
into the hearts of these kings to fulfil His will, whilst they imagine
they are carrying out their own or rather the will of the therion,
to whom they have surrendered their own individual wills.
Cuap, XVIII.) THAT GREAT CITY. 223

unto the beast, ? until the words of God shall be ful-
filled. 4 ch. x.7.

18 And the woman which thou sawest "is that * ch. xvi. 19.
great city, “which reigneth over the kings of the * ch. xii. 4
earth,

17. * Until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” This may mean
the whole purpose of God with reference to the world which is
given to us in part in this book of visions, or it may mean His
special prophecies respecting the harlot and the doom awaiting her.

18. “ And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which
reigneth over the kings of the earth.” This is all in the present—is
(zoriv) that great city which hath dominion (éyovea Bacisiav). Does
the harlot mean the then existing city of Rome, or does it mean
that Rome which will be converted to Christianity, and which, in
course of time, will fall from her purity and become unfaithful to
God, and so of whom it may be said, as of Jerusalem of old, “How
has the faithful city become an harlot” (Isaiah i.)? Or does it
signify not one particular city, or the Church of one particular city,
but the Church universal which in each and all its branches has
declined from God. This we shall be better able to see when we
have come to the end of the next chapter.

CHAP. XVIII.

ND “after these things I saw another angel come down
from heaven, having great power; °and the : oa a
earth was lightened with his glory. 2.

1. “And after these things I saw another angel come down from
heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his
glory.” This is previous to the actual destruction of Babylon.
The fall or destruction is represented as already taken place,
whereas its actual place in the Apocalyptic series or events is
after the end of this chapter and the beginning of the next. In
224 BABYLON IS FALLEN. [REVELATION.

2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying,
ee; wo. °Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and * is

iis ch.xiv.'8. become the habitation of devils, and the hold of

& xxi. 8. &
&xxi.s & every foul spirit, and ‘a cage of every unclean

139. &1i.37. and hateful bird.
¢ Ts. xiv. 23.

& xxxiv. 11.

Mark vy. 2, 3.

chap. xiv. the same angel is represented as appearing in heaven,
and uttering the same prediction of the fall of Babylon.

2. “And he eried mightily with a strong voice... . and is
become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit,
and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” This account of
her debased and degraded state is taken from the prophets Isaiah
and Jeremiah. In Isaiah xxxiv. 14, 15, it occurs in a prophecy of
Idumea, ‘“‘ The satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also
shall rest there and . . . . the great owl make her nest .... there
shall the vultures also be gathered,” &e. And in Jeremiah xli. 39,
the same is predicted respecting Babylon..

What is the reality of this? It was fulfilled literally in the case
of Idumea and also of Babylon. With respect to the city of Rome
it never has been fulfilled literally. Rome (the city) never has
been rendered desolate as Edom was. The history of Rome
ecclesiastical was this. About two centuries after the death of St.
John it became Christian. Then, though it retained every article
of the faith, its Christianity became corrupted by Mariolatry and
saint-invocation, and unwarrantable assumption of supremacy on
the part of its bishops over all other bishops. Then at the time of
the Reformation it, in a certain measure, reformed itself. Then it
passed through the tremendous crisis of the first French Revolution,
and emerged from it in much the same state as before. As far as
we can gather from history it has never so fallen from the faith or
the morality of the Gospel as that its leading bishops or priests
could be characterized as “unclean and hateful birds,” i.¢., of
course, 50 far as the eye of man can see. The present Bishop of
Rome could not well be so named; neither, notwithstanding his
wrong-headedness, could the last. Two of its late cardinals, brought
up in the English Church, were particularly holy men: so that it
seems difficult to pronounce this prophecy as anything but an
hitherto unfulfilled one. Isaac Williams remarks on this: “‘(These
Cuap. XVIII] COME OUT OF HER. 225

3 For all nations ‘have drunk of the wine of the wrath

of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have : ara 8.
1. Ze

committed fornication with her, *and the mer- g ver. 11, 15.
: §, XIv1l, 15,

chants of the earth are waxed rich through the || Or, power.
: . h Is. xlviii.

|| abundance of her delicacies. 20. & lii. 11.

. Jer. 1.8, &
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, ii. 6,45. 2

saying, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be ©” sue

‘

words) are doubtless to be accomplished in spiritual senses. It is
even now seen in places where an adulterous church has been, and
is removed: we see infidelity, licentiousness, and ‘ the unclean and
hateful bird’ of heresies—‘ unclean,’ as external to God’s Church :
‘hateful,’ for our Lord says the ‘doctrine of the Nicolaitanes
which I hate.’” ‘The woman,” says Aretas, “ does not mean any
particular city, but the time of Antichrist.”

3. “For all nations have drunk . ... and the kings of the
earth .... and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich
through the abundance of her delicacies.” ‘‘ All nations” and
‘the kings of the earth” have been mentioned previously, but the
mention of the merchants of the earth imports a new feature into
the whole matter, which we shall have carefully to consider. It
infuses, as we shall see, an element of extraordinary difficulty into
the reasoning of those who would have us look upon this whole
prophecy as fulfilled in Rome, Papal or ecclesiastical, and in
nothing else.

4. “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out
of her, my people.” This, of course, will not come as an audible voice
from heaven but it will be a secret, yet universal intimation to all that
are in the mystical Babylon, that they are to leave her society, her
fellowship, and it may be, as of course it was in the case of the
Babylon of old, to leave the city, if it is Rome or any other city.

Now assuming for a moment the truth of the anti-Papal inter-
pretation, it is perfectly clear that this voice has not as yet come
to the ears of God’s elect dwelling in the mystic Babylon, for if
God’s voice were now to sound within their ears, “‘ Come out,” we
ask it with all reverence, where are they to go? God would not
call them out unless He had provided a place for them. Now, one
of the most remarkable things in the history of Christianity has

Q
226 DOUBLE UNTO HER DOUBLE.  [REVELATION.

not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues.

‘ Gen. xviii, 5 ' For her sins have reached unto heaven, and
20, 21. Jer. i: : oe age

ii 9. Jonah * God hath remembered her iniquities.

re

E ch. xvi. 19. 6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and
1 Ps, cxxxvil.

8. Jer.115, double unto her double according to her works:
29. & li, 24, 49,

2 Tim, iv. 14.

ch, xiii. 10.

6. “Rewarded you.” ‘ You,” omitted by ¥, A., B., C.

“Double unto her,” omitted by x, A., B., C.
been the utter failure, on the part of the various Protestant bodies
which have existed since the time of the Reformation, to provide a
home for the true people of God. The Protestantism of Germany
and Holland and France and Switzerland has become honey-
combed with Rationalism. They have no daily service, no creeds
in which the fundamental mystery of Christianity—the Incarnation
—occupies its proper place, They disclaim one of the chief features
of the Catholic Church—continuity of orders and ministry from the
first. Their view of the sacraments, at least that of the most of them,
is essentially Zwinglian. It is true we of the Church of England
can offer them a Church formed on the primitive model, but those
of the Roman communion dwelling here are the merest handful.
When this voice of God, then, reaches the ears of devout and
faithful Romanists He will have provided a suitable place of shelter
for them, and He has certainly not done so as yet.

4,5. “That ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto
heaven, and God hath remembered,” &¢. Those who belong to
any organization or city or kingdom or state which God regards
with just anger on account of its sins will, if they have neglected
the warning to leave her, be accounted as if they belonged to her
—they will have cast in their lot with her and must take the con-
sequences.

6. “ Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her
double according,” &c. This seems to be said to the people of God
who are commanded to come out of her. There is a fearful phase
of God’s dealings revealed in the Scriptures, in which the righteous
are said to be the executioners of God's wrath, and even to rejoice
in their work of vengeance. Thus Psalm lviii. 10, “ The righteous
Cuap. XVIIL.] I SIT A QUEEN. 227

™in the cup which she hath filled fill to her ™ ch. xiy. 10.
double. ® ch. xvi. 19.
7 °How much she hath glorified herself, and ® Bzek. xxviii.
lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow ” :
give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a
Pqueen, and am no widow, and shall see no PIs. xlvii.7,
Sonae 8. Zeph. ii.
: bo
8 Therefore shall her plagues come ‘in one teri”

shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his foot-
steps in the blood of the ungodly.” The sentiment in the text is
taken from Jeremiah iv. 15, ‘‘ Take vengeance upon her, as she
hath done do unto her,” and in verse 29, ‘‘ Recompense her accord-
ing to her work, according to all that she hath done do unto her.”
This was also said to the harlot Jerusalem, ‘‘I will even deal with
thee as thou hast done.”

“In the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double.” So in the
thanksgiving of the third vial, ‘‘They have shed blood, and thou
hast given them blood to drink.”

But who are the ministers of this vengeance ? We should gather
from xvii. 12, that it is the ten horns of the therion who hate
the harlot and shall make her desolate, but from this chapter
the kings of the earth bewail her and lament for her (verses 9 and
10). Evidently the key is not yet given.

7. “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously,
. ... She saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow.”
Williams has a beautiful comment. ‘ ‘She hath glorified herself,
whereas the faithful Church says, God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. ‘ And lived deliciously,’
but she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. In the ex-
pressive account of the Babylon of old, ‘I shall be a lady for ever, I
shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children.’
She feels not herself a widow from the absence of her Lord, nor
fasts on the days wherein the bridegroom is taken away, whereas
‘she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and
continueth in supplications and prayers night and day’ (1 Tim. v.
5, 6).”

8. “ Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and
228 ALAS, ALAS THAT GREAT CITY. (REVELATION.

day, death, and mourning, and famine; and "she shall be

¥ ch. xvii, 16. utterly burned with fire: *for strong is the Lord

ch. xi. 17. God who judgeth her.

t Ezek. xxvi. 9 And ‘the kings of the earth, who have com-
xvi 3, ver.3, mitted fornication and lived deliciously with her,

« Jer.1.46. “shall bewail her, and lament for her, * when they

* ver. 18. ch. i
xix. 3. shall see the smoke of her burning,

10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment,
yIs.xxi.9. saying,’ Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that

: Ver. 17, 19, mighty city! *for in one hour is thy judgment

come.

mourning, and famine ; and she shall be utterly burned with fire,”
é&c. The fall of old Babylon came suddenly in one night, whilst they
were impiously feasting, and drinking wine to the honour of their
gods from the sacred vessels of the Temple. The enemy having
diverted the course of the river came suddenly under the river
gates, and in the graphic words of the prophet, “ One post shall
run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show
the king of Babylon that his city is taken ” (Jer. li. 31).

8-10. “And she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong
is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth
who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her.
... . Standing afar off for the fear of her torment.” Elliot has
a very ingenious suggestion here. Looking to the situation of
Bome as built on voleanic soil, he supposes that at the bidding of
the Almighty the pent up internal flames will break out again and
consume the city, and so her paramours, the kings and merchant
princes, shall stand afar off when they see the smoke of her con-
flagration, which they could scarcely be represented as doing if
they themselves, or the armies of their neighbours, had kindled it
by the ordinary means used in war for the destruction of hostile
cities, “ Were the mere burning of Rome by human agency the
thing intended, whence all the terror and standing afar off of the
kings, merchants, and shipmasters ? ”

He supposes that this fire will never be quenched, but con-
tinue eternally burning, and so in this destruction of the Papal
Cuapr. XVII] THE MERCHANTS OF THE EARTH. 229

11 And “the merchants of the earth shall weep and

mourn over her; for no man buyeth their mer- » Ezek. xxvii.
3 27-36. ver. 3.

chandise any more:

12 °The merchandise of gold, and silver, and » ch. xvii. 4
precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and
purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all || thyine 1 Or, sweet.
wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all
manner vessels of most precious wood, and of
brass, and iron, and marble.

13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments,
and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine
flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and
horses, and chariots, and || slaves, and “souls of {| Or, bodies,

¢ Ezek, xxvii.
men. 13, °

city there will be at least a partial fulfilment of Isaiah Ixvi. 24,
‘And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men
that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die,
neither shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall be an abhor-
ring unto all flesh.”

“And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over
her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more.” Can this
be true of any inland city—having no trade worth speaking of, no
ships, no commerce, no manufactures, no colonies? We must
surely look in some other direction than that of Rome for the
interpretation. And this becomes still more certain as we
proceed.

12,13. “The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones,
and of pearls.... And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and
frankincense ... souls of men.” Not one of these commodities can
be connected particularly with any ecclesiastical state of things. It
is impossible, as regards the greater part of them, to interpret
them spiritually. And it is to be remembered that they are not
merchandise in which the city (or supposed city) traffics, but
which she buys. She does not purchase them to sell them again,
but to enjoy them, so we cannot but gather from verse 14, the
next verse.
230 EVERY SHIPMASTER. [REVELATION.

14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed
from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly
are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more
at all.

4 yer. 3, 11. 15 ‘The merchants of these things, which
were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for
the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

© ch. xvii. 4. 16 And saying, Alas, alas that great city, ° that
was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet,
and decked with gold, and precious stones, and
pearls!

f ver. 10. 17 ‘For in one hour so great riches is come to

8 Is. xxiii, 14. nought. And every shipmaster, and all the

Ezek. xxvii. 5 “ =

29, company in ships, and sailors, and as many as
trade by sea, stood afar off,

17. “And all the company in ships.” ‘‘ Everyone who saileth to a place,” so x, A.,
B., C., &e.

Now there happens to be one iniquitous species of traffic with
which the history of Rome is associated—that which nearly four
centuries ago was on the eve of bringing about the destruction of
her whole system, the sale of indulgencies—but by no possibility
can any one of the species of merchandise recounted here with
such particularity be imagined to typify or signify spiritually any
such traffic. They are each and all the sort of commodities which
would be gathered for sale in any great port of some great luxu-
rious empire, and nothing else. The cinnamon, and odours, and
incense, and ointments are necessary articles of oriental luxury, as
are the precious stones and the vessels of ivory, and to say that
the destruction of an inland city would make all the merchants
of the earth lament (evidently as a body) because no man buyeth
their merchandise any more, seems as inapplicable to a city of
priests and monks as any perversion of prophecy can well be,

And yet this is nothing to what is coming in the 17th verse.

17,19, “‘And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and
sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off. . . . And they
cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying,
Cuap. XVIII] THEY CAST DUST ON THEIR HEADS. 231

18 *And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning,
saying, ' What city is like unto this great city!  » Ezek. xxvii.

19 And *they cast dust on their heads, and Poa aa” .
< ‘ ee : k Josh. vii. 6.
cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas 1Sam.iv. 12.

that great city, wherein were made rich all that Tek wave

had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! *”
‘for in one hour is she made desolate. ver. 8.

Alas, alas that great city wherein were made rich all that had
ships,” &e. Now we would ask, with all reverence, what is the
purpose of Almighty God with respect to prophecy? Is it not to
warn His people respecting coming judgments which they are to
be aware of, and so “‘ flee from the wrath to come.” But if this
be so the prophecy must present features which are recognizable.
The traffic of Papal Rome has been in the sale of indulgencies, in
fees at institution to bishoprics and other dignities, in mortuary
masses, in exactions, in exemptions—not in anything which can
enrich merchants, shipowners, sailors, and such like. There are
features, as for instance, the sitting on the seven hills, which
would seem to lead us to believe that the Church of Rome is in-
tended, and when one comes to look at her unwarrantable preten-
sions, based upon gross frauds, her persecution by torture and
burning of all who differ from her, her saint worship and
Mariolatry—such things have made men like Isaac Williams say,
“Tt must be allowed that the prophecy does in some awful
manner hover, as with boding raven wing, over Rome.” And
even when deprecating the reference to Rome he writes: “‘ There
would be no reason, according to the analogy of the Apocalypse,
to conclude that Rome is here literally intended, were it not from
the fact of there being a Church there of so wonderful and myste-
rious a character.”
" T agree with all this, but it seems to me that these references to
cargoes (youoy), to freights, to ships, shipowners, &c., must be
intended to lead us to look in another direction—in fact to a
collapse of a great commercial system—not of a political, or of a
social, or least of all, of an ecclesiastical, but of a commercial system,
and apparently, to me, of nothing else. It is as if London and
Liverpool and Glasgow and New York were all amalgamated
232 REJOICE OVER HER, THOU HEAVEN. [REVELATION.

20 ™Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles

ag xiv. 23. and prophets; for *God hath avenged you on

Jer. It 48, her.
49, 00. ch. 21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a
XIX, 2,

great millstone, and cast ié into the sea, saying,
° Jer. 1i,¢4,  ° Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon
p ch. xii.s, be thrown down, and ” shall be found no more
& xvi. 20. at all.

20. ‘* And ye holy apostles and prophets.” ‘‘Ye holy ones and ye apostles,” N,
A., B., &e.

together and involved, as in a moment, in one common and
irreversible ruin,

If it be asked, can a commercial system be so evil in the sight of
God as that He should prophecy that its overthrow should delight
the angels in heaven? I answer, has anything else revived in the
cities of Christian Europe the worst sins of heathenism? Look at
the vice, the misery, the prostitution, the fraud, the overreaching,
the gambling, the drunkenness which is rife among the populations
of the huge cities of Europe and America; the direct result of their
commercial prosperity, which seems to suck up as in a vortex the
iniquity and misery of the world.

If the Almighty had intended (primarily) to put us on our guard
against a great ecclesiastical centre, would He have made the
collapse and ruin of such a metropolis the occasion of wailing to
shipowners, because no persons could be found any more to buy
their cargoes? Impossible. As Alford has written, “‘ The details of
this mercantile lamentation far more nearly suit London than
Rome at any assignable period of her history.”

20. “ Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and
prophets.” The Rome of old, heathen Rome, actually destroyed
such holy Apostles as Peter and Paul by putting them to death.
Rome Papal can only besaid to persecute them by corrupting their
teaching.

21, ‘And a mighty angel took up @ stone like a great millstone,
and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence.” As we
should say, ‘‘ Thus with a rush.” It combines the idea of violence
and suddenness or swiftness.
Cuap. XVIII.] THE VOICE OF HARPERS. 233

22 aAnd the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of

pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more 11s. xxiv. 8.
c Jer. vii. 34,
at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever & xvi 9. &
. xxy. 10.
craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and Ezek. xxvi.

the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more
at all in thee;
23 * And the light of a candle shall shine no © Jer. xxv. 10.

more at all in thee; *and the voice of the bride- «Jer, vil. 84.
groom and of the bride shall be heard no more at xxv, 10, &
all in thee: for ‘thy merchants were the great ‘Is. xxiii. 8.

men of the earth; "for by thy sorceries were all » 2 Kingsix.
nations deceived. Slept

24 And *in her was found the blood of pro- 24h. xvii.6
phets, and of saints, and of all that’ were slain ¥ Jer. i. 49
upon the earth.

22, 23. ‘* And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers
.... and no craftsman .... sound of a millstone... . light
ofacandle .... voice of the bridegroom and the bride.” None
of these are specially connected with such a capitalas Rome. It
has not had in its ecclesiastical times the reputation of being a
joyous and light-hearted city, as Paris or Naples. Not a city of
craftsmen, if we except the copying of pictures, nor a city of
bridegrooms and brides. That the light of candles should not be
seen there, and the sound of millstone should not be heard, seems
to point to a ruined city, not one destroyed from the foundations in
a moment by such natural causes as are suggested by Mr. Elliot.

No one can read these verses over without being struck with
their extraordinary sublimity and beauty. It is as if the Apoca-
lyptie seer lamented with all his heart the desolation which it was
laid upon him to foretell.
234 APPLICATION OF THE PROPHECY. [REVELATION.

EXCURSUS ON THE APPLICATION OF THE
PROPHECY TO ROME.

What then are we to understand by the great harlot. It has
been said :

1. That it means the Church and city of Rome; or that

2. It signifies not Rome only, but universal Christendom, every
part and branch of which has been guilty of compromising more
or less with the world, and so has been guilty of spiritual fornica-
tion ; or

3. That it means heathen Rome, and not Christian Rome or a
Christian system at all.

(1.) With respect to the first it has been till some years past the
almost universal opinion of Protestant interpreters, and so has got
thoroughly rooted in not only our religious prejudices, but almost,
one might say, in our literature.

That the figure of a harlot represents an apostate Church we
gather from the Old Testament, “‘ How is the faithful city become
an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but
now murderers” (Isaiah, i. 21); so also Jeremiah ii. 20, 21; Ezekiel,
xxiii. (Aholah and Aholibah) ; Hosea ii. 2.

Now for men who regarded the Apocalypse as an historical sketch
of the fortunes or vicissitudes of the Church from St. John’s time
till the second Advent, and who were intensely embittered against
the Church of Rome for her persecutions of all who opposed her
pretensions, it was only natural to regard this church as exclusively
the harlot. ‘‘ Not a few of the darkest traits of ‘Babylon’ apply to
her with a closeness of application which may not unnaturally lead
us to think that the picture of these chapters has been drawn from
nothing so much as her. Her idolatries, her outward carnal
splendour, her oppression of God’s saints, her merciless cruelties
with torture, the dungeon and the stake, the tears and agonies and
blood with which she has filled so many centuries, these and a
thousand circumstances of a similar kind may well be our excuse
if in Babylon we read Christian Rome. Yet this interpretation is
false” (Milligan).

Now in looking over the counts of accusation against her, there
Cuar. XVIIL] WHO IS THE HARLOT ? 935

is, first of all, her enormous pretensions—pretensions which simply
amount to this, that to have fellowship with Christ men must have
fellowship with the Bishop of Rome; and these pretensions based
partly upon such absurdities as Rome being the burial place of the
Apostles Peter and Paul, and partly upon the most impudent and
baseless forgeries. This pretension is expressed in Rev. xviii. 7,
“how much she hath glorified herself... she saith in her heart, I
sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” It
would take me far too long to go over, even very summarily, the
history of these pretensions ; suffice it to say, that in their present
state they mainly depend on what are called the false decretals,
the forged letters of Popes from Clement of Rome to the middle of
the eighth century. They were first published, by one Isidore
Mercator, about the year 850, and were at once accepted by Rome,
t.e., by the Bishop of Rome, though he must have known that there’
were no such letters or decretals in the archives of Rome, where, of
course, they would have been if they were genuine. The reader,
if he chooses, will see the account of these letters in a note on them
at the end of Dr. Littledale’s “‘ Petrine Claims.” Now considering
that the late origin of these forgeries is allowed on all hands, is it
not due to the truth of God, rather, to the God of truth, to disclaim
them, and to acknowledge that the present Papal pretensions as set
forth at the last Vatican council are based upon falsehoods.
Without asserting that the putting forth of such claims, based on
such untruths, of itself constitutes her to be the harlot, it most
certainly makes her a rebel against the truth of God, and willsooner
or later bring her under the judgment denounced against every one
who “loveth and maketh a lie.”

(2.) Then, in the next place, men have naturally held her to be
the harlot because of her idolatrous invocation of the Blessed Virgin
and saints. I subjoin the following from a well-known writer, the
Rev. R. F. Littledale, who cannot be accused of the smallest leaning
to ultra-Protestantism. “It is not true, as is often alleged in defence
[of prayers to the Virgin and saints] that the prayers of the
departed saints are asked only in the same sense as those of living
ones, with the added thought that they are now more able to pray
effectually for us. The petitions are not at all limited to a mere
‘Pray for us,’ but are constantly of exactly the same kind and
wording as those addressed to Almighty God, and are offered
kneeling and in the course of Divine Service, which is not how we
236 MARIOLATRY. [REVELATION.

ever ask the prayers of living friends. A few specimens are here
set down from the ‘Raccolta’ (Engl. Translation, Burns and
Oats, 1873), a collection of prayers specially indulgenced by the
Popes, and therefore of indisputable authority in the Roman Church.

“¢ Hail, Mary, Queen, Mother of Mercy, our Life, Sweetness, and
Hope, all hail! To thee we cry, banished sons of Eve, to thee we
sigh, groaning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, O our
Advocate, thy merciful eyes to us, and after this our exile show us
Jesus, the blessed fruit of thy womb. O merciful, O loving, O sweet
Virgin Mary.’

V. “*Make me worthy to praise thee, O sacred Virgin.’

R. ‘‘‘ Give me strength against mine enemies.’

2. ‘** We fly beneath thy shelter, O holy Mother of God, despise
not our petitions in our necessities, and deliver us always from all
perils, O glorious and blessed Virgin.’

3. “* Heart of Mary, Mother of God... . worthy of all the
veneration of angels and men..... Heart full of goodness, ever
compassionate towards our sufferings, vouchsafe to thaw our icy
hearts. .... In thee let the Holy Church find safety, shelter ;
protect it and be its sweet asylum, its tower of strength. .... Be
thou our help in need, our comfort in trouble, our strength in
temptation, our refuge in persecution, our aid in all dangers.....’

4. “** Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation.’

5. ‘ ‘Leave me not, my Mother, in my own hands, or I am lost.
Let me but cling to thee. Save me, my hope ; save me from hell.’

6. “* Michael, glorious prince, chief and champion of the heavenly
host... . vouchsafe to free us from all evil, who with full con-
fidence have recourse to thee.’

7. “*Benign Joseph, our guide, protect us and the holy Church.’

8. ‘* Guardian of virgins, and holy father Joseph, to whose faithful
keeping Christ Jesus, innocence itself, and Mary, virgin of virgins,
were committed, I pray and beseech thee by these two dear pledges,
Jesus and Mary, that, being preserved from all uncleanness, I may,
with spotless mind, pure heart, and chaste body, ever most faith-
fully serve Jesus and Mary. Amen.’

“Tt may, perhaps, be argued, that expressions of devotion, even
if somewhat unguarded, are not to be rigidly weighed and judged.
Some extracts from a formal theological work, Liguori’s ‘ Glories
of Mary,’ are therefore added here: ‘Queen Mother and Spouse
of the King, to her belong dominion and power over all creatures.
Cuap. XVIIL] PERSECUTION. 237

She is Queen of Mercy, as Jesus is King of Justice.’ ‘In the
Franciscan chronicles it is related that brother Leo saw a red
ladder, on the top of which was Jesus Christ ; and a white one, on
the top of which was His most holy Mother; and he saw some who
tried to ascend the red ladder, and they mounted a few steps and
fell; they tried again, and again fell. They were then advised to
go and try the white ladder, and by that one they easily ascended ;
for our Blessed Lady stretched out her hands and helped then,
and so they got safely to heaven.’”

If this (as observes Dr. Littledale) which Liguori twice uses as
proof of the tenet it involves, be not blasphemy against the Lord
Jesus, and a formal denial of His power to save, and His being the
way to heaven, there are no such sins possible,

I might have filled this whole volume with such instances, but
I take these from Dr. Littledale’s book because of his known High
Church opinions. They are not taken from Orange tracts against
Romanism, but from the writings of a learned man who would
carefully weigh every word that he wrote on such a subject.

Then a third count against her has been her diabolical persecu-
tions. I have entered fully upon this in my notes on chap. xvii. 6,
and must direct my reader back to this. Suffice it now to refer
to authorized documents asserting her right to extirpate heresy.
Thus in the catechism of the Council of Trent: “It is not to be
denied that heretics and schismatics are within the power of the
Church, and may be called to trial by her, be punished, and con-
demned by anathema ;” and, by the third canon of the fourth
council of Lateran, accounted a general council by the Roman
Church, it is ordered that “all secular princes do extirpate every
heretic in their states ; and in the event of failure to comply with
this injunction, such princes are to be excommunicated, their
subjects released from their oath of allegiance, and their terri-
tories to be given to Catholics, who are to destroy the heretics
and possess the country as their reward.”

And this was so faithfully carried out that in Spain alone 32,000
persons were burnt, either alive or after being strangled, 17,000
burnt in effigy, and 291,000 condemned to various forms of im-
prisonment, to the galleys, or subjected to other penalty. It is
appalling to think of the amount of misery represented by these
statements, and that in one Roman Catholic country alone.

One would think that these three counts alone, her pretensions
238 ROME UPHOLDS ORTHODOXY. [REVELATION.

based on gross misconception and fraud, her creature worship and
her persecutions by fire, stake, and steel, would have been sufficient
to brand her as the harlot, and yet there is much in history that is
overwhelmingly (I may say) against it.

For first of all this (so-called) harlot Church has been the pillar
of the truth of our Blessed Lord’s Incarnation, or at least of His
Godhead. This is very fully acknowledged by such a prejudiced
writer as Mr. Elliot. In speaking of the Gothic invasions under
the figure of the river cast out of the dragon’s mouth: ‘‘ The suc-
cessive tribes, whether of Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Heruli, Huns, &c.,
abandoned their Paganism for Christianity. At first sight indeed
it was for the most part Arian—pseudo-Christianity. Such was
their profession in France, Spain, and Africa. But after a century
or more of the flux and reflux of the invading flood, this, too, was
abandoned for the more orthodox Trinitarian Christian faith. The
influence of the Roman See, which was gradually more and more
operative with the barbarians, powerfully tended to this result.”

Now this defence and promulgation of the true faith on the part
of the Church of Rome was done by her when, according to ultra-
Protestant interpreters, she was fast becoming Antichrist. By the
years 600 or 700 she had become Antichrist, and this flood of the
barbarians took place at different times in the two preceding
centuries. But did she continue to hold this faith? Let us take
her at the time in which she was supposed to be at her worst, the
time, say, of the Council of Trent. In the catechism of the
Council of Trent Question Fourteen is, “‘ What advantages and
blessings are chiefly bestowed upon the human race through the
Passion of Christ?” Answer: ‘It alone remains that the blessing
and advantages which flow to the human race from the Passion of
Christ be accurately explained by the pastor. In the first place,
then, the Passion of our Lord was our deliverance from sin; for
as St. John says, ‘He hath loved us and washed us from our sins
in His own Blood.’ ‘He hath quickened you together with Him,’
says the Apostle, ‘having forgiven you all trespasses,’ &c. In the
next place, it hath rescued us from the tyranny of the devil, for our -
Lord Himself says, ‘ Now is the judgment of this world: now shall
the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth will draw all unto me.’ He hath also discharged the
punishment due to our sins. And next, as no sacrifice more
grateful and acceptable could have been offered to God, He hath
Cuap, XVIII.] ROME UPHOLDS SAINTLINESS. 239

reconciled us to the Father, appeased His wrath, and propitiated
His Justice. Finally, by taking away our sins, He opened unto us
heaven, which was closed by the common sin of the human race, as
the Apostle doth signify in these words, ‘Having therefore,
brethren, a boldness to enter into the holiest by the Blood of
Jesus.’ Nor is there wanting some type and figure of this mystery
under the Old Law, for those who were prohibited to return into
their native country before the death of the high-priest, typified
that until that Supreme and Eternal High-priest, Christ Jesus, had
died, and by dying had opened the gates of heaven to those who,
purified by the Sacraments, and gifted with faith, hope, and love,
become partakers of His Passion, no one, how just and pious his
life, could have gained admission into the heavenly country.”

Anyone who knows anything of Roman devotional writing
will confess that no matter what their errors in other respects God
has not withheld from them the faith and the confession of Christ
crucified.

Then, in the next place, more than any Western Church, or
Christian body in Western Europe, the Roman Church has set
forth the Apostolic life of self-denial and absolute poverty. There
have been numerous bodies of men, Dominicans, Franciscans,

\ Passionists, &c., who have given up all worldly goods and devoted
themselves to missionary work, in preaching, teaching the young,
tending the sick in hospitals, visiting the poorest of the poor,
reclaiming criminals, shutting themselves up among lepers, in
fact, devoting themselves to every conceivable work of mercy and
religion.

Then, in the next place, she has nourished a number of saints
who have exhibited to men the highest types of unworldliness and
devotion. Amongst a multitude of others we name Aquinas,
Bernard, Anselm, Charles Borromeo, Francis Xavier, Theresa,
Francis de Sales, and in our own days, Father Damien. One
brought up in Presbyterianism has confessed that the Church of
Rome has nurtured the noblest types of devotion that the world
has ever seen (Milligan, “‘ On Revelation,” Baird Lecture, page 184).

With respect to the Roman Church being the Apocalyptic harlot,
it is to be remembered that every church or body of professing
Christians has, in some very important particular, fallen from
God. Thus the Greek Communion has been equally tainted with
creature worship, especially in respect of Mariolatry, as the
240 ROME HEATHEN. ‘_— [REVELATION.

Roman. Then look at the declension of the continental Protestant
bodies in France, Holland, Switzerland, and Germany from the
confession of the Godhead of Christ. Which, if it may be allow-
able to suggest such a comparison, must be the worst error in the
sight of God, an undue honour of the Virgin, so 28 even to wor-
ship her, because of her having been ordained by God as the
instrument of His Son’s Incarnation; or a scornful denial, through
Rationalistic principles, of any Incarnation at all: and then if the
decline of the Romish Church be owing to worldliness, what could
exceed the secularity of the Church of England in the last century ?
Considerations like these have made many good men think that the
harlot represents not a fallen Church, but a fallen Christendom.

Some, however, as Dean Vaughan, have interpreted the harlot
of heathen Rome, and not Christian (¢.e. Papal) Rome at all:
“ Against the Empire of Rome St. John was instructed to lift up
the voice of prophecy : that was the foe then predominant; the foe
which invaded the sanctuaries, and desolated the homes of the
Church. Cold and scanty had been the comfort for those days if
St. John, as some have dreamed, had been directed to keep silent
on the present, and to promise deliverance from an enemy not yet
arisen. Prophecy would have been wanting to her chief duty, and
neglectful of her noblest office, if she had overleaped the Empire
and sought out the Papacy; if she had disregarded the calamity
that was, and spoken only of a corruption not yet operative. Those
who interpret the mystic Babylon as descriptive of the errors and
vices of the Papacy, forget how the same thing would have pre-
sented itself to them under Nero or under Domitian ; how barren
and unpersuasive would have been the word of prediction which
regarded only the sufferers under a Hildebrand or a Borgia.”

This reasoning does not seem to me just. Itis only true if the
Apocalyptic visions only refer merely to the time of the Apostle.
If they have any reference to further and more distant evils, then
such evils may, by the Holy Spirit, be brought within the horizon of
the Seer.

But it is to be remembered that it by no means follows that if
the Church of Rome be not the harlot, God will not visit her, because
of her unwarranted pretensions to universal dominion based on
forgeries, and also because of her gross Mariolatry and creature
worship, and because of her centuries of murder and cruelty in
upholding her pretensions.
Cuap. XIX.] ALLELUIA. 241

If any Church, just as any Christian man or woman, has com-
mitted a sin, that sin has to be lamented and confessed, and if it
be an open sin known to all mankind has to be openly confessed,
ere the all-atoning Blood can be applied; or else what truth is
there in the Apostolic declaration, ‘‘ If we confess our sins he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins” ?

And this, because of its claim of infallibility in all times and
places, applies more directly to the Church of Rome than to any
other Church. She claims an absolute identity throughout the
ages. If so, she is bound to confess the murders and cruelties
committed by her, and sanctioned by the express authority in past
ages of her chief pastors. It is no excuse to say that in past times
governments universally sanctioned such modes of defending the
truth. Being infallible, she ought to have known better, and
ought to have made her voice heard in reprobating such scandals
on the religion of Christ.

CHAP. XIX.

ND after these things *I heard a great voice of much

people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; > Salva- 2 ch, xi. 15.
tion, and glory, and honour, and power, ‘anita the & vil. 10, 12

Lord our God:

1, ‘And honour,” omitted by x, A., B., C.
** Are our Gods.” &, A., B., C.

1. *‘ And after these things I heard a great voice of much people
in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour,
and,” &. This is in strong contrast with what we have read in’
the last chapter. There we had lamentation of kings and mer-
chant princes and shipmasters and sailors over the fall of
Babylon. Here we have the rejoicing of the multitudes in heaven,
who see things as God sees them, over the same catastrophe. For

“just and true are his judgments, for he hath judged the great
whore.”

Whatever secondary causes may have brought about the
destruction of Babylon, it is all God’s doing altogether. His arm

R
242 AGAIN THEY SAID, ALLELUIA. [REVELATION.

2 For ° true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath
*ch.xv.8. judged the great whore, which did corrupt the

& xvi. 7.
Dent xxx earth with her fornication, and ‘hath avenged
& xvii, le * the blood of his servants at her hand.

Blea reeie 3 And again they said, Alleluia. And ¢*her
Tae 9, smoke rose up for ever and ever.

Fi 4, 8, 4 And ‘the four and twenty elders and the

has wrought the salvation; to His power it is altogether to be
ascribed.

2. ‘For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath
judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her for-
nication.” ‘True and righteous are his judgments.” For He
hath condemned the harlot because of her evil—because of her
corrupting the earth. Again I repeat, it seems impossible to
understand the earth here of a few kingdoms in the West of
Europe, important though those kingdoms may have been in the
history of the world and of the Church. The earth must mean
far more than what remained to the Papacy of the ten kingdoms
of medieval Europe. Though the Alleluia was heard in heaven,
yetif the lamentation took place upon earth, upon earth it must
have been heard; but no such lamentation of kings and nobles
aud merchants has as yet assailed the ears of men.

If the avenging of the blood of God’s servants be punishment
exacted from the harlot in this world, then no such infliction has
as yet taken place.

3. “And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up,”
&c. Is this the smoke of the everlasting burnings of lost souls, or
is it to be understood of perpetual desolation as if by fire, as in
the last chapter (xviii. 18), where not souls in Gebenna, but the
shipmasters and all the company of sailors stood afar off when they
saw the smoke of her burning, saying, “‘ What city is like unto
this great city” P And in Isaiah xxxiv. 10, which was evidently
before the eye of the Seer, it is spoken of the perpetual desola-
tion of Edom, not in the future world, but in this.

4. “ And the four and twenty elders and the four living ones,”
&e. It is evident from this particular mention of the worship of
the highest of created existences, that by the vengeance executed
 

Cap. XIX.] AMEN ; ALLEUIA. 243
four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the

throne, saying, “Amen; Alleluia. & 1Chron,

4 2 xvi. 36. Neh.

5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, v. 15, & viii

. . 6._ch. v. 14.

» Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that ¥ Ps, exxxiv.
ets 1. & cxxxy. 1.

fear him, ‘ both small and great. ree
6 * And I heard as it were the voice of a great first, 24,

multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and ae
as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alle-
luia: for ‘the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 1 ch. xi, 15,

ae j 17. & xii. 10.
? Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour & xxi. 22.

5. ‘And ye that fear him.” ‘And ye,” omitted by N, C., but retained by A., B.”

on the harlot some great way unknown to us was opened for the
final glory of God and the triumph of His Church.

Amen and Alleluia are both Hebrew words, and it has been
thrown out that this betokens a Jewish or Hebrew element; but
this is absurd, for we learn from 1 Corinthians xiv. that the repe-
tition of Amen formed a recognized part of the Eucharistic service.
“In these days,” says St. Augustine, “throughout the world the
Amen and the Allelujah is sung.” And Jerome also confirms
this: “The Amen and Allelujah in likeness of the heavenly
thunderings.”

5. ‘* And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God,
all ye his servants,” &c. This voice from the throne is not the voice
of Christ, who in John xx. distinguishes Himself from the creatures
of God, ‘*I ascend to my God and your God,” but probably is the
voice of one of the living ones, or of one of the elders.

6. “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude...
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” He reigneth without a
rival. Hitherto He had allowed Satan, the world power embodied
in the beast and the false prophet to usurp His place, now He
puts them aside, and destroys them. This is spoken in anticipa-
tion of what is brought about in verse 20 of this chapter. The
Apocalyptic Seer, as is his wont, speaks of things hereafter to
take place as if they were already accomplished (see xiv. 8; and
xvi. 19).

7. ‘Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him, for the
244  ¥INE LINEN, CLEAN AND WHITE. [REVELATION.

to him: for ™the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his
2 ex wife hath made herself ready.
ee a 8 And "to her was granted that she should be

ch. xxi. 2,9. arrayed in fine linen, clean and || white: ° for the
n Ps, xlv, 13,

14. Ezek, fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
. . ch.

iii. 18. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, ? Blessed are
|| Or, bright,

© Ps, oxexil. 9, they which are called unto the marriage supper of
Pp at, XX11.

2,3. Luke
xiv. 15, 16.

marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself
ready.” The marriage supper of the Son of the great King is
represented in the Gospels as the consummation of this dispensa-
tion (Matt. xxii. 2). At the close it is brought before us as ten
virgins going forth to meet the bridegroom. From St. Paul we
learn that the work of grace in the hands of Christ’s ministers is
an espousal to one husband, that each and all may be presented as
a chaste virgin to Christ (2 Cor. xi. 2), and further and more
explicitly in the Epistle to the Ephesians, the husband is the
head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church, and He
is the Saviour of the mystical body, and we His people are not
only His servants, not only His brethren, but members of His
body, of His flesh and of His bones, and will, if we continue in the
faith, be presented by Himself to Himself, as a glorious Church,
not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and
without blemish (Ephes. v. 25-27). This marriage of the Lamb
is not described, only in a future chapter an angel says to the
Apostle, “ Come hither, and I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s
wife,” and he proceeds to show him an unspeakably great and
glorious city.

8.. ‘And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine
linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of
saints.” Not without Christ, for they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. And yet it is
their own. The whiteness of their garments corresponds with the
purity. of their souls. It is impossible even to imagine that
amongst the realities of heaven there should be such an incon-
gruity as a robe of righteousness thrown over a polluted soul to
hide its defilement.

9. ‘And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are
Cuap. XIX.] I FELL AT HIS FEET. 245
the Lamb. And he saith unto me, ‘ These are the true sayings

of God. i er a 5.
10 And "I fell at his feet to worship him. | on, mall. 6.

And he said unto me, *See thou do ié not: I am ante

thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren ‘that have tt soho y: M0,

called unto the marriage supper,” &c. What does this calling
mean ? Does it mean that they are effectually called, so that they
cannot resist the invitation? The Lord’s own parable in Matt.
xxii. seems to forbid such a view. All God’s calls have to be
responded to and accepted and continued in. Or does it mean
some calling at the last? Amongst the Jews there was a second
calling. “All things are now ready, come to the marriage.”’ This
calling may be restricted to those who are known by God to be
worthy.

‘‘ And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”
Interjected as it were, so that we may pay the more reverent atten-
tion to them. It is like the Saviour’s twofold Amen before some
of His more important sayings.

10. “ And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto
me, See thou do it not.” Temptations are according to the nature
of the minds to which they present themselves. This was a
temptation to no other than an Apostle. In order to see its force
we must enter somewhat into the glory of the angelic nature and
into the unspeakable greatness of the revelation set before him by
the ministry of that angel. Ordinary religious minds will wonder
at the Apostle being tempted, even for a moment, to do such a
thing, but this wonder arises from their utter inability to realize
what the Apostle saw. An angel is to them an ordinary fellow-
creature, perhaps very ordinary, because they have never set before
themselves the ministrations of these exalted ones, as Hooker did
a little before he was called hence to join their company.

“T am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the
testimony of Jesus,’ i.e, of thy brethren the prophets, for the
ability to set before our fellow-creatures the person and work of
Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy.

The highest prophets can say nothing greater or so great as the
glory and grace of Jesus.
246 WORSHIP GOD. (REVELATION.

the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

11 "And I saw heaven opened, and behold *a
white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
rch. iii,14. ¥ Waithful and True, and *in righteousness he
Isa, xi. 4. ‘

doth judge and make war.

uch. xv. 5.
x ch. vi. 2.

“Worship God.” He only is worthy to receive the worship of
His creatures. They must not only not worship saints and angels,
but they must worship Him with all concentration of mind and
with all lowliness of body.

11. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse ; and
he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in
righteousness,” &c. Where does all this occur, and what is the
nature of this warfare? Now St. John saw heaven opened, and
there is the rider on the white horse, and it is said that “the
armies which were in heaven followed him on white horses.” This
betokens a warfare in heaven, but what is the manner of this war-
fare? He slays His enemies with a sharp sword proceeding out of
His mouth, and it is noticed that the armies which follow Him
have no arms, offensive or defensive, and yet it seems evident
that His enemies are destroyed, as men are destroyed in human
warfare, for all the fowls are filled with their flesh, so that this
warfare is a mystery. We might have thought that, owing to the
fact that the sword proceeded out of His mouth, this warfare wasa
spiritual warfare, and that His enemies were not actually slain, but
brought over to His side by conversion effected by His word; but
this seems not to be so. Again, aremarkable emphasis is laid upon
His Name. He is said to have four names. He is called (verse 11)
Faithful and True. Again, He has a Name written (apparently on
His diadems) which no one knoweth but Himself. Again, His Name
is called the Word of God; and lastly, on His vesture and on His
thigh there isa Name written, ‘‘ King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.”

Let us take the things said of Him in their order.

“ And in righteousness he doth judge and make war.’ This is
said, apparently, with reference to his name of “ Faithful and
True.” His judgment and his warfare is not like the judgment of
man, having always much imperfection mixed up with it. He
Cuap. XIX.] THE WORD OF GOD. . 247

12 *His eyes were as a flame of fire, "and on his head
were many crowns; ‘and he had a name written, " ch. i. 14.

that no man knew, but he himself. » ch. 3
13 *And he was clothed with a vesture dipped ver 16, 2
in blood: and his name is called *The Word of 23.
e Johni, 1.

God. 1 John v. 7.

14 ‘And the armies which were in heaven fol- £ ch. xiv. 20.

lowed him upon white horses, * clothed in fine = Mat. xxviii.
f 3. ch, iv. 4,
linen, white and clean. & vii. 9.

maketh war always in righteousness, so that He may rid the earth
of those who destroy it.

12. “ His eyes are as a flame of fire.” Fire, because of its light,
searching, piercing, before consuming. This is the account of Him
in the opening of this book (chap. i. 14).

** And on his head were many crowns.” In chap. vi. 2 it is said
that a crown (stephanos), the crown of victory, was given to Him
because He was to go forth conquering and to conquer. Here the
crowns are the diademata, and, being many, betoken universal rule.

“ And he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.”
This is the new name of chap. iii. 12. This name the Apostle saw
written (according to Alford) but knew not its import. Some
suppose that it was the ‘“‘ Word of God” of the next verse, of which
no human understanding can fathom the deep significance, but we
had better take it as unknown to any creature, and leave it in the
mystery in which God has shrouded it.

13. “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood.” Does
this signify His own Blood or the blood of His enemies? It is
evidently a reference to Isaiah lxiii. 2, 3, “‘ Wherefore art thou red
in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the
winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone: and of the people
there was none with me,” &e. And yet it would be most appro-
priate if the garment was stained with His own Blood.

“And his name is called the Word of God.” Only in the Gospel
of this Evangelist is this name given to the Lord. A very strong
proof, amongst many others, that the two books are written by the
same author.

14. “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon
(248 KING OF KINGS. [REVELATION.

15 And "out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that

hIsa.xi4. with it he should smite the nations: and ‘he
2 Thes. ii. 8.

ch. 4, 16. shall rule them with a ‘rod of iron: and *he
1a 0. treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and
xi, wrath of Almighty God.

eee 16 And the hath on Ais vesture and on his
= pan ia thigh a name written, "KING OF KINGS,
1 Tim. vi 15. AND LORD OF LORDS.

white horses,” &c. Are these the angels? We should gather from
chap. xii. 7 that they were, and yet from the mention of their
clothing, fine linen, clean and white, they seem rather glorified saints
{verse 8). Fine linen (bussinon), which is the righteousness of saints.

15. “ And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he
should smite the nations.”” We are told that we are not to connect
-this sword with the converting power of Christ’s word, but solely
with the exercise of His wrath and vengeance, and unquestionably
all the other figures are of war and slaughter. Still the figure is
remarkable. We cannot help thinking of the ‘‘ Word of God,
quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,” of
Hebrews iv. 12.

“That with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule
them with a rod of iron.” This is equally applicable to a rule of
unswerving rectitude as well as to one of force, but the next clause
seems to confine all this to His wrath and judgment.

“ And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of
Almighty God.” The heaping up of words of judgment is very
striking, “‘ the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God.” He is set forth as treading the winepress in chap. xiv.
19, 20.

16. “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name
written, King’of Kings, and Lord of Lords." This name is given
in 1 Tim. vi. 15 to God the Father. That it is here given to the
Son of God, the Word, is an irrefragable proof of his Godhead and
equality with the Father.

Some expositors explain “‘upon His vesture and His thigh ” as
Cuap. XIX.] AN ANGEL STANDING IN THE SUN. 249

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried
with a loud voice, saying "to all the fowls that » ver. 21.
fly in the midst of heaven, °Come and gather o Hack, xxxix.
yourselves together unto the supper of the great ~
God ;

18 ?That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and p Ezek. xxxix.
the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty er
men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit
on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and
bond, both small and great.

19 1 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the i eb. ea. 16,
earth, and their armies, gathered together to uk
make war against him that sat on the horse, and
against his army.

17. ‘‘The supper of the great God;” perhaps, ‘“‘the great supper of God.” Sox,
A., B.

the place where the sword was, but His sword proceeds out of His
mouth. ‘

17,18. ‘‘And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried
with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls .... both free and
bond, both small and great,” This is a close reproduction of
Ezekiel xxxix. 17-20, and signifies the utter destruction of those
who gather themselves together against God and Christ. The call,
as many other things in this book, is anticipatory. It anticipates
what is said in verse 21.

19. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their
armies,” &c. Is the therion then to be distinguished as one
personal entity from the kings of the earth and their armies? It
would seem so, and yet where all is so involved in mystery it is
impossible to speak certainly. Many things in this book would
lead us to believe that he is not a mere figure, a mere impersona-
tion of the world power. He cannot be any kingdom, for the kings
and kingdoms are distinguished from him. What is he, and what
the false prophet? The latter seems to be the Antichrist. But
who is this therion who is below Satan, for Satan gives him his
250 THE BEAST WAS TAKEN.  [REVELATION.

20 *And the beast was taken, and with him the false
"ch. xvi 13, prophet that wrought miracles before him, with
which he deceived them that had received the

« ch. xii, 12, mark of the beast, and ‘them that worshipped

tch.xx.10. his image. ‘These both were cast alive into a
See Dan. vii.

1 lake of fire “burning with brimstone.
ors 21 And the remnant *were slain with the
x ver, 15.

sword of him that sat upon the horse, which
y ver.17,18. sword proceeded out of his mouth: ’and all the
+ ch. xvii. 16. fowls z were filled with their flesh.

power and his seat and great authority—and yet he is above the
second therion who causes his image to be worshipped.

20, 21. ‘And the beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet .... And the remnant were slain with the sword of
him that sat upon the horse.” I desire with all humility and
submission to the will of God to call attention to the different
fates of the deceivers and the deceived. The deceivers were cast
into Gehenna. The deceived were simply slain; their bodies were
consumed by the vultures, and nothing more is said of them. I
do not think it is right and in accordance with the will of God
to say that their souls were irretrievably lost, and when once
out of their bodies, to share the punishment of the two deceivers.
God evidently makes an unspeakable difference between the two
fates—the two are sentenced to Gehenna, the remnant are not. It
seems just that deceivers and deceived should not be dealt with
alike.

It is of very great importance in respect of our setting forth
of the character of God that we should not make Him out as
having but one punishment, and that an eternity of torment in
the lake of fire. P
Cuap. XX.] HE LAID HOLD ON THE DRAGON. 251

CHAP. XX.

ND I saw an angel come down from heaven, * having the
key of the bottomless pit and a great chain + ch.i.18. &
in his hand. oT
2 And he laid hold on *the dragon, that old » ch. xii.9.

serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound 4. monde oi.

him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and

shut him up, and ‘set a seal upon him, ‘that he ¢ Dan. vi. 17.
should deceive the nations no more, till the thou- 16. ver. 8.”

sand years should be fulfilled: and after that he
must be loosed a little season.

,

1. “‘And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the
key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand.”

2, 3. “ And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which
is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years ....
that he should deceive the nations no more,” &c. In entering
upon the consideration of this most difficult and most controverted
of prophecies, we have first to consider briefly the probable time
of its fulfilment. This has been said to be in the future, and it
has also been said to be now in the course of accomplishment.

Now it seems to me quite clear that in respect of the binding of
Satan, that he should not deceive the nations, that this is evidently
in the future. Ever since the times of the Apostles to the present
Satan has unceasingly deceived the people of the earth. ‘Till the
time of Constantine he deceived the great Roman world and its
rulers by persuading them that Christianity was false. Imme-
diately after the time of Constantine he deceived a large part of
Christendom by the Arian heresy. Then we are told by such
commentators as Bishop Wordsworth and Elliott, and multitudes
of others, that for many centuries he deceived the foremost nations
of the world (the ten kingdoms) by the pretensions of the Bishop
252 I SAW THRONES. [REVELATION.
4 And I saw ‘thrones, and they sat upon them, and

¢ Dan. vii. 9, 4 i : g
oor” ‘Mat ‘Judgment was given unto them: and I saw the

xix. 28. Luke souls of them that were beheaded for the witness

f 1Cor. vi. 2, 3.
& ch. vi. 9.

of Rome. Then he deceived the Eastern parts of Christendom by
Mahometanism, and he deceived the most populous nations of the
world—the Chinese and Hindoos—by upholding their ancient
unbelief and idolatry ; and within this century he has perverted
multitudes from the faith by Infidelity, Rationalism, Comtism,
Agnosticism, and other forms of evil doctrine.

It has been said by many—amongst them Bishop Wordsworth—
that the binding of Satan took place at the first, because our Lord
asks, “‘ How can one enter into a strong man’s house except he
first find the strong man?” but if anyone will look at the place he
will see that this is a short parable simply setting forth that if the
grace of God enters into a soul it first dislodges the former evil
occupant. It has nothing to do with such a binding of Satan as
is here described. Satan is dislodged from particular souls, but
this does not prevent him going about “as a roaring lion seeking
whom he may devour.”

The account of the binding of Satan here is exceedingly circum-
stantial. He is first laid hold of, then bound, then cast into the
abyss, then shut up, then sealed down, that he should deceive the
nations no more till the end of a definite period.

What can be the meaning of such a series except to show that
he is absolutely restrained from going about exercising his arts of
deception as he had done in times past. Now let the reader
remember that no matter what meaning—spiritual or literal—we
give to this “ sealing ” and this ‘‘ chain,” yet, if we are to be guided
by Scripture, the abyss is evidently a real, actual place (Luke viii.
81). With respect to his deceiving the nations no more, this can-
not signify that sin is put an end to, because the nations have not
yet risen again in their sinless bodies: so that in each person there
yet remains original sin (and sin must involve deception), but
there is no longer that combination on the side of evil which it is
the especial prerogative of Satan to bring about.

4, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judg-
ment was given unto them: and (I saw) the souls of them that
Cuap. XX.] THEY LIVED AND REIGNED. 253

of Jesus, and for the word of God, and ®which had not
worshipped the beast, ‘neither his image, neither » gh. xiii. 12.
had received Ais mark upon their foreheads, or in 16°

their hands; and they lived and * reigned with ee

: a . 2 Tim. ii.
Christ a thousand years. 12, ch. v.10.
were beheaded .... lived and reigned with Christ a thousand

years.” The first inquiry respecting this prophecy of the millen-
nium is as to what itdoes not contain. So much imagination arising
out of former extravagances of interpretation has been brought to
it, that we must consider what is not in it, and first of all it is
clear that it dées not imply a personal coming of Christ to this
world before His coming to judge, and by consequence it does not
imply a sitting of Christ in glory on a throne in this world in the
midst of His saints. This is particularly noticed by that great
millennial interpreter Mede. While Mede considers that the saints
are to reign on earth with Christ during the millennium, yet he is
careful to add ‘‘ that he does not dare to imagine (as some of the
ancients did) that Christ will Himself reign upon earth.” This takes
away the insuperable difficulty that Christ will come to reign
visibly before the great day of His appearing, and the equally
insuperable difficulty that at the end of the thousand years Christ
will leave the world for a short time to Satan, for it seems un-
imaginable that the nations will environ the Holy City whilst He
is dwelling in it in glory.

In the next place, in this account of the millennium there is
nothing whatsoever said of the time of the thousand years being
one of perfect felicity to all the inhabitants of the world, much less
of the state of nature being changed and becoming paradisaical.
If the nations of the world are yet more or less under the do-
minion of sin, the worst thing which could happen to them would
be that they should live in unmixed prosperity.

And this leads us to consider what is meant by the reign of
Christ, and what by the reign of the saints.

The reign of Christ. Surely Christ is reigning now. He began
to reign when He took His seat at the right hand of God, and His
reign has continued ever since. He has reigned thus all through
this present state of discipline just as much as if it had been a
sinless and paradisaical state—nay, more; for His power has been
254 THE REST OF THE DEAD LIVED NOT. [REVELATION.

5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the
thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

most conspicuous in His adapting the evil of the present state of
things to the perfecting of His people.

The reign of the saints. This surely must be what St. Paul
alludes to when he writes to the Corinthians: “I would to God
that ye did reign, that we also might reign with you” (1 Cor. iv. 8).
It is quite clear that the saints will not reign in any shape or way
independently of Christ: that their reign will be subordinate is
manifest from its being described as the exercise of a priesthood,
‘they shall be priests of God and of Christ.” Their office will be
angelic. They will be as the angels, and will be employed as they
are. Now for anything that we know they may be reigning now:
not, of course, so visibly and perfectly as they may at the time
indicated, but it seems to me beyond everything absurd to suppose
that they have been since the time of their dissolution only em-
ployed in singing, or much less in mere resting. Our Lord speaks
of the reward of the saints as the exercise of dominion, when He
says that He will say to His faithful servants, “‘ Well, thou good
servant,'have thou authority over ten cities,”’ and “be thou ruler
also over five cities”? (Luke xix. 17-19); and “ Thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many
things” (Matt. xxv. 11); and He promises to the Apostles that
they shall sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel
(judgment was given to them). When our Lord thus indicates
that the reward of His servants will be the exercise of rule, He
tells us in effect that it will be an employment bringing into
exercise the highest faculties of intelligent creatures. Will the
saints thus ruling be visible on earth? We cannot tell. An
expression we find in verse 9, that besides the beloved city there
was a camp (zrapsufod}) of the saints, seems to imply that there
would be a visible centre for them, but these two were, according
to Alford, one and the same.

Many other questions should be noticed, though they cannot be
answered with any certainty.

Who are these saints or souls sitting on thrones? It would ap-
pear that they are in the first place the souls of the martyrs,
those who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, the beheading
Cnap. XX.] BLESSED AND HOLY. 255

6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resur-
rection : on such 'the second death hath no power, wee 1. &

being taken to represent any form of violent death, and then those
who had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not
received his mark, and here the account stops. Are we to suppose
these souls to be those of all real Christians who have died in the
Lord (‘‘ Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord”), or only of a
selection from them? The whole passage seems to imply a selec-
tion. There is not only an anastasis but an ewanastasis, at least,
according to St. Paul, where he writes (Phil. iii. 11), “If by any
means I might attain unto the resurrection out of the dead, not as
though I had already attained or were already perfect.”

Then are these souls clothed with their resurrection bodies? It
would seem that they must be, or how could this be called the first
resurrection ; and yet the Apostle says that he saw the souls, and
in the only place in which such an expression is used (Rev. vi. 9)
it certainly means the disembodied souls. And yet there are some
who tell us that all we are to understand by the first resurrection
is a death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness, and that
the second resurrection is of the unconverted alone.

With respect to the second, or general resurrection, if it is to be,
as some say, only a resurrection of the lost, what will become of
those who have been born and have lived during the thousand
years ? They cannot partake in the first resurrection. They are
born too late. Will they be all lost? Impossible.

When I said that there is nothing to lead us to consider that the
state of the earth during the thousand years will be a state of
paradisaical fertility and blessednesss, there is no doubt whatsoever’
that there is such a state in store for the earth, but whether this
will take place during the time of the thousand years seems to me
more than doubtful. The prophecies more probably point to the
new heavens and the new earth as the scene of the restoration of
the whole creation (Isaiah xi. 5, 9, and lxv. 17-25).

An immense number of questions can be raised respecting the
first six verses of this chapter of which the answers can only be
the merest conjectures. The difficulties of the opposing views, the
literal and the (so-called) spiritual, seem equally insuperable. The
greatest of all difficulties seems to me to be this, that no matter
256 A THOUSAND YEARS. [REVELATION.

but they shall be ™ priests of God and of Christ, " and shall

m Isa. 1xi. 6. : .
TPee ins. reign with him a thousand years.

ch. i. 6. & v.10.
" ver, 4.

 

how we understand the thousand years, a very long period is sup-
posed to intervene between the first and the second comings of
Christ. Now all the rest of Scripture, all the rest of this very book
of the Apocalypse, is against this. The Lord is supposed to come
suddenly, at any time, and when He does come, He comes not to
reign and then to judge and then to reign again, but at once to
judge and then to reign for ever without intermission. Now this
difficulty is inherent, not in the reign of Christ, unless it be a visible
one, of which nothing is said, nor in the reign of the saints, but in
the binding of Satan, so that he should no longer deceive the
nations. It is quite evident that the grossest deceptions, the most
Antichristian, the most absurd, the most derogatory to the glory
of God and the truth of the Gospel, have prevailed for nearly 2,000
years.

With respect to the reign of the saints, it may, for anything we
know, have been going on for nearly nineteen hundred years. It
may be difficult to conceive of, but surely it cannot be anything
like so difficult.as to imagine that men like St. Paul or St. John
have been for these wellnigh two thousand years merely resting—
shut up in heaven, so.far as their influence in this world is con-
cerned, as effectually as Satan was shut up in the abyss. Let us
remember that the vast majority of Christians (Roman, Greek, and
others) believe that the saints (some of them) are and have been for
centuries reigning, only they have done to them what they have had
from Holy Scripture no warrant to do, i.e., invoked them and prayed
to them almost as if they were.reigning independently of God and of
Christ. We are assured by the words of the most Apocalyptic
book of the Old Testament that angels take a part, of course under
God, in the direction of kingdoms (Daniel x. 6, 7, 18, 20,21; xii. 1).
They or, if not angels, at least powers of the unseen world, actually
oppose one another, as if, though under the rule of the Supreme, they
know not His whole will. And if angels, why not glorified saints ?
In the few places in which the Son of God speaks of the future state
of the saints He speaks of it, as Ihave shown, as a state of rule, and
nothing can better bring into exercise the whole intellectual, moral,
and spiritual powers of redeemed man than such a state. It is the
Cuap. XX.] GOG AND MAGOG. 257

? And when the thousand years are expired, ” Satan shall
be loosed out of his prison. P ver. 2.
8 And shall go out ‘to deceive the nations 4 ver. 3,10.

which are in the four quarters of the earth, * Gog + Ezek. ;
XXXVII, 2.

and Magog, *to gather them together to battle: & xxxix. 1.
the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. °°" *"**

only one in harmony with the future state of blessedness being
called a kKingdom—not a temple, or a garden, or a hall of assembly,
but a kingdom.

7-8. ** And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be
loosed out of his prison. And shall go out to deceive the nations
which are in the four quarters of the earth,” &c. Who are these
nations which are in the four quarters of the earth? Evidently
those who have lived under the rule of the saints, and have been
outwardly restrained by them from running into the-grosser forms
of evil, but are not living in their renewed bodies, in which they
will not be raised till the Second Coming of Christ in glory. Con-
sequently, they are yet open to solicitations from the Evil One.
However some of them may have been converted and made true
Christians, the bulk of them are yet in the flesh, and so are
amenable to the temptations of Satan.

We now come to the great difficulty of this prophecy. The
Apostle seems very absolutely to identify the subject of this
prophecy of the insurrection of the nations against Christ with the
invasion of certain Scythian hordes which is said to have taken
place within the years 633 and 605 B.c. This is altogether
passed over in silence by the writer or writers of the Book of
Kings. Ezekiel, however, devotes two chapters to the invasion of
(as is supposed) a horde of Northern nations. From all that we
can gather from the words of Ezekiel, the incursion was a most
formidable one. It threatened the very existence of the Jewish
nationality ; whereas this supposed invasion of the Scythians
was, according to all accounts, a matter of little or no danger to
the Jews under Josiah. The Scythians, instead of threatening,
much less ravaging Judea, kept to the sea coast, and ravaged
the ancient enemies of the Jews, the Philistines. They were on
their way to Egypt, and were turned from their purpose by

8
258 FIRE CAME DOWN FROM GOD. [REVELATION.

9 ‘And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and

‘ Is, viii. 8. = compassed the camp of the saints about, and the
Ezek, xxxviii.

9, 16. beloved city: and fire came down from God out
of heaven, and devoured them.
™ ver. 8. 10 * And the devil that deceived them was cast

+ ch. xix.20, into the lake of fire and brimstone, * where the
Eft xiv.10, beast and the false prophet are, and ’ shall be tor-
mented day and night for ever and ever.

9. “From God” omitted by A., and a few Cursives.

Psammetichus. Herodotus relates this in his second book. They
went thence towards Egypt, and when they were in Palestine and
Syria, Psammetichus, King of Egypt, meeting them, turned them by
gifts and entreaties from going further; and when, on their return,
they were in Ascalon, a city of Syria, whereas most of the
Scythians passed by without harming aught, some few of them
being left behind, plundered the temple of Venus Ourania. It
appears that before they got back to Scythia they were destroyed
at a banquet—first intoxicated, and then murdered by Cyaxares,
King of the Medes—all which seems to show how utterly unlike
such an invasion was to that prophesied of under Gog and Magog
in Ezek. xxxvii. and xxxviii.

There can be no doubt, then, that what Ezekiel foretells is in
the far future, and has had as yet no fulfilment worthy of the
name, and the Rabbinical interpreters consider this prophecy to
refer to the last outbreak against the rule of the Messiah. Two
quotations to this effect are given by Alford. One from the Jeru-
salem Targum on Numb. xi. 27, in Wetstein: “ At the end of the
last days Gog and Magog, and their armies shall come up to
Jerusalem, and by the hands of King Messiah they shall them-
selves fall, and seven years shall the children of Israel burn their
arms.” And again (from Avoda Sara, i.), ‘‘ When they shall see the
war of Gog and Magog, the Messiah shall say to them, ‘ For what
purpose have ye come here?’ And they shall answer, ‘ Against
the Lord, and against his Christ.’”

A question now presents itself of much interest. It is said in
the Apocalyptic account that fire came down from God out of
CHap. XX.] A GREAT WHITE THRONE. 259

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on

it, from whose face *the earth and the heaven + area
, 10,11. ch.
fled away; “and there was found no place for xxi. 1.

a Dan. ii. 35.
them.

heaven and devoured them. Is this fire the Spirit of the Lord’s
mouth, and the brightness of His coming, which shall consume
and destroy the Anomos—the man of sin, the wicked one of
St. Paul’s second Epistle to the Thessalonians? The man of sin, or
personal Antichrist, has been by many identified with the second or
two-horned lamb-like therion, which “‘ makes an image of the first
therion, and compels men to worship it (xiii. 14), and this on
account of his performing miracles—making fire to come down
from heaven in the sight of men, and deceiving them that dwell
on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power
to do.” The fire which comes down from God is certainly the final
catastrophe on the rebels, and it seems synchronous with the
coming of the Lord as the Judge; but there is nothing said of the
personal Anomos, and of the miracles by which he deceives men.
The matter must be left with God. Isaac Williams has a very
long note upon it, in which he considers that the three years and
a half is the time of Antichrist, i.e., the personal Anomos or Anti-
christ, so that the little season is the three years and a half, taken
literally.

11. “ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there,”’
&c. I would have much preferred to treat this most sublime,
most blessed, and yet most terrific description as Bishop Words-
worth has done—left it uncommented upon, except by the prayer
from the Burial Service: “‘O Lord God most Holy, O Lord most
mighty, O Holy and most merciful Saviour, deliver us not into
the bitter pains of eternal death.”

But there are features in it which require to be realized by all
readers. Some such are the following.

This is an universal judgment. It is the general judgment.
The dead, small and great, will stand before God; all will stand,
all the righteous, as well as all the wicked, from the Apostles down-
wards. St. Paul is very express upon the fact that he himself wil!
be judged, “‘ He that judgeth me is the Lord” (1 Cor. iv. 4).
260 THE BOOKS WERE OPENED. [REVELATION.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before

b ch, xix. 5, -¢ 5
° Danio, God; °and the books were opened: and another

a lxix. 28. 4 ook was opened, which is the book of life: and
an. xii. 1.

Fhil. iv.3 the dead were judged out of those things which

xiii 8.&xxi. were written in the books, ‘according to their

e Jer. xvii.10. works.

& xxxii. 19. *

Matt. xvi. 27. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were
Om. 11. 6.

ch. ii. 93, init; ‘and death and || hell delivered up the dead

xxii. 12. ver.

13, which werein them: ®and they were judged every
ch, vi. 8, ‘ Betgtt

ll Or, the man according to their works.

grave.

8 ver. 12.

“Who will render to every man according to his deeds: to them
who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and
honour and immortality, eternal life” (Rom. ii. 6,7). ‘For we
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ ; that every one
may receive the things done in his body” (2 Cor. v.10). Again,
Rom. xiv. 10, “‘ We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of
Christ.” ‘‘ The Lord Jesus, who shall judge the quick and dead
at his appearing, and his kingdom ”’ (2 Tim. iv. 1).

Taking such declarations into account, it seems a monstrous
thing for some in these latter days (and some of them I grieve to
say dignitaries of our own Church) to say that believers are raised
into a sphere above judgment. I have come across many believers,
men of smooth tongues and voluble utterance, unquestionably
believers, but who as unquestionably, if God is a just God, require
to be judged; and no matter what is urged to the contrary, they
will be. The diversity of reward asserted by the Holy Spirit—
‘* Every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own
labour ” (1 Cor. iii. 8)—seems to necessitate this.

Then there is another feature of this final judgment that requires
to be universally realized—that the judgment will be according to
men’s works. Thus in the vision of judgment in Matt. xxv., the
Lord expresses it as a judgment which takes into account but one
kind of works, works of benevolence, or one kind of such works,
‘*Come ye blessed, inherit, for J was an hungred and ye gave me
meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: naked, and ye clothed
me, sick and in prison, and ye visited me.”
Cuap. XX.] THIS IS THE SECOND DEATH. 261
14 And "death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.

‘This is the second death. na Cor. xv.
15 And whosoever was not found written in i ver. 6. ch.
the book of life * was cast into the lake of fire. ich, xix. 20,

14. To “ This is the second death,” add, ‘even the lake of fire.” SoN, A., B., &.

But that all works, good and bad, will be taken into account, is
clear from the Word of the Lord; that a cup of cold water shall
not lose its reward, and ‘“‘ that every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy
words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be
condemned ”’ (Matt. xii. 36).

Again, thoughts are works. Many works, both good and evil,
are acted, and so resolved upon, in the heart before they are seen
in the life.

Again, Who is He on the white throne; Who is He Who judges?
“The Father,” it is said, “‘judgeth no man, but hath committed
all judgment unto the Son; ” and ‘‘ The Son of man shall sit on
the throne of his glory, and all the holy angels with him,’ and
yet in this book of the Apocalypse, whenever the Divine Throne is
mentioned, it is implied that the Father sits upon it. The two
are one: as in love, as in power, as in wisdom, so in judgment.

Again, what are the books? ‘They are the histories of souls.
Each soul has its history, not only of its dealings with its fellows,
but of God’s dealings with it, and the account in the book of each
righteous soul is a record of God’s mercy and grace, and how it
has responded to it; and the account in the book of each wicked
soul is of God’s mercy and grace, and how it has rejected it.
“God is infinitely merciful to every soul; and no one has been, or
ever can be, lost by surprise, or trapped in his ignorance, and as to
those who may be lost, I confidently believe that our Heavenly
Father threw His arms round each created spirit, and looked it
full in the face with bright eyes of love, in the darkness of its
mortal life, and that of its own deliberate will it would not have
Him” (Faber, quoted in Dr. Pusey’s “ What is of Faith as regards
Eternal Punishment.”)
262 A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH. (REVELATION.

CHAP. XXI.
a Is, Ixy, 17, ND *I saw a new heaven and a new earth:
& Ixvi. 22. 2
Pet. ii, 18, >for the first heaven and the first earth were

passed away; and there was no more sea.

The last two chapters of the Apocalypse are upon the future of
the blessed after the Day of Judgment. They contain many
revelations of things to come of which it seems impossible for us
to form any conception. If we understand them (or rather I should
say) if we take them at all we must take them literally, for there is
no other way open to us. The reader will see this clearly enough as
we go on.

1. ““And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no
more sea.”” This is a very old promise, We learn it in Isaiah
lxv. 17: ‘For behold I create new heavens and a new earth: and
the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind ;”’ and in
Isaiah lxvi. 22: ‘‘For as the new heavens and the new earth, which
I will make, shall remain before me, so shall your seed and your
name remain.” This is taken up in the New Testament: ‘“‘ We,
according to his promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter iii. 13). This does not
mean that the planet is annihilated and another put in its place.
The ancients had no idea of any earth except as to its surface.
They had no idea of a globe 8,000 miles in diameter, and if the
Apocalyptic writer had proceeded on any such assumption, it
would have generated unbelief, or at least gross misapprehensions.
All that we have now to do with is the mere surface. But what is
the new heaven ? Evidently not the angelic heaven, or the starry
heaven, but that of which we have mention made at the opening
of the Bible: ‘‘God made the firmament, and divided the waters
which were under the firmament from the waters which were
above the firmament: and it wasso. And God called the firmament
Heaven.”

If the earth is to be renewed as to its surface, the heaven must
Cuar. XXL] NEW JERUSALEM 263

2 And I John saw °the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared ‘as a c Is. lii. 1.

% al. iv. 26.

bride adorned for her husband. Heb. xi. 10.
& xii. 22. &
xiii. 14. ch.
iii, 12. ver. 10.
4 Ts, liv. 5. &

2, “John” omitted by &, A., B. 1p jo. 2 Gon
also be renewed, if the earth is to be the fitting habitation of the
regenerate. For a great part of our discomforts, a great part of
our toil and labour, and a very great part of our diseases arise
from the state of the air and the influences of the heavens. Some
parts of the world are burnt up, and even uninhabitable, because
there are no clouds and no rain. In other vast tracts during the
greater part of the year the atmosphere is so inclement as to add
very sensibly to the miseries of poverty. That God should create
new heavens simply means that He will re-adapt His air, His sky,
His clouds and sunshine to the new state of things: so that in the
graphic words of the Psalmist, “‘The sun shall not strike by day,
neither the moon by night,” so that there shall be no more bitter
cold, tempest, hurricane. Above all no more pestilential vapours
breathing disease and death.

‘* And there was no more sea.” The sea occupies above three-
quarters of the surface of the globe, so that this means (what-
ever else is involved in it) that by far the greater part of the
earth’s surface shall be no longer barren and uninhabitable by man.
Some divines, as Wordsworth, consider the sea here to represent
the turbulent state of the nations, but the sea is mentioned as
in part making up the visible surface of the globe.

2. * And I (John) saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned,” &c.
How is it said that the holy city comes down from God out of
heaven? Why are not the nations of men lifted up to heaven?
This is but one of the extraordinary marks of difference between
the idea of the future state as set forth in these two chapters and
the popular ideas of the day. Some have said that she comes
down from heaven because Christ ascended up to heaven to prepare
a place for His people there. The glories of the new Jerusalem—
her adornment for her husband—are described further on in verses
12-24 of this chapter.
264 HE WILL DWELL- WITH THEM. [REVELATION.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Be-

‘eLev.xxvi. hold, °the tabernacle of God is with men, and
11,12. Ezek.

ae he will dwell with them, and they shall be his
ch. vii is. people, and God himself shall be with them,

and be their God.

3. “Out of heaven.” So B., but Nand A. read, ‘out of the throne.”

8. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven [or out of the
throne] saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and
he,” &c. This is almost a reproduction in the same words of a very
old promise in Levit. xxvi. 11: ‘‘And I will set my tabernacle
among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk
among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people ;” so
-also in Ezek. xliii.27. ‘Son of man, the place of my throne and
the place of the soles of my feet when I dwell in the midst of the
children of Israel for ever, and my holy name shall the house of
Israel no more defile.” There are four successive degrees of
dwelling of the Lord God amongst His people.

First, in the tabernacle and temple. This has been called a
symbolic dwelling; still, the Lord desired His people to realize
that He dwelt among them, and so met them in prayer as He did
in no other place on earth.

Secondly, through the Incarnation. ‘“‘ The Word was made
flesh and tabernacled amongst us.’ And the Lord also said, ‘* He
that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.”

Thirdly, He dwelt among men by the Holy Ghost. So mean
His words, “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to
you.”

But there must be a dwelling above and beyond these. The
Lord Jesus Christ will then visibly manifest the presence of God,
and being raised up in our resurrection bodies we shall be able to
bear the sight.

“God himself shall be with them.” He shall be with them not
as He is with all His creatures, for all things are in Him, but He
shall be with them as a father with child, a husband with wife, a
friend with friend.

“ And be their God.” God will be to them all that He is to His
Cuap. XXI.] I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. 265

4 ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;

and *there shall be no more death, "neither £ Is. xxv. 8.
‘ 2 ch. vii. 17.
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any « 1 Cor. XY.
‘ : 26, 54. ch.
more pain: for the former things are passed away. xx. 14.
h Is. xxxv. 10,

5 And ‘he that sat upon the throne said, gixi3.&
* Behold, I make all things new. And he said ?Qh. raha

unto me, Write: for 'these words are true and &”* x.
; \ ic Is. xlifi. 19.

faithful. 2. Cor. v. 17.

SE 1 ch. xix. 9.

intelligent creatures: as He said to Abraham, “I am thy shield,
and thy exceeding great reward.”

4. “ And God shall wipe away alltears,” &e. Soin Isaiah xxv. 8,
“ He will swallow up death in victory ; and the Lord God will wipe
away tears from off all faces.” He will not only console, but con-
sole with love and tenderness, as a mother with her own hands
wipes gently away the tears from her child's face.

‘* And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying.”
Because there is no more sin, for death and sorrow and crying are
the effects of sin.

‘* Neither shall there be any more pain.” For the redemption will
be completed by the bodies of the saints having been raised up,
incorruptible, glorious, in eternal youth—in never-decaying
strength.

“The former things are passed away.” The former things—
corruption, weaknese, the old nature of sin and death. This
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal,
immortality.

5. “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all
things new.” This is the voice of the Creator Who now re-creates
all things new. New heavens, new earth, new bodies and souls of
men. All things now are again as they were at the first, “‘ Very
good.”

‘And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and
faithful.” As certain as God created the first creation so certainly
will He create the new. If He is faithful He will be faithful to
this. This is the third time that St. John is emphatically com-
manded to write. In chap. xix. 9: ‘“‘ Write: Blessed are they
which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb;” and xiv. 13,
266 IT IS DONE. [REVELATION.

6 And he said unto me, ™It is done. "I am Alpha and

= ae aa Omega, the beginning and the end. °I will give

xxii. 13, unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the
o Ts. xii. 3. &

ly. 1, John water of life freely.

iv. 10, 14. 2 %

vil, 37, ch. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit || all
xxii. 1

|| Or, these

things.

6. ‘‘It is done,” or ‘‘ They are done,” ‘“ All is done ” (yéyovay).
“Tam Alpha and Omega,’ ‘‘the Alpha,” &c. (Some omit eu).

‘Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.” It seems
as if these three commands to write were inseparably connected
together. They that die in the Lord are called to the marriage
supper; they that are called to the. marriage supper are called to
the new creation and all its blessedness.

6. “And he said unto me, It is.done.” This was said before
at the pouring out of the seventh vial; there it seems to signify
that all the vials of the wrath of God were poured forth ; now that
the new creation in all its parts was completed. All is come to
pass—the word is probably in the plural (yéyovav).

“J am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” The
latter sentence is put in as the explanation of the first. As He is
the beginning from which all created things spring, so He is the
end to whose glory they all converge. Isaiah wrote, ‘‘I am the
first and I am the last, and beside me there is no God.” This is
said by the Lord—the Second Person—because it is He who has
promised so emphatically to give men of the fountain of the water
of life.

“T will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water
of life freely.” This is explained by the Evangelist as signifying
the Holy Spirit, “Living water.” ‘But this spake he of the
Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive : for the Spirit
was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified ”
(John vii. 39).

“T will give unto him that is athirst.”’ No other condition but
that he should desire it and be athirst for it. This is free grace.
It is the highest of all grace and yet it is given freely.

7. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be,”
&c. Here, however, is a condition: ‘‘ He that overcometh,” i.e.,
Cuap. XXI.] HE SHALL BE MY SON. 267
things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my

son. P Zech. viii. 8.
mel. 22 Heb. viii. 10.
8 4But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the 41 Cor. vi. 9,

10. Gal. y. 19,

20, 21. Eph. v.

5. 1 Tim. i. 9.

Heb. xii. 14.

ch, xxii. 15.
that persevereth to the end. The water of life is given to refresh
in the Christian conflict. The water of life—the Spirit of God—is
given freely, but it is given for a purpose, and that purpose is that
men should fight the good fight—should finish their course—should
keep the faith.

“Inherit all things.” St. Paul almost seems to go beyond this
when he says: “All things are yours....ye are Christ’s ; Christ is
God’s ” (1 Cor. iii. 21).

“T will be his God, and he shall be my son.” This is the
crowning sonship. When God by His creative powers brought
Adam into existence he was His son (Luke iii. 88). When one
is baptized into Christ, and so puts on Christ, he becomes in a far
higher way a son of God because a member of Christ. When a
man is led by the Spirit then this latter sonship is perfected so
far as this world is concerned ; and at last when he is raised up
in his glorified body he is the child of God, being the child of the
resurrection (Luke xx. 36). Each of these four senses are real,
they lead up one to another, but the last which is given to him
that overcometh is the culminating one.

8. “‘ But the fearful, and unbelieving,” &c. Different explana-
tions are given of these “fearful.” ‘Williams speaks of them as
those that fear men rather than God. ‘‘ Woe be to fearful hearts
and faint hands, and the sinner that goeth two ways. This fearful-
ness is by the son of Sirach opposed throughout to the fear of God.”

Dean Vaughan writes, ‘The fearful are not those who fear God ;
not those who have trembled at His word and served Him on earth
with reverence and godly fear. It is not an excess of reverence
which is here spoken of. The fearful are the opposite of him that
overcometh. They are those who behave cowardly in the face
of God’s enemy.” Similarly Alford, ‘“‘But to the cowardly (the
contrast to vxdvrec, the droorehddpevor of Hebrews x. 38), those who
shrank timidly from the conflict.” Similarly Bishop Boyd-
Carpenter, Dr. Milligan, and others.
268 THE SECOND DEATH. [REVELATION.

abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sor-

cerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in

oe xx.14, ‘the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone :
which is the second death.

* ch. xv. 1,
oe 9 And there came unto me one of *the seven

‘And unbelieving.” Those who have had some time or other in
their lives the truth in all its purity and in all its fulness presented
to their minds, and have turned away from it.

“And the abominable.” Alford understands these as partakers
in the abomination of idolatry.

** And murderers,and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,
and all liars.” Sorcerers may be those who pretend to magic or
who actually have intercourse with evil spirits. Both are equally
guilty. The wickedness is equally great whether there is only a
pretence to a thing so wicked, or whether God permits it to be
carried into effect. Let those who play with such things as
spiritualism beware. They are, as far as lies in their power, laying
themselves open to the most evil of all influences. All attempts
at intercourse with the world of spirits is unlawful, and they who
engage in it are sure to be deceived.

“ All liars.” They who lie in matters of religion by the circula-
tion of false opinions, or by hypocrisy, as well as those who lie
in business transactions, or in political matters, or in the matter
of the character and conduct of those about them, are all liars, all
workers of deceit and falsehood.

‘“‘ Shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone: which is the second death.” ‘With this we must take
the words of the Saviour and Judge, ‘All sins shall be forgiven
unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they
shall blaspheme ” (Mark iii. 28). The Eternal Father, who regards
each soul as if there were none other than Himself and that soul
in the universe, will not permit any one to be lost in so terrific a
gulf of agony and misery until He has tried every means to bring
that soul to repentance and faith. This must be our faith in God
just as much as it must be our faith that whatever punishment
He inflicts is necessary for the moral order and well-being of the
universe.

9. **And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had
Cuap. XXI.] I WILL SHOW THEE THE BRIDE. 269

angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues,
and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee

tthe bride, the Lamb’s wife. t ch, xix, te
. . eos v ye Se
10 And he carried me away “in the spirit to a teh. i 10.

great and high mountain, and shewed me “that « ee kt
great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of es
heaven from God,

10. ‘‘Great” omitted by &, A., B.

the seven vials,” &¢. Why one of these seven angels? It has
been supposed because they were the last on the Apocalyptic
scene, or it may be because the vials of wrath were exhausted, and
now there remained only the pouring out of the love of God on a
reconciled world.

‘Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”
This is exactly parallel to the action of the angel who called him
aside to show him the harlot. Each one is intended to illustrate
the other. Both are women: but the one a virgin, the other a
fallen woman. Both are cities: one is Jerusalem as contrasted
with Babylon. Both are churches: but the one is corrupt and
idolatrous ; the other, now presented by Christ Himself, ‘‘ not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and
without blemish” (Ephes. v. 27).

10. “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high
mountain.” When he was carried away to see the harlot, he was
carried away to the wilderness: now it is to “a great and high
mountain,” otherwise he could have had no view of the descent of
a city which covered what was equivalent to the area of a large
kingdom.

“ Descending out of heaven from God.’”’ He had seen something
of this before—in the second verse ; now he is brought more abreast
of it, as it were, and is enabled to distinguish its parts and its
materials.

Let the reader again notice that he is not transported to a dis-
tant heaven, but to a place on earth. We cannot but gather from
this that the scene of conflict—of six thousand years of conflict in
which Christ and His people have got the victory—is the scene of
the glory and of the reward. The earth, on which such events as the
270 A STONE MOST PRECIOUS. (REVELATION.

11 * Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto

» ch xxii. 5. a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone,
clear as crystal ;

12 And had a wall great and high, and had

aiar “i. twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and
Incarnation and the Atonement have taken place, is not abandoned,
but is continued as the place of Him Who is above all place, and
the habitation of Him in whom space itself exists.

11. ‘‘ Having the glory of God.” Having, that is, the Shechinah
within her, which illuminated her through and through: or rather,
perhaps, having the Son of God within her Who shines not only
with His own glory, but with that of His Father and of the Holy
Ghost—the glory of the whole Godhead.

“Her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a
jasper stone, clear as crystal.” This stone cannot be that which
we commonly know as jasper, which is not by any means one of
the most precious of stones. It is also opaque, and not clear as
crystal. It has been supposed to have been the diamond, the
most precious as well as the most transparent of stones: for it is
to be remarked that the diamond is not mentioned amongst the
other stones which contribute to the glory of this city.

12. “And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and
at the gates twelve angels.” How is it that the city appears
strongly fortified, seeing that with all other evils war will be
banished from the new creation? A wall is a sign of separation,
and surely there will be no separation in the future kingdom.
The wall has been understood by some to surround the city in
order to call to remembrance the state of warfare from which the
just have emerged; but this seems unsatisfactory. May it not
signify something of this sort? The city being nearly 400 miles
both in breadth and in length will be enormous—larger than a great
kingdom—and yet it will not be illimitable. Immense as it is it
would contain, if they were crowded into it, but a small proportion
of the inhabitants of the renewed earth. The city then will not be
for all the saved, but for those who have won an abundant entrance.
If to some of my readers this is unsatisfactory, I would put it to
their common sense, what is an expositor to do who desires to deal
honestly with the word of God? The locality of the blessed is not
CuaP. XXI.J THE TWELVE TRIBES. 271

names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve
tribes of the children of Israel :

13 °On the east three gates; on the north * Ezek. xlviii.
three gates; on the south three gates; and onthe nn
west three gates.

14 And the wall of the city had twelve foun-

14. ‘‘The names ;” rather, ‘‘ The twelve names.”

described as a boundless plain, but as a circumscribed city, immense,
but circumscribed—not boundless. There are walls and there are
also gates which, though they are open, are made to be shut (at
times at least). All such particulars must be noticed. If they
cannot be explained they must be noticed if we care to deal honestly
with the Bible.

“And at the gates twelve angels.” Evidently as keepers of the
gates. To keep them open so that no one should shut, or it may
be to keep them shut so that no one should open.

“And names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve
tribes,” &c. The names of the Patriarchs occurring here startle us
seeing that in the King and citizenship of this city there is neither
Jew nor Greek—all are one in Christ, and so we should have sup-
posed there would be in such a city no remembrance of Reuben or
Simeon, or Levi or Judah, but God’s thoughts are not our thoughts.
In some way unknown to us, and which all will acknowledge to be
just and right, there will be an association of the Israel of God
with the former Israel. So that through eternal ages Abraham
will be the father of the faithful, and Christ Himself will be the
root and offspring of David, and the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

13. “On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the
south three gates; and on the west three gates.” Mark the extra-
ordinary circumstantiality of all this. It is as circumstantial as the
description in Ezekiel xlviii., with the difference that the names of
the tribes are not associated with the several gates. Isaac Williams
says beautifully, “So wonderfully is the figurative pattern of the
temporal Jerusalem fulfilled in the heavenly and eternal. ‘I
know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever’ (Eccles.
iii, 14).”

14. “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations,” i.e., as
272 A GOLDEN REED. (REVELATION.

dations, and °in them the names of the twelve apostles of

> Matt. xvii the Lamb.
18. Gal. ii.

2. Eph. ii. 15 And he that talked with me ° had a golden

° itzek, xl.3. reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof,

a and the wall thereof.

16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length

we suppose, a stone of immense length reaching from gate to gate
and supported the wall; on them the names of the twelve Apostles
of the Lamb, signifying that the Church in regard of doctrine and
fellowship rested on the Apostles. One expositor, Lee, however,
says, ‘It is far more consistent with the grandeur of the whole
description to understand that the wall rests on a basis of twelve
courses of stones, each course encompassing the entire city, and
constituting one foundation.”

We cannot help noticing that when Abraham, in Hebrews xi., is
said to look for the glorious future, he is said to look for the city
‘“‘which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

15. ‘‘ And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure
the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.’ On three
other occasions is a messenger of God said to have a reed where-
with to measure that which God reveals. First, in Ezek. xl. 3,
‘a man with a line of flaxin his hand.” Again, in Zech. ii. 1-2,
‘a man with a measuring line in his hand .... to measure
Jerusalem.’ Again, in Rev. xi., where, however, the reed is given
to the Apostle, and the angel commands him to rise and measure
the temple of God. What is intended by this elaborate measuring ?
Evidently, I think, to impress upon us that the things revealed are
not spiritual visions, beautiful dreams, signifying some spiritual
grace or moral character in those who being pure spirits need no
local habitation, but the exact contrary: measuring and measure-
ments, and golden reeds, and furlongs, and cubits, pertain to the
outward visible world rather than to the inward and spiritual,
and we must, so far as we can, treat them as such. The outward
and visible may be purified, sanctified, sublimated, but by these
processes it is not resolved into mere thought, much less
imagination.

16, ‘And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large
Cuap. XXI.] HE MEASURED THE WALL. 273

is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with
the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the
breadth and the height of it are equal.

17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and
forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that
is, of the angel. S

as the breadth.” Aristotle is quoted as speaking of a perfect
man being “‘ tetragonos,” as if the city was built square in order to
set forth the virtue of those who dwelt in it; but if sufficient land
was available any fortified city which was built upon it would be
square. Such a city would afford straight streets, intersecting one
another so as to give spaces for immense gardens planted with all
natural products for the use or delight of the inhabitants. I do
not for a moment say that St.John saw this in the New Jeru-
salem, but it is much more in accordance with the fitness of things
than that he should use an Aristotelian metaphor to set forth a
virtuous population.

“And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand
furlongs. This, no doubt, must be taken as signifying the length
and breadth of the great square, 3,000 furlongs each way, each
side of the enormous square being above 350 miles.

“The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.” It
can scarcely be supposed that the city is in the form of a cube,
because in such a case the height of each house would be above
850 miles; and we are also told in the next verse that the walls
are only 144 cubits, of course in height. Now in such a case the
walls would not be observable, and there would not be even
the appearance of protection; so that we must perforce understand
the length and breadth to be equal, and the height uniform all
around. Alford and others understand the height of the rock on
which the city is supposed to be built to be taken into account, so
that with the rock it is 350 miles high, but this is equally contrary
to the description.

The highest mountain in the world is little more than five miles
in perpendicular height.

17. “And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty
and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the

T
274 THE CITY WAS PURE GOLD. (REVELATION.

18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and

the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
4 Isa, liv. 11. 19 “And the foundations of the wall of the city
were garnished with all manner of precious stones.

angel.” This can only mean that the ancel adopted a human
standard of measurement. It is important as evincing the cir-
cumstantiality, and so the reality of the description. It is the
description not of what is shadowy and invisible, but of what is
material and visible.

18. “And the building of the wall of it was of jasper.’’ The
word “building” (évdéuyoic) is explained as the superstructure.
The word occurs in Josephus, ‘ Ant.,” xv. ix. 6, who there applies
it to the superstructure of a mole of a harbour. It is that part of
the walls which is built on the foundations, 7.e., immediately above
them. :

‘“Was of jasper.” Probably the most precious of stones, the
diamond.

“And the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.” How are
we to understand this? Gold is not transparent. Why is it
described here as transparent? Bishop Wordsworth takes no
notice of it. Bishop Boyd-Carpenter writes: ‘Gold has an
inalienable reference to the sun itself; consequently to the symbol
of the face of God or Christ, i.e., to the manifestation of God’s
love.” Dean Alford writes, “ Ideal gold, transparent such as no
gold is here, but surpassing it in splendour.” Milligan, “ Pure
gold, the most precious metal known, but in this case transfigured
and glorified, for it was like unto pure glass.” This latter is, so
far as we can judge, the interpretation most directly pointing to
the truth. The Divine architect lavishes upon this city the most
beautiful and costly of materials, but by His power renders these
more beautiful still. I. Williams quotes the holy spiritualizing of
St. Gregory: ‘‘ By gold and glass we understand that heavenly
country, that society of blessed citizens where the saints in the
supreme brightness of bliss are as a city constructed of gold; and
as that brightness is reciprocally open to them in each other's
breasts, this very gold is described as like pure glass.” (Gregory
on Job xxviii. 17.)

19, “And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished
Cuap. XXI.] THE FIRST FOUNDATION JASPER. 275

The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the
third, a chalcedony ; the fourth, an emerald ;

20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh,
chrysolite ; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth,

with all manner of precious stones.” This does not mean, as we
learn from the context which follows, that the foundations were
merely ornamented with smaller stones, but that the foundations
themselves were composed of such stones.

“The first foundation was jasper” (iaspis). This is the same in
Hebrew, and is the last stone of the twelve. in the high priest’s
breastplate. By the Septuagint translators it is rendered onyx.
It is the stone of which the walls (upper part) were built. Bishop
Boyd-Carpenter speaks of it as dark opaque green, but in verse 11
it is supposed to be “ clear as crystal.”

“The second, sapphire.’ Bishop Boyd-Carpenter describes its
colour as opaque blue, said to be lapis lazuli. It is the second
stone in the second row of the high priest’s breastplate.

, “The third, a chalcedony.” This name is difficult to identify
with any precious stone which we know. It is said to be a sort
of emerald or an agate, brought from Chalcedon (Alford).

“The fourth, an emerald.’”’ The same as that now called by
that name.

20. “The fifth, sardonyx.” Probably the same as the second
stone in the fourth row of the Aaronic breastplate. Sardonyx, or
onyx, so called from its resemblance to the human nail, Its
colour white and red, according to Boyd-Carpenter, and so also
Wordsworth.

“The sixth, sardius.’”” Supposed by some to be the ruby, by
others the carnelian. It is the first, according to our translation,
in the Aaronic breastplate.

“The seventh, chrysolite.” Is described by Pliny as translucent
with gold lustre; very probably the topaz.

“The eighth, beryl.” The same (according to King) in compo-
sition with the emerald.

‘The ninth, a topaz.” Or, according to some writers, peridot, a
sort of topaz, but not the more valuable one, in colour yellowish-

green,
276 THE TWELVE GATES PEARLS. [REVELATION.

a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an
amethyst. :
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several

“The tenth, a chrysoprasus.” Something akin to our aqua
marina.

“The eleventh, a jacinth.” Our sapphire, not the same as the
second foundation stone which is called by this name.

“The twelfth, an amethyst.” Perhaps the same as the last
stone in the third row of the Aaronic breastplate. In colour
violet, and in all probability the same as the stone now called by
the same name.

The reader will see from the above how impossible it is to
attempt to give a separate spiritual or moral meaning to each of
these foundation stones, though we may be sure that they repre-
sent every spiritual grace bestowed upon God’s faithful servants.
In the variety and beauty of the precious stones is symbolized the
modumoixidoc copia of God (Ephes. iii. 10), and His multiform love
in supplying all the yapicpara, gifts and graces vouchsafed by Him
to the several Apostles.

Equally impossible is it to assign to each of these stones the
name of an Apostle. Thus Cornelius & Lapide, speaks of the
first, the jasper, being inscribed with the name of St. Peter; the
second, the sapphire, with St. Paul, or, as some suppose, with
St. Andrew; the third, the emerald, St. John; but not a single
valid reason can be given for such assignments. The one thing to
keep in mind is that these stones are the most precious things of
the earth; they are as rare as costly, and are assigned as the
foundations of the city in order to illustrate how God builds it up
with what must be new creations of His power.

Mark also the variety of the precious stones. ‘The precious
stones,” says Bede, “ are adapted each severally to the foundations,
because although all are perfect, shining with the light of spiritual
grace, yet “to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to
another the word of knowledge, to another faith,” and so on.

21. ‘And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several
gate was of one pearl.” “Gates” are rendered by most “ gate-
towers,” not being the doors of the gates which are hung upon
hinges, and which open and shut, but the gate-towers which com-
Cuar. XXI.] I SAW NO TEMPLE THEREIN. 277

gate was of one pearl: °and the street of the city was pure
gold, as it were transparent glass. © ch. xxii. 2.

22 * And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord £ Johniv. 23.
God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

mand them. Some consider that all these entrances are one.
Christ is alone the door of the entrance, and all enter through
Him. This is true; but if this eternal city is local, so as to be a
fitting habitation for the glorified bodies of the saints, then we must
be careful to adhere as far as possible to those outward and sensible
conditions of it which God reveals.

“And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were trans-
parent glass.” See remarks on verse 18. It is noticeable that
for the word clear or pure, caapoc, is here substituted a word
meaning more unmistakably transparent, duapavne (or deavyic).

22. “* And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb are the temple of it.” The significance of the
Jewish tabernacle or temple was that it was the house of God.
But in the New Jerusalem God and Christ will be universally
present, and will manifest their presence everywhere, so that there
will be no temple, because all is temple. It must have been
beyond measure astonishing to a Jewish believer to be told that
in the perfect Jerusalem—the Jerusalem of which the former
Jerusalem was but a» shadow—there would be no temple. It
would be Jerusalem without its one surpassing glory. In the
eyes of a godly Jew Jerusalem existed for its temple.. Even in
Pentecostal times—in the full blaze of the light of the Holy Spirit—
the Christians, and especially the Apostles, worshipped in the
temple; but now St. John himself would understand that the
Jewish temple betokened imperfection in access to God. God,
instead of shining forth, was behind a veil; the sacrifices be-
tokened imperfect and uncompleted atonement. No sacrifice
imparted life. They all pointed to Him Who was to come. Now that
He had come He had made a perfect reconciliation. And now the
prayer was being fulfilled. ‘“ Father, I will that they also, whom
thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold
my glory” (John xvii. 24). Even in our churches the presence of
Christ is veiled ; then it will be unveiled. Not only spiritually, but
sensibly, we shall worship in God and in Christ.
278 THE CITY HAD NO NEED OF THE SUN. [REVELATION.

23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the

g Isa, xxiv. moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did
20. ch. xxii lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
A er. ll. . .
Toa, ix. 5, 24 * And the nations of them which are saved
. VL, a

23. “Is the light ;” rather the lamp. Greek is not iis, but rdyvos.
24, ‘Of them which are saved” omitted by x, A., B., &c., and read, ‘‘and the
nations shall walk in the light of it.”

23. ‘And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon,
to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb
is the light thereof.” This was very clearly predicted in Isaiah lx.
19, “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for
brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall
be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.”

All this is in strict accordance with the fact that God and
Christ will be manifested in this glorious place. If in this city
there is the effulgence of His presence Who dwelleth in the light
which no man can approach unto; Whom because of that exceed-
ing brightness no man hath seen or can see—if in this city of
walls, transparent as glass, His presence is manifested of Whom
it is said that ‘“‘His countenance is as the sun shining in
his strength,” then it is plain that such light would extinguish
that of our material sun—all other created light would be as dark-
ness before it. And in this light we hope to live. If this be so,
then assuredly it is the very truth that every one that hath
this hope in Him “ purifieth himself, even as he is pure”
(1 John iii. 3).

“The Lamb is the light thereof.” It is again to be noticed that
the emblem of the Lamb is used to describe our Lord in this verse
and in the last, as it is also in verse 14. The memory of Christ’s
work on earth is never obliterated. In the intense splendour
and joy of that city of light, the remembrance of Him Who was
led as “a lamb to the slaughter,” gives depth and fulness to its
joy.

24, ‘‘And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in
the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and
honour,” &¢. The reader will see that almost all authorities omit
the words, ‘Of them which are saved,” and read ‘‘the nations
Cuap. XXI.] THE KINGS OF THE EARTH. 279

shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do
_ bring their glory and honour into it.

shall walk by means of its light.’ Who are these nations?
Whence sprang they ? What was their origin? For we were led to
suppose, by the last verses of the previous chapter, that none would
in future be living upon earth except the saints in their state of
reward ; but it seems from this Divine declaration that the earth
is peopled with nations who are not dwellers in the New Jeru-
salem, and yet are permitted to enter into it to bring, through
their kings, their glory and honour into it, This, however under-
stood, is one of the most remarkable revelations of this wonderful
book, and it is repeated in the 26th verse : ‘‘ And they shall bring the
glory and honour of the nations into it.” And we learn from the
next chapter, verse 2, that these nations will require, and apparently
continue to require, healing: ‘‘ The leaves of the tree [of life] were
for the healing of the nations.” How came these nations to exist ?
They must have been survivals of the general judgment, and yet
in what condition did they survive? Not as saints raised up in
their glorified bodies, for in such a case they would have belonged .
to the New Jerusalem as its citizens, which they evidently do not.
They are in some sense, if we may reverently use the term, out-
siders, and yet friendly, evidently holy, fearing God, and believing
in Jesus.

An immense number of questions may be asked about them.
If they are human beings they must be descended from Adam,
and yet do they partake of original sin? They require in some
sense healing, for it is expressly said so. It is disappointing to
find commentator after commentator passing this extraordinary
revelation over as if there was nothing extraordinary, nothing
worthy of deep thought or questioning in it. Wordsworth, for
instance, refers to such places as ‘‘ The Gentiles shall come to thy
light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising” (Isaiah 1x. 3),
But how did these kings or nations survive the passing away of
the old earth and heaven, and appear in the new? So Bishop
Boyd-Carpenter, “ All nations and peoples flock within the
walls;” but how did they exist before they flocked in? I mean
on the renewed earth. They could not be the offspring of those in
the city, for the Lord so expressly declares “that they who attain
280 NO NIGHT THERE. [REVELATION.

25 ' And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for

i Isa.x.11. * there shall be no night there.
k Isa. Ix. 20.

Zech. xiv. 7. 26 ' And they shall bring the glory and honour

ch. xxii. 5.

1 yer. 24, of the nations into it.

m Isa, XXXv. s w . .
8. & li. 1. & 27 And ™there shall in no wise enter into it
x. 21. Joel

ii. 17, ch. any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh
a Phil i. 3. abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are
oh. ti 8 & written in the Lamb’s book of life.

12,

27. ‘That defileth ;” rather, ‘“‘ unclean,” xovov instead of xoivotv.
‘“‘ Whatsoever worketh abomination ;” rather, ‘‘ He that worketh ” (Mosc.).

to the Resurrection life neither marry, nor are given in marriage,
but are equal to the angels.” Alford writes, “If, then, the kings
of the earth and the nations bring their glory and their treasures
unto her, and if none shall even enter into her that is not written
in the book of life, it follows that these kings and these nations are
written in the book of life. And so, perhaps, some light may be
thrown on one of the darkest mysteries of redemption. There may
be—I say it with all diffidence—those who have been saved by
Christ, without ever forming a part of His visible organized
Church.” But this does not answer the question, how did these
nations or their ancestors survive the judgment and the passing
away of the old heavens and the old earth, to make way for the
new state of things ?

25. “And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for
there shall be no night there.” If, then, the gates shall never be
shut—never in the day, and not at night, “for there shall be no
night,” why are there gates at all? Evidently to keep out of it
anything which might defile; aught that worketh abomination. I
cannot imagine any other reason.

26. “‘And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations
into it.” This is a repetition of part of verse 24, It seems in-
credible that they should bring gold into a city of gold, or precious
stones into a city whose very walls are of jasper and emerald, and
amethyst. Must not this glory and honour be the relations or
memories of good deeds, for which, mysterious though it be to us,
there will be ample scope on the renewed earth ?

27. ‘*And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that
Cuap. XXI.] DOES SIN REMAIN ? 281

defileth,” &c. This a shortened repetition of verse 8. But the
question arises, if the whole earth is purged and renewed, and
there is ‘‘a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness,” there
seems an impossibility of conceiving any thing unclean or abomin-
able as dwelling in it. Yet it would seem that original sin yet
remains among those that dwell in the earth outside the city.

I cannot help drawing attention to the words, bearing upon
and, I think, elucidating the whole contents of this chapter,
of one who has made a considerable mark on the sacred litera-
ture of the Church of England: “In the first place, none can
deny that after the Resurrection and the final judgment, the just
made perfect will not be, as angels, simply spiritual essences, but
be endowed, as when on earth, with material bodies. Now mate-
rial beings necessarily presuppose a material locality: material sights
would be simply useless unless there were material substances to
see; material hearing, unless there were material sounds to hear.
This obviates one great objection to what I am saying, that the
whole Apocalyptic description is only the lowering of heavenly ideas
to earthly minds. If a mere spiritual state were being described,
doubtless it would so be; but when, to say the least, much that is
material must be mixed up with it, the argument vanishes.
Consider, again, the remarkable terms in which the abode of the
elect is mentioned, after the final doom: ‘A new heaven and a
new earth.’ And lest anyone should think that this is a mere
casual expression of St. John’s (granting that such things might
be), St. Peter also and Isaiah speak of ‘new heavens and a new
earth.’ If, now, there were no analogy between the old and the
new, between the first and the second earth, to what purpose this
particular and thrice repeated expression? And most remarkably
it is said, ‘There was no more sea.’ There is, therefore, so
strong a resemblance between the two earths that the absence of
the sea in the second is thought a point worthy of notice. There-
fore, all the varieties of natural beauty, besides this, it may be
presumed, still will exist. If of one thing in a series it is
recorded that it is abolished, the natural presumption about the
others is that they remain. And in the mystical descriptions of
heaven with which Holy Scripture abounds we find frequent
references to other most remarkable components of earthly scenery,
To trees, for there is the tree of life; to mountains, for there is the
282 A RIVER OF WATER OF LIFE. [REVELATION.

utmost bound of the everlasting hills; to lakes, for there the
glorious Lord will be a place of broad streams; to rivers, for there
is the river of the water of life. Surely it is impossible to believe
that these things are purely metaphorical; nor can it be even said
that the expressions are used in a sacramental sense” (From
‘The Unseen World,”’ by the Rev. J. M. Neale).

CHAP. XXII.

a Ezek, xlvii. a i
Te Heke Sie ND he shewed me “a pure river of water of
S life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the

> Ezek. xlvii, throne of God and of the Lamb.
12. ch. xxi.

a 2 >In the midst of the street of it, and on either

1. Pure” omitted by X, A., B., D., most Cursives, Vulg.. Copt., Syr., Adth.
“Pure” read by only twelve Cursives.

1,2. “And He shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear
as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was
there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits,” &c. It
is very difficult here to distinguish between what is spiritual and
what is outward and physical, if one may use such words. A river
of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the
Lamb seems to signify the Holy Spirit and Him alone. For, as
we believe, He proceeds from the Father and from the Son. What
can proceed from the throne of Deity except the Lord, the Life-
giver. And yet it may not personally be the Holy Spirit, but be
typical of Llim ; for if the city be a real city it cannot be accounted
perfect except it has a river. In the visions of the New Jerusalem
_ vouchsafed to Ezekiel we read (xlvii. 1), “ Afterwards he brought
me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out
from under the threshold of the house eastward.” Then as he
followed their course the waters increased till they became a river
impassable by the prophet; waters to swim in, a river that could
not be passed over, and that this was the river of life; he further
asserts that these waters healed the waters of the sea. ‘And
Cuap. XXII] THE TREE OF LIFE. 283

side of the river, was there *the tree of life, which bare
twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit 6 Gen. fl. 9

it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which
moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live,” but of
course with a new and better life. And this also is a river; and
it may be ordained for the physical needs of the inhabitants of the
New Jerusalem. It may be to them a sacrament of eternal life ;
an outward and visible thing ordained to communicate or increase
life both of body and soul.

Now we cannot dissociate this river of the water of life from the
tree of life which grows on each side of it, and whose roots are fed
by this water of the river of life. This tree of life is apparently
not a spiritual but a real tree—answering to the tree of life of the
garden of Eden—the tree of which if Adam had tasted, even after
his fall, he would have lived for ever: which tree was not de-
stroyed but fenced round about with cherubim and a flaming sword.
According to all analogy of God’s dealings the various forms of
life have to be sustained by nourishment, and here God provides
the water of life as well as the fruit of the tree of life to sustain the
eternal life of His people.

How are we to understand, “In the midst of the street of it, and
on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare
twelve manner of fruits.” The river of life is evidently one, but the
tree of life seems evidently more than one—manifold ; because it
is on either side of the river, which a single tree cannot be. The
trees would be all the same, of one kind, but it seems impossible to
suppose that one single tree would supply so immense a city as one
river might. All the attempts to explain the fact that there is but
one single tree, and that on either side of the river, seem to me to
fail utterly. Williams writes: ‘It certainly seems more natural
to consider ‘ the tree of life’ to be but one; it is more suitable to
the whole description, where all is returning to the unity of God,
more agreeable to our Lord’s words, ‘To him that overcometh
will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the
paradise of God’ (Rev. ii. 7).”” Then he proceeds: ‘* But the con-
struction of the Greek would very well allow it to be understood as,
‘in the midst of the river which flowed on this side and on that
284: NO MORE CURSE. [REVELATION.

every month: and the leaves of the tree were ‘for the

4 ch, xxi, 24. healing of the nations.
e Zech. xiv. 11,

! Ezek. xlviii 3 And °there shall be no more curse: ‘ but the

side of it.’’’ And thus it is taken by Dean Woodhouse, “ The
river which was on one side and on the other.”

But this is dividing the river. It seems impossible and contrary
to the nature of things that one single tree should supply the
inhabitants of so immense a city. So we must acquiesce in the
fact that the tree of life being on each side of the river of the
water of life must be manifold.

“Which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month.” These twelve manner of fruits are explained as
being “the manifold rewards of the righteous,” but why should
they not be for the sustenance of the glorified bodies of the saints ?
They seem to be brought forth for that. Bishop Wordsworth
seems to understand these trees as the Cross merely because this
tree and the Cross are both £vAov. This description of the tree of
life with its variety of fruits seems to be taken from Ezek. xlvii.
That is, the Holy Spirit first inspired Ezekiel to write it, and then
inspired St. John to repeat it, “And by the river upon the bank
thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for
meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be
consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months,
because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary : and the
fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medi-
cine’ (verse 12), In St. John we learn, ‘And the leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nations.”

Who are these nations (see xxi. 26,27). We assume that the
inhabitants of the city are all the saints of God; but who are the
inhabitants of the earth? They walk in the light of the city; their
kings bring their glory and honour into it; but—-deepest of mysteries
—they require healing; and they receive it from the tree of life and,
doubtless, through the ministrations of the glorified dwellers in
the city. We cannot explain all this. The words are there as we
have written them, and we must leave their interpretation to the
good time of God.

8. “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God
and of the Lamb shall be in it.” In the next few verses there
Cuap. XXII] THEY SHALL SEE HIS FACE. 285

throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his.

servants shall serve him : & Matt. v. 8.
: eras 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
4 And ® they shall see his face; and "his name 1 John iii. 2.

shall be in their foreheads. oe

is a repetition of what has been described in the foregoing chapter.
“There shall be no more curse,” or, as we are told that we ought
to render it rather, “no accursed thing :” but an accursed thing
depends upon a curse. This seems a repetition of xxi. 4: “And
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed
away.” ‘

But the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. The
throne of God is also that of the Lamb. ‘I have overcome and
am sat down with my Father on his throne.’ Where God reigns
in Person there can be no more curse. It is because He reigns in
His glory in heaven that there is supreme blessedness there.

‘And his servants shall serve him.” This seems to be a
repetition of the words in xxi. 3: “ He will dwell with them, and
they shall be his people.” Being like the angels, they shall serve
Him as do the angels. God’s will will be done on earth—on the
renewed earth—as it is in heaven.

4. “ And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their
foreheads.” Does this mean that they shall actually see the face
of God the Father, or will it be perfectly fulfilled by their seeing
Christ in His glory, as He said, “He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father’? And yet the Lord says of the guardian angels
of little children: ‘‘ In heaven their angels do always behold the
face of my Father which is in heaven ” (Matt. xviii. 10).

“ And his name shall be in their foreheads.” Christ promises
to those who overcome, in the Church of Philadelphia, “I will
write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of
my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of
heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my new name”
(iii. 12), And the 144,000 who were with the Lamb on Mount
Sion had His Father’s name written on their foreheads. This,
whatever be its literal interpretation, indicates that, as no other
creatures did, they absolutely belonged to God. There may also
286 THEY SHALL REIGN FOR EVER. ([REVELATION:

5 ‘And there shall be no night there; and they need no
2 Sh el, 28, candle, neither light of the sun; for “ the Lord

i Ps, xxxvi.9, God giveth them light: 'and they shall reign
& Ixxxiv. 11.

1 Dan. vii, 27. for ever and ever.

2Tim. fie, 6 And he said unto me, ™These sayings are
ot faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy

& xxi. 5.

5. “There any more” (2), with X, A., P., Vulg., Syriac, but a few Cursives
have exe.

“Need.” ‘Shallneed,” A. ‘“‘Giveth.” ‘Shall give.”
6. “Of the holy prophets ;” rather, perhaps, “‘of the spirits of the prophets,”
x, A., B., P., thirty-five Cursives, Copt., Syriac, &.

be an allusion to the writing on the forehead of the High Priest
indicating their high-priestly functions and honours,

5. “ And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle,
neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and
they shall reign,” &c. This is difficult for us to realize, for night
is the season of refreshment.

As Williams says, ‘‘ There shall be no more night; for there is
no frailty of body. The night is often taken as betokening the
withdrawal of the light of God’s countenance for a season; this
shall be no more, and God will always shine upon them: they
shall ever rejoice without weariness in His Light.”

And if they need not the light of the sun, they shall need no
lesser light. The uncreated Light will shine everywhere, and |.
extinguish all created lights.

“They shall reign for ever and ever.” “ Not,’ as some one has
said, “as the saints reigned in the thousand years, whatever that
signifies, but for ever, with no intermission.”

Over whom shall they reign? Perhaps over countless worlds
which God has created, and will create. Again, let us remember
that the one great distinctive employment of those who have over-
come will be reigning. An employment which will exercise
throughout eternity their highest and best faculties,

6. “‘ And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true:
and the Lord God of the holy prophets [or ‘ of the spirits of the
holy prophets’), sent his angel to shew unto his servants the
things which must shortly be done.” This is a similar message
from God to what we read in chap. xix. 9, ‘* Write, Blessed are
Cuap. XXII] I COME QUICKLY. 287

prophets “sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things

which must shortly be done. 1 chi. 1.
7 ° Behold, I come quickly: ? blessed is he that Ss

keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. P ch. i: 3.

they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” And,
again, chap, xxi. 5, And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold,
I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these
words are true and faithful.” They are faithful and true sayings
then that there shall be no more curse; that they shall see God’s
face, that there shall be no night in the New Jerusalem, and that
they shall reign for ever and ever.

“ And the Lord God [of the spirits] of the holy prophets hath sent
his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly
be done.” And yet, whatever plan of interpretation we give to
the contents of this book, they have occupied well-nigh two
thousand years. “Shortly,” then must be understood in the light
of the saying, one thousand years is with the Lord as one day; or,
“shortly,” must be taken as compared with the ages of eternity.
Amazing as the events are which are contained in these visions
they are as nothing to that eternity which God inhabits. This
verse the reader will remember is a repetition of the first verse of
this book, ‘‘ The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto
him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to
pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant
John.”

7. ‘*Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the
sayings of the prophecy of this book.” Three times in this chapter
is this repeated ; in verse 12, ‘‘ Behold, I come quickly: and my
reward is with me,” and in verse 20, ‘‘He which testifieth these
things saith, Surely I come quickly.”

‘« Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this
book.” What are the sayings of this book which men are required
to keep? They have by some been supposed to be the words to
the Seven Churches, which are all the moral and practical instruc-
tions of this book which are capable of being kept. The rest of the
book is mostly composed of visions which cannot well be kept as
moral precepts can be. Nowin what I am about to say respecting
288 SEE THOU DO IT NOT. [REVELATION.

8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when
ach. xix.10. I had heard and seen, *I fell down to worship
before the feet of the angel which shewed me

these things. ;
¥ ch. xix. 10. 9 Then saith he unto me, * See thou do it not:
for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren

8. ‘‘Saw these and heard;” perhaps, rather, ‘‘ heard and saw.’

this, I confess I can scarcely name any one who seems to agree
with me; nevertheless, I think it is worthy of some consideration.
It is that these words from verse 7 to 21 are not only the conclu-
sion of this book of the Apocalypse, but the concluding chapter of
God's whole Revelation. In the Greek, Latin, and Syriac Bibles
this chapter forms the conclusion: I cannot help regarding this
as brought about by the good providence of God, and so I
conceive that the sayings of this book are the sayings of God
throughout the whole Bible. If the visions of this book are only
meant, no two commentators agree in their interpretation, but if
the whole Bible be meant by the sayings of this book, then it
agrees with what has been the fact, that every copy of the whole
word of God concludes with this chapter. I do not say for a
moment that the whole order of the books as contained in our
copies is inspired, but this I say, that this chapter is a fitting con-
clusion to the whole sacred volume, and not only to a book of
visions. I may have more to say on this when I come to verses
18 and 19.

8,9. “And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I
had heard and seen. . . the sayings of this book: worship God.” This
is the second time that the blessed and holy Apostle was exposed to
this temptation and all but succumbed to it, and as it is twice re-
corded, it is evident that God intends us to take notice of it and
dwell upon it.

Some expositors out of a desire to acquit so great an Apostle of
anything approaching to idolatry have hazarded the conjecture
that St. John thought that the angel who had showed him these
things was Jesus Christ Himself, but St. John at the commence-
ment of these visions saw the Lord surrounded with such wondrous
glory that it overwhelmed him—he “fell at his feet as dead.” It
Cuap. XXII] WORSHIP GOD. 289

the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this
book: worship God.

never then could have entered into his mind that the angel which
showed him these things, bright and glorious though he might be,
was the Lord Himself. Again, another commentator says that
St. John intended merely an act of civil honour or homage, and
the angel declined it out of humility and in order to give occasion
to no scandal. The lookers-on might have misunderstood the
meaning of the act as being one of Divine worship, whereas the
Apostle merely meant to honour the angel with the honour which
in the east men pay to their superiors inrank. But this cannot
be allowed as an explanation, for the angel evidently supposes
that the Apostle intended to pay him some unlawful honour,
and so he directs him to pay his adoration to the only Being
worthy of it—“ worship God.”

This incident is very decisive against any thing approaching
to saint or angel worship, but it yields a still deeper lesson
suited to our times, which is this, that the best, the most devout,
the holiest of men may be betrayed into thus falling. When
we consider the state of things in the modern Church of Rome,
and we are called upon to do this in some way or other almost
daily, two things strike us with astonishment. The first of these
is the length to which this Church goes in encouraging the
invocation of angels and departed saints. This is an increasing
evil. It is greater now than ever it has been before. In Romish
countries the worship of the Virgin in the way of Invocation far
exceeds that of the worship paid to any Person in the Ever Blessed
Trinity. Theologians, it is true, make a distinction between the
worship paid to the Virgin and saints and that paid to the Persons
in the adorable Trinity, but the vast mass of worshippers know of
no such distinction.

This, then, is the first thing; but another matter which fills us
with astonishment, and some even with misgiving, is this, that
notwithstanding this idolatry, so many devout minds have been
won to this corrupt Church, and have themselves gone very far in
this direction. How can it be, we ask, that men who know Scrip-
ture, and who unquestionably have their souls alive to the things
of God and of Christ, can yet pay this idolatrous worship. This is

U
290 SEAL NOT THE SAYINGS. [REVELATION.

* Dan. viii.26. 10 *And he saith unto me, Seal not the say-
& xii. 4, 9.

ch. x, 4.

staggering to some, but not if we read aright this very place of
Scripture, For here we have an Apostle, full of the Holy Ghost,
called and taught by Christ Himself, one of those who had drank
in His profoundest teaching. Here we have him twice needing
the reproof, ‘See thou do it not: .. . worship God.” If he was
exposed to the temptation, and was actually beginning to yield to
it, and would have unquestionably committed sin if he had gone a
step further, is it anything wonderful that in the nineteenth
century men infinitely his inferiors in the possession of the Spirit
and knowledge of the will of Christ should yield to it?

So that the fact that men of very deep devotion and knowledge
of the mysteries of God have yielded to the seduction of a system
plainly idolatrous in some of its main features is no proof of the
truth of the system. All of these put together, multiplied many
times over, are not to be compared to St. John, and yet he twice
required to be told, “See thou do it not.”

Now let us ask for a moment in passing, How could St. John
have been exposed, even for a moment, to such a temptation ? '
I suppose none of you have ever been tempted to do such a thing
as worship an angel, or a saint, or the Blessed Virgin? It is the
very last temptation you are likely to be troubled with. You are
tempted to do other things bad enough. You are tempted to do
dishonest things, base things, unclean things, spiteful things ; you
are tempted to be proud, to be envious, to be untrue; none of
which temptations touched the Blessed Apostle, and yet you think,
perhaps, you can look down upon him, even if it be only for a
moment, because he was tempted to fall down at the feet of the angel.

How, then, was it possible that this temptation should assail an
Apostle? Because, I answer, he had a revelation granted to him
such as you or I are not likely to have, because we are utterly
unworthy of it. He had the unseen spiritual angelic world set
before him in all its glories, and it was set before him through the
instrumentality of one of these heavenly beings, and so the temp-
tation assailed him.

 

1 This is taken from a sermon preached to a large middle-class congregation, and
is reproduced verbatim.
Cuap. XXIL] THE TIME IS AT HAND. 291

ings of the prophecy of this book: ‘for the time is at
hand. t ch. i, 3.

11 "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: » Bzek. iii, 97.
and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and ?ifatti/ts.

 

11, “Let him that is unjust, let him commit injustice still: and he that is
polluted, let him pollute himself still: and he that is righteous, let him still do
righteousness.”

It is not for us who have never been so favoured, who, perhaps,
some of us, have never believed in an angel at all—who have never
realized or tried to realize our companionship with angels, or how
God works by them—it is not for us to judge this Apostle; but it
may be well for us to learn somewhat from him. How grand
then, beyond expression, must these visions of the New Jerusalem
and its inhabitants have been if they could so affect an Apostle
who had lain in the bosom of Jesus Himself.

And who was this angel? What was his dignity? He tells us.
“T am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and
of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.”

Here is a mighty angel claiming to be the fellow-servant, not
only of an Apostle, but of all those who obey the word of God,
All those who obey God, no matter what their position in the
universe, are His servants. And the highest and the lowest are
fellow-servants, This bond unites them all as one family, one
household, and the Son of God is their chief in service. He Who
left His throne not to do His own will, but the will of Him that
sent Him.

10. “ And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy
of this book, for the time is at hand.” When (in chap. x. 4) the
seven thunders had uttered their voices he was told to seal up
those things which the seven thunders had uttered, 1.¢., they were
not to be divulged, they were to be like a book which being sealed
cannot be read ; now he is told not to seal them up, for the time of
their fulfilment is at hand. Men have but a short time to prepare
—so short that it is no time at all for so great a work, and they must
continue as they are.

11. “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is
filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be
292 MY REWARD IS WITH ME. [REVELATION.

he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is
holy, let him be holy still.
x ver. 7. 12 * And, behold, I come quickly; and ’my

0.
& Aa 11. reward is with me, “to give every man according
z Rom. ii.

&uniz. ch, as his work shall be.

xx, 12.

righteous still,” &c. This has been explained as said in @ sort of
solemn irony, as if it were the reflex of that written in the book of
Proverbs: “ They hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of
the Lord. They would none of my counsel, they despised all my
reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own ways.”
Were then those to whom these words are addressed shut out from
repentance by God? No; they had shut themselves out. They
had become incapable of repentance. As the saying is, they are
become Gospel hardened. As Alford says, ‘‘ The lesson conveyed is
‘Change while there is time,’ to which we may add, change
while you can, before you become incapable of changing—before
your habits of ungodliness have become hardened into settled
character.”

But what then must we understand by ‘‘ He that is righteous,
let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy
still”? In connection with the announcement that the time is at
hand, it seems to be this:—No matter how short the time is,
slacken not in your efforts to preserve righteousness and holiness.
The Lord has not come yet; take care that when He comes you
may be found of Him as He would have you to be.

12, “(And) behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me,
to give every man according as his work shall be.”’ When the
Lord comes He will not postpone the rewards of His servants to
the far future, but will at once say to them on His right hand,
“‘ Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the beginning of the world.” He brings with Him the
New Jerusalem. At His voice men rise up in their glorified
bodies. ‘He then says to each faithful servant, ‘‘ Enter thou into
the joy of thy Lord.”

“To give every man according as his work shall be.” Again the
judgment according to works; again the assertion, ‘Every man
shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.” Again
CHap. XXII] I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA. 298

13 *Iam Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end,
the first and the last. 7. mien
14 > Blessed are they that do his command- ah 12. ch.

b Dan. xii. 12.
1 John iii, 24.

13, ‘‘ And” omitted by ¥, A., B., &.
14. “That do his commandments.” So B., most Cursives, Copt., Syr., Arm. ; but
x, A., Vulg., 4ith., read, ‘‘ who wash their robes.”

the truth, ‘‘ He that soweth little shall receive little, and he that
soweth plenteously shall reap plenteously.” No truth of God
is more insisted upon both by Christ and His servants than this.

13. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the
first and the last.” Before this seems to be said by God the
Father. Now it is said by God the Son. We confess the co-
eternity of the Son with the Father when we say in our creed,
“The Father Eternal, the Son Eternal, and the Holy Ghost
Hiternal.” And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal.
Some have thought that here it has reference to the eternal reward.
‘“* My reward is with me, and it is an eternal one, as I myself am
eternal.”

“The beginning and the end, the first and the last,” are ex-
pansions of the Alpha and Omega.

14. “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they
may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the
gates into the city.” There is a very important difference of
reading here. Some MSS., as B., read as in authorized; others, as
A., read, ‘‘ Blessed are they that have washed their robes [in the
Blood of the Lamb].” Both these readings taken together repre-
sent the whole truth. None can enter into eternal happiness
except those who have kept the commandments of God (‘If thou
wilt enter into life keep the commandments”); and none can enter
into eternal happiness except those who have washed their robes
in the Blood of Christ. How are men to wash their robes?
Evidently by applying to God both by word of mouth and through
the means of grace. What commandments are men to keep?
Not merely “thou shalt do no murder; thou shalt not commit
adultery ; thou shalt not steal; but believe in Me; abide in Me;
come to the Father through Me; take up thy cross and follow
Me. “If thy hand, thy foot, thine eye offend thee, cut it off, or

u2
294 RIGHT TO THE TREE OF LIFE. [REVELATION.

ments, that they may have right ‘to the tree of life, ‘and
e ver.2, ch. may enter in through the gates into the city.

ii. 7. :
i ch, xxi, 27. 15 For ° without are ‘dogs, and sorcerers, and
or. vi. 9,

10. Gal.v.' whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and
19, 20, 21.

Col. ili. 6, whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

ch. ix. 20, 21,

& xxi. 8.

f Phil. iii. 2.

15. ‘For without.” ‘ For” omitted by n, A., B.

pluck it out, and cast it from thee.’ ‘ Receive me, even to the
éating of my flesh, and drinking of my blood, that thou mayest
have my life in thee.”

His commandment is, “ Come unto me, look unto me, follow
me.” His commandment is, “lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven,” “‘ Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrigh-
teousness,” “ Forgive and ye shall be forgiven,” “ Eat ye my flesh
and drink my blood, that ye may have my life in you.”

If He washes us with His Blood, He washes us with no mere
external washing ; He washes us from all filthiness of spirit, from
all selfishness, from all unbelief, from all disobedience of will,
from all that is contrary to His own and to His Father’s will.

“That they may have right unto the tree of life.” A strong
expression to signify the privilege of being able to eat of the tree
of life. A man can only have the power over a fruit tree that he
may eat itsfruit. It is as if there was added, no man forbidding
him—no one able to hinder him.

«And may enter in through the gates into the city.”

15. “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers,
and murderers,” &c. The gates have angels stationed at them to
guard them, and keep out everything that would defile. We
should have thought, from chap. xxi., verse 6, that all here said
to be excluded, would have been shut up in Gehenna; but it seems
not to be so. This bears upon the deep mystery that the nations
outside of the city, as distinguished from the citizens, have sin yet
lingering among them.

‘* Dogs.” Taken as the type of all that is unclean and lecherous.
Thus St. Paul writes (Phil. iii. 2), ‘‘ Beware of dogs, beware of evil
workers.” “The allusion to the dogs outside the city is hardly
appreciated by Westerns. In the East, however, troops of
Cuar. XXII] THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR. 295

16 ®I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you

these things in the churches. "I am the root eee

and the offspring of David, and ‘the bright and ‘Nu. xxiv.17.
: Zech. vi. 12.

morning star. 2 Pet. i. 19.

ch. ii, 28.

17 And the Spirit and * the bride say, Come. « ch. ‘xxi. 2,9.

hungry and semi-wild dogs used to wander about the fields and
streets of the city, devouring dead bodies and other offal, and thus
became such objects of dislike that fierce and cruel enemies are
poetically styled dogs in Ps. xxii. 16-20 ” (Bishop Boyd-Carpenter.)

16. “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these
things in the churches.” Thus the angels of God, the angels of
heaven, are the angels of Jesus. He is “far above all principality,
and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come”
(Ephes. i. 21).

‘“T am the root and the offspring of David.” ‘I am the root,”
because He is from everlasting, and all existence is derived from
Him. “ Without him was not any thing made that was made.”

“ And the offspring.” Because he was made of the seed of David,
according to the flesh. Note how He expresses His eternity and His
human nature in words which must have been so peculiarly
grateful to a child of Israel.

“And the bright and morning star.” The star which ushers
in the morning, which knows no evening. This day-star has not
only to arise on the mystical horizon, but in each of our hearts, as
St. Peter writes, ‘‘ Until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in
your hearts”’ (2 Pet. i. 19).

17. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.” It is only the
Holy Spirit of God which can inspire the bride—the Church—
throughout all the world to desire and to pray for the coming of
the Lord. Itis the very mark of the bride to desire the coming
of the Bridegroom. The bride is the blessed company of those
who love his appearing (2 Tim. iv. 8) ; of those who look for and
haste “‘ unto the coming of the day of God” (2 Pet. iii. 12).

“‘ Let him that heareth say, Come.” Let this word “ come” be
taken up by all who have within them the voice of the Spirit, and
who hear the voice of the Church. It is the Advent cry. It is
296 LET HIM THAT IS ATHIRST COME. [REVELATION.

And let him that heareth say, Come. ' And let him that is

ce i athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take
ch. xxi. 6. the water of life freely.

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth

Deut. iv.2. the words of the prophecy of this book, ™ If any

Prov. xxx.6. man shall add unto these things, God shall add
unto him the plagues that are written in this
book :

19 And if any man shall take away from the

» Ex.xxxii. words of the book of this prophecy, "God shall
33. Ps. Ixix. . ie

ae te UG. take away his part || out of the book of life, and
\| Or, from the out of °the holy city, and from the things which
tree of life. 5 Hf <

och. xxi2, are written in this book.

19. ‘The book of life ;” rather, ‘‘ from the tree of life.” X, A., B., most Cursives,
Vulg. (Amiat.), &c.
‘Which are written” omitted by 8, A., B.

the ery of those who say aright, and in the Spirit, Christ’s own
prayer, ‘“‘ Thy kingdom come.”

“And let him that is athirst come.’’ One thing only is requisite
on our part—desire. “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it
is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked
of him, and he would have given thee living water” (John iv. 10).

We must not wait till the last time to receive this water at
the hands of Christ ; we must receive it now, ‘‘ Whosoever will, let
him come—not wait, but come.”

18-19. ‘‘ For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of
the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things,
God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book :
And if any man shall take away .... God shall take away his
part out of the book of life,” &e. Like a vast number of sayings
in this book, this is a repetition of what we find in the Old Testa-
ment, in the book of Deuteronomy, “ Ye shall not add unto the
word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from
it’ (Deut. iv. 2). Are these words applicable only to the visions
in the twenty-two chapters of the Apocalypse, or are they the
fitting conclusion to the words of all Scripture. I cannot help
Cuap. XXIL] COME, LORD JESUS. 297

20 He which testifieth these things saith, ? Surely I come

quickly. *Amen. * Even so, come, Lord Jesus. » ver.12._
4 John xxi. 25,
_— a a © 2 Tim. iv. 8.
thinking the latter. It is equally, we should have thought, a sin
against God to add to any of His words, no matter in whose book
they are written, whether the book of a Jewish prophet, or of an
evangelist, or of an apostolical letter. So that these words,
though especially true of the Apocalypse, form a fitting conclusion
to the whole Bible. How are men in danger of adding to the
words of Scripture? I answer, by unauthorized traditions, These
traditions may be traceable to remote ages as Mariolatry, or they
may be traceable only to the Swiss Reformation, to Calvin and
others, as that Christ died for a few, and the way of salvation is
open only to a very small proportion of the whole race of
mankind. ;

And where now is the danger of taking away from the words of
the book of this prophecy. I answer, by criticisms, falsely so
called. There are persons who tell us that St. Paul wrote only four
of the thirteen Epistles reckoned as his in the canon. If he was
inspired by God to write many more, and the Universal Church
has believed from the first that he was, what a sin against God, the
Inspirer of Scripture, for men to say, relying only on self-will, and
what they consider right for him to have written, that such.
letters, or even Gospels, are no part of the inspired volume, and
consequently not profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc-
tion, for instruction in righteousness.

As Isaac Williams has noticed, the severity of the curse against
taking away from the Word of God (or of this prophecy) is much
greater than that of adding toit. If a man adds, certain plagues
are added to him: if a man takes away from them, his part in the
book (or tree) of life is taken away.

20. ‘‘He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come
quickly.” No matter when I come, I come quickly, for I come
unexpectedly. I take all by surprise. Even on the waiting
Church I come when all slumber and sleep (Matt. xxv. 5). On
the wicked I come on a day that he looketh not for Me, and at an
hour that he is not aware of. And no matter how I hasten, or
how I delay, I come quickly.

And the answer of the renewed and ready soul is, ‘* Come when
298 GRACE. [REVELATION.

21 *The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
® Rom. xvi.20, Amen,

24. 2 Thess.
iii. 18.

21. ‘‘Be with you all.” ‘Be with all the saints.”

Thou wilt. Come in Thine own good time, for notwithstanding its
terrors, it will be a good time. For Thou doest all things well.
Thy time is the fulness of time. When Thou comest, if Thou givest
us grace, we will say, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for
him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for
him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation’ (Isaiah xxv. 9).”

21. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all (or
with all the saints) Amen.” This is the conclusion of most of the
Pauline Epistles. Nothing can be fitter; for all the power and
will to keep the Word of God, and do what is written therein, is
through the grace of Jesus. And so especially is the grace to wait
for Him, and look for His appearing, the grace of Jesus. Assigned
to us by the love of the Father, and sealed to each one by the Holy
Spirit.

THE END.
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THE GOSPELS.

From Tue Cuurcn Quarrerzy, October, 1883.

“Tt is far the best practical Commentary that we know, being plain-
spoken, tearless, and definite, and containing matter very unlike the milk
and water which is often served up in [so-called] practical Commentaries.
. .« For solid Church teaching it stands unrivalled. Nothing could be
better than the notes on the Sermon on the Mount, and the practical lessons
drawn with convincing clearness from our Lord’s words on the subject of
Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. Throughout the whole book the writer
is ever on the watch for general principles and teaching applicable to the
wants of our own day, which may legitimately be deduced from the Gospel
narrative.”

From Tar Caurcy Timss, February 23rd, 1883.

“ The question of the origin of the Four Gospels is well treated, and a
more succinct account of the real standing of the Evangelists with respect to
each other, or to a supposed original document from which all copied, could
scarcely be found than that contained in these few pages. Some few pages
introductory to the critical portion of the volume, and explaining the
elements of textual criticism, bring us to the text of the Commentary itself.
Throughout the whole of its pages the same evidence of scholarship and
critical acumen, which distinguishes all the author’s work, is apparent ;
while the faculty of conveying such knowledge to the minds of the least
learned in a simple and forcible manner, is abundantly preserved, and will
procure for this work the position of one of the best of popular commentaries.
Many of the notes extend beyond the scope generally implied by the term,
and become full explanations of doctrinal subjects such as will prove of
immense value to the student as well as to the general reader. e may
cite as an instance of this exhaustive process the lengthy note on St. Matt.
xvi. 18, and those notes on the Parables, which, severally treated in their
entirety, present a more intelligible meaning than when explained in short
disjointed notes. Finally, it remains to mention the fact, which, however,
goes without saying, that the tone of the Commentary is thoroughly
Catholic, so that the reader will find here a firm defence of the supernatural
and divine character of the Gospel story, which never condescends to the
tone of much of modern criticism, but remains true to primitive Catholic
teaching.”

From Cuurcu Brits, November 18th, 1882.

“Tt is written in a clear and sensible style, with a healthy tone; and its
practical portions are devout without being wearisome or ‘ goody.’ ”

From Tur CuurcH Review, November, 1888.

‘“‘ A valuable and substantial contribution to the literature of the New
Testament is made by Mr. Sadler in the volume now before us. . . . It
might be said that every page of the work lights up the grand historical
character of the Church as the one supreme authority for the authenticity
and interpretation of the books of Scripture.”
'

From Tur Cuurcu Times, December 21st, 1883.

“‘ We have much pleasure in announcing the issue of ‘ The Gospel according
to St. John, with Notes, Critical and Practical,’ by the the Rev. M, F. Sadler
(George Bell and Sons), a companion volume to his gloss on St. Matthew,
and a redemption of the pledge he gave therein to carry on his labours
to the remaining Gospels. This is admirably done, being exactly what
is wanted for that large and increasing class of readers who need the results
of genuine scholarship and sound vigorous thought, but who are repelled by
any surface display of erudition, and still more by dryness of treatment,
aa Aaa ge The admirable lucidity, which is the distinctive quality of Mr.
Sadler’s style, comes out markedly in his annotations, whether they take
the form of pithy clearings up of verbal difficulties or more elaborate
dissertations on important points of doctrine; and he is a good judge in
selecting the best matter supplied by his precursors, such as Olshausen,
Stier, Godet, and, above all, St. Augustine, whose commentary on St. John
is one of that Father’s ablest works. ‘This is much less of a mere
grammatical inquiry than Professor Westcott’s volume in the ‘Speaker’s
Commentary,’ but it is much more of a theological explanation, and that of a
far sounder and deeper school,”

From Tur Litrrary Cuurcuman, December 7th, 1883.

“... Apart from these longer and more continuous glosses, the reader
constantly meets with single pithy notes, which by their clear common
sense solve a difficulty at once, and satisfy the understanding promptly,
so that this is quite the best popular commentary on S. John we know,
without implying by that epithet that even advanced students of Biblical
literature will not find ample profit in consulting it.”

From Tue Cuurch Times, October 3rd, 1884.

“ We gladly chronicle the third instalment of Prebendary Sadler’s clear
and sensible Commentary on the Gospels, which exactly meets the needs
of that large and increasing class, which, without pretending any interest
in the more abstruse problems of scholarship in connection with the Greek
Testament, is desirous of having in its hands a trustworthy guide to the
actual meaning of the sacred writers, and some plain statement of the
results accepted by that calmer type of scholars who understand the nature
of evidence, and are not disposed to admit the validity of unsupported con-
jecture, however original and brilliant, as proof. .... The notes, as
always with Mr. Sadler, are singularly lucid, pithy, and to the point.”

From CuurcxH Betis, November 22nd, 1884.

“ This is a work of a veteran scholar and divine to whom the Church
owes much. Prebendary Sadler’s writing is characterized by great clear-
ness of style, and he has a remarkably persuasive way of putting things.
His sermons, as well as his ‘ Church Doctrine Bible Truth, &c., have done
much towards furnishing the parochial clergy with materials for feeding
their flocks. In this commentary he aims at a yet more important object,
the instruction of the educated classes. He has carefully compared the
original Scriptures with the authorized and revised versions, and has set
himself to meet objections of scientific sceptics, and he has achieved great
success. . ... The volume is full of thoughts and suggestions for preachers
as well as for general readers.”
From Tux Saturpay Review, February 21st, 1885.

“ We can recommend his book to devout and cultivated Churchmen who
want to read the Gospels for instruction as well as for edification.”

From Tar Cuurca QuartERzy, January, 1885.

“ The Notes are, like all Mr. Sadler’s works, straightforward and to the
point. The difficulties are not shirked, but are fairly stated and grappled
with, so that the volume forms a welcome addition to the literature of the
Second Gospel. In reading the notes upon the text, the feature which

* strikes us most in their intensely practical character. Mr. Sadler has a
remarkable faculty of bringing the teaching of the incidents of our Lord’s
life on earth to bear upon the circumstances of our own time. Even where
the points brought out are well worn and familiar, there is a freshness in
his manner of treating them which adds greatly to the charm and value of
the Commentary.”

From Tur Cuvurcn Trmus, July 3rd, 1886.

“ Indeed, one great merit in this commentary and its companion volumes
is the frequency with which notes are found, which are capable of being each
expanded into useful sermons. They are like very strong essences or tinc-
tures, which will bear considerable dilution before being employed medically,
though for convenience they are usually kept in the more portable form.”

From Tus Cuurcn Quarterzy, July, 1886.

“We must begin our notice of this volume by offering Prebendary Sadler
our hearty congratulations on the completion of his work on the four
Gospels. The previous volumes were all reviewed in our columns as they
appeared, and we have no hesitation in extending the welcome which we
gave to them to their present companion, It is no slight distinction for a
writer, after having made his reputation by what is confessedly the best
popular work on Church doctrine, to have produced what we hold to be the
best popular commentary on the Gospel narrative. There is no other
occupying quite the same ground, and we cordially recommend these four
volumes, in the now familiar blue binding, as for practical purposes the
most useful to the general reader.”

From Cuvurcx Betts, July 2nd, 1886.

“ Mr, Sadler’s excellent qualities as a theological writer and expositor
are so well known that we need only introduce the reader to this, his last
Commentary on the Gospels, completing the series, by saying that it
presents the same features as its predecessors. It is somewhat longer than
any of the other three, a circumstance quite intelligible to those who con-
sider how a commentator’s view of his responsibility must enlarge as he
proceeds with his work, To begin at the beginning, the Introduction is
excellent, clear, concise, and full. In short, it says all that need be said or
the authorship of the Gospel, and says it well.”

From Tue Irish EccouusiasticaL Gazette, Nov. 6th, 1886.

“ Originality of treatment, depth of insight, and thorough grasp of the
practieal side of Divine truth characterize these commentaries of Mr, Sadler
on the four Gospels,”
THE ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES.
From Tue Guarpian, July, 1887.

“* We find, however, in the notes on St. Luke and the Acts the same
freshness in thought and style, the same direct and independent considera-
tion of the themes brought up on the sacred pages, the same knowledge of
what has been said by others, the same masterly use, alike without sub-
servience and without neglect, of the great and varied stores which our
predecessors have left to us of these days who study the New Testament.
The result is that Mr. Sadler’s Commentary is decidedly one of the most
unhackneyed and original of any we have. It will often be found to give
help where others quite fail to do so, and its special value will be to the
preacher or teacher who has to give oral and practical instruction; Mr.
Sadler’s strong point being decidedly in pointing the application to con-
temporary thought and to life, its trials and its duties, of the divine words
with which he has to deal.”

From Cuurce Bers, July 8th, 1887.

‘“* We can hardly imagine a commentary better adapted than Mr. Sadler's
for giving to the reader an antidote to that unsettling influence which is
now going about in the world, making people haye u different set of
religious opinions every month or so.”

From Tur Cuurce Quarrerty Review.

“There is vigour and freshness about his writings which makes it
a pleasure to read them, while there is certain to be much that is in-
structive, and their tone and tendency are equally certain to be sound and
edifying. This short commentary on the Acts of the Apostles is no
Sane to the rule, and it well supports the established reputation of its
author.”

From Tue Cuource Timus, August 26th, 1887.

“Prebendary Sadler’s useful commentary on the New Testament is
advanced another important stage by the issue of this volume on the Acts
of the Apostles, a part of Scripture whose interest and value seems to
increase daily, as investigation into the beginnings of the Christian Church
are pressed on with fresh vigour, alike by those who wish to prove
Christianity a mere human evolution out of materials lying to hand in
the Augustan era, and those who accept it as a divine revelation. Much of
the work which has been done of late years in connexion with the Acts and
other Pauline records has been devoted chiefly to the externals of history,
geography, antiquities, and the like, rather than to the religious teaching
which they contain; and this fact makes a gloss from a theologian like
Mr. Sadler all the more welcome.”
THE EPISTLES.

From Cuurca Betis, May 18th, 1888.

“ Mr. Sadler carries on his work with unabated vigour, and now we have
some hope of his being able to give us a commentary on the whole of the
New Testament, Undoubtedly ‘such a work when completed will be of
great value, as giving a well-thought-out exposition of the whole of the
sources from which we derive the history of the founding, as well as the
doctrines, of the Christian Church, and this, too, an exposition which sup-
plies, not the mere personal opinions of its writer, although it is everywhere
tinged by his individuality, but the historical meaning of the teaching of
individual writers and of the Church at large. The ‘ introduction’ to the
present volume is excellent, giving all the requisite information without
any unnecessary waste of words.”

From Tue Cuurcnu Times, June, 1888.

“ There are three excursuses at the end of the volume, on Justification,
on Election, and on the Christology of St. Paul, all carefully written, but
with most pains bestowed upon the second. We do not know a better book
than this Pstieneatiry to put into the hands of an intelligent Evangelical
who is beginning to doubt the soundness of the system he has heretofore
accepted, and is striving to find his way out and up into a higher and
clearer atmosphere.”

From Tur CuurcH Quarterty Review.

‘We hail with pleasure this addition to the Commentary on the New
Testament. .... . We think this volume will certainly sustain the high
ae which Mr, Sadler has gained as a practical interpreter of Holy

ripture.”

From Tue Irisa HccugsiasticaL Gazertg, April 18th, 1890.

“Incomparably the best Commentary on the New Testament extant.”

From Tue Banyur, May 23rd, 1890.

“ Ordinary readers could hardly have a better exposition of the sacred
books.”

From Tue Lirerary Cuurcuman, February 6th, 1891.

“ This volume will be found to present all the characteristic excellences
of Mr. Sadler’s method ; and it would be hard, indeed, to find any points of
objection to these terse, thoughtful, Church-like notes.”
Uniform with the Church Commentary.

Crown 8v0, 5s.

SERMON OUTLINES

FOR THE CLERGY. AND LAY-PREACHERS.

321 OUTLINES ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE
Cuurcn’s YEAR.

This book, a book of suggestions rather than of mere divi-
sions, or skeletons as they were formerly called, has been
composed with a view to meeting the objection heard on all
sides that sermons at the present day are very deficient in
setting forth Christian doctrines.

From Tus Guarpian, April 12th, 1893.

“It is easy to prophesy a considerable sale for this volume. .. . We
meet here all the well-known characteristics of his writings. The style is
straightforward and vigorous. There is never any doubt about his meaning.
His ee are always pointed, and the arrangement of his material is
excellent.

From Tus Cuvurcu Truzs, February 17th, 1893.

“This volume differs in three respects from most similar volumes: (1)
It aims, primarily, at supplying sketches of sermons on Christian Doctrine,
couched in clear, definite language. (2) It is a book of ‘ suggestions, rather
than of mere divisions or skeletons.’ (3) It includes lists of texts and
subjects for courses of Lenten and other sermons. The well-earned reputa-
tion of its author will be a sufficient guarantee for the soundness and
usefulness of the work.”

From Cuurce Betts, December 16th, 1892.

“They are adequate, and they are helpful; they set forth the elementary
teaching of the Church’s seasons, the redemption, salvation, and sanctifica-
tion of mankind. Each Sunday of each Church season has several: appro-
priate texts and heads of discourses, and these are rich in wise suggestions
as to helpful teaching. There is much simplicity and strong meat for
learners. Prayer-book lines are made the rule throughout—the best rule

of all.”
From Tus Rock, November 4th, 1892.
« We should think that it would be difficult to find anywhere such a real
help for preachers as these outlines afford. . . . Such depth of spiritual
teaching is seldom to be found.”

From Tar Inte Eccuzsiastican Gazettz, Nov. 11th, 1892.
‘This should be among the most popular and useful of Prebendary
Sadler’s writings.”

From Tue Currcrman’s Magazine, December, 1892.
“These outlines are both Evangelical and doctrinal. They occupy
exactly one page of the book, and therefore afford ample opportunity for
the preacher’s own powers of expansion.”
WORKS BY THE REV. M. F. SADLER,

Recror or Honiton axnp PREBENDARY OF WELLS.

45th Thousand.

CHURCH DOCTRINE—BIBLE TRUTH. Price 3s. 6d.

“‘Mr. Sadler takes Church Doctrine, specifically so called, subject by subject, and
elaborately shows its specially marked Scripturalness. The objective nature of the faith,
the Athanasian Creed, the Baptismal Services, the Holy Eucharist, Absolution and the
Priesthood, Church Government and Confirmation, are some of the more prominent sub-
jects treated. And Mr. Sadler handles each with a marked degree of sound sense, and
with a thorough mastery of his subject.”— Guardian.

Twelfth Edition, completing Forty-third Thousand.

THE CHURCH TEACHER'S MANUAL OF CHRISTIAN IN-
STRUCTION. Being the Church Catechism expanded and explained
in Question and Answer, for the Use of Clergymen, Parents, and
Teachers. Price 2s. 6d.

“« Far the best book of the kind we have ever seen.” —Literary Churchman.

ConFirMAtION: An Extract from the “ Church Teacher’s Manual.” 47¢h
Thousand, Price 1d.

11th Thousand.
THE ONE OFFERING: a Treatise on the Sacrificial Nature of the
Eucharist. Price 2s. 6d.

“‘A treatise of singular clearness and force, which gives us what we did not really
possess till it appeared.”—Church Times.

Second Edition, Revised.

JUSTIFICATION OF LIFE: its Nature, Antecedents, and Results.
Price 4s, 6d.

12th Edition.
THE SECOND ADAM and THE NEW BIRTH; or, The Doctrine of
Baptism as contained in Holy Scripture. Price 4s, 6d.

«The most striking peculiarity of this useful little work is that its author argues almost
exclusively from the Bible. We commend it most earnestly to Clergy and laity, as con-
taining in a small compass, and at a trifling cost, a body of sound or Scriptural doctrine
respecting the New Birth, which cannot be too widely circulated.” — Guardian.

7th Edition.
THE SACRAMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY ; or, Testimony of the
Scripture to the Teaching of the Church on Holy Baptism. Price 2s. 6d.
Cheap Edition. 922 Thousand. Price 6d.

106th Thousand.
THE COMMUNICANT’S MANUAL; being a Book of Self-Examina-
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SERMONS. Plain Speaking on Deep Truths. 8th Edition. Price 6s.
Abundant Life, and uther Sermons. znd Edition. Price 6s.
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